The National Football League returns to Thursday night this week with the Broncos paying a visit to Cleveland. In college football, it’s Maryland and Virginia Tech as well as TCU against Utah. Thursday night football picks are up from the nation’s elite football handicappers.

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

The Gridiron Spotlight

The Browns didn’t like what they saw from Derek Anderson in their 37-27 loss to the Ravens last week, so they’re giving the starting QB job to Brady Quinn against the Broncos on Thursday night. Quinn has yet to throw a pass in a game this season. Cleveland‘s loss to Baltimore dropped them to 3-5 on the season, but they’re 5-3 ATS.

The Broncos don’t have a quarterback controversy, but they have lost three games in a row. Jay Cutler struggled in Denver’s 26-17 loss to the Dolphins last time out, throwing for 307 yards and two TDs but getting picked off three times and posting a QB rating of just 60.7. The Broncos are now 4-4 on the season, but they’re way down at 1-6-1 ATS.

The oddsmakers have the Browns listed as 3-point home favorites in this contest, with the total at 46 points. Cleveland is 3-5 on the OU so far this year, with Denver at 4-3-1.

Other Notable Events

There are three ranked teams in action in college football on Thursday, with No. 23 Maryland at Virginia Tech, and No. 11 TCU at No. 10 Utah. Maryland (6-2, 4-3 ATS) is a 3-point road dog against Virginia Tech (5-3, 2-5 ATS), with that total at 42.5. Meanwhile, TCU (9-1, 7-2 ATS) is pegged as a 2-point road favorite against Utah (9-0, 4-3-1 ATS), with the total at 43.5. The Frogs and Utes are fighting for top spot in the Mountain West.

Obama Betting

If you bet that Robert Gibbs would be the Obama White House Press Secretary, you won your bet. The sportsbooks have quite a few other options, even the possible 2012 nominees for President with Palin, Pawlenty, and Romney leading the way.

The Rest of the Schedule

The NHL has 11 games on its slate for Thursday, including the Oilers playing on the road against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Pittsburgh got past St. Louis 6-3 last time out to improve to 6-4-2 on the season. Rounding out the NHL schedule: Toronto at Boston, Carolina at Washington, Tampa Bay at the Rangers, the Islanders at Atlanta, Philadelphia at Ottawa, Minnesota at Colorado, Nashville at Calgary, Phoenix at Vancouver, and Florida at Los Angeles. As well, the Blues will be playing in San Jose.

Finally, there are just two NBA games on Thursday to round out the day’s schedule: Philadelphia at Orlando, and Houston at Portland. The Magic dropped their first two games of the season, but they’ve since bounced back with two straight victories to sit at 2-2 (just 1-3 ATS). Orlando slipped past Chicago by a score of 96-93 in their last outing.

News from the Wire

Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin returned from a personal leave of absence against the Senators on Tuesday night, but was held pointless in a 2-1 Washington loss . . . unrestricted NHL free agents Mats Sundin and Brendan Shanahan still haven’t settled on teams for this season . . . Knicks guard Stephon Marbury still finds himself on the team’s inactive list . . . Rockets forward Shane Battier is still rehabbing his sore foot.

A Peek at the Future

The lone college football game on Friday sees Nevada at Fresno State (-1.5) . . . the NFL Sunday nighter has the Giants playing the rival Eagles in Philadelphia; the Eagles are 3-point favorites . . . Carl Edwards is pegged as the 5/1 Vegas favorite to win the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix this weekend, with Jimmie Johnson at 6/1, Greg Biffle at 8/1, and each of Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth at 10/1 odds.

Hollywood Headlines

Oh no, Larry King’s 18^th wife Shawn King, the former Shawn Southwick, cheated on the old man. And Larry is such the monogamous guy himself. Check out Hollywood and entertainment betting odds for more.