Cincinnati Reds Blogs

Greetings and welcome to my brand-spanking new Reds blog. We currently boast a readership of, well, let's not talk about that right now, but we're growing! That's the idea. GROW!

The Reds just finished their 400th miserable season in a row, and, as always, there's talk of competing next year, but the question is, is it possible?

Continue reading "What to Do with 30 Million Dollars"

Yes - there was A highlight during the Lions/Redskins game this past Sunday.

The Lions scored a touchdown in the first half. WOO HOO!!!!!

And, true to Lions fashion, they stayed in the game just enough to let many Lions fans actually believe that they may win. AND, like many, MANY, MANY times before - they let it all slip away. Again.

Continue reading "Highlight of the Lions/Redskins game"

  Ok Dawg fans its time for some Vandy action. Sorry this post is a little late but lets get down to the game. The bulldogs are set to kick off at 12:30 est. in Athens. Dawgs look to dominate this matchup but one thing is for sure. We need to find pay dirt when we get inside the red zone. Last week we struggled inside the 30-yard line. News reports say that Vandy will be starting Mackenzie Adams, which is their 2nd string quarterback against the #10 ranked Dawgs. Although this may sound good to the untrained ear u might not remember Adams a 6 foot 3 inches redshirt junior led the Commodores to a 24-22 victory over UGA in 2006. And in 2007 if it were not for some last minute heroics by the Dawgs causing a fumble in the end zone which would have been a 6 point nail in the Dawgs coffin Adams would have beat us is 07. So Adams comes into the game 1 and 1 against the Dawgs. The commodores head coach bobby Johnson has made this decision following dandy’s first loss of he year last week when they fell to the Ole Miss rebels. Johnson said that he wasn’t happy with Vandy's offensive production this year. Rightfully so because Vandy's passing offense is ranked 116th out of 119 bowl subdivision teams. Vandy has gotten by this year mostly through their defense that has been one of the best in the sec in turnovers. I personally would have preferred the regular starter Chris Nickson to get the nod to start at Georgia rather than Adams. These guys are two different types of quarterbacks Nickson threat comes from his legs being the commodores 2nd leading rusher. Where as Adams is a pocket passer and if you give him time he will find some holes.

Continue reading "Vandy Time"

Welcome back Cowboy Nation Fans!  It’s Friday, October 17, 2008.

Tony Romo is practicing, today we’ll find out if he can take a snap.  Yesterday we learned that even with a splint he was able to whip the ball out with normal velocity.  As Troy Aikman would say, “there is no question” that Tony Romo is as tough as they come. 

Continue reading "Cowboy Nation"

Okay, it's Thursday, and Kellen Winslow still has not practiced. This worries me. Furthermore, it's an undisclosed injury, one that Kellen doesn't want people to know about, leading me to believe that it's affecting the private parts. Some believe that he still might play against the Redskins.

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns"

It has always amazed me that Thoroughbreds have horses worth millions of dollars and yet do not get the protection of a $1500 barrel horse. Even some standardbreds give protection and don't get slowed down. Some people claim it isn't traditional or that it will slow a horse down. I maintain that if 16 ounces is going to slow a horse down that much then as an industry we need to step back as many horses carried much more than today.

Continue reading "Breaking traditions"

Sometimes you can take all the preventions and still it's not enough. An old L-shaped cinder block barn at Oak Tree, a division of Lane's End, caught fire and was virtually destroyed. The 12 mares had been turned out - no humans or horses were injured. The barn will be rebuilt.

Continue reading "Fire at Oak Tree barn"

Game 1 of the ALCS and as a RedSox fan we can all only hope the Dice-K shows up with his good stuff tonite and not his struggle through 5plus innings and 100 plus pitches. He has shown a little bit of

Continue reading "game 1 ALCS"

So I normally title my Monday blog: Monday Mourning due to being hungover from a full day of drinking and watching sports, hence the “mourning” because I have to get up, go to work, puke in the bathroom, and subsequently fall asleep in all of my meetings and get absolutely no work done. But today is different, mainly due to the fact that CBS’s and Fox’s regional coverage of NFL games in my area was HORRIBLE. Games that had a spread of +11 with no fantasy implications at all were being aired, so I went and watched polo (you know, the sport where guys on horses trot around and whack a ball with mallets). I had never been to a polo game before but we decided to go due to the possibility of attractive females (there are always beautiful women at horse events). We mingled with a few and made up some elaborate lies that we were just checking out the competition and had our horses stabled a few miles away. We were obviously out of place, with our cheers of “nice pass man!” and “shoooooot it!” but we wholeheartedly plan on attending it every Sunday for the rest of the season – pending what NFL games are on of course.

Continue reading "Monday Mourning"

                                                 “ Do you KNOW-SHON?”

Continue reading ""Do you KNOW-SHON?""

Well it seems as though the "Devil" in Devil Rays has officially been exorcised.  The Rays win their first playoff game in franchise history on the shoulders of rookie Evan Longoria.  Those who do not watch baseball would probably think that Longoria was a seasoned veteran by the looks of him.  He looked very comfortable as he tagged a homerun in each of his first two at-bats.  It seemed to me that the Rays were the more relaxed and more fired up team.  In defense of the White Sox, the Rays players were sitting at home resting, while Chicago was playing their butts off just to get into the playoffs.  But I've gotta say that Tampa looked as good as any other team in the playoffs.  They were hitting the ball, looked sharp defensively, and had good pitching.  Their bullpen did a great job in getting out of a bases loaded jam in the 7th inning, and other than one bad inning, the Sox bats were shut down.  My only question is, where did all of the Rays' "fans" come from?  I know they weren't going to games during the regular season.  I guess they didn't want to jump on the band wagon until this first playoff game.

Continue reading "A Little Bit Of H-Evan"

Ok, Ok Its not Santa Claus...but someone is coming to the Linc this weekend...Its the Upstart Washington Redskins. 

After a total dismantling in Week One versus the Giants the Redskins have put together 3 unprobable wins in a row.  Grant it...the Cards and the Saints are not my choices for Picks of the Litter, but How About them Cowboys??

Continue reading "Washington Redskins Coming to town!"

Wanted to give a congratulations to Milwaukee and Tampa for getting into the playoffs. As a baseball fan, I like seeing new teams get into the playoffs. I love when the Yankees or the Mets have to sit at home and watch some teams that maybe the average fan doesn't know a whole lot about. It may hurt the TV ratings, but to me, there is nothing better than seeing some new teams get a shot in the playoffs.

Continue reading "Congrats to the Brewers and Rays"

                             Atlanta Falcons (2-1) at Carolina Panthers (2-1) Panthers by 7

Continue reading "Week 4 NFL predictions via the I ..."

Suddenly it seems as though the Mets won't make the postseason yet again.  After winning again the Brewers now find themselves in the driver's seat and the Mets are on the outside looking in.&nbs

Continue reading "Brewers Hot, Mets Not!"

 Cardinals Ready To Face Redskins
 Can The Cards Win Three In A Row?

    The tension mounts as eager Cardinals fans await Sunday's big game against the Washington Redskins. The Arizona Cardinals have won their first two games of the season and sit atop the NL West Division at 2-0. The Redskins are 1-1. Sunday's game will be played in Washington DC, which is the home of the Redskins. On paper, the Arizona Cardinals appear to have the advantage and should walk away from the nation's Capitol with a victory. But, as history shows (2-6 last year), the Cards do not fair very well on the road. Knowing how the Cardinals perform through past experiences, to win their first 3 games in a row, do the Cardinals even have a chance in Hades?

Continue reading "Cardinal Report: Week No. 3"

You may have noticed the small icons at the bottom of your blog posts linking to MySpace, Facebook, Digg, Stumble Upon and other social media websites.  These icons allow you to quickly link your blog post to these sites.  You should be using these links a lot.  Submitting to social media sites is free and easy and can really increase the traffic to your blog.  Consistently using them is the easiest way to build a following and increase your traffic.

Continue reading "How to use social media websites ..."

It's my opinion that the Reds don't think about what they are doing when they trade away a player. So far I have agreed with most of the trades they have done. Especially the Griffey trade. I know most Reds fans adore Ken Griffey, but I think it was a good idea at first, but when we finally got him he was injury prone and wasn't that great of a player. Yeah I know what your saying, he is a future hall of famer, but come on the money we were paying him could of got us a good pitcher and we all know that is what the Reds need to be sucessful!!! The one trade I didn't like was Josh Hamilton. He was an excellent player and got even better at the Rangers. If we kept him we could have been a little better than what we are now. Now I wasn't a big fan of Adam Dunn, but he was a decent player. Now the next year we would not be able to aford him, but I don't think we got anything good out of the deal. But now that we have gotten rid of Dunn and Griffey. I think the Reds can focus on more important thinks like pitchers. With our very young team I think we can have a good chance to go somewhere next year.

Continue reading "Reds management don't think before trading!!!"

Tonight, the NFL Season kicks off with their annual thursday night game, which is usually sloppy and poorly paid, much like the thursday night games later in the season. But I digress...its time for some weekly predictions...

Continue reading "Week 1...let the fun begin"

WWW.REDSKINS.COM REPORTS THE FOLLOWING WERE CUT:

Player Comment
Matthias Askew, DT Signed by team in Jan. 08

Continue reading ":::ROSTER CUTS!::::"

        Francisco Cordero converted 44 saves in 51 chances in 2007 and had an ERA below three.   Cordero was one of the most touted relief pitchers in the league at the end of the 2007 season and he received offers from several teams.  Cordero decided to go for the money, signing a contract with the Cincinnati Reds.  The Milwaukee Brewers had offered a four year $42 million contract with an option for a fifth year.  Instead, Cordero packed his bags and moved to Cincinnati, taking their four year $46 million offer - also with an option for a fifth year. 

Continue reading "Brewers Bullpen"

We've added some additional functionality to our " Headline Widget" so that our bloggers can now promote their blog posts through the widget.  Simply go the "Headline Widget" page, type in your username in the appropriate blank, and copy the HTML to any webpages (i.e. your MySpace profile page or your personal blog) where you want your blog posts to appear.

Continue reading "Headlines Widget updated to include ..."

    Another solid outing from Oliver Perez and another offensive onslaught sealed the Mets' 9-3 win, and a three-game sweep over the Nationals.  The Mets cruised through the first six innings behind Perez's dominance, and built a 5-0 lead, but Perez ran out of gas in the seventh and gave back three runs.  Joe Smith got the final out of the inning, and it appeared that the rest of the game would be an interesting test of the New York bullpen.  Smith got the first out in the eighth but ran into some trouble after walking Lastings Milledge and Austin Kearns, so Jerry Manuel called upon Duaner Sanchez.  Sanchez got out of the inning unscathed and the Mets had a 5-3 lead after eight.  The suspense mounted.

Continue reading "Mets Finish Off Sweep in D.C."

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

    Since when is a four-run, seventh inning lead against a team 17.5 games out of first place not safe?  Since the Mets' bullpen hit rock bottom.

    The Mets' plan for Monday afternoon's makeup game against the Pirates was to get on top early and send Pittsburgh packing quickly.  When David Wright knocked a three-run home run to right center in the first, and Pedro Martinez allowed only one run through six innings, the game seemed to be following how it was scripted.  But then on came the New York bullpen.

Continue reading "Heilman Heads Up Another Bullpen Meltdown"

Arizona has just traded for Adam Dunn, reports Baseball Digest Daily, bolstering their outfield to offset injuries to Eric Byrnes and Justin Upton, as well as to counteract the Dodgers' recent acquisition of Manny Ramirez. That Dunn passed through waivers is both an indication of his big salary for the year, as well as his undervalued status among GMs.

Continue reading "Arizona Dunn-Backs"

Remember, the Astros still stink. They are going nowhere. ;-)

Reverse psychology, ahhh...

Houston is now 58-59 on the season, courtesy of a four-game winning streak. Today they capped a sweep of the hapless Cincinnati Reds with a 13-4 win over Cincy. "Magic" Wandy Rodriguez pitched well, allowing only five hits and two runs in 6.2 innings. He walked only one and struck out seven, giving up two home runs in Cincy's homer-friendly Great American Ballpark. What's more, he even got a hit and scored a run today.

Continue reading "Astros sweep Reds, Lee out for season, ..."

Seems like every time I write the Astros off as done for the season, they ruin my blog posting by going out and winning a few games. Well, who am I to mess with a successful formula? So, with that...

Continue reading "Using reverse psychology with the Astros"

    The Mets limped home from a disappointing 1-5 road trip with a slew of injuries.  Marlon Anderson and John Maine were put on the DL over the weekend and Billy Wagner joined them today with a strained left forearm.  Ramon Castro is still shaken up from the bizzare home plate collision on Saturday, and is listed as day-to-day with a sore ankle.  Rather than make any external moves, the Mets have turned to their farm system for help.  Although for the time being Jerry Manuel says he will use a bullpen by committee in the ninth inning, Eddie Kunz, the heir apparent to Billy Wagner, is on the major league squad and may get some looks in the closer role over the next two weeks while Wagner is out.  Daniel Murphy, who was a third baseman in the minors but requested some work at second base and the outfield--a smart move, considering David Wright isn't going anywhere anytime soon--is getting the start in left field tonight agains the Padres.  The Mets really love the way he hits, so he could be a fixture at the major league level for the remainder of the season and perhaps into the future.  And rumor has it that the Mets are considering calling up Jon Niese to make a few starts in Maine's stead.

Continue reading "Mets Look to Bounce Back at Home"

Theory of the Week:  Relief Spending

    Every winter the free agent frenzy escalates as contracts rise to astronomical amounts and lengths.  Some MLB executives balk at the dearth of talent and exhorbitant contracts, while others jump at the opportunity to sign what they think are the missing pieces, for whatever the market demands.  Swarming the headlines this past off-season were some of the questionable contracts signed by relief pitchers.

Continue reading "Are Relief Pitchers Worth Their Contracts?"

I am liking everything I am hearing from Ashburn about Jim Zorn.  It would be easy to say that he is a wet-behind-the-ears rookie head coach whose almost-to-a-fault honesty can be compared to the aw-shucks naivete of Steve Spurrier.

Continue reading "Coach Jay-Z"

    For the third time in a week, the Mets showed some moxie last night in winning convincingly the day after a disconcerting loss.  First, it was John Maine's solid performance against the Phillies the day after the bullpen blew Johan Santana's eight-inning gem.  Then, it was Santana going the distance to conserve the worn out bullpen the day after the five-hour, 14-inning loss to St. Louis.  And last night Oliver Perez fought through six innings, allowing just the one first-inning run, after the bullpen blew an eighth-inning lead on Monday.  David Wright gave the Mets an early lead with an RBI double in the first and Carlos Beltran put New York ahead with a rare two-out RBI single in the sixth.  Carlos Delgado jacked a two-run homer in the eighth for insurance, and Heilman pitched two scoreless innings for the hold, before Billy Wagner tossed a perfect ninth for his 27th save.

Continue reading "Heilman Holds Perez's Lead, Delgado Puts it Away"

    The trade deadline is approaching and the Mets still have some needs to fill.  It's still unknown whether Ryan Church will be able to come back and play everyday, so a corner outfielder is certainly a priority.  On Monday Jerry Manuel named Fernando Tatis the everyday left fielder, but his red-hot month may not, and probably will not, last.  Even if Tatis remains decent as a starter, the uncertainty surrounding Church's health calls for a stronger bench.  Endy Chavez is an excellent defensive replacement outfielder, but when he plays everyday he eventually gets exposed offensively, so he is really more suited to a role as a fourth outfielder.  Casey Blake would have been a good fit because he can play both corner outfield positions as well as first base, but he has already been traded to the Dodgers.

Continue reading "Trade Market: Will The Mets Be Involved?"

    Monday night in Miami was an all-around bad experience for the Mets.  John Maine cruised into the fifth inning with a 2-0 lead, and looked just fine to the naked eye.  But after Maine missed with a 1-0 fastball to John Baker, Jerry Manuel, Dan Warthen and Ray Ramirez, the trainer, jogged out to the mound to consult with Maine.  He appeared to say he was fine, and stayed in the game for the time being.  But after his next pitch to Baker left the yard for a solo home run, and his 1-2 pitch to Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco chased Endy Chavez to the warning track to make the catch, Manuel and Warthen decided they had seen enough, and pulled Maine in favor of Carlos Muniz.  Maine is listed as day-to-day with shoulder stiffness, and Warthen said he was most concerned that Maine might develop further injuries if he tried to compensate in his delivery to protect his shoulder.  In all likelihood Maine will miss a start in order to rest his shoulder, and hopefully pitch again next week.  After the game Manuel was adamant that Maine will not pitch through any pain.

Continue reading "Mets Fried By Fish, Maine Leaves Early"

Roy Oswalt is now 20-1 in 24 career starts against the Cincinnati Reds, courtesy of his rust-shaking win against the Reds. The Houston Astros won 5-4, perhaps Oswalt's only blight was a third-inning two-out grand slam by Adam Dunn (who got his 30th home run on the season). Astros third baseman Geoff Blum answered in the bottom of the third with a two-out home run of his own--this one a two-run shot that turned out to be the go-ahead runs for Houston.

Continue reading "Roy O reaches winning level in season ..."

First, the good news: Houston defeated Milwaukee Sunday 11-6 to take the rubber game of the three-game series. Third baseman Geoff Blum hit two home runs for Houston, which seems to have a knack for beating the tough teams while struggling against the wimpy ones. What's more, newly-acquired lefthanded pitcher Randy Wolf went 1-2 at the plate and even scored a run.

Continue reading "Astros take another series, Wolf ..."

   After splitting the four-game series in Cincinnati, the Mets are back in a first-place tie with the Phillies for the lead in the NL East.  Lately it hasn't only been Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran leading the offense; Carlos Delgado has been on fire recently and came through with the clutch, game-tying hit in the seventh inning on Sunday, and the Mets' bench players have been carrying the torch as well.  The "irregulars," (as Mets television broadcaster Gary Cohen puts it) such as Fernando Tatis, Endy Chavez, Damion Easley and Ramon Castro, have been igniting the Mets' offense for the past three weeks.  But two new players with anything but household names were just as instrumental to the Mets' success in Cincy as anyone getting paid upwards of $12 million per year:  Argenis Reyes and Robinson Cancel.

Continue reading "Makeshift Mets Back In First, But ..."

I used to believe I had already gone through the greatest sports books already, but a summer read has changed my mind.

"Eight Men Out," by Eliot Asinof, is quite unlike most great sports books and movies, which tend to be inspirational. This is nothing of the sort — it’s a cynic’s delight, the kind of book that reinforces your sense that the world is screwed up, no one has pure motives and problems are not so much solved as dealt with by finding convenient scapegoats.

Continue reading "'Eight' good enough to be among best sports books"

    Aside from Billy Wagner, who picked up his 23rd save with a perfect ninth, the Mets' pitching was bad all around last night in Cincinnati.  Johan Santana's velocity was alarmingly low, and he was battered around, pitching through bases loaded trouble in the second inning before giving up five runs in the fourth, his final inning of the night.  Aaron Heilman lost his command after getting two outs in the seventh, and Scott Schoenweis allowed the big blow, a bases clearing double by Javier Valentin.  But the offense continued to roll, as Carlos Delgado, Fernando Tatis and David Wright each hit two-run homers, and the Mets pounded out 10 runs, including four in the ninth off closer Francisco Cordero.  Wright's bomb tied the game with one out, and Delgado followed three batters later with the go-ahead RBI single.  The victory moves the Mets into a first place tie with the Phillies at 52-44.

Continue reading "David Wright Bails Out Poor Pitching, ..."

    The Mets are riding their longest winning streak since 2000 heading into the second half tonight in Cincinnati, and they will have their ace on the hill to try to extend it.  Johan Santana is a disappointing 8-7 so far this season but still boasts a fantastic 2.84 ERA, good enough for fourth in the National League.  Despite a relatively lousy second half last year (5-7, 4.04 ERA), Santana has excellent career numbers after the All-Star break.  He is 50-17 in 108 starts, with a 2.79 ERA and 642 strikeouts in 606.1 innings.  The Mets hope that their improved play of late will only help Santana reach those lofty second half expectations, and lead the team through a pennant race.  Santana gets the start tonight against the Reds and rookie starter Johnny Cueto.

Continue reading "Johan Looks to Start Second Half Strong Tonight"

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

Building a loyal following on your blog isn't going to be easy.  It's going to take some time.  And while our network of sports sites does get substantial traffic and you will benefit from that traffic, in order to turn your blog into something that makes $100, $200, $1,000 or even $5,000 per month it is going to take a lot of work on your part.  It's not going to be easy.  But hopefully it'll be fun.

Continue reading "How can I increase traffic (and revenue) ..."

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

    Mike Pelfrey pitched another gem Sunday night, throwing eight shutout innings in the Mets' 7-0 victory over the Rockies, and won his sixth straight start.  New York cruised through their six-game homestand, outscoring the Giants and Rockies 31-4 with four shutouts to boot.  They now stand just a half game behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East.

Continue reading "Big Pelf and the Mets Take Nine Into ..."

It's that time of year again when every other commercial on television promotes the All-Star Game, and ballparks around the majors are stocked with ballots. So keeping with the theme, I’ve decided to name players to my inaugural All–Star team and I’ll start with the National League. So far there have been the usual suspects putting up solid first halves, and also some surprises that have shocked everyone with success.  So far in 2008, the season seems almost as a Bizarro season to steal Sports Illustrated’s mantra. The Rays and the Cubs have been pace setters, and the defending National League Pennant winners are at the rear of field, lost somewhere in the ice cold Rockies.  So keeping with the spirit, here are my National League All-Stars with a few surprises and few old schoolers.

Continue reading "Mic's National League All-Star Team"

All right then, it’s almost July, which means it’s almost time for yet another midsummer classic, which once again will pit the National League against their arch-rivals, those bums from the junior circuit.

Continue reading "All-Star foppery"

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/01/michael-jordan-sues-woman.html

Continue reading "Michael Jordan Sues Crazy Woman..."