A Post During the Crosstown Shootout

Sorry if I seem distracted during this post. My beloved beleaugered Bearcats are battling the Xavier Musketeers in the Crosstown Shootout, for most of the year the Public City School and the Private Jesuit School are quiet neighbors that mingle and frequent one anothers social gatherings. Both schools are on the edge of the hood and as the crow flies about 3.5 miles apart. Forget the Duke-Carolina rivalry being in one anothers neighborhood, these two teams are in each others back yard. But generally both teams more or less respect one another. Xavier saves its hatred for A-10 rival Dayton while Cincy wants nothing more than to pound Louisville.
Except for one night in the year when both teams are on the same court. This series was largely ignored by the mass media until the early 90s when UC suddenly rose to power. Xavier had by and large a decent team. Most notably their shocking NCAA tourney upset of Georgetown in 1990 (A team that had both Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutumbo)got them some notice, but when UC went to the final four in 1992 the rivalry got more intense. UC was winning the matchup frequently but when Xavier won it got notice. Witness the 80-76 OT struggle in 1994 where then Xavier Coach Pete Gillen stormed off the court after refusing to shake then UC coach Bob Huggins' hand. The rivalry was super intense and was even lampooned by Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Jim Borgman who likened the truce between the coaches as something out of a Israel/Palestine peace accord. The nation took notice in 1996, heavy underdog Xavier stunned then #1 UC at Shoemaker Center 71-69. Being an alum, the mere mention of Lenny Brown will make me cringe. His jumper at the buzzer sent a great UC team down to defeat. The nation took notice and seemed to be interested in the "itty bitty" school taking on the so-called city school bully and more often than not battling them to even terms. I can recall the game in the 1999-2000 season when a #1 UC team led by Kenyon Martin got all they could handle and then some by what was supposed to be a mammoth underdog in Xavier. UC won barely. Lately its been Xavier that is the supposed bully, coming into the game nationally ranked while UC still struggling to shake off the hangover of the dismissal of Bob Huggins in 2005 and trying to get back to respectability. I'm pounding out this post while watching the game so pardon me if my post might seem a bit...stilted.
I'll preview the NFL matchup for tomorrow to start off with.

Thursday, December 13

Broncos (6-7) @ Texans (6-7)
Reliant Stadium, Houston 8:15 (NFL Network)
Favorite Broncos by 1
Fast Fact This is the Broncos first visit to Reliant Stadium and their first visit to Houston since losing to the then Houston Oilers 42-33 in 1995.
Both of these teams are holding on to the slimmest of playoff hopes. The Texans have to climb over at least a half dozen teams to get the wild card and could incredibly win out and still finish tied for last in the AFC South! But considering the teams left on their docket, winning here might be their last best chance to match their best ever win total. The Broncos have a bit of an easier go to make the playoffs though they are depending on a Charger collapse to get there. The Texans are hoping that Sage Rosenfels continues to play well as his solid play sparked an upset of the Bucs last week. The Broncos are also hoping that Jay Cutler continues his positive play as of late. In these short week games, you give a slight edge to the home team and given that outside of Mile High the Broncos have been playing like glue factory nags, I think the Texans shine in a rare primetime date steal a tight one.
Pick-Houston

Phat Dap
I give the dap to someone who needs one. Falcons owner Arthur Blank who rightly called out former coach Bobby Petrino for his sudden abandonment of the Falcons but named Emmitt Thomas as interim coach, here hoping that the Falcons win all three games for Thomas and that Blank keeps him on and is not seduced by the lure of a Cowher or Schottenheimer.

Head Slap
This is one is almost too easy. Bobby Petrino wasn't a dude I had much love for in the first place. I rememeber the 70-7 beatdown that his Cards put on my Bearcats in 2004. When he committed to Louisville signing a long term deal, I rolled my eyes thinking how long would this one last. When he jumped to the Falcons, it surprised me little. A money-grubbing coach that was leaving a good program out to dry. It turns out the Petrino bit off more than he could chew as the Falcons without Michael Vick were an abysmal joke. The team started 3-10 and Petrino bailed on them. His jump to Arkansas looks shady to begin with but his sudden departure and the classless typed form letter his left for his Falcon players just smacks of gutlessness. The word integrity and class is a word that Petrino seemed to think so highly of he uses it sparingly. I have no real beef with Arkansas but I hope Darren McFadden jumps to the NFL and recruits see this fake coach as who he is.
2nd half of the game is starting, so I'll be off. The rest of the NFL Picks will be posted on Friday. Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!