Georgia enters the offseason as the consensus betting favorite to win next year’s national championship, the first to be decided by a 12-team playoff.
The Bulldogs were listed with 17-4 odds Monday at ESPN BET, followed by Alabama at 6-1 and Ohio State at 8-1. It’s the second straight season the Bulldogs have been the preseason favorites.
Michigan beat Washington in Monday’s championship game, but with questions surrounding coach Jim Harbaugh’s future, the Wolverines were listed at 9-1 for next season’s title, along with Texas. The Wolverines and Longhorns play in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sept. 7.
Washington begins the offseason as a 60-1 long shot at ESPN BET.
The six highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids to next year’s College Football Playoff, with the top four teams receiving first-round byes. The six highest-ranked teams remaining will round out the 12-team field.
Joey Feazel, lead college football trader for Caesars Sportsbook, said power ratings and schedules remain the primary factors in creating the national championship odds with the new expanded playoff.
“When the eight games are added to the mix for the national championship, it will certainly open up doors for more teams to compete, especially when you add the guaranteed spot for a non-Power 5 [team]. Things will certainly get interesting,” Feazel told ESPN.
James Madison, at 400-1, had the shortest odds of any non-Power 5 conference team as of Monday at ESPN BET.
Coach Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes were 250-1.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is the early betting favorite at 8-1 to win next season’s Heisman Trophy at Caesars Sportsbook, with Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel each listed at 10-1. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is 12-1.
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have signed goaltender Frederik Andersen to a one-year contract for next season, worth $2.75 million for the 35-year-old veteran.
General manager Eric Tulsky announced the deal Saturday, a little over 48 hours before his team starts the second round of the playoffs against the Washington Capitals.
Andersen could earn up to $750,000 in incentives for games played and his participation in a potential run to the Eastern Conference finals next season. He would get $250,000 for playing 35 or more games, another $250,000 for getting to 40 and $250,000 if the Hurricanes reach the East finals and he plays in at least half of the playoff games.
“Frederik has played extremely well for us and ranks in the top 10 all-time for winning percentage by an NHL goalie,” Tulsky said. “We’re excited that he will be staying with the team for next season.”
Andersen and the Hurricanes, the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division, advanced past the New Jersey Devils in Round 1 last week. They will meet the Capitals, who won the division crown, for the right to make the NHL’s final four.
Extending Andersen could give the team a goaltending tandem with Pyotr Kochetkov for less than $6 million combined.
Anderson, a Denmark native who previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs, has become coach Rod Brind’Amour’s most trusted option in net. He is expected to return to the starting role for Game 1 of the Capitals series after getting injured in the first round against New Jersey.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sovereignty outdueled 3-1 favorite Journalism down the stretch to win the 151st Kentucky Derby in the slop on Saturday.
Trainer Bill Mott won his first Derby in 2019, also run on a sloppy track, when Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security crossed the finish line first and was disqualified after a 22-minute delay.
This time, he knew right away.
Sovereignty won by 1½ lengths and snapped an 0-for-13 Derby skid for owner Godolphin, the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
It was quite a weekend for the sheikh. His filly, Good Cheer, won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and earlier Saturday, Ruling Court won the 2,000 Guineas in Britain.
Sovereignty covered 1¼ miles in 2:02.31 and paid $17.96 to win at 7-1 odds.
Journalism found trouble in the first turn and jockey Umberto Rispoli moved him to the outside. He and Sovereignty hooked up at the eighth pole before Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado pulled away.
Baeza was third, Final Gambit was fourth and Owen Almighty finished fifth.
Rain made for a soggy day, with the Churchill Downs dirt strip listed as sloppy and horse racing fans protecting their fancy hats and clothing with clear plastic ponchos.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Connor Zilisch, the 18-year-old driver already with two NASCAR Xfinity Series race wins, will miss Saturday’s race at Texas because of lower back injuries sustained in a last-lap wreck at Talladega.
Trackhouse Racing said Wednesday that its development driver will return as soon as possible to the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The team didn’t provide any additional details about Zilisch’s injuries.
Cup Series regular Kyle Larson will drive the No. 88 in Texas. After that, the Xfinity Series has a two-week break before racing again May 24 at Charlotte.
Zilisch, sixth in points through the first 11 races, was driving for the win at Talladega Superspeedway when contact on the backstretch sent his car spinning, and head-on into inside wall.
Zilisch won in his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen last Sept. 14. He added another win this year at Austin, the same weekend that he made his Cup Series debut. He has six top-10 finishes in his 15 Xfinity races.