Brian Kelly will have a Orange future. Whether it is a Orange Bowl bid for his UC Bearcats or a job offer from Tennessee to coach the Vols. Or maybe both... From all indications here in SEC country, Tennessee will offer Brian Kelly its' head coaching position as early as after UC's Hawaiian vacation game. Kelly will have a tough decision. He feels strongly about Cincinnati's future, but ultimately Tennessee is a big-time program in the best football conference in the USA. (no defense in the Big 12). If as expected Kelly goes to UT who will UC hire as their next coach????

Some have said the Bearcats will stay in-house and hire Kerry Coombs to be head ball coach. Not so fast my friend. Would Brady Hoke of Ball State want to coach in the Big East?? Todd Graham of Tulsa is a rising star in the coaching ranks... Certainly if Kelly goes Knoxville-way UC will be a plum job for a coach looking to climb the next rung on the ladder. Wildest rumor, strictly throwing spit against the wall variety is June Jones of SMU is sniffing around the UC story and expressing some interest. Would that have happened in the Rick Minter days???

The NCAA has moved the 3 point shot line back a foot. Some have speculated this is an attempt to hold down the Mid-majors who live and die with the 3 point shot. In the case of Jimmy Baron of the Rhode Island Rams, the NCAA may have to move the 3 point line back 5 feet to hold down the A-10's purest stroke. Baron was raining in 3's from every possible location with hands in his face against the Duke Blue Devils in Durham yesterday. Coach K kept running player after player at Baron. Swish! Another 3. Baron is the kind of shooter that will get you off the NFL and on to Rhode Island/Duke. Typical Duke home game. Questionable calls down the stretch to keep Duke in the game until they could run down the Rams 82-79.

An A-10 poll had Rhode Island ninth in the conference. Let me go out on a limb and say Rhode Island will be heard from in the A-10. This is not a one man show. 6'8" Power forward Delroy James from Brooklyn and 6'4" guard Keith Colthran are nice players. This is no 9th rated team in the A-10. Just ask the Blue Devils.

Puzzling though is A-10's 3rd rated team the Dayton Flyers. The Brian Roberts-less Flyers looked it against powerhouse Wofford. Surviving 52-49 at the UD Arena. London Warren started at point guard for the Flyers and quickly turned the ball over as he has done his whole career with Dayton. Brian Gregory is looking for an outside shooter to keep opposing teams defense honest. Wofford was collapsing on Chris Wright and Kurt Huelsman the whole game. Marcus Johnson the Flyers 2 guard tried to pick-up the slack with some 3 pointers. Chris Wright remained the brightest star in the Flyers line-up. The Flyers fans continue to be some of the best fans in the country. Where most college teams started their seasons in front of half empty buildings. Dayton had  12,254 at the UD Arena. However unless the Flyers improve drastically the Flyer Faithful will be hard pressed to find any cheer.

I was talking to a client this week about a bunch of things. The stock market. The economy. GM. Obama.... Then we moved on to sports and the subject of Brian Kelly came up. My client a University of Florida alumni said the only coach he didn't want to see in Knoxville was Brian Kelly. Kelly reminded him of Jimmy Johnson. The intensity. The discipline. The ability to find playmakers on his teams. What could Kelly due with all the resources available at UT??? Scary.

Butch Davis? No worries.... Mike Leach? The Gators speed would tear up Leach's offense. Steve Spurrier?? Past his prime... Jon Gruden? Not interested.

Brian Kelly is the coach most SEC fans are talking about. And dreading if he gets the call from Tennessee.... Cincinnati 28 Louisville 20.... Possible Bearcat/Tar Heels Orange Bowl... Possible Bearcat/Seminoles Orange Bowl..... Possible Bearcat/Hurricanes Orange Bowl.....

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports in his winners and losers of the week column writes this blurb about the Bengals ( I'll let you guess if they were listed under the Winners or Losers column). " 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 THAT HE DOES- why not shut him down and start from scratch next season?? Either Robinson is throwing spit against the wall or he has some feelers which indicate that Palmer's elbow may not be improving every day as indicated in the public..

Reds fans there is reason for hope. There is a team that just advanced to the ALCS on a $ 43 million payroll. To put it in perspective that is less than the left side of the NY Yankees infield (A-Rod and Jeter). Many commentators have said after finishing last the last 10 seasons the Rays had to get better after stockpiling all those # 1 draft picks. Partly true. The Rays have got thru the draft Evan Longoria, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford,  David Price..... But the Rays (take note Mr Bob C.) made some shrewd trades that helped build the team. Every trade made had to fit the club defensively and add to the pitching depth. The Rays got a starting pitcher and catcher from the Dodgers (Edwin Jackson and Dioner Navarro). They got a starting SS and Pitcher from the Twins ( Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett). They stole one of the best set-up relievers from Kansas City (JP Howell). Pitching and Defense. In fact right now the Rays have so much starting pitching that they have 5 starters at AAA Durham this season that probably would have pitched on most Major League staffs ( Price, Talbot, Davis, Neimann, McGee). The Rays will often trade position players (Delmon Young, Ty Wigginton, Aubrey Huff) but rarely if ever trade pitching. This season Colorado offered Matt Holliday for David Price; Nope. Jason Bay for Jeff Neimann and Wade Davis: Nope. Xavier Nady for Mitch Talbot and Reid Brignac a young SS: Nope.

Maybe the biggest acquisiton the Rays made was Joe Maddon the bench coach for the Angels who brings a Tony Dungy like calmness and confidence in his young team. The then Devil Rays whithered under Lou Piniella's intensity. Looks like the Cubs are also. Maddon always has his players backs. He has instilled confidence, chemistry and a belief in the team concept.

Where does this leave the Reds?? Not as far away as many think. The Reds have young pitching. Young talent. Can the Reds shore up their defense? What would a Juan Pierre do in CF in between Chris Dickerson and Jay Bruce?? The Dodgers are in the NLCS playing Blake De Witt most of the season at 3B... Can the Reds really accept EE at 3rd??? NO!!

Dusty Baker is a great human being and has a great baseball resume....But is he the fit for the Reds to be patient with his young talent?? I don't know. I know Dino Ebel of the Angels would have the same Joe Maddon style to bring to a club...

Whether the Rays win another Playoff game this season is anybody's guess. They have exceeded everyone's expectations. However they are set for many Playoff runs for years to come. And they play in a division that has teams that will spend unlimited $$$ to get the best talent (Yankees and Red Sox).

Can the Reds win the NL Central??? Yes!!! Chemistry, defense, pitching is what brings championships... The amazing Rays are proof.....