The upstart Falcons will look to add a playoff win to their resume on Saturday, while the Colts will battle the Chargers again. For all the NFL Wild Card picks and predictions, get it from the top betting experts at OffshoreInsiders.com   

Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

The season’s already been a success for the Atlanta Falcons, who rebounded from a dismal 2007 to clinch one of the NFC’s Wild Card berths this year. However, the oddsmakers like the Falcons’ chances of extending their season by one more week, as they’ve been pegged as 2.5-point road favorites in their first-round matchup in Arizona on Saturday afternoon (4:30pm ET). The Falcons have won three straight games to sit at 11-5 straight-up and 9-7 ATS on the season. The Cards, meanwhile, lost four of their last six contests to fall to 9-7 SU and 9-7 ATS, and each of their last five wins came against weak NFC West opponents.

The total for Atlanta/Arizona is set at 51 points at Bodog Life, the same OVER/UNDER given to the day’s second Wild Card matchup, Indianapolis at San Diego (8:00pm ET). The oddsmakers, though, have that game listed as a pick’em, after the Colts opened as a slight favorite at BetUs Sportsbook. Indianapolis went 12-4 SU and 7-9 ATS on the season, have won nine straight games, and slipped past the Chargers 23-20 back in Week 12. San Diego squeaked into the playoffs at 8-8 SU and 7-8-1 ATS, thanks to a four-game winning streak capped by a crucial win over Denver.

Don’t worry about the games being sold out. NFL Tickets are available for every playoff game.

Other Notable Events

There is just one bowl game on the schedule for Saturday, and that’s the International Bowl at Toronto‘s Rogers Centre. That 12:00pm ET kickoff has Buffalo (8-5 SU, 9-4 ATS) taking on Connecticut (7-5 SU, 5-6 ATS). The Bulls capped off their impressive campaign with a 42-24 win over ranked Ball State on December 5, and they’ve won six of their past seven contests. The Huskies fell to Pittsburgh 34-10 last time out, and they’ve lost three of their last four matchups.

Still, the oddsmakers have the Big East’s UConn pegged as the 6.5-point favorite in this contest, with the game’s total at 52 points. Buffalo went 9-4 against the OVER/UNDER on the season, while Connecticut had a 6-5 mark versus the total.

The Rest of the Schedule

The Detroit Red Wings picked up a win at Wrigley Field on New Year’s Day; they’ll get to play inside again on Saturday when they visit the Minnesota Wild in one of 11 games on the NHL’s schedule. Also on tap: Buffalo at Boston, Florida at Pittsburgh, Calgary at Nashville, the Rangers at Washington, Ottawa at Toronto, Carolina at Tampa Bay, Columbus at St. Louis, Dallas at Edmonton, and the Islanders at San Jose, while the Flyers head to L.A. to battle the Kings.

After a busy Friday the NBA has just seven games on the schedule for Saturday, including the Hornets versus the Nuggets in Denver. Also, it’s Houston at Atlanta, Sacramento at Indiana, Milwaukee at Charlotte, New Jersey at Miami, and Minnesota at Chicago. As well, San Antonio will get to play host to Philadelphia.

Finally, college hoops action on Saturday sees No. 3 Pittsburgh looking to keep their perfect record intact when they take on No. 11 Georgetown at the Verizon Center. The Panthers got past Rutgers 78-72 last time out and now sit at 13-0 on the season; the 10-1 Hoyas beat UConn 74-63 in their last contest. The No. 2 Huskies, meanwhile, will try to get back on the winning track when they take on Rutgers on Saturday. Other Top 10 teams in action: No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Coppin State, No. 6 Wake Forest vs. BYU, No. 7 Notre Dame vs. St. John’s, and No. 10 Michigan State vs. Northwestern, while a second meeting of ranked teams will have No. 24 Ohio State paying a visit to No. 21 Minnesota in a Big Ten matchup.

A Peek at the Future

Sunday features the other two Wild Card Weekend matchups, with Baltimore a 3.5-point favorite in Miami, and Philadelphia a 3-point favorite in Minnesota . . . college basketball’s top Sunday matchup has North Carolina hosting Boston College, while Duke will take on Virginia Tech . . . the Celtics play the Knicks in NBA action on Sunday, while Kobe’s Lakers will get a visit from the Trail Blazers.

Headlines

Utah made their case for the national title with a 31-17 thrashing of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl…Peyton Manning won this third NFL MVP award….Penn State coach Joe Paterno has admitted his hop woes have made him consider retirement.