KFW on OchoUno in Stripes

Big weekend for the Reds. They pulled out 2 of 3 from fellow division leader Atlanta, coming from behind in both wins. A sold out weekend got to see some great baseball. I was down there on Friday and the place was electric. When was the last time we saw standing room only tickets being gobbled up? It brings me back to glory days at Riverfront stadium. Jocketty made no deals at the Deadline but take that as a bode of confidence from the front office in the current product in the lockerroom. We saw yet again this weekend these guys can hang with anybody and are here to stay for the next two months.


Amidst all of the excitement of the Reds being in the playoff hunt this late in the season for the first time is about 10 years, the overshadowing sports headliner for the the city of Cincinnati and the nation has been the Bengals signing of free agent Terrell Owens. From coast to coast, there has been everything from cheers, to boos, to laughter, to tears ("that's my quarterback sniff, sniff, my teammate"), to just mere anticipation for the circus to come to town. The circus aka the freakshow (on and off the field) of Terrell Owens teaming up with friend and fellow attention-whore Chad Ochocinco. The Cincinnati Bengals, now officially the outright NFL franchise of VH-1. Woo. Hoo. Both of those shows are garbage and if you're looking for a breakdown of T.O.s' and Ochocinco's reality dating shows, you've come to the wrong place!

On some real shit though; the main reason for this post. T.O. and what I think his signing means for the impact on this 2010 Cincinnati Bengals football team, the defending AFC North champions:

I think 100% this is a great signing for the Bengals. 1 year, $2 million, chump change nowadays, really. If you're needing a reason to scratch your head, scratch in the name of the Antonio Bryant signing. The man has really only had one good year in his NFL career. To me, that does not merit a 4 year deal worth $28 million. And now here at the end of July, the T.O. signing talk started up again with the Bengals in the forefront of the conversation. Why now? They are iffy on the status of Bryant's knee. WHAT?! Since when? I don't know about you but I was pissed when I heard that about Bryant, not that the Bengals were talking to T.O. again. I'm still baffled about it. All I know is now, ready or not for Bryant, the Bengals look the best they have at the WR position since their days when Carson picked apart NFL defenses like a surgeon with a scalpel. I hope I'm wrong about Bryant and he's a beast and you guys can then all tell me to shut up.


Reason's why I love the T.O. signing? Number one, the guy is arguably one of the top 3 receivers in the last 10 years. He's declining with age, but still if he plays 14-16 games, is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball. We can't say that about Andre Caldwell or Jerome Simpson. Let me ask you who would you prefer? People say T.O. is a cancer and is the worst thing for an already clown-heavy Bengals locker room. The truth is Carson wholeheartedly condoned and has all throughout the spring and the free-agent period up until this point. Palmer speaks his mind when doesn't like something and the fact that he was all in for the T.O. sweepstakes, I'm a firm believer that he knows what he wants and what he's talking about. As for the "cancer" or showboat that he is, what's one more in the locker room? I cannot wait to see Ocho, Owens, and Pacman trying to one up eachother with TD celebrations....let's just hope there are plenty to be had for all. Chad's best competition thus far in his career was Kelly "the Squirrel" Warshington.
Right when I heard confirmation of the signing of T.O., I immediately thought: nobody on the Bengals should be smiling and benefit more from this more than Ced Benson. The man is coming off by far his best season of his career and was the workhorse for a Bengal's team that gained the reputation of a run-heavy offense. Palmer accepted the label and Benson answered the call. Palmer had a horrible season for his standards though and team's plans of stopping the Bengals on offense for this season are going to be to stuff the box and force Palmer to beat them. Benson was going to get his carries without Owens and will get his carries with him in there, but NFL defenses will be much less likely to pull the safety up to stop the run when they have to worry about OchoCinco, Bryant, and now T.O. Personally I love the thought of all three being out there and Benson putting huge numbers yet again. Don't forget about Gresham in the middle too.

Bengals fans, one thing is for certain, whether you're totally stoked about T.O. being in stripes or not, this will make for a much more exciting training camp down in Georgetown. Too bad HBO isn't doing a second season of Hardknocks with the Bengals. That would've priceless cable television. Warm up the popcorn maker for next Sunday night and get ready for the some football: it'll be Cincinnati and the entire nations first chance to see Terrell Owens at work in the annual Hall of Fame game in Canton, OH. Might just have to put the game on mute so I won't have to listen to John Madden's jibberish. Besides, he can't bring the hype that Brad and Lap do.

Gotta love being a Cincy sports fan right now! Really pumped for the next couple months of Reds baseball and Bengals football. Before we know it, Muskie season will be upon us. Until next time, KFW.....gonna beeeeeeeee GONE.

Merry Strasmas...Among Other Things

It's time to do my thing, and with so much going on in the world of sports, heck why not just let fly like Raymond from 3? Although my frequent trips away from the cozy confines of Mack, Ohio have certainly hamstringed my ability to be on my usual A-Game in regards to brushing up on what's going on in the wide world of "sports, norts," as the legendary Kevin McCallister once said, "I'll give it a whirl." (note: the following entry will have nothing to do with Easy Mac) If what I have typed thus far has you fairly to partly flustered, normality is about to set in, so bear with me now.


First on the agenda, Major League Baseball. As the trade deadline approaches, it's time to separate the men from the boys. This year's deadline seems unusually quiet as big names like Cliff Lee and Dan Haren have already been dealt, and while Roy Oswalt and Adam Dunn still remain on the market, at least for the Red's sake, it appears they, as well as their competition heading down the stretch, will stick with what they've got to make a push into October...probably a run-on, but we press on. Along with the Redlegs, the San Diego (I think that's German for something if I'm not mistaken) Padres continue to amaze. I'm pretty sure everybody and their mothers saw this squad as the cellar dwellers of the league. After losing Hoffman and Peavy, it was quite difficult to find a recognizable name on the roster, but thanks in large part to the league's #1 pitching, and great success away from Petco Park, the Padres now look like the team to beat in the National League.


After an offensive deluge in Milwaukee to close out the series, the Reds are still rolling. The obvious concern moving forward is whether or not PED-free Edinson Volquez will get his shit together here soon. The bullpen is getting the job done, and it's hard to find faults in one of the league's top offenses (although you might not know it after they suffered a league leading 12th shutout last Sunday), so getting the starting rotation all ironed out is perhaps the key to the Reds' postseason hopes. Unfortunately I was out of town for the Strasmas festivities last Wednesday. For all our illiterate readers out there, I am of course refering to the phenomena that was Stephen Strasburg on the bump against the Reds. Bob Castellini really muffed it bad by making it one of the "Straight A Ticket" games in which top notch students like myself were treated to free tickets for the game. Who would have thought a Wednesday night game in mid July against the Nationals would have become what it did? The first weekday sellout at Great American since 2006; many of whom were coming to pay homage to the rookie sensation. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize this guy is the real deal and will be dominant in the league for years to come.

Speaking of pitching, Matt Garza's no hitter Monday night marked the 5th such occurrence this year, not to mention dos perfect games, in what has become regarded as the "year of the pitcher." After further review, I prefer steroids and long balls. It's humorous glancing back to the 90's and seeing some of the absurd numbers guys were putting up while juicing. My favorite such instance, of course, being Brady Anderson's 50 bombs in 1996, more than double his HR total from any other season. But heck, after seeing what Jose Batista is doing this year in the HR category, maybe Brady was more legit than we thought (sike).


To the NFL we go. I'm going to be brief about this whole T.O. business because KFW will be supplying the Mack is Berning faithful with in depth coverage shortly on the condition of the Bengals, and you need to look no further than here to see what I think about T.O. in the Nasti. Bottom line: it's gonna be wild. Can't ask for much more as a Cincinnati sports fan; Reds and Bengals both doin work. Lastly, let's talk a little Dez Bryant for a moment. In case you don't remember, I'm not exactly all aboard the Dez Bryant bangwagon. This bum doesn't even have the composure to submit himself to some rookie hazing after he told Roy Williams to (figuratively) stick it when asked to carry the seasoned vets pads. The Messiah came over 2000 years ago Dez, don't flatter yourself. Have fun sucking in the big D as a Cowboy for years to come. In the meantime, I hear Car-X is advertisitng a limited time offer on attitude adjustments, so maybe you can stop by. That's all I got. Burnside, gone.

Dynasty in the Making?

Okay, first of all, to any remaining Cleveland fans who just saw the title, I'm not talking about THAT team, so feel free to continue reading. Anyways, one of the reasons the NBA has achieved such increased popularity over the past couple of years is the rise of high market teams/historic powerhouses. The rise of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry led to two of the most watched NBA Finals in recent memory. Now, in the biggest free agency period of NBA history, the Chicago Bulls pieced together the makings of a championship caliber team. Since winning their last championship in 1998, Chicago has struggled to build an identity for the "Post MJ" era. They have been mediocre as of late, having posted only one winning record in the past 5 years, although they slipped into the playoffs back to back years with 41-41 records, largely due to how weak the Eastern Conference has been. However, the Bulls have a solid young core built around PG Derrick Rose and C Joakim Noah. Even better, the front office is obviously full of Mack Is Berning fans, judging by the fact that they signed three former Utah Jazz players. With this squad, look for Chi-Town to be an immediate contender for not only the East, but the whole NBA.

Every night, the action on both offence and defense begins with the point guard, and Chicago has one of the best in the league in Derrick Rose. D-Rose averaged 20 and 6 last year, but more importantly, elevated his game to 26 and 7 during the postseason. Although Boozer will probably be the best player on the team next year, Rose will be the most important. One sign of this is that the Bulls have yet to address the need of a backup for him. While big names such as Derek Fisher, Raymond Felton, and Jordan Farmar have been snatched up, Chicago has yet to make a move here. Top remaining free agents at the position include Rafer Alston, Earl Watson, and Travis Diener, and they still have the option of bringing back veteran Jannero Pargo or former draft bust Acie Law. My guess is that Law, who is still young, will be retained, and Diener will be signed. Either way, not much is needed as long as Rose continues to average nearly 40 minutes per game.

If you look at the the different NBA champions over the years, you will notice one thing that each of them have in common: an elite physical presence down low. You can say what you want about Kobe, but he doesn't have any rings without the help of Shaq or Pau. The Spurs dynasty for the better part of the decade was led by one of the greatest big men of all time in Tim Duncan, and Garnett and Wallace also have won rings recently. Needless to say, Boozer has the capability to not only match up with, but outperform any other PF in the league. He will be apart of one of the best frontcourts in the league alongside Joakim Noah, who led the team in rebounds and blocks last season. Like Rose, Noah's numbers also increased during the playoffs, and he has experience winning from college, which is always an underrated stat. While they are a bit undersized (6'9 and 6'11), Boozer and Noah will at least be able to hang with anyone else in the league.

Now for the whole reason you're reading this article: Kyle Korver. In the biggest mistake of Jerry Sloan's career, he let the greatest pure shooter in NBA history walk away after setting the single season 3 Point % record. The Bulls were quick to snatch him up, mainly because they needed that high-energy white guard to help take the step from good to elite. Now, I'm not going to say that Korver will be the best player in Bulls history, but by the time he retires, there will be a #26 right up there in between MJ's #23 and Scottie's #33. Killer Korver drained an unrealistic 54% of his shots from behind the arc last season, and made a huge appearance in Game 3 against LA with 23 points and a perfect 5 for 5 with his treys. He will be a great fit in a Chicago offense that will let him shoot more than Utah did, and he will be a great outlet to prevent teams from keying on Rose and Boozer exclusively. Bottomline: look for the lethal-shooting Ashton-Kutcher look-alike from Creighton to make an impact in Chicago, and hey, maybe even break his own NBA record. Anyways, I know what jersey I'm wearing for intramural basketball this year. Here's to another Bulls-Jazz Finals next year. I'll be rooting for it.

LeBron vs Cleveland... Fuerto's Take

The Catch. The Drive. The Fumble. The Move. For the past 50 years, heartbreak has had a presence in the city of Cleveland. Now, after seven years of hope and expectations, there is The Decision (Presented by the University of Phoenix). As you've seen this morning, this was a move that will forever live in infamy in Cleveland, Ohio. However, the good news for Cavs die hards is that Dan Gilbert - yes the man who repeatedly failed to find LBJ an adequate supporting cast for 7 years - is now making guarantees that he will win a title before LeBron does. Now I never planned to write an article ripping on the city and the franchise, you know because I have a heart and all, but the letter that Dan Gilbert wrote and his comments to press honestly make me ashamed to live in the same state as him. The man acts as if LeBron is property of his franchise, the city of Cleveland, and the state of Ohio, but that is simply not the case.

Despite everything he says about loyalty, LeBron had every right to leave. He played out his contract and decided that he wanted to move on after it expired. Dozens of other players will make this same decision during the next few weeks, but you won't see Mark Cuban, Micky Arison, or Peter Holt lowering themselves to this level. As much as we all hate Mike Brown, he would never even sink to this level. And by the way, with this whole loyalty thing, wasn't Gilbert the one who fired pretty much everyone on his staff a few months ago? And I'm not even talking about the fans, who frankly remind me of the jury on the season finale of Survivor All Stars. To quote the great Chad Ochocinco, "So when a free agent leaves he's a traitor but when a team cuts your ass its part of the business?" What LeBron did was not selfish, not disloyal, and not cowardly, although I do agree that the ESPN special was a bit excessive, and he would've been better off just texting J.A. Adande or even updating his new Twitter. I personally announced my decision to sign with Mack Is Berning via a loose leaf piece of paper during Mr. Wilkins' Period G Morality and Justice class, but what are you going to do? The market was there, the interest was there, and I would bet my Andre Rison Chiefs jersey that more people watched The Decision than will watch any Cavaliers game next year. Take that to the bank, Dan Gilbert.


Now, on to the actual decision. I can't blame him for wanting to play in Miami, and neither should anyone else. First, he has the opportunity to play with a former Finals MVP in Wade, one of the best young bigs in the league with Bosh, and a promising point guard in Chalmers. In addition, he will be playing under one of the greatest figures in NBA History with Pat Riley, who has 7 combined titles in his playing and coaching career. Much better than 7-3 oafs from Lithuania and point guards who bang your mom, don't you think? Throw this in with the fact that D-Wade and Bosh are two of his best friends, and that they already won an Olympic Gold together, and it seems really hard to pass up.

Also, and probably more importantly, I think that South Florida is a slightly more attractive place to live. If there are any Cleveland natives getting offended by this, answer this question 100% honestly: If your job offered to transfer you to Miami, you'd take it in a heartbeat, right? Now, my experience with the city is pretty much limited to watching Burn Notice a couple of times every week, but it was enough to sell me. Replace Lake Erie with South Beach, and that's pretty much what you get. So, instead of shoveling snow of your driveway, you can sip margaritas on your yacht. Sure, it might be more expensive to live in, but his contract will cover him, not to mention the benefits of lower taxes and a conservative governor. Plus, where else can you have neighbors such as The Rock, Pitbull, and Trick Daddy. Enough said. I am truly sorry to all Cleveland fans. It's not their fault that they have crappy sports team, but it's also not LeBron's fault that people demand that he handcuffs himself to one of these teams. Good luck begging Carmelo and Chris Paul to come up north next year, Danny Boy.

Thirteen Weeks In...

And more than halfway home. With the All-Star game less than a week away, the Redlegs are currently reppin' an impressive 48-36 record atop the NL Central. The 12 games over the .500 mark is a season high (and maybe a decade high?) and in all honesty, there's little indication they'll be slowing down any time soon. Words such as "reer'd" and "unreal" would perhaps be appropriate to describe the season thus far, but after further examination, there's a little bit more than luck involved.


Before I talk anymore about the squad though, allow me to first address the Joey Votto outrage. In all honesty, I think this is the best thing that could happen for both Votto and the Reds. We've all heard the numbers and categories Vottomatic is top 5 in and whatnot, and that's great. I'm not going to waste time saying why he should be in, because quite frankly it's bullshit. By the numbers, it's the biggest NL All-Star team snub since 1952...and that's why he'll ultimately get voted in by the fans on Thursday as a more than deserving candidate for the final spot. What people are overlooking though is the publicity this is bringing to the Reds, and more importantly, Votto. I'd bet there's a good chunk of the baseball world who doesn't, correction: didn't, even know who Joey Votto is/was, let alone that he's an MVP candidate. The casual observer more than likely doesn't even check the NL central standings because they're so sure a certain red bird will be perched atop the rest. If nothing else, this snub will at least temporarily shine the spotlight on the commendable work Votto and the Redlegs have accomplished for all the nation to see and talk show hosts to get fired up about. All in all, I'm loving the way the Reds Nation (yeah I said it) is rallying around this cause for justice, and I have little doubt it will be served along with a little extra motivation for Votto. Based on early indications, the man will be going Yahtzee twice daily. Boom, JV 19 for MVP!


Moving on: Joey's not the only player doing major bro-work for this ballclub. Heck, let's not forget the 3 Reds who did punch their ticket to Anaheim in Art Rhodes, Brandon Phillips, and fellow MVP candidate Scott Rolen. Two "washed up" veterans and a guy who sacrificed some RBI's to help his team pick up W's; it's beautiful, really. Pardon the Muskies reference, but I think Phillip's career as a Red has been quite reminiscent to that of a man by the name of Stanley Burrell. Like Stan the man, B-Phil came to the Nasti big number minded, and did exactly that on some less than stellar teams. Over time, his identity has changed into a defensive master, and quite frankly doing whatever on the offensive it takes to get his squad W's, even if it means a hit to the numbers...ok I'm done.

At any rate, this team is good. Offensively, they lead the NL in runs, batting average, home runs, hits, total bases, slugging percentage, OPS, and did I mention runs? As far as pitching, at least they lead the NL in games played...so they got that goin' for them, which is nice. Bottom line, this team is dirty and can only get dirtier. As we learned from last year's trade deadline, Big Bob Castellini isn't afraid to make some noise. Expect more of the same this year along with the much anticipated arrivals or Edinson Volquez and (gasp) Aroldis Chapman to pump a little cortisone shot into the Redlegs...let's just hope they don't muff the shot (see Gary Majewski).


Chawny Gomes is still doing his thing, and his continued raking in compliance with a healthy outfield and continued growth out of Drew Stubbs is vital if the Reds want to be contenders. Three home runs per game would be nice, but I'll take some solid defense and stolen bases. Preserving Mike Leake will be another key to watch in the 2nd half. If you've heard anything about the Verducci Effect, you'd know why the Reds have reason to be vigilant about their young righty. In addition, Johnny Cueto has historically had a tendency to deteriorate in productivity as the season wears on, so perhaps a 6-man rotation will be in the cards in order to protect the pair of young right handed starters. The bullpen has been questionable at best with the exception of Arthur "Nails" Rhodes. I anticipate a shakeup in the pen say around, I don't know, July 31st. As far as the best infield in the majors go, I don't see anything getting their way except for injuries or All-Star-itus. Talk about professionals, those guys get it done. Corky behind the dish scares me...A LOT. This guy should be helping the Bats bring home AAA titles, not the 1st place Reds! The handle bar mustache can stay, but please get us a catcher Bob. I knew Berry shouldn't have waved Ramon to third and that Ramon Hernandez's triple was too good to be true...

Around the Horn's Tim Cowlishaw picked the Reds as his NL representative in the World Series way back in April, and as the season wears on, it's only looking more realistic. This team has silenced doubters over and over again, and are probably the sole reason Aaron Boone has retained his job on Baseball Tonight. The injury bug has yet to make its pit stop in Cincinnati, but who says it has to? There's reason to be excited about this team, and all we can do is look on with our fingers crossed. That's all I got. Keep it real...

KFW's Take on La Copa Mundial y Otras Cosas

Blogowers, I apologize it has been awhile since you’ve last heard a peep out of me, Kevin Frey Wannabe. Just because I’ve been mute though does not mean that I haven’t been paying close attention to what has been happening recently in the wonderful world of sports. That actually is the farthest thing from the truth as I have a confession to make: I’ve watched more Sportscenter/ESPN shows this week than I have since probably 7th grade. I am currently typing in the condo my family rented out down here in Siesta Key (Sarasota), Florida (Former Spring Training Home of Your Cincinnati Reds). We’ve been here since Saturday of last week and for me that has meant more than sufficent beach time as well as posting time in front of the television watching sports and hearing people talk about sports.

First, we’ve got the Reds in first place at the latest point in the season in over ten years as well as ten games above .500, which is their season high thus far. How fun is it watching Baseball Tonight highlights after a Reds win? Bringing back memories of the summer of ’99. Speaking of that team and Baseball Tonight, you get to see Aaron Boone each night biasedly boast about the Reds.

Secondly, Wimbledon certainly has caught the eye of even the casual sports fan with the marathon match from last week. Kudos to those guys. Two average tennis players who were just very evenly-average. Then you have the clock ticking midnight last night on July 1 and one would think all hell has broken lose on the NBA free-agent market is about to occur….or has it? Exciting stuff to come in the next week or so in the league and look for big-time shake-ups taking place that will change the landscape of the game for the next decade.

All content leading up to this point was written on Thursday, June 30. The following was written on Saturday, July 2

And then finally, last but not least, the greatest tournament in all sports, the global championship of the” beautiful game”, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. I must say, whether you are a soccer fan or not, an American soccer supporter or not, the group stage and first knockout round have been nothing short of exhilarating.The champions (Italy) and the runners-up (France) of the most recent World Cup in Germany in 2006 both didn’t even make it out of the group stages of play this tournament. Italy was just overrated in my opinion whereas the French did their best representation of their country in general and kicked and screamed and when they didn’t get their way, just quit. This display, an embarrassment and waste of world-class talent, was the complete opposite of the American squad, a team that absolutely played its heart out and represented its country with great pride and dignity, laying it all out their on the pitch….and oh boy, did they entertain.


I hope that the general American sports viewing public’s opinion and perspective on soccer during the Yanks valiant effort in South Africa. If you didn’t yell out a giant, patriotic roar when Landon Donovan followed up Dempsey’s blocked shot in extra time versus Algeria, you aren’t human. That was unreal and will go down as the most emphatic and improbable goal in United States soccer history. Just incredible. I, as I am sure many of you, was heart-broken after the US’s loss to the Black Stars of Ghana last Saturday. Ghana was good but I know we were the better team and it just sucks to be on the losing end of a game like that, of that proportion, especially when it goes to an overtime to decide the winner. You’ve got to hand it to Ghana though, that was one hell of a shot that they won on. Too bad that douchebag couldn’t make a simple PK yesterday.


As for the remainder of the Cup, you’ve got to like the way both Germany and the Netherlands are playing. Both “upsetting” South American powers Argentina and Brazil respectively. I am in a World Cup tourney bracket contest with some college buddies and I can proudly say I had the Dutch winning it all: partially because I am partial to the Men in Orange because I studied in the Netherlands a couple of summers ago and less on the world of potential they had leading up to South Africa. Does it make me more of a fan if I went to their last Euro Cup friendly versus Denmark? Being over there, especially right in the middle of the Euro Cup made it nearly impossible not to fall in love with the pride and devotion of the Dutch faithful and their football squad. And let me tell you, those people know how to party in the name of soccer. Did they ever! Woooo-Weeee. For what it’s worth, I heard the announcers say yesterday that 40% of the country took off work yesterday to watch them defeat Brazil. Standard.

And finally while I mention announcers, can we all just agree that the announcers ESPN has had throughout the World Cup have just the sickest vocabulary and accents? I mean, I’d watch Women’s Croquet if these guys were commentating. At the very least, can we agree that they put to shame voices of the likes of Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, John Madden, Dick Vitale, Chris Berman, insert extremely overrated American Sports announcer here. These guys are "cheeky" to say the least.

Happy Fourth Yankees. Enjoy, be safe, and don't do anything I wouldn't do pyros. -Kevin Frey Wannabe