Random thoughts on this mid week night....

Terrell Owens isn't the player he was even three years ago. But he's an immediate upgrade over every receiver the Bengals had on the field last season not named Ochocinco. Even a shadow of what he's been TO will distract defenses just enough to allow Ochocinco to have a monster year.....

The Steelers aren't dead and won't roll over this year. In the four games (yep, it'll be four not six) that Ben Roethlisberger is away the Steelers will win by running the ball and playing defense. I think they'll go 3-1....

The Ravens should still be the favorites in the AFC North. But that depleted secondary sure makes them look mortal....

I love the way Paul Janish has stepped in for the injured Orlando Cabrera. And this is really some Monday morning quarterbacking, but why didn't the Reds at least think about trading for a middle infielder who can bring some 'pop' at the plate before the July 31st trade deadline. Cabrera and Scott Rolen are both playing well this season, Rolen more so. But they're both long in the tooth. Janish can play anywhere in the infield. But if Rolen were to go down again, what do the Reds do now? It's asking a lot for a rookie like Juan Francisco to step in and take over. Remember, the 1990 Reds made an August deal on their road to a World Series title. They had Ron Oester, Barry Larkin and Mariano Duncan, but that didn't stop them from trading for Billy Doran. That deal probably put that team over the top.....

I don't think Aaron Harang has pitched his last and best in Cincinnati. I look for the big man to make several key starts between his return and the end of the season.....

But I also don't think Harang and Homer Bailey will both be in the Reds five man rotation, when each is back and healthy....

I'm glad Shaq found work today, signing with the Boston Celtics. Even at his age, he's one of the fun players to watch....

The Cyclones will miss coach Chuck Weber, who's moving onto a bigger league (AHL) and a more influential job (head coach of the Rochester Americans). Weber will be coaching players who are just a phone call away from the NHL. And Weber will be just a phone call away too. Good guy, terrific coach. You don't coach teams to two Kelly Cup wins in three years unless you know what you're doing. That series against Reading this spring, where the Cyclones rallied from down 0-3 in games to win in seven, was one of the more stirring comebacks I've seen. Good luck Chuck!

I don't play poker. But watching people play poker on TV is absolutely absurd. It's on a lot. So a lot of people must have a tough time finding a life....

The blog may not be reproduced, re-trasmitted or repurposed in whole or in part or in any manner, without the express, written consent of Ken Broo

Sometimes you see things and you know what you see is just wrong. Check out this play, obviously from a pee wee football team. And listen to the sound. It's a designed play. Not sure this is a good example of 'good sportsmanship'. But it's worth a look.

Somebody who'll remain nameless, wrote a less than flattering email to me today, questioning why I'm so 'hard' on the Reds and the Bengals. Negative, was his implication.

The fact that teams are what they are, and reporters merely report, is often lost on some alleged fans. They want cheerleaders, not journalists. But my guess is, these kind of fans would howl bloody murder if the team slighted them, say by its players not signing autographs or jacking up ticket prices.

I explained to my critic that rather than being upset with something someone on TV or in print says, be upset at the team; the Bengals for all of their player arrests, the Reds for now having the worst record in all of major league baseball.

You pay for the players' salaries with inflated ticket prices (or by investing your time watching the games on TV if you're too cheap to buy a ticket.) Think of the team as a stock. If the investment doesn't return what you believe it should, hold it accountable. Don't get upset with the folks who report what's going on.

Eventually, the Bengals will keep their players out of jail and the Reds will win again. But along the way, understand the role of the journalist. He or she is there to represent you, ask the questions you want answered and report on the team you live and die with.

As I continue to watch the NFL on this Thanksgiving Day, it's amazing to me how quickly the Buccaneers have fallen off the table. Yep, they last their starting quarterback early in the season and their defense has had its share of injuries. But to go from 11-5 in 2005 to now 3-8 in 2006 is startling.

In all honesty, before Chris Simms' season was ended by a ruptured spleen, the Bucs offense wasn't very good. And before going on IR, one time defensive terror, Simeon Rice had been reduced to a rumor on most Sundays. It may be age catching up with the Bucs. It may be something else.

Remember to get Jon Gruden away from the Raiders and Keyshawn Johnson away from the Jets, it cost the Buccaneers two first round draft picks in each transaction. Losing four first round picks in six years has crippled this franchise. That should be four impact players on the field for the Bucs right now.

The rebuilding job will be massive. Aging players like Rice, Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber will need to be replaced, soon. There is the issue of who plays quarterback next season. Simms will be a restricted free agent and will draw interest. Current starter, Bruce Gradkowski was a sixth round pick and is nothing more than a stop gap for this season. And, the Bucs offensive line has been a cronic problem, pre-dating Gruden.

There is a lot of heavy lifting ahead for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I'm a traditionalist. I love Thanksgiving dinner at 7pm. I want white meat only and gravy made from the turkey. I don't like traveling for the holidays and, above all else, I don't want to be bothered while watching football on television. Full disclosure, I have to do that for a living. But when the game is on, I want to watch it. I want to see who blocks well, who misses tackles. I want to see if the quarterback can read a defense. I want to watch for the coaching strategies. But here's what I don't want to see anymore.

The Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. I know, I know, I said I was a traditionalist. And the Lions on Thanksgiving Day pre-dates cranberries and stuffing. But until the Lions get better, until they prove to the football world they know what they're doing, the NFL needs to keep this team off national television on Thanksgiving Day. Watching the Lions is worse than indigestion.

The Lions have been so bad, for so long, it's borderline criminal. They can't draft (see Desmond Howard, Charles Rogers, Joey Harrington, etc.) and they haven't had a whiff of the playoffs since 1999.

When they had Barry Sanders, they used to be fun to watch. You knew the Lions were never going to get close to the Super Bowl, but at least their offense could score some points. And Sanders was always good for a couple of electrifing runs on turkey day.

Now the Lions are one of the NFL's doormats. Perhaps the NFL is aware that a lot of their teams don't want to play on Thanksgiving, have no interest in playing a 'short' week. Maybe the NFL is sensitive to the fact that Lions fans will leave their homes and dinners to watch their team play on a national holiday. But the rest of us deserve better. The Lions against the Dolphins? Time for a nap.

Ken

I can't get over all of these explosive plays....year after year, OSU and Michigan would play this game conservatively, tackling was good, big plays were few....but here we go again, this time it's Antonio Pittman 55 yards....linebackers were picked up on a blitz and the Michigan secondary took a couple of bad angles on tackles....35-24 OSU...

South Carolina played Middle Tennessee today? What was the point of that? What did the Gamecocks prove by beating up on a mid-major (stretch) 52-7?....same deal with Florida and Western Carolina...62-0....somebody please step in and prevent these mid majors (stretch) over scheduling late in the year to pay some bills....somebody has to say 'no'....

3rd and short and you're running on OSU successfully and you throw??? Bo isn't happy....this should be overturned on review....ball hit the ground....but Michigan will be punting....

Ooops...who do you blame for the fumbled snap....it was high, but Smith should have had it. Big, big break for Michigan as we go to the 4th quarter