The Iron Bowl may be the final stoplight in the way of an Alabama vs. Florida State BCS National Championship. FSU’s remaining schedule is a joke, and any SEC Championship opponent for the Crimson Tide would likely be easier than Auburn on the road. If college football is currently a two-team race, the early bid for NBA MVP is a three-man battle.

Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag.

BCS National Championship

Alabama Crimson Tide (-110) – An Iron Bowl on the road is likely Alabama’ biggest hurdle en route to January’s BCS Championship. If the Tide win the SEC West, they will face either Missouri or South Carolina in the conference title game with a trip to Pasadena on the line.

Florida State Seminoles (+120) – Florida State wraps up its regular season with Florida, which is terrible. It then has the ACC Championship against whoever wins the Coastal Division, which is borderline terrible. Barring a major upset, the ‘Noles have smooth sailing to the title game.

Ohio State Buckeyes (+650) – Alabama vs. FSU is so cut-and-dry that the only way to stir up BCS chaos is to discuss whether or not an undefeated Ohio State would get in over a one-loss SEC Champion. First the Bucks have to take care of their own business against Michigan and Michigan State.

Missouri Tigers (+2000) – The Tigers are a home win over Texas A&M away from playing for the SEC Championship. They would then go up against Alabama or Auburn for the right to move up to no worse than No. 3 in the BCS standings—needing an FSU or OSU loss to sneak into the title game.

NBA MVP

LeBron James (+160) – Miami started 4-3. Fast forward 18 days and the Heat have restored order to the proceedings at 11-3. The two-time defending champs’ seven-game streak includes four 30+ performances by LeBron, who is averaging 27.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game.

Kevin Durant (+300) – Durant is looking like he wants to regain his scoring title from Carmelo Anthony. Oklahoma City’s superstar is pouring in 28.6 points per game (despite the quick return of Russell Westbrook), two more than any other player. OKC is 9-3 and has won four straight after a tough start.

Paul George (+300) – Break up the Pacers! If the MVP goes to the best player on the best team, then George would be the winner right now. He is averaging 24.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game for an Indiana juggernaut that is 13-1. Talk about going out and earning your money!

Chris Paul (+600) – LeBron, Durant, and George are well ahead of the rest of the field at the moment, but Paul is hanging around. The Clippers have gotten it together and are 10-5 having won seven of their last nine games. Paul is averaging an outrageous 12.5 assists per outing.

Premier League

Manchester City (+175) – The Sky Blues humiliated Tottenham Hotspur 6-0 last Sunday to move into a tie for fourth place on the table, two points out of second and six points back of the top spot. Man City has scored a ridiculous 34 goals, 10 more than any other team.  

Arsenal (+300) – Arsenal still sits comfortably—sort of—atop the standings with a 9-2-1 record that gives it 28 points. It has done all of this even though former star Robin Van Persie now plays for Manchester United. The Gunners bounced back from a loss to Man U with a win over Southampton last Saturday.

Chelsea (+350) – Chelsea is tied for second with Liverpool (+700 along with Man U to win the title) at 24 points. The Blues have allowed only 10 goals, tied for second fewest in the league with Arsenal behind only Southampton. However, they are just 1-1-1 in November.

Manchester United (+700) – Tying Cardiff City is bad. Tying Cardiff City after having a lead in stoppage time is even worse. That’s what happened last Sunday to Man U, which is a disappointing 7-4-1 and tied for sixth in the Premier League standings.

World Series

Los Angeles Dodgers (+500) – The Dodgers just landed Dan Haren to bolster an already-outstanding rotation that features Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-Jin Ryu. They are probably willing to spend even more, so who knows how loaded this roster could get?

Detroit Tigers (+800) – Unloading Prince Fielder and his enormous contract was a virtual coup for the Tigers. In the process they brought in a solid second baseman in Ian Kinsler. With this pitching staff, Detroit should once again coast into the postseason despite a less-powerful lineup.

Washington Nationals (+800) – Washington underachieved last season, but has a roster expected to do huge things largely intact. So far this offseason it has benefited from the departures of Tim Hudson and Brian McCann from NL East-rival Atlanta.

St. Louis Cardinals (+1000) – The Cardinals shopped early and often this holiday season. First they traded 2011 World Series hero David Freese to the Angels for center fielder Peter Bourjos. Then they signed Jhonny Peralta to a four-year, $53 million deal.

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