Friday Live Chat
I'm thinking of doing a live chat Friday here on the blog. We'll call it Lunch Time Madness. Join the chat during the Xavier-Minnesota game and the other early games.
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Shout out...best of luck
Cincinnati State, coached by former UC Bearcat Andre Tate,has made the Final Four in the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament held in Danville, IL.
They went into the tournament as a 16 seed (out of 16). They defeated the # 1 ranked Monroe CC on Tuesday and last night beat #9 ranked Brown Mackie to advance to the Final Four. Cincinati State plays in the semi finals Friday at 6pm.
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Opening round...appetizer
Bring it on!
It this heaven? No...it's March Madness
Here is my menu and rundown for the next two days
Items
56-inch HD Plasma TV
Direct TV's Mega March Madness Package
Sporting News Magazine
USA Today Monday preview section
Laptop
Bracket
Yellow highlighter
Food
Wings from Dickmann's
Sushi
Donatos Pizza
Chipotle burrito
2-liter Diet Coke
Heineken
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Griffey that prankster strikes again
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NIT attendance last night:
UC 2,210
UD 5,127...smallest crowd in the history of UD Arena
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Very cool UK basketball story. Players make 16th birthday unforgettable.
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To kick off the tournament
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What might have been. 5 ex-Hoosiers are playing in the NCAA tournament.
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Well done
Nice St Patrick's Day execution by Richard Dickmann last night. He has the waitresses in green corsets last night. He sent me a picture for Twitter....but I somehow managed to delete. So much for my first try with Twitpic.
Great seeing listeners Norm and Buckeye Mike.
I was offered a drink called Irish Viagra...Blue rasberry vodka with Red Bull...combined it's green....combined it's potent. I figured I'd better try that new Hoist as a back-up. Woke up fine:).
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UC hoops
UC will take on Dayton Monday night at 9pm at 5th//3rd arena in the second round of the NIT.
UC topped their win total from a year ago with last night's win over Weber St.
They are now 19-15.
They have won in March for the first time under Mick.
They've won in the Big East tournament for the first time under Mick.
They are playing in the postseason for the first time under Mick
They've won 3 of their last 4. This team is playing with confidence, energy and a sense of fun.
It's not the NCAA's....but I'll take the experience and positive vibe for this team to carry into the offseason.
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Homer doesn't faze Chapman in first start
Mark Sheldon, MLB.COM
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Champman on Wednesday
,,,..vs Milwaukee
3 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk, 5 k's
Rickie Weeks homered on a 3 and 1 pitch leading off the game
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Are you in? Time running out
I've created an NCAA bracket on ESPN.....it's free....LANCE700WLW.
Which "bracket guy" are you? Thanks to the guys at Sports Pickle for passing along
We keep adding!
More than 2,100 of you are now following on Facebook and over 2,500 are following on Twitter.
Get guest and show updates, breaking news and my random thoughts by following on both Facebook and Twitter.
Click on the Twitter and Facebook buttons on the right to follow.
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Courtesy of my grill over....my National Champion is......
National title game: Kentucky over Kansas
Final Four: Kentucky over Baylor/Kansas over Syracuse
Elite 8: Kansas over OSU, Syracuse over Kansas St, Kentucky over West Virginia, Baylor over Duke
Sweet 16: Kansas, Maryland, Georgetown, Ohio St, Syracuse, UTEP, Xavier, Kansas St, Kentucky, Wisconsin, New Mexico, West Virginia, Duke, Siena, Baylor, Richmond
*UK is simply too damn talented...I know they are young...but I'll hope they don't know what they don't know. They have won on the road (14-2) and won close games. They have taken everyone's best shot from start of the year to now. They have gobs of NBA guys. You win titles with NBA talent.
*I feel very shaky with Syracuse to the Final Four, especially with the injury to Arinze Onuaku, but I simply don't have the guts to pull the trigger on an upset in that bracket.
*I tried hard to convince myself OSU could get past Kansas, but I can't see it. Kansas is too deep and balanced.
*I rolled big dice on Baylor...and will be mocked if they go out early.....but I love them: long, quick, athletic, fun, and they throw zones at you.
*Toughest 1st round games to pick: Georgia-Tech over Oklahoma, Cal over UL, Washington over Marquette.
*1st rounder I couldn't pull trigger on: ODU to beat N, San Diego St to beat Tenn, Cornell over Wisconsin
*1st rounder I could pull tigger on: New Mexico St over Michigan St.
*Touch 2nd round picks: Wisconsin over Temple, Richmond over Villanova
*I'm not buying Notre Dame
*I'm buying New Mexico...but that's probably a Steve Alford thing.
*I'm buying Washington over Marquette....based on really nothing
*I fear I'm selling Villanova short
*I hope I don't regret taking Tennessee in the first round
*Biggest Sweet 16 reaches: Richmond, Siena, UTEP
*I'm not proud to pick against my Bulldogs in the first round....I just don't like the match-up.
*I'm not only picking UTEP to beat Butler, but to advance to the Sweet 16.
*I will be sweating UK vs Texas and then UK vs Wisconsin if they happen
*I'd love to take Huggs to the Final 4....they just don't score enough to survive
*I wanted to take Kansas St to the Final 4....but couldn't get around three Big 12 teams
Get a $14 ticket to the Reds for just $8
There are four Kid Glove Games this season for the Reds
Game 1: Reds vs Dodgers, Wednesday, April 21
Game 2: Reds vs Mets, Tuesday, May 4
Game 3: Reds vs Pirates, Monday, May 24
Game 4: Reds vs Pirates, Tuesday, May 25
Click on the link below to purchase ticket vouchers for just $8 each.
Vouchers can be exchanged for a $14 view level seat at GABP.
All proceeds go towards the purchase of baseball and softball equipment for youth in the Greater Cincinnati area.
The Reds allow Kid Glove to print 40,000 ticket vouchers. Team and/or organizations then receive 100 percent back from their ticket voucher sales to purchase equipment.
Click below for more info and your form to mail in:
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Hoard on Dixon and Letterman
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Cincinnati Reds 2010 Opening Day festivities:
From the Reds
* 91st Findlay Market Opening Day Parade Grand Marshal:
Hall of Famer Johnny Bench will serve as the Grand Marshal of the Findlay Market Parade. Bench will also serve as the Honorary Captain of the Opening Day game and catch the ceremonial first pitch. For more information on the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade, visit www.findlaymarketparade.com.
*Opening Day Parade Special Guests: Bronson Arroyo, George Grande and Miss Ohio Amanda Tempel
*Reds starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo will ride in the parade. This marks the second year in a row that a Reds player will be featured in the parade. In 2009, pitchers Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto rode in the parade.
* Ceremonial First Pitch: George Grande
Broadcaster George Grande will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Grande was the television play-by-play voice of the Reds for the past 17 years, and is scheduled to return to the booth in September for a few games.
*Official Game Ball Delivery: Miss Ohio Amanda Tempel
Miss Ohio USA 2010 Amanda Tempel will deliver the official game ball to the mound to be used by Opening Day starting pitcher Aaron Harang. She is a St. Bernard native and a 2008 graduate of Roger Bacon High School.
*National Anthem: Ben Utecht
Recording artist, former Bengals tight end and 2006 Super Bowl Champion Ben Utecht will sing the National Anthem.
*God Bless America: Elan Trotman
Saxophonist Elan Trotman will perform God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch.
*Flyover: Four F-16's from the 178th Fighter Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard based in Springfield, Ohio will perform a pregame flyover.
*American Flag: Haiti Relief volunteers from the American Red Cross and Matthew 25: Ministries will hold a giant American flag in the outfield during the singing of our National Anthem.
*Parade of Colors: Honor Guard units from the Navy, Air Force, Marines, Army and Coast Guard will comprise a Parade of Colors on the field
*Pregame Concerts: The Goshorn Brothers and Pete Wagner Dixieland Band will perform pregame concerts in the ballpark.
*Gates Open: Gates to Great American Ball Park will open at 11:10 a.m. and the first pitch of the game is at 1:10 p.m.
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Hoist one late tonight, to help you in the morning
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The NCAA games Local 12 will show Thursday and Friday
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(AP photo)
What might have been?
Monday night on Sports Talk Mike DeCourcy discussed what Xavier could have been this season if Derrick Brown had stuck around. He pointed out how Xavier misses exactly what Brown could do from the wing, on offense and defense. What if Brown had stayed at XU?
Consider his rookie season with the Charlotte Bobcats.
In his last 18 games he has not appeared in seven of them. He has played more than seven minutes in a game just once in the last 18 games. During that 18 game span he has played a total of 47 minutes.....one minute less than a full NBA game.
He's averaged just 5.4 minutes a game in February and so far just 4.8 minutes a game in March.
For the season: 10-minutes per game, 3.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, shooting 47% from the field.
How much would his stock have risen had he returned to XU this year?
He signed a two year deal with Charlotte after being drafted in the 2nd round last year.
He's making the NBA minimum $457,588 this season. The second year has a partial guarantee that could be worth about $736,000.
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Men's NCAA schedule board
Check out who is looking for games. Thanks to listener Ryan for the link:
Basketball Travelers Inc.
*The University of Cincinnati along with the University of Dayton is hosting a multi-team exempt event for the 2010-11 season. We have one spot remaining to complete the field. Every team will play four games from November 13th to 27th. You will play road games at both host schools (Cincinnati and Dayton). You will also receive a home game versus Mount St. Mary’s and a road game versus Arkansas Little Rock. A very competitive guarantee plus tournament gifts are included.
*Xavier needs to start a High Major series on THE ROAD. Game would need to be in January or February 2011.
*Louisville: We are looking for Guarantee games in new arena. Lots of dates. $$$ plus rooms.
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The sleaziest coach in a sleazy game
Slate
....the man is a master at walking between the raindrops. The argument in his defense is, always, that nobody investigating the scandals at UMass and Memphis ever found anything they could pin directly on John Calipari. It was always the players who betrayed his fundamentally naive trust in their integrity, or the shifty characters around the players who induced them to abuse the good nature of a decent chap who's only trying to play by increasingly complex rules.
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The six players that left UK after Calipari was hired
USA Today
Calipari and Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart declined to comment on players' departures through team spokesman DeWayne Peevy.
But according to a December report on ESPN's Outside the Lines, Pilgrim and another player who left Kentucky, Kevin Galloway, said they thought they would be stuck at the end of the bench and possibly without a scholarship (schools are limited to 13) if they stayed.
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Classic
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Could the Bengals visit the Jets on Thanksgiving night?
ProFootballTalk.com
As to the Jets, the Thanksgiving night game could very well entail a return visit from the Bengals, who helped close out Giants Stadium.
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Cool story on the AAU program run by former Bearcat Alex Meacham
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(AP photo)
Groce's energy doesn't level off
Columbus Dispatch
The big splash came Saturday in an overtime win over Akron in the MAC title game, but because of all the work that had gone into it, Groce breathed a sigh of relief more than exulted.
Then he awoke in his hotel room the next morning to find his kids and in-laws spread throughout the room, some in sleeping bags. He tiptoed to a vacant chair and sat.
"I looked over, and the MAC tournament trophy was sitting there," Groce said. "And I said, 'Wow. That really happened.' That was probably the first time it hit me, 'We're going to the NCAA Tournament. That wasn't a dream last night. That trophy is really sitting there."
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Wildcats enter Bearcats' den
Salt Lake City Tribune
Weber State has everything to play for when it visits Cincinnati today in the first round of the NIT. It will be an uphill climb for the regular-season Big Sky Conference champions, but a challenge that the Wildcats have embraced.
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Center field getting interesting for Reds
Mark Sheldon, MLB.COM
Depending on how the left-field situation sorts out, the Reds could wind up feeling OK about shifting Dickerson to where he is more comfortable. Gomes is the right-handed power hitter for left field, and Laynce Nix or possibly Juan Francisco could bring pop as left-handed hitters.
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Coaches change, but success a constant for Xavier
Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Honestly, it was an emotional roller-coaster," Bobinski said. "And I know Sean struggled with it. I was actually at the Final Four in Detroit when the whole Arizona thing began. We had an initial conversation. He said, 'Mike, I can't imagine there's going to be anything to this, I don't think it's of interest to me.' And then all of a sudden that changed in his mind, which I respect. I remain great friends with Sean
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It's the bricks that made Butler basketball special
NY Times
There is something different about Butler. It stands out amid a college basketball landscape where bigger and newer and brasher are confused with success. Butler commands attention simply because it wins, quietly.
Without even the desire for a new arena, without nationally renowned recruits or well-recognized coaches, without a large fan base or much attention from even the local news media, Butler has become a sustained midmajor power, a Gonzaga of the Midwest. In a state that cherishes small-town basketball, Butler feels more Indiana than Indiana-- or Purdue, or Notre Dame, or any other college that garners more attention, even for basketball programs that may not be as good.
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Stuff
*DePaul targets Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. Good luck with that.
*Great minds think alike...Andy Katz says go to 68 teams and have four play-in games involving the eight bubble teams.
*The Nationals won their first spring training camp yesterday. They are now 1-11 on the spring.
*Ouch....Arizona St led Jacksonville by five with :20 remaining in the NIT last night and lost. Jacksonville's first postseason win since 1984.
*A USA Today poll question on whether Tiger's wife should attend The Masters? Really?
*How about Jason Maxiell? He had 10 points and 15 boards for the Pistons vs Cavs last night.
That is five consecutive double double's for him. He is also donating his Camaro for charityraffle.
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The run ends
(Photo by Sioux City Journal)
The Shawnee State Bears (Portsmouth, OH) lost to Northwestern 85-66in the Women's NAIA D-II finals last night in Sioux City, IA. The title is Northwestern's third since 2000.
They have three local products on the team: Abby Ballman (Mother of Mercy--picture middle/right), Alex Pohl, (Loveland High School), Jill Cropper,(Georgetown HS). Shawnee State finished with a 29-7 record.
Cropper scored 14 points. Pohl added eight points. Ballman dished out 6 assists.
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© 2010
