Yo! Yo! Yo! It's CityBeat sports reporting live inside Fifth Third Arena (brought to you by convenient overdraft protection). 

It's Senior Day Night for the Bearcats, who will honor the several years of distinguished service of six seniors: Rashad Bishop, Larry Davis, Darnell Wilks, Ibrahima Thomas, Anthony McClain and Eddie Tyree. Let us take a moment to remember the task undertaken by the four-players still remaining from Cronin's 2007 recruiting class — Bishop, Wilks, McClain and Davis — who joined the UC program after Cronin's first-year in the Big East and have brought the program back from a 2-14 Big East record to its current standing as a much deserving NCAA at-large team.

Read More

How much sense would it make? How stupid does it sound, my loyal readers?

To give in to Manny Ramirez's not-so-secret desire to get a four-year deal and bring the best hair in baseball (along with a lethal bat) to town would buck conventional thinking and the status quo of a team focused on cultivating talent and watching it develop. It would also be a lot of fun and would turn GABP into a way more lively environment than it has been of late.

Read More

When Jose Canseco last month offered his sincere concern over the world’s energy consumption and various global warming issues that have resulted, we at CityBeat were quick to report such thoughtful commentary. In a story titled “Ranking Jose Canseco’s Global Warming Tweets” we provided some background on the former Major League Baseball player/steroid user/author and recapped his series of hilarious tweets.

Most of us believed that our immense enjoyment of Canseco’s socio-political commentary would be short-lived — after following him on Twitter for a few days we were offered only recaps of him winning long drive competitions and pleading with Major League clubs to sign him even though he’s 47.

Then on Sunday something awesome happened. Apparently inspired by the recent release of Titanic 3D, Canseco in fewer than 144 characters again blew everyone’s minds: “Titanic 100 years wOw. Global warming couldve saved titanic. Sad to say.”

Canseco was prompted by skeptics to elaborate: “Because we don't recycle and consume like crazy icicles are non existent. Titanic wouldve still existed today," he wrote.

He then showed frustration with the people who didn’t understand the irony he was describing: “You clowns it's very simple. With global warning the weather is hotter so the icebergs would be melted and titanic saved.”

Skeptics satisfied, Canseco went back to blasting our wasteful lifestyles: “100 years ago people actually cared about planet and respected nature. Now we can care less and consume energy like it's free.”

And then, for good measure, he offered a couple slices of personality that prove follow Jose Canseco on Twitter will continue to be a worthwhile endeavor, political activism or not: “Titanic reminds me of the days I had two yachts in Miami but no icicles" and “I had a bat I named Titanic .It was biggest rawlings ever made and beautiful and unbreakable dont know where Titanic is now.”

It’s good to know that influential people like Jose Canseco are taking on such causes, even after learning that Al Gore is not dead. Hug 4 u, Jose.

It's too bad you don't get to see your own funeral, because if you lived a really good life and had a lot of close friends it'd be a good time. Monday night a coworker and I headed over to the Fifth Third Arena for Glenn Sample's memorial service.

I met Glenn last year when I began working for Major League Baseball at Great American Ballpark, and like everybody else says, he was the nicest guy you could ever meet. He would write down people's names upon meeting them so he wouldn't forget their names later. Glenn wore many hats throughout his life, and his nearly 30-year tenure as Official Scorer for the Reds is what led me to meet him.

Glenn loved UC athletics. He has a street named after him on campus and is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame (and eight others). In some ways, he reminded me of Jerry Orbach's character from Law & Order in that he was distinctly from another era and knew a ton more than you. He grasped a great deal of the sort of knowledge and life skills which are timeless.

The only player who ever hated Glenn was Davey Concepcion. Apparently, Davey thought he had never committed an error as a member of the Reds. Not once. Sometimes Concepcion would come off the field, angered that he had been charged with an error, and offer Glenn his extended middle finger or another vulgar gesture. Others in the booth would say, "Glenn, I think Davey's really mad with you this time!" to which he would reply "No. That's Spanish for ‘I love you.’”

I remember when the Mets were in town last year and their catcher Brian Schneider came up to bat. Before he was done digging in at the plate, he had purposely kicked and muddied up the batter's box so that all the lines were pretty much disintegrated. Obviously, Schneider was doing this so that he could creep up an inch or two further than he was allowed when he was back there catching: an old veteran shady move that vets try to get away with all the time.

I can say this was the only time I ever saw Glenn get angry. He said, "He can't do that! It's against the rules. They should throw him out of the game for doing that."

Somehow, it made me realize how guided an individual he was, and that nothing could affront him more than breaking the rules.

Many people's funeral video slideshows would consist largely of beer-in-one-hand poses and other forgetful occurrences. What I found impressive the night of Glenn’s service was how many years were spanned during the slideshow, and not a single picture was of him sitting on his butt doing nothing. They were all hitting, catching, coaching, refereeing — action shots.

Perhaps that's why I was so stunned to hear of his death. When I worked the last game of the season (which was a makeup game vs. Florida scheduled on a Tuesday afternoon that Fox SportsNet didn't even broadcast), he was as lively and full of vigor as ever.

To see Don Zimmer get up on stage, weep, and compare Glenn's jump shot to Shaquille O'Neal's foul shots was something else. These guys played high school ball together on the West Side and have had their lives intertwine for more than 50 years since then. The same Don Zimmer that got so pissed off at Pedro Martinez that he tried to attack him was moved to tears.

Former UC wrestler Frank Shaut cried through his eulogy, and while he was speaking I glanced up to see a photo of him from his wrestling days. In the photo he looks like a guy who would beat your ass and not think twice about it. To see him so hurt by Glenn's passing was a testament to the kind of life he lived.

Memorials are never fun, but this one was educational.

Brigham Young University's basketball team is having a great year. Going into last night, the Cougars were ranked No. 3 in the country, had a 27-2 record and were likely to grab a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Then 6-9 sophomore forward Brandon Davies — the team's third leading scorer, top rebounder and best athlete — was kicked off the team for violating BYU's honor code.

Read More

The Air Hockey World Championship brackets have been announced in Las Vegas, and the first-round is underway as of 4:30 p.m. The USAA is streaming the matches live at airhockeyworld.com.

The 65-man bracket has Jason Cornell as the 54 seed and Jeff Huisman the 56. They will be matched up against the 11th and 9th seeds, respectively.

A live chatroom is also up and running, so get in there and support the local air hockey dudes. Cornell's opponend is a left-handed 57-year-old air hockey veteran with two national championships under his belt.

Go dudes go! Hit that puck hard!

Read More

I went out of town and you wouldn't believe the things I saw! It sure was different!

As you can see, I've been working on my leads and intro paragraphs. I spent a week in Maine and had more fun watching the New England Sports Network I ever could have imagined. My little brother went to college up there, so he had four years of watching/enduring their unique brand of sports coverage.

The folks at that station really exemplify what it means to be a homer. Aside from that, I hear they have a regular segment in which a man takes a woman on a date to Fenway Park. The most confusing footage I watched was when former Patriots tight end Christian Fauria did a segment at McGreevy's bar, and he was holding this mammoth burger called the "Josh Beckett Burger."

It's for charity or something, which is good. Fauria's assessment of the burger was something else entirely. The camera focused on him, he held the burger up and said "This thing will go right through you!"

I'm not sure if that means something else up there by the Freedom Trail, but around here that is not how you describe something you want someone to purchase and eat.

The Boston Red Sox have many smart, level-headed fans. They also have a lot of fans who wear Red Sox hats and T-shirts that say things like "YANKEES SUCK" across the front.

My brother is correct in thinking that these folks exhibit the behavior of someone who has been bullied somehow. Yankees fans aren't nearly as concerned with Boston. I think they just want to win, and if they get to climb over the Red Sox to get there, then all the better.

The lunatic Red Sox fan has some distorted notion that the Yankees are a big market "Evil Empire," when their team is run no differently. I understand why A's and Twins fans might feel this way, but for Boston fans to makes no sense to me.

The more I watch Jonathan Papelbon the less I care for him. Also, the Dunkin Donuts ads featuring Dustin Pedroia are shot so that Pedroia looks like he's 6-5 and not 5-8 or whatever he is.

The worse my fantasy baseball team plays, the less I'm going to talk about it. I'm playing like the Diamondbacks.

I will say that Volquez's mystery-voodoo ailment coupled with Mike Cameron deciding his knees hurt on MONDAY really helps. A lot. Thanks.

I think I still love sports, but SportsCenter is getting harder and harder to watch. I just can't shake the notion that until they can routinely call the Mets catcher "Omir" instead of "Omar" Santos they should shy away from having Barry Melrose offer baseball analysis and certainly shelve those moronic moments in front of a screen where two or three anchors stand around sipping coffee, somehow trying to make their personalities (of which there is little) shine into the stories they are supposed to be telling.

More objective, coherent content to follow.

Image: Dustin Pedroia in yet another coffee-themed optical illusion.  

I attended my first Cincinnati Commandos game at the Cincinnati Gardens Arena on April 24. The Commandos were host to the Miami Valley Silverbacks. To say the least, my first professional indoor football game was a very satisfying one. The nail-biting 58-50 win gave the undefeated Commandos their fifth straight win, leaving them in first place. Afterwards, I took a look back at my overall experience and made a brief list of the five main reasons to make it down to the Cincinnati Gardens and root on the Commandos.

1. Intense sideline action

You definitely won't find yourself anywhere near this close at your local Bengals or UC Bearcats football game. While at a Commandos game you will experience the excitement and up-close action of indoor football like you would never imagine. Fans can enjoy the action as close to the sidelines as they please, high fiving with the home team after every big play. Just make sure you keep your head on a swivel because the action can come your way at anytime. Hold those nachos tight!

2. $1 hot dogs and beers

Tell me where else you can not only receive two classics for this extremely low price but enjoy a game of hard-nosed football as well? Believe it or not this deal runs during all Commandos home games. What better way to enjoy a man’s game than to wash down your $1 hot dog with an equally cheap $1 brew.

3. Commando Cuties

If the game wasn't enough, the Commando Cuties are one addition that will bring any fan back to the Cincinnati Gardens. One of the better half-time shows you will see in quite sometime, this is one dance team that will keep you on the edge of your seat all four quarters. Their halftime show will definitely be the first subject mentioned during the essential car-ride home chatter. Did I mention that they come into the stands from time to time? Speechless.

4. Check out your UC favorites

What better way for a true Bearcats fan to watch his or her favorite players create havoc on the field once more. The Commandos roster includes several former UC stars that have moved on from Nippert Stadium to the indoor gridiron for Cincinnati's indoor home team. The starting lineup consists of recent UC stars quarterback Ben Mauk, receiver Dominick Goodman and defensive end Terrill Byrd. The three are now heading towards their second undefeated season in a row, yet with a new hometown team.

5. Player and fan camaraderie

During no other sporting event in Cincinnati will you find a team that holds such a close relationship with its fans. Commandos Players toss balls to young fans, high five into the crowd and even come out and sign autographs after the game. The overall emotion and level of excitement from the hometown faithful is felt for an entire four quarters of Commandos football. From the moment you walk into the Cincinnati Gardens, you can sense right away that these fans love their team. The Commandos and their fans truly have a unique bond within the walls of the Cincinnati Gardens.

The Commandos next home game is Saturday, April 15. For more information go to www.cincinnaticommandos.com or click here.

Seven long months ago, I was what many in the office would consider an urban legend. I was the self-proclaimed Dave and Busters “Pop-A-Shot” king. Unbeaten in more than 20 straight head-to-head matches, I managed to frustrate my fellow co-workers with my Larry Bird-like skills. This, of course, led to a lot of bragging and maybe just a little inflation of my head. Ultimately, this discomfort in defeat had my fellow cohorts in a scramble to find something they could beat me at. And they finally found one — a sport in which quick reflexes, precision angle shots and diligent goal defense are the trademarks of a weathered veteran. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Air Hockey.

Read More

Well, this is it. The aspiring Air Hockey World Champion's blog. Seriously. Air hockey.

Why air hockey? As Jason points out in the Air Hockey Blog intro, he kicked my ass at Pop-A-Shot on a regular basis and I got tired of it. I challenged him to a game of air hockey ... and let me tell you, our lives changed. Air Hockey is an incredible game of strategy, skill, power and geometry? Yes ... geometry. Knowing the angles helps win games. Hitting your angles ... that's a little harder.

Read More