The Buccaneers and the Panthers will be fighting for top spot in the NFC South division when they meet up on Monday night. Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup. For those who deserve to get money more than John Thain, your ship of financial windfalls has come in.

The Gridiron Spotlight

It’s the bettors holy day of obligation, MNF at Bank America Stadium. Both Tampa Bay and Carolina are 9-3 straight-up on the season, but the Bucs are the hotter team right now. Tampa Bay has picked up the win in each of their last four games, slipping past New Orleans 23-20 last time out. Jeff Garcia threw for just 119 yards in that contest, while Warrick Dunn picked up 74 rushing yards.

The Panthers knocked off Green Bay 35-31 in their last outing, with Jake Delhomme going 12-of-17 for 177 yards through the air. Steve Smith had four catches for 105 yards, and DeAngelo Williams carried the offense with four TDs.

The oddsmakers have Carolina listed as a 3-point home favorite in this contest, with the game’s total at 38 points. The Panthers are 6-5-1 against-the-spread this season, and 5-7 on the OVER/UNDER. The Bucs are 7-5 ATS and 5-7 O/U. These two teams met in Tampa Bay back in Week 6, with the Bucs cruising to an easy 27-3 win as a 2-point home favorite. That combined score was an UNDER.

Other Notable Events

The Miami Heat have won each of their last three games to begin to gain some ground in the Southeast Division standings, and they’ll get a visit from the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night. The Heat topped Oklahoma City by a score of 105-99 Saturday night, with Dwyane Wade pouring in 38 points in that victory.

Rounding out the NBA’s slate for Monday: Golden State at Oklahoma City, Houston at Memphis, and Orlando at the Clippers. The Magic are also coming off a win over the Thunder; they slipped past Oklahoma City 98-89 on Friday night.

The Rest of the Schedule

Phil Kessel and the red-hot Boston Bruins will be gunning for their fifth straight win on Monday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning hit Beantown. Kessel potted his team-leading 16^th goal of the season in Boston‘s 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday, and they knocked off Tampa Bay 3-1 last Thursday night.

There are four other games on the NHL’s schedule for Monday night, including Florida at Ottawa, Buffalo at Pittsburgh, and the Islanders at Toronto. As well, the only Western Conference matchup on the schedule sees Nashville at St. Louis.

Finally, there are two ranked college basketball teams in action Monday, as Lamar plays No. 11 Louisville, and Savannah State meets No. 20 Georgetown.

News from the Wire

LB Adam Seward (ankle) and DE Hilee Taylor (calf) are listed as DOUBTFUL on the Panthers’ official injury report for Monday night, while LB Na’il Diggs (thigh) and CB Ken Lucas (head) are PROBABLE . . .  DT Jovan Haye (knee) is DOUBTFUL on the Buccaneers’ injury report, while each of DE Gaines Adams (hip), DE Kevin Carter (illness), WR Michael Clayton (knee), and QB Brian Griese (right elbow) have been listed as QUESTIONABLE for Monday’s contest…A rough day for Cubs fans, first the Sam Zell owned Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy then Ron Santo is denied getting in the baseball Hall-of-Fame again. Joe Gordon was elected by the Veterans Committee. Also falling short were Gil Hodges and Joe Torre…Former Detroit Lions disaster Charles Rogers has been sentenced to sobriety court. Rogers joins Maurice Clarett, Rae Curruth, Ugueth Urbina, Hollywood Henderson, and Plaxico Burress as the greatest wastes of talent in sports history…Randy Whittman is out and Kevin McHale in as Minnesota Timberwolves coach.    

A Peek at the Future

The NBA has nine games on its schedule for Tuesday night, including Toronto at Cleveland, San Antonio at Dallas, Orlando at Portland, and the Lakers at Sacramento . . . Montreal is back on the ice in an all-Canadian matchup at home against Calgary on Tuesday night, while the Islanders play in Philadelphia . . . it’ll be the Saints vs. the Bears in Chicago in this week’s Thursday night NFL game.