Chad Ochocino Story

Chad Ochocinco is one of my favorite football players of all-time. And this story solidifies that even more. Check it out.

I think the world and the sports media has painted this picture of who Chad Ochocinco is. But Twitter, Facebook, and other social media have shown a different type of Chad. I think this is a great story, Chad may not be perfect but stories like this show that the man cares.

College T-Shirts Out of Hand

We posted a story on here a couple of weeks ago discussing Tennessee making a ridiculous shirt to chronicle their defeat of the #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Apparently these were so popular in Knoxville the football team were forced to pack heat in order to protect their shirts. Only kidding. Well, now I must confess that my Kentucky Wildcats have dropped to the level of ridiculousT-shirtness and created this gem of a t-shirt that was relevant for a full 24 hours.


If you bought this shirt you should kick yourself because you are a moron. Why make a t-shirt to commemorate this when your program has been the #1 team in the nation more than most? But after looking at this it got me thinking. Lets check out South Carolina and see what they have brewing. Well, you click on their athletics site, http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/ and you will find a special page commemorating their triumphant mid-season conference victory against the Cats. Now I understand, South Carolina had never defeated a conference opponent (wait, they have) but they have never defeated a #1 team. But I think that is a little much. Furthermore, they too have created a T-shirt to commemorate the moment.

This has got to stop friends. It is getting a little out of hand. We used to be content with sweet t-shirts commemorating real events like a National Championship. Now, thanks to Steve and Barrys, we crave T-shirts for every little accomplishment, including a conference win. Just sad.

We're #1 (Well....for a second)

When the polls came out on Monday the Kentucky Wildcats were voted to be the unanimous #1 team in the country. The 19-0 Wildcats were coming off a dominating conference win at home and a battle in South Carolina against the 11-8 Gamecocks. South Carolina is last in the conference in assists, missing their top two big men from the start of the season and are basically the Devan Downey show. Well, Devan Downey delivered scoring 30 points in the 68-62 upset of the #1 Cats.

Kentucky could not find an answer for Downey and for the first time this season I didn't understand what Calipari was trying to accomplish on defense. Anyone who has watched Downey play knows that he is small, quick, and can dribble out of pressure. Kentucky's gameplan against Downey was to bring Eric Bledsoe up (their best defender) and pressure Downey at half court. What did Downey do? He blew right past the Kentucky defense and slashed to the basket. So his next strategy, lets bring Patterson up and try to trap him in the corners. Downey used his speed to elude the Kentucky trap and found the wide open man under the basket. I wondered to myself, why didn't Calipari go to a zone? The zone could have helped slow the penetration from Downey. They don't shoot the ball at a real high clip from three and they do not move the ball as they are in last place in assists. They play a spread out one on one type offense. If I were coaching the Cats (and for the record I am no where near good enough to do so) I would have taken a look at a zone defense.

Now, I don't want to sound like a bitter angry Kentucky fan, the fact of the matter is we are 19-1, a lock for the tournament, and playing the best basketball around here we have played in years. But its like when you were a kid, your parents aren't mad they are disappointed. I am extremely disappointed. I really wanted this team to make a run at Indiana's record. Kentucky has the talent to do it but as we saw tonight some games it might not come all together. I don't think Kentucky looked past South Carolina, I think they failed to execute at a number of points in the game and it caught up with them. Anyone who has watched this team throughout the year knows that there have been times they have not played like a #1 team but they continually found a way to win. Last night they just couldn't seal the deal.

NKU v Bellarmine

The basketball season has been a little dissappointing this year for Norse fans. With 4 D-1 transfers we were hoping for a little better record than 10-8. But, they did beat their old nemisis KY Wesleyan last night and have another big game this weekend against Bellarmine. The Athletics Dept is offering some major deals. They need a big crowd because the game will be nationally televised on the CBS College Sports Network. If you have some time run over to the Bank of KY Center. The men tip off at 2pm.

- $5000 in student scholarships will be given away.
- $1 admission for all upper level seats.
- Rally towels, seriously, for everyone in attendance
- They are giving away a Nintendo Wii and an XBOX 360
- $1 Hot dogs

Go check them out!

Last One Standing

Kansas State pulled off the upset of #1 ranked Texas last night making the Kentucky Wildcats the last undefeated team in the country. The #2 ranked Cats are set up to be the #1 team in the nation for the first time since 2003. What a turnaround from John Calipari taking a team that lost in the second round of the NIT last season to the #1 team in the nation. Kentucky has the talent to compete with any team in the country but they are young. And sometimes that youth can come into play. They have showed that they have had a hard time putting good teams away. They have built double digit leads against good and bad opponents and let these teams back in the game with turnovers and mistakes. But the Wildcats have a favorable schedule down the stretch that have them knocking on the door of history. Check it out.

Arkansas
at South Carolina
Vanderbilt
Ole Miss
at LSU
Alabama
Tennessee
at Mississippi State
at Vanderbilt
South Carolina
at Tennessee
at Georgia
Florida

It is hard to go undefeated in conference play, damn near impossible. I think Tennessee could potentially get us in of the games. And we have historically struggled at Vandy and with Mississippi State. This Kentucky team has the talent to go undefeated but I do not think they will do it. With that being said don't be shocked if they enter the SEC tournament with only one or two losses.

Stat of the Day

With Xavier's win over Dayton on Saturday the team has now won 25 straight games against Dayton at home and now has compiled a 115-16 (87.8%) record at the Cintas Center overall... talk about a home court advantage!

Wow!

How bad are they craving winning in Knoxville? So bad that they created a T-shirt to commemorate their victory over Kansas. Seriously their regular season victory over Kansas. Check it out here.

Which got me thinking. What could be do for T-shirts around here to commemorate these "Big events?"

- Reds defeat Roy Oswalt!

Reds wins against Roy Oswalt are few and far between. Maybe next time the Redlegs are able to beat him the Pro Shop could make a T-Shirt to commemorate the huge event.

- Cincinnati Bearcats get a Big East Win!

King of surprised I didn't see any "UC Beats UConn" shirts in Clifton but with Mick Cronin's record against the Big East he may want to think about commemorating each moment with a shirt.

- Cincinnati Bengals have a winning season

This has only happened a few time as well. So throw away those AFC North Champions shirts, you don't need them any more. Lets just start pretending that a winning season is like winning the SuperBowl.

Any more ideas?

University of Cincinnati Basketball Hitting New Lows

The start of the University of Cincinnati basketball season looked promising. With two five star players in Yancey Gates and Lance Stephson as well as All Big-East senior Deonta Vaughn, UC finally looked to have a team that could contend for a top 5 Big East ranking and their first NCAA tournament appearance since Bob Huggins. The team has the talent to compete, however, their play on the court has been suspect at best. After winning the first two games of Big East play, three straight losses to Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, and now St. Johns have left the team spinning downward fast. A year that once seemed promising now leaves the team at 11-6 and in desperate need of some big wins our in will be one more year in waiting for UC fans.

OVER-RAT-ED!! OVER-RAT-ED!!

Yesterday, the University of Southern California announced Lane Kiffin as its new head football coach. I'm still trying to understand Lane Kiffin. To me, the man is highly overrated. Has anyone else in the history of sports been able to do more and reach higher heights by vastly underachieving? Kiffin first served as the wide receiver coach and then offensive coordinator of USC from 2002-2006. Kiffin was then head coach of the Oakland Raiders for the 2007 and 2008 seasons and lead the University of Tennessee during their 2009-2010 campaign.

Besides being a pompous jerk, Kiffin has recently been identified as a malicious recruiter, media hothead, and disliked coach among the coaching world. Not to mention, Kiffin's time at Tennessee was marred by player arrests and suspect recruiting. Kiffin now takes over the reigns of one of the top 5 jobs in all of college football. This should be interesting to say the least.

2007 Oakland Raiders 4-12
2008 Oakland Raiders 1-3
NFL Record 5-15
2009 Tennesse Volunteers 7-6
Overall record 12-21

NFL Combine Guest List

Here are a list of players who have been invited to attend the combine. There can be some names added to the list but here who made the first cut to be invited to practice at the combine.

Cincinnati- WR Mardy Gilyard, QB Tony Pike

Kentucky- FB John Conner, ILB Micah Johnson, CB Trevard Lindley, OLB Sam Maxwell, DT Corey Peters.

Louisville- WR Scott Long

Toledo- S Barry Church, WR Stephen Williams

Ohio- WR Taylor Price

Ohio State- S Kurt Coleman, K Aaron Pettrey, DT Doug Worthington

Quote of the Day

From Mo Egger's blog:

Notice how no one complains about immigration when 102 mph fastballs are involved?

Reports: Cuban Aroldis Chapman Signs with Cincinnati Reds

Reports came out earlier today proclaiming that Cuban sensation Aroldis Chapman signing a 5-year, $30 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds. Chapman was rumored to the Marlins, Blue Jays, and Angels, however, the Reds bid was $10 million more than any other offer Chapman received.

Click here for the Aroldis Chapman story.



Chapman Background

A 6'4, 22-year old, hard-throwing lefty who has topped out at 102 mph. Chapman is known for his fastball and a nice slider. People first started to notice Chapman in the World baseball Classic as he blew pitches past opposing teams and impressed scouts.

In 2008-09, Chapman went 11-4 with a 4.03 ERA, striking out 130 in 118 1/3 inning pitched. He led the Serie Nacional in K's, tied for 4th in wins, was 5th with 62 walks and tied for the most wild pitches (14).

Chapman was defected from Cuba just before the 2009 World Port Tournament started. Chapman then established residence in the Andorra, making him a free agent eligible to be signed by any Major League team.

Why the Reds and where did the money come from?

Other than the fact that the Reds have supposedly offered the most cash to Chapman, I believe he chose the Reds because of the work Mario Soto does with the club and Dominicans Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto being on the current pitching staff. I think it will be easier for the young left-hander to fit in because of this and I think all three will serve as great mentors.

The money is a good question? Re-structuring Rolen's deal did help but it makes me think that we will be dealing Harang before the season starts. If not, we could shed almost $20 million from our payroll after this upcoming season by declining options for Harang and Arroyo

I don't think Chapman will come in and start right away, however, I like the signing if it's true and I like how the Reds front office decided to fork over some money for a highly-touted prospect. Can you imagine a "staff of the future" with a healthy Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Travis Wood, and potentially Chapman and 2009 1st-rounder Mike Leake (although Leake may be in the bullpen).

Your Thoughts?

Tyler Smith Kicked off Team at Tennessee

One week after being arrested following a traffic stop in Knoxville, first team All-SEC senior forward Tyler Smith was dismissed from the Tennessee basketball team. Smith and three other players were arrested for possession of firearms and marijuana. Smith average 17 points and 5 rebounds last season for the Vols and was the heart of soul of their team this season.

Needless to say this is a huge blow for the Tennessee basketball program. Smith was their leader. Three other players were involved in the incident Melvin Goins, Cameron Tatum, and Brian Williams they are currently on an indefinite suspension.

But can you really blame the players for carrying a gun while in Knoxville? After all, there are Tennessee Football players around.

Colt McCoy and his Injury

Check out this story.

Dan Wetzel from Yahoo! Sports wrote an amazing column on McCoy and his injury. There are a lot of people who say that McCoy should have fought through it. There is no doubt in my mind that McCoy simply could not do it. Not that he couldn't handle the pain, he just had no sensation in his arm. Part of his story...

"So Colt gripped the ball, stared at his dad and thought, “It’s just a simple throw.” He threw. The ball went soft and wide. Everyone grimaced. “Give it to me again,” Colt demanded. Brad got the ball and gave it back to his son. The next throw was the same, bouncing harmlessly away. “Give it to me again,” Colt said, again. Brad did.

It was the same. It was over. Colt couldn’t throw it 7 yards to his own father. “My arm was dead,” he said. The dad hugged his son. The son broke down and cried."

Friday News and Notes

Alabama wins their 13th National Championship

The Texas Longhorns were dealt a devastating blow in the opening minutes of the BCS National Championship game. After their defense held Alabama to a three and out, the mighty Texas offense took the field behind their general Colt McCoy. McCoy had the Longhorns driving. But McCoy was hit awkwardly in the opening drive and suffered a pinched nerve causing him to lose sensation in his throwing arm. In walked true freshman Garrett Gilbert, and out walked Texas’ Championship hopes. Gilbert struggled in the first half completing more passes to the Crimson Tide than his own team. When Alabama added to their lead in the first half making it 17-6 Mack Brown decided that he was going to take a shot to try to get some points. With 15 seconds left Brown called a shovel pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Alabama was up 24-6 at the half. Gilbert rebounded a little from his dismal first half connecting with Jordan Shipley for two touchdowns, Texas held Alabama to just three yards of offense in the third quarter. But Alabama would force a fumble on their three yard line, and intercept Gilbert two more times to ice the game and win 34-24 over the Longhorns.
It’s a shame that Colt McCoy could not cap off his illustrious college career with an appearance in the BCS Championship game. Texas put up a good fight but I think most people knew that Gilbert was just not ready to lead Texas on the biggest stage in college football.

Xavier beats La Salle

The Xavier Musketeers basketball team won their first A-10 game Thursday night knocking off La Salle 68-62. Jordan Crawford scored 22 points in the effort to add to his A-10 leading scoring mark. Xavier prevailed in the end but made the game close when they could have run away with it. X was up 54-34 with 13:00 to play but allowed La Salle to go on a 20-2 run to pull within two. La Salle was unable to take the lead in the fourth quarter and Terrell Holloway iced the game with two free throws. Xavier will play at George Washington on Sunday at noon.

Brian Kelly snatches two UC Coaches

Brian Kelly has hired two of his former assistants from Cincinnati to join him in South Bend. Bob Diaco, Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator, will hold the same position for Brian Kelly and the Irish. Is this a big loss for the Bearcats? Diaco was only with Cincinnati for one season and the Bearcats finished 67th in total defense.
Kelly has also hired Charley Molnar, Cincinnati’s wide receivers coach, to be his offensive coordinator at Notre Dame. As most know Jeff Quinn the offensive coordinator for Cincinnati has accepted the head coach position at Buffalo. Typically college head coaches wants the guys that they know and trust with them in key positions such as your offensive and defensive coordinator. So this is not a huge shock to me.

Thursday News and Notes

Slow news day today, not a whole lot going on, here are a few little nuggets to keep you going.

* Princeton defeats Holmes

The #1 team in Cincinnati met the #1 team in Northern Kentucky last night and Princeton was able to defeat Holmes 57-54. Princeton featured Jordan Sibert, an Ohio State recruit, who looked to be very strong. But I was impressed with the play of Holmes Ohio recruit Ricardo Johnson. Rico looked just as good, if not better than Sibert last night. Ricardo led all scorers with 25 points, and Sibert led Princeton with 19 points. Holmes trailed for most of the game and Rico hit a three pointer with 8 seconds to play to tie the game. Sibert fouled out early into the overtime period but Princeton was able to overtake the Bulldogs giving Holmes their first home loss since 2007.

* BCS Title Game is Tonight

Tonight the College Football bowl season wraps up with a matuchup between #1 Alabama Crimson Tide and the #2 Texas Longhorns. It's really tough to predict how these BCS championship matchups will play out. Texas has a prolific offense behind all world Quarterback Colt McCoy. While Alabama has a fairly balance offense but a stifling defense. I think I will go with Alamaba in this one. The SEC is 5-0 in BCS Championship game appearances.

* Cincinnati gets a win in their last non-conference game

The UC Bearcats basketball team earned their 11th win of the season Wednesday night defeating Cal-State Bakersfield 87-58. Cincinnati pretty much cleared the bench in this one getting 12 different guys in the box score. Dion Dixon led Cincinnati with 13. Cal-State Bakersfield RoadRunners really could have used Kebu Stewart last night. Get it anyone?

Also a few national news nuggets for you:

- The Chiefs are set to hire Charlie Weiss as their offensive coordinator. With news of also hiring Romeo Crennel as thier defensive coordinator Scott Pioli is looking to recreate the magic from New England, or beef up the average weight of his team.

- Gilbert Arenas was suspended from the NBA for storing his guns in his locker. I guess David Stern didn't find it too amusing when Arenas pretended to "shoot" his teammates during pre-game after he was busted. Stay smart Gilbert.

Ocho OK for Saturday. How does he know?

Click Here

SI Article on John Wall

In case you missed it yesterday John Wall is on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated. (Scroll down) For those of you who let your SI subscription lapse, like this guy, you can check out the article online. Here is the link.

I think it is a very interesting read, I didn't know much about Wall's background prior to coming to Kentucky. Everything that I have heard from Wall while he has been here has been positive. He conducts himself with class and humility. This kid is a star. I am glad he chose Kentucky as his stop on the way to the NBA. Also, I am very much looking forward to the Kentucky fans trying to justify why he should stay and convince themselves that he will stay at Kentucky for his Sophomore season. That should be fun!

Dawson Elected to the Hall of Fame

Andre Dawson, "The Hawk" was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball writers today, the only player selected. Many believed that Roberto Alomar would be elected this season but being a "first timer" may have hurt him. You need 75% of the vote to qualify for the Hall of Fame. Bert Blyleven missed the cut by a meager .8 of the vote. Meaning more than likely one voter could have made the difference. Blyleven will more than likely get in as he should. Cincinnati Reds star Barry Larkin came in with 51.6% of the votes which is a good sign for his future, I say Larkin will be enshrined within the next five years.

What's more alarming to me is the facts that David Segui actually recieved a vote for the Hall of Fame. Someone should check that writers ballot! Here is the final vote tally.

Andre Dawson 420 (77.9%), Bert Blyleven 400 (74.2%), Roberto Alomar 397 (73.7%), Jack Morris 282 (52.3%), Barry Larkin 278 (51.6%), Lee Smith 255 (47.3%), Edgar Martinez 195 (36.2%), Tim Raines 164 (30.4%), Mark McGwire 128 (23.7%), Alan Trammell 121 (22.4%), Fred McGriff 116 (21.5%), Don Mattingly 87 (16.1%), Dave Parker 82 (15.2%), Dale Murphy 63 (11.7%), Harold Baines 33 (6.1%), Andres Galarraga 22 (4.1%), Robin Ventura 7 (1.3%), Ellis Burks 2 (0.4%), Eric Karros 2 (0.4%), Kevin Appier 1 (0.2%), Pat Hentgen 1 (0.2%), David Segui 1 (0.2%), Mike Jackson 0, Ray Lankford 0, Shane Reynolds 0, Todd Zeile 0.

Brian Cushing NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

The Texans LB Brian Cushing has won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. The Cincinnati Bengals helped Cushing lock up the award, when Houston played the Bengals Cushing had 9 tackles, an interception, and two forced fumbles. But I found this to be interesting. Since 2000 a LB has won this award every year except 1, 2002 when Julius Peppers won it. Check it out.

2000- Brian Urlacher, Chicago LB
2001- Kendrell Bell, Pittsburgh LB
2002- Julius Peppers, Carolina DE
2003- Terrell Suggs, Baltimore LB
2004- Jonathan Vilma, New York Jets LB
2005- Shawne Merriman, San Diego LB
2006- DeMeco Ryans, Houston LB
2007- Patrick Willis, San Francisco LB
2008- Jerrod Mayo, New England LB
2009- Brian Cushing, Houston LB