Monday Night Football offers up a potential dud between the Jags and Texans this week, as the teams have eight total wins. Here's your Daily Sports Roundup.
The Gridiron Spotlight
Jacksonville and Houston have identical 4-7 records heading into their AFC South divisional battle on Monday night, effectively putting both teams out of postseason contention this year. The Jags, who are the bigger disappointment, have dropped four of their past five games, including a 30-12 loss at home to Minnesota last week. David Garrard was picked off twice for the Jags that game.
The Texans are actually coming off a win - they knocked off the Browns 16-6 last weekend, thanks to one Sage Rosenfels touchdown strike (he was also picked off twice) and three Kris Brown field goals. Houston, though, lost each of their previous three contests, and they also fell 30-27 to the Jaguars back in Week 4.
Garrard is on Jacksonville's injury report with a sore back this week, but he went through a full practice on Friday and is listed as PROBABLE to get the start on Monday night. Rosenfels is expected to start for the Texans on Monday, but Matt Schaub (knee) is close to returning and could take over QB duties next weekend.
The oddsmakers have the Texans listed as 3-point home favorites for Monday's game, with the total at 48 points. Houston is 5-6 ATS on the season, and 2-3 ATS at home, while Jacksonville is 3-8 ATS overall and 3-2 ATS on the road. As well, the Texans are 9-2 on the OVER/UNDER, while the Jaguars are 5-5-1. Back in Week 4 the Texans covered the listed 7-point spread in an OVER result.
Other Notable Events
The NBA begins December with just three games on the schedule: Minnesota at Charlotte, Miami at Golden State, and Orlando at Boston. The Atlantic-leading Celtics ran their conference-best record to 16-2 (9-9 ATS) on the season with an 89-84 win over the Bobcats on Saturday, while the Southeast-leading Magic moved to 13-4 (9-7-1 ATS) by thumping the Pacers 110-96 in their last contest.
The Rest of the Schedule
The NHL has five games on the schedule for Monday, including Nashville at Buffalo, Vancouver at Columbus, Colorado at Minnesota, and Toronto at Los Angeles. As well, the Red Wings will get a visit from the Ducks, with Detroit coming off a 4-1 matinee loss to the Bruins on Saturday to fall to 15-4-4 this year.
Finally, college basketball tournament action subsides this week, but a few teams of note are still playing on Monday. Kansas will take on Kent State, while Wisconsin will do battle with Virginia Tech, and Connecticut will meet Delaware State. Don't expect betting odds to be available for the Huskies/Hornets matchup.
News from the Wire
Schaub is the only player listed as QUESTIONABLE on the Texans' official injury report for the Monday nighter. Each of DT Travis Johnson, WR Jacoby Jones, DT Amobi Okoye, and RB Steve Slaton are PROBABLE . . . both LB Brian Iwuh and WR Troy Williamson have QUESTIONABLE status on the Jags' injury report, while Garrard, CB Rashean Mathis, and WR Dennis Northcutt sit as PROBABLE.
A Peek at the Future
The NBA will offer up eight games on Tuesday night, including the Lakers at Indiana, Portland at New York, and Detroit at San Antonio . . . college football has a light schedule leading up to Saturday this week, with Middle Tennessee vs. Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday, Louisville vs. Rutgers on Thursday, and Ball State vs. Buffalo on Friday . . . the Chargers will host the Raiders Thursday night.
