They can’t all win the Tournament, can they? Look at how many teams there are clustered together at the top of the March Madness odds list. UCLA (4-1) was the favorite at press time, while Kansas, Memphis and North Carolina were all 5-1. Tennessee and UConn were 7-1. How about Louisville at 8-1 or Duke at 9-1? That really doesn’t leave room for anyone else in Division I to win the title.

In this kind of marketplace, the value is a rung or two lower on the price list. Why are the Wisconsin Badgers 40-1? Is it because they’re from the “small market” of Wisconsin, and their name is the Badgers? This is the No. 9 team in the coaches’ poll and No. 5 in efficiency, so the betting public must have something against them. Vanderbilt was a more deserving 40-1 heading into Monday’s action at No. 48 in team efficiency – that was before the Commodores beat Tennessee.

Earlier this month, the state of New Jersey passed a bill calling for a public vote on the legalization of professional sports betting in Atlantic City casinos. The bill’s sponsors want to amend the proposed legislation to allow for betting at three horse tracks (including Monmouth Park, home of the 2007 Breeders’ Cup) and for out-of-state college games. The vote would take place during the November elections if the bill passes the state legislature.

The bill’s chances don’t look good. Point shaving by impressionable young players is an ongoing topic in the college ranks, especially in basketball. It’s less of an issue in the pro leagues; these athletes are making at least six figures, while college players are restricted from just about every dollar they could be making beyond their scholarships. Even with college sports taken out of the equation, the NFL is adamantly opposed to turning “human players into roulette chips.” As opposed to human sacrifices.

Feb. 6 was the first Wednesday in February, which meant National Signing Day for college football teams. But the top-rated prospect on nearly everyone’s chart has yet to sign a letter of intent. Terrelle Pryor is reportedly thinking Ohio State, Penn State and maybe Oregon. The Buckeyes are rumored to have the inside edge.

So what are these letters of intent, anyway? They’re binding contracts with the NCAA and the Collegiate Commissioners Association; the student agrees to stay at his college of choice for one academic year, in exchange for their scholarships.

Pryor is absolutely worth spending a scholarship on. The reigning Parade National Player of the Year reminds recruiters of Vince Young, except even slightly bigger at 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds – in his last year of high school. Not only that, Pryor is also one of the better basketball prospects in the nation, and would prefer to play in the NBA. He can afford to take his time.

The Georgia Bulldogs are eligible next week to start handing out scholarships to high school football players. But according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia already has three players who have made oral commitments to enrol at Athens for the Class of 2009.

This is nothing new, or necessarily problematic from an NCAA perspective. Notre Dame wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello told the USA Today that over 1,500 players had made such commitments before the bowl season, or about 13.2 players per Division I program.

Assistant coaches like Ianello want to formalize these commitments and create an early signing period, with mid-December the preferred time. This is also the time junior college players are allowed to sign. The Conference Commissioners Association has heard this proposal before, though, and their decision on the matter requires the input from a number of concerned parties. Ianello expects a year or two to pass before anything happens.