For the first time since the close of the 2009 season, the University of Cincinnati Bearcat football team is nationally ranked! After their big win in Florida versus South Florida, they are now #23 in the USA Today coaches poll and #24 in the AP poll, however they have yet to hit the BCS standings. Their 37-34 victory over USF this past Saturday was a big thriller. Even as they were down late in the game, I really felt that they would still pull out the victory and was glad to see them score the winning touchdown with just twelve seconds left in the game.

Next the Cats will play at Pittsburgh in a couple of weekends before heading back home to face West Virginia, who is now just one spot behind UC in each of the national polls. If those standings remain, and even if they don’t, the game versus the Mountaineers will be a big one. I’m glad that we will be there in person to watch it all unfold.

My weekend of fantasy football was better than last. I walked away with two wins and two losses. My teams now sit in 1st of 10, two teams at 4th of 12, along with 1st of 4 in the division based league where I still hold the best record. I dropped from 1st to 2nd in pro pick’em and retained 2nd place in the college game. And again I am still in 11th place in the salary cap game. I’ve made some changes to my roster that I’m hoping will  help.

The University of Cincinnati had yet another win over the weekend against the Louisville Cardinals. It was the first conference win for the Bearcats and they now stand at 5-1 on the season. Though they have yet to crack any of the top 25 polls they are starting to get some votes. The game was down at Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals. I much prefer to watch the Cats at home in Nippert Stadium, but we still managed to have a good time with our usual group of over a dozen. Next up for UC are some tough matchups, this Saturday at South Florida, followed by a game at Pitt, and then back to Paul Brown for West Virginia, a nationally ranked team. Let’s hope they can continue their winning ways.

My hockey team had the weekend off. Our record is currently 2-1 and play will resume this coming weekend.

In the world of fantasy sports, I had a very disappointing week going 0-4. This comes after three undefeated weeks in a row, but I guess the streak had to end somewhere. Even with all the losses I am in 1st of 10, 3rd of 12, 4th of 12, and 1st of 4 in my division. I remain in 1st place in the pro pick’em game but fell to 2nd in the college edition. Finally I’m in 11th place in the salary cap game, but making some progress.

A couple of days ago, Sporting News released their Best Sports Cities  rankings, “which look at the 12 months from summer 2010 to summer 2011, are based on point values assigned to various categories, including but not limited to, won-lost records, postseason appearances, applicable power ratings, number of teams and attendance.” Cincinnati was placed in the top 25, which is a pretty respectable showing in my opinion. We sit just behind Denver (+Boulder) and have two fewer professional teams from the four major professional leagues than they do. With the Reds season finished, we are now relying on the Bengals to keep us happy, and so far they have mixed results doing so. The victory over the Bills this past weekend was a nice step though. And the Bearcats of the University of Cincinnati continued their winning ways over long time rivals Miami University.

My fantasy football teams continue to win and went undefeated again this past week! I am now in 1st of 10, 2nd of 12, 3rd of 12, and 1st of 4 in my division (and still the only undefeated team left in the league). I also retained first place in both the professional and college pick’em games. However I fell back one spot to 12th place in the salary cap game. Maybe I should just sell my entire team and start over.

Black Out Crowd

Another home game for the University of Cincinnati last Thursday night and another great win! Similar to the other games this season, Isaiah Pead scored the first Bearcat touchdown, followed by a couple of keepers from quarterback Zach Collaros. It was 21-0 before the NC State Wolfpack got on the board with a touchdown of their own. The Cats added a field goal before half making it 24-7.

Here come the Cats!

After halftime UC added another field goal and touchdown before allowing seven more points from NC State, but finished it off with one more touchdown and a field goal to finish at 44-14. I was hoping for a good competitive game after the first few home blowouts of the year, but the Bearcats dominated much of the game once again. Not that I’m complaining. They take on the Miami University Redhawks this coming weekend for the 116th  Battle for the Victory Bell. UC has a chance to make it six victories in a row, which would be the longest streak by either team.

My cousin Corey, friend Rob, and me enjoying the game.

While I’m talking football, here is a quick update on my fantasy football games. My teams in the traditional head to head games all went undefeated this week! I’m now in 1st of 12, 5th of 12, 6th of 12, and 1st of 4 in my division (though I’m the only undefeated team left in the league). I also gained 1st place in both pro and college pick’em, but  unfortunately  I’m out of the survivor game after New England lost to Buffalo for the first time in 16 tries. I moved up to 11th in the salary cap game, so some improvement, but still a long way from the lead.

One last note on sports for the week. I finally made it back out onto the ice on Sunday with my new hockey team. I’m playing with a couple of my good friends who I played with in high school, and even one of their older brothers. Our team played really well together considering it was the first time that some of us had ever shared the ice. I scored our first goal of the season and our team went on to win with four or five goals while also helping our goalie gain a shootout. This should be a great season of hockey.

After the race on Saturday morning and returning home to get cleaned up, we all headed up to the University of Cincinnati campus to tailgate before our second home game of the season versus the Akron Zips.  We spent a few hours before kickoff hanging out in the new on-campus tailgate spot, the GRID. In addition to reserved spots, fans are also allowed to bring their own coolers and chairs onto the campus green. With pregame performances by the band, and the team walking through a couple of hours before the game, it is a good option for pregame activities.

Trey ready for his first game!

We didn’t take Trey to the first game since it was a late start, but the 3:30 kickoff for this game was perfect. Plus the weather was really nice despite a cool start to the day. He really enjoyed seeing the band up close and was happy hanging on a blanket covering the grass during the tailgate. He decided to take a nap shortly before walking into the stadium and stayed asleep through the first few minutes of the game despite the loud crowd and  occasional  cannon shots.

Trey napping inside Nippert Stadium.

As far as the game goes, it was just as much of a blowout as the first game against Austin Peay, if not more. In the Peay game the score was 42-0 at the end of the first half. This time the score was 49-0 after the Bearcats scored seven touchdowns including three from the defense. The second half the Cats added another touchdown and a field goal before allowing Akron to score two touchdowns of their own. In the end eight different Cincinnati players scored each of the eight touchdowns. Final score 59-14. A bigger challenge likely awaits this Thursday as the team takes on North Carolina State. Be sure to tune into ESPN at 8PM EST to cheer on the Bearcats!

Family photo at the game.

In the world of fantasy football I had a mediocre week, going 2-2 in my four leagues. One of my losses came against my parents team in a league that I’ve joined for the first time this year. I’m still learning the ropes in that one as they only score touchdowns. Standings at this point are 1st of 10 (big money league), 8th of 12, 9th of 12, and 1st of 4 in my division in the last league. I moved up to 2nd place in college pick’em from 8th but dropped from 1st to 8th in the pro game. I also dropped from 3rd to 13th in the salary cap game, so some big changes are needed  there. I am still alive in the survival game picking Pittsburgh over Seattle.

To kick off a jam-packed weekend, I ran the Hudepohl 14K Brewery Run on Saturday morning. As I mentioned before, I planned to run the race with my dad and also had convinced a few others to join us for the fun.

Ted, Corinne, me, my dad, and Melissa before the race.

The morning started off cool meaning perfect running weather. Despite a little disorganization, I enjoyed the race very much. It seems that some race volunteers didn’t show up on time, which I think delayed the start of the race about ten minutes. That wasn’t really a big deal, though it threw off the times I gave to our spectators along the route. Also some of the bands were still getting setup as we ran past, but I’ve seen this happen with a variety of races. The biggest issue, though it didn’t impact me, was that they forgot to put out the signs for the 7K turnaround point, or if they were there it wasn’t easy enough to see. I saw many people lost on the course and some ended up running the full 14K even though they registered for half of that.

Me and my dad on the course.

We all started off in a pack together, running even faster than the 8:30 pace that I had told everyone. We also had a few others in the group not pictured above that helped bump up our initial pace. My dad commented that he didn’t think he’d be able to hold the sub 8:00 pace, but we did. For some reason my results from my timing chip aren’t online, but my dad’s results say 1:09:19 total, or 7:59 pace, though according to our GPS watched we ran even faster than that. Since I ran the whole race with him, I’ll assume my time would be the same. This would be good enough for 24th place out of 102 in my age division. My dad’s results say 255 out of 1393, and 12th of 44 in his division. Speaking of my dad’s running, he is officially registered for next year’s Boston Marathon. I can’t wait to see him run this race.

We earned our medals!

After crossing the finish line we were given these nice looking medals. The after party was hard to gain access to at first, as they setup the food and beer booths inside their old warehouse. Eventually we were treated to a couple of free beers, a commemorative pint glass, and some free food samples. I enjoyed running the longer than normal distance and hope they work some of the kinks out and decide to hold the race again next year.

Hanging with the Little Kings mascot.

It’s that time of the year. Time for the return of my weekly sports updates. Though my new hockey team hasn’t started playing yet, we will have our first game on Sunday. That always adds a little excitement to the blog. As far as my own sporting goes, I have been running quite a bit in preparation for the 14k race this weekend. I logged eight miles just this past Saturday, which I think could be my longest run ever.

The football teams that I attempt to cheer on to victory had mixed results this weekend. First, the Bearcats were thumped down in Knoxville by the Volunteers of Tennessee, 45-23. The game started off great, but the bigger and stronger Vols proved to be too much later in the game. The Cats shouldn’t have problems this weekend with Akron before hosting NC State next Thursday. On the other hand the Bengals had a nice win over Cleveland Sunday. The game started off great, was not very great in the middle, and had a wonderful ending, 27-17. I watched the game without sound on the big screen at fountain square so it was hard to follow along at times, but it was nice to be outside for decent weather that day.

I am playing in four fantasy football leagues this year. Things could not have started off any better for me as I had wins in all four leagues. Based on points scored for tie breaking I am in 1st of 10,  5th of 12, 3rd of 12, and 2nd of 4 in the league that has divisions. I am also playing in both college pick’em (8th of 11) and pro pick’em (1st of 14). The college game uses the spread, which apparently I am not very good at doing so far. In the salary cap game I am in 3rd of 13. I’m also alive in the survival game with my pick of San Diego over Minnesota. Four people have been eliminated already.

My first game as a new Cincinnati Bearcat football season ticket holder was a huge success! Our group of at least a dozen met in a parking lot just off of campus between 3:30 and 4 for some tailgate food and drinks. After a few hours we were all ready for the season opening game against the Austin Peay Governors. It started with a few skydivers, the always entertaining traditional marching band charge down the steps, and a won coin toss for the Bearcats.

UC decided to receive the opening kickoff, which ended up being a great decision. Freshman  Ralph David Abernathy returned the kick 60 yards, which set up a 40 yard run on the very next play by Isaiah Pead for a really quick score. Redshirt freshman  Tony Miliano missed the extra point, but that was one of the very few mistakes the Bearcats had all game. Pead added another touchdown before the first quarter was even half over.

Nippert Stadium

Attendance was officially  23,282, which is pretty good for a season opening game against a  non-conference division I-AA  team. The student section was especially good considering that classes still don’t start for another couple of weeks. Every one in attendance was treated to quite a performance as the score was 41-0 at half time. The other four touchdowns of the half came on senior Zach Collaros passes to junior  Kenbrell Thompkins, senior  D.J. Woods, and twice to sophomore  Anthony McClung.

The crowd thinned through the night, but we stayed through the end of the third quarter before heading out. At this time the Bearcats were using second and third string players for the most part, and doing a good job at spreading the scoring around. They were still able to add a field goal from Miliano as well as a running touchdown from sophomore quarterback  Munchie Legaux, making it 51-0. Before the third was over Austin Peay got on the scoreboard with a 21 yard  field goal.

After we left we listened on the radio as the Bearcats added three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, while the Governors added one of their own. Scoring for UC were freshman running back  Akise Teague, sophomore quarterback  Jordan Luallen, and former practice squad member junior  Adam Fearing. Final score of the game was 72-10. The season continues this coming Saturday as the Bearcats head to Knoxville to take on the Volunteers of Tennessee, which should be a much more  challenging  game.

As of yesterday I am officially registered for the  Hudepohl 14K Brewery Run. When I first read about the race a couple of months ago I was immediately intrigued. At the time I was running around four or five miles nearly every other day. I figured if I could keep that up and add in some longer runs I would be well prepared for the race. I didn’t register for the race immediately since we would soon be moving into our new house and I figured many busy days would be ahead, but that didn’t stop me from thinking and talking about the race.

I convinced a couple of friends of ours, who also just moved back to Cincinnati, to consider running the race. I must have convinced them so well that they both registered the next day. Once they were registered I realized that I better hold up my end of the deal, so I found a 15K training program and decided to loosely stick to it. With just over two weeks to go, I am proud to say that I am just about completely ready for the race, and so is my dad. I convinced him to join me for the run, which was really easy to do as the race was one of his favorites many years ago. He took me out with a group he runs with often this past Saturday and I was able to rack up nearly 7.5 miles. I plan to run about the same again this weekend and then a bit longer the following Saturday. Sprinkle in some three, four, and five-mile runs and it will be race day before I know it.

As part of my cousin’s bachelor party this past Saturday we spent the better part of the afternoon down at River Downs  to take in some horse racing. This was actually my first time at River Downs, though I have been to Turfway once before. There is no entry fee and there are no employees at the gates checking bags, so entry is perfectly painless. Our group arrived on a school bus, taking the long way to get there, so we missed the first race of the day. I sat out betting on the second race and eventually placed a trifecta bet on the third race after finding the ATM.

River Downs Grandstand

I didn’t win this time, and that trend continued for the fourth and fifth races too. We spent the majority of the time hanging out near the rail on the paved standing area in front of the open air grandstand. Beers were just $4.50, which is much better than most other sporting events. And since they didn’t check anyone coming in, I wonder if some patrons didn’t sneak in some of their own beer in the multiple coolers that I saw throughout the day.

Winner! Winner!

My luck changed during the sixth race of the day. After coming close to winning on one of the earlier races, and paying attention to what my program was saying versus the results of the day, I started catching on. Or at least I thought I was starting to understand it all. Most of my bets were either trifecta bets, or I would  occasionally  pick one horse to win, place, or show, as I did in the sixth race. In my program the #6 horse was listed as 10-1 odds to win, and a couple of minutes before post the large board in the infield displayed the odds as much higher, over 20-1.

Winning Ticket

Once I saw this I ran to one of the automated machines and bought the ticket above. I thought that maybe there was something that I wasn’t picking up on that lowered the odds, but I figured it was worth a few bucks to find out. As the race started horse #6 was nowhere near the front of the back. The board only updates for the first 3/4 of the race at best, so as the horses all come toward the finish line it is really hard to tell who is in the lead. As this race came to a close I watched as #6 charged up the inside rail and won the race! I had won $124.80!

With just two races after that, I made a couple of bucks off the seventh race and was then put in charge of making a bet for my dad, brother, and I who pooled some money together. Again I went with the win place show bet, and nearly won again as the horse I selected finished in fourth place. Bummer. We had a great time and I look forward to going down to the track again in the future. Kim has already said that she wants to go too.