THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

On my web site, www.kenbroo.com is the latest Bengals Report. It's a great preview of Sunday's game. In a hurry? Just click here to listen.

Also, just posted the latest edition of BROO v. BROO, 'the' most opinionated sports show in cyberspace. Head on over to www.kenbroo.com and click on 'podcasts and more'. You'll find the latest edition of this show, there!

Just back from Louisville where I watched my Ohio Bobcats beat up on Bellarmine. I caught the Friday night game against Louisville, too.

Some thoughts? Ohio outhustled, outcoached and outplayed the Cardinals Friday night. They were done in by two things: their inability to finish plays and no points from the bench. Their match zone defense just about mesmerized the Cardinals and will be a blue print for Big East teams this season.

Saturday, Ohio set a school record by hitting over 72-percent of its shots. The bench was better, contributing 26-points in the win. Jerome Tillman was very impressive. He has the muscle to create havoc in the paint. His 23 were large. I liked the way Stephen King shoots the ball. When he gets a good 'look' it went in, at least today. Freshman Kenneth van Kempen is going to be good. He's raw now, but he has quick feet and he can hit from outside, always a valued commodity in a big man.

And a word about Sonny Troutman, who seems to draw ire from some Ohio fans. I heard him described as 'distant' and 'sometimes disinterested'. This guy can play. He seems totally into it whenever I've seen him play. He clearly has ball handling skills and he selfishlessly seems to find the open man. And Troutman isn't afraid to take on the 'trees' in the lane, challenging big men with drives both Friday and Saturday (his one drive to the basket today for a scoop was nothing short of breathtaking).

It was good to be able to see and talk with a number of Ohio fans who made the trip to the 'Ville for the NABC tournament. It wasn't a large Ohio crowd, but it was boisterous.

I don't know it's going to shake out for Ohio in the MAC. The Bobcats appear to be still searching for a point guard and they got caught a few too many times Saturday by the 'cutter'. But to come with a whisker of beating Louisville on its home court and then following that up with a record shooting day on Saturday is very encouraging. I've got court side seats in Cleveland for the Ohio-Cincinnati game. That will be another good test for the Bobcats.

It was a small but boisterous Ohio gathering in the Freedom Hall stands. I wish we could've stayed on for the Sunday game against St. Joe's. But, we've got the Bengals on the field Sunday. At least we've got the Bengals not in jail on the field Sunday.

One word on the Deltha O'Neal arrest: stupid. I have no idea whether he's guilty or innocent. The larger question is why did he put himself in that situation? For the second time in two months, a Bengals player who'd been out late drove into a well publicized DUI check point.

I believe it can be said now with certainty that there is a problem on this team. The Bengals are a team populated with too many poor decision makers. And that behavior is the kind of thing that prevents good teams from becoming great, and contenders from becoming champions. There is no longer an argument that these are only isolated incidents from a handful of players. You now have a problem that cuts through that team with a wide swath: stand out stars like O'Neal and Odell Thurman, gifted young players like Chris Henry and rookies that have brought their troubles to Cincinnati like Frostee Rucker.

I hope the Bengals make the playoffs and make a run at a championship this season. But I hope more, for this team to start behaving like a championship team. Believe it or not, the latter is more important than the former.

The Reds are taking a flyer on former phenom, Josh Hamilton. He was the first pick in the 1999 amateur draft who arrived in Tampa with a 'can't miss' label. But then, Hamilton quickly fell into a life of drug abuse, a disease that affected him so badly, he missed four full seasons of baseball. The Rays gave up on him, let the Cubs snag him off their roster this week and Chicago promptly dealt Hamilton to the Reds. It cost the reds $50,000. But if Hamilton is clean and can even approach the talent he once had (he's only 26), it could be a steal. Consider Hamilton a lottery ticket. He didn't cost a lot. His payoff could be enormous.

Ken