Cuban Missile

I too hope he finds the help he needs, as it is obvious his life is headed down a dangerous path. But at this point, how in the world do you feel bad for him? The excuse of "oh, he's 18 years old and made a dumb mistake" went out the door awhile ago. He was given every opportunity to not only succeed as a young adult, but to steady the ship and learn from those "mistakes" he made. Obviously, he had no interest in changing his life then and apparently still doesn't to this day. I agree with others when suggesting that legit jail time may be the only course of action that could influence Zeke's decision making moving forward. But as they say, "you can't fix stupid...".

With all do respect, you must not follow Bengals football at all. If you did, you would know that Mike Brown has pretty much turned over all control to Marvin Lewis and Duke Tobin when it comes to personnel positions and day-to-day operations. In addition, the claim that Mike Brown only cares about the team generating revenue is far-fetched. The Bengals on average actually have one of the lowest ticket prices in the NFL. Not to mention he just put in brand new HD video boards (even if it took him longer than it should have). In addition, your claim that the Bengals do not have adequate back-ups is simply untrue. Anyone around the league will tell you that the Bengals have a top 10 roster at worst. Many will tell you that its top 5 and some have even considered it to be a top 2 roster in the entire NFL. To be clear, I am not defending Marvin Lewis as a coach or his failures in primetime and postseason games. However, I think you should give credit where it's due and like it or not, Marvin Lewis is one of the better talent evaluators in the NFL today. The 2015 roster is the most talented and complete he has ever assembled in Cincy. If you need proof, look at the success of Bengals draft picks from the last 4-5 years. Not only have they hit on their early round picks, they have also gotten great value and returns from players drafted in later rounds. While your sentiments may have held true 10 years ago, they are far from reality now. Mike Brown does care about winning and truly wants to bring a Lombardi Trophy to Cincinnati.

Diversification is key, especially as the size of your investments grow. Focus on eliminating any major types of unsystematic risk in your portfolio. You'll still experience the up's and down's of the market but will typically see greater consistency.

That wasn't your claim. You said you couldn't see a "rookie" winning six games for UK. I was simply saying that a "rookie" started off 5-1 last year and was one win away from going bowling. Also, UK has the luxury of playing 8 home games this season. But if we are going to play your game, I think Barker beats: Louisiana-Lafayette, Florida, EKU, Vandy, Charlotte, and Louisville.

I think everyone is down playing the fact that both of these young men are highly skilled and talented football players. For those of you that are skeptical of Barker's improvement and the closeness of the competition, I can tell you that you may be surprised at how things unfold this season. I was lucky enough to see quite a few practices this spring, and I can tell you that Barker is right there with Towles. Honestly, I was amazed at the improvement that Barker has made over the past year. IMO, from watching them both this spring, what gives Barker a slight edge is his pocket presence and feet. Towels has a tendency to leave a clean pocket too soon and does not always seem to keep his eyes downfield, especially when he begins to feel pressure. Barker on the other hand, stands tall in the pocket, with calm and quiet feet and is always looking downfield for receivers. While, I think Towles will start the season as the QB, I think Barker will take over completely at some point. Lastly, I think the fact that the competition is so close says more about Barker's ability and potential than it does about Towles "regression." Make no mistake, Patrick looked pretty darn good this spring too. Drew is just gaining ground... quickly.

Really? If I call correctly, Towles was essentially a rookie last year and led the team to a 5-1 start before faltering down the stretch. If this competition is as close as some say, then it would not be farfetched in the least to think Barker could lead this team to six wins and a bowl birth. In addition, the back end of the schedule provides some breaks from SEC play which should make it a bit easier than last years schedule.

Looks like Matt has made his last move...

Reports indicating that one of the prisoners has been shot and killed by law enforcement. Status of the second individual is not known at this time.

Just comparing this situation to prior instances of him throwing up what you called "gang signs". In those instances, you referred to them as gang signs but failed to reference what they meant. Just trying to make the connection between his signs and gang affiliation, which you and others have now made clear. Thanks.

Could you fill me in on what these "gang signs" mean or stand for in this particular video?

They were scheduled to play earlier this week on Monday, but it was cancelled. I'm not too sure when it is rescheduled.

An 18 year old has been arrested in Lexington and charged with murder, among other crimes. Authorities still seeking others involved in the shooting.

Dubnyk acquisition turned this season around for the Wild.

Yes, of course. At the beginning I was strictly speaking about the fight. Later, I was speaking on the fact that he should not have been at the bar that night. So while he should not be at fault for the fight, he should not have been there in the first place. There is a difference. Like I said, Drew should have been there that night to begin with, but he had little to no involvement in the fight based on the video evidence.

This thread is honestly sickening. The fact that some middle-aged men, who have nothing invested into the situation, get off to bashing and belittling a kid is truly unbelievable. I have seen both videos, and there is NOTHING to suggest Drew did anything wrong. In fact, in my opinion, it appears as if he is trying to hold back his buddies from the fight while it is going on. Those who have said he played a role, either directly or indirectly in instigating the fight, are completely wrong. Also, what happened in the dorm was inexplicable. In no way should that EVER happen. That is as cowardly as it gets. Now, to be clear, I am not saying that Drew did no wrong in being there. He absolutely should not have been in a Richmond bar that night, he is not even 21. However, the false assumptions and accusations that have been thrown out in this thread by some, need to stop. If one of your main priorities in life is sitting on BGP and consistently ripping an 18 year old kid apart, you need to reevaluate your life and your priorities. Grow up and start acting like men. This is truly unbelievable.

22 out of the 23 games in the month of April are against fellow NL Central teams. Reds will need to get off to a strong start if they want to be anywhere near relevant within the division this year...

I was fortunate enough to attend this mornings scrimmage that was open to the public. First of all, everyone should be excited about OC Shannon Dawson and what he will bring to this offense. The offense looked much more effective this morning. They were constantly pushing the ball vertically down field, and the running game was rock solid. This offense will be much a much better and more efficient one than we saw last year under Neal Brown. I also came away extremely impressed with redshirt freshman QB Drew Barker. The young man commanded the offense down the field in all of his drives. I believe he threw 2 TD passes and was a Boom Williams broken tackle away from having another one. He looked very confident in Dawson's office and was spreading the ball all around the yard. He looked good on short, long, and intermediate throws. Bottom line, Barker is MUCH improved and this is a legit quarterback competition.

1-year deal worth $8.05 million. Deal came about just minutes prior to the arbitration hearing that was scheduled to take place this morning in FL. Thoughts? Deadline deal: Reds, Aroldis avoid arbitration | reds.com

I'm hearing that the dog is being put down today...

Hempel plays in the Ivy League, all he can do is play against the teams on their schedule, and to this point, he has done that at a very high level. Look at his numbers, they are impressive. That's all you can ask for. We can sit here and play comparison games all we want, but when it comes down to it they don't mean anything. NFL scouts are everywhere and I would guarantee you the majority of them know who Conner Hempel is. Just because he wasn't as highly recruited or touted coming out of high school, he has made the most of his opportunity at Harvard, and I truly believe he will be rewarded with a shot in the NFL. And FYI Hempel did have D1 (FBS) scholarship offers but chose to go to Harvard instead. A school that will set him up well for the rest of his life whether he goes on to play on Sundays or not.

The kid has all the tools in the world, however, the body of work at this point is way to small to give a definitive answer on whether or not he plays in the league. If he continues to improve and progress in certain areas (mainly decision making and consistency) I definitely think he is headed for an NFL roster. However, to this point, he is far to inconsistent to make the leap. He played brilliantly against Miss St. but still missed a hand full of throws that he has to make (i.e. deep ball on first offensive series). This offseason will be critical for Patrick's development and maturation as quarterback. He needs to make a significant jump in consistency going into next season. If he does, I do believe he may consider leaving after his junior season, depending on the feedback he receives from his coaches and NFL scouts. Lets not forget that the NFL is and has been home to a myriad of QBs who were collegiate stars and "destined" for NFL stardom, but never made it past the practice squad or a role as a lifetime backup. There are only 32 of these jobs available in the world, with hundreds to thousands of QBs pursuing them. The odds are slim to begin with, but as long as he continues to progress, I have confidence that PT will get his shot at some point. Side note: I think we should be having this same discussion about another Kentucky native, Conner Hempel. Since being named the starter as a Junior at Harvard, the kid has done nothing but light it up. He has worked with QB guru George Whitfield and has garnered the praise and attention from NFL analysts like Trent Dilfer. The kid also has NFL level talent, and given the recent success of former Harvard QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, I do not think it is out of the question that Conner also gets a shot in the league. BTW, sorry if there is already a thread concerning Conner and his NFL pursuits.

Coroner has confirmed an overdose was the cause of death. Marijuana, heroin, amphetamines, and Xanax were among the drugs detected in her system.

Reports indicate that the Reds were the only team in support of Tim Brosnan being named the next MLB Commish. Brosnan dropped out prior to the start of voting on Thursday.

Out with an illness.

Correct.