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Florida opens as slim favorite over Houston

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Florida opens as slim favorite over Houston


After winning comeback thrillers in their respective Final Four games, the Florida Gators and Houston Cougars will be neck-and-neck from a betting perspective heading into the men’s college basketball national championship.

Florida opened as a 1.5-point favorite over Houston with the total opening at 141.5 for Monday night’s NCAA tournament championship game, according to ESPN BET odds.

With the two teams being so closely matched, this was far from a consensus spread and was already on the move just minutes after opening. DraftKings opened with Houston as the slight favorite before flipping the line to Florida -1. ESPN BET has already juiced Houston +1.5 to -125, indicating a move down to +1 could be imminent.

In a tournament characterized by chalk — a record 52 betting favorites have won games outright — Houston’s comeback win over Duke in the Final Four could be one of most shocking upsets of the 2025 event: According to ESPN BET, Houston’s live moneyline was as long as +2500 at one point during Saturday night’s contest.

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The Blue Devils’ loss is likely causing a huge celebration for sportsbooks, who had massive liability on the team’s national championship futures.

“It was Duke coming into the tournament, and it’s still Duke heading into the Final Four,” ESPN BET director of North American sports trading Adrian Horton said before Saturday. “They were our most-bet futures team all year, and their resounding performances have kept bettors backing them even as the price has shortened through the tournament. It’s Duke by a wide margin, followed by Florida.”

BetMGM also characterized Duke as its largest liability, with its next-closest hazards, Michigan State and St. John’s, having already been eliminated. Caesars Sportsbook college basketball trader Patrick Berbert told ESPN that Duke winning the title would have been the “ideal outcome” for bettors, with the book being in “very good standing” with the Final Four’s other three teams.

Florida has also been a popular play among the betting public, but with sportsbooks adjusting to the Gators’ rapid ascendancy this season, it’s nowhere near the threat Duke posed.

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“Florida was a loser headed into the tournament, but money going into the pot has made them now a non-loser. They’re a small winner for us now,” DraftKings head of sportsbook Johnny Avello told ESPN. “Houston [winning the championship] is good for us.”

Duke attracted the largest known future wager of the tournament, a $500,000 bet at +350 to net $1.75 million at BetMGM, but Florida and Houston have taken some big bets to win it all. BetMGM reports a $100,000 wager on the Gators at +900 and a $50,000 bet on the Cougars at +600.



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Rainy stretch continues in South Florida

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Rainy stretch continues in South Florida


South Florida is experiencing a prolonged stretch of wet weather as deep tropical moisture combines with a stalled frontal boundary across the region.

The result has been frequent showers, thunderstorms, periods of heavy rainfall, and localized flooding concerns from Broward to Miami-Dade and throughout the Keys.

The atmosphere is loaded with moisture, allowing storms to produce intense downpours in a short amount of time.

Some neighborhoods have already seen several inches of rain, with additional rounds of showers and thunderstorms expected through the end of the week.

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Flood-prone streets and poor drainage areas remain especially vulnerable during the heaviest rainfall.

While the rain is helping ease drought conditions, it is also increasing the risk of flash flooding and travel delays.

South Florida is two weeks into its rainy season, when abundant heat and humidity combine to generate daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms.

Heavy rainfall, frequent lightning, and gusty winds are common features of this time of year.

The good news? Drier air will gradually filter into parts of the region heading into the weekend, allowing rain chances to slightly decrease. Until then, keep the umbrella handy and be prepared for sudden tropical downpours.

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Man accused of kidnapping woman at Wawa in Central Florida

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Man accused of kidnapping woman at Wawa in Central Florida


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A man is in custody after deputies said he tried to kidnap a woman at a Wawa near Winter park. Per investigators, Matthew Seaberg approached the victim from behind, picked her up by the waist, and threw her into his truck.



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Jury selection continues in fatal boat crash trial of South Florida real estate mogul George Pino

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Jury selection continues in fatal boat crash trial of South Florida real estate mogul George Pino


MIAMI — A new group of prospective jurors was questioned Tuesday in the trial of South Florida real estate mogul George Pino, who is charged in connection with a 2022 boat crash that killed a teenager in Miami-Dade County.

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During jury selection in a Miami-Dade courtroom, Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez asked potential jurors what they already knew about the case and whether they had recently seen or heard anything about it.

Several prospective jurors said they knew only basic details, including that a fatal boating crash occurred and that a teenage girl died. Others said they recalled media reports that alcohol may have been involved.

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As questioning continued, some prospective jurors disclosed connections to schools and communities tied to the case.

Passengers aboard Pino’s boat included his wife, his teenage daughter and 11 of her friends, many of whom attended private schools in Miami-Dade County.

One prospective juror said they graduated from a local private school around the time of the crash and were familiar with some of the students involved.

Another said references to schools and witnesses brought back memories of seeing posts and articles about the incident shared on social media.

A third said their child participates in youth sports with students from schools connected to the case.

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Investigators said the boat struck a channel marker while returning from an outing on Biscayne Bay. Seventeen-year-old Lourdes Academy student Lucy Fernandez drowned after the crash.

Tinkler Mendez also addressed concerns that a prospective juror had been viewing a news report about the case on a cellphone while waiting outside the courtroom.

Another prospective juror reported hearing the report but said it was not loud enough for everyone in the area to hear.

Tinkler Mendez reminded prospective jurors to avoid news coverage and social media discussions related to the case as jury selection continues.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.





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