Bengals
The Bengals today hired former assistant coach Jim McNally as a consultant to work with offensive line coach Paul Alexander.
McNally, who spent the first 15 of his 28 NFL seasons coaching the offensive line with the Bengals, will break down film of the Bengals and their opponents while making periodic visits to Cincinnati during the offsesason, spring camps, and training camp.
McNally coached the Bengals line from 1980-94 before moving to Carolina, the Giants and the Bills in a career that ended in 2007. He has also served as consultant with the Jets.
“Jim began his National Football League career with us and we’ve always thought highly of his abilities,” said Bengals president Mike Brown. “He has a very good relationship with Paul Alexander that goes back a long way.”
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Reds
Fay: Phillips on contract and leading off
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Xavier
(US Presswire)
Fight only start of Xavier's problems
CBS Sports
AMHERST, Mass. -- It's been 73 days since The Fight, the moment that by nearly every account completely altered Xavier's entire season. The Musketeers were rolling, having just torn in-state rival Cincinnati apart with a 23-point victory -- the eighth consecutive win to open the 2011-12 slate.
When Tu Holloway started talking trash to Ge'Lawn Guyn at the end of the rout, when Dez Wells delivered the push and when the team's supposed leaders -- Holloway and Mark Lyons -- got up on the podium immediately after the game and failed to apologize for their actions, well, that's when Xavier's season began to crumble.
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Bengals
McNally rejoins Bengals as a consultant
Bengals.com
McNally, 68, adds the Bengals to his growing list of camps and clinics he conducts throughout the year. While continuing to live in Buffalo, McNally plans to stop in Cincinnati for a couple of days during the offseason, spring camp, and training camp while doing mostly film work.
"It's a fresh set of eyes from afar that can look at our team and other teams and offer valuable insights," said offensive line coach Paul Alexander. "I'm excited about it. We're talking about the guy that taught me pro football."
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Big East
CBS: Temple likely headed to Big East
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Show preview
6:05, Sports Talk
Guests
Brett Tomko, 6:34
Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants RB, 7:05
Dave Bezold, 8th ranked NKU basketball coach, 7:34
Topics
Reds
Bengals
On this date: 1980
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Happy Birthday
The Doctor, Julius Eriving is 62
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On this date: 1980
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Reds/MLB
(AP photo)
Padres hope healthy Volquez can fill top spot in rotation
North County Times
"I came back too soon," Volquez said. "You're supposed to be out for a year, and I came back in nine months.
"(The fastball), sometimes it's hard to control. I tried to come back and prove everything. It was too quick."
Balsley thinks Volquez can benefit from being more aggressive early in games. Volquez tried to ease into starts last season, Balsley said, throwing lighter in the first inning and waiting until later to throw his mid-90s fastball. Balsley thinks that hurt his command, and he wants the pitcher to unleash his extra velocity earlier.
The move into Petco Park, which yielded almost a half home run per game fewer than Great American in 2011, could be the final piece for Volquez. He said he noticed how former teammate Aaron Harang fared with the Padres last season, and he believes he can match the effort.
Tomko returns older, wiser and more flexible
John Popovich, WCPO
Tomko has pitched for the Mariners, the Padres, the Cardinals, the Giants, the Dodgers, the Royals, the A's, the Yankees and the Rangers.
He's been with ten organizations and now "he's come full circle" to where he'd like to end his career. He was surprised to find a lot of the same organizational people, same clubhouse people and same public relations people who were here in 1999.
(Chris Erskine / Los Angeles Times)
How do you want your new baseball glove: Baked, steamed or wrapped?
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Bengals
(Getty Images)
Benson criticizes Gruden's offense
Sirious NFL Radio
"We had a chance to establish an identity and we kind of got in our rhythm at times and there were times that were tough, you can look at the statistics. We didn’t stick on what the offense was built on. When we had Carson and Chad we kept a strong identity in the run game and we kind of got away from it and didn’t let that part of the offense grow and bit the bullet on it a little bit."
Mock Draft
The Sporting News
17. Cincinnati Bengals (from Oakland), Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama. The Bengals lost Johnathan Joseph to Houston as a free agent last offseason, and Leon Hall is coming off a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury. So the Bengals gamble and take Jenkins, who has first-round talent but also off-field concerns.
21. Cincinnati Bengals: David Wilson*, RB, Virginia Tech. It’s unlikely the Bengals will re-sign Cedric Benson, and they must find a back who can help improve their 19th-ranked rushing game.
Would you make a run at Mike Wallace?
National Football Post
When breaking down Mike Wallace I see a WR that has elite deep ball speed, can make plays after the catch and when put in a one-on-one situation will eat up the cushion of a DB on a consistent basis.
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College basketball
RPI movement
Xavier: 52 to 56
UMass: 88 to 80
Seton Hall: 37 to 30
UC: 80 to 81
Seton Hall: 2-4 vs Top 25, 4-7 vs Top 50
Cincinnati: 2-2 vs Top 25, 4-3 vs Top 50
(CollegeRPI.com)
Lunardi's late-night bracket update
ESPN
Last four in: Xavier
The UMass loss
Shannon Russell, Enquirer
The Muskies unraveled early behind 16 first-half turnovers and their second-half rally fell short by the final buzzer.
“We controlled our own destiny for a minute and we just didn’t come out prepared. It’s nothing that Coach Mack didn’t do or the coaching staff. It’s just that we have to be ready as a team,” freshman Dez Wells said.
Inside the Bearcats podcast: Mike DeCourcy on UC and the RPI
The birth of the RPI
Basketball-Prospectus.com
The RPI was formulated in the fall of 1980 by Jim Van Valkenburg, a staff member with what was then called the NCAA's Statistics Service. If the criterion at hand is pure influence, the equation Van Valkenburg created can only be termed a stunning success. For over three decades now the RPI has been the central team-sorting mechanism "in the room" as the NCAA men's basketball committee has selected and seeded each year's field. Over that time the tournament has grown to the point where it has an 11-digit TV deal and Selection Sunday is unselfconsciously capitalized.
Hoard: "The Inseparables" look to lead UC back to tourney
Mike DeCourcy on OSU's win over Illinois
Kentucky survives scare
Louisville Courier Journal
"Look, this team has a will to win," coach John Calipari said. "I told them: If this game's close, your will to win will take over. Let's get it close."
UK did better than that. It still hasn't fallen since a Dec. 10 defeat at Indiana, which was the only other time this season the Wildcats trailed by double digits. Senior Darius Miller helped Kentucky avoid a repeat of that outcome by scoring all 12 of his points after halftime, including nine in the final six minutes.
"Darius Miller, he's the fiber that holds that whole team together," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said.
Tonight: #8 NKU vs #2 Bellarmine at Bank of Kentucky Center
Bellarmine stokes ire across GLVC
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College football
Plus One appears to be No. 1 choice
The Sporting News
DALLAS—At least now, there is a roadmap. The Plus One model—four teams and three games to determine a college football national champion—is becoming the preferred route of BCS administrators, multiple sources told Sporting News.
That means an 8- or 16-team playoff is likely dead.
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© 2012
