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.

From the OffshoreInsiders.com newswires, here are the latest headlines.

Mike Shanahan has been fired as coach of the Denver Broncos according to the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. Meanwhile, contrary to reports by WFAN and other media sources, Bill Cowher could yet be coach of the NY Jets.

Sportsbooks have taken a beating as many public players unloaded on the over thanks to Nevada football and the Maryland Terrapins. Robert Marve has quit the Miami Hurricanes. Mike Martz has been let go as San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator.

ESPN Radio in Dallas is reporting that “unnamed” Dallas Cowboys players say they miss the discipline of former coach Bill Parcells. Larry Johnson wants out in Kansas City.

While some ready for the Mummers Parade, Dick Clark, and MTV on New Years Eve, the world’s best sports handicappers continue to win big time and the best bowls are yet to come.

Grand Master Legend handicapper Joe Duffy of GodsTips is 75 percent in the bowls with 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. 

GodsTips is the anchor of OffshoreInsiders.com   

The Gridiron Spotlight

Nevada is favored by 1.5 points versus Maryland in the Humanitarian Bowl on Tuesday afternoon (4:30pm ET kickoff). The Wolf Pack (7-5 straight-up, 5-6 against-the-spread) have won three of their last four games, and played tough against Boise State (losing 41-34). The Terrapins (7-5 SU, 5-6 ATS), in turn, have lost three of their last four, including 28-21 to Boston College last time out.

Western Michigan then takes on Rice in the Texas Bowl at 8:00pm ET, with the Owls listed as 2.5-point favorites. Rice has won six straight games to sit at 9-3 SU and 8-4 ATS, and they put up at least 35 points in each of those wins. The Broncos (9-3 SU, 5-6 ATS) fell 45-22 to ranked Boise State in their last contest.

Oregon will then take on Oklahoma State at 8:00pm ET in the Holiday Bowl, which matches up two ranked teams (the Ducks are No. 15, the Cowboys are No. 13). Oklahoma State (9-3 SU, 8-3 ATS) is listed as a 3-point favorite in this contest, but they were pounded 61-41 by Oklahoma last time out to finish off their tough schedule. Oregon (9-3 SU, 6-6 ATS) beat up on Oregon State 65-38 in their last game, and they enter this bowl matchup riding a three-game win streak.

Other Notable Events

The Blackhawks and Red Wings will get a tune-up game for Thursday’s Winter Classic when they meet on the (indoor) ice on Tuesday night in Detroit. Chicago improved to 20-6-7 on the season with a 4-1 win over Minnesota on Sunday, and they’re trying to chase down Detroit in the Central Division standings. The Red Wings sit at 23-7-5 after suffering a 4-3 overtime loss to Colorado Saturday night.

The NHL offers up seven more games on Tuesday night, including a clash between Eastern powers Boston and Pittsburgh in the Steel City. As well, it’s Washington at Buffalo, Montreal at Tampa Bay, Atlanta at Toronto, New Jersey at St. Louis, Ottawa at Edmonton, and then finally Philadelphia visiting Vancouver.

The Rest of the Schedule

In the NBA, the Celtics are back in action on Tuesday night with a road game in Portland. Boston put an emphatic end to a two-game losing streak on Sunday, bouncing the Kings 108-63 in Sacramento. The Trail Blazers also cruised to a victory in their last outing, getting 32 points from Brandon Roy in a 102-89 home win versus Toronto. Rounding out the NBA‘s slate for Tuesday: Atlanta at Indiana, New York at Charlotte, Cleveland at Miami, Washington at New Orleans, Phoenix at Memphis, Minnesota at Dallas, and Milwaukee at San Antonio, while the Kings will look to shake off that Sunday rout when they host the L.A. Clippers.

Finally, college hoops sees several ranked teams in action on Tuesday, including No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Arkansas and No. 6 Wake Forest vs. Radford. As well, it’s No. 9 Purdue vs. Illinois, No. 13 Syracuse vs. Seton Hall, No. 20 Clemson vs. South Carolina, and Missouri, who just fell out of the Top 25, taking on Centenary.

News from the Wire

The NFL playoffs get underway this weekend, but the home teams aren’t getting much love from the oddsmakers early in the week as all four road teams are currently pegged as the favorites. On Saturday it’s Atlanta (-2) at Arizona and Indianapolis (-1) at San Diego, while Sunday has Baltimore (-3) at Miami and Philadelphia (-3) at Minnesota . . . Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (concussion) is expected to rest this week but be back in time for next weekend…Bills coach Dick Jauron will have his employment status determined New Year’s Eve day…Bill Cowher will not interview for the NY Jets head coaching job….Wolpole High School football coach and former New England Patriots Daniel Villa will be arraigned today on rape charges…

A Peek at the Future

There are five bowl games on the schedule for Wednesday, including Houston (-3.5) vs. Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. As well, it’s Oregon State (-2.5) vs. Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl, Boston College (-3.5) vs. Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl, Minnesota vs. Kansas (-9) in the Insight Bowl, and LSU vs. Georgia Tech (-4) in the Chick-fil-A Bowl . . . there are a pair of NBA matinees on Wednesday (Orlando/Chicago, New Jersey/Detroit), while the league will close out 2008 with Philly against the Clippers in a 9:30pm ET tipoff at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

What a great year it continues to be for the world’s top sports handicappers and professional gamblers.

This is a historic case of four road favorites this weekend in the NFL. Keep checking the live, real-time NFL odds from elite online sportsbook Bodog Life which are much sharper than the Vegas wild card spread.

Currently the Ravens are a three-point favorite at the Dolphins, the Eagles laying the same three at the Vikings, the Falcons have dropped to just a two-point chalk at the Cardinals and the Colts are laying just one at the Chargers.

But let’s continue the winning today, before the NFL wild card picks destroy the sportsbooks. Forget the Citrus Bowl parade, the Rose Bowl parade or the Orange Bowl halftime show, we have a parade of winners for the Humanitarian Bowl, Texas Bowl, and Holiday Bowl.

Here are all the winning spread bowl picks for today.

If perfection is not good enough for you, enjoy losing on your own. But for the winners, here is today’s MasterLockLine.com which has all the top sports service plays from all the top handicappers in their highest rated sports. They monitor every single top sports service pick so you don’t have to. Best of all you get these same highly anticipated plays for pennies on the dollar.

Staff Purchase Play, this is when we pay a major sports service to release a major play before the sports service itself does. It’s now hit 11 straight for you right here, the last being Florida State Saturday. You’ve heard all the ads on radio or seen them on local cable TV buys. The high profile in the media tout is advertising his biggest Stone Cold lock “every in any sport” on Nevada/Maryland. They are guaranteeing it with the rest of the bowls and entire NFL playoffs if they don’t hit. (guarantees and Pay After are by sports services to their clients.  We can’t enforce guarantees on re-releases). They are charging $349 for this pick. You get it for pennies on the dollar.  

One of the few handicappers who has been around longer than our extensive database of monitoring handicappers—and his best sport is college football where he is No. 7 all-time units won—has just two of his highest rated LEGEND picks the entire bowl season. The first goes for Western Michigan/Rice game side 

Easily the No. 1 in the land in NFL and CFB combined, a sports service out of the Deep South is on a stunning 75-31 run including 30-11 with High Confidence Plays including Wake Forest right here Dec. 20, the Bills on Dec. 21, and the Raiders Dec. 28. Oregon/Oklahoma State side is a High Confidence  

MasterLockLine exclusive: Exclusive plays are the heart and soul of the MasterLockLine. We have arranged with popular sports betting blog ScoresOddsPicks.com to get an All-Star consensus, meaning each of their high rollers or professional bettors (there are four) are all personally betting on the same side. First time ever a college football total and it’s on Western Michigan/Rice 

All the following are basketball:  

For basketball, let’s stick with the best. Bill Tanner is the No. 1 college and NBA handicapper combined since 1995. NBA Platinum Cavs/Heat plus three in NCAAB Clemson/South Carolina, Oklahoma/Arkansas, and UMass/Houston bets you can take to the Saxo Bank.

Get used to the winning. Leo Getz is the premier Big East handicapper in football and basketball as well as the top A-10 hoop analyst. Based on $100 per bet, he has never made you less than $1,200 for the year in basketball or football with Big East or A-10. His average is +1,945 per season—not year, but season. College Basketball Game of the Month Seton Hall/Syracuse

This is literally $536 worth of winners for just $16. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick

Onward to superstar handicapper Stevie Vincent’s single biggest bet of the postseason. It’s not the biggest game side bet. It’s not the biggest totals bet. It’s the best bet side or total period of the bowl season. It’s an over/under. Get it now, the 2008-09 Bowl Play of the Year is up.

It’s a Level 5 PERFECT PLAY plus The Great One has a Level 4 in pro basketball. Click now to purchase

Like Stevie Vincent, Grandmaster sports handicapper Joe Duffy does not forget to make you a fortune in basketball alongside the bowl bonanza of endless investment profits.

We wind up winning week 16-of-21 in football. BTW, for our younger crowd, we count it by the gambling week ending on Mondays (thanks to MNF) because in the old days we’d square up Tuesdays with the local guy. We are 16-8 with football Wise Guy plays including 3-1 in the bowls. Get the Bowl Underdog Game of the Year among three bowl sides plus the top total.

In basketball betting, GodsTips continues to remain hotter than the Melissa Berry pics. Ho hum, we go 8-3 in basketball and we have three basketball Majors and three Wise Guys. 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.  Click now to purchase

Alabama has suspended All-American left tackle Andre Smith, but the sportsbooks seem pretty unfazed. The Crimson Ttide remain a 10-point favorite according to the betting odds.

Grandmaster sports handicapper Joe Duffy CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com states, “It’s very rare when the status of one defensive player has a major affect on the betting odds.”

The media has crowned the Indianapolis Colts as the odds on favorites to win Super Bowl XLIII, but the oddsmakers say not so fast.

According to Grandmaster sports handicapper Joe Duffy, who is widely accepted as the top NFL betting expert ever, BetUs football says that four NFL teams are more likely to win the Super Bowl than the Colts if one is to believe the betting lines.

The sportsbooks agree that Manning will quarterback his team to victory, but it will be Eli for the second straight year.

The odds to win the Super Bowl have the NY Giants at +250 to repeat. The most likely AFC team is the squad that got humiliated by the Colts yesterday. The Tennessee Titans are +500.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, despite the concussion of Ben Roethlisberger are next at +550. Erratic but the dangerous Carolina Panthers are +600, while Indianapolis is a long shot at +800.

Want to ride the team that got hot at the right time? San Diego is +1200, the same odds assigned to the Baltimore Ravens. Rounding out the dark horses, the Atlanta Falcons are +2000, while the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings are +2800.

Given absolutely no respect are the Arizona Cardinals at +4000. With a Super Bowl winning QB, Brian Gould of ScoresOddsPicks.com thinks the Cards are a decent long shot. “How can Tarvaris Jackson be +2800 and Kurt Warner +4000?” asks the famed betting blogger.

For winning NFL picks and bowl betting burials, check out OffshoreInsiders.com   

A pair of bowl games and a full slate of NBA action highlight the schedule for 2008’s last Monday. Here’s a look at the matchups in your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

North Carolina State will take on Rutgers in the Papa John’s.com Bowl at 3:00pm ET in the first college football game of Monday. The Wolfpack (6-6 straight-up, 9-2 against-the-spread) won four straight games to end the season and become bowl eligible; they topped Miami 38-28 last time out. The Scarlet Knights (7-5 SU, 7-4 ATS) have won six straight games, blasting Louisville 63-14 in their last contest. The Vegas odds say that Rutgers is a 6.5-point favorite for Monday, with the game’s total at 56.5, though it varies among sportsbooks

The Alamo Bowl then kicks off at 8:00pm ET, with Missouri taking on Northwestern. The Tigers (9-4 SU, 5-7 ATS) dropped back-to-back games to Kansas and Oklahoma to close out their regular season, getting blasted 62-21 on the road by the Sooners. The Wildcats (9-3 SU, 6-5 ATS) are on a two-game winning streak, with wins over Michigan and Illinois in their previous two contests. Nevertheless, the Las Vegas bowl lines say that Missouri is a 12.5-point fave, with the total pegged at 66.5 points.

Who covers the bowls? The betting experts bowl spread picks and pointspread predictions have been outstanding. Here is the Monday catalog of winners.

Other Notable Events

A pair of streaking Southeast Division teams will take the floor in the NBA on Monday night, with Atlanta hosting Denver and Orlando playing on the road in Detroit. The Hawks won their fourth straight game last time out, getting past the Bulls 129-117 at home. That put Atlanta at 19-10 SU and 17-12 ATS on the season. Meanwhile, the Magic won their seventh in a row by a score of 118-94 in Minnesota last game, and they now lead the division at 24-6 SU and 20-9-1 ATS.

There are six other games on the NBA’s schedule for Monday, including Chicago at New Jersey, Memphis at Minnesota, Washington at Houston, Philadelphia at Utah, and Toronto at Golden State. Also, Oklahoma City will play host to Phoenix.

Headlines

According to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, the Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner cleaned house and is seeking permission to speak to Patriots VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli…Dallas newspapers and the Ticket Sports Radio are blasting the Cowboys collapse at the hands of Donovan McNabb and the Eagles. Tony Romo, Terrell Owens and the players agree: it’s not their fault….Lingerie football player Melissa Berry is suing her ex-lover over her photos. We say give the man a raise (so to speak)…the Detroit Lions became the first team in NFL history to go 0-16…Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion…Pittsburgh earned a bye so it does not affect the weekend’s NFL wild card Vegas betting line in which all four road teams are the favorites. ..After days of speculation, Mike Singletary has been named permanent head coach of the 49ers. He is not expected to retain offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

The Rest of the Schedule

The San Jose Sharks will be looking to bounce back from a rare loss when they play at Dallas on Monday in one of six NHL games on the schedule. The Sharks fell 3-2 in overtime to the lowly Blues on Saturday night to fall to 27-4-4 on the season. The Stars edged the Ducks 4-3 on Saturday. Rounding out the NHL slate: Montreal at Florida, Minnesota at Calgary, Nashville at Colorado, and Columbus at L.A.,  as well as the Isles and Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Finally, college hoops features a ranked matchup on Monday with No. 2 UConn hosting No. 12 Georgetown. Also it’s LA Lafayette vs. No. 16 Tennessee, Temple vs. No. 18 Villanova, Central Connecticut State vs. No. 20 Arizona State, Portland State vs. No. 21 Baylor, and North Carolina Central vs. No. 24 Michigan.

A Peek at the Future

There are three more bowl games on the schedule for Tuesday, with Maryland vs. Nevada (-1.5) in the Humanitarian Bowl, Western Michigan vs. Rice (-2.5) in the Texas Bowl, and Oklahoma State (-2.5) vs. Oregon in the Holiday Bowl . . . Tuesday’s top NBA matchup has Boston in Portland, while Miami plays host to Cleveland . . . the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings are scheduled to play outdoors at Wrigley Field on Thursday afternoon if weather conditions permit. Get all the winning pointspread picks at OffshoreInsiders.com