I mentioned this on my radio show Sunday, on 700 WLW: the Saints didn't have to be the better team Sunday to win the Super Bowl. They just had to be the better team for three hours, beginning at 6:25p EST. And, they were.

But it's still my contention that for the 2009 season, the best team in the NFL was the Indianpolis Colts. They were beaten by the better team Sunday night.

And I’ve been thinking about this all week. Why is Indianapolis so good? What makes that team the bell cow for every other team in the NFL, including the Bengals? And why do the Colts have a team that’s good enough to play in this game today and the Bengals don’t?

The easy answer is that the Colts have the best player in the game, Peyton Manning. But that also dismisses the other 30 teams in the league. So it’s deeper than that.

The better answer is drafting and assessing talent. If you’ve listened to this show for a moment, you know that I’ve consistently said the biggest problem the Bengals have, the one thing that has held this franchise back from contending is it’s process of player procurement. The Bengals struggle with it. The Colts excel at it.

In 1997, Indianapolis finished 3-13. They had the number one pick in the ’98 draft. They chose Manning. Could’ve taken Ryan Leaf. They Colts took Peyton Manning. In 1999, they finished 13-3 and won the AFC East.

But look at the other moves that came after that.

Also in ’99, they got Manning’s center, Jeff Saturday, off the unemployment line. Baltimore had cut him. He’s been the anchor of the Colts line ever since.

At right guard is Kyle DeVan, free agent pick up this past off season. Undrafted free agent. He was playing in the Arena2 league. He’ll start today in the Super Bowl.

Left guard, Ryan Lilja. Like DeVan, an undrafted free agent. He starts today. The Colts found him when the Chiefs let him go in 2004. That year, the Bengals were busy signing players like Kurt Kittner and Allen Augustin, names forgotten three minutes after they were signed.

The guy protecting Manning’s back side, left tackle Charlie Johnson, was a sixth round pick in 2006. The Bengals passed on him and took wide receiver Reggie McNeal. Johnson starts today. McNeal wound up posing for mug shots. Oh, in that same round in 2006, after the Bengals passed on Johnson and took McNeal, the Colts found the guys who’ll start at free safety today, Antoine Bethea. Correct me if I’m wrong haven’t the Bengals spent a lot of money and time trying to find safeties lately?

You get where this is going? The Bengals could have picked wide receiver Pierre Garcon in 2008. Instead, they passed on him twice in the 6th round of that draft. They took Corey Lynch and Chris Harrington. And don’t get me started on Jerome Simpson from that draft.

One of the best wide receivers in football was a first round pick in 2001. So was Justin Smith. The Colts took Reggie Wayne number 30 overall. Smith came here fourth overall.

And it’s not just offense. Don’t you think the Bengals would have saved a lot of free agent money, if they’d drafted defensive end Robert Mathis in 2003, instead of taking Kahlid Abdullah? Mathis had nine and a half sacks and five forced fumbles this season. Abdullah played two years here and had ten tackles total in his entire career. The Bengals took Abdullah two picks before Mathis.

And it’s knowing where the players fall through the cracks land, and how they’d fit into your system. Defensive tackle Daniel Muir for example. The Packers let him go in 2008. The Bengals could’ve claimed him. He’ll start for the Colts today. He was an undrafted free agent out of Kent State.

The Colts started undrafted free agents at safety, cornerback,and middle linebacker. Gary Brackett is the middle linebacker. Great story. He walked on at Rutgers, defensive captain by his senior season, undrafted free agent, starting in the Super Bowl today.

Why, in 2005 when they were desperate for cornerbacks, did the Bengals pass on Kelvin Hayden in round two and take Odell Thurman? Why did Hayden start in the Super Bowl and Thurman is in the UFL?

You like Dwight Freeney? Me too. Could have had him in 2002. He went one pick AFTER the Bengals took Levi Jones. What did Freeney have this season, 13 and a half sacks? And Jones is where right now? The Bengals also passed on Jeremy Shockey, Albert Haynesworth and Ed Reed in the first round of that draft. How’d that happen?

The answer to all of these questions is two words: Bill Polian. Actually, it’s four words: team President, Bill Polian. In ’97, he was fired by the Bills. The Colts didn’t waste a moment signing him. Why not? He got the Bills to four Super Bowls and the Colts, at least in their Indianapolis days, never had a whiff of one.

Polian had a vision, and more important, had a plan. He knew what kind of players he needed in his system to win. That’s why in the ’99 draft, he took Edgerrin James and passed on Ricky Williams. The Saints traded their entire lot of draft picks to get Williams AFTER Polian took James. Polian spent just one pick. The Saints spent six picks to get Williams.

There was the Corey Simon fiasco a few years back. But under Bill Polian, the Colts haven’t been big free agent spenders. It’s all about drafting, finding the players that should’ve been drafting and coaching.

For eleven seasons, the Colts have had a plan. Where have the Bengals been the last eleven seasons, or for most of the eleven before that.

Under Polian, the Colts have had their whiffs. But not many. The Bengals have faired better with some selections than Indianapolis. Rudi Johnson in round 4 instead of the Colts starting guard, Ryan Diem. Maybe a wash.

Look, I don’t know Bill Polian from the next guy. To be completely honest, in my first go round at channel 5 years ago, Polian was in Buffalo and was a jerk to deal with. I don’t sense anything warm and fuzzy about the guy. But he knows talent. And that’s why you should know this:

When you watched the Super Bowl, you saw a lot of guys playing for the Colts who easily could have been Cincinnati Bengals. And had they come here, instead of there, it might just as easily have been the Bengals in who played in Super Bowl XLIV.

Just another Manic Monday....

BTW, whatever happened to Suzanna Hoffs and the Bangles?

Whoa...didn't see this one coming, Saints win the Super Bowl! You can think the genius coaching of the Saints' Sean Payton. 4th and 1 from the Colts one, right before halftime, Payton elects to 'go for it'. The Saints didn't get into the end zone. But it left Peyton Manning and the Colts backed up. Payton had all of his time outs left. He knew if he held the Colts to 'three and out', he'd get the ball back in decent field position. It happened exactly that way and the Saints wound up with the three points they left on the field just moments before.

The on-sides kick to start the second half was pure genius, and headsy. And challenging the two point conversion try that the Saints didn't get on the field, but was reversed on replay, was another indication that Payton had his 'A' game going and Jim Caldwell, the Indianapolis coach, did not. By the way, there is NO way that two point conversion should have been overturned on replay. Despite what the NFL chief of officials says, it was not a successful conversion by strict interpretation of the NFL rule book.

I'm particularly happy today for the Cincinnati connection on that Saints squad. Former Lakota High and UC star, Troy Evans was a big contributer on special teams. And did you see him out there for the pre game coin flip? Zach Strief, the Milford High standout by way of Northwestern, will be wearing a Super Bowl champion's ring. And the linebackers coach for the Saints happens to be the son of Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. When you factor in the time Sean Payton spent on the late Randy Walker's coaching staff at Miami University, Southwest Ohio didn't do all that badly on Sunday night.

Tuesday rumblings and ramblings...

If Colts DE Dwight Freeney can't play (torn ligament in his ankle) I think it greatly cuts down on what the Colts want to do defensively. Freeney downplayed the significance of his absence, should it occur. His contention is that the Colts are better in their secondary and at linebacker than they were even two years ago, and less reliant on their front four. But you tell me how a team isn't affected when their best defensive player is out, or not near 100%? If this game developes into a track meet, like it could given both offenses, not having Freeney will greatly hurt the Colts, IMHO.

Big day for high school football players is coming up tomorrow. And it's a big day for college football coaches. It's National Signing Day, where scholarships are handed out and players will make or break college coaches.

Check out my latest Broo View Podcast. It's on my web site www.kenbroo.com. My gues this week is Brian McLaughlin, the recruting writer for The Sporting News. Our conversation is how the NCAA needs to bring some sanity to the process of recruting players, and how it might be a good idea to have an early signing period, much like college basketball. If you're on the fly, here's a quick link.

Good Monday Morning!

The bus industry got a boost this week from your Cincinnati Reds. Three busloads of Reds players, front office folks and Dusty Baker fanned out over three states, spreading the word…optimistic of course at ever stop….to the small towns and ‘burghs that at one time were chock full of Reds fans. There are still plenty of Reds fans in southern Kentucky, Northwestern Indiana and the hills of West Virginia. But not so much anymore. Oh, there are plenty of fans who’ll listen to the games here on the Big One and follow the team in the hometown papers. But buy a ticket? Drive to Cincinnati? Spend the weekend at a local hotel and support the local eating and drinking establishments? You’ll get the answer on that from the restauranteurs and hoteliers in the Tri-State. Or just check out the license plates in the parking lots around Great American Ball Park on game day. You’ll see a lot of Ohio and Kentucky plates, a few Indiana plates. But not like it was even ten years ago.

We used to be able to park our news cars close to the players entrance at Riverfront Stadium. Walking out after covering a game, it was fun to see the cars from distant locations. You’d see Kentucky plates with dealership ads from Frankfort, Owensboro, Pikeville and Paducah. You’d see plates from Illinois, Tennessee and even Arkansas. Saw more than a few of those.
But lately, the Reds have become less of a regional draw and more of a local team. That doesn’t matter really to you and me. But it matters a lot to the guy who writes the checks. And that’s why Bob Castellini is going Greyhound this weekend.

The Reds Caravan was a big deal, back in the day. Anytime you had Pete Rose or Eric Davis or whomever the stars of the moment were rolling into Chillicothe, or Charleston, or Cambridge, it was big news. But then the team got bad, Marge got cheap and the the economy went south. Not too surprisingly, the Reds stopped be an attraction for a lot of people outside of Cincinnati.

But that’s changed now. The buses are rolling and the Reds are on the verge of being relevant in a lot of homes again. If you haven’t heard, a lot of the baseball experts are hopping on the Reds bandwagon. The latest diamond mind projections are out today. I won’t bore you with the statistical detail of the study. It factors in a lot of things, to come up with projected wins, projected wins vs actual wins in 2009. It’s the stuff that makes your eyeballs roll up into your forhead. Anyway, the latest projection has the Reds winning 86 games this season. That’d be an increase of eight wins over last year and would put them smack dab in the middle of the playoff chase..

PECOTA is another statistical study that would bore anyone who can’t spell sabermetrics. It’s big if you’re addicted to fantasy baseball Anyhow, the 2010 numbers are out for that and it has the Reds finishing second to the Cardinals in the NL Central, with an 81-81 record.

I think what I’m getting at here is that I think the Reds are going to be a lot better than some of us think they will this season. I’m not drinking the Kool Aid. I’m just looking at facts.

Joey Votto is now one of the top hitters in the league. If he’s around for the full season, he could deliver monster numbers. Remember, the Reds were very much in the race until Votto left for a month in late May. Brandon Phillips is just a year removed from a Gold Glove season. Drew Stubbs has blistering speed and showed flashes of power at the major league level last season. Ramon Hernandez is back to handle the pitching. He offers offense that the Reds haven’t had behind the plate in a long time.

The rotation isn’t bad. Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey are the young guns. I’m willing to bet that Aaron Harang is back to his 2007 form. Bronson Arroyo will be his typical ‘500’ self. And the bullpen still has a legit closer in Francisco Cordero, with Jared Burton Nick Massett and Micah Owings providing set up and middle relief.

Jay Bruce is a large question. He hit well for the first two weeks of his major league career. After that, not so hot. There is no answer for left field and there’s no way the Reds are serious contenders with a short stop who hits ‘211’. The good news: Orlando Cabrera may be here by later today.

Look, the Cardinals signed Matt Holiday this winter. They still have Chris Carpenter and the best player in the game, Prince Albert. The Cubs just signed Xavier Nady and the Astros added pitcher Brett Myers among others.

But I get the feeling we’re going to be saying good bye to these 76-78 win seasons. 2011 looks like it could be a huge year, when Chris Heisey Todd Frazier, Yonder Alonso and Aroldis Chapman join the core talent that will play at Great American Ball Park this season.

It’s a good time for the Reds to spread the word. Maybe they’ll become relevant again, to a lot more people, besides you and me.

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

How's your Tuesday going?

Got a injury you need help with? Tonight at 7:30p on Channel 5 in Cincinnati, we're hosting another 'Call The Docs' show. It's your chance to call in and talk with the good doctors from Beacon Sports about whatever malady you may have. Free medical advice, no HMO or co pay. Such a deal!

There's a brand new Broo View Podcast ready to download. This episode features Matt Bowen from nationalfootballpost.com. We talk about whether or not Carson Palmer is still a quarterback capable of leading a team to the Super Bowl. You can find the podcast on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com.

When you're number one, you never know who'll be calling. The UK Wildcats got a big surprise today. Right after a mid day practice for their game tonight in Columbia, South Carolina, John Calipari's team got a phone call from President Obama. He was calling to congratulate the Wildcats for raising over $1 million for Haitian relief efforts. While he was at it, Obama also congratulated the Wildcats ascending to the top of college basketball. UK is number on in both major polls this week, unbeaten so far this season. Super freshman, John Wall invited the President to watch UK in person and challeged him to a game of 'horse'. Obama politely declined saying, "I don't want to lose". There's a good chance they'll meet in person this spring, with the way the UK has been playing an NCAA Championship isn't out of the question.

For the first time ever, the NFL stages the Pro Bowl before teh Super Bowl. The game is this Sunday in Miami, site of Super Bowl 44. It's a better idea than playing the game as an after thought, which has been the case forever. But more than ten Saints and Colts players elected to the Pro Bowl will now have to beg off, with the Super Bowl, of course, taking precedence. Here's my idea: play the game BEFORE the season, much like the NFL used to do years ago when the reigning champion took on a team of college all stars. Play the game in August, AFC vs NFC and use it for what it is, a glorified exhibition game.

Good Monday Morning!

This is what I'm thinking about today: what do the Jets, Colts, Vikings and Saints have that the Bengals don’t? Why were those teams still playing Sunday, and your Cincinnati Bengals have scattered for the winter? The easy answer is this: they all play great defense, they all have impact players on both sides of the football and they all can throw the ball, even the Jets.

The tougher question is why. Why can the Jets do all of that and the Bengals can’t? A lot of it is talent. A lot of it is scheme. A lot of it is simply putting dollars into personnel that will have impact in the areas of the game that are now the most important.

There was a time when you could win in the NFL simply by running the ball, controlling the clock and then playing solid defense. It was a blue print to getting deep into the playoffs. The New York Giants did it under Bill Parcells. They did a few years ago under Tom Coughlin. And we know all about what the Steelers have done. But the game has changed.

This is what Bill Cowher said on the CBS NFL pre-game show back in October. And this is a direct quote:

‘The game has changed, the rules have changed," he said. "I think right now, I hate to say this, but the running game is a complement. It's not the foundation that it once was. “ Cowher went onto say, “You look at the last three AFC teams that were in the Super Bowl, that's Pittsburgh, New England and Indianapolis. They're all passing teams. The running game is a complement.”

Think about how many times you’ve seen a team get into the red zone simply because it throws the ball downfield. Sometimes, the receiver makes a spectacular catch. Sometimes, he turns that into a touchdown. But more often than not, the receiver doesn’t have to do anything.

In the NFL, pass interference is a spot foul. It’s not college, where the distance of the call is just 15 yards. If an NFL defensive back is called for pass interference on his own five yard line, that’s where the offense gets the ball. In college, 15 yards from the line of scrimmage, max.

Now think about the number of times the Bengals threw deep this season. In a lot of ways, what was wrong with their offense, could have been fixed, or hidden, by simply throwing deep. The difference between these four teams left standing and the Bengals? It was the Bengals inability to throw the ball with any consistency. But why?

I did a little digging, a little research. Three of the four teams left in the Super Bowl chase were in the top eight in passing offense: Indianapolis ranked second, New Orleans fourth, Minnesota eighth. The Jets were 31st, second to last.

Throwing deep, testing the secondary, keeping the safeties from cheating up into run support is something else the Final 4 NFL teams can do well, and the Bengals didn’t’.

Here’s the stat: plays of 20-or more yards this season, passing plays. The Colts had 62 of those. The Saints had 58, the Vikings 55. The Jets had 37 plays of 20-yards of more. Your Cincinnati Bengals, only 36. 36 pass plays of 20-or more yards in 477-passing attempts.

Passing leads to points. I’ve said this since October, the Bengals offense could not score enough points this season to make any reasonable thinking fan believe they could play with the big boys come playoff time. Eleven of the 12 playoff teams ranked in the top 17 for points scored this season. When you extract defense and special teams scoring, the Bengals total of 281 offensive points in 2009, left them at 22nd in the entire league. That comes out to 17 and a half points from the offense per game.

New Orleans and Minnesota, incidentally were one-two.. The Saints offense averaged better than 28 and a half points per game.

But why?

Of the 10-playoff quarterbacks, nine had better passing stats than Carson Palmer. Only the Jets Mark Sanchez was worse. Does this mean that Palmer isn’t the quarterback a lot of us think he is? Or did these teams have better talent around their quarterbacks?

Let’s start with the offense line. The Bengals line allowed 56-hits on Palmer and 29-sacks for a quarterback misery total of 85. The Colts allowed just 13-sacks, 44-hits for a misery total of 57. The Saints allowed just 20 sacks, misery total of 72. The Jets line, considered the best in the business, allowed 30-sacks and 53-hits on Sanchez. The Vikings total was a whopping 117. Favre was sacked 34 times.

But the Colts threw the ball over a hundred times more than the Bengals did this season. Manning, Favre and Brees were all top ten in attempts. Palmer was 19th, making the sacks and hits on him more glaring.

You know what the four teams left standing have that the Bengals don’t? A legitimate tight end. The Vikings Visante Sciancoe had twice as many catches as JP Foschi did this season. The Colts Dallas Clark caught 100-passes. Foschi caught 27. Sciancoe had eleven touhdown catches. The Bengals receiving corp, tight ends and wide receivers and running backs, together caught just 21.

Cowher is right. This is a passing league where you must score points to win. It was great watching Cedric Benson run all over the field this season. It was terrific to see the Bengals defense shutdown some big time play makers. But the name of the game now is throwing the ball and scoring points. And unless the Bengals figure that out between now and next season, my guess is we’ll get to this final four weekend without them…again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marvin Lewis coach of the year in the NFL? I've always been a big fan of Marvin's. But I think he's smart enough to know he got the award this year from the Associated Press football writers in large part for what his team did defensively. And for that, he should thank defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer. Marvin did a nice job holding together the team through the death of Zimmer's wife and Chris Henry. But the performance of the Bengals defense under Zimmer was just terrific.

I've said, the one thing Marvin needs to do is improve his public image. His foundation's work is exemplary. Every football coach should try to emulate what he does. But the personna he puts on display at his weekly news conferences needs a lot of work. Marvin comes off as distrustful of the media. Whether or not he is, isn't the point. The point is, he comes off that way. Bengals fans never hear the questions, whether good or bad. They only hear his answers. And too often, he comes off as curt. Marvin needs to take a page out of the Bill Cowher or Rex Ryan book of how to handle the media. It's about the only thing I can think of that he needs to work on.

I love the fact that the Reds have signed Cuban pitcher Ardolis Chapman. It's a bold move for a team not known for those kind of things. But I think selling the future is a tough sell for the Reds. They really need some sizzle for 2010. Good luck selling tickets with a short stop who hit .211 last season and a left field situation that got worse with the departure of Jonny Gomes. Mix in the loss of pitching ace, Edinson Volquez, for most of the season, and the prospects of a 70 win season don't look so hot. Have you seen the commercial the Reds are running right now? It's not about 'come see our young players take on the the goliath Cardinals". It's not about the youth and enthusiasm of players like Jay Bruce, Joey Votto and Drew Stubbs. The Reds first big ad campaign of 2010 is for a ticket package that includes four hat give-aways, hardly the stuff that will energy the casual fan to buy a ticket, let alone your ticket base.

UC did well in beating Notre Dame Saturday. But what the Bearcats desperately need now to feather their nest before Selection Sunday is a win over a nationally ranked team. They'll get plenty of opportunity for that in the Big East. Most of their higher profile games remain. But with the way the Bearcats shoot the ball (not particularly good) and with the way they seem to crumble at crunch time (the win over ND excluded), how can you realistically expect them to beat Syracuse, West Virginia or Villanova, teams they need to beat to climb into the top six in the Big East standings.

Xavier has a different problem. Right now, the Muskies are 4-0 heading into Wednesday night's game at #16 Temple. The Muskies may well win the Atlantic 10 Tournament and gain the conference's automatic bid. But failing that, they'll have to follow up their win over Dayton this past Saturday with another win at UD Arena later this year. Right now Xavier's RPI is strong and its schedule has been deemed 3rd toughest in all of Division I basketball. But the Atlantic 10, past Dayton and Temple, isn't very strong. Xavier will gain nothing from games against Rhode Island, Fordham and St. Bonaventure. If it can't win the A-10 Tournament, I think Xavier will have to all but 'win out' to get one of the two bids the conference will be limited to.

Random thoughts on a random Wednesday.....

More absurdity in college football. How can a school the size of Tennessee get duped into a 'one and done'? Maybe now, the NCAA will be more inclined to look into the silliness of college football coaches contracts.....

Former Bengals wide receiver, Ron Dugans, named today the wide receivers' coach at Louisville. I never remembered him as being a clutch receiver in his time with the Bengals. Maybe it's easier for him to tell others how it's done, rather than actually doing it...

If the Bears hire Bengals quarterbacks coach, Ken Zampese as their offensive coordinator, why didn't the Bengals look at him in that capacity? Bob Bratkowski has to be on 'life support' right now....

I think the Ravens are going to beat the Colts this Saturday night. But I have no data to support my theory.....

The Jets dream ends in San Diego. Same for the Cardinals....but the Cowboys will play on....

Outside of China, is there another country in the world whose athletes are so little known as Cuba's? And because of that, isn't it a little risky that the Reds are forking over $30 million to a Cuban pitcher, Ardolis Chapman, whom scouts have seen pitch just six times....and in simulated situations at that?

Just askin'.....

Conan O'Brien is going to walk on how many millions of dollars? To go where?

Jay Leno is the guy who played it smart. He said nothing when the network suits decided to send him back to 11:35pm. Leno let O'Brien react. Now, if O'Brien leaves, Leno gets the entire hour and the job he never wanted to leave in the first place.

Unless Leno walks....

Comcast...how we lookin' now?

UC desperately needs a win tonight at St. John's (Madison Square Garden, actually). The meat of the UC schedule is still to come. 2-3 heading into a Saturday game against Notre Dame with Louisville, a rematch with UConn and Villanova down the road, not good....

We'll know if Xavier is for real in a week. Tonight, it's a home game with Charlotte, then a home game Saturday against Dayton and a road game at Temple next Wednesday. If the Muskies sweep three, then we'll know they're legit....

When somebody tells me they're 'serious as a heart attack' anymore, I cringe. Is that part of the depression phase my doctor was telling me about?

Tiger Woods now loses his free ride from GM. The auto manufacturer announced today it's not giving Tiger and more free loaners. Has anyone had a worse two months than Woods? He's lost endorsement deals, his wife, now the car. You the the house is next...

Three things the Bengals absolutey have to get before next season: a legit deep threat at wide receiver, an NFL calibre tight end and something that will fix whatever is wrong with Carson Palmer....

The only way the Bengals fix their wide receiver problem is throught he draft. I've been screaming for Mardy Gilyard since October....

I don't see the Bengals trying to get Brandon Marshall away from Denver. I know it's the fodder that makes radio talk shows 'hum', but it will take too much (at least the Bengals first round pick this year and some subsequent later round picks)...

The tight end situation may be fixed with finally getting Chase Coffman on the field. But riddle me this: how is it a third round pick can't make it onto the field for one snap this season? Who does Coffman think he is, Jerome Simpson? Oh that's right, Simpson was a second round selection....

Doesn't say much about the coach charged with getting Coffman NFL ready, Jonathan Hayes.....

Palmer either has something physically, mechanically or mentally wrong. Everyone in Bengal-dom, including Palmer, says it's not a physical problem. But look at the game tapes from the Bengals vs Jets playoff game and you'll see his passes sailing high, wide and low. If it's mechanics, how was that not fixed during the season. And if Palmer is having trouble reading coverages, finding receivers or worrying about some past or present injury (mentally), then we've got real trouble, right here in River City....

Good Tuesday Morning..

I haven't posted in awhile. This may explain why...

Somebody once said that life is something that happens to you, while you’re making other plans. I thought about that line a lot on Christmas Eve this year.

On Christmas Eve, I had a heart attack.

I’m 57 years old. Unlike a lot of people in my line of work, I don’t mind telling my age. What’s the difference? There will always be people younger than me and there are plenty of people who’ve died wishing they would have made it to 57. If you take care of yourself, age is only a number.

And to be perfectly honest, I thought I was taking care of myself. I’m not overweight (180 pounds give a take a few depending on the season). I work out three times a week (cardio as well as weights). I eat well, maybe not as much as I should, but well. I’ve never smoked a day in my life. I don’t drink (maybe a merlot or two on Saturday nights) and I’ve never done drugs.

So you can imagine my amazement at approximately 8:15 Christmas Eve morning, when I awakened to numbness in my arms, unable to catch my breath and sweating profusely. I felt as though the next contestant for The Biggest Loser was sitting on my chest. I had all the signs, but was still in denial. I told my wife to get dressed, we were going to the hospital, but that it wasn’t anything big, no need for a 9-1-1 moment in our driveway.

Interesting side note here: hospital staff say the worst heart attack victims are the ones that don’t arrive by ambulance.

15 seconds on an EKG machine convinced the hospital staff at Anderson Mercy that I was having a heart attack. It wasn’t a Red Foxx special (kids, ask your parents about it). But it was significant. Later, the cardiologist would tell me it would be classified a s a ‘major heart attack’.

I was fortunate. From first chest pain to getting prepped in the “Cath Lab”, it was no more than 30 minutes. Doctors say if you can get to the hospital within 90 minutes of the onset of a heart attack, you should be in good shape. Of course, they’ll add, plenty of people simply keel over or die in their sleep. I was fortunate.

Some other poor guy, who’s name I didn’t’ get but I hope is doing well, rolled into Anderson Mercy about an hour before I did. The staff had to haul in the cardiologist on call, Dr.Craig Sukin, to assist him. The good doctor thought he was done for the day, when they wheeled my sorry butt into the OR. He knew from looking at my EKG what was going on. But there was only one way to make sure. If you get a little queasy about surgery, you may want to skip the next couple of paragraph.

The only want to see what’s really going on inside your heart, is to go inside your heart. And the way to a man’s heart is through his groin. You’re saying Ken, I think I heard this once in an adult film. Well, most likely yes, but let me continue. The major artery from the heart to the groin is the femerul artery, groin right. Slice it open, and stick in tube and up you go. A couple of right turns later, they found the root of my problem: I had blockage in the artery in my heart that feeds the lower right side of it. It was the mother of all blockages: 100%.

I’m not certain if it was at this particular time or not, but at some point, a hospital staffer burst into the operating room and screamed “Do you have insurance?” I assumed she was asking me. Actually, I was hoping she was asking me and not the doctor. If she was asking him, I might have climbed off the table. Nothing like being reminded of what hospitals are really all about while you have a tube stuck into your groin.

I needed stints, three actually, little things that keep your artery open so the blood can flow freely again. And I need drugs, a lot of drugs. Plavix is apparently my new BFF. I found it comforting that, when he was finished with my heart and my groin, the good Doctor Sukin looked down at me as I was lying on the table and said (and this is the actual quote) “You have to take Plavix for the rest of your life. If you miss a day, you’ll die. “ I was ready to take 100 on the spot.

I spent one night in ICU, two others in another room and was back home on December 27th. And that’s how I spent my Christmas. Physically, I feel fine. Mentally, I have to admit, it’s a challenge. I’ve never turned down an assignment, always worked late into the night and tried to be all things to all people. I know I can’t do that anymore, and I probably shouldn’t have been doing it all along. I’ve got to learn how to work smarter. That’ll be tough. But if it keeps me alive, I’m all for it.

So how was your Christmas?

It's Wednesday

As Johnny Taylor once sang..."I can see clearly now..." Thank you Dr. Rick Abrahamson for my new eyes!

Couple of days before Christmas so I thought I'd dust off one of my all time favorites. And this version was a classic from the old Dean Martin show.

I asked this question on 700 WLW last Sunday morning. 40 years from now, what will be considered Christmas classics from this decade? I think the answer to that question is, nothing.

Good Monday Morning!

Wondering today just how low the Bengals will be seeded in the upcoming playoffs. It went from best case scenario of #2 at 4p Sunday to worst case scenario of #4 today. No bye week and maybe the Broncos or Ravens in round one. Too early to determine who it'll be. Look at all those 7-7 teams in the AFC right now.

The Bengals are struggling. Their offense is stagnant, both in production and creativity. They can’t score points. To beat the Chargers today, they’ll have to score a lot of points, a lot more than the 17 or so they’ve been averaging over the course of the last two months.

And then, you mix in the death of Chris Henry this week. I don’t know whether or not you follow Ochocino on twitter. I do. He’s been a mess since Henry was injured in that truck accident on Wednesday and his subsequent death Thursday. It’s genuine, real grief.

Carson Palmer, who rarely shows his emotions, was shaken Thursday when he met the media. Palmer didn’t take questions, just made a 45 second statement. Palmer took a real interest in Henry this past off season. He truly believed that Henry was a life and a career that was salvageable. They worked out together this past spring at Palmers home in Southern California. They had a real bond.

Dealing with the death of a friend and channel grief is no small trick. You’ve done it. I’ve done it. You want to move on with your life, but not soon and not until the myriad of emotions have been dealt with, understood. The Bengals are far from that today.

The news of Henry’s accident came after the team had left practice on Wednesday. It was a series of cell calls and text messages that delivered that news. Then Thursday, Henry’s death was delivered to the team at 10am. Friday, the team boarded a flight to the west coast, where the team has historically played poorly.

Still ahead is Henry’s funeral on Tuesday in New Orleans. The cocoon of football, the focus on one of the most important games of the season will tough for this team to wrap itself around. Everywhere it goes this weekend, it’s reminded of Henry, right down to the sticker the Bengals players wore on their helmets Sunday.

Some thought that Henry’s death at an early age was inevitable. You’re reading and hearing a lot about that from national writers and broadcasters this weekend. Full disclosure, I thought the guy was a train wreck who only recently got his cars back on the track. I was happy for him, for that. But I wasn’t ready to canonize him lot a like of people around here have been doing this week. Henry was flawed, like a lot of us. He made some bad mistakes, like a lot of us. He cost himself some serious money by his bad choices. But like all of us, he was human. And sometimes, that what human being do. The ‘light bulb’ goes on for all of us at a different time in our lives. Maybe it went on for you at 17 or 18. For others, it’s in their 30’s. Some of us never have that moment, that ‘light bulb goes on’ moment when we finally ‘get it’. I think Henry had his ‘light bulb’ moment in the summer of 2008, when the Bengals cut him loose and no other NFL team wanted him. I think he finally figured out that the one thing he could do better than anything else had been taken from him, by his own doing.

Say what you want about Mike Brown, and most of us have. The guy probably saved Chris Henry’s life, extended for a year and a half by taking him back in August of 2008. Without football, a lost soul like Henry would have been long gone before now. Brown realized that, when most of us, me included, thought he was playing a fools game. But Brown helped Henry find his ‘light bulb moment’. It was in Brown’s DNA to do that. His father did the same thing with Stanley Wilson. Until last week, Henry appeared to be Stanley Wilson 180, someone who finally got it.

I don’t know what happened in those final few minutes of Chris Henry’s life. And you don’t’ either. I don’t’ know if his fiancée was at fault, or it Henry was to blame for his own death. And you don’t either.

But I know this: nobody should die at the age of 26. And because Chris Henry his team mates mourn.

Good Morning!

Here's what you gotta ask yourself, if you're University of Cincinnati Athletic Director, Mike Thomas: do you really want Brian Kelly coaching your team in teh Sugar Bowl IF he takes the head coach's job at Notre Dame. I have a one word answer.

No.

Think about it. If Kelly is leaving for his dream job, why keep him from it any longer than necessary? If it's fervent wish to coach the Irish, give Kelly your blessing and send him on his way. Thank him for making UC football relevant again and move on. Do you really want Kelly and a part of his soon to be in South Bend staff hanging around UC, a school they'll be in competition with for future players (a lot from the Greater Cincinnati area) on the recruiting trail?

Years ago, when then Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Lindy Infante signed a future deal to coach in the upstart USFL, Bengals owner Paul Brown booted him from the Spinney Field premises. Brown simply said, "I don't want a fox in my hen house", knowing that the USFL had been poaching away a lot of NFL players.

I'm not saying Kelly is disingenous. I'm not saying he'd do anything unethical. But letting him coach a team he's decided he's better than is simply bad business.

Do you think it's been bad for UC fans, having to endure Bob Griese, Kirk Herbstreit and the myriad of faceless play by play guy speculating on Kelly's future as the Bearcats marched to a perfect season? Well imagine what the Fox Sports Sugar Bowl coverage would be like, when everytime Kelly's face is flashed on the screen, the talk immediately turns to what he'll be doing at Notre Dame.

It would be a four hour commerical for the Irish at the Bearcats expense. Sorry, if I'm Mike Thomas, that's not the show I'm looking for.

The question then becomes, who coaches if Kelly leaves? Do you hire a head coach within the next ten days and charge him with getting a team he's completely unfamiliar with ready for the biggest football game in school history? Doesn't seem like a good idea.

Do you take someone from Kelly's current staff, name them interim head coach with the promise of full consideration for the job permanently when the Sugar Bowl is over? Maybe. But what kind of deal is that for the coach? Unless Thomas works out a deal with Notre Dame that the interim coach can join Kelly's staff at Notre Dame should he not get the gig here in Cincinnati, that option makes sense for no one. Besides, we all remember how it went for Pat Narduzzi, when Dantonio split. He wound up at Michigan State, after his dignity and resume took a 'hit'.

If you're Mike Thomas, as you shop for your next head coach, these are things you have to be thinking of. There is no good answer. Except for this one: you can't let Kelly coach the Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl IF he's leaving for Notre Dame.

You stand to lose more than a game if you let that happen.

It's a Fantastic Friday...

Check out my new Broo View Podcast with my guest, former Red Eddie Milner. It's on the front page of www.kenbroo.com. If you're in a hurry, you can listen to it here.

Also, the latest Bengals Report Podcast is up and ready for your downloading pleasure. That's also on www.kenbroo.com.

Happy Tuesday!

Charlie Weiss, coaching Zombie had his last appearance as a head coach Saturday night. Great game to watch. Sorry Charlie, hate to see you go. Here’s a version of the home game.

Internet reports percolating since late last week about who the next head coach would be Actually, there’s been plenty of speculation about who the next head coach would be all the way back to last season. Here’s the latest: there’s a plane apparently on the way to Norman, Oklahoma today with the Notre Dame athletic director on board, hauling a brief case full of wadded money to entice the head Sooner to jump to South Bend.

The fact that the Notre Dame athletic director was denying it as late as last night (as well as Stoops)? Just a mere detail.

And of course, there’s the Brian Kelly rumors that have a zombie like life themselves. Bob Griese fanned those flames Friday on ABC, who gave us either the scoop of the season or another indication that he’s in serious ned of a hearing test.

If it’s Kelly going to South Bend, so be it. It’s not like they’re going to stop playing football in Clifton if he goes. By the way, my gut feeling all along on this is that Kelly isn’t going to Notre Dame. And if UC fans really want to worry about their coach going anywhere, it should be to a team like Florida, Oklahoma or anyplace where a national title can be won instantly. If you think you can win a national title instantly or at any point in the next four years at Notre Dame, you haven’t been paying attention.

But if Kelly wants it, and they want him, he should go for it. And every UC fan everywhere should send Kelly a letter thanking him for what he’s done.
And if he leaves, here’s what I would do if I was UC athletic director, Mike Thomas. You’re going to laugh. You’re going to say I’m crazy. You’re going to call me naive. It’s OK, not like it hasn’t happened before.

If I’m Mike Thomas, my first phone call is to Urban Meyer. You’re laughing, I can hear you. Hang on a second. I know that’s out there. I know the chances of getting Urban Meyer to think about leaving there for here is something like one in a million. But why not take the shot? If you’re Thomas, here’s what you say. You say, Urban, you’re a Cincinnati boy. If I’m not mistaken you went to our school right? A lot of your family still lives here, right? Your up here for some of the holidays, you’ve stopped by to watch Brian Kelly coach in practice, am I right here Urban? Urban, I hear you snickering. It’s OK, don’t blame you. But who’s your quarterback next season? If I’m not mistaken his name isn’t Tim Tebow. You’re probably going to win another national title this year. You’re probably going to get by Alabama. Texas? You’ve got a month to get ready for Colt McCoy, you’ll figure something out. You’re probably going to win another national title this year. What’s that make? Three in the last four years? What else have you got to prove down there?

If I’m Thomas I say, yeah I heard your making decent coin down there. Read all about that six year, 24-million dollar deal you signed back in August. Highest paid coach in the SEC, if I’m not mistaken. I also see your buyout remained just a half million dollars. Sounds to me like you’re a man who wants to keep his options open. Urban, you still there? You haven’t hung up on me, have you? Good.

Let me tell you what we can do here, besides bring you home. First, you can build off what we’ve already got. Great athletic facility, cozy stadium, fan base that hasn’t been this energized since Huggins had that Final 4 team.
Brian Kelly? Great coach, great motivator. Guy also gives a great speech. Yeah, we wanted to keep him. But think about what you can do. You got the pipeline to Florida. You got Ohio. You got that other school in Columbus on the run. You got a new school president here who’s sports crazy, loves football, wants a national title himself. Best of all, you don’t have your own legacy you have to trump every season.

Look, Urban, I can’t pay you four mil a year. I could go two, maybe two and a half. Bring any assistant coach you want with you. I’ll send the jet. Heck, I bet if you want your own jet, we got someone up here who’ll get you one. We’ll even throw in Kerry Coombs. You heard of him, right? He’s in more living rooms than Jay Leno.

So what do you say Urban? You wanna come home. You want to continue to build this thing? You want a chance to write a new legacy? What do you want? Just tell me, you got it.

Urban…Urban? Hello? Urban, you there?

Good Monday Morning!

I watched the Notre Dame-Connecticut game Saturday. The Notre Dame defense is pathetically bad. Bad angles to tackles, bad tackling, poor pass coverage. It’s amazing, really, how awful that team is defensively. The Irish lost. They got a life line at the end of regulation when the Uconn kicker missed a very makeable field goal. But you know it was just a matter of time.

But what struck me more than the game itself, is how NBC laid out the sad saga of Charlie Weiss.. I think it was late fourth quarter when they ran a piece of tape…sound btie we call it in the biz, of Weiss on the day he was named the Notre Dame head coach. He said the reason why he was standing there, that day, was because the team went 6-5 that season. And if they were looking to go 6-5, he was the wrong man for the job.

Notre Dame of course, is now 6-5 with a game to play. There’s always bad news for UC fans when Notre Dame loses, but here’s a piece of good news. If the Bearcats don’t beat Pitt and don’t get to play in the Sugar Bowl or some other BCS bowl, the Gator Bowl just came into the picture. I don’t care how well Notre Dame fans travel, would you want a 10-1 UC team or a possible (but improbale) 7-6 Notre Dame team representing the Big East in Jacksonville?

But that’s a story for another day.

I don’t know whether or not Brian Kelly is on Notre Dame’s radar. There are reports this week he’s not the first choice, that he’s not on their short list. Reportedly, the Irish will make a full scale charge at Urban Meyer or Bob Stoops. As much as we like Kelly, Meyer and Stoops are bigger names. And the only thing Notre Dame likes more than firing a head football coach is hiring one with a big name.

But what any coach who’s approached by Notre Dame needs to do is this: play the tape from the news conference introducing Weiss on that December day in 2005. And then, play the tape of him crying his eyes out after Uconn beat Notre Dame in overtime Saturday. Or the tape of his post game news conference Saturday night.

Then make sure you get as much money as you can going in….and even more going out. You’ll need it, because you won’t have your dignity when you depart from Touchdown Jesus. Like Weiss in 2005, the new coach will come in roaring. Like Weiss today, the next coach will leave sounding like a squeaking gerbil, ground to a ‘nub’. Notre Dame’s problems go far deeper than a head coach. It is a bad football paradigm. Buyer beware. Wake up the echoes? Better to let ‘em sleep.

Hope you've had a chance to listen to my latest Broo View Podcast. My guest is Jerry Palm from collegebcs.com. We analyze the BCS from the University of Cincinnati point of view. You can hear it by heading to www.kenbroo.com. The podcast is on the front page. But here's a link, if you're in a hurry.

Hope you're having a Fantastic Friday....

Our pal Mike Florio from profootballtalk.com has a new video that analyzes the 7-2 Cincinnati Bengals.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Florio doesn't miss on much. Sounds like a pretty good analysis to me.

Good Monday Morning!

Whoooooo Deyyyyy!

Now help me out here, Bill Belichick is a genius because......????

Travel time to Pittsburgh by car: 5 hours
Tickets to get into Sunday's game: $75.00/per
Look on Roethlisberger's face at the 0:00: Priceless

Actually, before anyone gets too carried away this morning, remember 2005. I think we'll see these guys again later this season. Just a hunch.

Charlie Weiss is dead man walking. You watch any Notre Dame game these days, that’s what you see. He’s a man who knows his fate and his fate won’t be pleasant. Maybe in a week, two, a month tops, Notre Dame will call a news conference and announce that Weiss is out, or has left to pursue other interests or wants to spend more time with his family. You know the wording. It all means the same. Charlie, here’s your hat and a version of the home game, thanks for playing.

You can say Weiss came off as an oaf. You can say that he’s just another piece of spoiled fruit from the coaching tree of Bill Belichick. You may be right. You’d also be right if you said he never had a chance. Coaches at Notre Dame never have a chance.

If Notre Dame fires Charlie Weiss, and correct me if I’m wrong, doesn’t the man have a contract through 2015, or the next six seasons after this one, at four million dollars a year? If my Ohio University math serves me correctly, that would mean Notre Dame will owe Weiss about $24 million dollars just to take a hike. Here’s a question for the Catholic church this morning, or the Notre Dame boosters who supposedly put money in the collection basket each Sunday: Isn’t there a better, more charitable way to spend $24 million than telling an under achieving football coach to walk?

We’re being honest here, aren’t we? I’m sure the school can’t cough up that cash, even with tuition and room and board at over $51 thousand for undergradutates every year. I would think the school would want to spend that kind of money on some more important things, like say, paying their professors better or cutting Mom and Dad a break on future tuition checks. What do you think, Reverend John Jenkins, school president, not a bad idea?

And if these faceless Notre Dane boosters,, whomever they are, really do have $24 million to spend on getting rid of a coach, did you learn nothing while you matriculated at that school about service to others? $24 million dollars can pay a lot of salaries for jobs that are disappearing. It’ can build parks for kids to play in, schools that are safe to learn in. While you’re working on throwing a bad football coach onto the street, how about helping some people living on the street find homes?

Look, I don’t care whether or not Charlie Weiss coaches another down of football. Notre Dame isn’t my school. I could care less if that team goes 12-0 or 0-12. But I also don’t care a lot for hypocracy. And there’s a lot of it rolling out of South Bend lately.

Let’s see, the last football coach to leave Notre Dame with an ounce of dignity was…who? Ara Parseghian? And that was when? 1974? Dan Devine lasted six year, won over 75-percent of his games but a lot of these same boosters ran him off because he wasn’t Ara….then came the parade: Faust, Holtz, Davie, Willingham and now Weiss, unless you include George O’Leary and his resume from fiction.

If you’re scoring at home, Notre Dame has had four football coaches in the last 16 seasons, not including O’Leary for about ten minutes and some poor sole named Kent Baer, who had to sweep up for a game after Willingham was bounced.. Weiss, Willingham and Davie all have about the same record.

Notre Dame football is struggling for a lot of reasons. Too many of its boosters are living in the 1950’s and not enough of the top college players today want to live in South Bend. Notre Dame used to be one of the only schools to have its games on TV. Now, just about every Division I football team has every one of it’s games on TV. To its credit, Notre Dame won’t admit student athletes who don’t meet its stringent academic requirements. But every Saturday, it seems, it’s playing against schools without the same kind of academic standards, against athletes that are simply better than theirs.

You can say all of that is the coach’s fault. But if you’re scrambling around trying to get $24 million to pay a coach to go away, what does that say about you?

Just posted to the front page of my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest episode of Bengals Report Podcast. This time, bengalsinsider.com's Marc Hardin and I preview this Sunday's Bengals vs Steelers game.

Also, the latest Broo View Podcast is up and posted. I'm joined in this latest episode by best selling author John Feinstein. Our topic, the folly that is the BCS. You can find that on www.kenbroo.com. But, here's a quick link, if you're in a hurry.

Big shows this Sunday, both on 700 WLW and WLWT Channel 5.

Sunday morning on 700 WLW, my guests included national best selling writer, John Feinstein. We'll discuss the BCS, in light of an article John just wrote for the Washington Post. Jarrett Bell from USA Today will join me, as well to discuss the Bengals vs Ravnes game and other things around the NFL. And from the nationalfootballpost.com, Aaron Wilson will check. Among Aaron's many jobs is covering the Ravens. We're on from 9am-11:30am. If you don't live in the Midwest, you can always listen on-line, at www.700wlw.com.

Sunday night on WLWT, or there abouts depending on how long Sunday Night Football runs, we'll be join by 700 WLW's Lance McAllister and former Cincinnati Bengal, Eric Thomas. Maybe a surprise of two along the way.

I've just posted my latest Broo View Podcast to the front page of my web site, www.kenbroo.com. My guest in this current episode is the national college football writer, Jay Christensen. He's got some interesting thoughts on the BCS and the UC Bearcats.

The latest Bengals Report Podcast is also on www.kenbroo.com. Bengalsinsder.com's Marc Hardin and I break down the first seven games of this season.

Some random thoughts on this random Friday...

I think Ohio State loses at Penn State this Saturday, but comes back to hand Iowa its first loss of the season a week from now.....

The official line on the UC-Connecticut game is UC minus 17. That's about right. I don't care how many close games UConn has played this season. They haven't seen any offense like the one UC will toss at them Saturday night...

Florida coach, Urban Meyer should know better. His top defensive player is caught on tape trying to gouge the eyes out of an opponent and Meyer only suspends the kid for one half of one game. That's a great message to the rest of your team, and the sporting world, where your priorities are. I don't know if it was Brandon Spikes idea to suspend himself for a full game, but it's a good idea. Maybe it was a way for Meyer to save face. But somebody that Meyer answers to need to sit him down and have a long talk about priorities....

There are a lot of bad teams this season in the NFL. I can't remember a year when we've had this many bad teams. Browns, Bucs, Titans, Seahawks, Bills, Jags, Chiefs, Raiders. Which team is the worst? It's tough to pick against the Browns, a team that's both bad AND dysfunction. But that Tampa team is plain awful....

The 2009 World Series drew great TV ratings and it was fun to watch. But by the seventh inning of game six, I began to get depressed. The Reds will never, under current structure, be as good as either the Yankees or Phils. If the threshold of competing is the $100 million per year payroll, small market teams like the Reds are doomed. You can build your farm system and win with your own players. But eventually, those players, if they're good, will cost too much to keep. So they're dealt, or allowed to walk, to the big market teams furthering the disparity.

You can always follow the blueprint of the Twins and Rays. But you'll only capture 'lightning in a bottle' every so often. The Twins have been to the playoffs five times in this decade, a very successful number. But they haven't won a World Series in 19 years.

I heard Buster Olney, an ESPN "insider" say this week that the situation for small market teams will get even worse in 37 days, when arbitration eligble players must be tendered offers. Olney predicts, rather than offering arbitration, a lot of small market teams will simply let their players walk.

Best new show on television is "Flash Forward". It's shot well, good character development and a story line that's both creative and frightening. And it's written very well. Good writing trumps everything else in the world of entertainment.

And I'm done writing for now. Have a great weekend!

Good Monday Morning!

There’s a prejudiced out there about the Big East. Which is funny, because the sports media is always accused of having an East Coast prejudice. Tune into any of the ESPN shows, radio or TV, and you get a lot of Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Patriots. I’ll give you a good reason why: a lot of the talking heads on ESPN and the over the air networks are from the East Coast, or have lived in New York so long, they’ve developed an New Yorker’s view of America. You even seen one of those maps, a New Yorker’s view of the USA? Seven-eighths of it is consumed by New York, New Jersey and Connecticut….the rest of the country is squeezed into the final one-eighth of the map. Funny, but in a lot of ways true.

Here’s why a lot of the national media isn’t taking the Big East seriously: it has only eight teams that play football. It has a ninth team that plays football, but won’t play a Big East schedule and has its own television network. It’s a conference where it’s biggest stars play basketball and it’s celebrity coaches wear Armani and work winters. Except Huggins and that monstrosity of mustard he likes to dust off every now and again.

Dave Gavitt and Mike Tranghese after him, were magicians. They were the smart guys, the first commissioners. They took a lot of smoke and mirrors and a little bit of carnival barker and created an aura for the Big East. Georgetown’s basketball team and Virginia Tech’s football team didn’t hurt the cause either. Tranghese elbowed his way into the same room as the big boys, the suits who run the Big 10, Big 12 the SEC. He almost single handidly helped the Big East survive the major poaching the ACC did to his conference five or six years ago. It was good work. But it wasn’t enough. The Big East isn’t the Big 12. It’s just a step or two ahead of the Mountain West and Conference USA.

And that’s why today, after winning eight straight, with the most charismatic coach this side of Lou Holtz and skill players Urban Meyer would kill for, the Bearcats struggle for national love. Brian Kelly likes to say his Bearcats need to prove what’s going on right now isn’t a one year deal.

That tradition will take care of a lot of what the “Cats are battling right now. But this is a guy who knows the score.

In a month, there’s a very good chance the UC football team will be standing on the turf of Heinz Field in Pittsburgh with a Big East trophy, a perfect season and a resume with enough glitter to rightfully claim a spot in the BCS Championship game. There’s an even better chance it won’t get within a thousand miles of Pasadena. It’s not the team. It’s the conference.

Cincinnati could be at the epicenter of the BCS implosion. Because, if UC finishes the season as the only, or one of two undefeated teams from a BCS Conference and DOESN’T go to the title game, than what’s the point of belonging to a BCS Conference. You play in a certified BCS conference, you run the table and it still isn’t good enough? The system implodes.

And what does that say about the Big East?

So today, I’ve got a little homework lesson for the new Big East Conference Commissioner.: John Marinotto. It won’t help the Bearcats this season. But it might get his conference mentioned in the same breath as the “big boys”

Here’s the homework lesson: expand. Today, tomorrow, by next April. As soon as possible. And poach. Take teams from another conference and have no conscience about it. This is no game for the timid and your conference’s future as a BCS member is at stake. Don’t wait for the warning shots. Be preemptive.

Here’s two teams I’d look at today, right now. Kentucky. You’re laughing. Stop. As long as LSU, Alabama and Florida are in the SEC, Kentucky has about as much chance of winning an SEC football championship as you have commanding a spaceship to Saturn. Don’t think UK would be interested? Is the SEC a better basketball conference than the Big East? Not anymore. Don’t think John Calipari wouldn’t love coaching in that conference again? He may not say it publicly, wouldn’t be politically correct. But he’d love to.

Does UK have a better shot at winning a football conference championship in the Big East than the SEC? You already know the answer to that question.

Better chance of going to the NCAA Tournament in the Big East than the SEC if it doesn’t win the championship? Would UK be available? Maybe not today. But why not lay the ground work.

My other school to target: Memphis. It got left at the post when Louisville and UC jumped ship from Conference USA. But Memphis, continued to field competitive and sometimes, championship caliber basketball teams. The Memphis football program isn’t championship ready. But remember, recruiting big time talent to a Big East football team is a heckuva lot easier than it is recruiting talent to a Conference USA team. Kentucky and Memphis gets the Big East to ten. Two five team divisions and a playoff game and then, you’re on a more level playing field with the other BCS conferences and, most important, in the eyes of the people who vote for your teams in the polls.

Will it happen? It has to. It’s survival. It may not be UK and Memphis. It may be someone else. But if UC is standing on the turf at Heinz Field on December 5th, unbeaten, Big East championship trophy held high and on December 6th the final BCS poll has a one loss team ahead of them? Ballgame….for the BCS, for the Big East.

Just posted to the front page of my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest Broo View Podcast. My guest in this episode is foxsports.com's Alex Marvez, the national NFL writer. And you'll hear comments from several of the Cincinnati Bengals. Here's a quick link.

And the latest episode of Bengals Report is ready for you to download. Marc Hardin and I review the Bengals big win over the Bears. Here's a quick link.

Just posted on the front page of my web site, www.kenbroo.com is the latest episode of Bengals Report Podcast. This time, bengalsinsider.com's Marc Hardin and I break down the Bengals big win over the Chicago Bears. Check it out!

Random thoughts for a random Tuesday...

Forget about what the BCS poll says this week, the UC Bearcats will finish higher than 8th. The poll, historically, is volatile. Teams the Bearcats have beaten will beat other teams and enhance UC standing. Teams in front of the Bearcats will lose and fall. If UC beats West Virginia and Pitt, the 'Cats will be fine...

If you're wondering about the BCS title game here's what you have to root for: someone in the Big 12 to beat Texas. In the SEC, Florida or Alabama may finish unbeaten. But not both. They'll meet in the SEC title game, most probably. The BCS won't have a rematch in its title game. That means the SEC winner, if unbeaten is in. But, what if the Big 12 produces no unbeaten teams and UC runs the table. Would the BCS take a one loss Big 12 team over an unbeaten Big East team? If it does I predict the BCS implodes. And don't worry about TCU or Boise State. If UC runs the table, it will finish ahead of those non BCS conference schools...

Unless I'm wrong....

Yanks in six. They won't touch Cliff Lee, but they'll hit Cole Hamels....

By the way, the only thing you need to know about how bad the Cleveland Indians are is game one of the World Series. Former Indians starting pitchers Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia will most likely face each other. The Indians should have ponied up the dough to keep one, or the other....

The Reds will win 80 games next year. I don't see them being competitive in 2010, too many suspect bats in the "everyday 8" and no Edinson Volquez. Set the alarm for 2011.....

I get the fact that Sarasota wouldn't pay ball with the Reds and the team had to look for other venues. But I lived and worked in Florida for seven years. You mean to tell me there wasn't another town in that state that wouldn't have made a competitive offer to keep the team in Florida? Really?

So now they go out to Arizona, where it may make short term economic sense. But long term, I don't see how this is a winning proposition. How does that move help you sell tickets for the regular season? The 1p exhibition start times in Arizona will be 4p start times in Cincinnati. That means the highlights won't make it onto the early evening newscasts. The 7p start times begin at 10p Cincinnati time. That means not only will the highlights not get on the 11p newscast, the game results won't be in the next morning's paper. And this doesn't even take into account how many Cincinnati based Reds fans will have the money to fly to Arizona to see the team, like they did when the Reds trained in Sarasota. Spring break trips by college students? As Tony Soprano would say "Feg-gedda-boud-it"....

I don't see any Ohio Division I HS football team in this area of the state beating Moeller. Me thinks the Crusaders will be playin in the frigid air on December 5th in Canton....

Can Cedric Benson play EVERY game against the Bears? How come he didn't run that way against the Texans? Just wondering...

This is why Brian Kelly is one of the best football coaches in the country. He doesn’t worry a whole lot about what he doesn’t have. He just takes what he has to work with and wins.

A lot of coaches like to say they don’t spend a lot of time worrying about who’s hurt, who’s holding out, who’s ineligible. About 95 percent of them are lying when they say that. You bet coaches break a sweat in the middle of the night when they know they’re going into a game without a key player. I love it when coaches say, we’re not going to talk about who’s not here, we’re going to talk about who IS here. Then, of course, he wanders back to his strategy room and groans about to whatever assistant coach, secretary or owner will listen to him.

I’m sure Kelly moans about the same thing in private. And I’m pretty sure at some point in his dealings with the media, somewhere, he’s uttered the same line about who’s he not worrying about. But I know this: with the system he runs, Kelly can plug just about any quarterback with a modicum of talent and win. That’s why he’s one of the best football coaches in America.

Like yesterday. He know on the flight home from South Florida he wasn’t going to have Tony Pike. On the day Pike had his arm surgery, which was Tuesday of this week I believe, Kelly was floating the ruse that Pike might play against Louisville. If his game was to make Louisville coach, Steve Kragthorpe stop and think about it, only for a minute, maybe it was good strategy. But Kelly knew all along that you had a better shot at quarterbacking his team against Louisville than Tony Pike did. Yet he didn’t just find a way to replace the most important player on his team. He found a way to drop a keg of nails on the Cardinals heads.

Good coaches do that. They always have an end game. When I worked in Tulsa, Oklahoma years ago, we had four major college football teams in my station’s coverage area. In Norman, there was Barry Switzer and the Sooners. Switzer was larger than life, knew it, played it and won by running the ball a lot. If his quarterback threw the ball 20 times a season, it was a bad season. At Oklahoma State, Jimmy Johnson was coaching the Cowboys. He was from Switzer’s coaching tree, had an upstart and talented coaching staff. He could never beat Oklahoma. But Jimmy Jump Up, as Switzer used to call him breathed new life into what was the doormat of the then Big Eight.

At Tulsa, there was John Cooper. This is long before Cooper landed at Ohio State, long before the ‘boys in downtown Columbus’ picked him apart for sport. Cooper pieced together some nice teams. Had a running back by the name of Ricky Watts, who went onto some success in the NFL.

But the smartest of the bunch may have been another coach who ran a big time program within the scope of our television signal. It was Lou Holtz, the head hog in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Holtz had landed there, after flaming out in less than one season coaching the New York Jets. By 1977, he had the Razorbacks roaring again and in the January first, 1978 Orange Bowl against the Oklahoma Sooners. Arkansas was a big, big underdog. More than 18 poins, as I recall. And to make matters worse, Holtz had suspended his star running back, Ben Cowins.

Now the 1977 Razorbacks were no slouch. They came into the game number six in the country. But with Cowins, and three other starters for that matter, suspended, Holtz had to find a way to handle the Sooners blistering offense and score some points of his own. He found a way, in giving the football to a running back who wasn’t a household name, even in his own household. His name was Roland Sales. Sales had run up a modest 399 yards all season. His best game was 71 yards. But Holtz knew Sales slashing style would be the perfect way to not only attack Oklahoma’s defense, it would control the clock and keep the Sooners offense off the field. Sales rushed 23-times that night for 205 yards. Arkansas beat Oklahoma, 31-6. I was there. And I saw Holtz find a way to get his team a win.

This is what Brian Kelly does. This is why he’s one of the hottest coach in America. This is why in a month or so, his name will be bandied about like tennis ball when better paying jobs come open at bigger schools. Ben Mauk gets hurt, there’s always Dustin Grutza. Mauk is denied another year of eligibility, there’s Tony Pike. Pike hurts his arm, here comes Zach Collaros who tosses the ball 17 times Saturday against Louisville and completes 15 passes.

Maybe it’s Kelly’s system, maybe its over recruiting at key positions, maybe it’s luck. Maybe it’s all of that. Roland Sales hasn’t been mentioned in any sportscast anywhere in 25 years. But he was all I could think about Saturday watching Collaros do his thing. Kelly looks nothing like Lou Holtz. Kelly coaches nothing like Lou Holtz did. Kelly’s teams throw so many passes, the control tower at CVG diverts jets. Holtz would rather dine on nuclear waste than throw a pass. But they both have a lot in common. Let’s hope that stops before the conversation turns to Notre Dame.

Couple of things that are just published to www.kenbroo.com. One is the latest Broo View Podcast. My guest in this episode is author Jason Cole, who's new book "Ocho Cinco" is all about Chad.

Also on the front page of my web site is the latest Bengals Report Podcast. Marc Hardin of www.bengalsinsider.com and I review the loss to the Houston Texans and preview this Sunday's game against the Bears. I'll give you a quick link to it here.

If UC head football coach, Brian Kelly is doing what I think he's doing, we're watching a giant game of 'cat and mouse'. Kelly said Tuesday that quarterback Tony Pike may play this Saturday against Louisville. That was quite a statement, as Pike was just shaking off the wooziness of anesthesia. The senior QB had early morning surgery Tuesday to reattached a plate on his left forearm, initially put there after Pike broke his arm last season. The plate came loose after Pike took a hit in the Bearcats win over South Florida last Thursday night.

Kelly says Pike could be back at practice Thursday. Unless he went to a tent revival after surgery, I don't see how Pike can. But Kelly is floating this, I think, to keep the 'Ville on its toes. When you don't know whom you have to prepare for, it tends to chew up a lot of practice time.

UC is a prohibitive favorite, something like 17 points this week. The Bearcats are playing at home. And their back-up QB, Zach Collaros was terrific in relief of the injured Pike in Tampa last week. It makes no sense to play Pike this week. But for Kelly to say that this early in the week would be making Louisville's job easier. So we get 'cat and mouse' for awhile.

Random thoughts to begin the new week...

After spending three and a half hours on 700 WLW after the Bengals lost to the Texans Sunday, I was surprised to hear so many fans ready to jump off the Bengals Bandwagon. I don't get that. If you're really a fan, how can you turn on your team so quickly after what it did the past four weeks. Refresh my memory: weren't the last four games before Sunday's some of the most exciting football we've seen around here in years? This team is 4-2. It's tied for the AFC North lead (technically, it owns the lead because of its win over the Steelers) and it's defense had played well in every game this season up until Sunday.

The loss to the Texans was tough on three fronts. The Bengals lost Antwan Odom for the season. It lost the game. And the Bengals lost to a team that might be in the playoff mix, which now holds the tie-breaker over the Bengals.

But turn tail on a Bengals team that had this town buzzing like it was 2005 all over again? After only one loss? Really? Come on.

Baltimore's offense has arrived just as its defense has departed. That's a lot of points that team is giving up....

My great fear about the Steelers is that they might've already had their once a season swoon....

Mark Sanchez is looking like a rookie quarterback with each passing Sunday. What a crime to waste that kind of Sunday Jets RB Thomas Jones had.....

If Jim Zorn can stay employed, there's no reason why all of us can't. By the way, the new assistant coach the Redskins hired two weeks ago and who'll now call the plays in DC is Sherm Lewis, father of former WLWT sportscaster, Kip Lewis.....

Jerry Palm of collegebcs.com projects the UC Bearcats to play in the Sugar Bowl, January 1st against Alabama. First BCS poll of the year has UC 5th, ahead of Southern Cal, Iowa and you know how up in you know where...

Until and if the Bengals can fix their tight end situation, doesn't it make sense to play an extra offensive lineman instead of Daniel Coates. I mean, you're not going to throw the ball to Coates anymore, are you? So why not put an extra lineman in for protection?

Even the most ardent Miami RedHawks fan has to be wondering, which coach wins first this season, Mike Haywood or Charlie Coles?

By the way, watch out now, my Ohio Bobcats are 5-2 and could run the table in the MAC East....

Very, very happy for former Bengals quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, who engineered an overtime win for the Bills against the Jets, Sunday. There wasn't a better guy in that Bengals locker room last season....

It sure did look to me like the Titans quit on Sunday.....

If I'm Reds "AAA" pitching coach, Ted Power, I'm done with the Reds organization. Power was the in house favorite to replace Dick Pole as the major league pitching coach. Instead, the team hired former Mariners and Diamondbacks coach, Bryan Price. I don't know a lot about him, but I do know Power managed to salvage the career of Homer Bailey and that alone should have merited the promotion. Bailey was on a rocket ride to oblivion earlier this year, until Power finally got through to him. Power isn't Walt Jocketty's guy. And in the end, that's probably what cost him the job. And that's a shame......

I don't know if either of them have enough steam to make it to the top of the BCS heap, but watch out for Iowa and Miami, Florida......

If you're Brian Kelly and you know you're going to need Tony Pike to beat the big three in your conference (UConn, Pitt and WVU) would you risk playing Pike in the next two weeks against Louisville and at Syracuse? Not me. I think Zach Collaros or Chazz Anderson will do just fine against those two teams.....

The Denver balloon boy was a hoax? You gotta be kidding me....

By the way, Michael Lombardi from the nationalfootballpost.com and the NFL Network joined me on 700 WLW Sunday. I asked him if he thought what Brian Kelly is doing at UC, his offensive philosophy, would work in the NFL. In other words, could Kelly take his act to the pros. Lombardi, the former de facto GM of the Raiders told me he thought it, and Kelly, would work just fine in the NFL. But Lombardi said a lot of NFL team would shy away from hiring Kelly because he has no experience coaching in that league, specfically as an assistant coach.

By the way, even with Saturday loss to Southern Cal, I don't think Notre Dame is about to fire Charlie Weiss....not that what I say will make him rest any easier...

The Broo View, our weekly NFL breakdown, is tonight at 6:15p on WLWT Channel 5....

Now get out there and make some money.....

Just wanted to let you know I'm talking sports this Saturday on 700 WLW in Cincinnati. Among my guests will be Jason Cole, author of the new book Ocho Cinco, as well as former Notre Dame All American, Bob Crable and former Ohio State quarterback, Art Schlichter. I'm on from 3p-6p.

Then, on Sunday, I'm on from 9am-11:30am, with guests Mike Florio from profootballtalk.com and Michael Lombardi from nationalfootballpost.com.

Just posted to the front page of my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest Bengals Report Podcast. Marc Hardin of bengalsinsider.com and I look back on that stirring win over the Baltimore Ravens and preview this Sunday's match up with the Houston Texans.

Good Monday Morning!

4-1! The next person who tells you he or she predicted that you can say YOU LIE!

We know this. They’re making plays at critical points in ballgames. For most of the last 20-or so years, when it came time to make a play, the Bengals withered. Now, we see the fourth down conversions that kept winning drives alive against the Steelers and Browns. Coaches will tell you, Marvin has said this, that most games come down to about five to seven plays. Execute properly, you win. Execute poorly, you loses. For most of the last 20-or so years, the Bengals have selected door number two. Not so this season.

We know this: when healthy, Carson Palmer is an elite quarterback. He hasn’t’ achieved the status of either of the Manning brothers or Ben Roethlisberger. Those guys have Super Bowl rings. But he’s playing a lot like he played in 2005. Two things have helped Palmer: the Bengals have a running game and they aren’t losing track of it during ballgames. Remember how we groaned on a weekly basis the past few years when Bob Bratkowski would fall in love with throwing the ball around and not letting Benson, or Rudi Johnson or Kenny Watson or whomever grind it out? Remember how we said that in the AFC North, you have to run the ball to win late in the season and you only do that by establishing the ground game in September and October? As the French like to say voila.

We know this: the Bengals secondary is good, very close to very good. You want to know the real reason why Odom got all of those sacks and why the Bengals numbers in quarterback hurries and hits are up this season? It’s because cornerbacks Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph are playing better. And because of that, safeties Roy Williams and Chris Crocker and Chinedum Ndukwe can come up in run support. Gush over the front seven if you want.

You won’t get any argument from me. But it’s the secondary that’s making it happen.

We know this: Kevin Huber may be the best Bengals punter since Lee Johnson. He may be the best since Dave Green (kids wake your Dad up and ask him who that is). Huber only has four NFL games on his resume. But he’s doing exactly what he did at UC: getting the Bengals out of trouble and into decent field position.

To be honest, there is a lot of stuff that isn’t right. St. Louis and his snaps would be the most glaring. Too often, Palmer has to hurry throws because of the offensive line, still a work in progress. Too often, receivers are running the wrong routes, or Palmer is throwing to invisible men. Too often, we get those infuriating penalties, like false starts and illegal blocks on the return team. The Bengals were supposed to have an elite class of tight ends this season. Two of them got hurt and the guy they drafted from Missouri can’t get on the field.

But 4-1 is 4-1.

The real problem in our town, with as bad as both the Bengals and Reds have been lately, is that when we see a ray of sunshine, we’re dousing ourselves in sun tan oil. We’re not there yet. You don’t emerge from 20-years of dark skies overnight. But we’re getting there.

So my unsolicited advice to you today is this: stop wondering how many wins it will take to make the playoffs. Stop looking three and four games down the road. Take some time to savor the moment. This team is 4-1. It won its biggest game of the season so far today. It is exactly at the same point it was in 2006. That season went south. Maybe this season won’t. That’s why you take it, one game at a time.

Just posted to the front page of my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest edition of Bengals Report Podcast. In this episode, Marc Hardin, the executive editor of bengalsinsider.com, and I preview the upcoming Bengals vs Ravens game this Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.

I've got Ross Tucker, from si.com and SiriusXM radio on my Sunday Morning Sports Talk show on 70o WLW. Also, Joe Reedy, the Bengals beat writer from the Cincinnati Enquirer and Jerry Sandusky, the voice of the Baltimore Ravens stop by. Hope you will too. I'm on from 9am-11:30am ET and you can listen on line at www.700wlw.com.

Nothing to base this on, but I think the University of Kentucky pulls off the upset Saturday at South Carolina.

Good Monday Morning!

3-1, really? Who had the Bengals 3-1 after 4 games. Let me see a show of hands. YOU LIE! I wouldn't hold out too much hope for this Sunday at Baltimore. But then again, I said the same thing about last week's game against the Steelers.

The network affiliated television stations in Wisconsin can all go 'dark' Monday night. Every pair of eyeballs in that state will be tuned into ESPN and the Packers vs Vikings game. Brett Favre rules, even in abstentia.

So let me get this straight, Buckeye fan, your team just slipped behind the UC Bearcats in the latest AP poll? You're #9 and UC is #8 and you both won this past weekend? Hmmm, and you still think OSU would beat the Bearcats by 30 in a head to head match up? I had one Buckeye fan tell me that today on 700 WLW.

You and I may be geeked over this team being 5-0, but we may be in the minority. In fact, I think we are. UC remained unbeaten Saturday, went to Oxford and thumped Miami. Miami threw everything it had at UC. This was the RedHawks Super Bowl. UC didn’t bring its ‘A’ game, but beat Miami 37-13. Bearcats had the ball all of 19 minutes. And Tony Pike managed to throw 42 yards and Jacob Ramsey rushed for over 100.

The toughest games for UC lie ahead, starting with the Bearcats game at South Florida one week from this Thursday night. There’s a lot of football to play. But let’s say the Bearcats run the table. Let’s say they win ‘em all and are standing, the night of December 5th, on the field in Pittsburgh as the undefeated, undisputed champs of the Big East Conference. Should they be the only undefeated BCS team in the country, or one of two undefeated teams, should UC then be allowed to play in the the BCS Championship game.

Well, you’re saying, Ken, that’s a no brainer. Yeah, to you and me it’s a no brainer. But apparently there are brains at work far greater than ours.

Because on a scale of one to ten, UC’s national respect level is about a minus two. In a national radio interview this week, ESPN talking head and former Notre Dame coach, Bob Dave predicted that if UC finishes unbeaten and there's a one loss team in either the SEC or the Big 12, that team would go to the national championship game and not UC. It doesn't matter, Davie said, if the Bearcats are the only unbeaten team standing by mid December.

And if that happens, I am here to tall you today that the BCS is dead. If UC runs the table and is the only unbeaten BCS team or one of two unbeaten teams and does NOT get a berth in the championship game, the BCS implodes. It’s real and it will happen. Here’s why.

The Big East is the weakest of all the BCS Conferences. It has the fewest amount of teams and there is no conference post season playoff. But the Big East IS a BCS conference. We’re not talking about Boise State or BYU here. And we’re not talking about the situation they had a few years back when Auburn got left at the post and Oklahoma and Southern Cal played for the national title. All three of those teams were unbeaten and Auburn was the odd man out. The issue here, and addressed by Davie, is what IF UC is one of two, or the only unbeaten team at the end of the regular season. He says he doesn’t think UC will be selected. Now understand this: you can say Bob Davie is just another guy yapping about college football on ESPN. And you’d be right. His claim to fame appears to be he once coached, and not well, at Notre Dame. But Davie, one would think talks to a lot of people in college football. And it may very well be, his thoughts are the prevailing thoughts about UC and the Big East on the inside of college football. I don’t think he would make the analysis he did this week without some thought and some research to back it up.

As I said, there’s a lot of football left to be played. There are no guarantees that UC will finish this season unbeaten. No guarantees that the Bearcats will win the Big East. But if both of those things happen and UC isn’t invited to the BCS championship game, then the current system of deciding a national champion implodes.

It’s kinda like politics. It’s not the other side that gets you. You often get taken down by the guy you’re staring at, in the mirror.

Just published to the front page of my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest Bengals Report podcast. Marc Hardin and I breakdown the Bengals big win over the Steelers. If you're in a hurry, you can download the Bengals Report podcast here. But check out my web site when you have a chance.