Oktoberfest is this coming weekend. I’ll check out what the artisans have to offer and listen to live music. There’s great food, tasty lemon shake-ups and paintings from guys with names I can’t pronounce. Mmm, seems like I’m missing something. Anyone else thirsty?

Turning point: The Bengals were about as effective as my loser fantasy football team last week, which makes today’s home opener against the Ravens close to a must-win situation. A loss would make the Bengals 0-2 with a pair of road games coming up.

I don’t think this bunch is mentally tough enough to climb out of a big hole. A few more ugly losses and Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens will be heading to the locker room in the middle of the first quarter.

Dig deep: The average ticket price for NFL games this year is $76.47 — still probably less than you’ll pay for the hot dog, beer and peanuts.

Teams like the Patriots, Cowboys, Jets and Giants all charge an average of $100-plus per seat.

The best bargain? Browns tickets are going for $54.51. Supply and demand is not dead.

Playoff push: Congrats to the Cincinnati Reds, who have a firm grip on the mediocre National League Central. It will be really cool to see the Reds playing meaningful games in October.

That said, what does it say about the Reds when they’re holding “auditions” for their playoff pitching rotation?

Transitive property: Virginia Tech’s loss to James Madison has caused critics to question Boise State’s high ranking because the Broncos play a suspect schedule.

Using that flawed logic, Boise should get credit after Nevada (like Boise, from the WAC) crushed Pac-10 heavyweight Cal by three touchdowns.

Quick hits: I’m sure the New York Jets need sensitivity training, but Ines Sainz should dress like a professional (reporter) before she goes into a locker room. ... Tippecanoe High freshman golfer Lindsey Murray recorded a double-eagle 2 and a hole-in-one in the same nine-hole round last week. Amazing. ... No, Reggie Bush didn’t do anything wrong. He gave back the Heisman because it was taking up too much room above his fireplace.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2163 or bkollars@DaytonDailyNews.com.