Battle for the Ohio Cup begins tonight
In case you didn't know....
The Ohio Cup Series presented by The Ohio Lottery:
• The annual six-game series between the Reds and Indians is now called The Ohio Cup Series.
• Teams will play for The Ohio Cup Trophy.
• Fans can view the trophy this weekend in Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
Reds Hot Weekends on Fountain Square:
• Fountain Square will be the center of entertainment before and after the Reds vs. Indians games.
• On Friday there’s live music…Saturday DJ and movies…and free UDF ice cream after the game on Sunday.
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Doesn't seem players/managers like interleague play
Enquirer.com
The Reds' game with the Florida Marlins was rained out Thursday night. It was called around 5 p.m.; no makeup date has been set. So the Reds got an unexpected night off. They'll be back at it at 7:10 p.m. today when the Cleveland Indians come to town for a three-game interleague series. The Reds had won three straight against the Marlins, so they would have liked to play.
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"I haven't accepted anything"
Enquirer.com
Basketball star O.J. Mayo has denied allegations that he received cash and gifts from events promoter Rodney Guillory and said he was confident an investigation will determine he did not violate NCAA rules. "I know for a fact that I haven't accepted anything," Mayo, a former North College Hill High School and USC standout, told the Los Angeles Times for Thursday's editions. "My family hasn't accepted anything, so I'm just waiting for the NCAA to do what they have to do to prove that I haven't done anything wrong."
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15 minutes of....something....with Anna Kournikova
You could win a 15 minute telephone call with Anna in the K-Swiss "Win a Call from AnnaK" Sweepstakes & Contest. In addition, you can earn memorabilia autographed by Anna by being one of the first 70 fans to earn 2,500 points in Anna's official online community on SportsMates.
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How they see the weekend series up north
Cleveland Plain Dealer
The Cincinnati Reds had no trouble scoring during a three-game sweep of one of the NL's division leaders. Welcoming the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians to start interleague play should make producing runs much more difficult. The Indians will look to their dominant starting pitching - which has led them to four shutout wins in their last six games - in the start of a three-game set with the intrastate rival Reds on Friday at Great American Ball Park. Cleveland (22-19) was three games under .500 on April 29, and after relying on a top-10 offense last season on its way to the AL Central title, was having plenty of trouble scoring runs.
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Something's gotta give in Indians/Reds series
Dayton Daily News
Kent Mercker knew there was no way a baseball game would be played in Great American Ball Park Thursday night. "I saw Noah buying wood and nails and my dogs are gone. No game," he said. Mercker was correct. A steady rain began at 3 o'clock and weather people said it wouldn't stop until close to midnight, so the Cincinnati Reds and Florida Marlins were postponed. It is expected the game will be made up August 18 when both teams have a day off, but that's pending Players Association approval.
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Mayo allegations highlight corruption of entire sport
Sporting News - Mike Decourcy
There are some problems in this world it seems might never be resolved: the Israeli-Palestinian discord, the conflict over the designated hitter rule or the Ginger-Mary Ann debate. It looks like we're entering that territory in basketball, because no one has presented any solid idea regarding how to fix the problem of adults slipping hundys to young players. In the days since ESPN reported that O.J. Mayo accepted thousands of dollars and benefits from one Rodney Guillory while Guillory was working in the capacity of an agent's "runner" and Mayo was playing basketball at Southern California, there've been lots of opinions about the impact of this story. But answers? There haven't been many of those.
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Very important question...
