Crosby and Nash are on background vocals! My top 5 JT tunes (no particular order): Fire and Rain, Mexico, Shower the People, Handy Man, Far Afghanistan.
Have always said that if there was 1 game to be played to determine a winner of all time MLB players, that Peter Edward Rose would be on the team I’d select. He had short comings on the field (and more off) but he’d find a way to beat you ... that’s all that counts!
1. Bench all day long. A great catcher is THE key to a great team and there has never been a greater catcher.
2. I agree on Burrow. He is a singular talent.
3. Oscar is the only choice. BTW, if you could change one thing in Cincinnati sports history, you would keep the Royals in town. It would have cost almost nothing to have bought the team and kept them here-would also have been a phenomenal investment.
4. James Taylor had one good song. Mexico wasn’t it.
5. I’ll say it again, it’s great to have you back.
Rose for the Reds. Anderson for the Bengals. Oscar for UC Basketball. West for XU. Cook for UC Football (what a tragedy... Bill Walsh said that Cook was the most talented QB he ever worked with). We have been blessed in this area to have so many great players who played here, grew up here, or both.
Rolling the dice with Strat-o-matic baseball wins the day! Enjoy! Like most of your "Start your Cincy Team" picks, but would have Bench, Rose, Morgan for Reds. Or, just simply give me 8 and would be the starting lineup for the Big Red Machine - End Story.
My vote for the Reds would be Frank Robinson. Given the racial climate and baseball labor issues, he was the epitome of confidence and competitiveness. The fact that he was traded several times is probably a reflection of his strong personality and personal fire. Easy choice for me.
As for Veterans Day, growing up around the Greatest Generation has been a personal blessing for me through multiple lessons of courage and commitment. Few of them would talk about the war unless a buddy pressed them which was a puzzle to me as a child but now seems logical given the horrific conditions and the increased understanding of PTSD. The newer war movies are so much more realistic that my appreciation for their service only grows now. Hats off to them!
UC Football - Greg Cook - I saw Cook lead the Bearcats to 48 points against Ohio U in 1968. Unfortunately the Bobcats put up 60. But Cook was fun to watch - I think he led the nation in passing that year. UC Basketball - Paul Hogue led the team to back-to-back NCAA championships. Hardware means something in my book. XU - Steve Thomas was a scoring machine in the early 60's - definitely fun to watch.
Our group had APBA football, basketball, baseball, even saddle racing - kept stats - we were definitely crazy. Also had Strat-O-Matic baseball, and Big League Manager baseball and football. They were all very good games. All Star Baseball (used spinners instead of dice) was pretty basic, but a very underrated game. There were many arguments over whether the spinner landed "on the line."
Reds: Peter Edward - He could play multiple positions, he was the ultimate gamer, he was a hitting machine and made his teammates better. Latter-day sins not to be included in this assessment.
Bengals: Kenny Anderson - He was mobile, accurate as hell, could throw a good deep ball, and a great team leader. Can you imagine the numbers he'd put up in today's NFL?
Bearcats BB - Oscar. Duh.
X BB - David West. He was a beast.
Bearcats FB - Desmond Ridder - an incredible athlete and he took this program to heights it had never been to before
Royals - Oscar -- he averaged a triple double for an entire season. Also, my Dad saw them play at the Gardens.
When I was a kid, my dad's company had floor seats at the Gardens. He'd take my brother and or me two or three times a year between around '67 and '72. I got to see some immortals up close and personal, including Dave Bing, Wes Unseld and Earl Monroe. Unfortunately, when the Celtics, 76ers or Lakers were in town, I never quite made the grade. So I never saw Russel, Wilt or Jerry West. But I saw plenty of Oscar, Jerry Lucas, Nate Archibald and Norm Van Leer. Needless to say, I'd be a huge NBA fan today if the Royals had stuck around. What really blows me away is the idea of what seats like that would cost today!
My Dad was cynical about professional sports in general, but did love Oscar. In those days, the Royals would play one regular season game a year at the old UD Arena, and we would always go. Detroit Pistons! Chicago Zephyrs! Occasionally, we would drive down to the Gardens for a Sunday afternoon game. I remember seeing Rick Barry put up 50 and Oscar answer with 38 one thrilling day with first row seats under the basket. The highlight was hearing Oscar complain about a call to Mendy Rudolph. I could get a laugh out of my Dad to the end of his days by merely saing, "Aw, sh*t, Mendy!" Good memories.
I enjoy these old Royals stories. I was in the front row on the floor a couple times, near the foul line. You could hear some fun banter between refs and players. It was squeaky, loud, aggressive action, sitting that close. Love the Mendy Rudolph reference. One of the all-time, best refs.
I was lucky enough to see the Celts a bunch of times, though never in floor seats. Best team in any sport I've seen in my lifetime. Just killer. O never failed to amaze, too, and always rose to the occasion against the Celts. I attended the bizarre Royals-Celtics playoff game that got moved from Gardens to tiny Schmidt Fieldhouse. Had the Royals stayed in Cincy, they'd probably be a huge hit now, given the huge popularity of the NBA today.
If you can find an old copy on EBAY, Statis Pro was a faster better game. You could play an entire evening schedule in the time it takes to play a single game of Stratomatic. Plus it was designed for solitaire play by Bill James
For the sake of argument, I’ll take Pete over JB. For years, I’ve chafed at the notion that Rickey Henderson is considered the best lead-off hitter in MLB history. My counter-argument has always been that if I were starting a team and could choose between the two, I’d take Pete every time. I will use the same reasoning here: His intensity and Baseball IQ were without equal and I believe both of those things are infectious. And while it's hard to argue against the greatest player at his position ever (as you pointed out), I can only say that Pete was surely an All-Star at more positions than any other player in history.
Couple of greats nobody mentioned;
UC Bball: Pat Cummings. Ten years NBA, lifetime average of 9.6 points
UC Football: Zach Collaros. maybe the best big-game QB ever to attend UC. His pro career was very, very good.
Fire and Rain, which, BTW, was #3 on Billboard this week in 1970.
Bench-Robinson-Rose
Munoz-Burrow-K.Anderson
Cook-Sauce-Ridder
Oscar-Logan-Martin
Crosby and Nash are on background vocals! My top 5 JT tunes (no particular order): Fire and Rain, Mexico, Shower the People, Handy Man, Far Afghanistan.
Have always said that if there was 1 game to be played to determine a winner of all time MLB players, that Peter Edward Rose would be on the team I’d select. He had short comings on the field (and more off) but he’d find a way to beat you ... that’s all that counts!
1. Bench all day long. A great catcher is THE key to a great team and there has never been a greater catcher.
2. I agree on Burrow. He is a singular talent.
3. Oscar is the only choice. BTW, if you could change one thing in Cincinnati sports history, you would keep the Royals in town. It would have cost almost nothing to have bought the team and kept them here-would also have been a phenomenal investment.
4. James Taylor had one good song. Mexico wasn’t it.
5. I’ll say it again, it’s great to have you back.
No on Mexico? What was great? I also like Blossom and Sunny Skies
Rose for the Reds. Anderson for the Bengals. Oscar for UC Basketball. West for XU. Cook for UC Football (what a tragedy... Bill Walsh said that Cook was the most talented QB he ever worked with). We have been blessed in this area to have so many great players who played here, grew up here, or both.
Saw James Taylor in Louisville at the Yum center when he and Bonnie Raitt were touring together. Very enjoyable evening.
I love the Hourglass album and of course Sweet Baby James.
Rolling the dice with Strat-o-matic baseball wins the day! Enjoy! Like most of your "Start your Cincy Team" picks, but would have Bench, Rose, Morgan for Reds. Or, just simply give me 8 and would be the starting lineup for the Big Red Machine - End Story.
My vote for the Reds would be Frank Robinson. Given the racial climate and baseball labor issues, he was the epitome of confidence and competitiveness. The fact that he was traded several times is probably a reflection of his strong personality and personal fire. Easy choice for me.
As for Veterans Day, growing up around the Greatest Generation has been a personal blessing for me through multiple lessons of courage and commitment. Few of them would talk about the war unless a buddy pressed them which was a puzzle to me as a child but now seems logical given the horrific conditions and the increased understanding of PTSD. The newer war movies are so much more realistic that my appreciation for their service only grows now. Hats off to them!
UC Football - Greg Cook - I saw Cook lead the Bearcats to 48 points against Ohio U in 1968. Unfortunately the Bobcats put up 60. But Cook was fun to watch - I think he led the nation in passing that year. UC Basketball - Paul Hogue led the team to back-to-back NCAA championships. Hardware means something in my book. XU - Steve Thomas was a scoring machine in the early 60's - definitely fun to watch.
Our group had APBA football, basketball, baseball, even saddle racing - kept stats - we were definitely crazy. Also had Strat-O-Matic baseball, and Big League Manager baseball and football. They were all very good games. All Star Baseball (used spinners instead of dice) was pretty basic, but a very underrated game. There were many arguments over whether the spinner landed "on the line."
James Posey was the smartest, most versatile Xavier player I've ever seen. And.....Hubie Brown LOVED him.
Reds: Peter Edward - He could play multiple positions, he was the ultimate gamer, he was a hitting machine and made his teammates better. Latter-day sins not to be included in this assessment.
Bengals: Kenny Anderson - He was mobile, accurate as hell, could throw a good deep ball, and a great team leader. Can you imagine the numbers he'd put up in today's NFL?
Bearcats BB - Oscar. Duh.
X BB - David West. He was a beast.
Bearcats FB - Desmond Ridder - an incredible athlete and he took this program to heights it had never been to before
Royals - Oscar -- he averaged a triple double for an entire season. Also, my Dad saw them play at the Gardens.
When I was a kid, my dad's company had floor seats at the Gardens. He'd take my brother and or me two or three times a year between around '67 and '72. I got to see some immortals up close and personal, including Dave Bing, Wes Unseld and Earl Monroe. Unfortunately, when the Celtics, 76ers or Lakers were in town, I never quite made the grade. So I never saw Russel, Wilt or Jerry West. But I saw plenty of Oscar, Jerry Lucas, Nate Archibald and Norm Van Leer. Needless to say, I'd be a huge NBA fan today if the Royals had stuck around. What really blows me away is the idea of what seats like that would cost today!
My Dad was cynical about professional sports in general, but did love Oscar. In those days, the Royals would play one regular season game a year at the old UD Arena, and we would always go. Detroit Pistons! Chicago Zephyrs! Occasionally, we would drive down to the Gardens for a Sunday afternoon game. I remember seeing Rick Barry put up 50 and Oscar answer with 38 one thrilling day with first row seats under the basket. The highlight was hearing Oscar complain about a call to Mendy Rudolph. I could get a laugh out of my Dad to the end of his days by merely saing, "Aw, sh*t, Mendy!" Good memories.
I enjoy these old Royals stories. I was in the front row on the floor a couple times, near the foul line. You could hear some fun banter between refs and players. It was squeaky, loud, aggressive action, sitting that close. Love the Mendy Rudolph reference. One of the all-time, best refs.
I was lucky enough to see the Celts a bunch of times, though never in floor seats. Best team in any sport I've seen in my lifetime. Just killer. O never failed to amaze, too, and always rose to the occasion against the Celts. I attended the bizarre Royals-Celtics playoff game that got moved from Gardens to tiny Schmidt Fieldhouse. Had the Royals stayed in Cincy, they'd probably be a huge hit now, given the huge popularity of the NBA today.
If you can find an old copy on EBAY, Statis Pro was a faster better game. You could play an entire evening schedule in the time it takes to play a single game of Stratomatic. Plus it was designed for solitaire play by Bill James
For the sake of argument, I’ll take Pete over JB. For years, I’ve chafed at the notion that Rickey Henderson is considered the best lead-off hitter in MLB history. My counter-argument has always been that if I were starting a team and could choose between the two, I’d take Pete every time. I will use the same reasoning here: His intensity and Baseball IQ were without equal and I believe both of those things are infectious. And while it's hard to argue against the greatest player at his position ever (as you pointed out), I can only say that Pete was surely an All-Star at more positions than any other player in history.
Coincidentally, I was gonna write exactly what you said about Pete. Since you did it first, I'll just say "Thanks. How brilliant a remark."
Indeed, I'm giving your comment my special "10 Thumbs Up" rating. I can do this because people have told me, often in fact, that I'm all thumbs.
Well you didn't have to give me all ten. But thanks🙂
He was a hitting machine, too.
Indeed.
Fun way to spend a Friday morning.
Favorite UC hoops player? Steve Logan. Dude could win. Of course, the best was Oscar.
Greatest UC football player? Travis Kelce, based on his NFL HOF career. Most indispensable while at UC? Des Ridder. Most tragic? Greg Cook.
Favorite Bengal? Not sure I have one. Most indispensable? Munoz. Played on two SB teams with otherwise different personnel. Most tragic? Greg Cook.
Favorite Red? Joe Morgan. What kid did not flap his arm while batting in the 70's? Most indispensable? Johnny Bench.
Have a good weekend.