UK football news
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky wide receiver Dicky Lyons, Jr., will be out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a knee injury during the South Carolina game, Coach Rich Brooks announced Monday.
Lyons incurred a torn posterior cruciate ligament and a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee while being tackled early in the second quarter of the game. After the swelling subsides, he will undergo surgery and begin rehabilitation. He is scheduled to graduate in December with a degree in communications and leadership development.
A senior from New Orleans, La., Lyons is Kentucky’s leading receiver this season. In six games, he caught 33 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. He ranks second in the Southeastern Conference in receptions per game.
“I feel very bad for Dicky,” Brooks said. “He has had a great career and made some great plays. He is a crowd favorite and has meant a lot to this program.”
Lyons has had a stellar career with the Wildcats. He is fifth in school history in career receptions (141), fourth in career receiving yards (1,752) and tied for third in career touchdown receptions with 18.

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Dragons news
Dayton, Ohio—The Dayton Dragons announced their 2009 coaching staff today. The staff is assigned by the Dragons’ major league affiliate, the Cincinnati Reds.

2009 Coaching Staff:
Manager: Jamie Dismuke
Pitching Coach: Rigo Beltran
Hitting Coach: Todd Benzinger
Jamie Dismuke, who has served as a hitting coach in the Reds organization for the past nine seasons, will make his managerial debut in 2009. Dismuke, 39, was a first baseman who spent nine years in the minor leagues as a player including eight years in the Reds organization. His playing career ended in 1999 at the Triple-A level. His best season came in 1993 when he hit .306 with 20 home runs and 91 runs batted in with Double-A Chattanooga.
Dismuke began his coaching career in 2000. He has spent the last five years as the hitting coach with Chattanooga, where he worked with former Dragons Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion, and Chris Dickerson among others. Dismuke served as an interim manager with Chattanooga for the final month of the 2008 season. He resides in Chattanooga.
Rigo Beltran will join the Dragons as pitching coach after serving in the same role with the Gulf Coast League Reds in 2008, his second season as a coach in the Reds’ organization. As a player, Beltran spent parts of five seasons in the major leagues with the Cardinals, Mets, Rockies, and Expos, pitching in 78 major league games.
Benzinger was the first baseman on the Reds 1990 World Series championship club and recorded the final out of the series when he caught a foul pop off the bat of Oakland’s Carney Lansford in the ninth inning of game four. He spent nine years as a player in the major leagues with the Reds, Red Sox, Royals, Dodgers, and Giants, playing in 924 major league games. Benzinger, 45, is a Cincinnati-area native. He was an All-American at New Richmond (Ohio) High School and now resides in Loveland. He has enjoyed a highly-successful career coaching girls high school basketball in the Cincinnati area since 1999.

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Carson update: Won't play Sunday
Carson Palmer met with the elbow specialist in NY today. The doctor recommened a "further conservative approach". Ryan Fitzpatrick will start vs Pittsburgh on Sunday. Marvin said he will talk with Carson face to face later and see how he feels.

Other Marvin stuff:
Offense: "We had a lot of discussion about the offense this morning. We need to lean more on our guys outside"
Kenny Watson: "He had a good week of practice....we will look at everything....everything is on the table. We need a spark"
On Fitz: "He did things a lot better than a couple of weeks ago....we still need 100% ball security"
Is Fitz further ahead than Jordan Palmer?: "Yes"
Frustrated fans: "I'm 100% responsible. I'm sorry for their disappointment. Hang on.....you could see something special here."

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UC lands Winton Woods LB
Cincinnati Winton WoodsOLB Tristin Marvin has given his word to the Cincinnati Bearcats, Rivals.com reported. He also had reported interest from Marshalland Toledo. Marvin (6-3, 200) committed to the Bearcats’ coaching staff when
he was in town for the Rutgers game over the weekend. “I told (assistant) coach (Kerry) Coombs in the coaches’ meetingroom after the game,” Marvin told Rivals.com. “He was pretty happy. I just decided right after the game that my mind was made up. I was impressed with just how much talent
was on the team. “It surprised me. I really like the defense. They really fly around
and get to the ball. It’s what we do at Winton Woods"-The Sporting News Today

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Big East honors
Special Teams Player of the Week
Kevin Huber • Sr. • P • Cincinnati • Cincinnati, Ohio
Huber averaged 46.4 yards on a career-high nine punts and dropped five inside the 12-yard line in Cincinnati’s 13-10 win against Rutgers. Huber pinned the Scarlet Knights on their 3-, 11- and 12-yard lines to start three fourth-quarter drives and forced Rutgers to an average starting field position of its own 17-yard line for the game.
Weekly honor roll
Chazz Anderson, QB, Cincinnati — Completed 21 of 29 passes for 239 yards and added a rushing touchdown in a 13-10 win against Rutgers.
Connor Barwin, DE, Cincinnati — Had four tackles, including two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in a 13-10 win against Rutgers.

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Tick, tock
The Jets took over with 8:40 left in the game...leading 20-14.
They proceeded to run 10 plays and consume 6-minutes and 13-seconds before scoring at TD to make it 26-14.
The Bengals used no timeouts during the drive and saw the following time tick off the clock from play to play:
:43, :48, :42, :23, :40, :43, :44, :45, :45

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Classic!
Down 12....check out the play calls/use of the clock by the Bengals with 2:22 left in the game.
Only the Bengals could manage to run 12 plays and use up the clock when they needed two TD's to win. And Marvin left a timeout in his pocket.
Cincinnati Bengals at 2:22
1-10-CIN 30 (2:22) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass incomplete short right to
C.Perry
2-10-CIN 30 (2:12) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick scrambles right end to CIN 37 for 7
yards Two-Minute Warning
3-3-CIN 37 (1:38) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass short left to T.Houshmandzadeh to
CIN 43 for 6 yards
1-10-CIN 43 (1:36) (No Huddle, Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass incomplete deep left
to B.Utecht.
2-10-CIN 43 (1:24) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass short right to C.Henry to NYJ 44
for 13 yards
1-10-NYJ 44 (1:15) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass short right to C.Perry ran ob at
NYJ 42 for 2 yards
2-8-NYJ 42 (1:09) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass short left to R.Fitzpatrick to
NYJ 45 for -3 yardsTimeout #1 by CIN at 01:02.
3-11-NYJ 45 (1:02) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass short right to B.Utecht to NYJ
35 for 10 yards
4-1-NYJ 35 (:54) (No Huddle, Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick up the middle to NYJ 34 for 1 yard The Replay Assistant challenged the runner broke the plane ruling, and the play was Upheld.
1-10-NYJ 34 (:34) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass incomplete deep left to C.Henry
2-10-NYJ 34 (:20) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass short left to B.Utecht pushed ob
at NYJ 22 for 12 yards
1-10-NYJ 22 (:11) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick sacked at NYJ 26 for -4 yards
Timeout #2 by CIN at 00:06.
Timeout #2 by NYJ at 00:06.
2-14-NYJ 26 (:06) (Shotgun) R.Fitzpatrick pass incomplete deep left to C.Henry.

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Don't forget to nominate a team
The 1530 HOMER/Team Fitz Graphics HS Team Of The Week
Tell me why your HS football team is deserving for the week.
Did they pull off an upset? Beat a rival? Tell me who they played, score, record, coach, etc.
I will accept email nominations until 6pm each Monday.
I will announce the winning team each Tuesday.
The chosen team will receive a 4ft by 6ft 1530 HOMER/Team Fitz Graphics Team Of The Week banner for their lockerroom.
I will only accept emails sent to the address to the right, by my photo

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Show preview
Marvin Lewis, 3pm
Topics
UC: It was ugly, but it sure beats a loss
UK: No offense to Hartline, but Cobb's gotta be a better option
OSU: Three more Top 10 teams in front of the Buckeyes lose
Top 25: Ok with Texas jumping Alabama?
Bengals
Your Sunday: Did you watch/listen to the Bengals or find something else to do?

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Guest/topic ideas
Among those we talked with this past week were:
Brian Kelly, Mick Cronin, Dave Lapham, David Fulcher, Jim Breech, Mark Curnutte, Jeff Piecoro, Michael Perry(Xavier book), and Marc Lancaster (Rays writer)
This coming week we will talk with: Sean Miller, Charlie Coles and Tom Browning.....
Got a a topic or guest idea? Email me.
The college football conversation hasn't taken off like I'd hoped. I get no traction from MLB playoff talk. The reality is there are more Bengals fans than fans of anything else going on right now. But I struggle to keep Bengals talk interesting and more than just a rip fest.
I'll keep trying to keep things fresh, fun, give you variety and get you involved.
I'm always open to suggestions.

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An account has been opened for Mike in Fairfield
Thanks to 5th/3rd Bank and Randy Wolf of Homer Sales...we've opened an account for Mike in Fairfield. If you are interested in helping out with a couple of bucks you can make a donation in his name at ANY 5th/3rd Bank.
I realize times are tough for everyone, but if you are depositing a paycheck today, keep Mike in mind.
Here is the info you can give at ANY 5th/3rd
Name: Mike Brockman

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Chestnut downs 45 slices of pizza in 10-minutes
AP
The 24-year-old from San Jose, Calif., says he fasted for more than a day to prepare. He folded and squeezed the slices to make them easier to swallow.

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Best reason to get the Sunday NFL Ticket
Yesterday around the NFL

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What others are saying
*Gut feeling: It's more than just inflammation in Carson Palmer's elbow.-Peter King, CNNSI
*With the season pretty much lost at 0-6, why risk the elbow of quarterback Carson Palmer at this point? If he needs surgery - and there are indications coming out of the organization the he does - why not shut him down and start from scratch next season? -Charles Robinson, YAHOO Sports

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Happy Birthday Kate Walsh, 41

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Ready to throw in the towel?
Paul Daugherty, Enquirer
Heads never really roll in Bengaldom. If you're a good company man and the seats stay reasonably occupied, here's the lifetime membership to Club Dread. With a few noteworthy exceptions, most on defense, this is a Stepford Team, its collective passion drained by history and the unchanging way things are run. If you can't beat Bengal-ization, why fight it?

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Paging Mike Brown, paging Mike Brown
A year ago the Atlanta Falcons saw their coach quit during the season and their QB go to jail.
They finished 4-12.
After Sunday's win they are 4-2 and starting a rookie QB.
How have they done it?
"Owner Arthur Blank added the two most important things an organization can have.....a great talent evaluator....GM Tom Dimitroff, (New England) and coach Mike Smith (former D-coordinator Jacksonville)"
-Jimmy Johnson, Fox Sports

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Gallery of the Day
Careful opening
A reason to watch Dancing with the Stars

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Postgame wrap
C Trent's blog
Check out the picture of the day!

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Mick lands first '09 recruit
BearcatLair.com
Mick landed his first 2009 verbal commitment when Sean Kilpatrick a 6'5 185 lb shooting guard from White Plains NY gave his verbal pledge shortly after his visit this weekend. Kilpatrick is a long lean and can flat out put the ball in the basket. He averaged 28.7 points last season in high school. He is currently attending Notre Dame Prep in (MA)

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Billy G lands big man
KentuckySportsRadio.com
"I decided two nights ago that I would be coming when Caoch Self told me they were going to stop recruiting me. Then I went to Madness and the fans sealed the deal.....Self thought I would really be upset when he told me, but it didnt bother me at all."
Watch him shatter a backboard

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I can't confirm this....but
Dusty Baker was the fill-in coach for 9-year-old son Darren's 10-and-under traveling tournament team this weekend. The team is Hard 90 Pastime out of Roseville, Calif., near Bakers' Northern California home.
Lineup
1. Patterson, CF

 

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Carson will see a specialist
Carson Palmer told Dave Lapham he's decided, on his own, to seek a second opinion on his injured elbow. He will see an "elbow specialist" in NY......one of the Mets team doctors David Altchek

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Opening observations
*And then there were two...Bengals and Lions battling for #1 pick as only winless teams
*Unwatchable/unlistenable....I feel like I was punished today
*I did again make money on the Bengals...getting the Jets at -5.5 on Friday before the Carson news bumped it to -9.5.
*Wonder if Marvin likes his team at 0-6 now? He sure seemed to be smiling late.
*Marvin called a timeout with :06 remaining in the game and had still had one left at the end. Loved what Randy Cross said "Are they saving time outs for the next game?".
*Marvin should happy, his team has actually finished.....finished their season.
*Chris Perry isn't an NFL RB
*Eric G isn't an NFL center
*Perry/Benson 15 carries 20 yards....a long of four yards by Perry
*There has got to be a better QB available than Ryan Fitzpatrick....perhaps Brian Kelly will loan them one. Guy has no presence/awareness whatsover.
*Fair catch by Chatman at four yard line? Classic. Par for the course.
*My daughter could have punted better than Larson. The Jets began three drives in Bengals territory in the first half.
*Two words you'll never associate with the Bengals offense: Creative and exciting
*Congrats to Chinny and Odom for the tagteam effort
*Nice picks from White and Lynch....nice game Frostee
*Hey! I saw Pat Sims! I saw Pat Sims!
*Bengals/opponents running the ball this year:
Bengals 139 attempts.....433 yards.........3.1 average
Opponents 217 attempts....941 yards.....4.34 average
*Chris Perry can't hold onto passes either...3rd down drop...BRUTAL
*So...Perry is in because of better blitz pickup than Benson....Hmmm
*Who does Kenny Watson have to bribe to get a carry?
*Rookies inactive: Shirely, Caldwell, Simpson
*Rudi Johnson 17 carries 38 yards for Lions
*Stat of the day
Bengals were +2 in the turnover battle Sunday
Under Marvin Lewis the Bengals had been 29-4 when winning the turnover battle.
Since 2000 NFL teams that were +2 in a game had a record of 416-77 .844
*The Bengals ran just three offensive plays in the first quarter
*The Bengals didn't get their initial first down until four minutes remained in the first half.

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Very cool story
Chicago Sun Times
Patrick took the field for his touchdown run just before the start of Saturday's homecoming game between the Warriors and St. Mary Margaret. His camera-clutching relatives stood on the sidelines, including his mother, who brought a wad of tissues for the expected tears.

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Lakota West product picks Ole Miss
The Sporting News Today
West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West RB/CB Stephen Houston has committed to play for Ole Miss in the SEC next year, ESPN reported. The 5-11, 215-pound Houston
played his junior season in the state of Arkansas, but moved back to his former high school in Ohio for his senior season. He also reports interest from Arkansas, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Kentucky, Akron and Miami (Ohio). He rushed for more than 1,500 yards last year as a junior at Little Rock (Ark.) Fair. Lawton (Okla.)

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Things noticed
Garrett Celek (LaSalle HS), brother of former UC TE Brent, caught a TD pass in the Michigan St win over Northwestern Saturday. He is a redshirt freshman.

Tyler Sheehan (LaSalle HS) led Bowlling Green to a 37-33 win over Akron...completing 26 of 41 for 239 yards, 3 TD's and a rushing TD

Loveland HS's Corey Partridge caught 2 of those TD passes from Sheehan in the Falcons win - 7 catches total for 58 yds and 2 td's

Dominic Randolph, (St X HS), Holy Cross QB, named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week

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Things read
ESPN
1. Cincinnati needs Tony Pike back. No offense to Chazz Anderson, who did yeoman's work in going 2-0 as the Bearcats' third starting quarterback this season. But Cincinnati needs more experience and a stronger downfield threat under center against the better teams in the league, as evidenced by its 13-10 slugfest over Rutgers on Saturday. Pike, who broke his non-throwing arm at Akron last month, should be ready to play against Connecticut after the bye week.