The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off June 11th in North America, and the last few days of playoff football produced some of the most dramatic moments of the year.

The biggest story coming out of the final qualification round will be talked about all summer. Bosnia and Herzegovina eliminated Italy on penalties in Zenica, crushing the Azzurri's hopes of ending a World Cup drought that now stretches back to 2014. Italy, a four-time world champion, has now missed three consecutive tournaments. An entire generation of Italian players have missed the chance to represent their national team on the biggest stage.

It is a collapse without precedent in the history of the sport. Even the Italian boss, Gennaro Gattuso, said in Octover that he would “flee Italy” if they failed to qualify. Hopefully he has new living arrangements ready to go, I hear Greece is nice.

Bosnia's path to get there was a rollercoaster. Italy led early through a Moise Kean goal and looked in control until Alessandro Bastoni received a red card just before halftime. Haris Tabakovic equalized in the 79th minute, extra time produced nothing, and then the shootout was completely blundered by Italian shooters. The decisive kick was converted by Esmir Bajraktarevic, an Appleton, Wisconsin native, who switched his international allegiance from the USMNT to Bosnia last August.

Elsewhere in the playoffs, Viktor Gyokeres almost single-handedly carried Sweden back to the World Cup, scoring a hat trick against Ukraine before netting an 88th-minute winner against Poland in the final qualifier. Czechia knocked out Denmark in a shootout despite being thoroughly outplayed for most of the game. Turkey edged Kosovo 1-0 to claim their first berth since their legendary 2002 run.

As for the United States, the group draw is now finalized. The USMNT opens June 12th at SoFi Stadium against Paraguay, then faces Australia in Seattle before closing group play against Turkey back in Los Angeles. They are the betting favorite to win Group D at +140 and are around +8500 to win the whole thing. Anything less than a knockout stage appearance would be a big disappointment this summer for the red, white, and blue.

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🏒 Wednesday Night NHL: Three Games, Three Bets

A small slate tonight in the NHL but still meaningful games for a variety of reasons. Even the league’s best team against the league’s worst has some value tonight. Here are three plays to get you through an otherwise quiet night of hockey.

Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (-158) over Vancouver

Colorado is 29-6 against the spread at home this season, an 82% cover rate that is the best in the league. Vancouver is allowing nearly four goals per game on the road and just got shutout 4-0 by Los Angeles four days ago. The Avalanche just put up nine goals against Calgary and had eight different players score.

The situation gets worse for Vancouver without starting goaltender Thatcher Demko, who remains on injured reserve. Colorado's power play is clicking at an elite level and their home goal differential of +1.20 per game makes the -1.5 at -150 the sensible entry point, but the -2.5 spread at even money is in play given the personnel mismatch and Colorado's recent form.

St. Louis Blues ML (+135) over Los Angeles

Both teams are scrambling for playoff position in the Western Conference wild card race, with Los Angeles holding a three-point lead over St. Louis heading into a direct head-to-head.

Los Angeles is 10-17-8 at home this season, which is an unusually poor record for a team still in playoff position. Worse news, they lead the league in overtime losses at 18. Kevin Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko are both on injured reserve, removing two of their primary offensive contributors.

St. Louis has gone 6-2-2 over their last ten games and enters with better recent momentum and a healthier roster. Joel Hofer has been solid in goal all season for them, if he gets the start. The Blues at +135 is real value in a game that means more to them than almost any other remaining on their schedule.

Anaheim Ducks ML (-106) over San Jose

The Pacific Division has produced one of the better stories of the NHL season in the Anaheim Ducks, who entered October as an afterthought and are now fighting to clinch the division title under Joel Quenneville. Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier have delivered on their potential, and the blue line has been stabilized by John Carlson.

San Jose has won two straight and their desperation is real, but Anaheim is the deeper, better-constructed team. The Ducks have shown a consistent ability to bounce back after losses this season. Expect a high-scoring game, and expect Anaheim to edge it out at essentially even money.

🌲 The Pine Line

🏏 A teenage kid is making a name for himself in India. Fifty runs on the sports’ biggest stage to celebrate his fifteenth birthday.

⛳️ Augusta finally released their statement. The Masters will feel Tiger’s absence.

⚾️ The timing couldn’t be worse for this in more ways than one. Another Blue Jays pitcher was carted off the field.

🏈 The Jaguars are packing up and moving to a new city. Don’t worry, they’ll come back in a year.

🎯 One Dutchman is claiming title after title this year. The 2026 season has been Nijman’s personal highlight reel.

🏀 How to Bet on the NBA When the Playoffs are Largely Set

by Ed Egros 👉️ Follow on X @EdWithSports

The NBA’s regular season doesn’t end for another couple of weeks; but, all 20 teams playing past Game 82 have clinched a postseason spot.  As Dan Feldman pointed out in his newsletter, this is the earliest the postseason field has been set since 1973!  And, it’s the third-earliest it’s been set in NBA history!

Is Tanking the Culprit?

The NBA has confidently said they will be able to stop tanking.  Whether you believe that will happen or not, it’s clear some teams this season have taken tanking to a whole new level.  

There are debates involving, say, the Milwaukee Bucks as to if they have–and will continue to–tank, despite not having full control over NBA Draft picks because of a pick swap agreement.  But, does tanking become a universal proposition among all eliminated teams?  Not necessarily.

From a Betting Perspective

I’ve researched this phenomenon in the NFL involving how to bet games pitting teams with playoff motivation going up against teams that could improve their draft pick with a loss.  The markets are already aware of these motivations and have baked that into their spreads.  Saying a playoff-motivated team will cover is using the same information twice.

Any other sport shouldn’t be any different.  That’s a bad process.

While anticipating player availability is always helpful, it’s better to look at other matchups and key indicators when making your picks.

Wednesday’s NBA Slate

Let’s use Jaxon’s AI tools to look at games between teams heading in different directions and make some sharp picks:

76ers (-15) vs Wizards (-110)

Even if Washington wanted to try to win, they’d have to do so without Anthony Davis, Trae Young and others.  

Philadelphia is in the opposite situation.  They have Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey available.  Though they have not been on the floor together a lot this season, it’s safe to say the ceiling is high and their overall play is trending in the right direction, having won seven of their last ten contests.  

The Sixers should be able to cover the large number.

Jazz vs Nuggets O248.5 (-112)

Sometimes absences matter on the defensive end more than the offensive one.  Without Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jusuf Nurkic and others, Utah is bereft of rim protection.

Denver already owns a 65% field goal rate on shots within five feet of the rim, which is above average in the league.  If Utah is already missing much of its frontcourt, expect Nikola Jokic and other bigs to score at will in the paint.  

Utah should be able to do their part as well, owning the second-fastest pace in the league.  

Expect a ton of points in this matchup.

Play ball!

Every edge counts this season. Ask Jaxon about vulnerable starting pitchers, home-run heavy ballpark conditions, and player prop angles. Then head over to the MLB sheets to view additional stats and shop for the best odds.