Unabated Sports

This guy. Jonathan Joseph is the first cornerback ever to be taken in the first round by the franchise. Here's Scott Wright's write-up of Marvin's first round choice over at NFL Draft Countdown. From his first round reaction page:

As expected the Bengals grabbed a defensive back although I thought Jimmy Williams would have been a better fit because he could have helped them out at safety as well as cornerback. Joseph has a ton of upside though and this was right about where he was projected to go so it is a solid pick overall and with Tory James getting older they needed to bring in a top youngster. Wow, it's weird but I don't think I've had to really slam a Bengals pick in a few years now.

Yeah, pretty weird. I'm honestly not all that familiar with this guy but think I probably would have preferred Jimmy Williams. I can't believe he was still available. I can't believe the Bengals passed on him. I wonder why he fell so much.

A.J. Hawk to Green Bay, no surprise. Donte Whitner to Buffalo? A little bit more of a shock. Bobby Carpenter, another OSU linebacker who needs a haircut, will play for the Tuna. And the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to get Santonio Holmes. Yeah, so no rooting for that guy anymore. Center Nick Mangold will replace Kevin Mawae for the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets. That's five Buckeyes that went in the first round. Florida State had four athletes drafted in the oepning frame but it looks like Jim Tressel's kids reigned supreme in the 2006 NFL Draft. That's one shy of a record and over half of the Big Ten players taken today.

Once again, Columbus has infected the NFL as the talent pipeline that is Ohio State football continues to flow.

On our show LIVE today, we hammered out who would go where if we were in NFL War Rooms. Here's a look at what went on in our studio. You can see who went where and, more importantly, which one of the Unabated Sports crew sent them there.

1. Houston Texans
Reggie Bush, RB USC
Clinton
2. New Orleans Saints
A.J. Hawk, LB Ohio St.
Jeff
3. Tennessee Titans
Matt Leinart, QB USC
Woody
4. N.Y. Jets
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, UVA
Clinton
5. Green Bay Packers
Mario Williams, DE NCS
Jeff
6. San Fransisco 49ers
Vernon Davis, TE Maryland
Woody
7. Oakland Raiders
Vince Young, QB Texas
Clinton
8. Buffalo Bills
Winston Justice, T USC
Jeff
9. Detroit Lions
Michael Huff, DB Texas
Woody
10. Arizona Cardinals
Jay Cutler, QB Vanderbilt
Clinton
11. St. Louis Rams
Jimmy Williams, CB Va Tech
Jeff
12. Cleveland Browns
K. Wimbley, DE/OLB FSU
Woody
13. Baltimore Ravens
Haloti Ngata, DT Oregon
Clinton
14. Philadelphia Eagles
Ernie Sims, LB FSU
Jeff
15. Denver Broncos
Chad Jackson, WR UFA
Woody
16. Miami Dolphins
Santonio Holmes, WR OSU
Clinton
17. Minnesota Vikings
Chad Greenway, LB Iowa
Jeff
18. Dallas Cowboys
Manny Lawson, DE/OLB NCS
Woody
19. San Diego Chargers
Antonio Cromartie, CB FU
Clinton
20. Kansas City Chiefs
Tye Hill, CB Clemson
Jeff
21. New England Patriots
Demeco Ryans, OLB, bama
Woody
22. San Fransisco 49ers
Mathias Kiwanuka, DE, BC
Clinton
23. Tampa Bay Buccanears
Eric Winston, T
Jeff
24. Cincinnati Bengals
Donte Whitner, S Ohio St.
Jeff
Leonard Pope, TE, Georgia
Clinton
Jason Allen, S/CB Tennessee
Woody

Yeah, we eached picked a player for the Bengals and cut off the draft after that pick. We're a local station so we didn't think there'd be much point in going forward with the rest of the first round. Besides, we ran out of time!

Good news for Boone County's favorite son: Shaun Alexander is on the cover of Madden 2007. Bad news for Boone County's favorite son: Shaun Alexander is on the cover of Madden 2007. Sure, it's great that the 2005 NFL MVP will get the recognition he deserves. But it comes at a horrible price: the Madden Curse. Maybe "curse" is too strong a word. But there is certainly a trend that develops for the Madden cover boy. It usually involves the player featured to suffer a season-killing injury. At the very least, it practically guarentees a sub-par year. Don't believe me? Then how do you explain Marshall Faulk? Eddie George? Michael Vick? Daunte Culpepper? Donovan McNabb? Hope it turns out different for #37.

If you're looking for a fun time this weekend and can help a good cause, check out the A.J. Cohen Memorial Tournament. The event is scheduled for April 21, 22, and 23 and will be held in Blue Ash during the Blue Ash Baseball Festival and at the Summit Athletic Complex. Big Red Machine great George Foster will be delivering the game ball via Hamilton County Sheriff helicopter at 2:00pm on Saturday in Blue Ash.

Friend of the radio program, Scott Wright, has updated his FREE 3-round NFL mock draft. A lot has changed since last week's draft and the one from two weeks ago. Obviously, the Sam Adams signing gives Cincinnati some flexibility with their first round selection. Let's see how Scott thinks this will go.

Round 1, 24th pick overall: Donte Whitner, S, Ohio State
Not necessarily a home town pick, but a lot of area fans would enjoy seeing the Buckeye stay in the same. He might be the second-best safety in this draft behind Texas's Michael Huff. Seems like a good amount of value if this ball-hawker is still available this late in the game.

Round 2, 55th pick overall: Darryl Tapp, DE, Virginia Tech
The second week in a row that Scott thinks Cincinnati will select a defensive end on the first day of the draft. High motor guy who doesn't quite have the physical tools to crack the first round.

Round 3, 91st pick overall: Tony Scheffler, TE, Western Michigan
We know Marvin Lewis is not averse to choosing a player or two from a directional Michigan school. He's reportedly got good size, speed, and hands.

Other local notables include Miami's Terna Nande to the Bears with the 88th overall pick, for the second week in a row. And it looks like Martin Nance might not be a first day pick, according to Scott Wright. 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 29 gets closer. We'll also try to get him back on the show before Reggie Bush goes off the board.

Friend of the radio program, Scott Wright, has updated his FREE 3-round NFL mock draft. A lot has changed since last week's mock draft. Obviously, the Sam Adams signing gives Cincinnati some flexibility with their first round selection. Let's see how Scott thinks this will go.

Rouund 1, 24th pick overall: Kamerion Wimbley, DE, Florida State
I'll be completely honest, I'm not really familiar with this guy. It sounds like he's a speed rusher, but not exactly a run-stopper. Looks like I've got some more to learn about this guy. Although, most of the teams that have been associated with this prospect are running the 3-4 defense.

Round 2, 55th pick overall: Leonard Pope, TE, Georgia
Scott still thinks Marvin goes for a tight end here, but this time Marcedes Lewis is off the board by this point. I'm surprised to see Pope still available at this point consindering he's almost 6 foot 8 and has decent hands.

Round 3, 91st pick overall: Spencer Havner, OLB, UCLA
A big guy with some decent speed, but some injury questions.

Other local notables include Miami's Terna Nande to the Bears with the 88th overall pick. And it looks like Martin Nance might not be a first day pick, according to Scott Wright. 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 29 gets closer. We'll also try to get him back on the show before Reggie Bush goes off the board.

Sure, MLB just started this week but the #1 story in the sports world today is the release of the 2006 NFL schedule. Here's a look at the first few Bengal games. The Men In Stripes will be in the national spotlight at least twice this season. A Thursday night game on November 30 against the Baltimore Ravens and a Monday Night match-up with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. With the flexible scheduling Here's the schedule in it's entirety:

PRESEASON (day, date, opponent, time)

Sunday, Aug. 13, WASHINGTON (NBC), 8 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 18, at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 28, GREEN BAY (ESPN), 8 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 1, at Indianapolis, 7 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON (day, date, opponent, time)

Sunday, Sept. 10, at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 17, CLEVELAND, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 24, at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 1, NEW ENGLAND, 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 8, (BYE)
Sunday, Oct. 15, at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 22, CAROLINA, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 29, ATLANTA, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 5, at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 12, SAN DIEGO, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 19, at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 26, at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 30, BALTIMORE (NFL Network), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 10, OAKLAND, 1 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 18, at Indianapolis (ESPN), 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 24, at Denver, 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 31, PITTSBURGH, 1 p.m.

And here's the NFL's Monday Night Football lineup, now on ESPN.