Unabated Sports

This week, Scott Wright put up a new mock draft at NFL Draft Countdown and there are three rounds! Two year ago, Cincinnati used their first pick on Chris Perry, runningback from Michigan. And if Scott's right (yep, pun intended) another Wolverine might be a Bengal.

Rouund 1, 24th pick overall: Gabe Watson, DT, Michigan Wolverines
From what I've heard, he has a rep as a bit of an underachiever. He's got maybe the most talent of any defensive tackle in the draft but didn't play up to his level his last year in Ann Arbor. Will Marvin take a chance on a guy like that and be able to coach him up? Does Scott think the signing of Sam Adams change where the Bengals go with this pick?

Round 2, 55th pick overall: Marcedes Lewis, TE, UCLA
I'd be skeptical if he were still available this late. Some mocks even have him going in the first round. But he's not as fast as the rest of this tight end class and his build is described as "slight." Still, it'd be interesting to put someone like him into the Bengals offense and have a viable target at that position.

Round 3, 91st pick overall: Elvis Dumervil, DE, Louisville
This guy certainly produced at the college level. No matter how you slice it, 20 sacks in season is pretty impressive. But does he have the size to make an impact at the NFL level?

Head over to NFL Draft Countdown to see speculation on what the Bengals might do as well as where college football's biggest stars will be playing on Sundays. And keep going back. Scott will continue to update as April 28 gets closer. We'll also try to get him back on the show before Reggie Bush goes off the board.

Perry Seal and Lauren Kramer, the George Mason of nuptials, have made it to the Final Four of Mike and Mike's Marriage Madness thanks to your help. But your help is needed now in an even bigger way. The Cincinnati couple, and Miami grads, face off with the number 1 seed today, so your vote is needed now more than ever.

Not only are they the number 1 team, but they are from Cleveland. We can't lose to Cleveland. I said it two weeks ago and I'll say it again. I don't care what the competition is, I do not want to lose to Cleveland. To once again quote the great Sam Wyche, "You don't live in Cleveland. This is Cincinnati." Do it for Sam!

Together we can get our local couple to the next round and banish the evil doers from Cleveland. Don't let the city down. Go and vote now. Spread the word, the vote needs to get out. And Perry has informed me that they go to 3 or 4 Bengals games a year and if they win, some of the winnings will be spent on Bengals season tickets.

Vote Now.

So an interesting name has come up in the search for the next head coach of IU. Kelvin Sampson, king of the denim-ish button down shirt and khakis look, is apparently taking the job as skipper in Bloomington.

This all comes on the heels of a potential illegal phone call situation at Oklahoma, which the NCAA is set to rule on in the next coming month or so. Also, this runs in wild contradication to what many 'experts' felt about who would/could/should be the next in line to follow in the 'He'll never be Bobby Knight' chair.

I personally think this is a great move, not just for Indiana, but for Sampson as well. It was becoming evident that Oklahoma and Sampson simply weren't finding a way to get it done together anymore, and both needed a fresh start.

On a sidenote, the thing that intrigues me most about this move, is the similarity between the two situations of Indiana and Cincinnati. Both found themselves forced to go to the alter with bridesgrooms they hadn't necessarily chosen, and couldn't find a way to get out of that nuptial agreement without a debacle.
Secondly, it is worth noting that Indiana has taken far longer to cut its Bobby Knight ties, than UC took to get rid of the Huggins era. It is also worth noting, that Indiana ended up with a decidedly more proven coach, although they took the long road to get there.

So..this all begs the question - better pickup: Cronin or Sampson? This is all speculation of course, but after Wednesday, we'll be able to answer the question.

Local couple Lauren and Perry have moved on in ESPN Radio's Marriage Madness contest. You can hear them talk about how sports brings them together and can kinda cause some friction, too. See their promotional video and watch Lauren display better hands than some NFL players. Thanks to you, they advanced past their first round match-up... against a couple from Cleveland. This time, they're up against a couple of Yankee fans! Yech!

Get over there and vote now! The polls are only up until 6 today! Go now!

This weekend, some folks from the TenMojo website gave us the head's up on something that might be of interest to us sports nuts: Ten Best NCAA Basketball Programs of All Time. They also said they would give us some pub if we put up their list and I am such a link-whore. Anyway, here's the criteria they used to rank the schools.

1 - All-Time Won-Loss Record
2 - Tournament and Final Four Appearances
3 - Program reputation, aura and fan support
4 - Output of NBA-bound athletes
5 - Number of Championships

Based on this, where do you think UK ranks on there? Did UC make the list? #1 should be no surprise if you know your history but there's a couple teams on there that I'm not totally in agreement with. Especially #10. But maybe I just don't know that much about them.

Friend of the radio program, Mike DeCourcy, is reporting that Andy Kennedy will be the next coach at Ole Miss. Good luck to you, sir. We Bearcat fans really appreciate what you have done this year and hope you find the administrative support that was so lacking here in Cincinnati. You and your team fought hard to bring the fans back to Clifton. The fight begins again now that the Powers That Be at UC let you, and the goodwill you've built up, get away. Although, hiring Cronin might help. He was the guy I wanted if they didn't keep Andy. I still bleed black and red, but I will also root for Andy Kennedy and his Rebels, too.

The hits just keep on coming: two UC starters have been ruled ineligible. Not only for tonight's game, but for the game(s) in Madison Square Garden if UC is fortunate enough to survive tonight. But the likelihood against that is pretty much staggering. Even the Big O was pretty crestfallen as he took his usual courtside seat. South Carolina has played very well as late. They made the SEC tournament final, beat Western Kentucky in Columbia and Florida State in Talahassee to get this far in the NIT. UC didn't play well but did enough to win against Minnesota earlier this week. They're going to have pull out all the stops to come away with a win tonight.

Say what you want about this undermanned team, they came out inspired. An early 11-5 lead was evidence of that. But that quickly vanished as SC hit a 3-pointer followed by four points on one possession. I don't know what it's been lately, but Eric Hicks has been taking at least one three per game. Fortunately, he's made a decent amount. The most recent restored UC's lead, 16-14. The crowd hit their loudest so far when the Cats went to 21 with a seven point lead. They were also pretty loud when recent starter Ronald Allen came down with a tough board and an excellent put-back.

Halftime arrived with a 33-27 Bearcat lead. Not bad for a team that most of us in this building felt had little to no chance of winning. The two guys who competed in the free throw competition both brandished "Hire Andy" signs as they went off the court. Those little buggers are everywhere tonight. There are shirts that support the "real" Coach K and a few claiming to be Kennedy's Krew. The first organized HIRE ANDY chant finally started with about 3 minutes to go in the half, but died quickly afterwards. When the coach returned to the floor, the entire crowd got behind this chant.

After another dance team-less halftime show, the Gamecocks seemed to have the early momentum cutting their defecit to 4. It looks like Allen accidently slugged an SC player in the mouth going for a rebound and there's a lot of blood. Not good. I get queasy around blood. I also get queasy when UC gives up a lead, like they did with 16:26 to go, 37-37. They gave it up completely when a bad Tilford pass got picked off for a fast break bucket. The some white guy buried one from deep to go up five, 37-42. The first spark of the second half began with a Hicks block who fed Downey on a fast break for a three-point play. Chadd Moore follwed that up with a nice lay-in of his own to tie the score. Mr. Basketball South Carolina tied it up when the school from his home state went back up.

The team really fell apart as the game got under 10 minutes to go. Someone named "Miller" came into the game and it became obvious that a lot of these subs were not ready for what they were asked to do and fill in for the regulars. Guys were out of position and physical exhaustion seemed to be setting in pretty early. Mental frustration was right there, too. With less than 5 minutes to go, South Carolina kept withstanding Bearcat runs. Until 2:15 to go, that is. The crowd was finally fueling this squad to tie things up at 59.

The Cats could not take advantage as SC was the one to jump ahead with a bucket. Cedric McGowan missed the top of a 1 and 1. UC was forced to foul with :30 to go. The Gamecocks broke the press and took a two possession lead. As UC faced defeat with that defecit and only 10 seconds to make it up, there were still some sporadic vocal support of the interim head coach. As the game was all but over, THANK YOU, ANDY rang out. As Eric Hicks came off the floor, there was a Standing O for UC's #2 all-time shot-blocker as he was subbed out. Another followed for Chadd Moore, the only other senior playing tonight. There would be one more meaningless long shot made but there would be no joy in Clifton, the mighty Bearcats did strike out.

In the post-game press conference, Devan Downey talked about how he was still proud of this team and the way they fought all season long. DD indicated he would stick around next year, regardless of who was the coach. He just hoped whoever was in charge would just give him players around him. I'll admit, it was hard to hear exactly what he was saying as you could hear the fans chanting HIRE ANDY even in the interview room in the back. When Coach Kennedy made it back to face the media, he was vaguely coy with his response about whether his future would be in red and black or somewhere else. He considered today the end of the Bob Huggins era at UC, ironically on the day he was announced as coach at another school. And as Andy Kennedy left the conference, he received a round of applause from the media who covered this amazing roller coaster of a season.

One of the big questions is now answered: Bob Huggins will coach at Kansas State next season. Huggs is trading Clifton for Manhattan. It's an interesting choice considering how many options he probably had. Sure, it's the Big 12, but I kinda feel like he could have done better. What do you think? Where should he have gone?

I was wondering what kind of crowd would be here for the UC's second NIT match-up. Minnesota and their Golden Gophers are the opponent. There was a decent crowd for Friday night's game, especially considering how other empty locales were. Did you see that Maryland game? You could've chucked a ball into the stands and not hit anyone nine out of ten times. That also brings up another point: the Bearcats got over their NCAA snub and got business done in the NIT. The Terps did not. As bummed as the Bearcats were, at least they lived up to their #1 seeding unlike the turtles.

Something interesting came over the loud speaker about 20 minutes before the tip-off. Apparently, the NIT has rules against large signs that need to be held by more than one person. There was also mention of "objectionable" content. I wonder if that vague terminology extends to anti-Zimpher signs.

Everything felt off-kilter at the beginning of tonight. Passes were not crisp. The defense had holes. The problems extended off the court. The student sections were not in synch with their cheers. They couldn't even get through the national anthem without a snafu. The pep band was supposed to do it, then some pre-recorded stuff came out over the loud speakers. Instead of the marching band refusing to yield, we had an Ashlee Simpson moment. At least the brass section didn't try to do a little jig to cover up the snafu.

An Andy Kennedy TO didn't seem to have too much in terms of reversing the tide. A media time-out seemed to do a little better. 7-11 is better than 2-8. Still, Hicks was struggling. Spending too much time around the three point line, not going strong to the hole, even travelling. One player who was feeling it early was Chadd Moore. He didn't even dress Friday due to back pain but two transition baskets have kept Cincinnati in this game. And considering the Gophers can go 9 deep, the Cats will need that kind of help off the bench all night long.

Another ESPN break actually gave UC another jolt. Connor Barwin got a nice steal (unfortunately, he followed that up with a long miss on the offensive end) but another steal lead to James White getting the bucket to tie the game and the foul shot to take the lead back 12-11. The football player tried another long shot but this one actually had much better success. A Chadd Moore 3 made it 19-11 for the first (hopefully not last) big lead of the night. He may be playing through pain, but he's had a smile on his face for most of his time on the court and has played well in the early going.

With 4:47, Eric Hicks finally showed up on the offenise side of the court with a massive dunk. 29-19. Davan Downey has looked a lot sharper when driving to the basket. Unfortunately, he has also lapsed at times on the free throw line. Both evident here tonight. Hicks followed that dunk with a pretty 3-point shot. It was so nice, he tried it twice. This time with a foul, too. 39-27. Maybe I should stop doubting the big men when they drop it like it's hot. A ten point halftime lead? Can't argue with those results. I'm hoping they hold the lead better than they did Friday night when they let the 49ers back in the game after early domination. Damn Charlotte.

Halftime was not as good as normal as there was no performance by the three-time national championship dance team. The "I Like To Move It, Move It" music video from Madagascar did not make up for that. I guess the fans needed something to get them through the intermission so the HIRE ANDY chant sounded a little sooner than usual.

The first five minutes of the second half were kinda sluggish. Minnesota got closer but UC still had a decent cushion. About the 12 minute mark things seemed to pick up again as the Bearcats regained their double digit lead. Even passing the 10 minute point, still no major change. The lead stayed about the same and there remained some glaring mental errors as well as some nice runs. One time, they didn't even have someone to take the inbound pass after a Minnesota basket.

At the 4 1/2 point, Moore collided with a Gopher on a long rebound and asked to come out. Kennedy declined. It appeared he didn't want to let Downey back in the game. Moore stayed in and fed a nice pass to Hicks that allowed him to get to the line to put UC up by 12 with about 3 1/2 left. Andy began to wave his hands, inciting the crowd. They followed with another round of HIRE ANDYs. It was heard a few more times as UC essentially ran the ball for the last couple minutes. 76-62. The Bearcats play South Carolina right back here Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. Expect a few more chants then, as well.

Earlier today, the Reds made their first big big splash, by trading hard hitter Wily Mo Pena for guitar playing cornrow sporting righthander Bronson Arroyo. In terms of a baseball move, this is a tremendous pickup. Not only does Arroyo move to the top of the rotation as the clear ace and opening day starter (sorry Mr. Claussen), he's also obviously the best pitcher that the Reds have had in years.

Bronson Arroyo is a stud. And after watching Buster Olney give the Reds pretty much no shot at even making .500 this year on ESPN's Cold Pizza this morning, this trade is great news. Good job Wayne.

I'm sitting courtside at Fifth Third Arena and the traditional color associated with this holiday is conspicuously absent from my wardrobe. The reason: the hated Charlotte 49ers are in town in all their green glory. The former Conference USA rival is top on my hate list. On top of that, add the frustration and dissappointment I'm feeling towards UC getting jobbed out of the Big Dance. As nice as it is to be back at the Shoemaker Center for a bball game, it's equally aggrevating considering I feel this team should be playing on CBS right now. Is this game even on TV?

It's gonna be interesting to see which UC team comes out tonight. Is it the one who won half their games in the toughest conference in the country? Or is it a crestfallen squad who just want an end to this emotional roller coaster of a season? Early indication pointed to the former as Eric Hicks gave an impassioned pre-game speach, came out jumping during his introduction, won the opening tip, and scored the first points of the game. He forced UNC-Charlotte to take an early TO after he took it to the hole strong to take a 8-1 lead.

There's definitely a world of difference between tonight and the last time I was here. Pretty much half of the upper deck is empty. There was no one to sing the national anthem, the band just played it. I think even the dance team is missing a decent amount of their members. And I had a courtside seat just a few feet down from the Big O. Normally, I'm closer to the statue out front than the real McCoy. Gotta take the good with the bad, I guess. Those that are here are certainly showing their support for Andy Kennedy and his players. Also some cheap shots at Craig Littlepage, Air Force, and a few other deserving targets. And the fans still remember Bobby Lutz. There's a couple signs saying a win over that "leprechaun" would be appropriate for March 17th. And the place really erupted when he got his technical foul.

The Bearcats built up a comfortable double digit lead for most of the game. But then the rim seems to close up a little bit and the 49ers started to creep back to a two-possession game at the half, 40-35.

Yikes, the 49ers even tied the game at 40! Fortunately, Eric Hicks seemed to regain some of that form wwe saw at the beginning of the last game and buried a three pointer. He got a little greedy and tried again the next trip fown the floor. You may want to just stick to your game, E.H. Unfortunately, UNC-C took the lead but there was one good thing that came out of it. The crowd really woke up. But it didn't last that long. Cinci remained cold offensively and Charlotte their hot hand building up an eight-point lead.

Oy. But all is not lost. Jihad sunk a three-pointer and Hicks had a monster block on the other end. He followed that up with a rebound wher ehe outletted to Devan Downey who was able to lay it up through a couple of defenders. Shots started to fall and there appeared to be some rhythm again. But it still wasn't enough. James White ended up getting his 4th foul with 9:28 to go and the 49ers still held a four point lead. As many little runs UC went on, they just couldn't crack the lead. Until 4:30 to go, they finally went up 70-69. Some missed free throws on McGowan's part and a strong move on the other side of the floor negated that, though. Back in the deficit. McG did make up for it with a nice lay-in to tie it up at 72. But those damned 49ers kept pouring it on.

Hicks cut it to two with a nice bucket and even gave a nice "shout-out" point to the Big O after the foul was called. He hit the back-end of the three point play.

Best sign of the night was a very professional-looking one saying: National Comittee Against Andy and the Bearcats. Chairman: Littleford. Members: Nancy Zimpher anbd Mike Thomas. Security had a little talking to him and that was the last we saw of that. That prompted a couple others along the line of Nancy Invitational Tournament and Hire Andy Fire Nancy. I like the enthusiasm but the timing was awful. The fellas on the court are in the middle of a battle: back-and-forth, back-and-forth. UC pushed it to a two-possession game with 41 ticks to go on McGowan's free throws, making up for his earlier shutout at the line. White's two free throws made it a 7 point lead for a brief time before UNC-Charlotte again hit a big 3. With 27 seconds to go, the chants of HIRE ANDY went up. Then switched to FIRE NANCY. Clutch free throws took a vacation as Hicks missed one and Downey missed two. Fortunately, the 49ers missed one of theirs, too. But McGowan came through again and the Bearcats moved on in the NIT, 86-80.

Round Two. Tuesday night. 9:00 p.m. Right back here again at Fifth Third Arena. Seeya there.

You did it! With your support, a local couple moves on in ESPN Radio's Marriage Madness contest. After winning their first-round match-up with a couple from Cleveland, Lauren & Perry now move on to the Engaged Eight. The groom was kind enough to join us on the show yesterday while at his bachelor party in Las Vegas. Hopefully, we'll have more on this next week as we root the Miami grads on to an ESPN-themed wedding in Bristol in beautiful HDTV.

Cincinnati wll not go dancing this year! Xavier travels to Salt Lake City as a 14th seed to face thrid seed Gonzaga.

By the way, Joe Lunardi is a flippin' moron. UC was a 9th seed in your book? Thanks for getting my hopes up, dipstick.

In an unfortunate incident, former Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett died earlier tonight after suffering a stroke a few days back in his Arizona home.

Here's the deal. I know Kirby Puckett was a great baseball player. I know he was super likeable, and I know that this sobering reality of this news I'm about to drop on you might forever change what you think about me, baseball, and your idols in general.

But the fact of the matter is this, and this has been a known fact for anyone who cared to listen for quite some time. Kirby Puckett was a bad guy.

One could say that I'm pretty leftist when it comes to my ideologies about sports figures. I don't really have a problem with guys doing drugs, crashing cars, or just being jerks in general. But the one place I draw the line is when a man is abusive to either women or children. As a man, I simply do not stand for that from anyone, ballplayer or not. I just don't.

I remember when news of his personal strife came to light nearly a year before the byline of the aforelinked article. Ever since then, I couldn't stand him. It was one of the first times that a guy I truly used to like simply stuck a dagger in me, and showing me that athletes are no where near the guys a lot of people make them out to be.

In so many words, I could say that Kirby Puckett is a big reason why I never take any athlete's public repuatation, no matter who he is, very seriously. Again, I hate to talk about Kirby like this, but I will.

Kirby was an important man. He was so likeable that he blinded us with his charm, and he eventually blinded himself with glaucoma as a result of his own karma. When I use the word important, I do not mean great. He's important because his story teaches all of us as sports fans how to keep certain things in perspective, and to understand what being a solid human being is all about.

I wish him to rest in peace, and respect to his family. But that doesn't mean that I really feel all that bad for him.

I don't know if it's because it's because it's senior day or a noon tip-off or an NCAA berth is probably on the line, but the atmosphere is a little different on the UC campus today. Or maybe it's the fact that Bob Huggins, himself, is in the house. go here to see some pictures from the Senior Day festivities before the West Virginia game. (They're not that good, because I took them.) But it was very interesting to see the crowd react to their prodigal coach. I was in Riverfront Stadium on Labor Day 1997 when Pete Rose watched his son play and the reception the fans gave on that day was very similar to today when Huggs came courtside. He may not have escorted Eric Hicks before the game but the Bearcat star made a special point to walk over to his old mentor and give him a big hug after his name was called.

I was extremely critical of the West Virginia football game about the lack of fans in the seats at game time. Not so today. Folks were in their seats early. The crowd was into this one early with Hicks draining a 3-pointer to open the game. But, Pitsnogle (I hate to admit it, but that's a damn cool name) and the Mountaineers came back and it was very evident that Bearcat Nation was not the only fan base in the house. West Virginia travelled very well, at times matching UC's cheering level. Of course, when they want to, the season ticket holders can rise up and roar. And they did early and often, moreso than usual. It seems like the fans have finally come around and embraced this team. About time. Fueled by the fans, UC held the lead for the rest of the first half going into the locker room up 37-31.

It was a great halftime with several former ballers being honored. No surprise, Oscar Roberston brought the crowd to it's feet but I was a little surprised by some of the folks who got some of the other big cheers. Melvin Levitt got a good response. So did Alex Meachum, the former walk-on. Maybe it had something to do the shirt he was sporting in support of Andy Kennedy. Following that ceremony, another chant of "HIRE ANDY" rang out among the sold-out crowd here at Fifth Third Arena. This was followed by the three-time national champion dance team, which looked crisp as always. That was a relief for me since we kept them from practice a bit this week so the dance team could visit us in-studio. Unfortunately, the team posters they were giving out today went too fast and we couldn't snag any. They're just too damn popular.

The second half started as a battle. UC maintained a decent lead, but the Mountaineers would not go away. They stayed in the game with good ball movement and some clutch bombs from behind the arc. Every shot was followed by yells of delight. Not only was the home crowd loud and proud but the very vocal minority from the Mountain State made it known when their squad would answer. As time ran down, UC just could not hold off WVU. Every shot UC made, someone in the blue and gold would answer. A double digit lead was picked at and picked at and dwindled down to a one-possession game. Despite this, Andy Kennedy's team somehow held on to a crucial win that should make it a little easier to get some sleep the night before Selection Sunday.

West Virginia coach John Beilein called it "toughest environment all year." The atmosphere was electric as the relief of the victory washed over the crowd and the players. They became one as Eric Hicks and other Bearcats did a Lambeau Leap into the student section. Others merely ran around the court, high-fiving those in the front row. Coach Kennedy even got into the act. He thanked the fans for giving this team the support they deserve. He also finished with "Huggs, we love you, brother."

I'll admit, I was a little worried that our guests, the UC Dance team, would be a little scared off by hearing our show as they travelled up I-75 to the radio. The University of Cincinnati dance team is not afraid to push the boundaries when it comes to their performances. To your left is Whitney Creasman (left) and Ashlie Wilkson with Mini-Me, himself: Verne Troyer. To your right is a sampling from a recent halftime show where they recreated the Wizard of Oz. So, if they're willing to take those chances, dealing with the Unabated Sports crew is a piece of cake, right?