I know that media members are supposed to act like their jobs are pains in the ass, and that big events really aren't as big as they're made out to be. I know we're all supposed to be eternally jaded and cynical, and that we're all supposed to forget what it's like to be a fan.  I know we're not supposed to geek out, and that we're supposed to maintain a level of detached coolness that gives our audience the impression that what we're doing really isn't that big of a deal to us.

I can't do that.

I'm pumped for this weekend.  Today, Lindsay and I are headed to Indy to do the show from Radio Row at the Super Bowl 46 Media Center.  (I refuse to use Roman Numerals)  Sunday, I will be attending the game.  I'm pretty excited about both.

I'm more fan than media member, which is why the upper deck is always preferable to the press box and why emotional investment is more fun than objective detachment.  Any football fan that says that he wouldn't want to see a Super Bowl in person is lying, and any media member that claims it's just part of their job needs an extinguisher for their pants.

I've always thought going to a Super Bowl would be badass, and while scoring tickets to the game and firing back overpriced beers in the stands would be phenomenal, I'll settle for a seat in the press box on Sunday.

I'll be in Indy all day Sunday, taking in the scene, calling in updates to 700WLW, and covering a game that doesn't really need any more coverage.  Oh, and I'll be updating the blog as the day and evening develops.

I'm pumped for Sunday.  I'm stoked about today too.

The radio guy in me has always wanted to do a show from Radio Row at the Super Bowl, not because I wanted to be surrounded by my fellow radio nerds, but because it's always sounded like an exceptionally cool experience, and a great chance to do a unique show.

Today, Lindsay and I are headed to Indy to do just that.

We're doing our show on ESPN1530 from radio row, and I'll be checking in during the day on 700WLW.  I'm not sure about show specifics, but we'll line up as many guests as we can, and talk all things NFL and the Super Bowl today starting at 3:04 on ESPN1530.

We also plan on putting up the webcam, so click on it to check out what we're doing, and I hope to have pictures and video throughout the day on here as well.

I'd like to thank the folks at Skyline Chili for sponsoring today's show and making our trip possible, and I'd like to thank Lindsay for handling all of today's logistics and making today possible.  Lindsay also made it possible for me to attend the game on Sunday, selflessly relinquishing a chance at a Super Bowl press pass so I could go instead.

Today should be a fun experience.  Hope you enjoy whatever it is we bring you today here on the blog and on the radio today on ESPN1530.

Short on time before the show today.  Just in case you're one of the two people I talk to in high school want to know where I am now, there's this.

Topics
Joey Votto, the "inevitable acquisition," and you.
Jim Tressel's new job.  Is Akron out of line? (No)
Can we put an end to Roman Numerals and Super Bowls?
Super Bowl parties and avoiding these kind of people.
Is Twitter the death of the Super Bowl party?
XU's win, and why style points shouldn't matter.
By producer request, we'll investigate Cincinnati's Super Bowl hosting capablities.
We aren't one of America's Top 25 Drunkest Cities.  Aren't we supposed to be better than that?

We'll have the #MoEggerTQD out at 4:00, and on air at 4:33, and if you haven't yet registered for a chance to win a $250 gift certificate from Rogers Jewlers, make sure you do.  The show starts at 3:04 on ESPN1530.  Here's sh*t people say at Super Bowl parties....

A FEW MO' THINGS, 2/2/11

-Sometimes avoiding disaster is enough.  XU slogged their way through the game last night in DC, got more empty minutes from far too many players, bricked half their free throws, looked more joyless than they have all season, and still found a way to win a game they simply could not afford to lose.

It helps to have the best player on the floor, and Tu Holloway kept the Muskies in it until it was time for him to win it, and it helps that GW is awful, but wins this time of year when a team is clinging to the bubble (if it is indeed physically possible to "cling" to a bubble), no matter how hard they are, are all that matters. 

Last night's win might not have been all that impressive, and it might not mask some of this team's problems, but sometimes good teams need to win games like that.  Good teams, when they're not at their best, at least avoid worst-case scenarios.

A loss in DC would've been as worst-case as a scenario can get.

-Some guy in Chicago has written a Toronto Blue Jays preview.....
Unless that pesky Mayan calendar is correct, and the Earth drifts into a black hole or is attacked by a higher species we never knew existed, Joey Votto will be with the Blue Jays in the very near future. When that inevitable acquisition is finalized, they will have the full attention of the American League for the first time since the early '90s.

Votto, the 2010 National League MVP, is the perfect piece to complete Alex Anthopoulos' upgrading of a team that had averaged 80 victories during the eight seasons J.P. Ricciardi was in the general manager's office. Ricciardi took over for Gord Ash, who had the misfortune of taking over for Hall of Famer Pat Gillick......

The question is whether the living-for-the-moment Reds will make the suddenly deep-pocketed Jays wait until after 2013 or trade him a year from now. Smart money says general manager Walt Jocketty will trade him when Anthopoulos makes an overwhelming offer — one that might have to be a three-team deal as the Reds like 23-year-old catcher Devin Mesoraco as much as the Jays like Arencibia and d'Arnaud, one of whom will make a tantalizing bargaining chip.

Because of his aggressiveness, and maybe also his youth, Anthopoulos is something of a cult hero in Toronto. He will need Jennifer Lopez's closet to store his swagger if he can bring Votto home.

I know, we really don't like this, it makes us uncomfortable, and you're fighting off the temptation to send the story's author a profanity-laced email, but is he really that far off base?

No.

A UC football player has been arrested and charged with stealing stuff from dorm rooms. Somewhere, someone is formulating the argument that this happened because college athletes aren't paid.

-Watching the UD Flyers play defense causes me to wish that someone would find something sharp and jam it into my ear.  I've never seen a team this far into the season so consistently lack defensive fundamentals.  They do nothing well...don't stop penetration, they don't stop shooters, they don't help, and they can't guard anyone inside.  They shouldn't even practice defense anymore, Archie should devote all the time he has to getting the Flyers to score as many points as possible.  That's the only way they're going to win.

-I spent a large chunk of my evening last night thinking about how cool it would be if the Philadelphia 76ers had staying power.  I say this as an avid fan of one of their division "rivals." I'm not a big buyer into the notion of "when (fill in the blank team) is good, it's good for the (fill in the blank league)," but something about the NBA seems right when Philly is good.  They might be the most enjoyable team to watch right now, and while Doug Collins will inevitably wear on them, and while much of their success is due to the fact that they're built for the demands of this weird NBA schedule, they're worth checking out if any of the league's networks ever take notice.

-Wanna avoid blowing it on Valentine's Day?  Click on the thingy below to register to win a $250 gift certificate from Rogers Jewelers.

-Great American Ballpark needs something like this.

-What can we expect from Scott Rolen this season, besides announcers talking about his steady veteran influence?

-A Major League general manager gets tons of advice from fans.  Very few send back handwritten notes.

Here's the Budweiser ad that will air in Canada on Super Bowl Sunday, which is much more fun that Grey Cup Sunday.  These players probably drank something else after the game, but it's a pretty cool spot....

-Topps has a 2012 baseball card out featuring Mike Leake and Gapper.  Mike looks like he's about to punch Gapper in the face.  He's also probably about to steal his shirt.

-Lindsay and I are heading to Indy tomorrow.  Here's where we won't be eating.

-Domino's.  Bad pizza.  Good sense of humor.

-We will have more later.  In the meantime, help me come up with a hashtag for tomorrow's trip to Indy.  Tweet me here.  Listen to ESPN1530 today at 3:04, and since it's Groundhog Day, enjoy the age-defying awesomeness of Andie MacDowell....

One Mo' Thing, 2/1/12

Missed Mo's Show? Here's some of the interviews to catch up!

Mo talks with Miami's Don Treadwell about signing day.

Mo talks with UC Butch Jones about signing day and the 2012 season.

This guy is talking about the Super Bowl. I think.

Frankly, he might be more interesting than I am today. 

Before we get to today's show, here's a chance to win a $250 gift certificate from Rogers Jewelers, just in time for Valentine's Day.  You know you need the help, so sign up here.

Signing Day tells me little.  Yesterday, I knew that Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, and USC would have highly-touted classes.

I know the same the same thing today.

I also know better than to give a rat's about recruiting rankings.

According to Rivals, UC had the second-worst recruiting class in the Big East in 2004.  The next four recruiting classes were all ranked dead last in the league.  Those years encompassed the recruiting work of Rick Minter, Mark Dantonio, and Brian Kelly.  Those years saw the program bring in the players who took the Bearcats to BCS Bowl games while winning Big East championships.

There's not much of a correlation between the teams that win and the teams that haul in four and five-star recruits.  It's not as much about recruuting players as it is about coaching them.

It is however, a big day for college athletics, and a significant day for the athletes and their parents.  Today marks the culmination of so much hard work, so much good coaching, and so much internal and external support, that regardless of how well the kids play at the next level, today is a day to be remembered for thousands of kids and their families.

That's why I like Signing Day.

It's the Signing Day Edition of The Mo Egger Show today on ESPN1530....

Guests
4:20 - Don Treadwell, Miami Football.
5:04 - Butch Jones, UC Football.

Topics
-Signing Day.  What it means to you and how much you follow.
-College recruiting battles, what's fair, and what's up for grabs.
-We're less than three weeks from spring training and MLB still doesn't have a set playoff format for 2012.  WTF?
-UC, XU, and looking back on a decision that wasn't made.
-Is Anthony Davis college basketball's Player Of The Year?
-Should a college kid know how to change a tire?

Plus at 4:04, I will send out the #MoEggerTQD.  You're going to help me write a baseball blog for Yahoo!.  We'll discuss at 4:33.

This is Rachel Nichols preparing to zipline in Indy today.  Rachel Nichols is awesome.  The number one goal for our show from Indy on Friday is to get her to join us.

Know what else is awesome?  College baseball.  Go to this event next Friday to help kickoff the UC baseball season.

I hope our radio show is equally awesome.  Listen to it at 3:04 today on ESPN1530. I found this....

...more enteraining than this....

....but neither were as entertaining as this....

I can't believe they pay me for this.  Talk to you at 10:00.