UC 4 LIFE!!!

I'd like to clear some things up for our many, many readers out there. There have been a few posts stating some UK information, none of them are from me. Why? Because I fucking hate UK, almost as much as I hate UL, it's real close. You will never hear a positive word out of me concerning UK. I'm a UC guy, always have, always will. They will be back in basketball and have already arrived in football. I think they have a couple of national championships in cheerleading as well which is sweet as balls. In no way do I endorse my fellow posters on this blog when they talk UK. I hate it but they bitched and moaned till I decided they could do it, not that I own the blog or anything. Lexington isn't on the riverfront, it's 70 miles away, doesn't make sense to me. I just wanted to clear that up so you guys didn't think I was a pussy ass UK fan.

"CHOO CHOO"

Big Donkey's Solo Shots

*Homer Baily (above) gets the call on Saturday if you haven't heard yet. Also finally someone from the Reds must have read our blog, because "Ronald" McDonald was replaced on by Johnny Gomes on the roster. Bout damn time. Also Ramon Ramirez was sent back down to AAA and relief pitcher Carlos Fisher was called up to replace him. Prediction: Reds sweep Indians this weekend and Jay Bruce will hit 3 home runs.
*Our buddy and radio guy Lance McAlister won't be on today because his boys were snipped. Yes you read that right!!!! How does a man ever cave into his woman with that conversation? I never will, thats for sure.
*CovCath won the 35th District Championship yesterday. UK signee, Luke Maile had a huge day hitting 3-4 with 3 homers. On the season he has a .510 batting avg, 12 HR's, 50 RBI's, 51 Runs scored, 36 walks and only struck out twice. The kid is beast and should be picked in the top 10 rounds of th MLB draft in June.
*The Indy 500 is this weekend. Sunday I believe. I'd rather watch tennis, hockey, lacross, and soccer before racing.
*Kentucky Sports Radio is reporting that academic issues will sort out the scholarship problems at UK.
*Wager of the Day (2-1): I hope you took my advice yesterday with the Nuggets. That was easy money. As for tonight, I can guarentee a Cavs win. No way the lose 2 in row at home. But giving 9pts makes it interesting. I still take the Cavs in a blowout victory.

Why the Hell Didn't I Watch the Idol?

I didn't watch one second of American Idol this year, in fact, I haven't watched one second of it since Kelly Clarkson won it all. But, if I would known that Idol was producing these types of chicks, I would have tuned in every week. First of all, why is she wearing a bikini? Second of all, I don't give a shit. This is how every show on tv should be from now on. Hot ass chicks in bikini's. You want ratings, put half naked girls on your show. It's just marketing genius, boobs sell and I'm buying everytime.

"CHOO CHOO"

What's the Deal With Hot Chicks and Ugly Ass Dudes?

This is a new segment dedicated to Jerry Seinfeld and his "what's the deal with..." jokes. These will be things that I just don't understand and quite frankly, I hate. This should be pretty sweet.

You may have already seen these photos but they are still mind-boggling 2 weeks later. Joakim Noah might be the ugliest man that God has ever created but since he has money he gets to smoke it up on the beach with this hot ass girl. No chance this chick would be with him if he didn't have a load of hundo's in his pocket. Another sad for day for us commoners.

Click here to see more photos courtesy of TMZ.

"CHOO CHOO"

Big Donkey's Solo Shots

*Lets get the sappy stuff out of the way. Two sad stories in the sports world yesterday. Amy Mickelson (above) was diagnosed with breast cancer. Phil has decided to take some time off from the Golf world and be with his family. Your a good man Phil and doing the right thing, hope everything goes well for them. Also former Reds pitcher, Scott Schoenweis's wife was found dead in there home. What makes it worse was Scott's 14yr old daughter made the 911 call after finding her Wednesday.
*Chad hasn't reported to "voluntary" mini-camp this week. Imagine that! But now Carson is calling him out on Sirius Radio. Who really cares? I just hope Carson doesn't expect Chad too, because we know Chad doesn't give to shits.
*Notre Dame is looking into playing a game at Yankee Stadium against Army. Hey Mark, if the Irish lose to Army at Yankee stadium is it a bigger deal than losing to Army at South Bend???
*Votto has missed all this time for an ear infection. Are you shitting me? Either they got this diagnosis wrong or as this is making him sound like a big puss.
*Harang looked good Wednesday, BPhill is rippin' it, but Darnell "Ronald" McDonald was 0-3 again last night with 3 K's. As we speak Reds are getting smashed 11-5. Welcome to reality Reds Fans.
*Like the Chris Welch and Bronson Arroyo song says "Together Again" are linebackers Rey Rey Maluaga and Keith Rivers. This had been a wish of mine since last years draft when we got Rivers. My rule of thumb for the NFL draft is always take a USC guy. It just makes too much sense.
*NKU has signed a 6'6" forward from St. Xavier HS. Eric Stenger averaged 17.6ppg and 7.8rbs as a senior for St. X.
*On a side note, the Vipers basketball team will be competing in the Final 4 of the Western Hills Sports Mall Thursday Night League tonight. I say competing but I really meant to say celebrating our undefeated season with a league championship. Total domination from day 1. Thanks to all guys who made this season so special.
*Wager of the Day (1-1): So I didn't have winner last night. Would have never picked the Magic to win that game in Cleveland. But I guess thats why Im not a good gambler. Today wager also will involve the NBA. Put $20 on the moneyline and the Nuggets to win straight up. The series will head to Denver tied 1-1.

Jeff Brantley: A True American Cowboy

Jeffrey Hoke (Jeff) Brantley, (born September 5, 1963 in Florence, Alabama), is a former relief pitcher with a 14 year career from 1988 to 2001.
Jeff "The Cowboy" Brantley has become well respected by the baseball-savvy Cincinnati fans, due largely to his insightful observations on the subtle nuances of the pitching game. Though occasionally criticized for his play-by-play radio commentary's failure to paint a clear picture of the game, his slow, easy-to-follow verbal delivery and sense of humor has filled the large void left in the Reds' radio booth by the death of Joe Nuxhall.
Brantley played college baseball at Mississippi State University, where he was a teammate of Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Thigpen on a Bulldogs team that participated in the 1985 College World Series. He is the co-holder of the SEC record for career wins by a pitcher with 45, along with University of South Carolina and Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Kip Bouknight.
He played for the San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, all of the National League, and the Texas Rangers of the American League. He was also a member of the 1989 San Francisco Giants team that defeated the Chicago Cubs to win the National League pennant and would eventually lose to the Oakland A's in the World Series.
An All-Star in 1990, Brantley led the National League in 1996 with 44 saves.
As you can see Jeff Brantley has quite an impressive resume in the baseball world. But what you may not know is that the man is a world class rodeo professional. What does he ride you ask? Bulls? Broncos? ….neither.
This past Tuesday May 21, 2009 Jeff Brantley told a story on air during the first game of the Reds Vs. Phillies series about running over a hornet's nest while he was bush-hogging on his new tractor. Jeff saddled up on his new Deere and mounted that bad boy for the ride of his life. While anxiously awaiting his son to bring an ice-cold glass of sweet tea, Jeff sat on his prized tractor unaware of the fact that he was on top of a hornet’s nest. As the Hornets viciously attacked, Jeff tried to pop his tractor into gear. He wasn’t quite familiar with the workings of his new beast and mistakenly shifted into the wrong gear, which sent the tractor off like a horny bull with its nuts rubber banded. Jeff held on for dear life and proceeded to set the world record for tractor rodeo. Jeff overtook an embankment, and went airborne all while mower blades whizzed his head.
Jeff is truly an American Cowboy. Many professionals could not have completed that ride. His strength and agility, along with his well-groomed mullet gave him the ability to tame the beast and defy death.

This is why Jeff Brantley is a True American Cowboy…

Do the Ricky Bobby

Has anyone heard of this new internet crazed dance by B-Hamp? Yea, me either til my white gangsta friend Dave showed it to me. It's no stanky leg but it's still pretty sweet. I can guarantee Will Ferrell loves this. B-Hamp seems to be a class act as well.

Click here to see the video.

Big Donkey's Solo Shots

* NBA lottery was last night. The Clippers will get to draft the freak known as Blake Griffin. Is there any bigger of a joke than the NBA Lottery? Ping Pong balls with NBA logos, C'mon Maaaaaan!
*Since Lebron and Kobe will be facing off in the NBA Finals in just a few weeks. Many newspapers and sports people are blowing there loads early with "Lebron or Kobe" talk. Personally I'd take Lebron over anyone but Michael right now. But that could change down the road.
*I used to like the Stanley Cup as a kid. Usually paid attention to the NHL Playoffs. Can you even name the final 4 teams playing in NHL right now??? No, Walters the Cyclones aren't one of them.

*Does anyone know when Michael Vick gets out of prison? Vick or Farve?
*Yesterday I mentioned Jay Johnson back in NKY with the Florence Freedom. Today I learn the Freedom open their season this morning at 11:05. WTF?
*Dusty Baker's daughter must love to bang ball players that hit under .180 why else would Darnell McDonald still be on this team?
*Why the hell don't the Reds just put Votto on the DL for 15 days until they can figure out whats wrong?
*Now that UK has John Wall, the best available recruit seems to be Mr. Thuglife himself Lance Stephenson. Seems like he's either headed to Memphis or Arizona at this point. Good luck Sean Miller.
*Bengals first pick Andre Smith worked out at RT yesterday. He's still agentless which would leave me to believe he will be a guarentee hold out until about Week 2 of the regular season.
*Quiz of the week. Can you name the team that drafted these guys? Yours truely got 10/15.
*Wager of the Day(1-0): Take the Cavs giving 8.5pts at home. They still will cover in a game 1 blowout.

REDS RANT!!!

I gotta get some stuff of my chest. I'm as big a Reds fan as the next guy but there are always things that annoy the crap out of me. There are some things that have occured recently that have angered me. They might be Dusty Baker induced or they might not, either way here they are:

William Taveras---Run...run as much as you can, as often as you can. I'm sick of watching Jerry Hairston take fastball after fastball waiting for Willie to steal. Let's take last night for example. Willie works a walk late in the game, good job Willie. Hairston then proceeds to take a few pitches expecting Taveras to steal 2nd. What does he do?...he sits on his thumb over at 1st while Hairston gets behind in the count. Finally, late in the count he steals 2nd easily which he could have done on the first pitch. By this time, Hairston has already seen a few good pitches to hit but didn't swing because Taveras should be stealing. Hairston grounds out to end the inning. This isn't the first time this has happened and I fear it won't be the last. If you ran a 3.8 forty yard dash wouldn't you steal every pitch? I would.

Darnell Mcdonald---Why is he still on this team and not in Louisville or Dayton or Florence? He's brutal. He's hitting a buck 74 and brings nothing to the table. Send his ass down and bring up Jonny Gomes or Drew Stubbs to take his spot. Gomes is on fire recently and has some major league experience. Stubbs has been on fire the entire year down in Louisville and brings some more speed to this team. McDonald might be a great guy and a great story but he's useless on this team.

Matt Maloney---Some of you might not know who this guy is but he is apparently the only left handed starter in the reds organization. I don't know what this guy has to do to get a shot up here. They called up Ramon Ramirez (0-3, 5.08 ERA, 28 K's, 17 BB's) and supposedly he was going to start tonight for Owings who threw 6 innings in that extra inning game against the Padres. As of now they have Harang moving up to throw tonight and Owings throwing Thursday. If they were going to start Ramirez, why him and not Maloney. Maloney (3-2, 2.64 ERA, 38 K's, 6 BB's) would be a perfect fit against the Phillies. All the Phillies dominate hitters are lefties(Rollins is better as a lefty, Utley, Ibanez, Howard) and the reds have no lefty starter currently in the rotation. Wouldn't this make sense? Am I alone here? Give the guy a shot up here, I think he has earned it. This would only be a spot start and he would go back down immediately after because our rotation is dominating but I'd still like to see him get his shot.

I still love the REDS.

"CHOO CHOO"

Big Donkey's Solo Shots

* For some reason this Tony Kornheiser story is a big deal?? I don't really think so but here's my take. Tony is great on PTI, used to be even better on his radio show, but he was awful on MNF the past 3yrs. Gruden has to be better than Kornheiser or Dennis Miller
* UK has been all over the news today. With the signing of John Wall and the anouncement that Bledsoe is now making the grade and will be eligble. Next comes the thoughts of who is going to be asked to leave. The roster is at 17 with Meeks coming back (seems more and more likely) and they will need to cut 4 spots. Most likely it will be 4 of these 5. Liggins, Harrelson, D. Williams, AJ Stewart, and Matt Pilgrim. Personally I'd like to see Pilgrim and Harrelson stay.
*Jay Johnson is back in town and playing for the Florence Freedom. I think this guy struck me out 8 times in 8 AB's back in High School.
*Think it might be time to bring up Johnny Gomes from AAA and send down Chris Dickerson or McDonald. Gomes is hitting .280 and smacking the ball all over Louisville the past few weeks.
*Ryan Wagner retired. Yes the same Ryan Wagner that was the Reds closer of the future. He was 26. Nice draft Leatherpants. These guys were drafted after Wagner in 2003, the Reds could have drafted them. Brian Anderson, Connor Jackson, Chad Cordero, Brandon Wood, Chad Billingsly, Carlos Quentin, Jarrod Saltalamachia, Adam Jones, Andre Either, Ryan Garko.
*Brewers reliever Mike DeFelice is confusing the heck out of hitters with his "slowball" also known as the "cottonball".
*Lakers vs Nuggets tonight in conf finals. If you know me you know I think the NBA is fixed anyways and there is no way it won't be Lebron vs. Kobe in the finals. With that said, I think the Nuggest will win this game 1 in LA. Look for a 7gm series.
*Has anyone seen the new TV show, Southland. A new cop show based in the streets of LA. Last week was great with the rookie cop getting some action fron the home invasion victim after she was just too scared to stay by herself. Check it out.....Thursdays at 10pm on NBC.

WAGER OF THE DAY: Denver getting 6.5pts in LA. Take Chauncy Bil Bil Bil Billups and the Nugs to cover!!!

Reds Crew Vs. Ben-Gals

Who is a hotter group of women? The Reds Crew or Ben-Gals?

Many people wonder why there are Cheerleaders at a MLB game. Although not to bad to look at I do think that they need to sexify their uniforms. I mean come on. These women are attractive but why put them in some "Not so revealing clothing." Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of putting women on top of the Dugout with bazooka-like T-shirt guns?

I feel that the Bazooka T-shirt gun is tight. But it would be even better if it was held by a woman in a bikini....or something that showed more skin.

The Ben-gals on the other hand have some pretty good uniforms, but I am not sure that their uniforms give them the upper hand when compared to the Reds Crew. Lets face it, we like to look at the Ben-gals with their woman parts hanging and jubbling around but if the Reds Crew has simliar uniforms would they be in the same hottness bracket???

That for you to decide??? Please comment with your opinion...

Dhani Jones Tackles My TV

Has any else given Dhani a chance? I wasn't even sure if I had the Travel Channel until Dhani Tackles the Globe. To my surpise this show isn't too bad and as a bonus Travel Channel comes in HD. The Bengals linebacker is actually good at this. Dhani's fun, passionate, hard working personality makes this show hard not to like. The adventures he goes on in each country are pretty interesting and amusing at times. From heading to "red light" districts in Tailand to the fourteen Pub Crawl stops after his Rugby game in England, Dhani isn't affraid to try anything. Beer drinking, eating crickets, surfing, and falling of his horse is some of the crap you'll see him do while not training for his next sport. My recomendation is to DVR a episode and check it out when you get a chance.

REY REY BITCHES!!!

The Bengals finally got what they needed to be successful in this league. They got their version of a Rey Rey. The ravens have Ray Ray Lewis and now we have a much younger, better looking, scarier version. The league is screwed. The guy is 6’2, 250 pounds of Samoan insanity. The only knock on the guy is that he is a headcase and runs around like a chicken with his head cutoff. Who gives a shit!!! If he sees a football in someone’s hands he’s gonna knock the shit out of him. I’d hate to be Joe Flacco or the beautiful Brady Quinn because those young men might not live to see 25. Rey Rey is after your asses and there’s nothing you can do about it. Rey Rey gets what he wants and does what he wants. Just like when he stanky legged Erin Andrews, he wanted to do it and he did it, no consequences.

If this team isn’t a 16-0 team then I don’t know who is. You heard it here first. Put those champagne bottles away Don Shula cuz Rey Rey is coming for that record you son of a bitch.

“CHOO CHOO”

John Wall to UK????

Numerous sites and radio stations are reporting that the nations biggest recruit, John Wall has declared he will be coming to the Lexington. The dynamic point guard who would instantly give UK one of the greatest recruiting classes ever has been deciding between Duke, Miami, and Kentucky over the past couple weeks. For sure Wall is a one and done type player, whose explosiveness would fit in perfectly with the Dribble Drive Motion Offense that Coach Cal runs. We'll keep you updated on the latest and greatest on the John Wall saga.

UPDATE: ESPN is now reporting also that John Wall is headed to UK. Basically we here at Riverfront Sports believe that if ESPN if reporting it, it has to be true.

Bo Diaz Not Forgotten

Baudilio Jose Diaz Seijas , best known as Bo Diaz was a hard-playing catcher with a solid batting eye and played in the major leagues for 13 seasons. He broke into the majors as a 24-year old from Venezuela in 1977. He played part-time with the Red Sox in 1977 and with Cleveland from 1978 thru 1980. Diaz was the Indians' fist-string catcher in 1981 and responded by hitting .313, and made the American League's All-Star team. In 1982 he was traded to the Phillies and his toughness behind home plate and his ability to frame pitches for the team's pitching staff vaulted Philadelphia to a second place finish in the NL East, and his hitting also played a big role in the Phillies success during this time-frame.
In 1982, Bo Diaz hit a solid .288, rapped 29 doubles into the outfield gaps, 18 homers into the stands, and had 85 clutch RBIs. In 1983, the year the Phillies went to the World Series, Diaz played in 136 games, struck out just 57 times in 471 at bats, lined 17 doubles and 15 homers, with 64 RBIs. However, he injured his knees and played with taped-up, heavily scarred and swollen knees for the rest of his career. Due to his knee injuries he played just 25 games in 1985 and was traded to Cincinnati the next season and took over the starting backstop duties once more.
Swollen knees and all, the well-liked Bo Diaz was one of the leading National League catchers in his years with the Reds, who finished in second place in the NL West for three straight seasons - 1986-1988. In 134 games in 1986, he hit .272 and pounded 31 extra base hits... in 1987, he enjoyed one of his best batting seasons - .277 batting average, 28 doubles, 15 home runs, and was selected for the second time for the All-Star team. His last full-time season came in 1988, when he played in 92 games. Bo Diaz career record: .255 BA, 834 hits in 3,274 at-bats, 162 Ds, 87Hr, 327 Runs, 452 RBIs and a solid .300 on-base-pct...

In November of 1990, just 37-years old, Diaz died tragically. There are 2 different explanations for Bo's Death. One source reported that Diaz died when he was struck by lightning while installing a satellite dish on his home in Venezuela. Another source reported that Bo Diaz was killed when he was crushed by a satellite dish on the roof of his home in Caracas, Venezuela. Bo was attempting to adjust the dish, which apparently was knocked off line by high winds, a Caracas TV station reported. Jose Gonzalez, an official of the Caracas morgue, said the 37-year-old Diaz died instantly when the dish collapsed, crushing his neck and skull against the base of the dish.

Still to this day the 2 speculated stories are circulating about Bo's death. Which are we to believe? Either way Bo Diaz was a historic ball player in my eyes and he will never be forgotten.

RIP.

Reds Report Card

So far this season we've seen the Reds play pretty well. They were even tied for 1st in the NL Central for about forty five minutes. Some areas of this team have looked pretty good, but other have a lot of improving to do. Here are my grades.

Pitching- Three of the Five starters this season have a winning record. Johnny Cueto has been Pedro Martinez like with a 1.93era. Aaron Harang has a 3-4 mark but still has pitched pretty well over his past few starts. As for the bullpen, "CoCo" Cordero has been in the top categories for closers so far this season, just a matter of time until he finally blows up. The Amish Guy aka Jared Burton, has grown a massive beard and pitched well as a set up man so far. The 57yr old Arthur Rhodes has been great so far and so has the 15yr old Daniel Herrara. Nick Massett got of to a great start but probably will be put on the 15-Day DL soon. GRADE A-

Outfield- Willy Taveras has been a pleasent surprise so far. Hitting near or above .300 for most of the season. He isn't stealing as much as most would have expected, but he is giving great defense in CF. Jay Bruce has shown his power in the first few weeks with 11HR's, but is hitting a low .231. So far Jay needs to become more than a fastball hitter. Laynce Nix has come on to take the LF spot and done it mostly with his bat. He's been as surprising as his good frienship with new Bengal, Tank Johnson. As for Chris Dickerson, it looks like he's going through a rough patch. Although he did homer in his last game against San Diego, Dickerson seems a bit frustrated and might need some more AB's in Louisville. Grade B-

INFIELD- While it looks like the infield doesn't include Easy E or Alex Gonzalez, they are due back this week. Is there anyway we can trade them for back-up firstbasemen. It sure would be nice to have that versataile Jeff Keppinger back right now. On the Joey Votto front he's went from NL MVP contender to a San Diego Clinic. No one is sure whats realy wrong with him. Maybe virtigo, maybe swine flu....but if it wasn't for Ramon Hernandez saving us 1B who knows where we'd be. Adam Rosales has provided a spark and been fun to watch, but really is he going to keep this up for rest of the year. Brandon Phillips started off slow and but in the past few weeks is scorching hot at the plate. And finally a thanks to Jerry Hairston, with out this guy who knows where we'd be. He's been a steady veteran in the club house and looked just as steady in the 2hole. Jerry is just one of those guys this team has to have, but how long can he stay healthy also. GRADE C+

OVERALL- This team still lacks fundamentals. We've seen the likes of Jerry Hairston, Brandon Phillips, and Adam Rosales not be able to get bunts down. EE still can't throw the ball to first base. Brandon Phillips struggled in the begining because he thought he had to be Adam Dunn. Awful base running has hurt them a number of times this year already and I'm still not certain Dusty Baker is the right man for this job. But I do know he's better than that BASEBALL GUY, Jerry Narron. Overall this team has played pretty well. And still has room to improve. GRADE B-

Welcome to Riverfront Sports Blog

Welcome to a blogspot you will want to check in on everyday. Riverfront Sports is a place where you can get all your daily necessities for a sports fan in NKY and Tri-state area. We cover any and everything from Reds and Bengals to UK, UC, XU and much much more.