It has been written many times about the grueling toll, attempting to win the Triple Crown, takes on a horse. But is it really the 3 races in such a short time, capped off by the long distance of the race at the Belmont, or is it the Jokey who ultimately decides who wins?

I would like to argue that much will depend on the split-second decisions made by American Pharoah's jockey, Vict ...  read more

The Top -25 in Basketball will have a new look after eight of the top 10 and 20 of the top 25 teams took a tumble in just a week’s worth of action. Ohio State is still on top of the polls and Texas will be moving up the top-10 after knocking off Oklahoma State and Missouri. The Buckeyes are still perfect on the season but had a serious scare at Northwestern before pulling out 58-57 victory over th ...  read more

Emotion is a huge factor in the world of sports today. It doesn’t matter if you're playing NFL football, high school basketball or recreation league baseball. How you "get up" for a game has a lot to do with how you will perform.
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by Ben Burns

*Editor's Note: Ben went 7-1 in Week 1, his only loser was the Bears. He's now 14-3 his last 17 NFL picks. Read more about that game below.

Nothing went right in Chicago’s 19-14 win over the Lions on Sunday. The Bears should have covered the spread and the total should have gone over. Shoulda, woulda, coulda – welcome to an NFL season guaranteed to produce ...  read more

Each week Ben Burns and David Payne scour the non-BCS conferences looking for a hidden gem.

Life is tough in the MWC and WAC. Lose one game, and you go from a potential BCS bowl to the Humanitarian Bowl. That’s a mammoth pay cut, and a lot of pressure on the coaches from the non-BCS conferences. As we head into the second half of the season, TCU and Boise State are the only non-BCS ...  read more

For something worth one point, PAT’s sure do screw things up. No one knows that more than bettors who played the Kansas State-Iowa State game or the total in Auburn-Tennessee. Last season, teams converted extra points better than 95 percent of the time. Thirty-five teams did not miss an extra point all season, and only one team, North Texas, converted on less than 85 percent. ...  read more

Here’s the situation: You’re laying two points with a home favorite. Your team just scored a go-ahead touchdown and now leads 10-6 with 2:30 left. Which opposing NFL quarterback would you most like to be facing in that situation?

Oakland’s JaMarcus Russell, if not the unanimous first choice, has to be in the discussion. Yet, on Sunday in Kansas City, Russell delivered a ga ...  read more

Sure was a nice showing from the Raiders against the Saints Saturday. Anyone out there man enough to admit they took Oakland +2.5? If so, make sure that’s the last time you’re on the Raiders this year. Exhibition or not, getting pounded 45-7 is ridiculous and really says something about the overall talent, coaching and character of this team. “This is embarrassing to me,” new Raiders coac ...  read more