Was that the greatest World Series? I suppose it depends on your team. 2016 was pretty good for me. But you have to admit this one was pretty good, if not the best — unless you are VSiN By The Books host Dave Ross. At least he hedged. The Dodgers repeated as World Series champions, defeating the Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings, thanks to a game-tying by Miguel Rojas in the ninth and a game-winning homer by Will Smith. There was a lot going on in between. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who got the final harrowing eight outs, was the Series MVP at +600.
AFC power check
Are the Chiefs returning to championship form? Are the Bills a title contender?
We will find out a bit more about each team when the perennial AFC powers meet today (3:25 ET, CBS) with KC as a road favorite by 2 to 2.5 points depending on the book.
Steve Makinen has this game as one of his NFL Week 8 Best Bets.
For all of you out there that were in a happy place watching the Chiefs struggle terribly out of the gate in losing their first two games, watching them since has to be like a nightmare, as head coach Andy Reid’s team has turned it around big-time, and by all accounts, appears to be the best team in the NFL once again. When they get hot, they tend to stay hot, as Kansas City is 27-8 SU and 24-11 ATS when riding a three-game or more ATS winning streak since 2014.
We all know how well QB Patrick Mahomes plays against the league’s best foes, as he is 31-11 SU and 26-14 ATS record vs. teams with elite point differentials of >=+4.5 since 2019. The interesting thing is that as they head into their bye week, the Chiefs aren’t even in a great playoff position. If the season ended today, they would be the #7 seed in the AFC, and only because Jacksonville, to whom they lost, has played one fewer game. So they have a ton of motivation to keep this thing rolling.
Give me Kansas City (-2.5) on the road at Buffalo,
Dave Tuley likes the teaser opportunity on this game.
From our matchup page: Buffalo is 3-2 ATS in the last five meetings since October 2022. Here are the game-by-game betting results.
According to Sports Injury Central and proprietor Dr. David Chao,Mahomes has a +29.5% peformance edge because of Bills injuries. Go to SICscore.com to get a free week of SIC Picks by using promo code VSiN.
Programming reminder: Dr. Chao will join Mitch Moss and Pauly Howard on the VSiN Pro Football Tailgate Show (9-Noon ET) along with Warren Sharp and John Hansen.
More NFL Week 9 Best Bets
Everything we have done on NFL Week 9 is here, including these Best Bets columns:
>Zach Cohen plus his preview of the Seahawks-Commanders Sunday night game
We also have tools to help you make player prop wagers.
>Opta AI player prop projections
>Fantasy Points WR/CB Matchup Tool
Zach uses the three prop tools to come up with some plays for your consideration.
Other NFL Week 9 resources
>DraftKings/Circa Betting Splits
VSiN Pro subscribers have access to the plays from hosts and guests on our NFL picks page.
Contest Corner: Rams top pick in Survivor
As they are every week, the consensus picks for the three Circa contests were revealed Saturday night on The Football Contest Show (9-10 ET):
>Circa Survivor: The Rams, who are 14-point favorites against the Saints, were the overwhelming top choice with 1,328 entries (64.6%). There are 2,057 live entries, including 21 already advancing on the Ravens’ TNF victory.
>Circa Grandissimo: With 13 entries remaining in the high-stakes survivor contest worth $6.9M to the winner, 8 picked the Rams with 3 on the Chargers and 2 on the Packers.
>Circa Million: The Lions (-8.5 vs. the Vikings) were the top choice with 2,267 entries.
Check out our contest hub for complete consensus picks and individual selections.
Quick Hits
NBA: Look for Best Bets from Zach Cohen and Steve Makinen‘s Analytics Report around mid-morning on our NBA page. Our new Opta AI NBA player props projections are here.
NHL: VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis will post his Best Bets around mid-day.
College Basketball: The 194-page VSiN College Basketball Betting Guide is available for download.
FYI: The season starts Monday. Get the DonBest Pro and College Football Rotation Guide covering the first chunk of games. (We’ll update the guide weekly as DonBest produces more rotation numbers.)
Soccer: VSiN soccer analyst Nigel Seeley has one more pick for today’s EPL menu.
NASCAR: Steve Makinen has posted his final simulation for today’s season finale at Phoenix and shared his picks:
Top 5: Byron, Larson, Blaney, Hamlin, Bell
Top underdogs to consider: Cindric, Chastain, Berry, Gibbs
Favorites to struggle: Reddick, Bowman, Buescher, Keselowski
