I’ve got to admit, I’m drawn to train wrecks just like everyone else. So this week, when I heard national radio guy Colin Cowherd go off on the Reds, Bengals and everything else Cincinnati, I couldn’t turn it off. I knew it was exactly what Cowherd wanted me, you and everyone else to do around here, listen. And we did. And the more we listened to his incessant rants about the Reds and every other team around here being frauds, the more we fumed.

A little shop talk first. First thing you should know about all sports radio stations: they really don’t do well in the ratings. Outside of a station in New York City and a couple of stations out West, most all sports radio stations struggle to find listeners, ratings and revenue. It’s a real niche audience, narrow demographic as we say in the biz. You can make money programming all sports radio, but not as much as a total service station like, well, The Big One.

In truth, what Cowherd said about us, as a town and our teams in particular, got infinitely more exposure when his comments were excerpt by Willie on his shows this week. Thousands more heard them after that. And I’ll admit, I like listening to Cowherd. I think he’s very good at what he does and what he does best is generate listenership through opinion.

I just think his opinions about us, you, me and our teams are wrong.

And it got me wondering, why Cincinnati has such a lousy reputation nationally. Another admission: I couldn’t care less about what someone in New York, LA, Cleveland or anywhere else thinks about us. I choose to live here because I like living here and my guess is, so do you. I like the fact that we’ve got great neighborhoods, schools, restaurants as good as any in cities three times our size, college and professional and high school sports and that we don’t have a lot of traffic that we have to maneuver through to get to any of that.

But I gotta tell you, Cincinnati doesn’t enjoy a great reputation nationally.

Have you ever met a stranger lately, someone you bump into in an airport or some place of business in another town. Here’s what I get when I tell someone I’m from Cincinnati: how many Bengals were arrested last night? Or something about Pete Rose’s gambling or Marge Schott’s collection of World War Two memorabilia. If I’m with someone who’s up a notch or two on life’s food chain, Maplethorpe will invariably come into the conversation.

I guess that’s what happens when you live in a fly over town. Most people only know about Cincinnati from changing planes at CVG (although with Delta shrinking faster than a freshly washed cotton shirt, that’s not happening a lot either these days).

I think one of the reasons we may suffer from this lack of knowledge and respect is because our sports teams have been down so long. Up until three months ago, the Reds hadn’t done anything in 20 years. So when they have the kind of season they’re having now, maybe someone like Cowherd, who doesn’t know any better, views what they’re doing as fraudulent. The Bengals? They tapped into a lot of equity with all of that nonsense a few years ago. Perceptions take a long time to chance when you don’t live it and see it on a daily basis.

All I know is what I heard this week bothered me. Because when someone attacks your city and the things you like and have an interest in, they’re really attacking you.. Colin Cowherd has a national voice, with all of the muscle of a machine called ESPN behind him. What he said about us might be true. We’ll certainly find out about soon enough with the Reds, not too long after that with the Bengals.

But I know this: the only way to shut someone up, is to prove them wrong. Another admission: I don’t root for the Bengals or the Reds. I can’t, and neither can anyone else in sports journalism who wants to be taken seriously. It’s bad business when you don’t check your pom-poms at the door.

But I sure won’t be upset if things keep going around here like they have been. Because that would be good for our city. And our city needs a break. And so do the people who want to keep running it down.

You ever play ‘what if’? It’s something that can be fascinating, time consuming and totally non productive all at the same time. It’s all about the road not traveled, about decisions made in life that might have turned out differently had another road been taken.

I found myself playing ‘what if’ this week. I was sitting inside of US Bank Arena the other night, watching the Cyclones win another Kelly Cup. 13-thousand 482 other people were sitting there with me. The building had life in it, it hasn’t seen in a long time.

I was wondering, ‘what if’ the National Hockey League had placed a franchise here all those years ago. You know, we came close to getting an NHL franchise three times in the last 35 years or so. That building was once known as Riverfront Coliseum. It was built on spec, hoping to attract an NHL team. The league was expanding. Three towns were competing for two franchises that would join the league in 1974: Kansas City, Washington DC and Cincinnati. Didn’t happen that time.

Instead we got the World Hockey Association’s Cincinnati Stingers. That was a wild group. I know, I was the team’s first public address announcer back in 1975, the Wildman Walker of that era. When the WHA finally forced the NHL into a merger in 1979, the Stingers were offered a chance to join. There was also a cash payment the owners could take to simply fold and go away. Bill DeWitt and his group, including Bob Castellini, took the money.

And in 1997, the Hartford Whalers were shopping for a new home, before settling in Raleigh, we got a look. But we never got the team.

Would the National Hockey League have worked here? If we got a franchise in 1974 instead of DC or KC, would it still be here today? Was there enough money in the region to support three major league franchises. What if it had happened, would it have been the Stanley Cup being paraded around that arena Friday night instead of the Kelly Cup.

What ifs work with the Reds. What if Pete Rose never placed a bet on a baseball game or what if he never got caught. Would he still be the manager of the Reds today? Would he have managed the Reds to a wire to wire World Series win in 1990, as Lou Piniella did? What if he stayed on the job, would Paul O’Neill have been traded to the Yankees? One of the biggest reasons why O’Neill was traded was because he and Piniella were oil and water. Would the Yankees have won all of those World Series titles without O’Neill?

What if Marge Schott wasn’t so bullheaded and tried to keep Piniella here, rather than running him off. Would the Reds have won another World Series?

What if Jim Bowden never made the trade that brought Ken Griffey, Junior here in 2000. What if, in the end, Junior decided to remain in Seattle? Would Carl Lindner have spent that money on other players? A lot of Reds fans seem to think so. But you don’t know that he would’ve , neither do I. Lindner probably doesn’t either.

What if the Reds didn’t fire Jack McKeon and replace him with Bob Boone? Would McKeon have won a World Series with his 2003 Cincinnati Reds team, like he did with the Florida Marlins?

What if in 1992, the Bengals didn’t draft quarterback David Klingler and instead used that first round pick on tackle Leon Searcy or tackle Bob Whitfield, both of whom went onto be Pro Bowlers. Its not like Boomer Esiason was washed up in ’92. Would the Bengals have been as abysmally bad as they were in the ‘90’s if they built around Boomer instead of running him off to the Jets?

All this I was thinking about, as I was watching the Cyclones skate to another Kelly Cup the other night. See what I’m saying about what if?

It can drive you crazy….

What if, the Board of Trustees at the University of Cincinnati didn’t hire Nancy Zimpher in 2003? What if she turned them down and they had to move onto the next candidate? Would that candidate have come to town with Bob Huggins in the crosshairs? And what if Huggins had stayed here? Would the University and the school’s athletic department be as strapped for cash as they are now? Would its basketball team have been more successful than it’s been lately? If Huggins stayed, would his team have generated enough revenue to renovate Fifth Third Arena or Nippert Stadium by now?

Sports, like anything in life, give us decisions to make that produce ramifications. The trade made, the botched draft pick, the triumph of money over dreams, the road not traveled. Chances are, a lot of this stuff would have turned out much the same as it did. And that’s OK. Cincinnati is a pretty good to call home. But sometimes you wonder, at least I do, how different things might’ve been around here, save for a handful of situations and decisions that were largely out of our control. Next time someone tells you life is what happens when you’re making other plans, at least when it comes to sports, you might want to offer up a ‘what if’ of your own.

This blog may not be reproduced or retransmitted in whole or part without the express written consent of Ken Broo

Good Thursday Morning!

A new Broo View Podcast is up and running and ready for you to download. It's on the front page of www.kenbroo.com. Or, you can download it here. My guest this time is former Baltimore Ravens head coach, Brian Billick. We talk about the HBO show, "Hard Knocks", which featured the Ravens back in 2001 and will follow the Bengals this summer during training camp.

Watch for a new Broo View Vidcast, which I'll post to www.kenbroo.com this weekend.

Why are the Reds so inconsistent? I'm asked that a lot these days. Simple answer is that they're young and not very deep. Good, deep teams, like the Phillies, have solid veterans who can consistenly put the ball in play. The Reds don't, at least not yet. That's why you'll see them win a couple in a row, then lose three or four. They're above .500 now, overachieving in a way. But to keep above break even and have a chance to contend late in the season, they'll have to as a team, develope more plate discipline. And Reds' GM Walt Jocketty will need to find better 'bats' off the bench.

Let's face it: the best bat off the Reds' bench is a pitcher, Micah Owings. When he's your first option, you've got trouble.

I'm going to get into this in greater detail this weekend on 700 WLW. But has the lustre of inter-league play worn off? Is it really that special when the Cleveland Indians roll into town? Is anyone looking forward to the White Sox? Would you rather see those teams once a year? Or would you rather see an extra series or two against some of the better teams in the National League. Personally, I'd rather see the Dodgers at GABP twice a season, than see any team from the American League, unless it's the Yankees or Red Sox.

We can talk more about that, Saturday from 3p-6:30p and again Sunday from 9am-Noon.

Not surprised at all that the Magic beat the Cavs in game one Wednesday night. If you've been watching the Orlando team throughout these playoffs, you know they have a tremendous amount of talent on offense. Defensively, the Magic have some holes. I believe the Cavs will win game #2 and I think this series will go the full seven games. But don't be surprised if Orlando wins this series. I know the Celtics won't be.

More later....and some 'tweets' as we get rolling later in the day.

Good Wednesday Morning!

Four shutouts in the past six games. Reds pitching is the best it's been since that 1990 wire to wire season. No lie. The Reds staff had a grand total of six shutouts all of 2008. They equaled that last night when Edison Volquez and Nick Masset teamed up to blank the Marlins. Volquez hasn't allowed a run in 16.1 innings. His change up completely mesmerized the Marlins. And as much as he struggled early this season, he was that good, in taking his record to 4-2 on Wednesday night.

I like the pitching on this team. Who doesn't? But I believe the Reds still need to address the offensive deficiencies they have have. Ok, Ok, they put seven up on the Marlins last night. They put six up on Pittsburgh and lost Saturday and five up on the Pirates Sunday and won. But, one more solid bat in the line-up (preferably playing left field) will protect the young bats of Votto, Bruce and Phillips. Votto will go into a swoon. It happens to every hitter every season. Who then carries the load when that happens? If Bob Castellini is waiting until mid season to see if his team is in contention before OK'ing a deal, he's making a grave error. Wins in May count as much as wins in August and September. He and his GM, Walt Jocketty, missed the boat this winter, when they passed on bringing in a legit left fielder. Maybe it was the economy. Maybe is was over-estimating the talent they had in house. Whatever. The time is now to be proactive.

Big kudos to University of Connecticut womens basketball coach, Geno Auriemma for flying in to Cincinnati to attend the news conference announcing his assistant, Jamelle Elliott as the new UC womens basketball coach. Never saw that before. Auriemma is a different bird. He got as many enemies as friends. But the man can coach. And even though he's losing his top recruiter (who brought most of the talent to him on the teams that won five national titles) to a Big East rival, Auriemma honored Elliott's request to attend her news conference. Good stuff.

Mark December 13th on your calendar. That's the day the Bengals play the Minnesota Vikings. And if you believe the reports coming out of Minneapolis, the Vikings are about to sign Brett Favre and lure him out of yet another retirement. Guess that tells you all you need to know about Sage Rosenfels. The Vikings have some nice weapons. But you wonder if they had done a deal with Favre six weeks ago, if TJ Houshmandzadeh would've signed with Minnesota. No deal yet between the Vikes and Favre. But the smoke is thick. And the fire might only be a few days away.

The Bengals had eleven draft picks in this year's NFL player draft. So how many will make the roster? Here are my definites: Andre Smith and Rey Maualuga (no brainers). More than likelies: Michael Johnson and Kevin Huber. Fairly certain: Jonathan Luigs.

Smith and Maualuga will start. Smith had better start at left tackle, because the next option is moving Andrew Whitworth from guard to left tackle. That would be a bad move. Whitworth could be an All Pro for years, if they leave him inside. Maualuga will be everything that Odell Thurman wasn't: a sober, solid citizen who can make plays at linebacker.

Michael Johnson is squeaky clean too. His problem has been intensity from down to down and a seeming lack of desire to take on the run. He could be a third down pass rushing specialist. At almost 6'7" he'll be a handful to block IF he can stay 'low', a problem for his at Georgia Tech.

Jonathan Luigs has the inside track to be the starting center. He's stout. But the Bengals would be well served to test Bobbie Williams at center. They gave it all of a quarter and a half in pre season last summer. And what happened? Nobody laid a hand on the Bengals quarterback. If Williams moves, it'll give Luigs to slide into the mix at guard.

Kevin Huber has no competition at this point for punting. Surely, someone will be brought in for training camp to contest for the job, if for no other reason than to keep Huber's left leg from falling off. But if his career at UC is any indication, Huber will have a job in Bengal stripes for a long time.

The song I can't get out of my head today. The Queen Of Soul

Whatever Miss Aretha is singing, I'm buying.

University of Tennessee basketball coach, Bruce Pearl is getting married again. That's Bruce on the left.

This has nothing to do with anything in Tri-State sports, unless you're a UK fans and this gives you yet another reason to player hate Pearl.

Personally, I've always like the guy, back to his days at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. And listening to him on some of the national radio sports talk shows, he seems to be a fun guest. His intended? Brandy Miller. Brandy, she's a fine, what a good wife should would be. Don't bother researching. "The Looking Glass' sang the song. Went all the way to #1 in 1972 on the Epic label.

That's it for now. Maybe more later today. I'm at GABP (Great American Ball Park for you non-Cincinnatians) tonight at 6p, weather permitting. The Redlegs are back home. I don't know if that's good or not. They're 14-12 overall, but just 4-7 in Cincinnati.

If Edinson Volquez can pitch half as good the rest of this season as he pitched Wednesday night, he'll win 20 games and the Reds may turn out to be contenders. Volquez was more than terrific against the Astros, holding them to just one hit through eight innings. In fact, the first inning double by Houston's Miguel Tejada was almost a spectacular catch by Jay Bruce in right field. Had Bruce come up with that fly ball, Volquez may have pitching the ninth inning, looking for a no hitter. He told me, and a number of other reporters in the club house after the game that he was ready to let Francisco Cordero throw the ninth. But if he had a no hitter through eight, I would bet the ranch Volquez would have felt differently.

The Reds have finished April with an 11-10 record. That was a goal, finish the month with a winning record. And if they do that every month this season, they'll wind up with 88 wins. That, of course, is easier said than done. But if it happens, 88 wins would have Cincinnati in playoff contention.

We saw again this home stand how inconsistent a young team can be. Wednesday night, the youth of Adam Rosales was infectous. He not only drove in two of the Reds runs, he also helped the grounds crew cover the field with the tarp, when a pre game shower passed over Great American Ball Park. We saw the sheer desire and hustle of Lance Nix in this series. When he came up to the majors, Nix was labeled 'can't miss'. But that was beroe injuries derailed his career. Now, Nix has a second chance with the Reds and is back on track. But we also saw in this homestand that ended 2-4 for the Reds, just how far it needs to go to become a championship team. It again left too many runners on base. The team does not play well coming from behind, as evidenced by Bronson Arroyo's bad outing on Sunday. And it still does not have a pure clean up hitter. Maybe those things even out as the season progresses. But my thinking remains that the Reds will regret not signing a legitimate big league hitter for their left field postion. Should July roll around and this team remain in contention, it will be imperative that GM Walt Jocketty pursue that kind of player.

The great fear with this team shouldn't be that it will fall out of contention by mid summer and play to a house full of empty seats (although less than 10,000 showed up to watch them on Tuesday night). The great fear is missing the playoffs by a few games, and looking back on situations where a veteran left fielder might have help win some of those games.

But so far, OK.

Rookie camp is this weekend at Paul Brown Stadium. I want to see two things: the wingspan of third round pick Michael Johnson and just how stout Rey Maualuga is.

You get no real insight into what a player is capable of at these mini-camps. Everyone is in shorts and tee shirts. The real deal is in July. But to give each player a taste of what the team is about, coaches thrive on weekends like this one.

Another classic example of why the Reds will frustrate us this season happened in Wednesday night's game against Houston. Lance Nix opens the inning with a triple. He eventually scored. But the Reds had runners on second and third with only one out and neither base runner made it home. It's not just batting average or RBI that tells the story of what a player can do offensively. The real story can be found in what a player can do in situational hitting, in this case, runners in scoring position with less than two out.

Apparently former Red Ryan Freel isn't a happy camper in Baltimore, as evidence points to here.

Nice story from espn.com's Eric Young on Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. No two players since the arrival of Dunn and Kearns have given Reds fans so much hope. Kearns never was the player the Reds and their fans thought he'd be. And Dunn, while consistent with 40 HR's and 100 RBI seasons, could have been so much better if he'd just have applied himself more in the field.

Good Afternoon

Edwin Encarnacion seems clueless at the plate....again. Why should this be a surprise to us? It's an act we've seen every since Easy Edwin made his way to the majors. As Chris Welsh put it on the TV broadcasts a couple of seasons ago, Edwin goes to the plate without any plan. And invariably, it bites him. It got him again last night, when, with a couple of runners on (second and third no less) and the game tied at 1-1, all EE could do was tap harmlessly in front of the plate. Inning over, rally over and Reds eventually lose.

And this is why the Reds gave EE a two year contract in the off season? Did they not look at history before they dealt with the future?

Don't count me in the crowd that is crowing for EE to be sent to the minors. Hitting minor league pitching won't do anything for Encarnacion. He needs to sit and watch and take a lot of 'real live arm' batting practice. And until and if he proves he can handl that, the Reds shouldn't put him in the line-up. Period, end of story.

My latest podcast is posted on www.kenbroo.com. This episode, we look back on the Bengals draft with Rob Rang from www.cbssports.com and Ross Tucker from www.si.com. If you're on the fly, you can download it here.

Good Monday Morning!

Random thoughts about the NFL Draft and your Cincinnati Bengals....

I have no problem with the Bengals taking Andre Smith with the 6th overall pick. I think the mistakes he's made, making illegal contact with an agent while still at Alabama, leaving the Combine early, going through three agents, were mistakes of youth. He has no criminal record. The only downside of signing Smith is that the Bengals will have to play him at left tackle. It's either that, or move Andrew Whitworth from guard to left tackle. That isn't smart. Whitworth could be a Pro Bowl guard for a long time......Rey Maualuga dropped to the second round for a lot of reasons. Inside linebackers, with rare exception, are less desirable than outside linebackers. And Maualuga did seem to be out of position, occassionally at times at Southern Cal. But the biggest reason he dropped? Maualuga scored only a 15 on the NFL's Wonderlick intelligence test. The other Southern Cal linebackers drafted this weekend, Clay Matthews (27) and Brian Cushing (23) did much better.....Getting UC punter Kevin Huber was a steal. It means incumbant Kyle Larson is as good as done. If Huber shows a pulse in training camp, the job is his. You don't draft a punter unless you're intent on keeping him. There are plenty of punters on the street......The Bengals can't help themselves. They drafted another guy with a rap sheet as long as Vine Street. Running back Bernard Scott had so many off the field issues, he didn't play college ball in 2005 and 2006. He's had five separate arrests. Why the Bengals have to go down this road consistently is beyond me. And if you're a fan, you should be livid that they keep doing it. It's arrogance, plain and simple. Character matters, except in Bengal-dom......

The Reds have a major problem in left field. And GM Walt Jocketty had better be working the problem. Neither Chris Dickerson nor Jerry Hairston are hitting. Jocketty made the miscalculation this winter that Dickerson was ready for the majors, full time. He isn't, and may never be. Jocketty bases his calculation on the 31-games that Dickerson spent with the Reds last September. Remember, he hadn't played an inning of major league baseball before that. And at 26, was a career minor leaguer. Hairston is simply a journeyman.

Jocketty's biggest fear has to be the Reds losing a playoff berth this season by a few games and looking back at a number of games that were winnable, simply if he had found a major league caliber left fielder.

The Reds ponied up $10 million for a new scoreboard in left field. Yet they refused to pony up any money for a quality free agent bat. They back off a trade with the White Sox for Jermaine Dye, because of the economy and because Dye came with an $11 million price tag. But they found money for a scoreboard upgrade. You tell me what makes more sense.

Just confirmed, I'll have Bengals 2nd round draft pick, Southern Cal LB Rey Mauluga as my guest Sunday morning at 11:35am on 700 WLW. Other guests: NFL player agent, Jack Bechta, Sports Illustrated's Ross Tucker, Michael Abromowitz from thefootballexpert.com and Rob Rang from cbssports.com. We begin at 9am!

Headline on Bengals draft? Not bad. Mauluga was a second round steal.

Name to watch in Round 3 Sunday, Penn State center A.Q. Shipley, 6-2, 304. I'm told he's the strongest center in the entire draft.

Just posted on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com is my latest video. It's a behind the scenes look at my radio show on 700 WLW. I'm on Sundays from 9am-Noon EDT

Just posted today, the latest Broo View Podcast. My guest this week is Damon Durante from www.betUS.com. Has the current economic meltdown hurt the sports gambling industry? We talk about that and a lot more. I also have some insights into what's been going on around Cincinnati. You can download the latest Broo View Podcast on my web site: www.kenbroo.com. If you're in a hurry, you can simply click here.

Good Morning!

Some things I’ve been wondering about. Good things to discuss as we begin a new week here in the tri-state. You know, when you discuss things, often times they get better and you feel better. At least that what my wife tells me, every time I’m wrong.

How close are we to total apathy about our professional football team? I realize that’s a question we seem to ask every year along about this time. Butt really, have we ever been closer to apathy with your Cincinnati Bengals? The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s apathy. At 0-8, with Palmer probably cooked for this season, I’m smelling apathy a lot lately.

Here’s something else. It’s pretty clear one of two things are going to happen at the end of this season. Marvin Lewis is going to leave. Or Marvin Lewis is going to stay and have to make drastic changes to his offense. And remember, this offense didn’t get bad when Palmer got hurt. We had flashes of just how bad this offense was going to be in the summer. Remember the exhibition game against the Saints? Eleven possessions, ten punts. After eight years on the job, Bob Bratkowski’s job is on life support. So if he goes, how about this? Hire Brian Billick as offensive coordinator. OK, I know, around here he’s viewed by a lot of us as the anti-Christ. But remember, when he ran the offense in Minnesota, those Vikings teams were good. The only thing he couldn’t get in Baltimore was a quarterback. And how much of that was his fault? Or Ozzie Newsome’s fault? I don’t know how he left it with Marvin, when Lewis had to leave Baltimore. Remember, Lewis quit because he thought he had the gig in Tampa, then didn’t get it and Billick wouldn’t take him back. But still…if we’re looking for solutions in 2009, why not consider this one?

And I was thinking about this. If you’ve got Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson, do you really need TJ Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson? He’ll probably catch three touchdown passes today, after I say this. But I gotta believe even Mike Brown will come to the realization that Chris “I can’t do anything but go long” Henry isn’t money well spent. So let ‘em all go…or keep one, probably TJ. Slap him with the franchise tag and go young at wide out. Trade Ocho Cinco. You’re not going to get a sucker like Dan Snyder to pony up two number one picks now. But if you get a couple of mid rounders for him, do it. Use it to rebuild your offensive and defensive lines.

And that’s another thing. There are only two kinds of playing the Bengals should pursue for the next two years: players who protect Palmer and players who attack the opposing quarterback. In other words, offensive and defensive linemen.

The Bengals have dropped some serious dinero on both lines. They signed Levi Jones long term, Bobbie Williams long term, Andre Whitworth long term. They tagged Stacy Andrew and they’re paying him $7.5 million this season. How’s that working out? Don’t tell me the only problem on that line is Eric Ghiacuc. He’s become the whipping boy for this under performing bunch.

And on the other side, here’s some money well spent: 34-million two years ago for Robert Geathers and 30-mil plus on Antwan Odom this past winter. What does that Bengals defense have through seven games? Right, five sacks total. You can always ask each of them to give some money back. But here’s a better thought. Hire some more scouts who can actually go out and watch other NFL teams on Sundays, scouts who actually know what they’re doing and what to look for. The Bengals don’t have enough scouts and they ones they have apparently aren’t very good. Remember, this is the bunch that gave you Kendrick Allen, Michael Myers and Ed Hartwell in 2007. They couldn’t find Adalius Thomas with a map and a compass.

This came to me Thursday night after a bad piece of fish I had for dinner. Go find a guy who can score unconventional touchdowns. That’s the buzz phrase in pro football these days ‘unconventional touchdowns’. It means any touchdowns not scored by the offense. We don’t seem to have a lot of conventional touchdowns around here any more. So go get a guy the other team has to actually game plan for. An example: go get somebody like Devin Hester. OK, maybe he’s a once in a generation kind of guy. But Josh Cribbs isn’t. Antwan Randel-El wasn’t. Ed Reed isn’t. When was the last time you remember the Bengals actually drafting or trading or signing a player who can score an unconventional touchdown. Radical thinking, for the group at Paul Brown Stadium, I know. But maybe someone down there can eat the same bad fish I had Thursday and wake up with a revelation.

I watched Hines Ward deliver that hit to Keith Rivers last week. And incidentally, it was a good clean hard football hit. Plain, simple, end of story. Sorry that it ended Rivers season. He’s got a long career ahead of him. But my immediate thought after watching that transpire: when was the last time you remember a Bengals player delivering a hit like Rivers took. When was the last time you saw a Bengal hit an opposing player that had the entire league buzzing? Hello, never? Maybe once in the late 80’s?

If you believe the national commentators, the experts, some of whom live here in Cincinnati, the Bengals have the reputation of being a soft team. Worst thing you can call a defense is a ‘finesse defense’. It’s a code phrase for soft. I heard that description of the Bengals defense a couple of weeks ago on a national radio show. And I laughed this week when I heard Marvin chastise a reporter for asking if the Bengals should have retaliated for the hit on Rivers. The word retaliate was the wrong word to use. But the spirit of the question was dead on. Lewis chose to pounce on the word ‘retaliate’ but never addressed the real question. When you get hit in the mouth, figuratively…or in the case of professional football literally, you hit back, just as hard, just as clean, just as legal. If you don’t, the hits will just keep on coming. After Ward laid out the prized rookie last Sunday, Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe, said rather disingenuously that the Bengals would get Ward next time. Right. People who talk about next time soon discover ‘next time’ rarely comes. The time to lay a direct hit on Ward was the next play. The Bengals had a chance to do it. And the pulled up on an incomplete pass to Ward. The ‘finesse’ label stuck a little bit better to the Bengals after that.

Ramblings on a Thursday night, getting ready for the 11p sports....If the Bengals are going to win their first game of the season Sunday in New Jersey, they'll have to be able to run on a very good Jets front seven. If the Bengals can't do that, they'll be less than successful throwing against a weak Jets secondary....Brett Favre throws 3 touchdown passes Sunday vs Bengals....I keep hearing that Carson Palmer's inflamed elbow is 'getting better'. But he continues to get limited practice time....The fine UC Bearcats 'beat' writer from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Bill Koch, raises an interesting question this week: what if Brian Kelly coached the Bengals. Koch's angle is the way Kelly merrily approaches his job compared with the almost always dour Marvin Lewis. Nice thought, good column, it'd never translate. Coaches who come from the college ranks into the NFL fail miserably. Why? Because they don't have the same kind of control in the NFL they have in the collegiate ranks. Want a list? Bobby Petrino, Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, even Lou Holtz.....

The Reds front office says it's not going to pursue free agents Paul Bako and Corey Patterson. Hallelujah!....If Walt Jocketty wanted to blow up the entire roster, save for Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, Aaron Harang, Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez, fine by me.....Dodgers win the NLCS, Red Sox win the ALCS. Great story lines: Manny back to Boston, Joe Torre managing against the Sox again...Wondering tonight if this miserable economy we're mired in will affect the amount of money teams will toss at free agents this off season. Tough time to be Adam Dunn....I heard it's so bad around the greater Cincinnati area, car buyers (car buyers, not home purchasers) can't get financing. They want to buy, dealers want to sell, banks can deliver the note...

By the way, I'm over all of this political advertising. I know it's keeping a lot of television stations floating. But honestly, have you heard anything from the two principals running for US President that gives you any hope they actuall now how to fix our economy? Me neither....

You've got one player to build your NFL franchise around, only one. Who would it be? Might be a topic for me this Sunday morning, at 9am EDT on 700 WLW....

Tomorrow morning, when you check back here, I'll have a couple of nuggets for you. I'll have the latest Bengals Report Podcast posted. Marc Hardin and I preview the Bengals vs Jets game this Sunday. And, I'll also have my latest video podcast posted, as I pick my two 'locks' for this week in the NFL.

I really, really want to get into the NBA this season. But that has to be the second toughest sport to follow if you don't live in an NBA franchise city. The toughest is hockey. But I'm an NHL freak. I've got the best one-two goaltending in my fantasy league (yes I play fantasy hockey, 14th consecutive year for that) Martin Brodeur and Marc-Andre Fleury.....Detroit wins the West again this year. I'm not quite there yet on the East....I kinda like the Devils.....Tough admission for a life long and former season ticket holding Rangers fan...

I can't believe college basketball begins this weekend. Midnight Madness will be held at a number of schools around the USA. I have a sneaking suspicion Xavier, here in Cincinnati will be very good again.....I think Mick Cronin will have UC in the upper tier of the Big East and will qualify his 'Cats for the NCAA Tournament....I really believe Indiana will be good. I know all about the sanctions and defections....I think Tom Crean knows what he's doing....He'll be the best basketball coach at IU since Bob Knight's prime (which was a long time ago).

Is there anything better than high school football at this time of the year, particularly here in the greater Cincinnati area. Shameless plug for the best high school sports web site on the planet: www.highschoolplaybook.com.

I'll see you tonight at 11p on News 5 and tomorrow night 'live' from the Hamilton at Oak Hills game. It's the latest stop on the now, seemingly mythical High School Tailgate Party....I made that 'seemingly mythical' stuff up....It's only mildly mythical...

Just posted, the latest Broo View Podcast. It features an interview I did this past weekend on my radio show Sunday Morning Sports Talks, on 700 WLW in Cincinnati. My guest in this latest podcast is Jarrett Bell, the national football writer for USA Today. You can find the latest Broo View Podcast on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com. But if you're in a hurry, you can also download it here.

Posted and ready for your downloading pleasure the latest Broo View Podcast. It's a good one (if I do say so myself!), that includes an interview I did with nationalfootballpost.com and former Oakland Raiders general manager, Michael Lombardi. Great thoughts from Mike on the state of the Bengals. You'll also hear comments from Carson Palmer and TJ Housmandzadeh. You can find the latest Broo View Podcast on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com. Or you can dowload it here.

Here’s a question to ponder: how many more weeks do we worry about game Bengals strategies and match ups. At what point will it stop to matter. Back in the back old days, in the 90’s, it was tough to deliver the nightly sports and talk about game strategies for the Bengals teams. You could never get to that, because Bengals fans could never get by the fact that the team was bad, and any talk about strategy was dismissed. You didn’t worry about how Tony McGee would do against the Browns strong side linebacker. It didn’t matter. You knew the Bengals were going to lose.

How close are we to that again?

Last Sunday, I asked this question: is this game, the game against the Tennessee Tigans, is this the biggest game the Bengals will play in the last 18 seasons? Not from an on field perspective, but off the field. Was it the biggest game they were going to play, to hold your interest and
not let the mood of the town drift from disappoint, to anger to apathy. At least there was one positive from the wind storm. Not many of us got to see the second half of that debacle.

As I sat in the dark this week and watched the candles melt, I wondered when we’d ever have a winning team to talk about, something that galvanizes the city like the 1990 Reds did, or the ’88 Bengals. College teams are great. What UC did on the football field last season and what Xavier did in basketball a couple of years ago were both terrific. But let’s face it: when it comes to college sports, interest is fractionalized. In Cincinnati, you’re either a UC or X fan. If you’re a Kentucky fan, you’re neither. Then, of course, are the other schools that have pockets of support around here, OSU, Notre Dame, Miami, maybe IU.

The Cyclones wrote a nice story last year. But it’s hockey, always an acquired taste in a non NHL city.

No, if anything is going to lift us from the land of loser-ville, it’s going to be either the Reds or Bengals. And honestly, do you see any reason to believe its going to happen any time soon.

The Reds are playing good baseball right now. But the heat is off, has been since June. We’ve seen this a lot in the last ten years. Reds out of the playoffs, play good baseball in September, false sense of hope, big let down by the following June. Repeat the cycle.

Look at this month. The Reds delayed the Cubs clinching the Central by winning two of three, They won two of three at Milwaukee earlier this month. They won two of three from the Brewers this past weekend. They’ve won 15 of their last 22. But it’s September. When was the last time they did it when it mattered? Hey, the current line up is playing well. But do you believe for a moment the everyday eight the Reds are running out there lately will be able to compete with the Cubs everyday eight, man for man next season? I don’t.

Some magazine, I don’t remember which one most of them give me a headache, but some magazine said recently that Cincinnati is one of the toughest towns for a sports fan. No playoffs in baseball since 1995, one playoff appearance for the Bengals in the last 18 years. But yet, you believe. And better, you support. The Reds went over the two million mark in attendance Saturday afternoon. The Bengals have a waiting list out the door and down the street for season tickets, every seat every Sunday now sold out.

But the economy stinks, gas is four bucks a gallon and you’re lucky if you’ll get a three percent raise this year. You’ve got some tough choices to make now. We all do.

At what point will your patience with waiting for a winner run out? Everybody has their limit. How close are you, to yours?

Maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have blackouts all that often. Having too much time to think is almost as bad as watching the food rot in the refrigerator. But unless I’m reading this wrong, I think you’re in need of something today other than a warm shower and a promise from Duke Energy this will never happen again. I think you’re in need of a dose of hope. What I want to know, is do you see it coming anytime soon?

I once worked out of an office at the old WLWT that Rod Serling, the great writer and creator of "The Twilight Zone" once used. So borrowing a phrase he made popular on that show: submitted for your approval....the latest Bengals Report Podcast. Mark Hardin, the executive editor of the print version of Bengals Report joins me to preview this Sunday's Bengals vs Giants game. You can find the latest Bengals Report Podcast on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com, in Itunes and you can download it here, as well.

It's straight ahead, just over that hill known as, The Twilight Zone...(sorry)

Hang around Ocho Cinco long enough, and your head will spin. He says goofy things, dumb things and it's all about him. But the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson hit the nail on the head today when he said, in so many words, that it doesn't matter what Carson Palmer, or TJ or he (OC) does. If the Bengals offensive line doesn't turn its game around, nothing matters. And he even gestured to the area of the locker room where the lineman call home. He added that the Bengals have one of the better lines in the NFL. But the mere fact that he was willing to 'call out' other members of his team (and he was correct in his assessment) showed a lot of guts.

Now let's see if that translates into a better performance in New Jersey Sunday. It would appear, from this article in the New York Post, the defending Super Bowl champs aren't exactly shaking in their boots, awaiting the Bengals.

Meantime, deep in the pages of espn.com is this take on Carson Palmer, through Scouts Inc, compiled by James Walker

Scouts Inc.'s take on Carson Palmer
September 16, 2008 3:00 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker
Palmer
In our weekly visit to the film room, we check in with Scouts Inc. to examine the early-season struggles of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer.
Here is comprehensive analysis from Scouts Inc.'s Keith Kidd:
"Why is Carson Palmer struggling? After studying the Bengals' offense this weekend, there is no doubt the pounding he took in Week 1 from a Rex Ryan coached Baltimore Ravens defense has affected the way he plays in the pocket, and a broken nose he suffered in the preseason can't help. Palmer remains one of the league's top quarterbacks in my mind, but the tension with #85 Chad [Ocho Cinco] appears to have increased and he is not in sync with his receivers. And, on top of that, the Bengals don't have a legit third receiver right now. The offensive line is not playing well and say what you want about Chris Perry, but he is not a younger version of Rudi Johnson. The Bengals better right the ship quickly because they could be in for a long day against a very good New York Giants defense on Sunday."

And here's our buddy, Mike Florio, from profootballtalk.com in his TV segment about one of the marqui match ups in week three: Cowboys vs Packers!


Posted and ready for you to download, my latest edition of Bengals Report Podcast. Bengals Report executive editor, Mark Hardin and I are breaking down the Bengals loss to the Tennessee Titans. You'll hear comments from Marvin Lewis, TJ Houshmandzadeh and Chris Perry. The Bengals Report Podcast is on the front page of my web site: http://www.kenbroo.com/.

The idea came from Paul Daugherty, who sits in this chair weeknights at six. And it’s such a basic question, we need to talk about it today: was Sunday the most important game the Bengals will play in the Marvin Lewis era?

Let’s put it in context. It’s no secret to you and me: this franchise has struggled mightily and because of itself for the past 17 seasons. One winning season, one playoff appearance. It has paraded mediocre talent, at best sometimes, into stadia and has forced us a bar hung too low for far too long. It told us in 1996 it needed a new stadium, flirted with the city of Baltimore for a little leverage and finally wrangled a sales tax hike from you to get Paul Brown Stadium built. I thought it was a good idea then. I still think it was a good idea. But when the bricks and mortar and rebar went up, the blocks and tackles and wins went down. We became the butt end of jokes, you, me and the team we root for every Sunday in the fall. Jay Leno got us every night.

But all that changed in 2003, when Marvin Lewis arrived. He came here with a resume like no other head coach since Forest Gregg. Lewis had a super bowl ring. He had a reputation of building solid and aggressive defenses. He even made Steve Spurrier look good, no small trick in that one year in DC. Lewis breathed fire into a moribund franchise, shook up the locker room and got this town on its football toes again. Suddenly, it was fun to be a Bengals fan again. The 70-percent off sales on Bengals jerseys at Lazarus were postponed until after Christmas.

2005 was great. But we both know where things went after that. Too many injuries, too many arrests. But you were loyal. You got mad, because it reflected badly on your city and you know you love your city. You got mad because it reflected badly on your team. And you know you love your team. But you kept faith. You kept buying tickets, buying tickets, watching the games on television. You kept the faith.

But as we both know, even loyalty has its limits. And I sensed this, for a lot of Bengals fans. I’ve taken your phone calls this week, talked with you out on the town and listened to the talk shows. I saw your tickets for sale today on ebay: four, 40-yard line, face value 68-dollars apiece, all four for you at 100-total.

I sense that with a lot of Bengals fans, after last Sunday’s stinker in Baltimore, enough was enough. Bring back Chris Henry, let Willie go, lay an egg on opening day. Enough.

So I’m asking today, is this game against the Titans the most important game this franchise will play since the final year of the Sam Wyche era?
If the Bengals are beaten this afternoon, are you done watching them on Sunday? Are you done buying tickets? Will you find other things to do Sunday afternoons this fall? Is it that important?

Or, is it only one game? It has to be either-or? The NFL season has been called a marathon. But it really isn’t. Its 17-weeks, you play 16 and if you’re good enough you play on. It’s four months, one game a week. And while each week is important, generally you only have to win ten times to get into the playoffs. The Bengals have lost once. If they lose today, they still have 14-chances to win ten. So is today really a must win? On the field, no. Off the field, in the department known as your loyalty and interest, is it?

If a generation is defined as 25 years, then an entire generation of people in our town have grown up knowing nothing but losing football. Just about. It’s been 18 years, save one. The Bengals, like every other NFL ftanchise are enjoying their halcyon days. The NFL’s popularity is at its zenith. The television ratings and revenue are at all time highs. Unable to get 40-thousand into Riverfront Stadium on some Sundays in the 90’s, the Bengals now have a waiting list for tickets.

But it won’t always be that way. The economy, if you haven’t noticed, is in the dumper. Gasoline will be in the mid-four dollar range by later today and rumored to being more than five bucks a gallon by the end of this week. People are losing their jobs, or are afraid they might. Tough choices about how to spend income have already begun. To most of us, buying an NFL ticket is a luxury. Repairing a washing machine isn’t. Maybe that sounds silly to you, but it shouldn’t.

We invest our money and time in things we believe will give us a good return. Our sports teams are that way. They eventually have to give us a reason to believe and then invest. The Bengals haven’t done that a lot in this last generation. Sometimes, you just reach a point where enough is enough. After back to back losses and all that's transpired off the field, have you reach that point today?

Just posted, my latest Broo View Podcast. Late Saturday night, after she won the gold with the USA women's 4x400m relay team, Mary Wineberg phoned from Beijing to talk about the highlight of her track and field career. You can find the Broo View Podcast on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com or you can download it here.

And now, your Cincinnati Bengals....

I need some help here. I’m really struggling right now to find something good to say about your Cincinnati Bengals. They’re certainly not my Cincinnati Bengals today. They’re all yours.

Saturday night, I wasted three hours of my life watching their exhibition game against the Saints. Exhibitionists, your Bengals are not.

Up front, I admit I understand the ramifications of not having Chad and TJ in the line-up. I get that. But here’s what I don’t get: Carson Palmer getting hit on virtually every passing play. Not just last night, through three exhibition games this summer. Here’s the morning memo to the Bengals offensive linemen: you sent the most important player on your team to the locker room at halftime with blood streaming down his face. It’s OK to block the other guy. Really, it is.

The way this Bengals offense has performed so far this summer will be the biggest bargaining champ Houshmandzadeh will have this off season. And if the Bengals are sincere in re-visiting Johnson’s deal next winter, same thing for him.

The way the rest of the Bengals wide receivers played last night made me salivate for Chris Henry. It was that bad.

Chris Perry ran well. Guess what: other teams will give the Bengals that all day long. You know what he wound up with? 12-carries, 36-yards. Take out his one carry for 13, he averaged two yards a pop

Other teams will gladly let Perry run for a buck, if they don’t have to worry about pass coverage. Antonio Chatman caught a few nice passes Saturday night. Guess what: the Bengals were so impressed with Chatman’s play this summer, they went out and sold their souls, they signed Henry.

The Bengals calling card, their offense? 165-yards, total. 38-on the ground.
The Bengals defense allowd the Saints 458 yards. The Saints threw over the middle and deep. The Saints had more than seven more minutes of clock time than your Cincinnati Bengals.

Every single Bengals….you can’t call them drives…there were eleven possessions and three ended in negative yards….every single possession ended in a punt except the final possession. That ended with an interception.

For the first time in team history, it was shutout at home in an exhibition game. Do you know how hard you’ve got to try to get shutout, do you know how inept you have to play to get shutout in a National Football League game?

When Palmer and the first team offense was in the game Saturday night here were the numbers: 27 plays, 94-yards. The Bengals crossed he 50-yard line once last night, once, all the way to the Saints 49.

Does this sound like a team that’s ready to begin an NFL season?

So I’ll ask this question to get things rolling today: is there a chance that this Bengals team isn’t as good as we, or they, thought? We’ve had three exhibition games to see if this team is any better than last year’s, and the answer today is a resounding ‘no’. Do Houshmandzadeh and Chad mean that much to this offense, that without them it appears to be clueless?

Saturday night, after the game, offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said, in essense, that the protection problems weren’t all on the O-Line, but on the running backs (it was only Chris Perry for the first half) , the tight end (that would be Ben Utecht, one of the only bright spots) and the quarterback (that would be the guy who left with his DNA running into his mouth). If that’s the case, then Bratkowski’s side of the ball was total failure.

Is it all a lack of TJ and Chad? Or has this offense suddenly gone stale? Both are legitimate questions.

And now, if you’re Marvin Lewis, what do you do? You have your fourth and final pre season game coming up next Thursday night. The last thing any head coach wants to do is play his starters deep into the final exhibition game. The Colts certainly won’t do that. So if you’re number ones are going up against the Colts’ twos and threes, how much are you going to gain from that?

As for the other side of the ball, the secondary was again picked apart and the pass rush was, how can we put this, limited? The Bengals gave up 458-yards of offense. The first team was pretty much out of the mix two series into the second half, But listen to these numbers: 54 plays, 342 total yards.

OK, the high priced free agent lineman, Antwan Odom didn’t play. Neither did Chinedum, who’ll probably be a starter again when he’s healthy. Neither did Rashad Jeanty, who may be a starter when he’s healthy. But what else does that side of the ball offer up for an explanation.

The games start to count two weeks from today. The Bengals open in Baltimore. About the only good thing you can say about that today, is that the Ravens still have Kyle Boller as their quarterback. Other than that, I’m looking for answers. Help me, beause I’m fresh out of them.

Heads up! The latest edition of "Bengals Report" The Podcast is up and running and available for downloading on my web site: www.kenbroo.com. You can find it on my front page. And in the "Podcasts & More" section, you can find all the back episodes of "The Broo View" Podcast.

Just trying to help the product along!