Unabated Sports

You probably heard the news by now: Carson Palmer has signed the largest deal in NFL history... for now. (You know how these things are, someone will have a bigger contract by March.) On the surface, this is an amazing move by a franchise that has a reputation as being something of a penny pincher. It wraps up the franchise quarterback that Cincinnati has been so desperately searching for since the first Bush was in office. It sends a message to current players and potential free agents that Bengals who perform will be rewarded. So, what moron could possibly think there could be a downside to this? I guess just me.

Carson Palmer was signed through 2008, so it's not like there was a huge rush to get this done. He wasn't going anywhere until the next presidential election. As a fan, I was a little more worried about the offensive linemen who are not signed past next season. I guess CP's contract gives the team some flexibility to re-sign whomever they want. But I'm sill a little worried about the fact that this contract will be on the team's books for the next eight years. The team is comitted to Carson, for better or worse. Sure, he's had a great season. But, as unlikely as it is, what if he's a one-year wonder? What if he gets hurt? Palmer's agent, David Dunn, even compared the deal to Daunte Culpepper's. The Vikings could be attached to a quarterback with a bad knee for years to come. I guess I'm just worried that the Bengals could be saddled with a deal that could hobble this team if something goes wrong with Palmer on the field.

Also, I think it's a little crazy to have a deal that goes until 2014. The salary cap may not even be around next year. And there's no guarentee that society as we know it will still be around when the contract runs out. Skynet may have assumed control, the living dead may be walking the Earth, or this might become a planet where apes evolve from men. I mean, 2014 is a long way off. Or maybe I'm a long way off.

I can't think of a holiday that has more to do with television than New Year's Eve. As the clock ticks down on a new year, someone at the party always has an eye on the tube to keep track of when the ball drops at Times Square. This year there might be a more testosterone-laced alternative to you traditional New Year's Rockin' Eve. ESPN is getting into the New Year's Eve coverage. On Saturday night, from the Hard Rock Café in Times Square, Stuart Scott and "Little Steven" Van Zandt - the rock musician and "Sopranos" consigliere - will host a live show from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., first on ESPN2, with ESPN joining after the Giants-Raiders game. Does that sound appealing to you? Or is it just another sign to you that the four letter network is putting more emphasis on the "E" in their name rather than the "S"?

To be honest, I'm surprised that losses like this didn't happen more often this season. This is a team that has played with fire every Sunday since Week 4. No matter how bad the team was, the Bengals kept them in the game to the very end. Only once all season long did they put the ball in the end zone on their opening drive. That's what Seattle and Indianapolis do week in and week out and I don't think it's a coincidence the road to the Super Bowl goes through those cities. They get on the board first with 7 points and put pressure on the opponent right away. A lot of these bad teams will fold at the first chance, but we wouldn't know about that here in Cincinnati. Houtson, Green Bay, Baltimore, Cleveland... the list goes on and on of the crappy teams that gave the Bengals all they wanted. You're the superior squad. Act like it. Dominate. If this Bengals team wants to make some noise in the post-season this year and be able to survive next year's first place schedule, they have to start on the right foot. Good teams will not let you get away with wasting opportunities and allowing opponents to stick with their game plan for 60 minutes.

The former Bengal coach will be in Cincinnati 14 years to the day he was abrubtly fired by Mike Brown. I guess ironiy can be pretty ironic sometimes. For a lot of people, this was a sin that never could be forgotten. But it has been almost a decade and a half, and they say time heals all wounds. It also doesn't hurt that Mike Brown has finally supplied a winner. Are you still holding a grudge? Have you started to let it go yet? If not, what would it take for you to begin to forgive the Bengals owner? A playoff win? Super Bowl appearance? World Championship? Or is this something that will just always fester inside until the day you die?

He just might be "the one that got away." Hear our interview with Thad Matta. A week before it became official, we got him to confirm the big OSU-UC game. Coach Matta gave us a look at his team both inside and out. Thad also talks about the Big Ten conference this year and what the future holds for the Buckeyes.

When it was announced that minor league hockey was returning to the Queen City, there was a lot of excitement. But when we heard they would be called the Cincinnati RailRaiders, it raised a few eyebrows among the Unabated Sports crew. I understand it pays homage to the area's historical ties to the railroad industry but, in today's world, "railraiders" sounds a little... you know. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But it's not exactly striking fear in the hearts of the opposing players.

Personally, I was very critical of the latest NBA expansion team when they named the new Charlotte team the "Bobcats." That's one of the most generic and weak names I think they could have gone with. Of course, if I ever ran into a real bobcat, I would probably keep that to myself. And the Blue Jackets?!? Wow. That's really manly naming yourself after apparel.

What are the worst names in sports? What are the coolest? It seems like a lot of minor league franchises take risks and pick edgy mascots. Too bad we didn't get that here.

Regardless of the name, we really hope the franchise takes off and they save some cheap seats for us.

Okay, sure, the fans didn't actually get on the field and get the win, but we sure did endure a lot since the last playoff birth in 1990.

Congrats to the 2005 AFC North Champions! The Cincinnati Bengals!

Click on the hat to get AFC North Championship gear from the Bengals Pro Shop. Hopefully, we won't have to wait another 15 years for the next division. :)

We love our video games here at Unabated Sports. Anytime we can have someone on talking sports games, we're all over it. We hooked up with Gamespot sports and brought in their top sports editor. Listen to our interview with Brian Ekberg. He talks about how the next generation sensation, Xbox360, handles your favorite sports games. He also has some good ideas if you still need to get some gifts. And be sure to check out some of Brian's articles like his breakdown of 2005 cover athletes. He grades which games have the best man (or woman) as the face of their franchise.

Now that Cincinnati has officially clinched it's first winning season in 15 years, it's time to pick the new "Siberia of the NFL". Even though there's a lot of bad teams out there, you don't have to look much farther than this weekend's opponent: the Detroit Lions. Fire Millen.net has lots more pictures similar to the one here (a nice photshop job on one of Chad Johnson's infamous TD celebrations) on the right of famous people (and animals) holding up similar signs. There's billboards that also mock the GM and fans are organizing an Orange Week. And fans compare a Lions game to other painful things. Does any of this sound familiar? I recall similar ideas and sentiments being bounced around these parts about ten years ago. So, congratulations to the Motor City. You are now the crappiest franchise in the best sports league on Earth.

During Steeler Week, we brought one of the enemy soldiers onto our show. But he's not all bad, since he went to the University of Cincinnati. The former Bearcat moved up the river and is now wearing the Black and Gold. Listen to our interview with Andre Frazier. He talks about the AFC North rivalry and what it was like playing against Big Ben in college and seeing him play now.

It's very economical for us to have Dan Hoard on our show. As the voice of the Bearcats, he's a great resource to talk about UC football and basketball. And as sports director at Fox 19, he's got his finger on the pulse of the rest of the Cincinnati sports scene. He's also pretty darn good at turning a clever phrase. Want to get a piece of his knowledge? Listen to our interview with Dan Hoard. And you can go back and hear the first time we had him on the show.

Like Jeff is prone to saying, we learn something new every week on our Unabated Sports show. Here's what we learned while the leaves were falling:

Dominic Ross will not lay out his brother.
Brad Johansen is our Tom Hanks.
Brad Johansen believes the Steelers are where the Bengals want to be.
Brandon Murphy believes RedHawk football is a team game.
Dan Hoard gets mistaken for UC's new basketball coach.

Those are some small samples of the Unabated Interviews we bring you every Thursday night between 8-10 on ESPN Radio 1450 The Ticket.

On how many levels was today's Cincinnati Bengals win important? Lots. First, a win over a quality team for the first time in 2005. Second, finally beating the hated Steelers. After all, to be the man, you have to beat the man. Whoo! Third, the team now holds it's destiny in it's own hands, especially if they can beat the Browns next week. I think the magic number would only be one in that case. Fourth, the franchise guarentees it's first winning season in 15 years. Congratulations, Detroit. You are now the new Siberia of the NFL.

Bob Huggins is no longer the head basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati, but he' still making headlines. ESPN.com's Andy Katz has a feature on what the former UC institution has been doing to keep himself busy and get him ready for his next gig.

No crazy sex in a bathroom arrest story this time. But I did want to draw your attention to the Pro Cheerleader Blog now linked on the left side of the site. They featured the new Ben-Gal of the Week feature on Bengals.com. They also broke down what went into Chad Johnson's proposal to a Bengal cheerleader. It shows what went into blocking out one of the most original touchdown celebrations of the year.

And thanks to a helpful tip, we were directed to the Pro Cheerleader Blog to find pictures of the Bengals Cheerleaders new outfits. I can only hope that those are here to stay. For those of you that didn't see what I am talking about, check out these pics that they have posted on their blog. There are a couple more there so go check it out.