Dan Hoard -- 11/11/25

Tony and Austin talk Bengals, Bearcats, and illusionists with Dan Hoard on ESPN 1530!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Tony Pike Cincy MAREE sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati,
sponsored in hard by Penn Station East Coast Subs, handcrafted
hot grilled subs, fresh cut fries in lemonade. It's all
about good taste Penn Station East Coast Subs orderum Line Today.

(00:21):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome back. It is the third and final hour of
the Wednesday edition of since E three sixty. We've got
a lot to get in still in this hour. Brooks Downing,
who is putting on the event next Friday night at
the Heritage Bank Center Heritage Bank Arena between Louisville and
uc He will join us in this hour to preview

(00:49):
that game and let us know a little bit more
about the event itself. Mueger is in studio today. We'll
hear from him for quick hits, fortunately still no locks
of the night, and momentarily we'll talk to Dan Horr,
the Hall of Fame voice of the Cincinnati Bearcats for football,
for basketball, and of course the voice of the Cincinnati Bengals,

(01:11):
alongside Dave Lapham as well. So much to get to
here in the third and final hour of the show,
a little bit kind of working around the football scene.
Here you see Arizona Saturday noon Knippert Stadium, the Bengals
and the Steelers on Sunday at one o'clock. Both games,

(01:33):
uniquely and oddly enough present themselves present a chance for
marquee wins for different reasons for the teams. Here we
are talking about the Cincinnati Bengals on November twelfth, a
team that's three and six, seemingly going nowhere, and then
a shot of life in the arm with Joe Burrow

(01:55):
coming back to practice this week and his twenty one
day window opening, and now the talk, at least for
the Bengals is can you beat the Stealers and then
let's see what happens. There is again, it's small, but
there is a sign of life there. There is hope

(02:16):
for the Cincinnati Bengals. For the Cincinnati Bearcats, it's a
much different stakes. It is an opportunity in controlling your
own destiny to still advance if you win your last
three to the Big twelve Championship where you will probably
face Texas Tech in Dallas, Texas. Now again, U see's path,

(02:42):
albeit as simple, we know what it is, is very
daunting in the fact that they just have some tough
opponents out there. So it's nice when we get to
talk to Dan because you get a Bengals point of view,
you get a Bearcat point of view, and we have
him with us right now. Dan Horde, what's going on,
buddy Cody.

Speaker 3 (02:59):
I'm on the practice field enjoying this sunny day, watching
Joe Burrow do his thing, watching Joe Flacco stand around.
He's not throwing today, sounds like he will tomorrow, So
just enjoying how the temperature has risen in the last
forty eight hours.

Speaker 4 (03:14):
It's awesome to this.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
It's insane to be outside, to be watching this team
and to be watching Joe Burrow. Two parts. One as
connected as you are within the organization. Were you surprised
with the Joe Burrow announcement this week? And how has
he looked even today throwing the ball around.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
He looks normal throwing the ball.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
It's when he makes quick, abrupt movements that I guess
he's really testing the big toe on his left foot.
But strictly in terms of his throwing mechanics, I don't
see a discernible difference. And yes, I was surprised on Monday.
I knew that Joe Burrow would come back sooner than
the original medical prognosis of three months. Just knowing Joe Burrow,

(03:56):
you knew he would make it a mission to come
back earlier, even if it was just a few days earlier.
But to come back after fifty seven days, I will
definitely admit that I was very surprised by that.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
What type of shock and not a shock, but what
type of lift is that for the locker room? And
I know Joe Flacco has played really well and this
is not taking away with him or the offense has done.
But when you get a player of that magnitude back
in the locker room, how much does that lift everyone
else around.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
I don't know that it's a big short term deal.
It's not like suddenly these guys think, Okay, here we go,
we'll be Pittsburgh now. Just from having Joe Burrow at
practice and watching the game on the sideline, I mean,
he's been on the sideline anyway, But I think it
does reinforce the notion for everybody in the building that
we have this guy. He's going to be back at
some point. When he is back, we'll have one of

(04:45):
the top three quarterbacks in the NFL, and yes they're
problems right now are on the defensive end. But still
you do have the feeling if you're wearing an orange
and black that if you have Joe Burrow, anything is possible.
Even as well as Joe Flacco has played.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Year one for Al, Golden defense has not been great.
They come into a bye week where you are able
to do some self scouting, We're able to talk and
look into your tendencies. Do you feel like there's room
and albeit it may be shorthanded, it does not sound
like Trey Hendrickson's going to be playing Shamar Stewart's week
to week. Does it feel like there are tangible things

(05:24):
that this defense can improve upon coming out of the
bye week?

Speaker 3 (05:28):
It can't be any worse, right, They're bound to be
at least a little better just from the odds of
going out there and playing week after week. I can
tell you this being out on the practice field today
for their first real practice to begin this week getting
ready for the Steelers. All of the young guys on
defense began even really before practice started by going through

(05:49):
basic fundamental things. So Dimitrius Knight was out there working
with the linebackers coach on basic stuff. Miles Murphy was
out there with Jerry Montgomery through what looked to me
like pretty basic stuff. So you know, everybody says, well,
why can't you tackle? And the coaches respond by saying,
we work on it all the time. That's the type

(06:10):
of stuff that they are doing. They are still drilling those,
you know, basic normal things that you start from your
very beginning of your football career in hopes that these
guys will, you know, master the little things and hopes
of being better when the big things come along.

Speaker 5 (06:25):
One of the positives this year Dan has been the
play of DJ Turner. I'm curious through your lens, what
do you see as being the key for Dj Turner
to be so effective this year for the defense.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
He's always had the athletic ability that's obvious. I do
think he's a little bit bigger and stronger. I think
he bulked up a little bit in the off season,
and I believe his ability to play the ball has
gotten a million times better.

Speaker 4 (06:49):
Whether that's him.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
Studying it and improving that on his own, whether that's
Chuck Burks working with him, the cornerbacks coach, I'm not sure,
but his ability to react to the ball, play the ball,
get his hands on the ball. You know, he leads
the NFL and passes defense. That has come so far
in one year. To me, that's the difference. That's why

(07:11):
he is playing like one of the better cover corners
in the NFL. It's because he's seeing the ball, reacting
to it, and getting his hands on it, which has
been great on.

Speaker 5 (07:20):
The offensive side of the ball. Taz Brooks, it feels
like is going to get an opportunity now with samaj
p Ryan down. What do you expect his role to
be and what are the Bengals getting out of him?
What type of running back is he?

Speaker 4 (07:34):
Well, we saw last year at Texas Tech. He's a workhorse.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
I mean he handled the ball as much over the
last two years as any running back in college football
and had more than fifteen hundred yards in each of
those each of those two years. I think he has
a decent amount of talent, but there's also a reason
why he wasn't one of the top running backs selected
in the draft this year. He doesn't have breakaway speed.
He's not the biggest guy out there, but I do

(07:58):
think he's a tough, hard nosed runner. Who's going to
be able to spell Chase Brown. I don't think he
is going to step right into the sama JP Ryan Roll.
I wouldn't expect Tide Brooks to be their third down
back all of a sudden, But I also don't think
you want to give it to Chase Brown a million
times a game. He's not the biggest running back in
the NFL. So I look forward to seeing Tis Brooks

(08:21):
get a few carries and see what he can do
with an opportunity.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
Bengals Steelers Sunday at one o'clock. Before that game happens, Dan,
you'll be calling the game at Knippert Stadium between UC
and Arizona. It was a disappointing trip to Utah where
the things they had done well so much of the
year just all fell apart at once. They turned the
ball over multiple times, one of those being in the
red zone. They missed a kick, they gave up a

(08:44):
punt return for a touchdown. It just never felt like
it got off the ground, and a lot of that
is credit to Utah. What feels different about this team
as what we saw last year, when when one loss
kind of snowballed for the remainder of the year. What
feels different about the makeup of this team that they
can come back after the buy and get right back
on track.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
Well, first and foremost, I think they have a great
wide receiver corps, which they didn't have last year. So
last year, late in the season is they played better
big twelve defenses. And you know this better than anybody, Tony,
those wide receivers just weren't getting open. I'm not worried
about that now. Tyrus Allen, Noah Jennings, Caleb Goodie. I mean,
these guys have proven to be really good college football players,

(09:28):
and I think they are going to give Brendan Sores
be plenty of opportunities to complete passes over the next
three games. So my confidence in playing much better than
they did against Utah starts with that position group and
the talent they've accumulated since last year. And then I
do think many of the things that you mentioned they've
been so good at this year, there's just no way

(09:51):
it's going to continue to be bad. Probably special teams
at the top of that list. I mean, it has
been a huge strength for the team basically in every
department field, goal kicking, punting, punt coverage, kick, coverage. All
of it has been good. It was dreadful against Utah.
I believe in those guys, and I think that's going
to be much much better this Saturday at noon.

Speaker 2 (10:13):
How vital was the bye week just to get guys healthy,
Golday Corleone, Evan Pryor. It just felt like not only
were they banged up, as everyone is this point of
the year, but just key members of this starting offense
and defense. Sometimes you just need that week to get
yourself healthy for what's going to be an extremely important
stretch run.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
And I think it really does begin with Dante Corleone.
Talking to coach Satterfield a couple of days ago, he
said there is a noticeable difference. He thought that Dante
was the healthiest he's been all year in the last
game against Utah, at least since his injuries. So the
healthiest he's been since the injury in the Utah game.
Now he's had extra week to recover. I think there's

(10:52):
a reasonable chance we are going to see a much
more dominant version of Dante Corleone in the final three
games of the Regis season. The guy that we expected
to see all year and unfortunately just haven't because of
his ankle injury. I think that that guy might be
out there on Saturday, and if he is, it's obviously
a huge difference maker for UCEE.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
It's natural in college football to look ahead at times,
and as a team you do your best to steer
away from that. But everything this team has set out
to do is still out in front of him. They
can still play for a big twelve championship in Dallas,
and everyone has kind of circled the BYU game as
the game that it's going to come down to. But
I thought Scott's Sodderfield went out of his way to
talk about this, and we've talked about it as well.

(11:34):
Arizona have a loss at the Gun to Houston on
a field goal, and they were beating BYU by double
digits before BYU came back and won that game in overtime.
This is an Arizona team coming in that can provide
some problems if you don't put your best foot forward
on Saturday.

Speaker 3 (11:49):
For the Bearcats, no doubt, and the player that everybody
knows is their quarterback. Noah Fafida broke out two years
ago when Jed Fish was still the head coach. Had
a great year twenty five touchdown passes, was being talked
about as potentially one of the better young quarterbacks in
the country. He took a step backward last year and
they made their coaching change. Now it looks like he's

(12:11):
back to the form that he displayed two years ago.
So that's the guy that everybody knows about. But I
think the bigger concern is Arizona's defense. They're third in
the Big Twelve and fewest points allowed, they're fourth in
the league and fus yards allowed.

Speaker 4 (12:25):
It's a really good defense.

Speaker 3 (12:28):
So this is not just a matter of limiting Noah
Fafida to reasonably small numbers. They're going to have to
play really well on the offensive end to put points
on the board against this Arizona defense, because I think
that is the stronger unit between the offense and defense
on that team.

Speaker 2 (12:45):
Had a chance last night to call the game between
the Bearcats and the Dayton Flyers a unique game, and
I listened to you and Steve talk with Wes Miller
after the game. Very rarely in college basketball are you
going to win a game when turning the ball over
twenty four times. Even more rarely, you're going to win
that game by double digits. Against what is year in,
year out, a very solid team and a well coached

(13:06):
team in the Dayton Flyers. How much can this team
grow and take with a confident step after last night's
win when not playing nearly your best basketball.

Speaker 3 (13:17):
Well, they can certainly grow, There's no doubt about that.
Because those turnovers were atrocious. I'll give Dayton credit for
some of them. They've got a player into Shane Montgomery.
You had six deals in one game in Dayton's opener,
so he's a really good defensive player. I think Dante
Jones is a really good defensive player. So they've got

(13:38):
some and that was a factor. But many of Cincinnati's
turnovers would fall under the unforced category in my opinion.
Jumping up without knowing what you're going to do, throwing
the ball cross court into traffic. Those things will kill
you once you get to the Big Twelve, and obviously
some of the games they still have left in the
non conference to that.

Speaker 4 (13:58):
Against Louiville you're going to lose.

Speaker 3 (14:00):
Do that. Against Clemson or Georgia, you're going to lose.
Do that at the Cintas Center, it's a good chance
you're going to lose. So they've got to clean that
up right away. It wasn't just a number of turnovers either.
It was what mccronin used to call turnovers for touchdowns,
where you're just giving up a fast break dunk because
of a terrible turnover that you committed. They got outscored

(14:22):
in points off turnovers by twenty five points and still
won the game by double digits. So that's the number
one thing that they got to fix, and they've got
to fix.

Speaker 4 (14:30):
It right away. I would say you can.

Speaker 3 (14:33):
Live with twelve turnovers something around there, and they committed
twice as many.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
To your point, that Louisville team that they'll play next
Friday at Heritage Bank, that is one of the better
teams in the country, and that was on display last
night and they're win over Kentucky. Just your overall early observations.
What do you like about this year's West Miller team.

Speaker 3 (14:53):
I think the talent is good. It's all a matter
of how it's going to gel. And last year's team
had decent talent and didn't gell all that well. I
think in building this roster, Wes Miller and his coaches
and Corey Evans, the new GM, the thought process was
all right, let's find pieces that fit like a puzzle
and that is still rounding into form. I think there

(15:16):
have been signs that it's going to be a group
that fits pretty well together, and that another moment you
scratch your head and think, hmm, I don't know, is
this more of the same. So that's what they need
to resolve in the non portion, non conference portion of
the schedule. I'm cautiously optimistic that they're going to be
able to do it and be good enough in the
Big twelve to go back to the NCAA tournament this year,

(15:38):
because I do think they've got enough talent to do it,
but they've got to get that group to play well together.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
Always a great opportunity to catch up with you, Dan
before I let you go, I'd be remissed. Did you
enjoy the buye weekend?

Speaker 4 (15:51):
You got to?

Speaker 2 (15:52):
You had an eventful by weekend, the double by, which
is very rare in the hourthousehold.

Speaker 4 (15:56):
Did you get to enjoy it?

Speaker 3 (15:59):
I certainly did. How much time do you have left?
As much as you were up against the clock? All right,
Because if I'm going to tell this story, he's going
to require a little bit of storytelling. SOO as a
birthday present. My birthday is in early October. My wife
got us tickets to something in Tampa on Saturday. We
flew to Tampa on Saturday morning after the UC basketball

(16:22):
team played on Friday night, and we attended something called
The Illusionists Table. Now, this is a show that has
been going on in New York City for quite a while.
It has finally started traveling around the country. It's currently
in a one week engagement in Tampa, and my wife's
sister was involved in booking this in a theater down

(16:43):
there that she works for, so we kind of had
an inn on getting tickets. Here's what the Illusionist Table is.
It's an elegant, fancy dinner, like a fancy candle lit
dinner with wine and fancy food and whiskey and all
sorts of great stuff. But it's twenty eight people and
there is a mentalist who performs during your fancy dinner.

(17:05):
So picture Owes the mentalist going around the table and
dazzling you with his esp like powers. Now, I love magic.
I love mentalists. My wife isn't really into it, but
she knows how much I like it, so she got
his tickets and it was incredible, absolutely incredible. So I

(17:30):
talked to the guy at the end. I said, you
need to come to Cincinnati, so sometime he said he
would love to. So if the Illusionist Table ever makes
its way to the Queen City, you and Meredith need
to go, yes, because it was incredible.

Speaker 2 (17:45):
That was the single you out at all? Or was
it just all to perform to the group.

Speaker 3 (17:51):
I was involved in one of the illusions. So at
one point, Scott Sylvan, that's the guy's name, he went
around the table and he picked out six people and
he said, all right, give me a number between one
and sixty. And as you give the number, he writes
it down on a big chalkboard. So I was one
of the people. I chose the number thirty one, which

(18:14):
was my high school basketball number. So he writes these
six numbers up on the board. Then he tells the
person who's sitting in the middle of the table opened
the little wooden box in front of you. So the
mentalist is nowhere near this guy. This box has been
sitting on the table the whole time. Dude opens the box,
the illusionist says, removes the contents of the box. The

(18:38):
person pulls out a little piece of paper and he
says all right, what do you have in your hand?
The guy said, it's a lottery ticket dated whatever it was,
ten years ago, twenty years ago, I don't remember. And
then he said, all right, read off the six numbers
and they were the six numbers. Wow that the people
around the table had called out, how do you do that?

Speaker 2 (18:59):
Unbelievable?

Speaker 4 (19:00):
How do you do that?

Speaker 2 (19:02):
Man?

Speaker 4 (19:03):
Insane?

Speaker 3 (19:03):
I mean, was there a tiny person under the table
slipping it up through the bottom of the box. I
don't know, but however they did it. I was amazed, dazzled,
totally captivated, and the meal was great. And I'm not
a big whiskey guy. Yeah, but we had one whiskey
that was really, really good, So I might be becoming

(19:24):
a whiskey. That might have been the greatest illusion of all.
He might have turned me into a whiskey guy.

Speaker 5 (19:29):
I mean, that's an awesome gift to get you for
your birthday. And then I learned something about you. I
didn't know you liked magic, magic man.

Speaker 3 (19:37):
Big time magic, illusionist, mentalist. Guy if oh was the
mentalist ever, returns to the Bengals team meeting room. I'm
going to break unner to be a fly on the wall.
You know somebody standing silently in the back of the room.

Speaker 2 (19:54):
Observing awesome stuff. Dan, thank you so much for your time.
We appreciate as always am. We'll talk soon.

Speaker 4 (20:02):
Sounds great, Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
Yes, sir, that is the great Dan Horde.

Speaker 4 (20:07):
That's awesome.

Speaker 2 (20:07):
The Illusionist had no idea, the Magician, the magic Man,
shake and.

Speaker 5 (20:11):
Bake interesting people on planet Earth.

Speaker 2 (20:14):
Right, Yeah, one of the most interesting and one of
the absolute best people you'll ever meet. Let's keep this
going here because with that, we talked a little bit
there about what it would take to beat that Louisville
Cardinals team next weekend, and we just so happened to
uh have joining us next a man named Brooks Downing

(20:38):
who was promoting and putting together this event between UC
and Louisville. He's going to join us to tell us
more about what's going on at the Heritage Bank Arena
next Friday night. That happens next on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports station