00:00:00
Speaker 1: Like ESPN. We are way late to start the hour. Way late. Irresponsible clockwork by me. Sorry about that. This is ESPN 1530. My name's Mo Egger. Thanks for listening. We got a lot of good stuff this hour. Our guy Jay Morrison later on. Reds lost, for what it's worth, to the Dodgers. Joe Burrow was doing stuff at practice today, certainly more than yesterday. On Thursdays, we talk with our man Robert Weintraub, who writes a weekly Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine. It is a must-read, and he's always kind enough to join us to talk about the team in orange and black. What's going on?
00:00:38
Speaker 2: No better news than hearing that Joe Barrow is upright, mobile, and ready at least for one more day. And we can quell the narrative around his injury proneness at least for a few hours.
00:00:48
Speaker 1: Yes! Yes.
00:00:49
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:00:50
Speaker 1: There's more fun things to talk about like turnovers. Let me ask you this because I, I feel like, you know, smart folks like yourself sort of, I don't know, throw a wet blanket sometimes on excitement over a defense that generates a lot of turnovers because there is some luck involved on Sunday against the bucks where the Bengals lucky, were they good or were they both?
00:01:11
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:01:11
Speaker 2: Uh, the wet blanket is here to tell you both, uh, not so wet, maybe damp.
00:01:16
Speaker 1: How about that?
00:01:16
Speaker 2: Uh, Yeah, one of the first things we really looked at at FTN Fantasy slash Football Outsiders as an analytics-based organization was what fumble luck really meant. And it boils down to this. Forcing for turnovers, forcing fumbles specifically, is a skill. Recovering them, however, is luck. It doesn't translate from week to week, from year to year. It's an oblong ball, and there's no real rhyme or reason for who recovers it once it's loose.
00:01:46
Speaker 3: Right.
00:01:47
Speaker 2: You know, when it is skilled to punch it out from Baker Mayfield as he's going into the end zone, that's a great play. But it could just as easily have been a Bucs wide receiver that fell on it instead of one of our guys.
00:01:58
Speaker 4: Right.
00:01:58
Speaker 2: And that changes the whole game. So, you know, the answer is both. And it's great to see they made so many splash plays and just forcing four fumbles is awesome. I mean, you know, we would have killed for that in so many games last year. So I'm not going to knock it. But recovering them and recovering all four and having all four really be so meaningful in the way they happened in the shadow of our own end zone and returning one for a touchdown and a key element getting the strip sack of Baker when they looked like they might really close the game to a one score game.
00:02:30
Speaker 4: You know, all.
00:02:31
Speaker 2: Those instances were awesome. But you can't rely on it from week to week, certainly, and recovering all those fumbles once they hit the ground is definitely luck. So let's go with interceptions next time. That's a great skill.
00:02:43
Speaker 1: Sign me up and thrown by C.J. Stroud and not Joe Burrow. This is, and I think the offensive line collectively passed a pretty good test against Tampa Bay. The Texans, especially on the edge, a little bit of a different animal. It could be a big test for Orlando Brown. When you look at him through your lens... walk me through the likelihood of either him, you know, being a solid right tackle or left tackle that we never talked about or somebody who ends up being a little bit of a weak link on the left, on the left side.
00:03:16
Speaker 2: Well, I think in his case, the main metric you want to look at is his paycheck, right? I mean, that's really the ultimate decider of what the league and what teams think of you and what your ultimate value tends to be. And he's paid sort of like a slightly below average left tackle in the league. And I, think his stats certainly over the last couple years since he's been in cincinnati have lived up to that you know i mean he's certainly not bad there's a lot of teams around the league that would kill for an orlando brown a left tackle uh but he has his flaws he tends to start slowly and amp up sunday's game notwithstanding he played pretty well um and you know he's had really some injury issues for the first time in his career specifically the broken leg that he played through in 24 that that's altered him and as he ages it it's hard to bounce back from those things but you know, I think overall you're, you're looking at a guy that you're like, you kind of alluded to, you're hoping not to really think about that much. And if that means that he just plays a pretty good game, you know, sort of a B to B minus game each week, the Bengals will certainly live with that. And, uh, you know, if you get a game like that, that you saw on Sunday where they had the lowest pressure rate allowed in the week, not all him, obviously, uh, they'll definitely take that they're running attack. Didn't, you know, kind of measure up analytically as we think in light of they were only about 21st in adjusted line yards while the bucks were fourth ironically enough they really ran the ball effectively but you know game script played a lot into the various running attacks on Sunday you saw the Bengals get ahead it hindered Tampa's ability to run the ball as much as they wanted to and I think that'll be a key going forward for a player like Brown you know as long as the Bengals have leads and can both run the ball and sort of keep defense is guessing as to what they're going to do, that can only help them. It's when they're in, you know, must pass true pass sets, as we like to say. And, uh, you know, his sort of get off is, is slow and not what he used to be. That's where you'll see him decline a little bit as a player, but if they can avoid that as much as possible, he's certainly a player that is worth keeping around, whether they needed to re up him as they did in the off season or, we can just debate that as the season goes along. I don't think there's any doubt. There'll be a drafting one left tackle in the, uh, in April of 27. I'll ask for sure.
00:05:24
Speaker 1: Is the Marius men's the next star tackle in this league?
00:05:29
Speaker 2: You know, I think back to what Scott Peters, the offensive line coach said, I think even before training camp, uh, he was asked, you know, what's the next step for Marius. And he just had a two word answer, total domination. And, uh, I think we saw that on Sunday, you know, uh, Ruben Bain, the Ballyhooed rookie end for Tampa Bay. The only thing he sniffed, he didn't sniff Burrow, he sniffed the grass.
00:05:50
Speaker 1: I mean, Brown put him.
00:05:51
Speaker 2: On his butt more often than not. And yeah, listen, I mean, he was arguably the best player on the offense. And I think going forward, you know, when you have Jamar Chase, Joe Burrow, and Tee Higgins, and your best player is your right tackle, that's a pretty good sign. And, you know, I think he's definitely, if he's not there already, he's a top 10 right tackle and He's on the glide path toward being top three, top five. And, you know, he's certainly the best Bengals lineman since we lost Andrew Whitworth. And, you know, it's about time they drafted one. And the guy they drafted lived up to his potential. And Amarius certainly has done that in year three. All right.
00:06:30
Speaker 1: Robert Weintraub writes a weekly Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine. Read it at CincinnatiMagazine.com. I spent the early portion of the offseason yelling and screaming that they didn't make the linebackers any better by drafting or acquiring in free agency linebackers. Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight, by their own admission, were not perfect against the Bucs, but they were a hell of a lot better than anything I saw them do last year. Do I owe those guys an apology? No.
00:06:57
Speaker 2: Never apologize mo that's a sign of weakness come on this is the nfl uh you know a little yes like you said they didn't play perfectly they missed tackles but i think the main thing that we saw was that they just played so much freer than they did last year you know i mean they missed tackles and they missed tackles in this game they missed tackles a bunch last year to me it wasn't even so much that aspect of their play last year that was the problem it's almost like Getting into position to miss the tackle was almost good because they were missing so many assignments and were just lined up wrong or getting blown out of plays. They actually got a chance to make or miss a tackle. It was almost a success. That wasn't the case Sunday. You saw both Knight and Carter, especially Carter, really flying around to the football. Yeah, he over-pursued a few plays. Even the fumble that turned into the scoop and score for Demetrius Knight was Carter getting juked on the play, but it worked out well. And that's funny. I went back to last year's opener when they, you know, lost, they won. And I should say that that, that ugly game against Cleveland and the offense was the issue. And Demetrius and I did 10 tackles in the game and was really good. And we were all thinking to ourselves, Hey, we have something here in the rookie linebacker. He's just like Carson's Wessinger on the other side.
00:08:08
Speaker 1: And of course the.
00:08:09
Speaker 2: Browns linebacker went on to win the defensive rookie of the year and Demetrius not so much. So there's a long way to go. However, early returns in one week, one Sunday, they definitely up their play. And I don't want to say you owe them an apology in person, but maybe write a little note to them or send them a fruit basket, something like that.
00:08:27
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:08:27
Speaker 2: Just say you're praying for them.
00:08:29
Speaker 1: I'm a big fruit basket guy. That's usually my MO is I'll send people fruit baskets. I am in the market for a new NHL team because the Blue Jackets got rid of their radio broadcast and I don't like it. You are submitting the New York Islanders.
00:08:43
Speaker 3: Why? Why?
00:08:45
Speaker 2: Well, I grew up an Islanders fan in the suburbs of New York City. They were my team. They won four straight Stanley Cups low these many, many years ago. To be honest, there were about two decades where there was no way I would recommend becoming a fan of them to anybody. But now it's different. They have new ownership. They have a decent front office. They're still not great, but they have an exciting young defenseman named Matthew Schneider, who's one of the best players in the league.
00:09:09
Speaker 3: Matthew Schaefer.
00:09:10
Speaker 4: Did I say Schneider? Matthew Schaefer. And despite that, you.
00:09:14
Speaker 2: Should become a fan because see what it does to you. It makes you confuse names with all-time Canadians. Yes, they have an exciting young team. They're worth watching. They're in New York City, always good. And, you know, I recommend them.
00:09:27
Speaker 4: What else do you need?
00:09:27
Speaker 1: When I was a kid, they had a goon named Mick Vokoda. And so, you know, I mean, you know, I'm not the most hardcore hockey fan, but I remember turning on a game in like the early 90s, maybe late 80s, and there was this guy named Mick Vokoda trying to fight the entire Washington Capitals team. And so maybe just because of that, I don't know. But they're certainly under consideration, I'll tell you that.
00:09:54
Speaker 2: And does any of us really need a reason other than we have an awesome goon who takes on the entire team on the opposing bench? That's good enough for me, isn't it? They also had the great Mike Bossy, the sniper who I still worship. I put his number 22 into all my passwords. Maybe I shouldn't admit that on the radio, but it's in there in certain places. It's been a proud franchise. It hasn't been one that's kept up in these latter years, but you know, we hope for the best. Hopefully one more time before I die, they can at least establish one more mini dynasty.
00:10:27
Speaker 1: All right. Well, if I'm on board, then we'll, we'll share that the way we do the Bengals. Thank you as always. Yes. And the Knicks. And the Knicks. That's right.
00:10:34
Speaker 4: Yes.
00:10:35
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: I'm a board with the Islanders.
00:10:37
Speaker 5: Maybe that's the key to their, uh, Stanley kept hoisting.
00:10:40
Speaker 1: Maybe, maybe that could be, that'd be all right. Uh, it's, it's under advisement and, uh, we'll, we'll update you next week.
00:10:47
Speaker 2: Sounds good.
00:10:47
Speaker 3: Thanks so much, Mo.
00:10:48
Speaker 1: That's our guy, Robert Weintraub. Read his Bengals column, CincinnatiMagazine.com. Jay Morrison from BengalsTalk.com joins us next.
00:10:57
Speaker 6: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: Traffic.
00:11:02
Speaker 5: From the UC Health traffic site.
00:11:04
Speaker 6: Football in the Natty. Brought to you in part by Skyline Chili on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
00:11:14
Speaker 1: Jay Morrison joins us on Thursday afternoons. BengalsTalk.com is where you'll find him. Also with Paul Daner Jr. on the Growler podcast. And here with us. There he is. Hi, Jay. Oh, wait a minute. We got the thing. I can see Jay. Wait a minute. Now can I hear him? Yes. Oh, man. This is terrific. It's like a 21st century operation we have going on here. Uh, uh, so, you know, we're not psychoanalyzing Joe Burrow anymore. We're, we're, we're scrutinizing every physical movement as he deals with a tight back. You were there at the portion open to the media at today's practice. How did he look and what did he do?
00:11:55
Speaker 4: Uh, he looked better than yesterday. He did more than yesterday. He still didn't look totally comfortable. You know, he started throwing early in practice, um, called it off. If you, if you want to say it that way. The other quarterbacks continued throwing, but he just started kind of pacing around the field, went for a little jog. Then when they went to position drills, they started off, none of them were ripping it. They started off with some really, I don't know, like 80, 75% pace on the ball and a little bit of rollouts. And so he didn't look totally comfortable, but he didn't look like it should be a concern. The big question is, did he Did he take any kind of pain meds before practice today? You would think that that's something that could help get him through the game. Maybe you would want to do that before practice just to see how you're going to feel in relation to the pain meds. So if I was betting, I would say he's going to play this week. I just don't know that he's going to feel his normal, comfortable self.
00:12:58
Speaker 1: Do you think he makes a concerted effort to ensure that Jamar Chase has as many catches in the first quarter as he did the entire game against the Bucs?
00:13:07
Speaker 4: If he wants to win, I think he will. It was really kind of surprising. You go back and you look and it's like, oh, it seems like Jamar has had some down games in the past. And you start looking at the numbers and it's like, oh no, there was really one other game that was as low output as that one. So I get it when you're in the flow of a game that maybe sometimes Zach is the play caller and Joe is the quarterback. You know you're not going to him as much as normal, but Maybe it struck them after the game when they look at the box score and didn't realize it was quite that low. But, you know, to Jamar's credit, he didn't grouse. He didn't complain, didn't demand the ball. If it happens again this week, maybe some of that stuff starts happening. But I do. I think there's going to be a concerted effort to get him involved, not just overall, but like you said, early. Get it going in the first quarter. Get him some touches. Get him going. Get Teagle on. And, uh, they're going to need it. It's a really good Houston defense.
00:14:06
Speaker 1: Was it a, a by-product of the relatively, not even relatively where the meager numbers of by-product of how the bucks were playing them. Did Joe miss opportunities to throw it to Jamar when you watch her critically? Why, why two for 12?
00:14:19
Speaker 4: Yeah, both of those, you know, Jamar talked, he had his press conference today and he talked about that where some of it was the coverage, but he's like, there were some other ones where I was open. The ball just didn't come my way. Um, Joe kind of alluded to that as well yesterday. Um, it's, it was another case where a lot of times they're, they're in kind of a quick game thing. And, and he just wants to get to that first read. And, and a lot of times that's Jamar, but not every time it's Jamar, there was a play down on the, I'm in the press box. I'm looking down at the goal line that it was at. And, and Jamar was wide open in the end zone on a slant, but it didn't look like he should have been when Joe's doing the pre-snap read. It just, the defense kind of shifted and did something different. And, That's just one of those ones where Joe sees that it needs to go left, and he's going to get the ball, and he's going to go left. So there were opportunities that were left on the field. It would be interesting. Stingley played with Jamar and Burrow at LSU, and there are some epic practice battles between those two, receiver and DB. So I think this is going to be a fun matchup to watch on Sunday.
00:15:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's obviously a major test when you look at that Houston defensive front I would imagine a continuation of what they did under center. Was there a level of satisfaction with how that part of their offense operated against Tampa Bay?
00:15:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think there was. I don't think it's quite where they want it to be, but they did have success with it. It was interesting. We were talking to Dan Pitcher yesterday as well and talking about comparing Tampa Bay's defense and Houston's, and he said they could not be more polar opposites in terms of philosophy. where the Todd Bowles Tampa Bay defense is going to throw all kinds of exotic looks, blitzes, just everything at you. And you really have to kind of be on your feet. And Houston doesn't have to do that. They can get a lot of pressure with their four-man rush, kind of what the Bengals defense did to Tampa Bay's offense last week. So you get four guys rushing, going to get pressure, drop seven in coverage. I think they're going to see a lot of that. And If you've got a lot of guys dropped in coverage, then maybe there's some light boxes there and there's some chances to exploit that and run the ball with Chase Brown.
00:16:32
Speaker 1: Awesome as always. And thanks for doing the video thing. You look good.
00:16:37
Speaker 4: I've done this in a lot of different places. I was actually sitting in a wheelchair last year and I fell out of the wheelchair when I leaned forward. So I'm glad to be back at my spot in the press box. Good to be on camera with you, Mo.
00:16:49
Speaker 1: Likewise. Thanks, man. We'll talk to you next week. That's our guy, Jay Morrison. Go to BengalsTalk.com and listen to him with Paul Daner Jr. and the crew. I think I'm considered and the crew because I appear once a week. Jay on the walkout with Paul after Bengals games, BengalsTalk.com, one of the absolute best. One of my all-time favorite sports writers hasn't been on this show in years. But he's going to join us next because he's written a book that I think if you know anything about the city of Cincinnati, you will enjoy next on ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:17:27
Speaker 6: You've been listening to Football in the Natty on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:17:39
Speaker 4: Traffic.
00:17:42
Speaker 5: From the UCHealth Traffic Center, UCHealth offers multiple sclerosis infusion therapy at nine locations, making expert care easier to access. Learn more at uchealth.com. There is still an accident.
00:17:54
Speaker 6: And 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:17:59
Speaker 1: Very quickly, sports headlines are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet. Joe Burrow officially listed as limited during today's Bengals practice as he deals with back tightness. No go for Samaj P.
00:18:11
Speaker 5: Ryan.
00:18:11
Speaker 1: He's dealing with an illness. Shamar Stewart, full go for a second consecutive day. Rest day for Jonathan Allen. BJ Hill, Achilles slash not injury-related DNP yesterday, limited today. The big ones in Houston, no go for Nico Collins. He is not trending in the right direction after coming down with that hamstring issue yesterday. Jadavion Clowney, also a no-go for a second consecutive day as he deals with a knee. Bengals and Texans Sunday at 1 on ESPN. 1530 Reds clobbered again by the Dodgers, 8-2 at GABP. Cincinnati finishes up the home portion of their schedule this weekend, first of three against the Cubs. tomorrow night. For years, we have talked with Bill Cook, the longtime sports writer for the Cincinnati Post and the Cincinnati Inquirer, covered the UC beat for years, wrote for GoBearCats.com. He's also written a lot of really great books that focus solely on sports, a ton of them related to UC basketball, wrote a great book about Bob Huggins. A terrific book about the history of the Skyline-Chile Crosstown Shootout. One on Mick Cronin's first ever team at UC, which that's now going on 20 years. His new book is not entirely about sports, obviously, but it's very sports adjacent. It's called Buddy, The Life and Times of Cincinnati Icon Buddy La Rosa. Of course, the patriarch of La Rosa's. As we know it, but has done and did so much more in this town. And Bill's book is, I think, a terrific biography. but there's lots of sports to it. Bill, it's awesome to have you. I haven't talked to you in forever. What's going on?
00:19:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, I appreciate you having me on, Mo.
00:19:57
Speaker 1: Thanks. Why did you decide to write a book about Buddy La Rosa?
00:20:01
Speaker 3: Well, you're aware of the Buddy La Rosa, the La Rosa High School Sports Hall of Fame. I'm on the selection committee for that, have been for years. And about a year ago, it was the 50th anniversary of the Hall of Fame. And after one of our meetings, his sons, Mike and Mark, told us a little bit about the history. I knew how it got started, but they talked a lot about their dad and the life that he's led. And I thought, that's a pretty compelling story. I knew his association with Aaron Pryor, which is a compelling story itself. So I asked him if anybody ever tried to write a book about Buddy, and they said no. So I decided to do it.
00:20:36
Speaker 1: What things about him did you come to understand that maybe you didn't know going in?
00:20:43
Speaker 3: Well, I had no idea of his childhood and what he went through. His father was a well-known local boxer and also kind of a guy who got in a lot of trouble. And actually, he beat.
00:20:58
Speaker 3: Buddy's mother, when Buddy was real little, and his mother, he did it repeatedly, and his mother finally got tired of it one night, and she waited for Buddy's dad to fall asleep, and she hit him over the head with a candy dish. Then she took Buddy, gathered up some belongings, and went back to her childhood home on Queen City Avenue in South Fairmount, and that's where Buddy grew up. He was raised by his aunts and uncles and his grandma and grandpa and his mom. And today he lives like three miles from there in East Price Hill. So I didn't know any of that, obviously. And actually, when his mom divorced him, his dad was in the Mansfield Reformatory. That's when he got the notice that the divorce was final, which I thought was interesting. But Buddy, because of his background with his dad in boxing, Buddy wanted to be in boxing, but he was too little. He had a doctor tell him, don't do this. You're going to end up severely hurt. He did it anyway for a while. He boxed in high school. He boxed a little bit in the Navy. But what he really wanted to do eventually was open a pizzeria. And the circumstances under which he did that are pretty interesting, too. He was in the Navy, in the Navy Reserves during the Korean War. He saw that they had pizza parlors in Philadelphia. And he thought, wow, we don't have anything like this in Cincinnati. We should do that. Well, he grew up with a family that Italian cooking was a big thing. His grandma, his aunt, his mom, he grew up learning how to cook. And they were at the San Antonio Festival one day during the summer, and they had an Italian food booth. And Buddy said, let's try pizza. And his aunt and his grandma said, nobody's going to eat that. But he talked them into it, and it was very popular. And from that point on, that's where he got the idea to open a pizzeria.
00:22:48
Speaker 1: When you mentioned Bill Cook is with us, the name of the book, and he sent me an advanced copy, Buddy, The Life and Times of Cincinnati Icon, Buddy LaRosa. It's a terrific read. It's fantastic. It's a story of Buddy. It's a story of a Cincinnati icon. And as I mentioned, it's so sports adjacent. When you mentioned the LaRosa's High School Hall of Fame, I'm taken back to when I was a kid. You would always see those caricatures in the newspaper for like the LaRosa's Athlete of the Week. Or you would go to LaRosa's and you would see some of those in the stores themselves. I know you still do to this day. How did that come about?
00:23:24
Speaker 3: Well, in 1974, there was a fire. The original arose on Boudinot Avenue. And it put them out of business for a time. And it threatened the very existence of the restaurant chain and of Buddy's livelihood. And he didn't know what to do. His insurance company was stiffing him. And the Western Hills High School football coach, who was a friend of Buddy's, he said, show me what the damage is. Because the insurance company told him it was going to be like nine months before he could reopen it. and Buddy couldn't do that. He would have lost his business. So he showed the damage to the football coach, and he basically said, screw that insurance company. We'll get you on your feet. So he had his players go over there and help clean up the place and get it ready for the repairs that needed to be made. The repairs from West High and Elder and some from Oak Hills, they went over and they helped Buddy out, and it basically saved his business. So he wanted to do something to repay them, and he came up with the idea of starting the High School Sports Hall of Fame. That thing, over 50 years, has honored 321 athletes. And there are Athletes in professional halls of fame like Ken Grophy Jr., Jim Bunning, Roger Staubach, Luke Kuechly, Tony Trabert, goes on and on. Three members of the Hall of Fame have won Olympic medals. It's a unique thing, I think, around the country and certainly spotlights how great high school sports are in Cincinnati.
00:24:49
Speaker 1: How do you get to be on the committee that selects the honorees?
00:24:54
Speaker 3: You know the guy who runs it? He went to high school with him, and he respected my vast knowledge of high school sports, and so he asked me to be on it.
00:25:03
Speaker 1: All right, yeah, that makes sense. Where do folks find the book?
00:25:10
Speaker 3: For right now, it's only on Amazon. It will be at Joseph F. Bookstore in a week or two. Just as soon as I get my order from Amazon. But right now it's only at Amazon.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: Compared to other people that you have written about, is Buddy LaRosa the most unique?
00:25:28
Speaker 3: Well, I've written about hugs, so that's going to be... I would have to say he is. I mean, he celebrated his 96th birthday a month or so ago. And just his life story. Plus, at 96, he's still pretty lucid, and he has a great memory. He told me details from his childhood, and I don't know how he remembers it. But one of his favorite stories is he likes to say, he's told me this five or six times, and I laugh every time. So people ask me where I live, and I ask them, well, do you ever hear of Indian Hill? And they go, oh, yeah, you live in Indian Hill? And then he goes, no, no, no, I live in East Price Hill. And then he pauses and goes, not West Price Hill. They're too snooty over there. I live in East Price Hill. Over and over again.
00:26:16
Speaker 1: I like that. Buddy, the Life and Times of Cincinnati icon, Buddy La Rosa, written by Bill Cook. If you've ever read one of Bill's books, you know how good they are. This is a slightly different type of book than what we're used to talking with Bill about. But again, I read it in two days. A terrific read, a great subject. For my money long overdue, and I can't thank you enough for joining us.
00:26:42
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me, Mo.
00:26:43
Speaker 1: You're the man. That's the great Bill Cook. For years, covered sports for the Cincinnati Inquirer and the Cincinnati Post. Long time on the UC beat. Buddy, the life and times of Cincinnati icon. Buddy La Rosa. Again, get the book at Amazon.com. I was at Du Bois bookstore two weeks ago, adjacent to the UC campus. And there's like a whole rack of Bill Cook books. There's the book on Bob Huggins. There's the book on the– the Mick Cronin's first ever UC team with guys like Marvin Gentry and guys like that. There's the book he wrote on the history of the skyline, Chile cross down shootout. Bill is as, as good of a writer as you will ever meet. And, um, it's a different type of book than I'm used to reading from him, but an enjoyable read. Nonetheless, 14 from a six o'clock, uh, we'll get a break in. I was going to, I was going to give the phone number shows almost over. That would be wrong of me. This is ESPN, 1530 Cincinnati's sports station.
00:27:41
Speaker 6: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:27:43
Speaker 1: Traffic.
00:27:45
Speaker 5: The left lane is blocked off from a disabled vehicle on southbound 75. It's over at Fort Washington Way. Police there on scene. Traffic stop and go back from Hopple up to a 15 minute delay at the moment. Also an accident on northbound 75 after the Western Hills Viaduct on the right shoulder. I'm Eddie Zellick with traffic.
00:28:05
Speaker 1: For the Texans today, that's going on in the NFL right now. Lions and Bills play tonight. We're watching that game at Belterra Park this evening, so that'll be fun. And you could win an amazing prize. You might be going, well, Mo, give me some specifics. No, you got to come to Belterra Park tonight to see what the amazing prizes are. But then once you're there, you'll have a chance to win. So we look forward to seeing you tonight, Belterra Park. I mean, by all means, if you want to go to Belterra Resort over there in Vive, by all means, go. But that's not where we'll be. We'll be at Belterra Park on the east side over there by Riverbend. So which is I think they've got a show tonight. So before the show, come hang out with us. We're going to be in the sports book, specifically Belterra Park for Thursday night football. Tonight should be a good one. Lions and Buffalo Bills. Don't forget tomorrow. We're not here. The three to six time slot tomorrow. The programming in it. Significant upgrade as we have Bengals pep rally. I'm here. Well, Taryn's here, of course, which, you know, continuity, continuity matters in this day and age. But you'll have the on air product will feature Dan Horde, a Hall of Fame broadcaster who is held in extraordinarily high regard by everybody in this city, as opposed to what I put forth on a daily basis. So that's three to six tomorrow. Don't forget, like at the end of the show, at the end of the week, I've got to plug a bunch of different stuff The Tony and Moe Football Show Monday is going to be at Twin Peaks in Westchester. And we are looking forward to that day after the Bengals take on the Houston Texans. I will admit to you this. I don't have an awesome feeling about Sunday. Let's be honest. I think if you looked at the first four games of the season, which... is arguably the most difficult stretch they have. This is the one that I think we looked at and said they are most likely to lose. Vegas does agree. If it climbs to three and a half, I'm taking Cincinnati. But as a fan of the team, I don't love it. Good Texans defense, even without Jadavion Clowney. Home team that just lost in their own building last week. Level of desperation. I may talk myself into it. We'll see. But nonetheless, my job is to be honest. I honestly told you how I felt. Got to go. Have a great night. Have a great weekend. Have a great life. This is ESPN. Thanks to Taryn. Thanks to you for listening. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station. This report is sponsored.
Speaker 1: Like ESPN. We are way late to start the hour. Way late. Irresponsible clockwork by me. Sorry about that. This is ESPN 1530. My name's Mo Egger. Thanks for listening. We got a lot of good stuff this hour. Our guy Jay Morrison later on. Reds lost, for what it's worth, to the Dodgers. Joe Burrow was doing stuff at practice today, certainly more than yesterday. On Thursdays, we talk with our man Robert Weintraub, who writes a weekly Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine. It is a must-read, and he's always kind enough to join us to talk about the team in orange and black. What's going on?
00:00:38
Speaker 2: No better news than hearing that Joe Barrow is upright, mobile, and ready at least for one more day. And we can quell the narrative around his injury proneness at least for a few hours.
00:00:48
Speaker 1: Yes! Yes.
00:00:49
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:00:50
Speaker 1: There's more fun things to talk about like turnovers. Let me ask you this because I, I feel like, you know, smart folks like yourself sort of, I don't know, throw a wet blanket sometimes on excitement over a defense that generates a lot of turnovers because there is some luck involved on Sunday against the bucks where the Bengals lucky, were they good or were they both?
00:01:11
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:01:11
Speaker 2: Uh, the wet blanket is here to tell you both, uh, not so wet, maybe damp.
00:01:16
Speaker 1: How about that?
00:01:16
Speaker 2: Uh, Yeah, one of the first things we really looked at at FTN Fantasy slash Football Outsiders as an analytics-based organization was what fumble luck really meant. And it boils down to this. Forcing for turnovers, forcing fumbles specifically, is a skill. Recovering them, however, is luck. It doesn't translate from week to week, from year to year. It's an oblong ball, and there's no real rhyme or reason for who recovers it once it's loose.
00:01:46
Speaker 3: Right.
00:01:47
Speaker 2: You know, when it is skilled to punch it out from Baker Mayfield as he's going into the end zone, that's a great play. But it could just as easily have been a Bucs wide receiver that fell on it instead of one of our guys.
00:01:58
Speaker 4: Right.
00:01:58
Speaker 2: And that changes the whole game. So, you know, the answer is both. And it's great to see they made so many splash plays and just forcing four fumbles is awesome. I mean, you know, we would have killed for that in so many games last year. So I'm not going to knock it. But recovering them and recovering all four and having all four really be so meaningful in the way they happened in the shadow of our own end zone and returning one for a touchdown and a key element getting the strip sack of Baker when they looked like they might really close the game to a one score game.
00:02:30
Speaker 4: You know, all.
00:02:31
Speaker 2: Those instances were awesome. But you can't rely on it from week to week, certainly, and recovering all those fumbles once they hit the ground is definitely luck. So let's go with interceptions next time. That's a great skill.
00:02:43
Speaker 1: Sign me up and thrown by C.J. Stroud and not Joe Burrow. This is, and I think the offensive line collectively passed a pretty good test against Tampa Bay. The Texans, especially on the edge, a little bit of a different animal. It could be a big test for Orlando Brown. When you look at him through your lens... walk me through the likelihood of either him, you know, being a solid right tackle or left tackle that we never talked about or somebody who ends up being a little bit of a weak link on the left, on the left side.
00:03:16
Speaker 2: Well, I think in his case, the main metric you want to look at is his paycheck, right? I mean, that's really the ultimate decider of what the league and what teams think of you and what your ultimate value tends to be. And he's paid sort of like a slightly below average left tackle in the league. And I, think his stats certainly over the last couple years since he's been in cincinnati have lived up to that you know i mean he's certainly not bad there's a lot of teams around the league that would kill for an orlando brown a left tackle uh but he has his flaws he tends to start slowly and amp up sunday's game notwithstanding he played pretty well um and you know he's had really some injury issues for the first time in his career specifically the broken leg that he played through in 24 that that's altered him and as he ages it it's hard to bounce back from those things but you know, I think overall you're, you're looking at a guy that you're like, you kind of alluded to, you're hoping not to really think about that much. And if that means that he just plays a pretty good game, you know, sort of a B to B minus game each week, the Bengals will certainly live with that. And, uh, you know, if you get a game like that, that you saw on Sunday where they had the lowest pressure rate allowed in the week, not all him, obviously, uh, they'll definitely take that they're running attack. Didn't, you know, kind of measure up analytically as we think in light of they were only about 21st in adjusted line yards while the bucks were fourth ironically enough they really ran the ball effectively but you know game script played a lot into the various running attacks on Sunday you saw the Bengals get ahead it hindered Tampa's ability to run the ball as much as they wanted to and I think that'll be a key going forward for a player like Brown you know as long as the Bengals have leads and can both run the ball and sort of keep defense is guessing as to what they're going to do, that can only help them. It's when they're in, you know, must pass true pass sets, as we like to say. And, uh, you know, his sort of get off is, is slow and not what he used to be. That's where you'll see him decline a little bit as a player, but if they can avoid that as much as possible, he's certainly a player that is worth keeping around, whether they needed to re up him as they did in the off season or, we can just debate that as the season goes along. I don't think there's any doubt. There'll be a drafting one left tackle in the, uh, in April of 27. I'll ask for sure.
00:05:24
Speaker 1: Is the Marius men's the next star tackle in this league?
00:05:29
Speaker 2: You know, I think back to what Scott Peters, the offensive line coach said, I think even before training camp, uh, he was asked, you know, what's the next step for Marius. And he just had a two word answer, total domination. And, uh, I think we saw that on Sunday, you know, uh, Ruben Bain, the Ballyhooed rookie end for Tampa Bay. The only thing he sniffed, he didn't sniff Burrow, he sniffed the grass.
00:05:50
Speaker 1: I mean, Brown put him.
00:05:51
Speaker 2: On his butt more often than not. And yeah, listen, I mean, he was arguably the best player on the offense. And I think going forward, you know, when you have Jamar Chase, Joe Burrow, and Tee Higgins, and your best player is your right tackle, that's a pretty good sign. And, you know, I think he's definitely, if he's not there already, he's a top 10 right tackle and He's on the glide path toward being top three, top five. And, you know, he's certainly the best Bengals lineman since we lost Andrew Whitworth. And, you know, it's about time they drafted one. And the guy they drafted lived up to his potential. And Amarius certainly has done that in year three. All right.
00:06:30
Speaker 1: Robert Weintraub writes a weekly Bengals column for Cincinnati Magazine. Read it at CincinnatiMagazine.com. I spent the early portion of the offseason yelling and screaming that they didn't make the linebackers any better by drafting or acquiring in free agency linebackers. Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight, by their own admission, were not perfect against the Bucs, but they were a hell of a lot better than anything I saw them do last year. Do I owe those guys an apology? No.
00:06:57
Speaker 2: Never apologize mo that's a sign of weakness come on this is the nfl uh you know a little yes like you said they didn't play perfectly they missed tackles but i think the main thing that we saw was that they just played so much freer than they did last year you know i mean they missed tackles and they missed tackles in this game they missed tackles a bunch last year to me it wasn't even so much that aspect of their play last year that was the problem it's almost like Getting into position to miss the tackle was almost good because they were missing so many assignments and were just lined up wrong or getting blown out of plays. They actually got a chance to make or miss a tackle. It was almost a success. That wasn't the case Sunday. You saw both Knight and Carter, especially Carter, really flying around to the football. Yeah, he over-pursued a few plays. Even the fumble that turned into the scoop and score for Demetrius Knight was Carter getting juked on the play, but it worked out well. And that's funny. I went back to last year's opener when they, you know, lost, they won. And I should say that that, that ugly game against Cleveland and the offense was the issue. And Demetrius and I did 10 tackles in the game and was really good. And we were all thinking to ourselves, Hey, we have something here in the rookie linebacker. He's just like Carson's Wessinger on the other side.
00:08:08
Speaker 1: And of course the.
00:08:09
Speaker 2: Browns linebacker went on to win the defensive rookie of the year and Demetrius not so much. So there's a long way to go. However, early returns in one week, one Sunday, they definitely up their play. And I don't want to say you owe them an apology in person, but maybe write a little note to them or send them a fruit basket, something like that.
00:08:27
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:08:27
Speaker 2: Just say you're praying for them.
00:08:29
Speaker 1: I'm a big fruit basket guy. That's usually my MO is I'll send people fruit baskets. I am in the market for a new NHL team because the Blue Jackets got rid of their radio broadcast and I don't like it. You are submitting the New York Islanders.
00:08:43
Speaker 3: Why? Why?
00:08:45
Speaker 2: Well, I grew up an Islanders fan in the suburbs of New York City. They were my team. They won four straight Stanley Cups low these many, many years ago. To be honest, there were about two decades where there was no way I would recommend becoming a fan of them to anybody. But now it's different. They have new ownership. They have a decent front office. They're still not great, but they have an exciting young defenseman named Matthew Schneider, who's one of the best players in the league.
00:09:09
Speaker 3: Matthew Schaefer.
00:09:10
Speaker 4: Did I say Schneider? Matthew Schaefer. And despite that, you.
00:09:14
Speaker 2: Should become a fan because see what it does to you. It makes you confuse names with all-time Canadians. Yes, they have an exciting young team. They're worth watching. They're in New York City, always good. And, you know, I recommend them.
00:09:27
Speaker 4: What else do you need?
00:09:27
Speaker 1: When I was a kid, they had a goon named Mick Vokoda. And so, you know, I mean, you know, I'm not the most hardcore hockey fan, but I remember turning on a game in like the early 90s, maybe late 80s, and there was this guy named Mick Vokoda trying to fight the entire Washington Capitals team. And so maybe just because of that, I don't know. But they're certainly under consideration, I'll tell you that.
00:09:54
Speaker 2: And does any of us really need a reason other than we have an awesome goon who takes on the entire team on the opposing bench? That's good enough for me, isn't it? They also had the great Mike Bossy, the sniper who I still worship. I put his number 22 into all my passwords. Maybe I shouldn't admit that on the radio, but it's in there in certain places. It's been a proud franchise. It hasn't been one that's kept up in these latter years, but you know, we hope for the best. Hopefully one more time before I die, they can at least establish one more mini dynasty.
00:10:27
Speaker 1: All right. Well, if I'm on board, then we'll, we'll share that the way we do the Bengals. Thank you as always. Yes. And the Knicks. And the Knicks. That's right.
00:10:34
Speaker 4: Yes.
00:10:35
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: I'm a board with the Islanders.
00:10:37
Speaker 5: Maybe that's the key to their, uh, Stanley kept hoisting.
00:10:40
Speaker 1: Maybe, maybe that could be, that'd be all right. Uh, it's, it's under advisement and, uh, we'll, we'll update you next week.
00:10:47
Speaker 2: Sounds good.
00:10:47
Speaker 3: Thanks so much, Mo.
00:10:48
Speaker 1: That's our guy, Robert Weintraub. Read his Bengals column, CincinnatiMagazine.com. Jay Morrison from BengalsTalk.com joins us next.
00:10:57
Speaker 6: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: Traffic.
00:11:02
Speaker 5: From the UC Health traffic site.
00:11:04
Speaker 6: Football in the Natty. Brought to you in part by Skyline Chili on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
00:11:14
Speaker 1: Jay Morrison joins us on Thursday afternoons. BengalsTalk.com is where you'll find him. Also with Paul Daner Jr. on the Growler podcast. And here with us. There he is. Hi, Jay. Oh, wait a minute. We got the thing. I can see Jay. Wait a minute. Now can I hear him? Yes. Oh, man. This is terrific. It's like a 21st century operation we have going on here. Uh, uh, so, you know, we're not psychoanalyzing Joe Burrow anymore. We're, we're, we're scrutinizing every physical movement as he deals with a tight back. You were there at the portion open to the media at today's practice. How did he look and what did he do?
00:11:55
Speaker 4: Uh, he looked better than yesterday. He did more than yesterday. He still didn't look totally comfortable. You know, he started throwing early in practice, um, called it off. If you, if you want to say it that way. The other quarterbacks continued throwing, but he just started kind of pacing around the field, went for a little jog. Then when they went to position drills, they started off, none of them were ripping it. They started off with some really, I don't know, like 80, 75% pace on the ball and a little bit of rollouts. And so he didn't look totally comfortable, but he didn't look like it should be a concern. The big question is, did he Did he take any kind of pain meds before practice today? You would think that that's something that could help get him through the game. Maybe you would want to do that before practice just to see how you're going to feel in relation to the pain meds. So if I was betting, I would say he's going to play this week. I just don't know that he's going to feel his normal, comfortable self.
00:12:58
Speaker 1: Do you think he makes a concerted effort to ensure that Jamar Chase has as many catches in the first quarter as he did the entire game against the Bucs?
00:13:07
Speaker 4: If he wants to win, I think he will. It was really kind of surprising. You go back and you look and it's like, oh, it seems like Jamar has had some down games in the past. And you start looking at the numbers and it's like, oh no, there was really one other game that was as low output as that one. So I get it when you're in the flow of a game that maybe sometimes Zach is the play caller and Joe is the quarterback. You know you're not going to him as much as normal, but Maybe it struck them after the game when they look at the box score and didn't realize it was quite that low. But, you know, to Jamar's credit, he didn't grouse. He didn't complain, didn't demand the ball. If it happens again this week, maybe some of that stuff starts happening. But I do. I think there's going to be a concerted effort to get him involved, not just overall, but like you said, early. Get it going in the first quarter. Get him some touches. Get him going. Get Teagle on. And, uh, they're going to need it. It's a really good Houston defense.
00:14:06
Speaker 1: Was it a, a by-product of the relatively, not even relatively where the meager numbers of by-product of how the bucks were playing them. Did Joe miss opportunities to throw it to Jamar when you watch her critically? Why, why two for 12?
00:14:19
Speaker 4: Yeah, both of those, you know, Jamar talked, he had his press conference today and he talked about that where some of it was the coverage, but he's like, there were some other ones where I was open. The ball just didn't come my way. Um, Joe kind of alluded to that as well yesterday. Um, it's, it was another case where a lot of times they're, they're in kind of a quick game thing. And, and he just wants to get to that first read. And, and a lot of times that's Jamar, but not every time it's Jamar, there was a play down on the, I'm in the press box. I'm looking down at the goal line that it was at. And, and Jamar was wide open in the end zone on a slant, but it didn't look like he should have been when Joe's doing the pre-snap read. It just, the defense kind of shifted and did something different. And, That's just one of those ones where Joe sees that it needs to go left, and he's going to get the ball, and he's going to go left. So there were opportunities that were left on the field. It would be interesting. Stingley played with Jamar and Burrow at LSU, and there are some epic practice battles between those two, receiver and DB. So I think this is going to be a fun matchup to watch on Sunday.
00:15:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's obviously a major test when you look at that Houston defensive front I would imagine a continuation of what they did under center. Was there a level of satisfaction with how that part of their offense operated against Tampa Bay?
00:15:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think there was. I don't think it's quite where they want it to be, but they did have success with it. It was interesting. We were talking to Dan Pitcher yesterday as well and talking about comparing Tampa Bay's defense and Houston's, and he said they could not be more polar opposites in terms of philosophy. where the Todd Bowles Tampa Bay defense is going to throw all kinds of exotic looks, blitzes, just everything at you. And you really have to kind of be on your feet. And Houston doesn't have to do that. They can get a lot of pressure with their four-man rush, kind of what the Bengals defense did to Tampa Bay's offense last week. So you get four guys rushing, going to get pressure, drop seven in coverage. I think they're going to see a lot of that. And If you've got a lot of guys dropped in coverage, then maybe there's some light boxes there and there's some chances to exploit that and run the ball with Chase Brown.
00:16:32
Speaker 1: Awesome as always. And thanks for doing the video thing. You look good.
00:16:37
Speaker 4: I've done this in a lot of different places. I was actually sitting in a wheelchair last year and I fell out of the wheelchair when I leaned forward. So I'm glad to be back at my spot in the press box. Good to be on camera with you, Mo.
00:16:49
Speaker 1: Likewise. Thanks, man. We'll talk to you next week. That's our guy, Jay Morrison. Go to BengalsTalk.com and listen to him with Paul Daner Jr. and the crew. I think I'm considered and the crew because I appear once a week. Jay on the walkout with Paul after Bengals games, BengalsTalk.com, one of the absolute best. One of my all-time favorite sports writers hasn't been on this show in years. But he's going to join us next because he's written a book that I think if you know anything about the city of Cincinnati, you will enjoy next on ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:17:27
Speaker 6: You've been listening to Football in the Natty on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:17:39
Speaker 4: Traffic.
00:17:42
Speaker 5: From the UCHealth Traffic Center, UCHealth offers multiple sclerosis infusion therapy at nine locations, making expert care easier to access. Learn more at uchealth.com. There is still an accident.
00:17:54
Speaker 6: And 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:17:59
Speaker 1: Very quickly, sports headlines are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet. Joe Burrow officially listed as limited during today's Bengals practice as he deals with back tightness. No go for Samaj P.
00:18:11
Speaker 5: Ryan.
00:18:11
Speaker 1: He's dealing with an illness. Shamar Stewart, full go for a second consecutive day. Rest day for Jonathan Allen. BJ Hill, Achilles slash not injury-related DNP yesterday, limited today. The big ones in Houston, no go for Nico Collins. He is not trending in the right direction after coming down with that hamstring issue yesterday. Jadavion Clowney, also a no-go for a second consecutive day as he deals with a knee. Bengals and Texans Sunday at 1 on ESPN. 1530 Reds clobbered again by the Dodgers, 8-2 at GABP. Cincinnati finishes up the home portion of their schedule this weekend, first of three against the Cubs. tomorrow night. For years, we have talked with Bill Cook, the longtime sports writer for the Cincinnati Post and the Cincinnati Inquirer, covered the UC beat for years, wrote for GoBearCats.com. He's also written a lot of really great books that focus solely on sports, a ton of them related to UC basketball, wrote a great book about Bob Huggins. A terrific book about the history of the Skyline-Chile Crosstown Shootout. One on Mick Cronin's first ever team at UC, which that's now going on 20 years. His new book is not entirely about sports, obviously, but it's very sports adjacent. It's called Buddy, The Life and Times of Cincinnati Icon Buddy La Rosa. Of course, the patriarch of La Rosa's. As we know it, but has done and did so much more in this town. And Bill's book is, I think, a terrific biography. but there's lots of sports to it. Bill, it's awesome to have you. I haven't talked to you in forever. What's going on?
00:19:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, I appreciate you having me on, Mo.
00:19:57
Speaker 1: Thanks. Why did you decide to write a book about Buddy La Rosa?
00:20:01
Speaker 3: Well, you're aware of the Buddy La Rosa, the La Rosa High School Sports Hall of Fame. I'm on the selection committee for that, have been for years. And about a year ago, it was the 50th anniversary of the Hall of Fame. And after one of our meetings, his sons, Mike and Mark, told us a little bit about the history. I knew how it got started, but they talked a lot about their dad and the life that he's led. And I thought, that's a pretty compelling story. I knew his association with Aaron Pryor, which is a compelling story itself. So I asked him if anybody ever tried to write a book about Buddy, and they said no. So I decided to do it.
00:20:36
Speaker 1: What things about him did you come to understand that maybe you didn't know going in?
00:20:43
Speaker 3: Well, I had no idea of his childhood and what he went through. His father was a well-known local boxer and also kind of a guy who got in a lot of trouble. And actually, he beat.
00:20:58
Speaker 3: Buddy's mother, when Buddy was real little, and his mother, he did it repeatedly, and his mother finally got tired of it one night, and she waited for Buddy's dad to fall asleep, and she hit him over the head with a candy dish. Then she took Buddy, gathered up some belongings, and went back to her childhood home on Queen City Avenue in South Fairmount, and that's where Buddy grew up. He was raised by his aunts and uncles and his grandma and grandpa and his mom. And today he lives like three miles from there in East Price Hill. So I didn't know any of that, obviously. And actually, when his mom divorced him, his dad was in the Mansfield Reformatory. That's when he got the notice that the divorce was final, which I thought was interesting. But Buddy, because of his background with his dad in boxing, Buddy wanted to be in boxing, but he was too little. He had a doctor tell him, don't do this. You're going to end up severely hurt. He did it anyway for a while. He boxed in high school. He boxed a little bit in the Navy. But what he really wanted to do eventually was open a pizzeria. And the circumstances under which he did that are pretty interesting, too. He was in the Navy, in the Navy Reserves during the Korean War. He saw that they had pizza parlors in Philadelphia. And he thought, wow, we don't have anything like this in Cincinnati. We should do that. Well, he grew up with a family that Italian cooking was a big thing. His grandma, his aunt, his mom, he grew up learning how to cook. And they were at the San Antonio Festival one day during the summer, and they had an Italian food booth. And Buddy said, let's try pizza. And his aunt and his grandma said, nobody's going to eat that. But he talked them into it, and it was very popular. And from that point on, that's where he got the idea to open a pizzeria.
00:22:48
Speaker 1: When you mentioned Bill Cook is with us, the name of the book, and he sent me an advanced copy, Buddy, The Life and Times of Cincinnati Icon, Buddy LaRosa. It's a terrific read. It's fantastic. It's a story of Buddy. It's a story of a Cincinnati icon. And as I mentioned, it's so sports adjacent. When you mentioned the LaRosa's High School Hall of Fame, I'm taken back to when I was a kid. You would always see those caricatures in the newspaper for like the LaRosa's Athlete of the Week. Or you would go to LaRosa's and you would see some of those in the stores themselves. I know you still do to this day. How did that come about?
00:23:24
Speaker 3: Well, in 1974, there was a fire. The original arose on Boudinot Avenue. And it put them out of business for a time. And it threatened the very existence of the restaurant chain and of Buddy's livelihood. And he didn't know what to do. His insurance company was stiffing him. And the Western Hills High School football coach, who was a friend of Buddy's, he said, show me what the damage is. Because the insurance company told him it was going to be like nine months before he could reopen it. and Buddy couldn't do that. He would have lost his business. So he showed the damage to the football coach, and he basically said, screw that insurance company. We'll get you on your feet. So he had his players go over there and help clean up the place and get it ready for the repairs that needed to be made. The repairs from West High and Elder and some from Oak Hills, they went over and they helped Buddy out, and it basically saved his business. So he wanted to do something to repay them, and he came up with the idea of starting the High School Sports Hall of Fame. That thing, over 50 years, has honored 321 athletes. And there are Athletes in professional halls of fame like Ken Grophy Jr., Jim Bunning, Roger Staubach, Luke Kuechly, Tony Trabert, goes on and on. Three members of the Hall of Fame have won Olympic medals. It's a unique thing, I think, around the country and certainly spotlights how great high school sports are in Cincinnati.
00:24:49
Speaker 1: How do you get to be on the committee that selects the honorees?
00:24:54
Speaker 3: You know the guy who runs it? He went to high school with him, and he respected my vast knowledge of high school sports, and so he asked me to be on it.
00:25:03
Speaker 1: All right, yeah, that makes sense. Where do folks find the book?
00:25:10
Speaker 3: For right now, it's only on Amazon. It will be at Joseph F. Bookstore in a week or two. Just as soon as I get my order from Amazon. But right now it's only at Amazon.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: Compared to other people that you have written about, is Buddy LaRosa the most unique?
00:25:28
Speaker 3: Well, I've written about hugs, so that's going to be... I would have to say he is. I mean, he celebrated his 96th birthday a month or so ago. And just his life story. Plus, at 96, he's still pretty lucid, and he has a great memory. He told me details from his childhood, and I don't know how he remembers it. But one of his favorite stories is he likes to say, he's told me this five or six times, and I laugh every time. So people ask me where I live, and I ask them, well, do you ever hear of Indian Hill? And they go, oh, yeah, you live in Indian Hill? And then he goes, no, no, no, I live in East Price Hill. And then he pauses and goes, not West Price Hill. They're too snooty over there. I live in East Price Hill. Over and over again.
00:26:16
Speaker 1: I like that. Buddy, the Life and Times of Cincinnati icon, Buddy La Rosa, written by Bill Cook. If you've ever read one of Bill's books, you know how good they are. This is a slightly different type of book than what we're used to talking with Bill about. But again, I read it in two days. A terrific read, a great subject. For my money long overdue, and I can't thank you enough for joining us.
00:26:42
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me, Mo.
00:26:43
Speaker 1: You're the man. That's the great Bill Cook. For years, covered sports for the Cincinnati Inquirer and the Cincinnati Post. Long time on the UC beat. Buddy, the life and times of Cincinnati icon. Buddy La Rosa. Again, get the book at Amazon.com. I was at Du Bois bookstore two weeks ago, adjacent to the UC campus. And there's like a whole rack of Bill Cook books. There's the book on Bob Huggins. There's the book on the– the Mick Cronin's first ever UC team with guys like Marvin Gentry and guys like that. There's the book he wrote on the history of the skyline, Chile cross down shootout. Bill is as, as good of a writer as you will ever meet. And, um, it's a different type of book than I'm used to reading from him, but an enjoyable read. Nonetheless, 14 from a six o'clock, uh, we'll get a break in. I was going to, I was going to give the phone number shows almost over. That would be wrong of me. This is ESPN, 1530 Cincinnati's sports station.
00:27:41
Speaker 6: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:27:43
Speaker 1: Traffic.
00:27:45
Speaker 5: The left lane is blocked off from a disabled vehicle on southbound 75. It's over at Fort Washington Way. Police there on scene. Traffic stop and go back from Hopple up to a 15 minute delay at the moment. Also an accident on northbound 75 after the Western Hills Viaduct on the right shoulder. I'm Eddie Zellick with traffic.
00:28:05
Speaker 1: For the Texans today, that's going on in the NFL right now. Lions and Bills play tonight. We're watching that game at Belterra Park this evening, so that'll be fun. And you could win an amazing prize. You might be going, well, Mo, give me some specifics. No, you got to come to Belterra Park tonight to see what the amazing prizes are. But then once you're there, you'll have a chance to win. So we look forward to seeing you tonight, Belterra Park. I mean, by all means, if you want to go to Belterra Resort over there in Vive, by all means, go. But that's not where we'll be. We'll be at Belterra Park on the east side over there by Riverbend. So which is I think they've got a show tonight. So before the show, come hang out with us. We're going to be in the sports book, specifically Belterra Park for Thursday night football. Tonight should be a good one. Lions and Buffalo Bills. Don't forget tomorrow. We're not here. The three to six time slot tomorrow. The programming in it. Significant upgrade as we have Bengals pep rally. I'm here. Well, Taryn's here, of course, which, you know, continuity, continuity matters in this day and age. But you'll have the on air product will feature Dan Horde, a Hall of Fame broadcaster who is held in extraordinarily high regard by everybody in this city, as opposed to what I put forth on a daily basis. So that's three to six tomorrow. Don't forget, like at the end of the show, at the end of the week, I've got to plug a bunch of different stuff The Tony and Moe Football Show Monday is going to be at Twin Peaks in Westchester. And we are looking forward to that day after the Bengals take on the Houston Texans. I will admit to you this. I don't have an awesome feeling about Sunday. Let's be honest. I think if you looked at the first four games of the season, which... is arguably the most difficult stretch they have. This is the one that I think we looked at and said they are most likely to lose. Vegas does agree. If it climbs to three and a half, I'm taking Cincinnati. But as a fan of the team, I don't love it. Good Texans defense, even without Jadavion Clowney. Home team that just lost in their own building last week. Level of desperation. I may talk myself into it. We'll see. But nonetheless, my job is to be honest. I honestly told you how I felt. Got to go. Have a great night. Have a great weekend. Have a great life. This is ESPN. Thanks to Taryn. Thanks to you for listening. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station. This report is sponsored.
