I'm Back!!!

Good Evening all on this cold Veteran's Day night.  Do yourself a favor, and go thank someone that is serving or has served in the United States Military, but you should be doing that everyday, not just this day. 

I've decided after my ten month hiatus, that I'll return to my post here on Sports Blog Cincinnati.  Why?  Easy, I'm a depressed sports fan, and a depressed Cincinnati sports fan in particular.  No better way to share my depressing sports fan thoughts than with other depressed Cincinnati sports fans. 

Tonight's post won't be long, as I have Thursday Night Football on NFL Network to watch...on a side note, I think the Network has more people in studio and at the Dome covering the game than the 90 players that will dress for both teams. 

Former posts here on the blog were more columns than anything.  Perfect for newspapers.  Biggest difference between a columnist and a reporter?  Columns, put yourself in the article and give your opinion and thoughts, and reporting, take yourself out and give only facts, not opinions.  The new blog will be different.  Every once in a while I'll pull something outta the hat and write a great "column" worth some money...all thanks to my college education...but for now, I will cover mostly Cincinnati sports, e.g. Remember 2008, when Carson Palmer got hurt in the Giants game, and sitting him the following week was a "precaution?"  He started one game the rest of the year, and was done...Him not practicing the past two days is giving me a bad feeling...some major news throughout each league, and some sports news in general.  I'll post some videos, pictures and great links.

For an idea on how the blog may look, go visit Mo Egger's, Lance McAlister's or Paul Daugherty's blog.  The links are on the page below to the left...just look. 


Spread the word, The Easy is back, and recharged...look for me to blog once a day, twice if you're lucky.  Before I go, I'll leave you with this, Jay Bruce and Joey Votto were screwed out of a Gold Glove, and Votto was screwed out of the Silver Slugger.  Harold Reynolds on MLB Network said Albert Pujols' numbers were better than Votto's across the board...as our favorite CBSSports.com columnist and former CNATI.com contributor C. Trent Rosecrans put it, "He must be talking about just Home Runs and RBI's." 


Joey Votto forever, Albert Pujols never!


The Easy

Syracuse Loss May Keep Team from Finishing Out

On Sunday, after being ahead by a score of 49-43 with 12:26 seconds left to play, the Cincinnati Bearcats last lead of the night ended at the 9:42 mark when the Syracuse Orange went on an 8-0 run to take the lead by a score of 51-49 and never relinquishing that. In the final 8:16 seconds of the game, the Bearcats failed to make a basket, and in the final 12:26, the Bearcats scored just five points, while the Syracuse Orange scored 28 to secure the win and continue their dominating season on their way to a number one seed come March.

Head Coach Mick Cronin put the performance into perfect words, saying that the Bearcats missed 14 shots and had but just three rebounds in the second half. What was somewhat of a coming out party for forward/center Ibrahima Thomas, the rest of the team didn’t favor as well. Thomas, who scored a UC career-high 13 points, also made away with seven rebounds. Freshman guard Lance Stephenson and sophomore forward Yancy Gates were both in double digits in scoring, with 10 and 11 respectively.

The loss brings the Cats to an overall record of 14-9 with five wins and six losses in Big East play. The Orange, ranked third and fourth in the country depending on which poll you read, are now 23-1 overall and 10-1 in Big East play.

The Cats have seven games left, with their next game on Saturday, February 13th in Connecticut against the UConn Huskies. If they Cats are going to make the NCAA tournament in March, they are going to need to play much better and find at least four, maybe even five wins and with the remaining opponents being all Big East, including UConn, West Virginia, Villanova and Georgetown, the Cats may find themselves out of the tournament come March, or just as worse, playing in the NIT, or as I call it, the “Not Invited Tournament.”

If the Cats fail to make the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year, the fans screaming for Mick Cronin’s head on a platter may begin. I would like to think that it is just growing pains, since Lance Stephenson is a freshman, as is Cashmere Wright and Jaquon Parker, but Deonta Vaughn has had an off year and for the second straight year, sophomore Yancy Gates has failed to bring the intensity needed all game, every game.

At what point does it become clear that Mick Cronin is not, and will not get the job done? I do understand that this program is in much better shape than when he inherited it, but with this year’s recruiting class being the most highly touted since his arrival, the Cats are not making the progress that the fans, myself included, thought they would. At the same time, the Cats are also in the Big East Conference, home to some of the most dominating teams and powerhouses (see UConn, Syracuse, Villanova, and Georgetown).

The only thing I know for certain, is that UC lost it’s most prized player in Devan Downey when Andy Kennedy was not given the head coaching position, only to lose out to current coach Mick Cronin. At least Cronin doesn’t have to reach out to the football team to help fill voids and holes left in his roster due to injuries as he had earlier in his career. That is a good thing, because Connor Barwin’s job description does not read “help off the bench,” but rather, “back up for Mario Williams; sack the quarterback or the ball carrier.”

Note to David Stern: Cincinnati Wants an NBA Team

Send the notice out to the NBA and the owners, Cincinnati wants a team in the National Basketball Association, and I will be the first to stand up, speak out and lead this charge. I am tired of hearing about Kenyon Martin as a Denver Nugget. It is about time he came back to his college home and played in the Queen City again. Trust me when I say this, he is not the only one. I would love to see the likes of former Xavier basketball players David West and James Posey tearing it up on the home court downtown at U.S. Bank Arena. Being a bigger U.C. fan, I’d love to be seeing the likes of Jason Maxiell slamming the ball home, or James White taking Flight only the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James know of.

Think of how it would help the economy here in Cincinnati. The National Basketball Association is as successful as they come. Being in Cincinnati, we as fans or NBA outsiders do not notice just how well the NBA flourishes. Take a trip up to Cleveland and you will understand what I am talking about. Sure, it helps that the Cavaliers have LeBron James, but with the way the Cleveland Browns play and the way the Indians have ended the last few years, Cleveland has quickly turned itself into a basketball town, going deep into the playoffs and competing for the NBA Championship year in and year out.

Bringing an NBA franchise to Cincinnati would add jobs, get fans spending their money to watch a basketball game and bring tourists from all around the region. Instead of saying in November or December, “Hey, I am going to take a weekend vacation to Indianapolis to watch the Pacers and Colts, or Cleveland to see the Browns and Cavs,” fans all around the area could be saying, “Hey, load up the car, we going to Cincinnati for the weekend. Not only are they going to have a casino, but Saturday night we will see their NBA team and on Sunday, we will see the Cincinnati Bengals.”

The last professional franchise to start in Cincinnati was the Cincinnati Jungle Kats of Arena Football League 2, and we all know how well that ended. One season with a record of 1-15 and lack of support lead to their downfall. Their owners consisted of an overweight and overrated defensive tackle in Sam Adams, a disappointment and underachieving Ken Griffey Jr. and the Cincinnati Reds Medical Team Doctor in Timothy Kremcheck.

I know I am not the only one that would love to see the likes of Deonta Vaughn putting up a game winner as an NBA baller, or Steve Logan pulling up behind the three point line and nailing a three so far back that only a modified video game version of Kobe Bryant could match. Hell, I’d like to see Jordan Crawford slam dunking over the likes of Dwight Howard and Dwayne Wade. He did it against LeBron, so who’s to say he couldn’t do it over these two.

In all honesty, if Cincinnati were to receive an NBA team, fans would have to live through a few years of dismal and disheartening seasons full of talented youngsters learning to grow their game and seasons of more than 40 losses. In this case, we could go to Charlotte for comfort, as for their first five seasons in the NBA, the Charlotte Bobcats have made slow, but steady progress, culminating in a season in which their record, 24-24, is currently sixth best in the Eastern Conference and is good enough for a playoff birth.

I do not know about you, but I can live through four or five seasons of growing pains. All it takes are good role players, a few high ceiling players, one star, and good coach (Oscar Robertson anyone?) and ownership (Bob Castellini, Carl Lindner, Mike Brown or Richard T. Farmer?) to make a great team, and just like the Bengals and Reds do now, players from all three teams will be attending the other games to help cheer and root for the hometown team. Side note, if you are unaware of whom Richard T. Farmer is, he took Cintas from nothing, and created it into a Fortune 500 company.

All I have to say is this, David Stern, get the paperwork ready, because the city of Cincinnati is in need of an NBA team again, and we will not accept a letter stating, “At this time, I, David Stern, the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, can not grant the city of Cincinnati a franchise for play in the NBA.” We will not accept no, and until we get our team, expect columns and stories like this, filling up your mailbox day in, and day out.

The Easy

A Closer Look at the Reds in 2010

With less than a month until pitchers and catchers report (on February 17th) to Spring Training and just over a month until position players report (on February 22nd), the Reds haven’t made that much of a splash this off season. That is, until Owner Bob Castellini, General Manager Walt Jocketty and the Cincinnati Reds organization announced a week ago that they signed one of the most sought after free agents this year in Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman. Chapman, a soon-to-be 22 year old left-handed pitcher stands 6’4” and weighs about 180 lbs. His fastball has been clocked at 100 mph with a plus slider and has earned comparisons to a young Randy Johnson.

The Reds made the signing after standing firm all off season long with the motto of going with what they have, as opposed to spending money that the organization really didn’t have. This has included re-signing catcher Ramon Hernandez to a lesser amount and also reworking third baseman Scott Rolen’s contract to try to give the club more flexibility. The Reds have been unable to re-sign free agent outfielder Jonny Gomes so far as the two parties have been unable to reach an agreement. But maybe there’s more to this signing than what is out there. Maybe the Reds knew they had some wiggle room to sign the young, highly demanded Chapman and at the same time, knew that they could win out over the likes of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

The signing doesn’t hamper the Reds too much though, as Chapman’s six-year, $30 million contract will be paid to him over the next ten years, with the young lefty making $1 million in 2010 with a chance of pitching for the big club. Most likely, he will start out in the minors and work his way up, as his control and need to develop a third pitch (probably a changeup) are the only things keeping him from starting the season on the opening day, 25 man roster. The signing shows that the Reds are still working toward the future, as if Chapman proves to be worth the $30 million, current Reds’ mainstays Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo could be on another team, in another city.

The Reds look to have a strong, young rotation by 2011 or 2012, as Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake and Aroldis Chapman could lead this team to the playoff land.

Moving past the Chapman signing, the Reds agreed on a two-year contract with pitcher Nick Masset. Masset, a current reliever, showed signs last year of becoming the future Reds’ closer after going 5-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 74 relief appearances. Reliever Jared Burton is the lone Red who has yet to sign after filing for arbitration. Burton, who went 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA in 53 appearances, was a bit shaky in 2009 after his breakout performances in 2007 and 2008.

The one signing the Reds have been unable to complete, which has upset Reds fans throughout the Greater Cincinnati Area, is Jonny Gomes. After being completely loaded with left-handed power bats the last few years, the Reds were finally able to find their right-handed power in outfielder Jonny Gomes, who ended 2009 with 20 home runs in only 98 games.

The inability to sign Gomes begins to show that the make-up in the outfield for 2010 could consist of Juan Francisco in left, Drew Stubbs in center and Jay Bruce in right. With Scott Rolen signed through 2012 after his contract extension in December, the chances of Francisco coming to the Big Leagues to play third base on an everyday basis seems slim to none. But with Francisco having some experience in the outfield, it looks as if Manager Dusty Baker would like the power left-hander to try playing left field in the big leagues after going 9-21 (a .429 batting average) with one home run and seven RBIs in 14 games with the Reds last September. The necessity of a shortstop that has some pop in their bat will continue to rise once the season begins if current shortstop Paul Janish is unable to hit at least .250. At the end of the year last year, Baker made it public that as long as Janish could hit .250 in the majors, the starting shortstop job is his. Janish will need to perform better than that though, as prospects Chris Valaika, Todd Frazier and Zack Cozart could compete for the job within the next few years.

Currently, the Reds are talent-rich in most positions, which can only help the ball club return to the greatness this city hasn’t seen since the 1990 team and even before that in the 1970s during the Big Red Machine era.

Cincinnati Falls to Seton Hall 83-76

Gobearcats.com

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -Jeremy Hazell scored 33 points and Seton Hall snapped a four-game losing streak with an 83-76 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday night.

Herb Pope added 14 points and the Pirates (10-5, 1-3 Big East) used a 29-4 spurt to take control and beat the Bearcats (11-5, 2-2) for the third straight time.

Deonta Vaughn scored a season-high 20 points, freshman Lance Stephenson added 15 and Yancy Gates had 14 for Cincinnati, which cut a 14-point deficit with 5:42 to play to four points before the Pirates closed out the game from the foul line.

The Bearcats will travel to Madison Square Garden in New York to take on St. John's tomorrow night and will follow that by hosting Notre Dame at Fifth Third Arena on Saturday. 

Xavier Musketeers Men's Basketball Preview

Goxavier.com

The X's and O's

• Xavier, 10-5 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, is coming off a sweep of a two-game road trip to open the Atlantic 10 Conference season after winning 68-62 at La Salle on Jan. 7 and 76-69 at George Washington on Jan. 10.

• Xavier sophomore Jordan Crawford has earned Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. Crawford averaged 26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.5 steals in two games for the week ending Jan. 9 (at Wake Forest and at La Salle). Crawford leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring at 19.3 ppg., including a career-high 30-point game at Wake.
 
• Xavier’s lone senior, Jason Love, leads the team in rebounding at 9.5 rpg. (fourth in the Atlantic 10) and blocked shots at 2.1 bpg. (fourth in the A-10). Love is coming off of his fifth double-double of the season, a 19-point, 13-rebound game at George Washington on Jan. 10.
 
• Xavier sophomore Terrell Holloway is second in the Atlantic 10 Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.59-to-1.00. He leads the A-10 and is 18th in the nation in free-throw percentage at 90.9 percent (60-of-66). He also leads XU in assists at 3.8 apg. (seventh in the Atlantic 10).

• Xavier junior Jamel McLean recorded a double-double with a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds at Wake Forest. McLean is second on the team and 12th in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding at 6.8 rpg.

• Xavier, undefeated at home in Atlantic 10 Conference play each of the last three seasons, has won 24 straight Atlantic 10 Conference games at Cintas Center, which is tied for the second-longest streak in A-10 history.

• Xavier’s 14-year Atlantic 10 history, which began in the 1995-96 season, includes seven regular season and four tournament titles. XU won the last three A-10 Regular Season Championships (2009, 2008 and Co-Champs in 2007).

• Xavier made its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009 and its eighth in the last nine years, including the NCAA Sweet 16 this past season (2009) and the Elite Eight in 2004 and 2008.

Disappointing End to a Great Season

On Saturday, in front of a sellout home crowd watching only the second playoff game in Cincinnati since 1990, saw the Cincinnati Bengals fall to the New York Jets by a score of 24-14. A game in which the Bengals were able to run the ball very effectively against the NFL’s number one rushing defense, the passing game was not able to take off as Carson Palmer, for the eighth time this season, failed to throw for 200 yards in a game. Cedric Benson was able to give the home crowd something to cheer about as he rushed for 169 yards on 21 carries including a 47 yard touchdown run.

After a fluke loss, the Bengals were able to get their heads on straight and have a dominant beginning and middle part of the season. But when the Bengals visited Oakland at 7-2, the Bengals started a 3-3 stretch that saw them go from a potential home field advantage winner to a fourth seed who was blown out in their final regular season game.

If you’re like me, and all you wanted for Christmas was the playoffs in Cincinnati, then you got your wish. But obviously our secondary wishes of making sure the Bengals went deep into the playoffs weren’t heard as the Jets once again, for the second week in a row, trounced the Bengals. Now that the season is over, it is time to look forward to the NFL Draft, training camp and the pre-season.

It’s no secret that the Bengals need to address some key issues and positions come the off season. The biggest need is for help on offense at the receiver position. Jerome Simpson will most likely be gone this off season due to his inability to get on the field in his second season as a second round draft pick. Next year, the position looks to hold Chad Ochocinco, Laveranues Coles, Andre Caldwell, and Quan Cosby. Look for 2009 draftee Freddie Brown and Carson Palmer approved Maurice Purify to also vie for a roster spot. Again, this is assuming Jerome Simpson is gone, or can’t get on the field again. Most likely, the Bengals will draft one or maybe even two wide receivers in April’s draft. Early indications show the Bengals wanting a burner with height, which is what they had in Chris Henry.

As I’ve been saying for a while, and the way it looks on some of the mock drafts I’ve seen, Mardy Gilyard from the University of Cincinnati will definitely be there for the Bengals taking in the second round. This fills the void for speed at the position, but the need for height could be addressed in the later rounds of the draft. According to Walterfootball.com, the Bengals are projected to take a 6’3” wide receiver from LSU in Brandon LaFell. Looking at what he’s done overall, over 900 yards receiving last year and over 700 receiving yards this year and running a 4.54 40, he could be a great replacement for Chris Henry.

Also, there are questions at tight end and have been for the past few years. Last year the Bengals spent a third round pick on Chase Coffman from Missouri and he couldn’t get on the field this year. Why? Main reason being because he can’t block and the Bengals want a tight end that can block more than a receiving tight end like Brent Celek from Philadelphia or Jason Witten from Dallas. Why do you think the team has stayed with Reggie Kelly and allowed him to start at least 11 games from 2003 to 2008? Simply put, Reggie Kelly can block. The Bengals use the tight end at times, but have always utilized their third or fourth option receivers and backs more. To put it in perspective, in 2006, when Kelly started all 16 games, he caught 21 passes for 254 yards and one touchdown.

Back ups J.P. Foschi and Daniel Coats are good options that play hard and never give up. But they’re inability to catch the ball and make plays when their numbers are called needs to be addressed. I would look for the Bengals to try and draft a tight end maybe in the early to middle rounds of the draft like last year. According to CBSSports.com, the Bengals in the first round will take Jermaine Gresham from Oklahoma. I don’t mind the pick, as this would give the Bengals a marquee name at tight end that is big enough to block ends at 261 lbs. and tall enough (6’6”) to run down the field and catch a ball in the back of the end zone.

On the offensive line front, I don’t believe many changes are needed, as the line is young (besides right guard Bobbie Williams) and showed promise during the year. I would look for Andrew Whitworth to continue to anchor the line along with Andre Smith at tackle. Evan Mathis and Nate Livings also made good contributions at guard. I believe it is crucial to get Anthony Collins in somewhere after he showed lots of promise and poise standing in there as a rookie last year.

Defensively, the Bengals will need to add a cornerback as a better option to nickel back over Morgan Trent. Most games throughout the year, the tandem of Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall shut down the number one and two receivers while Morgan Trent and a consortium of linebackers and defensive backs struggled with tight ends and third and fourth receivers.

Adding a safety may also help, as Roy Williams is not only getting older, but he got hurt, again. When he’s healthy, he’s a force. But when he’s hurt, he doesn’t offer this club much. When it comes to linebackers, I’d like to see the Bengals draft a middle linebacker. I like Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga on the outside, as Rivers gives the team a coverage linebacker and Maualuga is your run-stopping backer. I like Dhani Jones and his leadership and experience to the team, but he’s getting old and I think he’ll need to be replaced soon. The Bengals wouldn’t need to draft a linebacker if Rashad Jeanty or Brandon Johnson moved to the middle, but I’m not sure if that would happen. I like Abdul Hodge, but just like Ahmad Brooks and Landon Johnson, back up linebackers are a dime a dozen now a days.

The defensive line is a little more complicated. You’re obviously set with Domata Peko in the middle, but the Bengals can either line up Tank Johnson or Pat Sims there. I like both of them, and I’d go with Sims over Johnson because at a young age, he’ll be able to get better quicker if he’s starting. The ends, Robert Geathers and Antwan Odom were set at the beginning of the season and you’d expect them to be the starters come September. Only problem is Johnathan Fanene and Michael Johnson did very well in Odom’s place and could compete for that starting spot.

This is the spot the Bengals want to be in. The Bengals want to have lots of young talent to compete against each other for the starting positions. Not only does it give Head Coach Marvin Lewis some peace knowing that if one guy goes down, another can step up and play just as good.

Injuries to watch for when workouts arrive and training camp starts will be Odom’s Achilles, Maualuga’s ankle, Jeanty’s leg and Sims’ forearm/wrist. The Bengals will need both Maualuga and Jeanty to heal up quick, as the defense is definitely different without them. Odom has been oft-injured in his career and I believe he needs a full season with the Bengals without serious injury to prove that the eight sacks he recorded before the injury wasn't a fluke. Sims is young and will need to bounce back quickly, as he'll be pushing the older Tank Johnson while competing for that starting tackle position next to Peko.

The Bengals have only made the playoffs in back to back seasons once in their franchise history. That was in 1981 and 1982. I’d look for the Bengals to come back next year not only focused on running the ball, but putting the ball in the air and having a balanced attack reminiscent of the 2005 AFC North Champion Bengals. The defense will be a year older with a lot more experience under their belt and that can only help at this point, as there is talent all over the defensive side of the ball.