#Big Board

Welcome to Blackburn's Big Board, a weekly check-in on the hockey things that I currently care about. It'll go a variety of ways, including teams that are earning my attention, players of note, storylines generating buzz and any other hockey topics that my weird brain finds compelling. The 2023 World Junior Championship concluded last week after an…

The league's worst are already grappling for 2023 NBA Draft odds. Coming up on the halfway point of the NBA season, the league's worst have begun to solidify. Luckily for those teams, their record could now come attached with a 7-foot-4 French phenom. While most teams are battling for the best Playoffs positioning available, others will soon be…

The principal action for Kentucky Derby 148 occurred more than 2000 miles west of Churchill Downs Thursday morning as Santa Anita Derby (GI) winner Taiba worked six furlongs in 1:12.80. "It was very straight forward," trainer Tim Yakteen said. "He worked three-quarters from the five-eighth pole. It was a typical Taiba work and we accomplished what…

There were 11 different players who received a contract of $100 million or more in free agency last offseason, led by Corey Seager who signed a 10-year, $325 million deal with the Texas Rangers. That list will likely be shorter this offseason, but there are still a number of high-profile players set to hit the open market, including New York…

With Week Zero of the college football season fast approaching, it's worth analyzing the current odds to win this season's Big Ten Championship, via BetOnline. The reigning champion Michigan Wolverines ended Ohio State's four-year (2017-20) string of dominance by claiming their first Big Ten title since 2004 with a convincing victory over Iowa. Jim…

This article is part of our NHL Picks series. BIG board tonight! And we're getting AFTER it, y'all. We went hard for last night's 3-game slate, and I'll admit, it wasn't my best performance. But "tomorrow was always better" is a good mantra for sports betting, and for life in general, so let's make today that better tomorrow. Here's what I've got.…

Maryland football (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) looks to rebound in a major way Saturday, but it won't be easy. The Terps will travel to iconic Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, to take on the No. 14Penn State Nittany Lions. In their last showing, the Terps came out flat, falling to the Wisconsin Badgers, 23-10, on the road. Wisconsin junior…

It will be an early wake-up call for Coach Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday with an 11:00 am CT kickoff against Ole Miss as a pair of ranked, undefeated teams, will collide in Oxford. In addition to the early start time, the Wildcats will be in unfamiliar territory, staying an hour away from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at a Tupelo…

With such outstanding quarterbacks dueling against each other, the Over is tempting when handicapping Troy vs. Western Kentucky odds, but Austin Reed and his Hilltoppers playing at home with a better defense gets our attention. This game might be obscure, being televised on ESPN+, but we'll venture that this will be one of Saturday's more exciting…

Around this time last year, the No. 1 and No. 2 projected NBA prospects in our first NBA Mock Draft of the 2022 cycle were Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren - the same prospects who indeed in 2022 went No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. So while it may feel early for a stab at prospect rankings for the 2023 NBA Draft, which is still nine months away,…

On Monday morning, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that the NBA and the NBA Players Association are discussing the specifics behind a new CBA. Among the key conversation points? Lowering the age limit for NBA Draft eligibility from 19 to 18. If enacted - and it sure sounds like it's going to be - high schoolers will once again be able to…