It's not like Mike Tyson, but it's on the same road. Ochocinco, the artist formerly known at Chad Johnson, has 'tatted up' his face. He shied away from the News 5 cameras tonight. But, in Chad unique style, posted pictures of himself on the internet with his 'new look'.

On his right cheek are two crosses. Here's a shot (left) of his left cheek, where he's got the map of Florida tattooed. On the bridge of his nose are the letters "OC", interlocked.

News 5 producer, Nicky Lewis tried to get Chad to talk about his latest image adjustment. But Johnson refused to comment, telling Lewis to 'show up tomorrow', when the Bengals will have an open locker room and he would talk about it then. Lewis also gave the intrepid Lewis a kiss on her cheek, before leaving a suburban Cincinnati restaurant.

So what should we make of this? Chad being Chad (or Ocho being Cinco?) Nothing. But if the guy was so adamant about being focused on football this season (as we heard in his NFL Network appearance last week) why then this?

Just posted on my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest Broo View Podcast. In this current episode is an in depth interview with sports psychologist, Dr. Barbara Walker, about the influence stress has on elite athletes. Timely, I think, given the Joey Votto situation. Also on the front page of www.kenbroo.com is an interview with former NFL safety, Matt Bowen (Redskins, Bills, Packers and Rams) who lists his impact players in the NFL this coming season. Wait 'til you hear his pick for your Cincinnati Bengals.

A wonderfully gifted and funny man died this weekend, far to young. Shad O'Shea was a local Cincinnati legend, a throwback to the time when radio was fun and very important in people's everyday lives. He was 'old school', with the wit and irreverence of modern day. He knew the difference between engaging a listener and simply reading liners and giving time checks. He worked at radio stations from California to Louisiana to Ohio, and some places in between. Shad, before running a successful recording studio and owning the Fraternity record label, live the nomadic life of a rock and roll DJ in the 50's and 60's. He worked with talent that would go onto work at some of the biggest rock and roll radio stations in the USA, and some that would never get out of the 500 watt station they were stuck at. He treated everyone the same.

I met Shad a few years ago. He treated me like I knew him forever. He helped me with a project I was working on when I freelanced at WGRR-FM in Cincinnati, recounting stories of his time as a DJ and some of the characters in the music business he ran into along the way.

He wasn't old, and to my knowlege at least, wasn't in poor health. But now he's gone. A good ole boy, as we like to say in the broadcasting business. Arf, arf Shad. You were a bona fide original.

I got to thinking about this the other night, one of those things that hits you when you’re up too late and you can’t get to sleep. You know how it goes.

I was thinking about virtues. I don’t know why, maybe it was the bourbon. Maybe it was one of those Catholic High School flashbacks that haunt a lot of us. As I recall, or as I recall the good Christian Brothers of Ireland beating into me, there are seven virtues in life, Plato and Aristotle had a hand in it. The Church got involved, Cardinal and Theological stuff. Prudence and justice are virtues. So are faith, love and charity. Hope is right up there. But maybe the toughest virtue for all of us in the super hit seven is restraint. Patience would be another word for it. And I got to thinking about how that virtue applies to your Cincinnati Reds.

That team tries our patience, doesn’t it? Not quite as much as your Cincinnati Bengals, of course, but the Reds are getting there.

Patience is lost in this 300 TV channel instant internet universe we live in. We don’t want to wait for anything. We want it now, last Thursday, if possible. So when a team preaches patience and it hasn’t won significantly in over a decade, patience is the last thing a fan wants to hear.

What has it been for the Reds, one winning season since 2000, two since 1995? If you’re under 20, you have no recolection of the Reds in the post season playoffs.

That’s the kind of stuff that tries patience. That’s why we want it now. Delayed gratification? Define delayed.

This season is rolling on and the time to get things right is rapidly ending. We begin today with the Reds three and a half games out of first place, a team with terrific talent as some positions, serviceable talent at others and some guys who might be better off in places like Louisville or Scranton.

As the season rolls on, the Reds are a team that is beginning to offer more questions than answers. And we’ve been here before, haven’t we?

What do you do with Jay Bruce? He couldn’t hit a beach ball right now. His batting average has slipped to .212. He strikes about as often as his hero Adam Dunn. He looks lost. So if you’re the Reds what do you do with Bruce? How do you fix the player who’s the face of your future? Send him to “AAA” and let him find his swing there? I’ve heard that suggestion a lot this week. You think that discovery is waiting for him in Louisville? Against minor league pitching? The kind of pitching Bruce devoured on his meteoric rise to Major League Baseball.

Do you bench him? Ok, who else you got? And by sitting on the bench he’ll find his swing again by doing what, spitting sunflower seeds onto the dugout floor?

What do you do with Homer Bailey? I’ve said on this show that I believe Bailey will not pitch another meaningful game for the Cincinnati Reds this season. He’s inconsistent in “AAA” (incidentally, the same place you might’ve suggested the Reds send Jay Bruce) and when Bailey has arrived in Cincinnati, he’s brought with him great stuff and horrid control. Homer Bailey has been traded about six dozen times on talk radio in this town since we last saw him a couple of weeks ago. I heard someone call in after one game and suggest the Reds should just release Bailey.

Patience.

Maybe the Reds front office has it because it knows that the last thing you turn and run from is raw talent, particularly young, raw talent. It probably also has something to do with money. It’s always about money, and young players like Bruce and Bailey are years away from being expensive players.

But probably it’s about patience. The smart guys at Great American Ball Park seem to be going down that road, maybe with no other choice.

Maybe we should too. Plato and Aristotle would be proud. And after all they have the ears of the Gods

At some point, the Reds will have their Opening Day 25 man roster together again. When? The latest to go on the shelf, of course, is Joey Votto and Edinson Volquez. Now, Willy Tavares is out of the line up tonight in St. Louis, nursing a sore hamstring that apparently caused him to misplay a fly ball at the worst time Tuesday night. There's only so long you can juggle a line up and expect to win. I sense that time is quickly approaching for your Cincinnati Reds.

Just posted, the latest Broo View Podcast. It's on the front page of www.kenbroo.com. I've got some comments from Carson Palmer, about how he believes the offense will be better, and different, in 2009. And I also have an in depth interview with Josh Peter, of yahoo.com on the NFL's inordinate number of DUI arrests since 2000. The number will astound you. If you're on the fly, you can download Broo View Episode 209 here. It's worth the listen.

I told Bengals safety, Chinedum Ndukwe that I'm following him on twitter. He told me he's selling his restaurant, or at least his stake in it, in Mt. Adams. Bummer. I hope the food continues to be as good as its been with Chinedum's money in it.

I don't believe for a minute that the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to win the Stanley Cup this year. They'd have to win twice in Detroit to do that (in games 5 and 7 no less) and that's not happening. But I'm glad it's not a sweep. These are the two best teams in the NHL, but the Red Wings are light years ahead of everyone else.

Good Cincinnati story line in the Cup finals. Mike Babcock coached the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (where there was such an animal) and one of his players was current Pens Coach Dan Bylsma. They teamed up in Anaheim a few years ago to win a Stanley Cup. Now their on opposite benches. Just goes to prove, if you follow minor league sports, you never know who might do what, later in life.

NBA? Lakers in six. It can't go seven, because I don't think there's anyway the Lakers lose a game 7 on their home court. But Dwight Howard is amazing. I just saw a pregame interview with him a few minutes ago. Howard's shoulders are so wide, I think a small plane could lane on them.

Breaking news from Milwaukee. The hotel the Reds will stay in this weekend is haunted. So say a number of the Cardinals who just vacated teh Pfister Hotel and a few of the Brewers. Apparnetly, the hotel has a lot of strange noises and moving lights. We'll investigate tonight at 11p on Cincinnati's channel 5.

Funny stuff. Check out this video of the soccer mascot in Norway and what he does.


Just saw this on foxsports.com. Apparently the Bengals still are suffering nationally. The good news? These things mean absolutely nothing.

It's Thursday afternoon!

I celebrate that a lot, closer to the weekend, almost Friday.

We know this about your Cincinnati Reds: the can beat the teams that won't be around in October. Now, we need to see if they can beat the teams that will contend for a playoff berth. In the next ten days, the Reds play three in Milwaukee, four in St. Louis and then three against the Cubs in Cincinnati. This will tell us a lot about whether the Reds are 'con' tenders or 'pre' tenders.

My best guess is the Reds will hang around for awhile this season. I still think they need to pick up a good 'bat' (and a player along with it obviously) who can play left field on a daily basis. The platoon of Dickerson/Nix/Gomes has worked OK. But long term, none of these players has a resume to suggest they'll hold up under the pressure of a pennant chase.

If you look critically a the Reds roster, it's comprised basically of four good to decent starting pitchers (Harang, Arroyo, Cueto and Volquez), two bona-fide star players (Phillips & Votto. Sorry Jay Bruce, not there yet, but getting there) and a lot of role players. This 'team' aspect of the game has always played well in Cincinnati. We tend to love the team, hate the superstar around here. But for the rigors of a pennant race, it doesn't always hold up. Maybe this year is the exception. My best guess is, no. Walt Jocketty needs to be laying the ground work NOW to find what his team will need at the trading deadline, to push itself into contention late in the season.

Good Monday Morning!

Trite though it may sound, remember why today is a holiday. If you see someone wearing our country's uniform, make a point to tell them 'thank you' today.

Homer Bailey is finished as a Cincinnati Red. I have no confirmation of this from anyone even remotely associated with the Reds. This is just a gut feeling. He blew his final chance when he faltered against the Indians Saturday night.

Why do I feel this way? Several reasons. First, he continues to do the same things each and every time he's recalled from "AAA". Bailey's control is non-existent. His 'stuff' is great. Bailey was clocked at 94 mph. But he was all over the place. He walked six, allowed six earned runs and seems to have regressed since the last time we saw him.

Bailey was babied during spring training. While other Reds pitchers were tossing three and four innings per outing, Bailey was held to only a couple of innings. He was outpitched by Micah Owings for the 5th starters spot. And although Owings has had trouble this early season, it's nothing compared to what Bailey has done at "AAA" and here on Saturday night.

One of two things is happening with this guy. A: he's not listening to what he's being told to do by the Reds' "AAA" pitching coach, Ted Power. Power says Bailey is listening and learning, but my eyes tell me a lot more than my ears. B: what they're telling Bailey to do simply isn't working. In either case, it's time for both parties to move on. The only argument for keeping Bailey in the organization is his age. He just turned 23. But that's a weak argument when it's placed up against what other pitchers his age are doing.

In the draft class of 2004, Bailey draft class, Jered Weaver is in his third year of effective major league pitching. Matt Bush and Justin Verlander are established major leaguers. The Yankees Phillip Hughes appears to be most like Bailey statistically. But Hughes, selected after Bailey, has battled injuries. Bailey has had some, but not like Hughes.

In the draft class of 2005, the Mets have Mike Pelphrey in their rotation and the Rays are getting good work from starter Matt Garza.

In 2006, the Giants selected Tim Lincecum and the Dodgers took Clayton Kershaw. They are two of the best pitchers in the game.

From the class of 2007, pitcher David Price saw action in the post season last fall with the Rays. He starts his first game of the 2009 season today against Cleveland.

And here's the worst news of all for Bailey: he's not one of the Reds new regime 'guys'. Bailey was drafted by Dan O'Brien, two GM's ago.

There is a way to salvage Bailey, should the Reds choose to. They could recall him from "AAA" and place him in the bullpen, if for no other reason than to get his throwing to major league hitters. But he's shown little sign of being able to get major league hitters out in his various call-ups. Why would the Reds, contenders at least at this point, want to risk Bailey in a Major League game, in any capacity.

Yet, it's in everyone's best interest for Bailey to figure things out. If he can, he'll be a valuable piece to the Reds pitching. If he can, he'll become more attractive, should the Reds really be interested in cutting ties with him.

But the real question is, can Bailey figure it out? He been called selfish and bull headed. Veteran Reds reportedly have tried to talk to him about it. We keep hearing that Bailey has changed that part of the equation. Maybe, as a person, he has. As a pitcher, on the strength of what he did against the Indians Saturday night, not so much.

Just posted on my web site, www.kenbroo.com is my latest Broo View Vidcast. You can find it on the front page. The topic is my pick for the two most important Reds on the current roster.

Sunday morning on 700 WLW, my guests will include Michael McCann, noted sports attorney and si.com columnist, on the Michael Vick saga, as well as yahoo sports' columnist, Josh Peter, on how to keep drunk NFL players off the road. Mark Sheldon, from mlb.com will join me, as well as Robert Boland from thenationalfootballpost.com, who has ranked the 32 NFL franchises from top to bottom. Any guess where he has your Cincinnati Bengals? I'm on from 9am-Noon ET.

You can listen on line at 700wlw.com.

And the phone lines will be wide open Saturday, as well, when I host Saturday Sportstalk on 700 WLW. I'm on from 3p-6:30p ET.

Then I'll go enjoy a pre-birthday dinner. My birthday is Sunday. Don't ask the age.

Sports Rock! Sunday night at 11:35p on Cincinnati's Channel 5 will feature a 'live' interview with the 2009 Indianpolis 500 winner, whomever he or she maybe, as well as Ohio University head football coach, Frank Solich in the studio.

Hope you're having a great weekend. How about the Reds FINALLY calling up Johnny Gomes and DFA-ing Darnell McDonald?

Good Thursday Morning!

A new Broo View Podcast is up and running and ready for you to download. It's on the front page of www.kenbroo.com. Or, you can download it here. My guest this time is former Baltimore Ravens head coach, Brian Billick. We talk about the HBO show, "Hard Knocks", which featured the Ravens back in 2001 and will follow the Bengals this summer during training camp.

Watch for a new Broo View Vidcast, which I'll post to www.kenbroo.com this weekend.

Why are the Reds so inconsistent? I'm asked that a lot these days. Simple answer is that they're young and not very deep. Good, deep teams, like the Phillies, have solid veterans who can consistenly put the ball in play. The Reds don't, at least not yet. That's why you'll see them win a couple in a row, then lose three or four. They're above .500 now, overachieving in a way. But to keep above break even and have a chance to contend late in the season, they'll have to as a team, develope more plate discipline. And Reds' GM Walt Jocketty will need to find better 'bats' off the bench.

Let's face it: the best bat off the Reds' bench is a pitcher, Micah Owings. When he's your first option, you've got trouble.

I'm going to get into this in greater detail this weekend on 700 WLW. But has the lustre of inter-league play worn off? Is it really that special when the Cleveland Indians roll into town? Is anyone looking forward to the White Sox? Would you rather see those teams once a year? Or would you rather see an extra series or two against some of the better teams in the National League. Personally, I'd rather see the Dodgers at GABP twice a season, than see any team from the American League, unless it's the Yankees or Red Sox.

We can talk more about that, Saturday from 3p-6:30p and again Sunday from 9am-Noon.

Not surprised at all that the Magic beat the Cavs in game one Wednesday night. If you've been watching the Orlando team throughout these playoffs, you know they have a tremendous amount of talent on offense. Defensively, the Magic have some holes. I believe the Cavs will win game #2 and I think this series will go the full seven games. But don't be surprised if Orlando wins this series. I know the Celtics won't be.

More later....and some 'tweets' as we get rolling later in the day.

The perils of a night off. The Reds fell out of first place tonight, simply because they weren't scheduled to play. St. Louis and Milwaukee both won. The Reds are now a half game behind both, tied with the Cubs, who won today as well.

It should be a big weekend in San Diego for the men in red. The Padres aren't very good.

So the Bengals are the latest team to be profiled on the HBO series "Hard Knocks". You wonder why Marvin Lewis OK'd the project. I did too, until I figured out this is a good way for Marvin to clean up the national image of his team and maybe snare a bit of the spotlight himself. Think about it. If you're Lewis and you've been saddled with a bunch of players who've done the 'blinking lights dance' and bumbled like clowns on the field, would you not relish the chance to show the world that you have something on the ball? If indeed Lewis' best career move is the one he makes leaving Cincinnati, what better vehicle to repair his image than a show the entire NFL world (among others) will watch.

Of course, if Chris Henry does something stupid or Ochocinco decides this show is really his audition for elsewhere, well that's when the trouble will begin.

And you just know, one of these guys is going to do something idiotic. a 24-person crew with five cameras rolling at all times may be too tempting for some in Bengal-dom.

Speaking of the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson, if you were going to legally change your name, wouldn't you fill out the form with the exact name you wanted to change it to? Apparently, Chad didn't do so well in spelling during his school days. For instead of filing for the name Ocho Cinco (which is what he believes '85' means in Spanish. It doesn't. Ocho Cinco means 'Eight Five". But we digress) Chad filled out the paperwork requesting "Ochocinco". And according to the NFL tonight, that's exactly how his name will appear on the back of his jersey and in all licensing products. Maybe he doesn't care. I don't.

To get you going into your Friday, how about a little vintage 80's. Nothing cheesier than the Italian disco classic (sung incidentally by a man from Northern Ireland) 'Tarzan Boy". The artist? Baltimora.

I think Alka Seltzer used this song for a commercial back in the '90's.

ESPN's John Clayton likes the Bengals in 2009, or so he says in this story.

I'm talking sports Saturday & Sunday on 700 WLW in Cincinnati. Saturday, I'm on from 3p-6p and my guests include former Bengal Stanford Jennings, he of the long KO return for a touchdown in the Bengals Super Bowl loss to the 49ers in 1989. Current Bengal, guard Andrew Whitworth, will join me as well. Sunday's line-up coming up shortly.

Here's a stat. Tell me who this guy is. He currently plays for the Reds. He has 134 career MLB at bats, is hitting .321 for his MLB career with six home runs and 25 rbi.

Micah Owings. Pitcher, Micah Owings.

Now if you look at the Reds critically, you have to admit that left field is a problem. Combined, the Reds left fielders, heading into this current road trip, were batting .221 this season. The best of that group, so far, has been Lance Nix, a left handed batter. If you're Dusty Baker, would you not consider this: platooning Nix with Owings in left field? Owings, a right handed batter, would play less than Nix, simply because there are more right handed pitchers. Therefore, Owings might, just might, be able to continue with his role as the 5th starter. If not, would that then clear the way for Homer Bailey to come up from AAA, where he's pitched well.

I'm just askin', as they say back in the old neighborhood.

Just posted, another Broo View Podcast. This episode features Jon Heyman, the national baseball writer for Sports Illustrated. He has some interesting thoughts on the 18-14 start by the Reds. You can find the podcast on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com. But, if you're in a hurry, you can download it here.

Sports Illustrated's Peter King doesn't like your Cincinnati Bengals a whole lot in 2009. In this story, King has the Bengals 28th out of 32 NFL teams.

Today's blast from the past comes straight from the 90's. A little Weezer for your upcoming Wednesday.

Good Monday Morning

The Reds should've swept the Cardinals. I have a sinking feeling this game may come back to haunt the Reds later in the season. I hope not. But it might. Meantime it's off on a six game road trip against teams the Reds, I believe, are better than: the Diamondbacks and the Padres.

As I'm sure you know, I host Sunday Morning Sportstalk on 700 WLW in Cincinnati.

The thing that fuels sports talk radio is controversy. In New York City today, everyday, it’s A Rod, Yankees ticket prices, the Mets choking, everybody choking.

In LA, it’s Manny being Manny, or this week, Manny taking female fertility drugs and getting kicked out of baseball for 50 days. Female fertility drugs, what’s up with that.

If you don’t have controversy, and you make your living talking sports on the radio, most of the time, you’re dead in the water.

The hey day of sports controversy around here was of course, back in the late 80’s. Pete Rose was fighting for his baseball life. Sam Wyche was saying or doing something just about every week that made headlines. Marge Schott was just getting warmed up for a couple of suspensions. Bob Huggins was just rolling into town. On a nightly basis, Cincinnati was sports controversy central.

Now a days, you’ve got to look long and hard for a good sports controversy around here. Bengal arrests have subsided. The team will occasionally bring a guy into town with a rap sheet as long as Vine Street (Bernard Scott would come to mind. So too, the latest incarnation of Chris Henry). But by and large, a lot of that nonsense is in the Bengals wake these days.

The Reds aren’t exactly playing the controversy game these days either. Under Carl Lindner, the best you could have hoped for was a manager getting fired every year and a half or so. Bob Castellini has been more interesting. Firing a General Manager three weeks into a season and then saying “We’re not going to lose, anymore” that was pretty good.

But as far as controversy, things that make you go Hmmmm, as another famous Ohio University alum used to say, we’re dullsville.

And as I was driving into the station Sunday morning, I was trying to figure out why it’s like that. Is it because of all the losing we’ve had around here? Has tempered the tempests in the teapots that seem to pop up in other big sports cities around the country? Is it because we only have two of the major sports? Well, maybe, that certainly cuts down on the potential material, I guess.

Think about it. What was the last great sports controversy in Cincinnati? Was it Bob Huggins getting run out of town by Nancy Zimpher? I guess. But that was over four years ago. In New York, in Cleveland that wouldn’t get you through a week.

I don’t know, maybe that’s why local sports talk on radio has been driying up around here. Nothing going on to get too riled up about. Or maybe, it’s our Midwest sensibilities that have kicked in. We do a pretty good job of dismissing nonsense without a whole lot of wasted effort.

So as we visit here today, what controversy can we dig up about your Cincinnati Reds? They’re wining. They’re two and a half out of first place and they had the top team in the division on the ropes so far this weekend. Their starting pitcher has been terrific. Their bullpen, with a hiccup here and there, has been terrific. They’re not supposed to be scoring a lot of runs. But they’re hitting the ball like the ’98 Yankees. Walt Jocketty hasn’t made any stupid trades. Dusty Baker hasn’t made a huge in game gaffe. Maybe the bat boy can do something dumb.

No, it’s a pretty good time to be a Cincinnati sports fan. The Reds seem to surprise us every game. The Bengals are signing and drafting players that appear to be solid citizens and not the usual stiffs on the playing field. UC sent its football team to the Orange Bowl and Xavier may be even better with Chris Mack this season than it was with Sean Miller last season.

Good times in Cincinnati. Except it’s so damn boring. Where’s Boomer sitting in font of a bus, when you need him.

And finally, to get you going on this Monday, my blast from the past.

Henley at his understated best

More later...check back.

Bunch of stuff to catch up on today....

Guests this Sunday morning on 700 WLW will include Mike Florio, the editor of profootballtalk.com and Jon Heyman, the national baseball writer for Sports Illustrated. I'll also have John Czarnecki from foxsports.com with me. He's the national football. I'm on this Sunday morning from 9am--Noon EDT on 700 WLW. You can always listen online, here.

Johnny Cueto was 'on it' tonight. He's been simply unhittable over his last three starts. And when you put that beside what Edinson Volquez has done and couple it with hard luck Aaron Harang, this has been a remarkable first month of baseball for the Cincinnati Reds. They sit just 2 1/2 games out of first after Friday night's win. And remember, they played Friday night with a back up at every infield position.

In Seattle, they're in love with Griffey, Jr. again. And in Kansas City, the talented Jason Whitlock is writing about what we've known forever, about Griffey, Jr..

Now, as CSN sang back in the day: Just a song before I go, to whom it may concern....
One of the best one hit wonders from the '70's....


Christie is named after group leader Jeff Chrisite. This video was shot along the River Thames in London. Background on the song: originally it was offered to the Tremeloes of "Here Comes My Baby" fame. They recorded it, didn't like it and it eventually wound up back with Jeff Christie, who wrote the song. His group took it to #1 in the UK, #23 in the USA.

Have a great weekend!

Just posted the lastest Broo View Podcast at www.kenbroo.com. Reds pitching and the Bengals draft are the hot topics. You'll hear comments from Bengals 3rd round pick, Michael Johnson, the defensive end out of Georgia Tech. On the fly? You can also download it here.

Good Friday Morning!

My son, the brilliant attorney (or so he tells me) came up with an interesting thought on Reds pitcher, Micah Owings. We were talking late Thursday night about how Owings hits better than just about any pitcher in MLB. The ESQ said that whatever ERA Owings has, you have to subtract roughly .750 runs, because that's how many runs Owings is good for, per game, about 3/4 of a run.

We saw it again Thursday night, when Owings delivered a triple and later scored. Part of the difference in a one run ballgame.

The Bengals trade with the Rams could be one of the all time heists. Orien Harris, the defensive lineman heading to St. Louis, had zero chance of playing here. But, Brian Leonard, the running back heading to Cincinnati could see a lot of playing time. Leonard was the Rams second round pick in 2007 and played well that year. A shouldar injury sidelined Leonard for much of 2008. But the depth at running back, with the draft and now this, has dramatically improved for your Cincinnati Bengals.

Today's tune I just can't get out of my head:

That, of course, is the incomparable Lou Christie. Love the hazy, still Steel City Pittsburgh from 1969. Now of course, all big steel is imported. Thanks corporate America.

More later today, promise...

Good Wednesday Morning!

Four shutouts in the past six games. Reds pitching is the best it's been since that 1990 wire to wire season. No lie. The Reds staff had a grand total of six shutouts all of 2008. They equaled that last night when Edison Volquez and Nick Masset teamed up to blank the Marlins. Volquez hasn't allowed a run in 16.1 innings. His change up completely mesmerized the Marlins. And as much as he struggled early this season, he was that good, in taking his record to 4-2 on Wednesday night.

I like the pitching on this team. Who doesn't? But I believe the Reds still need to address the offensive deficiencies they have have. Ok, Ok, they put seven up on the Marlins last night. They put six up on Pittsburgh and lost Saturday and five up on the Pirates Sunday and won. But, one more solid bat in the line-up (preferably playing left field) will protect the young bats of Votto, Bruce and Phillips. Votto will go into a swoon. It happens to every hitter every season. Who then carries the load when that happens? If Bob Castellini is waiting until mid season to see if his team is in contention before OK'ing a deal, he's making a grave error. Wins in May count as much as wins in August and September. He and his GM, Walt Jocketty, missed the boat this winter, when they passed on bringing in a legit left fielder. Maybe it was the economy. Maybe is was over-estimating the talent they had in house. Whatever. The time is now to be proactive.

Big kudos to University of Connecticut womens basketball coach, Geno Auriemma for flying in to Cincinnati to attend the news conference announcing his assistant, Jamelle Elliott as the new UC womens basketball coach. Never saw that before. Auriemma is a different bird. He got as many enemies as friends. But the man can coach. And even though he's losing his top recruiter (who brought most of the talent to him on the teams that won five national titles) to a Big East rival, Auriemma honored Elliott's request to attend her news conference. Good stuff.

Mark December 13th on your calendar. That's the day the Bengals play the Minnesota Vikings. And if you believe the reports coming out of Minneapolis, the Vikings are about to sign Brett Favre and lure him out of yet another retirement. Guess that tells you all you need to know about Sage Rosenfels. The Vikings have some nice weapons. But you wonder if they had done a deal with Favre six weeks ago, if TJ Houshmandzadeh would've signed with Minnesota. No deal yet between the Vikes and Favre. But the smoke is thick. And the fire might only be a few days away.

The Bengals had eleven draft picks in this year's NFL player draft. So how many will make the roster? Here are my definites: Andre Smith and Rey Maualuga (no brainers). More than likelies: Michael Johnson and Kevin Huber. Fairly certain: Jonathan Luigs.

Smith and Maualuga will start. Smith had better start at left tackle, because the next option is moving Andrew Whitworth from guard to left tackle. That would be a bad move. Whitworth could be an All Pro for years, if they leave him inside. Maualuga will be everything that Odell Thurman wasn't: a sober, solid citizen who can make plays at linebacker.

Michael Johnson is squeaky clean too. His problem has been intensity from down to down and a seeming lack of desire to take on the run. He could be a third down pass rushing specialist. At almost 6'7" he'll be a handful to block IF he can stay 'low', a problem for his at Georgia Tech.

Jonathan Luigs has the inside track to be the starting center. He's stout. But the Bengals would be well served to test Bobbie Williams at center. They gave it all of a quarter and a half in pre season last summer. And what happened? Nobody laid a hand on the Bengals quarterback. If Williams moves, it'll give Luigs to slide into the mix at guard.

Kevin Huber has no competition at this point for punting. Surely, someone will be brought in for training camp to contest for the job, if for no other reason than to keep Huber's left leg from falling off. But if his career at UC is any indication, Huber will have a job in Bengal stripes for a long time.

The song I can't get out of my head today. The Queen Of Soul

Whatever Miss Aretha is singing, I'm buying.

University of Tennessee basketball coach, Bruce Pearl is getting married again. That's Bruce on the left.

This has nothing to do with anything in Tri-State sports, unless you're a UK fans and this gives you yet another reason to player hate Pearl.

Personally, I've always like the guy, back to his days at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. And listening to him on some of the national radio sports talk shows, he seems to be a fun guest. His intended? Brandy Miller. Brandy, she's a fine, what a good wife should would be. Don't bother researching. "The Looking Glass' sang the song. Went all the way to #1 in 1972 on the Epic label.

That's it for now. Maybe more later today. I'm at GABP (Great American Ball Park for you non-Cincinnatians) tonight at 6p, weather permitting. The Redlegs are back home. I don't know if that's good or not. They're 14-12 overall, but just 4-7 in Cincinnati.

Good Tuesday Morning!

We saw another reason why the Reds, as currently comprised, can't contend for a playoff berth. It occurred Monday night, when Aaron Harang pitched terrific baseball for seven innings, and the Reds lost in 14. They had ample opportunities to beat the Marlins. But they could not come up with any 'situational' hits. Plain and simply, this team lacks a veteran bat in its line up that will make an opposing pitcher work, giving it's younger players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips better pitches to hit.

You can talk all you want about this current Reds team being 'hungrier' or 'more focused' than the 2008 Reds. What you're really saying is, you're glad Griffey, Jr. and Dunn are gone. But you don't account for what their presence (yes even an aging Griffey, Jr.) in the batting order did to the opposing pitcher. And Dunn's 100 rbi, which he consistently put up while in a Reds uniform, have yet to be replaced. Last night's game was crying for a long ball from the Reds. It wasn't there. And another terrific pitching performance was wasted. Dusty Baker emptied his bullpen, with the exception of closer Francisco Cordero. He was down to Danny Herrera, the last guy Baker wanted to see on the mound. Herrera faltered. The Reds lost a game they should have been able to win, long before the 14th inning. I think you're going to see a lot of game like this, unfortunately.

This is clearly the most controversial and the most intriguing Bengals draft pick. When the Bengals selected running back Bernard Scott from Abilene Christian, they appeared to have had a flashback to 2006, when they seemed to average an arrest a week. Here's a good video put together by draftguys.com.

It doesn't matter how good Scott is, or can be. What matters is whether or not he can stay out of trouble. This guy would be better served on a team with some solid veteran leadership. That's something the Bengals don't have.

Check back later today...and follow me on twitter!

Went to Detroit for the weekend for my nephew's college graduation. That city is hurtin' in a large way. You can just about feel it as you walk around. So much uncertainty about job status, so much anxiety about the GM-Chrysler situation. We drove by the world headquarters for Chrysler. Not a whole lot of activity around the building. But you could almost feel the angst. I'm not trying to be melodramatic about the situation. It's real and people are hurting.

Johnny Cueto has it figured out. If you weren't convinced before Sunday's game against the Pirates you should be now. Cueto tossed eight innings of shut out ball. His pitch selection was smart and his pitch count was workable. Too many pitches to get out of too few inning are the two things that did him in last season. No stretch to think that Cueto could win at least 15 this season.

And did you notice that was the third time in the last four games that Reds pitching has shutout an opponent?

The topic of what to do with Homer Bailey came up last night on Sports Rock (incidentally, George Vogel and I did a two man show for the first time in the history of SR and I think it went pretty well). Bailey has now thrown back to back stellar ballgames. And with Micah Owings struggling as the fifth starter, the thought was bringing Bailey up and send Owings to the bullpen.

Bad idea.

For openers, every time Bailey has come up from AAA he's 'spit the bit'. Louisville may be 100 miles away from Cincinnati, geographically. But in reality, it's more like 1,000 miles away. Bailey, and others, have exceled at that level, and then failed to seize the moment when called up to the majors.

Secondly, Bailey is no fifth starter. And having him in Cincinnati, with as many as 10 days in between starts on some occasions, makes no sense. Bailey also has 'stuff' much better than a #5 guy in the rotation. Your fifth starter is usually a guy who tries to finesse his way through a batting order. Bailey has over powering (if often uncontrollable) stuff, more along the lines of a #1 or #2 starter.

My idea for Bailey is to continue to have him throw in AAA and only bring him to the Reds if there's a need, based on injury or horrific collapses by one of the pitchers in the Reds rotation.
Honestly, Bailey's best role may be as 'trade bait' for a potential big bat later in the season. If the Reds are in it by mid-July and a bat is the target, Bailey could be the 'bait'. Is there any other reason why he's still with this organization, other than the fact that he's 22 years old? If the economy hadn't tanked in the winter, it's likely Bailey would be with the White Sox right now and Jermaine Dye would be patroling the outfield at Great American Ball Park.

WLWT televised the Flying Pig Marathon Sunday. Though misty and cool, it was perfect running weather. The most impressive thing about the day, as far as I was concerned, was Boston Marathon race director, Dave Gillardy in attendance. He was shadowing Flying Pig race director, Iris Simpson, to offer feedback and to take notes for his own race. I interviewed Gillardy on Channel 5 and he told me he'd give the Pig a A+. Admitting that the Boston Marathon is a more serious marathon than the Pig (though the Pig is attracting more and more elite class runners), Gillary said it isn't fair to compare the two as 'apples to apples'. He praised the course design as highlighting the finer points of the city of Cincinnati, while keeping the disciplines of a traditional Marathon. High praise.

We'll have more video later today. But check out this womens softball game between West Carolina and Furman. The security camera caught the mother of the WCU third baseman wailing on some Furman players and Furman supporters. She appears to be someone you don't want to tangle with, even if she apparently did start this rumble.

You been working for the weekend.....now it's here!

The Bengals opened their annual rookie mini camp today. Basically, it's a weekend of teaching terminology and eyeballing the players they drafted. Nothing more, nothing less. One interesting side-light to the weekend are the 'walk on' players. Years past, the term 'walk on' was reserved for college and high school kids who weren't good enough to earn scholarships or playing time. Now, the NFL has embraced the concept. Several local players will get a chance to work out with the Bengals rookies this weekend and try to catch the eye of the coaches. One fairly big name is in the group: former Ohio State quarterback, Todd Boeckman.

The Reds are in Pittsburgh for the weekend. Obviously, this team is playing better on the road than at home, as evidenced by its 7-3 road swing in April. But consistency against teams in its division is the key for the Reds this season. And they have to beat the 'preteners' if they want to compete for a division title or wild card. Good idea if it starts in Pittsburgh this weekend.

The Cardinals Albert Puljos may be the best player in the National League. But if you're starting a team from scratch and have to build around on player, would it be Puljos? I heard an ESPN talking head on the radio this week touting Puljos as the player to build around. And while still a young man, would you not want someone just a bit younger who could give you more years? Would the Mets David Wright or the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia be better choices? Just askin'.

The Flying Pig Marathon is this weekend in downtown Cincinnati. I'm not running, just helping to cover it for WLWT. I have enormous respect for anyone who can run the 26 miles-plus. But having worked the finish line for the past several years interviewing the winners, I've seen far too many 'weekend warriors' collapse in exhaustion and have to be aided by the medical personnel for me to be ever enticed to try and run in a marathon. I've actually seen particpants hauled sway on stretchers and wheel chairs. One man collapses in a heap behind our broadcast platform a few years back and suffered a heart attack. Not for me. I get tired driving 26 miles.

But good luck to all involved.

Sean Miller seems to be losing a lot of the players he inheited at Arizona. Wonder what's going on out there.

Our guest on Sports Rock! this Sunday night on WLWT 5 in Cincinnati will be Bengals second round pick, Rey Maualuga. 11:35p is the airtime!

Posted this on my web site http://www.kenbroo.com/. But if you haven't been over there, here's a behind the scenes look at one of my radio shows on 700 WLW.

Not on this Sunday. WLWT's George Vogel will fill in for me 9am-Noon EDT. I'll be back, like Arnold, on May 10.

Great dunk last night by the Bulls Joakim Noah to help Chicago stay alive in its series against the Celtics.

But the Celtics win this in seven.

OK, saved my Kentucky Derby pick until the end. I'm tempted by General Quarters and the way he ran in the Blue Grass. Great story about his trainer, Tom McCarthy, a former high school principal in Louisville. I'm still a fan of West Side Bernie, despite his horrid showing at the Lane's End Stakes at Turfway a month ago. With a first in the Wood and a first in the Gotham Stakes, the New York noise, I Want Revenge will probably win The Derby. But my pick is Musket Man. He's got three firsts and a third so far in 2009, including a win at the Tampa Bay Derby. Musket Man carries the early line of 20-1 and comes out of the second chute.

If he wins, keep the money and just send along a thanks.

Have a great weekend!

If Edinson Volquez can pitch half as good the rest of this season as he pitched Wednesday night, he'll win 20 games and the Reds may turn out to be contenders. Volquez was more than terrific against the Astros, holding them to just one hit through eight innings. In fact, the first inning double by Houston's Miguel Tejada was almost a spectacular catch by Jay Bruce in right field. Had Bruce come up with that fly ball, Volquez may have pitching the ninth inning, looking for a no hitter. He told me, and a number of other reporters in the club house after the game that he was ready to let Francisco Cordero throw the ninth. But if he had a no hitter through eight, I would bet the ranch Volquez would have felt differently.

The Reds have finished April with an 11-10 record. That was a goal, finish the month with a winning record. And if they do that every month this season, they'll wind up with 88 wins. That, of course, is easier said than done. But if it happens, 88 wins would have Cincinnati in playoff contention.

We saw again this home stand how inconsistent a young team can be. Wednesday night, the youth of Adam Rosales was infectous. He not only drove in two of the Reds runs, he also helped the grounds crew cover the field with the tarp, when a pre game shower passed over Great American Ball Park. We saw the sheer desire and hustle of Lance Nix in this series. When he came up to the majors, Nix was labeled 'can't miss'. But that was beroe injuries derailed his career. Now, Nix has a second chance with the Reds and is back on track. But we also saw in this homestand that ended 2-4 for the Reds, just how far it needs to go to become a championship team. It again left too many runners on base. The team does not play well coming from behind, as evidenced by Bronson Arroyo's bad outing on Sunday. And it still does not have a pure clean up hitter. Maybe those things even out as the season progresses. But my thinking remains that the Reds will regret not signing a legitimate big league hitter for their left field postion. Should July roll around and this team remain in contention, it will be imperative that GM Walt Jocketty pursue that kind of player.

The great fear with this team shouldn't be that it will fall out of contention by mid summer and play to a house full of empty seats (although less than 10,000 showed up to watch them on Tuesday night). The great fear is missing the playoffs by a few games, and looking back on situations where a veteran left fielder might have help win some of those games.

But so far, OK.

Rookie camp is this weekend at Paul Brown Stadium. I want to see two things: the wingspan of third round pick Michael Johnson and just how stout Rey Maualuga is.

You get no real insight into what a player is capable of at these mini-camps. Everyone is in shorts and tee shirts. The real deal is in July. But to give each player a taste of what the team is about, coaches thrive on weekends like this one.

Another classic example of why the Reds will frustrate us this season happened in Wednesday night's game against Houston. Lance Nix opens the inning with a triple. He eventually scored. But the Reds had runners on second and third with only one out and neither base runner made it home. It's not just batting average or RBI that tells the story of what a player can do offensively. The real story can be found in what a player can do in situational hitting, in this case, runners in scoring position with less than two out.

Apparently former Red Ryan Freel isn't a happy camper in Baltimore, as evidence points to here.

Nice story from espn.com's Eric Young on Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. No two players since the arrival of Dunn and Kearns have given Reds fans so much hope. Kearns never was the player the Reds and their fans thought he'd be. And Dunn, while consistent with 40 HR's and 100 RBI seasons, could have been so much better if he'd just have applied himself more in the field.

Good Afternoon

Edwin Encarnacion seems clueless at the plate....again. Why should this be a surprise to us? It's an act we've seen every since Easy Edwin made his way to the majors. As Chris Welsh put it on the TV broadcasts a couple of seasons ago, Edwin goes to the plate without any plan. And invariably, it bites him. It got him again last night, when, with a couple of runners on (second and third no less) and the game tied at 1-1, all EE could do was tap harmlessly in front of the plate. Inning over, rally over and Reds eventually lose.

And this is why the Reds gave EE a two year contract in the off season? Did they not look at history before they dealt with the future?

Don't count me in the crowd that is crowing for EE to be sent to the minors. Hitting minor league pitching won't do anything for Encarnacion. He needs to sit and watch and take a lot of 'real live arm' batting practice. And until and if he proves he can handl that, the Reds shouldn't put him in the line-up. Period, end of story.

My latest podcast is posted on www.kenbroo.com. This episode, we look back on the Bengals draft with Rob Rang from www.cbssports.com and Ross Tucker from www.si.com. If you're on the fly, you can download it here.

Good Monday Morning!

Random thoughts about the NFL Draft and your Cincinnati Bengals....

I have no problem with the Bengals taking Andre Smith with the 6th overall pick. I think the mistakes he's made, making illegal contact with an agent while still at Alabama, leaving the Combine early, going through three agents, were mistakes of youth. He has no criminal record. The only downside of signing Smith is that the Bengals will have to play him at left tackle. It's either that, or move Andrew Whitworth from guard to left tackle. That isn't smart. Whitworth could be a Pro Bowl guard for a long time......Rey Maualuga dropped to the second round for a lot of reasons. Inside linebackers, with rare exception, are less desirable than outside linebackers. And Maualuga did seem to be out of position, occassionally at times at Southern Cal. But the biggest reason he dropped? Maualuga scored only a 15 on the NFL's Wonderlick intelligence test. The other Southern Cal linebackers drafted this weekend, Clay Matthews (27) and Brian Cushing (23) did much better.....Getting UC punter Kevin Huber was a steal. It means incumbant Kyle Larson is as good as done. If Huber shows a pulse in training camp, the job is his. You don't draft a punter unless you're intent on keeping him. There are plenty of punters on the street......The Bengals can't help themselves. They drafted another guy with a rap sheet as long as Vine Street. Running back Bernard Scott had so many off the field issues, he didn't play college ball in 2005 and 2006. He's had five separate arrests. Why the Bengals have to go down this road consistently is beyond me. And if you're a fan, you should be livid that they keep doing it. It's arrogance, plain and simple. Character matters, except in Bengal-dom......

The Reds have a major problem in left field. And GM Walt Jocketty had better be working the problem. Neither Chris Dickerson nor Jerry Hairston are hitting. Jocketty made the miscalculation this winter that Dickerson was ready for the majors, full time. He isn't, and may never be. Jocketty bases his calculation on the 31-games that Dickerson spent with the Reds last September. Remember, he hadn't played an inning of major league baseball before that. And at 26, was a career minor leaguer. Hairston is simply a journeyman.

Jocketty's biggest fear has to be the Reds losing a playoff berth this season by a few games and looking back at a number of games that were winnable, simply if he had found a major league caliber left fielder.

The Reds ponied up $10 million for a new scoreboard in left field. Yet they refused to pony up any money for a quality free agent bat. They back off a trade with the White Sox for Jermaine Dye, because of the economy and because Dye came with an $11 million price tag. But they found money for a scoreboard upgrade. You tell me what makes more sense.

Just confirmed, I'll have Bengals 2nd round draft pick, Southern Cal LB Rey Mauluga as my guest Sunday morning at 11:35am on 700 WLW. Other guests: NFL player agent, Jack Bechta, Sports Illustrated's Ross Tucker, Michael Abromowitz from thefootballexpert.com and Rob Rang from cbssports.com. We begin at 9am!

Headline on Bengals draft? Not bad. Mauluga was a second round steal.

Name to watch in Round 3 Sunday, Penn State center A.Q. Shipley, 6-2, 304. I'm told he's the strongest center in the entire draft.

Now less than 24 hours before the annual NFL draft and since everyone and his brother has a mock draft, I figure, why not me. So here goes, my 2009 NFL Mock Draft. We'll know by 9pm Saturday EDT just how out of my mind I am.

1: DETROIT LIONS MATTHEW STAFFORD QB GEORGIA
Let's face it, the rebuilding in Detroit is going to take a long, long time. Draft a guy who'll be the face of the future. Let him sit and learn from someone else

2: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS JASON SMITH OT BAYLOR
They gave up on Orlando Pace and they need to rebuild their offense. Sound a little bit like the Bengals? Smith is a great start

3: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AARON CURRY LB WAKE FOREST
They be tempted by Michael Crabtree because their new QB Matt Cassel has to throw to somebody. But plenty of WR option are available later.

4: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS MARK SANCHEZ QB SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
OK, this is the pick that will affect what the Bengals do the most. If the Seahawks take OT Eugene Monroe, it will make the Bengals brass think real hard about taking DT BJ Raji. But the Seahawks have to think about replacing Matt Hasselback soon. Sanchez is a good options

5: CLEVELAND BROWNS MICHAEL CRABTREE WR TEXAS TECH
Kellen Winslow is gone. Braylon Edwards is going. Somebody has to catch passes. If the Chiefs don't take Crabtree, the Browns will leap on him.

6: CINCINNATI BENGALS EUGENE MONROE OT VIRGINIA
Monroe is the second best option at LT in this draft. Jerry Jones, in the "Drugstore List" says this about Monroe. "Excellent pass protecter, good balance and footwork. Won starting LT job as a junior beating out Branden Albert, who was a first round draft pick in 2008". The Bengals should be so lucky to get this guy.

7: OAKLAND RAIDERS PERCY HARVIN WR FLORIDA
Despite the report that Harvin tested positive for marijuana the the NFL Combine, the Raiders will take Harvin and his myriad talents.

8: JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS BJ RAJI DT BOSTON COLLEGE
The Jags need a WR because Matt Jones is no more. Jeremy Macklin will be there. But the Jags also need to do something about their awful pass defense.

9: GREEN BAY PACKERS BRIAN ORAKPO DE TEXAS
Defense, defense, defense for this team. The Pack needs a pass rusher to be truly back

10: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS ANDRE SMITH OT ALABAMA
The 49er's defense isn't bad. But it's constantly put in the position of having to always be on the field. The 49ers need to protect the quarterback better. Drafting Smith, and yes his bizarre behavior lately, gives them the strongest man in this year's draft.

11: BUFFALO BILLS TYSON JACKSON DE LSU
The Bills will be tempted by OT Michael Ohler. But Jackson gives them a legit pass rusher, something this team really needs.

12: DENVER BRONCOS REY MAUALUGA LB SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The Broncos need help stopping the run. With both of the top DT off the board, Maualuga is the choice.

13: WASHINGTON REDSKINS AARON MAYBIN DE PENN STATE
The Redskins can't throw the ball and their defense can't stop the run. They liked Sanchez and Crabtree is their kind of guy. Assuming they don't trade up, they take Maybin the second best pass rusher in this draft.

14: NEW ORLEAN SAINTS CHRIS 'BEANIE' WELLS RB OHIO STATE
Let's face it, the Saints need a 'horse'. "Beanie" falls into their laps.

15; HOUSTON TEXANS MALCOLM JENKINS CB OHIO STATE
Back to back Buckeyes. Jenkins will give the Texans a 'shutdown' corner that this franchise desperately needs.

16: SAN DIEGO CHARGERS PERLA JERRY DT MISSISSIPPI
Here's my thinking. The Chargers play the run well, the pass not so well. Having Jerry handle double teams will free up the ends for a more effective pass rush. OK, so maybe that's why I'm not an NFL general manager.

17: NEW YORK JETS VONTAE DAVIS CB ILLINOIS
Davis is a corner who can attack the run. That's a valuable and scarce commodity. He also ran a 4.44 at the Combine. J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets hop on him in a heartbeat.

18: CHICAGO BEARS KNOWSHON MORENO RB GEORGIA
The Bears have Jay Cutler. They also have an offense that can't rush. That would make Cutler a sitting duck. Moreno is a great fit.

19: TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS JOSH FREEMAN QB KANSAS STATE
Sure, Jon Gruden isn't there anymore but the Bucs have been searching for a franchise quarterback every since Jake Plummer told them to take a hike. Freeman will take a lot of hikes in his time in Tampa.

20: DETROIT LIONS (fr Dallas) MICHAEL OHER OT MISSISSIPPI
The Lions got a franchise quarterback with the #1 overall. They now have someone to protect his butt. Good solid choice. Which means, the Lions probably won't do it.

21: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES JEREMY MACLIN WR MISSOURI
Ha! Bet your were saying "Ken, you forgot about him". No and neither will the Eagles, who have the defense to win now....but not the offense. Maclin will help that, a lot.

22: MINNESOTA VIKINGS WILLIAM BEATTY OT CONNECTICUT
The Vikings can't pass, because they can't pass protect. They would've like Oher. But they're OK, because Beatty has the speed and footwork to pass protect like a horse. 6-6, 307 pounds and a very willing blocker.

23: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ALPHONSO SMITH CB WAKE FOREST
Been awhile since the Patriots drafted this high in round 1. Like the Vikings, the Pats need offensive line help. But they also have a big need in the secondary. Smith is the choice, despite his 5-9 height.

24: ATLANTA FALCONS EVERETTE BROWN DE/OLB FLORIDA STATE
Once thought to be a top five pick, Brown's stock has tumbled some. But in the Falcons defense, he should flourish. He'll have to leap frog some incumbants. But Brown should have no problem doing that.

25: MIAMI DOLPHINS CLAY MATTHEWS OLB SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Aside from Curry, Matthews is the best outside linebacker in this draft. He'll be a star in Miami. Matthews gets a lot of his headlines from rushing the passer, but he's also very good against the run.

26: BALTIMORE RAVENS DARIUS BUTLER CB CONNECTICUT
With Chris McCallister gone, Butler has a chance to become the heir-apparent. The Ravens will be tempted by a local, Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, still available. But they can find a WR later in the draft.

27: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS DARRIUS HEYARD-BEY WR MARYLAND
Best choice on the board for the Colts. Marvin Harrison is a memory and Peyton Manning needs a fresh target. Heyward-Bey can leap and his YAC (yards after catch) are impressive.

28: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (fr: Carolina) DONALD BROWN RB CONNECTICUT
The Eagles got a WR earlier in round 1. Now they get a workhorse running back who is also excellent at pass protection. And the Eagles had trouble with that this past season.

29: NEW YORK GIANTS KENNY BRITT WR RUTGERS
This is, of course, assuming the Giants don't make the trade for Browns WR Braylon Edwards. Britt is a big target (6-3 218) and while not a 'burner' has sure hands and runs tight routs.

30: TENNESSEE TITANS ALEX MACK C CALIFORNIA
Tennessee desperately needs wide receivers. But the best of the best are all gone by now. So, take the guy where pass protection begins. Mack will be a fixture on that Titans line for years.

31: ARIZONA CARDINALS MICHAEL JOHNSON DE GEORGIA TECH
The Cardinals need a running back and a pass rusher. But remember, all the good running backs are gone. Johnson should have been gone by now. So the Cardinalsl leap on him. His big wing span and his ability to stop the run is enticing. So too are his dimensions: 6-7 270

32: PITTSBURGH STEELERS EBEN BRITTON OT ARIZONA
They'll look hard at Robert Ayers, the defensive end from Tennessee and Paul Kruger, the defensive end from Utah. But in the end, the Steelers will opt for offensive line help. Immediately after this pick, Ben Roethlisberger will announce he's naming his first born Eben, who can play either RT or LT (not Ben's future kid, Eben Britton.)

So there you have it. We'll see, starting Saturday at 4p how far off I am.

Another win. This time it was Alex Gonzalez and Jay Bruce who provided the side show to the main acts: Aaron Harang and Joey Votto. Votto goes 4-5 against the Cubs today and Harang goes seven and allows just one, unearned run.

Reds now a game and a half out of first with a weekend series at GABP against the Braves. If the Reds don't draw at least 90,000 for the three games there are serious problems with the way that team is being marketed. Even back in bad old generic Riverfront Stadium, a weekend series with the Braves was usually good for 100,000.

Just posted on my web site www.kenbroo.com is an interview I did for my Sunday Morning Sports Talk show on 700 WLW with Michael Abromowitz of The Football Expert. It's all about the upcoming draft this weekend. You might be surprised to see who he thinks the Bengals will take.

By the way, among my guests this Sunday will be NFL player agent, Jack Bechta, as well as former NFL offensive lineman, Ross Tucker. Sunday Morning Sports Talk airs from 9am-Noon EDT.

Just posted on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com is my latest video. It's a behind the scenes look at my radio show on 700 WLW. I'm on Sundays from 9am-Noon EDT

Marvin Lewis actually said today, the Bengals don't neccessarily have to draft a tackle in the first round of this weekend's draft. He says the Bengals have players on their roster who can get the job done.

Huh????????????

Marvin, here's your guy. Find a way to get Eugene Monroe on Saturday.

Monroe may be gone when the Bengals pick 6th overall. But, watch what Seattle does. If the Seahawks take QB Matt Sanchez with the 4th overall pick, Monroe just might be there when it's the Bengals turn.

Just posted on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com is the latest Broo View Podcast. My guest in this episode, is the editor and publisher of Pro Football Weekly, Hub Arkush. We're scoping the upcoming NFL Draft.

If you want, you can download it by clicking here. But check out www.kenbroo.com. I've got past episodes of The Broo View Podcast and some other cool interviews.

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.

Good Monday Morning!

Amazingly, the Reds won again Sunday. I say amazingly, because for the first two weeks of the season, the Reds offensive hasn't just been anemic, it's gone missing.

If you can’t score, you can’t win. Pick the sport, any sport. No team has ever won without a run, point, goal or birdie. Plain, simple, end of story.

The Reds can’t score, at least they can’t score when they need to score. We saw it again last night. We almost saw it Friday night. But Ramon Hernandez saved the night with his two run home run. Saturday night, the Reds got a grand total of two hits. They would have each had to have been grand slam homer for the the Reds to win. They lost, 7-0. Harang wasn’t sharp. The Astros got lucky with a couple of early “seeing eye” singles and Jared Burton was smacked around again.

Here’s the problem. And it’s been the problem ever since the Reds took a pass on adding a free agent bat this off season: the starting pitching has be lights out every game for this team to have a chance to win. OK, sure, we’ve seen games where the Reds have put six, eight runs up. But look at the run production through ten games. In six of those ten games, the Reds have put up three or fewer runs. And if it wasn’t for Joey Votto, it’d be a lot worse. Votto has driven in ten of the 38-runs the Reds have scored so far this season.

The bottom of the batting order is non existant. Gonzalez, Hernandez and the pitcher, all stuck below the Mendoza line. Gonzalez has exactly three hits in eight games. Jay Bruce has been to bat 34 times, he has six hits. Everybody I talk to says ‘he’ll come around’. Really? Have you seen the numbers Bruce has put up since his first two weeks in the majors? They’re pretty horrid. He’s hitting .226, just 19 home runs in just under 400 at bats and he’s whiffed over 100 times…once every four at bats, actually.

I told you last week, don’t make any hard evaluations until the season is six weeks old. By the sixth week, you’ll know exactly what this team is going to do the rest of this season. You’re smart, you follow the game. You’ll know.
But the first ten games have given us warning signs. Starting pitching has to be lights out every night for this team to have a chance at winning. Bullpen can’t afford too many Burton like performances. The base running and the defense have to be beyond good. Have we seen any of that so far this season?

As a guy I once worked for said, “There’s no calvary coming over the hill”. What you got is what you got. Maybe you platoon Janish at short with Gonzalez and hope you find offense there. Maybe Hanigan plays a little more until Hernandez hits his way out of it. Dickerson is hitting .263, Hairston .167. Do you keep running that tandem out there? Jonny Gomes is hitting .192 in Louisville.

Who didn’t see this coming?

Look, I like the $10 million scoreboard in left field. I would’ve loved a $10 million player in left field.

So here’s the question today: should the Reds now do what they didn’t do this winter, shop for a bat? Geoff Jenkins is sitting at home. It’ll cost the Reds about $400 grand to get him. Luis Gonzalez is sitting at home. Dollar figure on Gonzalez is about the same. Jim Edmonds is mowing his lawn today. What did he do to Walt Jocketty when they were both with the Cardinals? Shoe polish Walt’s car door handle?

My point is, it’s not too late and this division is not that great. If you’re proactive now, you might be able to save the strengths of this team, and save a season in the process. A baseball roster is a fluid thing, most seasons. Injuries, demotions trades and releases happen even on championship teams. They’re about ready for all of that in the land of the Yankees today.

Don’t make Harang and Arroyo sweat every pitch that they throw. Don’t yank Volquez and Cueto early, because you’re afraid leaving them in a game will result in a run or two you know you won’t be able to match. I hope some smart guy in Redsland is thinking about this, thinking that this season may only be a couple of weeks old but the warning signs are there. I hope somebody is sending a scout out to the batting cages or high school fields where an out of work major leaguer is staying in shape.

A lot of people got on Wayne Krivsky three years ago when he made that deal with the Nationals for relief pitching. It didn’t turn out so hot, but at least he tried. It was later in that season than it is now. But it’s later than you think.

The other shoe dropped in the Jeff Keppinger to Houston trade that went down just before spring training ended. Thursday, the Reds completed the deal by prying Drew Sutton loose from the Astros. And at least by this account, it's not playing well with the Astros' faithful.

I just booked Michael Abramowitz from thefootballexperts.com for my Sunday Morning Sportstalk show on 700 WLW. I've been following his stuff on that web site and he seems to have good logic about how the NFL draft may go down.

Also, Hub Arkush from Pro Football Weekly will join me, as well as former Red, Merv Rettenmund. Hope you will too, from 9am-Noon EDT.

It's a big day in Cincinnati for another reason this Sunday. The original "Jersey Boy" is in town for a concert. He's my 'home boy', as Frankie Valli and I grew up in the same town (though he's quite a few years older than me)

But, I'll have to miss his performance....Sports Rock!, don't you know.

The Chris Mack era is about to begin. As we reported last night (Monday) on WLWT Channel 5 here in Cincinnati, Mack is the choice of Xavier AD, Mike Bobinski. Bobinski reccommended Mack to the XU Athletic board today. The reccommendation was accepted and Mack will be introduced at a news conference Wednesday.

Xavier could have chased a bigger name. But it might have been in another coaching search in three years, if it had. Mack, like UC's Mick Cronin will be at his school for the long haul. Good choice.

The 2009 NFL schedule was released tonight. No prime time games for the Bengals. Why should there be? They were horrid last season. Maybe the Bengals can get onto a Sunday night telecast in the final seven weeks of the season. The league allows for 'flexing' the schedule in the final seven weeks. But they'd have to exceed everyone's expectations to pull that off.

If the Reds are really all about pitching, speed and defense, how do you explain their last two games, both wins....with home runs winning both?

He's considered by many to be the best player in the upcoming NFL draft, but apparently Wake Forest linebacker, Aaron Curry could be in for some rough sledding, if this column by cbssports.com's Rob Rang turns out to be true.

See you tonight at 11p on Cincinnati's WLWT Channel 5

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING!

I'm on Facebook.com now with lots of neat pictures and postings. We're battling the elements to bring home some qualilty entertainment, as we ty to be an entertainment desitnation, Want in on the fun? Here's the link!

OK, if you missed it on News 5 Monday night at 11p, sources close to the process tell us that Xavier Athletic Director, Mike Bobinski will reccomend to the school's athletic council and school president, Father Michael Graham, that current assistant coach, Chris Mack should be hired as the school's next basketball coach. We're told the news conference announcing this could happen as early as Tuesday afternoon. However, with the annual basketball banquet scheduled for Wednesday night, there might be a thought of holding off the announcement until then, in front of the most faithful of Xavier supporters. Stay tuned on this one.

Reds win, 7-6. More offensive tonight, but almost all from two swings of the bat: Jay Bruce's solo home run and Edwin Encarnacion's grand slam. I thought this was supposed to be pitching, speed and defense? Anyway, the first leg of the longest road trip of the season gets off to a good start in Milwaukee. Edinson Volquez was hit hard, again. It's Bronson Arroyo's turn Tuesday night.

A great voice silenced Monday. Harry Kalas, the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies and some would say the voice of the city of Philadelphia. He died in the broadcast booth at the National stadium, getting ready to call an afternoon ball game. Harry was so electic, he was the voice of NFL Films, succeding John Facenda upon his death, while also do the annual Doggie Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday on the Animal Planet channel. Kalas was only 73.

And Mark "The Bird" Fidrych died Monday as well. It was an apparent farm accident. Fidrych was one of the more bizzare players in the mid 70's, talking to the basebal and patting down and smoothing the mound before pitching . The Bird was only 54. Deaths come in threes right? Well let's not forget that innocent porn star of he 70's Marylin Chambers. No cause of death filed yet for the eager to please Miss Chambers.

Now check out my latest podcast all about the Cincinnati The Broo View episode202

Just posted on my web site is an in depth interview with 1978 National League MVP Dave Parker. The native Cincinnati talks about the 30th anniversary of the "We Are Family" World Championship Pirates, as well as the current state of Major League Baseball and the Cincinnati Reds. You can find it on the front page of: www.kenbroo.com

Good Monday Morning!

Five games into this season, what have we learned about your Cincinnati Reds? In a word: nothing. True story: I bumped into a guy at Kroger last night and he asks me, “well,, what is Dusty going to do to shake up things up?” I was like, ‘huh’. Shake things ups? It’s been four games. Like he should go out and sign Javy Valentin and go find Jacque Jones? It’s four game. What we know about this team is the same things we’ve suspected ever since the end of last season. It has young pitching and young pitching is going to look great some days and other days it’s going to look like what Edinson Volquez looked like Wednesday night.

It’s going to have trouble scoring runs. Well, you’re saying, wait a minute Ken, they scored eight on Thursday and six Wednesday night. Yeah, but most of that offense is Joey Votto. 20-total RBI so far in five games, seven off the bat of Votto. Jay Bruce isn’t hitting, Roberto Hernandez isn’t hiting, Alex Gonzalez is still looking for his first base hit and Willy Taveres has been hacking up a lung since the end of spring training.

For all this talk of pitching, speed and defense, here’s what four games have given us: three errors, two stolen bases and a staff ERA of 6.50. The team is hitting .218. Only four teams are hitting worse. But what does it mean?

It means the Reds have gotten off to a slow start. Not good, when you look at the schedule and see an overwhelming majority of their early season games are against division opponents. Those, of course, are the games you have to win because it not only benefits you, it hurts the teams that are chasing the same thing you are, a division title.

But shake things up? I don’t care what kind of team you have and what kind of first week you’ve put together, call me in six weeks. Six weeks is about the right amount of time for analysis. Six weeks after a season begins, you’ve played between 30-35 games, almost a quarter of the season. It’s not time to panic. It’s not time to shake things up. Harang pitched well on Opening Day, but lost. Volquez pitched awful and lost. Arroyo pitched OK and got a lot of runs. And for the most part, Cueto pitched well Saturday. Harang was terrific in Sunday’s win.

The hitting, aside from Votto, isn’t happening. We knew that could be a problem. My guess is, they’ve told Johnny Gomes don’t go out of cell phone range. My guess is, Castellini will give his GM the green light to go buy a bat if the Reds are in it by late July. My guess is the Pirates aren’t as good as they’ve looked this season and the Reds aren’t as bad as they’ve looked this week. Time to panic? Dude, this is baseball. It’s not like you’ve entrusted your life savings to Bernie Madoff. That would be time to panic.

Just posted on my web site, www.kenbroo.com is the latest Broo View Podcast. My guest this time is the noted baseball writer from Baseball Prospectus, Dave Laurila. Our topic? A look at the 2009 Cincinnati Reds, who managed to win their first game of the season today. It's on the front page of my site. But, if you're on the fly, you can download it here.

Good Thursday Morning!

Pitching, speed and defense my a##. Did you watch any of that Reds vs Mets game last night? Pitchng? Apparently Edinson Volquez is still under the assumption that his right arm is good for 200 pitches per outing. It took him 100, just to get two outs into the fifth inning. It was the same thing that plagued him last season. And statistically, last season was very good for Volquez. But his season will be over in July if he doesn't bear down in the count and get out of innings.

Mike Lincoln followed and was lit up. Defense? Alex Gonzalez booted a double play ball that would have gotten the Reds out of an inning with only a run scoring. Instead, three runs scored after that play. And Jay Bruce fell down on what should have been a one run single, turning it into a three run scoring play.

Speed? OK, Willy Taveres finally got into a game and motored his way around the bases to a triple. But where are the stolen bases? Where is the speed in the outfield that's supposed to get to fly balls that were uncatchable last season?

Look, I know it's only two games. But you can't look at either of these two losses to the Mets and not have some serious concerns. And while I'm at it, the Reds have known since last August they had to come up with a player, or a platoon situation, in left field. Their answer was to sign Johnny Gomes, who never caught on with Tampa and give the opposite side of the plate to Chris Dickerson, who had a grand total of 31-big league games coming into this season. So what happens? Gomes is sent to the minors the day before the season begins and Dickerson doesn't start opening day. And this is a plan? Really?

More coming as Thursday progresses. I'll have a new Broo View Podcast posted sometime around mid day. My guest will be Dave Laurila from Baseball Prospectus.

And my Sunday Morning Sportstalk Show on 700 WLW is beginning to take shape. My guests will include CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated Seth Davis, author of a compelling book on the 1979 NCAA Championship game between Larry Bird's Indiana State Sycamores and Magic Johnson's Michigan State Spartans. Also joining me, the godfather of sabermetrics, Bill James. We'll have other assorted guests as well, and your phone calls. I'm on from 9am-Noon EDT. And if you don't live in the Tri-State, you can always listen on line at 700wlw.com.

OK, Sean Miller took the money and ran, all the way to the desert. Am I surprised? In a sense, no. There's no right thinking American who wouldn't look at the current economic landscape and say "you know what? I don't really need to make $14 million in the next seven years". But let's be honest about this: it was all about the money.

And I'm wondering if there isn't some college president out there today, anywhere at any Division I school, who isn't thinking "what is the point of writing contracts for coaches?" They never bind a coach to a school. The coach is always looking to better the deal after a winning season (funny how they never want to give money back after their team tanks). I'm wondering if it wouldn't take a school president or two to just say "no, you can't talk to my coach. He's under contract until 2015, get back to me then." And correct me if I'm wrong: doesn't the school HAVE to pay the coach for the life of the deal, unless there are some mitigating circumstances other than not winning basketball games?

Good luck Sean. You're a good guy. But don't try to tell anyone that this wasn't about money.

I'm wondering if Arizona is that much of an easier place to win a national championship than Xavier. The stars would have to line up perfectly for Xavier to win it all. That might MIGHT happen once every 100 years. But if I'm not mistaken, the only national championship Arizona has won was in 1997.

I’m also wondering where the Reds are going to find all of the runs they’re going to need to compete this season. Adam Dunn is gone, so is his 100 RBI. Remember, this team didn’t score a whole lot of runs last season. Now, pitching, speed and defense are supposed to carry the day. Playing half of their games in a ball park built for home runs,? Really? I’m wondering…

I’m wondering if the Bengals really do want to trade Chad Ocho Cinco now, why didn’t they want to trade him last season? They’d have gotten a first and a third round pick from the Redskins, maybe two firsts. Now, we hear some blogger out in Oakland ran into the Raiders head coach in a rest room and got the scoop that the Raiders are sending the Bengals a first round pick and running back Michael Bush in exchange for the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson. Wait a year and the Bengals might be able to get Derek Anderson from the Browns for Ocho No Show. Or maybe Kyle Boller.

I’m also wondering when every newspaper in America folds and TV stations start running Who Wants To Marry My Gardener instead of news, where will we get our credible news from? Think about that the next time you read a blog and run with it. This blogger out in California, the one who met the Raiders’ coach at a Wendy’s or wherever may be right. They deal could happen. But more often that not, the guy writing the blog you’re taking as gospel is probably living in his parents’ basement.

Here’s something else I’m wondering about today. I’m wondering why Billy Gillispie never signed his contract at Kentucky. Because despite what he thinks, Gillispie may have kissed away six million dollars in severance. Somebody got ahold of the letter that informed Billy Clyde that he was no longer welcomed at Rupp Arena. The only thing that was listed as a reason why he’s no longer the head coach in Lexington, the ONLY reason, was that he failed to sign his contract. Let me ask you a question. If all you have to do is sign your name to piece of paper to guarantee that you’ll get six mil if your boss wants to fire you, how many pens do you bring to the signing ceremony? I don’t want to call Billy Clyde dumb. Because I don’t have to.

I told you I wonder about a lot of things. Here’s something else that popped into my head before I passed out on my couch Monday. I'm wondering why we all had to freeze our assets off Monday watching the Reds on Opening Day.

Nine of the last eleven Opening Days here in Cincinnati have been miserable. Years ago, not that long ago, Opening day was the middle of the month. A long time ago, like in 1919, Opening Day was April 23. They used to play a 154 game schedule, so teams could open later. Now, the season opens with the threat of snow and ends with the threat of Thanksgiving. I’m wondering today, where did all of the scheduled double-headers go? Remember the Sunday double-headers? Why can’t they play a half dozen of those during the season and start everything a week later?

I know why, the players union didn’t want it because it was too much to ask a multi-million dollar ballplayer to hang around a stadium for eight hours on a Sunday. And the owners didn’t want it, because a doubleheader is basically baseball’s version of ‘happy hour’: two for the price of one. You ever see a happy owner in baseball? But for us, once you get by the initial rush of Opening Day and the first half dozen beers, you’re just sitting in the cold, getting rained on and tempting the flu. I’m wondering, why isn’t anyone else thinking about that.

I'll see you tonight at 6p & 11p on WLWT Channel 5

Knocked it out of the park, didn't he? You think anyone in Big Blue Nation is upset with UK hiring John Calipari? I loved the part about how he's no savior and has 'no magic wand' to fix Kentucky basketball. "I told Dr. Todd (school president) and Mitch (Barnhart, UK AD) that if they're looking to hire someone to turn this around overnight, they're talking to the wrong guy". Calipari's news conference today was a revival, tempered by realism.

Great joke someone told on my radio show this past Sunday. You know what they call a pervert in Kentucky? Someone who like sex more than basketball.

But. like everything, there are dissenting opinions on the Calipari hiring. Pat Forde, from espn.com has this take on the hiring.

April 1st reminds me of one of the greatest April Fool's Day jokes every pulled in sports. In fact, it happened only last year and the brunt of it was Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, Kyle Kendrick.

Check it out:


The Reds are actually going to talk with Gary Sheffield? Believe it. Dusty Baker will visit with the former Tigers slugger tomorrow in Sarasota. Detroit is paying Sheffield's 2009 contract, all $14 million of it, just to go away. So if the Reds sign him, they get him for the major league minimum, about $400,000. Geoff Jenkins will visit the Reds, as well. But statistically, both have fallen off the map. Still with 499 career home runs, it'd be kind of cool to see Sheffield hit #500 in a Reds uniform. And Sheffield is only a year removed from a .265 25/75 season. But too many reports say he's finished. But, even though Jonny Gomes and Chris Dickerson have had a decent spring platooning in left field, the Reds have been weak this spring in the area I said they would be: run production. I'm sure that's why Sheffield and Jenkins are coming in for visits.

Just booked for my Sunday Morning Sports Talk show on 700 WLW: former National League MVP Dave Parker. I'm on from 9am-Noon. Parker will join me at 10:00am. If you don't live within the coverage area of the "50,000 watt flamethrower", you can always listen on line.

More on Thursday....and a fresh Broo View Podcast then, on www.kenbroo.com