Every day there are three things, here are those three things.
1) Know what'd be fun? Spending at least a little bit of today lamenting what happened to the Reds over the weekend, from Friday's wild 11-10 win to Saturday's agonizing defeat to however you want to characterize yesterday's L in Milwaukee.
Saturday's game stood out in particular. It was a pretty entertaining tilt, back-and-forth with Adam Duvalls' offensive and defensive heroics leading the way in a game that was marred by some shaky umpiring, an ejection, and finally, a walk-off wild pitch that snapped a small Reds winning streak.
It was the kind of game that, when your team is playing meaningful baseball in August, is jarring. The kind of loss you pick apart and relive in the wee hours. And the kind of defeat that you fear will be remembered in late September.
When your team is playing out the string, it's the kind of game that makes you shrug your shoulders.
I miss meaningful late-summer baseball.
I'm jealous of the fans who still get to enjoy it.
(Photo: Getty Images)
2) Let's clarify a position on Joe Mixon.
I said on my show on Friday that among the players I was most excited to watch was Joe Mixon, who was among the many standouts in the Bengals' first preseason game. That elicited a few emails and Tweets from people wondering A) why, after being so opposed to the Bengals drafting Joe Mixon, I was looking forward to watching him or B) how I could stomach watching someone who'd done what Joe Mixon did when he punched the girl in the restaurant.
So let me clearly state my position on Joe Mixon.
I did not like the fact that the Bengals drafted Joe Mixon. When his name was called, I felt sick to my stomach.
But I am open-minded to the idea that, long-term, Joe Mixon can ultimately make me feel good about the Bengals' decision to take him.
Since he is a Bengal, and since that's the team I've long-since aligned my rooting interests with, it does no one any good for him to not be productive on the field.
More important, it does no one any good for him to repeat the behavaior that made him such a controversial pick to begin with.
It would be irresponsible of me to not comment on Joe Mixon's football ability.
And since the week of the draft, I've had little interest in talking about Joe Mixon in non-football terms.
Thank you.
3) I love this. I found this nugget in Mark Titus' outstanding look college basketball's ten biggest offseason stories. From Syracuse.com....
The 2018 NCAA tournament will have a new feature. The NCAA has adopted The Basketball Tournament's post-game bracket celebration.
After games in The Basketball Tournament, the winning team goes over to a giant replica of the tournament's bracket. In a fashion that's part ceremony and part celebration, a member of the team moves a card with the team's name ahead to the next round of the tournament.
It has fast become a favorite moment for both players and fans alike during The Basketball Tournament.
The NCAA took notice and starting next year the NCAA tournament will do the same thing.
David Worlock, the NCAA's director of media coordination, dropped the nugget on Twitter Wednesday night. He then confirmed the decision via an email.
"Yes, we're doing it,'' Worlock said in the email. "I noticed in the The Basketball Tournament and liked the idea. Then a few weeks ago there was some chatter on Twitter from some members of the media, saying they wished we would do it during our tournament. So I obviously wasn't the only person who thought it was a cool idea.
I love this idea, mainly because I hope to spend many March nights debating whether Gary Clark or Jacob Evans should be moving the card that reads "Cincinnati" to the next round, but also because the best snapshots of the NCAA Tournament will be the players moving the name of their school to the following round, especially when there's an upset. I look forward to this more than any college basketball rule change.
Radio Show: We go live to training camp every hour, plus I'm looking to talk to FC Cincinnati fans who were displaced from their seats on Saturday night by apparently over-aggressive Louisville City security workers. Lots to get to. 3:05. ESPN1530.
Recommended Link Of The Day: The exclusive untold story behind the Astros' rainbow uniform.