Xavier basketball schedule announced
GoXavier.com

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Long live the Hostess Fruit Pie

Sadly I believe a family tradition died last night at my kitchen table. As a parent I try to hand down knowledge and experiences to my kids. Last week I purchased a fruit pie at BP....for probably the first time in 20 years. I told Kelly she had to get some for the kids at the grocery store.
Last night we all sat at the dinner table at 8pm. I put an apple pie on a plate for Casey and Peyton. I sat back and waited for the joy on their face. Instead....I saw a look bordering on disgust. They dropped the pies....which made loud thuds....and pushed their plates towards me. They got up and asked Kelly if they could have cookies.
So, what did I do? At 11pm last night I let the dog out. I grabbed the fruit pie and heated it for 30-seconds in the micro-wave. Then I put it in a bowl with two big scoops of ice cream.
MMMMMMMMMMM.....the Hostess Fruit Pie.....long live the Fruit Pie!

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Snakes on a different plane since Dunn's arrival
CBS Sports
The best trades of all aren't simply when the new guy makes a big splash and goes on a tear.
No, the best trades come when the new guy not only produces, but when he makes those around him better while he's doing it.

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Bats news
Louisville, KY – Manager Rick Sweet and Catcher Ryan Hanigan have been named to the International League’s post-season All-Star Team today; Sweet is the International League’s Manager of the Year. The winners were selected by the League’s managers, coaches, media and club representatives.
Sweet has led the Bats to the club’s first IL West Division Championship since 2003 and to a franchise best 85 wins (85-52) which is tied for the most victories in all of baseball (MLB and MiLB). His team’s 20-4 record in August is also a franchise record and Sweet recently passed Dave Miley as the all-time winningest manager in Louisville history. In four seasons and 568 games as the Bats’ skipper, his record stands at 300-268; he is fourth on the all-time active manager’s wins list with 1,349 victories.
Hanigan has been selected to the IL Team after anchoring the Bats behind the plate and throwing out 38% of would-be base stealers which is still good for second in the League. Before being recalled by the Reds August 10, Hanigan batted .324 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 75 games with the Bats this season. He was recently named in Baseball America’s Best Tools issue as being the best defensive catcher in the IL. Hanigan was also named to the International League Team for the Triple-A All-Star Game this season.
Since his recall by Cincinnati, Hanigan has started six games for the Reds and is batting .238 with one home run and three RBI; he is currently on a career-high three-game hitting streak (3-11, .273).

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Dragon Tales
Dayton, Ohio—Dayton Dragons shortstop Zack Cozart and third baseman Brandon Waring were named today to the Midwest League Full-Season All-Star Team. Cozart and Waring were two of 13 players named to the team that was selected in a vote by MWL managers. The team included one player per position with four pitchers.
Cozart has played in 103 games for the Dragons this season and is batting .278 with 14 home runs and 49 runs batted in. Cozart, a product of the University of Mississippi, also leads Midwest League shortstops in fielding percentage.
Waring leads the Dragons in home runs with 18 and runs batted in with 64 while batting .264. He was the starting third baseman for the Eastern Division in the Midwest League All-Star Game in June. Waring played at Wofford College.
Both Cozart and Waring were also selected as the best defensive players at their positions in the league in the annual Baseball America “Best Tools” survey based on conversations with league managers.

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MLB will start instant replay Thursday
AP
Major League Baseball reversed its long-standing opposition to instant replay and will allow umpires to check video on home run calls in series that start Thursday, a person familiar with the announcement told The Associated Press.

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Bearcat makes successful switch
ESPN
Kelly said NFL scouts have begun to pay close attention to Barwin as a defensive end prospect. That helps him overcome his initial doubts about changing positions before his senior year.

(Getty Images)

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Newly discovered news anchor
Martha MacCallum, Fox News, afternoons

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Hold your horses, no ruling on Mauk
Enquirer
The NCAA has not ruled on Ben Mauk's request for a sixth year after all

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How 'bout this guy for 3B next year?
Rocky Mountain News
I'd hate to see Atkins go, given his durability and consistent bat. But there are no easy solutions here, leaving him the victim of a team that needs more pitching and must create a spot for Todd Helton next season because he's not returning as a bench player.
Here is his bio

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Classic
Looking to hide your booze at a game? How about barnoculars?

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Ethics in sports: Learn English or lose tour card
GolfWeek.com
For the past several years, the LPGA has impressed upon its membership the importance of communicating effectively in English. As the game's dominance shifts to the East, the LPGA has strengthened its stance. Learning English no longer is a tour suggestion; it's a requirement.

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Taking a whack at the 53 man roster
Ludwig At Large
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: Jeremi Johnson, who must be held accountable for his offseason weight gain.

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Anxiety builds in Cincinnati
ESPN
The Cincinnati Bengals' starters are getting pummeled this preseason -- leaving questions of whether the light will suddenly turn on during the regular season.

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Dangling Rudi? news to Marvin
ESPN
With the Bengals hurting at the position, sources with NFL teams said on Monday that the Bengals have called offering running back Rudi Johnson in a trade for a legitimate receiver.
A Bengals source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen, however, that head coach Marvin Lewis was "totally unaware" of any attempts to trade Rudi Johnson, but he didn't rule out that president and general manager Mike Brown directed the calls.

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Wow
Last week I read the on-line version of the SI story about Marvin Lewis (Drawing the Line).
When I actually opened the issue over the weekend it hit me. I feel bad for Marvin.
The story opens with a two page photo spread of Marvin standing alone, overseeing his team at practice. He looks like the man in charge. For three pages SI details how Marvin reached a low point last season, got mad, and decided things had to change. How he took a stand, convinced Mike to release Henry and Thurman, and took back his team.
THEN, after the story had gone to press, Mike brings Henry back. OUCH.
I don't know how anyone reading the article could take what Marvin says seriously after Mike chopped him off at the legs. Sad.

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Change in plans
As I wrote over the weekend, the new Big East policy is now in place preventing UC fans from being on the field with players following games.
"This change was a proactive move by the BIG EAST to make attending games a safer environment for all," said UC Director of Athletics Mike Thomas. "As a conference, we decided it was time to engage in this matter and worked as a league and member institutions to put forth legislation that was consistent at all BIG EAST venues."

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Is Chad one hit away?
ESPN
If the Cincinnati Bengals didn't look fragile already this preseason, news of star receiver Chad Johnson having a partially-torn labrum has to be a major concern in the Queen City.

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Maxim Hometown Hottie
Careful opening

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Smug SEC fans should stop whining, enjoy success
Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch
If there is one thing more annoying than an arrogant fan base, it is a smug fan base. The SEC happens to feature both. Plus, SEC fans like to whine. At least that's how outsiders see it.

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Jocketty planning to reassemble the Reds
Knoxville News
"The main thing right now is trying to get as many of the young guys up (to the majors) to play and get them experience and evaluate them to know what we've got and what we need to do to build on that," he said.

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9-year old told he's too good to pitch
Yahoo
Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player - too good, it turns out. The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.

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We have a deal
Time Warner Cable and the Big Ten Network announced Monday that they have reached an agreement-in-principle on terms of carriage for the Big Ten Network and its high-definition and video-on-demand programming on Time Warner Cable's line-ups throughout the Big Ten territory, including Ohio and Wisconsin. The pending agreement will ensure that Time Warner Cable's customers across these Big Ten states will have access to this Saturday's Big Ten college football season openers and all future Big Ten Network programming on an expanded basic level of service.

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Castro defends athlete that kicked referee
AP
"They had tried to buy his own coach," Castro wrote in his essay published in state media. "He could not contain himself."