In partnership with
In today’s newsletter…
1. Leading Off: Where the Olympics stand after yesterday
2. NBA Futures: A look at the current playoff odds
3. Olympics: Team USA men’s hockey team looks to match women’s dominance
4. By the Numbers: NBA and MCBB odds and stats
5. Overtime: A former Steelers player said that his former QB was “just not a good teammate”
1. Leading Off
The Milan Cortina Games delivered plenty of drama on Wednesday, starting with a genuine upset on the ice. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron edged heavily favored Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates by just over a point in ice dance. Chock and Bates won the past three world championships, making the 225.82–224.39 loss one of the biggest surprises early in the Games.
Jordan Stolz, meanwhile, continued his rise as America’s speed skating star, taking gold in the 1000 meters and setting an Olympic record in the process. Stolz now has a chance to leave Italy with four medals. On the slopes, Americans Elizabeth Lemley and Jaelin Kauf went one-two in women’s freestyle moguls, while two-time defending Olympic champion Chloe Kim cruised through halfpipe qualifying with her usual dominance. She’s clearly the one to beat in today’s final.
NHL players finally returned to Olympic ice after a 12-year absence, and Slovakia immediately shook things up, upsetting Finland 4–1 to bring some chaos to the new era of Olympic hockey.
In the medal standings, host nation Italy is tied with Norway with 13 total medals, though the Norwegians lead in gold with seven. The United States sits just behind with 12 medals (four golds, tied with the Italians), building a cushion over Germany (eight medals) and Switzerland (seven medals).
— Abe Rakov
Unbiased News Trusted by 2.3 Million Americans!
The Flyover offers a refreshing alternative to traditional news.
Tired of biased headlines and endless scrolling? We deliver quick, fact-focused coverage across politics, business, sports, tech, science, and more—cutting through the noise of mainstream media.
Our experienced editorial team finds the most important stories of the day from hundreds of sources, so you don’t have to.
Join over 2.3 million readers who trust The Flyover to start their day informed, confident, and ahead of the curve.
2. NBA Futures
Defending Champion Thunder Are Still Big Favorites to Repeat
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
It’s the last day before the NBA’s All Star Break, though many teams have been coasting for the past week by resting players to give them even more of a breather. Before the festivities get underway in Los Angeles, we wanted to take a look at where the betting markets stand for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference Winner: Pistons +320, Cavaliers +340, Knicks +350, Celtics +390, 76ers +1100
Western Conference Winner: Thunder -150, Nuggets +380, Spurs +750, Rockets +1100, Timberwolves +1500, Lakers +2500
55+ Regular Season Wins: Pistons -1200, Spurs -400, Rockets +194, Nuggets +220, Celtics +280, Knicks +320, Cavaliers +360
NBA Champions: Thunder +120; Nuggets +600; Pistons, Knicks, and Cavaliers +1300; Spurs and Celtics +1400; Rockets +2000
Finals MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +125, Nikola Jokic +650, Cade Cunningham +1200, Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama +1600, Donovan Mitchell +1900
3. Olympics
U.S. Men’s Hockey Takes the Ice for First Time in Olympics, Women’s Team Has Dominated
Auston Matthews | David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Team USA’s men’s hockey team takes the ice for the first time in these Olympics after watching the women’s squad pick apart archrival Canada 5-0 on Tuesday. We’re also spotlighting women’s snowboard competitions and next week’s women’s singles figure skating competition. The men’s final is this Friday, but the odds are so stacked in American skater Ilia Malinin’s favor most sportsbooks aren’t even offering it.
Latvia vs. USA (Men’s Hockey)
LAT (+1.5, -114), USA (-1.5, -106)
Moneyline | LAT +220, USA -275
Total (5.5) | Over +120, Under -148
Denmark vs. Germany (Men’s Hockey)
DEN (+1.5, -114), GER (-1.5, -106)
Moneyline | DEN +220, GER -275
Total (5.5) | Over +120, Under -148
Women’s Halfpipe Gold
Chloe Kim (USA) -150, Gaon Choi (KOR) +280, Sara Shimizu (JPN) +500, Maddie Mastro (USA) +1200
Women’s Snowboard Cross Gold
Charlotte Bankes (GBR) +115, Michela Moioli (ITA) +240, Josie Baff (AUS) +650, Julia Ninani-Pereira (FRA) +850
Women’s Singles Figure Skating Gold Medal (Tuesday)
Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) +105, Adeliia Petrosian (AIN) +230, Alysa Liu (USA) +320, Amber Glenn (USA) +700
4. By the Numbers
With Teams Across NBA Resting Stars, Opportunities Abound for Tonight’s Players
Luke Kennard | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
NBA
Bucks (22-30, 10-18 Away) vs. Thunder (42-13, 29-5 Home)
MIL (+12.5, -108), OKC (-12.5, -112): 81% of the money and 67% of the bets are with OKC
ATS | MIL (road): 12-16, OKC (home): 13-14
Total (215.5) | MIL: 21-31 (111.7 ppg), OKC: 29-26 (119.9 ppg)
Points | MIL Kevin Porter Jr.: 19.5 (17.5 average), OKC Chet Holmgren: 18.5 (17.6 average)
Trail Blazers (26-29, 10-16 Away) vs. Jazz (18-37, 11-17 Home)
POR (-8, -114), UTA (+8, -106): 67% of the money is with POR but 75% of the bets are with UTA
ATS | POR (road): 12-14, UTA (home): 16-12
Total (237.5) | POR: 29-26 (116.1 ppg), UTA: 32-23 (118.2 ppg)
Points | POR Deni Avdija: 23.5 (25.5 average)
Mavericks (19-33, 5-16 Away) vs. Lakers (32-20, 14-9 Home)
DAL (+6.5, -106), LAL (-6.5, -114): 72% of the money and 60% of the bets are with LAL
ATS | DAL (road): 7-15, LAL (home): 13-11
Total (232.5) | DAL: 24-29 (114.1 ppg), LAL: 30-32 (115.9 ppg)
Points | DAL Max Christie: 15.5 (13.1 average), LAL Marcus Smart: 10.5 (9.9 average)
MCBB
Memphis (12-11, 7-4 American) vs. North Texas (13-11, 4-7 American)
MEM (-1.5, -105), UNT (+1.5, -115): 75% of the money and 76% of the bets are with MEM
ATS | MEM (road): 2-6, UNT (home): 5-5
Total (136.5) | MEM: 11-12 (75.0 ppg), UNT: 7-15 (70.6 ppg)
Leading Scorers | MEM Dug McDaniel: 13.2, UNT Je'Shawn Stevenson: 17.0
Friday Games
No. 10 Michigan State (20-4, 10-3 Big Ten) vs. Wisconsin (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten)
ATS | MSU (road): 2-3-1, WIS (home): 7-7
Over/Under | MSU: 9-15 (79.1 ppg), WIS: 14-10 (83.3 ppg)
Leading Scorers | MSU Jeremy Fears Jr.: 15.1, WIS Nick Boyd: 20.2
UNLV (12-12, 7-6 Mountain West) vs. Boise State (15-9, 7-6 Mountain West)
ATS | UNLV (road): 4-4, BSU (home): 6-5
Over/Under | UNLV: 14-9 (78.9 ppg), BSU: 12-10 (79.2 ppg)
Leading Scorers | UNLV Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn: 18.7, BSU Drew Fielder: 13.5
5. Overtime
In the News
The NFL invited 319 prospects to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, which starts in 10 days in Indianapolis. Fifteen quarterbacks are welcome, including everyone from Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Fernando Mendoza to North Dakota State’s Cole Payton. The wide receiver class is especially deep, with 46 of them being asked to come to Indianapolis. Players don’t have to attend the combine to be drafted.
“He’s just not a good teammate,” former Steelers assistant coach and linebacker Joey Porter Sr. said of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Cameron Heyward’s podcast. “[Roethlisberger] knows that. Anybody in the Steelers building knows that, but we protected him because I’ve only won one Super Bowl and that was my quarterback. So do I love my quarterback? Yeah, but is he a good person? No.” Roethlisberger and Porter played together for three seasons and won Super Bowl XL.
Defending national champion Florida beat Georgia by 20 and held the second-leading scoring team in the country to 66 points — nearly 26 below the Bulldogs’ season average. The 14th-ranked Gators are now atop the SEC at 9-2 in the conference and 18-6 overall, winning nine of their past 10. “A lot of people wanted to count us out and say we’re not last year’s team,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “We handled that the right way. We were not pointing fingers. We were not blaming each other for the lack of success.”
Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports wrote a feature about how Winter Olympians come up with new tricks in snowboarding and freestyle skiing. “You think about it, you see it in your head. You think it possibly could work,” freestyle skier Alex Ferreira told him. “Some steps can take two days. Some steps can take two years. And I’ve been stuck in all different types of the steps.”
Kyle Busch took the Daytona 500 pole and is looking for his first win in the race in his 21st start. The 40-year-old Busch is starting in the top-5 at the 500 for the first time since 2016. According to the Associated Press, “No driver has ever won their first Daytona 500 after 20 previous attempts. The late Dale Earnhardt won for Childress in his 20th start in 1998.”
What to Watch (times ET)
6:45am: Olympics coverage on USA
8am: Gold Zone Olympics coverage begins
12pm: Olympics coverage on NBC
3pm: Brentford vs. Arsenal on Peacock (or Atlético Madrid vs Barcelona on the ESPN App)
7pm: No. 17 TCU vs. No. 12 Baylor (WCBB) on ESPN
7:30pm: Bucks vs. Thunder on Prime Video
8pm: Primetime in Milan Olympics Coverage on NBC
9pm: Memphis vs. North Texas (MCBB) on ESPN
10pm: Mavericks vs. Lakers on Prime Video
Sportspage content is intended to be used for entertainment purposes only and is not betting advice. Content is reserved for readers of 21+ years of age. If you or someone you know has gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be used by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).
Read our full disclaimer.
