Due to a combination of total Bengals burnout, some family obligations, and a handful of other job-related matters to attend do, I did not do the normal post-Bengals game blogging that I'm sure you've spent your Christmas Eve, and Christmas Eve ever missing so dearly.

Really, what is there to say about a loss that's clinched last place?  The Bengals played in Cleveland without their top two wide receivers, and with a quarterback who's not a starting-caliber player, as well as a weak offensive line, and bad linebackers, including one wearing the number 55 should be shown the door soon.

There's but one game to go, then we can start getting clarity on the thing that continues to hover over everything in the organization: Is Marvin coming back, or not?

It's being positioned as Marvin's choice, which I'm not sure I really believe to be the case, but really, who knows?  We're trying to get inside the heads of an owner who's secretive and a coach who'd rather share with you his gameplans than let the rest of us in on what his future plans are.

Yeah, good luck with that. 

There's nothing new to say on the whole matter. If Marvin's back, it will be deflating. If Hue Jackson is his replacement, it will be more insulting to everyone's intelligence than if they brought back Marv.  And if Vance Joseph is the guy, well then, hoo boy.

We can talk about this more next week, when the season is fully behind us, and I'm a little less fried on all things orange and black.

Frankly, the Reds' offseason, UC hoops, and the forthcoming NFL Playoffs are all more interesting.  Quickly, on the Reds/Dodgers trade...

I don't think any one offseason deal should be viewed in a vacuum. What makes the Baileyprospects-for-Puig/Wood/Farmer/Kemp deal interesting in what else it triggers. 

More deals that might involve some of this trade's particulars? Deadline deals next summer that involve some of the guy's the Reds got from LA? A big offseason splash with free agent money they haven't yet spent or top-end prospects they haven't yet traded?

I don't know. What I do know is that while the Reds might not be improved enough at the moment to compete for a playoff spot, they're infinitely more interesting than they were last Friday morning.

For now, that's enough.

The main purpose of this blog was to wish you, the reader, a Merry Christmas abd to say thank you for reading, listening, and following in 2018.  I'll have one more entry this year, which will post on Friday.

Aside from that, I'm shutting it down for a few days.

If you feel compelled to do some reading, some of the stuff I enjoyed writing the most can be found here. 

Be merry. Be safe. And thanks for reading.