THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

Random thoughts on an icy night in the 'nati.....

I really want to pick the Cardinals in this upcoming Super Bowl. But look at their record. Every time they've played a team with a better than average defense, they've lost. Dick LeBeau will simply not allow Larry Fitzgerald to beat his team. It's the Steelers defensive coordinator's track record. His game plan is to neutralize the other team's best player and make someone else try to make plays.

Steelers 23 Cardinals 13.

I did an interview with Reds General Manager, Walt Jocketty today. He's convinced the team will contend this season and won more than it loses. It's a far cry from Bob Castellini's guarantees. But if the Reds win six more than they lose, that'd be an 84-78 record, and a legit Widl Card contender. Can they do it? I don't see how a team can go from a 'power' team to a 'pitching, defense and speed' team overnight and became a contender. Maybe it's happened before. But I can't remember when. The Reds are banking a lot on their pitching this year. And while the back end of the rotation is better than most team's, the front end (Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo) has to pitch as billed, something it didn't do last season.

Jocketty says he's a Homer Bailey fan. Well, that's one. Bailey has been nothing but a disappointment since his big league arrival two summers ago.

If you watch the Super Bowl only for the commercials...get a life. But if you watch for the GAME as well as the commercials, well here's a taste of the new Coke ad. It's an update on the ad Coke did over 30 years ago with former Steeler, Mean Joe Green.

Loved what I've seen of it so far...pretty much 'spot on'

I was reading an issue of Sports Illustrated from late December, the other night. I always read this stuff weeks after publication, just not enough hours in the day. In the magazine was a story about how Dick LeBeau developed the 'Zone Blitz' defense as he prepared to take over the Cincinnati Bengals defense in 1984. He spent time at LSU discussing it with then LSU head coach, Bill Arnsparger. On my radio show last Sunday, on 700 WLW, former Bengals head coach, Sam Wyche confirmed the story. Wyche said it wasn't known as the 'Zone Blitz' back in '84. But from then until LeBeau and Wyche left the team in '92, several key elements of today's top defense were implemented. Down linemen were dropped back into pass coverage. Linebackers rushed the passer. Often times, only two players lined up in a 'two point stance'. And since the late Bill Walsh admitted that his self designed "West Coast Offense" was really formulated when he was with the Bengals back in the early 70's, you have two of the most effective football schemes ever diagramed and implemented here in Cincinnati.

I often wonder if Paul Brown had to do it over again, if he would have given the head coach's job to Walsh and not his long time friend and assistant coach, Bill Johnson.

How can a Xavier basketball team be this good and not generate any 'buzz' in Cincinnati? Radio sports talk host always complain about it? Is it that 10,000 people watch the Muskies play at the Cintas Center and, in reality, they're the only people who really care about the team? I hope not, but I wonder about that.

All UC basketball fans want to do is grumble about Mick Cronin and Nancy Zimpher. Get over it. Bob Huggins isn't coming back. Zimpher might leave, but don't bet on it. And Cronin inherited a program in complete disarray, with recruiting three to four years behind every other Division I school.

9 Big East teams will make the NCAA Tournament and 14 may wind up playing in post season tournaments. Now, we have a 16 team event, just announced last night, called the CollegeInsider.com tournament. That goes with the CBI, the 16 team tournament that debuted last season for non-NCAA and NIT teams. So, if you're scoring at home, 113 Division I NCAA teams will get to play in a post season tournament after this season.

Just booked for my Sunday morning radio show on 700 WLW: Mike Lombardi, former NFL general manager now with the nationalfootballpost.com. I'm on from 9am-Noon EST. If you don't live in the greater Cincinnati area, and you have a Sirius-XM radio, I'm on channel 173.