Breaking news from Milwaukee. The hotel the Reds will stay in this weekend is haunted. So say a number of the Cardinals who just vacated teh Pfister Hotel and a few of the Brewers. Apparnetly, the hotel has a lot of strange noises and moving lights. We'll investigate tonight at 11p on Cincinnati's channel 5.

Funny stuff. Check out this video of the soccer mascot in Norway and what he does.


Just saw this on foxsports.com. Apparently the Bengals still are suffering nationally. The good news? These things mean absolutely nothing.

It's Thursday afternoon!

I celebrate that a lot, closer to the weekend, almost Friday.

We know this about your Cincinnati Reds: the can beat the teams that won't be around in October. Now, we need to see if they can beat the teams that will contend for a playoff berth. In the next ten days, the Reds play three in Milwaukee, four in St. Louis and then three against the Cubs in Cincinnati. This will tell us a lot about whether the Reds are 'con' tenders or 'pre' tenders.

My best guess is the Reds will hang around for awhile this season. I still think they need to pick up a good 'bat' (and a player along with it obviously) who can play left field on a daily basis. The platoon of Dickerson/Nix/Gomes has worked OK. But long term, none of these players has a resume to suggest they'll hold up under the pressure of a pennant chase.

If you look critically a the Reds roster, it's comprised basically of four good to decent starting pitchers (Harang, Arroyo, Cueto and Volquez), two bona-fide star players (Phillips & Votto. Sorry Jay Bruce, not there yet, but getting there) and a lot of role players. This 'team' aspect of the game has always played well in Cincinnati. We tend to love the team, hate the superstar around here. But for the rigors of a pennant race, it doesn't always hold up. Maybe this year is the exception. My best guess is, no. Walt Jocketty needs to be laying the ground work NOW to find what his team will need at the trading deadline, to push itself into contention late in the season.

Good Monday Morning!

Trite though it may sound, remember why today is a holiday. If you see someone wearing our country's uniform, make a point to tell them 'thank you' today.

Homer Bailey is finished as a Cincinnati Red. I have no confirmation of this from anyone even remotely associated with the Reds. This is just a gut feeling. He blew his final chance when he faltered against the Indians Saturday night.

Why do I feel this way? Several reasons. First, he continues to do the same things each and every time he's recalled from "AAA". Bailey's control is non-existent. His 'stuff' is great. Bailey was clocked at 94 mph. But he was all over the place. He walked six, allowed six earned runs and seems to have regressed since the last time we saw him.

Bailey was babied during spring training. While other Reds pitchers were tossing three and four innings per outing, Bailey was held to only a couple of innings. He was outpitched by Micah Owings for the 5th starters spot. And although Owings has had trouble this early season, it's nothing compared to what Bailey has done at "AAA" and here on Saturday night.

One of two things is happening with this guy. A: he's not listening to what he's being told to do by the Reds' "AAA" pitching coach, Ted Power. Power says Bailey is listening and learning, but my eyes tell me a lot more than my ears. B: what they're telling Bailey to do simply isn't working. In either case, it's time for both parties to move on. The only argument for keeping Bailey in the organization is his age. He just turned 23. But that's a weak argument when it's placed up against what other pitchers his age are doing.

In the draft class of 2004, Bailey draft class, Jered Weaver is in his third year of effective major league pitching. Matt Bush and Justin Verlander are established major leaguers. The Yankees Phillip Hughes appears to be most like Bailey statistically. But Hughes, selected after Bailey, has battled injuries. Bailey has had some, but not like Hughes.

In the draft class of 2005, the Mets have Mike Pelphrey in their rotation and the Rays are getting good work from starter Matt Garza.

In 2006, the Giants selected Tim Lincecum and the Dodgers took Clayton Kershaw. They are two of the best pitchers in the game.

From the class of 2007, pitcher David Price saw action in the post season last fall with the Rays. He starts his first game of the 2009 season today against Cleveland.

And here's the worst news of all for Bailey: he's not one of the Reds new regime 'guys'. Bailey was drafted by Dan O'Brien, two GM's ago.

There is a way to salvage Bailey, should the Reds choose to. They could recall him from "AAA" and place him in the bullpen, if for no other reason than to get his throwing to major league hitters. But he's shown little sign of being able to get major league hitters out in his various call-ups. Why would the Reds, contenders at least at this point, want to risk Bailey in a Major League game, in any capacity.

Yet, it's in everyone's best interest for Bailey to figure things out. If he can, he'll be a valuable piece to the Reds pitching. If he can, he'll become more attractive, should the Reds really be interested in cutting ties with him.

But the real question is, can Bailey figure it out? He been called selfish and bull headed. Veteran Reds reportedly have tried to talk to him about it. We keep hearing that Bailey has changed that part of the equation. Maybe, as a person, he has. As a pitcher, on the strength of what he did against the Indians Saturday night, not so much.

Just posted on my web site, www.kenbroo.com is my latest Broo View Vidcast. You can find it on the front page. The topic is my pick for the two most important Reds on the current roster.

Sunday morning on 700 WLW, my guests will include Michael McCann, noted sports attorney and si.com columnist, on the Michael Vick saga, as well as yahoo sports' columnist, Josh Peter, on how to keep drunk NFL players off the road. Mark Sheldon, from mlb.com will join me, as well as Robert Boland from thenationalfootballpost.com, who has ranked the 32 NFL franchises from top to bottom. Any guess where he has your Cincinnati Bengals? I'm on from 9am-Noon ET.

You can listen on line at 700wlw.com.

And the phone lines will be wide open Saturday, as well, when I host Saturday Sportstalk on 700 WLW. I'm on from 3p-6:30p ET.

Then I'll go enjoy a pre-birthday dinner. My birthday is Sunday. Don't ask the age.

Sports Rock! Sunday night at 11:35p on Cincinnati's Channel 5 will feature a 'live' interview with the 2009 Indianpolis 500 winner, whomever he or she maybe, as well as Ohio University head football coach, Frank Solich in the studio.

Hope you're having a great weekend. How about the Reds FINALLY calling up Johnny Gomes and DFA-ing Darnell McDonald?

Good Thursday Morning!

A new Broo View Podcast is up and running and ready for you to download. It's on the front page of www.kenbroo.com. Or, you can download it here. My guest this time is former Baltimore Ravens head coach, Brian Billick. We talk about the HBO show, "Hard Knocks", which featured the Ravens back in 2001 and will follow the Bengals this summer during training camp.

Watch for a new Broo View Vidcast, which I'll post to www.kenbroo.com this weekend.

Why are the Reds so inconsistent? I'm asked that a lot these days. Simple answer is that they're young and not very deep. Good, deep teams, like the Phillies, have solid veterans who can consistenly put the ball in play. The Reds don't, at least not yet. That's why you'll see them win a couple in a row, then lose three or four. They're above .500 now, overachieving in a way. But to keep above break even and have a chance to contend late in the season, they'll have to as a team, develope more plate discipline. And Reds' GM Walt Jocketty will need to find better 'bats' off the bench.

Let's face it: the best bat off the Reds' bench is a pitcher, Micah Owings. When he's your first option, you've got trouble.

I'm going to get into this in greater detail this weekend on 700 WLW. But has the lustre of inter-league play worn off? Is it really that special when the Cleveland Indians roll into town? Is anyone looking forward to the White Sox? Would you rather see those teams once a year? Or would you rather see an extra series or two against some of the better teams in the National League. Personally, I'd rather see the Dodgers at GABP twice a season, than see any team from the American League, unless it's the Yankees or Red Sox.

We can talk more about that, Saturday from 3p-6:30p and again Sunday from 9am-Noon.

Not surprised at all that the Magic beat the Cavs in game one Wednesday night. If you've been watching the Orlando team throughout these playoffs, you know they have a tremendous amount of talent on offense. Defensively, the Magic have some holes. I believe the Cavs will win game #2 and I think this series will go the full seven games. But don't be surprised if Orlando wins this series. I know the Celtics won't be.

More later....and some 'tweets' as we get rolling later in the day.

The perils of a night off. The Reds fell out of first place tonight, simply because they weren't scheduled to play. St. Louis and Milwaukee both won. The Reds are now a half game behind both, tied with the Cubs, who won today as well.

It should be a big weekend in San Diego for the men in red. The Padres aren't very good.

So the Bengals are the latest team to be profiled on the HBO series "Hard Knocks". You wonder why Marvin Lewis OK'd the project. I did too, until I figured out this is a good way for Marvin to clean up the national image of his team and maybe snare a bit of the spotlight himself. Think about it. If you're Lewis and you've been saddled with a bunch of players who've done the 'blinking lights dance' and bumbled like clowns on the field, would you not relish the chance to show the world that you have something on the ball? If indeed Lewis' best career move is the one he makes leaving Cincinnati, what better vehicle to repair his image than a show the entire NFL world (among others) will watch.

Of course, if Chris Henry does something stupid or Ochocinco decides this show is really his audition for elsewhere, well that's when the trouble will begin.

And you just know, one of these guys is going to do something idiotic. a 24-person crew with five cameras rolling at all times may be too tempting for some in Bengal-dom.

Speaking of the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson, if you were going to legally change your name, wouldn't you fill out the form with the exact name you wanted to change it to? Apparently, Chad didn't do so well in spelling during his school days. For instead of filing for the name Ocho Cinco (which is what he believes '85' means in Spanish. It doesn't. Ocho Cinco means 'Eight Five". But we digress) Chad filled out the paperwork requesting "Ochocinco". And according to the NFL tonight, that's exactly how his name will appear on the back of his jersey and in all licensing products. Maybe he doesn't care. I don't.

To get you going into your Friday, how about a little vintage 80's. Nothing cheesier than the Italian disco classic (sung incidentally by a man from Northern Ireland) 'Tarzan Boy". The artist? Baltimora.

I think Alka Seltzer used this song for a commercial back in the '90's.

ESPN's John Clayton likes the Bengals in 2009, or so he says in this story.

I'm talking sports Saturday & Sunday on 700 WLW in Cincinnati. Saturday, I'm on from 3p-6p and my guests include former Bengal Stanford Jennings, he of the long KO return for a touchdown in the Bengals Super Bowl loss to the 49ers in 1989. Current Bengal, guard Andrew Whitworth, will join me as well. Sunday's line-up coming up shortly.

Here's a stat. Tell me who this guy is. He currently plays for the Reds. He has 134 career MLB at bats, is hitting .321 for his MLB career with six home runs and 25 rbi.

Micah Owings. Pitcher, Micah Owings.

Now if you look at the Reds critically, you have to admit that left field is a problem. Combined, the Reds left fielders, heading into this current road trip, were batting .221 this season. The best of that group, so far, has been Lance Nix, a left handed batter. If you're Dusty Baker, would you not consider this: platooning Nix with Owings in left field? Owings, a right handed batter, would play less than Nix, simply because there are more right handed pitchers. Therefore, Owings might, just might, be able to continue with his role as the 5th starter. If not, would that then clear the way for Homer Bailey to come up from AAA, where he's pitched well.

I'm just askin', as they say back in the old neighborhood.

Just posted, another Broo View Podcast. This episode features Jon Heyman, the national baseball writer for Sports Illustrated. He has some interesting thoughts on the 18-14 start by the Reds. You can find the podcast on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com. But, if you're in a hurry, you can download it here.

Sports Illustrated's Peter King doesn't like your Cincinnati Bengals a whole lot in 2009. In this story, King has the Bengals 28th out of 32 NFL teams.

Today's blast from the past comes straight from the 90's. A little Weezer for your upcoming Wednesday.

Good Monday Morning

The Reds should've swept the Cardinals. I have a sinking feeling this game may come back to haunt the Reds later in the season. I hope not. But it might. Meantime it's off on a six game road trip against teams the Reds, I believe, are better than: the Diamondbacks and the Padres.

As I'm sure you know, I host Sunday Morning Sportstalk on 700 WLW in Cincinnati.

The thing that fuels sports talk radio is controversy. In New York City today, everyday, it’s A Rod, Yankees ticket prices, the Mets choking, everybody choking.

In LA, it’s Manny being Manny, or this week, Manny taking female fertility drugs and getting kicked out of baseball for 50 days. Female fertility drugs, what’s up with that.

If you don’t have controversy, and you make your living talking sports on the radio, most of the time, you’re dead in the water.

The hey day of sports controversy around here was of course, back in the late 80’s. Pete Rose was fighting for his baseball life. Sam Wyche was saying or doing something just about every week that made headlines. Marge Schott was just getting warmed up for a couple of suspensions. Bob Huggins was just rolling into town. On a nightly basis, Cincinnati was sports controversy central.

Now a days, you’ve got to look long and hard for a good sports controversy around here. Bengal arrests have subsided. The team will occasionally bring a guy into town with a rap sheet as long as Vine Street (Bernard Scott would come to mind. So too, the latest incarnation of Chris Henry). But by and large, a lot of that nonsense is in the Bengals wake these days.

The Reds aren’t exactly playing the controversy game these days either. Under Carl Lindner, the best you could have hoped for was a manager getting fired every year and a half or so. Bob Castellini has been more interesting. Firing a General Manager three weeks into a season and then saying “We’re not going to lose, anymore” that was pretty good.

But as far as controversy, things that make you go Hmmmm, as another famous Ohio University alum used to say, we’re dullsville.

And as I was driving into the station Sunday morning, I was trying to figure out why it’s like that. Is it because of all the losing we’ve had around here? Has tempered the tempests in the teapots that seem to pop up in other big sports cities around the country? Is it because we only have two of the major sports? Well, maybe, that certainly cuts down on the potential material, I guess.

Think about it. What was the last great sports controversy in Cincinnati? Was it Bob Huggins getting run out of town by Nancy Zimpher? I guess. But that was over four years ago. In New York, in Cleveland that wouldn’t get you through a week.

I don’t know, maybe that’s why local sports talk on radio has been driying up around here. Nothing going on to get too riled up about. Or maybe, it’s our Midwest sensibilities that have kicked in. We do a pretty good job of dismissing nonsense without a whole lot of wasted effort.

So as we visit here today, what controversy can we dig up about your Cincinnati Reds? They’re wining. They’re two and a half out of first place and they had the top team in the division on the ropes so far this weekend. Their starting pitcher has been terrific. Their bullpen, with a hiccup here and there, has been terrific. They’re not supposed to be scoring a lot of runs. But they’re hitting the ball like the ’98 Yankees. Walt Jocketty hasn’t made any stupid trades. Dusty Baker hasn’t made a huge in game gaffe. Maybe the bat boy can do something dumb.

No, it’s a pretty good time to be a Cincinnati sports fan. The Reds seem to surprise us every game. The Bengals are signing and drafting players that appear to be solid citizens and not the usual stiffs on the playing field. UC sent its football team to the Orange Bowl and Xavier may be even better with Chris Mack this season than it was with Sean Miller last season.

Good times in Cincinnati. Except it’s so damn boring. Where’s Boomer sitting in font of a bus, when you need him.

And finally, to get you going on this Monday, my blast from the past.

Henley at his understated best

More later...check back.

Bunch of stuff to catch up on today....

Guests this Sunday morning on 700 WLW will include Mike Florio, the editor of profootballtalk.com and Jon Heyman, the national baseball writer for Sports Illustrated. I'll also have John Czarnecki from foxsports.com with me. He's the national football. I'm on this Sunday morning from 9am--Noon EDT on 700 WLW. You can always listen online, here.

Johnny Cueto was 'on it' tonight. He's been simply unhittable over his last three starts. And when you put that beside what Edinson Volquez has done and couple it with hard luck Aaron Harang, this has been a remarkable first month of baseball for the Cincinnati Reds. They sit just 2 1/2 games out of first after Friday night's win. And remember, they played Friday night with a back up at every infield position.

In Seattle, they're in love with Griffey, Jr. again. And in Kansas City, the talented Jason Whitlock is writing about what we've known forever, about Griffey, Jr..

Now, as CSN sang back in the day: Just a song before I go, to whom it may concern....
One of the best one hit wonders from the '70's....


Christie is named after group leader Jeff Chrisite. This video was shot along the River Thames in London. Background on the song: originally it was offered to the Tremeloes of "Here Comes My Baby" fame. They recorded it, didn't like it and it eventually wound up back with Jeff Christie, who wrote the song. His group took it to #1 in the UK, #23 in the USA.

Have a great weekend!

Just posted the lastest Broo View Podcast at www.kenbroo.com. Reds pitching and the Bengals draft are the hot topics. You'll hear comments from Bengals 3rd round pick, Michael Johnson, the defensive end out of Georgia Tech. On the fly? You can also download it here.

Good Friday Morning!

My son, the brilliant attorney (or so he tells me) came up with an interesting thought on Reds pitcher, Micah Owings. We were talking late Thursday night about how Owings hits better than just about any pitcher in MLB. The ESQ said that whatever ERA Owings has, you have to subtract roughly .750 runs, because that's how many runs Owings is good for, per game, about 3/4 of a run.

We saw it again Thursday night, when Owings delivered a triple and later scored. Part of the difference in a one run ballgame.

The Bengals trade with the Rams could be one of the all time heists. Orien Harris, the defensive lineman heading to St. Louis, had zero chance of playing here. But, Brian Leonard, the running back heading to Cincinnati could see a lot of playing time. Leonard was the Rams second round pick in 2007 and played well that year. A shouldar injury sidelined Leonard for much of 2008. But the depth at running back, with the draft and now this, has dramatically improved for your Cincinnati Bengals.

Today's tune I just can't get out of my head:

That, of course, is the incomparable Lou Christie. Love the hazy, still Steel City Pittsburgh from 1969. Now of course, all big steel is imported. Thanks corporate America.

More later today, promise...

Good Wednesday Morning!

Four shutouts in the past six games. Reds pitching is the best it's been since that 1990 wire to wire season. No lie. The Reds staff had a grand total of six shutouts all of 2008. They equaled that last night when Edison Volquez and Nick Masset teamed up to blank the Marlins. Volquez hasn't allowed a run in 16.1 innings. His change up completely mesmerized the Marlins. And as much as he struggled early this season, he was that good, in taking his record to 4-2 on Wednesday night.

I like the pitching on this team. Who doesn't? But I believe the Reds still need to address the offensive deficiencies they have have. Ok, Ok, they put seven up on the Marlins last night. They put six up on Pittsburgh and lost Saturday and five up on the Pirates Sunday and won. But, one more solid bat in the line-up (preferably playing left field) will protect the young bats of Votto, Bruce and Phillips. Votto will go into a swoon. It happens to every hitter every season. Who then carries the load when that happens? If Bob Castellini is waiting until mid season to see if his team is in contention before OK'ing a deal, he's making a grave error. Wins in May count as much as wins in August and September. He and his GM, Walt Jocketty, missed the boat this winter, when they passed on bringing in a legit left fielder. Maybe it was the economy. Maybe is was over-estimating the talent they had in house. Whatever. The time is now to be proactive.

Big kudos to University of Connecticut womens basketball coach, Geno Auriemma for flying in to Cincinnati to attend the news conference announcing his assistant, Jamelle Elliott as the new UC womens basketball coach. Never saw that before. Auriemma is a different bird. He got as many enemies as friends. But the man can coach. And even though he's losing his top recruiter (who brought most of the talent to him on the teams that won five national titles) to a Big East rival, Auriemma honored Elliott's request to attend her news conference. Good stuff.

Mark December 13th on your calendar. That's the day the Bengals play the Minnesota Vikings. And if you believe the reports coming out of Minneapolis, the Vikings are about to sign Brett Favre and lure him out of yet another retirement. Guess that tells you all you need to know about Sage Rosenfels. The Vikings have some nice weapons. But you wonder if they had done a deal with Favre six weeks ago, if TJ Houshmandzadeh would've signed with Minnesota. No deal yet between the Vikes and Favre. But the smoke is thick. And the fire might only be a few days away.

The Bengals had eleven draft picks in this year's NFL player draft. So how many will make the roster? Here are my definites: Andre Smith and Rey Maualuga (no brainers). More than likelies: Michael Johnson and Kevin Huber. Fairly certain: Jonathan Luigs.

Smith and Maualuga will start. Smith had better start at left tackle, because the next option is moving Andrew Whitworth from guard to left tackle. That would be a bad move. Whitworth could be an All Pro for years, if they leave him inside. Maualuga will be everything that Odell Thurman wasn't: a sober, solid citizen who can make plays at linebacker.

Michael Johnson is squeaky clean too. His problem has been intensity from down to down and a seeming lack of desire to take on the run. He could be a third down pass rushing specialist. At almost 6'7" he'll be a handful to block IF he can stay 'low', a problem for his at Georgia Tech.

Jonathan Luigs has the inside track to be the starting center. He's stout. But the Bengals would be well served to test Bobbie Williams at center. They gave it all of a quarter and a half in pre season last summer. And what happened? Nobody laid a hand on the Bengals quarterback. If Williams moves, it'll give Luigs to slide into the mix at guard.

Kevin Huber has no competition at this point for punting. Surely, someone will be brought in for training camp to contest for the job, if for no other reason than to keep Huber's left leg from falling off. But if his career at UC is any indication, Huber will have a job in Bengal stripes for a long time.

The song I can't get out of my head today. The Queen Of Soul

Whatever Miss Aretha is singing, I'm buying.

University of Tennessee basketball coach, Bruce Pearl is getting married again. That's Bruce on the left.

This has nothing to do with anything in Tri-State sports, unless you're a UK fans and this gives you yet another reason to player hate Pearl.

Personally, I've always like the guy, back to his days at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. And listening to him on some of the national radio sports talk shows, he seems to be a fun guest. His intended? Brandy Miller. Brandy, she's a fine, what a good wife should would be. Don't bother researching. "The Looking Glass' sang the song. Went all the way to #1 in 1972 on the Epic label.

That's it for now. Maybe more later today. I'm at GABP (Great American Ball Park for you non-Cincinnatians) tonight at 6p, weather permitting. The Redlegs are back home. I don't know if that's good or not. They're 14-12 overall, but just 4-7 in Cincinnati.

Good Tuesday Morning!

We saw another reason why the Reds, as currently comprised, can't contend for a playoff berth. It occurred Monday night, when Aaron Harang pitched terrific baseball for seven innings, and the Reds lost in 14. They had ample opportunities to beat the Marlins. But they could not come up with any 'situational' hits. Plain and simply, this team lacks a veteran bat in its line up that will make an opposing pitcher work, giving it's younger players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips better pitches to hit.

You can talk all you want about this current Reds team being 'hungrier' or 'more focused' than the 2008 Reds. What you're really saying is, you're glad Griffey, Jr. and Dunn are gone. But you don't account for what their presence (yes even an aging Griffey, Jr.) in the batting order did to the opposing pitcher. And Dunn's 100 rbi, which he consistently put up while in a Reds uniform, have yet to be replaced. Last night's game was crying for a long ball from the Reds. It wasn't there. And another terrific pitching performance was wasted. Dusty Baker emptied his bullpen, with the exception of closer Francisco Cordero. He was down to Danny Herrera, the last guy Baker wanted to see on the mound. Herrera faltered. The Reds lost a game they should have been able to win, long before the 14th inning. I think you're going to see a lot of game like this, unfortunately.

This is clearly the most controversial and the most intriguing Bengals draft pick. When the Bengals selected running back Bernard Scott from Abilene Christian, they appeared to have had a flashback to 2006, when they seemed to average an arrest a week. Here's a good video put together by draftguys.com.

It doesn't matter how good Scott is, or can be. What matters is whether or not he can stay out of trouble. This guy would be better served on a team with some solid veteran leadership. That's something the Bengals don't have.

Check back later today...and follow me on twitter!

Went to Detroit for the weekend for my nephew's college graduation. That city is hurtin' in a large way. You can just about feel it as you walk around. So much uncertainty about job status, so much anxiety about the GM-Chrysler situation. We drove by the world headquarters for Chrysler. Not a whole lot of activity around the building. But you could almost feel the angst. I'm not trying to be melodramatic about the situation. It's real and people are hurting.

Johnny Cueto has it figured out. If you weren't convinced before Sunday's game against the Pirates you should be now. Cueto tossed eight innings of shut out ball. His pitch selection was smart and his pitch count was workable. Too many pitches to get out of too few inning are the two things that did him in last season. No stretch to think that Cueto could win at least 15 this season.

And did you notice that was the third time in the last four games that Reds pitching has shutout an opponent?

The topic of what to do with Homer Bailey came up last night on Sports Rock (incidentally, George Vogel and I did a two man show for the first time in the history of SR and I think it went pretty well). Bailey has now thrown back to back stellar ballgames. And with Micah Owings struggling as the fifth starter, the thought was bringing Bailey up and send Owings to the bullpen.

Bad idea.

For openers, every time Bailey has come up from AAA he's 'spit the bit'. Louisville may be 100 miles away from Cincinnati, geographically. But in reality, it's more like 1,000 miles away. Bailey, and others, have exceled at that level, and then failed to seize the moment when called up to the majors.

Secondly, Bailey is no fifth starter. And having him in Cincinnati, with as many as 10 days in between starts on some occasions, makes no sense. Bailey also has 'stuff' much better than a #5 guy in the rotation. Your fifth starter is usually a guy who tries to finesse his way through a batting order. Bailey has over powering (if often uncontrollable) stuff, more along the lines of a #1 or #2 starter.

My idea for Bailey is to continue to have him throw in AAA and only bring him to the Reds if there's a need, based on injury or horrific collapses by one of the pitchers in the Reds rotation.
Honestly, Bailey's best role may be as 'trade bait' for a potential big bat later in the season. If the Reds are in it by mid-July and a bat is the target, Bailey could be the 'bait'. Is there any other reason why he's still with this organization, other than the fact that he's 22 years old? If the economy hadn't tanked in the winter, it's likely Bailey would be with the White Sox right now and Jermaine Dye would be patroling the outfield at Great American Ball Park.

WLWT televised the Flying Pig Marathon Sunday. Though misty and cool, it was perfect running weather. The most impressive thing about the day, as far as I was concerned, was Boston Marathon race director, Dave Gillardy in attendance. He was shadowing Flying Pig race director, Iris Simpson, to offer feedback and to take notes for his own race. I interviewed Gillardy on Channel 5 and he told me he'd give the Pig a A+. Admitting that the Boston Marathon is a more serious marathon than the Pig (though the Pig is attracting more and more elite class runners), Gillary said it isn't fair to compare the two as 'apples to apples'. He praised the course design as highlighting the finer points of the city of Cincinnati, while keeping the disciplines of a traditional Marathon. High praise.

We'll have more video later today. But check out this womens softball game between West Carolina and Furman. The security camera caught the mother of the WCU third baseman wailing on some Furman players and Furman supporters. She appears to be someone you don't want to tangle with, even if she apparently did start this rumble.

You been working for the weekend.....now it's here!

The Bengals opened their annual rookie mini camp today. Basically, it's a weekend of teaching terminology and eyeballing the players they drafted. Nothing more, nothing less. One interesting side-light to the weekend are the 'walk on' players. Years past, the term 'walk on' was reserved for college and high school kids who weren't good enough to earn scholarships or playing time. Now, the NFL has embraced the concept. Several local players will get a chance to work out with the Bengals rookies this weekend and try to catch the eye of the coaches. One fairly big name is in the group: former Ohio State quarterback, Todd Boeckman.

The Reds are in Pittsburgh for the weekend. Obviously, this team is playing better on the road than at home, as evidenced by its 7-3 road swing in April. But consistency against teams in its division is the key for the Reds this season. And they have to beat the 'preteners' if they want to compete for a division title or wild card. Good idea if it starts in Pittsburgh this weekend.

The Cardinals Albert Puljos may be the best player in the National League. But if you're starting a team from scratch and have to build around on player, would it be Puljos? I heard an ESPN talking head on the radio this week touting Puljos as the player to build around. And while still a young man, would you not want someone just a bit younger who could give you more years? Would the Mets David Wright or the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia be better choices? Just askin'.

The Flying Pig Marathon is this weekend in downtown Cincinnati. I'm not running, just helping to cover it for WLWT. I have enormous respect for anyone who can run the 26 miles-plus. But having worked the finish line for the past several years interviewing the winners, I've seen far too many 'weekend warriors' collapse in exhaustion and have to be aided by the medical personnel for me to be ever enticed to try and run in a marathon. I've actually seen particpants hauled sway on stretchers and wheel chairs. One man collapses in a heap behind our broadcast platform a few years back and suffered a heart attack. Not for me. I get tired driving 26 miles.

But good luck to all involved.

Sean Miller seems to be losing a lot of the players he inheited at Arizona. Wonder what's going on out there.

Our guest on Sports Rock! this Sunday night on WLWT 5 in Cincinnati will be Bengals second round pick, Rey Maualuga. 11:35p is the airtime!

Posted this on my web site http://www.kenbroo.com/. But if you haven't been over there, here's a behind the scenes look at one of my radio shows on 700 WLW.

Not on this Sunday. WLWT's George Vogel will fill in for me 9am-Noon EDT. I'll be back, like Arnold, on May 10.

Great dunk last night by the Bulls Joakim Noah to help Chicago stay alive in its series against the Celtics.

But the Celtics win this in seven.

OK, saved my Kentucky Derby pick until the end. I'm tempted by General Quarters and the way he ran in the Blue Grass. Great story about his trainer, Tom McCarthy, a former high school principal in Louisville. I'm still a fan of West Side Bernie, despite his horrid showing at the Lane's End Stakes at Turfway a month ago. With a first in the Wood and a first in the Gotham Stakes, the New York noise, I Want Revenge will probably win The Derby. But my pick is Musket Man. He's got three firsts and a third so far in 2009, including a win at the Tampa Bay Derby. Musket Man carries the early line of 20-1 and comes out of the second chute.

If he wins, keep the money and just send along a thanks.

Have a great weekend!