Thursday Show / Nonsense

03/18/2010 12:00 am

Nick Brunker

Tags:

Mo has to fill in for Lance tonight on 700 WLW...so I'll be leading you into Kentucky's first round matchup 3-5:30 on ESPN 1530. Here's what we'll get into:

- March Madness is underway....any early surprises? Who do you have winning it all?

- UC advances in the NIT and will face Dayton....has Mick earned some of your confidence back? With 2,400 people at Fifth Third last night...I'd say not.

- Could an NCAA Tournament ban based on graduation rate really fly? I say hell no.

- Tiger Woods' return to golf...why he'll come back better than ever and be more successful

- Reds spring training....Aroldis Chapman reaction. He's gotta be the favorite for the 5th starter, right?

Guests:

3:03pm - Marty Brennaman
3:30pm - Antonio Bryant

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Reds lineup today vs. Indians...

Chris Dickerson cf

Zack Cozart ss

Joey Votto 1b

Scott Rolen 3b

Jonny Gomes lf

Wladimir Balentien rf

Ramon Herenandez c

Chris Burke 2b

Chris Valaika dh

Homer Bailey p

Bailey is scheduled for four, followed by Francisco Cordero, Pedro Viola, Enerio Del Rosario and Sam LeCure. LeCure is supposed to go two, the rest one.

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Reds roster move.....Prior to today’s game the Reds optioned to Louisville IF Yonder Alonso and LHP Bill Bray; optioned to Carolina RHP Jordan Smith and LHP Philippe Valiquette; assigned to Louisville RHP Jon Adkins and OF Josh Anderson...there are 48 players left in Major League camp…an updated roster is attached.

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Chapman looked good in first start
Mark Sheldon, Reds.com
Reds left-hander Aroldis Chapman gave up his first home run, but still came away with an impressive first start on Wednesday vs. the Brewers. Chapman worked three innings and surrendered Rickie Weeks' leadoff home run on a 3-1 fastball in the top of the first inning. Of the 11 batters Chapman faced, he struck out five and walked one. At one point, he struck out five of six batters. Overall, Chapman threw 45 pitches, with 29 strikes. In three outings this spring, Chapman has given up one run and four hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

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Chapman living up to the hype
Reds.com
Chapman's delivery is smooth enough that it does not suggest extreme velocity. He is 6-foot-4 and listed at 185 pounds, but he appears even more slender than that. His arms are long, even for his 6-foot-4 frame, and between that length and his velocity, his pitches appear to be in the zone and on the hitter almost instantaneously. He has now pitched seven innings in three Spring Training appearances, giving up one run on four hits with two walks, while striking out 10. Speaking through Fossas about his work, Chapman was direct and unassuming. Asked about his command, Chapman said: "I fixed some of the mechanical problems that I had, and my control is not a problem at this moment."

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Mike Lincoln headed to the bullpen
John Fay, Enquirer
From the it-comes-as-no-surprise department: The Reds have decided to move Mike Lincoln back to the bullpen. Lincoln had a 6.23 ERA over three starts. The fifth starter competition is down to: Justin Lehr, Matt Maloney, Micah Owings, Kip Wells, Travis Wood, Mike Leake and Aroldis Chapman. Wells could be next. He gave up four runs in two innings Wednesday. Overall, he’s walked seven in in seven innings this spring.

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Opening Day Info...

91st Findlay Market Opening Day Parade Grand Marshal: Johnny Bench
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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Stubbs moving in the right direction
Mark Sheldon, Reds.com
Underscoring how quickly Spring Training fortunes can turn, Stubbs enjoyed a 2-for-3 afternoon with a double in the first inning and a two-run triple to right field in the second during a 13-7 Reds win over the D-backs on Tuesday. He was called out on strikes in the fourth and raised his average to .179 in nine games.

"Each game I play and get more at-bats, I feel like I'm moving in the right direction," Stubbs said. "I think the results are a byproduct of the process. As long as the process continues to improve, the results will come."

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Bengals, Bobbie Williams talks heating up.....Talks between the Bengals and Bobbie Williams have started to ramp up again with progress toward a deal hopefully happening soon. Both parties would like to agree to a deal by the end of the week since the league meetings are next week in Orlando.

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Bengals Draft Watch
James Walker, ESPN.com
Cincinnati had the same issue as Baltimore, which was a need at receiver. Signing Antonio Bryant to a four-year contract filled a huge void to get help for Pro Bowl receiver Chad Ochocinco. Now the Bengals' biggest focus should be getting a pass-catching tight end. It's been a long time since the Bengals had a quality player at the position who can stretch the field. A case can be made that quarterback Carson Palmer has never had that luxury during his career. Oklahoma's Jermaine Gresham and Florida's Aaron Hernandez are two good tight end prospects who could fill that void in the draft.

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NFL owners considering two-possessions for playoff OT....NFL owners will vote next week whether to allow each team a possession in overtime in the playoffs if the team winning the OT coin toss kicks a field goal on the first series. Previously, the game would end whenever either side scores, as happened in the NFC championship game in January, with New Orleans beating Minnesota on Garrett Hartley's kick. But NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay says a trend has developed showing too strong an advantage for teams winning the coin toss to start overtime.

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2,210....The three games they played in the Big East tournament last week seemed to offer evidence that the University of Cincinnati Bearcats had turned a corner. As it turns out, the intensity was there - even if most of their fans weren't - and the Bearcats posted a 76-62 victory over Weber State before a season-low turnout of 2,210 to advance to a second-round meeting against longtime rival and No. 3 seed Dayton at 9 p.m. Monday at Fifth Third Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN.

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UC beats Weber St in NIT opener, will face Dayton on Monday....The University of Cincinnati men's basketball advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament with a 76-62 victory over Weber State last night. The Bearcats will now face long-time regional rival, the University of Dayton from the Atlantic-10 Conference, on Monday, March 22 at 9 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. The game will be telecast nationally on ESPN.

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Cincinnati football players like Butch Jones' approach....The first thing University of Cincinnati football coach Butch Jones did when he met with his new players in December was to write his cell phone number on the board and tell his players that they could call him whenever they needed to. With that small gesture, he quickly differentiated himself from his predecessor, Brian Kelly.

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This will never fly.....U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan pushed a proposal Wednesday to bar men's college basketball teams from postseason play if they fail to graduate 40 percent of their players, an idea that didn't go over well with the NCAA and coaches preparing for March Madness.

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For the next few weeks....YOUR votes will narrow down our field of 64 to this year's Battle of the Babes Champion. In the 2010 Bracket, there are 4 different regions:

The East Region...featuring 16 of the hottest actresses.
The South Region...featuring 16 of the models and other babes famous for being hot.
The West Region...featuring 16 of the hottest musicians and performers
The Midwest Region...featuring 16 of the hottest athletes

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL BRACKET

We're narrowing down the field, region by region, every day....based on YOUR votes. You can vote as many times as you want...so check back often throughout the day to make sure your favorite moves on! Today you get to vote on the MIDWEST REGION...

#1 Anna Kournikova vs. #16 Serena Williams