Uh oh

Sorry for the inactivity. I've been cought up in some training. We are currently in the middle of the AMAZING RACE, which really isnt a race at all. Nice. Anyways, this has been my first chance to free lance, and I figured I'd give you guys the heads up for the next few days.

Whats fueling my fire?

1. How in the hell did we send down Coutlangus, recall Majewski and Guardado, yet keep Todd Coffey and Mike Stanton? I've said it before and I'll say it again. I cannot give a damn about this teams results until Todd Coffey isnt apart of it. He has been awful. He will be awful. Get him out of here. I'm really happy to see that everyone wants Krivsky's head for not sending him down.
2. I missed Barry Bonds 755 and 756 live by a combined 10 mins probably. Last week I fell asleep right before 755, and last night I left a fellow RA's room (I don't have my TV yet), five mins before he hit it. Thats upsetting. However, I'm happy he finally just got it over with. N0 more live break-ins.
3. Ha ha. Randolph Morris got arrested for Reckless driving in Lexington. HA HA. Shoulda stayed in NYC.
4. Celtics call Miller, who is considering return to NBA. Yes thats Reggie Miller. Enough said.

I gotta run. I will be back laster.

Observations from training camp

Chris Henry is in camp and looking very good. Only problem is, he's taking reps away from people who can actually play the first 8 games this season. That upsets me terribly. Make him sit in the corner and consider what he's done wrong. And don't let him out of your sight.

Rudi wasn't getting anywhere running the ball today. I really thought it was because no holes, even tho our 2nd team D was in against the starting O. Then Kenny Irons came in with the 2nd team O and ran over, around, and through everyone. I talked to Kenny after the scrimmage for about 2 mins, and he was talking about how his friends were in town and were going to dog him about a fumble he had after a 35 yard run. I asked him could it be any worse than whenever he screwed up in college, and he said no, citing a fumble he had against Alabama one year. I knew of this fumble, just didn't have the balls to bring it up. However, as he mentioned, on the first play from scrimmage of that Iron Bowl game, his brother picked off the Alabama quarterbacks pass, slightly saving him. He's a really nice guy, has a contagious smile and laugh, and seems to miss his brother a lot. I hope he's here for a very long time.

In other news, the Reds are currenly cruising to their first win since a week ago today. Seems like longer, yet it also feels like its been such a short time since we were playing well. We have Bobby on the bump tomorrow on short rest, followed by Bronson on short rest Sunday. The season is lost, couldn't we have found a random bum on the street to pitch tomorrow instead of risking injury? I can't really criticize the decisions we make from the front office, becuse I don't understand who is making them. Maybe its a magic 8 ball. I might give them a new magic 8 ball for a going away present of my internship.

Well, I see Florence so I'm almost home. I will almost assuredly check back in tonight, but if not in the morning I will. Sleep well, and horah, Phi Tau.

The masses showed up to Georgetown to paint the town orange and black. By the way, Carson Palmer equals very very good. Dude can throw. Looks better than ever with zip and accuracy.

Ha ha...more Wally for everyone!

I just found out how to blog from my blackberry. This thing is going to be updated like crazy from now on. Right now I'm driving towards Georgetown for the bengals intersquad scrimmage. Traffic sucked, or else we would already be there. But I'll check in with you later.

A quick take on the coaches college football poll. Florida, overrated. Notre Dame receiving more votes that Kentucky, just as big of crime as when Kentucky gets put in the top 25 in basketball when we are bad. Later. Who dey?

Who Wouldn't want to be me.

Man, I've had an interesting week so far. First off, for some reason, people think I genuinely care about their problems in life. The people who know me best know theres no way I want to listen to that shit, so they don't call unless its an emergency. But fringe people. Ugh. This has very little to do about sports, but hey, its my blog, I'll do what I want.

The Hot List of Wally's Brain:

1. The NBA schedule game out today. For some reason ESPN thinks this is serious news and puts it on the front of their website. They missed the memo when no one watched the finals on ABC. The highlight tho, for the first time, ABC and ESPN got Christmas day right. Instead of trying to create a Shaq/Kobe rivalry, which doesn't exist anymore, they went with Miami and Cleveland, the two most popular teams in the East even tho they aren't the two best, the Lakers and Suns, a hate fest of jealousy, and finally, Oden v. Durant, in a game that will draw big numbers but have little meaning.
2. The UK basketball schedule was released last week, and even tho there are no real suprises on the schedule, 17 games will be carried on national TV, which is nice. Oh, and just to stay with my theme of every time I mention college basketball, is it Big Blue Madness yet? NO? We still have football? Oh, man.
3. You know when your watching a baseball game and your team lets up 8 runs in an inning, and you, pissed off, jokingly look at your buddy and say lets get those runs back. The Yankees actually did that today. 8 run top of 2nd off Clemens followed by an 8 run bottom of 2nd off of Garland. Inning took an hour. The only suprising thing about this is the sheer idea of how many hits you must string together off the Rocket to score 8 runs in an inning without a home run.
4. Phil Dumatrait pitches for the Reds tonight. I haven't been this excited for a Reds game since Homer's first start. Nothing like being let down. I know Phil is gonna get hammered, and deep inside, I know he's only a good prospect because he is a Red and we don't have anyone else. But I can hope. And here's to Phil. And God Bless Jim Bowden, who has assembled the worst team in the majors on talent alone, yet his Reds rejects are going to sweep the Reds while also staying afloat by picking off enough games to not be the worst team in the league by record.
5. Kyle Loshe took a line drive off of his arm today. Please look a way while I giggle and roll on the floor. Thank you.
6. I'm glad we didn't trade anyone besides Kyle at the deadline. I don't wanna be competitive now or in the futre. I just want to see people I like. Just make sure that I refill my prescription of the koolaid from Dr. Krivsky and Dr. Bob.

There are alot of things going on in Sports, I get this. But I think you guys like reading when I share my opinions. So today, this list of Sports figures I hate the most:

• 10: Willie Parker. They guy was undrafted from North Carolina, hardly a football school. Yet he said he thinks he can be better than LT. Maybe he should work on being better than Rudi Johnson first.
• 9: Donovan F. McNabb. The only guy who I've ever seen that can be mediocre, come back, be thought of as great, actually play better, and then get hurt again and be thought of as even better. He gets way way more pub than he deserves. And his big ass grin annoys me.
• 8: Joey Porter. The guy was the epitome of why I hated the Steelers for most of my childhood. Oh, and he thinks he's a thug, but hes really just a bitch.
• 7: Steve Nash. He passes well. He makes his team better. He's white. I get this. He's a great asset to a championship team. But to imply he's even in the top 7 or 8 NBA players, all around players, is an insult to all around players. And how this guy has two MVP's, an absolute joke. Even Lebron James, who hasn't played defense since AAU ball, thinks thats a crime.
• 6: Guy Morriss. Yup. I'm still bitter. The guy left UK for Baylor. I don't care what sport it is, this is unacceptable. And everytime I see him, its drenched in Gatorade from the LSU game. And it makes me hate him more.
• 5: Whoever invented Who's now. 32 people? You could have had a 10 person tournament before hand and everyone in America could have told you the masses would vote for Tiger and Lebron. Thanks for wasting 10 mins of 31 consecutive days on this crap. Thats almost 5 hours. Jesus.
• 4: John McEnroe. No one in the history of sports has ever been so not cool while having a sibling who was so cool. Close 2nd, Jeremy Giambi was a pimp, Jason was on HGH. Hey, it happens.
• 3: Billy Donovan. I hated him before he turned down UK, but I respected him so he wouldn't have appeared on this list. I hated him after he turned down UK, but I respected him even more so he wouldn't have appeared on this list either. But after what he did to the Orlando Magic, welcome to the list Billy. Can't wait til you come visit in March.
• 2: Curt Schilling. Dude just needs to know when to show up. 5 people read this blog on a consistent basis, and thats still more people than care what the hell Curt Schilling thinks about any situation. http://38pitches.com/. Check it out. He's an idiot.
• And the number 1 most annoying, most deciteful, most terrible awful no good person in the sports world: James "Leather-pants" Bowden. The guy destroyed our farm system over 10 years on ineptitude in Cincinnati. He always made just enough moves to keep the Reds mediocre on the surface, while leaving the organization in a place that when he left, it was in ruins. Somehow, this got him another job, in which he has managed to do the same thing. Atleast now we lack direction. I'd rather lack direction that be constantly misled by an evil maniacal shadow of a man.

Hope you enjoyed todays grumblings. If you didn't, try readings these guys columns. They have a bigger budget than me:

• http://www.nypost.com/seven/08022007/sports/yankees/elusive_home_run_better_come_here_yankees_larry_brooks.htm. I love the New York Post.
• http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10277054. Who Dey. I miss Brad and Dave telling me how it is. We play a week from tonight. Crazy.

I'm a solutions oriented guy.

Apparently I'm not disciplined enough to the craft to write on here every day. But I can promise to write on here nearly every day. And for the days I can't make it, you will have content from new writer, the LUKEN.

That happens to be starting....today.

A quick recap of my thoughts right now:

1. Apparently 1000 dollars wasnt enough to get the sweep. Shame.
2. Really upset Pac Man can't be a professional wrestler.
3. Really wanted the Bronson trade to happen today. And not because I thought it made the Reds better, but because I thought the Braves would then have the firepower to beat the Red Sox in the series.

Oh goody. It a weekend series with the Cubs.

So in the the wake of Leadership Academy, I got pretty sick. That, along with work and managing to sit through 3 Reds games this week, kinda drained the blog time. Once again, I appologize for that. Some time I neglect this thing a little too much. Anyways, since I happened to be dormit through one of the craziest weeks in sports history, I guess I have a lot on which my opinion is necessary.

1. Everytime the Yankees go on a little run, it kinda scares me. The fact that this team has the talent to sweep through the playoffs, the mentality to miss them by 15 games, and the (dis)ability to get swept in the playoffs if they make it illustrates how difficult it must be to be Joe Torre. Only job in New York more difficult than his? Columnists for the local papers who are supposed to give their opinion on what that team is.
2. Yesterday, the world lost one of my childhood heros, and one of the nicest men I have ever met, Skip Prosser. No matter how many people that guy was in the room with, he gave you the idea that he really wanted to get to know you. That he actually cared about what you were saying, and the conversations you could have at some later date. That's pretty rare with people in high status positions.
3. Oh Michael Vick. Superceeding indictment. Scary term. Scary realization that they are basically asking his co-defendants to plea down and team up on Vick. They say Michael Vick is the most elusive Quarterback in NFL History. Lets see him run from the law.
4. I kinda feel for David Stern. The guy does a better job managing his league than anyone else in America. Yet when everyone else is dealing with scandals challenging the honesty and intergrity of a player, hes dealing with one that rocks the integrity of his league. I read today that even though he was gambling on games he was officiating, he wasn't manipulating those games in his favor. That's funny. Thats honestly like saying that even though you need an A to pass, and you have the test before hand, you didn't look at it.
5. ESPN took the time to rank all 119 division one football teams over the past decade. Its kinda funny. Over the past 10 years, I was a huge UC football fan for atleast 5 of them. And honestly, even though their record was always much better (thank you Conference USA), there were very very few years (3 at most) in which I actually think UC could have defeated UK. And yet, ESPN has UC 69 and UK 73. Not much of a difference, but still in the wrong order. Don't like how UC benefits there from playing Memphis and South Florida instead of Tennessee and Flordia.
6. So I know very little about the Pan-American games, but I do know that a team of our college players lost to Uraguay and Panama, dropping us out of contention for a medal. I'm talking about basketball here. We invented the effing sport. So so sad. I'm kinda dissappointed in Jay Wrights ability to motivate the team. Kinda glad we didn't call him to lead Big Blue Nation's team of Wildcats. (yup, thats corny. That's why I said it).
7. I was going to make this a whole individual post, but considering I'm on a roll right now, I'm sharing it now. After a summer spent mozying around the ball park, doing what someone else tells me to do, I have developed a well put together list of things that piss me off at GABP, and all ballparks in general really:

• When vendors in the crowd sell things, they always either cost 4 dollars, or have change in the price (2.75 if you will) in hopes that will you just tell the vendor to keep the change.
• People do not pay attention in terms of promotions. We gave out a Brandon Phillips Jersey to the first 10,000 adults and 10,000 kids. People showed up at 5:00. Thats understandable. There were people that came to the game and didn't get one. However, Wednesday night, we had Frank Robinson bobblehead night, free to the first 40,000. People showed up at 4:30. Wednesday's paid attendance? Just under 31,000. That's why they give out 40,000. So everyone gets one. I hope the dude who was there at 4:30 gets pissed when some guys sits next to him at 7:30 holding a bobblehead.
• Why does the family that brings his 5 year old kid who has to ask a question about EVERYTHING always sit to my right, while the kid my age and his dumb as rocks girlfriend who would rather be listening to an old Spice Girls CD always on my left. It makes enjoying the game a little difficult.

Now, onto the real matter at hand, the Cubs, their "great tradition", and their "great fans" who will decent on GABP tonight thinking they are rolling towards a division title. Well, my whole life I loved Lou Pinella. But I'm booing him tonight. Why? He wears the wrong C. To me, thats as bad as if he came in wearing black and gold. And atleast they won something. I dunno how much it would mean to me, but I would trade alot for a humiliating sweep of the Cubs this weekend. If I had to put a dollar amount on it, I honestly think I would pay 1000 dollars of my own money just to have the reason to mouth off for a week. Ahhh. Which reminds me, lets look into the Chicago Cubs Official Dictionary to see todays word. And the word is joke. Its a noun, meaning something everyone else laughs at, and something that makes Cubbies cry like the little girls they are. Example: Q:Did you hear Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs is hurt? A:No, but what else is new.

Check back tomorrow for more Cubs humor. Even Harry Carrey had to stop watching the Cubs lose. He went to heaven and became a Sox fan. Dead serious.

Make sure you read some of the Skip Prosser and Odell Thurman (Bushleague) stuff around the net. I'll hit you guys up after tonights LANDMARK victory. Effing Cubs.

Live from a Dorm basement in Oxford, Ohio...

Its 4 AM....and I am at Phi Kappa Tau Leadership Academy. We are frantically working on finalizing a presentation for the Maxwell Award, given to the best chapter in the nation. And when I say we, I mean I am here for moral support and therefore am writing on the blog. This may be the only time I am able to check in this week, as I have a pretty hectic schedule. However, this is going to be a really really long entry.

BREAK UP THE REDS!!! 3 in a row in Atlanta? Even Derek, Patrick, and Stephen didn't see that coming. Ha ha. Well then, I guess some comments are in need. I've come to some serious decisions in the past few days reguarding the roster seperations I did last week. First, I really really want Adam Dunn to be a Red for the remainder of his career if we can find the money. He may not hit for average, and he may be a mediocre fielder, but he rarely makes errors, and seems to enjoy playing in Cincinnati. As for people I think need to go before July 31, add Bronson Arroyo to the list that already included Hatteberg, Loshe, and Weathers. I know that leaves us with little in the way of established starters for 2008, but the goal isn't to win in 2008. Its to win in 2009 or 2010. And our farm system is ready to compete in 2009. Lets add some depth for people that matter way more to Atlanta, New York, and the LA teams making the playoffs than they do to our future growth. I'm hearing Arroyo to Atlanta for Saltamacchia I'd do it in a heartbeat.

In sad news. with the Post officially announcing its closing as of the end of the year, Cincinnati is losing its best young mind in sports journalism. The Post Red's beat writer, C. Trent Rosencrants, has the best blog in all of sports. His insight is genuine, and the discussions on his blog leave nothing left to be desired for any Reds fan. Hope he hangs around somehow.

Alright, well, they actually need my help. Wish us luck. And Derek, you suck!

Saturday Check-In

Just a short check in on a busy Saturday.

5 1 sentence thoughts I've had:

1. Nice W last night.
2. The ESPN Nascar announce team is going to suck.
3. So glad we helped the Braves out.
4. I'm really sad Bob Huggins doesn't come to Cincinnati this season. I would have come up for that.
5. For some reason, Marvin Lewis telling me why I should watch a certain channels weather man makes me want to avoid that channel.

Good reads:

• Wojo so funny: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2936205&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1
• This is why I always thought Jr. would leave Budweiser: http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/columns/story?seriesId=2&columnist=newton_david&id=2935390
• Interesting soccer prospective: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=445560&root=europe&cc=5901

Enjoy Saturday. I feel victorious today.

The Ramblings of an insane insomniac...

So here I am, on a Brother's futon, at nearly 5AM unable to sleep. Of all the blog writings I will ever do, I doubt any will ever be as negative, or as unpredictably, incredibly unfounded, as this one. I've got 2 things to rant about, both in the world of baseball. The first is a theory, the second is probably best described as the ramblings of a lost soul searching for baseball belief.

1. I made a comment on Thursday's blog that Ichiro wasn't worth 20 million a season. However, after using a calculator, I've determined I must be wrong. The Los Angeles Dodgers, a winning team mind you, were willing to shell out over 10 million a season for Juan Pierre in free agency this past winter. Juan Pierre is a singles hitter(88 of 105 hits, 12 career homers in 1096AB), who doesn't walk enough (23 walks in 373 AB), has an on base percentage 28 points lower than what Dimitri Young is hitting, has an OPS (on base plus slugging) lower than ARod's slugging percentage (.649 to .671), can't throw(1 outfield assist in 89 games), and relies solely on his speed as his careers life blood. Any sane person, which I'm not quite sure I actually am, would say Ichiro is twice the player that Juan Pierre will ever be, even entering the final years of his prime. With that logic, Ichiro must be worth 20 million a season. That logic also says ARod is worth 40 a season, but hey, maybe some other dumb west coast team will pay him too (paging the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, USA, North and Western Hemispheres on planet earth). I ask you to consider how many more games you would win with Ichiro hitting leadoff for your team that with someone like Ryan Freel filling the same positions. I honestly believe the difference is single digits. Is that worth 17 million more? And even if Ichiro is worth 20 million, at 33, wouldn't you rather spend that money on a starting pitcher in his prime, say Carlos Zambrano, or a combination of multiple players with big league talent and experience, say Mr. Hunter from Minnesota and a few bullpen guys?
2. Secondly, I'm going to rant about the Reds, because I'm beginning to seriously doubt the direction of the club. First, the fact that Homer Bailey just got shelled in AAA, a start I know he was mailing in, scares me because it seems like he treated it as a rehab start instead of a chance for development. Maybe the kid doesn't have the million dollar head to go with the million dollar arm. Speaking of that million dollar arm, how does someone throw 95-98 with a 12-6 nasty curve in the minors, and then show up to the Big Leagues throwing 91-93 and hanging almost every breaking ball? But I digress... I'm about to separate the Reds 40 man roster (and maybe a few extras) into categories that everyone can understand.

• Untouchables as we approach the trade deadline: Homer Bailey, Phil Dumatrait, Aaron Harang, Bobby Livingston, Brandon Phillips (he's getting grouped twice), Edwin Encarnacion, Joey Votto, Josh Hamilton, Joey Cueto and Jay Bruce. (All these fella's are under the age of 27 except for Harang, 29)
• People I honestly think may be less intelligent in both life and baseball than Wallyonsports: Ryan Freel, Brandon Phillips
• People who need to be cut (this is a long list compared to any other major league team): Chad Moeller (and yes, we have actually cut the man twice), Todd Coffey, Victor Santos, Eric Milton, and Gary Majewski
• Who the hell are these guys: Mike Gosling, Calvin Medlock, Brad Salmon, Alexander Smit, Pedro Lopez, Jeff Keppinger, and Chris Dickerson
• Productivly useless: Alex Gonzales, Juan Castro, David Ross, Javy Valentin, Norris Hopper, Mike Stanton, Kirk Saarloos, Bronson Arroyo, Matt Belisle
• People who should be in AAA developing because getting shelled here couldn't do them any good: Marcus McBeth, Jared Burton (rule 5 draft pick must stay MLB), Jon Coutlangus
• Reliable Veterans (trade bait): David Weathers, Scott Hatteberg, Jeff Conine
• People who will be free agents and therefore should be traded: Adam Dunn, Kyle Loshe
• The Mark Prior and Kerry Wood (Will these guys ever be healthy group): Bill Bray, Elizardo Ramirez (one of my favorite players ever), Eddie Guardado, Jerry Gil
• That leaves us with one player: Ken Griffey Jr. He is this teams only all-star, its only hall of famer, and the only person on the team who changes his mind more than Narron changed our order. In the end, I say keep him. Keep him until his contract runs out and he has to decide whether or not to leave for greener pastures, or go be a dad and watch his son mature into a stud prospect.
• On opening day 2008, i honestly expect our lineup to be: Hopper 7, Hamilton 8, Griffey 9, Phillips 4, Encarnacion 5, Votto 3, Ross 2, Harang 1, Gonzalez 6. (Ok the order of the last 2 is a joke, but sometimes the "manager to be" likes to hit his pitcher 8th....a correct guess on who that is wins a prize)
• Opening day 2008 Rotation: Harang, Bailey, Arroyo, Livingston, Dumatrait
• Opening day 2008 Bullpen: Bray, Coutlangus, Coffey (pisses me off), Belisle, Burton, Macbeth, and a closer to be named later.
• So if your scoring at home, I think Dunn, Loshe, Weathers, Conine, Hatteberg, and Stanton hit the road sometime between 5 mins from now and April of '08.
• This team I have constructed for 2008, isn't very competitive. But have no fear Reds fans (especially Adam). Just put down your head and remember all will be fine. The losing will stop in two thousand and nine.

Until later today, Live HUGE Bryan. And just for the record, this is quickly heading towards an all nighter.

Oh yea, and a late 6 AM add-on to this post, READ THIS!!! http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/SPT04/707130363/1071/SPT&GID=u3NSpae+ggEZdWJl4cKZLMRyv7ayI9kk19BPZzVkodM%3D

2 days in a row! Wohoo!

Welcome back to the show that never stops. I'm in the process of packing my things for Lexington (Dr.'s appointment), so this will probably be a little brief. But I digress..

Has there ever been a star who said more confusing things and got away with it better than Ken Griffey Jr. Every year he tells some media outlet that this is the year he is going to be traded, that there are places he would go, and every year no one knows whether or not the guy is serious, or just effing with Peter Gammons. I kinda hope he is serious, so when we don't trade him, he gets to be the mean guy in Cincinnati that he was the last year in Seattle. Don't get me wrong, I love Junior, but I think there is something wrong in this guy's brain.

Not kidding, on of the top AP newswire sports stories right now is that Beckham and his family are flying to LA. That's ridiculous.

Odell Thurman officially applied to be reinstated. I once read a page 2 article from his perspective, and it made me genuinely like the guy. Then he got arrested again. Please get rid of this guy. Like, yesterday.

Here's the same kind of article, only about Josh Hamilton. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2926447. His story is really well put together. He seems like a rather deep intelligent guy. Really hope he doesn't screw it up.

I read Paul Daughtery's blog whenever he updates it, and sometimes he writes exactly what I was thinking before I can. That makes me angry. Maybe I should think faster.

The Herald-Leader is reporting we are trying to steal an instate guy from Mississippi State. Hmm.. Why would a guy from Hoptown even wanna go to Mississippi State to begin with...

If Kentucky kicks Tennessee's ass every year in the high school all star football game, why doesn't that ever translate to the collegiate field. I wanna beat Tennessee. Even just once..

And the most ridiculous news story of the day, would someone explain to me how Ichiro, a singles hitter, at age 33, who's skills can only diminish from here, is worth 20 mil a season? That is the same logic that gave Juan Pierre 11, only worse.

Essential Reads:

• Travis Ford complains: http://www.kentucky.com/284/story/118335.html
• Bob Ryan destroys the All Star game: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/07/11/an_exhibition_of_foolishness/
• This guy makes me happy. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070711/COLUMNISTS02/707111189/1002/SPORTS

Until tomorrow, enjoy the weather. I'm headed south to Lex Vegas.

9 days later...

So yes, I know how long it's been. I would have known anyways, but I actually had a few people tell me they were eagerly anticipating the return of the blog. So here it is. We go back to daily writings from here.

I present to you the ultimate list....the top 10 things I would have ranted about since last Tuesday:

1. The NASCAR race on Saturday night was scary close. Only problem is, I was really hoping both cars would wreck, because I dont particularly believe either McMurray or Busch to be nice guys. McMurray's commercial with Kasey Kahne about magic does give him the boost tho, and thats why he won the race.
2. BREAK UP THE REDS! Wow. If we had fired Narron after the Oakland game where he pinch hit Castro for Hamilton, like I had suggested, maybe we would be in 4th place right now like I so boldy predicted. I'm not jumping off the hope train quite yet. We aren't the worst team in the Central, and we won't end up the worst team in the Central. And anyone who nationally thinks we would trade Ken Griffey Jr., I can guarantee you its going to take a major league ready player and 2 can't miss prospects. It's not happening.
3. So if the Kentucky-Louisville football game is important enough to be one of the very very few live games that ESPN classic picks up during the portion of the year, how was it not significant enough to put on one of the more typical networks run by the world wide leader. It really just doesn't make sense.
4. If you enjoy the Onion, you should check out DEADSPIN.com some time. It's pretty enjoyable possibly true sports news. Sometimes it just makes me mad tho, which is why I read it.
5. The United States beat Brazil in the U-20 World Cup. Tonight they play in the Semi-finals. I know its not the big boys, but this could still be extremely significant if Freddy Adu and the boys bring home some form of International Title.
6. I just read that Budweiser believes they are done with their sponsorship with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and have moved there eyes towards Kasey Kahne. I don't think thats a good idea. I like Kasey Kahne, but in no way do I think he is a Bud Man. More like a Zima or Mike Hards kinda guy. Yup, I'm implying he's, well, I cant make a hand gesture online. Junior will be sponsopred reportedly by PepsiCo., meaning JR will be sporting Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Gatorade. Nice.
7. I don't have the will power to completely ignore this, or the compassion to care. Read for yourself. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2932498
8. Ken Griffey Jr. made the country remember why he was their childhood hero. Here's to him.
9. Today is the only day all year without any Major Professional Sporting Event taking place. I'm going to mourn by joining a conference call with an organization who's goal is to end domestic hungar and poverty. Regardless of political affiliation, check out Results.org
10. Essential Read: The one thing that I can argue and complain about for 20 straight hours is in this article:http://http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/SPT05/704100340/1035/SPT

Everyone needs to read this...

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10243363

Gary Parrish is my hero right now.

This is why I love sports.

Days like today remind me why I care. I didn't write at all this weekend because I was still completely ticked off at Jerry Narron for a bad managerial move, that I first guessed, predicting he would screw it up before it happened. By the time I got around to complaining about it, poof, FIRED!!! I like Narron. The couple times I've met him he seemed nice. Actually seemed to genuinely care about people. But I think he lost his mind somewhere during the 51 losses this season. Does this firing make the Reds better? I don't know. But it couldn't make them any worse could it? The press conference is going on right now, and I think Bob just told every executive that things better change or else they're gone. This could be interesting. Starting next year, I truly believe Walt Jocketty and Tony LaRusa will be running this team and Wayne Krivsky will be cleaning my car.

Seven Things the Weekend Left Me Wondering:
1) Will the manager change start a fire sale? Or will this McCanin dude help motivate our players. He looks like the kind of guy that could get a leaf to play well.
2) What the hell is wrong with Homer Bailey? Alright I'm just kidding. He's not pitching that bad, just missing the corners and walking people and then making a mistake pitch. That fastball is still really really good.
3) Can the US B squad rebound in Copa America and get into the knock out round and face Brazil? I think our B squad against the world's best team would draw some buzz. We'd lose 6-0, but even Michael Dennis might watch.
4) How did MLB do something as dumb as selling out to TBS. They are going to be awful next year with their Sunday Night Coverage. The way the held the all star rosters hostage during the rain delay yesterday, when every reporter had the roster and wasn't allowed to "divulge the embargoed information" was terrible. Awful. Get out of here. Braves suck. (Ha ha Derek.)
5) This is obviously the shout out version of the blog. Jeff and I had a good NASCAR day yesterday, but is this NASCAR season too long? It's longer than a baseball season. UGH. It's really hard to care during the middle of summer.
6) I'm watching baseballchannel.tv right now, and they are implying Narron lost his job because Homer has flopped in the major leagues. I personally think its because we suck. But they obviously know more than me, because they are on tv from California, while I'm online from the office.
7) Is Billy G. a reporters quoting dream? He was in the NKY last week, and the Cincy reporters asked him if he would play Cincinnati or Xavier. He said, and I quote here, "We'll play Cincinnati and Xavier any time they want to come to Rupp.We'll play them twice a year if they want to come over to Rupp." What a good guy.

Essential Reads:

• http://www.enquirer.com/sports has got it going on today.

Quite honestly, its a Jerry Narron kind of day, so I'm going to leave you with some of my favorite Jerry Narron lines.

1. “Sean Casey 's our fifth hitter, and we're already down six. That makes it tough to come back. "
2. “If I would have left him in there and Burnitz had hit a home run I'd have probably killed myself.”
3. “I'm not even speculating. I'm just going by what I hear from [reporters].”
4. “It's big-time - you have no clue, ... This (managing the Reds) is a piece of cake. If there was sports talk radio there, I would have been fired from that job a long time ago.”

Good Bye Jerry.

Friday Afternoon Boredom

So I'm at work, watching all things from the world of sports. Including Andy Roddick, Women's golf, and the Cubs finally hitting a little bit of a rough spot. Speaking of the Cubs, I think its funny how people from Chicago look at their tendency to have Friday afternoon day games as an example of their superiority over other teams. Really? Just beacuse you decide that you want to have games at an awkward time does not make you special. In fact, it just makes you dumb. And if I hear one more thing about the Cubs amazing fan base...you know why there fan base is so large and why its so hard to get tickets to a game at Wrigley? Because there are 9.5 million people in the metropolitan area, and your stadium holds under 40,000. The Reds have some of the most fairweather fans in the country. Cincinnati's metro area is just over 2 million people. They average over 20,000 fans a game. If the market was the same size, "amazingly", you have a sellout everygame even when you suck. There is nothing special about Cubs fans loyalty.

So my attempt at recording my thoughts about the NBA draft hit a snag last night when I experienced true boredom. However, there are plenty of reactions I still have to give today. The Bulls, one of the few truly great defensive teams in the NBA, drafted a "high energy guy" who rebounds and block shots. Last time I checked, what they needed was a scoring big man during their loss to Detroit, not some girly dude who can't make a jump shot. I was really starting to like the Bulls until they drafted Emzara. (That's the wife of Noah from the bible for all you people who wondered).

The Knicks had a wonderful night in front of all their fans. For as much crap as Isiah Thomas takes, he seems to come through on Draft night. Everyone on earth laughed when they took Balkman in the first round last year. He was a really good rookie this year. Their front line now consists of Eddie Curry, Zach Randolph, Balkman, and Randolph Morris. That's pretty deep. And they drafted a young talented forward from Depaul. Isiah might have the Knicks heading towards relevance.

Challenges in tennis are fun. The idea that they ask a computer system if the ball was in or not still amazes me. I'm bringing this up because a guy just challenged a call in his match against Andy Roddick. Roddick looked at the Chair Umpire and said that ball was so far out it won't even show up on the screen. He was right. It was 2 feet out. I think that guy is going blind, or its really hard to see at 8:30 at night when you have no lights.

Essential Reads:

• PD on the Reds: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070629/COL03/706290353/1082/SPT
• In the previous article, Paul says "Some guys dream of mai-tais on Aruba with Jessica Biel. Others want to trade Adam Dunn for Roy Oswalt." Read it.
• Dan Shaughnessy writes of the Celtics draft day: http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2007/06/29/what_ever_happened_to_young_ideas/
• I love Jay Mariotti's columns, this one about Kobe and Noah, two of my favorite topics: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/448968,CST-SPT-jay29.article

Long live NFl Europa. I'm sure 23 people in Germany will mis it. Reds will beat the Cardinals tonight, and then again tomorrow with the Phi Tau boys on hand to bring it home. Until next time, this is the young Intern, passing the rounding third sign, and heading for home.

NBA Draft Version 1

This is going to be extremely painful, and even more pointless, but I'm going to watch this thing, and considering I have my computer in front of the TV, here comes my first live draft blog.

25 mins until Portland is on the clock. Oh buddy. I'm gonna go watch the Reds for a while. I'll be back.

Joakim Noah is officially the ugliest man on earth. Who wears a freaking bow tie when they are that tall and have hair that long.

7 minutes. I can't wait for David Stern!! Oh yeay!

So I really hope we find out how old this Chinese guy Yi really is. Hearing everything from 19 to 24. Gotta love foreign government records.

The Charles Barkley-Dwayne Wade commercial on the golf course is awesome.

And the draft begins. David Stern looks extraordinarily pompous tonight. Knicks fans are in rare form tonight. Portland is On the Clock.

Portland is going to select Greg Oden. And they are really strange in that draft room. I've been in a draft room, and most normal people don't clap like that. Oregon people scare me.

With the first pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trailblazers select: Greg Oden, C Ohio State. Nice suit, but he looks older than my dad. Awkward smile too. Man he makes Stern look like a midget.

So here comes the most obvious pick in the history of the NBA. Wait, no...that was Jordan to Portland. Well atleast we know Seattle won't screw this up. Ummm...maybe not. Well, as much as I want this pick to be someone other than Kevin Durant, its not going to happen. Damn.

We have a trade. Ray Allen to Boston for Wally Sczerbiak, Delonte West, and the Number 5 pick. This trade only occurs if Jeff Green is still available at #5. That seems like an awful lot to give up for an old shooting guard. Heard Seattle wanted Rondo and Boston wouldnt give it to them. Danny Ainge may have done something right... And oh yea, Seattle picked that loser Durant. Atlanta is now on the clock.

I really like Al Horford here. He is an NBA ready beast. True story. We'll see what Atlanta does tho.

Atlanta just took Horford. And I just made the honest mistake of seeing Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah from far away range and assuming the long haired person next to Brewer was just some ugly woman. Nope. It was Noah. Ha ha. I hope he falls and falls and falls. Add Connely to the list of Point Guards Atlanta has passed on, including Deron Williams and Chris Paul.

The Memphis Grizzley logo makes me want a dip. And they select Mike Conely, so 4 picks in 2 OSU players and a Florida guy. Gotta love college basketball.

Here comes Boston....if this if Jeff Green, that trade is official. Write that down. And Mike Conely Sr. is about to have a whole lot of money. He is Oden's and his son's agent.

Celtics select Jeff Green. The trade will work as soon as it is approved. All Celtics fans in the room have to be pissed off tho because they are assuming they just took a younger Paul Pierce.

Here comes Milwaukee. Yi doesn't wanna play there. They want to select him. We will find out if there is a compromise, or if they select Corey Brewer and actually make there team better. Think about it. They need that type of player. The Bucks select Mr. Yi. And he really really doesn't want to play there.

Here comes Minnesota and their KG rebuildingness. Corey Brewer fits here too. Actually he fits everywhere. He's that good. And I wish he would have been a Wildcat. I'm only going to do this blog thing long enough tonight to bitch and complain about when Noah is taken. He is the only player going to be taken in this lottery who I don't think will ever score 13 points a game over the course of a season. The Twolves select Brewer. That's awesome.

The Fighting Michael Jordan's select next. He really wants to trade this pick. If not, and he selects Noah, they will go backward in the standings next season. The select a 2nd team all ACC guy from North Carolina. This team would be awesome in an alumni league. But come on, quit building an all UNC team in the NBA. May, Felton, Wright...run by Jordan...ugh. I still haven't eaten dinner. Screw this. Go Reds.

Washed Away

Last night, about 10:02, something happened. With a downpour of rain, I watched the Reds entire season turn around. Yes sir. Following a triple of the wall over Grif's head with 2 outs and a one run lead, the rain came. During this 43 minute delay, David Weathers and Eddie Guardado developed a strategy for Chase Utley and Ryan Howard...don't pitch to them. Well, Stormy didn't, but even when your pitching around someone you can throw strikes. He did. After Utley walked, Howard watched strike three go by. Then in the top of the 9th Adam Dunn went opposite field. The team that came out from the rain delay was not the same team that went in. This team has luck on its side. So count me in. I'm starting the bandwagon. Not only am I driving the train, I'm building it. Today around the office was the most upbeat day since I started working for the team. I don't care how bad this bullpen is, and how bad these starters can be. This team is going into the all star break in fourth place, and charging hard. Write it down.

The NBA draft is tonight, and with Portland apparently making the decision that they would take Oden, and then leaking it, has totally taken the drama out of the first 20 mins. From the third pick on out, it should be pretty good. Who do I think will be the Brady Quinn of the NBA draft? I'm praying its Joakim Noah. For the pain hes put this state through the fast few years, he deserves to lose some money.

This is a short entry. but only because there are a lot of good columns who said what I was thinking way better than I ever possibly could. I think I might blog my first reactions of the NBA draft first round live tonight. Check back tomorrow for some seriously delusional thoughts.

Essential reads:

• Jemele Hill on the problems of pro wrestlers that extend well beyond steroids: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/070628&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2
• Paul Daugherty finally returns from vacation to tackle the NFL's recent PR battle: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070628/COL03/706280367/1062/SPT
• Helenne Elliot rubs in what I already knew. No KG in Hollywood: http://www.latimes.com/sports/columnists/la-sp-elliott28jun28,1,4540746.column?coll=la-headlines-sports-columnists&ctrack=3&cset=true
• Billy G. makes me smile again: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/preps/447248,CST-SPT-cruit28.article

Oops.

So you know how when you go on a talk show, you recieve a bump in a political race? This blog appears to be the opposite for sports. I raved about Homer, and he got killed (more on that in a minute). And the Lakers KG dream, not only is that dead, but it appears quite likely that KG will end up in Pheonix, the antithesis of all things holy in basketball. The mojo was off yesterday, and I'm afraid to say anything positive today.

As for Homer, I charted every pitch he threw last night. Yes, that makes me a complete loser with absolutely too much time on my hands. Quite honestly, having a blog did that anyways, but it just added to the fact. Other than the fact I now know more about Homer Bailey than almost any other common man on the planet, this was a painful experience. My findings:

1. He threw 44 pitches, 21 for strikes and 23 balls.
2. He threw 39 fast balls, 4 curve balls, and 1 change up.
3. He threw 2 curveballs out of the strike zone. Both were swinging strikes. He threw 2 curveballs in the strike zone. They were both singles.
4. The home run by Ryan Howard was David Ross' fault. Terrible call on the pitch. Homer didn't miss the glove.
5. Some how Homer walked a pitcher on 4 pitches who was up to bunt.
6. 12 batters faced, only retired 3 (2 double plays). 6 first pitch strikes.

My verdict: Obviously the Kid, who is less than a calendar year older than me, has a lot to learn. But for that bad start that every one knew was coming, it could have been way way worse.

The reporting on Chris Benoit is getting out of hand. 'Roid Rage is random acts of violence caused by anxiety and insane levels of chemical imbalance. Based on the details of what Benoit did, this was not random. It was the final deliberate act of a deranged man who had gone insane.

Three burning questions for Wednesday June 27:

1. What are the odds that Harang has another good start in succession? Its been a year of inconsistency for him and the whole team.
2. Does anyone remember that UK-UCLA game from Maui last year? The team that showed up in the 2nd half of that game was way better than the one that bowed out to Kansas in the 2nd round of the tournament. The difference in that team is the difference in our coaching office.
3. How many times can Carson Palmer answer the same damn question to different networks? We're all ashamed. It needs to turn around. He's getting tired of answering the question, and I'm growing tired of listening.

"Seven is fine, but eight is great..." ~Robert Horry

Essential Reads:

• Check out the post Reds beat writers blog. He is a funny guy. http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/spring/
• Mike Lupica describes the troubles of the 2007 Yankees. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/col/lupica/index.html
• Tim Cowlishaw takes a moment away from NASCAR and the NHL to talk Romo. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/tcowlishaw/stories/062707dnspocowlishaw.30c33fc.html

I'm going to go ump a little league baseball game. Hopefully I'll be home in time to watch the bullpen blow the game, and catch the end of the Cubs winning their 6th straight game. Oh happy day...

Should be sleeping instead of dreaming about KG...

It should be stated that I am a huge Laker fan. Have been ever since MJ retired. I'm the guy who gets a text message from ESPN every time the lead changes, even in the preseason. However, on the issue of Kobe v. Lakers, I tend to side with Kobe because something about Mitch Kupcheck and Dr. Buss remains just not trustworthy. So when Kobe's trade demands forced the Lakers into attempting to improve, it was a win win situation for me: Either Kobe goes to a better team, or he plays for a better team. In regards to the Kevin Garnett rumors, I believe the Lakers should go to NBA.com, print out their roster, cross out Kobe and Jordan Farmar and tell the Twolves they can have anything left on that list. If they want the whole list, thats cool too, because Farmar, Garnett and Kobe playing 3-5 have a better chance of winning a playoff series than the mediocre (at best) cast Kupcheck magnificently "built" around Kobe.

5 Burning questions for June 26, 2007:

1. Will Homer's stuff be as electric as it was in Oakland last week? His mistakes in that game (save the run scoring double) were all out of the strike zone. When you don't throw many mistakes and limit your pitch count, thats the kind of stuff no hitters are made of.
2. Where was the WWE going with the Mr. McMahon has died story line before the untimely meltdown and ultimate deaths of Chris Benoit and his family?
3. How close are Odell Thurman and Chris Henry to repeating Tank Johnsons fate? I would prefer to see neither of them when I make the annual trip down to Georgetown for training camp.
4. If the Reds trade David Weathers and Jeff Connine for prospects, which I agree they should, who on this team will get the key outs and key hits? This season is 2 trades, for the better in the long run, away from becoming historically bad.
5. As much as it pains me to say it, is there any way the Red Sox don't win the World Series if they stay healthy? Becket, Dice-K, and Schilling alone ought to scare the life out of every team in the league. Here's hoping Milwaukee can get that far and gets lucky.

I'm really bitter about the Cubs comeback last night...

The news around here has been especially creepy lately. Sometimes the real world is just too real.

Essential Reads:

• John Fay is one smart realistic man: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070626/SPT04/706260365/1062/SPT
• Billy G is loved in Northern Kentucky too: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070626/SPT0104/706260374/1062/SPT
• I want some of whatever John Kitna is on: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070626/SPT02/706260352/1062/SPT
• Amazingly enough, I've already done 25 of these things: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/070625
• One more Griffey love piece: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/070625_griffey&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos2

Homer pitches tonight...its going to be a good night. Enjoy your working Tuesday. And just for the hell of it, Hoorah Phi Tau.

Wild Weekend Recap

With so much happenning over a sports weekend, I'm going to stick with the things I actually watched.

Ten Things this Weekend left me thinking:

1. Has US Soccer turned the corner? For the first time in my life, an American made a play in a big game that amazed me. Here's to Benny Feilhaber, my new favorite soccer player.
2. This is completely unrelated, but why is ESPN2 showing a replay of a match from 1980 during a Wimbledon rain delay. You cannot be serious!!! I hate John McEnroe by the way.
3. If the people in Cincinnati don't give Ken Griffey Jr. a standing ovation on Friday when the Reds return home, are his feelings going to be hurt?
4. Isn't it ridiculous how NASCAR makes a race have to be determined by fuel milage? Why don't you either use a bigger tank, or make the race the correct distance so the best car and driver actually win, not the one who almost wrecked the whole field because he doesnt understand how to drive a stock car.
5. Its really hard to hate an athlete, any athlette, who appears in the Sportscenter my Wish series.
6. A week ago, the Cincinnati media were worried that Ryan Freel may never fully recover. I laughed at them. Yesterday, Ryan did too when he hit an infield single and then stole second in his first appearance in Louisville.
7. Back to random Wimbledon thoughts, but Richard Williams sounds like what I imagine Mike Tyson will sound like when he turns 70. Richard is the father of Serena and Venus, who both scare me.
8. I'm starting a collection fund for Marion Jones so she doesn't end up in the poor house.
9. Not to make light of a sad situation, but when I read yesterday that Rod Beck had died at age 38, my first reaction was amazement that Rod Beck was only 38. The guy looked 45 while he was still playing.
10. The shortstop for the now repeat National Champion Oregon State Beavers would be one of my favorite prospects in the country. But then I found out he was drafted by the Cubs. DAMN!

Essential Reads:

• Dan Shaughnessy thinks Josh Beckett is the man. I agree. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/06/25/are_the_stars_aligning_for_bostons_best_pitcher/
• Gary Parrish describes the theatre of Recruiting. http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10233990

Starting out

So here it begins...

For years I've been telling everyone what I thought pertaining to sports. Today is the day I've decided to begin keeping track of it. It doesn't really matter whether or not anyone reads this, I just felt like it was time to officially write it all down.

I'll try my best to keep this relevant, up to date, and only slightly biased.

Three Eternal Questions for Sunday June 24, 2007:
1)Is it strange that I'm more angry on days when the Red's don't play than when they lose?
2)Do I need help because I sleep better on nights when the Cubs and or Red Sox lose?
3)Is the first thought through your head when you wake up most mornings "is it basketball season yet"?

Essential reads:
John Fay writes how the Seattle fans still love Jr: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070624/COL09/706240358/1082/SPT&GID=YAAkBWHnhw0TAwq4LK3Nw2CrlEsBS+VUi32Aotaux/c%3D

Jay Mariotti continues to pile on the White Sox: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/441491,CST-SPT-jay24.article

Enjoy your Sunday of Nascar Road Racing and Baseball.