Ah yes, the headline represents the infamous four words that Cincinnati sports fans are so familiar with. If you’ve been around long enough – and I can assure you that I have – you already know how difficult it can be to invest your time and rooting interest on teams based in southwestern Ohio. You learn after a while – decades in some cases – that hoping for championship success from the local professional sports entities becomes more of a false hope and pipedream as the years pass.
Only the most loyal fans keep the faith and persist, while other more finicky followers eventually fall off the bandwagon. The wait for a title becomes a test of unending patience, and a lot of folks simply cannot endure the frustration. They will either find another team to root for, become numb and apathetic, or direct their interests to something other than sports fandom.
The latest example is the plight of the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that began the season with lofty aspirations and Super Bowl expectations.
After Sunday night’s roller coaster performance culminated in yet another heart-wrenching loss, the Bengals head into their bye week with a 4-7 record, and needing to win their final six games of the season to have a reasonable shot at playing in the postseason. Going
way out on a limb here, but that ain’t gonna happen. It’s possible that winning five out of six to finish 9-8 could do the trick, but even accomplishing that seems like a lofty and unrealistic proposition.
The reasons for the team’s downfall have been offered ad nauseum since the Week 1 home loss to New England. The defense has tackling and covering issues, nobody pressures quarterbacks except Trey Hendrickson, the offensive line is eventually going to allow someone to obliterate Joe Burrow, the placekicker has the yips, the team cannot finish games, the play calling is suspect, the front office let too many key players leave the organization and they’ve drafted poorly, etc., etc., etc.
All of those have been factors in making this a season to forget, but it all comes down to losing close games that contending teams find a way to win, and usually the head coach gets the brunt of the blame for that. Some close NFL observers believe Zac Taylor is on the hot seat, but that is not how owner Mike Brown and the family operate. In the past, ownership has been loyal to a fault when it comes to retaining losing head coaches, so don’t look for Taylor to be going anywhere, at least not yet.
For the Bengals to compete, it will require much more than a coaching change to get it done anyway. Brown and the rest of the front office needs to get its act together, but that would mean they would have to invest
in more scouting, and make better choices in the draft, along with acquiring free agents who can actually help the team win. Don’t hold your breath on that occurring anytime soon.
It just ain’t the Bengal way, and as a result, we have another underachieving franchise in the Queen City.
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FOOTBALL EAGLES SOARING – Morehead State continued its successful season by rallying for a 29-20 win last Saturday over Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The victory ended the FCS’ longest conference winning streak at 17, and lifted the Eagles to 7-4 on the season, and dropped the favored Bulldogs to 7-2.
Sophomore kicker Thomas Schwartz V booted the game-winning field goal from 30 yards away with 14 seconds left to cap off the MSU comeback. A scoop and score as time ran out provided the final margin. The Eagles trailed 9-0 at halftime but scored all 29 of their points in the second half. Senior running back James Louis rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown, and junior quarterback Carter Cravens completed 11-of-21 passes for 116 yards and a score to lead the Morehead State offense.
Drake still leads in the Pioneer Football League standings with a 6-1 conference mark, and with the win, Morehead State climbed into a three-way tie in the PFL with Butler and San Diego at 5-2. Drake is still in the driver’s seat for
the league’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs as they will be a prohibitive favorite at Stetson (2-8, 0-6) this week.
The Eagles, led by first-year head coach Jason Woodman, host the San Diego Toreros on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. on Senior Day at Jayne Stadium.
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INGENIOUS IN-GAME ADJUSTMENTS – The University of Kentucky’s athletic department recently posted an insightful video titled “The Journey: Champions Classic” that is well worth your time if you’re a UK basketball fan.
The video recaps the Wildcats’ 77-72 win over Duke in the event, and takes you behind the scenes where you can observe head coach Mark Pope making the proper halftime and late-game adjustments to help the players rally in the second half. The video captures his uncanny ability to assess the situation and calmly instruct the team on precisely how he wanted them to respond, and they did.
It has long been established on the intelligence possessed by the former Rhodes Scholar candidate – Rick Pitino, his coach at UK, noted how Pope is smarter than 99 percent of the coaches in America — and he’s certainly backing up those words early in his Kentucky tenure.
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WILL REDS MAKE MANY MOVES? – Rumors have been swirling once again on a potential trade involving
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India, and this time, it appears there is a distinct possibility he gets moved. The deal, which would undoubtedly be an unpopular one with many Reds fans, would send India to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for a former teammate at the University of Florida, right-handed starting pitcher Brady Singer. My take is that a contending team can never have enough quality pitching – just look at all the injuries to Reds starters in 2024 – and Singer would be an asset. India is expendable because it appears Matt McLain will return in 2025 from his lost season to take over at second base. The Reds had better hope McLain can stay healthy, especially if they make the India trade, but if so, I feel he’s an upgrade over India.
The team did solidify its rotation with the signing of Nick Martinez, who accepted a qualifying offer of $21.05 million. That move is a bit risky, but the Reds are banking on Martinez continuing his late-season dominance. He posted a 2.42 ERA in 63 1/3 innings across his 11 starts down the stretch. With the signing of Martinez, perhaps the Reds will move away form acquiring Singer, but if he’s available for India, I would pull the trigger.
The Redlegs have several other pressing needs – a power-hitting outfielder, bullpen help, and bench depth are just a few — and plenty of questions to answer over
the next weeks and months, but when you can get a reliable starter, you better jump on it.
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“This is the most frustrating season I’ve ever had.” – Joe Burrow
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“I’ve still got the confidence that we can get this thing done.” – Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor
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“All good things arrive unto them that wait and don’t die in the meantime.” – Mark Twain
