The Reds are currently up six games on the whiny little Cardinals and what better way to figure it all out than to have a chat with a guy who has been around a lot of the younger Redlegs?

Louisville Bats play-by-play man Matt Andrews makes a triumphant return to the podcast. He first discusses the Bats’ miraculous run, which included a stretch where they went 19-1, to the postseason.

We also chat about the Reds’ pitching staff, the outfield and the excitement we both feel. Oh, and we got in a little OSU football talk, as well.

NFL Picks Week One

Here we are, back again. Fall is upon us and so is the NFL football season. We had a great season last year, with Fulch taking home the honors, and some very tasty free pizza I might add.

We’ll do it again. Get your picks in before the games each week. One game picked correctly is a point. If you win the entire week you get an extra point. Final standings determine the winner of the free meal.

Invite your friends to join, and try to make sure you pick every week!

For the first week there are two Monday Night games, so we’ll take the points total from the final matchup.

NFL Week One

Minnesota at New Orleans (Thursday)
Carolina at NY Giants
Atlanta at Pittsburgh
Cleveland at Tampa Bay
Denver at Jacksonville
Indianapolis at Houston
Miami at Buffalo
Detroit at Chicago
Oakland at Tennessee
Cincinnati at New England
Arizona at St. Louis
San Francisco at Seattle
Green Bay at Philadelphia
Dallas at Washington
Baltimore at NY Jets (Monday)
San Diego at Kansas City (Monday) Pts._____

Make your picks by using the “Comments” section under the headline.

Jeff and I break down everything from Terrelle Pryor to some surprise starters on defense, and do our best to make sense of where the Big Ten is going once Nebraska joins in 2011.

And of course the conversation devolved into a pity party for dear Michigan…yeah.

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Matt has followed the amazing journey of Aroldis Chapman and breaks down his game to this point, plus we talk about the Reds and what is to come.

Send comments or thought my way via the “Comments” section at the top of the page.

Scott Bacon, play-by-play voice of the Lynchburg Hillcats, the Cincinnati Reds’ High-A affiliate in the Carolina League, joins me to talk future Reds, specifically top 2007 pick Devin Mesoraco, who is a catcher with the Hillcats, and has hit quite well this year.

Bacon and I talk about the Reds’ current philosophy under general manager Walt Jocetty and the life of a minor league broadcaster.

I also added a home run call by Bacon and an interview he recorded with Mesoraco last week.

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Andrews was in Toledo Sunday to call the action of Chapman’s professional debut, a game in which he struck out nine batters in less than five innings.

It’s also a fine time to be a fan of the big league club, as another 22-year old hurler, Mike Leake, was excellent in his Reds debut — Leake completely skipped the minor leagues as he went straight from Arizona State to the big club.

It’s a fine time to be a fan of the Cincinnati Reds.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment above the text.

With that said, it was time to turn a corner on the podcast, and to do so I turned to a baseball fan who may be as crazy about his team than I am of mine.

Steve Streicher, resident Tigers expert, joins me to talk Tigers and Reds. We break down the rosters as we near opening day and figure out which guy will get to host the World Series party first.

Final Ohio State hoops thought

I’m pretty tired of the grumblings going around that OSU was worn out at the end of the season.

Was it a really short bench? Yes, but the fact is that team played itself into a Big Ten title after starting 1-3, won three games in as many days to win the Big Ten Tournament, and played with a Tennessee team that ran 10-plus players at it.

The real answer, which would’ve also added to the depth, would’ve been to have a B.J. Mullens, or any other player with size, to throw at the Vols. But to say the Buckeyes got tired doesn’t fly with me. Length was an issue, not wind, and it would’ve come up again had they advanced to play West Virginia or Duke, or Kentucky had the Wildcats not laid an Elite Eight egg.

Leave your thoughts or comments by clicking on the “Comments” section at the top of the page.

Jeff has launched a web site, www.SportsRappUp.com, which I highly recommend.

Jeff and I talk about the performances the Buckeyes turned in last weekend, in wins over UC Santa Barbara and Georgia Tech, and about the coming week’s game(s), first against Tennessee, and then, possibly, against Michigan State or Northern Iowa.

Return of me, writing

I haven’t done much blogging lately. The past year has seen the rise of the podcast, and that has taken some of my extra time that I used to use for writing on this site. I thought I’d take this opportunity to reminisce about tournaments past, and about this OSU hoops season.

Ohio State basketball is one of my first loves, and it offers me something OSU football doesn’t. I feel I really get to know the players in each season. Possibly that’s due to the fact there are fewer basketball players than what makes up a football squad, and the fact there are two games a week from late November until tournament time in March.

It doesn’t mean I don’t love football, because I do, but the basketball season seems more like an epic tale than the weekly dates I get with the gridiron Buckeyes.

Following Evan Turner’s season, from him pulling down 17 rebounds in each of the first two games this season, to falling and breaking his back in December, to his triumphant return and subsequent charge through the Big Ten season for a regular season and tournament crown, has been great theater.

I’ve loved every minute, and I’m anxious to see it continue.

Tournament memories

I first went to an NCAA tournament game in 1999. I had just returned from my first Big Ten tournament, and though I couldn’t get to the first-round game in Indianapolis against Murray State, I was able to go see the Buckeyes take on Detroit in the second round.

I drove to Indy with a classmate of mine, Brian Fulcher, known better in these parts as Fulch, or the NFL Pick ‘em champion from last football season. He and a friend of his rode with me to the tournament and we had a great time.

I got to rub elbows with media types, while watching OSU win its game.

The following week it was off to Knoxville for the Sweet 16. This time my roommates came along, and having no presumptions of victory, we had no plans to stay in Tennessee.

When the Buckeyes defeated Auburn, and I had secured a Charles Barkley autograph in the process, it was a whirlwind trip back to Ohio before heading right back to Knoxville for the game against St. John’s.

I remember sitting at midcourt watching the game with former OSU football player Ryan Miller on one side, and OSU hoops great Jay Burson on the other. I remember how happy all the Buckeyes players were, and the postgame dance with Jim O’Brien.

I remember Boban Savovic, now infamous in Buckeye lore, collapsing by himself at midcourt when all but one beat writer had left the floor. I remember calling my grandpa from one of the phones on press row, and being told by one beat writer, now radio host, that the call had better be collect.

The trip to St. Petersburg for the Final Four was also memorable. My roommate Randy and our friend Sarah were offered a substantial amount of money for their tickets, but Sarah wouldn’t sell. The game against UCONN was a blur, with victory just outside the inexperienced Buckeyes’ grasp.

The postgame locker room had a weird feeling to it, with players not ready to leave, and media likewise wishing the ride were sustained. There was a feeling like the ride didn’t have to end, and even though the following year’s team lost in the second round, to that point, it felt like a near replica of the ’99 squad should have no problem going back to the Final Four.

In 2001, my final season as a student on the student radio station, I called my first tourney game courtside, right behind the team’s bench. That was a memory. I worked out a deal with the national radio guys to hook into their court microphones, so I’d have sounds of squeaking shoes and the ball hitting the rim on the broadcast.

I remember Ken Johnson’s huge dunk to end the first half, but I also remember Utah State’s Bernard Rock keeping my final tournament run as a student from advancing, the victim of an all too familiar NCAA upset.

In 2007 I followed the team to the Final Four in Atlanta, this time as a writer. That was such a fun run as a fan, and then, too as a media member. You’re sitting on press row and Jim Tressel comes to a seat just behind you. Eddie George is off to the side cheering his alma mater on, and there were many more famous faces.

This year’s team seems so much more memorable to me than the ’07 one, despite the fact there’s less fanfare and talent. Perhaps it’s because everyone on this squad has been around two-plus years, with David Lighty the only holdover from that ’07 run. We’ve gotten to know all these players for a more sustained period of time.

Evan Turner continues to etch his name in stone alongside other OSU greats like Jerry Lucas and Jim Jackson, and yet one bad bounce could put an end to things.

What if that ’07 team had lost to Xavier, instead of coming up with the buzzer-beater by Ron Lewis that sent it into overtime?

It’s not the same sport, but how would Central Ohio look at Troy Smith if the ’06 football team had finished a wire-to-wire run atop the polls and beaten Florida in the national championship game? Remember how the city of Columbus loved Smith and his mates after the 42-39 win over Michigan, and the whole month of December was spent adoring that team?

That season became a lost one on just one night, and the same can happen in basketball, except to be considered elite, an NCAA basketball team must win six games in postseason play.

On this, the 50th anniversary of OSU’s only national title in basketball, here’s hoping that one shining moment comes again April 5, in Indy.

Send any thoughts or comments my way by clicking on the “Comments” section above.

Brian and I discuss Ohio State’s position in the Big Ten and the NCAA, and ponder the real mysteries of life like, is David Lighty really only an honorable mention-worthy performer? Hmm.

Spring is getting ready to, well, spring, and I couldn’t be happier. Have a great week.

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Rosecrans is covering the Cincinnati Reds at spring training at Goodyear, AZ.

We talk about everything from the fifth starter spot, to left field to the bench, and even break down some of the best young players to break into the big leagues with the Reds in decades.

Joey Votto

Send feedback or questions by clicking the Comments section at the top of the page.

The Big Ten season is half over and while Michigan State has a three-game lead (going into the 2/2 contest at Wisconsin), OSU is still right in the thick of things.

We break down the play of late, including the remarkable season from junior Evan Turner, and talk about the 1960 national championship team’s reunion this past weekend.

Good things appear to be on the horizon for the basketball Bucks.

If you’d still like to check out the LOST podcast, you can do so by clicking here.