J.R. Martinez a Sleeper Pick on Dancing With the Stars

Season 13 of ABC's Dancing With the Stars will kickoff on Monday night and the usual collection of actors, athletes, reality show stars and relatives of famous people will try and win the coveted mirror ball trophy.

One contestant the public as a whole may not be all that familair with is actor J.R. Martinez.  Word is his dancing skills are pretty good and he's a likeable guy, so he's a darkhorse pick for sure.

J.R. Martinez told People Magazine: “I’ve learned so much, Karina (Smirnoff) is an amazing talent. She has shown me that it’s all posture, and framing and being elegant. It’s all about fingers and toes. Being a guy, I tend to move all over the place.”  Karina says Martinez is a hard worker on the dance floor.

Other info about Martinez... he's 28, an Iraq war vet who sustained burns to more than 40% of his body, including his face, after hitting a land mine while deployed with the Army in Iraq in 2003. He has undergone 33 cosmetic and skin graft surgeries.

He know appears regularly on ABC's All My Children.

Oklahoma Remains Top College Football Team in Poll

Oklahoma remained the top team in the latest Associated Press college football poll after its victory at Florida State.

The Sooners received 37 first-place votes this week, five more than a week ago, and a total of 1,471 points from the nationwide poll of media.

LSU is No. 2 this week after its 19-6 win at Mississippi State, while Alabama dropped a spot to third following a 41-0 rout of overmatched North Texas. The Tigers received 14 first-place votes and the Crimson Tide picked up seven.

Boise State, which rolled to a 40-15 win at Toledo on Friday, earned the other two first-place votes and remained fourth.

Stanford is up to fifth followed by Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oregon.

The Ohio State Buckeyes were ranked 17th before a 24-6 loss to Miami-Florida on Saturday, they are now unranked. That setback came after a narrow 27-22 win at home against Toledo the previous week. The last time Ohio State was unranked was November 20, 2004.

In addition to Ohio State' Auburn, Arizona State, Michigan State and Mississippi State also departed this week's poll. Michigan State was No. 15 before dropping a 31-13 decision at Notre Dame, while Mississippi State was ranked 25th before its loss to LSU.

Week 1 NFL Play: Buffalo

Was there a more surprising team last week in the NFL than the Buffalo Bills?

To many, the Bills and their win over Kansas City were a bit shocking, not to me.  I saw the Bills improving as the weeks went by in 2010.  They have a underrated QB in Ryan Fitzpatrick, and playmakers at the skill positions.

They have also added to the defense and depth at positions across the board.

This week the Raiders head east to play the Bill in the 1pm game.  Never a good thing for the West Coast teams.  The Bills are only giving 4.  Give it!

Some trends...  The Bills are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 vs. AFC, 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games in Week 2, and 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games overall.  Strong trends for this possible playoff team.  Run with the Bills this week.

Bonus pick:  The OVER in the Green Bay / Carolina game.  OVER the 45.5

Death Toll Rises to 9 in Reno Air Races Tragedy

As the death toll in Reno climbs to nine, a second vintage airplane crash occured on Saturday.

In Martinsburg, West Virginia, another old U.S. military plane went down in a fireball at an air show on Saturday, killing the pilot. There were no other casualties.

In the Reno crash, two people who died of injuries at hospitals and seven died on the tarmac following the Friday night crash, Reno Deputy Police Chief Dave Evans said. More than 50 people were injured. Officials said previously the crash killed at least three people.

The pilot, Jimmy Leeward, 74, was among those killed when his P-51 Mustang dubbed the "Galloping Ghost" crashed into a box seat area in front of the main grandstand, said Mike Draper, spokesman for the 48th Annual National Championship Air Races, also known as the Reno Air Races.

"It was like a war zone where the box seats were," Draper said.

Of the 35 injured in Reno, six were hospitalized in critical condition on Saturday, two were in serious condition and five in fair condition. One person was listed in good condition, and others had been discharged.

Draper said the planes sometimes fly at high speeds "about 50 feet off the ground and it's an exciting, exciting sight."

The thrill has been a deadly one on occasion, with a total of 28 people killed in the history of the race flown every year in Reno since 1964, Draper said.

"The Reno Air Racing Association extends its most sincere heartfelt condolences and sympathies to all of those affected by yesterday's tragic events," the association said in a statement.

Leeward was the son of a pilot and his own sons have also flown planes. He worked as a stunt pilot on some movies, including the 2002 release "Dragonfly."

College Football Play of the Day: Florida

The Gators should put a hurting on what I think is a overrated Tennessee team today in The Swamp.

The Volunteers have looked good so far with Tyler Bray emerging as a good quarterback.  But this is a road test and the 9.5 Tennessee is getting isn't going to be enough.

A great trend to live by is Florida is 37-18 ATS in their last 55 games overall.

Look for a more than 20-point win for the Gators.