CINCINNATI SPORTS LAST WEEK

The Reds opened the week in the Valley of the Sun against the D-Backs and won only 1 of 3. Josh Hamilton got two starts and hit two home runs. Matt Belisle got the one win and looked very good again. Bronson Arroyo got a no-decision when the relief corp gave up the winning run in the 11th inning on Tuesday.

The Bengals '07 schedule was released on Wednesday and they are now the darlings of ESPN. The Men in Stripes play on Monday night in the 3rd week of preseason (at Atlanta), the first week of the regular season (against Baltimore) and the 4th week of the season at home against the Patriots. They also have a late season prime time Sunday night game at San Francisco and a possible second Sunday night game against the Steelers. I hope they stand up to the pressure of the spotlight.

The Reds flew into Chicago for their second meeting in the first two weeks with Lou Pinella's Cubs. On Friday afternoon, they won one they shouldn't have. The Cubs ace Zambrano was on the mound and Harang gave him a 5 run lead going into the fifth inning. The Reds put 6 up on the board with the help of three walks and held on for the 6-5 win even though they were outhit by 13-6.

Chris Henry of the Bengals got an 8 game (1/2 seson) suspension from the commissioner for repeated offenses. I suspect he wont fight it.

Saturday, Pete Rose was 66 years old. You would think he would be getting smarter.

Bronson Arroyo had another tough luck start on Saturday. The Reds went down 7-0 to the Cubbies. The Reds can't beat a lefthander. With David Ross, Scott Hatteberg, Brandon Phillips and Edwin Encarnacion all getting off to slow starts, they will be in trouble every time they face a lefty.

Sunday, the Reds got a sterling pitching performance from Kyle Lohse and beat the Cubs 1-0. Again the Cubs had twice as many hits as the Reds (4-2) , but the Reds were able to make theirs count. Lohse went 8 innings while striking out 12 batters. Jeff Conine delivered the game winning RBI on a single with Brandon Phillips on second. The Reds finished the week in first place in the NFL Central Division.