Junior Football Forecaster
by John F. Baker -- Publishers Weekly, 1/31/2005
An 18-year-old who has been compiling annual forecasts of the coming year's pro football season since he was 11 is finally receiving national attention for his often uncannily accurate predictions: Mark Tavani at Ballantine has just bought world rights to Touchdown by Andy Benoit, a high school senior in Boise, Idaho, and will publish next August, in time for the 2005 season. For the past eight years Benoit has self-published his football previews, which have won praise from seasoned sportswriters for their insight and foresight (he predicts that the Eagles will win the Super Bowl this year). They are extensively color illustrated, complete with statistics and frank assessments of teams' strengths and weaknesses. Benoit, who is something of a whirlwind, also hosts a local sports radio show, is a frequent guest on others and writes for a local newspaper. He also acts as his own agent; Tavani bought rights to this year's forecast, as well as the years ahead, direct from Benoit (with some advice from Dad).
