Finally, sports have become oversaturated.

I'm not sure how much Ultimate Tazer Ball talk we'll be able to squeeze in today, but I'll try.

Guests
4:04 - Dallas Latos, our Spring Training correspondent from Goodyear.

Topics
Why the Bengals' first offseason roster decision is a good one.
Are Walt and Dusty on different pages again?
Xavier's leadership crisis.  Jeff Goodman writes about this,  the Muskies on Fox Sports today.
How did you take UK wins?
Does the Franchise Tag need an overhaul?
Do I need to create a beef with a local media member in order to get some pub?

Plus, the #MoEggerTQD comes out at 4:00, and we discuss at 4:33.  We start our little radio show at 3:04 today on ESPN1530. Anyone who's ever had an iPhone has probably wanted to throw it against something.  Now you can, without it breaking.

A FEW MO' THINGS, 2/22/12

A little short on time, with this morning's chat, and other professional obligations taking up some time...

-XU loses and the Muskies' NCAA hopes take a hit.  More than what it means for their Selection Sunday chances and more than what it does to their RPI and other metrics it that it amplifies a question that has to be bugging Xavier fans:  Why is this team so non-competitive, so often?

Their biggest deficit last night was 20 points. They trailed Temple at one point by 23, St. Louis at another by 14, and both UD (in game one) and LaSalle enjoyed 18-point leads over the Muskies.  They made furious runs in each game, with the game in Dayton the exception, and made some of them at least close, but it's worth asking....why does this team go through prolonged stretches of just non-competitiveness?

The team's flaws are pretty obvious...they have yet to learn to play together, Holloway looks completely gassed, and they have little depth among their big guys, but aside from crucial improvements not being made, what should bother XU fans most is that Chris Mack has been unable to get his team to avoid the kind of runs that so many less talented opponents have used to beat what was supposed to be the school's best team. 

Great teams lose games, and good teams lose games handily, but they don't often face the kind of deficits XU has stared up at this season.  I can't pinpoint why they've fallen so far behind so often this season.  That's not a problem.  Chris and coaches don't seem to be able to either, and if they can they're not doing enough to stop the bleeding. 

That is a problem.

-There's talent, and then there's resiliency.  We know UK has the former.  Last night we saw them possess the latter.  Kentucky took a good, hard punch from an better than average Mississippi State team.  You go on the road, fall behind by 13 at half, and still rally for a gritty 11-point win, and you've done something impressive,  On the way to a national title, not all of the wins will be works of art (though I thought the Wildcats were pretty damn good in the second half), you'll have to overcome and find different ways to win.  The number one team in the country did that last night.

-What's interesting is that Thayer Evans of Fox Sports seems to disagree....
Calipari knows he was rather fortunate against a Mississippi State team that scored only four points in the final 6-1/2 minutes and is in danger of missing the NCAA tournament after losing four straight games. His team had been feasting on the waifish-weak Southeastern Conference and entered Tuesday with just the nation’s 47th-best strength of schedule.

So there’s still plenty of reason to doubt Kentucky, just like there always is with Calipari’s teams.

Because the knock on Calipari will remain the same until he finally wins his first NCAA championship: He can collect all the talent he wants, but inevitably underachieves with it because of his coaching shortcomings.

Case in point: Don’t forget Calipari’s Memphis team blew a nine-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation against Kansas in the 2008 national championship game and lost in overtime, even with a future NBA Most Valuable Player in point guard Derrick Rose. But every season is seemingly the one that will be different for Calipari.

At least that’s what his players always say. When asked about those who question Calipari’s coaching, Miller rattled off the same type of answer his players have for years.

“I don’t think that’s smart at all,” said Miller, a senior guard. “All the teams that he’s had, all the games that he’s won and the tournaments that he’s been in, I don’t see how you could question his coaching ability.”

Miller, a member of that uber-talented Kentucky team that disappointed two years ago, actually believes this team is “just as good, if not better.”

“We’re confident in our abilities,” he said. “We never feel like we’re going to lose. Our team chemistry is one of the best teams I’ve been on.”

But for all the national championship hype surrounding Kentucky, Miller said he and his teammates haven’t discussed it. Not that you can blame them.

After all, they should know better when it comes to Calipari-coached teams.

-Cedric Benson is talking again...
“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,” Benson said.

I don't necessarily disagree, but if you've ever looked across at a girl you've been dating and said "Look, we've had a nice run, it's just time to move on for the benefit of both us.  It's not working anymore, no hard feelings, best of luck," then you know it's time for the Bengals to do the same with Ced.

-Dusty allows for the possibility of Aroldis Chapman coming out of the bullpen this season.  Why shouldn't he?  If he's not comfortable as a starter, and the idea is to win now, would it make sense to use Chapman in the 'pen for six months rather than use him in the rotation for three?

-Ever experience this?  You hit the buttons on the keyboard and the characters show up ten seconds later?  That's what's happening to me right now.  I'm going to hit reboot and ask our IT people when we get machines made after Cinergy Field was imploded.  Catch the radio show on ESPN1530 at 3:04.  Here's why you don't storm the floor....

Our weekly chat starts at 10:00.  If you can find it.

A little piece of my childhood just died.

We'll take solace in sports today during a three-hour radio show on ESPN1530.

Guests
3:42 - Donald Lutz.  Reds prospect who grew up in Germany.  We'll talk baseball and beer.
4:04 - Bryan Price.  Reds Pitching Coach

Topics
Why not Wallace?
Aroldis Chapman, and his manager leaving open all possibilities.
The NCAA Tournament, transparency, and how the process could affect the locals.
The future of the Crosstown Shootout, and who shouldn't have a say in it.
Was the coach of tonight's UK opponent out of line with his comments about a former Wildcat?
Speaking of, UK has a pretty slick-looking site touting the postseason award resumes of their players.

Also worth reading: Seth Davis defends the RPI.

That article may or may not factor into today's #MoEggerTQD.  We send out at 4:00, we discuss at 4:33.  The radio show starts at 3:04 on ESPN1530. The guys at Goodle Maps are not Ohio State fans...

A FEW MO' THINGS, 2/21/12

Stay seated for a quick programming note....We'll have our weekly chat tomorrow at 10am.  Click on the thingy.

-Dusty Baker's first decision of the spring was a correct one:  Johnny Cueto will start on Opening Day.  The gig should go to a guy who's been here, should go to a guy coming off a good season, and should go to a guy who's already earned his place at the top of the rotation. 

-Totally on board with the idea of signing Mike Wallace to an offer sheet, even if it costs the Bengals a first round choice.  From the always solid Cincy Jungle...
....If the Bengals identify a need a wide receiver, like they should be doing, there's not many options out there with the proven history of Wallace through the NFL Draft. Using a first-round pick, with a decent multi-year contract offers a long-term solution with two wide receivers that would literally consume a secondary where guys like Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley benefit with single-coverage. You're not just adding Wallace's abilities, you're helping everyone else with the simple addition. Will teams blitz less, allowing better pass protection, in favor of seven-men coverages fearing single-coverage against two major threats on the outside? Would the middle of the field split open for Gresham with safeties covering over the top against Green and Wallace?

Reality however is that Wallace is a proven entity, unlike the NFL draft which is nothing more than a game of roulette, plenty of projections and conjectures without any evidence that such a player would succeed in the NFL. And even if the Bengals acquire Wallace with a first-round selection, it's not like the Bengals won't have another to play with.

Everything you just read, I second.  Adding Mike Wallace, who's name always makes me think of the full-of-himself dude from 60 Minutes, would give the Bengals a deep threat in his absolute prime.  He'd cost a first rounder, and he'd cost plenty of money, but the Bengals have the luxury of both multiple picks and plenty of money to spend.  Plus, and I don't think you can understate this, there'd be a buzz factor this franchise desperately needs.  The excitement created by not just making a bold move, but a bold move that not only make the team better but also hurts the team's biggest rival, could help ticket sales and could bring at least a few of the former loyalists who've drifted away from the Bengals.  Many of the other available wideouts, all of whom are older, would help the team but wouldn't have the ancillary impact that the signing of Wallace would.

Is it a longshot, perhaps.  But is it worth making an attempt potentially parting with a first round pick?  Absolutely.

-You know what's most impressive about the way UK is playing right now?  That they don't seem bored.  You could almost excuse them if they did.

-A big opportunity tonight for Xavier at UMass.  Despite the issues with consistency and cohesiveness, despite the lack of competitiveness in some games, despite the disconnect between the seniors and the coach, would you want to play the Musketeers in March?

I wouldn't want to see a team that likely will have the best player on the floor, playing in his last NCAA Tournament.  I wouldn't want to see a team armed with Tournament-seasoned players.  I wouldn't want to see a team that can make shots from the outside and that can still, despite their offensive issues, control tempo.  It's been a tough few weeks for XU, and they've gotta make the dance first, but if they do, I wouldn't wanna play 'em.

-Not sure how I should feel about how this game ended...does UConn's win help their profile while cutting into UC's NCAA chances, or does the Cincinnati win at Connecticut look a shade better?

I'm mainly posting this because Villanova's circa-1985 throwback unis are badass.

-A UC football recruit has been involved in an incident in Pennsylvania.
Woodland Hills senior Shakim Alonzo said Sunday that racial slurs provoked him to punch an opponent during a playoff basketball game the day before, resulting in a bloody altercation that delayed the contest for 10 minutes.

"There was a bunch of racial slurs and a bunch of contact," said an apologetic Alonzo, a Cincinnati football recruit. "I was trying to tell the refs about it, but they weren't doing anything about it ... and I just kind of lost it."

Alonzo hit Peters Township's Gabe Pritz in the side of the head with 3:38 remaining in the game, leveling the junior center. Pritz returned, wearing a headband of gauze, but later was taken to a hospital, where he received 11 stitches to his left ear.

Alonzo was given a given a double-technical foul and ejected.

Peters Township coach Gary Goga was appalled that Alonzo claimed racial taunting.

"He can claim whatever he wants," Goga said. "It's not a racial incident."

Interested to see how this plays out.  If the university were to revoke his scholarship offer because of this, (and I don't know that such punishment will even be considered) should it be asked why they didn't hand down stiffer punishments to players who threw punches while wearing Cincinnati uniforms during the shootout?

-The Knicks lost to the Nets.  Carmelo Anthony, who was abysmal, will get the blame.  He should share with Mike D'Antoni, who in a game where Deron Williams was unbelievable, often played without a point guard, and barely used a streaking Steve Novak in the fourth quarter.  The Knicks played like an exhausted team while the Nets, playing for the third consecutive day, played with fresh legs.  Frustrating.

-This is worth asking....

-Urban Meyer's home in Gainesville is nicer than my home in Sharonville.

-Remember Homer At The Bat?  Of course you do.  Here's a look inside the making of it.

-You were just saying to yourself, "I could use an analytical look turnover-prone young NBA guards" weren't you?  Well, here you go.

-The Pepperdine baseball team is rocking old-school Astros-style unis, meaning that Pepperdine is now my second favorite college baseball team.

-More later, including a radio show on ESPN1530 at 3:04.  Follow me on Twitter and like me on Facebook.

-Here's the kind of behavior I plan on exhibiting often this season while I stand around watching Jim Day host the Reds postgame show on Fox Sports Ohio...

Not one, but two shows today on both ESPN1530 (3:04 - 6:00) and 700WLW (6:06 - 8:00).  I am a hard-working boy.

Guests
6:35 - Donal Lutz.  German dude, Reds player
7:06 - Bryan Price.  Reds Pitching Coach

Topics (There's a good chance you'll hear these on both stations?
Johnny Cueto, Opening Day, and an obvious choice.
The Reds, self-created pressure and managing his expectations?
Efforts to satiate every college basketball fan my mentioning his/her team.
Are the Bearcats just two wins away? 
Is XU an NCAA darkhorse?
Should the Bengals make a play for Mike Wallace?
Are we being just a little over sensitive.  Should this guy have been suspended?

Plus, the #MoEggerTQD goes out at 4:00. We discuss at 4:33.  Five big hours starts are 3:04 on ESPN1530. Here's a fantastic photo of Kobe Bryant's alleged sidebeef...

A FEW MO' THINGS, 2/20/12
Hockey.

-Programming Note:  Two shows tonight, 3:04 - 6:00 on ESPN1530 followed by 6:06 - 8:00 on 700WLW.

-I spent Saturday in Louisville, where I attended a Van Halen concert. Quickly on the concert...

I've never been to a show where the audience seemed to be holding it's breath before the show, unsure about what they'd see.  I was pretty sure what I'd see wasn't going to remind me of the way the band sounded in 1984 and I was pretty sure that seeing the first show on their current tour would be better than seeing them 40 shows into it.

I got a good show, not a great one, but a good one.  David Lee Roth's voice is not going to hold up for the entire tour, and there's something uncomfortable about seeing a 57 year-old man try to squeeze into nut-hugging pants, but the band sounded tight, the beer was cold, and they played enough hits to offset the new stuff.

Their opening act was Kool And the Kang.  I once saw them play the Blue Ash Fourth of July Fireworks seven or eight years ago.  They were terrible then.  They're worse now.

My buddy (and last Friday's co-host) Rich Walburg has more.  I agree with his assessment of the Sports and Social Club.  Solid place, bartenders willing to accommodate us UC fans wanting to see a game being played at the same time as a UK tilt, and a talented and deep roster of servers.

-Immensely important win for UC on Saturday, and a game that saw the Bearcats do what they couldn't in Milwaukee...get out to a fast start and maintain the lead.  They weren't great...though it seemed like they shot better than 40%, and Sean Kilpatrick's inconsistency can be maddening, but this team has taken care of business post-Marquette and now has a little breathing room approaching the last four games of the regular season.

They're on the verge of a 20-win season, they've clinched a .500 record in league play, and they've solidified they're chances of getting back to the NCAA's.  As frustrating and flawed as they may be, I like this basketball team, and I like where they are right now.

-For the first time in 14 years, I did not attend a Xavier/Dayton game in Cincinnati.  Instead, I relied on text updates until my phone crapped out Saturday night. (Nothing worse than that feeling you get when you're headed out of town and you realize you've forgotten your charger)  When my phone died, XU was up 65-59.  When the concert ended, I saw that the Flyers had lost in OT.  Important win for XU, soul-crushing loss for UD, and affirmation that 99% of the time, Tu Holloway is the best player on the floor.

-Roger Goodell continues to talk about fan demand for an 18-game season.  I continue to wonder where said demand is.

-The NCAA is looking at pairing back their rulebook.  This might be the most overdue thing in sports.

-UK beat Ole Miss on Saturday, which was hardly a surprise.  The Rebels are not going to the NCAA Tournament again, which is not a surprise since they never do.  Some people still slobber over Andy Kennedy, which I don't get.  And Mike Tomlin doesn't want ESPN's camera in his face. 

-Just once, I want to see someone write a spring training piece on a player who doesn't think he can bounce back from injury or who feels like the upcoming season is going to be his worst.

-I'm a fan of Nike taking over the manufacturing of officially-licensed NFL apparel, but I'm not of fan of them screwing over mom-and-pop retailers. 

-If years from now you hear Knicks fans referring to the "Steve Novak Game," we are talking about yesterday's win over Dallas. 

-This is why A-Rod will never be Derek Jeter.  Can you imagine Derek allowing his house to be used for a Victoria's Secret photoshoot and not being there?

-Mike Wallace, anyone?

-I'm going to be at this on Sunday.  You should join me.

-You should also join me at 3:04 on ESPN1530.  A show rundown will be up around 2:45. I'm guessing you spent part of your weekend wishing someone would compile all the faces punches in Road House and put them on YouTube.  Fortunately, someone granted your wish...