RedHawk Madness

I'm thinking about petitioning my boss, Josh, for a temporary re-assignment to the Miami beat, so I can cover the RedHawks in the Large Dance. Their win over the Akron in the MAC Final was a thing to behold. Two teams playing all out for 40 minutes. Banked 3 at buzzer to win. Controversy.

Congrats to Charlie Coles and his players.

Watched the game at Daiquiri Deck. I was only one of the 300 or so people in the joint paying attention to the game. But I had my own personal flat screen right across the bar as a I enjoyed Florida's Finest Fish sandwich and the game. Watching the tilt without the sound showed just how hard both sides played. One quote from Charlie lifted from enquirer.com shows that he's a guy who gets it:

"We were very fortunate ... what a great night for the RedHawks," Coles said. "It's been so long that we have been to the NCAA Tournament. I was as happy as I thought I would be, but after being happy, I felt very bad for Akron. What a phenomenal team they have. How can you have 26 victories and not hear your name for an at-large (bid). Something is wrong with the system. My heart goes out to Akron because they have been a phenomenal team all year long."

On the Reds front, some of you have asked about cuts. Jerry Narron and Wayne Krivsky met for a half hour this morning. Could see something tomorrow. But keep in mind the club has a split-squad, day-night doubleheader on Thursday.

The lineup is what you might get if the Reds faced a lefty on Opening Day and Ken Griffey Jr. was out:

Freel CF
Gonzalez SS
Encarnacion 3B
Dunn LF
Conine 1B
Phillips 2B
Hamilton RF
Ross C
Milton P