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CFP national championship: Washington maintains underdog status ahead of Michigan matchup

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CFP national championship: Washington maintains underdog status ahead of Michigan matchup

It has been a wild year in the world of college football, as the seeds of change have been planted. 

It began when the College Football Playoff announced that it would go to a 12-team format starting in 2024, ending the 10-year run of the four-team edition. Conference realignment took over the summer, as the Pac-12 disintegrated as a major conference before Deion Sanders and Colorado were headlining news for the first part of the season. 

ESPN takes video footage of the NCAA football national championship trophy before the Tax Act Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023 in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

The Michigan sign-stealing scandal was all anyone could talk about a month before an undefeated Florida State was left out of the CFP, sparking a massive debate over who belonged in the four-team playoff. 

That is all in the past now. 

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FOX SPORTS’ TIM BRANDO DISCUSSES POSSIBLE WASHINGTON NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE PAC-12 DEPARTURE

Washington and Michigan have emerged from all the stories as undefeated teams vying for the national championship on Monday night in Houston. 

Let’s take a look at some of the betting lines for the CFP national championship as of Thursday from Caesars Sportsbook. 

Michigan Wolverines:

Money line: -190 Spread: -4.5

Michigan needed a fourth-quarter comeback and overtime to beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl, but they are now one win away from the program’s first national title since 1997. 

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Jim Harbaugh went for it on fourth down at the Alabama 40-yard line late in the fourth quarter, and quarterback J.J. McCarthy rewarded Harbugh’s faith with a completion to Blake Corum that went for 27 yards. 

The Wolverines punched it in to send the game into overtime, scored on their first possession and stopped Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe on fourth down, sending Michigan players streaming onto the field in celebration.  

“I wouldn’t say the Michigan win was pretty,” Caesars Sportsbook college football lead Joey Feazel told Fox News Digital. “They had a very dominating first half, but it didn’t really reflect on the scoreboard just because of some turnovers and really bad special teams play. But they fought until the very end [and] scored quickly in overtime to get the touchdown. 

Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy, #9, celebrates with the winner’s trophy after the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in overtime of the CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1, 2024, at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. (Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE THRILLING COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINALS

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“And then we’re able to stop them. Maybe a poor play call by Alabama, but it was enough to get it done. Taking on Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide in a playoff scenario is nothing easy to do.”

The Wolverines have been favored to win the national championship for the majority of the year, according to Caesars. 

Michigan’s defense has been their calling card all season, allowing the least amount of points per game (9.5) in the country and the second-fewest yards (239.7). 

They will face their greatest challenge of the year against a Washington offense that gets the ball downfield and forces defenses to pay sideline to sideline. 

Washington Huskies 

Money line: +158 Spread: +4.5

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The Huskies find themselves in the CFP final for the first time and are looking to complete a magical season. 

Washington enters the national championship with a record of 14-0 and sporting the top passing offense in the country (350.0 passing yards per game). 

The Huskies dominated Texas in the second half of the Sugar Bowl before allowing the Longhorns to make it a game in the final minutes. 

“Really a dominating performance on offense throughout that whole game against a pretty talented Texas defense [that] was impressive,” Feazel told Fox News Digital. “[It] got close at the end, but that’s fun to see. [It] could have gone the other way but [it’s] just like it’s been for Washington all year long. [They’ve] been in close games, able to get it done.” 

Michael Penix Jr., #9 of the Washington Huskies, celebrates after a 37-31 victory against the Texas Longhorns in the CFP Semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on Jan. 1, 2024 in New Orleans. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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Washington’s last 10 games of the season have been decided by 10 points or fewer. 

“Before the game, we had this matchup look-ahead at 7 [points],” Feazel said of the spread. “Given the circumstances with how good Washington played, it kind of drifted down. 

“Despite only winning by six, it was still, we thought, a dominating performance with Washington playing a very good Texas team,” Feazel continued. 

The Huskies were the underdogs in their last two games against Oregon and Texas. 

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Total points: Over/under 55.5

The over/under is set at 55.5 total points, according to Caesars Sportsbook, despite the Huskies scoring the 10th-most points per game in the country (37.6). 

The dominance of the Michigan defense is playing a very large role here after holding Alabama to just 288 total yards in the semifinals. 

“The strength of this Michigan team, the strength that it’s been all year long, is that defense and being able to stop a lot of power offenses,” Feazel told Fox News Digital. “We saw Penn State [and] Ohio State not be able to do much. There hasn’t really been anybody that’s been able to do much against this Michigan defense.”

“We saw last year another dominating defense with Georgia. Their offense was able to put up a bunch of points, but TCU really couldn’t do much against a dominating defense,” Feazel added. “And that’s really what this total is reflecting is the respect for Michigan’s defense, especially against a highly talented offense like Washington.”

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Michigan and Washington play for the national championship on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET at NRG Stadium, which is the home of the Houston Texans.

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.

While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.

The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”

Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.

WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”

Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.

“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”

Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.

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After 55 years as a broadcaster in L.A., Randy Rosenbloom is leaving town

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After 55 years as a broadcaster in L.A., Randy Rosenbloom is leaving town

It’s time to reveal memories, laughs and crazy times from Randy Rosenbloom’s 55 years as a TV/radio broadcaster in Los Angeles. He’s hopping in a car next Sunday with his wife, saying goodbye to a North Hollywood house that’s been in his family since 1952 and driving 3,300 miles to his new home in Greenville, S.C.

“When I walk out, I’ll probably break down,” he said.

He graduated from North Hollywood High in 1969. He got his first paid job in 1971 calling Hart basketball games for NBC Cable Newhall for $10 a game. It began an adventure of a lifetime.

“I never knew if I overachieved or underachieved. I just did what I loved,” he said.

Randy Rosenbloom (left) used to work with former UCLA coach John Wooden for TV games.

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(Randy Rosenbloom)

John Wooden, Jerry Tarkanian and Jim Harrick were among his expert commentators when he did play by play for college basketball games. He called volleyball at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games for NBC and rowing in 2004. He’s worked more than 100 championship high school events. He did play by play for the first and only Reebok Bowl at Angel Stadium in 1994 won by Bishop Amat over Sylmar, 35-14.

“There were about 5,000, 6,000 people there and I remember thinking nobody watched the game. We ended up with a 5.7 TV rating on Channel 13 in Los Angeles, which is higher than most Lakers games.”

He conducted interviews with NFL Hall of Famers Gale Sayers and Johnny Unitas and boxing greats Robert Duran, Thomas Hearn and Sugar Ray Leonard. He’s worked with baseball greats Steve Garvey and Doug DeCinces. He called games with former USC coach Rod Dedeaux. He was in the radio booth for Bret Saberhagen’s 1982 no-hitter in the City Section championship game at Dodger Stadium. He was a nightly sportscaster for KADY in Ventura.

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Randy Rosenbloom, left, with his volleyball broadcast partners, Kirk Kilgour and Bill Walton.

Randy Rosenbloom, left, with his volleyball broadcast partners, Kirk Kilgour and Bill Walton.

(Randy Rosenbloom)

He was the voice of Fresno State football and basketball. He also did Nevada Las Vegas football and basketball games. He called bowl games and Little League games. He was a public address announcer for basketball at the 1984 Olympic Games with Michael Jordan the star and did the P.A. for Toluca Little League.

Nothing was too small or too big for him.

“I loved everything,” he said.

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He called at least 10 East L.A. Classic football games between Garfield and Roosevelt. He was there when Narbonne and San Pedro tied 21-21 in the 2008 City championship game at the Coliseum on a San Pedro touchdown with one second left.

Probably his most notable tale came when he was doing radio play-by-play at a 1998 college bowl game in Montgomery, Ala.

“I look down and a giant tarantula is crawling up my pants,” he said. “My color man took all the press notes, wadded them up and hit the tarantula like swinging a bat.”

Did Rosenbloom tell the audience what was happening?

“I stayed calm,” he said.

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Then there was the time he was in the press box at Sam Boyd Stadium and a bat flew in and attached itself to the wooden press box right next to him before flying away after he said, “UNLV wins.”

Recently, he’s been putting together high school TV packages for LA36 and calling travel ball basketball games. He’ll still keep doing a radio gambling show from his new home, but he’s cutting ties to Los Angeles to move closer to grandchildren.

“I’m retiring from Los Angeles. I’m leaving the market,” he said.

Hopefully he’ll continue via Zoom to do a weekly podcast with me for The Times.

He’s a true professional who’s versatility and work ethic made him a reliable hire from the age of 18 through his current age of 74.

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He’s a member of the City Section Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He once threw the shot put 51 feet, 7 1/2 inches, which is his claim to fame at North Hollywood High.

One time an ESPN graphic before a show spelled his name “Rosenbloom” then changed it to “Rosenblum” for postgame. It was worth a good laugh.

He always adjusts, improvises and ad-libs. He expects to enjoy his time in South Carolina, but he better watch out for tarantulas. They seem to like him.

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Becky Lynch enters exclusive WWE club with Women’s Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 42

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Becky Lynch enters exclusive WWE club with Women’s Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 42

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Becky Lynch entered an atmosphere no other WWE women’s superstar has ever reached as she won the Women’s Intercontinental Championship over AJ Lee on Saturday night at WrestleMania 42.

Lynch became the first person to hold the Women’s Intercontinental Championship three times after she pinned Lee. She first won the title against Lyra Valkyria in June 2025 and then again against Maxxine Dupri in November.

Becky Lynch celebrates with the belt after defeating AJ Lee during their women’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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She dropped the belt to Lee at the Elimination Chamber, sparking a monthslong feud with her.

Lee gave Lynch the chance at the title in the weeks prior to WrestleMania 42. But it appeared Lee played right into Lynch’s plans. Despite arguing with referee Jessica Carr for most of the match, Lynch was able to tactfully tear down a rope buckle and use it to her advantage.

Lynch hit Lee with a Manhandle Slam and pinned her for the win.

WWE STARS REVEAL WHAT MAKES WRESTLEMANIA SO SPECIAL: ‘IT’S THE SUPER BOWL OF PRO WRESTLING’

AJ Lee reacts after losing to Becky Lynch in their Women’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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It’s the second straight year Lynch will leave Las Vegas as champion. She returned to WWE at WrestleMania 41, teaming with Valkyria, to win the women’s tag titles. She will now leave Allegiant Stadium as the women’s intercontinental champion.

Lynch is now a seven-time women’s champion, three-time women’s intercontinental champion and two-time tag team champion.

Becky Lynch withstands AJ Lee during their Women’s Intercontinental Championship match on night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Lee’s reign as champion ended really before it could really begin. WrestleMania 42 was her first appearance at the event in 11 years. It’s unclear where Lee will go from here.

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