Show preview
6:05, Sports Talk
8:05, Butch Jones Show
Topics
UC/realignment: Where does UC wind up?
Bengals: How does the crowd react to Carson Palmer Sunday?
Crosstown Classic tickets: Did they miss the mark on ticket prices?
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Bengals
Don't be surprised if Bengals roll to playoffs
Sporting News
Beware the Cincinnati Bengals. Armed with Andy Dalton, they are a dangerous floater in the AFC playoff race.
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UC adds guard
From UC
CINCINNATI – Head coach Mick Cronin announced Wednesday prospect Deshaun Morman has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Cincinnati and play basketball for the Bearcats.
Morman, a 6-3, 190-pound guard from Richmond, Va., is currently attending Faith Baptist Christian, a prep school in Bradenton, Fla.
Morman helped lead Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C. to the 2012 D.C. City Championship title while averaging 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists during the season. A first team All-Metro selection by the Washington Post, Morman earned honorable mention All-America accolades and was listed a Top 150 prospects by Rivals.com. He also was named among the five best players in the D.C. area according to DMV Elite Report and tabbed a Mid-Atlantic first team honoree by the Mid-Atlantic Report.
Morman averaged 18.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Virginia Assault AAU this summer earning most valuable player accolades at the Big Shots tournament in Richmond, Va. He also was selected to the all-tournament teams at the Hoop Group Jam Fest in Pittsburgh, Pa. and the Hoop Group Southern Invitational in Hampton, Va.
“Deshaun is a Bearcat. He is a competitor and I love his toughness,” Cronin said. “He can shoot the three and is a lockdown defender, which he loves to do and is very rare for a young player. Deshaun has a passion for the game and I really believe he is going to be a great player for us in the future.”
Morman joins three other prospects who committed to the Bearcats on Nov. 14. Cronin announced the signings of guards Troy Caupain (6-3, 180 pounds from Midlothian, Va.) and Kevin Johnson (6-2, 175 pounds from Cincinnati) and center Jamaree Strickland (6-10, 230-pounds from Oakland, Calif.) last week.
Highlights
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Reds
(Greg Nelson/SI)
Hamilton tops list of Arizona Fall League prospects
SI
Hamilton is an impact offensive player because of his speed and fearlessness, though the pounding his body takes -- he is constantly diving into bases on steal attempts, bunts and pickoffs -- may be a concern. Hamilton, a former shortstop, took well to the transition to centerfield, and he is much more than a slap hitter. He does have gap power from both sides of the plate.
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Congrats
Austin Berry (Summit Country Day) was chosen MLS Rookie of the Year this week.
He was the Chicago Fire's top pick this year. The Fire defender made 28 consecutive starts and helped the Fire hold opponents to just 41 goals in 34 games this season. He talks with Seg Dennison tonight on Sports Talk. Check out Austin's reaction to the award on the Fire team website.
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Lunch
No school for the kids meant lunch at Skyline today!
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Peyton's Fall Wonderland
She created this picture with her iPod touch and an app called PicCollage.
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Bengals
One-on-One with Marvin
Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.
'In The Zone' with Dhani Jones: The Bengal Bomb Squad
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29 rules of Thanksgiving touch football
Wall Street Journal
2. There's always a person in the family who suggests "mixing it up this Thanksgiving" and playing soccer or hide-and-seek or taking a family hike at the nature preserve. No. Fail. You're playing touch football. Nobody wants to go hiking at the nature preserve. Boring.
16. You do not need fancy end-zone markers in touch football. You only need four items to mark end zones: a winter hat, a flower pot, a 12-pack of beer and your Aunt Ginny.
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Happy Birthday: Ken Griffey Jr is 43
What is Jr up to these days?
*He works part time for the Mariners in a similar capacity to what Joe Morgan does for Reds.
*He has his Nike Swingman deal, where he helps design and promote his Swingman Baseball products.
*He is still on the National Board of Directors of Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
*He does special projects for MLB, like RBI and getting inner city kids to play baseball, and goes to other countries a couple of times per year to promote baseball.
*He's an assistant coach for Tevin's (10 yrs old) football team.
*He has a couple of business interests with his agent, Brian Goldberg.
*Jr and Melissa just celebrated their 20th anniversary.
*Trey is a freshman WR at University of Arizona - they did redshirt him.
*Taryn is a junior in high school, and an awesome point guard. Unfortunately, she tore her ACL and MCL about 6 weeks ago. The family flew to Cincinnati about a week after that to have Tim Kremcheck do the surgery.
*And Tevin plays all sports.
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UC football
Butch Jones weekly press conference
On conference realignment:
“I’ll put it in football vernacular for you. Sudden change, sudden change. You have to be able to answer sudden change. It is what it is. It’s a landscape surrounding college football. But I’ll tell you this: with all the conference expansion talk it’s all about your University, your institution’s profile. If you look at the University of Cincinnati, I’m confident. If you look that the leadership of President Ono, he’s been in front of this. Whit Babcock and the entire administration. The profile starts with academics. We have tremendous academics, tremendous facilities, our location, our campus life. Than obviously our success on the field and also in basketball as well. Whatever happens, I think we’re going to end up in a good place, I really do. We have too much value in the landscape in collegiate athletics to not be looked at. There’s only one thing I can control right now and that’s getting our football team ready to win Friday night. I spoke with Whit about it. I spoke with President Ono about it and I’ll tell you this: our university is in great hands with those two individuals and our Board of Trustees of really being proactive and having a vision for this institution.”
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College basketball
(Not a bad view on press row at 5th/3rd Arena last night)
UC 91 Campbell 72
Attendance: 5,924
Bored at times, sloppy at times, poor FT shooting, and UC still dropped 91 on Campbell.
UC 50% FG, 18-34 FT, RB +22, 13 asst, 14 TO. Allowed 47.5% FG. …63% 2nd H.
Cash 28 points (career high), Parker 21, SK 15.
Cash, SK, Parker 21 of 42 (50%)….rest of team 11 of 22 (50%)
1st half scoring: UC 46-28. 2nd half scoring: UC 45-44.
Cash hit 8-10 FT, rest of team was 10-24.
UC has missed 30 FT last 2 games…27 of 57. Yikes.
UC's length is impressive...when they extend their arms on defense it's like a net over the passing lanes.
Campbell was the pre-season pick to win Big South Conference.
Darren White, Big South Conference scoring leader, scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half.
1st time seeing Cheikh Mbodj in person this year. Wow. Totally different body. Lost 30 lbs. Cash was money: 28 points, 8-14 FG, 4-6 3's, 8-10 FT.
I like Titus Rubles. Didn't have big game: 5 pts, 6 rb, 3 assists...but he's smooth and can get to rim. David Nyarsuk had a couple of Adam H moments, but, chipped in 6 pts, 4 4b, blk, steal in 19 minutes. Parker is tough as nails, so strong, 21 points, 8 boards, 2 assists. Justin Jackson got in foul trouble.
Sean K struggled outside, but can do so many things an NBA scout would like. He added 10 boards, 3 assists. 1 blk, 1 steal to his 15 points.
Former Bearcat/now Phiadelphia Eagle, Jason Kelce was on campus and had a big hug for Butch Jones when he saw him last night.
Great talking to former Bearcat Leonard Stokes last night.
Postgame
*Mick on heading to Vegas: “if we go 2-0 they will say we’re great. We’re not. If we go 0-2 they’ll say we stink. We don’t. If we go 1-1 they will say we are OK. None of it means anything. It’s November. “
*“This was a wake up call for us”—JaQuon Parker. "We got too comfortable because we knew we were going to win."
*Cashmere Wright: "our intensity level let down."
*Campbell coach Robbie Laing: rebounding key, especially from UC wing players. Most imposing defense we have faced to date.
*UC/Iowa St comparison: “Cincinnati much more physical…they will guard. Cincinnati sat on top of us tonight. Smothered us. Iowa St did not”
Paul Dehner Jr has the game story for GoBearcats.com
Skyline Chili Crosstown Classic Public On-sale Announced
Cincinnati, OH. – For the first time in over 25 years, U.S. Bank Arena will play host to the Xavier University and University of Cincinnati NCAA Men’s Basketball matchup. The Skyline Chili Crosstown Classic will be played on Wednesday, December 19 at 7:00 p.m. This year’s game marks the 80th time the schools have met. Tickets, $125, $75, $50, and $35, go on-sale Wednesday, November 21 at 10 a.m. at the U.S. Bank Arena box office, all Ticketmaster outlets including select Kroger Stores, call 1-800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com. Ticket buyers can indicate in advance their desire to sit in UC or Xavier sections. All tickets and seat locations are subject to availability. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
For more information on this and other U.S. Bank Arena events, check www.usbankarena.com.
Move over Wilt
(Grinnel College)
Jack Taylor, D3 Grinnell College, scored 138 points Tuesday night. Check out the boxscore here. David Larson scored 70 in a losing effort! More from the Associated Press. Here is video of the performance. I had Grinnell College coach David Arsenault on Sports Talk a couple of years ago. He's a fascinating guy with a fascinating system.
Xavier
CINCINNATI --- Xavier University head coach Chris Mack announced today that he has received National Letters of Intent from 6-1 guard Brandon Randolph (Inglewood, Calif./Inglewood High) and 6-6 small forward Kamall Richards (Henryville, Pa./South Kent). Richards transferred to the Connecticut prep school South Kent this past year after playing at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J.
“I am really excited to announce the signings of Kamall and Brandon,” said Mack. “Kamall is a physical wing who hates to lose, loves to win and brings more toughness to our team. He has good size, an ability to shoot and will have a college-ready physique as a freshman. Brandon is an explosive guard capable of playing on and off the ball. He excels in transition and can be a lockdown defender in the future. He’s come a long way to be a part of the Xavier family and we’re excited to have him. Kamall and Brandon are both extremely competitive and will be great additions to Xavier Basketball.”
Randolph, a Scout.com four-star recruit, is a standout member of the Pump N Run AAU team, while Richards, an ESPN.com three-star recruit who stock is quickly rising, is a star on the We-R1 East Coast Elite AAU squad.
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Thoughts and prayers
Former Reds pitcher Frank Pastore was seriously injured in motorcycle crash in Los Angeles Monday evening. Pastore is the host of a daily talk radio show in LA. Pastore pitched for the Reds from 1979-85 (45-57 4.30). His greatest moment as a Red was pitching a 3-hit shutout over the Braves on Opening Day 1980. Pastore, age 23 at the time, replaced scheduled starter Tom Seaver, who missed the start with the flu.
Trivia: Pastore held the official record for completing the 72-ounce steak meal challenge at The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
He finished the meal in 9-minutes and 30-seconds in May of 1987. He held the record until March 24, 2008, when competitive eating champion, Joey Chestnut, finished the challenge in 8-minutes 52-seconds. The record was featured on The Travel Channel's show Steak Paradise.
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The odds of it all
Projected BCS Point Spread:
RJ Bell of Pregame.com
Alabama favored by 10-points over Notre Dame
Alabama vs. Notre Dame would be the biggest bet CFB game IN HISTORY
with an estimated $2 BILLION wagered worldwide!
Projected SEC Title Game Point Spread:
Alabama favored by 7-points over Georgia
Projected Hypothetical Undefeated Match-Up:
Alabama favored by 14-points over Ohio State
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Congrats to local product
Springfield, Ohio – For the second year in a row, Wittenberg University placed three volleyball standouts on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America honor roll, with Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) breaking new ground as the first freshman in Wittenberg volleyball history to earn first-team All-America and National Freshman of the Year honors.
Senior libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) also earned All-America honors, making the second team, up from the third team in 2011.
Gilene earned honorable mention all-region in 2010 and first-team all-region in 2011 to go along with her All-America accolades the last two seasons. Gilene, the 2011 NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player and a member of the all-tournament team in 2012, led the Tigers with 651 digs while committing just 22 reception errors in 700 attempts.
“Gilene’s abilities were the key to our success this season,” Labrador said. “Time and time again, we relied on her to make every single routine play, and more often than not, she made all the unbelievable plays, too. When our block was struggling, she picked them up with her defense. When our hitters were struggling, she covered blocks and kept plays alive. When our setters were struggling, she passed even more accurately.
“She exemplifies all the reasons why volleyball introduced the libero position in 1998.”
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Listener photos
From Kenny: We thought you might appreciate this. This was taken in early August. We always have a big party for one of the Notre Dame games early in the season and there is always something new. One year there was someone wearing a full uniform. There were kilts spotted at another party. This year we decided to bring back the 4 Horsemen of Notre Dame. This picture was put onto T-shirts and made into full size posters. Needless to say we are fired up about chances of the Irish in the BCS Title Game.
