Morning sports update: Odds already heavily favor Patriots to win Super Bowl LII
The Bruins look to regroup over the weekend after 7-4 loss to the Oilers, the Celtics will be without point guard Isaiah Thomas against the Nets, and March Madness is officially underway.
Patriots far and away Super Bowl 52 favorites: The Patriots currently have 4/1 odds to win Super Bowl 52, which is better than the 5/1 odds it had before free agency opened. The next closest teams are the Cowboys, Steelers and Packers at 10/1 odds. (WEEI)
March Madness: What Happened on Day 1 of the N.C.A.A. Tournament: The first day of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament went mostly according to plan, with No. 12 Middle Tennessee State and No. 11 Xavier pulling off the only upsets. (New York Times)
Maroon scores twice, Oilers thump Bruins 7-4: “We didn’t play well,” Bruins assistant captain Patrice Bergeron said. “I think it was just an awful game by everyone, and it’s just proof that you can’t rely on what we’ve been doing lately.” (Boston.com)
Knee bruise will sideline Isaiah Thomas this weekend: Thomas suffered the injury with eight minutes left in the third quarter of the Celtics’ 117-104 win over the Timberwolves Wednesday when he drove to the basket for a layup attempt and collided with Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns. (Boston Globe)
Fired-up Chris Sale socks self after fielding gaffe: “That’s stupid,” said Sale, who punched himself on the head with the ball after failing to cover first base in the fourth inning. “That’s what we’re here for. We’ve done that 400,000 times since we’ve been here, covering first base. A ball hit over there, cover first base. That’s just a stupid mistake on my part. I’ve got to be better than that, even here. There’s no excuse for that, at all.” (Boston Herald)
Patriots exclusive rights free agent CB Justin Coleman signs tender sheet: Coleman, who has two accrued seasons in the NFL and thus been assigned the highest of the three possible exclusive rights tenders, originally entered the league as an undrafted rookie with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015. (SB Nation)
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