World Cup betting players don’t have to deal with free agency, and even if they did, it’s arguable that they wouldn’t have a class like the NBA will have this summer when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and others will be on the market.

Wade said that he would speaking to James, as well as Joe Johnson, before making his decision, and this is similar to the conversations that led to this point between James, Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony, who decided to sign three-year contracts so they could test the market (Anthony has since signed an extension).  James and Wade on the same team would be epic, but with both being used to being the alpha dog on their team, and still being in the prime of their careers, it’s tough to see something like that working.

This is where the likes of Johnson and Bosh will come into play.  These two are very good All-Star players, but the consensus is that you’re not going to win a championship with either as your No.1 guy.  So essentially, it seems like Wade is lobbying for Johnson to be his wingman, which would be good as his outside shooting would stretch the defense for Wade.  Bosh, on the other hand, has already said that he would be waiting to see what the top dogs do.

This is shaping up to be the most interesting summer in NBA history, and whoever the big winner is, they can expect to see their sports betting odds improve significantly.

While World Cup betting gets underway in a couple of weeks and football betting tips will be the main story once it does, there is still a lot going on the sports betting world, like the Champions League final, NHL and NBA playoff betting and a pair of big MLB series.

Champions League Final Betting

Champions League final betting odds (Saturday, 2:45 PM ET) have Inter Milan as a +130 favorite at Madrid’s venerable Santiago Bernabeu, while Bayern Munich is listed at +215, which is the same as a draw.  Inter were the champions of Italy, while winning the Italian cup, while Bayern pulled off the same accomplishments in Germany.  Dutch fans will have an extra interest in this match as Wesley Sneijder (Inter), Arjen Robben (Bayern) and Mark van Bommel will all play important roles.  It’s not quite French Open betting, where Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are slated to go head-to-head, but this will be an intriguing sport betting match.

NBA Championship Betting

Celtics Magic betting odds (Saturday, 8:30 PM ET) are backing the Celtics by 3.5 points at home after winning the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals in Orlando, but they’re playing a very good road team in the Magic, who have won five of their last seven trips to Beantown.

Suns Lakers betting odds (Sunday, 8:30 PM ET) favor the Suns by three points in the desert, where the Lakers have won three of their last five.  The Lakers hold a solid 2-0 edge over the Suns in the Western Conference final, and Phoenix is going to have to step on defense as the Lakers hit 57.8% of their shots in the first two games at the Staples Center.

Stanley Cup Betting

Blackhawks Sharks betting (Friday, 8:00 PM ET; Sunday, 3:00 PM ET) will move to the Windy City for Games 3 and 4, and the Blackhawks are a -145 favorite at the United Center on Friday night.  The Blackhawks will be out to take a 3-0 strangehold on the series.

Flyers Canadiens betting odds (Saturday, 3:00 PM ET) are favoring Montreal at -145 at the Bell Center after their 5-1 win in Game 3, but the Flyers should be awake now after winning the first two games by a combined 9-0 score.

MLB Odds

If you’re going to be looking at MLB sports betting odds, take a look at the under for Yankees Mets betting (Sunday, 8:05 PM ET) in their Subway Series finale, as C.C. Sabathia will head to the mound at Citi Field to take on two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana.

With the Flyers out of town, Red Sox Phillies betting (Sunday, 1:35 PM ET) should take center stage, and Boston will face an old nemesis as they clash with Roy Halladay, who has dominated since moving to Philly.  The Red Sox will counter with Tim Wakefield, but the Phillies will be favored at home if you’re going to bet on sports.

On another note, how excited are you that the college football betting guide is coming out this weekend so we can shift our focus to the pigskin?

Oops! They Did It Again – Montreal Wins

First it was the President’s Trophy winners. Now, they knock out the Stanley Cup champions. What are the Canadiens drinking? Someone obviously forgot to tell them that they were supposed to lose in the first round in five games. Those betting on the Canadiens in the first two rounds made a killing.

Now, the Canadiens will face either Boston or Philadelphia in the conference finals. Both teams are grittier, but less talented than the two opponents that Montreal has knocked out. Overcoming the physical play in the next round will not be easy for the smaller Canadiens, but if they can do it, they will be on their way to the Stanley Cup finals. What a story.

Lucky Number Seven

There is a chance for history to be made on Friday. The Philadelphia Flyers can become only the third NHL team in history to overcome a three game deficit in the playoffs to win the series. This will be a highly unlikely comeback in a series that looked like it will end with a sweep. Boston is the NHL online betting favorite going into the game, but so were the Penguins. The truth is, anything can happen in a game seven. The fate of the entire season rests on a 60 minute or so performance and some luck. This is not a game to miss.

International Tournament Injuries And The NHL

Steven Stamkos may have suffered a concussion at the IIHF World Hockey Championship tournament. This, once again, brings us back to international competitions and NHL contracts discussion. As has been debated numerous times, the NHL feels that allowing players to participate in international competitions raises their chances of getting injured in games that are not part of their multi-million dollar contracts. Even with injury insurance, the NHL team risks losing a leading star player for the duration of the injury. The IIHF tournament is less of a problem because it takes place at the end of the NHL season, where only players of knocked out teams will participate. However, the Olympic tournament is the real concern, where a major injury can sideline a star player for the remainder of the season. It is still a while to the next winter Olympics, but the debate will continue.