BenMaller.com - Ben's Takes

Baseball's ratings myth

By Ben Maller

Reading sports pages this week you would think that there were actually only three people really watching this year's World Series. It's become the big lie of the baseball season. Looking at the facts, the baseball ratings were actually pretty good.

Considering that outside the state of California there really wasn't much interest, the ratings were actually pretty good. It's not like a lot of people really wanted to see the sport's biggest jerk, Barry Bonds, win a ring.

If baseball is in trouble as a television sport, what does that say about NASCAR, NBA, NHL and the NCAA basketball Final Four.

Even though the 11.9 is the worst-rated Series of all time, it beat the ratings for the New Jersey-Los Angeles Lakers NBA Finals last season (10.2), the NCAA men's Final Four (11.8), the Daytona 500 (10.9), Rounds 3 and 4 of the Masters (8.1) and the Stanley Cup Finals (3.6).

The only major sporting event it didn't beat was the Super Bowl.

The Fox network won six of the seven nights the Series was played. That's the most important thing to remember. It's like winning a game. It doesn't matter by how much you win, but that you win the game.

Hot Sports Opinions

For Oklahoma this week, it's pretty simple: stop Chris Brown and you beat Colorado. Brown’s 1,303 rushing yards (6.9 ypc) and 84 points leads the Big 12 Conference. I'm not a huge Nate Hybl fan, but the guy's numbers are pretty good. Hybl comes into the game with a 134.3 QB rating, second best in the Big 12.

This weekend, Pittsburgh is trying for its first win against a Top 5 team, Virginia Tech, since 1987. Tech's special teams and defense continue to lead the way. The Hokie defense and special teams have combined for 75 TD’s since Frank Beamer arrived in 1987, including 58 in Tech's last 106 games.

Boston College's three losses have come at the hands of some the best defenses in the nation – Virginia Tech-fifth, Pittsburgh–eighth, Miami–tenth. Notre Dame ranks fifth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 13.5 points per game, and seventh in run defense, allowing only 81.75 yards per game.

Florida can ruin Georgia's BCS title game dreams this weekend. I wouldn't be shocked if the Gators pull the upset. Talent wise, the Bulldogs and Gators are even. The Ron Zook factor could be too much for Florida to overcome.

Minnesota can prove it is for real with a win at Ohio State. The Gophers and Buckeyes rank first and second in the Big Ten in total defense. Minnesota RB Terry Jackson leads the Big Ten in rushing and has run for over 100 yards in three straight games. Not Maurice Clarett.

Nebraska's 26 game home winning streak will come to an end against Texas. The Longhorns rank third nationally in both total defense (258.9 ypg) and scoring defense (13.25 ppg).

Arizona State can mess up the Pac-10 race with an upset- win at Washington State. The Sun Devils are averaging 35.3 points per game, which ranks second in the Pac-10 and 12th in the nation.

Iowa, which plays host to Wisconsin, has dominated its opponents on the ground this year. The Hawkeyes have accumulated 1,364 more rushing yards than their opponents. Iowa has rushed for 1,925 yards while its opponents have collected 561 yards. Iowa averages 5.0 yards per carry, while its opponents average 2.1.

There are few things better in life than getting back at someone who did not believe in you. Bill's QB, Drew Bledsoe, has done that to the Patriots this season. Bledsoe leads the NFL in passing yardage (2,500) and leads the AFC in passer rating (98.3). Buffalo plays host to New England on Sunday. One interesting matchup to watch, the Patriots rank 2nd in the league in pass defense, while the Bills have the NFL's 2nd ranked offense this season.

The Steelers and Browns battle for the top spot in the AFC North. Pittsburgh is red hot right now thanks to Tommy Maddux. The Steelers have won three straight games and have outscored their opponents 93-35 in those contests.

I like the Lions, this weekend, against the Cowboys. QB Chad Hutchinson is making his first away start and Dallas has lost 15 of their past 17 games on the road.

Michael Vick of the Falcons leads all QBs with 367 rushing yards and his 9.0 yards per carry average is 1st in the NFL among all players with at least 350 yards. For all of Vick's running, the Falcons are 26th in the league in passing offense. They play Baltimore this weekend.

Minnesota has the NFC’s top ranked offense, while the Buccaneers have the NFL’s top ranked defense. The Bucs have not scored an offensive touchdown in back-to-back games.

The Jets say they have not quit and are going to battle the Chargers this weekend. Chad Pennington has a 113.4 QB Rating as a starter against three of the worst defenses in the NFL. Drew Brees has won 6 of his first 7 NFL starts and aims to become the first QB since Daunte Culpepper to begin his career at 7-1 as a starter.

It's strange that Arizona is over .500, this season, with the play of Jake Plummer. Plummer is the NFL’s lowest-rated passer among all qualifying players.

What's wrong with the Raiders? Oakland has lost three straight games since starting the season 4-0. They averaged 40.5 points per contest in their first four games and just 14.7 points per game during their current losing streak.

The Giants offense has looked a lot like the Buc's offense this season. The Giants have been held to 10 points or less in 4 of their past 5 games.
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Wednesday, October 30, 2002

Justice is served for Bonds

By Ben Maller

Barry Bonds legacy has been set. He will go down in baseball history as a loser. He'll never get back to the World Series and will leave the game without winning a damn thing. In the 2002 Series Bonds set many offensive records, yet it was his mistake that helped cost him his last real chance to be called a winner. Instead Bonds was part of one of the greatest collapses in postseason history.

The Giants were just six outs from clinching victory in game six only to turn a 5-0 lead into a shocking 6-5 loss. The Angels winning run in that game reached scoring position on a fielding error by Bonds.

Their is a lot of justice in the fact that Bonds who has made a career of being a gigantic jerk made the big mistake in this series.

When people call my radio show and ask how I could possibly dislike this man so much I bring up example number one: The Children's Hospital story incident that took place when he played for the Pirates. Normally seconds later someone listening in Pittsburgh will call up and recite the details on what has become a big part of the Bonds legend in the Burgh.

Once while in Pittsburgh, Bonds refused to sign a ball to be auctioned off for Children's Hospital. The Pirates had to buy one from a home shopping channel and get all the other players to sign it!

Its odd that Bonds has had the best years of his career in his late 30's.

Barry is 38 with the body of a 25 year old. Yet he has never been fully honest about steroids or other enhancements he takes that could explain how he has gained 38 pounds of muscle since 1997. He did admit to Lisa Guerrero of Fox Sports Net that he takes Creatine, protein pills, and other supplements.

It has been reported that for Creatine, andro and other supplements to really work, an athlete has to receive a jump start by the use of steroids.

The bottom line is this 2002 World Series was all about Barry. Yet thanks in part to his mistake the only way he's going to get a world series ring now is if he buys one.

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Monday, October 28, 2002

Barry Strong Bonds

Barry Bonds in 1997 -- 190lbs

Barry Bonds in 2001 -- 228lbs

Source: Baseballplayamerica.com permalink