BenMaller.com - Ben's Takes

Big Ben's College Football Recap Frenzy

By Ben Maller

UCLA played an ugly game but was good enough to beat Ohio State 13-6. If you had said before the game that the Bruins would have turned the ball over four times, DeShaun Foster would have had just 66 yards on 29 carries you would have thought UCLA was burned toast. The Bruins have a new weapon this year: Defense. Phil Snow has done a great job as Defensive Coordinator turning around the laughing stock of college football, the UCLA Defense.

Ohio State was held to 166 total yards. As stated here Steve Bellisari is a bomb at QB. Bellisari was 5-of-22 passing for 45 yards and two interceptions. Bellisari is such a wimp he skipped out on talking to reporters after the game at the Rose Bowl. If Bellisari ever does have another good game, reporters should avoid talking to him.

As I said in the game preview on Thursday, Cory Paus had to play well and he did. Paus was 16-of-25 passing for 262 yards and a touchdown pass.

The Bruins have now beaten an SEC, Big 12 and Big 10 team in each of the first three weeks of the season.

USC and Oregon in the spirit of America got into a pregame brawl. After spotting the Ducks a 21-to-6 lead, the Trojans came back. Carson Palmer at one point tossed interceptions on three straight passes. Palmer's numbers were solid 415 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. However In the end the "Men of Troy" could not overcome the many mistakes their QB made.

Not only did Palmer have three interceptions that turned into 14 of the 24 Oregon points, but with about a minute to go on a third down play and the Ducks with no time outs, instead of running the ball out of bounds, Palmer tossed the ball out of bounds leaving OU enough time to rally back and win. The Trojan defense deserved to get the win.

SC won the stat sheet. 481 yards to 312 for Oregon. The problem is: the Ducks won the game 24-21. Oregon should be one and two. They were outplayed by Wisconsin and USC.

UCLA and USC Fans remember this sentence when Washington comes up on the schedule. The Huskies special teams scored touchdowns on a kickoff return, a blocked field goal and a punt return in a 53-3 rout of Idaho.

I would like to welcome North Carolina back into the world of big time college football. The Tar Heels kicked Florida State's behind 41-to-9 at Chapel Hill. The Seminoles had five turnovers in the 2nd half. Florida State also added 14 penalties for 112 yards.

The defeat marked just the 3rd time since joining the ACC in 1992 that FSU lost a conference game, a span of 74 games. Nobody could have predicted this score. John Bunting will not soon forget his first win as the Tar Heels' coach.

Cinderella is alive and well in college football. My lock of the week Fresno State crushed Tulsa 37-18 to improve to 4-0. QB David Carr threw three touchdown passes and is starting to look more and more like he'll be playing on Sundays soon. Carr, this season, has thrown for 1,092 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. If he did that at Notre Dame they would immortalize him with a statue.

Speaking of the Fighting Irish. They don't have much fight when they play Michigan State. The Spartans beat Notre Dame 17-10. Michigan State joined USC as the only teams to win five straight against the Irish. The Bob Davie firing watch is in full effect. Notre Dame is off to its first 0-2 start since 1986, Lou Holtz first season. Watching them play, the Irish don't appear to be ready to play.

Its good to see that Kansas State didn't try to run up the score against New Mexico State in their 64-0 victory. Josh Scobey ran for 112 yards and four touchdowns. It was the wildcats 400th victory in school history. How bad was K-State before Bill Snyder arrived? Their all-time record is 400-553-41 in 106 seasons.

Why does Rutgers have a football program? After losing 50-0 to V-Tech, In the last 2 weeks the Scarlet Knights have been outscored 111-to-Nothing to Miami and now Virginia Tech. The Hokies defense forced six turnovers and at 2-0 have outscored their opponents 81-0 this year. Grant Noel the guy that replaced Michael Vick looks great against bad teams; he had four TD passes in the victory.

Florida looked good in beating up on Kentucky 44-10. There is no more quarterback controversy in Gainesville. Rex Grossman tossed for 302 yards and four TD passes. Grossman already has 10 Touchdown passes in 3-games. The Gators held a 565-288 advantage in total yards. Did anyone expect anything else?

Northwestern's Damien Anderson rushed for 189 yards and four touchdowns and Zak Kustok passed for 318 yards and a score as Northwestern looked like world beaters against Duke 44-7. The Blue Devils should get rid of all sports except hoops. I wonder if Coach K can coach football?

You can now remove Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler's name from the Heisman list. Dantzler was 25-of-34 passing for 254 yards but two interceptions in a 26-24 loss to Virginia.
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Friday, September 21, 2001

Friday Thoughts, Opinions and Notes

By Ben Maller

What's more important to New Orleans and America the Super Bowl or the National Automobile Dealers Association? Well, according to the NADA its their conference. Paul Tagliabue tried to push Super Bowl XXXVI back to save wild card weekend. The executive director of the NADA decided to screw the league and football fans everywhere by not moving their scheduled convention back. The NADA conference draws 24,000 and is the weekend following the Super Bowl.

I would like to be the first to welcome the real NFL Refs back to work this weekend. I'm glad to see their union was able to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement. How long is it before we see the movie "My two weeks in the NFL."

It was good to see Michael Jordan back in the NBA for 90 minutes this week. Someone goofed up big time at the Washington Wizards website. What's Jordan waiting for? Is he upset because he won't get the front-page coverage his ego wants when he comes back?

Don't tell Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Bill Russell or Red Auerbauch but Celtics GM Chris Wallace is the talk of Bean Town. No, Wallace did not get Michael Jordan or Shaquille O'Neal in a trade. Wallace is making for great sports talk radio, by trying to sell Celtics tickets door-to-door.

Isaiah Rider is living proof that one of life's great theories is true: there is a sucker born everyday. Kiki Vandeweigh and the Denver Nuggets are interested in Rider. I wonder if he signs in Denver, if he will wear his favorite number 420?

Bill Laimbeer has been named the television color commentator for the Detroit Pistons. Will he be allowed to flop and cry on TV like he did when he was a player? Just think he was the center for the "Bad Boy" Pistons now he'll just be a "Bad Commentator"!

NBA Owners are as greedy as ever. The men that own the Charlotte Hornets' were in Louisville this week. They are considering relocating that NBA Franchise from North Carolina to Kentucky.

Lou Holtz is one of my favorite people to listen to. He was great this week at his news conference. He made everyone laugh with his speech about having to be the first big time college team to travel. South Carolina beat Miss State last night.

Notre Dame, for some reason, is a 10 point favorite over Michigan State. The Irish have lost to the Spartans in each of the past four seasons. In three of those matchups State was an underdog.

Attention Bruin defense: Buckeyes' QB Steve Bellisari did indeed fumble FOUR times against Akron. Remember that when you tackle him.

When UCLA beats Ohio State Saturday at the Rose Bowl, they will have beaten SEC, Big 12 and Big 10 teams to start their season 3-and-0.

Virginia coach Al Groh got in trouble this week with politically correct college types. Groh was asked if he was worried about having to travel to play Clemson. "I'm not saying this to make light of it by any means, but I'm not planning on having Arabs in the traveling party," Groh said. "So therefore I think probably that the threat of our being hijacked is pretty remote."

Groh was forced to apologize for those comments. All Groh did was say what many American's are feeling. What happened to FREE SPEECH! Lets loosen up people.

Oregon coach Mike Belotti will have a different look when you see him on TV this Saturday. Belotti shaved his trade mark mustache over the weekend in support of a friend that is battling cancer.

BenMaller.com Trivia Question of the Week: What current NFL head coach was head coach at Cornell? Answer Later!

I've never been a big Roger Clemens fan. Clemens has always pitched well in regular season games that don't matter. When its a big game and his team needs him, the Rocket is at his worst. That said 20-and-1 is an amazing run. Cy Young, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan never did that.

The New York Yankees will have added pressure this season to win another title for the Big Apple. You can truly say that the Yanks are America's Team!

Joe Kerrigan as I predicted is a bomb as skipper of the Boston Red Sox. Not only has the team fallen into the toilet, Kerrigan has gotten into shouting matches with Carl Everett and Pedro Martinez. Maybe Jimy Williams wasen't so bad.

I wonder if Davey Johnson will be as lazy coaching at Rollins College in Florida as he was managing the Dodgers for two summers.

Its great to see in a time of mourning Scott Boros is critical of the Dodgers use of Chan Ho Park out of the bullpen. Boros saw more millions flying out of a possible mega Chan Ho contract. I talked to Scott many times when I hosted "Dodger Talk" he's not a bad guy. He just has to learn when to shutup.

At some point I'm going to have to make a special trip down to Newport Beach. If I'm lucky I'll get a look at "Sexual Chocolate" Dennis Rodman's speed boat.

Its a sad thought. The Philadelphia Phillies would have had no chance to make the playoffs if the season had not been put on hold for a week. The Braves look like they are done, even with a win last night.

If Randy Moss is the best player in the NFL why did he catch just one pass against Carolina? Could it be he still was in NFC Championship game mode?

R.J. Soward is as big a bust at reciever as Ryan Leaf was at Quarterback. Soward was expected to be a star after being picked out of USC by Jacksonville. Turns out he's more interested in Drugs and Booze then catching passes in the NFL.

I want to wish Jeff Biggs the best of luck in his next radio gig. The Station that fired him made a horrible mistake. Jeff helped me out early in my 690 days. He's a pro on the air and a class act off it. I hosted a baseball show with Biggsy in the early days of XTRA SPORTS LA it was a lot of fun. I hope to work with Jeff again at some point down the road. A memo to those of you folks that regularly read this column. If a business fires a lot of there employees, it means that business is in trouble.

My condolences to a good man Doug Krikorian who's young wife passed away this week. I had tears in my eyes reading Doug's article on this horrible tragedy in the LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM.

Finally... My older brother Joe and his wife Michelle continue to live their lives in Manhattan. Just a few miles from "Ground Zero." Joe has been writing about his experience's as a New Yorker since this broke out. Its great reading to check it out for yourself Joe's Website

Big Ben's trivia question answer: George Seifort the head coach of the Carolina Panthers who upset the Vikings on the road back in week one. Seifort coached at Cornell from 1975 to 1976.

Now a word from our sponsors...

A friendly reminder to listen to my radio show this weekend on your local Fox Sports Radio station. It's me and Patrick O'Neal from 2am till 5am(est) Saturday morning.

Sunday morning from 4am till 7am, it's myself and Jason Smith breaking down all the college football action and previewing week two of the NFL

Big Ben Maller's Five Star College Pick of the Week

(11) Fresno State (3-0) Tulsa (1-0)

The Line: Fresno State -13 1/2

Big Ben's Breakdown: Fresno State senior quarterback David Carr has completed just under 60 percent of his passes for an average of 259 yards per game. Carr has thrown seven touchdowns and just one interception. Wideouts Rodney Wright, Bernard Berrian, and Marque Davis should give the Tulsa secondary all kinds of problems.

The Bulldogs' defense needs some work. Fresno State has given up over 20 points in each game. The run defense has been outstanding, holding opponents to just 74 yards per game and a miniscule average of 2.3 yards per attempt. The pass defense, on the other hand, is pathetic. Opposing teams have averaged just under 300 yards per game against the Bulldogs. Fresno has intercepted five passes so far.

Tulsa hasn't played since August 30, a 51-0 whitewashing of I-AA Indiana State. Last week's contest with defending champion Oklahoma was postponed and rescheduled for a later date. The Golden Hurricanes offense looked great against weak competition. Most of the damage was done on the ground. 191 yards and four rushing touchdowns against Indiana State.

QB Josh Blankenship had 379 yards passing and two touchdowns. The Golden Hurricane rush defense surrendered just 1.6 yards per attempt and only 49 yards overall. The pass defense was even better, allowing just 20 yards on 15 passing attempts. Tulsa surrendered just eight first downs, and half of those were the result of penalties.

Tulsa is lighty regarded and will struggle against a red hot Bulldog team. Its nice to beat up on 1-AA teams but now its time to play a big time club on a big time roll. I don't care about the Sports Illustrated Jinx. Go Bulldogs!!!

BenMaller.com's Final Score: Fresno State 42, Tulsa 17

Other College Picks: ****Washington St.-14 vs. Cal, **Colorado -25 vs. Kansas, ***North Carolina +17 vs. Florida State, ***Arkansas +10 at Alabama. (Neither of these teams can score why is Bama a 10 point favorite?)

Big Ben Maller's Five Star NFL Pick of the Week

Oakland Raiders Miami Dolphins

The Line: Miami - 1 1/2

Big Ben's Breakdown: This is a classic revenge game for Miami. The Raiders embarrassed the Dolphins 27-0 in the Divisional Playoff game in the Bay Area. It was the first time in 38-Postseason games the Fish have failed to score.

Miami has a 14 game home-winning streak in September. The last time the Dolphins lost at home in Sept. was to the Jets in 1993. Heck since 1970, the Dolphins are 37-and-5 in August and September in South Florida. Miami plays its best football in warm weather.

The Dolphins were the most impressive team in week one of the NFL Season. Jay Fiedler passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-23 victory at Tennessee.

The Raiders had to rally for 21 second-half points to steal a win from Kansas City 27-24.

Miami CB's Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain are two of the NFL's best and should give Rich Gannon and the Silver and Black receivers all kinds of problems. Madison has 21 interceptions since 1998 that leads the NFL.

Big Ben Key Stat: Miami is an NFL-best 27-4 in home openers since 1970.

BenMaller.com's Final Score: Dolphins 24, Raiders 20

Other NFL Picks: Tennessee +2 at Jacksonville, Indianapolis -10 vs. Buffalo, Seattle +3 vs. Philadelphia, Arizona +8 vs. Denver and Green Bay +8 1/2 vs. Washington

Another Game I like alot is Carolina + 3 1/2 at Atlanta... The Panthers have lost five of six games at the Georgia Dome, five of which have been decided by seven points or less. On paper, Carolina is the better team. At the worst, they should lose by a field goal.

God Bless the USA!

Sound Off: Send questions and comments to Big Ben by CLICKING HERE!
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The President's Finest Hour

By Ben Maller

Another homerun for President George Bush. It was a very emotional yet strong speech to this country and in reality to the world. These are times that none of us have ever seen before. These unchartered waters will make everyone stronger.

I like to believe that my generation the young men and women who will fight this battle will make everyone proud. More than that though they will make freedom continue for generations. As the President said and others have repeated. This is not only a fight against America and its people. This is a fight against freedom itself.

Some of my favorite moments from the President's State of the Union address:

``The Taliban must act and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate.''

"On Sept. 11, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136 years they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941."

"Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning."

"Americans have known surprise attacks, but never before on thousands of civilians."

"All of this was brought upon us in a single day, and night fell on a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack."

Ben's Thoughts: The President did a wonderful job. We must be strong and stand together. It makes me sick to see whats going on in Berkley and a few other backwords thinking college towns. If ever their was a time to be united you would think it would be when your own land is under attack. What a bunch of cowards and wimps.

How could you not feel proud seeing the "Hero Guests" on hand. They included British Prime Minister Tony Blair, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and New York Governor George Pataki in the House of Representatives' executive gallery.

Also on hand the real heroes' Battalion Chief John Jonas of the New York Fire Department. Jonas, captained Ladder Company 6 last Tuesday. That was one of the first units to respond to the World Trade Center attack. And William Fischer, of the New York Police Department and member of the elite Emergency Service Unit. Off-duty, he responded to the attack immediately and spent 17 hours trying to free victims from the rubble.

God Bless America!

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Tuesday, September 18, 2001

Baseball's Homerun For America

John Franco a native New Yorker got the win for the Mets. (AP)

By Ben Maller

From sea to shining sea baseball shined Monday. I had tears in my eyes listening to GOD BLESS AMERICA before the New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates game. It was great to see John Franco, Mike Piazza and all the NY players wear NYFD, NYPD and EMS Services hats.

Red White and Blue emotions poured out in five of the six baseball stadiums that hosted games. Montreal does not count, less than 1,000 people showed up to see the Marlins and the Expos.

The Dodgers did a great job with their pre-game ceremony. I just wish the Dodgers would have played better. Every year the Padres kick the Boys in Blue in their collective ass.

Baseball has not had a more important moment since before the strike of 1994. The Players greed has caused many fans to leave the game. I'm hoping that some of these ballplayers' eyes have been opened to what's really important in life...and it's not how much money one has.

The Boston Red Sox are all the way back in pre-attack form. Carl Everett was suspended for four games. It turns out that Everett doesn't like Joe Kerrigan much more than Jimy Williams. permalink

Monday, September 17, 2001

Pro Athletes Drop the Ball

By Ben Maller

These are very trying times for all American's. However listening to some of this country's pro athletes you would think this affects them more than the rest of us. Mark McGwire, Cal Ripken, Scott Rolen, Tiger Woods, Vinny Testaverde and so many others have been outspoken about not wanting to work.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that sporting events are absolutely meaningless compared to what's going on in Washington and going on in New York," McGwire told Friday's St. Louis Post Dispatch.

"Why people have taken so long to make the decision (to postpone games), I have no idea," said McGwire

I worked Tuesday afternoon providing updates on the terrorists attacks. I would have felt much more comfortable spending time with my family. However, I had a job to do. I've worked everyday since the attacks. Most people had to go back to work this week even though they didn't really feel like it. You think those New York Firefighters and Policemen wanted to be working this week or would they have rather been with their loved one's.

Why are pro-athletes in this country so special that they can't play football or baseball because they have alot on their minds.

I agree with the decision to cancel the games for this past weekend. Not because Mark McGwire or Cal Ripken dosen't feel like playing baseball. Instead because we must pause and honor those innocent victims of this unthinkable act. Its upsetting when athletes say how unimportant sports are now. EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS UNIMPORTANT COMPARED TO WHAT HAPPENED ON SEPTEMBER 11th, 2001.

Sports are a big part of life in America. As this country has grown over the years one of the constants has been sports. I choose to believe that without sports here life just wouldn't be the same. permalink