Big game after Big game

Oklahoma sports are now rolling. I attended the preseason NIT in Norman to watch OU basketball and Davidson's Stephen Curry. First off, Curry is ridiculous. Quick release, impossible to guard, quick feet. Needs to work on his defense, but as far as pure scorer, he is the best in college basketball, and perhaps the best in years. Our own All-American, Blake Griffin, is maybe the most athletic player in the country. He can leap out of the gym and has extended his range. His defense is fantastic. Willie Warren has potential to be all Big-12. He is that good. Had 20 points in about 15 minutes against an elite 8 team from last year (Davidson). This team, this OU team, has a chance to be great. If they can gel, they can be an elite 8 team if not a final four team. They are that good, and its only November.

Now, onto the big game still to come. Just picture Marv Albert hyping this game: "OKLAHOMA. TEXAS TECH. BRADFORD vs. HARRELL. ITS SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL ON ABC!!!!"

This is the definition of BCS implication game. If Tech wins, they clinch the South and likely a birth in the National Championship game. If OU wins, they must still beat OSU, but likely gains a berth to the Big 12 championship and likely the National Championship. Texas is on the outside looking in. They need OU to win their last two games, and by some miracle, still hold their lead in the BCS rankings.

The game is in Norman, 59-2. Thats the record of Stoops teams in Norman. OU has the better defense. I know Tech has a better defense that year's previous, but OU's defense is still better. OU has a better running game and the passing attacks are relatively equal. Give Tech special teams and your breakdown would give you an OU edge in position battles at least at a 2-1 ratio. OU at home and the better team. If they play well, they win the game.

Radio show at 4:30 Saturday afternoon.

Stay classy,

Ben

BCS

With the Sooners wiggling their way back into the BCS picture... I thought I would come out and predict the standings that will come out tomorrow.

How I would rank the teams based on who is playing best right now:

1. Tech
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma
5. Bama
6. Utah
7. USC
8. Penn State
9. Boise State
10. Ohio State

How the BCS will look:
1. Bama
2. Tech
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. USC
7. Utah
8. Boise State
9. Penn State
10. Ohio State

Oklahoma needs to pass Texas in the computers and keep their hold on the polls. If they win out, they should be headed to Kansas City.

Resurrection

Are the Boys back? Just when I had written the Dallas Cowboys off, they go and make a statement. A few things stuck out in my mind:

The defense looked good for the first time since the Green Bay game. They looked great at times, holding Tampa Bay to 6 points in the first quarter when they were given a short field on 3 consecutive possessions. Tampa Bay isn't an offensive powerhouse, but this is the first time in 24 regular season games that they have failed to score a touchdown. Impressive.

The Roy Williams/ Terrell Owens combo will be unstoppable. If TO can play well for another year, Jason Garrett should be able to maximize their potential with new plays and schemes. With two big, strong, fast receivers, the Cowboys should be unstoppable in the red zone. Add in a healthy Jason Witten and this offense should be practically unstoppable.

Tony Romo needs to get back fast. This offense is nothing without his big play ability. Brad Johnson can't make the throws, as he missed an open TO in the endzone several times. Maybe bring in Brooks Bollinger for the Giants game to bring back the big play threat. Brad Johnson needs to go to the nursing home... stat.

The Cowboys are still a playoff team. I had written them off. I looked at their schedule and said 8-8 and maybe 9-7 at best. Now... I dont know. Lets look at the schedule:

@ NY Giants: I cant see them winning this game. NY is too good and its on the road without Romo.
BYE
@ Washington: Redemption. I think they can win this game. Especially if Romo is back. A bye week gives Roy Williams more time to learn the offense. Maybe Terrance Newman is back as well.
San Fran and Seattle at home should be wins with Romo almost definitely back. Is there a Pacman spotting?
@ Pittsburgh: Probably a loss, but I give the Boys a fighting chance. We will chalk it up to a loss for now.
Giants: At home with Romo, rivalry, toss up. We will go with a win since they are 3-1 at home so far this year.
Baltimore: At home, getting towards crunch time for the playoffs... this is a win. They wont score on the Dallas, and Dallas will make a few big plays. I see 24-13 or something like that.
@ Philly: Toss up. Depends on if they are in playoff contention or not.

So going into the Philly game, I see Dallas at worst 8-7 and more likely 9-6. 10-6 gets you into the playoffs most likely. So, I say Dallas has a 50-50 shot at the playoffs, but it all depends on the health of Romo and if the defense can play as well as they did this Sunday.

Good luck!

Random thoughts:

OU is in trouble defensively, with Tech and OSU looming. Tech vs. Texas is a huge game nationally and in the Big 12. We will know a lot more after next weekend, and then can talk BCS implications on every game coming down the home stretch.

I can't believe NBC had the "40 year-old Virgin" on television. They censored half of the damn movie and ruined it. Oh well... I love that movie.

My fantasy team in my league I care about... dominated this week.

Thats all I got.

Tune in Wednesday's 8-10 central time at wire.ou.edu

Stay classy,

Ben

A long absence....

Sorry that I haven't been around, but it has been a busy few weeks.

The Cowboys are in a downward spiral that I dont think they can recover from. I don't see them beating the Bucs or the Giants without Romo or anybody in the secondary. That puts them at 4-5 going into their bye. They need to be at least 10-6 to make the playoffs. With games AT Washington, NYG, and Philly.... no way the Cowboys finish better than 9-7. I actually see them finishing 8-8. It is really just sad that this team completely fell apart. I just hope TO doesn't pull a gun and shoot people as he runs down the field for the touchdown ala "The Last Boy Scout."

OU fell to UT, but somehow still finds themselves in the championship race. Sitting at 4 in the BCS several things MUST happen. Penn St must lose. Alabama must lose. A one loss team cannot win the SEC. If those three things happen, I think OU can stave off USC (unless the voters put USC ahead of OU just to keep OU out) in the BCS and either OU and TX will rematch for the National Championship... or OU will play whoever happens to be in that one spot. I wouldn't be surprised to see an OU/USC rematch from 2004 if Texas loses to either someone they shouldn't lose to, or loses two games. That is my BCS rant. Still a LONG way to go.

World Series is a snooze fest. Congrats if Tampa can pull of the complete turn around... but who cares? Tampa fans don't even care that much, they haven't sold out a game until the World Series!

I am ready for Tiger Woods to return.

On the show tonight, Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Terry Stotts.

Stay classy,

Ben

AD on Monday night

I will keep posting tonight as I watch All Day run over the Saints. Also I need Brees to perform well so I win my fantasy football game.

7:35: AD looks ready to go on the sideline. Please someone tell ESPN that we are tired of Hank Williams.

8:05: Adrian hasn't really gotten a chance, but Brees started well and the Vikings defense just won me another fantasy game.

8:18: Give Adrian a damn block.

9:15: Adrian just fumbled...wait no he didnt, wait he did....no they ruled that he has strong hands? Anyways, that was a huge hit. We will see if Adrian gets stronger as the defense gets more tired. Halftime 20-10 Vikings.

...

Wow Benjamin we really do suck at picking 'em...can I just say though that both my NFL fantasy teams are 3-0...Oh and Granger IS passing up season ending surgery so he'll most likely be back in several weeks (not that its really gonna make that big of difference). Thats all I gotta say for right now...gotta get back to studying for two quizes and a test. Catch you all tomorrow night at 8...its gonna be a good one!

OUT,

Steve

The results are in.....

We dont know squat about football.

Results:

NCAAFB:
Week 2
Steve:3-2
Ben: 3-2

Cumulative:
Steve: 5-5
Ben: 5-5

NFL:
Week 2
Steve: 2-3
Ben: 0-5

Cumulative:
Steve: 4-6
Ben: 3-7

Locks:

Week 2
Steve: 0-2
Ben: 0-2

Cumulative:
Steve: 1-3
Ben: 2-2

Pathetic.

Random ramble:
The boys in blue are a force to be reckoned with. Other than garbage time, Dallas pretty much shut down Green Bay. I'm real excited for the rest of the season. Not as excited about missing next week's Washington game.

U.S. Ryder Cup was sick.

4 of my 5 fantasy teams' fate lie in the toe of LT. If he scores 3 points, one team will win... up to 22 points and all 4 teams win. The other of my 5 teams... I already won. So lets go Chargers!

Finger roll:

Stay Classy,

Ben

Picks and Podcast Info

Radio Show was a huge hit tonight. Here are Steve and I's picks:

College:

West Virgina -3 at Colorado: Ben and Steve take West Virgina covering
Florida -7.5 at Tennessee: Ben and Steve take Florida
Boise St at Oregon -10.5: Ben thinks this gets ugly and takes Oregon. Steve takes Boise
Georgia -7 at Arizona State: rebound game both of us take Georgia big.
LSU -3.5 at Auburn: Ben takes the champs laying the points. Steve takes the team with no offense.
Locks: Steve takes Auburn; Ben takes Fresno State laying 7 against Toledo

NFL:
Arizona at Washington -3: Both take Arizona's high powered O.
Tampa Bay at Chicago -3: Both take the Bears
Carolina at Minnesota -3.5: Steve takes AD, Ben bets against his boy Gus
Saints at Broncos -6: Both think Broncos win big
Dallas -3 at Green Bay: Steve stays loyal and takes the boys, Ben thinks 6 days isnt enough to recover from Philly game

Locks: Steve says Broncos -6, Ben takes over 42 points in AZ vs. Wash

Why the hell did we not pick the Pitt Eagles game? We overlooked that....SORRY.


Ok so I figured out how to do podcasts. Here is the Pat Forde interview and it should show up on the right Podcenter toolbar for at least the next few weeks.



Stay Classy,

Ben

Romo = Retarded?

Here are the updated rankings between Steve and I:

College:
Ben: 2-3
Steve: 2-3

NFL:
Ben: 3-2
Steve: 2-3

Locks:
Steve: 1-1
Ben: 2-0


Looks like I have the early lead.

Monday night thoughts....

The Dallas secondary is in trouble. Pressure was sufficient from the d-line, but the secondary struggled mightily. I fear there may be several shootouts this year. Luckily, our offense is sick. Good luck stopping our passing attack. Very interesting to see if Sunday night vs. the Packers is another shootout. My dad goes to that game.... lucky.



Alright, Steve and I will post our picks for this weekend tomorrow night.

Stay Classy,

Ben

BCS a Mess?

So everyone wants a playoff system for college football...right? Well with the system we have in place, I think that there are just a few adjustments that would drastically change the landscape of college football.


Before I get into this adjusted system, I am going to assume (because this should happen) that the Cotton Bowl is added as a new BCS site. The Cotton Bowl will be moved to the new Texas Stadium in the next 5 years.

Ok here we go:

A) All BCS conferences should have conference championship games.

Tired of seeing Ohio State finish playing football on November 15th and then waiting 3 weeks to slide up the polls into the national championship? Me too! PAC-10, BIG-10, and the BIG-EAST must add conference championships. How fantastic would it be to have a Friday night double header of conference championship games and then FOUR conference championship games on Saturday. uh....awesome? Yaaaa. This needs to be done. It is unfair for teams in the brutal SEC and tough Big 12, and sometimes competitive ACC to have to go through maybe their most challenging game of the year just to qualify for a BCS game. While the other three conferences don't have to face that tough test. Make it fair across the board.

B) Two AT-Large teams **(Credit to Aaron Brenner who helped me with this idea)

I like the BCS rankings. I think 95% of the time, it gets it right. One gripe I have with it, is that the human pollsters are so dumb I wonder sometimes if they watch football. I believe in last years last poll, 10 coaches put Missouri ahead of OU, even though OU beat them twice? It's a joke and its not just my OU bias. Other teams rankings were just ridiculous. Florida with 3 losses ranked #1? Several coaches had that. But overall, keep the BCS rankings.

The two BCS at-large teams will be: 1) The highest ranked BCS team that didn't win its conference; and 2) A non-BCS team selected by a play in game. The play-in game will be played on the Thursday night of the conference championship weekend. It will be between the two highest ranked non-teams. Should be exciting, no?

C) Rank the teams according to BCS rankings and place them in the BCS bowls.

Best ranked against the worst ranked. Second best ranked against the second worst etc.... For example, if USC is #1 and the Big East champion is ranked #22 and thats the worst ranking... they play in game one. The way the bowl should be selected is by proximity to the best seeded team. There will be 4 preselected locations (out of the 5 BCS bowls) and proximity to the best seeds is how the games are placed. So obviously is USC is #1 they are playing in the Rose Bowl. But if USC was #6 and they were playing Oklahoma who is #4. They play in the Cotton Bowl. Get the gist? So fill the 4 quarter-final games by proximity. By using proximity, it guarantees fans filling the seats which equals money and that has been the biggest gripe with a playoff (Sponsors losing money).

D) Winners face off in 2 more BCS bowls at repeat locations.

The BCS locations for the semi-finals should be preselected locations. The bracket is not re-seeded between rounds. Simple.

E) National championship is played during the weekend between the conference championships and the Super Bowl in the NFL.

This will be played in a preselected BCS location. There will be one location that did not host a quarterfinal and a semifinal games and this is where the championship will be. It will be a yearly rotation, so each location gets to host the National championship. Some years they only get a quarterfinal game. Some years you get a quarterfinal and a semifinal.

F) The schedule will work with school.

Quarterfinals: First week after school is out. (Weekend before Christmas)
Semifinals: (New Years week)
Championship: (Between AFC and NFC championship and Superbowl)

So I think i covered it. BCS makes more money, fans are happy. Less people will be upset because:

If you win your conference you are in the playoff. If you lose your conference but play in a tough conference (i.e. Missouri) you still have a good chance of making the playoffs if you are highly ranked. At large teams have a legit shot at making the playoffs and wont always be the last ranked team.

So this should sum it up. I know the bowl locations is kinda confusing, but it works. I'll do a what if for you:

If the season ended after week 2 and we will pretend the AP is the BCS standings it would be:

10. Wisconsin
9. Auburn
8. LSU
7. Missouri
6. East Carolina (lets assume they dont lose a game all year)
5. Ohio State
4. Florida
3. Oklahoma
2. Georgia
1. USC

Big 12 champ: Oklahoma
Pac-10 champ: USC
SEC champ: Georgia
Big-10 Champ: OSU
ACC champ: Wake Forest ranked #12
Big East champ: South Florida ranked #15
Fresno State is ranked #14

Here are the games:

Play-in game: East Carolina beats Fresno State

Quarters:
Rose Bowl: USC vs. South Florida
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Wake Forest
Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma vs. East Carolina
Orange Bowl: Florida vs Ohio State

Semis:
Rose: Georgia vs. Oklahoma
Sugar: Florida vs. USC

Championship:
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. USC

Again bowls will rotate every year.

I think this works. Very long explanation. So, whats your take?

My picks

I'm about to go tee it up in Dallas. Trying to beat that damn hurricane. Without further ado:

Picks from the show:

College

OU over Washington +20
USC over OSU +11
Georgia over SCarolina +7.5
Kansas over USF.....lost that one
Michigan over ND +2.5

My lock DOMINATED LAST NIGHT! Baylor over WashU

NFL:

Eagles cover 7 against Cowboys
Pitt covers 6.5 over Browns
Patriots beat Jets
Broncos over Chargers
Colts over Vikings
Lock: Giants cover 9 at St Louis


O'll let you know how the Hurricane man handles me on the course...

Stay Classy,

Ben

Predictions

Ooooooook here we go...my top five picks and predictions are in for this week's college football and NFL. I hope everybody had a good week (hope Nick is still alive in Reno and Ben hasn't contracted a disease from the male hitchhiker he picked at that rest stop.) I thought my very first radio show went pretty good and I know that it will only get better and more comfortable. I'm lucky to have a co-host that knows his stuff (thanks for carryin us last week Ben.) It was a good opening year show (minus the tech difficulties.) We had some strong guests and got to talk a lot of in depth sports. Anywaaay, getting back on track...

My 5-game college fball are:

1. OU (beat cincy 52-26) @ Wash U  (lost BYU 28-27) – OU wins by 24

2. USC (bye) @ OSU (beat Ohio  26-14)– USC BIG!

3. Georgia (beat C. Michigan 56-17) @ South Carolina (lost to Vanderbilt 24-17) – Georgia by at least two tds

4. South Florida (beat UCF 31-24) @ Kansas (beat L. Tech 29-0) – Kansas by a td (crazy how on recent ESPN.COM online poll, of 13,593 votes, it is exactly 50%-50% on who the winner will be.)

5. Mich (beat Miami Ohio 16-6) @ ND (beat San Diego State 21-13) – Mich  wins by 14

My Lock of the Week

USC big over Ohio State-  USC has 2 weeks to prepare. With Beanie looking doubtful and USC's air attack and power defense, I see a little "who's yo daddying." Be sure to watch for the nation’s two best middle linebackers: USC’s Rey Maualuga and OSU’s James Laurinaitis 

NFL:

Eagles (beat St. Louis 38-3) @ Cowboys (beat Browns 28-10) - Cowboys win by 10

Pittsburg (beat Houston 38-17) @ Browns (Lost to Cowboys 28-10) - Steelers win by 14

Patriots (beat KC 17-10) @ Jets (beat Miami 20-14) - Patriots win by 10

Chargers (lost to Panthers 26-24) @ Broncos (beat Oakland 41-14) - Broncos win by 7

Colts (lost to Chicago 29-13) @ Vikings (lost to GB 24-19) - Colts win by 13

My Lock of the Week

Pit over Cleveland

Quote of the day-

"TMI? Too Much Information. It’s just easier to say 'TMI'. I used to say "don't go there", but that's lame."
- Michael "The Office"

The S-Train has left the station

RADIO SHOW TONIGHT!

Shaving Points with Ben and Steve debuts TONIGHT at 8PM CDT. Please tune in.... we have several guests:

Josh McCuistion from Rivals.com talking college football
Jason Sobel from ESPN.com talking Ryder Cup.
My good friend Aaron Brenner who writes for the paper in Madison, Wi. He will preview OSU vs. USC.

Its gonna be awesome. Steve and I will post our NFL and CFB picks. We will not be wearing pants in the studio, so feel free to come take a peak at the Oklahoma student union.

Listen at Wire.ou.edu... email us at shavingpoints@gmail.com

Stay Classy,

Ben















These tools will be running the show.

Hello World!

Just to give everyone reading this a quick mental image of me: I just woke up and am sitting at my desk in my blue monkey boxers and birthday cake socks (what is that smell??)

I want to start by thanking Ben for asking me to be on the show with him. I'm actually kind of surprised he asked me to be on his sports show due to some bitterness I thought still existed from when I used to kick his ass in 3rd grade basketball practice. I am however very excited be a part of this and I think it’s going to be a great show.

My name is Stephen LEVIN (no 'e' at the end...BEN!) I am a Super Senior at the great University of Oklahoma. I'm not quite sure when I'll be graduating (changed my major about the number of times Tavaris Jackson threw an incomplete pass last night.) I sort of view myself as an almost as but not quite as cool or attractive “Van Wilder.” I even have a bulldog named “Goldberg” with gigantic…well if you’ve seen the movie then you know what I’m talking about. I guess all I need now is a decked-out golf cart for class and a personal assistant Indian man.

On a brief NFL note, I watched Monday Night Football and was a bit disappointed in my two favorite players. First off, kudos on a pretty exciting Packer-Viking game (Denver not so much.) Although the game was sloppy at times and a bit frustrating (thanks to Tavaris who makes me want to rip my eyes out and pour Freebird’s fire sauce in the sockets…for cryin out loud just hand the ball to AD every freakin play!!) it was a pretty good game that came down to the wire and seeing Rogers do his first Lambeau Leap made the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I was a little disheartened with the play of Jared Allen (who is a beast of man) and Adrian Peterson (the god of beasts of men.) Allen had 0 tackles or sacks in last night’s game which really surprised me. I realize he was double teamed a lot, but I was looking forward to see the rabid animal he was in a Chiefs jersey. Now I know on paper Peterson’s stats aren’t bad at all (103 yards and a TD), but lets face it, die hard AD fans, none of us are happy unless he’s breaking either the 200 yard mark or a d-backs leg (that hit on Al Harris was pretty good though.)

Anyways, I'm stoked to be a part of the show, it’s my first time on radio so hopefully I can catch on quick and don't forget to listen from 8-10 on wire.ou.edu!!

OUT,

Steve

Quote of the Day:

“Half this game is ninety percent mental.”

-Yogi Berra

my man crush

Back from the future

Well I'm really just back from a long hiatus. I'm sitting in class right now and decided now is as a good a time as ever to talk sports.


My radio show is BACK. Starting this Wednesday night from 8-10 central time... and we are starting with a bang. At least two main stream guests including but not limited to Jason Sobel from ESPN.com to talk Ryder Cup. Also Josh Mccuistion from Rivals.com will talk college football, specifically Oklahoma football. Its gonna be great.

I have brought in a new co-host this year. Times didn't work with D No, so my boy Stephen Levine will be joining me to form "Shaving Points with Ben and Steve." I am giving him permission to blog on here, so this will be a Shaving Points blog. He will introduce himself later tonight or tomorrow.

Be sure to tune into the show WEDNESDAY NIGHT FROM 8-10 CDT at WIRE.OU.EDU

Moving on to actual sports talk. My teams.... have been impressive. The OU football team looks awfully strong. I see us surpassing 500 points of offense this year...EAAAASY. We should average 45 points a game. The Big 12 defenses are weak this year. However our defense looks good. Our linebackers were a question mark, but Travis Lewis answered the call. Beast! Our secondary was a big question mark.... and they have looked pretty solid. Dominique Franks has big play ability but could get burned now and then. Brian Jackson just looks like he could shut down an entire side. My overall grades after two games: Offense A; Defense B+; Special Teams C-. The kicking game is good except for kickoff coverage.....AWFUL. God we need a special teams coach.

Moving on to my boys. That is the Dallas Cowboys. Our offense looks good. Our defense looks scary good even with Terrance Newman out. I see us having trouble scoring in a game or two. 12-4 will be our final record. Marion Barber needs to stay healthy, that is a big concern of mine. But our rookie back ups, Tashard Choice and Felix Jones look real solid. If the Cowboys stay healthy... they win 11 games minimum and will be playoff bound. Now if only we could win a playoff game.......this is the year baby!!

Ok, I should pay attention to some of my lecture. Tune in to the show Wednesday night!

Stay Classy,

Ben

RIP Tom Brady

Moved in

I'm back in Norman. Played golf with my boy Joey yesterday. We scrambled to a 4 under on 9 holes. We play Jimmy Austin today. Home of the 2009 Public Links tourney. I now have a membership there. Green fees paid for the semester. Solid.

Big day coming up Monday. 3 fantasy drafts in a 4 hour span. Will be interesting. When things slow down this week I'll let everyone know when the radio show is coming back and talk a lot more about sports. A eulogy for the Texas Rangers and finally some football. One week from College football kickoff, so I will do season predictions for my Sooners and the rest of the Big 12.

Stay classy,

Ben

Early Morning update

Its 6 am and I am exhausted. But I have a chance to sneak in 18 holes in between waves of this monsoon, so I am going to do it.

A few notes about some sports before I do my Wide Receiver rankings. First, one last note on Phelps. What makes his 8 golds so impressive is the races he did. Marc Spitz only swam Freestyle events and the Butterfly. Phelps swims all 4 type because he does the Individual Medley's. Did you know that Phelps' 400 M Individual Medley time is only about 15 seconds slower than Spitz's 4X100 M relay team's time in 1972? Thats insane.

Usain "Lightning" Bolt's 100 meter run is maybe just as impressive as what Phelp's did. A non-wind aided 9.69 without even trying. Next time I wont be surprised if he runs the last 20 meters backwards. He looked like Deion high-stepping into the endzone on his last 20 meters, pounding his chest. I can't wait to see what he does in the 200.

RIP Ian Kinsler's season. I know I just mentioned a Texas Ranger. Kinsler was having an MVP season leading off but has Hernia and will likely miss the rest of the season.

Ok on to the Wide Receiver fantasy football rankings:

1) Randy Moss: As long as Tom Brady is throwing him the ball, he will be great again. 15 TD and 1200 yards is a foregone conclusion.
Weakness: I dont see him being as consistent as last year. He may go two games without a touchdown and breaking 100 yards, then have a game where he scores 3 times and has 180 yards (vs. Miami).

2) Terrell Owens: Big, strong, fast. He will have his drops, but he has a top 5 QB throwing to him.
Weakness: Is age a factor? And a 3rd receiver needs to step up or TO will be double covered every play.

3) Braylon Edwards: The most talented receiver under 30. Makes fantastic catches and is real fast.
Weakness: Will Derek Anderson have a sophmore slump? A second receiver needs to step up as well to keep the pressure off Edwards.

4) Reggie Wayne: Even with a healthy Harrison, Wayne become's Peyton's top target this year.
Weakness: Peyton still has a lot of options so Wayne's looks will be fewer than the top 3 on this list.

5) Marques Colston: Since Brees is having a bounce back year, so is Colston. He became a consistent yard producer last season in the final 7-8 games. Look for him to have 1500 yards and 8-10 TD's this year.

Honorable Mentions: Plaxico Burress, Chad Johnson, TJ Housh, Larry Fitzgerald

Duds: Calvin Johnson, Steve Smith, Hines Ward

Time to hit the links. Stay Classy,

Ben

SHOCKING Race

Michael Phelps' 7th gold medal of these games can only be described as shocking. If you didn't catch the race... please look it up on the Olympic website and watch it. Phelps was 7th... SEVENTH... at the 50 meter turn of the 100 meter butterfly. He kept closing in, closing in on the Serbian next to him. Then with 10 meters left, Phelps still was a few feet off the pace. Then Clavic (The Serbian) hit the wall, Phelps lost... wait NO! Phelps won! By one one-hundredth of a second. Unbelievable. I really thought he had lost, it took 5 slow motion replays to convince me. It was just crazy. Serbia put in a protest, but Phelps won, it is clear. Just sick.


I'm watching trampoline jumping right now. Dong Dong from China is jumping. This is so dumb. Jump up and down for 30 seconds then do some flips and don't fall. Some of these Olympic events I just look at and scratch my head.

U.S. Men's basketball is a force. They demolished Spain this morning. I really can't see how they lose a game unless they shoot 25% in a game.

I'm ready for football. I have my first fantasy draft in a week or so. I'll be throwing out my Wide Receiver rankings by the end of the weekend. Be sure to check out the RB and QB rankings from earlier posts.

Stay classy,

Ben

The Anchor for your Fantasy team is....

Time for my RB rankings for fantasy football. Without further ado:

1) Ladanian Tomlinson: I cannot possibly think about taking him out of this spot. He was said to be having a "down year" last year and his numbers were... 1950 total yards with 19 total TD's.

Weakness: The ONLY concern here is if the passing game will be good enough to keep 8 men out of the box and can the O-line stay healthy.

2) Adrian Peterson: My boy is too big of a star to keep off the field for Chester Taylor. He studied all summer on how to beat 8 man fronts. According to the Vikings offensive coordinator they have developed a great zone blocking scheme for run stopping defenses. Barring injury he will have 1500 yards and 15 TD's on the ground.

Weakness: Needs to get balls thrown his way out of the backfield.... and to do that you need a decent QB. Can TJ be a good enough quarterback to keep 9 men out of the box and get the ball to AD?


3) Brian Westbrook: The most underrated running back this decade. 2nd most fantasy points for a RB last year and 3rd place rode in at over 4 fantasy points PER GAME less than him. Absolute stud. Pass catching and running he is the man, ESPECIALLY if you are playing in a points per reception league. Andy Reid loves passing the ball and dump passes to Westbrook are where your points will flow in.

Weakness: Will he get enough touches with that passing attack? He will be 29 when Week one starts, will he stay healthy and keep that speed. 29 is awfully close to that scary age of 30 for NFL RB's.

4) Stephen Jackson: If he stays healthy, he is unstoppable. Strong and fast and still young, Jackson has the ability to be the best running back in the league.

Weakness: Can the St. Louis passing attack be better than last year? Will Jackson continue his hold out?

5) Joseph Addai: Fast, great cuts, catches the ball out of the backfield. Addai is a great addition to the team. I had him last year and he was quite consistent and carried my team to the playoffs.
Weakness: Touches. Some games he would see fewer touches. But with Marvin Harrison getting older, I think Indianapolis may run the ball a little more. Addai is a solid first running back selection in the early to mid first round.

Honorable Mention:
Frank Gore: Didnt find the endzone much last year but look for him to rebound.

Ryan Grant: If Aaron Rodgers doesn't suck, look for Ryan Grant to have a great year. He may end up being a top 5 back. He had almost 1000 yards in 10 games last year.

Marion Barber III: Only reason not in the top 5 is because Felix Jones may take away from his carries.

Duds:
Jamal Lewis: Don't see him being healthy all year. He is getting older.
Clinton Portis: To be honest, I dont know why, but I have a bad feeling about him this year.

Super Sleeper:
Ronnie Brown: Tore his ACL so some people might forget him. Worth a 3-4 round pick because he could light it up like he did last year in the first few games.

May do a short running diary of the Phelps race tonight. Also, I decided to go ahead and post the sports movie scene post later tonight. Busy day!

Stay classy,

Ben

Doctor ramblings

I'm at the doctors office for my yearly physical... Yay! Not so much.

Few observations this morning. I'm shocked at Federer's downfall. He
got beat by Blake in straight sets. In 8 previous matches Blake had
won one SET!

USA basketball will win Gold. They are unstoppable this year.

Later today I unleash the running back rankings for fantasy football.
I'm saving the movie scene post for the weekend. But I was thinking
of my favorite movie athletes... Maybe I'll throw a top 5 list in of
those guys.

Stay classy as I drop my drawers for the doc

Ben

Testing mobile blogging

Just wanted to test the mobile blogging. So here are my quarterback
rankings for fantasy football:

1) Tom Brady: sick.
2) Peyton Manning: older receivers but still a baller.
3) Tony Romo: no home-er here. Tony is the truth.
4) Carson Palmer: wr's are too good
5) Drew Brees: can you say rebound year?

Honerable mention: Derek Anderson: will Quinn pop up?

Most overrated: Big Ben = big dud this year

Stay classy,

Ben

Where is Kerri Strug?

Last night I took in a healthy dose of Olympics... and it continued to entertain me. First I enjoyed watching the great Michael Phelps continue to dominate. In the 200 meter butterfly, Phelps held off the field to win his 4th Gold in Beijing, but the race was much closer than it should have been. This is Phelps race, his best, and his best should mean a win by 2 lengths. However you could see his disgust as he threw his goggle into the pool once he touched the wall. He broke the record but he wanted to shatter it. Turns out his goggles filled with water when he jumped into the pool and continued to fill with water throughout the race. So he raced practically blind and still broke the WORLD record. Unbelievable. The 4 X 200 meter freestyle was a joke. Phelps was ahead by almost two lengths after he lead off and the Americans won by almost half a pool. They broke the world record by 5 seconds. It was almost boring.

When I got home I enjoyed watching the end of the gymnastics with my girlfriend. I caught the balance beam and floor exercises for the girls teams. I say girls because those Chinese girls are way under the 16 year old requirement. Are people looking at these girls! Listening to their voices! They are easily in the 12-13 range if not YOUNGER. I loved it when Costas was talking to the former American gymnastics coach in the NBC studio with his thick accent and he said "China was the best team tonight, but it's too bad they are all under 16 years old." That was awesome, at least someone is willing to talk about it. Anyways, I thought it was really awful that that one girl from the US fell during the beam AND the floor exercise. You train your whole life on these 3 minutes and you screw up that badly TWICE. I feel bad for her... but come on! Kerri Strug did it in the clutch with one leg! Oh well, I guess silver isn't too bad.

Ok, that was the rant for this morning. Coming up later today I will either begin my fantasy football rankings or post my top sports movie scenes. I haven't decided yet. Stay tuned.

Stay Classy,

Ben

And it's...in the Hole!

Played golf this morning up in Mckinney, Texas. The Hank Haney golf course there is called West Ridge and is a very interesting course. 6 each of Par 5's, 4's and 3's. A lot of water but a lot of fun. I hit the ball wonderfully, it's too bad I putt as well as Sergio on the back 9 of a major.

Sports last night was really awesome. Michael Phelps is just ridic. He absolutely dominated the 200 Freestyle, by like 2 seconds. Then I watched his semifinal 200 butterfly. The kid (I say kid when he is one year older than me) just was so patient. About 125 meters into the race he sat at about 5th out of 8 (top 4 qualify) then he just kicked it into another gear. He hit the wall to come back for the last 50 and was already in first and won by an entire body length. He could beat a shark in a race, and I really mean that. All of this dominance and the races were less than an HOUR apart. Just nasty. Tonight he goes for Gold in two events two hours apart, and I don't doubt for a second that he will do it. Tonight he breaks the record for most gold medals EVER... in the history of the Olympics. He is 23. Think he goes for 8 more in 2012? Maybe. We are seeing history... embrace it.

I didn't catch any of Aaron Rodgers but I heard he was pretty solid. With no playoff experience I'm not too worried.

I would mention the Rangers... well I guess I just did, but they stink. They aren't awful, but they will be a team to watch NEXT year.

I'm growing a little concerned on whether or not Tiger will be ready for the Masters next year. He said today he won't swing a club until next year. Maybe 4 months is enough time for the World's greatest athlete to get back up to where he was? We will see. I hope he comes back 100%, because it would be a shame for the greatest golfer of all time to not reach his full potential in history.

Now I'm rambling. Here is what I'm watching tonight:

Olympics. Thats it. I'm gonna go play some Wii Fit until about 9 then catch Phelps and some other sports.

Coming up soon in the blog. I rank top 5 at the key fantasy football positions and take a closer look at my favorite sports movie scenes.

Stay Classy,

Ben

Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Monday's

I'm bored, so I decided to start a sports blog for the upcoming semester. Last spring my buddy Nick and I had this awesome radio show called Shaving Points with Ben and Nick. This fall I will continue doing radio with D No. Since summer is wrapping up, I decided to get a head start on the blog and prepare for the radio show. Just some random thoughts for my first quick entry.

It's Monday. The title for this entry is a quote from Office Space... I think I will watch that movie tonight... because its still funny the 50th time. I'll sneak in that movie during this evening's sports.

Olympics. I'm not the biggest Olympic guy, but Michael Phelps is sick. Not human, whatever. I really enjoy watching people dominate. Jordan during his career, Lebron against Detroit in the playoffs 2 years ago. Tiger f-ing Woods. Gretzky. Rooney and Christiano Ronaldo. Will Hunting dominating the guy in the bar and his interview with the NSA. Roy Hobbs. I love the freak of nature. Now, Michael Phelps is taking the boring sport of swimming and making it relevant. Not only relevant, but I find myself glued to the TV. So I'll be catching that.

Also, I'll be catching some of Aaron Rodgers, just to keep check on one of my Cowboy's rivals for the NFC crown. By the way, just caught some of Monday Night Countdown on ESPN... Steve Young looks like he just took the red eye flight from Vegas and was at the strip clubs all night. His hair looks AWFUL.

Anyways, I'm out right now.

Stay Classy,

Ben