Whoops. Not so fast. Apparently that deal the Bengals had with the Lions has fallen through. And it may not be salvagable. Rogers is reportedly now off to Cleveland. According the several reports, including espn.com, compensation was the key issue. The fact that Rogers was involved in a strip club incident last year didn't help either. The official line from the Bengals all day was, nothing to report. Turns out, that might be the the final word on this.

Rogers arrivial would have been the strongest signal that the Bengals will play a 3-4 defense in 2008. It was also a pretty strong indication that they didn't think their target in round one, Southern Cal's Sedrick Ellis, would be available when the Bengals pick 9th overall.

SI.com has the round up of the first day of NFL free agency, busy to say the least. The Bengals have lost Madieu Williams to the Vikings for a crazy deal. And Justin Smith, as expected, will be with some other team before the weekend is out.

The injury news out of the Reds camp tonight isn't encouraging. It appears Alex Gonzalez will be completely inactive for the next three weeks. Only then, will his stress fracture in his knee be re-evaluated. And the possibility for surgery exists. Sounds like Jeff Keppinger will be the opening day short stop.

The set up is a bit long, but you have to see this halftime slam dunk attempt that went terribly wrong. If you don't cringe, there is something wrong with you.

If you live in the Midwest, tune me in this Sunday morning on 700 WLW. I'll be hosting Sunday Morning Sports Talk, as always. Among my guests, Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley, Bengals beat writer Chick Ludwig, profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio and UC basketball radio analyst, Chuck Machock. You can listen on line at www.700wlw.com and also on XM Channel 173.

And Sunday night at 11:35pm on Cincinnati's WLWT Channel 5, it's another rousing edition of 'Sports Rock". Among our guest, fitness guhru and inadvertant comedian, Rocco Castellano.

Be sure to check out my web site: www.kenbroo.com. I'll have the latest edition of "The Broo View Podcast" posted Saturday.

Have a great weekend!

The clock is ticking. Midnight is coming. And midnight begins the free agent signing period in the NFL. espn.com has a round up of who's done what so far today, lopping players off their rosters and clearing cap space.

The Bengals appear to be ready to part ways with WR Tab Perry and safety Madeiu Williams. But LB Rashad Jeanty, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and LB Cory Mays all received tenders, meaning the Bengals retain exclusive bargaining rights.

In Sarasota today, the Reds banged around teh Twins, 6-1. The box score shows you a lot of guys played. But the 'big swingers' like Dunn and Junior got another day off.

Matt Belisle and Josh Fogg, two pitchers penciled in to the starting rotation at this point, both threw shutout baseball. Each went two innings.

Nice story by my friend Gregg Doyel on cbssports.com. It's about UK basketball coach, Billy Gillispie, who hasn't been universally welcomed in Lexington, Kentucky. Maybe this will help some people a coach is also a person.

Trading deadline has come and gone in the NHL. Not quite the mega-deals we saw in the NBA a week ago. But The Hockey News has its list of winner and wieners.

Roger Clemens is now officially being investigated by the FBI. At issue, is whether or not Clemens lied in his testimony before Congress a couple of weeks ago (and in a sworn affadavit before that) when he told a subcommittee that he never used human growth hormones or steroids. Clemens will probably stick to his story. But he's not getting out of this one easily. The FBI's chief witness is Brian McNamee, Clemens' accuser. He not only says he injected Clemens with HGH, McNamee also says he saved the needles, guaze and syringes he used to complete the job. At the Congressional hearing, the FBI and others from the Justice Department sat behind McNamee and Clemens as the testimony droned on. McNamee is their dog in the fight. I think Clemens is in a lot of hot water now.

Check out my web site: www.kenbroo.com. And I'll see you tonight at 11p on Cincinnati's NBC affiliate, WLWT channel 5.

One of my favorite guests on my Sunday Morning Sportstalk show on 700 WLW is Mike Florio from profootballtalk.com. It's a great resource for all things professional football. Mike is doing a position by position look at the upcoming NFL draft...and on camera, no less!


As for our Bengals, it's looking more and more like they're switching to a 3-4 defense this season, under new defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer.

A not so auspicious debut for the Cincinnati Reds in exhibition play today. They lost to the Phillies, 8-1. Gary Majewski, who arrived as "damaged goods" in Cincinnati mid-summer 2006 when the Reds were in the thick of a pennant race was lit up: one third of an inning, six hits and six earned runs. Lefty Jeremy Affeldt, signed in the off-season for $3 million this season, didn't do so bad: two innings, three hits and only one run.

And the Reds got a little good news today, when Baseball America released their Top 100 prospects in the game.

That's it for now. Check out my web site www.kenbroo.com first thing tomorrow morning. I'll have my latest "Broo View Podcast" posted!

Let the games begin, at least the spring games. Exhibition baseball begins tomorrow.

Interesting read here on former Red Josh Hamilton, who apparently has his support net in place in Texas.

The smartest man in baseball is at it again. SI.com says Tony LaRussa will do it again this season.

Just a thought: what does batting the pitcher eighth do for the confidence of the guy who has to hit 9th. Know any Reds pitchers you'd like to see hitting in the "8 hole"? Me neither.

Bet you didn't know, the University of Cincinnati has a hockey team. It's just a club sport. But the head coach, is former Cincinnati Stinger, Blaine Stoughton. You want to take a trip back in time? Check out this video a friend of mine sent me. Superfly lives! Stoughton was a terrific goal scorer.

The worst thing in the world is to have family leave this earth. A close second would be losing friends. Here's a picture that's about 27 years old.
It was our weekday anchor team at WTSP-TV in Tampa-St. Petersburg. On the left is main anchor Don Harrison, who went on to great success with CNN. Don passed away several years ago. That's me in the middle, at the time a very young weekday sports anchor. On the right, is meterologist Dick Fletcher, who, sadly, passed away today. "Fletch" as he was known to his co-workers had a wicked sense of humor. We'd trade 'jabs' all the time. He got me back good several years after this photo was taken. To shoot a promo of the anchor team, we had rented a yacht and set sail for Tampa Bay from the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. I had the sea legs of a Nebraska farmer and wasn't doing so well. Not only breakfast was being delivered over the railing and into the bay, so too was the dinner and lunch from the day before. It didn't help that our anchor at the time, John Wilson, was hitting just about every buoy he could find. Knowing that he was 'one down' to me for the week, Fletch let me have it pretty good. "You OK", he asked feigning concern. I couldn't answer him, I was so nauseous. "You know", he said, "it's times like this that I really enjoy some nice, cold Mexican food". Another hurl over the railing and more uproarious laughter from all aboard. "John", Fletch yelled to our poorly navigating captain, "when we're done today, how about we swing by that hot dog place on 4th Street for some of those chili dogs, you know with onions and....". You simply never got the last dig with Fletch.

Here's something else about him. Dick Fletcher was a terrific weatherman. He knew that in time of crisis, the calmest voice would be heard above all others. I remember one afternoon, along about 4pm, I was arriving back at the station from a story and Fletch was standing by the back door, looking at the sky. "What are you doing"?, I asked. "Looking at the sky", he said. "That's where the weather is. Inside it's clear and 72". Not enough current weather people take the time to look at the sky. Maybe it's too 'old school'. They'd rather look at their computer models, weather maps and animated graphics. And most of them couldn't forecast gas after a baked bean dinner.

Fletch was good at what he did. And he was my friend. I miss him already.

See you tonight at 11pm, on Cincinnati's NBC affilate WLWT Channel 5.

As Cincinnati recovers from a heavy does of Baraka-o-mania....UC football coach, Brian Kelly found out just where he is on the pecking order, even in his own building. While the Obama rally was in full swing inside the Fifth Third Arena, Kelly was on his way to his team's locker room to, shall we say, relieve himself. That's when he ran smack into the secret service detail assigned to protect the Illinois Senator. Sorry coach, he was told, you'll have to take your ' business' elsewhere. The locker room was in full lock down mode. Kelly, who campaigned for Gary Hart in his failed run for the Presidency, took the news in stride, perhaps a quicker stride as he searched for another bathroom.

Down in the fun and sun, the concerns begin. Tonight, short stop Alex Gonzalez is in a Sarasota hospital getting an MRI down on his aching knee. A bad knee short circuited Gonzalez' 2007 season. He doesn't think it's anything. But as they say in the medical profession "The MRI Don't Lie"

Yet another preview of our Reds, courtesy of foxspots.com.

Meantime, over at cbssports.com, another take on the Reds, courtesy of Scott Miller.

And now, from the NY Daily News, this take on Reds.

I find it amusing that most 'experts' couch the Reds as contenders only because of the weak division they play in. Seems to me, I heard the same thing in 1990. Now, this current team doesn't even approach that group. But, in '90, the Reds stormed out to an early lead and never relinquished it. I think 85-87 wins will win the NL Central this year. Last year, the Reds finished 72-90. Is this team 13-15 wins better than last years? I don't think it's much of a stretch to say it is.

Exhibition play begins Wednesday against the Phillies.

Now, check out this video of Oscar Robertson, simply the best basketball player I've ever seen. Lebron before Lebron, Mike before Mike, Magic before Magic. Back when the NBA was hot in Cincinnati, it was The Big O at the center of the flame.

If Oscar played in the NBA today, in his prime, the team that he played for would have to pay him so much, he would've been part owner.

For a Friday, this has been a hectic day all over the Tri-State sports map. Let's start with the quickly degenerating situation at Indiana, where now, apparently, some of the IU players may boycott if Kelvin Sampson is fired. The Indianpolis Star has the story.

But here's the take from cbssports.com basketball writer, Craig Parrish, which hits the nail on the head with his take.

Meantime, down in the fun and sun, no major news out of the Reds, but more buzz from the hiring of Dusty Baker. USA Today offered this story on the Reds in Friday's edition.

Can UC continue its magic on the road this Saturday? I don't it. Georgetown is the real deal and playing that team anywhere, let alone DC, is a daunting task. Still, I see an NIT bid for the Bearcats after this season is over. And for Mick Cronin, that's getting it done.

Xavier should beat Dayton Sunday. The Flyers have been fading lately. But anytime you catch them in the UD Arena, it's a tough deal. But Xavier's defense lately has been kiler. The Muskies held Duquesne to 48 points Thursday night, exactly 22 under the Dukes' average.

The Bengals and the rest of the NFL teams are in Indianpolis this weekend for the annual scouting combine. Dennis Dillon, the talented writer for The Sporting News wrote this story about the Bengals new defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer.

If the Bengals don't draft defense, exclusively in this April's draft, they're out of their collective minds.

Finally, a shout out to our ECHL franchise, the Cincinnati Cyclones, who have now won 13 in a row and are home tonight and Saturday night at the US Bank Arena. This is a team with a legit shot to win its league championship. There's only one thing wrong with this team: where it plays. If Cincinnatians have said anything about local sports in the last 30 years, its that they don't want to drive downtown to watch anything unless its Bengals or Reds. For whatever reason, US Bank Arena offers no appeal. It's where franchises go to die. The Cyclones are the latest artisitc hit and box office flop. Attendance has been better since the team lowered ticket prices to $8. But I wouldn't be surprised to see the team leave after this season. Very sad.

I'm talking sports this Sunday, as always on 700 WLW, from 9AM until Noon. Among my guests will be Dustin Dow, from the Cincinnati Enquirer. We'll get into some serious college hoops talk. John Donovan, the talented writer from SI.com will join me from Spring Training. And we'll get knee deep in the hoopla from Indiana University with the sports director of the WTHR-TV NBC affiliate in that town, Dave Calabro. You can listen online, should you like, at www.700wlw.com and on XM Radio Channel 173.

Sunday night at 11:35, it's another rousing edition of Sports Rock! on Cincinnati's channel 5. Among our guests will be former Bengals defensive back, Eric Thomas and "Wildman Walker", the local legend from WEBN's Dawn Patrol.

And, check out my web site: www.kenbroo.com. I'll have a new "Broo View Podcast" posted on the front page Saturday morning!

Have a great weekend!

His reputation, preceding him here in Cincinnati, was that Dusty Baker has never been enamored with young ball players. Loved veterans, cringed at the thought of playing a kid. Dusty has denied that to the Cincinnati media. But then, we see this, on yahoo.com today.

Proof will be how it plays out, not how it reads.

Xavier keeps rolling. Another win Thursday night. What stops this team this season? Maybe a post up offense that features a dominating big man. But how many teams like that will Xavier face before the elite eight?

Done deal, Josh Fogg signs with the Reds. Love it, absolutely love it. Why send two good prospects to the Oakland A's for Joe Blanton, when you can sign a free agent for $1 million. Fogg is no Blanton. But the price for Blanton, who pitched half his games in the spacious Oakland stadium was far too high. If Fogg winds up winning 12 this season, which he could with the Reds offense, it'll be a steal.

Check out the countdown to Opening Day on the home page of my blog http://kenbroo.blogspot.com, if you're not already there. Then really get into the mood with this, from my man Freekbass

Freekbass is a protege of the legendary Bootsy Collins, a local guy who is red hot on the college circuit. He'll tour Europe and Japan this summer. You can check him out at http://www.freekbass.com/. Check out his podcasts.

I'm no mathmatician, but it seems to me the number in this salary cap report don't add up to a championship atmosphere for our Cincinnati Bengals. Good homework by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Wherever you are tonight, I hope you're a lot warmer than we'll be here in the Tri-State. Cincinnati is headed for a low of 9* and then more snow and ice on Thursday.

But there are a lot of things heating up. Not the least of which is Kelvin Sampson's situation in Indiana. He appears headed for a rough fall....and his spring isn't shaping up so hot either. Look at what espn.com is saying about Kelvin today. I tend to agree with the scenario: suspend him, probably with pay and then gather more information. To allow Sampson to coach under this latest scrutiny for continuing bad behavior would be a travesty.

Meantime, down in the fun and sun, every Reds position player is in camp. Bob Castellini showed up today, spreading a little sunshine himself. He says he believes the Reds will be in the NL Central division race all season, not a tough thing considering it one of the weakest in major league baseball.

My guess is, this story isn't going away. And neither is the federal government's interest in who's lying, Clemens or his accuser, Brian McNamee. Good story here from Associate Press TV.

Meantime, scroll down on this story from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram to see the latest on former Reds Josh Hamilton and Eddie Guardado.

When you're done reading that, hit my web site: http://www.kenbroo.com/. On the front page, you can find my latest "Broo View Podcast" for your downloading enjoyment.

For a guy who could use more than a little exercise, check out how Jim Bowden is maneuvering around the Washington Nationals spring training camp. Yikes! The Washington Times gets the award for 'Picture of the Week'.

I think UC can make the Big East Tournament (12 teams make it, everyone makes it next season). But they'll need at least four more wins to qualify for an NIT berth. Here's my question, will the tie breaker in whether or not UC makes the NIT be the poor attendance at Fifth Third Arena games this season?

Xavier continues to win. But on my radio show "Sunday Morning Sports Talk" on 700 WLW, RPI ratings expert, Jerry Palm, says the best seed the Muskies can hope for in the upcoming NCAA Tournament is a third seed. And Palm says Xavier is no better than a '3', even if they run the table.

By the way, you can catch "Sunday Morning Sports Talk" from 9am-Noon EST on both 700 WLW and XM Channel 173. It's also streamed on http://www.700wlw.com/.

See you later tonight and tomorrow on WLWT Channel 5 in Cincinnati

In case you missed it, Bob Knight was Jay Leno's guest on my television station last night WLWT (and every other NBC affiliate, of course). Watch Knight's entrance and listen to Leno's first jab a the way Knight is dressed.

He's 67. But I have the feeling Knight will surface at some other school, perhaps in a more prominent enviornment than Lubbock, Texas.

If you were Bengals owner, Mike Brown, would you make this deal? Look what the Washington Post is reporting today about the Redskins interest in Chad Johnson.

I was thinking about this the other day, reading some of the quotes that Ocho Cinco had about how under appreciated he is here in our town. He’ll talk to anyone about it, stop him at the Kroger, he’ll talk to you, unless you work for the local media. Because apparently to him, we’re just pond scum.

But I was thinking about how all of this could backfire on Chad Johnson. He doesn’t have to go too far back in history to see what happens to a local sports hero who’ve done what he’s doing now. Carl Pickens comes to mind.

That guy was a great, great talent. Big, solidly built, hard to bring down, good speed. Hated playing here. Hated it. But he kept signing contracts.

Corey Dillon was a great, great talent. Big, solidly built, like Pickens, hard to bring down. Long about 1999, hated playing here. Absolutely hated it. The ‘flipping burgers’ thing was priceless. But he kept cashing the checks.

Now comes Johnson. He’s certainly not as bitter as Pickens and Dillon were. But maybe we should give him some time. Or more money.

But here’s the problem. Cincinnati, so far as I can tell, isn’t a super star town. Never has been, probably never will be. Cincinnati is a team town. Love the team, hate the supers star. We’ll take hustle and a dirty uniform over super star who behaves like one. It explains why we become so infatuated by Norris Hopper and Ryan Freel and so infuriated with Ken Griffey Junior. Freel can run into a wall, or the stands or Hopper’s elbow and miss half a season and we call it great hustle. Junior can dislocate a shouldar diving for a fly ball and we’ll get deluged with calls at this radio station about how he’s always hurt.

Super stars seem to have trouble here: Boomer, Eric Davis, Not all. Anthony Munoz and Chris Sabo come to mind. But a lot of them do.

Mostly, it’s about team in Cincinnati. The ’75 Reds had great individual players, hall of famers, but who was better? Rose or Morgan? Bench or Concepcion? We remember the 75 Reds, the 76 Reds, the 90 Reds. Team first, individual player after that. In the bigger towns, New York, Chicago, LA, it tends to be the opposite. It’s Reggie, Sammy, Roger, Pedro. Maybe it’s because bigger towns can afford bigger names and have more media outlets than we do in Cincinnati. But it seems like they love their super stars first, their teams second.

I like it the way it is here. Nothing, no one should be bigger than the team. If you make headlines, you should make them helping the team win.

Chad Johnson has made a lot headlines helping the Bengals win. Great touchdown catches, fun celebrations in the end zone, great quote machine in the locker room.

But it seems as though the minute an athlete in Cincinnati starts making headlines more about himself than about the team he plays for, that’s when the trouble begins. I sense that the trouble has already begun for Ocho Cinco. It’s not too late to fix it. I just wonder if he knows that, or if it matters to him.

It's National Letter Of Intent day all over the country. The University of Cincinnati did just fine, signing 24 recruits, including the running back who broke all of Archie Griffin's rushing records at Columbus Eastmore, Isiah Pead. Kelly is particularly pleased with the speed of this, his second UC recruiting class.

You can find plenty of other information on the best destination for high school sports anywhere, highschoolplaybook.com.

And my man, Frank Solich, had himself a good day of signings at Ohio University. Solich got a terrific option quarterback out of California, as well as some stout linemen. Among his haul this season, Bakari Bussey, the son of former Bengal Barney Bussey. Solich beat out Indiana to get a wide receiver who has solid speed.

Well check this out!


You know what this sounds like to me? Renegotiation. Johnson signed a six year, $35.5 million deal in 2006. 16 million of that has already been paid, meaning Johnson will average just under $4.5 million for the deal that runs through the 2011 season. That's under value for a receiver his his talent in today's market.

Rosenhaus and Johnson can request a trade. But knowing Mike Brown, it won't happen on their terms. Remember, when Corey Dillon began making noise, it took him four years to get out of Cincinnati. I'd be expccting Johnson in a Bengals uniform for the forseeable future.

Wonder what Mike Brown, the Bengals owner, thinks about this. scrum.com is reporting that Bengals linebacker, Dhani Jones is about to become a professional rugby player. In fact, Jones will see some action in a match Saturday night in England. Here's the story.

For the record, I like the Patriots over the Giants. I'm not being seduced by the fact the Giants kept it close in the December 29th game or the fact that the Giants have won ten straight road games. I think New England finishes the season a perfect 19-0.

But I sincerely hope this story in the New York Post isn't true.

The Reds signed catcher Paul Bako and reliever Scott Sauerbeck to minor league contracts today. Both have an excellent chance of making the big club, espeically Bako, a former Reds draft pick, who played for Dusty Baker. If I'm Javier Valentin, I'm not exactly comfortable tonight. Then again, Wayne Krivsky loves having three catchers on his 25 man roster.

Good news about "The Mayor". No not Rudi Guiliani or the pitching-challenged Mayor Mark Mallory. The Boston Globe has the scoop on Sean Casey finding work. $800K may seem like a pittance to a man making $8 million a year ago. But hey, it's work. And Casey has a chance to win a World Series again. He came close in Detroit a couple of years ago.

I'm talking sports again this Sunday on 700 WLW. You can listen on line at www.700wlw.com, in case you're not living in the greater Cincinnati area. Among my guests will be former Bengals coach Sam Wyche, who is writing a book about his life in the NFL, draft expert Jerry Jones, author of The Drugstore List and Damon Durante from www.betusa.com. Sunday Morning Sportstalk is from 9:00am until Noon this Sunday and every Sunday on 700 WLW. You can also catch in on XM Radio channel 173.

And this Sunday night at 11:35, it's our Super Bowl Sports Rock show on Cincinnati's channel 5, WLWT. Our guests will include "Wildman" Walker and the renaissance man, Wayne "Box" Miller. You can also get an internet only version of Sports Rock every Monday on www.wlwt.com.

Have a great weekend!