A few days ago, the Cincinnati Reds lost 8-3. A combination of poor pitching and a lack of timely hitting did them in. Yet, for Reds’ fans, it was not the greatest disappointment of the night.
Texas Rangers’ star outfielder Josh Hamilton made history last night. He became the sixteenth player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game.
Surprisingly enough, it still wasn’t enough to win Hamilton the Player of the Game honors in unanimous fashion, but that’s irrelevant.
The 5-5, 8 RBI effort was a painful reminder of what could have been for Cincinnatians. The one season Hamilton spent as a Red was up and down. Yet, Hamilton was coming off drug rehabilitation and his numbers were decent.
But the decision was still made to acquire Edinson Volquez for Hamilton. We all know how the story goes from here: both play great in their first years on new teams – the trade is considered a win for both parties.
Then, the balance tips. Volquez burned out, and is now a San Diego Padre. Hamilton is still a Ranger. Despite some injury issues, he has asserted himself as a year-in, year-out MVP candidate.
Last night as Hamilton touched ‘em all for the fourth and final time I couldn’t help but blink hard and imagine him still in Cincinnati’s red and white. It helped to dream, but that only made reality tougher.
The only way Josh Hamilton will ever shine in Cincinnati again is if his Rangers make the interleague trek to the Queen City. We’ll still see him rake balls into the right field bleachers, but it won’t be a pretty sight.

Who knows what’s up with the world these days; it can be a messed up place.

But when the Cincinnati Bengals have one of the best – and arguably the best – draft in the league, our planet may have been knocked off its axis. It’s even starting to become a trend.

Their 2011 draft was headlined by A.J. Green and Andy Dalton, their first- and second-round selections, respectively. The offensive duo became starters and led the Bengals to the playoffs.

The 2012 draft provides a lot of hope for Who Dey Nation, and rightfully so. Of the 10 draft picks, all 10 have a realistic shot of making the final, 53-man roster.

First round picks Dre Kirkpatrick and Kevin Zeitler will compete for starting jobs. Zietler seems to be the heir to the right guard position, while Kirkpatrick will have more of a battle if he wants to start opposite Leon Hall at corner next season.

Mike Brown got great value in his second- and third-round picks. Defensive tackles Devon Still (second-round) and Brandon Thompson (third-round) were both taken later than their projections suggested.

The two behemoths look to be the first two tackles off the bench for Mike Zimmer’s line rotation. In addition to Thompson the Bengals also snagged receiver Mohamed Sanu in the third round.

His sure-fire hands and precise route running will allow him to compete with fifth-round selection Marvin Jones and the stable of current Bengal receivers to become the number two receiver.

His name is/was Ron Artest. He is a professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers and former wanna-be rapper. He doesn’t have a mean streak, because that would imply he’s not always a malicious player.

That’s all you need to know about Artest, err, Metta World Peace. Oh, and he was once again suspended – this time for an egregious elbow that will cost him seven games and the remainder of the regular season.

Seriously, has anything in the history of mankind been more ironic than that name? While we’re at it, why not just dub Lady Gaga as Ms. Ordinary? Maybe “Change is strange” should have been Barack Obama’s slogan.

There is no part of Metta World Peace that I am content with. Metta, his first name, is an original Buddhist word that is described as “loving kindness and friendliness towards all.”

Him? Loving, kind, and friendly? Child please (Ironically, this is the oft-said slogan of Chad Ochocinco, who World Peace modeled his name change after).

And regarding the new surname, World Peace, no. Just no. If there are any efforts in the near future to have the world live in complete harmony, I don’t want MWP anywhere near the discussions.

In fact, let’s just put him up in Richard Branson’s new spaceship until we figure out what to do with the brute. I guess you could say that I’m judging a book by its cover in this instance – that I don’t know the real Ron Artest/Metta World Peace.

But who does? Does his family trust how he is at the dinner table, or do they revert back to the Malice at the Palace and see their role model attack those on the court and in the stand?

Can you blame me for judging someone based on their numerous physical incidents that have been displayed on national television for the whole world (Ha) to see?

I feel confident that most of his “friends” or family and those who MWP works with still call him Artest. Can you really imagine Kobe Bryant saying, “Hey Metta, flash to the ball.” I don’t, and it’s not because Kobe is a ball-hog.

Metta World Peace is a joke, and the person is an even greater one. If he ever wants to be taken seriously or just liked, he needs to take a page out of the Grinch’s book and have his heart grow.

A better Metta would be good for us all.

It’s like Christmas in April! Actually the NFL Draft is the closest thing to a holiday in April, but the release of the NFL schedules is a somewhat-close second.

Emotions ran wild yesterday as coaches, players, and fans all around the world analyzed their team’s chances in each game. For our Cincinnati Bengals, bits of content, disappointment, and déjà vu was in the air.

Like last season’s schedule that resulted in a nine-win season for Who Dey, the path to the postseason starts out fairly easy, only to endure a very difficult December.

The success of last season’s Men in Orange and Black also earned them three primetime games: the Monday Night Football season opener at Baltimore (ESPN), week 7 Sunday Night Football vs. Pittsburgh (NBC), and week 15 Thursday Night Football at Philadelphia (NFL Network).

Surprisingly, the return of Carson Palmer and his Oakland Raiders to Paul Brown Stadium did not garner a primetime slot.

We can start by breaking down Kentucky.

Their heart and leading scorer, freshman unibrow-toter Anthony Davis, was a beast when it came to altering shots and finishing around the rim. He was joined in the front court by fellow freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who was nearly impossible to defend when he drove into the lane.

Sophomore Terrence Jones was yet another post presence who fed off intimidation and strength down low. When any of these players were double-teamed, the Wildcats’ multi-faceted perimeter players would bail them out.

Freshman Marquis Teague was the floor general. He does not have the pizazz that former Calipari point guards have possessed, yet he knew when to distribute the rock and when to look for his own shot. The same can be said for sophomore sharp-shooter Doron Lamb.

Davis may be the heart of the team, but the Wildcats’ leader was veteran Darius Miller. The senior swingman was the epitome of a glue guy and hit big shot after big shot as the season progressed. He was the team’s sixth man, yet he’d start on most major Division-I teams.

Also coming off the pine was freshman Kyle Wiltjer. Despite having the size of Jones, he spent most of his time knocking down threes.

All other players were sparsely used, but it didn’t matter as Calipari’s seven-man rotation proved to be the cream of the crop. But even though they dominated the NCAA level, they’re no match for the Charlotte Bobcats, who have dipped down to 7-49.

Guarding Teague would be either Kemba Walker or D.J. Augustin. Walker proved to be a one-man team as he led his Connecticut Huskies to the title two tournaments ago. Augustin was a young stud in Rick Barnes’ system at Texas a few years ago.

Collectively, they could keep Teague or Lamb in check. They give up a bit of size to Lamb, but their quickness and savvy of the point guard competition at the professional level would prove too much for either guard.

As experienced as he is in college, Miller would be helpless against Bobcats’ guard Gerald Henderson. The former Duke Blue Devil is a tall, lanky player with versatile scoring ability. The two are about the same size, but the fact is that Henderson’s talent level is definitely greater.

He or 12-year veteran Corey Maggette – who also went to Duke – would combine to disrupt the flow that Miller and Lamb bring the Calipari’s offense.

While Davis might be the most-talented big man on the court, he would get pushed around to the point that his main concern would just be getting the shot off. He gives up at least 50 pounds to Bobcat big man Byron Mullins and is also skinnier than Tyrus Thomas and Bismack Biyombo. Any of those three players would force Davis, Jones, or Wiltjer out of the paint and make them shoot over their long out-stretched arms.

Kidd-Gilchrist is the biggest matchup problem for the Bobcats, but Maggette, Henderson, or former Xavier stud Derrick Brown provide the necessary skills to irritate MKG.

Overall, the depth and size of the Bobcats would thwart the offensive attacks Calipari would draw up. They do struggle on offense, but the Bobcat’s back court quickness would cause the Kentucky backcourt to cheat up, opening up kick-out three opportunities or easier shots in the paint.

The argument is silly. While Kentucky is currently an NBA factory, it does not have the intangibles or combined talent of an actual NBA team. All NBA players were studs in college. We don’t even know if all of Kentucky’s stars will pan out in the NBA.

It’s fun to wonder, but in this case, the point is moot. NBA teams will trump college teams every time.