Exactly one week after the conclusion of the Western Conference finals and 10 days removed from the end of the Eastern Conference finals, basketball will finally be back.The Mavericks and Celtics will square off in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, with both teams looking to take a step toward their first title in over a decade. Dallas’ last championship came in 2011, while Boston hasn’t gone all the way since 2008.So, get out the wallet, because at best, you only have seven more NBA games to throw your money on.Whether you’re trying to polish off a season of betting that paid for your kid’s college tuition or chasing losses that will prevent that same kid from even going to college, here are three futures bets that you should take a look at for this year’s Finals:Jayson Tatum to win Finals MVP (-115 at DraftKings, -120 at FanDuel)Jaylen Brown already completed his redemption arc, and now it’s time for Tatum to do the same.After making just 7 of 43 3-pointers (16.3 percent) and committing 3.6 turnovers per game in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals, Brown was named MVP when the series rolled around this year by averaging 29.8 points on 51.7 percent shooting from the field.Tatum was underwhelming — to say the least — when Boston went up against the Golden State Warriors in the Finals two years ago, canning just 36.7 percent of his shots from the floor. His 3-for-17 performance in Game 1 was enough to make anyone vehemently ill, and things really didn’t get that much better from there.But with Finals experience now under his belt and a great team around him, Tatum has no reason not to end up with this award when he returns to the league’s biggest stage.Kyrie Irving to hit most 3-pointers in series (+700 at DraftKings, +550 at FanDuel)With the bad blood between Irving and his former team, if you don’t bet on him in some capacity, you’re doing something wrong.And yes, this wager is a bit of a long shot (no pun intended), but we love the value here considering Irving has made the third-most postseason treys among players still around. He trails only teammate Luka Doncic (57 3-pointers) and Boston guard Derrick White (48).It’s also worth noting that Irving is 0-10 in his past 10 games against the Celtics. He could very well be cursed, and the only way he shakes off that hex is by taking over games alongside Doncic.Expect Irving to do a lot of his damage from distance, especially if Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis (calf) returns from a 10-game absence to clog up the lane.One or more games to reach overtime (+190 at FanDuel).Let’s just pretend like Boston didn’t beat Dallas to a pulp for a 138-110 victory back on March 1 in the most recent meeting between these teams.Surely the Mavericks will be more competitive with the world watching, right?We think so, and the Celtics were tied for the fourth-most overtime games during the regular season with six. All signs are pointing toward a tight series, and at least one of these games should have to be decided by some extra basketball. Relatedonline sportsbooksnew betting siteslist of sports betting appslive sport betting siteslive streaming sportsbookscash out sportsbooks
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Arsenal are set to be without European football for the first time since 1995-96 as they languish 10th in the Premier League this season.
The Gunners were sensationally upstaged by Unai Emery s Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday as pressure mounts on Arteta, who replaced the former in 2019.
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Sergio Ramos became Spain s joint most-capped player on Sunday, moving level with former Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas.
Captain Ramos lined up for his national team for the 167th time, as they played a Euro 2020 qualifier against the Faroe Islands.
The appearance also moved him into the top 10 for the most-capped internationals ever in a list that includes only three other Europeans Italian Gianluigi Buffon, Latvian Vitalijs Astafjevs and Casillas.
Here we profile Spain s five most-capped players.
Sergio Ramos 167 caps
Ramos, 33, made his debut back as an 18-year-old against Chile in 2005, becoming the youngest player to debut for Spain in over half a century.
¡Equipo campeon!
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Castigated after Germany s stunning group-stage exit at the 2018 World Cup, Low kept his job on the proviso of him starting a new phase for Die Mannschaft, with many of the old guard who helped inspire them to glory four years earlier in Brazil cast aside and their next generation of stars pushed to the fore.
Transitions, though, are rarely straightforward and Germany s bumps on the road to the European Championship were severe. They would have been relegated from League A of the Nations League if not for a restructuring following the inaugural edition and a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain in the same competition last November prompted an inquest that eventually led…
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For a second successive year, Madrid must travel to the tiny Estadio El Collao in Alcoy in their opening match in the competition.
They will be looking to avoid the fate that befell them in January of this year, when then-coach Zinedine Zidane and his players were humiliated after losing 2-1 to the third-tier team, who snatched an extra-time winner while down to 10 men.
Alcoyano booked their place in the last-32 stage this season with a penalty shoot-out win over Levante, and Friday s draw for the next round saw them handed another plum home clash with Madrid.
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…
After the 2018 World Cup final, when highlights of France s thrilling 4-2 win were played back at Luzhniki Stadium, one man in particular was enraptured.
Antoine Griezmann stood on the pitch, ignoring the celebrations that surrounded him, his gaze fixed upwards at the big screen beneath the storm-laden sky.
His hands to his mouth, eyes watering, smile beaming, the face of the man bore an expression of boyish disbelief: I was just man of the match in the World Cup final. And we won.
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Rodrigo de Paul added a second after the interval and Elche rarely threatened Jan Oblak s goal in response, failing to have a shot on target all game.
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Chelsea forward James and Liverpool midfielder Missy Bo Kearns, both 21, were winners in the young player of the year category.
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