This and that

• Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson has a newsy first item in his notebook, entitled Palmer, Lewis think 8-8, that reveals that a) a decision on whether Carson Palmer will return this year is getting closer and b) some of the Bengals are talking about the possibility of ending up 8-8. Which, by the way, is not going to happen with their schedule. But Carson hasn't been ruled out of the Eagles game yet, which is fairly encouraging.

• From MLB.com's Hot Stove Report, Padres put Green on trade block. Mentions that the Reds, Orioles and Tigers are among those who have reportedly inquired about Greene. And I'm hearing a lot of discussion about Greene on sports talk. Part of the reason they might be trying to unload him is because they've filed a grievance seeking to reclaim part of his 2008 salary because his injury was self-inflicted (he punched a storage chest at PETCO Park).

He is a former first-round pick, and he's strong defensively. He does have pop (27 home runs in 2007), but so does Alex Gonzalez. I just don't know how badly you can want a guy who hit .213 last year in 389 at-bats and has never hit better than .254. He doesn't walk much either, so his on-base percentage is never good. Doesn't steal bases. I don't know, I'd just hate to see the Reds give much up for him.

• SI.com's Jon Heyman brings up the Reds again in his Texas has glut of catchers, looking to trade post.

• MLB's Hot Stove blog mentions a report that Walt Jocketty chatted with Yankees GM Brian Cashman Monday morning for about a half-hour on the back porch of the golf resort site where the GM meetings are being held in Dana Point, Calif.

• Also, would anyone be surprised if Jim Bowden went after Adam Dunn?

• CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish is reporting that sophomore guard Jai Lucas is leaving Florida. Kentucky fans will recall that Lucas almost went to UK instead of Florida in the first place and he's tight with Patrick Patterson. He might be thinking about heading to Lexington, especially if Patterson is considering sticking around after this year.

• UC's Mike Mickens and OSU's Malcolm Jenkins are both among semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award.

• Non-local link of the day: Real Sports segment (from YouTube) about Barack Obama's love for basketball.