Random Toughts On A Random Thursday...

Scott Rolen made back to back errors in this exhibition game today vs the Rangers? Will never happen in 162 games this coming season...

Now Jonny Gomes.....

Actually, look it up. Gomes only committed four errors last season. As a team, the Reds only committed 72. Brandon Phillips won a Gold Glove, largely because he booted the ball only three times in 702 chances.

For the record, Rolen had eight E's in 2010.

Decent outing for Bronson Arroyo today, which is good considering he's been sick for about two weeks. Today in a minor league game vs the Dodgers, Arroyo went 5.2, allowed 6 hits and three runs. He whiffed six and walked only one. I believe Arroyo has walked just two batters all spring.

I also believe aliens are programming several of my DirecTv channels. But that's a story for another day....

NFL owners are now saying that Mike Brown was a visionary back in 2006, when only he and Bills owner, Ralph Wilson voted against the CBA that just ended. The Giants John Mara said "We should have listened to him", back in 2006. Jim Irsay chirps in as well, in an article written by Geoff Hobson on the Bengals official web site.

Brown is one of the smartest people I've met on this earth. But he places no value on what his image is. Or offensive linemen, again a story for another day.....

I still think the NFL labor situation spills into the season. Both sides have to hurt for this to be settled. And the only way hurt enters into the equation is for players to miss game checks and owners to miss revenue stream. We're a long way from that. I'm sure the judge in Minnesota who'll hear the suit filed by several players to end the lockout will rule shortly after the April 6th hearing. And I'm equally sure the NFL or the players will appeal whatever decision she makes. But I laugh when I hear that one side or the other will 'cave' after a non-favorable ruling. The owners have a 'war chest' to operate from. The players are out nothing until September. Why would they want to settle now? To get ready for mini-camps? Really?....

Elizabeth Taylor's best movie was Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolfe. But I'll watch Butterfield 8 anytime, anywhere. Who's left from the Golden Age of Hollywood? Can't think of any....

Zsa Zsa Gabor was rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news of Taylor's death. Her publicist says Zsa Zsa's blood pressure went sky high. She feared she'd be the next to go. True story.....

Eva Gabor, totally unappreciated, particularly in her finest role as Lisa Douglas on "Green Acres"....

Is Merv Griffin still with us?.....

Does any college basketball coach tell the truth when he talks about an opponent before an NCAA Tournament game? Today, John Calipari was gushing over the Ohio State Buckeyes, making it sound as though if he team beats OSU Friday night, it'd be the biggest upset since the election of '48. Just once, I'd love to hear a coach say "Well, they're lucky to be here. We're so much better than this team, I hope we don't die of boredom before the final horn". I'd be the mother of all sound bites...

Of course, the coach who says that gets villified, then fired, win or lose...

And OSU is 5-0 all time against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament.

Still....

It's gotta be me, but all of the network TV shows I like have been or are about to be canned. Loved "Flash Forward" last year in ABC. Gone. They even left a cliff hanger for a season that would never be. This year, it's "The Event" (on life support) and Detroit 1-8-7 (Lt. Louis Fitch, my kinda cop) who both figured to get whacked. I would rather watch a yak fall asleep than watch Kirstie Alley prance around a stage. But 50 million people can't be wrong, right?

See you tonight at 6p & 11p on WLWT, News 5 in Cincinnati.

This blog may not be reproduced, re-transmitted or re-purposed in whole or in part or in any manner without the written permission of Ken Broo

So why all the upsets in the NCAA Tournament so far? I've heard a lot of talk about that this week. You know why? There are only about five dominant teams in college basketball anymore. Ten years ago, the number was probably around 12. 20 years ago, it was close to 20.

So why the fall off?

TV

TV is the great equalizer in everything. Has been and, in some form or another, always will be when it comes to sports. Ask any college coach when he's out recruiting what the two things a potential player is interested in. It's TV exposure and playing minutes. Everything else falls into the category 'also'.

20 years ago, even with ESPN, only a fraction of the games that're televised now actually made it onto the screen. You'd be lucky to see a half dozen games a week. Now how many games are televised? You can find a half dozen games on at the same time most weeknights, many more on weekends. The TV 'stick' that schools like Indiana, UCLA, North Carollina, UK and Duke could hold out with a carrot on the end back in the '80's and '90's is now something just about every Division I program can offer. 20 years ago, you would have been laughed at if you suggested that Pitt, West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Xavier were elite Division I basketball programs. They got their games on television, if lucky, three or four times a year. Now, you can find just everyone of their games on the tube every season.

20 years ago, the elite basketball programs would over recruit a position. They could, because they were the big boys of college ball. So a player who could've started at Tulsa or South Florida or Butler would have taken a scholarship offer from North Carolina, or Maryland or Indiana because they were the elite programs, with their games televised all of the time. Not so anymore.

Now with three main ESPN channels and their various college exclusive packages, with conferences starting their own cable channels and with game available on-line, players who choose non traditional powers can be assured they will appear on some sort of broadcast.

TV exposure=playing minutes=programs that have surged to the top of college basketball in the last 20 years.

What's happening in college basketball today should be no surprise to anyone, when you look at how the dynamics have changed, just in the last 20 years

Stumbled onto this on the Washington, DC television web site www.dcrtv.com. It's a clip from former WBAL-TV anchor, Don Harrison. I worked with Don in Tampa, back in the early 80's. He was one of the nicest people I ever met in my business, warm, funny and genuinely interested in who you were, not only what you could do. Don, who went onto become the first anchor at CNN Headline News and the 'voice' of CNN liners and promos, was a rare breed. He died far too young. Don Harrison, was a 'pro's pro'.

In the National League Central Division, where all things are possible, it's crazy to say the Reds are dead. Not now. The Brewers jumped out like rabbits, but have come back to the field. And as of early tonight, the Reds are just 9 games out of first, with 108-games to go.

The key for the Reds to jump back into the race is to play defense, and get pitching, like they've had the past three games. Starters pitch deep when their defense performs and when starters pitch deep, it doesn't tax the bullpen.

Josh Hamilton homered again tonight....and again, in his rehab assignment in AAA. That's three home runs for "The Natural" in his two games with the Louisville River Bats. With the Reds a little thin in the outfield, look for Hamilton to rejoin the team when his DL stint is up, on Sunday.

I'm a hockey freak. Truth be told, I used to be a season ticket holder, while in high school, with the New York Rangers. I would hop a bus from north Jersey after school and do my home work in Madison Square Garden, waiting for the Rangers games to begin. I've also had season tickets for the Tulsa Oilers in the CHL and the Cincinnati Cyclones, when they played in the IHL.

But I'm troubled by the TV ratings the Stanley Cup Playoffs are getting. Only a little more than 500,000 homes tuned in to watch game one between the Ducks and Senators. That's probably because not too many fans can find the games, now on the Versus network. This weekend, the games flip to NBC and channel 5 here in Cincinnati. I know NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman wasn't playing a strong hand when he made his latest TV deal. The NHL is still suffering from it's lockout/strike of a couple of years ago. But for the good of the game, Bettman needs to re visit with ESPN. This is a sport that desperately needs casual fans to rejoin its party. And the casual fan simply can't, or won't, find Versus.