THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

I think I'm starting to see something I haven't seen in awhile. I watched the Bengals news conference today, the one where they trotted out wide receiver Laveranues Coles. I heard all the stuff you usually hear at these things. He's happy to be here, wants to mentor the younger Bengals wide receivers, says Carson Palmer will be fantastic to play with. But here's something else I heard and saw.

Marvin Lewis, circa 2003.

Lewis came in here breathing fire and spitting gasoline. He shook up a franchise that at disintegrated into the worst in the NFL and maybe all of professional sports.

The Bengals had become the moral equivalent of Soviet Union agriculture. Full disclosure, the terrifically talented George Will used that line 20 years ago to describe the Chicago Cubs. I always wanted to use it. Thanks George.

When Lewis arrived, things changed in a hurry. In 2003, the Bengals went 8-8, which would have been cause for a parade around Fountain Square in most seasons. Within three years, the Bengals were a legitimate contender and a playoff team.

Then, the artist formally known as Chad Johnson had his celebrated halftime meltdown in the Bengals playoff game in January, 2006 and the rest is a matter of history, and police blotter.

Worse, Marvin Lewis seemed to go 'soft'. He' d certainly lost his bite. And when Mike Brown tossed him totally under the bus last summer by bringing back Cincinnati's favorite clown, Chris Henry, Marvin was toothless.

But here's what I saw today: the Marvin of 2003. I have nothing to base this on, other than what's always been a keen eye for body language. But Lewis looks like his old self. He talked about how Coles can take the wide receiver corp to a new height. Wednesday, in welcoming back running back Cedric Benson, he talked about retooling the offense. He had a flash in his eyes that was there in 2003-2005, until he became Dead Coach Walking.

Maybe it's not so dramatic as I think. Lewis' greatest weakness as an NFL head coach, I believe, is his inability to deal with the media without coming off condescending. That in itself is amazing, considering that two of the head coaches he's worked under, Brian Billick and Bill Cowher, were excellent in dealing with some of the fools who work in my business. Marvin's problem is that he seems to think we're all fools. Maybe we are, at different times, but so too can be an NFL head coach.

But I think I saw something today that's leading me to believe that owner, or knuckle head players, or media be damned. I think I saw a coach who has seized control again. I'll admit it was subtle; a couple of looks, voice inflection, a quiet confidence. But they were the things I saw six years ago when he was first hired.

I could be wrong. But I think I'm right. Welcome back Marvin. Where the hell have you been?

Can you feel the heat building under UK's Billy Gillispie? No? The read this from foxsports.com and get back to me.

Look, I had a lot of trouble this off season with all of the 'blue skies, unicorns and rainbows' BS about the Reds and how competitive they were going to be in 2009. The team lost 100 RBI when it traded away Adam Dunn and were going to have us believe that a career minor leaguer (Chris Dickerson) was a viable option for left field. After eight losing seasons in the last nine and no playoffs since 1995, it was flat out Reds propaganda. But...

I've got to admit when I've seen what the Reds pitching has been like so far this spring, I AM impressed. And Dickerson, Lance Nix and Jonny Gomes have all had their moments. It's a long way from now until April 6th. But I'm not as cynical about the Reds as I was, even two weeks ago.

Maybe I'm getting soft.

See you tonight at 11p or tomorrow night at 6p on WLWT Channel 5. Or both.