The Steelers will be looking to win – and secure the payday – on Thursday night when they play host to the division-rival Bengals. Here’s a look in your Daily Sports Roundup as well as the rundown of tonight’s top sports bets in football and basketball.

The Gridiron Spotlight

Pittsburgh picked up an 11-10 victory in their Week 11 matchup against the Chargers, although a referee’s error on a Steelers scoring play at the end of the game prevented them from covering the posted spread. That puts Pittsburgh at 7-3 straight-up but just 4-6 against-the spread through 10 games. Ben Roethlisberger went 31-of-41 for 308 yards passing with no touchdowns, while Willie Parker ran for 115 yards on 25 carries.

Not be outdone the Bengals also turned in a strange result last week, as they ended up in a 13-13 tie with the Eagles. Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 29-of-44 pass attempts for 261 yards in the game for Cincinnati, with one touchdown strike, while Cedric Benson ran for just 42 yards on 23 carries. T.J. Houshmandzadeh had 12 catches for 149 yards and a score. The Bengals are now at an ugly 1-8-1 SU on the year, and they’re 4-6 ATS.

Pittsburgh and Cincinnati met back on October 19, with the Steelers rolling to a 38-10 win as a 9-point road favorite. The combined score of that contest went OVER the posted total of 36.5 points; Pittsburgh is 5-5 on the OVER/UNDER this season, while Cincinnati is 3-6-1. Last season the Steelers were 2-0 SU and ATS against the Bengals.

Other Notable Events

There are only two games on the NBA schedule for Thursday night, but they’re both marquee matchups – Detroit at Boston, and the Lakers at Phoenix. The Suns had their modest two-game winning streak snapped on Monday night as they fell 109-97 on the road versus the Jazz. Amare Stoudemire scored 30 points in that loss, and Steve Nash picked up 14 points and eight assists. The Suns are now 8-4 SU and 6-6 ATS this year.

The Rest of the Schedule

There are eight games on the ice on Thursday, including Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks playing on the road in Dallas. Rounding out the NHL‘s slate for Thursday: Florida at New Jersey, Pittsburgh at Atlanta, Montreal at Ottawa, Vancouver at Minnesota, Detroit at Edmonton, Calgary at Colorado, and Washington at Los Angeles.

Thursday’s college football action sees No. 23 Miami taking on Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes have won five straight games, slipping past Virginia Tech 16-14 in their last outing; that put Miami at 7-3 SU and 5-4 ATS on the season. The Yellow Jackets fell 28-7 to North Carolina in their last game, and they’re now at 7-3 SU and 6-2 ATS. The oddsmakers have Georgia Tech listed as a 3.5-point home favorite, with a total of 40.5.

Finally, the top college basketball action on Thursday will take place at Madison Square Garden, where they’ll stage the semi-final round of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. The 7:00pm ET contest sees Duke taking on Southern Illinois, while UCLA and Michigan will meet up in the 9:00pm ET game. The championship is set for Friday night.

News from the Wire

The Bills are going to stick with Trent Edwards as their starting QB this week despite his poor play of late . . . Rangers forward Scott Gomez is expected to be out a few more days with his ankle injury, while Avalanche forward Joe Sakic is day-to-day with a sore back . . . Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was named the American League MVP this week; Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was voted as his NL counterpart…the Bengals will not have Chad Johnson against the Steelers because of a suspension.

A Peek at the Future

There are three college football games on the schedule for Friday, with Miami-Ohio at Toledo (-3), Buffalo at Bowling Green (-3.5), and Fresno State (-2.5) at San Jose State . . . the NBA has 13 games on the schedule for Friday, including Utah at San Antonio and Denver at the Lakers . . . the Cowboys and the Broncos are the big NFL favorites for Sunday; the openers were San Francisco at Dallas (-11) and Oakland at Denver (-10).

Political Odds

It looks like Penny Pritzker will get a spot in President Barack Obama’s Administration. There appears little chance that Chris Cuomo, son of Mario, will be offered a position.