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Best Moment in
the Reds Season
Unfortunately, it probably was the very first moments of the season:
the first times Ken Griffey Jr. was introduced, ran to his position and
stepped to the plate on Opening Day. It was like the 1990 World Series
or Pete Rose's 4,192nd hit again at Cinergy Field. The game eventually
was rained out, setting the tone for a season that was a disappointment.
Best Moment in
the Bengals Season
Opening Day at Paul Brown Stadium was pretty good, though the humiliating
loss to Cleveland set up a horrible season. But the diamond in the turd
was Corey Dillon's big record-setting rushing day against Denver, when
the Bengals seemingly could do no wrong.
Best Reds Coverage
That Didn't Last
When The Cincinnati Enquirer unveiled its redesigned paper in the
spring, the paper tied much of the excitement to its new stand-alone Sunday
baseball section, which featured full color on the front and a full-page
color "poster" of a different Reds player on the back. The section
did provide increased baseball coverage throughout the season
until it was unceremoniously dumped in early September, apparently because
ad sales lagged. The Reds were still in the NL Central race (sort of)
and Reds player posters remained to be published, but the section disappeared
with no explanation.
Best Reds Coverage
That Lasted
CityBeat, meanwhile, kept its GriffGraph going throughout the entire
season. It was set up to track Ken Griffey Jr.'s contributions to the
Reds in his first season
a season the Reds claimed Junior would "pay for himself" through
increased attendance, fan interest, etc. Turns out, as the GriffGraph
noted, the Reds' increased attendance over the 1999 season generated $6.6
million, short of Griffey's $9 million salary.
Best Bad Breaks
for a Good Guy
You gotta feel for Jeff Blake. He jumped from the Bengals to the New
Orleans Saints last year and was installed as the team's starting quarterback,
a position the Bengals kept taking away from him here. The Saints actually
have a decent season, but Blake gets hurt near the end and watches from
the bench as the team wins its division and beats the defending Super
Bowl champs in the playoffs. All Blake has ever done is work hard, but
he can't seem to buy a break.
Best Bad Breaks
for Good Teams
Attendance for minor league hockey is down in Cincinnati, despite
the fact that both the Cyclones and Mighty Ducks are winning. Some blame
the decline on stadium construction next to the Firstar Center, Xavier
moving from the Gardens to its new arena or the competition for fans wearing
down both franchises. If interest doesn't pick up, Cincinnati might soon
be back to a one-hockey-team town.
Best Place for
a Road Trip
Going up to see the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. You can't beat pro
hockey for speed and excitement, and the new arena in Columbus is pretty
cool.
Best Place to
See a Football Game
Nippert Stadium, where the sight lines are good and there aren't many
bad seats in the whole place. The Bearcats pulled off plenty of upsets
this year to make it the Motor City Bowl, but they get little love or
attendance, which makes tickets cheap and easy to come by. It's at last
as much fun as the Bengals, and the winning percentage is a lot higher.
Best Football
Game to See
The River Front Classic & Jamboree held its second annual game
last fall (Tennessee State vs. North Carolina A&T) and has already
grown the black college game into an exciting communitywide event. This
fall it moves to Paul Brown Stadium. Don't miss the halftime band contest.
Best Hair
UC guard Field Williams' Afro vs. DePaul on Feb. 3 was a classic,
the best use of a 'fro since Oscar Gamble roamed the outfield for the
Cleveland Indians in the 1970s. Williams is lucky he employed it just
for one game, because it probably would have been outlawed by the NCAA
as an illegal defensive device.
Best Sour Grapes
There's nothing more fun than listening to UC fans curse, grumble
and bitch after watching Xavier beat the Bearcats at the Shoemaker Center,
as happened this season. Now, we have plenty of UC and XU grads and fans
on our staff here, so we're not choosing sides in the Crosstown Shootout.
But it's a great game to attend even if you don't care who wins
the play is definitely taken up several notches by both teams. And each
team (and its fans) hates to lose to the other school.
Best Hope
If Kenny Satterfield comes back to UC next season, both the Bearcats
and the Muskies will be loaded in the 2001-02 season. Featuring lots of
talented young players, they'll both likely start the season in the Top
25. Next season could be one of the best college basketball years ever
around these parts.
Best Sports Stickler
The Reds' new policy last year that didn't allow fans to sneak down
to the blue seats at the start of the eighth inning, no matter what the
score or attendance. Sourpusses!
Best Interactive
Red (on Field)
Michael Tucker. In between innings when he's taking warm-up throws
in the outfield, Tuck plays with the fans in whatever section he's playing,
faking like he's going to throw the ball to the stands and eventually
tossing it up.
Best Heart of
the Reds
Dimitri Young is like an overgrown Teddy Bear on the field. Any guy
who looks like he could be playing in your local softball league is undeniable
you can imagine drinking drafts and shooting the shit with Dimitri, something
you can't say about most professional athletes these days. Look for 2001
to be his breakout season.
Best Reds Scoreboard
Photo (2000 Season)
Dante Bichette's picture. He looked like Yertle the Turtle, his lower
lip looking like it had been pulled up over his top one and stuck there
in permanent pout.
Best Indication
Some People Take Sports Too Seriously
The nutball who has spent the past year threatening Ken Griffey Jr.
and his family. The threats started the day Griffey switched from the
Seattle Mariners to the Reds
can you say "Seattle nutball?" - and required Griffey to spend
much of the 2000 season under constant FBI protection.
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