3-12-26 - The Mo Egger Radio Show

On Thursday's abbreviated show...The Bengals signed another player. Cool. Except he doesn't play linebacker. Will they ever sign a linebacker? 

Miami lost in the MAC Tournament? Now what? UC lost on Wednesday. For Wes Miller, now what?

Plus...Kevin Egan from Apple TV on FC Cincinnati, Robert Weintraub on the Bengals, Chad Brendel on UC Basketball, and Bracketologist Hunter Sansom on Miami's NCAA Tournament chances. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Is it over, Brad, they've wrapped up their postgame show. Okay, good, Hi,
my apologies, tearing, My apologies. I'm mullegar. This is ESPN
fifteen thirty. Thank you for listening. Hopefully you're having a
great Thursday. I guess you are if you're a Kentucky fan.

(01:04):
Wildcats hang on, Denzel Aberdeen was awesome down the stretch,
and UK advances to tomorrow where they'll take on Florida.
That'll be fun in Nashville tomorrow. A game you'll hear
on ESPN fifteen thirty. It was a seventy eight to
seventy two the final score today. So Kentucky advances in
the SEC Tournament and a chance I think to dramatically

(01:25):
improve their seat.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Maybe not dramatically, that's.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
That's an over exaggeration, but a chance to improve their seed,
perhaps by beating Florida tomorrow. We will see. Meanwhile, the
Miami RedHawks lost today. Blew an eleven point lead with
eight minutes to go. They fall to UMass eighty six
to eighty three. The red Hawks, by Travis Steele's own admission,
if they have an achilles heel and every team does.

(01:51):
But for Miami it's defense, and they didn't defend at
all very well today. I should say they didn't defend
very well at all today, but certainly down the stretch
Travis Steel's team could not get stops. The consensus is
the RedHawks are still going to be in probably playing
in Dton. I am not a bracketologist, but our guy

(02:14):
Hunter Sansom is, and he is going to be on
the show coming up at five thirty five. And every
college basketball writer or expert that I have read or followed,
including our guy Hunter, believes Miami is going to make
the NCAA tournament.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Now it would be helpful to the cause.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
I guess if Auburn and their seventeen and fifteen record
would lose today to Tennessee. Right now, that game has
just over four minutes to go and the Tigers lead
by seven points, twenty five to eighteen. Miami deserves to
be an NCAA tournament team, especially in light of all
the stuff that happened around the sport yesterday with all

(02:52):
these bubble teams losing, including obviously the Bearcats, speaking of
which Chad Brendle's going to be on the show, at
five oh five to I guess put a bow on
what happened yesterday, the meltdown that we lived through on
this show yesterday afternoon, and I think, more specifically talk
about what's next. Ohio State wins and look, man, give
the Buckeyes credit. Beat Iowa today in the Big Ten

(03:16):
Tournament in Chicago. Give the Buckeyes credit because you have
all these teams around the sport that over the last
couple of weeks have had opportunities to make emphatic cases
to make the big Dance. I think Ohio State was
in no matter what they did today, but the buck
guys have won four consecutive games, and so give credit
to a team that with a bid up for grabs,

(03:37):
went and grabbed one. So we got a lot of
college troops today. There's also big Bengals news, a lot
of different stuff. Brian Cook was made available today. You'll
hear from him. Boy a Mafe was made available today.
You'll hear from him. Orlando Brown was made available today.
You'll hear from him. Orlando Brown was made available because

(04:00):
the Bengals, I think somewhat surprisingly, gave him a two
year contract extension.

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Now, Orlando Brown was already.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Under contract for twenty twenty six, so two more years
of Orlando Brown. It is a very team friendly deal
where it's miner standing basically the same salary, and so
the tackle market's going to keep exploding and Orlando's going
to make the same coin. But I think relative to
how he has been talked about, this move is pretty surprising.

(04:32):
I think the bigger news today though, is the Bengals
have agreed to terms with Jonathan Allen. Two times former
Pro bowler. Jonathan Allen, thirty one years old, prior to
last season, signed a big contract with the Minnesota Vikings
and then played all seventeen games for the Minnesota Vikings
last year, playing seventy six percent of their defensive snaps.

(04:55):
He had sixty eight tackles, seven of them for loss,
three and a half sacks, had a fumble recovery against
the Bengals, eleven quarterback hits. He played over eight hundred snaps,
So there's some good there, right. It's also a guy
the Minnesota Vikings decided to move on from after just
one season.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
His PFF grade.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
PFF grades are not gospel, but they're nice guidelines to use.
The PFF grade fifty three point two, tied for seventy
seventh among all defensive tackles at one hundred and fifteen
who played at least three hundred snaps. Earned his lowest
pass rush grades since twenty nineteen and the worst tackling
grade of his career. He had six quarterback pressures in

(05:40):
Week one. He had twenty eight in the final sixteen games. Now,
this is a guy who when he was with Washington
was awesome his best three years, made a couple of
Pro Bowls, and I think carved out a reputation is
one of the best interior pass rushers in the NFL.
Missed huge chunk of twenty twenty four last season with

(06:00):
Washington and then went to Minnesota last year. The Vikings
cut him yesterday, the Bengals sign him today. And so
at that position you've got bj Hill and Jonathan Allen,
both are thirty one years old. You also have Chris
Jenkins and sort of lost mid Everything we've talked about

(06:22):
when it comes to defensive tackle is the need for
Chris Jenkins to play like a second round pick. Like
that'd be great, right, I mean, okay, so that the
d tackle free agency class week. I'm sure the Bengals
are gonna look at de tackle in the draft, although
assuming what the Bengals are gonna do is sometimes a

(06:44):
faulty proposition, but you know, that would be nice, That
would be helpful if at that position the guy they
invested two years ago a second round pick actually played
like a second round pick.

Speaker 3 (06:54):
We will see.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
But the Bengals do sign a defensive tackle feels like
they overpaid slightly. What's interesting about that, though, is Jonathan
Allen doesn't play linebacker, and Orlando Brown doesn't play linebacker,
and so you know, we say this all the time

(07:16):
on this show, right, there's lots of room for multiple truths.
The players the Bengals have acquired seem helpful. I think
everybody's excited about Brian Cook, understandably, so I think everybody's
excited about boy A Mafe, I believe, understandably so Jonathan Allen.
If it's a highly paid rotational piece, that's okay. You

(07:39):
still needed rotational pieces on the interior of your defensive line.
But I think the first question a lot of us
asked on Monday afternoon was okay, what now at linebacker?
Well about seventy two hours after we found out who
the Bengals' first two free agent acquisitions were going to be.
We're still wondering what are they going to do at linebacker.

Speaker 4 (08:04):
And I.

Speaker 3 (08:07):
Don't know.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
We're gonna have on our guy, Robert Wintrop coming up
in just about twenty minutes.

Speaker 3 (08:18):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
I don't know what the plan is going to be.
But with each passing moments, with each passing minute, you
start to think more and more about roles for Barrett
Carter and Demetrius Knight that exceed what I think anybody
wanted their roles to be in twenty twenty six. I

(08:43):
talked about this yesterday with Kelsey Conway of The Inquirer.
That interview is available on the iHeartRadio app. If you
go back to what the Bengals did just with their
defense as a whole last year, they kind of ran
it back with a bunch of guys that maybe they
had a little bit too much faith in. Because of
how they performed toward the end of twenty twenty four

(09:06):
at linebacker, it sort of kind of feels like that
might be the case now. Bobbyner. Bobby Wagner my understanding,
and it's been about fifteen minutes since I've looked Bobby
Wagner is still out there that the obvious downside to
Bobby Wagner is he's thirty seven years old, still plays

(09:26):
at a high level, still feels like he has a
lot of gas left in the tank, and certainly fits
the profile of the kind of player you want your
young linebackers to attach themselves to. So he may still
be out there, and maybe the fact that he's out
there still would bring down the asking price.

Speaker 3 (09:40):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
I guess you have to ask, though, like if not him,
then who when will they get a linebacker? Unfortunately, that
kind of overshadows what they've done so far because of
how bad they were at that position.

Speaker 3 (09:56):
Lots of moving parts, lots to talk about today.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Show previews available at Moeger thanks to share Facts credit Union.
Become a member today at share facts dot org. It's
on Twitter at Moegar. We have the Reds playing the
Dodgers tonight, and I think we should spend some time
today talking about Matt McClain, who is having a ridiculous spring,

(10:21):
and I think there's no need to make too big
a deal about the numbers he's putting up. I also
think it would be off base to ignore what he's
doing this spring. We're certainly not going to do that.
FC Cincinnati plays tonight. Pat Nowton after the game on Sunday,
was searching for ideas, searching for answers to get some

(10:43):
offense for his team. Kevin Egan from Apple TV's going
to join us in just a few minutes. So there's
lots going on today. We've got the college basketball happening.
We've got the aftermath of UC By the way, did
not even mention that Xavier with thought a pretty gutsy
performance last night against Marquette. They advance to tonight where
the Musketeers will take on Yukon, who has crushed the

(11:05):
Muskies in both games they've played in the regular season.

Speaker 3 (11:09):
So there's a lot.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
There's a lot going on, So much going on processing
all of this made me a few seconds late for
the show. I don't know that we'll have time for
phone calls today. I will be totally honest with you
because I believe in transparency. But if we do, you'll
hear me throw out the phone number. We'll get to

(11:31):
the college hoops a lot in the five o'clock hour
with Chad Brendle and Hunter Sansum and we'll do We'll
get Robert Weintraub's perspective on what the Bengals have done
and what they haven't done so far in free agency
coming up in just about thirty minutes. But first, let's
spend a few minutes on the Orange and Blue with
Kevin Ege and Apple TV on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 1 (11:50):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.

Speaker 5 (11:57):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. The new use see
Ocher Wellness Suite is a home for transformative whole person
well being backed by Science Register For classes now visit
ucehealth dot com. There is still an accident on Martin
Luther King Drive over at Reading Road. Crews are directing
traffic around that spot southbound seventy one seventy five disabled semi.

(12:20):
That's on the entrance ramp from Buttermilk Bike in slow
traffic eastbound two seventy five Mostellar to Loveland Madeira Road.
I'm at exelic with traffics.

Speaker 2 (12:29):
To be Robert Weintraub on the Bengals in fifteen minutes.
F C Cincinnati places tonight in the CONCACAF champions Cup
Round of sixteen against t grays Ua n L and
then back in MLS play on Sunday for a game
against the New England Revolution. Kevin Egan leeds studio host
Apple TV MLS coverage as always kind enough to join us, Kevin,

(12:52):
it's good to have you.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
How are you, God, it's great to be back.

Speaker 4 (12:56):
I'm good.

Speaker 6 (12:56):
I'm ready to chat from Orange and Blue.

Speaker 4 (12:58):
How are you?

Speaker 3 (12:58):
I'm well?

Speaker 2 (12:59):
Man pat Noonan was not ready to chat Orange and
Blue after a Sunday's game. A brief press conference after
the game, a terse press conference after the game. And
you know, I've We've been following Kevin pat Noonan's teams
for years and I've never seen him at a loss
for ideas and answers like he was on Sunday night.

Speaker 6 (13:18):
I think his team or as well. Yeah, if we're
being honest, and that's the perfect way to put it,
a little bit of a loss for ideas going forward.
The lack of ingenuity, I think, the lack of guilt
edged chances in the game we're there for all to see,
you know, against Toronto side that I don't particularly rate
all that much. You know, you losing the Minnesota the

(13:38):
game before, similar story. No, No, like big chance that
you'd look at in the game and think, Okay, you
should have scored that. You absolutely should have buried that.
That's a sitter. And I think right now, look, the
team is really missing the Evander. I know he came
on late in the game against Toronto, but him fit
and healthy and really influencing games is so important. And

(13:58):
as important as Evander is Matt me from the vocal leadership,
just driving the team forward. He's close to returning. He
played forty five minutes I believe last Saturday or Sunday
for the second team, and now Evander obviously is pretty
much ready to go as well, I would hope. So
Cincinnati will turn a corner, There's no question about that.
And this year, more than ever, they've got to figure

(14:19):
out how to peak at the right time.

Speaker 2 (14:21):
I think though, and you know, I'm an optimistic guy.
So Evander gets hurt in the season opener, and the
first thing you're wondering is, Okay, how bad is this
going to be? And it feels like, all right, you know,
it was really best case scenario, and my takeaway was, Okay,
you'll be without him for a little while. This team
has to figure out a way to not be nearly
as reliant on him whether or not he's on the field,

(14:42):
and unfortunately they didn't pass that test. Is that a
fair way of looking at it?

Speaker 6 (14:46):
Yeah, yeah, I think so. But he's a player that costs,
you know, ten million dollars, He's a or more. He's
a player that you can't just replicate and say, Okay,
we have another Avander in our locker. We don't. Nobody does.
Nobody does when you take away a player of that caliber.
So he is a top, top class player in Major
League Soccer, and his qualities can't be replicated. But in

(15:08):
saying that there's no reason why the team can't get
better production, maybe pushing a giddy further forward. Maybe you know,
Milton Valezuela is someone who's had real influence over games
in the past. I think the team is still figuring
out how to play and get the very best out
of etchinique game on one side. And obviously Brian Ramirez
is brand new on the other side. And then the
big one is Kevin Denke. You know, it was a

(15:31):
record signing when he first came into Major League Soccer
for the league, a Golden Boot winner over in Belgium
and just figure out how I mean, it's a big
thing to figure out, but figuring out how to get
him more chances and get him to be more prolific
in Major League Soccer. Pat Newnan and the coaching staff
have an awful lot of work to do right now.

Speaker 2 (15:47):
I think we're expecting a desperate team on Sunday NFC Cincinnati,
but it feels like maybe an even more desperate team
in New England.

Speaker 6 (15:55):
Yeah, exactly, And you've got to ride that wave, I think,
and figure out how you play on the emotions of
the Revs. The Revs have gotten off to a really
poor start. They couldn't play last weekend, which I actually
think will help them an awful lot of their new
coach Marko Mitchrovich because the turf was the turf basically
that that's going to be a down. Actually Let's stadium
for the World Cup with the horrendous weather up north

(16:16):
that got caught up and the game was postponed against Houston.
So their home openers this weekend against Cincinnati, and I
think the Revs look like they'll turn a corner eventually.
They're a very young, inexperienced team. Marko Mitrovich is leaning.
He's a former US youth international that's managed at the Olympics,
and he's leaning on young players like Rains and Color

(16:36):
that he's worked with before, Griffin Yao as well. So
it's just it's really important that that Cincinnati bring the fight,
bring the hunger, and get in the faces of New
England early and then hopefully for since from Cincinnati's perspective,
have the class tends to get over the line.

Speaker 2 (16:52):
We talk all the time, Kevin, whenever you join us
about the Eastern Conference, and obviously it's very early, but
what storylines on that half of the league have emerged
here in the opening weeks of the season.

Speaker 6 (17:03):
Well, the East is weaker than the West. We've talked
before here on this very show about how the West
was significantly weaker than the East last year. And now
look at the cross conference battles, look at how the
West has pit the East so far this year. So
in the East, I mean, I think it's fascinating to
look at what what's happened in Philadelphia, Oh and three

(17:23):
to start the year, they won the Supporter Shield, beating
Cincinnati by a single point to the Supporter Shield crown
last year and now they start with three losses. Who
would have thought that? Well, I say, who would have
thought it? But they let go of four starters from
their team, and they reopened with youth and spent money
on young players coming through, but that always doesn't pay
off right away. So Philadelphia and Patnu and his old

(17:45):
team are really struggling right now. Miami have bounced back
brilliantly after an opening day loss against LAFC with two
really good wins, and we saw Oscar Pereheal from Orlando
get sacked just yesterday from his job at Orlando. Having
qualified for the playoffs for six straight years since he
arrived in he was let go. So the East is

(18:05):
a little bit, I would say, in turmoil right now
when you consider some of the big tea like Atlanta
always spend big and they're owing three to start the
year as well with Tata Martino back, so things could
be a lot worse for Cincinnati. If that's to just
you know, spray a little bit of positivity on it,
is that other teams are suffering a little bit more
than Cincinnati or in the East. But for the Orange

(18:27):
and Blue, sure, you've definitely got things to figure out.
But I in Pat I trust, and I said this before.
I think he's that hard line, kind of old school
coach that I would absolutely love to play for. And
I love the fact that he was pissed off after
a game like that and you know, on short with
the media, maybe because that's the sort of coach that's
going to light a fire in the locker room and

(18:48):
make sure that these players are playing from you know,
playing for the coaching staff. So I think I think
you'll see much better Cincinnati very soon.

Speaker 2 (18:55):
Certainly, hope so awesome they have you as always, Kevin,
much appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
We'll do it soon.

Speaker 6 (19:00):
Yeah, look forward to it.

Speaker 7 (19:01):
Thanks, you got.

Speaker 2 (19:02):
It two thirty on Sunday, Apple TV. FC Cincinnati on
the road against New England. Of course, FC Cincinnati on
the pitch tonight in the CONCACAF Champions Cup against tigress
u an L from Lega MX matches on ESPN fifteen
thirty twenty eight after four o'clock. We're going to talk

(19:23):
about the Bearcats and what happened yesterday which unfolded while
we were on the air, which added.

Speaker 3 (19:30):
I don't know if it.

Speaker 2 (19:31):
I think it made the misery a little easier because
I felt like I could share my misery with the audience.
We also posted a video of me throwing a gatorade bottle.
I think it would have been one thing for that season,
that game which effectively ended the season. Who knows if
they're going to play in a postseason event, they will
not be an NCAA tournament team. I think it would

(19:54):
have been one thing for the discourse about Wes Miller
had they lost in a shootout. Lost, you know, well
UCF as a guy who scores thirty two, just make
shots from everywhere, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, coaching came
into focus in the final two minutes and it was
It was fitting and I think to a degree poetic
that their tournament hopes went up in flames with a

(20:18):
game that looked a lot like so many of the
games that they lost, as the Bearcats dug themselves out
of a hole that they ultimately could not completely climb
out of.

Speaker 3 (20:28):
If you think back to when the Bearcats were, you.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
Know, burying themselves before it felt like the season even
really began. It was a lot of games that they
lost in the final two or three minutes, either because
the turnovers, misshots, not making the right play total meltdown.
Whatever it was yesterday, those final two minutes of regulation
were an amplified version of what the Bearcats have been

(20:52):
this season when they've been at their worst, and it
obviously reignited very loudly, a lot of chatter about Wes Miller,
and I do think the next seventy two to ninety
six hours are going to be really interesting. Chad Rendle's
going to help us sort through all of it. Coming
up in just about a half hour. Robert Wintrob is

(21:14):
one of our guys. Cincinnati Magazine FTN Fantasy, A smart
football mind is going to talk with us about what
the Bengals have done but they still haven't done. After
sports headlines, Next on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (21:26):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 5 (21:31):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. The new uc
Ohcher Wellness Suite is a home for transformative whole person
well being backed by Science. Register for classes now visit
UCHealth dot com. Still an accident on Martin Luther King
Drive at Running Road. A cruise are directing traffic around
that spot. It's an injury accident on Worcesterpike over at

(21:53):
Ferry Street, westbound Mitchell Avenue. Also a crash between Canard
and Spring Grove Avenue two minutes going through there. I'm
at e Zelik with traffic.

Speaker 2 (22:03):
This report is sponsored by the hour Members service of
Kelsey Chevrolet, home of lifetime power train protection and guaranteed
credit approval from their family to yours for life kelseyshev
dot Com.

Speaker 3 (22:14):
Busy day for the Bengals.

Speaker 2 (22:15):
They introduced officially today boy A Mafe and Brian Cook.
They have reportedly signed two time Pro Bowl defensive lineman
Jonathan Allen to a two year contract roughly twenty eight
million dollars. Allen was cut loose by the Vikings yesterday
as best seasons were with the Washington Commanders. He did
play in all seventeen games for Minnesota last year. Also

(22:38):
two year extension for Orlando Brown, which makes him a
Bengal through the twenty twenty eight season. Our guy Robert
Wintrop's going to join us to talk about all these
things in just a few seconds. The Miami RedHawks lost
today for the first time since last year's MAC Tournament
title game. UMass beat him today eighty seven to eighty three.
The RedHawks had an eleven point lead with just about

(22:59):
eight minutes to go. It feels like they're still going
to be in the Big Dance. It is going to
be a nervous next seventy two hours for RedHawks fans.
Kentucky wins today over Missouri seventy eight to seventy two
in the SEC Tournament. Wildcats will play Florida tomorrow here
on ESPN fifteen thirty, tip off at one o'clock. Ohio
State wins in the Big Ten Tournament today beats Iowa

(23:21):
seventy two sixty nine. Michigan awaits tomorrow, Xavier and Yukon
tonight at seven on seven hundred WLW Saint John's one
earlier today in the Biggiest Tournament eighty five to seventy two.
Last I saw Seaton Hall was putting the finishing touches
on Creighton at Madison Square Guarden FC Cincinnati Soccer Tonight
CONKA CAF Champions Cup Round of sixteen FC Cincinnati against

(23:42):
Tigris Ua. NL Our guy Robert Wintrump is with US
Writes Bengals Columns for Cincinnati Magazine. Also contributes to FTN
Fantasy and has been a go to guest on this
show for a very long time and wanted his thoughts
on some of the events of the week from a
Bengals perspective.

Speaker 8 (23:59):
What's going on, sir, Yeah, let me tell you, it's
been an up and down. It's kind of been like
the twenty fifteen Bengals season when they started out eight
and oh and everything was golden and Andy Dalton was
an MVP, and then they crashed down mightily in the playoffs.
That's kind of what it's felt like. Last few days.
Started great, then we're berefted. But you know, they rebounded
a little bit today, so there's a little bit of

(24:20):
hope still in Bengal Land. Not a ton, but a
little bit.

Speaker 2 (24:23):
Let's talk about what they've done and who they've acquired.
Let's start with the guy today, Jonathan Allen. What kind
of move is this?

Speaker 8 (24:30):
Well, you know, they needed a defensive tackle in the
worst way. They needed a big body in there, regardless
of who he is. You know, and if you look
at him, of all the Bengals currently on the defensive line,
only Miles Murphy had more sex than he did last year.
So you know, I'd prefer Jonathan Allen at twenty twenty
two than the Jonathan Allen at twenty twenty six, and
you know, if they had been able to trade a

(24:51):
draft pick for Ohsa Odigizawa as the forty nine ers
did yesterday, I would have preferred that, not just because
it's a it's a fun name to say, but also
be because he's kind of what Allen was like a
few years ago, which is, you know, younger and had
more juice inside, but they desperately needed another body. And
you know, the best way to think of Alan is
kind of like a twin of VJ.

Speaker 3 (25:10):
Hill.

Speaker 8 (25:11):
Hopefully not an evil twin, but just a twin. You know,
they do a lot of the same things, and they're
just at this stage of their career. They're both thirty
one now, and you know, if you can play them
both and keep the rotation going so that they're both
fresh at all times and get the best out of
both of them and any given series or any given
quarter whatever, you know, they can both be effective. And

(25:32):
it's when they play too much they get the diminishing returns.
So I think in that sense, it's good. You know,
he's not a difference maker inside, He's going to be
a center of gravity that they desperately need. But you know,
it helps, and it's a start, at least in the
defensive tackle room. For sure.

Speaker 2 (25:49):
It feels like Brian Cook, who I'm biased because I
loved him at UC, is the the polar opposite of
Geno Stone. I'll take anything anybody. I don't care where
he's from or where he went to school. That's the
polar opposite of genostone. Is that how you look at it?

Speaker 8 (26:05):
Yeah, one's the Arctic Circle and the others Antarctica where
the things are right. Yeah, no doubt what an upgrade.
I mean, good lord. You know. The thing I like
about him, and this is also true of Boy and Mafe,
the other guy the Bengals signed on the first day,
is you know, it's felt like over the last couple years,
especially on defense, the Bengals just they bring a knife
to a gunfight. When it comes to physical play, they've

(26:27):
just been more finesse than the physical violent nature that
the sport really requires. That is not true of Cook,
that is not true of Mafe.

Speaker 6 (26:35):
Both.

Speaker 8 (26:36):
You know, really heavy duty players that love to hit you,
back up and hit you again. Cook in particular is
just a superb tackler. I think the stat was out
there and he's missed, you know, basically the same number
of tackles in his whole career that you know Stone
missed last year. That that can only bring smiles to
the face of Bengal fans and Al Golden in particular.
You know, he's not a perfect player by any stretch,

(26:58):
but what the need is for a guy to kind
of patrol, get everybody sorted into the right place and
come up and whacky in the teeth and get you
to the ground. Cook will definitely do that. So that
was an excellent signing. And Mafey, you know, he got
lost a little bit in Mike McDonald's group swarm system,
I guess you'd call it in Seattle, so they didn't
really prize individual stats there. So it looks like a

(27:21):
two sax season. What do we do and sign this guy?

Speaker 6 (27:23):
But he's got.

Speaker 8 (27:23):
Heavy hands, a real physical presence. Again sets the edge
excellently for a defensive end, something they've missed quite a
bit in Cincinnati as well. These are two guys that
are really helped the defense. Now, you know, there's still
a couple of players like that short but at least
you know, on the first day they signed two guys
that were exactly what they needed.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
Monday afternoon, after we saw the two splashy signings, which
I think all of us were excited about, the next
question was what about it linebacker? Seventy two hours later, Robert,
I'm asking the same that's not good.

Speaker 8 (27:59):
Yeah, definitely not. It's it's a recurring theme around these parts.
What are we going to do with linebacker? Look, it's
still there's still time. I guess there's you never know
who gets cut or becomes a potential trade possibility. But
it just seemed that the way they talked for the
last six weeks, especially about needing, you know, kind of
a bare front linebacker to play on the line of
scrimmage and free Demetrius Knight to be more of the

(28:22):
run and react guy that he is and not have
to take on physical challenges at the line of scrimmage.
There were a couple of guys like that out there
who were not that expensive. I think Leoshanow is a
guy everybody's familiar with. Now nobody heard of him. Ninety
five fans out there never heard of the guy before,
you know, the last couple of weeks.

Speaker 7 (28:38):
But now we're all.

Speaker 8 (28:40):
Desperate that we didn't get him. But he would have
fit really perfectly in what they could have used, and
the fact they didn't get him or anybody even close
to like him, or anybody at all, really kind of
makes you scratch your head. The one thing we figured
was not going to happen was that they were going
to go back to battle starting Demutrious.

Speaker 3 (28:59):
Knight and Barrett car Oh. No.

Speaker 8 (29:01):
You know, the question is, you know, do they still
look and find somebody even if it's a you know,
kind of a fifth level player to come in, or
an older player like a Bobby Wagner who's not the
kind of physical presence he used to be, but it's
still a smart, heavy player.

Speaker 7 (29:17):
It can help.

Speaker 8 (29:18):
Do they go to the draft and just say, listen,
we're going to find a starting linebacker and pray that
Sunny Styles falls to us. I find it hard to
believe they would do either of those things. But I mean,
this is the position they've left themselves in, and it's
hard to know exactly why. Whether it's the way they
structure their contracts and the first two guys, or they
just weren't prepared for, you know, the bidding wars that

(29:41):
have that developed over some of the other players out
there or you know, in Chanelle's case, maybe he just
wanted to play in Washington and check out the mall
and the Smithsonian. I don't know, but something happened there
and it left them really behind the eight ball at
that position. And it's you know, it's just hard to
believe after what we went through last year that you know,
still it's only March, but we're the obvious answers aren't

(30:03):
in sight, and that it's a question is how that's
they're going to be answered. That's for sure.

Speaker 2 (30:07):
When I see smart people, people whose opinions I respect,
suggest go bring back a Keem Davis gate, the then
we've entered a very dark place. I just nothing against him, man,
I just that's that's not where my head was when
when the legal tampering period open on Monday morning.

Speaker 8 (30:24):
Yeah, man, I mean, is there some illegal tampering? We
could be doing better than that. I don't know nothing
against a Keem Davis gate there. You know, nice guy.
He serves his role when he's your fifth linebacker. Yes,
but boy, if he's your answer, you got to change
the questions. So you know, I don't think they're going

(30:45):
to go that route, but you know, they may have
left themselves in a position where they're gonna have to get,
if not him, you know, a player of equal ability,
just to have another body to fill out the unit.
And then you know, right now, what do you do?
And you go to war with these two guys and
there's literally nobody else. Yeah, obviously they think they're going
to draft one, and it is a deep linebacker draft.

(31:06):
I will say that I find it hard to believe
they won't draft one at all. But whether you're you know,
counting on a difference maker to come in year one,
we saw how that went last year. So it's it's
very rare that you come across any rookie, regardless of position,
but linebacker in particular, who can really make the kind
of difference they needed linebacker. And to rely on the
tory on going to the draft to find one is really,

(31:28):
you know, trying to pull an inside straight with with
no odds on your side.

Speaker 6 (31:33):
That's for sure.

Speaker 2 (31:33):
You are not permitted to publicly opine about all NFL
matters without weighing in on what happened between the Ravens,
the Raiders and Trey Hendrickson.

Speaker 3 (31:42):
So the floor yours, it's just another just when we.

Speaker 8 (31:47):
Thought we were out. You couldn't just go to Dallas
or Tampa Bay and live out the rest of his
NFL career relative animminity and just leave us all alone.
It had to go to Baltimore, had to be more
of this. It's just it's just unbelievable. And you know,
I was quietly celebrating. Celebrating might not be the right word,

(32:07):
but you know, I thought the Ravens, you know, getting
up to number one pikes for Crosby was a little
pretty rich. Max Crosby is on the downside, his physical
style has taken its toll. I don't think his you know,
his best footballs behind him, and giving up two number
ones was a really rich price. And I was happy
about that as a Bengals fan. Uh And you know,

(32:27):
obviously they got cold feet as well, and how they
were able to pull out of that particular deal. And
there's a joke I can make there somewhere, but broadcast
standards won't know it.

Speaker 3 (32:37):
But yes, the fact that.

Speaker 8 (32:39):
They were able to you know, pivot and get you know,
Hendrickson and keep him to the point where we have
to see him now twice a year and worry about
blocking him with with an aging Orlando Brown. It's just unbelievable.
I mean, I guess it's a question of, you know,
who's whose physical health falls off, first, Brown or Hendrickson.
The Bengals have been you know, yes, the granny is

(33:00):
that they were pretty much vindicated for their stances all
the way around, in the fact that it took hendricks
In a long time to sign and the money he wanted,
and it was looking like they could do a little
you know, quiet champagne popping there in the in the
front offices.

Speaker 6 (33:16):
But of course.

Speaker 8 (33:17):
It didn't work out that way, and now we're going
to have to continue to deal with him at least
twice a year, and I'm sure Joe Burrow's not that
happy about that.

Speaker 2 (33:24):
I can't help but ask, did they really need to
give Orlando Brown two more years?

Speaker 6 (33:29):
Boy?

Speaker 8 (33:29):
You know, I was thinking that, you know, unlike most
people had been number ten pick would not be a
bad usage to get a left tackle the future. Yeah,
you have Orlando Brown for this year, and then you
still need a swing tackle badly for this year. Cody
Ford's in that position right now, and then you grewom
the guy you pick. Now it's not a great year
for tackles. The only one who really fits is Monroe

(33:51):
Freewing out of Georgia, who is an incredible athlete, blew
up the combine, had a great you know as a
physical specimen. But he's kind of like a Marius Moons.
I'm out of Georgia where he wasn't a perfect prospect,
didn't play a ton until this past year. You know,
there's some questions, but if you give him the season
to acclimate himself and then you let him take over
at left tackle, that would have been an ideal result.

(34:13):
I mean, I know they have now painted themselves into
a corner they have to go defense, but I was
really hoping that they would do something forward thinking at
the number ten spot, because it's hard to find left tackles,
you know, outside of the high parts of the first round.
But you know, they they get Orlando to bargain. He's
a quality player, not a great player, but a quality
player at that position, and they get him for cheap,

(34:35):
so they love that, So, you know, I don't I
don't know that it's necessary that they had to do
that right now, or maybe they could see how he
plays twenty twenty six first before they dive into an extension.
But you know, I guess that's what you do instead
of signing linebackers.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
I suppose it's it's been a weird week because on
Monday everybody was fired up and now well now I'm not.
So we'll see appreciate the inside. As always, we'll do
it against so Man.

Speaker 8 (35:03):
Yeah, you know what I always say about the Bengals.
Where other teams are twenty four to seven trying to
improve their team, the Bengals are, you know, six hours
maybe three days a week trying to do it. So
that sense they're right on schedule.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
Yeah as well, But all right, well we'll do it
against so Man. Thanks so much, Gay, Wait, thanks mon.

Speaker 2 (35:20):
Thanks our guy Robert Wintraub, who always joins us during
the season on Thursdays. Rights, a Bengals column for Cincinnati
Magazine dot Com, also contributes to the FTN Fantasy Annual Almanac,
which is a must when it comes out in July.
Get it, make plans now, order it in four months.
Maybe by then the Bengals will assign a linebacker. Ten
away from five o'clock, we will sift through the aftermath

(35:42):
of UC's loss to UCF and talk about What's next
with our guide Chad Brendel in fifteen minutes on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 1 (35:50):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.

Speaker 5 (35:56):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. The new UC Ocean
Wellness Suite is a home for transformative whole person well
being backed by Science. Register for classes now visit ucehealth
dot com. Northbound seventy five, there's an accident on the
off ramp to Mitchell. Right lane blocked on that ramp
to truck. Also there on scene. There's an injury accident

(36:18):
on Worcester Pike at Ferry Street in southbound seventy one
seventy five disabled vehicle on the ramp from Buttermilk Pike
on that ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
This report is sponsored by the We've had a lot
to discuss. I want to get this in because I
think it it deserves to be talked about on a
forum like this. Red's play the Dodgers tonight. Nick Lodolo
is going to pitch for Cincinnati Mount McClain Homer It
again yesterday, his fifth of the spring. His slugging percentage

(36:48):
is eleven seventy nine. He is seventeen for twenty eight
so far. That's a six oh seven batting average. He's
he's taking pitches, He's walking five walks so far this spring.
He's only struck out twice. He's not going to hit
six oh seven when the games begin that matter. You
and I know that, and you and I I think

(37:08):
are smart enough to take spring training results, whether they're
with an established player or a rookie or a minor
leaguer or a guy who was good but wasn't last year.
We take all of these numbers with a grain of salt.
But come on now, you can at least be encouraged
by the fact that Matt McLain is showing no signs
of ill health or anything that may or may not

(37:30):
have plagued him last year. Matt McLain's importance to this
team cannot be overstated. They need better two hole production.
When he's at his best, he's the two hole hitter.
The signs so far this spring have been awesome. What
he's doing is not insignificant. Let's sift through yesterday and
talk about what's next for the Bearcats with Chad Brendle

(37:52):
next with the Bengals.

Speaker 3 (37:59):
Like ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports State.

Speaker 2 (38:03):
Right there you go, four minutes after five o'clock. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty. Moeger, thank you so much for listening.
Beangals have signed a defensive tackle, Jonathan Allen, former pro bowler.
By the way, Terren's are Minnesota Vikings guy, so I
need him to tell us what Jonathan Allen did for
the Vikings last season and maybe more specifically, why they
cut him that little bit later on, plus you'll hear

(38:24):
from Brian Cook, You'll hear from Boye Mafe as well,
and we'll chat with our bracketologist Hunter Sansom in just
about thirty minutes. Miami lost today. By the way, Auburn
is winning by ten midway through the second half, taking
on Tennessee today. Kentucky a winner earlier today in the
SEC Tournament. Wildcats in Florida tomorrow one o'clock tip off
on ESPN fifteen thirty. Ohio State beat Iowa. Xavier plays

(38:47):
Yukon tonight. The Bearcats are not playing today because of
a meltdown yesterday that I think felt oddly fitting when
you see dug a hole.

Speaker 3 (38:57):
Early in the.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
Season, they lost a lot of games that were there
for the taking. That they maybe should have won, or
at least could have won. When you're up eight with
two minutes to go, there's no could have about it.
They should have won that game, So they should be
playing today. And I don't know if you've been still
paying attention to what's happening in the Big twelve Tournament.
Arizona was off to a very quick start against UCF

(39:20):
leads by thirteen. Who knows what the outcome would have been.
But yesterday was rough, Yesterday was sobering. Yesterday was not
good for West Miller. Chad Brendle is here Bearcat journal
dot com. Hey doing, sir?

Speaker 4 (39:35):
How many timeouts do I have for this segment? Just checking?

Speaker 3 (39:38):
Will you use them? Will you use them?

Speaker 2 (39:40):
If something sort of goes awry and you, you know,
maybe you're in danger of doing something that you shouldn't,
will you actually use them?

Speaker 4 (39:50):
Time out? Time out? Will you call it on time?
If I wait until two seconds left in the segment,
will you call it on time? You know?

Speaker 3 (40:01):
I watched.

Speaker 2 (40:03):
I watched as soon as the game ended, pretty much
our show ended, and I watched you and Keegan on
the aftermath after the game and your takeaway from the
game itself.

Speaker 3 (40:12):
Was the same as mine.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
It was almost poetic for their bubble hopes, their NCAA
tournament hopes, to go up in flames with a loss
that felt like an extreme version of so many earlier
this season.

Speaker 4 (40:26):
Yeah, when the pressure ratcheted up, they reverted back to form,
and it wasn't the form that had them, you know,
six and two or whatever in their final eight. It
was what we saw. They had five games this year,
mough with a double digit lead that they lost. That's

(40:48):
hard to fathom. And up eight with two minutes left,
Like the number of damning stats came out of that
game where it's hard to even fathom. As I was
going through them, they got one shot on the rim

(41:09):
in the last two minutes of that game, and it
was the day day Thomas three. With eight tenths of
a second left, they didn't get a shot attempt in
the final two minutes of the game, and then they
did it and again in overtime where they got two
shot attempts in the final minute forty five. One of
them was the bad Bobby Miller shot and then the

(41:30):
other was the myths three from Celestine. It's hard to
even comprehend. I mean, Mick Cronin might have like cried
himself to sleep with joy seeing that a team won
shooting thirty three percent from the floor, twelve percent from three,

(41:52):
and fifty five percent from the free throw line. Like
that is the Mick Cronin won seventy percent of his
games with that stat line. I'm making that up. Time
out timeout, I made that up.

Speaker 3 (42:04):
Use your timeout. Yes, I made that up.

Speaker 4 (42:07):
I'm sorry, I made that up. But how do you
let a team win that flashes thirty three twelve fifty five.
That's embarrassing.

Speaker 2 (42:19):
They're down, they're up six after a turnover that cuts
it to six, and they get a ten second violation
with experienced guards and no real full court pressure and
timeouts in the coach's back pocket.

Speaker 4 (42:36):
How a sleep at the wheel? I don't know. And
my problem wasn't even that. Okay, the ten second call,
as bad as it may be, you know the funny
part about that Mo, Not only was there a ten
second call, but the pass that Gisel James threw to

(42:59):
to try to Floyd the ten second call was also intercepted.
So even if they had got it over the top,
time air up for a minute and a half left
you set your defense, you get your team to calm down,
you're not worried about who you see F subbing God forbid,

(43:23):
and and you and you get your team on the
sidelines and say, hey, we're up four, we got this,
get a stop, get the rebound, We're gonna win this game.
And he just let him play through it. And what happens.
You see F gets an easy basket and then Dade
Thomas turns it over and still no timeouts called. He

(43:44):
had three. This wasn't a situation where he had one
and he was trying to strategically like, I don't want
to use my last time out. He had three timeouts.
Is there a closet his contract where you get a
bonus for every time out you eat at the end
of the season.

Speaker 3 (44:02):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (44:03):
We're going to talk about Wes's contract here in just
a second. I think the one other thing from the
game that a lot of people have gone back to
talk about is Keishan Tillery was really good in the
first half and didn't play nearly as much in the
second half and wasn't on the floor during the meltdown.
How fair is that bit of second guessing?

Speaker 4 (44:23):
Fair? I said it in the middle of the game.
I said it in the second half. Keishan Tillery was
your second best player today behind Mustafa Chom. He was
playing excellent. I get it. You want. Was there they did?
They put something in the rules that you couldn't play
with three guards, but you only were allowed to have

(44:44):
two point guards out there. You didn't have a third
one just in case, you know, was he afraid of
subbing again? Was there another issue with being afraid of
using substitutions? I just perplexed at the way the entire
thing went down, and none of it made any sense.

(45:05):
None of it made any sense.

Speaker 2 (45:08):
Before the season started, you joined me in studio and
we talked about expectations for this team, and look, it
was tournament or bust, right, make the tournament, Wes is cool.
Missed the tournament, Wes is out. And your retort to
that was I didn't say that, No, that was me.
And your retort to that was, I need to see

(45:29):
how it looks. I need to see how it looks,
which I think is fair because context does matter. So
they've they've played an entire season. How did it look.

Speaker 4 (45:43):
I don't know how you sell it to the fan
base that he's coming back. I understand the money aspect
of it. We've talked about the money aspect of it.
I've talked about it a million times on Bearcat Journal,
on the Bearcat Journal podcast network. Like, I get it,
But you got a fan base. Those are your customers.
I don't know how you're going to win them back.

(46:06):
If the answer is Wes is coming back after five
years without making the NC DOUBLEA Tournament and being on
the cusp of making the NC DOUAA tournament and no
showing at TCU and then allowing what happened to happen yesterday,
I don't know how you. I don't know how you
sell that. Everybody went, yeah, guess what the end of

(46:29):
the season, Like, we want to talk about that. They
went two and three in their last five. They got
drilled the Texas Tack, they lost the TCU, and they
lost on a neutral court yesterday. That's that also counts,
right like that, we we look at it in totality. Look,

(46:50):
here's the reality though, if they would have won yesterday,
if they hold on to win, and let's just say
they lost today to Arizona, there's hope going into the
instan selection Sunday but let's say the committee comes back
and says Cincinnati was the second team out. I think

(47:11):
there's a path to go to your and people have
still been mad, but I think there's a path to
go to your fan base and say, look, we think
the program turned the corner. We think West turned the
corner in the Big twelve over these last six weeks,
five weeks, whatever, and we think he has earned another
year at the Helm. Now. I don't know how you

(47:34):
say that with any belief that your fan base is
going to buy in, And what does that look like. Look,
I don't think the lower Bowl is gonna all of
a sudden have season ticket mass departures, because guess what
those lower bowls seeds. That's an investment, Like, that's a

(47:56):
long term investment. I don't see as exodus in the
lower Bowl. But at the two hundred level, the upper deck,
if those people give up their their season tickets this year,
you know what they're gonna be able to do next year. Now,
they're gonna be able to get season tickets again if

(48:16):
they like, if they wait, if they take a year off,
you're gonna be able to get season tickets again. In
the two hundred level, it might not be your exact seats,
but like, that's I remember, and I know you remember
the last time that this fan base was fractured and lost.
I remember what five thousand fans in the butts in

(48:38):
the seats, five thousand announced butts.

Speaker 3 (48:41):
In the announced Yeah, look like for those.

Speaker 4 (48:43):
First couple of Mick cronin years, I remember what that
looked like. I think they're in danger of going back there.

Speaker 2 (48:53):
So I guess you talk about like the impossibility of
selling year six of West Miller, how much will that matter?
How much? How much is that a factor versus the buyout?
What maybe some people who are on West's side that
have deep pockets may believe, like where where is that
in the pecking order? Where is season ticket retention and

(49:15):
people upstairs deciding to not come back? Where is that
in relation to the things that matter most when it
comes to making this decision.

Speaker 4 (49:24):
So it's a great question. I don't have that answer.
That's that's ultimately the thing that John Cunningham has to weigh,
because I think they know they have to know. How
do they not know? How do they not have a
pulse on the fan base on where things are at
right now? And look maybe money wins out. Maybe the

(49:46):
people with the deep pockets say, I'm I'm comfortable donating
this much to the program. I'm not comfortable going anything
over that. Going over that means we fire less. And
then you know you have to pay four million dollars
to buy out the new coach. That's gonna be more
than we can afford. We're not gonna have enough money
to play the nil game. Like, I understand all that,

(50:09):
but as an athletic director, that's part of what your
job is is to manage the big donors, is to
manage you know, Hey, look, I know you're gonna be
upset if Lesson isn't our coach next year. But guess what, Well,
you'll be involved in the process of hiring a new coach.
We're gonna do everything we can to make sure you

(50:31):
and the new coach get off on a good foot.
Like you've got to be able to manage all of
the parts in the athletic department that make up putting
a product on the floor that your fans want to
come see. And I just being around the fan base,
listening to the fan base, owning a message board, the

(50:54):
most active message community in Cincinnati, like I get a
for how they feel, and how they feel is if
we're not heard, then we're going to be heard. And
you know that's up to John Cunningham to mitigate everything.

Speaker 3 (51:12):
You just talked about.

Speaker 6 (51:13):
There.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
Should that work have actually started.

Speaker 4 (51:15):
A year ago, probably, I mean there were people that
were not happy a year ago. The fan base wasn't
happy a year ago, you knew, Like, I think there
was much more of an understanding last year that last
year the buyout wasn't tenable. That and and there was
a lot of really good jobs open last year. It's

(51:37):
the other part of this we haven't talked about. You
would have been pretty far down the pecking order of
trying to hire a new coach in last year's hiring cycle.
Who's going to be above them this year in this
hiring cycle? Syracuse, I think that's about even with Cincinnati.
I think Cincinnati's better job than Providence. Cincinnati's better job

(52:01):
at Boston College. Like, I think Cincinnati's right probably similar
to k State. Case State's got a lot of money,
So maybe that one, you know, is right on the
same par But you've got a chance to be one
of the three or four or five best jobs in
the hiring cycle, and there's some good names out there.

(52:22):
So you know, I think that if you if you've
got if you made it through last year with the
understanding of this guy needs to make the tournament, and
then the year started like it did, you would think
you're pretty far down the road even before the turnaround,
that if you decide you want to make something happen,

(52:42):
that you're going to have the ability to make something happen.
But you know, look, I've talked to probably twenty people today,
people connected to U SEE, people in the national media,
people in coaching circles. Nobody has a clue. And that's
kind of terrifying, man, that we're at this point and

(53:05):
there's really nobody that has a good feel for how
this is gonna.

Speaker 2 (53:10):
Play out, how much, how much of a fear is
out there, if at all, that you could move on
from a coach who's not popular. But starting from scratch
is hard, right, I mean, starting with likely an empty
roster and starting is hard, And so you know, yeah,

(53:32):
you could say five straight years not making the tournament,
seven straight years. You know, from a program perspective, if
you go back to the COVID year of not being
in the tournament. You know that that's that's fine, that
that should have people antsy and upset, but it's it's
really hard to get things turned around quickly enough that Okay,
next year, no matter who you're higher, you're you're back
in the dance. And I say this, and I do

(53:54):
not mean this as a knock at what Richard Patino
has done at Xavier, but how much of it is
a hear that you're gonna have a team that in
November you know has no chance of making the big dance.
How much of that fear drives this either way?

Speaker 4 (54:09):
Well, I think that's really where the money comes in, though,
because if you have an understanding that we're gonna really
be pressed to cover less leaving and I know people
look at like, okay, they can, they can pay it
out over a length of time and you know it's

(54:30):
monthly installments. But if you're an athletic director, you still
have to have that money in the budget, Like, yes,
does it make it a little easier, yes, but you
still have to look at that situation. You ever managed
anything before, if you've ever ran a budget before, you
don't just get to say, oh, well, we'll worry about
that later. Some people do, but that's how they end
up out of business. So if you worry about that

(54:53):
and then to buy out, If you're going to hire
a sitting head coach and you look at it and say, okay,
I think we can afford all this, but it's going
to be at the expense of the roster, well then
you're screwing over whoever is coming in to be the coach,
because look, this is not a shot at Xavior. I

(55:14):
know people think I want to take shots at Davier.
I might like to take shots at Davits.

Speaker 6 (55:20):
One.

Speaker 4 (55:22):
Winning in the Big twelve is a much different animal
than trying to get your footing in the Big East right.

Speaker 3 (55:28):
Now, Yeah, sure.

Speaker 4 (55:30):
And if you're trying to do it with you know,
a five six million dollar roster and everybody else in
the league is at eight to twelve or whatever. Man
is John Wooden available.

Speaker 3 (55:45):
Well he's dead, Like what right?

Speaker 4 (55:48):
So no, no, he's not.

Speaker 6 (55:52):
You.

Speaker 4 (55:53):
You better be damn sure that the guy that you're
bringing in can take his and be yours, take yours
and beat his, because it's it's it wouldn't be you know,
everybody says I'll give the new coach time, I'll give
you know, I'm understanding. Until your favorite team is three

(56:14):
and fifteen in the league and there's four thousand people
in the seats that sit Third Arena and the people
on the message board are already chirping, I think we
hired the wrong guy. I think we hired the wrong guy.
Like that's where the money comes really really into play
for me.

Speaker 2 (56:34):
If there were to be a change, and you just
spoke of the uncertainty in a community of people who
are close to the program, if there were to be
a change, what would that timeline most likely look like.

Speaker 4 (56:48):
I know there's a lot of talk about April first
being the date that his buyout drops from ten million
to four point six million. That is also another thing
that's on your athletic director that if you decide, if
John Cunningham sits down with his people and they decide
we're moving on from West Miller, you have to be

(57:10):
able to go to the agent, go to West and say, look,
we can either wait until April first. I don't want
to do that. You would like to get another job.
I would assume you don't want to do that, So
let's negotiate. Find something in between those two numbers, and
then we can make a clean break. You're free to

(57:31):
do your thing, We're free to do our thing, and
everybody goes their separate ways. It's an amicable divorce, if
there ever really was such a thing. And then you know,
I mean, I guess, like I know, the team got stranded,
kind of not stranded, but they had delays in Kansas City.

(57:52):
I still don't think they're back from Kansas City yet.

Speaker 3 (57:56):
That's got to be something.

Speaker 4 (57:59):
The last I heard, the plane was supposed to leave
at four o'clock when the original time was like ten
o'clock this morning, but I never I haven't heard if
wheels actually got up. Is it fair to say, you
know what, we wait until selection Sunday. They're on the bubble.
I think we all know they're not gonna make it,

(58:20):
but we wait until selection Sunday. We make a decision
after we officially see Cincenat he's not in the tournament
if it's not April first, which I might lose my
mind if they wait until April first and miss the
hiring cycle. We're three weeks, yeah, from April first, Right,
there's a lot that's gonna go down between now and

(58:41):
April first. On the coaching carousel. That would probably if
you wait for the tournament to you know, officially know,
that would maybe be more like monday with them not
getting back. I have a hard time seeing tomorrow, which
probably means through the weekend. And although you know, I
wouldn't rule out really any I've kind of been told

(59:04):
not to rule out anything and to have my phone ready, okay,
whether it's announced coming back or announce going whatever, Like
I haven't been given a real timeline on this is
when a decision should be or could be made, which
is frustrating, but such as life.

Speaker 2 (59:22):
I guess if I made you wager an amount of
money that mattered to you on one outcome either way,
where are you putting your money?

Speaker 4 (59:31):
I would say, probably right now sixty forty that they
let him go, so like a level a six out
of ten confidence level, that they hire a new coach.
I can't say with any more certainty because you don't
know exactly you know what the money is going to dictate.

(59:52):
So I think if all things were equal, the easy
decision is you move on, and you know he's very angry, though,
I think you move on and see what the next
chapter of UC basketball looks. Like, but in today's college athletics,
things are a little bit more complicated than that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:13):
We've gone along. They're not going to have their name
called on selection Sunday. Have they played their last game
this season?

Speaker 4 (01:00:24):
I mean that also probably depends on their decision on
Wes Miller, right, Like, if you decide you're gonna keep
Wes Miller, are you are you gonna pay the seven
hundred and fifty thousand dollars fine not to pay in
the play in the Crown? You're probably gonna play in
the Crown. Right If you move on, I think you

(01:00:48):
have to just say, hey, like, you know, we've got
bigger fish to fry right now. So I think it
wholly depends because the reaction is they finished ninth in
the Big Twelve. We talked about this a bunch last year.
The first two teams that don't make the NCAA Tournament

(01:01:10):
are obligated contractually to play in the Crown. I'm pretty
confident right now that there's going to be eight Big
twelve teams in the tournament, if not seven, So Cincinnati's
going to be contractually obligated to play in the Crown.
It's going to cost them three quarters of a million
dollars for a place that we just spent twenty seven

(01:01:32):
minutes talking about. Do they have money? Right? All right?

Speaker 2 (01:01:37):
Man, awesome stuff. As always, I'm sure we'll be talking
next week. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir EV
Again with Jad Brendel Bearcat Journal dot com.

Speaker 3 (01:01:45):
We are way late.

Speaker 2 (01:01:46):
Hunter sansum Nky Bracket Guy coming up ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (01:01:49):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (01:01:54):
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Speaker 5 (01:01:57):
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Speaker 2 (01:02:26):
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(01:02:49):
the signings of Brian Cook and boy A Mafey, Reds
and Dodgers tonight at nine oh five on seven hundred
WLW Nicolodolo on the mound for Cincinnati College Hoops. Miami
lost today for the first time since last year's MAC
Tournament championship game, falling to UMass blew an eleven point
lead with eight to go, eighty seven to eighty three
the final score. Kentucky won today in the SEC Tournament,

(01:03:11):
advanced to play Florida tomorrow. Tennessee went on I believe
a twenty four to zering run and the volunteers lead
Auburn by six one twenty three to go. I think
Miami is in Auburn losing would be helpful. Ohio State
b and Iowa today in the Big Ten Tournament seventy
two to sixty nine. Buckeyes will play Michigan tomorrow. Xavier

(01:03:32):
said to take on Yukon tonight at Madison Square Garden
in the Biggiest Tournament, and FC Cincinnati taking on Tigris
Ua n L. And the Konka CAF Champions Cup Round
of sixteen tonight at the Soccer Venue on the West End.
Our bracketologist joins us Next.

Speaker 1 (01:03:48):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 5 (01:03:53):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. The new uc Ohcher
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on the ramp from Buttermilk Pike, and one more crash
southbound two seventy five after State Route thirty two in Eastgate.
I'm at ezelic with.

Speaker 1 (01:04:24):
Traffic this report N fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 3 (01:04:30):
You cram a.

Speaker 2 (01:04:30):
Lot into two hours, which we're having to do today.
Tomorrow's show will be even shorter.

Speaker 3 (01:04:35):
By the way.

Speaker 2 (01:04:36):
Tennessee just polished off Auburn seventy two to sixty two.
Tigers were in control of that game and then they weren't.
That is that is good news for the Miami RedHawks,
who unfortunately lost today their first loss of the season,
suffered at the hands of UMass in Cleveland Mac Tournament
eighty seven to eighty three. The prevailing sentiment is that

(01:04:58):
the RedHawks are still going to be But I wanted
to bring on the Tri States resident bracketologist. He's no
longer just the official bracketologist of this show nkybracketology dot
com our guy Hunter Sansom and kind enough to join us.
The RedHawks are still in right.

Speaker 7 (01:05:18):
The RedHawks are still in the tournament as of right now.

Speaker 3 (01:05:20):
Yes, are they playing in Dayton.

Speaker 7 (01:05:24):
I want to see everything update and kind of everything
happened today before I say definitely yes or no. But
as of right now, I have them above Dayton, but
they're my first team not in Dayton at this time.

Speaker 3 (01:05:35):
How much does Auburn losing help it?

Speaker 7 (01:05:38):
Very much so helps Just watch them lose. Gave up
like a twenty nhing run here at the end of
the game to fall apart against Tennessee. Auburn is below
Miami at this point.

Speaker 2 (01:05:47):
Who still is playing that RedHawks fans should be paying
attention to.

Speaker 7 (01:05:52):
So anybody on the eight nine ten lines are teams
that you all should be paying attention to. For Miami, apologies,
my computer restarted, but VCU comes up tomorrow. I think
Missouri's out. Yeah, I mean, other than that, realistically, a
lot of these bubble teams are done. You can look
at the Mountain West teams, your New Mexico, your San
Diego States, But other than that, there's not much left

(01:06:16):
out there on the bubble. Seaton Hall is still playing
in the Big East, but they have to win the
conference to get in, so they wouldn't necessarily affect Miami
a ton, but you definitely want Ukon Saint John's Villanova
to win that conference.

Speaker 2 (01:06:28):
Wednesday and well, I should say Tuesday and Wednesday were
filled with bubble teams not winning.

Speaker 3 (01:06:33):
How much?

Speaker 2 (01:06:35):
How much do things get changed if even for Miami specifically,
if even a handful of those teams win games.

Speaker 7 (01:06:43):
We're probably having a completely different conversation about them at
least being in Dayton and being kind of locked into
that Dayton or worse. But I mean, with all of
this carnage that we've had along the bubble. You can't
tell me a team one game above five hundred should
be in over a team that went thirty one and
one at this point.

Speaker 2 (01:07:00):
It was a four point game today on a neutral court.
If today's loss had been more lobsided, would that have
factored into their candidacy?

Speaker 7 (01:07:09):
I think so to an extent. However, with Miami, it's
never about the predictive metrics, which is really where that
the margin plays in. I think for Miami it's all
about just how strong that resume is, how strong the
record is. And I mean this six Q four loss,
it might jump up to Q three, but I don't
think margin necessarily will be a big issue. That could

(01:07:30):
have been worse for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:07:31):
All Right, So, as of right now, we have the
RedHawks in the Dance and not playing in Dayton. So
if they're not playing in Dayton and they fall because
a team or two wins, it's it's hard for me
to believe. And you know a lot more about this
process than I do, that they go from team number
sixty four to team number sixty nine. Is that a
okay way of looking at it?

Speaker 7 (01:07:53):
I want to say yes, right now, I'm going to
have them sixty four ish is about right. Sixty three
sixty four, but I think they're in, but I have
trouble necessarily seeing them fall that far. It's definitely possible
at this point. But the committee, I mean again, we've
never had a team with this mini wins not make

(01:08:13):
the tournament. This is not the season to start picking
that kind of team to leave out.

Speaker 2 (01:08:18):
I feel like we hear the term weak bubble every year,
but this year feels historically weak.

Speaker 3 (01:08:24):
Would you agree?

Speaker 7 (01:08:26):
I agree? And the data back set up when you
start looking at cross comparing, and I won't get super
into the weeds, but when you cross compare like efficiencies
and these types of things, the top thirty teams are
just over heels better than the rest of the country,
and it's really affected just how good the bubble is.
It's the weakest bubble I've ever seen.

Speaker 3 (01:08:44):
Do the net ratings matter less this year than previous years?

Speaker 7 (01:08:49):
Great question and something I get all the time on
social media. The net ranking does not actually matter other
than getting you split into your quadrant rankings. Your resume
and your predictive metrics are what matter. There are six
of them. I will have a video out this evening
explaining that breakdown on bracket in Ky on Twitter, and
it'll be up on my website. I would strongly suggest
everybody watched that. But they matter. The net does not

(01:09:12):
necessarily matter a ton.

Speaker 2 (01:09:13):
I feel like I've heard the term wins above bubble
this year more than any other year.

Speaker 3 (01:09:18):
What is wins above bubble?

Speaker 7 (01:09:20):
Win's about bubble is actually a great new metric. It's
on the newer side, invented I think in twenty fifteen,
and it's basically, if you're a positive wins above bubble,
then that means you are two or three or whatever
the number is, wins above what they would expect a
traditional Bubble team in this year's tournament to be. So
for Miami, they were roughly two wins above bubble this morning.

(01:09:42):
That means that they had won two more games than
you would expect an average Bubble team to win. Now,
of course they lost. I think this is going to
hurt them about half a game two point seven to
five games, so it will knock them down a little bit,
but they still stay above what a typical Bubble team
would do.

Speaker 2 (01:09:56):
Given the fact that nobody else seemed to want to
grab a bid yesterday and on Tuesday, torture me. Had
Cincinnati held on to beat UCF, would they be in
the field.

Speaker 7 (01:10:07):
In the field, maybe not, but they would have at
least had a shot to jump up. With how everything
played out, without having seen what they're went above bubble
or strength, the record would have moved to It's really
hard for me to give you yes or a no,
but I want to say they might have been.

Speaker 2 (01:10:22):
What can Kentucky do with their seed if they win
tomorrow and then keep winning after beating Florida.

Speaker 7 (01:10:28):
I think it's sixth seed is Kentucky's ceiling. We've seen
the committee not necessarily always value the conference tournaments, especially
in the SEC, with A and M a couple of
years back. So I think they might jump up another
seed liner so, but I don't see them jump out
much more than that.

Speaker 2 (01:10:42):
Uh Ohio State I think deserves a lot of credit
because they've done what others haven't. Right, they've I don't
know that they needed to win today. You can correct
me on that, but with bids up for grabs, they've
won four consecutive games. What can the buck guys do
for their seed by beating Michigan tomorrow?

Speaker 7 (01:10:58):
If they beat Michigan, eight seed that's not out of
the question. I currently have them on the nine line.
You could make an argument for the eight already, and
you're absolutely right. They did not have to win today,
but this definitely helps slip by them their lowest. I
think they'll be now as an eight, but they feel
like they're gonna end up playing in that eight to
nine game, which means you're gonna be looking at the
number one seed.

Speaker 2 (01:11:16):
Indiana is not Indiana is not making the tournament correct correct?

Speaker 3 (01:11:21):
What's the best case for Louisville.

Speaker 7 (01:11:24):
Best case I think for Louisville, especially after today, sixth
seed feels about right for them. I do think Kentucky
could knock them down to the seven line, though.

Speaker 2 (01:11:32):
Is the current landscape the strongest argument against tournament expansion?

Speaker 7 (01:11:37):
Yes, I don't know how you can look at teams
like California, Indiana, Auburn, I mean, Cincinnati. You could make
an argument played better at the end of the year,
but you can't necessarily make an argument that these teams
deserve to be in the field right now. Expanding it,
those teams would all have been in.

Speaker 3 (01:11:52):
How do I get one of your polo shirts?

Speaker 7 (01:11:55):
I will send a dam after this?

Speaker 3 (01:11:58):
Where can others buy one of your polo shirts.

Speaker 7 (01:12:01):
So right now the link is floating around. I will
tweet it out after we get done here. Had some
requests for merch. So there's a polo, there's a T shirt,
there's a hoodie, and there's a wineglass onto it. So
that is linked right now. You use the code this
is March. You get ten percent off your order. I
launched it last night. I appreciate everybody's support and everybody's
been great with it. So I'll tweet that link out.

(01:12:23):
I'll tag your most so you have it as well,
and we'll go from.

Speaker 2 (01:12:26):
There at bracket nkhy on Twitter nkybracketology dot com.

Speaker 3 (01:12:32):
Enjoy, enjoy the weekend. Man.

Speaker 2 (01:12:34):
We'll probably bother you early next week just to see
how you did versus the actual selection commedy.

Speaker 3 (01:12:39):
Man, thanks so much. Sounds great. Thanks man, that's our guy.
Hunter sandsum Terrean shows over. Yes another day, no cuts.

Speaker 2 (01:12:47):
All right, I'll pull back the curtain. Tarn produces this
show and does an awesome job. And we talk about
like here's some audio I want to use, and he
goes back and he cuts up all this audio. And
I had him cut up a bunch of audio yesterday
and we didn't use it, And then today caught up
a bunch of audio and we didn't use it.

Speaker 3 (01:13:02):
Tell me about Jonathan Allen, really quick, solid defensive tackle.
Willians don't got rid of the due the money.

Speaker 6 (01:13:08):
Yeah, we got a second second year guy, Jaylen Redman,
who pretty much put up the same numbers.

Speaker 3 (01:13:14):
It's a little cheaper, all right. But he thought he
played a lot last year, wasn't he?

Speaker 5 (01:13:17):
It was?

Speaker 3 (01:13:17):
Okay, right, yeah, okay, he'll be great alongside bj Hill. Yeah, okay.
The linebackers, you guys are cutting the week hed use Uh,
you can probably get Ivan Page Junior if you want.
Let's go.

Speaker 2 (01:13:30):
He plays linebacker. Literally, anybody who plays linebacker I will take.
I don't care who they are. I don't care if
you play linebacker in the CFL. I don't care if
you play linebacker in the USFL or the Arena League.
I don't care if you played linebacker and oak Hill's
High school, can you play linebacker?

Speaker 5 (01:13:47):
Well?

Speaker 3 (01:13:47):
Have you played linebacker on like a mad video game
before ten yard fight? Yes? Have you got there and
played linebacker? I could wouldn't go well for the Bengals,
But wouldn't go well for me.

Speaker 2 (01:13:57):
But anybody, if you've ever played linebacker, call Duketovin might
have a job for you. Maybe Philanthro The phone all
right on the air tomorrow roughly.

Speaker 3 (01:14:07):
Four thirty because of UK hoops. Have a great night.

Speaker 2 (01:14:10):
Thanks to Tarran for producing and doing a bunch of
work that we didn't take advantage of.

Speaker 3 (01:14:14):
Have a great night.

Speaker 2 (01:14:15):
Talk to you tomorrow, ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (01:14:32):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.

Speaker 5 (01:14:37):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. The new uc oh
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five after blue rock traffic using the ramp lane to

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get around that scene, nor would lateral. At Montgomery Road,
an accident has got the right lane blocked off on
that ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 3 (01:15:07):
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