Links: Emily Ratajkowski, Big Ten convo & UFC on FS 1
Published on Thursday, 8/15/13, at 11:42 a.m. Eastern.
By Brian Edwards
–Move over Marisa Miller. Slide to the side Emmanuelle Chriqui. Ditto to several of our other all-time favorites like Elizabeth Shue, Halle Berry, Perrey Reeves, Arianny Celeste and Petra Nemcova. BE Sports has a new No. 1. She is ‘The Uno’ for this website in 2013. Her name is Emily Ratajkowski.
–Memo to Dana White: Hire Emily as an Octagon girl pronto!
–Memo to the 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue: Put her on the cover!
–I sat down with Andrew Lange earlier this week to discuss the Big Ten Leaders Division.
–I’ll be talking football with Scott Wetzel on Mad Dog Radio (XM Channel 86) at 3:05 p.m. Eastern on Saturday afternoon.
–I’ll be in Las Vegas next week for the football seminar at the Hilton (LVH). I’m on the college football panel with heavy hitters like Kenny White, Bruce Marshall and Dave Cokin. Steve Cofield will be the moderator. The event is next Friday (8/23) and begins at 5:00 p.m. Pacific in Ballroom E. Entrance is free to the public.
–ESPN apparently hasn’t learned how to translate HBC lingo. Earlier this week, Steve Spurrier does what he does best. After practice, he made a remark that was meant to be a hint to his All-American Jadeveon Clowney that it’s time to get on the field despite a sore shoulder. In vintage Spurrier twang dripping of 1,000 percent sarcasm, he said something like this: “Yep, shoulder is hurt, hasn’t been out here at all. Yeah, don’t even know if he’ll be ready for North Carolina. (Nodding, then shrugging, with visor on) Yep, don’t know, doesn’t look like it.” What does the Worldwide Leader do? All of a sudden, the ticker indicates that Clowney is unlikely to play against UNC, prompting some books to take the game off the board. Jeez, people! Clowney practiced the next day.
–Florida St. was expected to field one of the nation’s top group of wide receivers in 2013. The depth of this group took another hit this week. Senior Greg Dent (27 catches, 355 yards & 2 TDs last year) was already suspended indefinitely and Willie Haulstead is out for the season (academically ineligible). Now senior Jarred Haggins (8 receptions, 108 yards LY) is most likely out for the regular season with a stress fracture in his knee.
–Adam Kramer does outstanding work over at Bleacher Report and on his own website with a great name: Kegs ‘N Eggs. We like Adam. HOWEVER, we have no idea what’s going on with this prediction for the Gators to go 7-5 this season. What?! And dirty martini? The Gators are like Budweisers — always solid & taste great. I have South Carolina winning the SEC East and beating UF, but Will Muschamp’s team will go 10-2.
–I compiled a 70-41 record (63%, +25.27 units) in college football last season. Get signed up for my season package for 2013 by clicking here.
–I went 48-36-1 (57%) in the NFL last season, closing the year on a 7-1 run in the playoffs. Sign up for my 2013 season package here.
–Pittsburgh named Tom Savage as its starting quarterback yesterday. Savage has sat out the last two seasons. As a true freshman at Rutgers in 2010, he threw 14 touchdown passes compared to only seven interceptions.
–Check out my preview for Saturday’s UFC on Fox Sports 1 card at VegasInsider.com.
–According to a report from MMA Mania late last night, Dana White has offered Nick Diaz a fight with Lyoto Machida at 185 pounds. I love the idea of Diaz getting back into the Octagon, but this sounds like the type of matchup that would REALLY get Diaz to retire from MMA for good. This sounds like 15 minutes of Diaz chasing Machida and flicking him off. Machida fights can be horrible because of his reluctance to engage.
