Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Anyone Else Worried?

I jokingly (maybe half jokingly) have said repeatedly on our "Sports Rock" show that I lay awake at night worried about the Bengals offensive line and running game.  Obviously the two go hand-in-hand and with the three different interior lineman from last season I'm holding my breath.  I still think the defense will be ok, but there is a little concern there as well.  But when your guards are a rookie and a second year man, and the center is a rookie or a new guy, you can only wait until the real bullets start firing to make a sound judgement.  But I remain concerned.

Apparently Dez Wells will land at Maryland and we wish the young man the best of luck.  But the curious case of Dez may never be completely settled in my mind.  I find it incredible that fellow students would sit on a a board and vote to expel Dez from school based on the available information.  The statement from Xavier left open the possibility that perhaps there was more to this than what was heard by the grand jury.  That could explain a lot, but we may never know for sure.  And it is unfair to speculate on the issue publicly but Xavier left that can of worms open.  Sadly, because of the way this went down publicly, there could be negative recruiting in the future.  Kids will be told if you go to X you better live like a monk.  Otherwise you could become a potential target or scapegoat.  That is not good for anyone.  Not the program and not the potential recruits who would be missing out on living and growing in our fine city.  I'm not sure what Xavier's next step should be, but I am sure there had to be a better way to handle the situation.

I'm sticking with September 25th as my date for the Reds to clinch the National League Central Division.  As soon as it happens, we can starting complaining about the idiotic playoff schedule that puts the team with the better record on the road for the first two games of the series.  Imagine that, a 5-game series, you have the alleged advantage, but you have to go in someone's house and pull out a win or be squarely behind the 8-ball.
Like I said, plenty of time to worry about that later.

U.C. opens the football season against Pitt on Thursday night.  Two things, Munchie Legaux and the middle of the defense.  To me those two items will be the biggest determining factor in U.C.'s success this season.  Munchie is the quarterback and that is the most important position on the team.  He handles the ball every offensive snap and he is expected to the on-field leader of the team.  The middle of the defense lost stalwarts Derek Wolfe and John Hughes at defensive tackle, and middle linebacker J.K. Shaffer.
Another thing to look for, a crowd.  If it's not a sellout I'm told it will be very, very close.  Fan support is huge for college athletics so it's time for U.C. football to consistently fill Nippert.  The team has played more than well enough since joining the Big East that it should be considered money well spent by local sports fans.



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