Xavier news
CINCINNATI - The Xavier University men's basketball team has finalized plans to square-off against Duke during the 2008-09 season.  The Musketeers will take on the Blue Devils on Saturday, December 20 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.  Game time is set for 2 p.m. and the contest will be televised nationally on CBS.   
The 19,500 IZOD Center, home to the New Jersey Nets and adjacent to Giants Stadium, is located just 12 miles from Newark International Airport.
The contest marks the first time a regular-season Xavier game will be showcased on CBS.  XU has appeared on CBS during NCAA Tournament action a total of 11 times in the last five years. 
 Individual tickets priced at $75 and $55 will go on sale Monday, October 20 at 11:00 a.m. through Ticketmaster only.  If tickets remain, they will be available at the IZOD Center Box Office beginning Tuesday, October 21 at 11 a.m.  Groups of 20 or more should contact IZOD Center Group Sales at 201-460-4370. For VIP hospitality and sponsorship packages, contact Barry Greene at 201-460-4305 or bgreene@njsea.com.

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The new Dusty Dice game
Mo's blog

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Josh Duncan news
Sun-Sentinel
General Manager Randy Pfund said the Heat already has lined up commitments for
its summer program. Among those expected to assemble next week at
AmericanAirlines Arena for camp and then possibly advance to summer league the
following week at Orlando are Davidson guard Jason Richards, Louisville center
David Padgett, St. Joseph's guard Pat Calathes, Xavier forward Josh Duncan...
Stanley Burrell news
NBA.COM
"In the meantime, the Pacers will hold their annual rookie and free agent camp
this week, beginning Thursday in Conseco Fieldhouse. Among the veterans, Shawne
Williams and Stephen Graham are expected to participate. There will also be
local flavor in the form of guards Stanley Burrell (an Indianapolis native who
attended Xavier), Earl Calloway (Indiana), David Teague (Purdue) and Pete
Campbell (Butler)."

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Rosenthal with a Dunn note
Fox Sports
It's still early, but the Reds surely are surprised that no team is showing interest in Dunn, who boasts an .889 OPS and is just short of being on pace for his fifth straight 40-homer season. The problem is, none of the AL contenders has an obvious need at DH and most NL teams consider Dunn a defensive liability. Still, power hitters are difficult to find, particularly now that baseball is testing for performance-enhancing drugs . .

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Xavier basketball news
CINCINNATI - The Atlantic 10 Conference has announced home and away match-ups for the 2008-09 men's basketball season.  The league will once again sponsor a 16-game conference schedule, which includes one contest against 10 A-10 teams and a home-and-home series with three other foes.
Xavier, the 2007-08 A-10 Regular Season Champ, will play home and away series against Charlotte, Dayton and Fordham.  The home slate includes match ups against George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Saint Louis and Temple. 
The Musketeers will travel to Duquesne, Rhode Island, Richmond, Saint Bonaventure and Saint Joseph's.
XU finished the 2007-08 A-10 ledger with a 14-2 record and the team was a spotless 8-0 at home.
Dates and times for these contests are TBA.   

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Ohhhhhh please just make it stop!
From the Reds
The coveted Ohio Cup trophy, presented by The Ohio Lottery, will be on display tonight on the field during batting practice and then the rest of the homestand and beyond at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum...the Reds earned the trophy by winning this season's interleague series with the Indians, 5-1...also on display this afternoon will be Adam Dunn's Most Outstanding Player trophy...in the 6-game series, Dunn hit .300 and led all players with 5 HR, 10 RBI and 5 runs scored.

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Legendary Miami player and coach passes away
MUAthletics.com
Considered one of the all-time greats of Miami University football and one of the pillars among the Cradle of Coaches, John Pont--a charter member of Miami University's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1969 and the first athlete in Miami history to have his jersey number retired--passed away on Tuesday, July 1 at the age of 80.

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Bellevue man does what? to what?
Fox19

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UC grad eyes Olympic spot Thursday
EUGENE, Ore. - After winning her second straight heat last night at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., former University of Cincinnati track star Mary Wineberg has qualified for the finals of the 400 meters. Her time of 50.57 in last night's semifinal heat was the fastest among all finalists.
After two days of rest, Wineberg will race for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team Thursday, July 3 at 8:05 p.m. The race will be tape delayed as part of USA Network's coverage of the trials beginning at 11 p.m. on Thursday.
Wineberg, a 2002 graduate of UC, currently ranks fourth in the world in the 400-meter dash.  She won a gold medal in the 4x400 relay last fall at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, and will seek a spot on the US Olympic team in both events.
For more information on Mary Wineberg  visit her web site at www.marywineberg.com.

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Bengals O-line has "the look" of success
Ludwig At Large

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Koufos situation at OSU questioned
Canton Repisitory
Greynolds isn't pleased with how Koufos' freshman season went at Ohio State, and there were rumblings in the weeks leading up to the draft that Matta held Koufos back as a freshman to try to persuade him from being a one-and-done player.
"Listen, if you can't get along with a kid like Kosta, then you're clueless," Greynolds said. "If you're making $2 million season and can't figure out how to use a 7-foot-1 kid, you're clueless. If you can't get along with a kid who comes early, stays late and gets good grades, you're clueless, and you've got the problem."

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IU news
Indiana University Men's Basketball Coach Tom Crean has announced that Malik
Story, a 6-5 forward/guard who led Artesia (Calif.) High School to two state
championships, has accepted a scholarship offer and will attend IU beginning
this fall.
"To get someone of Malik's ability this late in the year is really exciting for
all of us," added Crean. "He is a proven winner who knows how to win
championships, and has improved a great deal over the last few years. Malik was
off of the recruiting radar for some time because of his early commitment, but
nonetheless, he has always proven to be someone that plays at a high level, that
wins, and that gets better."
The Los Angeles product averaged 13.0 points as a sophomore and 14.7 points as a junior at Artesia H.S., helping his prep team to a 66-3 record during that
two-year run. He chose IU over USC, Oregon and Georgetown.

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Reds in June
Record: 12-16
Offense
30th BA .218.....opponents hit .274
28th OBP .304
27th SLG .363
28th OPS .665
25th Runs 101 (3.60 game) Outscored 136-101
2nd K's 223
Hitters
Dunn  .160, 39 k's in 87 ab's
Janish .128, Bako .151, Patterson .156, Hopper .160, A. Phillips .167, Valentin .182, Jr .205, Ross .216, Bruce .223, Votto .257, Phillips .262, Encarnacion .294, Keppinger .294, Hairston .302
Pitchers
24th ERA 4.51....opponents 3.10
Burton 0.57, Weathers 1.98, Bray 2.00, Lincoln 2.19, Volquez 3.45, Cueto 3.47, Cordero 3.60, Thompson 3.60, Affeldt 4.20, Majewski 5.68, Harang 6.00, Arroyo 8.26

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Tuesday show preview
Topics
Reds: Did you go? Didn't the walkoff HR mask a lot of flaws again revealed about this team? Dunn battting 3rd? Jr sitting/Dunn playing? Anyone try a cooler last night?
Autographs: How big a deal is it for Reds players to sign autographs prior to the game? See below.
Majoring in Athletics: You can major in dance, art, music and broadcasting...but not athletics? Why? Why are people snobs when viewing stick and ball stuff to book stuff?
Good Sports

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Sign it
Should Reds players be made to sign autographs prior to each game?
I was talking with Dayton Dragons officials last week. They told me they "strongly encourage" players, not starting that night, to sign before each home game. Fans are invited to the edge of the dugout starting one hour prior to each game. Players sign until 15-minutes prior to the first pitch.  Would this be a big deal for you?

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Dusty logic?
Last night..... Reds vs LHP Pat Maholm
Dusty pregame: "This guy is tough on lefties (Paul Maholm) and Dunn has hit him pretty good and Griffey hasn't. Just trying to find a way to get some righthanders in the lineup and Griffey will be back in there tomorrow.
Dunn in the lineup last night.......... 3 for 25 lifetime, 10 k's
Griffey not in the lineup last night.....5 for 18 lifetime, HR
Tonight....Reds vs LHP Zach Duke
Dusty: "The guy Tuesday (Zach Duke) has been tough on Dunn," Baker added. "Like I said, I'll be mixing and matching to have the best lineup in there for that day."
Dunn 5 for 9 llifetime
Griffey 1 for 6 lifetime

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Homer outing update!
Wow....263 listeners attended last night. You guys are the best!
Thanks. And thanks to Dave Ziegler, Ryan Niemyer and everyone at the Reds for having us.

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He homered over our heads to win it!
UNREAL. What a Homer Outing! Jr's homer sailed just over our head in section 145....below the 602 sign. Everyone in our section was giving high fives. I had the camera out for Jr's at-bat. When it left his bat I got so excited I almost dropped it as I grabbed Casey! No picuture.
Thanks to everyone that showed up.
Great to see the little league teams in the house and the father and son's taking in the game and keeping score. Nothing better than  walking out with the crowd after a win like that. Everyone was talking to each other about it.
After always sitting in LF for Homer Outings, I liked the Moon Deck seats. The view was cool and I liked being able to see the scoreboard....the sun was brutal for first couple of innings.
Cool scene of the night:  A teenager, about six seats down from us, caught the Pirates HR. He threw it back. About 10-minutes later a Reds employee came into our section and handed him another ball.

Two Moon Deck tickets: $22
Foot Long & Drinks in your soft sided cooler: $7.24
Parking on Fountain Square: $4
Total for a night at the ballpark: $33.24
Watching Jr hit a walkoff HR with your son: Priceless

Look to the left of the guy in the aqua blue shirt (bottom right side of picture). Just below the fence you can see Casey leaping into my arms to celebrate. I'm in a black shirt with tan pants. Casey in a white jersey.
Thanks to Aaron for the image.

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Emailing me
If you need to contact me, please do it through the email link to the right, under my picture. ......it's the one I use most often: lance1530homer@fuse.net

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10 coaches on the hot seat
The Sporting News
4. Marvin Lewis, Bengals. The Bengals have won the stare-down with receiver Chad Johnson for now, but this team needs to turn things around in 2008, or Lewis' job will be in jeopardy.

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Shayne Graham event
The 1st Annual Shayne Graham Celebrity Go-Kart Race-Off presented by
Mercy Health Partners will be held Fri., July 11 from noon - 4 pm at MCC
of Cincinnati (2848 US Route 50, Batavia, OH).
Space is limited to 20 karts. The cost is $5000 per-kart, which is
tax-deductible, and all proceeds benefit the Shayne Graham Foundation.
Each team will consist of three members plus one celebrity. Signage
opportunities are available for participating teams.
Spectators are welcome. Tickets are $10 day of event.
For more information call 513-604-4028 or visit www.shaynegraham.com

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Top 10 College Drinking Games
The Love of Sports

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From a Bengal to a Bearcat
Cleveland Plain Dealer
"I . . . called them about 15 hours later and committed," he said.

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More mentions for the segment with no name
I continue to search for a title for feel good/positive sports stories.
Can anyone top "Good Sports"? It's used by the Enquirer Sunday Sports Section.
It fits. Good stories. Good behavior. Like it?
Colts TE aids distaster relief
Dunn as good as it gets in NFL
LeBron teams with Sponge Bob
Moss helping kids

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IU leader says Sampson hiring a mistake. No way, really?
Indy Star
Appearing by video conference from Bloomington, McRobbie told the infractions committee, "No longer can we say that we have had no allegations of major NCAA violations in almost a half a century. And that hurts me and Indiana University even more than the damage that has been done to the program that coach (Tom) Crean has inherited and now has to rebuild."

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UK coach ok after boat capsizes
Lexington Herald Leader
All three men made it to a gravel bar in the river and rescuers ferried them to shore.

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Is there a doctor in the house?
Ok, what is the muscle in my back, below my right shoulder blade?
Feels like a knife is stuck in there right now.

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Dunn in three spot?
Anyone else in MLB bat a .221 hitter in the three spot last night?
It is easily the spot that Dunn has been least effective in his career:
Dunn has had +450 plate appearances in five spots in the order.
Here is where he stacks up in the #3 hole vs the other spots.
Avg: .221 (Worst.....next is .239 at #5)
OBP: .367 (Worst....tied with #6)
SLG: .438 (Worst.....next is .516 at #5)
OPS .805 (Worst....next is .897 at #4)

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Jr career walkoff hr's
Date                 Pitcher
6/30/08 vs Pit (9th)....... Matt Capps, HR
5/11/06 vs Wsh (11th).. Joe Eischen, HR
8/1/02 vs LA (13th)....... Omar Daal, HR
8/20/01 vs StL (11th)*... Andy Benes, HR (Inside-the-park HR)
8/24/95 vs NYY (9th).... John Wetteland, HR

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Franklin likely to return for UFC 88
MMAJunkie.com
Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will restart his quest for another title shot this fall -- most likely at a UFC 88 event in Atlanta -- though it won't necessarily come at 185 pounds.

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Jr not an option in Seattle
The Bellingham Herald
Today, the Cincinnati Reds are offering Junior's services around the majors - and the Mariners have declined deep discussions about any possible trade for the future Hall of Famer.

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Maxim Hometown Hottie
Careful opening. A new clubhouse leader?