CINCINNATI SPORTS LAST WEEK

On Monday night, Aaron Harang hooked up in a pitchers dual with the Milwaukee Brewers' fine lefty Chris Capuano. Harang went 10 complete innings and allowed only one run. David Ross homered for the Reds only tally going into extra innings. The Reds' relievers held on through the 12th when Javier Valentin singled with the bases loaded for the 2-1 final margin. Rookie Jared Burton got the win.

On Tuesday night, Mark Belisle tried to get on track for the Reds but had another poor outing. Pete Mackanin hooked him quickly in the fourth inning and the Reds stayed close with an Adam Dunn 2-run homer (his 27th) but lost out in the end, 5-3.


On Wednesday night, the enigmatic Kyle Lohse tried his hand and was throwing a masterpiece through two outs in the sixth. He was hooked quickly and the Reds held on for a 7-3 win. Jeff Keppinger had the big hit, a bases loaded double in the third. Pedro Lopez was hit in the face by a pitch in the eighth and taken to the hospital.


On Thursday, the day players were to report to training camp in Georgetown, Kentucky, the Bengals were dealt a severe blow. The NFL extended the suspension of linebacker Odell Thurman for another year.

Sadly, also on Thursday, ex-Xavier head basketball coach Skip Prosser died while jogging on the Wake Forest campus in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Skip was just the best. Although he was born in Pittsburgh, PA, he will be laid to rest in Cincinnati.

Bobby Livingston went to the mound on Thursday afternoon for the fourth of the series with the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Young Livingston had another good start and deserved to win but the bull pen let him down. Griffey had a big day at the plate with three hits including a homer and two RBIs. The Reds tied the game in the ninth and won it in the 10th, 6-5, on a Javier Valentin walk-off hit. Jared Burton got another win with a perfect 10th inning.

The St. Xavier High School swim team was named National Champions by the NISCA, National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association. It is their fifth title in the last nine years.

On a rainy Friday night, Bronson Arroyo pitched great but got stung again by the bull pen. He left the game after seven innings ahead 4-1. You guessed it. The Cubs tied the game with runs in the 8th and 9th. In the bottom of the 9th, Hopper led off the inning with a hit, was sacrificed to second and scored on a double by Edwin Encarnacion for the 5-4 win.

Meanwhile, in Winnipeg, Canada, Milt Stegall of the Blue Bombers scored a late touchdown on a shovel pass and set the Canadian Football League all-time record for touchdowns scored (138). Milt is a Roger Bacon graduate and a guy who couldn't stick with the Bengals when he came out of college.

The big guy, Aaron Harang, went to the mound on Saturday night. He gave up a 2-run homer to Derrek Lee in the first and left the game between innings with a stiff back. The Reds never got into the game with the bullpen crew going the whole way. They lost 8-1 but lost more than a game if Harang can't make his next start.

On Sunday, the Reds were over matched against the Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. He had three hits in the 6-0 thumping and only gave the whole Reds team that many. The Reds finished the week with an overall record of 45-61 in fifth place in their six team division and 12 games behind Milwaukee.

The waiver-free trade deadline is Tuesday at midnight. For the Reds, no news is bad news.