CINCINNATI SPORTS LAST WEEK

Marvin Lewis tried to put a stop to all the 'trade Chad Johnson' talk in town. I don't think it worked.

On Wednesday night, the UC Bearcats had their rematch with the St. Johns Red Storm. This time, in Fifth Third arena, the outcome was different. The Cats pulled away in the second half and walked to a 60-43 shillacking of their Big East rival. John Williamson, with his newfound confidence, led Cincinnati for the second straight game and set another personal high with 25 points. The Bearcats are now 7-5 in the conference and 12-12 on the year.

Later that night, the XU Musketeers were in Charlotte for a struggle with the 49ers'. Josh Duncan did all the heavy work for the Muskies, scoring 25 points and grabbing 8 rebounds in the 62-60 win. Duncan also made the game winning 3-pointer with 15 seconds left. Xavier is now rated number 12 in the country, is 9-1 in the A10 and 21-4 overall. A high tournament seed should be on the way. On a down note, Drew Lavender is nursing a sprained ankle.

UC football was dealt a blow when quaterback Ben Mauk was denied another year of eligibility. It was a long shot but the lords of the NCAA would not budge on their rules even though Ben lost time because of severe injury.



UC basketball head coach Mick Cronin suspended freshman Alvin Mitchell indefinitely for unspecified reasons. This probably means he is failing a class.


In prep basketball, Fenwick is now 3-18, McNicholas is 7-13, Hamilton is 4-17, and Wilmington is 16-5. In the Cincinnati polls, Moeller is no.1 in big school boys basketball (No. 8 in the country) and Taft leads the smaller schools. In girls basketball, Lakota West is no. 1 for big schools and Badin leads the smaller schools.

On Friday, the Reds signed Brandon Phillips to a four year, $27 million contract. On Saturday, pitchers and catchers reported to Sarasota for the start of spring training. Optimism is at its pinacle right now. I can almost hear the grass growing.