The market in the Eastern Conference futures is as straightforward as it gets. Cleveland is a heavy -400 favorite despite constant chatter that the sky is falling in Ohio. There’s no other team that even comes close to having those types of odds on this side of the league.

Toronto falls in second with a +550 mark that a lot of people are starting to get frisky with, while Boston slips in as a surprising third favorite with +1000 odds. Are either of them worth grabbing considering that they did nothing to solidify their lineups? It’s a worthy discussion for those that love the value of the NBA futures market.

First off, however, we really have to sift through what the hell is going on with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

IS THERE ANYTHING ACTUALLY WRONG WITH CLEVELAND?

The market in the Eastern Conference futures is as straightforward as it gets. Cleveland is a heavy -400 favorite despite constant chatter that the sky is falling in Ohio. There’s no other team that even comes close to having those types of odds on this side of the league.

Toronto falls in second with a +550 mark that a lot of people are starting to get frisky with, while Boston slips in as a surprising third favorite with +1000 odds. Are either of them worth grabbing considering that they did nothing to solidify their lineups? It’s a worthy discussion for those that love the value of the NBA futures market.

First off, however, we really have to sift through what the hell is going on with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

IS THERE ANYTHING ACTUALLY WRONG WITH CLEVELAND?

Week 28 of the Premier League sees the Gods favour Leicester as a surprise home draw to West Brom is unpunishable by any of the three clubs involved in the title race.

If there is a God, then he is sitting high in the sky wearing the blue shirt of Leicester City. On Tuesday night, the lads from the King Power Stadium welcomed a West Brom side, who despite a decent run of results, aren’t much to worry about. The game was a draw. Spurs, Arsenal and Man City, should have been chomping at the bit. The following night they all played wearing a muzzle.

[Image Credit: nbcsports.com]

It wasn’t that Leicester played poorly, or the pressure had started to tighten around the windpipe of the fairytale of Premier League fairytales. In truth, Leicester battered the Baggies, but for once they just couldn’t outscore their opponents.

Week 28 of the Premier League sees the Gods favour Leicester as a surprise home draw to West Brom is unpunishable by any of the three clubs involved in the title race.

If there is a God, then he is sitting high in the sky wearing the blue shirt of Leicester City. On Tuesday night, the lads from the King Power Stadium welcomed a West Brom side, who despite a decent run of results, aren’t much to worry about. The game was a draw. Spurs, Arsenal and Man City, should have been chomping at the bit. The following night they all played wearing a muzzle.

[Image Credit: nbcsports.com]

It wasn’t that Leicester played poorly, or the pressure had started to tighten around the windpipe of the fairytale of Premier League fairytales. In truth, Leicester battered the Baggies, but for once they just couldn’t outscore their opponents.

Manny Pacquiao will take on Timothy Bradley for the third time on April 9 at MGM Grand Las Vegas and while this isn’t the fight that boxing fans are hoping for, let me tell you why Pacquiao needs this fight more than ever.

Pacquiao, with 57 wins (38 knockout victories), 6 losses (3 knockouts) and 2 draws record, has achieved so many things throughout his career, not only in boxing but also in politics among other things. Well, I really don’t want to mention his basketball and acting skills coz I have to admit he sucks! But whatever happens in April, it will not change the fact that he is the first and only eight-division world champion that stops everything in his country whenever he fights. Zero-crime rate, no vehicles in sight, and unofficial peace agreement occurs between government soldiers and rebels.

But here’s why he needs to win it in one way or another.

A perfect way to end a boxing career

Part of the allure in college basketball is how quickly things can change. Last year, Kentucky was a seemingly unbeatable juggernaut surrounded by legitimate threats from all over the country. It felt like there were superstars and future NBA greats in the making. This year’s sort of different.

I say “sort of” because we’ll get caught up in the fury of March Madness betting once again, and talent is always relative at the college level. Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan State, UNC and Villanova have all shared top honors in the AP Top 25 poll this year. And all five of them are still rolling around in the top end of those rankings. Does this mean that college basketball has achieved the zenith of parity?

Nope. The teams in college basketball this season simply aren’t as good as they have been in recent years. By Week 17 last season, there were eight elite teams that had lost three games or fewer. There are zero such teams this year.

All that does is level out the playing field and make longshots much more tempting. The best teams in the country are all beatable by lesser-ranked schools. But that doesn’t mean you should swing for the fences just because it’s a bit of a down year.

Part of the allure in college basketball is how quickly things can change. Last year, Kentucky was a seemingly unbeatable juggernaut surrounded by legitimate threats from all over the country. It felt like there were superstars and future NBA greats in the making. This year’s sort of different.

I say “sort of” because we’ll get caught up in the fury of March Madness betting once again, and talent is always relative at the college level. Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan State, UNC and Villanova have all shared top honors in the AP Top 25 poll this year. And all five of them are still rolling around in the top end of those rankings. Does this mean that college basketball has achieved the zenith of parity?

Nope. The teams in college basketball this season simply aren’t as good as they have been in recent years. By Week 17 last season, there were eight elite teams that had lost three games or fewer. There are zero such teams this year.

All that does is level out the playing field and make longshots much more tempting. The best teams in the country are all beatable by lesser-ranked schools. But that doesn’t mean you should swing for the fences just because it’s a bit of a down year.

Online gambling operator TitanBet has inked a sponsorship deal with Spanish footballers Sevilla.

Playtech offshoot TitanBet announced this week that it had signed on as the new official betting partner of La Liga’s Sevilla FC. The deal, which will run through the end of the 2016-17 season, allows TitanBet lots of branding opportunities via the team’s official website, social media and other channels.

This is the first major football deal for TitanBet, following up on the operator’s 2015 sponsorship of the West Stand at the home stadium of English second-tier footballers Sheffield Wednesday.

Ricardo Cuevas, PR agent for TitanBet’s Spanish-licensed site, said the Sevilla deal was intended to elevate the operator’s profile in the local betting market. Cuevas said the company was convinced that Sevilla ‘will have more joy and success and we want to be a part of it.” You’ve got to admit, that makes quite a refreshing change from most of these types of announcements, in which the operator laments the sorry state of the club and predicts nothing but untold misery for fans in the coming years.

Online gambling operator TitanBet has inked a sponsorship deal with Spanish footballers Sevilla.

Playtech offshoot TitanBet announced this week that it had signed on as the new official betting partner of La Liga’s Sevilla FC. The deal, which will run through the end of the 2016-17 season, allows TitanBet lots of branding opportunities via the team’s official website, social media and other channels.

This is the first major football deal for TitanBet, following up on the operator’s 2015 sponsorship of the West Stand at the home stadium of English second-tier footballers Sheffield Wednesday.

Ricardo Cuevas, PR agent for TitanBet’s Spanish-licensed site, said the Sevilla deal was intended to elevate the operator’s profile in the local betting market. Cuevas said the company was convinced that Sevilla ‘will have more joy and success and we want to be a part of it.” You’ve got to admit, that makes quite a refreshing change from most of these types of announcements, in which the operator laments the sorry state of the club and predicts nothing but untold misery for fans in the coming years.

Week 27 of the Premier League sees a late show from Leonardo Ulloa help Leicester to three points at home to Norwich; Spurs maintain the two-point gap with victory over Swansea, and Arsenal slip five points behind after a loss to Man Utd.

[Image Credit: Sky Sports]

Norwich at home.

It was the perfect tonic after that last-gasp defeat at Arsenal. It nearly ended as bitterly as the gin that’s often paired with it.

Week 27 of the Premier League sees a late show from Leonardo Ulloa help Leicester to three points at home to Norwich; Spurs maintain the two-point gap with victory over Swansea, and Arsenal slip five points behind after a loss to Man Utd.

[Image Credit: Sky Sports]

Norwich at home.

It was the perfect tonic after that last-gasp defeat at Arsenal. It nearly ended as bitterly as the gin that’s often paired with it.

The great irony surrounding UFC 196 is that it was supposed to have a different main event. The March 5th card, which takes place at MGM Grand, will be headlined by Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The latter is filling in for lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos, who is out with a broken foot.

UFC 196 was originally headlined with a UFC Heavyweight Championship match between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. Things changed when Velasquez suffered a back injury to go along with his hampered shoulders and knees. So Stipe Miocic happily threw his name in to the octagon…only for Werdum to pull out of the fight (very conveniently) with a back injury.

So Dana White and the brass upstairs decided to shift UFC 196 from pay-per-view to free television, giving it a new main event where the unheralded Stephen Thompson throttled former welterweight champion Johnny Hendricks. The event was re-branded UFC Fight Night 82.

To recap, the UFC 196 main event has featured eight guys ranging from the current featherweight champion all the way to the current heavyweight champion. It’s been a mess. The whole things feels cursed.

The great irony surrounding UFC 196 is that it was supposed to have a different main event. The March 5th card, which takes place at MGM Grand, will be headlined by Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The latter is filling in for lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos, who is out with a broken foot.

UFC 196 was originally headlined with a UFC Heavyweight Championship match between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. Things changed when Velasquez suffered a back injury to go along with his hampered shoulders and knees. So Stipe Miocic happily threw his name in to the octagon…only for Werdum to pull out of the fight (very conveniently) with a back injury.

So Dana White and the brass upstairs decided to shift UFC 196 from pay-per-view to free television, giving it a new main event where the unheralded Stephen Thompson throttled former welterweight champion Johnny Hendricks. The event was re-branded UFC Fight Night 82.

To recap, the UFC 196 main event has featured eight guys ranging from the current featherweight champion all the way to the current heavyweight champion. It’s been a mess. The whole things feels cursed.

Our round-up of the Champions League Round of 16 sees Lionel Messi hitting two to push aside Arsenal, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his 12th of the campaign in a victory over Roma, and Man City take a peek behind the door of the last eight for the first time in the clubs history.

Barcelona remains the favourites to retain their Champions League crown after a comfortable victory over Arsenal at the Emirates in the Round of 16.

It seems the only way to play against Barcelona is to let them have the ball, hope the trident up front has an off day, and to capitalise on some sloppy defending at the back.

[Image Credit: SkySports]

Our round-up of the Champions League Round of 16 sees Lionel Messi hitting two to push aside Arsenal, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his 12th of the campaign in a victory over Roma, and Man City take a peek behind the door of the last eight for the first time in the clubs history.

Barcelona remains the favourites to retain their Champions League crown after a comfortable victory over Arsenal at the Emirates in the Round of 16.

It seems the only way to play against Barcelona is to let them have the ball, hope the trident up front has an off day, and to capitalise on some sloppy defending at the back.

[Image Credit: SkySports]