Mo's thoughts on his dad
From Mo's blog...

***************************

Misty Dawn will get you ready for the weekend....

***************************

Reds vs. Phillies series wrap-up....drop finale 12-5

- It's disappointing to lose 2 of 3 BUT....against an offensively dangerous team like the Phillies, the Reds had opportunities to win all three games. I'm not quite as concerned as I would have been if they had played like this againt the Indians or Astros.

- How about Brandon Phillips' resurgence?? After a month of April that has us questioning what was wrong with him and his bat....he was hitting .188 with a .293 OBP, a .319 slugging percentage, and just 7 RBI. Through 16 games in May Phillips is hitting .354 with a .394 OBP, a .631 SLG%, 5 HR, and 23 RBI. What a turnaround!

- Reds can breath a sigh of relief on Votto.....The tests are back on Reds first baseman Joey Votto, and the diagnosis behind his dizziness was a left inner ear infection. "All other testing was normal," Reds head trainer Mark Mann said. "The only thing that came back irregular was the audiology tests that indicated he had an inner ear infection that was secondary to the upper respiratory infection he had 10 days ago, which I get from Dr. Cleves, is a common occurance.

- They've allowed 23 fewer runs than last year at this time and have scored 5 more runs in the same span....consider that is in spite of missing Phillips and Votto both during a handful of days. That's impressive.

- Edinson Volquez (back spasms) has been placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to Sunday. Homer Bailey will be called up to start in Volquez' place tomorrow vs. Cleveland.

***************************

Did you see what MLB TV hosts Mitch Williams and Joe Magrane said the other night on MLB TV??....They said the NL Central is a 3 horse race between Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. Mitch and Joe basically said that the Reds are looking better and seem to have a plan but...well, they're not ready to contend just yet. Do you agree? I wanna hear your thoughts. Also, be sure to answer the POLL QUESTION to the right.

***************************

So Far, So Good
P-Doc, Enquirer
The 12-5 balance-disturbance applied by the defending world champion Phillies served as a tiny reminder of who the Reds would like to be when they grow up. Joey Votto is such an essential part of that growth that the entirety of Reds Nation ? never hesitant to see a falling sky ? evoked the name of Nick Esasky after Votto missed several games with what was described as dizziness. Esasky?s vertigo chased him out of baseball.

***************************

Carson Palmer takes a shot at Chad Johnson....."T.J. is gone and Chad's pretty much gone, he hasn't been here, so we've got guys that want those two spots, guys that compete day in and day out, when we're out there on the field, running, conditioning and in the weight room lifting. They're guys that want to take over for those two spots. They look every bit capable of doing what we're going to ask them to do."

More on this story from Joe Reedy...

***************************

Priority Sports slams Andre Smith...."We were asked to come in at the last minute to provide credibility to his draft status and we succeeded in that task. Soon after the draft, Andre Smith became a tremendous distraction to our company. What we have subsequently determined is that Andre Smith does not match the culture of Priority Sports and the character of the clients we take so much pride in representing. This will be our final statement on this matter."

***************************

What a week of TV finales!! From 24 to American Idol.....this time of year provides some water-cooler TV conversation. And it got me to thinking about the best "Did You See It Moments in TV History." I found a Top 10 list that are missing some key one's....we'll discuss today from 3pm-6pm. Did Wednesday's Idol finale make the list?

***************************

If you were a GM/Owner of an NFL team, would you sign Michael Vick? (TAKE POLL QUESTION TO THE RIGHT)....Assuming he's reinstated by Roger Goodell, I would...provided he's in good enough shape to make the team. Before I explain, let me first say that what Vick did is disgusting and he is a miscreant. However quite honestly, as a GM or owner...I'm in the business of selling tickets. And I believe that in most NFL cities, having Vick on my roster (whether QB or at another position) would put butts in my seats.

It's a very simple matter of risk vs. reward: The financial risk would be low since he'll likely make very little money...and with the league microscope likely to be on him, he's really not going to be a risk to screw it up. If he does, he's gone and we're not out a lot of money.

***************************

Browns WR Josh Cribbs says NFL contracts are 1 sided
ESPN
"Contracts are one-sided in favor of the team, yet we as players are told to honor our contracts without the team honoring them. We are not doctors and lawyers, we don't get paid for 25 years of work. If we are lucky, we get 10 years at best to make all the money we can to last the rest of our life." Cribbs is scheduled to make $620,000, $635,000, $650,000 and $790,000 during the next four years totaling almost $2.7 million.

***************************

Bengals release former Bearcat
From the Bengals

The Bengals today waived C/G Digger Bujnoch, a first-year player from the University of Cincinnati. Bujnoch, a Cincinnati native (Elder High School) spent the final six games of last season on the Bengals practice squad. He entered the NFL in May of last year as a college free agent signee with the N.Y. Giants.

***************************

Speaking of Bearcats....On the first day Cashmere Wright was medically cleared to play in open gym with his University of Cincinnati basketball teammates, he found himself in the same situation that resulted in a torn ACL last October as he planted his left foot to shoot a layup on a fast break.

***************************

Football at the new Yankee Stadium??.....Notre Dame would like to revive the tradition of playing football at Yankee Stadium by being the first college football team to play at the new Yankee Stadium, Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick told the New York Times.

***************************

SEC needs UK to be successful......Kentucky's immediate resurgence under John Calipari is going to make life tougher for every coach in the SEC, but Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said it also can make life better. He said the widespread diagnosis of the SEC as having a down season in 2008-09 --reflected in regular-season champ LSU earning a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament -- was partly the result of Kentucky's struggles.

***************************

A look into the Reds future...
From Jamie Ramsey

The Louisville Bats were off yesterday celebrating the 439th anniversary of the first modern atlas...they?ll resume action tonight at 38-15?23?? N (latitude), 085-44?41?? W (longitude) against Syracuse in the first game of a 4-game series?Carolina fell to Jacksonville but still take the 5-game series (3-2)?the Mudcats committed 4 errors, leading to 5 unearned runs?James Avery allowed all 5 unearned runs over 6.1 innings (7h, 0er, 1bb, 2k)?newly promoted Logan Ondrusek fired 2.2 scoreless innings of relief?Todd Frazier homered?Sarasota split a doubleheader at Jupiter?Yonder Alonso drove in 3 runs on the day?Reds starters Rafael Gonzalez (5ip, 5h, 3r/1er, 2bb, 1k) and Luis Montano (5ip, 9h, 2r/2er, 2bb, 1k) both pitched well?The Dayton Dragons are breathing fire, they beat Quad Cities for their 4th win in 5 games?Cody Puckett had 2 hits including a double and a home run?Curtis Partch allowed 2 runs on just 3 hits over 6.0 innings.

DRAGON TALES
The Dayton Dragons have won 4-5g on their current road trip and have outscored their opponents 29-11 in those 5g...A win tonight for the Dragons would give them 2 consecutive series victories for the first time this season...Datyon is 12-14 over its last 26g after starting the season 1-12. (thanks to the Dragons Media Relations staff)

WAY OVER YONDER
1b Yonder Alonso (Sarasota) has hit safely in each of his last 5 games...for the month of May, Alonso is batting .338 in 18 games (22-65, 7 doubles, 1hr, 13rbi, .419obp, .492slg)...Alonso leads the Florida State League with 34 RBI (next-best, 29rbi) and ranks T3rd with 12 doubles.

OH HENRY
OF Sean Henry (Carolina) has 2 hits in each of his last 3 games and overall this season in 34g is batting .313, including a whopping .462 with runners in scoring position (12-26, 1hr, 11rbi)...for the month, Henry is batting .373 in 18g.

YESTERDAY?S TRANSACTIONS
5/20: RHP Michael Bohana transferred from Billings to Sarasota...RHP Justin Mallett transferred from Carolina to Louisville...RHP Zach Stewart transferred from Sarasota to Carolina...RHP Daryl Thompson (Louisville) placed on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.

***************************

Delaware court hears sports betting case....The Delaware Supreme Court may weigh in on whether a sports betting lottery complies with the state constitution, with justices on Thursday listening to oral arguments on reasons they should issue an opinion. Gov. Jack Markell's has requested the court's view on the bill he signed last week under which Delaware would become the only state east of the Rocky Mountains offering sports wagering.

***************************

My RedHawks 2009-10 schedule unofficially released.....aka the Return Road to the Frozen Four

October
October 3 UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR (Exhibition)
October 9 ST. CLOUD STATE
October 10 ST. CLOUD STATE
October 16 @ New Hampshire
October 17 @ New Hampshire
October 23 MICHIGAN STATE
October 24 MICHIGAN STATE
October 30 @ Northern Michigan
October 31 @ Northern Michigan

November
November 6 @ Michigan
November 7 @ Michigan
November 13 FERRIS STATE
November 14 FERRIS STATE
November 20 @ Western Michigan
November 21 @ Western Michigan
November 27 vs. Bemidji State (Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, ND)
November 28 vs. North Dakota (Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, ND)

December
December 4 NOTRE DAME
December 5 NOTRE DAME
December 11 @ Ohio State
December 12 OHIO STATE

January
January 8 @ Robert Morris (Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA)
January 10 ROBERT MORRIS
January 15 @ Ferris State
January 16 @ Ferris State
January 22 @ Alaska
January 23 @ Alaska
January 29 WESTERN MICHIGAN
January 30 WESTERN MICHIGAN

February
February 5 LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
February 6 LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
February 12 @ Bowling Green
February 13 @ Bowling Green
February 19 NEBRASKA-OMAHA
February 20 NEBRASKA-OMAHA
Feb. 26 OHIO STATE
Feb. 27 @ Ohio State

***************************

Friday Food Porn.....Bacon Chocolate Cake

***************************

If you try this at home....you will hurt yourself....

***************************

FAIL of the day....why you shouldn't smoke inside at Subway restaurant....

***************************

FAIL of the day....why you shouldn't smoke inside at Subway restaurant....

***************************

Well this story didn't take long to surface.....

***************************

Today's Definition of Duh....this guy must have missed the class on how to be stealthy after robbing a bank. An alert Reading policeman captured a man who had robbed a downtown bank Wednesday after the man sped past the officer with his car radio blaring a few hours later, investigators said.

***************************

The internship of all internships.....

***************************

Top 5 SciFi Movies of All-Time
The top five sci-fi films of all time is:
1. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
2. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
3. Aliens
4. The Matrix
5. Blade Runner

***************************

Add this to my 2009 Christmas List....Sure, we really liked the Nyko Wing Wireless Classic Controller for use with the Nintendo Wii, but if we could choose any controller to use with Virtual Console games, it would be the originals themselves. Developer Komodo may have come up with a device that could pacify these desires.

***************************

Not to be outdone by yesterday's WTF....I offer up this....

***************************

Ever wonder if the Best Buy "Geek Squad" really knows what they're doing when telling you how to fix your computer? Here's your answer...

***************************