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Oddsmakers have the Astros as a slight favorite to be celebrating again after the ALCS against the Red Sox.
Photo: Karen Warren, Staff photographer

Whether or not you believe there is an underdog in the Astros-Red Sox American League Championship Series, the sportsbooks have decided to give the Astros the slight edge.

Through much of the second half of the season, Boston has been the favorite to win the World Series. That has changed.

The Astros have a tiny edge in overall World Series odds at 21/10 to Boston's 11/5. Because of its strong pitching, in the head-to-head matchup, Houston is minus-155 (20/31) to Boston's plus-125 (5/4).

In the National League, the Dodgers (minus-160) are a slightly bigger favorite over the Brewers (plus-130).

Odds to win World Series

Team                           Odds
Astros                         21/10
Red Sox                      11/5
Dodgers                     10/3
Brewers                      15/4

Series Prices
Astros vs. Red Sox
Astros -155 (20/31)
Red Sox +125 (5/4)

Dodgers vs Brewers
Dodgers -160 (5/8)
Brewers +130 (13/10)

Outcome                    Odds
Astros 4-0                  9/1
Astros 4-1                  17/4
Astros 4-2                  17/4
Astros 4-3                  15/4
Red Sox 4-0              12/1
Red Sox 4-1               8/1
Red Sox 4-2               19/4
Red Sox 4-3               11/2

Total games
Games                        Odds
4                                    11/2
5                                    13/5
6                                    11/5
7                                    2/1

Dodgers 4-0              9/1
Dodgers 4-1              17/4
Dodgers 4-2              17/4
Dodgers 4-3              15/4
Brewers 4-0              12/1
Brewers 4-1               8/1
Brewers 4-2               19/4
Brewers 4-3               11/2


Get to a sportsbook as soon as possible.

Thanks to their uninspiring performances thus far, the Philadelphia Eagles have dropped to 40/1 to repeat as Super Bowl champion.

While I doubt the Eagles can pull it off, that is particularly good value for a team as talented as they are.

After Sunday's loss to the Vikings dropped them to 2-3, the Eagles' 40/1 Super Bowl odds are the same as the Texans and the Titans, which makes them extremely good value.

It will be stunning for the Eagles to not make the playoffs. They entered this week just a half game behind Washington for first place in the weak NFC East, and they had yet to play a division game before Thursday's game at the Giants.

Their experience during last year's run could make a difference in the postseason. They went off at low as 8/1 at some books at the start of the season.

The Packers and Panthers at 30/1 look quite tasty, too.

Odds to win the Super Bowl

Rams                           7/4
Chiefs                          6/1
Patriots                      6/1
Saints                          10/1
Vikings                       14/1
Jaguars                      16/1
Bengals                      20/1
Steelers                      25/1
Chargers                    25/1
Bears                           25/1
Packers                       30/1
Panthers                    30/1
Ravens                       30/1
Eagles                         40/1
Texans                        40/1
Titans                         40/1
Redskins                    40/1
Browns                       60/1
Falcons                       80/1
Cowboys                    80/1


Bovada released NBA individual player props Thursday.

Take a look at the under on Chris Paul at 8.5 assists. He averaged 7.9 last year, and is likely to be in that ballpark or slight lower again this season.

Rockets regular-season player props

Points per game - James Harden
Over/Under 29

Rebounds per game – James Harden
Over/Under 6.5

Assists per game - James Harden
Over/Under 8.5

Points per game - Chris Paul
Over/Under 18

Assists per game - Chris Paul

Points per game - Carmelo Anthony
Over/Under 15.5

Rebounds per game - Carmelo Anthony
Over/Under 5

Points per game - Eric Gordon

Points per game – Clint Capela
Over/Under 13.5

Rebounds per game – Clint Capela
Over/Under 10.5


Buffalo, arguably the least talented team in the league, has wins over the Vikings and Titans, while the Super Bowl hangover Eagles have losses to them both.

So, what to do with the Texans minus-10 against the Bills?

Even if Deshaun Watson doesn't play (it looks like he will, but the Texans are being coy about it), the Texans should roll the Bills at home.

Buffalo won't score more than 13 points, and probably won't even score that many so it won't take a huge offensive day for the Texans to cover the 10.

As inconsistent – translation: bad – as the Texans have been in the red zone, giving that many points is a risky proposition, but they will bust through with a big offensive game at some point, and it's much more likely to be against the Bills than next week at Jacksonville.


NFL best bet – After the Ravens let us down last week, so we should probably stay from the AFC North, but the Bengals' run looks intriguing. (Side note: The Ravens will beat the Titans in Nashville and make last week's loss sting even more.)

Cincinnati is 4-1 and 4-1 against the spread, thus the 3-point spread at some places against the Steelers at home.

Will they cover? Nope. They are the Bengals, after all.

The Steelers have won six straight in the series and with the turmoil this week in Pittsburgh, expect the Steelers to do what they usually do, and show up to play to quiet the noise for a week.

Take Pittsburgh plus-3 at Cincinnati.