Football bettors can rejoice: college football is back. Saturday marks Week 0, with a handful of notable games on deck. The NFL preseason has also given bettors a chance to get back in the game.
In addition, the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour continued, and it was another exciting weekend of MLB action. Lastly, there were tons of good fights Saturday at UFC 319.
While the second week of the preseason wasn’t at the same pace as the first week, underdogs and overs continue to be the trend in the NFL preseason at the BetMGM online sportsbook. As of Monday, underdogs are 19-12 against the spread, while overs are 22-9.
The Bears blew out the Bills 38-0 Sunday night as 3-point favorites. Despite going against one of the best teams in the AFC, Chicago drew 58% of the money against the spread betting and 60% of the money on the moneyline (-150).
Khamzat Chimaev (-275) won the main event at UFC 319 against Dricus Du Plessis. Chimaev took in 24% of the bets and 55% of the money.
Scottie Scheffler won for the fifth time this season at the BMW Championship, the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Scheffler had the best odds to win going into the tournament at +240 and took in 11.5% of the bets and 17.4% of the money in pre-tournament outright winner bets.
The underdogs and overs dominated the first week of the NFL preseason. Through 16 preseason games, underdogs have gone 12-4 against the spread, while overs are 14-2.
The Brewers entered Sunday on a 14-game win streak and were +105 against the Reds. Milwaukee was the most bet team in terms of number of bets and money, but in the end fell to Cincinnati 3-2 in 10 innings. The Brewers scored two runs in the top of the ninth to take a 2-1 lead before the Reds tied it in the bottom half.
With the college football season officially getting underway this weekend, here’s how the national championship odds look as of Monday:
This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Scottie Scheffler poses with the trophies after winning the BMW Championship golf tournament Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams rolls out of the pocket before throwing a pass in the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
BEIJING (AP) — Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday.
Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from about 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.
“It has been a historic and productive two days,” Carney said, speaking outside against the backdrop of a traditional pavilion and a frozen pond at a Beijing park. “We have to understand the differences between Canada and other countries, and focus our efforts to work together where we’re aligned.”
Earlier Friday, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations between their two nations after years of acrimony.
Xi told Carney in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People that he is willing to continue working to improve ties, noting that talks have been underway on restoring and restarting cooperation since the two held an initial meeting in October on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea.
“It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement,” China's top leader said.
Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, said better relations would help improve a global governance system that he described as “under great strain.”
He called for a new relationship “adapted to new global realities” and cooperation in agriculture, energy and finance.
Those new realities reflect in large part the so-called America-first approach of U.S. President Donald Trump. The tariffs he has imposed have hit both the Canadian and Chinese economies. Carney, who has met with several leading Chinese companies in Beijing, said ahead of his trip that his government is focused on building an economy less reliant on the U.S. at what he called “a time of global trade disruption.”
A Canadian business owner in China called Carney's visit game-changing, saying it re-establishes dialogue, respect and a framework between the two nations.
“These three things we didn’t have,” said Jacob Cooke, the CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps exporters navigate the Chinese market. “The parties were not talking for years.”
Canada had followed the U.S. in putting tariffs of 100% on EVs from China and 25% on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor.
China responded by imposing duties of 100% on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood. It added a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds last August. Collectively, the import taxes effectively closed the Chinese market to Canadian canola, an industry group has said. Overall, China's imports from Canada fell 10.4% last year to $41.7 billion, according to Chinese trade data.
China is hoping Trump’s pressure tactics on allies such as Canada will drive them to pursue a foreign policy that is less aligned with the United States. The U.S. president has suggested Canada could become America's 51st state.
Carney departs China on Saturday and visits Qatar on Sunday before attending the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. He will meet business leaders and investors in Qatar to promote trade and investment, his office said.
Associated Press business writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, arrives to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
