It takes a special human being to be a Cincinnati sports fan. Unless you're a masochist, the better part of the last two decades has not only been disappointing but also profoundly embarrassing. The demise of hometown hero Pete Rose was just the opening salvo in a decline that's only now beginning to show signs of relief.
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Fantasy football drafts. Tailgating. Running your mouth. There are many great aspects to this narrow season between face-melting heat and bone-chilling cold called we call Autumn. In many ways sports come to mind when mentally tallying the good things about fall. What Thanksgiving would be complete without you and your weakarmed relatives throwing wobbly passes back and forth in the yard?
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The "LeBron vs. Kobe" NBA Finals are on the back burner for at least another year while the Cleveland Cavaliers figure out how to surround their star with championship support. In today's NBA, it turns out, no one can do it alone, not even LeBron James. It appears Kobe Bryant will beat James to the title, which shouldn't be too surprising. Bryant has a better team around him.

Joey Votto's problem for the last month was a deficiency in the resources athletes can often tap to beat aches, pains and pulls. He's struggled with dizziness after an inner ear infection and flu limited him to three full games in a 17-game stretch last month. The Reds put Votto on the 15-day disabled list May 31 due to "stress-related" issues. Addressing whether the ear infection is involved, General Manager Walt Jocketty told reporters, "It's partly that. Let’s leave it at that."

A month ago, the Xavier University baseball team didn't conjure a first thought, let alone a second. A lot of baseball happens in Cincinnati. College baseball happens very quietly. But around noon on May 25 Xavier reached quite a unique distinction when it was officially announced as a qualifier for the NCAA baseball tournament, and the Muskies will play Friday at 3 p.m. against Kansas State at the Houston Regional. Over the past month, XU put together a splendid run, winning 17 of 20 games with prodigious batsmanship and a knack for winning close contests when they didn't bludgeon opponents to death.

Most locals consider Cincinnati to be a “baseball town.” Everyone hears family members and coworkers go on about just how great the Big Red Machine was or how exciting 1990 was when the Reds went wire-to-wire in first place and swept the Oakland A’s to win the World Series. Though it’s still relatively early, this year’s Reds are an exciting team that shows signs of being able to contend for a playoff spot.
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Anyone in America can watch every game in the NBA playoffs. But try finding the NHL, even if some playoff series features the league's two best players battling fiercely to the bitter end in Game 7. The Pittsburgh Penguins, featuring Sidney Crosby, played in the NHL's Eastern Conference semifinals against the Washington Capitals, starring Alex Ovechkin.

At some point, we'll have to value the steroid era players against history. The list of greats from recent years with steroid taint (Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, A-Rod, Manny Ramirez and others) are Hall of Famers who will at least raise serious questions about their worthiness because of drugs.

One month into the 2009 season, the task of assessing the Reds for their staying power in the National League playoff race remains a work of wild guessing. They have no stars and few track records, and the first month leaves us neither hot nor cold. But we can be reliably certain of one aspect concerning the Reds: Their plan to build a ball club around pitching shows its value again and again.

Forbes Magazine recently released two lists that should interest local sports fans. Estimating the financial values of college basketball programs, Forbes ranked Xavier as the 17th most valuable and Arizona as the sixth most valuable. The magazine also offered its list of the nation's most miserable sports cities.