The stage is set for Euro 2020.

After a longer-than-anticipated wait, the 16th UEFA European Championship will kick off this afternoon across the TSN Network.

Italy, which is currently the fourth choice to win the tournament at +800 along with Spain, Germany and Portugal, is -195 to beat Turkey.

The comeback on Turkey is +675, with a draw set at +290.

Reigning World Cup champion France remains the betting favourite to win Euro 2020 at +450.

Belgium and England are right behind them at +600 to win the tournament.

While any one of those top seven choices has the potential to lift the trophy, my money is on France to become the third reigning World Cup champion to win the European Championship.

I would have preferred a better price, but considering what France’s odds to win the tournament could look like following the group stage, +450 still seems like decent value.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Friday June 11, 2021.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS, HABS SET FOR SEMIFINAL

The Vegas Golden Knights (-135) beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 in Game 6 on Thursday night to clinch their second-round series 4-2 and advance to the Stanley Cup semifinal.

Max Pacioretty picked up a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to seven games as the Golden Knights completed their rally from being down 2-0 with a fourth straight win.

Now Pacioretty will face his former team as the Golden Knights clash with the Montreal Canadiens in a battle to determine which team will play for the Stanley Cup.

When they open the best-of-seven on Monday night, it will be the first time that Vegas and Montreal play each other since Halloween of 2019.

Vegas will be an overwhelming series favourite at -430 – with the comeback on the Habs at +330 to win the series.    

For perspective, the other Stanley Cup semifinal matchup has the Tampa Bay Lightning at -270 and the New York Islanders at +220 to win the series.

The Golden Knights have re-emerged as the Stanley Cup favourite at +125, followed by the Lightning at +150, Islanders at +600 and the Canadiens at +1000.

BUCKS RESPOND WITH GAME 3 WIN

It went down to the wire, but the Milwaukee Bucks managed to respond in Game 3 with an 86-83 win over the Brooklyn Nets to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Khris Middleton scored a game-high 35 points, with Giannis Antetokounmpo putting up 33.  

Despite getting the win, the Bucks didn’t cover as a 3.5-point favourite, thanks in large part to the fact that they shot 6-of-31 from beyond the arc.

It’s only the third time in NBA playoff history that a team has won a game in which they shot 20 per cent or worse from three-point range.

Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz won and covered as a 2.5-point favourite with a 117-111 win over the Los Angeles Clippers thanks in large part to another dominant performance from Donovan Mitchell.

Mitchell scored a game-high 37 points in the win.

Mitchell has averaged 32.7 points per game this postseason, and the Jazz are 6-0 since he returned from an ankle injury. 

NADAL, DJOKOVIC TO MEET IN FRENCH SEMIS

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will resume their rivalry in the French Open semifinal today on TSN.

It will be their 58th head-to-head meeting all-time.

Nadal is the heavy favourite to advance to the final at -275 – the comeback on Djokovic is +210.

The other men’s semifinal will feature Stefanos Tsitsipas as a -250 favourite versus Alexander Zverev (+190).

Meanwhile, the French Open final on the women’s side of the draw will feature two unlikely contenders.

Barbora Krejčíková was 200-to-1 to win the women’s singles title heading into the tournament.

Her opponent, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, was 700-to-1 pre-tournament.

Krejčíková is -125 to win the final, which is scheduled for Saturday morning on TSN.

VLADY'S MVP STOCK

While the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t get much going in a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox Thursday night, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. managed to go 1-for-4 with a run.

Guerrero has been outstanding all season, which is why his odds to win American League MVP have shortened from 30-to-1 all the way to +230.

Laura Diakun took a closer look at what Guerrero has done so far this season.