Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for some football? Preseason action in the NFL is underway, and the regular seasons at both the college and the professional ranks are just around the corner. Other sports, though, are not going away. It’s all heating up right now with pennant races in full force (or not, in the case of the NL East—among others), a golf major just completed, and another tennis grand slam on the immediate horizon.

Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag.

NCAAF Week 1 Game Lines

Georgia (-1.5) at Clemson – The Bulldogs, who are the fourth choice at +1200 to win the BCS National Championship, have their quarterback and running back tandem returning. Like Georgia, Clemson is an offensive juggernaut with serious questions on defense. This will be an absolute shootout.

Alabama (-18) vs. Virginia Tech – Traditionally slow starters, the Hokies were bad throughout the entirety of last season (although their 6-6 record was “good” enough for a bowl). They won’t have any time to wake up in 2013, because up first is two-time defending champion Alabama in the Georgia Dome—where the Tide are used to playing…and winning.

Florida State (-10) at Pittsburgh – A 12-2 record and Orange Bowl victory made for a decent season at FSU, but E.J. Manuel now plays for the Buffalo Bills. Highly-touted freshman Jameis Winston is battling sophomore Jacob Coker for the starting gig. Will Pittsburgh take advantage of first-game jitters for either QB and pull off an upset?

LSU (-4.5) vs. TCU – Jerry World will host this opening-week showdown between nearby TCU and the Tigers of LSU. Les Miles’ crew is tied for the 12th choice (+3000) to win it all, while the Horned Frogs come in as the 23rd choice (+8000). Both teams have been better on paper, so this game will tell a lot.

NFL MVP

Peyton Manning (+400) – Last season’s award was a two-man race between players returning from injury: Manning and Adrian Peterson. The running back won it, but Manning’s team is once again expected to be far superior to that of Peterson. In fact, the Broncos may be superior to everyone. Peterson is tied for the fifth choice at +1200.

Tom Brady (+600) – The two-time NFL MVP is dealing with a different arsenal of weapons this season. Aaron Hernandez is gone—to put it mildly—and Wes Welker will now be catching darts from Manning. Rob Gronkowski’s health remains a question mark. On the bright side, Danny Amendola is on board to replace Welker. Brady may not win MVP, but he probably has a decent chance of holding off Tim Tebow for the starting job in New England!

Aaron Rodgers (+600) – Rodgers threw an awesome 39 touchdowns to just eight interceptions last season, so he is clearly in the mix even though he was upstaged by the incredible comebacks of Manning and Peterson. There’s been some shakeup on Green Bay’s offensive roster, but count on the “discount double-checking” to continue.

Drew Brees (+1000) – Last season was basically a wash for New Orleans right from the start, what with bounty-gate and Sean Payton’s subsequent suspension. Brees passed for 5,177 yards and 43 TDs, but he was picked off 19 times. More team stability in 2013 should help.

National League Pennant

Los Angeles Dodgers (+140) – The Dodgers have won a ridiculous 38 of their last 46 contests. That’s the most victories in such a stretch since 1900, tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Clayton Kewshaw is in the Cy Young and MVP discussions.

St. Louis Cardinals (+275) – St. Louis trails the Pirates by three games in the NL Central, but the 2011 World Series Champs have a huge edge in the experience department. It will help them down the stretch and in the playoffs…if the make it that far, of course.

Atlanta Braves (+275) – The Braves are currently the best team in baseball thanks to a 16-3 record in their last 19 games, a stretch that includes a recent 14-game winning streak. Will they be able to sustain it despite the season-ending loss of Tim Hudson?

Pittsburgh Pirates (+400) – Pittsburgh has dropped three in a row, which is why it still trails Atlanta—by just one game—in the overall MLB standings. A huge series at St. Louis begins on Tuesday.

U.S. Open

Serena Williams (-125) – Aside from a shocking Wimbledon hiccup, Serena has not lost a single match since February. She is 44-1 in her last 45 matches after adding one more title to her credit on Sunday in Toronto.

Victoria Azarenka (+400) – Azarenka lost to Samantha Stosur in the Carlsbad final earlier this month then withdrew from the Rogers Cup due to a back injury. Still, the Belarusian has a history of pulling out of tournaments and matches with very minor problems, so it likely is not cause for concern. In the last two hard-court majors, Azarenka has a runner-up (2012 U.S. Open) and a title (2013 Australian Open).

Maria Sharapova (+550) – Forbes announced last week that Sharapova is currently the highest-earning female athlete—for good and obvious reasons. The Russian also recently hired Jimmy Connors as her new coach. Her on-court exploits of late, however, have been less newsworthy. A hip injury just sidelined Sharapova from events in Stanford and Toronto.

Petra Kvitova (+1200) – Kvitova has not advanced past the quarterfinals in any of her last seven tournaments. She lost at that stage last week in Toronto to underdog Sorana Cirstea. The Czech admitted afterward that she has been tired and not sleeping well throughout this summer. To say +1200 is not good value on Kvitova would be an understatement.

Read more articles by Ricky Dimon