This and that

• Hopefully you were either watching the UC-USF game last night or you saw the top of SportsCenter. Here's the background info ... Mardy Gilyard plowed into a 7-year-old boy just beyond the end zone. The boy was crying and appeared to be injured (shaken up at the very least). Gilyard took off his helmet and picked up the boy and held him to make sure he was OK. Erin Andrews interviewed the boy a couple of minutes later, asked him about Gilyard's gesture, his sudden celebrity status, what he was going to be for Halloween, etc. Get this, the 7-year-old ... Garrett Monroe ... is my next-door neighbor!

Haven't seen the clip on YouTube yet ... I've seen it mentioned on message boards this morning, mostly about what a great guy Gilyard is for showing such concern. ESPN.com's game story has video highlights embedded, including a replay and a shortened version of Andrews' interview with Garrett.

I'll be talking to Garrett tonight in Liberty Township and will add any additional details to the blog. I definitely want to ask him how he feels a day later (poor guy's got to be sore!) and who told him to take his Ohio State hat off for the ESPN interview, among other things.

• ESPN.com's Brian Bennett offers post-game analysis, mostly about the Bearcats' impressive quarterback play in the upset.

• Speaking of UC, the Pistons signed Jason Maxiell to a 4-year extension worth $20 million.

• Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik gave the "we can't comment on any specific free agent at this time" line, but I don't think anyone would be surprised if Seattle brought Junior back.

The Arizona Republic points out that Adam Dunn hasn't filed for free agency yet, but adds that Dunn "was never expected to be more than a rental."

And yet another former Red, Wily Mo Pena, picked up his own option for 2009 after the Nationals declined a $5 million club option.

• KansasCity.com has a quick item about a New York Times story (I couldn't find, hence the link to KansasCity.com about the story) about a recent survey of players asked which coach they'd most like to play for and least like to play for and the best and worst organizations to be part of. Marvin isn't one of the five coaches on either list, but the Bengals were voted one of the five worst organizations.

• ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert wrote about Nightmare scenarios: Whom (and what) NFL players fear, which includes a section about Hines Ward and his crackbacks.

• Non-local link of the day: Non-local because Jimmy Traina's list of the five biggest No. 1 draft pick busts does NOT include Ki-Jana Carter.

This and that

• I'm glad Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio considers Sunday's showdown with the Bengals a putt. I sure wish a reporter who heard that quote would've asked, "So Jack, is that like a two-foot putt, or more like a three-footer."

• T.J. is making national headlines with his guarantee that the Bengals will win at least two games because he took it a step further and promised to walk 25.4 miles from his house in Cerritos, Calif., to the NFL Network studios in Culver City. Busy interstate most of the way, apparently. I understand that he expects a win in the home game against Kansas City in the season finale, but I just don't see the other slam-dunk win out of the other seven games. I mean, they're an 8-point underdog at home against Jacksonville! I don't see a game on the rest of their schedule (other than the Chiefs game) where they're going to be any less of an underdog (when the point spread will be less than 8). Browns? I just think I'd have a couple of specific games in mind before I made a 2-win guarantee and vowed to walk 25.4 miles along busy interstate if it didn't happen.

• Quote from another Bengals receiver that's not making quite the same headlines but a newsworthy quote nonetheless: The second item in Mark Curnutte's notebook is something Chad said about how Marvin hasn't lost the team. "The first person he would have lost is me."

• Also, Chad denied a ProFootballTalk.com report that he had an Obama sign hidden in each of the end zones in Houston. If it were Kevin Walter, we would've had a couple of opportunities to find out but since it was Chad (or if it would've been any Bengal for that matter), I guess we'll never know. Maybe he brought them home and we'll find out on Sunday. Yes, he does only have two touchdowns so far this season, but if you look at the numbers in a glass-half-full way he has scored in two of the Bengals' three home games.

• Funny Nick Bakay column about how lousy his fantasy squad is. Would qualify as my non-local link of the day but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that he refers to the receiver mentioned in the previous item as Chad Ocho Stinko.

• Nobody wants to see someone (especially on their own team) get hurt and miss the rest of the season (at least I don't), but news of Dexter Jackson's season-ending injury will at least keep the Dexter Jackson bashers/blamers quiet for awhile.

• NFL.com's Adam Schefter is also reporting that the Colts' Marlin Jackson is out for the season with a torn ACL (not Cincinnati-related, I know, wait for it). Tim Jennings is expected to replace Jackson at cornerback (wait for it) and the Colts may re-sign former Bengal Keiwan Ratliff (there it is) to replace Jackson on the roster.

• This edition is dominated by NFL ... I'm having a tough time finding anything Reds-related ... MLB.com has a nice piece about Robert Manuel, a relief pitcher you may not have heard of (I hadn't) but should become familiar with.

• I'll be curious to see whether the Bearcats can bounce back after losing 40-16 at UConn in a game Brian Kelly said, basically, was much more closely contested than the final indicated.

Sports Network: Bulls and Bearcats duke it out
AP: Cincinnati readies 4 QBs for No. 24 South Florida
GoBearcats.com: Football returns home for BLACKOUT

• Non-local link of the day: From ProFootballTalk.com, Singletary shows his ass, literally

This and that

• I saw on the ticker last night during the Marshall-Houston game (What? What else was on?) that SI.com was reporting that Ken Griffey Jr. won't be back with the Chicago White Sox. Looked everywhere for the story and finally found it buried in Jon Heyman's Daily Scoop.

That deal, by the way, looks better and better for the Reds, of course. It remains to be seen whether Nick Masset and Danny Richar amount to anything - they're both still young. But the ChiSox really didn't get THAT much out of Junior. He had a couple of nice plays (baserunning, fielding) but he struck out five times in 10 postseason at-bats.

• In other Reds news, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that Todd Frazier continues to rake in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League.

• Bengals.com has a story about Keith Rivers talking for the first time about the hit from Hines Ward. "What goes around comes around," Rivers said, and it wasn't in this story but he apparently also said, "You reap what you sow." His jaw will be wired shut for seven more weeks.

• A few numbers: Jacksonville is an 8-point favorite on the road, according to most lines I've seen. The Jags allow 230.6 passing yards/game, ranking 22nd in the league. They allow 108 rushing yards/game, 17th in the NFL. They score 20.1 points/game, 20th in the league (Bengals are dead last, by the way, with 13 points/game). Jags aren't penalized very much, 22nd most in the league. In other words, they're pretty average. They've actually been decent on the road, with big wins at Indy and at Denver. They're 1-3 at home. David Garrard isn't having quite as good a year as last year (6 TDs, 4 INTs ... last year he had 18 TDs and 3 INTs). Maurice Jones-Drew has been disappointing for the most part - he's had two 100+-yard efforts but he hasn't had more than 32 rushing yards in any of his other five games this season.

Just some numbers. The way I see it, it's the type of team the Bengals could surprise if they play like they did, say, against the Giants. I wouldn't be stunned if it's Cincinnati's first win, but I wouldn't pick it straight up if I were betting with your money. It's an 0-8 team that pretty much looks worse every week against a team that hopes to be in the hunt for a wild-card berth in the AFC.

• The Enquirer's Dustin Dow takes a look at Xavier's potential starting lineup with the same asterisk that it could change if Jordan Crawford is deemed eligible. Dow says local product Terrell Holloway (Harmony Community School) is expected to start at point guard.

• Non-local link of the day: This Isiah Thomas thing isn't going to go away anytime soon, and Thomas is taking it on the chin yet again.

This and that

• In a first, Game 5 of the World Series was suspended and will resume tonight, a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning. Here are some of the more interesting takes (in no particular order) I've read about it (BTW, World Series gets an exemption from the self-imposed "This and That" everything-has-to-be-somehow-Cincinnati-area-related rule) ...

• CBS' Scott Miller: Selig dodges firestorm thanks to Pena's game-tying single
• CBS' Danny Knobler: Philly ace Hamels takes washout in stride
• Yahoo!'s Jeff Passan: Baseball’s crown event is beyond repair
• SI.com's Cliff Corcoran: Previewing World Series Game 5.5
• ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski: Selig made correct call in suspending Game 5
• MLB.com's Bryan Hoch: MLB monitoring weather forecast

Oh, and Joe Maddon still isn't sure about the stain on Joe Blanton's cap.

Hopefully those will hold you over until they are ready to resume Game 5.

• SportsLine's MLB Trade Rumors blog mentions the Reds' Jeremy Affeldt as a possible free agent bargain. Newsday.com seems to think the Mets might be considering Affeldt (among "slim pickings").

• Very interesting: The latest Jake Peavy rumor (according to chicagotribune.com, at least) has him going to the Cubs, maybe even for Fukudome. Is this Cincinnati-related, you ask, aside from having to do with an NL Central rival of the Reds? Yes, as it also examines the possibility of the Cubs acquiring Adam Dunn, who no longer plays for the Reds but used to.

• No surprise: In a poll of head coaches and media, Xavier is picked to win the A-10. Muskies received 44 of the 61 first-place votes. UD was picked third, BTW.

Derrick Brown makes preseason first team, C.J. Anderson makes third team and Terrell Holloway, Mark Lyons and Kenny Frease named to the preseason All-Rookie team. Here's a link to the complete A-10 preseaon honors and predictions. And here's a link to a new feature on Xavier's official site about Brown.

• Stewart Mandel (Sycamore HS) sent me a link to his acting debut in SI Tour Guy: Ohio State, which I'd argue Buckeye fans and non-Buckeye fans alike will enjoy.

• New York Times has an interesting piece about how Penn State played it safe with quarterback Daryll Clark in the win in Columbus Saturday night.

• I found it surprising that Gary Pinkel might actually be considering leaving Mizzou for Washington. Related to Cincinnati how? Pinkel played at Kent State and coached at Toledo, both MAC rivals of Miami. OK, so that's a stretch.

• NFL.com's Thomas George offers the latest of several recent features about former Bengal great Reggie Williams and the infection in his surgically repaired knee that could lead to amputation. Great piece by George, and thanks to Dan for sending me the link.

• Non-local link of the day (thanks for the free pass on the Gary Pinkel link): If it's any consolation for the Bengals, there is another team going through the same thing right now. Lions head coach Rod Marinelli is doing the "losing is a disease" talk (from "The Natural," right?) and center Dominic Raiola is saying it's hard to even go anywhere.

This and that - Mostly baseball edition

• Philly.com has a good story about Joe Maddon's inquiry into a substance resembling pine tar on Joe Blanton's hat.

• Those fans who dream about the Reds going after Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday haven't had their fantasy quashed yet. The New York Post reports that the left fielder is officially available. And while we're dreaming, maybe they can add John Smoltz for the second half in 2009. You've got to love it, by the way, when your agent says stuff about your career that's news to you.

• More baseball: The Marlins are reportedly talking trade, but they're apparently not wanting to part with former (briefly) Red Jorge Cantu. I maintain that the Reds letting Cantu walk is the least-talked-about-most-significant-oversight they've made in recent memory. I never hear it mentioned on sports talk radio and I have no idea why.

• Apparently the Reds are one of few teams NOT bidding for the services of A.J. Burnett. NL Central rivals Milwaukee, St. Louis and Houston are among those mentioned in a Boston.com piece that also provides a decent overview of some of the players who will likely make a move this offseason.

• Good sider by the Dayton Daily News' Chick Ludwig about the tag football play involving Kevin Walter and Johnathan Joseph that had everyone talking.

• Non-local link of the day: Must-see YouTube video - from C. Trent's blog on Lot D - of a FOX Sports reporter interviewing Mike Singletary on the sideline. OMG.

ESPN: Carson out for season

As reported earlier, Marvin Lewis has indicated that Carson Palmer will likely miss the Bengals next two games.

But ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that sources told him Palmer has a "frayed" ligament in his right elbow and most likely will not play for the rest of the 2008 season.

According to Mortensen, Palmer's injury is to a part of his ulnar collateral ligament, a condition treatable by "Tommy John" ligament-replacement surgery. Mortensen reported that Palmer wants to wait "around two months" to decide if surgery is the best option.

• Link to Mortensen's report
• Quarterback Carson Palmer isn't helping himself or the Bengals by waiting to have possible surgery on his elbow, writes ESPN.com's James Walker.

This and that

• SI.com's Don Banks offers Coaches on the Hot Seat: October and points out that Marvin Lewis went from No. 3 on the hot seat rankings after Week 2 (and the two guys ranked higher than him at the time have since been fired, by the way) to No. 5 in the most recent rankings. He cites "some extenuating circumstances," including Carson's injury, distractions at receiver and now Keith Rivers' injury. He's got the head coach of a 4-3 team and the head coach of a 3-4 team ranked higher than Marvin. I'm getting the impression Don really doesn't think Marvin will get fired anytime soon. Worth reading his analysis though.

• Daunte Culpepper says he wants to come out of retirement, and he says "a number of teams have contacted me since my retirement announcement and have provided some important information ...". I wonder how many teams have contacted him during this season, because the Bengals obviously aren't one of the teams that talked to him during the offseason, when Carson was healthy. I'm just wondering if they've talked to his agent - himself - since Carson got hurt.

• In other riveting Bengals news, Chad will wait until next year to get Ocho Cinco on the back of his jersey so that he doesn't have to pay Reebok.

• And a follow up to the story I posted yesterday about Terrell Suggs saying the Ravens placed a bounty on Hines Ward, SI.com has remarks from Brian Billick about how Suggs made a mistake in making it known that the bounty existed - but that they do exist.

And here's a story about the Steelers' reaction to the bounty talk.

• Suggs is having a tough time keeping his mouth shut, by the way. He told an Atlanta radio station Troy Smith should be starting at QB instead of Joe Flacco.

• Boston Globe's Tony Massarotti expects the Red Sox to trade Mike Lowell if they can acquire Mark Teixeira, in which case they'd move our man Youk (former Sycamore HS, UC star) back to third base. Or if they can't get Teixeira, they might deal for the Rockies' Garrett Atkins, which would keep Youk at first.

• And the New York Post says the Yankees may be looking to acquire former Red Mike Cameron.

• The Enquirer's John Johnston wrote a must-read feature about Sycamore running back Bud Golden and why his father hated football for years.

• Non-local link of the day: Texas Tech contest winner may kick this week.

This and that

• If Dexter Jackson's attempted retaliation against Hines Ward in the end zone after his late touchdown wasn't enough for you, maybe what Terrell Suggs wants to do to Ward will be.

• DDN's Carlos "Big C" Holmes writes about whether Ohio State's Beanie Wells or Michigan State's Javon Ringer (who went to Chaminade-Julienne High School) would look better in a Bengals uniform. But be sure to read the comments afterwards ... apparently there are just a few fans who think it would be a huge mistake for the Bengals to draft a running back with the first overall pick.

• No love for Derrick Brown or Deonta Vaughn or anything, but here are Sportsline's preseason All-Americans. (In case you missed it, Vaughn was named preseason Big East first team.)

• Former Reds and current Nationals GM Jim Bowden had skin cancer, but what makes this Washington Post story interesting is that doctors recommended surgery within a month and he ignored the advice, which he now acknowledges was a bad decision.

• Walt Jocketty says the Reds have opened negotiations with agents for David Weathers and Jerry Hairston Jr.

Also, Mark Sheldon's mailbag includes a question many fans have considered ever since the Reds acquired Micah Owings from the Diamondbacks.

• Top non-local link? Yahoo! ranks the Rayhawks.

This and that

• Breaking: NFL.com's Adam Schefter reports the league will not fine Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward.

Schefter reported that the league reviewed replays of the hit and determined no fine should be issued.

• SI.com's Don Banks writes about the one team that has a real shot to finish 0-16, and it's actually not the Bengals. But in an item later in the column, he mentions Fitzpatrick among the No. 2 quarterbacks who lost on Sunday.

• Bengals.com Geoff Hobson takes a step back and shares some observations ... it's pretty glass-half-full, which can take away credibility when you're talking about a team that's 0-7, but he brings up a few pretty good points.

• Roster moves today: Guard signed from Redskins' practice squad, Rayner released (so Shayne Graham must be close to 100 percent).

• One of the Reds' division rivals won't have Mark Mulder back next year. That Dan Haren deal is looking very lopsided now.

• The most outstanding players in MLB this past season according to the players: a former Red and a Reds-killer.

• FYI: ESPN's College GameDay will be in Columbus for Penn State-Ohio State this weekend.

• Nice feature on daytondailynews.com about Greg Orton, a receiver who went to Huber Heights Wayne (which always plays a Cincinnati-area team in the first round of the playoffs) and is turning heads at Purdue.

• Non-local link of the day: Stewart Mandel's follow-up on the referee who threw the forearm shiver in the South Carolina-LSU game, which includes a couple of different YouTube videos if you haven't seen it yet.

This and that

• A couple of Peter King's Ten Things I Think I Think from MMQB are a defense of Hines Ward's hit on Keith Rivers and doubt that Carson Palmer's elbow will be better anytime soon. Worth reading.

• Not much in the way of Reds' hot stove league action lately, but the New York Post's Joel Sherman has an item in his Hardball column about Russell Martin being a surprise name on the trade market and mentions the Reds as one of several teams looking for catching. If the Reds were to add Martin, that would be pretty outstanding, but I'm not holding my breath.

• The Oregonian's Jason Quick has a blog post about Greg Oden's reaction when he was told his performance during the preseason has been underwhelming.

• Buckeye fans also shouldn't miss Pat Forde's column about Terrelle Pryor.

• My friend Stewart Mandel offers his take on Lou Holtz's Adolf Hitler comment.

• Bill Koch has a nice Brian Kelly quote on his blog about how UC hasn't beaten anybody and doesn't deserve to be ranked yet.

• I haven't been reading Page 2 lately, but Bill Simmons' latest features a look at just how bad the Bengals are and a hilarious item about Cris Collinsworth.

• Finally: Fantasy-wise, I know I've slacked. I'm supposed to be posting fantasy advice/observations in addition to This & That, but it's been a while. All I can do is promise to be more diligent about my fantasy contributions and, in the meantime, share a link to the latest from ESPN.com's Talented Mr. Roto, whose By The Numbers includes the following:

1,000,000: Number of times it seemed that I looked up and saw Ryan Fitzpatrick get sacked.

Number of receptions each by T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson. There are actually signs of life in Cincy. I thought Fitzpatrick looked OK at times, and both receivers are decent buy-low options.

When you think it can't get worse ...

As if it weren't bad enough that the Bengals fell to 0-7 with a 28-point loss at home against Pittsburgh, Marvin Lewis says Keith Rivers suffered a broken jaw during the first quarter and will miss the rest of the season.

If you watched the game, you know exactly what happened. Rivers got his clock absolutely cleaned on a blind-side hit by Hines Ward. The link above is to ESPN, and it includes a couple of quotes from Brandon Johnson and Chinedum Ndukwe where they explain exactly how they feel about Ward' hit. Ndukwe even suggests there may be revenge sought. Bengals.com's version has a longer quote from Ward (defending himself and why he shouldn't be fined) in addition to a quote from Chad.

The DDN's Tom Archdeacon wrote a column about the play with quotes from Ward. Also, here's a little analysis (from what appears to be a Steelers fan with a blog) with YouTube video of the hit and some speculation as to whether Ward will be fined. You may recall he was fined $15K by the league just last week for two separate infractions, which aroused the ire of Mike Tomlin and Troy Polamalu, among others.

This and that

Got started on this later in the day than usual, so I might not end up with 16 items or whatever crazy number I had yesterday, but here's what's worth checking out ...

• Our main man Youk (Sycamore High School, UC) scored the game-winning run in the game you hopefully stayed up for (even after it was 7-0 in the 7th) on an erroneous throw by Evan Longoria that was written about on MLB.com. Really, it'll get overlooked and forgotten about (not like Bill Buckner or Bartman or anything) because of the overall, tremendous come-from-behind effort by the Red Sox (and people could assume that after they came all that way to tie the game they were destined to win it anyway) but I'm glad MLB.com at least wrote a story focusing on that play because it really is kind of a big deal.

• LOTS of Bengals' preview stuff in yesterday's post, but I haven't seen a whole lot going on today really. Maybe check out Chick Ludwig's notebook, which leads off with an item about the Steelers replacing the Browns as the Bengals' archrival.

• Bengals made several moves today; Herana-Daze Jones going on the Reserve/Injured list stinks.

• For some reason Peter King says he's very tempted to pick Cincinnati against the Steelers, which I cannot, for the life of me, understand. If I were a betting man, 10 points wouldn't be enough, even at Paul Brown Stadium (which will actually be Heinz Field southwest or whatever they want to call it).

• The Buckeyes gave their athletic director a contract extension. I had no idea he made $600,000 (soon to be $648,000). What was coach Eric Taylor thinking on "Friday Night Lights" when he agreed to take on the duties of the athletic director with no additional compensation? Questionable judgment.

By the way, check out the LA Times' FNL blog for more.

And FNL's Minka Kelly (who's been linked romantically with Derek Jeter) is mentioned in my non-local link of the day, The Top 10 Girlfriend Upgrades of Pro Athletes.

This and that

• Now it sounds like the Bengals might not have to deal with Willie Parker, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

• C. Trent has a strong Carson Palmer update on his blog.

• Post-gazette.com also has a piece about how Chad thinks his production is down this year because of the way he mouthed off during the offseason. He figures he's being punished. Wow. Really? I can't imagine it has anything to do with his bum shoulder, or the fact that he refuses to block ANYONE (maybe because of the shoulder, I realize), or the fact that he's known to run the wrong routes. I find this just as laughable as some of the ridiculous comments he made during the summer.

• By the way, we might finally see Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell this Sunday. Here's the quote from Marvin ...

Lewis said he wants to get "the young guys a little bit more involved - at least get 'em to suit up. It's a good opportunity for them. I think they've been up to the task. They've had good practice weeks thus far, and I know they're excited."

I figure, if these guys are on the sideline Sunday IN UNIFORM, the Bengals have got to have a better chance of beating Pittsburgh, right?

• The Enquirer's Mark Curnutte points out that Roethlisberger is 10-0 in NFL games in the state of Ohio.

• Injury update: T.J. stretched out before practice and then disappeared. Sounds like Shayne Graham is starting to feel better and may play Sunday.

• SI.com's Don Banks writes about a survivability factor for Marvin Lewis and Detroit's Rod Marinelli that makes both of their seats a little cooler than that of the 49ers' Mike Nolan.

• Are you following the Troy Aikman-Boomer Esiason war? You should. This Yahoo! story contains all of the links you should need.

• And news about another former Bengals signal-caller, as Jon Kitna is saying the Lions used his back injury as an excuse to replace him.

• Among his news and notes from around the major leagues, SI's Jon Heyman says it's time for Junior to retire. You'll recall Junior just had knee surgery.

• MLB.com has a strong package about the minor leagues and future Reds, including Lisa Winston's feature about how the organization's farm system is ripe with quality middle infielders, among others.

• Charlie Coles' resilience is something to marvel at.

• TwinCities.com points out that Tubby Smith and his staff are doing quite an impressive job with their recruiting at Minnesota. (Cruise past the first couple of items to get to it.)

• And another former UK-related item: The Celtics will pick up Rondo's option.

• SI.com's 2008 Midseason All-American team includes MU senior punter Jacob Richardson and, on the second team, UC senior punter Kevin Huber, as well as James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins.

• Jason Whitlock's 10 Truths column wins for non-local link of the day (only because he doesn't specifically mention the Bengals) ... although he does say, "Pittsburgh can't protect Ben Roethlisberger," which would help the Bengals this Sunday if they had a decent pass rush.

This and that

• C. Trent says the Steelers will likely update Willie Parker's status after today's practice.

• The Bengals' overall rank in SI.com's NFL Stadium Rankings: 27. And only 1.4 percent of readers said Paul Brown is the NFL stadium they'd most like to visit.

• Here's a great link if you're starting to think about high school football playoffs. Drew Pasteur's Ohio Fantastic 50 (computer ranking of the state's top 50 teams, regardless of division) features Elder, Colerain, 4-4 Moeller, Winton Woods, 4-4 St. X, Lakota West, Anderson and Sycamore. But he's only got Colerain, Elder, Woodward, Harrison, Winton Woods, Turpin, Anderson, Kings, Edgewood, Clinton-Massie, Wyoming, Badin, CHCA, Waynesville and Lockland going to the playoffs. He's got odds, predictions, rankings, you name it ... fascinating stuff this time of year.

• The Sporting News has Xavier ranked 19th in their preseason rankings.

• Just when you think Bob Knight has gone away, he's back. Indy Star writes about a TV interview he did where he talks about the possibility of getting back into coaching and, of course, takes a shot at Kelvin Sampson without coming out and saying his name.

• Freep.com has an interesting story about an Ohio State tight end who thinks a two-quarterback system might work best for the Buckeyes and Todd Boeckman should probably get more playing time. Kind of funny that the story's on Freep.com ... maybe they're doing less writing about Michigan because they're so bad. Speaking of Michigan, Deadspin's got a story worth reading about a U of M football player getting into a fight with a U of M hockey player.

• Good for the DDN for doing a solid Javon Ringer piece in advance of the OSU-MSU game. Ringer went to Chaminade-Julienne. This is one of the best storylines related to their upcoming showdown ... it would have been a shame if it had been glossed over.

• Miami fans also know that the DDN does a much better job covering the RedHawks than, say, Cincinnati's daily newspaper. Here's the latest on the team's quarterback situation.

• Favorite non-local link of the day: You've got to love it when your older brother says you deserved to be fired.

• Sean Williams on BBC Radio is also something you've got to watch if you haven't seen it yet.

This and that

• End-of-the-day breaking news: Redskins sign former Boone County High School star Shaun Alexander.

Also, injury news from ESPN.com:

• Ohio State's Lawrence Wilson is out for the season.

• The Lions are putting former Bengal and current Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna on the season-ending injured reserve.

• Dante Love update: Good news, as the receiver (who played quarterback at Withrow) who suffered a cervical spine fracture Sept. 20 against Indiana left a rehab center in Indy, was back in Cincinnati for a couple of days and is getting ready to return to Muncie.

• Speaking of local products, Packersnews.com has a piece about former Reading High School star DeShawn Wynn getting a second chance with the team.

• In his column that leads off with an item about Tom Brady (in other words, be patient and/or scroll down), my former co-worker Don Banks writes about how it's the offense that's the problem for the Bengals.

• The DDN's Chick Ludwig mentions that Bengals fans are attempting to organize a walkout during the Nov. 16 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles in conjunction with a boycott of Bengals merchandise, souvenirs, season tickets and training camp.

• Ludwig also suggests that Marvin is seriously considering benching Chris Perry.

• AZCentral.com has a piece about extra costs arising as developers build the new Spring Training facility for the Reds and Indians in Goodyear. Uh oh.

• Doesn't sound like the Red Sox will be replacing the Reds in Sarasota. Reds fans who weren't crazy about the way Sarasota treated the Reds when it was time to build a nicer stadium are having a little "take that" chuckle, because the Red Sox would have been a dream come true for Sarasota.

• The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has a short item about the possibility of Junior returning to Seattle.

• With the Bengals as bad as they are and nothing doing with the Reds, I figure it's time to start thinking about college hoops. Dustin Dow has a solid blog post about the competition at point guard for Xavier as well as an interesting post about Kevin Parrom, who just gave Xavier a verbal commitment.

• For the few Ohio Bobcat fans in the area who might read this (I know you're not typically acknowledged by the local media for some reason, but ...) I found it interesting that the AJC mentions former Ohio and current Wake Forest head football coach Jim Grobe as a candidate for the Clemson job. (Grobe coached the Bobcats before Brian Knorr.)

• This is my favorite non-local link of the day, only because you'd love to be reading this story over the shoulder of the school administrator who suspended the kid.

This and that

• The Dayton Dragons announced their 2009 coaching staff on Monday.

Jamie Dismuke, who has served as a hitting coach in the Reds organization for the past nine seasons, will make his managerial debut. Dismuke is 39. He was a first baseman who spent nine years in the minor leagues as a player, including eight years in the Reds organization. Dismuke spent the past five years as the hitting coach for Chattanooga, where he worked with Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion and Chris Dickerson among others.

Rigo Beltran is the Dragons' new pitching coach. And former Red Todd Benzinger, a former New Richmond High School star who was the first baseman for the 1990 World Champions, will be the team's new hitting coach (when he's not coaching high school basketball).

Here's the DDN's story, with quotes and more info.

• ESPN.com's Jason Grey has an item about former Moeller High School star Andrew Brackman's professional debut in Hawaii. Apparently he looks great after Tommy John surgery and he profiles as a potential front line starter.

Yonder Alonso and Todd Frazier also are off to strong starts for Waikiki in the Hawaii League.

• JungleInsider.com reports that a banner proclaiming "Step Down Mike Brown" will fly over Paul Brown Stadium from 11 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Oct. 19.

• Not only are the Bengals without Carson Palmer as they prepare to host the Steelers, keep in mind that Pittsburgh is healthier coming off a bye week.

• A must-read for those still following the Bengals: Geoff Hobson's in-depth piece about just how bad the Bengals' running game has been.

This and that

• In case you missed it: Fukudome got traded to the Reds at O'Hare Airport last week. Ouch.

• In its NFL Game Rankings for Week 6, FanNation ranks Bengals-Jets third to last, under the "Only if your other option is yardwork" category. I realize it's because the Bengals are winless, but I don't think it's a good call. I'm actually picking the Bengals (they've got to win sometime, right?) I'm not the only one, by the way. DDN's Chick Ludwig is predicting a Bengals' win.

• By the way, I AM rethinking this prediction if Carson isn't going to start and might not play.

• Yes, I was waiting for this! It's the Brett Favre fondly recalls his debut 16 years ago against the Bengals story.

• Fox Sports' Alex Marvez writes about the latest defensive players to emerge - LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison - under former Bengals head coach Dick LeBeau's watchful eye. Also, Chinedum Ndukwe is the Bengals' emerging player, according to Marvez.

• You've just got to love the headline: Purdue not an open date for Buckeyes. I know you're trying to say that OSU shouldn't expect to steamroll the Boilermakers. But what a backhanded way of saying that. Talk about a slap in the face.

• Detroit's freep.com has a story about how well Mark Dantonio is recruiting in Ohio on the heels of Denicos Allen's oral commitment to Michigan State.

• Favorite non-local link of the day: This guy already has a mock 2009 fantasy baseball draft first round. BTW, Matt Holliday, who many Reds' fans think the team should acquire this offseason, is No. 5.

This and that

• In case you missed it: Chad admitted he kissed Marvin during Sunday's loss in Dallas.

• In case you missed it, Part II: Dusty Baker is filling in as the coach for his son's 10-and-under traveling tournament team. There's a quote about how it's been a dream of Dusty's to coach his son, but he must not have THAT much faith in Darren's playing ability if he doesn't just want to wait for Darren to reach the bigs. Although by that time Dusty could be in his 70s.

• CBS' Clark Judge mentions two Bengals among his Free agents: The good, the bad and Javon Walker. They're both under "the bad," and he cuts Antwan Odom some slack because of his injury but doesn't mention at all that Ben Utecht - his other bad Bengals free agent signing - has also been banged up. Do your homework, Clark.

• Cincyjungle has a good item about how 50% of the players the Bengals have drafted since 2003 are gone.

This and that

• In case you missed it: Nice piece about Sycamore High School and UC alum Kevin Youkilis from the Boston Herald over the weekend.

• Another "In case you missed it" about a ballplayer from here: Junior said he's not going to retire and he'd like to return to the White Sox if they want him back.

• So Corey Patterson won't be back next year. John Fay says Paul Bako's out too. Mark Sheldon's mailbag is worth reading if you're thinking about what else the Reds might do during the offseason.

• Charley Casserly writes about the Texans and Bengals needing to keep an upbeat approach. Sound advice, but who are they going to beat? I'm actually surprised they're only a 6-point underdog at the Meadowlands this weekend. Then they play 4-1 Pittsburgh. They could be 0-7 going into that showdown with the Texans (in Houston) Oct. 26. It's pretty bad after that too. Jacksonville, Philadelphia, at Pittsburgh, at Indy (when they likely won't have as many O-line issues) ... I just don't see how they can be positive when they know they're probably going to end up 4-12 or 3-13.

• Tennessean.com mentions Chad as one of the receivers who could be on the market should the Titans decide to go after one. Albert Haynesworth even talks about whether Chad would be a good fit for his team.

• ProFootballTalk.com says there's no truth to the Dayton Daily News report that the 49ers are interested in trading for T.J. Houshmandzadeh. And they slam the DDN (and Dayton, for that matter) pretty hard in doing so. Here's the DDN report from yesterday.

• While you're on ProFootballTalk, check out the piece about Marvin Lewis praising Cedric Benson's work ethic. And they've got my favorite non-local link of the day about the Saints putting that photo of the facemask penalty that wasn't called in Monday night's game on their Web site.

• My buddy Stewart has UC among three teams on the rise in his latest mailbag. And the coach of UC's next opponent, Rutgers, says he overestimated his team's talent. Wow, the Scarlet Knights sure do have a lot of issues right now.

• Another former co-worker at SI.com, John Hollinger, wrote a piece about the Hornets' Prosser connection (Posey, West and Paul) you might enjoy even if you don't follow the NBA.

• If you do follow NBA or you're a big fan of former Buckeyes, J.A. Adande wrote about Greg Oden's preseason debut.

• Elder makes an appearance in the latest USA Today Super 25. Colerain, previously No. 8, dropped out after losing to Middletown Friday.

This and that (mostly Bengals)

• I'm actually surprised that no one is going out on a limb this morning and saying Marvin will be fired soon. I'm not saying he should be, but when you start 0-5, the writing is on the wall. I'd say the Bengals HAVE to beat the Jets at the Meadowlands this weekend or win at home against the 4-1 Steelers the following week. I think if they lose both games and fall to 0-7, that's when Marvin would be fired. No NFL coaches survive extended losing skids, and keep in mind the Bengals lost four straight after winning their season opener last year.

• This is mostly about the Cowboys (it is from the Dallas Morning News) but I found it interesting because a) it indicates how the Cowboys felt about the game being closer than expected and b) it describes the Bengals as "the best 0-5 team in NFL history, if you believe players and coaches."

• The Fort Worth paper focused on Wade Phillips post-game tirade. The Cowboys' head coach took offense to the following question from the media after the game:

Does all that matter here is the win, when it was a game where you played well in the first quarter, and then pretty much stunk the rest of the way?

BTW, I'd have probably gone off if I were Phillips too. It's OK for Phillips to say the Cowboys stunk, but for a member of the media to say that in asking a question just isn't cool.

• Geoff Hobson wrote about how Cedric Benson looked in the Bengals' loss. Expect to see MUCH more of Benson, by the way, as Chris Perry has proved to be inconsistent, and he's not going to continue to start at halfback if he keeps fumbling the way he has.

• How about Ball State, in the Top 25 for the first time, even without their star receiver, Dante Love of Withrow High School.

This and that

• As of right now, Carson Palmer is listed as questionable but he says his elbow is getting better and he's expecting to play. Don't you expect him to play though. I think they'd be crazy to risk doing further damage in a game the Bengals have little to no chance of winning. Everyone (medical staff, Marvin, et al.) but Carson is going to want him to rest it for another week, and I think they'll have their way when Sunday arrives.

• Checking out dallasnews.com (Dallas Morning News) for preview stuff and came across this article: "Bengals must control clock, and that starts with Perry." It's not a bad read, I'm just surprised that ... a) Rick Gosselin appears to be giving the Bengals a chance and b) that he's even suggesting that Chris Perry, who might not even play because of a hamstring injury, could have a breakout game at Dallas. I'd maybe instead write about how crazy it would be for Cedric Benson - the only healthy running back the Bengals have right now - to come out of nowhere after missing training camp and a few weeks to rush for 80 yards in his debut with the Bengals ... in a 45-7 loss in Dallas.

RIDICULOUSNESS YOU SHOULD FEEL FREE TO SKIP IF YOU SO CHOOSE

• If you really want to know everything Chad's been saying, here's Mark Curnutte's article from today. If you think it's absurd that he's talking about kissing the star after he scores in Dallas, throwing the kitchen sink at the Cowboys and going out, having a drink and getting in trouble in an attempt to bring back the 2005 (or 2006) magic, move along.

• Adam 'Pacman' Jones offers emotional support to Chris Henry

OK, ENOUGH CRAZY TALK ...

• I haven't heard much discussion of it here, but in the northeast they're talking about whether Carson and the Bengals' offense were picking up inadvertent signals late in the game against the Giants. Pretty interesting stuff.

• Kentucky is on a list of six schools being considered by Derrick Favors, who is ranked as the nation's top basketball prospect by Scout.

• Also from the AJC, here's where Justin Jones is thinking about going now that he's declared he will not be attending UK after all.

• And a bonus (since I can't find any fresh Reds stuff) ... on this date in baseball history ... the Bucky F. Dent game.

Oct. 2, 1978: Bucky Dent's three-run blast over Fenway Park's Green Monster helps Yankees top Red Sox 5-4 in playoff game to decide AL East champion.

The all ex-Reds

It's time to take a look back at - among other things - how former Reds performed this past season and think about if only they were still Reds. With a position-by-position, I realize there are going to be guys in here who'll make you say, "Come on, that guy was a Red for two months" or "Come on, we traded him years ago, get over it." But there will also be guys on this list - THE MARLINS' JORGE CANTU, FOR INSTANCE - who the Reds are maybe, just maybe wishing they hadn't been so quick to get rid of. Yeah, I know that ends in a preposition, so what? Without further ado ...

Catcher: Slim pickings fortunately ... because we'd really be kicking ourselves if Dane Sardinha, Corky Miller, Jason LaRue or David Ross were tearing it up when we've got Paul Bako's automatic out in our lineup.

First base: Sean Casey, Red Sox. He may not be an everyday player anymore ... and we're in very good shape with Votto at first ... but this guy ends up with solid numbers (.322 in 199 at-bats) no matter how badly he slumps from time to time.

Second base: Felipe Lopez, Cardinals. Slim pickings here, too, and I know, you're thinking he really hasn't done much since the Reds traded him. But he makes this year's squad for hitting .385 in 156 at-bats (including 8-for-12 with 7 runs scored in the final three games of the season against the Reds) since St. Louis acquired him in August.

Shortstop: Brendan Harris, Twins. Actually, he had an even better year last year with the Rays. All I really want to do is point out that this guy who was involved in the infamous Bray/Majewski-Kearns/Lopez deal has become a very solid everyday player ... ever since he left the Reds.

Third base: Cantu. .277, 29 HRs, 95 RBIs. Reds let him walk. I think the Marlins are quite pleased they signed him to a minor-league free agent deal in January. Hard to complain about paying $500,000 for those numbers.

Outfield: Josh Hamilton, Rangers. .304, 32 HRs, 130 RBIs (95 of those at the break). Yes, I love Volquez, too, he had a great year, and I'm not saying anything about the trade here ... but that has nothing to do with Hamilton being an all ex-Red. Heck, he's the MVP.

Outfield: Adam Dunn, Diamondbacks. I know, he only hit .243 after we traded him. But his OBP was .417. With Arizona, he only struck out two more times (44) than he walked (42). That's UNHEARD OF for Dunn.

Outfield: Jose Guillen, Royals A headcase, yes ... but he hit 20 homers for the fifth time in six seasons and he drove in 97 runs.

Starting pitcher: Ryan Dempster, Cubs. 17-6, 2.96 ERA, 187 Ks ... he'll probably finish just ahead of Volquez in Cy Young voting. Career year, without a doubt ... especially compared to the 10-13, 5.38 season he had in 2002 (with the Marlins and Reds) and the 3-7, 6.54 year he had in 2003 as a Red. HONORABLE MENTION: Kyle Lohse, Cardinals.

Relief pitcher: Trevor Hoffman, Padres. He had a disappointing 2008 (for him, though he still ended up with 30 saves), but I think it's important to remember that baseball's all-time saves leader was drafted by the Reds in the 11th round of the 1989 draft (as an infielder, of course).

This and that

I wasn't going to do a "this and that" for today (I said yesterday I'd be posting my all ex-Reds team and a fantasy piece) but I've got three quick things ...

• Pro Football Central is reporting Marvin Lewis could be fired by week's end. They say they've got sources. Who knows? But it's out there. And I think it's the first such report. They say their source says Mike Brown hasn't decided whether Paul Alexander or Mike Zimmer would be the interim head coach. There you have it. That's all there is to it, by the way, so you don't need to click on the above link unless you really want to give them a page view.

• Still looking for a strong take too about the Bengals signing Cedric Benson. Daugherty or Gregg Doyel or someone has got to be chiming in about this soon, right? Sports talk was fairly entertaining because it was a mix of "I can't believe the Bengals signed this guy" and "Why is it even being mentioned that he got arrested when he's been cleared of all charges?" I don't know, I don't see a problem with mentioning that the guy got arrested when he did get arrested, regardless of the outcomes. It's semantics, really. Only time will tell whether he can keep his nose clean. He probably shouldn't be allowed to hang out with Chris Henry.

Here's a good example of Benson sounding off when he was frustrated last season:

I've been hearing a lot of people criticize and talk stuff. They're not watching the games or the plays. They're just throwing out criticism. Do I need to run with more of a burst? No. And (expletive) them ... I don't appreciate all that criticism coming my way. I can understand if I'm tugging the ball for 18, 20 carries and still getting 50 yards. But what am I doing that's so bad? I don't understand ... I come out on third downs, I have two downs to do something. That's not to say we're going to run it on those two downs.

• On a brighter note, I've been looking for a more in-depth story about Junior's beautiful outfield assist during the White Sox's 1-0 win against Minnesota last night but this is the best I've found. Seriously, that throw was one of the two biggest reasons (along with Thome's home run, obviously) Chicago won the one-game playoff to reach the ALDS.