It’s Christopher Columbus Day 2008 and there are no federal holidays for sports bettors. The Giants and Browns will play in Cleveland on Monday Night Football, and there’s both ALCS and NLCS games on the schedule too as the Red Sox host the Rays and the Phillies again play at Dodger Stadium. Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

The Browns were supposed to compete for the AFC North division title this season, but after four games they’re just 1-3 (and 2-2 against-the-spread). Cleveland, though, is at least coming off their first victory of the season – a 20-12 road win over the Bengals. The Browns’ first three matchups were losses to the Cowboys, Steelers, and Ravens.

The Giants, on the other hand, are a perfect 4-0 (and 3-1 against-the-spread) on the season. New York completely crushed the Seahawks last time out, going up 27-6 by halftime and cruising to a 44-6 victory. Eli Manning went 19-of-25 for 267 yards passing in that game, with two TD strikes, while Brandon Jacobs ran for 136 yards and two TDs.

The oddsmakers opened the Giants as 7-point road favorites in this contest, but that line has increased to 9 points since the start of the week. The total is pegged at 43.5. If you are depending on Neel Kashkari to turn the economy around, it’s time you turn around your personal finances and invest in the sports betting market. Don’t sell your Jeremy Clarkson Paddington Bear on Swaptree.com, as the world’s best sports handicappers are winning big time. The USPS and bank holidays only mean your check clears a day later.

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Other Notable Events

The Rays/Red Sox series will shift to Boston for Game 3 on Monday, with the set tied at one win apiece. Boston will send Jon Lester to the mound on  Monday; the lefthander has given up just one unearned on 10 hits over 14 innings so far during the postseason. Tampa Bay will counter with Matt Garza; the righthander has had just one playoff start so far in 2008, getting roughed up for five earned runs on seven hits over six innings.

The Phillies and Dodgers will stage Game 4 of the NLCS on Monday. Derek Lowe will get the ball for Los Angeles in that contest; the righthander took the loss in Game 1 of the NLCS, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits over 5 1-3 innings of work. Countering for Philadelphia will be Joe Blanton; the righthander pitched against the Brewers in the NLDS, allowing just one earned run on five hits over six innings pitched. The power of 620 sports services behind every selection is hotter than Jenna Shea and has both the Rays/Red Sox and Phillies/Dodgers winners. See the home page of OffshoreInsiders.com for more details.

The Rest of the Schedule

The NHL has seven games on its schedule for Monday, including a pair of matinees: St. Louis plays in Toronto at 1:00pm ET, and the Islanders host Buffalo at 2:00pm ET. The other five games are all at night, and include New Jersey at the Rangers, Vancouver at Washington, Detroit at Carolina, and Nashville at Chicago. Also, the Flyers will be looking to shake off an opening-night defeat on Monday when they take on Montreal.

As well, there are three Canadian Football League on the schedule for Monday. Hamilton and Montreal get things started at 1:00pm ET; the Alouettes are 12-point home favorites, but the Tiger-Cats upset the Als 44-38 last week. In the 4:30pm ET game it’s Saskatchewan at Calgary (-5.5). That contest is also a re-match from last week – the Roughriders pulled out a 37-34 win over the Stampeders in that first game.

News from the Wire

LB Antonio Pierce is listed as QUESTIONABLE for the Giants on Monday night, while each of WR Domenik Hixon, DE Jerome McDougle, and T Kareem McKenzie are PROBABLE . . . S Sean  Jones, T Kevin Shaffer, DE Shaun Smith, G Ryan Tucker are all QUESTIONABLE for the Browns. Listed as PROBABLE are S Mike Adams, DT Shaun Rogers, WR Donte‘ Stallworth, and RB Jason Wright. TE Kellen Winslow was pegged as QUESTIONABLE for Monday night on the team’s official injury list, but reports out of Cleveland suggest that he won’t be in uniform when kickoff rolls around.

A Peek at the Future

Game 4 of the ALCS is set for Tuesday night in Boston, while Game 5 of the NLCS is on the schedule for Wednesday night in Los Angeles . . . early college football action this week includes Florida State at North Carolina State and BYU at TCU on Thursday night, and Hawaii at Boise State on Friday night . . . the Sprint Cup Series will return to the track on Sunday afternoon with the TUMS QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Nobel Prize

Did you think Andy Martin would win? Personally, we believe eating champion Joey Chestnut should win the Nobel Prize for Medicine or something.

As expected, the increasingly political Nobel Prize chose Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist for the Nobel Prize in Economics. Krugman certainly benefited from his constant attacks on Republicans as recent winners, ala the Academy Awards, have had a socially progressive agenda. Krugman’s winning give him cache in his attempt to help Barack Obama defeat John McCain and the political betting odds say that the Republicans chances have all but faded.

Will McCain acknowledge he’s been “my own worst enemy” and swing for the fences in Wednesday’s Presidential Debate? Keep an eye on the odds and see it McCain/Palin can come up with a game changer.