UC basketball
Sean Kilpatrick named Big East Player of Week
***
Bengals
Chargers: Lessons from Week 12
Photo gallery: Bengals-Raiders
Peter King, SI: 11. Cincinnati (6-5). Won three in a row by a combined score of 93-29. At this time of the year, that qualifies as a team worthy of being in the Fine Fifteen.
6. I think these sound like the top 10 NFL assistants who will get sniffs for head coaching jobs in the league next year (in order):
1. Mike McCoy, Denver offensive coordinator
2. Mike Zimmer, Cincinnati defensive coordinator
Hoard: Bengals move onward--and upward--without Palmer
From Pro Football Focus on Twitter @pff
Best defensive tackle in football? Geno Atkins posted 11th consecutive positive grade versus Raiders. 11 QB disruptions on 33 pass rushes. The most combined sacks, hits and hurries we've awarded DT in a year was 49. Atkins already has 51 this year (that 49 belonged to him to)
***
Reds
Sheldon: A few signings
***
UC football
***
Xavier basketball
CINCINNATI --- Xavier University freshman guard Semaj Christon has been named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week. Christon averaged 19.0 points, 6.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals for Xavier’s three games in the DIRECTV Classic in Anaheim, Calif.
Christon, who was named to the five-member DIRECTV Classic All-Tournament Team, led Xavier in scoring and assists in each of the three games. He had 18 points and six assists versus Pacific in the first round on Nov. 22, a career-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go with six assists in the win over Drexel on Nov. 23 and 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win over Drake on Nov. 25.
Christon, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg., is bidding to become the first Xavier freshman to average double figures in scoring since Stanley Burrell scored a team-high 12.7 ppg. in the 2004-05 season. Burrell is one of only three Xavier freshmen that have scored in double figures over the last 15 seasons. The other two are David West (11.7 ppg. in 1999-2000) and Romain Sato (10.7 ppg. in 2000-01). Christon leads Xavier is assists at 6.6 apg.
Christon was a preseason Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection by the coaches and media.
Xavier, 5-1, plays its next game at Purdue on Saturday.
***
Bengals
AFC playoff picture
NFL.com
1. Houston 10-1
2. Baltimore 9-2
3. New England 8-3
4. Denver 8-3
5. Indianapolis 7-4
6. Pittsburgh 6-5
------
7. Cincinnati 6-5
8. Miami 5-6
9. San Diego 4-7
10. Tennessee 4-7
11. New York 4-7
12. Buffalo 4-7
More of what they are saying
Video: Highlights Bengals-Raiders
Video: Carson speaks after the game
Video: The brawl
(AP)
Jason Cole, Yahoo: Most football fights don't mean much, but the one between Cincinnati and Oakland was a doozy, featuring three ejections. After some silly taunting by the Raiders of Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (probably something like: "Hey, redhead, at least you didn't score 40 on us."), Bengals offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth eventually got into it with defensive tackle Tommy Kelly. That matchup is suitable for an event in the Octagon. Then again, if the Raiders gave half that much effort in the actual game, they might not have been torched for 34 points or more for the fourth straight contest.
Clark Judge, CBS Sports Talk about the gift that keeps giving. With that defeat of Oakland, Cincinnati not only kept alive its playoff hopes, it just moved up in next year's draft. Let me explain. The Bengals traded Carson Palmer to Oakland last year for a first- and second-round draft pick, with the second-rounder in the 2013 draft. So the more Oakland loses, the higher the Bengals' pick becomes -- and talk about smart. Not only did Cincinnati cut ties with a quarterback who wouldn't play for the Bengals again, they acquired two high draft picks for him.
SF Chronicle: Defensive tackle Domata Peko said the Bengals' game plan was born from many years of practicing against Palmer.
"That was one of the keys to our game plan, to get pressure on him," Peko said. "Because we knew when he has people in his face, he tends to overthrow balls and whatnot."
Next up: Chargers
Record: 4-7, have lost 6 of 7, including a 16-13 OT loss to Baltimore Sunday.
SD allowed the Ravens to convert 4th and 29 with less than 2-minutes remaining in regulation. Wins: (2) vs KC, Raiders, Titans.
QB: Phillip Rivers, 18 TD, 14 INT, QB rating 88.0, sacked 32 times.
Defense: 4 of 9 interceptions have been returned for TD.
Scoring: Have outscored opponents 146-93 in first half.
Have been outscored by opponents 141-99 in second half.
The opposite of winners is what Chargers are
Kevin Acee, San Diego Union Tribune
Unimaginable, spectacular, confounding losers these Chargers are.
The smoldering ruins of a season were all but snuffed out Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium, and you just can’t make up the way the Chargers continue to fail.
They thought they were better than the average team, and at times they appear to be, which only makes reconciling the results more difficult.
***
Bengals
See you Monday night: Food, fun, football, prizes, players, autographs.
Special guests:
Michael Johnson
Kevin Huber
What they are saying about the Bengals
Paul Dehner Jr, CBS Sports: At some point during the Cincinnati Bengals' 34-10 rout of the Oakland Raiders at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday, this game became less about the return of Carson Palmer and more about the return of the Bengals as a legitimate playoff threat.
The Oakland Tribune: Hue Jackson renewed acquaintances with the Raiders before kickoff and after the final gun. He even talked with a few of his former players during a 34-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, going onto the field to help break up scuffles that resulted in the ejections of Raiders defensive linemen Lamarr Houston and Tommy Kelly and Bengals tackle Andrew Whitworth.
CSNBayArea: And after the crowd dispersed, a weary Palmer looked at a pair of Bay Area writers. That," he sighed, "(stunk). Absolutely (stunk)."
CBS Grades: B+ A very balanced day from Cincinnati: BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran well, as did Cedric Peerman. Andy Dalton wasn't great percentage-wise, but he threw three touchdowns. The defense smothered Carson Palmer (four sacks), forced him to fumble and picked him off. Pretty sweet payback for his departure.
ESPN: What it means: It wasn't a reunion. It was an ambush. The Bengals dominated Carson Palmer in his first game back to Cincinnati since they granted his request and traded him last year. The streaky Bengals have won three games in a row after losing four straight. Cincinnati improved to 6-5, the first time it has had a winning record since Week 5, and moved into a tie with the Steelers. The undermanned Raiders fell to 3-8.
Joe Reedy, Enquirer: Entering December, they are where they need to be – in the discussion for a playoff spot. They now need to take further advantage against three teams whose seasons are on the brink.
Geoff Hobson, Bengals.com The Carson Palmer Reunion bash Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium against the Raiders had a couple of different entrances and exits before 56,503 that saw Palmer get lit up by a day-long Bengals pass rush to go along with a bizarre fourth-quarter brawl that saw three players ejected.
****
Bengals 34 Raiders 10
(Geno Atkins sacks Carson Palmer/photo @Bengals on Twitter)
Opening observations before watching the tape
*6-5....2nd three game win streak.
*1st time since 2006 the Bengals have had two win streaks of at least 3 games in same season....and just 6th time franchise history ('12, '06, '05, '96, '88, '76)
*Bengals tied with Steelers for final Wild Card spot (Pitts holds tie-breaker).
*Margin victory during streak: 18,22,24....outscoring 93-29.
*Win 3-row by 18+ for first time since 1976. (Thanks Jay Morrison)
*Raiders had been outscored in 3rd QT 123-34 going in, outscored Bengals 10-0.
*Fast starts: Outscored last 3 opponents 35-6 in 1st quarter. (NYG 14-3, KC 7-3, OAK 14-0). And 62-12 in first half.
Offense
*Balance in play calling again. 30 passes/34 rushes.
*4 TD in 5 redzone trips, 11 TD last 13 trips/9 of 17 3rd down.
*34 rushes for 221 yards (6.5). KC: 38-189. Last 2 weeks: 72-410 (5.69).
*How about the OL play...and rookie center Trevor Robinson?
*3 TD drives of 11+ plays last week, 2 more Sunday (12-84, 13-89).
*Chunk plays: BJGE 48, 39 yd runs, AJ 20 yard run, Gresh 27 yd catch, Peerman 31 yd run, AJ 48 yards.
*BJGE: Back to back 100 yd games (1st time career), 2 longest career runs (39/48).
*CBS: 1st run of +25yds by BJGE in 408 attempts.
*Andy: 3 TD....3rd straight game without a turnover...9 TD/0 INT last 3 games.
*Andy 3 straight games with QB rating 100+: 127.6 NYG, 109.8 KC, 109 OAK).
*Peerman keeps getting chances, and keeps making plays.
*Peerman season: 29 carries/240 yards. Minus 2 fake punts: 27-160.
*3rd quarter?: 0 first downs and -4 yards.
*Outgained Oakland 165-18 in 1st quarter.....289-83 at half.
*Sanu: 2 TD, 3 games row, one handed, +carried 5 yards for 3rd down conversion.
*Love the AJ end around, another great catch: 3 for 111. TD streak over..but +1,000.
Defense
*Battered, bruised Carson. Geno and MJ with sacks on opening series to set tone.
*Once a Carson, always a Carson: Interception, 4 sk, fumble. 146 yds, 64.1 rating.
*Geno all over the place. 9th sack, franchise record for interior lineman.
*Crocker with another pick.
*3rd down 3 of 12, 1 of 11 vs KC.
*1st QT: Defense allowed 18 yards on 13 plays.
*1st time Raiders shutout in 1st half this season.
*Hall couldn't find ball or WR on TD.
*Nice tackling by Reggie Nelson/Adam Jones continues to play well.
*Manny forces fumble, Rey recovers.
Special Teams
*Tate brings it out from 9 yards deep?
*Nugent ties Chris Bahr's franchise record with 55 yarder.
Quotes of note with Lap on 700 WLW:
"They smoked Andy 4 times after whistle...It's my job to protect him. I did."--Andrew Whitworth.
"Whit protected our guy"--Carlos Dunlap.
"It's great to have guys on your team that have your back"--Andy Dalton
From Willie Anderson (@WillAnderson79)
I told Carson not to leave. I said "Man you will have these young players hanging on every word you say"
He got mad at me for telling @geoffhobsoncin we talked
Now hes with a team of guys who are gonna lay down every week , quit and get ass kicked.
(Mohamed Sanu with a one-handed catch/photo @Bengals Twitter)
We have a new video: The Jungle's Back
From Tony at BlackliteProductions
***
Stuff
Xavier tops Drake, moves to 5-1
Congrats to Zach Collaros
The Toronto Argonauts won the 100th Grey Cup Championship in the Canadian Football League last night. Zach finished the season on the injured list. He was 7 for 11 for 101 yards and TD in the regular season.
Chill out on No. 1 Notre Dame
Wall Street Journal
How surreal and funny it is to witness the renewal of hatred toward Notre Dame, suddenly bursting with life, as if a primordial creature has roused from the ocean. How long has it been since the Fighting Irish were properly despised? The emotion hasn't had relevance for years—during recent down years it just felt like a pile-on—but now, amid a surprising and historic South Bend season, it's being dusted off for a loud revival. Irish fans might be offended, but they shouldn't be. There's something amusingly passé about the hostility. Hearing someone complain about Notre Dame in 2012 is like having someone call you on a rotary phone and tell you all the reasons you shouldn't like Air Supply.
Dodgers' $6B-$7B TV deal will widen chasm between rich and poor
Yahoo
When the deal closes, the Dodgers will make more money from local TV alone than 26 franchises take in from all of their revenue streams. Only the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs do better, according to Forbes' annual franchise valuations, though they'll soon be joined by the Angels, Rangers and Phillies. The first two have their own $3 billion TV deals; the Phillies are set to cash in on their own that will keep them in the sport's top stratum.
UK coaching search update
KentuckySportsRadio
UK is still also interested in Butch Jones, but two sources tell me that he believes he is in play for the Tennessee job and is holding out until farther along in that search. I no longer believe UK is pursuing Kliff Kingsbury from Texas A&M. Plus, the so-called “NFL guy” is now also unlikely, primarily because waiting until after the season is not a viable option.
***
Vote for local product
(COLLEGEVILLE, Minn.) - Fan voting for the 2012 Gagliardi Trophy, which will be presented to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III by Jostens and the J-Club of St. John's University, is now open. Fans can visit d3football.com to cast a vote. This is a one-vote limit per computer or electric device and voting will be closed at noon ET on December 3.
The collective results of the fan balloting will be counted as one vote in the final tally.
Thomas More Saint fans are encouraged to vote for senior defensive back Zach Autenrieb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), who is one of 10 finalist for the award. Autenrieb is the first Thomas More football student-athlete selected as a finalist for the award.
Autenrieb was named the 2012 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Player of the Year and first team All-PAC. He 48 tackles (36 solo, 12 assisted), including a half tackle for a loss, eight interceptions, five pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Two of his interceptions were returned for a touchdown. With his eight interceptions he finished his career with 32 interceptions, which is the new NCAA Division III career interception record.
Off the field, Autenrieb carries a 3.33 grade point average in accounting and was named to the Capital One Academic All-District II team earlier in the month. He has participated in Thomas More's efforts with Special Olympics and the school's Relay for Life fundraising. Autenrieb has also been involved with the Friends of Jacyln Foundation.
