The best of the East will be on display in NBA action on Friday night as hoops and hockey share the spotlight. Here’s an overview in your Daily Sports Roundup.

Heisman Trophy Odds on Finalists

Grandmaster sports handicapper Joe Duffy reports that Ireland‘s Paddy Power, one of the world’s largest sportsbooks has the Vegas line on the Heisman Trophy winner. Sam Bradford is the overwhelming favorite at 1-2. Repeat candidate Tim Tebow is 11-4 and Colton McCoy is 5-1.

Notes Cy McCormick, “Look for the Oklahoma-Florida betting line to possibly move based on who wins.” While not subscribing to the theory, McCormick notes that the teams of Heisman Trophy winners usually lose their bowl game and a lot of gamblers bet that questionable angle.

Best Friday Betting Events

As is usually the case, OffshoreInsiders.com the world’s top betting site, has handicappers hotter than Holly Huddleston. It’s tough not to start with the best sports betting service ever GodsTips. Of course the NFL was a push, but we go 3-1 overall with Miami Ohio, Middle Tennessee State and Fordham. Get ready to rock your man’s world. Don’t forget the four-day pass as we have had winning weeks 14-of-18 in the NFL.

Tonight, there are four NBA plays and two college basketball as our December to Remember continues. Click now to purchase

The Gridiron Spotlight

The college football bowl season kicks off December 20, with four postseason games on the schedule. Wake Forest is a 3-point favorite to beat Navy in the EagleBank Bowl, while it’s Fresno State -3 vs. Colorado State in the New Mexico Bowl. As well, South Florida is pegged as a big 12.5-point favorite against Memphis in the St. Petersburg Bowl, and the Las Vegas Bowl has Arizona as a 3-point favorite vs. BYU. There is also a single bowl game on December 21, with Southern Mississippi a 4.5-point underdog against Troy in the New Orleans Bowl.

Other Notable Events

The NBA Eastern Conference’s top three teams are all in action on Friday, with Boston hosting New Orleans, Cleveland getting a visit from Philadelphia, and Orlando playing on the road against Phoenix. The Magic, who are 8-2 straight-up (6-3-1 against-the-spread) on the road this season, are coming off a 109-108 victory in Portland. Hedo Turkoglu had the game-winning three-pointer that day.

Also on the NBA slate for Friday: Atlanta at Miami, Toronto at New Jersey, San Antonio at Minnesota, Indiana at Detroit, Chicago at Memphis, the Clippers at Portland, Houston at Golden State, and Sacramento at the Lakers. The 18-3 SU (11-10 ATS) Lakers took care of Phoenix 115-110 in their last game Wednesday.

The Rest of the Schedule

The Detroit Red Wings will roll into Dallas for a game against the Stars on Friday night in one of seven NHL matchups on the schedule. The Red Wings pulled out a 4-3 overtime win over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, thanks to a game-winning goal from Nicklas Lidstrom in the extra frame. The Stars fell 5-3 to the Phoenix Coyotes in their last outing, with Marty Turco stopping 29 of 33 shots.

The Rangers are also on the road against the rival Devils on Friday night, while the Senators and Capitals will clash in Washington. Rounding out the schedule: Toronto at Buffalo, Boston at Atlanta, Florida at Calgary, Chicago and Colorado.

Finally, Friday night features just four college basketball games that will receive lines from the oddsmakers: Florida International vs. Miami (Florida), Iowa State vs. Iowa, Wright State vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, and Georgia Southern vs. Drake.

News from the Wire

Will Muschamp will be named Auburn football head coach according to reports…The Mets bolstered their bullpen by signing free-agent closer Francisco Rodriguez and then dealing for J.J. Putz in a 12-player trade that involved the Mariners and Indians as well . . . not to be outdone, the Yankees are adding ace starter C.C. Sabathia to their rotation for 2009, and they’ve been linked to most of the other top starting pitchers on the market too . . . Avalanche forward Joe Sakic broke fingers in a snowblower mishap and will now miss the next three months….the Phillies have signed Raul Ibanez…Dave Clawson is the new head football coach at Bowling Green.

A Peek at the Future

Top-ranked North Carolina will play host to Oral Roberts on Saturday in college hoops action, while No. 17 Memphis will battle No. 19 Georgetown at the Verizon Center . . . the top NBA games on Saturday are Cleveland at Atlanta and Orlando at Utah . . . the Penguins and Flyers will play an NHL matinee in Philly on Saturday afternoon, while the Capitals will be in Montreal to take on the Habs.

Political Odds

The right wing blogs say Jesse Jackson Jr., Raghuveer Nayak, Rajinder Bedi expected to tell all about the ponzi scheme, we will keep an eye on entertainment and political betting odds at BetUs Sportsbook to go beyond the scope of betting on whether or not Barack Obama attends the Super Bowl.

The New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears battle tonight on the NFL Network. Sportsbooks have the Bears -3 with a total of 45. Here is the official NFL picks against the spread preview.

For those who want to be on the same side and total as the professional gamblers, tonight’s service picks rundown is up.  

The Saints come in at just 7-6 straight up, but 9-4 to the number. They’ve gone over 8-4-1 for the year but that was after a 4-0-1 over run to start the year. They enter on a four-game spread winning streak.

Chicago is also 7-6 straight up, but 6-6-1 to the number. They have gone under 4-of-5 overall.

Though New Orleans averages a pedestrian 3.8 yards per carry against teams normally allowing 4.4, they do get a stunning 8.0 yards per carry against teams normally allowing 6.5.

Their defensive numbers are much better than the square player may expect allowing 4.1 yards per carry to teams normally getting 4.3 and 6.8 yards per pass to 6.8.

Chicago sports a below average offense getting 4.0 yards per rush to 4.3 and 6.0 yards per pass to 6.6. Defense is their specialty allowing 3.5 yards per rush to teams normally getting 4.1 and 6.1 yards per pass to 6.4.

Some spread betting trends, all against the spread: Chicago is 7-19 if their opponent averages more than 6.0 yards per play.  But they are 9-1 against teams with a completion percentage of 61 % or better. New Orleans is 0-5 as road underdogs of three or less.  

Over/under angles sees that New Orleans has gone over 10-2 against teams with a winning record. Chicago has exceeded the total 16-of-21 as home favorites.

It’s just not going to get better than GodsTips. Ever. Last week was another banner week hitting the biggest plays all: Florida CFB Game of the Year, Seahawks NFL Sunday Game of the Year Panthers NFL Prime Time Game of the Year.

Saints-Bears side start out another typical winning week. All we’ve done is have 14 winning weeks out of 18 so far this season. We also have added four basketball including three CBB Wise Guy burials. Click now to purchase today’s card for just $17 or check out the great weekend discounts. Best of all they have the rest of the NFL regular season, playoffs and all the bowls for just $389.

It’s a fantastic betting weekend in store and the extended version in sports betting starts tonight with the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. The cold of the Windy City can give the Saints a taste of the Crescent City as there is snow in New Orleans and much of Louisiana.

The Louisiana state police road closures aside, the world’s best sports handicappers are heating up at the expense of the sportsbooks. 

Let’s start out with the handicapping service widely accepted as the greatest ever, GodsTips anchor of OffshoreInsiders.com

It’s just not going to get better than GodsTips. Ever. Last week was another banner week hitting the biggest plays all: Florida CFB Game of the Year, Seahawks NFL Sunday Game of the Year Panthers NFL Prime Time Game of the Year.

Saints-Bears side start out another typical winning week. All we’ve done is have 14 winning weeks out of 18 so far this season. We also have added four basketball including three CBB Wise Guy burials. Click now to purchase today’s card for just $17 or check out the great weekend discounts. Best of all they have the rest of the NFL regular season, playoffs and all the bowls for just $389.

Who are the sharpies betting on over/under on New Orleans and Chicago? Knowing that mastering over/under is such a major part of the future of handicapping, professional gamblers are betting Stevie Vincent’s total.

Of course The Great One rolls along with another Level 5 on Louisiana Tech Wednesday. Tuesday his utterly rare CHAMPIONS pick on Davidson wins. Get two Level 5 collegiate basketball including Perfect Plays, which means an angle that is a 100 percent angle with a minimum of 10 games plus the over/under on Bears/Saints as mastering over/under is all Stevie’s domain. Click now to purchase what is even more anticipated than Jennifer Aniston on the cover of GQ Magazine. Great picks and great pics as Aniston and Vincent make the perfect marriage.

MasterLockLine.com 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.

The No. 1 service since Nov. 1 in all three categories: all sports, NFL and college/NFL combined is out of Savannah, GA. Saturday they sweep with Navy, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Hawaii and over, and Virginia Tech. Sunday his Rivalry Game of the Year is on the on the Detroit Lions was part of a 5-1 NFL day with Baltimore, San Francisco, Kansas City and Chicago under. Monday Night Rivalry Game of the Year Carolina, clients barely broke a sweat. Playoff Payoff Game of the Year on Saints/Bears. 

Luther Wade is the former right-hand man of Oscar Dooley.  When Wade was making his picks, Dooley had 4 straight Top 10 finishes all sports combined ’97-’00.  Wade is his best on college basketball conference play but is No. 9 overall in the NFL and No. 2 behind the above service since No. 1. His 5* NFL Total of the Year goes tonight. Again, it’s not the Thursday Night or Weeknight Total of the Year—it’s THE, THE NFL Total of the Year on Chicago/New Orleans 

Bill Tanner is the No. 1 college and NBA handicapper combined since 1995. He’s from the basketball crazed state of Indiana and his Platinum Plays in hoops hit around 62 percent.  He also hits above 60 percent in college football with “Plats”.   About a dozen years ago, he lapped dinosaur “Doc” as the top Big 10 handicapper in the land. Tonight he has three NCAAB Platinum Plays. 

We do expect shortly the entertainment and political betting odds will be updated based on the recently announced Golden Globe nominations for 2009.

With Melky Cabrera, A.J. Burnett, Mike Cameron, C.C. Sabathia and others changing uniforms, gamblers are tracking how the World Series Odds 2009 are shaping up.

Pat Devlin, the Penn State backup QB is transferring. So far there is minimal effect on the sportsbooks odds.

The Bears and Saints will both be looking to improve their playoff outlook on Thursday when they meet in New Orleans. Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

The Bears enter the week a single game behind the Vikings in the NFC North division standings with a 7-6 record (6-6-1 against-the-spread). Chicago took a 20-3 lead into halftime against the Jaguars last week and cruised from there to a 23-10 victory. Kyle Orton went 20-of-34 for 219 yards passing that day with a pair of touchdown strikes and an INT, while Matt Forte ran for 69 yards on 21 carries.

The Saints find themselves in last place in the NFC South division right now despite a 7-6 mark (and a lucrative 9-4 record ATS). New Orleans kept themselves in the conference’s Wild Card picture with a 29-25 win over the Falcons last week. Drew Brees threw for 230 yards and two TDs in that victory, while Pierre Thomas rushed for the game-winning score during the fourth quarter.

Oddsmakers have Chicago set as a 3-point home favorite for Thursday night, with the game’s total at 45 points by BetUs Sportsbook . The Bears are 5-8 on the OVER/UNDER so far this season, while the Saints are sitting at 8-5 OU through their first 13 contests.

The MasterLockLine has the top industry side and total on this game. Headlining is the No. 1 service since Nov. 1 in all three categories: all sports, NFL and college/NFL combined is out of Savannah, GA. Saturday they sweep with Navy, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Hawaii and over, and Virginia Tech. Sunday his Rivalry Game of the Year is on the on the Detroit Lions was part of a 5-1 NFL day with Baltimore, San Francisco, Kansas City and Chicago under. Monday Night Rivalry Game of the Year Carolina, clients barely broke a sweat. Playoff Payoff Game of the Year on Saints/Bears. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick  

Other Notable Events

The NBA’s top matchup on Thursday night takes place out west, as the Utah Jazz play host to the Portland Trail Blazers. Utah knocked off Minnesota 99-96 on the road last time out, and they beat Portland 103-96 when the teams last met on November 5. The Blazers were edged 109-108 at home by the Magic in their last contest, despite getting 30 points from Brandon Roy and 25 points and 13 boards from LaMarcus Aldridge. Greg Oden was held to two points in that defeat.

There are just two other games on the NBA’s schedule for Thursday night, as Boston hits the road to play Washington, and Dallas gets a visit from the Bobcats.

The Rest of the Schedule

The NHL offers up eight games on Thursday, including the San Jose Sharks at home against the Anaheim Ducks. Also on the slate: Tampa Bay at Montreal, Carolina at Philadelphia, Nashville at Columbus, the Islanders at Pittsburgh, Florida at Edmonton, Minnesota at Phoenix, and then St. Louis at Los Angeles.

Finally, a slow night in college basketball on Thursday sees only one ranked team in action, with No. 15 Villanova playing host to St. Joseph’s at The Pavilion.

News from the Wire

Niners running back Frank Gore (ankle) is expected to come down to a game-time decision this weekend . . . Bills quarterback Trent Edwards (groin) might have to give way to embattled J.P. Losman once again this week . . . Redskins running back Clinton Portis is expected to see a full workload this weekend despite a very public spat with head coach Jim Zorn over the last couple of days…C.C. Sabathia is a New York Yankee, what a shock. A.J. Burnett is next…Jason Richardson, Raja Bell, and Boris Diaw headline a major trade between the Suns and Bobcats…Manny Pacquiao’s victory over Oscar De la Hoya was a huge success selling 1.25 million PPVs…Petty Enterprises releases Bobby LaBonte and is seeking a merger…Corey Pavin is the 2010 Ryder Cup captain for the United States…Tim Tebow, Colton McCoy, and Sam Bradford headline the Heisman Trophy finalists. Graham Harrell was a noticeable name not among the hopefuls announced yesterday.

A Peek at the Future

Friday’s NBA slate features notable matchups Philadelphia at Cleveland, New Orleans at Boston, and Orlando at Phoenix . . . the Rangers and Devils will renew their on-ice rivalry with a game in New Jersey on Friday night, while Ottawa and Washington meet in a capital clash . . . Maryland hosts Delaware State in college hoops on Friday night, while Iowa will take on rival Iowa State.