Good Morning!

The Bengals signed their number one pick while you were sleeping last night. Linebacker Keith Rivers ended his nine day holdout and will be on the practice field later today. One of my favorite things during a player-holdout is listening to the lavish praise directed at the player who's in camp taking the hold out's spot. We heard nothing but great things the past nine days about linebacker Brandon Johnson, signed this off season after two rather unspectacular years with the Arizona Cardinals. But to hear the coaches talk about him, you have thought Johnson was the second coming of Lawrence Taylor.

Now, with Rivers in the fold, watch for Brandon Johnson to fade into the world of second teamers. He had his '15 minutes of fame' and did well. But money talks, and Keith Rivers will be the starting outside linebacker come opening game against Baltimore.

Just how stupid are the Green Bay Packers? Do you mean to tell me, after coming within one bad pass of playing in the Super Bowl, they're going to dump Brett Favre for Aaron Rogers? Really? If that team tanks this season without Favre, there won't be a moving van big enough to get GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy out of town.

Here's Kevin Seifert's take on the Favre Fiasco, on espn.com

Meantime, back to your Cincinnati Bengals, my buddy Chick got the first local interview with his Sigh-ness, Chadly. It's in the latest 'Ludwig At Large', courtesy of the Dayton Daily News.

And our good pal Mike Florio from profootballtalk.com has a look at what might be in store this year in the AFC West.

The Chiefs, a train wreck? Imagine that!

Well, there's always Al Davis and Wayne Weaver. yahoosports.com doesn't think too highly of Bengals owner, Mike Brown.

And then, there's everybody's favorite odd couple, Marvin and Chad. Our man Chick Ludwig checks in today with this, from the Dayton Daily News.

I give it five games....

Brett Favre rumors continue to boil. Now we hear the the commish is involved. Apparently, Roger Goodell is monitoring the situation closely. Where could Favre end up? For that, we turn to our pal Mike Florio, at profootballtalk.com.

I'd love to see him in Tampa. But if you're Baltimore and you've had trouble developing a quarterback since...oh, Johnny Unitas, why wouldn't you leap on this, for a season. Then, you've got Joe Flacco.

Just askin'.

Did you see the show Josh Hamilton put on at the annual Home Run Hitting contest Monday night? Mercy.

28 first round home runs? And some were simply the stuff legends are made of. Be careful equating what Hamilton did with what players do in actual games. But that aside, this was something. Deadspin had the video up this morning. But here is a piece of what Hamilton did in Yankee Stadium Monday night.

And the reviews from around the country are pouring in. Among the better takes on this is Jayson Stark's in his espn.com posting.

Even baseball lifer Peter Gammons was impressed enough to write this in his posting today.

And from si.com's Joe Sheehan, this piece of prose about Hamilton.

I've never, ever been a proponent of trading a player who has the potential to affect 162 games a season for a player (pitcher) who can only affect 25-30. And while I still disagree with the trade Wayne Krivsky pulled off with the Rangers last winter, it's hard to view it as anything but a 'win-win' for the two clubs. Edinson Volquez has a chance to be the 'ace' of the Reds staff for a long time. But think about this: how much better would the Reds have been if they had a pitcher in their system like Volquez, home grown, someone they didn't 'have' to trade for? Then, they would have had that guy, as well as Hamilton. Pie in the sky? Not really. If the Reds had drafted Tim Lincecum in 2006 instead of Drew Stubbs, they'd have had had exactly that situation. Lincecum has already won 10 game this season. Stubbs, an outfielder, is stuck in "AA"

Our pal Ryan Parker, the sports songwriter is at it again. Check out his latest video about the reluctant retiree, Brett Favre. Make sure you 'click' next to the speaker icon on the right so you can listen.

More videos from the "ryanparkersongs's channel" channel at Heavy.com

My guess? Favre is traded, the Packers don't make the playoffs and all hell breaks loose in dairy land.

Now, less than four weeks until Opening Day, do you think the Reds signing Corey Patterson is another hint that Dusty Baker isn't interested in playing young players? That reputation dogged Baker when he managed the Cubs. Now this week, we not only hear stories of how concerned Baker is with what he perceives to be recurring leg problems with phenom, Jay Bruce. We also got a double dose of baseball Dusty style Monday, when the Reds signed infielder Jerry Hairston, Junior, and Patterson, both of whom played for Baker in Chicago.

Of coures, if Dusty really has trouble with younger players, how do you explain this? If this pitcher is that good, he's liable to be on the mound Opening Day 2010!

With Brett Favre retiring today, it brought back memories of his first action as a Packer. It was September, 1992. Dave Shula brought his first-ever Bengals team to Wisconsin, fresh off a 2-0 start. The Bengals had the Pack on the ropes and knocked starting quarterback, Don Majkowski out of the game. Off the bench came Favre, acquired just that year from the Atlanta Falcons. Favre led the Packers to a stunning comeback win. Matter of fact, check out the NBC-TV post game coverage from that day. If you're not interested in the game, you'll see OJ, while he was still employable.

Two teams that ultimately went in opposite directions. You could argue the Bengals never really got over that loss, though all the players from that team are long gone.

Would you trade Chad Johnson to the Oakland Raiders, as suggested in this story? If you really wanted to send him to the NFL's version of Siberia, Oakland would be the place. That's a team that is going nowhere fast. And by the time Jamarcus Russell finds him stride as an NFL quarterback, Johnson would be ready for retirement.

Speaking of trades, why did the Bengals proposed deal with the Jets for defensive lineman, Dwayne Robertson fall through? Robertson's agent said Monday night it was because the Bengals wanted Robertson to re-negotiate his contract, that's due to pay him $9.8 million in 2008 and $8.5 million in 2009. But today, while introducing newly signed free agent, defensive lineman Antwan Odom, to the Cincinnati media, Marvin Lewis bristled at the suggestion that money was involved with the deal falling through. But check out this article today from the New York Daily News.

Lewis says Robertson still may wind up with the Bengals. Since it's a real possibility that the Jets will release Robertson in June if they can't find a trade partner, he may well wind up in Bengal stripes this summer.