We may be enduing football-less weekends right now, but this is without question one of the best times of the year in sports. Major League Baseball has begun, the Final Four is here, the NBA Playoffs are on the immediate horizon, and the Masters will soon usher in the unofficial start of spring.

All odds provided by Sportsbook.ag unless otherwise indicated.

National Championship

Florida (-120) - Florida had the easiest path to Jerry World of the four, but Billy Donovan's squad does not have to apologize for taking care of business. The Gators beat Albany, Pittsburgh, UCLA, and Dayton all by double-figures. They have won 30 in a row and went 18-0 in an SEC that has proven in the NCAA Tournament that it is an awesome conference.

Kentucky (+250) - Whoever emerged from the daunting Midwest Region was always going to be a formidable player in the Final Four. The Wildcats certainly are after successive wins over Wichita State, Louisville, and Michigan. Only one No. 8 seed has captured the NCAA title (Villanova in 1985). Kentucky is the sixth such seed to reach the Final Four.

Wisconsin (+350) - The Badgers have endured only one competitive contest during the Big Dance, and that came against West Regional top seed Arizona on Saturday. They beat Baylor by 17 points after the Bears had humiliated Creighton by 30. Seven-footer Frank Kaminsky has scored at least 19 points in four of his last five outings after going for 28 against Arizona.

Connecticut (+800) - Don't sleep on the Huskies, who are the last team to beat Florida this season. They upset the Gators in a home game on Dec. 2 via a 65-64 decision that ended with a Shabazz Napier buzzer-beater. Connecticut is just the second No. 7 seed to reach the Final Four (Virginia in 1984) and the first since the tournament expanded to 64 teams (now 68).

National League Pennant

Los Angeles Dodgers (+275) - Clayton Kershaw is on the disabled list after making his first start of the season in Australia, but he should be back sooner rather than later. The Dodgers have a loaded rotation with Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-Jin Ryu plus hitters Yasiel Puig, Hanley Ramirez, and what they hope is a resurgent Matt Kemp.

St. Louis Cardinals (+300) - The Cardinals have made the playoffs each of the past three seasons and have advanced at least one round in all three. They won the World Series in 2011, lost in the NLCS in 2012, and lost in the Fall Classic last year. St. Louis could be even better in 2014 after the emergence of starting pitcher Michael Wacha.

Washington Nationals (+450) - Washington has all the pieces in place to be a serious contender. It's starting five features Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Doug Fister, and Jordan Zimmermann. At the plate, the Nats have Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, and trendy National League MVP pick Bryce Harper.

San Francisco Giants (+900) - There's L.A., St. Louis, and Washington in the National League, and then there's everyone else-at least according to the oddsmakers. San Francisco's rotation has plenty of question marks, but it could be a force led by Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Tim Hudson, and Tim Lincecum.

NBA Championship

Miami Heat (+280) - A logjam is building at the upper echelon of the NBA ranks. Four teams are +500 or better to win the championship, and no squad is better than +280. The Heat have shown in recent years that the regular season means little to them, but their odds are still dwindling with eight losses in 15 games. Miami has not won more than two straight since March 3.

San Antonio Spurs (+350) - With the class of Eastern Conference in poor form, San Antonio is looking more and more like a threat to win it all. Of course, that has even more to do with the Spurs, themselves. They boast the NBA's best record (by three games) at 57-16 and have won 17 in a row.

Indiana Pacers (+400) - Indiana is still atop the East thanks to Miami's struggles, but doldrums of its own have prevented it from breaking away. In fact, the Pacers have lost two in a row since beating the Heat 84-83 at home last Wednesday. They have also dropped four of their last five games and nine of their last 15.

Oklahoma City Thunder (+500) - Oklahoma City may be losing ground to the Spurs, but it owns the NBA's second-best record at 54-19, and it is 8-2 in its last 10. While the team is at a steady burn, Kevin Durant is on fire. He has scored at least 25 points in an unbelievable 38 consecutive games after pouring in 31 during a Sunday rout of Utah.

Shell Houston Open (odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook)

Rory McIlroy (+900) - The Masters is less than two weeks away, but first the tour moves to Houston. McIlory is looking to fine-tune his game for Augusta after blowing a considerable lead at the Honda Classic and finishing 25^th at Doral in early March.

Dustin Johnson (+1400) - Johnson won a tournament last fall and is five for five in cuts made this year, with a pair of runner-ups. Paulina Gretzky's better-half-to-be last played at Doral, where he came in fourth, so he is clearly playing some impressive golf.

Henrik Stenson (+1600) - Stenson captured the 2013 FedEx Cup as the PGA Tour's best or at least most consistent player. The Swede has not done much this year, but he showed encouraging signs with a fifth-place finish at Bay Hill earlier this month.

Jordan Spieth (+2200) - The 20-year-old's rise the past two seasons has been meteoric. He is in stellar form in 2014, with nine cuts made in 10 tournaments and four top-10 performances. Spieth is coming off a 10^th-place showing at last week's Valero Texas Open.

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