es. It gives Michigan just a 1 percent chance to make the p

Former super middleweight world champion Andre Ward has a contract in place to challenge light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev in the fall in one of the years biggest fights, but he has to take care of other business first to make that showdown a reality.Ward will face Alexander Brand in an HBO-televised bout on Aug. 6 at the Oracle Arena in Wards hometown of Oakland, California, Roc Nation Sports announced Tuesday.The scheduled 12-round light heavyweight fight is Wards final one before the Kovalev match, which is ticketed for Nov. 19 in the main event of an HBO PPV card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.Ward, 32, was supposed to face Brand on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas in the co-feature of the Canelo Alvarez-Miguel Cotto middleweight world title fight. However, Ward, suffering from swelling in his knee during training camp, withdrew from the bout, which was supposed to be the first of his exclusive HBO contract.Andre Wards quest to become the best light heavyweight on the planet and boxings No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter continues on Aug. 6, said David Itskowitch, COO of Boxing Roc Nation Sports. Alexander Brand has been waiting for this fight since last year and we have no doubt he is going to enter the ring hungry for a huge victory.Theres a lot on the line in this fight for Andre, who knows he cant look past Brand towards a much-discussed clash with unified light heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev.When Ward (29-0, 15 KOs) returned from the knee problem to make his 175-pound debut on March 26, he did so against then-undefeated Sullivan Barrera, rather than Brand, and won a lopsided unanimous decision, 117-109 on all three scorecards.Still intending on having one more fight in order to get used to his new weight class before facing Kovalev, Ward needed an opponent for Aug. 6 and Brand (25-1, 19 KOs) got the call when deals for preferred opponents Nathan Cleverly (29-3, 15 KOs), a former light heavyweight world titleholder from Wales, and Swedish up-and-comer Erik Skoglund (25-0, 11 KOs) did not work out.We can get it on, right now, Ward said of Brand. Aug. 6th, I will be ready, so come out to Oracle Arena or tune in live on HBO. Dont miss it.After the fight with Ward, a 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist, was called off in November, Brand, 39, of Colombia, survived a first-round knockdown and won a 10-round split decision against then-unbeaten Medzhid Bektemirov on Dec. 5 in Kissimmee, Florida. Brands only loss was an eight-round split decision in 2012 to Badou Jack, who went on to win a super middleweight world title.It will be a great honor to face Andre Ward on Aug. 6 and better yet in his own backyard, said Brand, who has won eight fights in a row. Fighting somebody with such an illustrious career, facing a guy that perhaps hasnt lost a round in his entire life, is even more thrilling.We were set to face each other last November, but he was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury. Now the time has come to fight him and I cant wait to derail his future plans. Ill work hard to spoil them.Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs), a 33-year-old Russia native living in Los Angeles, also has business to take care of before the Ward fight if officially on. He is scheduled to defend his three 175-pound world title belts against top-10 contender Isaac Chilemba (24-3-2, 10 KOs), 28, a native of Malawi who fights out of South Africa, on July 11 (HBO) in a homecoming fight at the DIVS Palace of Sports in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Riley Ridley Jersey . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. Mike Ditka Womens Jersey . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. http://www.bearsrookiestore.com/Bears-Tom-Waddle-Jersey/ . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Youth Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook releases updated futures odds across major sports every week. ESPN Stats & Info senior researcher Matt Willis breaks down the biggest changes within the marketplace, including who is moving up or falling back among odds to win championships and major awards.?Super Bowl LINFL:?New Extremes for Raiders, PanthersLast Sunday, in one of the most thrilling games of the year, the Oakland Raiders first blew a 17-point halftime lead to the Carolina Panthers, then the Raiders overcame an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 35-32. The game finalized the flipping of these teams in the season odds.The Raiders improved to 12-1 to win the Super Bowl, the fourth-best in the NFL behind the Patriots, Cowboys and Seahawks. The Raiders odds have improved for five straight weeks, after being at 25-1 following Week 7.ESPNs Football Power Index isnt far off, giving the Raiders a 6.9 percent chance to win the Super Bowl, second-best among AFC teams and fifth-best overall. Entering the season, the Raiders were 13th in the NFL to win the Super Bowl, and eighth among AFC teams according to FPI.Meanwhile, the Panthers record dropped to 4-7 and their odds are 300-1 to win the Super Bowl. Carolina was as good as 8-1 at one point this offseason, and even rebounded to 40-1 after consecutive wins improved their record to 3-5 on the season.In the final odds release before the regular season, Carolina had the fourth-best odds to win the NFC. Three of the top four NFC teams now have losing records: the Packers, Cardinals and Panthers.College Football PlayoffMichigan ahead of Wisconsin and Penn StateEntering conference championship (and end of the Big 12 season) weekend, four teams have separated from the pack for the odds to win the National Championship: Alabama?(5-7), Ohio State?(2-1), Clemson?(6-1) and Washington?(8-1).ddddddddddddMichigan, just 5-1 three weeks ago, is now to 20-1, an understandable drop after losses to Iowa and Ohio State, but whats notable is that the Wolverines title odds are still ahead or tied of both the teams that will play in the Big Ten Championship Game, Wisconsin?(20-1) and Penn State?(50-1).This is just the third year of the College Football Playoff. In the first two, all eight teams to make the playoff were conference champions.FiveThirtyEights College Football projections?arent into Michigans playoff chances. It gives Michigan just a 1 percent chance to make the playoff, compared to 30 percent for Wisconsin and 21 percent for Penn State.None of the three are given much of a shot to win the championship (Wisconsin/Penn State 2 percent, Michigan less than 1 percent).GolfTigers 2017 OutlookTiger Woods will make his long-awaited return this week at the 18-player Hero World Challenge. Hell enter that event with 40-1 odds to win, the worst of any player in the field.?That might not seem very hopeful for Tigers season, but the oddsmakers arent totally out on Tiger. Hes still 40-1 to win the Masters, improving from 50-1 last week. Thats better than Brandt Snedeker, Louis Oosthuizen, Matt Kuchar and last years champion Danny Willett.His odds to win any major this year are 12-1. The winner of the last major played, Jimmy Walker at the PGA Championship, is 20-1 to win a major this year.Part of the reason for Tiger being given these odds is to counterbalance the action that will come just for him being Tiger Woods. ' ' '