The New England Patriots and the New York Jets will battle for first place in the competitive AFC East division on Thursday night. Here's your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

The Jets ran roughshod over the Rams last week, taking a 40-0 lead into halftime and cruising from there to a 47-3 victory. Brett Favre went 14-of-19 for 167 yards passing in that win, with one touchdown strike. Thomas Jones rushed for 149 and three scores on 26 carries. That was the Jets' third straight win, and it put them at 6-3 SU and 5-4 ATS.

The Patriots held off the Bills for a 20-10 win last time out. New England quarterback Matt Cassel completed 23-of-34 pass attempts for 234 yards in that contest, and rushed for a touchdown. BenJarvus Green-Ellis picked up 105 yards on the ground and also rushed for a TD. New England has the same record as New York: 6-3 SU, and 5-4 ATS.

The oddsmakers have the Patriots listed as 3.5-point home favorites for Thursday night, with the game's total at 42 points. New England is 2-6-1 on the OVER/UNDER through nine contests this season, while New York has been a bit better for the OVER at 4-4-1.

Other Notable Events

LeBron James will lead his Cavaliers into action at home on Thursday night against the Nuggets. James poured in 41 points on Tuesday night to lead Cleveland to a 99-93 win over the Bucks; that wasn't quite enough, though, to allow the Cavs to cover the 12-point spread. There are just two other NBA games on the schedule on a light Thursday night around the league - Dallas will play in Chicago, and Golden State hosts Detroit.

The Rest of the Schedule

There are three college football games set for kickoff on Thursday, although there are no ranked teams in action. Virginia Tech will take on Miami in the top contest on the Thursday schedule; both of those Atlantic Coast teams are 6-3 straight-up, with the Hokies at 3-5 ATS, and the Hurricanes at 5-3 ATS. Elsewhere it's Buffalo (5-4, 6-3 ATS) at Akron (5-4, 6-2-1 ATS), and then Wyoming (4-6, 2-7 ATS) at UNLV (4-6, 5-4-1 ATS).

Montreal will be in Boston for the top matchup in the NHL on Thursday night. The Canadiens are coming off a 4-0 win over the Senators on Tuesday night, with Carey Price picking up the shutout; that win improved the Habs' record to 9-2-2 on the season. Rounding out the schedule for Thursday: the Islanders at Ottawa, Detroit at Tampa Bay, Phoenix at Minnesota, Los Angeles at Dallas, Toronto at Edmonton, Calgary at San Jose, and Philly at Pittsburgh. The Pens came back to defeat Detroit 7-6 Tuesday night.

Finally, there are pair of games in the Coaches vs. Cancer college hoops tournament on Thursday at Los Angeles' Pauley Pavilion. UCLA is again the marquee team in action.

News from the Wire

Redskins running back Clinton Portis (knee) is looking questionable to play at home against the Cowboys on Sunday night . . . Steelers running back Willie Parker (shoulder) could return against the Chargers on Sunday afternoon . . . Bulls forward Drew Gooden (ankle) missed Tuesday's game, and he's day-to-day heading into Thursday's game . . . Avs forward Joe Sakic (back) missed Wednesday night's game.

A Peek at the Future

The NBA has more teams in action on Friday, with a dozen games on the schedule; highlighting that slate are Denver at Boston, Houston at San Antonio, and Detroit at the Lakers . . . the single college football game on the Friday schedule sees No. 22 Cincinnati (-3.5) at Louisville . . .  the winless Lions are the biggest underdog on the NFL's schedule for Sunday - Detroit is getting 14 points on the road against Carolina.