Random Thoughts On The Last Random Tuesday Of 2010

OK 'men of a certain age', 2011 is hours away. Show of hands, who thought they'd make it this far? Liars....

Carson Palmer threw the ball so well Sunday because his offensive coordinator did NOT abandon the running game, despite averaging just 2.7 yards per rush. The Bengals ran the ball 38 times Sunday. Regardless of the yardage, when a team commits that much to the run, the safeties MUST come up for support. That left a lot of one on one coverage. And that's the reason why Palmer was so effective throwing. The Bengals are a team built to run the ball. Why it took them 13 games to figure that out, God only knows. But it's further proof that changes need to be made on the coaching staff. It lost its soul this season...

The Bengals OL had its best day in years, not allowing a sack to a team that came in with a league best 44. Again, that was because the Bengals RAN the ball for 38 snaps.

Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth deserves to go to the Pro Bowl. You can make a case that the other four spots on that OL need upgrades, in some instances serious upgrades.

Cedric Benson should be the Bengals number one target for signing team free agents this off season. I'd franchise tag him, except that would be a salary in excess of $10 million and the Bengals already are in dutch to Palmer for $11.5 million. But ask yourself, would the Patriots do it? Would the Colts do it? Would the Steelers do it?

Interesting that the Reds were pursuing RHP Brandon Webb. That would mean another 'shoe' would had to have dropped, with Arroyo, Cueto, Bailey, Wood, Volquez already penciled into the starting rotation in 2011. My guess is, there was another deal in the works. Maybe not so much now.

I still think the Reds pursue Scott Podsednik for at least a platoon in LF, maybe a bigger role.

I think Mick Cronin did the right thing by padding his early season schedule with patsies. Some of those teams, you couldn't find on a map if your name was Rand McNally. But the Bearcats better win at least 10 of their 18 Big East Conference games this season or they'll have no shot at making the NCAA Tournament, even with an expanded field. With one more out of conference game to play (the traditional in city Crosstown Shootout with Xavier) UC will need at least 22 wins and a better than .500 conference schedule. From what I've seen of this team, I think they can pull it off. They'll have to, with a strength of scheduling rating right now of 333rd among all Division I teams.

Best sports Christmas season story has to be the University of Albany offering Xavier guard, Mark Lyons a ride from Albany to Cincinnati on the team bus. Lyons, like a lot of Northeasterners, was stranded in his hometown of Albany by the blizzard that hit the East Coast. His flight was cancelled. He had no way to get back to Cincinnati in time for the game against the Great Danes. So graciously, the Albany head coach offered Lyons a seat on the bus, and the sophomore guard made the nine hour trip sitting with players he'll do his best to beat tonight at the Cintas Center. I couldn't tell you two things about University of Albany basketball, but now I'm a fan. Good stuff....

Heard this song the other day for the first time in a long time. Absolutely beautiful in its simplicity of chord structure and lyrics. Tom Springfield, the brother of the late Dusty Springfield and group leader wrote this for The Seekers. The female lead is Judith Durham, who is just terrific.


We'll see you tonight at 6p and 11p on News 5, right here in the greatest city in the world, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

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Good Monday Morning!

We were talking about this other day at work. In between the six and eleven o’clock newscasts, there’s a little bit of downtime when you can kick around a few topics. Between three and six, it’s a little hectic. After six, things tend to even out. So here’s what came up.

If you’re the university of Cincinnati, would you not want to follow the model Xavier has perfected? Xavier goes to the NCAA Tournament every year, rarely misses a trip. It builds it’s team around good shooters and playing well without the ball. Sometimes it wins it’s conference regular season championship. Sometimes, not quite so often, it wins its conference tournament. But always it seems, it makes the NCAA Tournament. It usually wins a game, maybe two, gets to the elite 8 every so often and that’s it. It’d like to win the NCAA Championship, what team wouldn’t. But its fan base seems happy with a strong regular season and not being one and one in the Tournament.

So somebody at channel 5 said why doesn’t UC adopt the same strategy. No pretense of building a championship team, just get to the Tournament and win a game or two. Everybody would get off Mick’s back, you play games until the final couple of weekends of the season.

Is that a fair assessment of Xavier? Is it settling and opting for keeping the natives at rest, rather than restless?

Think about what Xavier does, historically. It recruits players that big time schools take a pass on. Jason Love fits that description. Somebody, Sean Miller, one of his assistants saw raw talent in Love and took a flyer on him. Go back in Xavier’s basketball history, it happens all the time. UC, it seems historically, gets caught up in a player’s pedigree. Now to be fair, Xavier gets players that other schools go after and UC will take a guy that other schools pass on. Kenyon Martin wasn’t pursued heavily by a lot of teams.

But, by and large, Xavier has a system, seems to be the same system regardless of the head coach, and finds players to fit.

This was the discussion we were having the other day.

UC seems to get caught up in labels. Forever, whether it’s Mick, or Huggins or Andy Kennedy, we hear about a player being a ‘leaper’ or his great ‘athleticism’. At Xavier, it’s whether or not the kid can play basketball.

Playing basketball is a lot of things. But one of the most important things is putting the basketball into the net. UC has struggled a lot to find guys who can do that. Xavier never seems to be in need of a scorer. Holloway’s not hitting, there’s Redford. Lyons gets hurt or gets into foul trouble, there’s Crawford.

Well, wait a minute now somebody else said, there’s a huge difference between the kinds of players Xavier needs to recruit to win the Atlantic 10 and the kinds of players UC needs to recruit to win the Big East. UC plays in a better conference. It needs better player than Xavier recruits.

Is the Big East a better conference than the A-10? Yeah. But you get more bids to the NCAA Tournament every year from the Big East than what the A-10 gets. Everyone was howling at me when I said back in January the Atlantic 10 would get two, maybe three bids. Joe Lunardi, mister bracketology was on this program a month ago right after he wrote that the A-10 would get six team in. Told me, you, that day it’d be four minimum. They got three. The Big East got eight.

So the point of the argument was you get eight chances to make the Tournament, you don’t’ have to be a great team to make it from the Big East. You basically have to be a game better than ‘500’ inside your conference. Georgetown and Notre Dame made the tournament this year with 23 wins and 10-8 conference records. That’s it.. You don’t even have to contend for your conference championship. All you have to do to satisfy your fan base is ‘get in’. If you get in and get the right match ups, you might win one, maybe two. This is what Xavier seems to do every year. Why not, if you’re UC follow that blueprint.

So if I’m Mick Cronin, I’m not trying to build a championship team for next season. I’m not telling anyone that of course. I’m building a team that’ll win ten games inside of my conference and about 24 total and simply qualify for the Tournament. At least for awhile, it'll get the wolves off his back.

This blog may NOT be republished or retransmitted in any way without the express written consent of Ken Broo

Check out my interview with Xavier basketball TV analyst, Steve Wolf, the former Musketeer. We're talking about Xavier coach Chris Mack and the always fundamentally sound Muskies. It's on the front page of www.kenbroo.com.

Let me just say this: cardio rehab is a killer (if that oxymoron makes sense). How can a guy who got his heart rate up to 152 as late as December 21st be so winded after hitting 120 for just a few minutes? I actually nodded off for a few minutes tonight during a commercial break in the UC basketball game.

UC beats South Florida...good win. It was one of those games a team has to win if it thinks of itself as an NCAA team. It's also a game UC had to win, considering it had two bad losses already in the Big East (St. John's and Seton Hall). Impressive win, considering Lance Stephenson didn't play and Yancy Gates was in foul trouble from what seemed like the warmups.

Different deal for Xavier tonight. The Muskies had another chance to beat a ranked team and failed to do so. Temple isn't great. It takes no risks defensively and it's offense isn't exactly astounding. But the Owls don't turn the ball over and don't give up a lot of second chance shots. Did it kill Xavier's chances to make the NCAA Tournament if it doesn't win the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament? No. But this is at best a two bid conference. So you can do the math.

Nice benefit coming up Thursday night at Mason High School. The dual wrestling meet with Harrison has been dubbed "Pin Cancer". Mason student, Geoffrey McPherson is battling cancer.
The meet will be free admission. But they're asking you to buy a t-shirt for $7 with proceeds going to "Pin Cancer"

Just posted....my latest Broo View Podcast. My guest in this episode is Dan Wetzel of yahoosports.com. He's got a great idea how to implement a playoff system in Division I college football right now....the the proper guy with enough muscle to make it happen. It's on the front page of my web site, www.kenbroo.com. But here's a quick link to it.

Is Born Ready really ready? Tonight at 6p on WLWT, Cincinnati's channel 5, I've got a story on UC freshman, Lance Stephenson, who's progress from McDonald's High School All American to Divsion I college basketball has been slower than some would like.

More reports today that Tiger Woods is in a Mississippi clinic that treats sex addicts. America loves a comeback story. But Tiger is going to have to win a lot of golf tournaments to escape being the punchline that he's quickly become.

If Xavier beats Temple Wedensday night, look for the hype surrounding this team to blossom nationally. Xavier has been quietly piecing together a nice season (do they do it any other way on Victory Parkway) and flying below the proverbial radar. Temple is now the 16th ranked team in the USA. The Musketeers have a rematch with Dayton and a road game at Florida, down the road. But a win at Temple blows the cover off this quiet season Xavier has been enjoying. It could happen. But Dante Jackson has to continue his torrid shooting and Jason Love will have to bring his "A" game to his hometown of Philadelphia.

Good Monday Morning

Xavier wins and plays on. Next up, a Sweet 16 meeting against Pittsburgh in Boston. Xavier will clearly have its hands full with Pitts inside game. But the Panthers have to be wary of the way the Xavier guards are playing. Dante Jackson, and to a lesser extent, Terrell Holloway have figured it out, just in time.

If I could have one thing on my NCAA Tournament team, it would be a good, solid point guard. Give me a guy to run the offense, you can have everything else. Centers, power forward, shooting guards, take them. Give me the guy who can set everything up.

You don’t think a good point guard is important? Ask Kentucky why it’s in the NIT. Although I like Michael Porter’s toughness. Talk to Mick Cronin.

It’s why Sean Miller has been all over Dante Jackson like a rash this season. Miller knows, he played the game. A good point guard takes care of the ball, finds the open man, makes the impossible pass, gets the ball inside. Distributes, as the coaches like to say.

Think of the great point guards in college basketball history. Gary Payton, Oregon State. Great defense great set up man, an All American.

Bobby Hurley. Where would Duke have been in 1992 without Bobby Hurley? The guy averaged over eight assists a game that season. Best player in the tournament in 1993.

Or Jason Kidd. You needed a pass to the open man? You don’t want anybody tossing it except Kidd. May have been the best passer in college basketball history.

Chirs Paul, Andre Miller, even Stephon Marbury…yeah that Stephon Marbury was a great point guard for one season at Georgia Tech.

So as I’m watching these games since Thursday, it’s no surprise that most of the teams that’ve won games have had great point guard play.

Did you watch the Sienna upset of Ohio State. I know it was one of those 8-9 games, but to me it was an upset. Did you watch Ronald Moore. Forget the three point heroics. Did you see how Moore passed the ball, worked the game? Controlled the Sienna offense. Six assists. Ronald Moore is tenth in the nation, sixth in the Tournament in assist to turnover ratio. And you know what? He’s been that good since his freshman season.

You don’t think a major difference in that game Friday night was how well Moore played and how lacking Ohio State is at the point?

Did you watch Cleveland State dismantle big bad Wake Forest? Did you watch point guard Cedric Jackson? This is the same kid who transferred out of St. John’s because he wasn’t getting enough playing time. That should tell you how bad St. John’s is and will be for awhile. Cedric Jackson against Wake Forest: 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. His ally-oop set ups were downright astounding.

You know why everyone who bleeds Carolina blue was holding their collective breath this week? Ty Law. Actually Ty Law’s big toe. As Law goes, so goes Carolina. He played through it Saturday. After missing three games with jammed toe, Law was back. 23 total points, 21 in the second half in the Heels win over LSU.

Put Ty Law on the UC team (after Mick Cronin falls off his couch in delirium) and the Bearcats are in the Tournament. Deonta Vaughn doesn’t have to bring the ball up court, just has to get open for shots. Yancy Gates gets the ball quicker, in better position and gets better shots. It’s that simple and that tough. Because, every coach in America is out looking for a guy who can play the point. Cashmere Wright? Let’s hope.

Look, I like big men. Coaches always say…and they’re right, you can’t coach size. But you also can’t get as much out of your big guy, if he can’t get the ball. Does Christian Laettner average over 21-a game in 1992 if Bobby Hurley isn’t averaging almost eight assists a night…and over 13 points. Sorry UK fan.

This year’s Tournament, like every other one in the history of the NCAA is about guards. You got a good one, you got a chance. You got two good ones, you’re playing past this weekend. But if you’ve got a good, solid point guard, who sees the court, knows the game, finds the open man, runs the offense….distributes? You’ll be playing a lot longer than that.

Good Monday Morning!

Xavier a #4 seed? Good, better than I thought. Figured on a #5. Getting shipped out to Boise? Bad. Only a smattering of Xavier fans will make that trip. And if they're going to, they better start leaving today.

Portland State isn't great, but good enough to give Xavier some problems. The second round match up could be intriguing, particulary if Florida State prevails over Wisconsin. Sean Miller should watch the FSU-North Carolina game from the ACC Tournament. He'll get an eyeful.

No NIT for UC? Surprised a bit. I figured UC would get in, given its total body of work. But I guess that committee took a long hard look at UC over the last seven games this season. Which wasn't very good

I think the flame under Mick Cronin just got even hotter. He has to make the NCAA Tournament next season. If you're on the job 4 seasons and can't get in, there's something wrong. The first season he was at UC can be written off to the horrid way his AD and school President handled the Huggins-Kennedy affair. But after that, he's on his own.

Stay with me on this one. This has nothing to do with the way Bronson Arroyo pitched Saturday. Four innings, four hits, three earned runs and a home run allowed. Late spring start, maybe a little dead arm, it happens. Arroyo will be fine. But, with what team this season?

If you’re Walt Jocketty and you’ve seen Homer Bailey and Micah Owings throw this spring, aren’t you thinking about a way to get each of them in the starting rotation? Do you really want to banish one of them to Triple-A, or the bullpen? If I’m Jocketty, neither of those are good options for Bailey or Owings.

And if you’re Bob Castellini, any you’ve seen your personal wealth take a dive like a buzzard pouncing on road kill, and you know your revenue stream for your team will be another victim of the economy, aren’t you looking for ways to cut over head?

To me, Bronson Arroyo would be a prime candidate for a late spring training trade. Why not? It’s happened to him before. How do you think he got here?

Arroyo is due to make $20.5 million over the next two seasons. If the Reds don’t pick up his $11 million dollar option in 2011, they have to pay him $2 million to leave. That’s at least $23.5 million they owe Arroyo before his current contract is up. I don’t know where you come from. But where I’m from, $23.5 million is a lot of money.

So who could could Bronson Arroyo? It would have to be a contending team in a large market, right? The Yankees? They’ve always got dough. They’ve got CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. Arroyo isn’t as good as those two, but better than the third and fourth starters the Yankees have, Phil Hughes and Chien Ming Wang. How ‘bout Arroyo to the Yankees for Xavier Nady? 300 hitter, good power, can play left field?

You know who needs pitching? The Dodgers. Their everyday 8 is pretty good: Manny, Russell Martin, the catcher, Casey Blake at third. You might have a tough time getting outfielder Matt Kemp for Arroyo. But what about Adam Ethier, a big left handed bat? Don’t think the Dodgers would like

Arroyo in their rotation? Chad Billingsley is their ace. But after him? It’s a shaky group.

Look, I like Arroyo. I’d like him even more if he’d throw some wins early in the season this year. That didn’t happen in ’08. I’d like him even more if he’d cut down on the number of pitches it takes to get out of innings. I like him as a guy. Great interview.

But if the goal is to get young and the young arms are ready to go, why not see what you can get for him? Harang, Volquoz, Cueto, Owings & Bailey. With Ethier or Nady in left field and the rest of the “Everyday 8” the Reds have? That’d slap old “Pot Roast” to attention up in Chicago, wouldn’t it?

Whoops. Didn't see that coming. Temple beats Xavier. My bold prediction some 39 hours away from Selection Sunday: Xavier a #5 seed and heading west, to Boise. Losing to Temple cost them a #4 and a spot in Dayton. We'll seee

Anyone else notice that Micah Owings tossed another four innings of shutout ball tonight in Ft. Myers, Florida? Why will he beat out an equally impressive Homer Bailey for the 5th starters' spot in the Reds pitching rotation? Two reasons. One, his bat. Two, he's Walt Jocketty's guy. Jocketty made Owings the centerpiece in the Adam Dunn trade last summer.

Is anyone else thinking that the Reds could could trade Bronson Arroyo this spring and go with a rotation of Harang, Volquoz, Cueto, Owings and Bailey?

Just posted, the latest Broo View Podcast. It's on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com. But, if you're in a hurry, you can listen or download it here. The hot topic is the 45 worst contracts in MLB. Tiim Dierkes from mlbtraderumors.com is my guest. Enjoy!