THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

Sorry I've been away....lot on my plate these days. But I have some thoughts that've been rumbling around in my cranium....

Dumping the defensive coordinator and a position coach should've been a start for the Bengals. They've grown stale on both sides of the football. Marvin Lewis needs fresh ideas on offense and needs to take a more active role coaching his defense....

I was shocked the Giants beat the Buccaneers this weekend, mildly surprised that the Steelers defense couldn't do a better job against the Jags offense. The other two games were no surprise. If TO isn't healthy enough to play this Sunday, the Cowboys are vulnerable. The Giants are a completely different team on the road than at home...

I want to believe Roger Clemens. But he looked very uncomfortable in his 60 Minutes interview and playing that phone conversation he had with his accuser at a news conference Monday actually hurt Clemens, I think. Let the lawsuits begin....

UC basketball fans should see light at the end of the tunnel. Monday's news that Nick Aldridge has finally enrolled in school (Bob Huggins recruited him before leaving and Aldridge wound up at Western Carolina until this transfer) along with a nice recruiting class coming in next fall could finally make the Bearcats competitive in the Big East.

There are a lot of reasons to believe Xavier will be playing deep into March this year. But here's the biggest reason: the Muskies have balanced scoring and an unselfish attitude. Whenever you get five players averaging double figures this late in the season, it means the head coach is doing a terrific job. Sean Miller is.

Think it gets easier for the Bengals in 2008. My friend Chick Ludwig in the Dayton Daily News has this to report today: the combined 2007 record of all the Bengals opponents next season is 115-93. The only teams the Bengals play next season that had losing records this year: Baltimore, Kansas City and the Jets.

Pete Mackanin, the Reds interim manager for the last half of the 2007 season, found work today. Mackanin has signed on to scout for the Yankees. Apparently the Reds offered him a similar deal, but Mackanin felt returing to the team he still wanted to manage would be a little too awkward.

If you're looking for him in his post Cincinnati Post life, you can find the blog-crazed C. Trent Rosecrans at this address: ctrentrosecrans.com. Yes, he's blogging on his own now and I'm told is 'this close' to finding a soft landing spot here in the greater Cincinnati area.

Check out my web site when you have a moment: www.kenbroo.com.