Kevin Huber Stays In Cincy!

If you follow the Bengals then you know how desperate we are in need of a good punter. So in the 5th round of the NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected Kevin Huber from the Cincinnati Bearcats. I think this was a very logical, and good move to make. I have had the opportunity to watch Kevin Huber play on many occasions. He had gone to a high school just down the street from where I had attended high school. He went to Archbishop McNicholas High School in Anderson Township, Cincinnati Ohio. After graduating high school we went to the University of Cincinnati on a full athletic scholarship. With the Bearcats, Huber had been selected 1st team All-American in his senior year where he was also a finalist in the Ray Guy award (the Nation's top punter). Huber also led the nation is junior year in net yards in punting, and was recognized as one of the top punting prospects in the draft. I think the Bengals made a very good move in picking Kevin Huber, and my best goes out to him in the pursuit of an NFL career.

Bengals and Their 2009 Draft Selections

For every NFL fan every year, there is the Draft. As a Cincinnati Bengals fan I can't say enough about how bad their first round selection was this year. As every Bengals fan knows that the one thing they really needed help with last season was the offensive line. So, for that fact alone I will give the Bengals credit. But, in the past few drafts, to date, the number of lineman who have come in and made a difference to their teams have out-weighed the number of lineman who have. If you think back to last year's draft there were eight offensive lineman drafted in round one alone. The number one draft overall was Michigan's very own Jake Long. In his rookie year he was absolutely man handled by just about every team that faced him. With all this being said, I can't help but think that the Bengals' first round pick in Andre Smith, from Alabama was a bad idea. Yes, of course the Bengals desperately needed help on the offensive line, but stats have proven that if you draft for offensive lineman higher in the draft that you have just as much success as if you were to draft lower in the draft. For example, in the 1998 draft Matt Birk was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings and has been one of the most beneficial draft picks ever taken. He single handily had solidified the Vikings O-line. This isn't the first occurrence of a late round O-lineman making a difference either. But, if you think in years past, skilled player coming in and making a significance are few and far to come by. Personally, I think they needed to take either Michael Crabtree or Knowshawn Moreno. Let's hope that I'm proven wrong, for the Bengals sake.

Future is Looking Bright

With the way the season had ended last year our expectations for this year were very minuscule. But, with the addition of some expierenced coaches, a solid recruiting class, and some very good transfers our future is looking very good. With only one week of spring practices left the team morale is better than I've ever seen. All positions are very deep as far as depth goes. The team has that certain swagger about them that gives off a positive aoura. I have never been so excited to start a season before. I think the Lions are going to be on the prowl this year. We have a lot to prove and nothing to lose. We are going to go into this season with our heads held high, and we are going to give it our all. If I were a betting man I would put the MSJ Lions winning the HCAC championship this season.

Spring Ball Has Kicked Off!

Now with the spring season upon us, Spring Ball is as well. There hasn't been major changes as far as plays are concerned, but the changes both the offense and defense have made are going to pay dividends. The offense is going to concentrate on speeding up the tempo of the game, and playing much faster. Offensively we want to spread the field and use every part of our offense as possible. Defensively , we are going to be as strong as ever. We plan to attack offenses and keep them guessing. Our goal is to win another HCAC championship, but we aren't going to stop there. We also want to have a playoff birth, which may or may not lead us to our first national championship. Our goals are high, but they are definitely reachable. As a team we are going to push each other. We will not except anything less than perfection.

Baseball/Softball out of 2012 Olympics

In the spirit of Opening Day for Major League Baseball, I wanted to draw attention to the fact that basebaal and softball have both been takin out of the 20102 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted in a secret ballot to have both sports removed as of July, 2005. The IOC claims that they are both too Americanized sports and the rest of the world wouldn't be able to relate. What's funny is, there are over 120 countries that play softball, and in the 08' Olympics the Japanese won the gold medal. As for baseball, it became an Olympic sport in the 92' Barcelona Games. But, the U.S. team only has two medals as of the 08' Olympics. The American team won bronze in the 1996 Atlanta Games and gold in the 2000 Sydney Games. To make matters even worse than that, in this past Olympics (08') the U.S. team didn't even qualify for the Games. With all this being said, I want to know how the IOC could say that these two sports are too Americanized? I think it is a shame that a beautiful and diverse sport be left out of such a rewarding event.