Category: BetFTW

5 NFL veterans suspended for gambling violations have been reinstated by the league

Five NFL veterans who were suspended for gambling violations have been reinstated by the league.

Five NFL players previously suspended for the 2023 season for gambling violations have been reinstated by the NFL, per multiple outlets.

Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney is now eligible to return to his team, and free agents like safety C.J. Moore, linebacker Rashod Berry, wide receiver Quintez Cephus and defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor are now eligible to sign with new franchises.

All five received indefinite suspensions for violating the NFL’s gambling policy, akin to what happened to Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley in 2022.

However, just as Ridley got a second chance through his reinstatement, so will these five NFL veterans who can now resume their football careers.

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Caleb Williams’ ‘likely only visit’ with the Bears makes him sound like an absolute lock for the top 2024 NFL Draft pick

There is a 99.9999 percent chance Caleb Williams becomes a Chicago Bear at this point.

If you’re a Chicago Bears fan, you should probably start preparing yourself for the arrival of a former Heisman Trophy winner later this month. At this point, all signs show that former Southern California superstar Caleb Williams will be drafted No. 1 overall by the Bears in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Now, you might say this was obvious. Anyone with a brain could see the Bears were zeroed in on Williams becoming their next hopeful face of the franchise. But after a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport stated that Williams’ visit with the Bears earlier this week will likely be the “only visit” he makes to see any team during this draft cycle, well … duh:

If you still want to make a lot of money on a Williams bet to Chicago, it’s probably too late. Right now, oddsmakers with BetMGM have Williams at -5000 to be drafted by the Bears at No. 1 overall. That means you’d have to bet $5000 just to make $100. If you have that kind of scratch, good for you! But I sure don’t think it’s worth it for anyone.

For all intents and purposes, the market is reading the obvious tea leaves. Williams is virtually guaranteed to be wearing an orange C on his helmet very soon.

How many perfect March Madness brackets are left after Day 1 on ESPN, Yahoo and more

Here’s how many perfect March Madness brackets were left after Thursday’s action.

As we get set for the rest of March Madness, we can safely say that it’s amazing that there are any perfect brackets out there.

After all, the odds of a completely perfect bracket are soooo high, so you can imagine after Day 1 that going 16-0 is near-impossible given the upsets, although Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson has a perfect bracket so far.

So: how are everyone’s brackets doing as of Friday morning? Great question.

The NCAA reports the number is less than 1 percent (!). ESPN says it’s got just 1,825 out of over 22 million brackets that are perfect, and Yahoo says they have 116 left. WOW!

Bijan Robinson amazingly still has a perfect March Madness bracket after Thursday

WOW! The Falcons RB went 16-0 on Day 1 of March Madness.

Bijan Robinson, tell us your secret!

We know that the odds of a perfect March Madness bracket are astronomical (just ask Warren Buffett, he gets it). And while I’m not sure about the odds of a perfect 16-0 bracket after one day, I do know that the number of remaining perfect brackets is very, very low.

But there’s Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, who has himself a perfect 16-0 bracket after Thursday’s action — he nailed the NC State upset, the Oakland win over No. 3 seed Kentucky, the Duquesne win … all of it! He has Texas winning, which makes sense for the Longhorns alum.

Congrats, and keep it going!

Let Warren Buffet’s old $1 billion offer for a perfect March Madness bracket remind you how impossible that is

Remember: A perfect bracket is impossible.

We haven’t heard in years if Warren Buffett is still offering his Berkshire Hathaway employees $1 billion or $1 million a year for life or whatever the reward is for filling out a perfect March Madness (and hey, his beloved Creighton is in it again this year!).

But here’s what we do know: this is your annual reminder that a perfect bracket is imposssible.

Oh, sure. It COULD happen. But you know the odds, right? If you choose with some knowledge, it’s 1 in 120 billion. Heck, getting even the first round perfect is ridiculously rare.

So don’t worry so much if your bracket gets busted by the time the first games are over on Thursday.

What should you pick for the total points in the March Madness 2024 final for your bracket tiebreaker? Here’s an answer

We did the math and we have an answer.

It’s the question you ask yourself every year when you’re filling out a March Madness bracket: what number should I pick for the final tiebreaker that’s usually the total points that will be scored in the final?

It’s tricky, because you obviously don’t know which teams will be in. Will it be a high-scoring affair or a defense-first kind of contest?

Without that knowledge, we have to revert to what we do know: we can look at past scoring totals, average them together and spit out a number that you can use.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Let’s look at the past seven point totals from men’s March Madness finals:

2016: 151

2017: 136

2018: 141

2019: 162

2021: 156

2022: 141

2023: 135

That’s an average of 146. So maybe use a number around that one!

The 1 women’s team from 2023’s Elite Eight that didn’t make this year’s tournament

Only one women’s team from last year’s Elite Eight missed this year’s tournament.

The 2024 women’s NCAA tournament field is set, and there are plenty of returning teams from last year’s Elite Eight.

Seven teams in total returned to contend for a national title this year, including Iowa, LSU, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Louisville and Maryland.

However, one team didn’t make the cut and opted not to participate in the WBIT this season, and that’s Miami.

Our Mitchell Northam named Miami as one of the three major snubs on the women’s side this year, a team that made it to the Elite Eight as a nine-seed last March.

The team lost to LSU in that tournament, who went on to win the national title.

The 2024 NCAA women’s tournament printable bracket: Get in on March Madness fun

Get your bracket for the 2024 NCAA women’s tournament!

March Madness season is officially here!

We now know the full 68-team list that is headed to college basketball’s premier tournament, which means it’s time to fill out your March Madness brackets! The first round of the 2024 NCAA women’s tournament begins on March 22, so there’s not much longer until the action begins.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

If you’re looking to fill out a bracket of your own, here’s a printable blank one — courtesy USA TODAY — for you to use as you see fit! You can download the blank PDF file here.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

A reminder that the March Madness odds prove a perfect bracket is impossible

This is IMPOSSIBLE.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on March 13, 2023, but the math remains the same. It’s pretty much impossible to fill out a perfect bracket.

This is an annual reminder as you get ready for to fill out your March Madness brackets — you can do it with USA TODAY’s bracket game! — in the hopes of winning lots of money and respect, that a perfect bracket is impossible.

I don’t mean that figuratively. I mean it’s ALMOST literally impossible.

The odds of getting your bracket completely perfect are astronomical. Those who have done the math have figured out that to get every single game from first round to the final, you’d need to hit on one in 9 QUINTILLION (that’s 18 zeroes, friends) odds.

But that’s if you choose randomly, which we know some people do. If you use your knowledge to do it? It’s “only” one in 120 BILLION WITH A B:

THE BRACKETS ARE BACK: The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back. $1 MILLION grand prize for a perfect bracket.

Those numbers are backed up by NCAA.com. So: Don’t feel so bad about things when your bracket immediately gets torched on Day 1.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

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Last 4 in, first 4 out for the 2024 men’s March Madness bracket: Good news for Virginia, bad news for Indiana State

Here are the first four in and last four out in the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

It happens every year in men’s March Madness bracket reveals: The selection committee unveils which teams were the last four in. You know, the ones who can breathe a sigh of relief.

But there are also the first four out, and they’re the teams that were *this close* to making it before falling just short.

It’s also a peek inside what the committee was thinking.

After the 2024 men’s March Madness bracket was revealed Sunday, we learned which teams were the last four in and the first four out.

The last four teams in the men’s 2024 tournament: Boise State, Colorado, Virginia and Colorado State.

The first four teams out of the men’s 2024 tournament: Oklahoma, Seton Hall, Indiana State and Pitt.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.