It's Tuesday!

Like who didn't see that coming, right?

The anemic Reds win again. And last night in Houston delivered their best offensive game of the young season. That's three of four they just took from the Astros. Remember, last season, they managed only three wins, total against Houston. The Reds got just enough decent pitching from Bronson Arroyo (who predicted he'd start the season 3-0. You're raising your hand right now and I'm calling your a liar, OK?). The bullpen was terrific again. Dusty Baker showed a lot of courage letting Arthur Rhodes pitch to a couple of right handed batters with the game on the line. Note to all baseball purists: it's OK sometimes to go against 'the book'. Rhodes has earned his reputation of not being a 'situational left hander'. If I'm running the Reds (and on this blog I am) I use nobody out of that bullpen unless they're named Rhodes, Weathers and Cordero, not if the game is on the line.

Now it's onto Chicago for three (unless the weather people are finally right and it rains like Noah-land on Tuesday night). At worst, the Reds will finish this marathon road trip with a break even record. The hitting is non-existant, except for Joey Votto. Alex Gonzalez has exactly two more hits than a dead man. Bruce, Encarnacion, Phillips, Hernandez and that left field platoon of Hairston and Dickerson are all below or just at the mythical Mendoza line (.200 avg for the normal people reading this, not the sabermetricians, of which I'm one). The NL Central is weak. We might be onto something here....or on something.

Big night of hockey Monday night here in the 'nati. Our defending Kelly Cup champs went to double overtime,before beating the Wheeling Nailers. Fun, exciting hockey. I'm a hockey freak. I played it in HS and a little bit at Ohio University. I had season tickets, back in the day for both the NY Rangers and the Cyclones, when they played at the Gardens. There is no better in arena experience than hockey. It's a different bunch of Cyclones from the team that won it all last season. But I think they have a chance to repeat, particularly after last night's thriller.

So, is this the guy the Bengals wind up with at #6 overall in this weekend's NFL draft?

I got no problem if it is. You can talk all you want about Andre Smith skipping out early at the Combine. You can talk all you want about his body shape. He can block and I've been told, he's the strongest man in the draft. A Bengal by sundown Saturday? No problem with that.

The Cup has come home to Cincinnati. Not the Stanley Cup. We don't have an NHL franchise. Ken, tell the story about how we could have had an NHL team here but the owners of the Cincinnati Stingers...one of whom now owns the Reds, took the money instead of the franchise....please, make the voices in my head stop.....

Anyhow, we have the Kelly Cup now. The Cincinnati Cyclones won the Cup last night, in a 3-1, game 6 win over the Las Vegas Wranglers. Then, the Cup made its way to Cadillac Ranch in downtown Cincinnati, where the team and fans gathered to celebrate the win. This would be me drinking from the covted Kelly Cup.

10 years ago right now, I was covering the Stanley Cup playoffs. Working for a television station in Washington, DC, we were hot on the trail of the Capitals, who were swept in four games by the Red Wings. No swigs then, of course. But last night? Plenty...

Gotta thank #1 son for sending along this video of the Reds top draft pick, Yonder Alonso, the left handed hitting first baseman from the University of Miami. The dancing scenes are priceless...

The word is, he'll be tough to sign, wanting a big bonus and a major league contract. We shall see.

I'm talking sports Sunday on 700 WLW. I'm on the air from 9am-12:40p EDT. You can catch me on the 50,000 'flame thrower', or on line at 700wlw.com, or on XM Radio channel 173. Reds, Bengals and a lot more this Sunday.

Hmmmm, interesting 'take' by our old pal Jerry Crasnick on espn.com about Dusty Baker's youth movement in Cincinnati.

And over at si.com, John Heyman weighs on on Jay Bruce.

If you live in the greater Cincinnati area, Sports Rock! this Sunday night will feature, among other things, the Cyclones complete with an in house visit by the Kelly Cup. The fun begins at 11:35p only on Cincinnati's channel 5.

Have a great and safe weekend! And check out my web site: www.kenbroo.com.

As we cruise on into another weekend, we remain status quo. We know know neither if the Reds are alive and contending or slipping into the land of the also rans. They took two of three from the Pirates, but fell into their bad, old ways in the series finale. Aaron Harang was pitching on only three days rest. He was no Bronson Arroyo.

But let me ask you this: if the Reds declared Josh Fogg the starter for Saturday's game BEFORE the series finale against the Pirates. Why not start Fogg Thursday, allowing Harang to slide back to his normal start?


Jay Bruce arrived this week and Ken Griffey, Jr still needs two more home runs to reach 600. Are the two inter-twined? Danny Knobler from cbssports.com thinks they could be.



And then, there's this from Scott Miller from the same cbssports.com. Sounds like 600 means a heckuva lot more to his team mates and fans, than Griffey, Jr.


I won't be running onto the field at Fenway Park anytime soon, and you shouldnt either, after watching this video from the other night.

One of the best national football writers is Jarrett Bell, from USA Today. I got to know him, during my time in Washington, DC. Good writer, funny guy, good guy. Here's his take on the Bengals. Bell isn't predicting playoffs. But he says it's not out of the question.

Sunday night on Sports Rock, our guest, live from Las Vegas, will be Cincinnati Cyclones head caoch, Chuck Weber. The 'Clones, are we call them here in Cincinnati, are up 2-1 in their best of seven Kelly Cup final series. Game 4 is tonight. Former Bengal Eric Thomas and 1530 Homer's Mo Egger will be in as well.

Sunday morning, I'm talking sports, as always on 700 WLW. If you not within the coverage area of this 50K flame throwing, you can listen on line, at www.700wlw.com. If you have XM radio, we're on channel 173. My guests will include Hal McCoy and Chick Ludwig, both from the Dayton Daily News. I'm on from 9am-Noon EDT.

And for the best in sports, check out my web site: www.kenbroo.com.

Have a great weekend!

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.