The 2014 World Cup draw ceremony was held last Friday, so now it’s time to get serious. Host Brazil remains the tournament favorite, but its path could be more difficult than it appears at first glance. We’re almost exactly six months away from finding out what unfolds. We won’t have to wait nearly as long for college football to sort itself out as the bowl season will soon be upon us.

Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag.

World Cup

Brazil (+300) – The host nation’s Group A—Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, and Cameroon—is nothing to write home about. But here’s the kicker: Group B includes Spain, Netherlands, and Chile. Assuming the Brazilians advance, they will almost certainly have an extremely tough round of 16 match on their hands.

Argentina (+400) – It seems to have all set up nicely for a World Cup run that Argentina is good enough to make even with a difficult draw. Lionel Messi and company should have no trouble with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, and Nigeria. If both Brazil and Argentina win their respective groups, they will be on opposite sides of the knockout bracket.

Germany (+500) – The United States found itself in a brutal group; of course, it’s taxing for Germany, as well. They will be tested by Ronaldo’s Portugal and by a Ghana squad that reached the 2010 quarterfinals. Still, the German national team has advanced to at least the quarterfinals in eight consecutive World Cups.

Spain (+650) – How about this for an opening match in Brazil? Spain and the Netherlands will face each other right off the bat in Group B in a rematch of the last World Cup’s championship match. The Spaniards have not been at their best of late, but they are still the reigning world and European champions.

Bowl games

Florida State (-7.5) vs. Auburn– Has Florida State played anyone as good as Auburn heading into the BCS National Championship? Maybe not, but the ‘Noles are beating opponents by an average of 53-10 (including blowouts of Miami (FL) and Clemson). Another reason for the lofty -7.5 spread may be that Auburn’s pass defense is dead last in the SEC.

Ohio State (-2.5) vs. Clemson – This is not your typical Orange Bowl of recent past, such as when FSU destroyed a mid-major team (Northern Illinois) last season. Ohio State vs. Clemson is an intriguing matchup, especially since this is more of an offensive-minded Buckeye squad. A shootout between these two teams is guaranteed.

Stanford (-4.5) vs. Michigan State – A classic Rose Bowl matchup is on the docket for New Year’s Day. If Stanford and Michigan State looked in a mirror, they might see each other. Both defenses are borderline dominant, and the offenses are led by great running backs (Jeremy Langford of the Spartans and Tyler Gaffney of the Cardinal).

Missouri (-1.5) vs. Oklahoma State – Arguably the best non-BCS bowl pits the Tigers against the Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl. Both teams were one win away from the BCS, but Mizzou lost to Auburn in the SEC Championship, and OSU was upset at home by Oklahoma. Jerry World is in for a treat; one that should be of the high-scoring variety.

NBA Eastern Conference

Miami Heat (-150) – Miami’s dominance of the Eastern Conference appears to be slipping away; so is its status as heavy Eastern Conference and overall NBA favorite. The two-time defending champions are now three games back of Indiana after losing at the Pacers 90-84 on Tuesday night.

Indiana Pacers (+150) – The Pacers’ 19-3 record is not quite as clean as the 9-0 mark with which they started. Still, Paul George and company are currently the best team in basketball—and by far the best record-wise in the Eastern Conference. A rematch at Miami is set for next Wednesday.

Chicago Bulls (+1200) – There’s Indiana and Miami, and then there’s everyone else in the East. Er, more like: there’s Indiana and Miami, and then there’s nobody else in the East. Even with Derrick Rose out for at least the regular season, the Bulls are the third favorites. But they are struggling to stay afloat at 8-12.

Brooklyn Nets (+3000) – How bad is the conference? A team that is 7-14 is the fourth favorite (tied with New York and Boston) to advance and reach the NBA Finals. The Nets have won two in a row following a laughable start to the season, and there is no denying they have a good bit of talent on the roster.

Tim Tebow: Which network will hire him? (by July 1, 2014)

ESPN (+110) – Three-fourths of the way through the NFL regular season, it’s safe to say Tebow’s football career on the field is not going anywhere anytime soon. Word on the street this week, however, is that a whole host of networks are hot on Tebow’s trail for a booth job.

NBC (+250) – ESPN is looking to add the former University of Florida star to its new SEC Network, which is scheduled to launch on Aug. 21 of next year. NBC may also be in the mix, but so far only the worldwide leader, Fox, and BCS have interest confirmed by various sources.

Fox (+250) – It is unclear what role Tebow would have with Fox, but there are any number of options given that the network—along with CBS—is a significant player at both the NFL and college levels.

CBS (+300) – CBS is a major partner of the SEC, and it carries the best games from the best conference in college football each week. The network is also reportedly considering having Tebow featured prominently in its Saturday pregame show.

Read more articles by Ricky Dimon