Mustang

In a game delayed 90 minutes by lightning, mayhem ensued throughout the first few minutes of the game that included Newport recovering a loose Brossart ball on a bad snap, and returning it 25 yards for a Newport score before the fans were comfortable in their seats under their umbrellas. The Mustangs this time failed to field the kickoff and recovered the ball at our own one yard line. Newport returned the favor by fumbling the ball on their first offensive play, recovered by the Mustangs, and the groans could be heard all of the way to the Levee. Beyond that point some semblance of reasonable football was restored as the Wildcats led 7-0, but would not score again for the duration of the contest. In the second period, Brossart quarterback Jacob Leicht scored his fifth consecutive touchdown of the season, plunging 8 yards to finish off a 78 yard drive, and when Andrew Schwartz nailed the PAT we were tied at 7s. In the first half Brossart picked up 9 first downs to Newport's one. Early in the second half Jed Martin picked off a Newport pass and then a few plays later scored on a 31 yard run, making it 13-7 as the two-point conversion attempt failed. The Mustangs added an insurance score late in the game as Leicht would orchestrate an 80 yard drive, while picking up five first downs, capped off by a Jed Martin touchdown run and a Jacob Leicht two-point conversion made the final score 21-7 as the Mustangs improve to 2-0 on the young season. The Mustangs head to Bellevue this coming Thursday night for a Class 1A encounter with the Black and Gold Tigers.

So much for allegiance to the fans and city that you play for. Our talking heads like to make out like these guys are in it to win and be champions, BUT at the end of the day, it's all about them and their contract. Whenever one of them has a big night, wins an award (Naquin) or makes the all-star team (Castellanos and Winker) I'll bet the first thing they think of is how it will affect their next contract. Our broadcasters talk about the team coming together for a common goal, gut-wrenching losses, gratifying wins, etc.. Horse hockey!!! These are adult men whose job it is to play baseball. They go to the ballpark 162 times just like we go to the office or job site. Their true motivation is the almighty dollar, we (Collectively - I've been to GABP once) continue to feed their pocket books, but in reality all that most of them care about is themselves and their pocketbooks. Good riddance, Nick!!! I'd rather root for Suarez who actually is happy and wants to be here, despite having a dismal season.

When is enough, enough??? If Castellanos is jumping ship, that should say something about how he feels about the future of this program. OK, you've got to admit that I was pretty close in my assessment. A couple of updates: Jonathan India has grown on me. I wish he would clean up and become a better role model, BUT he is a really good, hard-nosed baseball player, who, despite his standoffishness, does have a place on this Cincinnati team. Nobody foresaw the emergence of Joey Votto this late in his career. Be glad that he has had a big year, but I wouldn't count on big seasons out of him in the future. He will be 38 years old. I still consider him a prima donna. I can't believe that we keep running Aquino and Moustakas out there - these guys are still slugs. Moustakas needs to go back to Jake Sweeney Chevrolet and stay there. Aquino is blatantly bad. Suarez remains the team pet. Akiyama is fantastic - defensively, but getting long in the tooth. Naquin - so, so. Farmer very ordinary. Our championship caliber players are India, Castellano, Winker, Barnhart, and probably Stephenson. The relief pitching has certainly improved, but the new guys haven't faced anyone of consequence yet. I was shocked to see Garrett be trotted out there last night. I thought for sure that head case would be long gone by now. I would trade Miley while he is still worth something. Castillo and Guiterrez are championship caliber. Gray, Mahle, and Sims are very middle of the road. Take heart my friends, we've got the Marlins and Cardinals coming up. Those opponents will make the Reds great again.

I'm pretty close to the Brossart program,and we are good with the rankings as posted. Respect is earned. When the time comes for us to crack the Top Ten, we will have earned it. Mustangs and Sayre scrimmaged fairly evenly, but we will give them the bob for now. Mustangs vs 2A Newport will be a good test.

I haven't seen any discussion about this here on the site. What are everyone's thoughts about this move out of NAIA and into NCAA Division II. I've got some mixed emotions, in that TMC has provided area athletes a "pay to play" option over the years. This has been good in that the student-athlete gets the chance to play at the "next level", while getting a good education, and TMC gets a paying student. I'm thinking NCAA DivII is a whole, more selective animal, and that where presently the Saints have close to a hundred players listed on their football roster, and freely "recruit" local athletes, they are going to have to step up their talent requirements in order to compete at the Division II level, and severely restrict the number of "pay to play" student athletes in their fold. To me, this will leave Mount St. Joe as the only local "pay to play" school available to Division III or NAIA talented players.

Coming off of their last year's downturn, Bracken County must be thrilled with their ability to go to Ludlow and give the Panthers a good game on the road. I'm happy for them. Both the Polar Bears and Panthers are on our (Brossart) schedule, so we have a vested interested in both of these teams.

Mustangs shut out the Dayton Greendevils 28-0 as Brossart quarterback Senior Jacob Leicht runs for four touchdowns. Mustang defense limits Greendevils to merely four first downs on the night, and negative yardage in the first half (unofficially) as the Mustangs lead 21-0 at intermission. Dayton had one big run play, an 85 yard run by Keith Souder, early in the second half. Mustangs go to Newport next Friday night.

What tail is wagging this dog??? Lunacy!!!

While the Cubs sold off a big part of whatever offense they might have had, they obviously have good enough pitching to limit our vaunted Reds' offense. A little humility is good for the soul.

Things have completely gone off of the deep end in the parity department. The Cubs have plunged to Pittsburgh Pirate depths, have lost 12 in a row, are 20 games out of their division lead, were out-manned/out-talented by the Reds tonight, and we've got two more games with them, before we play the 17 games under .500 Florida Marlins for four more games of futility. The only saving grace to this debacle is that we are on the good side of these mis-matches. Bad baseball on a nightly basis sucks. For me, it is hard to watch, and to listen to John Whateverhisnameis continue to glorify these bingo free-space wins, turns my stomach. And the shame of it is, that even with this Mickey Mouse schedule, we are battling for a "wild card" spot in the playoffs.

I'm learning a lot about the evolution of number protocol, which is pretty much no protocol at all.

I too am happy for Votto. At age 37 who knows how many more productive years he has left. For years, he has been much maligned, as being over-paid, and under-achieving. I always thought he would be lured away by the pinstripes and bright lights of New York, or some place equally glitzy. He has been loyal to Cincinnati, and is providing his fans with some incredible memories to remember him by.

I'm hearing good things out of the Paris camp as well. Seems a number of their graduated seniors re-classified, including the QB, allowing them to re-invent themselves with a veteran lineup.

^^ I've also noticed that present-day coaches and the manager no longer wear pullovers, not uniforms, freeing up a few more numbers.

^^ Good and valid points. It still seems strange to me to see such high numbers (and in some cases, pitchers wearing low numbers - Reds) that there seems to be no rhyme or reason to whom is wearing what. I sent the numbers question in to "Ask Marty" when he was still on the air, and would have been interested in his answer, but either I wasn't listening if he answered it or he didn't answer it. I guess I just better get used to it.

I am a child of this era and it is what I remember. Birdie Tebbetts - Manager - 1 Catchers - 6 - Ed Bailey and 7 - Smokey Burgess Infielders - 10 - Eddie Kasko, 11 - Roy McMillen, 12 - Don Hoak, 15 - George Crowe, 16- Johnny Temple, 18- Ted Klusewski, 19 - Jim Greengrass, Outfielders - 20 - Frank Robinson, 22- Bob Thurman, 24 - Jerry Lynch, 25 - Gus Bell, 27 - Wally Post, 28- Vada Pinson, 29 - Pete Whisnant Pitchers - Not sure, but Bob Purkey - 37, Joe Nuxhall - 39, Hal Jeffcoat - 42, and Brooks Lawrence 46 are the only ones I'm relatively sure of. The Wikipedia spells out that the policy varied between organizations. Certainly no leadoff hitter in the history of the game wore a sixties number until recently, and I see that we now have a pitcher (Cessa) wearing 88. Good Gawd!!! It's simply a reflection of this "Anything Goes" era. It's OK to have hair hanging down to your waist, and be inked up like the drapes in a New Orleans brothel. Never mind that these guys are supposed to be role models - they are simply expressing themselves. Again, our old low standards are now today's acceptable standards. Too bad.

Fairgrounds Racetrack is as close as I've come.

So sorry to see this dreaded but anticipated news. Goldie is one of the true friends that I developed through BGP. I will always cherish my friendship and experiences had with her. I'll be sure to hoist an Ale 8 toast to her memory. Sad

That the Pirates leadoff hitter, a position player, wore the Number 68, and another position player in the lineup wore 64??? To me, this is a sign that present day teams/players no longer respect the game. Formerly, low numbers were reserved for catchers, and more recently catchers and infielders. Numbers in the 20s were formerly worn by outfielders and numbers from the mid-thirties through fifties worn by pitchers. Numbers in the sixties and seventies were only worn by short-timers at spring training, and or late-seasons call ups, with no long-term futures. To me having a lead off hitter wearing 68 makes a travesty/mockery of the game. Did anyone else notice, take offense to this, or is it another sign of our times, where players can do/wear whatever they want/choose and the present day fans think nothing of it, and accept it as something trivial. Would Bernie Stowe issue a number in the sixties to an infielder, or any everyday player??? I think not. I will guarantee you this, that in the high school basketball program that I work within and control numbers worn, only guards will wear 1-15, swing men and shooting forwards, 25-35, and power forwards and post players 40-45, and 50-55. In our new "Fireside chat" segment, swallowing up three innings of bad baseball, Sam LeCure (sp) cited a similar incident, and used the phrase, "By today's standards". Well, unfortunately today's new standards, are noting more than yesterday's unacceptable standards, contributing to the degradation of the sport. Am I totally lost in the past??? Perhaps, but it was a good past where you respected the game, and the proper way of doing things. The lunatics didn't run the asylum. The Pittsburgh series went as expected, we fattened up our batting averages, and lowered our ERAs. The Pirates are abysmal and demonstrate just how far the quality of play/players have deteriorated. Take away our wins/losses over the Pirates (and Rockies) and I think you get a truer evaluation of our Reds. The only thing that has been proven is that we are much better than the hapless Pirates. Let's see how we do in Atlanta next week.

The fact that this is the first event held in "Joe's Honor" since his passing adds legitimacy to it. It would actually have been more conspicuous had they NOT done something for him, so I'm good with it. They seemed to do it right, bringing his HOF plaque down from Cooperstown, etc.. Joe Morgan was a bright, educated, articulate, sometimes outspoken player, who was in the right place at the right time, surrounded by wonderful teammates who etched and earned their way into the MLB history books. Votto, saying that he was the greatest Red to ever wear the uniform was over the top. Joe was a great ballplayer, and a vital cog in a tremendously successful team, but no better a second baseman (at least defensively), in my opinion than Brandon Phillips. To us oldtimers, Pete, will always hold the "greatest" distinction. I was happy to hear his daughters credit the city of Cincinnati, and detail his love for the fans of the city, and how well he was treated and embraced by them. So, unless we have a second, third, fourth, fifth and so forth, Joe Morgan day, I'm OK with it.

In horse racing conditions there are clauses stating that "state bred races , or claiming races under $10,000" are not considered. In MLB, there needs to be a clause - "Statistics eared playing Pittsburgh or Colorado are not to be considered.

I'm sure the beer vendors in New York and Boston are equally excited.

Reds closer worse than Twins closer (who was BAD) in this loss. Larkin continues to try to put earrings on these stinky late inning pigs. It looks like the Twins are conceding a win to the Reds on Wednesday, throwing a nobody against Castillo, and lookey, lookey, the Pirates are coming to town for four games. A whole lot of bad MLB baseball on he horizon for the rest of the week/weekend.

Holy Cross wins the friendly (well maybe not so friendly) 2-1 which saw the Indians score early and then again at the 56:22 minute mark on a PK, the result of a somewhat controversial foul in the box. Soccer in not normally a game of inches, however, on two occasions, shots seemingly destined for the back of the net, glanced off of the sidebars and went for naught. The Brossart lone goal came on a glancing shot from Tyler Smith 27 minutes into the first half. Soccerama continues on Saturday with six events scheduled on what should be a beautiful day for soccer.

OK, so not one of the two from the Yankees???