THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

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.