Team USA handled every aspect of its semifinal game against Australia and is now heading to a heralded game on Sunday to play for their eighth consecutive Olympic gold. They’ll face the home team, France, who beat Belgium in overtime on Friday.

The U.S. is favored over France by 15.5 points with a -1400 moneyline. The Americans were favored by a 14.5-point spread in the semifinal vs. Australia, a point spread that ballooned to 23.5 at halftime. If you bet the Americans in the first and hedged in the second, my hat’s off to you: They won by 21.

The Americans have won all five of their Olympic games by an average of 18.6 points. In fact, they haven’t lost at the Olympics since 1992. If you’re 31 or younger, you’ve never seen the American women lose an Olympic game.

“It’s gold or bust,” Breanna Stewart said in an interview after the semifinal game in which she scored a game-high 16 points, plus six rebounds and five assists.

In a neat twist of fate, both the men’s and women’s basketball gold medal games are USA vs. France.

The women’s gold medal game is the final event of the Paris Olympics, scheduled for Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET, before the Closing Ceremony.

USA vs. France gold medal game odds

On the Fourth of July, the world will again turn its attention to Coney Island as 14 men and 10 women compete in an annual tradition that has become synonymous with the American holiday: The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

This year, the drama isn’t just about devouring the most dogs.

A major shake-up was announced last month on the men’s side of the competition, as Joey Chestnut, the 16-time champion and winner of the last eight contests, is out for this year’s event. Chestnut’s absence is due to another American tradition: a contractual disagreement.

According to statements from Major League Eating (MLE) and Chestnut himself, the dispute boils down to MLE operating under a hot dog exclusivity provision with Nathan’s Famous for the past two decades. This year, Chestnut partnered with Impossible Foods, a rival company that sells plant-based hot dogs. Though Chestnut notes he does not have a contract with MLE or Nathan’s, the decision was made to disallow him from competing this year because of his agreement with Impossible Foods.

After so many years at the top of the food-eating chain, Chestnut has become a household name. Whether his absence hurts the event’s popularity is a yet to be seen, but one thing that has already been affected is the competition….

It feels like a new era in men’s tennis when not only is Rafael Nadal not among the top few favorites to win the 2024 French Open, but Novak Djokovic isn’t the favorite either. That honor goes to Carlos Alcaraz, who hasn’t yet even made the final at Roland Garros.

Alcaraz isn’t an overwhelming favorite. He’s only +275 on BetMGM, while Djokovic is +300. Tennis has been shifting away from the era of three or four players dominating every Grand Slam for a few years now, but after years of certainty that one of only a few players could win a major, it still feels strange to see a favorite with +250 odds. Realistically, there still are only a small number of contenders, but it feels different.

Contrast this to the women’s odds, where Iga Świątek is a dominant -155 favorite. Świątek has won three of the last four French Opens, so the odds are justified and it’s a shock if she doesn’t win this tournament.

With the draw out, here’s a look at the odds for both singles tournaments, which start on Sunday.

French Open men’s singles champion odds

The big storyline on the men’s side is that Nadal is up against Alexander Zverev in the first round. That is messing with the odds of both players. Zverev is +600 to win the tournament, making him fourth-favorite, while…

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2024 Kentucky Derby, the 150th anniversary.

The 2024 Kentucky Derby (Saturday, May 4 on NBC/Peacock) will be the 150th running of the annual horse race in Louisville, Ky. Celebrities, famous athletes and horse racing enthusiasts (along with three of The Athletic’s staffers) will descend on Churchill Downs for the annual Run for the Roses.

Who will be wearing the most ridiculous hats? What do I need to know about Mystik Dan? Why is Tom Brady on my screen? All your answers are below, and be ready to strap in for Derby Day and get plenty of ice for your mint juleps — there will be more than six hours of television coverage on NBC.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 Kentucky Derby.

What is the Kentucky Derby?

The Kentucky Derby is the premier horse race in the United States held the first Saturday in May each year. It is frequently called the Run for the Roses as a blanket of red roses is placed over the winning horse in the winner’s circle. The field is limited to 20 horses each year, and they qualify for the race through a series of point races. Only horses that are three years old are eligible to race in the Kentucky Derby, and it is open to both male and female horses. A filly (a female horse) hasn’t won the Kentucky…

Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks put a decisive seal on an undefeated season in the NCAA women’s championship on Sunday. It’s no surprise that they open as the 2025 favorite to win it all again, with +150 odds on BetMGM. With only one player confirmed so far to be leaving  — Kamilla Cardoso has declared for the WNBA Draft — Staley’s third championship could ring in an age of a true dynasty. (Counterpoint: With a win in 2022 after another undefeated regular season, they already are one.)

Behind the Gamecocks, the odds favor Texas (+325) and UConn (+475). Both teams should be bringing back key starters for the 2024-25 season. Notre Dame +700, USC +1000 and UCLA +1200 round out a top tier of favorites before the odds start thinning out with NC State at +2200 and LSU at +3000.

All of the top five teams have shorter odds than the favorite in the men’s tournament, reflecting the continued gap in parity between the two.

But change is coming for the women’s tournament next year. Conference realignment will shift rivalries and set up new challenges for dominant teams — with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten; Oklahoma and Texas joining South Carolina in the SEC; Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah moving to the Big 12; Oregon State and

GLENDALE, Ariz. — NCAA president Charlie Baker said before Monday’s men’s basketball championship game that the organization remains concerned about gambling in college sports but added that “we’re kind of in the top of the first inning on this one,” particularly when it comes to prop betting.

“Did any of you notice how much time was spent on cable TV about Caitlin Clark’s prop performance (after the) first (national semifinals) game leading into the second game?” Baker said. “Was that really what we should be talking about in the middle of a women’s Final Four? I think the answer for that for most people is no.”

Baker, who in March completed his first year as NCAA president, talked to reporters for about 15 minutes before Purdue and Connecticut squared off. He was excited and encouraged about the women’s Final Four. He also discussed measures the NCAA is taking to help college athletes and their families better understand the name, image and likeness landscape.

In a statement released in March, Baker announced that the NCAA is “drawing the line” to better protect athletes and the integrity of sports. Prop bets…

South Carolina is a 6.5-point favorite to win the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament championship game against Iowa, according to BetMGM.

The Gamecocks and Hawkeyes will play at 3 p.m. ET Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. Iowa beat South Carolina 77-73 in last year’s national semifinal to end South Carolina’s perfect season. Caitlin Clark scored 41 points in that upset.

Sunday’s showdown guarantees either South Carolina’s third national title (2017, 2022) or Iowa’s first. Iowa lost to LSU in last year’s championship game.

The Gamecocks (37-0) look to become the 10th Division I women’s basketball team to go undefeated and win the national title, and the first since the 2015-16 UConn Huskies went 38-0 and won their fourth straight national title. That UConn team only had one win by fewer than 10 points all season. South Carolina has won six games by fewer than 10 points this season, including a tight 79-75 victory against Indiana in the Sweet 16.

On Friday, South Carolina beat NC State 78-59 in the first national semifinal. All-American center Kamilla Cardoso led with 22 points and 11 rebounds. It was a tight game in the first half, with South Carolina leading by one point at halftime. But Dawn Staley’s team outscored NC State 29-6 in the third quarter…

The Athletic has live coverage of Iowa vs. South Carolina in the women’s national championship game.

On Friday night, the second of the women’s Final Four games pits two of the sport’s greatest stars against each other: Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies. The matchup looks to be exceptional. Iowa is a narrow favorite, and our model projects this game as an even contest. Even the name — Hawkeyes vs. Huskies — has quite the ring to it.

Geno Auriemma may have been slightly tongue-in-cheek when he said, “Forget I said Paige was the best player in the country, I think [Caitlin Clark] is the best player of all time.” But that speaks to the scope of this game. Clark’s last outing — the “rematch” against LSU — was the most-watched women’s basketball game of all time. Now she and the Hawkeyes will see if they can make it to their second final ever, and in back-to-back years. Meanwhile, UConn will attempt to make their 12th finals appearance and their first since 2022.

We’ve got a breakdown for you from the betting angle: analysis from our women’s college basketball team, predictions for final score, key players and how to watch the game.

Get excited; the countdown is on.

From our Final Four preview:

Clark’s first NCAA…

One of the quietly best stories of this tournament — both men’s and women’s — has been the stick-to-it-iveness of the NC State Wolfpack. On Friday, the opening women’s Final Four game will pit the underdog Wolfpack against the nation’s only undefeated team, Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks. The Gamecocks are significant favorites in both this matchup and the odds for the outright winner of the title game.

But we’ve got a plot twist for you in our expert picks. And speaking of picks, if you’re looking for a betting angle on this game, you’ve come to the right place. We have analysis from our women’s college basketball team, odds, score predictions, players to watch and how to tune into the game.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Gamecocks vs. the Wolfpack heading into Friday night.

From our Final Four preview:

Aziaha James joked Sunday in Portland that nobody knew her name when she came to NC State from Virginia Beach, Va., as a true freshman two years ago. “But you know my name now,” she playfully said to reporters. “So you’ve seen how I’ve grown.”

NC State was picked to finish eighth in the ACC this season. None of its players was named to the preseason All-ACC team.

James now has led them to the Final Four for the first time…

Welcome to Part 3 — and the grand finale — of The Athletic’s party props competition for the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments! This weekend, South Carolina (w), Iowa (w), Purdue (m), Alabama (m) and the men and women from UConn and NC State will vie for championships. And we at The Athletic will also hand out a championship title: The Party Prop Champion. Well, technically, there will be five party prop champions, and the prize is a one-year subscription for each winner!

Think you can get the most predictions correct for the semifinals and championship games?

We have 16 new questions plus a tiebreaker for the final weekend of the college basketball tournaments, which covers the semifinal and final games for both men and women. You’ll find seven questions from the men’s tournament, seven from the women’s tournament, two combining them and a final tiebreaker. The questions range from Caitlin Clark 3-pointers to picks for each game and more.

This is mostly intended for entertainment, but are running a contest, and the top five cumulative scores combined from our three contests during the tournaments will win a free one-year gift subscription to The Athletic (additional terms and conditions may apply).

You can fill out the form below to submit your…