Carson comments
From the Bengals this afternoon
“I’m a Trojan all the way, and I was talking to a Trojan audience in California. I guess I got a little fired up, as all good fans will do. But I really do respect the Buckeyes, and I know their fans are passionate, too. I hope they all understand I’m just looking forward to a big game for my school against a very tough opponent, and that it’s all in the good fun of a rivalry. You don’t have a real rivalry unless both sides are great teams.”

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Chad: "I'm moving ahead"
Mark Curnutte, Enquirer

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Congrats to a local product
Dayton, Ohio—The Midwest League of Professional Baseball announced today that Dayton Dragons pitcher Matt Klinker has been selected as the league’s Pitcher of the Week for the week ending July 20th.
Klinker made two starts during the week, winning both games. He pitched a combined 12 innings and allowed just two runs. He earned a win over Beloit last Monday at Fifth Third Field, going six innings and allowing six hits and one run with one walk and three strikeouts. Klinker beat Clinton yesterday, again tossing six innings while allowing one run on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
Klinker has won his last three starts and has allowed just four runs in four starts in the month of July, going 3-0 with a 1.38 earned run average. He is 6-4 on the year with a 3.40 ERA.
Klinker, who resides in West Chester, Ohio, was a 15th round draft pick by the Reds in 2007. He was a three-time Southern Conference All-Academic selection at Furman University and is a graduate of Lakota West High School, where he was selected All-Great Miami Conference as a senior and led the conference in strikeouts. He was also selected as a Cincinnati All-City choice.

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Heads up for stalkers
Erin Andrews will be signing autographs in the Fan Zone from 5:30-7 p.m at GABP.

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Chatting with Chad
ESPN.COM on-line chat with Chad Johnson earlier Monday afternoon:
Justin (Ohio): Chad, Would signing Chris Henry make this a better football team and will it happen?
Chad Johnson: No, it is not going to happen. Once the situation goes down like that team's are not going to bring a player back. It is too bad. He is one of the best WR in the game, which is not known yet, and whoever gets him is going to be damn lucky.
David (Cincy): Chad, I love you. Can we expect any celebrations this year, or more business-like?
Chad Johnson: David, my celebrations are business like. I am going to have as much fun as I can. If I stop celebrating then there is something wrong with me.
Chad Johnson: Everyone, I love you. I am sorry for what went on this offseason, but please understand this is a business. You will get 100% from me this year, as you do every year...actually, make it 200% this year. Cincinnati I love you; to all the fans I love you, and enjoy the show this year!|

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Our girl is out in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Post Gazette

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Guest update
Geoff Hobson, checks in at 5pm for Countdown to Georgetown

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Things figured
Jr hitting in the 3rd spot
Here is where Jr ranks among ML with at least 200 plate appearance when hitting in the 3rd spot.
25th BA .245
14th OBP .360
21st SLG .409
19th OPS .769
12th HR 10
12th RBI 41
4th BB 54
12th K 52

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It's gotta be the shoes?
I have received numberous emails questioning my choice of shoes while on the beach.
(See pictures below). Kelly said she's worried about any guy worried about my shoes.
For the record....they are Rockport "boat"/"deck" shoes. What's the problem? We were at dinner, and stopped to take pictures at sunset. Did I violate some Man Law I'm unaware of? Or are you simply jealous of my fashion sense?:)

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Things figured
The Reds have committed 72 errors...3rd most in MLB. They are on pace for 116 errors after committing 95 in '07.
Reds 1B: 10 errors (Votto 9)
Reds 3B: 17 errors (Encarnacion 16)
Reds corner defense: 27 errors
For comparison..errors from 3B/1B position
NL Central: Cards 9, Cubs 16, Astros 13, Pirates 21
Best: Rays/Cards 9, Angels 10, Red Sox 11, Royals/Twins/Padres 13, Braves 14
Worst: White Sox 31, Reds/Marlins 27, Tigers 25, Mets 22

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I'm back
We decided to make the trip back in one shot rather than break it up into two days.
From my dad's house in Southport, NC to our house in Independence it's 670 miles. We left at 7:27AM and arrived at 7:17 PM. Nothing like a lane closing to bring things to a screeching halt. I-77 was one lane for two miles heading into a tunnel in West Virginia.
Ever reach a point where you swear you are going to turn off the car, get out and simply walk away?
Catch you Monday at 3pm.
How about the storm Sunday night? I saw clouds from our deck that were moving left to right while other clouds were going right to left. Seemed like a funnel cloud waiting to happen.
We headed for the basement.
Monday topics
Reds weekend: Kind of typical isn't it? How many "big" moments have they faced and failed? Good enough to tease.....mediocre enough to disappoint.
Larkin: WOW....My email box is jammed with reaction to his speech.
Greatest Reds All-Time: Where does Barry rank?
Job Status: Would you bring Barry back? What role?
British Open: I was rooting for Norman. He led, he lost....is that another choke?
Tipping Etiquette: Vacation debates had...whether you tip the Concierge and maid/housekeeping staff?

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This eight would be enough
Bengals.com
All of these eight things don't need to happen for them to make the playoffs, but they have to get most of them.

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Carson unloads on OSU fans
Listen to the interview on KLAC
Read here what he said

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King on Bengals
CNNSI
Quote of the Week II
"Going back to the Bengals is possible. I wouldn't mind it happening because I loved playing in Cincinnati. I got real close with all the guys out there and I planned on being out there for a long time. I really had a good time playing ball out there in Ohio.''
-- Suspended former Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry, on the prospect of returning to the team.

King: If the Bengals do that, I will personally demand the entire front office be drug-tested.

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Cat Fight
Danica and Milka argue in the pits

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Feinstein on LWT
Washington Post
As it turns out, there is LWT in golf.
That would be Life Without Tiger. When Tiger Woods announced last month he was undergoing knee surgery that would end his 2008 season, there were, no doubt, plenty of people who thought golf might just as well shut its doors until he could play again.

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Things noticed
*Danny Graves 1 inning, 7 hits, walk, 6 runs for AAA Rochester Friday night
*AAA Bats have won 9 of 10 and are 16 games over .500 (59-43) for the first time since 2003
*Jorge Cantu, batting #3 for Florida, .291-18-58....on pace for 30 hr's, 38 doubles, 97 runs batted in, .337 vs LHP. 14 errors at 3B.
*Kerry Woods is probably headed for the DL with a blister on his finger. Someone is calling Chicago sports talk at this moment to blame Dusty.

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Stuff read poolside
Did you catch the "Where The Money Goes" breakdown in SI last week?
The Reds spend 57.46% of their '08 payroll on hitting and 42.54% on pitching.
The Reds are 22nd in runs scored and 23rd in runs allowed (As of last week)
The Bengals spent 61.17% of the '07 payroll on offense and 38.83% on defense.
The Bengals spent the highest percentage of '07 payroll on offense of any team in the NFL.
The Bengals finished 11th in Total Offense and 24th in Total Defense in '07.

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Green Diamond Gallery
This is the place I've been telling you about for the past few months. It's incredible.
I was there to hear Phil Niekro and Robin Roberts speak.

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Dunn in the OF
Baseball Prospectus
During the broadcast of Saturday night's game, the Mets' announcing team began to discuss the fact that Adam Dunn was leading National League left fielders in putouts. Though Dunn is actually second in the NL as of this writing (behind Milwaukee's recently-converted corner outfielder Ryan Braun) it still may take a second for that thought to sink in, thanks to the image of him we all carry around in our minds. The Reds left fielder is a big, plodding guy, both in the outfield and on the base paths, and he's been accused of being incapable of properly fielding left in the past thanks to poor conditioning. This season appears to be different though-not only is Dunn second in the NL in putouts (and fourth in the majors) but he's also fifth in the majors in John Dewan's Revised Zone Rating. Out of the qualifiers, Matt Holliday leads the league with a .925 RZR, Carlos Quentin is in last at .826, and Adam Dunn is comfortably above the average at .903, and even has 25 plays made outside of his zone. Looking at our own FRAA tells the same story as Dunn is at +6-a result of both this and his .314 EqA (second best of his career)-and is on pace to have the best year on his resume right before hitting free agency.
Teams interested in signing Dunn should take note of his defensive play in order to see if he's truly progressed, or if this is a short, half-season blip on the statistical radar. Is Dunn taking better routes to the ball to make up for his lack of speed? Has he improved his conditioning to the point where he can get from Point A to Point B quickly without the use of a bullpen car? If he's even an average outfielder defensively, he's one of the more productive players in the league thanks to a bat that ranks with the best (even when he hits .230) and if he's able to replicate this year's success in the long run, he's going to be worth at least a full win with the glove on the year, something I didn't expect to be typing in my lifetime.

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Vacation pictures