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Game of the Week:

Nebraska at Virginia Tech

This game looks to be the best one in a weekend that isn't that special for college football. Virginia Tech was able to go into Lincoln last year and put up a season-high 35 points and escape with a five-point win. This year the Huskers are looking to return the favor.

The key will be to see if Virginia Tech can get any balance on offense. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor has been more of a threat with his legs than his arm so far this season. They have Ryan Williams, David Wilson and Josh Oglesby in the backfield to go along with Taylor giving them a stable of runners, but they will need to prove that they can complete some passes and move the ball through the air. In two games (a rout over Marshall and a loss to Alabama), Taylor is 18-of-36 for 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Huskers' quarterback Zac Lee has looked unbelievable at quarterback, but don't expect his 73.7 completion percentage to continue. However, he has proved that he is a capable starting quarterback. It will be interesting to see how he performs in a big-time game against another ranked opponent.

Other Games to Watch:

Michigan State at Notre Dame

Michigan State has won the last six times they've played in South Bend, but they'll need to sure up their secondary if they want to come away with a win this year.

Boston College at Clemson

Boston College leads the ACC in scoring offense and scoring defense. This week however, they'll have to prove that they can do it against a decent opponent as opposed to the cupcakes they've been thrashing.

Cincinnati at Oregon State

This is a matchup between two of the top coaches in the country that don't coach at big-time BCS schools. This game will give both teams a good idea of how well they matchup against like competition.

Upset Pick of the Week: Florida State over BYU

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WIRE TO WIRE -  Dan Clasgens and Greg Shoemaker talk Reds baseball on GetSportsRadio.com (6/26)

Edinson Volquez, a 17-game winner for the Reds last season, received news yesterday that he won't be rejoining the Reds anytime soon.

The 25-year old right-hander had a second MRI taken on his right arm. It revealed there still was inflammation on the muscle between the forearm and the elbow. He was told to shut down his throwing program until it reduces completely.

Volquez, who isn't traveling with the team, has been on the 15-day disabled list since June 2 with elbow tendinitis. He pitched just one inning in that game, which was his first start back from a stint on the DL due to back spasms. 

The Reds aren't expecting to have the starter back until after the all-star break.

"With a starting pitcher, you need time to build back up and have rehab starts," head trainer Mark Mann told Reds.com. "You're probably talking beyond the All-Star break."
 
The Reds still need a starter to fill Volquez's rotation spot for Saturday at Cleveland. His first replacement, Matt Maloney, already was optioned back to Triple-A Louisville last Saturday. 

No pitcher was formally named, but all indications are that Homer Bailey will be brought back up from Louisville. Bailey's next rotation turn for the Bats also happens to be on Saturday.

Bailey is 4-0 in his last five starts with a 0.47 ERA since learning a new split-finger pitch. More importantly, Bailey has only walked seven batters while striking out 38.

LINKS:
Volquez to be out longer than expected
Volquez injury worse than believed

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Press Release from University of Cincinnati:

Head football coach Brian Kelly and the University of Cincinnati have agreed to terms on a new five-year deal that will keep Kelly on the sidelines through the 2013 season, Director of Athletics Mike Thomas announced today, pending the approval of the contract by the University Board of Trustees.

Kelly previously signed a new five-year contract on Dec. 17, 2007.

"In a short period of time, Brian Kelly has made a name for himself and the University of Cincinnati football team across the country," said Thomas. "His impact has been immediate not only as a coach, but also as a member of our community and a great ambassador for the University. This past season Brian led the program to historic heights on and off the field, winning the BIG EAST Conference and leading the Bearcats to their first BCS appearance in the FedEx Orange Bowl. His program also earned accolades in the classroom for one of the nation's highest graduation rates and posting the highest GPA in the BIG EAST. We look forward to watching the future of the football program unfold under the leadership of Coach Kelly for many years to come as we strive to stay atop the BIG EAST and bring a National Championship home to Cincinnati."

"I want to thank Monica Rimai and the Board of Trustees for their confidence and support," Kelly said "This agreement between the University of Cincinnati and its Athletic Department, under the charge of Mike Thomas, allows me to continue to grow, develop and ensure success for Bearcats Football. I also want to thank the Bearcats Community, fans and all those associated with our program for their support over the past 30 months. This is what truly makes Bearcats Football special---the passion of our fan base. You can be assured that we will continue to recruit quality student-athletes, so we can achieve national excellence in the classroom and on the football field. This agreement allows me and my family to call Cincinnati our home, not just a place where we live."

Kelly receives a guaranteed salary of $1.475 million over the next five years as well as performance-based incentives. Kelly's assistant coaches will also receive pay increases to keep them in line with their BIG EAST counterparts.

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press release from University of Cincinnati:

University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics Mike Thomas has announced a two-year contract extension for head men's basketball coach Mick Cronin, pending University of Cincinnati Board of Trustee approval. This is the first extension for Cronin, who was hired on March 23, 2006 to a six-year contract.

"Under Coach Cronin's leadership the past three years the men's basketball program has improved on the court and in the classroom," said Director of Athletics Mike Thomas. "I look forward to the continued development of the program to once again attain national prominence and compete for BIG EAST championships on an annual basis."

Cincinnati is coming off its first winning season under Cronin as the Bearcats posted an 18-14 record and finished tied for ninth in the BIG EAST. Junior guard Deonta Vaughn, who averaged 15.3 points and 4.7 assists per game, became the first UC basketball player to earn back-to-back all-BIG EAST honors as he was selected third team all-league by the coaches. Freshman Yancy Gates was named to the 2008-09 BIG EAST All-Rookie team, becoming the second player under Cronin to earn the honor in the last three years. Gates led the Bearcats in rebounding with 6.1 per contest and was second on the squad in scoring averaging 10.6 points.

Since Cronin took over the program in 2006-07, the Bearcats have shown improvement each year, progressing from 11 wins in his first season to 13 in 2007-08 to 18 this past season. This coming year, Cronin will have his most experienced team at UC as all but one regular from last year's squad returns and he adds four newcomers, including freshman point guard Cashmere Wright, who was considered one of the nation's Top 100 recruits in high school.

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There have been questions about how well Tim Tebow's game translates to the NFL and specifically the quarterback position, but NFL.com's Gil Brandt thinks that Tebow is the top quarterback prospect in next year's class. He goes on to say that he expects Tebow to be a Top 10 pick in next year's draft:

"Tebow will be a third-year starter in 2009. He has thrown 67 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions in the past three years. He will have a new quarterback coach this year, Scott Loeffler, who came from the NFL. Tebow should be a top-10 pick in the 2010 draft."

Brandt also has UC quarterback Tony Pike on his list of top prospects. He has Pike ranked as the seventh best quarterback propsect and had this to say about him:

"Pike didn't play a lot until 2005 -- had some up-and-down games and finished the season throwing four interceptions vs. Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. He does have upside, but will need to show more consistency."

COMPLETE ARTICLE

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Reds' young stud pitcher Edinson Volquez's return to the mound after missing his prior start to back spasms didn't go the way he had planned. The hard-throwing righty lasted only one inning. He threw 24 pitches, gave up a run, two hits and a walk. However, it was not his pitching that brought him out of the game after only an inning. It wasn't his ailing back either. Instead, Volquez came out of the game due to numbness in his ring finger and pinky finger on his pitching hand.

The numbness was later described by Volquez as a tingling that ran down his arm and into his fingers, and only lasted for one pitch. He said after the game that he was no longer feeling it, and he suspected that it was nothing. 

The Reds are hoping that it is indeed nothing. Volquez was flown back to Cincinnati this morning to be examined by Dr. Tim Kremcheck.

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Let the Madness begin! The brackets have been drawn and the guessing is over...or is it? Now comes the fun part, filling out the brackets. Here are some my opening observations....

*The No. 1 Seeds - The selection committee got it right here with Louisville, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Connecticut all getting tabbed with the honor.

*Big East Rocks - They didn't the mega seeds that many expected earlier in the season as only seven of the 16 teams made the tournament rather than the 8 or 9 some had speculated earlier. Still, three No. 1 seeds from the conference is quite a  statement.

*SEC Letdown - The conference had one of its worst years ever and only because Mississippi State made an improbable run to the conference tournament championship did it get three teams in. LSU and Tennessee earned at large bids, but only a No. 8 and and No. 9 respecitvely.

*Big 10 Overrated - Penn State didn't get in, but the Big Ten get seven teams in. Still, I don't think the conference is really that good. Outside of Michigan State I expect early exits for all of the teams and even the Spartans proved to be vulnerable.

*Conference Breakdown - ACC (7 teams in), Big East (7), Big Ten (7), Big 12 (6), Pac 10 (5), SEC (3), Atlantic 10 (3), Horizon (2), MVC (2), Moutain West (2), WCC (2)

*Buckeye Pride - Five of the 13 Division I schools in Ohio made the NCAA Tournament - Akron, Dayton, Cleveland State, Ohio State, and Xavier.

*Last At-Large Ins - Arizona (12 seed), Wisconsin (12), Dayton (11), Maryland (10), Michigan (10) and Minnesota (10)

*Notable snubs - San Diego State (35th in RPI), Creighton (40), Saint Mary's (48), Auburn (63), Penn State (70)

*Where are they now? - The tournament is missing some of its regulars this season. Amongst the casualties are Arkansas, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Florida, Indiana, Georgetown, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame.

*Know Your Bracket - Understanding the history of the bracket could go long way towards helping you win your bracket. Consider a few of these numbers: six of the last eight final four teams were No. 1 seeds; Since 2000, only two teams that weren't a #1 or #2 seed have gone on to win a national championship (both No. 3 seeds - Florida in '06 & Syracuse in '03). Check out all of the TOURNAMENT HISTORY BY SEEDS and come up with your own trends.

*Local Love - Here's where the local teams are headed...
Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. (Play-in game): #16 Morehead State (19-15) vs. #16 Alabama State (22-9) - Dayton, OH
Thursday, 7:25 p.m. - #4 Gonzaga (26-5) vs. #13 Akron (23-12) - Portland, OR
Thursday, 9:55 p.m. - #5 Illinois (24-9) vs. Western Kentucky (24-8) - Portland, OR
Friday, 3:00 p.m. - #6 West Virginia (23-11) vs.#11 Dayton (26-7) - Minneapolis, MN
Friday, 7:10 p.m. - #1 Louisville (28-5) vs. #16 Morehead St/Alabama St winner - Dayton, OH
Friday, 7:25 p.m. - #4 Xavier (25-7) vs. #13 Portland State (23-9) - Boise, ID
Friday, 9:40 p.m. - #8 Ohio State (22-10) vs. #9 Sienna (26-7) - Dayton, OH

COMPLETE BRACKET

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The NCAA tournament will be without some of our local teams, most notably Kentucky, Cincinnati, and Miami (OH). Only one of the three still were able to make the N.I.T. field that came out on Sunday night.

The Kentucky Wildcats (20-13), who saw its 17-year streak of making the NCAA tournament snapped, instead settled for a bid from the National Invitation Tournament.

They will play host to UNLV (21-10) in the tournament's first round on Tuesday night in Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats have not played in Memorial Coliseum since 1976. The Cats were forced out of Rupp Arena this week by the Boys' Sweet Sixteen.

All tickets to Tuesday's game will be $33 (good luck getting someone to pay that). The game will be televised live on ESPN. 

The Cincinnati Bearcats were not asked to participate in the NIT despite a 5-2 record against teams that made the field Sunday night, but that wasn’t enough to make the Bearcats part of it. UC (18-14) was left out of the 32-team field despite two wins over Georgetown, and one over Notre Dame, UNLV and UAB, all of which received invitations. 

“We don’t measure our progress based on the NIT,” head coach Mick Cronin told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We’re a perfect example of how political it is when two teams that we were 3-0 against and that we finished ahead of (in the Big East) got in. It’s a television event.”

No Mr. Cronin most fans measure success by victories and at 42-52 after three years, includinig an 0-10 mark in March, you are not faring too well.

The Miami RedHawks, who collapsed in the MAC Tournament, also were left out the NIT. 

Two other post-season tournaments, the second-year College Basketball Invitational and the first-year CollegeInsider.com Tournament, were expected to extend bids late Sunday night, but Cincinnati and Miami have both said they will not accept an offer should one be extended.

PRINTABLE N.I.T. BRACKET

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GETSPORTSRADIO.COM: Hoop Scoop (mp3) - The guys chime off on UC's tank job and everything college hoops

It's hard to believe that two weeks ago there was talk that the Cincinnati Bearcats were actually a bubble team for the NCAA tournament. Especially after watching them totally fall flat in the opening round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday as they fell to the 16th seeded DePaul, 67-57.

How embarrassing is it? It's the first time ever in college basketball history (at least Division I) that a 16-seed won a tournament game. The Blue Demons did not win a Big East game all year (0-18).  They haven't won any game yet in 2009 (last win in December '08).

It's pretty freakin' terrible. To make matters worse UC blew a lead with less than 8 minutes only to lose.  Now after going 0-3 in the first week of March Cincinnati goes from a bubble team in the NCAA tournament to a fringe N.I.T. team

It was the biggest disappointment for UC fans in an opening round of a conference tournament since Kenyon Martin shattered his ankle nearly a decade ago.

The real problem is the effort and I think it starts at top. Mick Cronin failed for the third straight March to get a win and is now 0-10 in college hoops' magical month. They dropped four in a row to end this year and 6 of their last 7. The Bearcats dropped seven straight to end last year's campaign.

Have fun in the CBI again this year Bearcat fans, that's as good as it is going to get.

Some stats offered up by Nick Brunker on 1530Homer.com...

FT shooting last four games:
USF 6 of 11
Seton Hall 8 of 17
DePaul 4 of 10
Totals: 18 of 38 - 47%

FG shooting last four games
Syracuse 37%
South Florida 38%
Seton Hall 36%
DePaul 36%

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