Support Your Local Sports Team

     Cincinnati isn't the biggest city around. When it comes to national sports scene, people know us for Ochocinco, Bengals going to jail (which doesn't happen NEARLY as much as people would like to believe), the Reds, and college basketball. Success and star power is usually not seen outside of the 275 loop.

     We have a chance to put Cincinnati in the spotlight. We know the Reds are good. We know guys like Brandon Philips, Joey Votto, and Jay Bruce are some of the best position players in the National League. Those guys are doing their part to get into the national spotlight, we need to do ours.

     Last year, Joey Votto, the eventual National League MVP only made the All Star game because of the last man in vote. The final vote showed that we can rally for our guys, but we shouldn't put them behind the 8 ball in the first place. Vote Reds

     We like to complain, myself included, that we don't get enough respect or attention in the national media. But at the same time, maybe WE don't give our own teams, other than the Bengals, enough attention. People say they don't go to Reds games because it's too high. You don't have to buy 8 dollar beers. In fact, you can bring your own drinks in. You can get really cheap tickets if you want. I'm not saying that everyone should by 10 game ticket packs. Just don't say, "(Insert Media Outlet) doesn't care about the Reds," when you haven't really supported the team yourself.

     Vote Reds. Support our guys. Watch them on TV, vote for them in the All Star Game, and why not come to a game or two?

MLB Draft, It's a Real Thing

     In case you didn't notice, the MLB Draft started yesterday. The Cincinnati Reds took a pitcher by the name of Robert (don't call me Louis) Stephenson. Apparently, he's out of high school. He is also right handed. He can throw up to 97 miles per hour. He has a curveball. And a change up.  Zzzzzz... Let me know when you wake up.

     There are a lot of things that work against the MLB Draft. It's in the middle of the season, it doesn't include international players, these guys might not see the Majors for at least a season or two. By the time he gets drafted, the buzz (if there was one) is probably gone by anyone not a hardcore fan.With so much working against the draft, Major League Baseball can't do things to make it worse.

     Mo Egger (of ESPN 1530 fame) has a great idea of having the draft the day after the All-Star Game. Which makes sense, because its the only day in the US that none of the four major sports are in action. Basically, a perfect oppurtunity for them to capitalize on sports boredom. Also, with no sports being on, ESPN or some other sports network might pick it up for America to watch.

     I have a few more ideas, can we get mock drafts? Big boards? A combine? A guy like Mel Kiper, Jr with too much hair gel and an "I'm way smarter than the other guy I'm arguing with" aura? We care about football because if we watch sports TV enough, we feel like we learn who the top 5 weak side linebackers and which running back could be a Day 2 sleeper. Knowledge equals intrest, intrest equals demand, demand equals TV time, and TV time equals money. See how that works?

     Another thing that would help would be ease of info. If you don't want talking heads, give me numbers. Give me stats and ratings on things like curveballs or fielding range. Why should I have to pay ESPN to find out any in depth info? 40 times and bench reps are all over when it comes to football.

     MLB needs to take this seriously if they want us to take it seriously. Draft coverage was at the bottom of the page. Their headline story was about the Red Sox and Yankees, two things that are more worn out than (insert joke here). I want to care about Robert Stephenson, and in time, maybe I will. But the draft is supposed to rejuvenate hope in your team. That a certain prospect will take your team to the next level, or become a franchise player. If the Reds didn't draft a guy named after an author, I never would remember him. Maybe later they'll take shortshop Ralph Emerson.

Debating the Debate

     Debates are a big part of sports. Without them, I wouldn't have much to write about. As the summer wears on, I'll be sure to attack some of the age old controversies and debates, but today I want to stop a debate. I guess I am debating on whether there is a debate to debate about. LeBron vs Michael Jordan.

     Scottie Pippen has been the butt of some jokes on Twitter (#ScottiePippenTweets) by a ton of people including myself. In fairness to Scottie, he said LeBron COULD be better than Michael Jordan. Fair enough. It's blown up however, that Scotte thinks LeBron is better than his former running mate. ESPN, sports radio, and even lowly bloggers are throwing in their two cents.

     I'm not going to debate that MJ is better than LBJ. That's not a debate. It's way too early. MJ has 6 Titles, LeBron 0. MJ has the highest career PPG average and was first team defense every full season he played from 1988 to 1998. MJ was also a 5 time MVP and a 6 time Finals MVP. So yea, that's a beefy list of awesomeness.

     LeBron needs to be compared with his peers right now. Once his career is nearing its end THEN we should talk all-time stuff. Remember Ken Griffey, Jr? He could have gone down as the greatest player that ever played. Injuries happened. Age happened. Years on the road happened. As much as I didn't like LeBron for his "Decision", but I want to see where his career can go. How high can he reach? And when the dust settles, where will he rank beside Jordan, Bird, and the Big O.

     But before we get to them, he needs to show he's better than Kobe, Kevin Durant, and the rest of  his contemporaries.