Bengals Beat

Wow, it's been a while between posts! But what a day to be a Bengals fan

1. Chad Johnson is now Chad Ocho Cinco - legally. My take? I think the guy's gone completely batty. Like certifiable. I mean, it was funny at one point... kinda. But now, I just scratch my head and try and figure out what's going on inside of his own. Get this guy a shrink.

2. The Bengals have apparantly cut Rudi Johnson. That's really too bad, I'm a big Rudi fan. He's a great community guy, a team player, great work ethic and a guy who could lead by example. And I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I feel all that comfortable with Chris Perry in the backfield. Sure, he's looked good, but health is a major concern here. And if he goes down, do you put your team's success on the shoulders of Kenny Watson? Really?

3. Apparently, Bengals fans are the 26th best in the NFL. Most of the justification behind this is that we're disenchanted with the team. Does this make us bad fans? Or just intelligent ones? They also threw in there that we got on Carson for his USC/OSU comments. Not so sure about that one, either. I think Bengals fans are some of the best in the country, we also just happen to have a crap team to root for, and we're smarter than some of those fans who blindly support their crap team.

Obama the Urban Candidate?

Much has been said about Obama. But rarely do I hear anything about his appeal to urban voters or what he will do to improve America's urban landscape. I think much of this has to do with the fact that many assume since he is Black he will automatically sway the urbanite (who is predominantly Black). I think this is a false assumption.

However, today is the first time that I have stumbled across the urban plank in his platform. The highlights can be found in this WSJ article. I'm curious to see your reaction, so I won't post my opinions just yet. Reactions?

Oh no

Man does the Bengals' O-line look terrible. If pass protection continues to look this way, Carson's face is going to look as ugly as Ben Roethlisberger's.

Oktoberfest is Coming!

Ohhh boy. For my favorite time of the year, Oktoberfest and Christmas... it's a toss-up. By far my favorite Fountain Square event. And this year, it's going to be even bigger! A whole block bigger! In case you're not excited just yet, here's somewhat of a warm-up:

"The Taz"

Looks very cool. Can't wait to check this place out.

HAHAHA!

Seen on I-75 yesterday... fantastic:

What Timing!

Coincidence? You decide. Either way, great freaking timing by the Reds front office with this press release on the day that the Bengals re-sign Chris Henry. In the game of chess on opposite sides of the Banks, the Reds just put the Bengals in check. This smells like the doings of Walt Jocketty, as it doesn't seem like Castellini/Krivsky would have done this. Bravo, Reds. Bravo.

From the Reds today:

Dear Fans,

Thank you for your loyalty and support of the Cincinnati Reds. You are extremely vital to the success of the Reds, and it is important we share with you the thinking behind our recent personnel decisions.

Since taking ownership of this franchise, we have aggressively tried to improve our Major League roster for the purpose of restoring championship baseball to Cincinnati. We have sought and signed proven players. We have extended the contracts of select current players. We added Dusty Baker, a proven winning manager. And, we have capitalized on our burgeoning younger players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Johnny Cueto.

We had high expectations for the 2008 season. Unfortunately the team has not played up to our expectations and we have sustained injuries to key players within our starting lineup and rotation.

We opted to trade Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn at this time because we believe it provided the best outcome for the long-term success of the organization. By executing these inevitable changes now, we secured more players as part of our focus towards building a deeper, stronger inventory of young talent.

We are pleased that the trades allow Griffey and Dunn the opportunity to play for teams in tight division races. Both Ken and Adam made significant contributions to the Reds and we are extremely proud and grateful they wore the Reds uniform.

While the run production generated by these two veterans will not be quickly replaced, we chose to endure the short-term ramifications for the sake of building a strong, competitive team for 2009 and many seasons to come.

The vast majority of our 50 draft picks were signed, culminating last week with first-rounder Yonder Alonso and a pair of talented pitchers. Our expanded scouting operations also signed Juan Duran from the Dominican Republic and Yorman Rodriguez from Venezuela, who are arguably the best amateur free agent position players from their respective countries.

As we near September, we will continue to provide valuable playing time to our young players and new acquisitions who we feel can become significant contributors at the Major League level. We ask your continued trust and patience as we build the roster that will get us back on top. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at the ballpark.

Sincerely,

Bob Castellini Walt Jocketty
President & CEO President of Baseball Operations & GM

Idiot of the Week

This week's idiot: Your Cincinnati Bengals. What the hell are they thinking re-signing "Chris-minal" Henry? (I just came up with that, by the way). Downright stupid. Just when you think they've turned their act around in the morals department, they go and prove you wrong. Why don't they just put it out in a press release or something: "Calling all delinquent NFL players. If you are remotely talented and have broken the law one or two or eleven times, come on in to Cincinnati! We will pay you money!" The only way I'm cool with this is if the guy wears an ankle bracelet at all times and is under police custody. And that ain't happening.

Idiocy: Off the charts. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 8 times, shame on me. 5 points

Style: Again the Bengals prove us they're the worst organization in all of sports. Classless. 5 points

Overall: (sigh) 10 points

On the same note, enjoy the post from Mo Egger's blog on the Lot D:

WASN'T IT NICE........for a while not being a national joke for the behavior of Bengals players?

....having a coach who sounded like he was going to set the tone for the organization by taking hard line stances against damaging characters hellbent on destroying your football team both on the field and in the public eye?

....having an owner who would never be confused for someone who would do anything to win yet seemed to understand that while his customers may despise him, he seemed on the surface like he was interested in some integrity on a human level?

....not having to turn on the first 25 minutes of the local news wondering if one of the team's key offensive players was going to make an appearance?

...thinking that maybe, just maybe the makeup of the roster would take shape and change throughout the season, but only due to injury and/or performance issues?

....thinking that perhaps some fan of some other team would have to be the one defending his team's choice to sign a habitual lawbreaker?

...not having Chris Henry around?What does this say about Marvin Lewis and his relationship with Mike Brown? What does this say about the influence Mike has on the roster?

What does this say about Marvin wanting to stay here? Whether or high on Marvin or not, you have to admit that the team is in better hands with him in control of the roster than with Mike? Mike Brown forcefully wrested it away from Marvin the moment he decided to bring the idiot back. What does this say about a man who will not change his ways, who will not hire a GM, who will not make significant changes to his front office, who will not add scouts, who will raise ticket prices every year but who will add a man who cannot stay out of the back of cop cars to his team? What does it say about the Bengals wideout situation? How does Chris Henry help you in week one against the Ravens? And most important, for a team that insisted to a man after the game against Detroit that they weren't worried, what exactly is this move a sign of?I ask the following questions again...What does it say when every other NFL team, most of whom have far better track records than you regarding personnel, decided they didn't need Chris Henry?If the Bengals went out and gave Chris Perry a nice cushy deal, or gave Tab Perry a big contract, or laid some dough on a guy who was another IR mainstay, we'd beat them up for investing in an injury-prone guy. Well I'll take injury prone over arrest prone any day. Why do we not get upset about that?In life, we are sometimes asked to choose between doing what is easy and what is right. Maybe one day the football team I've spent my lifetime rooting for, the organization I've invested thousands of dollars in and countless number of hours living and dying will choose the former over the latter. Right now, I need a bath.

Photo Finish

In case you were under a rock this weekend... how freakin' awesome was this???

It's Transportation, Stupid!

After the NYT article about Cincy and streetcars, more evidence to the need for mass transit around here (and elsewhere) just keeps piling up:

This CNN article discusses how the demand for mass transit in cities is steadily rising.

If you haven't noticed, gas prices suck. And they're making everything else suck, too.

Oh boy

It's official, with the second preseason Bengals game coming Sunday night, I'm getting the football itch. It made me think of what is possibly the greatest teaser ever. Enjoy!

Idiot(s) of the Week

I can't decide whether or not these guys are idiots or geniuses. Let's think this through.

One guy gets so freakin' fat that he avoids lethal injection. Here, we've had lawyers and activist groups for decades trying to find loopholes in the system, and lo and behold, this whole time all you had to do was eat yourself into Gilbert Grape mode. What I can't believe is that this is a problem. I mean, what are these people afraid of? Why not just give him a bunch of shots at once? It's not like they can be worried about the guy overdosing on lethal injection drugs!

Idiocy: As funny as this story is, he raped two women. If they can't find a vein, find a firing squad. 5 points

Style: Everybody knows that this guy was doing what everyone else would do. Who in their right mind is going to watch their weight when they know they're going to be pumped full of juice? 2 points

Total: 7 out of 10

Then there's this shining star. A paraplegic who manages to escape the fuzz while awaiting trial. Here, I sit at home every Saturday night and watch COPS, where guys in motorcycles and souped-up 1988 Trans-Ams try every trick in the book to get away from the 5-0 and always get the crap beat out of them. But this guy - who is paralyzed - just "rolls away." Sly dog.

Idiocy: Sheer genius. I give him low marks here. 2 points

Style: Anyone who manages to make a wheelchair look good enough to roll right out of the court house has to be doing something right. 5 points

Total: 7 out of 10

A Ranking Cincy Didn't Make

This week, Forbes came out with a list of America's fastest-dying cities. Ohio managed to take the cake with the most of these cities in its bounds - Canton, Youngstown (sorry 5chw4rz), Dayton and Cleveland.

Does anyone else feel like just a few years ago that the media would have portrayed Cincy as worthy of being on this list? I think that Cincinnati's national perception is changing for the better. And it only continues to improve.



See the list in pictures

Is the Square Still the Same Forum?

So some activists are headed to the Square for some soapboxin'. I noticed Bill Donabedian's quote in the article:

Fountain Square Managing Director Bill Donabedian said today’s Fountain Square – recently renovated – is vastly different than the Fountain Square of the 1990s.“I think people would agree the square prior to renovation was about political space,” he said. “(Today) they see it as entertainment venue.”Still, he said, “anyone can take a permit and have their moment.”

Hmmmm. What do you think? Is Fountain Square's function forever changed? Or does this space always serve as the primo political forum?

Hey, I was close

King Cobra... Diamondback... I was close!

For as much as I said about KI in my previous post, this new ride does look cool

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080806/NEWS01/308060028&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Shhhh... it's coming

No, not the stupid Fox 19 commercials about the secret weather man (which we learned is Steve Horstmeier - hence the "SHhhh" - yeah, that stupid).

Apparantly, Kings Island is going to announce a new ride that will be the biggest in the history of the park. They even have a cool countdown thingy on their website.

Well, as excited as I'm sure you all are, I haven't been to KI since I was like 12 years old. I feel like it's a great place for families, but I don't enjoy hanging out with a bunch of teenagers while waiting in line for 2 hours to ride a coaster for a minute-thirty.

Plus, you get quite a bit of weirdos (I won't go so far as to throw out the "KI Trash" term). I mean, I can handle the occasional homeless guy haggling me for change in the city, but seriously, KI needs to have a screening process or something. Like "you must be this normal to ride."

And another thing - the smell. Whenever I think about that place, I catch a faint memory of BO mixed with old, hot ketchup. Yuck!

Am I the only one here? I mean, I hope their new ride is cool and all, but unless it's like a time machine or something, I think I'll be spending my hard-earned dollars down at Fountain Square.

(and I understand that the King Cobra is no longer around, but I still remember it being freakin' awesome, so I had to put it up)

Idiot of the Week

Hahahahah! This is going to kick off a new segment on the 'Nati Life. And what a way to kick it off!

You've got to love it! Whoever this Dayton judge is, she is freakin' awesome. She calls this guy out so hard. Check out when he goes down, she doesn't even bat an eye. Also note that when they're showing this idiot that the cop in the background is swaying back and forth covering his mouth. I'm pretty sure he's dying laughing, because I would be too. Here's how I score it (5 points each):

Style: Piss poor performance, but the suit goes a long way here - 4 points

Idiot-ness: Two issues here: (1) representing yourself in court. Dude - you get a freakin' attorney FOR FREE if you want it! (2) Should have known better to pull this crap with tons of cops and medics around. At least have the decency to put some Alka Seltzer in your mouth and start flopping around on the ground and pull a fake seizure or something. That way they take your ass to the hospital, not let you sit around in a damn court room chair - 5 points.

Total: 9 out of 10. What a way to kick off a segment!

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