CincySportsFan

3 hours ago, theguru said:

For sure but I understand the NFL has to prepare.  With that said, making the Chief/Bills game a neutral site and not making the Bengals/Bills game a neutral site will never sit right with me.

The more and more I think about it, the more I believe that Taylor and the Bengals defied the NFL in restarting that Bills game.

First, we're going to "give" you the division title, and as such, make your schedule next year a little bit harder.

But, we're not going to allow you to rest your starters against Baltimore in the final week, because if you lose, we're going to implement a coin toss for home field advantage because you didn't finish that game.

Oh, and we're going to conveniently forget the fact that with a win versus the Bills, you could have tied them record-wise, and claimed the #2 seed by way of a tie-breaker.

And to rub salt in the wound, we're going to allow Buffalo to play Kansas City at a neutral site, since they could've tied the Chiefs record-wise with a win, and claimed the #1 seed for themselves thanks to a tie-breaker. 

This just stinks more and more.  I mean, if they were going to have a coin flip for anything, it should've been to determine the winner between the Bengals and the Bills.  Let everything play out from there, as it normally would have.

I've seen several people coming up with clever nicknames for Hubbard's play.  One of the best ones I've heard is "The Fumble in the Jungle".

41 minutes ago, The Raven said:

That's my point.  The NFL needs to not base it off division championships.  Dispense with divisions.  Play a season.  Top 7 teams make the playoffs.  If you don't have 7 teams over .500 in the conference, and additional team gets a bye in round one.

Why don't we just form a committee and they can determine the 7 "best" teams?  Or maybe have a computer determine them?  Or how about we let sports writers choose?  Heck, why not let the coaches vote?

In all honesty, having division winners and additional wild-card teams is the best way to go, unless you're going to eliminate cross-conference games.  Then, you could just play everyone in your conference and the schedule would pretty much be equal across the board.  But, the way it is now, there's just too much fluctuation built in.  And that's on top of what the NFL already does to try and maintain parity to begin with.

Now, if you want to talk about seeding...that's a different topic.  

11 hours ago, nkypete said:

We can blame that on the NFL when they relaxed the celebration rules.  They allow using the football as a prop, celebrating on the ground and celebrating with teammates. Off limits celebrations include those that are offensive, are prolonged and delay the game and those that are directed at opponents.  The NFL is really cracking down on taunting (which we saw in the Bengals/Ravens playoff game).  I'm getting tired of the runs to the end zone myself.  If they were really creative they would do something in the middle of the field for the overhead camera (like synchronized swimmers do)!  But nobody is asking me to help them with the chorography of their football celebrations!

Actually, you can thank Covid for that.  If you remember, back when they were playing in front of basically empty stadiums, there was a camera/screen located on the wall past the end zone.  It was a way for the players to "interact" with the fans who were forced to watch from home.

The NFL is now caught in a bind, because they not only allowed, but probably encouraged participation back then.  Hard to come out and say that's not permissible now.

I would feel a whole lot better if our O line was the same as it was in that Monday night game.  We're going to have to start suiting up beer vendors pretty soon.

On 1/9/2023 at 2:58 PM, Voice of Reason said:

The Bengals will need to play much better to win this Sunday. If the turnovers were even yesterday, the Ravens win. Ravens outgained the Bengals. Ravens won almost every stat category except turnovers.

I initially thought this, too.  However, I wonder just how much Taylor "held back" on offense, once they got to the second half.  I'm not saying they weren't trying to move the ball down the field...just that they may not have emptied the playbook to do so.

I saw all I needed to see on their "ads" that kept showing up on Facebook about season tickets.  When the top reasons are fireworks, bobbleheads and concerts...and the only mention of actual baseball is just about the marquee opponents, and it comes in last, at number 4...they're telling you it's going to be bad year, without telling you it's going to be bad year.

Sell the team, Bob.  Just sell the team.

Let me preface it by saying I'm not really a hockey fan.  So, I'm not sure on what his chances are, but I am not rooting for him.  And, it's not because I have anything particularly against him, per se...I just think in some people's minds it'll diminish just how dominant Gretzky was.

I mean, if in 20 years some snot-nosed kid looks up and sees that Alex is the only one to have scored 900 goals, he'll automatically think that he (Ovie) is the Great One.  And that would be a terrible, terrible insult.  Nearly 2000 assists should not be overlooked.  And Ovechkin won't even be close to half of that, no matter how much longer he plays.

Reminds me of John McSherry's death at the Reds game so many years ago. I hope the game if/when the game is called, that the fans in attendance show some class.

Ugh...this hurts. Don't know what else to say. Proud of the guys rebounding from how they played the second half against Michigan. And I know there were a lot of people that said they didn't deserve to be here after that game. But, again, I'm glad they were able to decide it on the field, rather than by some stupid poll.

This is why I always have supported expanding the playoffs.  Too many "experts" would've said teams like TCU shouldn't be in the hunt for the National Championship.  I say, put the teams on the field and let them play. You never know what the results might be.

6 hours ago, theguru said:

I guess we will find out in a couple of years but I would gladly take that too.

I have always been for 16 teams but 12 works.

And think back to all those "powers that be" that told us for decades two teams (or more recently four teams) was enough and we don't need more teams blah blah blah...  All I see is the corrupt people in power are finally having to move away from their monopoly. 

I too have been for 16 teams, but I'll take this as well.

Quite simply, for me, the more teams you have in it, the more it's decided on the field. Which is how it should be. Scrap the polls and computer models and everything else that's used to "predict" who the better team(s) is/are, and let's play some ball.

Will there be some blowouts? Sure. Will we have brackets go by chalk some years? Maybe so. But will we also have a #5 team make it to the finals and maybe win it all? I think that's possible as well...which could not happen now under the current set up.  The same way a #4 seed could never win it when they only took the top 2.

This is a step forward.

3 hours ago, theguru said:

If it was active this year here are the current teams that would be in:

(1) Georgia; (2) Michigan; (3) TCU; (4) USC; (5) Ohio State; (6) Alabama; (7) Tennessee; (8) Penn State; (9) Clemson; (10) Kansas State; (11) Utah; (12) Washington.

So, if top 4 get byes, we'd end up with...

Ohio State vs. Washington

Alabama vs. Utah

Tennessee vs. Kansas State

Penn State vs. Clemson

I'd gladly take that.  Granted, it would be better if Hooker wasn't out, but still.

On a side note, I've not heard how they're going to do the second round.  Would it be a predetermined bracket, based upon the higher seed from the first round?  So, OSU/Washington would play USC regardless.  Or would they do the complicated thing the NFL does, where it's based upon who the highest seed is that's remaining after the first round.  So, if Washington happened to beat OSU in the first round, they'd play Georgia instead?

8 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

I just read a few days ago that the Rose Bowl was the hold up. I thought the CFP should have already told the Rose to pound sand.

Well, I don't know if it's the equivalent to telling them to pound sand, but I believe they drew a line in the sand and said if you don't make a decision by this date/time...you're out.

It's amazing what deadlines can do when people know there are serious consequences to missing them.

15 hours ago, Walter said:

Two more names I've seen mentioned:

Jason Candle- Toledo

Matt Campbell- Iowa State

 

 

I don't see Campbell being interested in it...seems like more of a lateral move for him.  Candle, on the other hand, I could definitely see the interest being there, from both sides.

Good to see the community bond together to give these kids one more chance to play under the lights.

Bellevue police helping high school football team put on one last game after season cut short (msn.com)

A tip of the cap to Chief John McClain for thinking outside the box!

On 7/14/2022 at 3:16 PM, CincySportsFan said:

I know it's a gimmick you usually see in college...but, do you think we'll see a call for a "white out" in the game against the Dolphins?  Might be cool to see PBS like that under the lights.

Hey, I was actually right about something!!!

6 hours ago, 4 Quarters said:

The automated ball/strike system will not eliminate this.

No it will not.  Never said it would.  Did you see the post I quoted?

On 8/31/2022 at 7:15 PM, Jumper_Dad said:

With the out of control egos of some of the really bad Umpires, I fully expect more balk calls from them. They'll need to find a way to interject themselves into the game.

Immediately thought of your post after reading this...

Marlins pitcher Richard Bleier getting called for 3 balks in one at-bat is so ridiculously funny (msn.com)

3 balks in one at-bat?!?  Come on, man.  Seriously?  

I looked up the pitcher's stats...he's been in 305 games!  And never had a balk called on him before.  I'm not saying the guy's infallible, but nobody just forgets how to pitch during an at-bat.  After the second balk was called and reacted to, I'd almost guarantee you the third one was called just out of spite.

22 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

They were not visible when I was in high school. The ceiling was just above the letters spelling out JUMPERS.

Wow.  This place has got to feel huge compared to what it was back then.

I like the use of stain (or lackthereof), instead of paint to differentiate some of the areas on the court.  It allows the wood to play a role in the look, instead of a paint color.  Which, in turn, allows for the areas that ARE painted, to stand out even more.

JD, you mentioned that it used to have a drop ceiling in it.  So, for instance, in your first picture...were those windows not visible before?

12 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

With the out of control egos of some of the really bad Umpires, I fully expect more balk calls from them. They'll need to find a way to interject themselves into the game.

Sad, but probably true.

I worked a part-time job back in the mid-90's where a co-worker played.  Was the first time I was introduced to the sport.  Another co-worker was just bashing him on how easy it was, that a child could post a good score, it didn't take any skill, etc. the way regular golf did, blah, blah, blah.

One day this guy had enough and he challenged the other one to a competition.  He said we'll play 2 rounds...one regular golf, and then another one, with disc golf...then combine the scores.  This other guy jumped at the deal, since he played golf regularly.  And yes, he beat this guy when they used the clubs.  But, he got absolutely destroyed with the discs.  Talk about eating some crow the next week!

16 hours ago, theguru said:

Is there a line on the game yet?

I thought I saw Bengals - 6.5 on a ticker yesterday.  But, just caught it for a split second...and was too busy to wait for that game to come back around to catch it a second time.

It seems like every day my feed has included someone getting rung up by a bad pitch...and often ejected over it.  MLB needs to fast-track this automated system and get it in play next year.  No more highlights of somebody getting tossed over an (often blatantly) missed call.  That's not good for the game.  People come to see these guys play the actual game...not get ejected.

One other rule that I would add in with this change, is that the home plate umpire can no longer make a call on whether a batter swung or not.  EVERY decision on that is automatically referred to the baseline umps.  The Nolan Arenado situation the other night was pitiful.  The home plate ump should have zero input on balls/strikes.  Balks, HBP, catcher's interference, plays at the plate and judging fair/foul balls prior to the bases would be their main focus.