Off The Bench by Chatterbox Sports

Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Review. Justin Fields a Steeler? Kentucky Win! | OTB presented by UDF

Story we are following from NBC Sports: Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins could become a free agent when the new league year starts in March, but the team has two ways to keep that from happening. They could sign him to a long-term deal or they could use a franchise tag to keep him from hitting the open market and extending the time to negotiate a new deal until mid-July. If no deal came before that point, Higgins would have the choice of sitting out or playing the 2024 season with a guaranteed salary that is projected to be $20.7 million. Paul Dehner of TheAthletic.com reports that the team is expected to use the latter option and apply the franchise tag to Higgins. He notes that the team has the cap space to carry that salary in the 2024 season and that Joe Burrow’s cap number remains relatively low in 2024 before jumping up by nearly $20 million in 2025. The overall makeup of the wide receiver market might also make it a plus for Higgins to wait on signing a multi-year deal. With receivers like Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Brandon Aiyuk, Michael Pittman Jr., and fellow Bengal Ja’Marr Chase closing in on new deals, Higgins could benefit from a reset market by moving for a longer deal at some point in the future. Any tags must be issued by March 5, so there will be clarity on the Bengals’ plans in the near future. Story from SI: CINCINNATI — The frustrations are evident for Cincinnati after another home loss in the Big 12. UC dropped a crucial game on Tuesday 68-59 to Iowa State. Head coach Wes Miller declared they will figure it out. "I'm sorry I'm just in a bad mood guys," Miller said apologizing to the media. "I hate losing. I hate it. So I'm not mad. You guys are doing your jobs. I don't mean to be a prick, I can't help it. It's nobody's fault. I hate losing. We are going to figure it out. This team is going to figure it out." It is safe to say that Bearcats point guard Jizzle James looked like arguably the best player on the court Tuesday. The true freshman was everywhere tonight for the Bearcats, as his impact in this game was truly the reason the Bearcats were able to fight near the very end, despite a season-high 25 turnovers as a team. James made an immediate impact in the opening minutes of this one and never looked back James knocked down his first two field goal attempts of the night, which happened to be two huge three-pointers in the first half. The freshman led the Bearcats second half comeback effort as 10 of his 16 points came in the second half. Caleb Williams, Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Kenny Pickett, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Royals new stadium, Wes Miller, Cincinnati Bearcats, Iowa State, College Basketball, Tee Higgins, NFL franchise tag, NFL Draft, Jonah Williams, Kentucky Basketball, UK basketball, John Calipari

NFL Post Super Bowl Hangover. Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball. Reds Offseason | OTB presented by UDF

Trace, Elliot, and Casey talk about the Super Bowl hangover that everyone is feeling. Not much is happening except for college basketball here in Cincinnati so we brought in Keegan Nickoson from the Bearcat Journal to talk about the Bearcats. Previewed the Bearcat game tonight against Iowa State. The Boys also talked about the Reds and their offseason moves and predictions for regressions.

NFL Super Bowl Review. College Hoops Moral Victories. Waste Management Open | OTB presented by UDF

Trace, Elliot, and Casey all react to Super Bowl 58 and the Kansas City Chiefs 3rd Superbowl Victory in 5 years. Is Patrick Mahomes the GOAT of this generation? The game was spectacular all around and credit was given out to many different players, coaches, officials, and more. We covered the College Hoops locally in Cincinnati the Bearcats and Musketeers both lost and are on the brink of their seasons being over. We also talked about the Waste Management and the disaster that was. 

NFL Super Bowl Preview! NFL Awards and Hall Of Fame. BIG ANNOUCEMENT. | OTB presented by UDF

Well let the countdown begin for super bowl sunday . The AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs take on the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Beating he 49ers would make the chiefs the first super bowl repeat winner in 20 years. For Patrick Mahomes, he’s looking for his third super bowl title in his first six seasons. Brock Purdy is looking for his first championship ring in just his second year in the league. At just 44 years young, Kyle shanahan has been the head man in san francisco since 2017. He’s led the Niners to four playoff runs, three division titles, Four NFC championship games, and now a second trip to the Super Bowl… His father Mike won a super bowl as offensive coordinator with the niners in 1994, then later won 2 as a head coach in denver. Kickoff is set for 6:30 on CBS. Kansas city is a two-point underdog according to the wise guys in Vegas. Kansas City general manager brett veach said he is aware of the challenge the organization faces in re-signing both defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback l’jarius Sneed but said it would be an off-season priority to get both players under new contracts. Last night, lots of hardware thrown around at the NFL honors ceremony… Lamar Jackson was a near-unanimous choice for the league's Most Valuable Player award. Dak prescott was a distant second. Christian McCaffery became the first forty-niner to be named offensive player of the year since Jerry Rice in 1993. McCaffrey lead the league in rushing and total yards from scrimmage. Miles Garrett took home the Defensive Player of the Year. He’s the first Cleveland brown to ever win that award. The Houston Texans hit the lottery with two of the first three picks in the draft and both delivered the goods. CJ Stroud was named offensive Rookie of the year and willAndersonn the defensive Rookie of the Year. Joe Flacco edged out damar hamlin for the leagues comeback player of the year and for the second time, kevin stefanski was the coach of the year. The NFL hall of fame announced it’s 2024 class. Unfortunately, willie anderson came up short. Julius peppers, dwight freeney, devin hester, patrick willis and andre johnson are the modern-day players. As for the senior finalists, Steve mcmichael of the Bears and former Ohio state great randy gradishar. Speaking of the Bearcats, it’s a big-time game, with no doubt a big-time atmosphere tomorrow after at Fifth Third Arena when number five Houston comes to town. Kelvin sampsons team has lost three games all year, all in the big 12 to iowa state, TCU and Kansas. Uc has lost to kansas, beat TCU and will play iowa state next week. Tipoff set for 4 o’clock tomorrow. The game can be seen on ESPN 2. A sellout crowd is expected at the Cintas center tomorrow when X plays number 19 Creighton. The blue jays won the first meeting in omaha 85-78, a game that was tight until the final four minutes. The Muskies must improve their shooting from the first game…..40 percent from the field and just 33 percent from 3.

Xavier holds on to the win! NFL Super Bowl Preview! State of MLB Free Agency. | OTB presented by UDF

Xavier Musketeers held on to beat Villanova in a tight matchup last night 56-53. The NFL Super Bowl is right around the corner now! The Chatterbox crew all talk about the Superbowl matchup and what we expect from the game. Who are the Best players in the Super Bowl, What bets we might take, expectations and predictions. The MLB free agency period is still at large. Many notable names are still available to sign including notable names like Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger

NFL Super Bowl. College Hoops. Sports Mega App? Marty Brennaman! | OTB presented by UDF

Well, let the countdown begin for Super Bowl Sunday. The AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs take on the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers. Beating the 49ers would make the Chiefs the first Super Bowl repeat winner in 20 years. A lot of questions for Andy Reid yesterday about the possibility of him retiring after this game. Reid said now is not the time and he’s ready to go for this Sunday. For the 49ers, did you see some of the comments made by defensive coordinator steve wilks. He called out his team in their weekly film session after watching last week's championship game and called his unit’s play “disgusting” and “unacceptable.” He felt that the defense did not play hard and that's something you just can't coach. College hoops, the Xavier musketeers, 12-10on the year, look for their third straight win tonight as Villanova comes to town for a 7 o’clock tip-off. The Wildcats are 12-10 as well and ended a four-game losing streak over the weekend with a win over Providence. Speaking of Xavier, did you see the news about Jerome Hunter? Remember, this is a kid who was expected to be the team's best player this season before he underwent heart surgery. He’s been practicing more and more with the team this year, then on Monday, he ruptured his Achilles Tendon. The rehab is expected to be at least six months. Last night, three days after drilling Duke, number 3 North Carolina lost at home to Clemson 80-76. The Tigers lost their first 59 games at Carolina before getting their first-ever win there four years ago. This is the kind of win that could hurt UC’s chances of getting to the tournament. The Ctas and Tigers have very similar resumes to reach the big dance, so this is a huge win for Clemson. UC has a chance for its “marquee win” this Saturday when number 5 Houston comes to the fifth-third arena. Houston beat Oklahoma state last night. Kentucky ended a two-game losing streak with a 109-77 win over Vanderbilt. The Wildcats shot 55 percent from the field and hit 15 three-pointers in the win. One other note, Texas tech lost at Baylor last night. Our good friend chad Brendel made the point that every opponent in the conference that has played UC, lost its next game…… ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans on Tuesday to launch a sports streaming platform in the fall that will include offerings from at least 15 networks and all four major professional sports leagues. The platform will include games from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR, and college sports, including the men's and women's NCAA tournaments, as well as golf, tennis, and the FIFA World Cup. A couple of baseball notes, Jose Altuve signed a five-year deal to stay in Houston to the tune of 125 million dollars. If Kershaw is indeed back next year, it means he’s pitching in the same starting rotation as Shohei Ohtani.

NFL in Brazil. Super Bowl. Reds Sign Josh Harrison. Dartmouth Employees? | OTB presented by UDF

Dartmouth basketball players are now employees of the university. The NCAA cooked. NFL playing a game in Brazil on Friday opening weekend. Reds sign Josh Harrison, hometown guy. - do the Reds need anything else? Lunardi still has Cincinnati out. What does it take? Bobby Whitt extension. Who should be the next red-extension?

BEARCATS ARE BACK! Xavier Still Alive. Cincinnati NHL team? NFL Super Bowl! | OTB presented by UDF

What a weekend of college basketball both locally and around the country… We start with the Cincinnati Bearcats! The Cats were coming off one of their worst losses of the season to a West Virginia team that had 13 losses against just seven wins. They were headed to 15th-ranked Texas Tech, who did not lose a home game two years ago and had not lost a home game in 15 tries this year. Back and forth they went and it was like a movie we’d seen before… Cincinnati would compete in the Big 12… Just well enough to lose, But not this time. After Tech took the lead in the final minute, Simas Lukosius hit a jumper with 30 seconds to go. John Newman III capped things off with a dunk, and the Bearcats shocked the Red Raiders 75-72. Aziz Bandaago was huge in this one with a double-double, his first since the win at BYU. UC stands at 15-7…4-5 in the Big 12. They won't play again until Saturday against number 4 Houston… that's a 4 o’clock tip at the fifth-third arena. The Cougars lost at Kansas over the weekend. Then there's Xavier. One week ago they lost 43 points to UConn. They bounced back to beat St.John's at home. Then on Saturday, Quincy Olivari delivered one of the greatest performances in school history in a 93-68 rout of Depaul to move one game over .500 in the Big East for the first time all season. Olivari scored 43 points on 12-20 shooting with seven three-pointers. He becomes the first muskie to score 40 in a game since Trayvon Bluitt against UC six years ago. Olivari added 10 rebounds. X plays 3 of its next four at home including Creighton and Seton Hall. What is going on in Kentucky? Cal’s guys can score… No donut about that, but the idea is to outscore the other team. They don’t because they don’t guard anybody. They’ve allowed 197 points in back-to-back losses at home to Florida and then number 5 Tennessee on Saturday. Wildcats plays at Vanderbilt tomorrow night. Armando Bacot says the acc goes thru him these days, and it ain't braggin if you’re telling the truth. The Carolina big man had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the Tarheels 93-84 win over Duke at the Deam Smith Center Saturday night. Carolina shot 50 percent from the field …hit 9 three-pointers to go to 18-4 on the year. Who watched the Pro Bowl flag football game yesterday? There were 55 thousand people at the game in Orlando…The NFC beat the AFC 64-59. Ja'marr Chase scored a couple of touchdowns and after one, he pulled off an ochocinco. Took over for an ESPN cameraman. The Washington Commanders win is the Las Vegas Raiders loss… Apparently, the Raiders were trying to hire former Cardinals head coach Cliff Kinsbury as their offensive coordinator. They dragged their feet on a contract, and the Commanders swooped in and they hired Kingsbury. Washington added Joe Whitt Junior as their new defensive coordinator. The Dolphins hired Anthony Weaver as their new Defensive Coordinator. Weaver was the defensive line coach and associate head coach in Baltimore last year. The Ravens have lost their defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach, and now defensive line coach in this off-season.

NFL Coaching Carosel! College Hoops. Marty Brennaman! | OTB presented by UDF

Well if you root for any of the college basketball teams in our town, or our area, like me: you probably find yourself beating you head against the wall… You just don’t know which version of your team will show up on any given night. When i try and figure it out, I look at my 20 year old daughter and 18 year old son and it all becomes clear…..these are 18-23 year old young people, and they’re going to have really good days, and yes, even some bad days. UC…… the bearcats are in the big 12 conference for then first time. It’s college basketball’s best conference, of that, there is little doubt. They’ve played and competed in every single game. They lost four games this moth by a total of 13 points to the lies of kansas, oklahoma and and texas. They’ve beaten TCU and BYU, two nationally ranked teams. So you figure last night. Against a 7-13 west virginia team, that the Cats would roll into morgantown and get a win….. Nope. UC went up ten on back to back three pointers from day day thomas and then wilted down the stretch, getting outscored 19-5, in a 69-65 defeat. Yes you can say, and we did, that west virginia had beaten kansas and texas at home this season….they’ve also looked very bad in bad losses. This is simply a major blow for the bearcats at this point of the season. These are the games they need to win to get to the big dance in march. Next up for UC, a trip to lubbock to face number 15 texas tech . That game is saturday at 6 o’clock. Then there’s Xavier. Four days ago , the Muskies had their worst loss in a century…a century! 43 points to number one uconn. We wondered how they would bounce back with hall of fame coach rick pitino and st. johns coming to town last night. Well, the X men were up for the challenge. Especially their back court. Desmond Claude and quincy olivari tied with a game-high 23 points, dayvion mcknight finished with 19, in an 88-77 win. The muskies improve to 11-10 on the year, 5-5 in the big east. Next up, a trip to depaul saturday night for a 9:30pm tip. Womens hoops, Iowa superstar caitlin clark is zeroing in on becoming college basketball’s all-time leading scorer. Last night in her fifth straight 30 plus point game, clark passes former princeton high and ohio state star kelsey mitchell to move into number two all-time. In football, the seattle seahawks have gone from one of the oldest coaches in the league, to the youngest head coach ijn the league. Yesterday they hired baltimore defensive coordinator mike mcdonald to replace pete carroll. At just 36, mcdonald led a ravens defense that led the nfl in scoring, takeawys and sacks this season. Mcdonald interviewed with six different teams this off-season. Ravens defensive backs coach dennard wilson is the new dc for brian callahan in tennessee. The former bengal offensive coordinator fired the titans offensive line coach, which opens the door to hire his dad, bill callahan , who’s consiedred to be the very best oline coach in the game.

Super Bowl, Joe Burrow & Ravens Talk with Charlie Goldsmith & Brian Billick! | OTB presented by UDF

With a week off before the Super Bowl, college basketball takes center stage, and that is certainly the case right here in the Queen City. Both UC and Xavier are looking for a strong finish if they have any chance of making the NCAA tournament in March. We start with the Bearcats…they play at West Virginia tonight with a chance to even their Big 12 record at 4-4. WVU is a strange team to figure out. They are 7-13 on the year but at home, they’ve beaten the likes of Texas and Kansas, but last week they had road losses at UCF and Oklahoma State. Tip off tonight at 7 on ESPN plus. Will former Cincinnati and WVU head coach Bob Huggins show up for the game? He has several times already this season since being fired in October. For Xavier, legendary head coach Rick Pitino leads his St.John's team to Cintas Center tonight. The Muskies are trying to rebound from Sunday's 43-point loss at number 1 UCONN. X sits at 10-10 on the year. The Johnnies come in 13-7 fresh off a 20-point win over Villanova. That ended three-game losing streak which included one-point losses to Creighton and Marquette. Tip-off at 6:30 on FS1. Also tonight, Florida plays at Rupp Arena against number 10 Kentucky. Tipoff at 8 on ESPN. Last night, number 3 North Carolina was upset at Georgia Tech. Number 5 Tennessee falls to South Carolina. 14th-ranked Illinois beat Ohio State in Columbus 87-75. It appears Chris Holtman is on the hot seat as Buckeyes head coach….much was expected with this very talented roster and Ohio State is collapsing as this season wears on. Number 21 Dayton improves to 17-3 with a 22-point win over George Washington. Miami and Ohio university picked up Mac conference wins last night. Ad congratulations to coaching icon Tom Izzo. He picked up his 700th career win last night at Michigan State. A hall of fame inductee back in 2016, started as head coach of the Spartans back in 1995. NFL news a couple of hotly-pursued offensive coordinators are staying put rather than pursuing head coaching jobs. Ben Johnson will remain OC in Detroit. The same for Bobby Slowick in Houston. Both had been rumored for head coaching gigs in Seattle and Washington. John Angelos has agreed to sell the Baltimore Orioles to Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein.