Chad on Letterman

Check out Chad's Top Ten on Letterman this week.

Survival Football

As usual post your picks in the comments. Matt your pick is in, Peyton Manning, as posted in the comments of the results.

Adam-
Passer
Reciever
(Players used: Cedric Benson, Brett Favre, Steve Smith (NYG)Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Aaron Rodgers, Hines Ward, Phillip Rivers, Wes Welker)

Redleg2420
Team
(Teams used: Green Bay, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England)

Matt
Passer
(Players used: Matt Forte, Matt Shaub, Andre Johnson, DeAngelo Williams, Tony Romo, Kurt Warner, Aaron Rodgers)

Tampa Bay Bucs sign FB Chris Pressley

Check it out here

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed FB Chris Pressley from the Bengals practice squad. Pressley was one of the players who were followed on HBO's Hard Knocks. Personally I think that Pressley could be a nice contributor one day. He has all of the physical abilities and seems to have the drive to be good. I don't think he will be great but I think he can be a very good fullback for the Buccanneers.

NKU Norse News

The NKU athletics department is hosting a Halloween Hoopla tomorrow night at the Bank of KY Center on NKU's campus. You can come watch the men's and women's team intra-squad scrimmage and they will also have a three point shooting contest and dunk contest. (I remember a time when no Norse ball players could dunk!) They encourage you to wear your halloween costumes. They will give out a prize to the best costume and will also have candy for the little trick or treaters. Best of all, they will be serving free Gold Star Chili and Pepsi to all attendees.

Check out all of the details here.

Survival Results

We lost another soldier this week, SHU you went from the top to the basement in the span of two weeks. Congrats! Down to the wire here, any week could kick any of us out.

Adam-
Passer: Phillip Rivers (268 Yards)
Receiver: Wes Welker (1 TD)

SHU- ELIMINATED
Receiver: Andre Johnson (0 TD)

Redleg2420-
Team: New England (Won)

Matt:
Passer: Aaron Rodgers (246 yards)

Gooo Raiders

Hilarious... how would you like to be the media giving players an interview with this guy in the background.

Let's look back

Well, we all bought in to the Cubs...that didn't work out. We underestimated the Tigers. And no one picked the Phillies to make it back to the World Series. I should have seen that coming!!

And, hey, how about those Oakland A's, huh? I'm so glad they competed for the western division crown for about 5 weeks in April and May.

Click here to look back at our MLB predictions at the start of the season.

Ohio's Best Team: It's a Cat not a Buckeye

Even the Wall Street Journal has picked up on the Bearcats being the best team in Ohio... now that's big time!

Read More...

Bengals Make Offer for Martellus Bennett?

Per Rotoworld (citing Chris Mortensen): The Bengals made a "significant offer" to the Cowboys to acquire Martellus Bennett. The Bengals seem to be focusing on tight end now that the long snapper situation has been corrected. Many have postulated that the Bengals are not happy with the progress of rookie 3rd round pick Chase Coffman so much that they refuse to activate him for games despite the team's struggles.

This leads me to speculate on the record that when Chase was drafted, he was not intended to play a significant role in the offense this year and the team is sticking to this plan. Last spring, three TEs were ahead of him on the depth chart (Kelly, Utecht, and Coats) who were all better suited for blocking and had more experience. Chase is a WR turned TE in a college spread offense (i.e. a WR who occasionally plays with his hand on the ground) and was drafted as an NFL project. Had not both Kelly and Utecht gotten injured and Coats grown cement hands, he might have saw some spot action but he was never meant to play a big role this year.

I suspect if Chase were to see more action now, it would probably be ugly. Hopefully in time he'll turn into the pass-catching TE that we'd like him to be. But until he shows that to the coaches, he'll be watching the game with Jerome Simpson.

Survival Football

Okay boys, lets keep this rolling. The Raiders hurt most of us last week. Many are on the brink of elimination. I need to get this up early since I will be out for the rest of the week.

Adam
Passer
Reciever
(Players used: Cedric Benson, Brett Favre, Steve Smith (NYG)Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Aaron Rodgers, Hines Ward)

Redleg2420
Team
(Teams used: Green Bay, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh)

SHU
TD Catch
(Players used: Brandon Jacobs, Carson Palmer, Reggie Wayne, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss, Matt Hasselbeck)

Matt
Passer
(Players used: Matt Forte, Matt Shaub, Andre Johnson, DeAngelo Williams, Tony Romo, Kurt Warner)

Darrelle Revis on Ochocino

I was listening to the Dan Patrick show today at work and DP interviewed New York Jets Cornerback Darrelle Revis. Many believe that Revis is one of the best corner's in the league today. When asked by Dan who the hardest man to cover in the NFL is....Chad Ochocinco.

*Bengals/Texans Observations

* The Houston Texans came into Paul Brown stadium and put on the type of offensive display that the Cincinnati Bengals offense has the potential to be, racking up 472 yards of offense. Shaub looked like Carson Palmer of 2005. I think the Bengals offense could be like just as good. Palmer is just as good as Shaub, Ochocino is upper echelon similar to Andre Johnson, our 2-4 receivers are much better, and Benson can be as good as Slaton was yesterday. The Bengals should pay attention to this Houston offense.

* Injuries are starting to pile up on the Defense. Yesterday it appears that we lost Atwan Odom for the season with a torn Achilles. Domata Peko is waiting on MRI results on his knee. With those two down yesterday and Frostee Rucker and Roy Williams inactive for the game we may need to start getting worried.

* I am not going to get too down on this team just yet because this isnt the team that is going to win every game. This game did show me some concerns. Either way the Bengals have found themselves in the drivers seat but in order to stay there they will need to fix alot about themselves.

* Cedric Benson just couldn't seem to get it going yesterday. The NFL's leading rusher coming into the game yesterday only managed to rack up 44 yards on the ground.

* Once again I asked myself, where is Chris Henry? Not that Henry is taking himself out of plays. He only had 1 catch for 20 yards and I believe he was only targeted 3 times. Meanwhile Andre Caldwell appears to be the new TJ Houshmanzadeh. Caldwell has filled the roll as slot receiver very well and racked up 6 receptions for 57 yards.

* After shutting down #1 receiver Derrick Mason last week, the Bengals secondary allowed Andre Johnson to grab 8 receptions for 135 yards.

* The long snapping looked crisp on both punts and field goals. Hopefully that will be the last we discuss the long snapper.

* Houston pretty much controlled the game by keeping their offense on the field. Houston managed 73 offensive plays to Cincinnati's 53.

* Really is was the pass defense that hurt us yesterday. The Texans ran 31 run plays that gained 87 yards on the ground. Meanwhile their passing game 28-40 for 385 yards.

Survival Football Results

Ouch Philly, ouch. A lot was lost today. Categories are pretty even.

Adam
Team- Philadelphia (lost)
Passer- Aaron Rodgers (358 Yards)
Reciever- Hines Ward (1 TD)

Redleg2420
Team- Pittsburgh (Won)

Matt
Team- Philadelphia (Lost)
Passer- Kurt Warner (276 yards)

SHU
Team- Philadelphia
Passer- Matt Hasselbeck (112 yards)
Reciever- Randy Moss (3 TD)

Wojo
Team- Wojo did not enter a pick, however, he has already picked Denver so we will give him San Diego tonight. His only option to stay alive!

Wow!

If this doesn't get you excited about Kentucky Basketball you don't have a pulse. This team can be scary good. This is the way that you do college basketball. There were a number of recruits at this event and as a kid in High School how could you not want to play for Kentucky?

Great story on Patrick Patterson

If you get a chance today to sit down a read an article you should take a minute to read this article about Patrick Patterson. Patterson, who is entering his Junior season for the Kentucky Wildcats, has used his "celebrity" in Lexington for a very good cause. After reading this story I have gained a great deal of respect for this young man.

Check it out here.

Big Blue Madness tonight at Kentucky

This basketball season at the University of Kentucky is one of the most anticipated seasons for Wildcat fans since Rick Pitino first came to the Bluegrass. I remember when Billy Gillispie first came to Kentucky. There was optimism among the fans, we were craving something new. Most of us didn't know much about Billy G., but we knew he was a good recruiter and would bring in some new talent to Kentucky. We all know how that ended for the Cats and now we being the Calipari era. John Calipari brings in a recruits of a whole different level. The buzz around the Bluegrass is that the freshman class that Calipari has assembled along with veterans like Patrick Patterson and Darius Miller could create one of the greatest teams in Kentucky history. Tonight begins the real test. Can all of those personalities and styles mesh? Can all of these talented young men live up to the hype?
As excited as I am for this team I am also worried for them. The expectations of Kentucky fans have never been higher. Kentucky fans want banners, and I believe that many feel anything short of a Final Four appearance would be a disappointment. I don't know where this team will go this year but I am very excited about what this team can do.

Bearcats Roll, Pike Sidelined

Tony Pike suffered an injury to his left wrist/arm on Thursday nights victory at South Florida. The injury to his left arm is the same arm that Tony Pike broke last season. Pike will be visiting with a specialist today to determine the extent of the injury and what the recovery schedule could be. He has a plate and screws in his left arm that may have potentially shifted. After he broke his arm last season he was out for three weeks.
Pike has been no stranger to injury. His senior year of High School Pike missed an extended period of time due to a separated shoulder. With his stock in the NFL Draft rising during his senior season I wonder how much this could affect his position on the draft. Early indications are that he will miss the Louisville game.
There is a little break in the schedule for the Bearcats with their next two games being Louisville and Syracuse. But the team will have a tough road to finish the season with UCONN, West Virginia, and Illinois all at home and the finale against the Pitt Panthers on December 5th. Currently sitting at 6-0 the Bearcats are in a position to contend for a big time bowl game and will need Pike to make the run.

NKYSportsWorld Survival Football

Okay fellas, categories that are still alive are listed below along with the teams used and players used. Matt got his way back into the contest by picking two winning teams last week. As a penalty for missing one week he loses the Bengals as a pick. Good luck!

Adam
Team
Passer
Reciever
(Teams used: Cincinnati, Baltimore, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Minnesota)
(Players used: Cedric Benson, Brett Favre, Steve Smith (NYG)Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne)

Redleg2420
Team
(Teams used: Green Bay, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Philadelphia)

SHU
Team
Passer
TD Catch
(Teams used: Chicago, Indianapolis, San Diego, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh)
(Players used: Brandon Jacobs, Carson Palmer, Reggie Wayne, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald)

Matt
Team
Passer
(Teams used: NY Giants, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati)
(Players used: Matt Forte, Matt Shaub, Andre Johnson, DeAngelo Williams, Tony Romo)

Wojo
Team
(Teams used: Dallas, Denver, New Orleans, Indianapolis, NY Giants)

Catching up with the NFL Bearcats

The 2009 NFL Draft class included 6 Cincinnati Bearcats that were drafted, a school record. With the Bengals slated to play the Houston Texans this week two of those Bearcats will be on the field. I wanted to catch up with the 6 players to give you an update on their progress.

Connor Barwin- Drafted 2nd round to the Texans

Barwin came to Houston with high praise. After having a strong training camp Barwin found himself backing up former #1 pick Mario Williams at Defensive End. Barwin, who only played defense for one season for the Bearcats, said that he learns from how Williams prepares and approaches the game. Barwin has seen action in 4 out of the 5 games so far and has logged 4 total tackles.

Kevin Huber- Drafted 5th round to the Bengals

Huber was brought into Cincinnati and immediately got the vote of confidence from the coaching staff when they released Kyle Larson early in camp which gave the job outright to Huber. The Cincinnati native has been very solid thus far of his 29 punts he has pinned 11 of them inside the 20, 2 inside the 10. He is averaging 42.5 yards per punt.

DeAngelo Smith- Drafted 5th round to the Cowboys

DeAngelo Smith has had a tumultuous start to his career thus far. After being drafted in the 5th round by the Cowboys. Dallas had tried to teach Smith both CB and Safety but he was not progressing to their level. Smith was placed on waivers by the Cowboys and picked up by the Browns. Smith however would only spend about two weeks with Cleveland before he was released. After having problems in their secondary he was picked up by Chicago. Unfortunately Smith only lasted two weeks with Chicago as well as was placed on waivers September 29th. Smith however cleared waivers for Chicago and is now on their practice squad.

Brandon Underwood- Drafted 6th round to the Packers

Underwood, who was a sixth round pick, was a longshot entering training camp to make the team at DB. Underwood had a good camp in Green Bay and did make the team at Defensive Back. Brandon led the Green Bay secondary in the preseason in tackles with 17. He is on the 52 man roster but has been not been active for any regular season games yet this season.

Mike Mickens- Drafted 7th round to the Cowboys

Entering his senior season many felt that Mike Mickens would be a first day draft pick. However, Mickens battled with a reoccurring knee injury during his senior season. Mickens battled in preseason with a number of players including former teammate DeAngelo Smith who as also drafted by the Cowboys. Mickens did not make the 53 man roster but was signed to the Dallas practice squad.

Trevor Canfield- Drafted 7th round to the Cardinals

Canfield came into Arizona camp as a late round offensive lineman drafted fighting for a spot on the team. Trevor battled through training camp but was cut on the final cut day from the Cardinals. He did however, clear waivers and is currently working on their practice squad.

Early NKY Basketball Preview

Practice for High School Basketball begins on Thursday and it is never too early to take a look at the early projections on the NKY High School Basketball scene. I will give you a little early preview here with my preseason team rankings as well as give you some players to watch. (Since I don't rank high school kids I will only point out the players to watch in the region)

NKY SportsWorld Preseason Rankings
1. Holmes
2. Highlands
3. Boone County
4. Ryle
5. Newport Central Catholic
6. Conner
7. Dixie Heights
8. Scott
9. Covington Catholic
10. Newport

Players to watch:
Ricardo Johnson- Holmes
Elijah Pittman- Holmes
Jeremiah Johnson- Holmes
Demetrius Avery- Holmes
Jacob Rieger- Bishop Brossart
Brady Jolly- Campbell County
Jon Pohlgeers- Beechwood
Steven Kowolonek- Highlands
George Grote- Highlands
Ben Watson- Highlands
Andy Earls- Boone County
Mike Gabbard- Boone County
Blake Bryan- Villa Madonna
Grant Pangallo- Newport Central Catholic
Jake Giesler- Newport Central Catholic
Mitch McLeish- Ryle
Bobby Staufer- Ryle
Jake Thelen- Covington Catholic
Trevor Wellbrock- Covington Catholic
Matt Trammel- Dixie Heights

Sorry Brad, thanks for the Memories

Yesterday the Cincinnati Bengals released 10-year veteran Long Snapper Brad St. Louis. You should never know the name of your team's long snapper. If they are good, which Brad was for many years, most do not know who he is. But when they are bad they stand out. Unfortunately this season Brad was very bad, very very bad. So on Tuesday they made the move and released St. Louis and signed Clark Harris. Harris was recently released from the Houston Texans practice squad. Perhaps this is a move from Marvin to get some ideas of the Texans offense before the big matchup on Sunday. Since there are no official statistics regarding long snappers I can tell you that Clark Harris was drafted in the 7th round by the Green Bay Packers out of Rutgers. Harris saw action in four regular season games last year for the Texans. He has a neck beard in his NFL stock photo.....I really don't know what else to tell you about this guy other than he is not Brad St. Louis and hopefully we will no longer have to hold our breath when we go for FG or extra point.

Da Bears Are Missing Da Old Running Backs

The Bears decided to get rid of Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson for the future, Matt Forte. Lets look at each running backs stats so far:

Matt Forte 71 ATT, 271 YARDS, 1 TD, 3.8 YPC

Thomas Jones 74 ATT, 271 YARDS, 5 TD, 3.7 YPC

Cedric Benson 111 ATT, 487 YARDS, 3 TD, 4.4 YPC

Chad talking about the Ray Lewis Hit

This is pretty classic Chad Ochocinco who is talking about the massive hit that Ray Lewis put on him on Sunday. Pretty funny, Chad is the man!

US Men's Soccer Team Qualifies for 2010 World Cup

The U.S. soccer team qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa following a 3-2 victory at Honduras Saturday night. Honduras, who experienced a coup earlier this year, struck first but was unable to hold onto the lead and even missed a penalty kick down the stretch. Conor Casey scored his first two goals ever in international play and a final goal by Landon Donovan clinched the 6th straight ticket to the World Cup for the U.S.

Remaining Bengals Schedule

No one thought the Cincinnati Bengals would come out this hot. Especially by looking at their early season schedule. With Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore on the calendar I assumed that we would be 2-3 at this point. But the Bengals have been shocking the league with all of their games being decided in the last 60 seconds the "Comeback Cats" as they have been dubbed have already reached their win total from the 08-09 season. The Bengals actually have a pretty nice looking road ahead of them. Of their 11 remaining games 5 of those teams have losing records. And with a 3-0 record in the conference they are sitting in a very good position for the AFC North. Of course, all of this could change. But their remaining games should afford the Bengals some good opportunities to get some victories. Check it out.

Oct 18- Houston (2-3)
Oct 25- Chicago (3-1)
Bye
Nov 8- Baltimore (3-2)
Nov 15- @ Pittsburgh (3-2)
Nov 22- @ Oakland (1-4)
Nov 29- Cleveland (1-4)
Dec 6- Detroit (1-4)
Dec 13- @ Minnesota (5-0)
Dec 20- @ San Diego (2-2)
Dec 27- Kansas City (0-5)
Jan 3- @ NY Jets (3-2)

Meet the Dumbest Guy in the NFL, Owen Schmitt

Bengals vs. Ravens Observations

* I know that Shu hit on this in a previous post, but it is time for Brad St. Louis to go. Unfortunately the longest tenured Bengals player has just seemed to have lost his head. I was listening to an interview from Darrin Simmons, Bengals Special Teams coach, and Simmons was talking about how important the chemistry is between long snapper, punter and kicker. All three have to work together to get it done. This team has fought all year to win games and Brad St. Louis has been making it too hard on them. Time to go Brad. Thanks for the memories.

* Once again the Bengals offense came out blazing but mishaps on Special Teams leave us with no points and seem to take the wind out of the offense.

*Larry Johnson was the last RB to rush for 100 yards against the Baltimore Ravens in 2006. Cedric Benson was able to grind out 120 yards on 27 carries for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. Ced looked like he earned every yard he got too often breaking the first tackle or making something out of nothing. He has really started to get it going. Right now Cedric Benson is the NFL leading rusher with 487 yards, just six more yards than Adrian Peterson.

* This team is still making too many mistakes if they want to be a big time contender. I am not going to knock them too much because they are getting wins and finding a way to win. But I still think there are too many mistakes.

* Daniel Coats needs to catch that pass up the middle that hit his hands.

* Did you notice Laverneous Coles after dropping a pass in the first quarter was not really targeted the rest of the game. Has Carson lost faith in him?

* You can't really have too much praise for this Bengals defense. They are really a tough unit. They are extremely physical and have done a tremendous job stopping some pretty good offensive opponents.

* For the second straight week our opponents #1 receiver was held without a catch. When is Leon Hall going to get credit for being a shutdown corner? Leon is phenomenal. I don't think he will get more INT's than Joseph because Hall's man will always be covered.

* The Ravens are complaining about some of the calls down the stretch, but I really think the calls were valid. Baltimore looked a little rattled during that drive, the Bengals had a lot of composure.

* I will continue my streak for calling for QB J.T. O'Sullivan. Palmer has got to learn to look at the play clock. But when I bitch about him and call for O'Sullivan we get the win!

Survival Football Results

Adam
Team- Minnesota Vikings (Won)
Passer- Peyton Manning (309 yds)
Receiver- Reggie Wayne (1 TD)

Matt
Team- Dallas (Won), Pittsburgh (Won)
Passer- Tony Romo (353 yards)
Rusher- DeAngelo Williams (40 yards)

Redleg2420
Team- Philadelphia Eagles (Won)
TD Catch- Dallas Clark (0 TD)

SHU
Team- Pittsburgh Steelers (Won)
Passer- Kurt Warner (302 yards)
Receiver- Larry Fitzgerald (2 TD)

Wojo
Team- NY Giants (Won)

Some lost a few categories this week but everyone is still alive. Choosing the 100 yard rusher seemed to be harder than a thought! Wojo is now not alone in his only having a team to pick. SHU and myself are out in front with 3 categories but that all could change in one week!

Dave Duncan to become Reds Pitching Coach?

As most of you have probably heard by now the Cincinnati Reds did not renew the contract of pitching coach Dick Pole. The only vacancy on Dusty Baker's staff is currently the pitching coach. Some of you may not know that St. Louis Cardinals pitching Coach Dave Duncan has been unhappy with the organization for the past few months. Most believe Duncan is unhappy with how they handled his son, who was slow coming back from injury and eventually traded from St. Louis to Boston. There are a number of ties between current Reds CEO Bob Castellini and Reds GM Walt Jockety. Castellini was part owner of the Cardinals and Jockety was St. Louis GM. John Fay of the Enquirer has speculated that this could be the case and really I can see this as a likely scenario. If this does happen, I would be very excited to see what Duncan can do with this young Red's pitching staff. This would be a very positive move for the future of this ballclub.

The Squirrel has something to prove

In case you have not been paying attention the Ravens actually have a pretty high powered offense right now. Behind second year Quarterback Joe Flacco there are such offensive weapons as Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, Derrick Mason and Kelly Washington. Kelly Washington? Yes, the man who gave us the famed squirrel is actually having a pretty solid season for the Ravens. Washington is second on the depth chart and second to Mason in receiving yards with 198 yards and 1 TD so far this season. But Washington really wants to show Cincinnati what they gave up on when they gave up on him. He said the following to ESPN.com.

"I definitely want to show them what I’m about," Washington told ESPN.com Thursday. "I know they know it. But I definitely want to put a beating on the defensive backs and show the coaches there, the owners and all the personnel people what I’m about."

Martha Gets it Done!

In reference to the previous post on this website Martha Leach birdied the 16th hole of the Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club to secure the match play victory and the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship. This is her first championship in over 40 USGA events. As a referenced previously Martha resides in Hebron, KY.
Perhaps if I am lucky I can score an autograph for our Survival Football Contest.

Check out the USGA Website for more details.

(I work with her daughter which is why I wrote these stories. In case any of you NKYSportsWorlders think that we are turning into a golf only site do not despair!)

Local Golfer playing for Championship

Hebron, Kentucky resident Martha Leach has played in the USGA Women's Mid-Amatuer Championship 22 times. In those 22 years she has reached the semi-finals on four different occasions but until Wednesday had never been able to make it over the hump to play in the final round. In her semi-final match Martha was up 1 in match play going into the 18th hole against Virginia Derby-Grimes. Leach was standing over a 36 foot par putt while her opponent Derby-Grimes had a 12 foot put for birdie. Martha nailed her miraculous 36 foot par putt to put the pressure on her opponent. Derby-Grimes, a past winner of this tournament, missed her putt for birdie which secured the win for Leach.

Martha is playing this morning in the final round against former college teammate Laura Coble from Augusta, GA. Coble is also playing in her first final round. Leach is getting help from her husband and caddy John Leach. John is the Golf Pro at Traditions Golf Club in Hebron, KY. He is also the head of the John Leach Golf Academy.

The US Mid-Amateur Championship is open to female amateur golfers who are over 25 and have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 9.4. A total of 411 contestants entered the 2009 championship. Only 132 players became eligible and competed in 36 holes of stroke play to determine 64 qualifiers for match play. The winner of the Championship will receive the Mildred Gardiner Prunaret Trophy along with a number of sectional USGA tournament exemptions.

Cincinnati Bengals Hard Knocks: Where are they Now?

The Cincinnati Bengals stole the show this year on HBO's inside the team Hard Knocks. The show highlighted a number of Bengals players some who we see on a regular basis and others who has disappeared. Lets find out where some of these guys have gone.

DeDe Dorsey
Dorsey stole the show with the highlight of the battle for backup RB with Bernard Scott, Brian Leonard, and DeDe. All three had very good pre-season campaigns and at the end of the show all three were kept on the team. However, the Bengals only kept Dorsey in an attempt to trade him. Dorsey was later cut to make room for Andre Smith. Dorsey was picked up by the Las Vegas Locomotives of the UFL and will make his semi-pro debut today in California.

Augustus Parrish
Gus Parrish was brought in to training camp to take the place of the first round hold out from Alabama star Andre Smith. Parrish was an undrafted free agent out of Kent State. Parrish was highlighted on the show more often than not showing him getting burned on the edge by fourth string defensive ends. Parrish is still currently a free agent.

Fui Vakapuna
Another spotlight was placed on the Fullback situation between Jeremy Johnson, Chris Pressley, and Fui Vakapuna. Pressley was brought in as an undrafted free agent and Vakapuna was drafted by the Bengals in the late rounds. Fui was so nervous about making the team that on cut day he went to the stadium to try to find out what was going on. It was there that Marvin broke the bad new to him. Shortly after being cut by the Bengals Fui was signed to the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals where he is still with the team.

Corey Lynch
The pride of Appalachian State Safety Cory Lynch was out shined this season by newcomer Tom Nelson. Despite playing in a number of games his rookie season Lynch was pushed out of his roster spot by Nelson and retained for the Bengals practice squad. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took notice of his football abilities as well as his good Samaritan activities and signed Corey off of our practice squad. Lynch has played in 2 games for the Bucs and has logged 1 tackle.

J.D. Runnels
Fullback J.D. Runnels was unceremoniously cut by Jim Lippincott at 6:00 in the morning early in training camp. As we all remembers Runnels was cut because it was "an ability thing." The 2006 Chicago Bears draft pick Runnels was unable to get picked up by another team for the preseason and is currently a free agent.

Kenny Watson
Although Watson was not a part of the Hard Knocks program, he was cut on the same days Runnels. Watson was unable to use his "Canton-like" ability to pick up with any team. On September 29th the Detroit Lions invited Watson for a workout but was not signed. Watson is currently a free agent.

Survival Football

Okay Fellas, time to make this week's picks. I will post on here to show you what categories you have left. Then fill in your answers in the comments. I will also let you know what teams and players you have already used.

Adam
Team
200 yard Passer
TD Catch
(Teams used: Cincinnati, Baltimore, Indianapolis, New Orleans)
(Players used: Cedric Benson, Brett Favre, Steve Smith (NYG))

Redleg2420
Team
TD Catch
(Teams used: Green Bay, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Indianapolis)
(Players used: Chris Johnson, Jay Cutler, Chad Ochocinco)

SHU
Team
Passer
TD Catch
(Teams used: Chicago, Indianapolis, San Diego, Cincinnati)
(Players used: Brandon Jacobs, Carson Palmer, Reggie Wayne)

Matt
100 Yard Rusher
200 Yard Passer
(You lost your team because you picked the NY Giants twice, sorry!)
(Players used: Matt Forte, Matt Shaub, Andre Johnson)

Wojo
Team
(Teams used: Dallas, Denver, New Orleans, Indianapolis)

Chad Ochocinco Not like any Other

The more I have paid attention to Chad Ochocinco this season the more that I like him. Chad is really a fun loving person who loves playing football, loves entertaining, and loves his fans. I realized this from following his Twitter page. Sunday night he sent out a tweet telling all fans he was going to J. Alexanders in Rookwood and if anyone wanted to join him to show up there and dinner was on him. Over 20 people showed up and Chad picked up the tab. What other NFL player does something like this? Chad is like no other. Check out the picture from Chad's twitter page.

Ethics of a Fan

I have always wanted to be a part of something special and catch a milestone Home Run ball. Whether it is a record breaking homer or a first career homer I always thought it would be cool to be a part of it. Why? Not for a payday, but for the opportunity to meet the player and be the part of a pretty cool experience. What most people don't understand is milestone baseballs are really not worth that much on the memorabilia market. They will not make you a millionaire or make you famous in any way. I have always thought if you caught one you could negotiate a deal with the player who hit it. I would simply ask for an autograph, maybe a jersey or a bat but just the opportunity to meet the player would be a good enough experience for me. Here are a couple of stories where fans do not feel the same way.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/fish_bytes/2009/05/fan-drives-hard-bargain-for-coghlans-first-home-run-ball.html

Florida Marlins player Chris Coghlan hit his first home run at Miller Park. The fan demanded a number of items including a Hanley Ramirez signed bat.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/23/SP8I19R0FM.DTL

Oakland Outfielder Matt Carson hit his first ML home run and the fan demanded $10,000. Carson refused to pay it.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/baseball/story/1270200.html

A 12 year old girl caught Ryan Howard's 200th Home Run in Florida. The girl initially traded the ball for a signed Ryan Howard bat. But an attorney helped retrieve the ball after the family realized the ball could be worth more than the bat.

Chad Johnson Twitter Battles

One of my favorite new things to do is follow Chad Johnson (OGOchocinco) on Twitter. This week he has been picking on Ravens secondary who are also on Twitter. Check out the exhcange below.

Chad Ochocinco (OGOchoCinco) to Fabian Washington (FABEWASH31) at about 10:30 p.m. Monday night: "bruh you in trouble Sunday, you gone kiss da baby, this ain't a threat it's a promise. I'm shutting the front door on you!!!!!"

Ochocinco to Domonique Foxworth (Foxworth24): "cmon son, how you cover me with a last name like fox<---you ain't Vivica son! It's on Sunday,I'm not being cocky, i'm that good!"

Washington to Ochocinco: "trust me home boy it's going down. Believe dat"

Ochocinco to Washington: "don't do that, don't talk back son, know yo competition son, this ain't madden, you really hit to see me"

Ochocinco to Washington: "tell Vivica Foxworth he better just sit this game out!!!"

Washington to Ochocinco: "this water running up hill. Str8 pressure"

Ochocinco to Washington: "huh!!! Shut the front door!! You betta pray you got help every down, watch the clevland film, 2 man every down<---WTF!!!"

Washington to Ochocinco: "really if u watched the film u can c I had no help. But good night it's past my bed time"

Ochocinco to Washington: "bed time, you ain't gonna be able to rest, cmon son, have a dream like Martin Luther king son you will get embarassed Sunday"

Remember Him?

Do you remember Andre Smith the Cincinnati Bengals first round selection of the 2009 NFL Draft? Well Andre Smith is recovering well from his foot injury that was sustained on his second day of practice for the Bengals. Head Coach Marvin Lewis has been pleased with the progress of Smith and indicated that he will begin to get some on field work soon. Smith could be ready as soon as week 7 but will more than likely join the team after the bye week. Smith is working at right tackle a spot currently held by Anthony Collins. Collins has been strong for most of the season but at times looks a little Gus Parrish like. Andre could seriously help this line that has been average thus far this season.

Braylon Edwards traded to the Jets

You don't mess with the King in Cleveland. Just two days after reports surfaced that Cleveland Browns WR Braylon Edwards was involved in an altercation with a member of LeBron James circle of friends Edwards was reportedly traded to the New York Jets. The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed as this news is just breaking. We will have more on this when we get more information.

In 8 games against Cincinnati in his career Edwards has 31 receptions for 406 yards and 5 TD's. Although he was held without a catch in their most recent contest Edwards has had some success against us, his 5 TD's against the Bengals are the most TD's against any opponent in his career. So long Braylon!

Sacked! Aaron Rodgers Working His Way Toward Most Quaterback Sacks in One Season

Aaron Rodgers has now been sacked 20 times this year through 4 games! I know I'm only 6'2, 175, but myself and my boy Gus Parrish are trying out for the Packers Offensive Line this week.

To put this is perspective, Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 46 times last year, the most out of any quarterback in the NFL. At this rate, Rodgers will be sacked 80 times this year! The NFL record is actually 76 times by David Carr in 2002.

How do you feel about these Bengals?

Redleg2420 pointed out in an earlier post that he felt this Cleveland could be a trap game and if they won he would feel better about the season. Well we won but I don't think anyone could feel good about this season. Yes we are 3-1, but we are a play away from 0-4. Now I can see the other side of the coin, we are also a play away from 4-0 and we have been making those plays to win. You can't argue with that at all. But I think from watching this team we are all cautiously optimistic about this season. If we really want to contend we have to improve our offense and special teams. What do you think?

*Week 4 Observations

* With 1:04 left on the clock and the Bengals facing a 4th and 11, Marvin Lewis was going to punt the football and play for the tie. But Carson Palmer talked him out of it and ended up making the play scrambling for a first down and setting up a 31-yard field goal for the win. That was Shayne Graham's first successful overtime field goal in his career, and the first Bengals overtime win since 2001.

* I am not sure why Marvin would play for the tie, I understand the field position issue, you don't want to give Cleveland the ball with a chance to pick up 30 yards and hit a Field Goal to beat you. But why play for the tie? I am glad he made the decision to go for it. A tie does nothing for us.

* The game was surprisingly chippy. The Brown's players looked like they really believed they could win this game and were really fighting to win it.

* I really thought the defense played well, Josh Cribbs was shredding our special teams and gave the Brown decent field position a number of time throughout the game. Twice the special teams gave the Browns the ball in the red zone. Once on a Caldwell fumble, and once on a Cribbs return, and both times the defense held them to a field goal.

* Leon Hall covered Braylon Edwards (0 yards) Jonathan Joseph covered Mohamad Massaquoi (143 yards)

* I was hoping that Bratkowski had overhauled the playbook like he said in the off season, but in a 3rd and 5 on the goal line situation he brought out the shovel pass to Brian Leonard. Some things never change.

* I have been watching football for a long time and I cannot remember ever seeing the same player block two field goals. Very rarely do you ever see a blocked field goal let alone two in one game by the same player. Now, its not like this is a fluke after Sunday Rogers has 14 blocked field goals in his career. But both can be attributed to this combo of St. Louis, Huber and Graham. I am not sure that the issues are? St. Louis has looked just out of control with his snaps. This cannot continue, if the Bengals really want to be a contender they cannot afford to keep making these mistakes. That game should have never gone to OT.

* Chad Ochocino continues to come up huge for the offense when called on. There have been a few miscommunications on offense. Everyone wants to always blame Chad for those but the way that Palmer has looked I am not always sure that is deserving. The receivers really have played well when they get a ball to them that is catchable. Henry needed to fight for that ball that was floated up to him, but Henry was wide open and Palmer should have led him up the field with the pass.

* I think we can only be cautiously optimistic about this team, we are 3-1 and a fluke away from 4-0 (By the way, the Bronco's are undefeated and maybe not as bad as we thought they may be this year.) However, we have not looked dominating and must eliminate some mistakes on Special teams, and ramp up the offense if we want to contend for the p-word.

NFL Survival Game

Here are the week 1 results for the new NKYSportsWorld Survival Football, if you player failed to reach the benchmark stats he will be bolded and you will lose that slot for the rest of the season.

Adam:
Team: Cincinnati Bengals (Won)
Rusher: Cedric Benson (74 yards)
Passer: Brett Favre (TBD)
TD Catch: Steve Smith NYG (2 TD's)

Redleg2420:
Team: Indianapolis (Won)
Rusher: Chris Johnson (83 yards)
Passer: Jay Cutler (141 yards)
TD Catch: Chad Ochocinco (2 TD's)

SHU:
Team: Cincinnati Bengals (Won)
Rusher: Brandon Jacobs (92 yards)
Passer: Carson Palmer (230 yards)
TD Catch: Reggie Wayne (1 TD)

Matt:
Team: NY Giants (Won)
Rusher: Matt Forte (121 yards)
Passer: Matt Shaub (224 yards)
TD Catch: Andre Johnson (0 TD)

Wojo:
Team: Indianapolis Colts (Won)
Rusher: Cedric Benson (74 yards)
Passer: Jay Cutler (141 yards)
TD Catch: Andre Johnson (0 TD's)

Now remember if your category is bolded you failed to reach the benchmark stats so you lose that survival category. Everyone lost at least one category this week so next week will get interesting! Good luck!

New Survival Game

Okay, I have thought of a new survival game that I think will be fun. Since all of us are still in the survival pool we are going to add some categories. Here is how it will work. There will be four categories. Just like a regular survival pool you can select one team/player. Once you have used that team or player you cannot use them for the rest of the season. The way this will work if you loose one of the categories that week you will loose that slot. The last man standing will win. I will have a prize for the winner of this contest that will be distributed once the winner is decided. To register for this contest you must put your picks in this week.

Winning Team: Select a team who you think will win that week.
100 Yard Rusher: Select a player who you think will rush for 100 yards or more.
200 Yard Passer: Select a player who you think will pass for more than 200 yards.
1 TD Reception: Select a player who you think will catch a TD reception.

You can select any position player for any of the player categories.

Any questions hit the comments section and I will answer them for you. Also post your picks in the comments.

Trap Game?

Alright, we're all thinking it, but I will say it. Is anyone else worried about Sunday's game at Cleveland? This is the ultimate trap game. We're coming off a huge win. We're playing a division rival in their stadium with a highly motivated quarterback and a running back with a long history of killing us. I will not predict a Bengals loss...but I am worried. If they win this game, I will become a believer. If they lose this game, I will walk away feeling like its the same old Bengals!