Reds could be in for "Goodyear"

Yes, that time of year has finally arrived; the Reds are playing baseball again.

This year, however, they no longer play where announcer Marty Brennaman lovingly refers to as "tired old Ed Smith Stadium." Instead, they will train in a brand new facility in Goodyear, Arizona with their Ohio baseball comrades, the Cleveland Indians.

Opinions about the new stadium are mixed from fans and players alike, but most agree there will be a consensus of appreciation after the adjustment.

Fans are particularly the ones taking the move from Sarasota the hardest. "Thanks Reds, for telling the average fan that you don't care about them because you need to provide your team with carpeted locker rooms, a new hot tub and a covered facility, blogged Reds fan Michael Holly. "It's unbelievable they did this to their fans. What's wrong with sunny Sarasota?"

Others see the move as a minor inconvenience that's best for the team.

In response to Holly's answer to my question, Samuel Gueiss writes: "You hate Arizona, well stay away. The Reds made a solid business decision to take the best available offer to them at the time. These facilities are the best in baseball. They have millions invested in these players, why not give them the best training possible. If you want a winner, it starts with what the club can offer them."

Whether fans like it or not, manager Dusty Baker told the Enquirer that it takes some getting used to. "It's like moving into a new house," said Baker. "You like your old house but it had only a on-car garage and one-and-a-half baths. This one's got six bathrooms and room for all the cars you want. But you won't hear me say anything bad about Sarasota.

So far, the Reds have played eight games in the Arizona Cactus League, and sit at 4-4. If the team breaks .500 this year, many would see that as a step in the right direction.

The Reds have had nine consecutive losing seasons, an ugly feat in any sport, especially Cincinnati baseball. For those who remember the glory days of Pete, Sparky, Morgan, Bench, Foster, etc., it's especially stinging. Every year in the past decade we hear the chirpiness of hope for the upcoming season from Reds players and coaches alike. Even the owner, Mr. Castellini, has been more vocal than his predecessors.

So why should we believe this year is truly different? Since 2001, the Reds have finished above 4th in the NL Central only once (2006). Last year's mark of 74-88 was a two game improvement, but it'll take more than that to bust into the postseason this year. With young talent on the pitching staff in the likes of Bailey, Cueto, Volquez(injured), Leake and Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman, the Reds have a bright future. Combine that with Votto, Bruce, Phillips, Cabrera and Rolen and there's no reason why this team cannot compete.

Offense was the achilles heal of this club last season. They failed to score more than 700 runs for the first time in years. This could be attributed to the absence of power hitters like Dunn and Griffey, but give me 5 guys who can hit more than 20 home runs over two guys who may hit over 35 any day.

Final Projection: IF this team stays away from injuries they have the talent to break the .500 curse. The rotation is young and mean and the several players in the lineup are headed for breakout years (83-79, 3rd in NL Central).

See The Reds' Young Pitchers In Action!

Big Dance Preview!

It's March- that means a few things. The days will become more sunny and breezy, for at least one day people will be drinking green beer and finally, college basketball will rule prime-time t.v. and become the topic of conversation around the water cooler. In the spirit of this new month, I thought I'd take a look at local teams within a sonic boom of the Queen City, and see where they may end up come dancing time. There are 347 teams in Division I basketball, only 64 make the NCAA Tournament, here's how each team looks:

Cincinnati Bearcats (16-12, 7-9, RPI: 58, Strength of Schedule: 14)
Ah, where to begin? The Bearcat's hourglass of March Madness hopes contains maybe one last grain of sand. Cincinnati started very strong this year. With back-to-back wins over ranked opponents in the Maui Invitational, the Bearcats made it all the way to the finals where they fell to Gonzaga in overtime. This performance earned the cats a No.19 national ranking and hope for the rest of the season. The sweep of UConn and wins over Notre Dame, Maryland and Vanderbuilt help the cat's resume, their 16-12 record does not. With an RPI ranking of 58, here's what needs to happen to get the Bearcats on the dance floor:
1.They MUST win their last two games. Defeating Villanova and Georgetown would get the committee's attention. Both are in the top 15.
2. They MUST win at least one conference tournament game; this would put their win total at 19. In the Big East, that's good enough.
3. Hell must freeze over. The best Cincinnati can hope for is one more win and an NIT berth.

Xavier Musketeers (21-7, 12-2, RPI: 12, Strength of Schedule: 22)
Playing in the Atlantic 10 may be seen to some as a disadvantage; not this year. Temple, Richmond and Xavier were all ranked at one point, and the A10 is set to send at least four teams dancing. After the enormous home win against No. 22 Richmond, Xavier has cracked the rankings at No. 25 and is a virtual lock for the NCAA Tournament with only two games remaining. With a 21-7 record, look for the Muskies to get about a 6 or 7 seed in the dance.

Kentucky Wildcats (27-2, 12-2, RPI: 4, Strength of Schedule: 38)
The Wildcats will be dancing with the stars thanks to first-year coach John Calipari and his NBA talent. Kentucky suffered only their second loss of the season on Saturday at Tennessee, making their record 27-2 and dropping their ranking to No. 3 in the country. If Kentucky wins the remainder of their games as well as the SEC Tournament, they have a shot at the overall No. 1 of the NCAA Tournament. If that doesn't happen, the Wildcats still are poised to be No. 1 in their bracket and make a deep run into the tournament. Elite 8? Final 4?

Dayton Flyers (19-9, 8-6, RPI:42, Strength of Schedule: 39)
The Flyers are having a Bearcat-like collapse down the stretch. In a unique season that could see the Atlantic 10 send as many as six teams to the NCAA Tournament, Dayton may not be one of them, as they are currently seventh in the A10. Here's what the Flyers can do to make the big dance.
1. WIN, WIN WIN... after losing three out of their last five, one of which saw the Flyers post a pathetic 13-point first half, Dayton has a chance to avenge losses against St. Louis and Richmond, as they play them the last two games. The Flyers are currently 19-9 and if they win out and make some noise in their conference tourney, they very well could be dancing. Otherwise, they look like an NIT lock.... No. 1 seed, perhaps?

Wright State Raiders (19-11, 12-6, RPI: 96, Strength of Schedule: 161)
First, the bad news. The Raiders play in the Horizon League, ever heard of it? Unfortunately for them, neither has anyone else. They also play second-best in the league to power-house mid-major Butler. The Bulldogs are undefeated in Horizon League play and sit at No. 11 nationally. At 19-11 with two games remaining, here's what Wright State needs in order to be called on Selection Sunday.
1. Their season is over, and 19 wins will not cut it coming out of the Horizon League. The Raiders MUST win their conference tournament, which will likely mean they must beat Butler in the finals, a team who has beaten them twice this year.

Louisville Cardinals (19-10, 10-6, RPI: 32, Strength of Schedule: 5)
This has been somewhat of a down year for last season's overall No. 1 team. Rick Pitino has come under fire for his personal scandal and at one point deep in the season the Cardinals lost four out of five games. The one win coming against your Cincinnati Bearcats. As it stands now, Louisville is 19-10 with two games remaining. What is most impressive however, is their conference record at 10-6; quite a feat in the Big East. With wins over No. 1 Syracuse and the sweeping of UConn, Louisville looks poised to go dancing. Look for them as a No.5 or 6 seed, depending on the outcome of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Of course, any and all of these teams may end up dancing in a couple weeks. Any team that wins its conference tournament gets an automatic bid. So if a team goes 0-30 during the season, then sweeps their tournament, they're in. Call it whatever you want, but the most appropriate word is madness. To add to the madness, the NCAA committee is proposing the tournament be expanded by as many as 32, thus dissolving the NIT. With a 96-team field, the opportunities for bubble teams are even greater. Check out the video of the possible move and get reaction. CLICK HERE

Another March Madness Meltdown?

After the crippling overtime loss to Marquette and a crucial stretch of three games remaining on the Bearcat's schedule this season, they cannot afford to collapse and let their hopes of reaching the big dance fall short. Sound familiar?

In Mick Cronin's past three years at UC, he has done some good and dissapointing things with the basketball program. His win totals have increased every year, yet they just haven't been able to get past that magic number of 20, and his team hasn't yet made it into the NCAA Tournament. This year is no different. In fact, some may argue that it's worse.

"Enough is enough. He's had four years to build a team, and this one looks actually worse than last year's,student Randall Adkins posted. "The cats have to win two out of their next three to match last year's win total, and I don't see that happening."

He has a good point. The Bearcat's remaining games include at No. 8 West Virginia, where they will embark on "Huggin's Fest" part 3, at home against No. 3 Villanova and will finish the season at No. 11 Georgetown. Sound like a tall order?

Naturally, as Cincinnatians, we have this instinctive pessimistic outlook on things. After all, our sports teams have endured the most unbelievable heartache in the past few decades, leading some to believe in a curse. While I wouldn't go that far quite yet, the list of bad luck is impressive: both Super Bowl XVI and XXIII ended with deflating drives from the great Joe Montana, we finally land an all-century center fielder who then proceeds to injure his leg so much that a hamstring can now be referred to as a "Griffey", our greatest athlete is banned from the Hall of Fame, arguably one of the all-time best college basketball coaches gets chased out of town as an example, our first NFL playoff game in 15 years ended on the second play, and on, and on, and on,

Perhaps it's the attitude we all share that causes some of the misfortune.

UC student Cassi Rollens blogs:
"I wonder if the overall defeatist attitude that we have as cincy sports fans affects the way our teams play here at UC. When Brian Kelly was up in the air you couldn't convince anyone he'd stay. Before the sugarbowl, you couldn't convince anyone that we'd win. And now, no one has any hope for the basketball team. Maybe if the city could back our school, a little more power of positive self-thought would empower us to win more games, or at least believe in ourselves a little more."

After the dissapointment that last year's UC team gave us with an 18-10 record, only to lose their last four and play thier way out of the NCAA Tournament, expectations of Mick Cronin's cats are not high. In order to make the tournament they would have to beat two top-ten teams and cement the season with at least one win in the Big East Tournament, giving them 19 total wins. That seems to be a pipedream at this point, but no one really saw last year's collapse coming. Maybe this is the year they play their way into the NCAA Tournament.

Maualuga Earning His Stripes

Just when you thought the rowdy days of the Bengals were behind them, stand-out rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga gets busted for a DUI after crashing a 2003 Pontiac into two parked cars and a meeter in Covington.

The car belonged to an 18-year-old girl and was crashed into the car of a 17-year-old girl.

The 23-year-old Maualuga was held at the Kenton County Jail for seven hours before being released upon agreement to attend a hearing- but that's not all- last week Maualuga checked himself into the Betty Ford alcohaul rehab clinic.

Sadly, this does not come as shocking news to any Cincinnati sports fan. The hard partying followed by mysterious escorts of young girls are all too reminicent of the past. After the hardships of this season, we'd like to think the team was better equipt to make mature decisions. Granted, Maualuga was only one of many men who were drunk in Northern Kentucky that night. The problem is, he's the only one who plays for the Bengals.

Call a cab next time.

With the ghost of Bengal's past coming back to life again, one has to wonder if character is considered at all when this team drafts. Bengal's beat writer Chick Ludwig said via e-mail that team President Mike Brown is always looking to give a guy a second chance. "Mike is developing a reputation for being the redeemer," Ludwig said. "We must remember two things: This is the NFL, the highest loop in the land. And nice guys finish last. If you can block, tackle, cover, throw touchdown passes, catch TD passes and get in the end zone, there’s an opportunity for you to play in the NFL."

So while the drafting habbits of the Bengals are unlikely to change, perhaps we should expect more of this type of behavior. Until the player is willing to learn from his mistakes, the Bengals are willing to give him a second chance...or third...or fourth...


WATCH THE COVINGTON ARREST VIDEO

Mick Cronin Right For UC?

The hire seemed perfect at first: we have a UC grad who coached under Bob Huggins and Rick Pitino and a coach who went 69-24 in three years at Murray State, taking them to the NCAA tournament twice.

We currently sit smack dab in the middle of Mick Cronin's fourth year as the Bearcat's head basketball coach--what do we have? One winning season and a first round bounce by the Bradley Braves in something called the College Basketball Invitational tournament (the NIT's NIT).

This is hardly impressive considering the level where the program was used to playing, but is Mick on the right track?
Look, we all wanted Huggins to stay, including Huggins, but we've moved on. He put this program back to national prominence with fourteen consecutive NCAA tournament bids and 399 wins.

We were spoiled as fans.

Considering that most of Huggins' success came while the cats played in Conference USA tempers the record a bit. Would he have amassed all of those wins in the best conference in basketball, the Big East? Probably not. Mick Cronin had to piece together a basketball team from the rubble that Huggs and Kennedy left behind. His only scholarship went to Deonta Vaughn and the rest were junior college kids or walk-ons. YOU may have made the team at that point. Its amazing they won a single game at all.

They won 11 in fact, and went 2-14 in the Big East. Each year afterward, Cronin has improved the record of this basketball team, which is why I believe he still has a job. The next year he went 13-19 and 18-14 the year after that. By increasing wins, he's also increasing expectations and this year many would consider to be a failure if the team doesn't make the NCAA tournament. At one point last year they seemed poised to go dancing with before losing their last four games to downtrodden teams.

With freshman phenom Lance Stephenson and a healthy Cashmere Wright, the excuses are limited. This team needs to take the next step by making the NCAA tournament. If this doesn't happen, then maybe the A.D. should look elsewhere for a head coach. In the meantime, fans should be pulling for Mick.

The bloggers however, have not been kind to poor Mr. Cronin.

"Except for Brian Kelly himself, no one has benefitted from the rise of UC football more than Mick," says Joe from Clifton. "Without something to cheer for on campus, he'd really be on the hot seat. Mick is a good recruiter, but his teams deteriorate as the year goes on. He clearly isn't motivating his players. When Huggs got upset, it was a big, intimidating guy yelling at his players, and for some of these young guys, a little fear is good. When Mick gets upset, it's almost comical, like a leprechaun getting mad that you found his pot of gold. I should say it's comical for UK and XU fans, not so funny for UC fans."

Tell us why Mick should stay or go; post a comment below!

Larkin Must Wait on Hall of Fame (For Now)

Former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin recently became eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time, as, in order to qualify, the player must be retired for five full seasons.

Upon first ballot, Larkin did not get inducted, but there were strong signs showing he would be a hall of famer eventually.

The Baseball Writer's Association of America(BBWAA) must put a player's name on 75 percent of all ballots to be inducted. Only one player this year met those qualifications, outfielder Andre Dawson.

Cincinnati native Larkin finished fifth overall with 51.6 percent of voters putting him on their ballots. He was also the top shortstop on the list, which deserves a special type of recognition, as Larkin was seen by many as a player who changed the position. Before Larkin, the shortstop was seen as a position reserved strictly for the speedy, defensive players. In fact, The Reds originally asked him to switch to second base because his power numbers better suited the position.

When camp broke in 1987, Larkin remained the Reds' starting shortstop and the rest his history.

While only batting .244 in his first full season, he went on to post a career average of .295, including 198 home runs, 2,340 hits and 379 stolen bases in his 19 years with the Reds. During his 1996 season, Larkin became the first 30-30 shortstop ever when he hit 33 home runs and stole 52 bases, ahowing his versatility as a player.

So is Larkin a hall of famer? Absolutely--especially for a shortstop. Although he had the misfortune of playing in the Ozzie Guillen era, he still collected three Gold Gloves, nine Silver Slugger awards, and was voted into 12 All-Star games. While he wasn't inducted into the first ballot, signs point to Larkin being a hall of famer within five or so years. The traditional 400 home run hitter will go first, but there are plenty of positive points to take from this year's vote. Among them, admitted cheater Mark McGuire recieved only 27 percent of the vote.

Why Kelly Went Green

$$$$$$$$$$$$....Sorry, that button sticks.

When Brian Kelly announced in a special team banquet that he was leaving the University of Cincinnati for Notre Dame, no one really saw it as a big surprise. It got to the point where UC fans were rooting for Notre Dame to win all of their games, so Charlie Weis might retain his job. " I knew it was inevitable," says Rob Davis from Norwood. "As soon as the talk began about (Wies), Kelly had to be number one on their radar. I mean, the guy's got an Irish name so it's almost too good to be true. For that reason I was rooting hard for Notre Dame to win out."

These efforts proved in vein as Weis was fired after his 6-6 season. What was surprising was how Kelly handled the entire process. In the weeks leading up to his departure, Kelly was quoted on numerous local and national radio outlets including the Dan Patrick Show, that he was staying in the Queen City. His most direct answer came from WEBN of all people, "Why would I leave? I love Cicinnati, my kids love Cincinnati; we've got it made here." Then of course there's my personal favorite: after his contract extension on 2008, Kelly was quoted as saying he wanted to break the 39-year record, referring to how long he would stay at UC.

It only took him one year to break that vow.

So why exactly did Kelly leave? First of all, his salary, dispite winning back-to-back Big East championships, was average among coaches in the conference at $1.475 million a year. Compare that to the $3 million a year contract at Notre Dame. Another reason may have been the last-second Texas win that shut the bearcats out of the national title dispite going 12-0. As much as it hurts to say, you go 12-0 at Notre Dame, you play for the national title; sorry Texas, nice season. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, an east coast irish catholic boy like him could never turn down Notre Dame. It's in his DNA to coach them.

While he showed a tremendous amount of disreguard for his players whom he coached during the best 12 games of school history, he's proven he had his own selfish reasons for his decision. Abandoning your kids right before the big game is weak, there's no question about that; at least now we know why. With new coach Butch Jones next in line, we can all forget about Brian Kelly. Just make sure to give credit to his players.

Reciever Mardy Gilyard had this to say via facebook: "He just needs to get up out Cincinnati ASAP. He wasn't the one making all the one-handed catches and running down the field. Just get out of here, we'll be fine without him in my opinion."

Feeling strong? See the Brian Kelly Notre Dame press conference HERE