The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

Cincy, Sports Columnist
September 12, 2012
Filed under Sports Minute

Good day to you, reader. Before I begin this column, allow me to introduce myself, I’m Cincy. My name is derived from the great city of Cincinnati, Ohio, where I was reared for the first sixteen years of my wonderful life. As such, I am a rather fervent follower of the Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals. I also enjoy the athletics of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the Ohio State Buckeyes. There is also a special place in my heart for Kentucky Wildcats basketball, to which you probably find convenient due to their recent national championship, but I spent 5 years in the Bluegrass State and you either root for UK or U of L (Louisville), or you get out, so I went blue. I figured I’d let you know my background before you read my thoughts just so you understand you are reading the words of a northern sports fan.

Speaking of the Bengals, anybody catch Monday Night Football? Boy, Cincinnati laid an egg. Opening game, national television, coming off a breakout year by this new group of players, and they lose 44 – 13 never really showing any signs that they practiced during the offseason. The only positive that could be gleaned was the 91 yard rushing performance of BenJarvus Green-Ellis (A.K.A the Law Firm). He looked like a tank running through the aging Baltimore Raven defense. On the other side of things, for Baltimore, Joe Flacco looks like he gets it now. Only had 8 incompletions in 29 attempts and didn’t throw a single pick. Cincinnati’s secondary, which has been a quiet strength for a few years, looked lost every time Joe dropped back to throw. On the upside for the Bungles, they play the Browns at home next week.

Did someone say Browns? Are any of the Crimson faithful in town worried about Trent Richardson? First game, I know, but still, 39 yards on 19 carries is a brow raiser, even for a Cleveland player. Trent is a special back, but even Emmit Smith knew he needed an offensive line to block for him once in a while. The Cleveland line is offensive; they may as well put turnstiles up front to try to stop the defense from getting in, because as soon as Trent touched the ball, the defenders were touching him. I hope, for his career’s sake, the Browns step up, or ship him to a team that won’t kill his, possibly, bright career.

Richardson’s old college buddies face their first SEC battle this Saturday at Arkansas, although how much of a battle will it be? Last week it looked like the hands-down best matchup. Two top ten teams squaring off…and then UL Monroe happened to the Razorbacks. I get that Tyler Wilson got hurt, which looks to derail their season by the way, but the whole team just looked flat and uninterested in the game. On the other hand, UL Monroe wanted that win. They deserve all the credit for the win. The Razorbacks were favored heavily to beat the Warhawks and head into their matchup with Alabama brimming with confidence. Instead they get a heaping pile of humble pie as they fall in overtime, drop to 1-1 on the season, and fall out of the AP top 25 completely. Alabama, on the other hand, has manhandled “mighty” Michigan, and wistfully whooped Western Kentucky. The Tide could probably make the NFL playoffs this year, no joke. Okay, so maybe I gush a bit, but there is no way you leave Alabama out of the top three contenders for another crystal football.

With all of the hubbub about football, it’s easy to forget about baseball, but not me. I’d rather watch baseball than any other sport, and I know that puts me in the minority, but I don’t care. If you’re looking for drama, then look no further than the diamond this time of year. I wrote an article in an earlier issue of the paper that pointed back to last year’s end to the season, so I’ll leave that alone, but make no mistake, there will be just as much drama this year. Sure it won’t be in the form of major collapses by perennial playoff contenders, but it will be totally different with the 5^th wild card team. As of right now there are 5 teams in striking distance of the two AL Wildcard spots, and Baltimore and the New York Yankees are neck and neck for the division. The NL is just as crazy with 7 teams 4.5 games close to the wildcard spots. If you get a minute in between school work and studying, flip on some baseball, it’ll be better drama than Jack Bauer and 24 ever produced.

Hope you like the column, I’m going to try to make this either a daily thing or an every other day thing. You can let me know what you think, whether you want to hug my neck, or hat my guts, at cincinnatikid333@gmail.com. Drop me a line, I dare you.