City Blights

Statistical analysis in baseball has taken an unhappy and drastic turn. The basis for most of this analysis is to prove why teams need to focus on child labor and jettison anyone over the age of 28 for someone who's 22. Then the plan is, get five good years out of him and replace them with the next guy who just started legally drinking. Often it seems sabermetric fans and writers forget everything they used to know about the game and swear up and down these stats mathematicians cooked up in the last six years are the only things that could be remotely relevant to the success of a baseball team. People that value the human element of the sport are vilified for being too old-school and out of touch. Not to mention sabermetricians come off as so condescending when discussing the game in print articles and on video. It's as if they invented baseball in 2004.

I'm aware that this is a Cincinnati thread, thus making it prone to massive dissatisfaction, but these Banks-styled apartments are what developers are building all over the world. Cheap, mute brick facade, often with some component of glass curtain. In all seriousness, what has Cincinnati done to deserve better infill than most other cities? We would all love to see high-quality development become a trademark of the City's rebirth, but having a project come to fruition that has urban living in mind is far more important that whether it looks average or spectacular. This is Ohio we're talking about. Corruption is rife, and even the most sensible of ideas will be soaked with cost overrun and over-analysis by the time the plan gets to the groundbreaking stage, limiting the potential of the realized project. U Square at the Loop is a trademark example of a simple plot that had tall and urban written all over it, and we got that, only it's more appropriate for a less constricted area. I would have no problems with U Square if it was in Hyde Park. I'll still take your U Squares, Banks', and Gateway Districts (Columbus) any day because they are anchors and there's a flat out demand for new housing with visibility and the appearance of safety. What's being done on the back streets of Corryville with infill is unacceptable in most every instance, but these developments Cincinnati has in the works will work out just fine despite all the boardroom blunders that make it to construction.

I think I just read five "I'm OK with the loss" proclamations. I'm sorry fellas, but losing is something I'm not OK with. Teams can't have penalties period in the NFL and expect to win, but to have the nerve to have over 100 yards worth when you aren't that good is shameful from a standpoint of professionalism. Our margin of error is thin, so the least we can do is play disciplined is something the players have to be reminding themselves. Weeden took advantage of an ailing secondary in which the starting safety was benched after three quarters in Baltimore and has barely seen the field since. The #1 corner is coming off of an Achilles tear, the #2 corner hasn't practiced in weeks because of knee problems, and for some reason, the #3 corner that yesterday staged one of the most spectacular punt returns I've ever seen, can't get on the field as a DB. From a personnel and coaching standpoint, the Bengals secondary isn't very hard to beat right now. Mike Zimmer is playing guys he shouldn't be in positions they shouldn't be in. Weeden still gets credit for not turning it over. It was good to see Richardson put his money where his mouth is. He covered up several team deficiencies today with a couple explosive plays that you'd hope to see from a #3 overall pick. Without him smelling the end zone, I would imagine the Browns would have had trouble getting in there otherwise, netting eight fewer points. 34-19 with those last three being a desperate FG isn't good. Of course that's all conjecture and what really happened was Browns' fans got to see an explosive offensive player in a Cleveland uniform which they haven't seen since Braylon Edwards' 2007 season.

Bad news: you and I have no influence or control. We can stop buying tickets, merchandise, etc., but enough people don't have that level of discipline to make a dent in the billions of dollars in shared revenues the Browns get from the NFL. On the heels of a disappointing 2010 season, Bengals fans refused to fill Paul Brown Stadium, leaving the team blacked out to Cincinnatians almost every home game in 2011 despite winning 7 of their first 9. Bengals fans were vilified nationally yet again for being a fickle fanbase. Result: Owner Mike Brown lowered ticket prices and got more creative with that aspect of his business.

Losing by two field goals is the same as losing by one touchdown + PAT. The Browns are either down 16-15 after two field goals and hardly any time left, or 17-16 after an Eagles touchdown, which is what ended up happening. Not playing to win cost Cleveland an overtime opportunity.

Staring down receivers is a funny critique to me. I obviously see the advantage in being able to check down, or look off receivers. But I routinely see Peyton Manning, Brady, Rivers, etc. just stare holes into guys and they're still all star QB's. But the commentators only use the "staring" critique after an obviously bad pass! They never ever say "Brady stares down Welker and completes the pass for the touchdown!" Roethlisberger stared down a receiver in the game Sunday and he was promptly picked off. Cutler did the same in his game and it cost the team 7 points. Stafford did too, he threw multiple picks even. Quarterbacks with lesser skill like Weeden can't afford to emulate this behavior, even with the chance of getting away with one from time to time. HTS121, Kicking a PAT to put you up 6 points is idiotic and inexcusable, and I disagree that most coaches would have done the same. If you're up five points, that's the same as being up six, so why not try for the 2pt conversion? Would most NFL coaches like the idea of being beat by an extra point kick?

Above is what I said about Weeden in the preseason after the Packers-Browns game... Why did Shurmur kick a PAT on the touchdown instead of going for two? That was the worst coaching decision of the day. Prevented an overtime opportunity for Cleveland.

After the way Mauluga played last night, Vontaze Burfict should be starting next week at MLB. I would have benched Rey in the 2nd half. I like Gruden, but I almost want him to leave for a HC job so the Bengals can get a coordinator who is willing to call creative plays. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are both more innovative than Cincinnati, the team in the AFC North that was known for its offensive aggressiveness throughout the Carson Palmer era. Say it with me...the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens are more creative and exciting offensively than the Cincinnati Bengals.

I've been saying for years, since 2009, the Bengals have been atrocious working in space. The linebackers are overrated by Bengal fans and Mike Zimmer alike. Just look at any team that uses a lot of misdirection. They will pound the normally stout Bengals defense. Jets Wild Card game, 2009. Houston Wild Card game, 2011. Any time they play either one of those teams, regular season or playoffs, they are exposed because their linebackers play undisciplined and over-pursue because Zimmer's scheme is about blitzing and stopping the run between the tackles with a lot of man coverage. If you can't get pressure, you hang your corners out to dry, it doesn't matter if it's Revis and Cromartie back there, you can't win like that in the National Football League. The Ravens have noticed the Bengals' struggles with misdirection and with their improved offensive personnel, have effectively found the kryptonite to an opponent that traditionally plays them tough, and often beats them, no matter where the game is played. Strange it took them so long honestly, Pittsburgh runs a lot of trick plays vs. the Bengals for these same reasons and has been doing so for a while. Great gameplan by Baltimore. Poor coaching by Zimmer. Teams are liking what they see on film when they watch Leon Hall play this year, because he was getting picked on in the preseason by Rodgers, and it's carried over into the regular season. Your #1 corner is not supposed to be getting picked on. The Bengals need Dre Kirkpatrick dearly. Green-Ellis was impressive. The timing he had on his acceleration through the holes was great. Hawkins is officially the #2 receiver, so that conversation can be put to bed. As usual, I was disappointed with the lack of creativity in playcalling by Jay Gruden. I remember Jermaine Gresham being targeted twice all game. In fact, I don't recall any other Bengal TE being targeted at all. Gruden talked all offseason about getting the ball to one of his best players, and we saw more of the same last night in that regard. Why the Bengals don't take more out of the playbooks of their opponents is beyond me. The Ravens got lucky on some deep balls, their receivers won't have such good hands every week as they did on some highly contested throws last night. However, what killed the Bengals secondary was the tight end Dennis Pitta. Why not throw to your own TE if you're the Bengals? The tight end is hard to defend nowadays across the league because that position has evolved into an oversized wide receiver being covered by a linebacker or a safety that can't compete size-wise with someone as athletic as the modern day NFL tight end. The Bengals have one of the best and never throw him the ball. Game plan was an issue last night, and that's the most troublesome part of all of this.

All we can hope for is that Horseshoe is a big hit and the cash boys finally wake up to the wisdom of putting as much square footage on a parcel as is reasonable for the location.

Ohio is becoming the face of state-level corruption. That's why everybody and their mama is passing Ohio's cities, top down, hair breezing.

I agree that Detroit is corrupt to the core, but does Bob Bedinghaus ring a bell? Other Cincinnati carpetbaggers who've cashed a state check or two: Mike Allen, Phil Heimlich, Joe Deters, Pat DeWine... A streetcar is a bad idea for an area devoid of semi-contiguous development. Subway is Detroit's future, Michigan legislators just have to skip a few kickback checks from their auto buddies and find the money for a radial rapid transit network. In Cincinnati's Over the Rhine, Clifton, Walnut Hills, there are buildings in existence to capitalize. On and off Woodward, there aren't enough ready-to-invest assets. There needs to be something permanent in the ground with exits on major thoroughfares in areas like this one. Dayton and Cleveland both have areas of comparison, but the biggest offender in the Detroitification category is St. Louis..

Cincinnati is a disaster. Similar things could be said about the 'Nati. You could argue that Cincinnati leadership has been every bit as incompetent as Detroit's in the last 20 years.

Solich was always a good football coach, he just had trouble winning big games at Nebraska. It was disastrous to be frank, but it's a great thing for Ohio U. to have a coach who won 58 games in six years in the Big 12 when it was still a potent conference.

It will be if there is two at all, it may be just the office building. There is no way you can have one design finished but still waiting to secure the residential builder. If it was one building the design and builder would be in place. You could not have one builder doing the first 15 stories then having the next builder doing the next 15. Now the question is, where are these Enquirer writers getting their information? We know who's supplying lies about the Streetcar, but Dunnhumby is $100 million dollars worth of unfolding development and they couldn't figure out what was going on just 2.5 months ago?

Will be disappointed if this turns out to be two mid-rises. Something 400 feet would have given the residential component quite a profile. There are some great views to be had on that site.

A line on Mcmillan circulating down Montgomery at Desales through Evanston and to Xavier is an economic boon waiting to happen. The City should have moved forward with proposing other lines already. Line 1 is being built as we speak, so publicly showing that there is no intention to stop after the Downtown loop is operational may actually be received well by the public. The most notable and factual argument the opposition has formulated thus far is that Line 1 only serves a fraction of the city.

The job of a talk radio host is to either inform or incite. Sports jocks do both, but hosts of more general forums don't inform because there isn't any money in it. The internet has facts. People tune in to radio to be entertained, and 700 has taken that edict to bat. If certain hosts at The Flamethrower started spouting facts, assuming producers would allow this, the members of that show would be out of a job due to low ratings and disgruntled meddlers in the 'burbs. COAST would proclaim 700 as the voice of the devil and probably sue them.

Everyone out there on the Westside will tell you downtown is still where the fittest of the fit are in Cincinnati. The Westside got wilder in large part due to downtowners who moved out there for one of a dozen reasons. If there was an area in Cincinnati to rival downtown in sheer thoroughbred activity and unpredictability, it's gotta be Avondale. Evanston is bad, I'm with you on Fairmount. Bond Hill is deteriorating in front of our eyes. Fairmount just isn't safe at night and never has been as long as I can remember, but neither is College Hill for completely different reasons.

Over-the-Rhine was the most deteriorated and crime-ridden area in Cincinnati for over five decades. It has earned that reputation and I don't have a problem with her pointing that out. Cincinnati is indeed car-oriented. The fact that 25% of Cincinnati families don't have access to wheels is the crying shame in all of this. A car-centric city where a quarter of the families don't even have one, in a region with very challenging pedestrian topography. You see far too many people walking three miles or more for their essentials on an everyday basis. 33% poverty in the City of Cincinnati is why we need the Streetcar.

Concord, NH or Columbus, OH?

It surely wasn't well-thought out to attack one of the most prominent suburban communities in the region as a means to achieve a suburban agenda.

Hardly. Not paying your taxes yet receiving city subsidies to open a minority-owned business due to a "quota"? Sign me up! Of course you ignore my question of how much assistance did other businesses at the Banks receive. You really don't like Mahogany's do you? Do you understand that quotas are in place because if they weren't, minority-owned business would not be a component of most development projects? Minorities have microscopic representation in the business field and are generally outsiders to the good 'ol boys club that pulls strings and decides how projects come to fruition in every market in America. Minorities begin their careers from a point of weakness because they aren't in the majority. This is a fact, you can accept it or not. But to hear you constantly railing against anything that regulates the professional playing field all the time makes me think you just don't understand the history of the United States.

I preface all of my Browns' observations with this: The Packers were atrocious and that defense may be worse than it was last year. Clearly there's no depth, but I see a team that will get run over by balanced offenses and will live and die with their pass rush and scheming. When guys start to get injured, they will be giving up 30 a game. They just gave up 35 to Cleveland, a team that won't score that many points all year. I just don't like what I've seen from Weeden, I realize it's preseason, but they play these games for reasons other than money. The clubs are evaluating their personnel by examining who's executing assignments and winning physical confrontations. If I'm not seeing enough of the latter to think it could translate to Sundays, I have no choice but to question the player or unit. I think Weeden will surely get rid of the ball quicker as he matures as a player. I question if he will stop staring down receivers though. He's a guy who threw a lot of picks in college and looks to throw a few in the pros. Staring down receivers is a skill. When you're in a chaotic, pressure-packed cubicle like an NFL dropback passer, you're going to lean on what's going to save your life. Weeden has been staring down receivers his whole career. That and the confidence behind his big arm is why he had so many turnovers in college. I hope the Browns' coaches can iron out his mechanics so he gets that ball ahead of his guys and into an active window where the receiver can capitalize on his reception.

While I take the hate with the requisite grain of salt it deserves, this is simply not true. Weeden was 12-20 against GB with two of those misses accounted for by drops on balls which hit the receivers squarely in the hands. The recievers hang on to those drops and he is at 70% completions. Not understanding why Weeden wasn't 'bombing away' against GB shows an utter lack of understanding of preseason strategy, the defensive sets GB was in, and Shurmer's offense (not saying I'm a huge fan of the latter). He certaintly didn't look like a future HOF'er, but he looked more like that than your predetermined evaluation I evaluated what I've seen from the Browns thus far this preseason, and I wrote my thoughts on this thread. That is not hate and shouldn't be labeled as such. You said it yourself, the offensive gameplan has been poor in both games. The Browns have a rookie under center and need to find out what he can do against other teams before the season starts. Vanilla offenses are fine in the preseason, but the Browns aren't doing themselves any favors by not giving Weeden more opportunities to refine some parts of his game that the team will need come September. The receivers helped Weeden quite a bit on a number of throws despite the drops. Brandon threw several balls behind his receivers against Green Bay, and generally the ball wasn't where it's supposed to be in order for the receiver to complete the catch and make a play. Wide receivers are often vilified over poor route running. If fans are going to blast receivers for being incomplete in the passing game, they should also hold QB's accountable for not hitting their target. Predetermined opinion? Again, I watched the Browns play a couple games, then made my observations.