Eric Patterson

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Portland saw a warmer-than-normal December and the coldest temperatures of the winter season in January.

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NCAA President Charlie Baker announced Wednesday that the organization is aiming to ban all college prop betting markets available on North American sportsbooks.Baker's statement comes two days after it was reported that Raptors forward Jontay Porter is facing an NBA probe over irregularities related to his prop bet markets."Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country, with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed," Baker said."The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets." Prop bets are wagers placed on an individual player's performance, such as their point total or how many rebounds they'll record.Michigan, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Ontario are among those jurisdictions that allow college prop wagering with no limitations.Some jurisdictions, including Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, never allowed wagering on college player props when sports betting became legal in each state. Others, such as Arizona, Colorado, and Indiana, already have some restrictions on college props, but it is not completely illegal."The NCAA is drawing the line on sports betting," Baker said.He added: "Issues across the country these last several days show there is more work to be done."

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the largest betting favorite to win the Masters since Tiger Woods in 2013, according to Sports Odds History.Scheffler is +475 at theScore Bet to win his second green jacket, which equates to an implied probability of 17.4%. Woods was +350 (22.2% implied probability) 11 years ago.Here's how the betting board stands Monday of Masters week. The favoritesPlayer OddsScottie Scheffler +475Rory McIlroy +1100Jon Rahm +1200Brooks Koepka +1400Hideki Matsuyama +1800Xander Schauffele +1800Odds via theScore BetRory McIlroy is the second favorite at +1100, odds over twice as long as Scheffler's. This will be McIlroy's 10th attempt at completing the career grand slam. He missed the cut in two of the past three Masters but was a runner-up to Scheffler in 2022.Defending champion Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka - two members of LIV Golf - are the next two favorites at +1200 and +1400, respectively. Neither has won in five LIV starts this year. The 2021 champ, Hideki Matsuyama, and Xander Schauffele round out those priced below +2000. Matsuyama has four straight top-12 finishes on the PGA TOUR, including a win at the Genesis Invitational. Schauffele has five top-10s this season in addition to his runner-up showing at The Players in March.The next tierPlayer OddsJordan Spieth +2200Joaquin Niemann +2500Ludvig Aberg +2800Viktor Hovland +2800Wyndham Clark +2800Cameron Smith +3000Bryson DeChambeau +3300Dustin Johnson +3300Justin Thomas +3300Matthew Fitzpatrick +3300Patrick Cantlay +3300Will Zalatoris +3300Shane Lowry +4000Tony Finau +4000Jordan Spieth kicks off the next tier at +2200. He seems to perform at Augusta National regardless of his form, as he has six top-five finishes, including his 2015 victory.Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark, both in the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, are the shortest priced of this year's Masters debutants. Four more LIV players - Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson - fall into this tier. Niemann received a special invitation from Augusta to compete in the year's first major. The other three earned a spot due to recent major wins. Long shotsPlayer OddsCameron Young +5000Collin Morikawa +5000Sahith Theegala +5000Tommy Fleetwood +5000Brian Harman +6000Max Homa +6000Sam Burns +6000Jason Day +6600Min Woo Lee +6600Patrick Reed +6600Russell Henley +6600Tyrrell Hatton +6600Corey Conners +7000Akshay Bhatia +8000Si Woo Kim +8000Adam Scott +10000Rickie Fowler +10000Sergio Garcia +10000Sungjae Im +10000Tiger Woods +10000You know it's a major championship field when Collin Morikawa and Max Homa are considered long shots. Finally, Woods is +10000 (1% implied probability) to win his sixth green jacket and 16th major championship. This will be his first start since he was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February due to an illness.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.The NHL's playoff teams are set. The Eastern Conference series matchups are locked in, while two Western Conference series still need to take shape before the quest for the Stanley Cup officially begins.Here are the odds for the remaining 16 teams with a chance at hoisting hockey's Holy Grail:Stanley Cup oddsTeam Odds Implied Prob.Hurricanes +550 15.4%Panthers +650 13.3%Stars +750 11.8%Rangers +750 11.8%Avalanche +800 11.1%Oilers +800 11.1%Bruins +1200 7.7%Maple Leafs +1200 7.7%Golden Knights +1200 7.7%Canucks +1600 5.9%Jets +2000 4.8%Kings +2500 3.8%Lightning +2500 3.8%Predators +3000 3.2%Islanders +5000 2.0%Capitals +15000 0.7%Odds via theScore Bet. The Hurricanes are the Stanley Cup favorites at +550, which equates to an implied probability of 15.4%. They started the season as the favorites with odds of +800 and drifted to as long as +1200 during the season. Carolina will face the Islanders, who earned the third spot in the Metropolitan Division, in Round 1. The Hurricanes are -425 to advance to the next round, meaning oddsmakers give Carolina an 81% chance of beating New York.The Atlantic Division champion Panthers are the second favorites at +650. Florida advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last season as the second wild card, upsetting the Bruins, Maple Leafs, and Hurricanes before losing to the Golden Knights.The Panthers are -190 favorites to win their first-round series over the Lightning.Here are the odds for which team will represent the Eastern Conference in the Final:Eastern Conference oddsTeam OddsHurricanes +275Panthers +300Rangers +375Bruins +550Maple Leafs +700Lightning +1200Islanders +2500Capitals +6000The Maple Leafs have longer odds than the Bruins to win the East despite having the same odds to win the Stanley Cup. That suggests Toronto is slightly overvalued in the Stanley Cup market.The smarter bet - if you can say that when discussing the Leafs' chances to win it all - would be to pick them to win the Eastern Conference, then roll that into a series wager in the Final, where they'll likely be plus-money underdogs to the Western Conference representative.As for the West, the Stars narrowly top the Oilers and Avalanche as the betting favorites to win the conference. Western Conference oddsTeam OddsStars +350Oilers +375Avalanche +400Golden Knights +600Canucks +750Jets +800Kings +1200Predators +1400Dallas won arguably the best division in hockey to earn the No. 1 seed, but its first-round opponent has yet to be determined as the Kings and defending champion Golden Knights battle for the 3-seed in the Pacific Division.Whichever team avoids the Stars will get a matchup versus Connor McDavid and the Oilers instead. Edmonton is +800 to win the Cup and +375 to reach the Final for the first time since 2006.In the two locked-in Western Conference series, the Avs are -135 favorites over the Jets, while the Canucks are -150 over the Predators.The first set of games of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins Saturday.