Crazy Larry a Bengal, Crazy Larry Could Play

Earlier this week, the Cincinnati Bengals announced the signing of former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson.  With the injury and the signing, Cedric Benson fans should not be worried that Ced may become the team's number two back.  Yes, Larry Johnson did have a history of problems in KC and at times has showed signs of having a mind full of "It's about Larry world" ideas, but that doesn't mean he's not an effective and useful back to have on the roster, even at the "old" age 30. 

Veteran Leadership:

Larry Johnson can help this team more than you think, whether or not he's taking five to ten carries a game.  Larry Johsnon did go to the playoffs with the Chiefs, and can provide some additional veteran leadership to a young team.  The Bengals are in a winning situation, and the young team is hungry and seeking a playoff run.  Given the environment, Larry Johnson can thrive and help save Ced for that late January run.   The Bengals have an exceptional and young offensive line that week in and week out exceeds expectations.  Larry Johnson did not experience that in Kansas City this year, and everyone knows that a good running back starts with a good offensive line. 

Making Room in the Backfield:

Giving Johnson the ball five to ten times a game makes perfectly good sense.  He can help take the load off of Cedric Benson, which will save him for December and the playoffs.  The Bengals plan on using Larry as an insurance policy, but trust me, a horse like Larry Johnson won't be an insurance policy for long, as he'll be seeing game time soon.  Rookie Bernard Scott has the chance to be a replica of LaDainian Tomlinson but this is his first year, give him some time.  Former St. Louis Rams running back Brian Leonard is a receiving threat coming out of the backfield and can be used deadly when in the right formation.  Give Johnson five or ten carries a game, let Leonard and Scott see about five or so snaps a game and give Benson 15 carries, and the backfield is set, with nobody wearing down. 

Strong Locker Room Leadership:

Until the last year or two, the Cincinnati Bengals have constantly been looking for that locker room leadership that you only get with the likes of the Indianapolis Colts or New England Patriots.  That's changed, as the Bengals locker room is loaded with veterans that carry themselves well off the football field.  The most obvious example, Carson Palmer.  Along with Palmer, there are at least four more leaders on the offensive side of the ball.  Included are Bobbie Williams, the 32 year old right guard, Tackle Andrew Whitworth, the anchor of the offensive line, Tackle Scott Kooistra, who can play anywhere on the line, and Tight End Reggie Kelly.  Although Kelly is out for the year, he provides lots of leadership in the locker room to rookie Chase Coffman. 

On defense, you have cast-offs from around the league that found a home and locker room to lead here in Cincinnati.  Of these players, Dhani Jones, Roy Williams and Chris Crocker are providing a lot of the leadership, as all three have been to the playoffs, and have tasted glory.  Throw in Robert Geathers, the  longest tenured defensive player at the age of 26 and Domata Peko, and you have yourself a mix of young and veteran players that are working to bring a Super Bowl to the Jungle. 

The overall point?  Larry Johnson doesn't have a chance to come into the locker room and live up to his "bad boy" act from Kansas City.  He won't even get a word out before someone, probably Carson Palmer, comes to him and tells him how it is here, and how we act here.  If Johsnon can't deal, he can leave.  He won't, he's got nowhere else to go.

The Easy

McGwire's Legacy is Steroids, Not Home Runs

Mark McGwire has had nearly five years to figure out what to say next.  Yet here we are, weeks after the St. Louis Cardinals hired McGwire to be their new hitting coach, and still not a word.  No news conference.  No teleconference.  No statement.  No nothing.
If a quivering McGwire was unwilling to speak under oath at a March 2005 congressional hearing on steroids, what makes you think he wants to speak about the S-word -- and his alleged use of the juice -- in November 2009?  That's easy, McGuire doesn't.
McGwire would rather chug pine tar than sit in front of another conga line of microphones, in front of an SRO crowd of reporters, and have to explain his relationship with performance-enhancing drugs.  But this is the situation he created and a situation only he can resolve.  "I think that's going to be needed, yes," Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak said when asked by ESPN writer Gene Wojciechowski whether McGwire should address the controversy.  "How we'll define that I think we'll still use our time to still figure that out.  But that does seem logical."
Logical.  Necessary.  Unavoidable.

Remember, McGwire is the man who hid behind his retirement from baseball, who slithered around the truth, who, when Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked him that March day in 2005 whether he was invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, said famously and disastrously, "I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject."  Problem is, the past won't go away.  It's stuck to his reputation like a wad of bubble gum and chaw.  In McGwire's case, the past is still his present.  There is no timetable for a McGwire public appearance.  If anything, it sounds as if Mozeliak, the Cardinals and, most of all, McGwire, were unprepared to deal with the premature release of the news of his hiring.

"I think on the McGwire topic right now, the way I'd like to address it is that there's still some things we're talking through," Mozeliak said.  "I recognize that it's a very sensitive topic … there's going to be a wide range of what people are hoping to hear or something along the lines of what he may say.  For me personally, I'm not, we're not there yet. We don't know what that looks like.  Hopefully in the next week or so, we can work through that."  Added Mozeliak, "It's not something we're ignoring or hoping will go away."
McGwire must be dreading this.  He is a private person who, even during his then-record-breaking 70-homer season in 1998, had to be pulled out of his personality shell by Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa.  They were baseball's odd couple.  Sosa would later forget how to speak English at those same congressional hearings.  This past June, The New York Times reported that Sosa was one of 104 players who tested positive for PED use in what was supposed to be an anonymous 2003 drug survey.  Gee, what a surprise.  But in 1998, McGwire and Sosa mesmerized a nation with their homers. In 2005, they mesmerized it with their laughable and lawyered-up testimony.

The smart move, the only move, is for McGwire to do what Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez and even Manny Ramirez -- all previously accused of PED use -- did before him: acknowledge, confess and explain.  That's because the minute McGwire decided to accept Manager Tony La Russa's job offer is the minute he forfeited his baseball privacy.  This is standard damage-control doctrine.  Have a one-time news conference, answer every question, then move forward.

"I thought Manny needed to explain himself," said Los Angeles Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.  "He's still an active player.  He's still a player on the payroll.  He's somebody who's vital to the organization and, in a lot of ways, the face of the organization.  I think it was incumbent upon him to say something, which he did."

And this from New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman: "[Pettitte and Rodriguez] came forward to the degree that they felt they could, and I believe they both moved past it and put it in their rearview mirrors. Those were very difficult times in their lives regarding choices they made at certain times of their lives. Thankfully, they emerged and moved on and have continued to be a part of the game they loved."  Do you want to be a part of the game you loved Mark?  I think fans may be willing to dismiss the fact that you turned your back on not only the fans, but the sport that you were supposed to love.  "The only thing I ever discussed with [Pettitte and Rodriguez] was if they talked about it publicly that they do not lie," Cashman said. "Whatever they decide to give publicly, make sure it's accurate. Because there are no secrets. So if you say something in public that's not accurate, then eventually it will be proven inaccurate. Whatever you speak to, make sure it's accurate. And don't try to mislead people."
McGwire was the face, the arms, the legs, the everything of the St. Louis franchise for years. When he steps into the Jupiter, Fla., sun for the first day of spring training -- even as a hitting coach -- he will become a prominent part of the Cardinals once again.

But you can't put on a big league uniform, especially a uni that represents one of the most respected organizations in the majors, without addressing your demons.  Anyone who watched McGwire's credibility evaporate in front of that congressional hearing knows he has a bat rack full of them.
Now McGwire gets a rare second chance.  At baseball.  At the truth.  A rare second chance at not only the truth for the fan's sake, but for his as well.  Just like all the ball players that used, he made a mistake, and a very bad judgement call.  Let's hope he makes the right one this time, because McGwire does deserve to be back in the spotlight.  The ball is in his court, and now it's the waiting game to see how he serves it back. 
Four years and nine months ago, McGwire sat in front of the country and misled it.  He did a verbal tap dance.  He evaded.  And then he disappeared into the darkness.  Soon, he'll sit in front of those microphones again.  This time, let's hope he sees something different.  This time, let's hope he sees the light.

Bengals keep winning; Owner keeps rolling

Very interesting is the fact that the first place AFC North Cincinnati Bengals are 6-2, and so far 4-0 in the division.  Next Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is the most important game of the year.  If the Bengals win in the Steel City, we're 5-0 in the division, and will have swept the season series with not only the Steelers, but the Baltimore Ravens also.  It's worth noting that last year, the Bengals went 4-11-1, and the Ravens and Steelers faced off  in the AFC Championship game.  The Bengals are winning, and are two games away from sweeping their division. The last time the Bengals were 6-2? Try 1988, when they went to the Super Bowl.  The last time the Bengals swept their division?  Never.  Since their inception into the NFL in 1968, the Cincinnati Bengals have never swept their division.  This year sounds like and looks like a good year to change that. 

The sad part?  The economy combined with the outrages prices at Paul Brown Stadium, fans either can't afford to go to the games, or don't want to spend that much money.  All the while Cincinnati Bengals Owner Mike Brown is rolling in his money while others struggle.  The way it seems, Brown doesn't care about the fans and never has.  That's gotta change.  Correct that, that's GOING to change.  If he wants to look better to the Bengals Faithful, Brown has to change the way he's running not only the football team, but the ticket office also.  Before the season started, a large number of season ticket holders had to sell their tickets or not purchase them, because along with the economy, it wasn't affordable.  With the Bengals pushing for a playoff run reminiscent of the 2005 season, most fans should be buying tickets like crazy.  But they aren't.  Thus, we've had to settle for a few close blackouts, only to be saved by the likes of Kroger, Chad OchoCinco and Motorolla.  Don't expect to see either of the last three games on tv, as frugal fans don't want to see the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns or the Kansas City Chiefs. 

What should be done?  Owner Mike Brown should get the fans back.  Fans in Cincinnati loath the owner, and what better way to get the fans storming into PBS with second thoughts about Mike Brown than by giving the season tickets back to the former season ticket holders.  Whether they left because of last year's debacle, or because of the recession, the fans still watch their Bengals, and should be compensated.  I'm not saying let the fans buy the tickets back at half price, I'm saying that for Mike Brown to gain a little bit of trust back from the fans, he needs to give back the season tickets to the former season ticket holders.  This will save us from not only blackouts, but also save our Cincinnati Bengals from playing in front of a weak crowd when they are winning. 

It is our job as fans to fill the seats, winning or losing, but it's Mike Brown's job to make sure we never leave.  Well Mikey, we left, and if you want us back, YOU have to come crawling back.  You have to show us support and dedication like we showed you.  It's a two way street.  We met in the middle for years, but you were no where to be found.  Now it's time for us as fans, and you as the Owner of the Cincinnati Bengals to meet in the middle, and root, cheer, and watch our Bengals to a Super Bowl. 

The Easy   

Quick Spin 2

We'll go with a quick spin today, as time is short for me.  Let's just jump right into the issues and topics for this great November Friday. 

• Tim Lincecum was pulled over near his hometown for speeding (he was going 74 mph in a 60 mph zone) and although there are no reports, I'm sure he was smoking in his car, as the officer that pulled him over stated smelling a strong scent of marijuana.  Lincecum quickly handed it over along with his pipe.  Comments?  It's about time he got busted for smoking pot.  Seriously, if you thought, that he wasn't a pot head, even after looking at him, you're an Idiot.  Lincecum on the other hand?  A $622 fine and a slap on the wrist.  Who cares, it's not steroids and he didn't get in a conflict with his wife (see Miguel Cabrera.) 
• As much as it pains me to say, the Indianapolis Colts need to find a place for Safety Bob Sanders on a different team.  In his six year career, Sanders has played a total of 47 games out of a possibility of 96 games.  Forty-seven games is not even half of the total amount of games he could have played.  After playing two games this year, he is out indefinetly after needing surgery on his bicep/elbow.  He's played more than 6 games in a season twice, and that was the 2005 season, and the 2007 season when he was named AP Defensive Player of the Year.  My advice to the Colts?  Make a deal for the oft-injured Sanders and send him somewhere else.  Some team will want him, and that team would give up a player or two along with a few draft picks. 
• The Minnesota Twins made a deal for Milwaukee Brewer's Shortstop J.J. Hardy in exchange for Outfielder Carlos Gomez.  The Twins dealing for Hardy will probably mark the end for Shortstop Orlando Cabrera's stint with the club.  The deal won't make much of a difference, as Hardy hit .229 last year with 11 home runs and didn't seem to have it together at all.  
•  The Philadelphia Phillies picked up Cliff Lee's $9 million for the 2010 season today.  I don't know why it took the Phillies a whole two days to decide on whether or not to exercise the option for Lee's services, as he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Someone will need to anchor that rotation now that last year's World Series MVP Cole Hamels is crying in the corner after having a bad year. 

As I said, time is short, and that's all for now, just a few of the headlines for today.  Will try for more later.  We have a great weekend for College Football and NFL action, and all I have to say,

Cincinnati Bengals forever, Baltimore Ravens NEVER!!!!

The Easy

All is Good in the World of Sports

With the New York Yankees winning their 27th World Series Championship last night over the Philadelphia Phillies, everyone in the world of sports is at ease and happy.  Unless you're a Boston Red Sox or New York Mets fan that is.  You see, in today's society, everybody loves to write about the controversy and the drama.  What city has that more than all?  New York.  What team displays these traits more than all?   Whether it be A-Rod on steroids and dating Madonna and Kate Hudson, Jeter getting old, or a new set of Joba rules, the New York Yankees are Kings of Controversy and Drama in Major League Baseball.  The Yankees fit the bill pretty well in the entire professional ranks, as no team in history of professional sports is under the scrutiny and microscope of the New York Media like the Yankees.  True, the Mets are in the same city, but they don't have the Steinbrenners steering the ship. 

We as fans and writers love to talk and blog about the best thing in sports, and that's the New York Yankees.  I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan, and not so much of a Yankee fan, but i still enjoy when the Yankees are winning, losing, or just flat out full of drama.  When the Bronx Bombers are winning, you can talk about the payroll of the Yankees has ascended this team to the best in baseball.  When the Yanks are losing, you can talk about how Girardi is going to get fired, how A-Rod is getting booed, and how the giant payroll of the Evil Empire doesn't help lift the team over the Kansas City Royals.  New York is the perfect background for controversy, and over the years there has been plenty of hostility and drama within the Yankees Organization.  Remember when Jeter was at a birthday party til 3 A.M. in the 2002 season, and George Steinbrenner criticized Jeter for it, and said he "wasn't totally focused" and that the incident "didn't sit well with him?"  Of course you do, you wrote about it.  As did every other guy in the country that follows sports.  You had those on the fence saying both were wrong, both were right, there were writers saying it's George's team, Jeter needs to listen, and then you even had people saying that it's Jeter's life, and at the time, he was 28 years old, and Steinbrenner needed to stay out of his business. 

Point?  The Yankees make for great stories.  When the Yankees are winning, it means the world of sports is doing great, because at that same time, the Lakers are winning and the Patriots are winning. 

When the odds on favorites and power houses are winning, everything is great in sports.  Fans are happy, the writers are happy because they have the chance to be the 5,000th person to write about the topic in a 2-day span, and the teams are happy because they're making money.  When the traditional powerhouses win, everyone wins.  The PTI guys have another topic to yell at each other about for 30 seconds, and we don't have to listen to ten different analysts on SportsCenter say the same thing over and over.  Although, having those ten analysts is probably better than Michael Wilbon or Tony Kornheiser holding up a picture on a stick trying to "Be Like (Insert Name Here)."

Yankees win, be happy, write your stories, copy and paste blogs as your own, and be happy.  Come to terms with who and what we are as a SportsNation and as fans.  I have, why haven't you?

The Easy

Dear UC Bearcats Mens Basketball

Dear UC Bearcats Mens Basketball team,

I am writing this not only as a fellow student of the University of Cincinnati, but also because I'm a basketball fan, and even deeper, a college basketball fan.  Considering most of you on the team are my age, give or a take a few years, you'll realize that I am one of you.  For as long as I can remember, I have loved UC Bearcats basketball.  I can remember watching games with my Dad when I was a kid, and I absolutely loved UC, and I still do.  I've never been a fan of Xavier, Louisville, Kentucky, or Ohio State.  Neither football or basketball, and I never will.  I bleed red and black every time.  Whether it be the energy of Kenyon Martin, or the long threes of Steve Logan, I can't remember a time when I was a fan of UC Basketball. 

But things change, as they have to.  After our beloved Coach Bob Huggins left because of "Nazi" Zimpher, I didn't know how to cheer for the Bearcats, but I still did.  I have stuck with you guys for over 10 years, through the good and through the bad.  I won't ever give up on you guys, and I have seen that you guys won't give up either.  Maybe I'm asking to much here, I don't know, but what I do know, is that for the first time in awhile, we'll be at full strength come the Crosstown Shootout when Ibrahima Thomas is eligible.  Whether it be Yancy Gates, Deonta Vaughn, Cashmere Wright, Lance Stephenson, or any other player on the roster, someone other than Deonta has to step up and be a leader.  I'm tired of hearing about Xavier and Ohio State basketball. 

It's time the UC Bearcats were back in the NCAA Tournament, and it's time that we were the number one team in Ohio.  As fans, we need to be selling out "The Shoe" every night, giving the team the atmosphere it wants and needs night in and night out.  As the players, it's your job to exceed the expectations and play your hearts out because, no matter what anyone says, a fan will not give up on a team that plays with their hearts and with all the intensity, no matter the record. 

Please, as a fan, I am not asking, but begging, that you guys live beyond the limits, and save not only the UC Basketball program, but the fans of UC basketball.  Cicninnati is all about red and black, and for the sake of me, and the sake of you, please, stick it to the Silver and Blue. 

Sincerely,
Your Diehard fan,
The Easy