There is plenty of action around the sports world leading up to the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. While 2008 has been a rough year for those dumb enough to gamble on Wall Street stocks, it’s been one of the greatest years in recorded history for the smartest investors, professional gamblers. One of the 10 strongest investment cards of the year closes out 2008 and here are all the sports picks needed by bettors.

Here’s a look at the full calendar in your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

The first bowl game on Wednesday gets underway at 12:00pm ET, with Houston (7-5 straight-up, 4-7 against-the-spread) taking on Air Force (8-4 SU, 7-4 ATS) in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth. The oddsmakers have Houston pegged as a 3.5-point fave in this game, while the posted total has been steady at 64 points.

Next up is the Sun Bowl at 2:00pm ET, with Pittsburgh (9-3 SU, 6-6 ATS) taking on Oregon State (8-4 SU, 8-4 ATS) in El Paso. Oregon State is listed as a 2.5-point favorite at Sun Bowl Stadium, while the total for the contest is at 51.5 points.

Boston College (9-4 SU, 7-5 ATS) and Vanderbilt (6-6 SU, 7-5 ATS) will then take the field at 3:30pm ET in the Music City Bowl in Nashville. The Eagles might not have the crowd on their side in this one, but the oddsmakers still have them listed as 3.5-point favorites in the game. The total is pegged at just 40.5 points.

At 5:30pm ET we’ll then get Kansas (7-5 SU, 6-5 ATS) and Minnesota (7-5 SU, 7-4 ATS) in the Insight Bowl at Tempe‘s Sun Devil Stadium. This game features the biggest spread on the day, as the oddsmakers have Kansas sitting as an 8.5-point favorite against the Golden Gophers. The total for the game is 58.5 points.

Finally, it’ll be LSU (7-5 SU, 2-9 ATS) vs. Georgia Tech (9-3 SU, 8-2 ATS) in the Chick-fil-A Bowl at 7:30pm ET at the Georgia Dome. The ranked Yellow Jackets are 4-point favorites in this contest, while the oddsmakers have the total at 52.5.
 
Other Notable Events

The Orlando Magic will try to end 2008 on a winning note when they play on the road against the Chicago Bulls in matinee action on Wednesday afternoon (with tipoff at 2:00pm ET). The Magic were knocked off 88-82 on the road by the Pistons on Monday evening despite Dwight Howard’s 18 points and 18 rebounds.

There are five other NBA games on the schedule for Wednesday, including a 3:00pm ET contest between the Nets and Pistons in Detroit. As well, it’s Milwaukee at Houston, Denver at Toronto, and Golden State at Oklahoma City, while the Sixers and the Clippers will finish the night with a game in Los Angeles.

The Rest of the Schedule

The NHL offers up seven games on Wednesday, including a Panthers/Islanders matchup on Long Island at 2:00pm ET. Rounding out the day’s slate: Atlanta at Carolina, Colorado at Phoenix, New Jersey at Dallas, Columbus at Anaheim, Edmonton at Calgary, and San Jose at Minnesota; the Sharks kept on winning on Monday, beating the Stars by a score of 3-1 thanks to two third-period tallies.

Finally, No. 1 North Carolina will try to boost their perfect record to 13-0 by beating Nevada in college hoops action on Wednesday night. Other ranked teams in action Wednesday include No. 3 Pittsburgh vs. Rutgers, No. 5 Duke vs. Loyola MD, No. 7 Notre Dame vs. DePaul, No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 21 Minnesota, No. 16 Gonzaga vs. Utah, No. 18 Louisville vs. UNLV, No. 22 Xavier vs. Robert Morris, No. 23 Michigan vs. Wisconsin, and No. 24 Ohio State vs. Iowa.

A Peek at the Future

New Year’s Day features five more bowl games, including Southern Cal (-9) vs. Penn State in the Rose Bowl. As well, it’ll be Cincinnati (-2.5) vs. Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, Iowa (-4) vs. South Carolina in the Outback Bowl, Clemson (-2.5) vs. Nebraska in the Gator Bowl, and Georgia (-7.5) vs. Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl . . . the NBA doesn’t have any games on the schedule for Thursday; the league will return to action on a busy Friday night with 15 games.

Sports Headlines

Following an emotional ceremony for Todd Doxey, Oregon took care of business and made GodsTips 80 percent this year with bowl Wise Guy plays. Wise Guy plays from Joe Duffy’s GodsTips are widely accepted by high rollers, bookmakers, linesmakers, and fellow handicappers as the biggest play in the handicapping abyss. This is just fact….Published reports out of New York say that Bill Cowher turned down the Jets head coaching job because he has no interest in coaching washed up Brett Favre…Charles Barkley has been arrested on DUI suspicion. Surely by the Times Square ball drop, Barkley will blame his arrest in racism…Mike Shanahan was fired as coach of the Denver Broncos…Free taxi rides and First Night notwithstanding, the sports betting card for New Year’s Eve is the way the wisest will celebrate as basketball holiday tournaments are overshadowed by the bowls but not by bettors who want to beat the sportsbooks…Aston Villa won 1-0 at Hull despite the antics of John Carew.

Politics

In entertainment and political betting odds Al Franken leads Norm Coleman by 48 votes in the never ending Minnesota Senate Race….Democratic Governor Rod Blagovich has appointed Roland Burris to the US Senate to fill the seat vacated by President Barack Obama…Reports say virginity pledges ineffective. Oscar Dooley is a virgin by choice, just not his choice.