Ray Bentley

Ray Russell Bentley (born November 25, 1960 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a former professional American football linebacker.

Bentley's first three years in professional football were spent with the Michigan Panthers and Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League.

His mark of 52 reps of 225 pounds in the flat bench press remains an NFL combine record to this day^{[citation needed]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed}. He also was reported to have achieved a 4.32 second 40 yard dash speed, which was among the top speeds of his NFL combine class participants.

He later joined the Buffalo Bills, and played six seasons with the team, including their first two Super Bowl years in the 1990s. Bentley's career ended with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1992.

Bentley worked as part of the The NFL on FOX broadcast team for five years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, doing both color commentary and play-by-play. He left Fox for a position as head coach and general manager of the Arena Football League's Buffalo Destroyers, and held that position for two years before resigning.

From 2004 to 2006, Bentley was a color commentator alongside play-by-play man Bob Papa on NBC's Arena Football League coverage, and in 2007 and 2008 has served in that capacity for ESPN2. He occasionally fills in on ABC's college football coverage. Ray has been criticized widely on message boards for his bias towards his Alma Mater Central Michigan University while calling games for ESPN2 in the 2008 season. In 2007, Bentley returned to the Buffalo Bills as a play-by-play announcer for their preseason television games.

Bentley currently resides in Grandville, Michigan. He is a graduate of Hudsonville High School. He has also authored a number of children's picture books, including Darby the Dinosaur, to much acclaim.