CINCINNATI SPORTS LAST WEEK

The Bengals are looking for a new kicker as Mike Nugent blew out a knee on the onside kick in the final minute of last Sunday's loss to the Colts. They might be better off if Chad spends all his time on kicking.

The UC Bearcats opened their basketball season on Monday night with a game at 5th/3rd arena against Mount St. Mary's. That school is located in Maryland, if you were wondering. The Cats were not overly impressive but won 69-59. Redshirt freshman Sean Kilpatrick scored 21 and Yancey Gates had a double-double. Yawn! They are not ready for the Big East.

The Reds re-signed catcher Ramon Hernandez to a one year, $3 million contract for next year. He is 34 years old.

Xavier matched up with IPFW on Tuesday night. That school is located in Indiana where they use a lot of letters to name their schools. Actually, it used to be called IUPUFW. Anyway, they got the Muskies on the ropes in the second half and had a shot for the win at the end of regulation. In overtime, the Mastodons' only big man fouled out and XU went on to win 76-66.

On Friday night, Xavier was in the Virgin Islands for a weekend tourney and faced Iowa of the Big Ten. This night they looked more like a big time team and won easily 86-73. Tu (don't call be Terrell) Holloway had 28 points and Jamel McLean chipped in with 11 rebounds.

Friday night lights.
St. X got knocked out of the Div I playoffs by Dayton Wayne, 28-24.
McNicholas stayed alive in Div III with a 39-14 win over Eaton.

On Saturday afternoon, the IPFW Mastodons were back in town to play the Bearcats. Cincinnati didn't have a whole lot more luck with the spunky gang from Fort Wayne but they prevailed 65-59. Gates and Kilpatrick had 13 apiece.

On Saturday night, the football Bearcats put on an impressive offensive show and again proved that there is no 'D' in Bearcats. Isaiah Pead scored five touchdowns and gained 213 yards rushing while QB Zach Collaros threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns. In their highest output in nearly a century, the Cats won 69-38. It's not often that the football team outscores the basketball team since Tony Yates gave up coaching.

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati, the Bengals (2-7) hosted the Buffalo Bills (1-8) of the NFL and almost no one cared. For the first time in seven years, the Bengals did not sell out a home game. Many of those who had tickets, stayed away and enjoyed the sunshine. The Bengals were armed with a new kicker, Aaron Pettrey. Chad Ochocinco promised for the seventh week in a row that things would be different. They were. This time they did not let their opponent have an early lead and then end up with a close loss. This time the Bengals blew a 17 point lead and lost by 18 points, 49-31.

On Sunday night, Xavier played Seton Hall of the Big East in the second round of the Paradise Jam. The Muskies led most of the game but found themselves tied at 52 with 20 seconds left. Tu Holloway hit a guarded three-pointer. He had 31 to pace Xavier. The final was 57-52.

:)