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Saturday, January 19, 2002
Big Ben's Saturday NFL Picks Game: Eagles at Bears Spread: Bears -3 Ben's Pick: Bears lay the points Ben's Take: Chicago is one of the hottest teams in the NFL coming into this matchup. The Bears will be able to stop the Eagles running game and should get enough out of Anthony Thomas their star running back to win an ugly low scoring black and blue matchup! Game: Raiders at Patriots Spread: Patriots -3 Ben's Pick: Raiders will win straight up Ben's Take: Oakland is the best team in the AFC and they will hold down Antowain Smith and force Tom Brady to beat them. The Raiders will end a string of four straight playoff blowouts! NFL Divisional Playoff Notes & Inside Info permalink Friday, January 18, 2002
Friday Thoughts, Opinions and Notes  By Ben Maller Pokey Reese is just what the Dodgers need. Reese would provide a gold glove second baseman and would also be able to bat leadoff. Reese needs to have a big year if he is going to cash in. Gary Sheffield gives the Braves the NL east. The Mets spent all that money on Roberto Alomar and Mo Vaughn and they are a second place club. Cleveland got more for Roberto Alomar than the Dodgers got for Gary Sheffield. You can add John Schuerholzto the list of sports' scum bags. According to the newest Dodger, Brian Jordan, Schuerholz is a liar. "It's like he just stabbed me right in the back," Jordan said of Schuerholz. "He asked me to help [persuade] Terry Pendleton to take the job. To get Smoltzie back [closer John Smoltz, who re-signed with Atlanta as a free agent last month and is in a weekly Bible study group with Jordan]. . Then. . . Bam! Thanks for your help. Brad Fullmer was a solid pick up by the Anaheim Angels. Some in baseball have privately accused him of steroid use. He never takes a walk and strikes out way too much, however, the bottom line is the boy can hit and most of baseball's homerun hitters are on the juice, in my opinion. The Halos have also talked with Kenny Lofton. That would be a mistake he's a bad dude who would be a Devon White-like cancer in the clubhouse. They don't have a field manager, a general manager or a date to report to spring training. They would be the Florida Marlins. Ben Maller Trivia Question of the Week: When is the last time a No. 1 seed in the NFC lost in the divisional round??  Don't tell the Mets, but Pedro Astacio has a bum shoulder. That's why he didn't have much free agent interest. Over Under is May 1st for his first DL stint. Eric Young, the man that made the weak fly ball to left a regular sight at Dodger Stadium, signed a 2-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Hope EY likes the "sausage race" and beer. Hot Rumor has Todd Zeile ending up in Colorado from the New York Mets. According to the New York Post: LA's trade of Gary Sheffield to Atlanta has a second meaning: "The Dodgers got back at the Mets for providing a smooth landing to Mike Piazza after he was traded to the Marlins."  Pittsburgh has committed nine turnovers in the past two games, including seven interceptions (six by KORDELL STEWART). Green Bay QB Brett Favre is 11-18 in Dome Stadiums and 14-32 on turf. (99-27 on grass) The Packers are 3-6 on the road in the playoffs since 1972. Tom Brady of the Patriots has 14 NFL starts; Rich Gannon of the Raiders has 14 NFL seasons. The Rams' defense allowed 273 points this season, 198 (12 per game) fewer than last. Chicago is about to cash in on the playoffs. The Bears have signed a deal with Burger King to be the "on-site presenting sponsor'' for Saturday's game against the Eagles. This is a franchise first and is said to be worth "in the low six-figure range.'' Burger King gets radio and TV ad time, scoreboard messages and game tickets. Reports out of Buffalo indicate the Bills want to draft David Carr or Joey Harrington with their first round pick and let Rob Johnson go as a free agent. I think that Carr will be a star and Harrington a stiff in the NFL. On paper, Jacksonville had a good defense this season. They allowed just 17.9ppg. But those that followed the Jags understand that they lost five games in the fourth quarter and that defense gave up a lot of points at the wrong times. Defensive Coordinator Gary Moeller and his "soft" defense have moved on. If Bill Parcells is not sure if he wants to coach, why did the Bucs: a.) fire Tony Dungy and b.) interview Jets assistant GM Mike Tannenbaum yesterday.  Some Tampa assistant coaches are upset because they feel that Parcells violated the "Coaches Code of Conduct" by agreeing to a deal to coach the Bucs while Tony Dungy had a job. Memo to San Diego GM, John Butler: This is Southern California not Buffalo; you might have noticed by now with the sun still out and no snow on the ground. Well, you better not hire Marty Schottenheimer because that won't play in this part of the world. The only retreads people in So Calif like are the one's on their tires. With all the coaching jobs available, you haven't heard Marvin Lewis' name mentioned as a candidate. The Ravens defensive coordinator hurt his status with a poor interview in Buffalo last year. Don't tell Quincy Carter, but the Dallas Cowboys have made a seven figure offer to Chad Hutchinson the former Stanford QB who has played baseball the last few years. I would think that Dallas would be better off with a Trent Dilfer or Drew Bledsoe. When do the rumors start that the San Diego Chargers or New Orleans Saints move to Los Angeles? Peter Dalis' legacy at UCLA will be rewarding mediocrity. Steve Lavin's teams have lost to Ball State, Cal-State Northridge and Pepperdine to name a few over the last few years and he keeps getting contract extensions and now Bob Toledo has jumped into the act.  Toledo has led the Bruins to a 17-17 record the last three years. UCLA has had several controversies off the field with the handicap parking mess, DeShaun Foster's dealing with an agent and letting Cory Paus play after a DUI. Most big time football schools would not put up with this legacy, but then UCLA obviously doesn't consider itself a football school. You have to wonder if Steve Spurrier got out of Florida at the right time. Jevon Kearse admitted this week that he got paid thousands of dollars while playing ball for the Gators. BCS officials are discussing reducing the role of computers in the BCS formula and putting more weight on the polls. Once again, the officials are tweaking the system after they didn't like the final results. It seems silly to me. The BCS did its job last year. Playing college football is so much fun that some kids just don't want to leave. Auburn quarterback Daniel Cobb has been granted a sixth year of eligibility under the NCAA Five-Year Rule Waiver.  The Hornets want to leave the 27th Television Market in Charlotte for the 43rd market in New Orleans. The National Basketball Association is starting to make me wish I was a Hockey fan. One of the funniest stories of the week comes from the NHL. The father of Detroit Redwings star Sergei Fedorov told his son to quit the team. The reason? The dad felt that the Wings "disrespected" his son by asking him to play defense. Word is Randy Moss' mom is upset cause the Vikings asked Moss to play hard for 4 Quarters every weekend. The Arizona Cardinals say they will not raise ticket prices next season. That's good considering nobody goes to their games as it is now. Watching local news in Los Angeles and seeing Bill Plaschke, Jim Hill and Fred Roggin running with the Olympic Torch, it made me wonder if any real fans got the chance? May the National Sports Report R.I.P. It was not the "Best Damn Sports Show" Sources close to BenMaller.com indicate that William "Refrigerator" Perry and Jim McMahon the old '85 Bears filmed a commercial for KFC in New York that will air soon. Attention Anaheim Angels: Steve Stone is still a free-agent broadcaster. Stone wants to return to the Cubs but Joe Carter and Dave Otto have contracts through the 2002 season. The latest list of Anaheim Angel broadcasting candidates at least this side of Omaha: Al Conin, Geoff Witcher, Ken Levine, Rory Marcus, Lee Hamilton and Larry Kahn. 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 very popular show from 10pm till 2am along with Jason "The Jet" 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 No. 1 seed in the NFC hasn't lost in the divisional round since Minnesota beat San Francisco in 1987. Big Ben Maller's Five Star NFL Divisional Pick of the Week   Baltimore Ravens (11-6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3) The Line: Steelers - 5 1/2 Ben's Pick: Ravens and the points Did You Know? The top two defenses in the NFL will square off. This is just the sixth time in NFL history that the #1 and #2 defense have played in the post-season. The team that is ranked second has won three of the previous five meetings, including last season when the #2 Ravens defeated the #1 Titans in the AFC Divisional playoff. Did You Know 2? Only one of the AFC's #1 seeds has made it to the Super Bowl in the past seven years (Denver in 1998). Last Meeting: Steelers 26, Ravens 21 (Last Month) Big Ben's Breakdown: Pittsburgh and Baltimore split their two matchups during the regular season despite the fact that the Steelers controlled both matchups and outgained the Ravens in total yardage, 824-390. Well that was the regular season and this is the playoffs. Kordell Stewart will try to become the first player ever to throw a touchdown pass in the playoffs against Baltimore. The Ravens have yet to give one up in five playoff games. In the four games since they lost to Arizona, they have allowed three or fewer points three times (22 in the other) and allowed an average of just 105 passing yards per contest. Baltimore's defense has not allowed a touchdown in 54 straight drives during the postseason. The good news for the Steelers is Jerome Bettis will be in the lineup for this game. Bettis will have to carry to load with 20-25 carries to free things up for Kordell. The Ravens' offense has turned to Terry Allen the running back who is with his 5th team in 11 NFL seasons. Allen has come on of late, rushing for 133 yards against Minnesota and gaining 109 in last week's win - his first back-to-back 100-yard games since 1994. Baltimore has outscored the opposition 115-26 in five playoff games. That will be tested in this game. Look for Kordell Stewart to turn the ball over with a pair of interceptions and Kris Brown to miss a pair of field goals. The Ravens will live to play another day. BenMaller.com Final Score: Ravens 13, Steelers 7 Other NFL Picks: Rams -10 vs. Packers, Bears -2 1/2 vs. Eagles, Raiders +3 at New England permalink Wednesday, January 16, 2002
Great Moments in Gary Sheffield's Dodger Career:  By Ben Maller 1.) Demanded a $2.5 million dollar bonus to except trade from Marlins May 15th, 1998. 2.) Demanded that the team lift its ban on facial hair because he didn't want to shave. 3.) Demanded that the team allow earrings. 4.) Demanded that the team pay for his family to go with him to the All-star game, or he was not going. 5.) Said he didn't want to dive for balls on artificial turf. 6.) Said he didn't want to play with the flu. 7.) Said he didn't want to play the last day of the 2000 season because his average could have dipped below .300 8.) Sheffield was upset when chairman Bob Daly said there was a risk in signing him long-term after the 2000 season. Sheff took the chance to rip his teammates: "A risk? Come on, they're paying Brownie (Kevin Brown ) $15 million a year until he's 41," Sheffield was quoted as saying. "They just gave [Darren] Dreifort $55 million when he's only won 39 games in his career and had arm surgery. They gave Shawn Green $13 million a year. And how about Carlos Perez -- paying him $6 million a year? "And you talk about risk, that I'm a risk? That's an insult. ... I'm getting less than Dreifort? I'm getting just $3 million more than Carlos Perez? It's not my fault they signed Perez to that stupid contract. It's not my fault they gave Eric Karros a no-trade clause when he's got no value. It's not my fault they gave Greenie all that money. "They give out all of these dumb contracts, and when it comes to me -- nothing. And I'm even willing to defer a lot of the money for that. They were saying how they lost $25 million. I almost laughed in their face." Ben's Bottom Line: The Dodgers traded a selfish, club-house cancer who was never able to help the Dodgers get into the playoffs in his 3 1/2 years in Los Angeles. Sheffield never really wanted to be a Dodger and now he gets his wish. good-bye Scumbag! Sheffield Trade Breakdown and The Angels lose a free agent to the Detroit Tigers permalink Tuesday, January 15, 2002
Why I Hate Barry Bonds  By Ben Maller Barry Bonds is a pompous asshole who has never treated people well except "when the camera is on." For me it goes back to the early 90's in the visiting locker room at Dodger Stadium. I was a young stud reporter for XTRA SPORTS 690am and Barry Bonds was the star of the San Francisco Giants. Bonds had a HR and drove in 4 runs he was the hero of the game and it was my job to get :15 seconds of glory to send to Mexico. Well, after waiting in the locker room for close to an hour Bonds came out already dressed and then said he just did his job and appeared upset that me and a writer had dared try and wait him out, aka you all are idiots. There are, of course, many other reasons to hate "The big jerk by the Bay." Bonds is not a team player, he's selfish and couldn't care less if his team does well. Barry talks about winning all the time but when his teammates go to him for advice, Bonds tells them to stay away. Ask Jeff Kent of the Giants what he thinks of Bonds. Also when you think of the anti-Pete Rose, that would be good old Bonds; he is the greatest lazy player in the history of the game. Jews have a special reason to dislike bonds.  Barry never performs well under the pressure of post-season play. In five trips to the postseason Bonds has batted .196 with 1 HR and 6 RBI's. We should point out that this includes 27 games and 97 at bats. The only time that Bonds did anything under pressure was in 2001 when he set the single-season homerun record. Even this should have an asterisk next to it because he did it against the Dodgers and Chan Ho Park. Also let's not forget that it happened in the "juiced" ball era. Legend has it that once, while in Pittsburgh, he refused to sign a ball to be auctioned off for Children's Hospital. They had to buy one from QVC and get all the other players to sign it! The biggest reason to hate Barry Bonds is he is a San Francisco Giant. A team that has never won anything since it left New York. The only reason the Giants moved west is so the Dodgers would have someone to play. It's going to be fun to watch a bitter old Barry Bonds at age 43 try and play leftfield at Pac-Bell Park. Question: What's the difference between God and Barry Bonds? Answer: God doesn't think he's Barry Bonds  This is the only ring Bonds will ever get. I Hate You Barry Bonds I hate you Barry Bonds But I do not know the exact reason why You might be 'Barry' good But you don't seem like a very nice guy I hate you Barry Bonds Harsh feelings in me you seem to invoke One thing I can depend on Is in the clutch, you will always choke Mark McGwire permalink Monday, January 14, 2002
Big Ben's Weekend Wrap
 By Ben Maller No team played better than the Baltimore Ravens on Wild Card weekend. The Ravens defense held Miami to 151 yards and just 9 first downs in the game Baltimore's offensive line was in control helping the Ravens rush for 227 yards. The World Champs also converted on 10-of-16 third downs. Congratulations to Shannon Sharpe of the Ravens who set the record with the longest consecutive streak of playoff wins in NFL history with 12 passing Herb Adderly's record The Dolphins are the only team to reach the playoffs each of the past five years, but they've made an early exit every time by a combined score of 164-16. Miami hasn't advanced to the AFC championship game since the 1992 season or the Super Bowl since the 1984 season. BenMaller.com NFL Trivia Question of the Week: This one is for Jason Smith of Fox Sports Radio... How many playoff games have the Jets won since 1986? Its amazing that the Packers have NEVER lost a home playoff game. Green Bay is 13-0 at home in playoff games.  Brett Favre, who improved to 31-0 at home when the temperature is 34 degrees or colder - it was 28 at kickoff. Reports are the Packers are trying to get the Rams to turn down the Air Conditioner to 33 degrees for there divisional playoff game this weekend. The 49ers almost won despite not being able to run the football. San Francisco ran for just 71 yards, and comeback player of the year Garrison Hearst finished with just 42 yards on 13 carries.  For a team that supposedly liked playing for Tony Dungy the Buccaneers sure played like they wanted to get there coach fired. Tampa Bay has had three starting quarterbacks and three offensive coordinators in the last three seasons and still has not scored a TD in their last three playoff games. Donovan McNabb was the Eagles star against the Bucs and will have to do it again this weekend if Philadelphia is going to win at Soldier Field against the Bears.  Who says you can't just turn it on? Jerry Rice did just that for the Raider Nation with nine catches, 183 yards and a Touchdown. Oakland's defense must make adjustments this week against the Patriots after allowing three second half touchdowns to the Jets. Big Ben's Three Game Balls 3.) Ravens Offensive Line, Terry Allen carried 25 times for 109 yards and a score, Baltimore had 227 yards on the ground 2.) Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers QB, completed 16 of 21 passes for 226 yards in the second half and 22-of-29 for 269 yards overall. 1.) Jerry Rice, Oakland Raiders WR, caught nine passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. Big Ben's Three Bums 3.) Lamar Smith, Dolphins Running Back, Six Carries for Six Yards vs Ravens. 2.) John Abraham, New York Jets Defensive Tackle, who sat out most of the game with Oakland because he had a cold. 1.) Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB, Threw four interceptions against the Eagles.  BenMaller.com NFL Trivia Question of the Week Answer: The Jets have won just one playoff game since 1986. NFL Stat of the Week: Counting the four games this weekend, playoff home teams are 27-7 since 1999, a winning percentage of .794. During this regular season, home teams were 132-116 or .548 Random Weekend Thoughts...  Steve Spurrier and Daniel Snyder will provide many great moments to NFL fans over the next few years. This will be the NFL's best soap opera since Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson worked together in Dallas. If Tony Dungy ends up in Indianapolis and Jim Mora's replacement it will be odd. Some NFL insiders say that Dungy is a younger version of Mora, aka he can't win the big game. President Bush must have laid the 2 1/2 with the Miami Dolphins when he choked on a pretzel Sunday afternoon while watching the game.  I'm glad that Shaq snapped over the weekend in a stunning loss to the Chicago Bulls. Just because O'Neal is the biggest kid on the block doesn't mean that he should get hammered everynight. NBA officials are a joke, every other star player in the league has "Special Rules" except Shaq Diesel. Their obviosly is a huge shortage of offensive coordinator's in the NFL. Sources indicate that former USC and SDSU coach Ted Tolner is a candidate for the Dallas job. Kevin Gilbride who was a bomb in San Diego as Chargers coach is up for the Offensive Coordinator's position in Minnesota. NFL Wildcard Weekend Pictures Get the latest LARadio News here permalink |
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