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Friday, December 14, 2001
Friday Thoughts, Opinions and Notes  By Ben Maller Randy Moss told reporters that despite an eight-year $75 million dollar contract nobody can force him to play hard. Yet he takes some verbal shots at a group of corporate sponsors on a team bus and gets fined $15, 000. Nate Newton the former Dallas Cowboys' offensive lineman has the worst luck. Newton was arrested for the second time in less than six weeks with at least 175 pounds of marijuana in two vehicles that were pulled over.  Newton is single-handedly raising the price of pot around the country. His agent Howard Shapiro says that Nate is innocent. I gotta hear this one! Albert Connell of the Saints gets my vote as worst free agent signing. Coach Jim Haslett announced that Connell will not play for the team again this season. Connell has just 12 catches this season after signing a five-year $14 million dollar deal to leave Washington.  There are some happy rookies in the NFL, thanks to incentive clauses. Bengals' defensive-end Justin Smith, who has 71/2 sacks, needs one more to trigger a bonus that would give him $2.5 million over the next five years, despite Cincinnati having only one victory. Panthers' quarterback Chris Weinke triggered escalators in his contract that increase a five-year, $2.5 million deal into a five-year, $7.5 million contract. If Weinke plays 55 percent of the downs next season and the offense shows some improvement, Weinke would watch his contract grow to a five-year, $15 million deal.  Mike Holmgren continues to disappoint me and Seahawk fans. Instead of playing Trent Dilfer who gives the team the best shot to win, Holmgren plays stiff Matt Hassleback. Now, the word from Seattle is stud Shaun Alexander is not going to start so that Ricky Watters gets the ball. My dog could do a better job coaching this team and I don't even have one! This weekend's Steelers at Ravens game figures to be a classic. Baltimore LB Ray Lewis is upset at Jerome Bettis for saying that Bengal's LB Takeo Spikes is as good as Lewis, but doesn't have the same talent around him. Lewis is nuts when he has no reason to be. This should make it even better. Ben Maller Trivia Question of the Week: Who holds the NFL Record for most sacks in one game? (Answer later) Half Time of Monday Night Football, Jimmy Johnson told Al Michaels that the Dallas Cowboys would be in first place in the NFC East if Jerry Jones had not forced QB Troy Aikman to retire. Does ABC drug test their guests before they come on at halftime? Attention Bob Toledo and Pete Carroll... Florida Coach Steve Spurrier has given the okay to backup QB Brock Berlin's request to transfer from the school after the Orange Bowl. Berlin lost out to Rex Grossman for the starting job. Texas Tech and Oklahoma are favorites for Berlin but UCLA could use him!  Oregon offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford replaces Tom Holmoe as coach at Cal. Holmoe resigned effective at the end of a 1-10 season. Holmoe had a 16-39 record in five years as coach of the Bears. Cal's last winning season was 1993 when the Bears finished 9-4 under Keith Gilbertson and were ranked No. 25. I wonder where former UCLA offensive coordinator Al Borges will end up. Borges was an assistant for the Golden Bears last season. Another sign that the UCLA football team does not want to win. Hawaii offered the Bruins a chance to play a game on Christmas Day at Aloha Stadium. Bob Toledo and his players said NO! This was not a financial decision this was a football decision. Remember this name: Randy Shannon, the Miami defensive coordinator. Shannon received the Frank Broyles Award on Wednesday night as the top assistant football coach in the nation. The award is named in honor of the Arkansas athletic director and former Razorback football coach. More than two dozen of Broyles' assistants went on to become head coaches at the college or pro level, including Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Gibbs, Hayden Frye, Johnny Majors, Jackie Sherrill and Doug Dickey.  Dan Issel should not lose his job because he got into a shouting match with a drunk heckling fan. Issel responded to a taunt from the fan by yelling back, ``Go drink another beer, you Mexican ... ,'' adding an expletive at the end of the sentence. Issel was suspended for four games. Watching Earl Watson play for the Sonics. He looks better than he ever did at UCLA. Portland Trail Blazers' forward Scottie Pippen took the slow road but will graduate from the University of Central Arkansas this Saturday. 14 years after being drafted in the NBA. Rumors keep popping up that Jerry West the former Lakers GM will be back in the NBA next season. Where will Jerry end up? Warriors? Hawks? Clippers? Celebrity spotlight: Was that Fox Sports Radio's Patrick O'Neal along with former KTLA anchor Ed Arnold and former Dodger GM Kevin Malone at the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Awards Monday? Best line on the Roberto Alomar deal to the Mets comes from Tom Keegan of the NY POST: The Indians made their worst trade yesterday since selling the island of Manhattan for 24 bucks worth of beads. Winter Meetings Scoreboard: At last year's Winter Meetings, baseball owners splurged, spending $740 million on 25 free agents. This year, with one day left, the total was $144 million for six players. That includes the Jason Giambi Yankee contract.  Rangers' GM John Hart must love nut cases. He had Albert "Joey" Belle in Cleveland and his first big deal in Texas brings Carl Everett to the Lone Star state. To me, the biggest surprise from the Winter Meetings is that Scott Boras has been a non-factor. Free agents Barry Bonds, Chan Ho Park and Johnny Damon all Boras clients have not gotten anywhere close to the $100 million dollar contracts they want. The Dodgers could end up with Chan Ho at a discount rate. The same goes for the Giants and Barry Bonds. The Pirates pulled off a good trade getting young pitchers Sean Lowe and Kip Wells from the White Sox for Todd Ritchie. Brett Boone a one-year wonder for the Seattle Mariners has gotten little interest from other clubs who realize he will never come close to his 2001 numbers again. The Mets and Yankees kicked ass at the meetings...  Mets got David Weathers, Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeno and David Justice to upgrade their roster. The Bronx Bombers picked up Jason Giambi, John Vander Wal, Robin Ventura and Steve Karsay. Chuck Knoblauch is one of the good guys in baseball. That said, I would hate to see him try and play centerfield at Wrigley Field or for that matter a little league field. The Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics were the big losers at the Winter Meetings. Ben Maller Breaksdown the Dodger Trade A.J. Morgan of ESPN Radio 1110 gets the best sports update of the week award! Morgan butchered all four names will trying to announce the deal that sent Luke Prokopec to Toronto and brought Paul Quantrill to Los Angeles. Don Barrett of LAradio.com reported this week that after the 2002 baseball season the Dodgers will be heard on a new radio home. According to the story Infinity/CBS is the favorite to pick up the Dodger Radio rights. From what sources tell me the Dodgers are embarrased with the way their radio package has been handled since 1998. No stability and lack of leadership have been major problems.  Now a message from our sponsors... A friendly reminder to listen to my radio show this weekend on your local Fox Sports Radio station. It's me along with Bob Page at the Fox Sports Update desk from 5am till 8am(est) Saturday morning. Sunday morning from 4am till 7am I'll be back again. (Heard coast-to-coast) Sunday night, listen to my new program from 10pm till 2am along with Jason Smith on your local Fox Sports radio station. (heard coast to coast and around the world.) Ben Maller Trivia Question of the Week Answer: The late Derek Thomas had 7.0 sacks in a game for the Kansas City Chiefs against the Seattle Seahawks in 1990.
Big Ben Maller's Five Star NFL Pick of the Week   Pittsburgh Steelers (10-2) at Baltimore Ravens(8-4) The Line: Ravens -3. Ben's Pick: Baltimore lay the points. Did You Know? 4 of last 5 meetings decided by 7 points or less. Did You Know 2? Ravens have won 21 of 25 December games under coach Brian Billick. Last Meeting: Ravens beat Steelers 13-10 on Nov. 4, 2001, at Pittsburgh. Big Ben's Breakdown: An AFC Central grudge match as the spotlight shifts to Baltimore for Sunday night football. Pittsburgh can clinch their first playoff spot since 1997 and the Central division title with a victory. The Steelers have won five straight since losing 13-10 to the Ravens back on Nov. 4th. In that game kicker Kris Brown missed four field goals for Pittsburgh. Jerome Bettis is not expected to play for the Steelers who come in having the NFL's 5th best offense and best defense. The Steel D is allowing just 255.3 yards and 12.0 ppg. Baltimore is ranked 3rd in defense allowing 274.8 yards per game The Ravens have the advantage of coming off a bye week and will welcome back running back Terry Allen from a broken hand. A sweep of the season series would give Baltimore the tie-breaker over Pittsburgh. But Pittsburgh's final three games are against Detroit, Cincinnati and Cleveland, who are a combined 10-26. This will be a typical AFC central game... lots of defense little offense. (Except a Rod Woodson interception pick of Kordell Stewart returned 85 yards for a touchdown.) BenMaller.com Final Score: Ravens 20, Steelers 16 Other NFL Picks: Giants -5 vs. Cardinals, Oakland -5 at San Diego, Vikings -3 at Detroit, New Engalnd -4 at Buffalo, Eagles -3 at Washington, Tampa Bay -3 at Chicago, Green Bay -2 1/2 at Tennessee and Rams -6 vs. New Orleans Jason Smith of Fox Sports Radio, NFL Pick of the Week   Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets The Line: Jets -9 By BenMaller.com contributer Jason Smith With so many big games this week, it was difficult to pick the Lead Pipe Cinch Lock of the Week, sponsored by Pizza Hut...Crust First!) But, as the old saying goes, when in doubt, pick against the Bengals. I feel very confident about this pick, simply because Herman Edwards will hang himself if the Jets lose this one. Even one of my best friends, Allan* (not his real name), a huge Bengals fan, admits his team peaked at 2 and 0. Akili Smith will be under center for Cincinnati this week in the Meadowlands, and if he falters he'll give way to Scott Mitchell, who will give way to Kenny Anderson, who will give way to David Klingler, who will give way to Donald Hollas, who will give way to Boomer Esiason, who will be replaced by Turk Schonert, and they'll still be lucky to score 10 points. They could let all those guys play at once and 10 points might be too difficult a ceiling to overcome. There is no way the Jets lose this game, no way, no way, no way, no way. However, in my darkest dreams where I wake up in a cold sweat, I can see Corey Dillon running wild and Takeo Spikes picking off Testaverde late in the 4th to seal what would be the most horrendous Jets' loss of the year. I can see scenarios like that because I am a Jets fan, and it's second nature to be suspicious of every game, even if it's a scrimmage against Hofstra. THAT BEING SAID, I simply cannot see the Jets losing this game. It's not as bad as it seems for the Jets right now. As the December ghosts are being dredged up, look at it this way: their last two losses were against good teams on rolls. Jason Smith's Final Score: Sunday, Curtis Martin returns to the 100-yard plateau with a couple of touchdowns, and Vinny Testaverde re-discovers the endzone and the Jets roll over the Bengals, 31 to 10. Write Back:Send Ben Maller E mail by CLICKING HERE! permalink Thursday, December 13, 2001
Goofy Trade Idea  by Ben Maller If you had a player that has been compared to Pete Rose for his hustle. A player who can take over a game. A scrappy, unselfish player who keeps his nose clean what would you do with him? If your the Disney Angels you try and trade him for prospects of course! Darrin Erstad a player who the last three years has averaged: .304 Avg 33 2B 19 HR 78 RBI 96 R and 20 Steals. Angels GM Bill "The Bottom Line" Stoneman and White Sox GM Ken "Steal from the Halos" Williams had reportedly agreed on a deal that would have sent the 28-year old Erstad to Chicago for outfielder Chris Singleton, right-handed starter Jon Garland and two minor leaguers. Singleton is a 29 year old centerfielder batted .298 with just 7 HR's and 45 RBI's in 2001. Garland is a 22 year old righty starter who has big time ability but if traded to the Halos would play with his 3rd organization in 3 years. Garland was drafted by the Cubs. Stoneman appeared to be trying to out do his last major trade that saw OF Jim Edmonds go to the St. Louis Cardinals for P Kent Bottenfield and 2B Adam Kennedy. The Halos have a history of this kind of thing. They sent 3B/DH Phil Nevin to the San Diego Padres for SS Andy Sheets. Years ago how about the Devon White for Junior Felix deal. Thank God, for once the Disney ownership stepped in and stopped the insanity. An Erstad-to-the-White-Sox deal would make no sense, for a team that wants to compete. Erstad would come back and haunt the Halos for Years to come. Dodgers' GM Dan Evans should pick up the phone and offer Eric Gagne and Tom Goodwin plus some C Level prospects for Erstad. Erstad is one of the few players left in baseball that I enjoy watching play. He's a throwback to the old days of hard-nosed baseball. He runs out every groundball and is a leader by example. As a fan If you pay your $10 you know your going to get your money's worth watching Erstad. I realize he is coming off a down year. The Angels should open up Minney Mouse's wallet and give Erstad, who is going to be a free agent at the end of the season, a big Brinks' truck of Disney gold. In addition to the signing of Erstad, get a couple of pitchers and fill the holes in the lineup. The Angels don't have to be content to finish in the 2nd half of the American League. If the Halos trade Darrin Erstad this offseason they should change their logo. I have a perfect suggestion:  permalinkWednesday, December 12, 2001
Bye Bye Tribe  by Ben Maller So this is how one of the great regular season runs in baseball history comes to an end. The Cleveland Indians traded wins for dollars sending future hall of famer Roberto Alomar to the New York Mets in a blockbuster deal. From 1995 to 2001 the Indians won six of seven central division titles and appeared in the 1995 and 1997 World Series. Over this run, the Tribe had such stars as Albert Belle, David Justice, Carlos Baerga, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, Juan Gonzalez and Roberto Alomar.  Now, for "financial reasons," according to rookie GM Mark Shapiro the Indians had little choice except to say goodbye to Alomar, Lofton and Gonzalez this offseason. Cleveland acquired outfielder Matt Lawton, outfield prospect Alex Escobar, pitcher Jerrod Riggan and two players to be named for their gold glove second baseman.  Matt Lawton is a 30 year old single-hitting outfielder, Alex Escobar is a prospect who has not been able to make it the last 2 years;and Jerrod Riggan is a question mark. So the Indians save about $2 million dollars but lose Alomar a 12-time All-Star who hit a team-high .336 this year with 20 homers, 100 RBIs and 30 steals. The Tribe have Jim Thome and Omar Visquel left from the "Glory Days."  The Mets have more speed and a better offense and a gold glover in Alomar. Of course, the Mets still have some work to do. David Justice and Alomar are a nice start. New York still needs another power outfielder such as Raul Mondesi and another starting pitcher. If you look at recent baseball history when a team trades a future Hall-of-Famer for prospects 99% of the time the team trading the star player gets the raw end of the deal. Blockbuster trades in the last 5 Years: 1997 the Oakland Athletics trade Mark McGwire to the St. Louis Cardinals for prospects. Advantage Cards. May 15th 1998 the Los Angeles Dodgers sent Mike Piazza to the Florida Marlins for Gary Sheffield and three veteran players. Advantage Piazza (2000 World Series with Mets). 1998 the Seattle Mariners are forced to trade Ken Griffey Jr. to the Cincinnati Reds for prospects. (Advantage Reds who sold a bunch of tickets and didn't give up any key players.) Did You Know?  Jacobs Field attendance 2001 3,175,523 (3rd out of 14) 2000 3,456,278 (1st out of 14) 1999 3,468,456 (1st out of 14) 1998 3,467,299 (2nd out of 14) 1997 3,404,750 (2nd out of 14) 1996 3,318,174 (2nd out of 14) 1995 2,842,745 (2nd out of 14) 1994 1,995,174 (4th out of 14) All those fans spending money at the Jake and the Indians ownership still say that $15 million dollars must be cut from the team's payroll. Dodgers Free Agent Rumor permalink Tuesday, December 11, 2001
Fred Roggin Responds To Ben Maller Monday Night Football Pictures permalink Monday, December 10, 2001
Big Ben's Weekend Wrap
By Ben Maller If the season ended today, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks would be left out of the AFC playoffs. While New Orleans would miss the NFC Playoffs. The Rams' defense made a statement against the Niners, shutting down Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens.  Garcia had thrown two or more TD passes in his previous eight games, didn't thrown any against the Rams. It was his first game without a TD pass since Week 12 of last season against the Falcons. St. Louis' RB Marshall Faulk has 102 career touchdowns, passing Steve Largent for 10th in the NFL career list. Pittsburgh was able to beat the Jets by forcing Vinny Testaverde to beat them. He couldn't. Before everyone gives Kordell Stewart the MVP Award, keep in mind he is tied with Todd Bouman and Matt Hasselbeck for 29th in the NFL with six touchdown passes. Stewart's QB Ranking is 17th behind the likes of Alex Van Pelt. Stewart is 22nd in passing yards Green Bay played boring pound-it-out football to beat the Bears 17-7. All three home teams won the big games in week 13. The Raiders have some serious work to do after struggling to beat the Chiefs 28-26. Oakland's front seven has fallen apart. The Raiders have allowed 140 or more yards rushing in five straight games, giving up a total of 973 yards rushing (194.6 YPG) in those five contests. BenMaller.com NFL Trivia Question of the Week: Jets RB Curtis Martin, who has 8,836 career yards rushing, is only the third player in NFL history to open his career with seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Who are the other two players? Bucs WR Keyshawn Johnson had 10 receptions for 101 yards including the game winning TD Catch with :45 seconds left to beat the Detroit Lions. For my money, the Lions are the best story of the 2001 season. Should Detroit go 0-16 they will live in infamy. David Boston, caught six passes for 132 yards, his eighth 100-yard receiving game of the season, in the loss to Washington. Boston has become a pro-bowler.  It's hard to imagine a team blowing a 24-6 lead to the Buffalo Bills. However Carolina did just that. The Chicago Bears must develop at least one big play threat. Their offense was a disaster against the Packers. Cincinnati's five-game losing streak gave them an 11-year run without a winning record. DeShaun Foster or Travis Stephens would look great in a Cleveland Browns' uniform. The Browns are 28th in the NFL in rushing and still 6-6. Another team that could use a running back, the Jaguars. They haven't had a 100-yard rusher this year and rank 27th in the league in running. Philadelphia did you know? Since the Eagles last won the NFC east, on a tiebreaker over the Giants on the final day of the 1988 season, every team in the NFL has won at least one division title except Arizona and Baltimore, last year's Super Bowl champs. "Super" Chargers, I don't think so. Including this season, the Chargers are 4-17 in December dating to 1996.  Doug Flutie has helped lead the Bolts into a six game losing streak. How bad is Quincy Carter? He had a career day with 194 yards passing against the Giants. The Cowboys' QB has 2 TD passes the same total as Drew Bledsoe who played in two games for the Pats. In the fourth quarters of their last four games, the Broncos have been outscored 69-3. Nobody scored in the 4th quarter of the Broncos win against the Seahawks. These are sad times for Kansas City. The Chiefs have now lost five straight games to the Raiders for the first time since dropping five in a row from 1982-84. The Vikings, who had allowed 35 sacks in 11 games in '01, didn't have any with Todd Bouman making his first start against the Titans on Dec. 9. How about that New England defense. The Patriots have totaled three or more INTs in five straight games. Rumors going around the Fox Broadcast center had Bill Parcells having his eye on the Atlanta Falcons head coaching job. If I had my choice to hire any NFL assistant coach to be a head coach, Marvin Lewis the defensive coordinator of the Ravens would be the guy. Jason Smith of Fox Sports Radio says he would take Lovie Smith, however he's also a Jets' fan. Big Ben?s Three Game Balls 3.) Priest Holmes, Chiefs: 168 yards rushing and a TD, 109 yards receiving and a TD in loss to Raiders. 2.) Todd Bouman, Vikings: 348 yards passing 4 TD's and an INT in win vs. Titans 1.) Aeneas Williams, Rams: Four tackles, two interceptions and three passes defensed. Helped limit 49ers' wide receiver Terrell Owens to a season-low three catches. The Titans have committed five turnovers in five wins, 13 turnovers in six losses in '01. Something to keep an eye on tonight... The Dolphins have committed two or more turnovers in seven of their first 11 games in '01. Big Ben's Three Bums 3.) Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks: 17-37 passing 243 yards 1 TD 2 Int and 8 balls that were over thrown against the Broncos! 2.) Jeff Garcia, 49ers :19-for-34 for 121 yards and 2 INT's against the Rams. 1.) Curtis Martin, Jets: 18 carries for just 58 yards. BenMaller.com NFL Trivia Question of the Week: Jets RB Curtis Martin , who has 8,836 career yards rushing, is only the third player in NFL history to open his career with seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. The other two are Eric Dickerson and Barry Sanders. NFL Stat of the Week: Through 12 games of the 2000 season, the Rams allowed 367 points. Through 12 games of the 2001 season, the Rams have allowed 190 points That's a 177 point difference. George O'Leary will need the luck of the Irish to turn around the sorry-sack Notre Dame football program.  O'Leary was the wrong choice. Bill O'Riley of the Fox News Channel would have been a better choice. The Irish can turn their home field into the "No Spin Zone" Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas all controlled their own seasons at one point or another. The BCS system is working out the way it's supposed to. Colorado, while they are my choice to play in the Rose Bowl, can't bitch 'cause of a pair of losses. Oregon is 10-1 but hasn't beaten anyone. Their best win was against Washington State.  LSU took advantage of a wild second-half choke job turned in by Tennessee.  Hot NBA Rumor: Pat Riley to move into the Heat front office next season and Jeff Van Gundy to coach Miami. Dodgers will trade Gary Sheffield this week according to sources in the organization. The Oakland Athletics, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are all in the hunt. Angels could trade Tim Salmon to Arizona this week. Click Here For BREAKING LA Sports Radio News NFL WEEK 13 http://benmaller.com/pictures.shtml permalink |
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