The New York Yankees are getting too much attention. It’s always the case when major market teams do something, but it doesn’t make it right. The Houston Astros swept the Yankees in the ALCS. The Yankees have not won the American League in 13 years, and there will be plenty of space on the internet taken up with words about what’s wrong with them.

Not nearly enough words will be written about the Houston Astros. With their win Sunday night, Houston has improved to 7-0 this postseason after finishing the regular season with the best record in the American League. They will be playing in their fourth World Series in the last six seasons and are hoping to win their first World Series since 2017.

They are a dynasty in our midst, but instead, it’s the franchise that was once a dynasty a quarter of a century ago but hasn’t reached a World Series since 2009 that will be the focus of too much discussion and attention.

Here, you read about my picks for tonight while I await the angry message from my Yankees-loving editor.

All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook

🔥 The Hot Ticket

Bears at Patriots, 8:15 p.m. | TV: ESPN

Latest Odds:

Chicago Bears
+8.5

• Key Trend: The Patriots have turned the ball over on a quarter of their drives with Mac Jones at QB. 
• The Pick: Bears +8.5 (-110)

I am once again asking you to forgive me for the Chicago Bears being in a primetime spotlight game. I do not make the schedule. I only reside in the city with a lot of television viewers who love their terrible football team and love to watch their terrible football team. As is always the case when the Bears play in primetime, tonight’s game will be terrible, but that awfulness makes the Bears an attractive option here!

The Patriots do not deserve to be favored by this much against anybody! These are two bad offenses. The Patriots rank 24th in the NFL in offensive success rate, while the Bears are 31st. When it comes to finishing drives with touchdowns in the red zone, the Patriots rank 29th, one spot behind the Bears in 28th. This makes the under attractive too, but I don’t see much wiggle room there with the total at 40.

While Mac Jones returning is seen as a good thing for the Patriots because getting your starting QB back is usually good, I’m not convinced it is. In three games with Jones at QB, the Patriots had an offensive success rate of 40.7% and averaged 1.61 points per possession. They turned the ball over on 25.8% of their drives. In three games with Bailey Zappe, the Pats’ offense saw the success rate dip slightly to 40.1%, but it scored 2.26 points per drive and turned the ball over on only 8.8% of its possessions. In other words, it took better care of the ball, resulting in more points.

Taking care of the football might be what decides this game. Of course, Chicago’s Justin Fields hasn’t done much better, but he and the Bears aren’t coming into this game as 8.5-point favorites. The Patriots are. If you’re comfortable betting on a QB who can’t hold onto the football as this large of a favorite, do you. I’m not.

Here’s what SportsLine is saying about the game: SportsLine’s R.J. White is 41-28-3 in his last 72 ATS picks involving the Chicago Bears, and he has a play available on tonight’s spread too.

💰 The Picks

🏀 NBA

Magic at Knicks, 7:40 p.m. | TV: NBA TV

Latest Odds:

New York Knicks
-7.5

The Pick: Knicks -7.5 (-110) — I haven’t had a chance to bet NBA games in the newsletter yet this season, partially by design but also due to scheduling. I don’t like to bet the NBA too much early in the season because I like to feel teams out a bit more, but without any baseball tonight, this seems like a good time to include some.

You won’t catch me saying this often about the Knicks, but they’re wildly undervalued in this spot. We might be only two games into the season, and the Knicks are only 1-1, but they’ve played better than that. They rank fourth in the league in net rating right now and are top 10 in both offense and defense. Meanwhile, Orlando has a really cool rookie in Paolo Banchero but the team still stinks. Yes, they’ve played close games in all three losses, but they’re a mess on the offensive end and will struggle to score points in New York tonight. I have the Knicks closer to 10-point favorites than 7.5, so we’re getting good value here.

Jazz at Rockets, 8:10 p.m. | TV: League Pass

Latest Odds:

Utah Jazz
-145

The Pick: Jazz (-130) — The Jazz are supposed to be bad and tanking after trading Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell during the summer, but guess what? They’re kinda good! They’re 3-0 with wins over the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Pelicans; three teams expected to reach the playoffs. The advanced stats suggest that they’re playing a bit above their weight class and will return to Earth, but they aren’t in Houston’s weight class, either.

While there’s a long way to go, if Houston has shown us anything in its first three games, it’s to be taken seriously in the race for the worst record in the league. The Rockets rank last in the league in net rating and have been abysmal on the defensive end. Still, with this game on the road and the Jazz playing their third road game in four nights, I’m more comfortable taking the money line than the spread.

🔒 SportsLine Pick of the Day: The Projection Model has an A-graded play for tonight’s game between the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics.