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The day that Canadians have been waiting for has arrived.

For the first time in my life time, Canada’s men’s national soccer team will compete in the FIFA World Cup.

Canada kicks off its second tournament appearance and first since 1986 with its first group stage match versus Belgium this afternoon at 2 PM ET on TSN.

Belgium will be a heavy favourite for today’s opener at FanDuel.

However, after watching the biggest upset in FIFA World Cup history play out on Tuesday when Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1 as a +2200 underdog, Canadians across the country are hoping to see some magic from their team.

Here’s the Morning Coffee for Wednesday November 23rd, 2022.

Canada Ready For World Cup Showdown With Belgium

Every World Cup has its share of surprise.

On Tuesday, we were dealt one of the biggest stunners in FIFA World Cup history.

 

Saudi Arabia upset Argentina 2-1 as a +2200 underdog at FanDuel.

For perspective, Canada is currently +500 to upset Belgium this afternoon.

So at least from a sports betting odds perspective, a Canadian upset versus Belgium is technically considered much more likely than what happened with Saudi Arabia versus Argentina.

That’s not to say that it’s worth betting on.

Belgium is a top-10 choice to win the FIFA World Cup at FanDuel.

The Belgians are the favourite to win Group F at -135, while Canada has the longest odds to win the group at +1000.

FanDuel has Belgium at -185 to win the match.

A draw is priced at +330.

Following Morocco’s 0-0 draw with Croatia this morning, exactly 33 per cent of World Cup games have finished in a scoreless draw.

If Canada can salvage at least a point in its opener, it would be considered a major victory.

 

Regardless of what happens next, I can’t wait to watch history made on the TSN network this afternoon.

College Football Playoff Rankings Remain Unchanged At The Top

After each of the top four teams in the College Football Playoff Rankings won their respective games, the order at the top of the rankings remain unchanged.

 

Georgia, which beat Kentucky 16-6, remains at No. 1.

The defending national champion Bulldogs remain the favourite to win the NCAA Football FBS Championship at -140 at FanDuel.

No. 2 Ohio State, which beat Maryland 43-30 on Saturday, is the second choice to win the national title at +250.

The Buckeyes are set for a massive Big Ten showdown with No. 3 Michigan on Saturday.

The Wolverines, which beat Illinois 19-17 on Saturday, is currently +1200 to win the national championship.

 

FanDuel has Ohio State -7.5 versus Michigan right now.

It will be the ninth match-up ever in the regular season between two teams ranked among the top-three teams.

TCU, which stayed at No. 4 in the rankings following a narrow 29-28 win over Baylor, is +1400 to win the national title at FanDuel.

 

LSU, USC and Clemson are currently ranked fifth through eighth as the teams knocking on the door for an opportunity to get into the playoff.

It will be very interesting to see what the rankings look like next week after Saturday’s showdown between Ohio State and Michigan.

Skinner Propels Sabres To Win With Five-Point Night

It was a quiet night in the NHL last night, but we got plenty of goals in both games.

Jeff Skinner recorded two goals and three assists for a five-point night as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-2 at the Bell Centre.

 

The Sabres snapped an eight-game slide with the win.

Meanwhile, Chris Kreider scored a pair of goals as the New York Rangers beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-3.

 

The Rangers actually trailed 2-0 after the first period of that game, but rallied with three goals in the second period and outscored LA 5-1 the rest of the way.

With zero games on the schedule for American Thanksgiving Thursday, the NHL loaded up with 15 games on the schedule tonight.

Hit me up @DomPadulaEDGE on Twitter and let me know what you like as your best bet for tonight’s games.

As for me, with so many games on the ice tonight, I had to get involved with a best bet.

After Tuesday night’s loss, the Habs travel to face the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight.

Each of Montreal’s last three games have gone over the number, with totals of 10, 9 and 9 goals scored.

The Canadiens just gave up seven goals to Buffalo, and that was with their No. 1 goalie between the pipes in Josh Allen.

Now they head to Columbus looking to bounce back with a much better effort against an opponent that has also been involved in a ton of high scoring games. 

Each of the Blue Jackets’ last six games have featured seven goals or more, including a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday.

Columbus has won four of its last six games, scoring 5+ goals in each of its wins.

I think we get another high scoring game tonight between the Habs and Blue Jackets.

I’ll take the over 6.5 goals as my FanDuel best bet for tonight’s NHL slate.