Building Toward the Future 06-06

Posted on July 7, 2009 | Leave a comment

I got a call a few months ago from the Atlantic 10 conference, asking if I’d like to write a few articles this summer for the league’s web site. The A-10 said it’d pay me in money, so, naturally, I said yes. Here’s the first one, a study on why the conference’s schools have been building and revamping their basketball arenas and how much the new construction is helping the A-10.

I figured that if I can talk to St. Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli – who is my favorite coach in the A-10 (at least from a media perspective), followed by Dayton’s Brian Gregory – and CBSSports.com basketball writer Gary Parrish, then, yeah, I said, I can write the story. So, that’s what I did. And Martelli and Parrish made it infinitely better.

And a key fact: for the first time since I started my freelance career in Jan. 2008 after the Cincinnati Post’s demise, this is the first time I’ve been paid before I wrote a story. So, yeah, the motivation wasn’t so high after I deposited the money in my bank account. Actually, that’s not true. But still, I’m happy that I know the money is safe in hand. This is not true for three stories I wrote last August (still haven’t been paid for those).

  • I watched five seconds of the Michael Jackson tribute this afternoon. That’s all I could stand. Luckily, my cable was out most of the day, so I didn’t have a choice.

  • Best news of the day, though, comes from C. Trent Rosecrans: after a week of vacation, Thinking Out Loud is back.

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    Another book signing

    Posted on July 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

    Sunday, Aug. 23, 2 p.m., Barnes & Noble on Fields Ertel. Two special guests have been confirmed.

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    Posted in Bearcats Rising

    Mick talks about L. Stephenson

    Posted on July 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

    (4:58 p.m.): It was billed as a mid-summer news conference with UC basketball coach Mick Cronin and senior-to-be Deonta Vaughn, and though Mick started off his statement talking about what the rest of the Bearcats were doing this summer, it was pretty clear why the media turned out today.

    The Tuesday signing of Lance Stephenson, the reasons why UC went after him, and what, if any concerns, Mick has with getting him eligible.

    Here’s the lede I wrote for the AP:

    Read the rest here.

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    Posted in Katz on the Cats

    Dow battling to prove himself in Bengals camp 06-27

    Posted on June 30, 2009 | Leave a comment

    Finally, finally, finally, my byline has reached the great state of Montana.

    I love interviewing offensive linemen, because, for the most part, they’re the most thoughtful, least flashy guys on the team. Chances are: you ask them a question, they’ll give you a better than average quote. While at the University of Georgia, my favorite player to interview was offensive lineman Jonas Jennings – who’s played eight years in the NFL. Didn’t matter if I was asking about the progress of quarterback Quincy Carter or the intricacies of trying to block Florida’s defensive line or about the next day’s weather report, Jennings was always a sheer delight. I could always count on him. The Bengals offensive linemen past and present – Dave Lapham, Willie Anderson, Levi Jones, Bobbie Williams, etc. – are no exception.

    Colin Dow – a native of Billings, Montana – was a good talker, thoughtful, kind of funny, all that. But what I really noticed about him while talking to him was his almost lack of confidence. I asked him about it during the interview and I mention it in this story I wrote for the Billings Gazette. In a locker room where confidence is part of the job description, Dow is anything but. Instead, he’s realistic. He realizes he has much to learn, and he realizes that, as an undrafted rookie free agent, he’d better pick up the Bengals offense sooner rather than later. Dow, I imagine, probably won’t make the 52-man active roster, but it was nice to write a story about a guy who really appreciates the opportunity he’s been given. And, of course, it’s always nice to talk to an offensive lineman.

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    Posted in NFL

    A little preseason predicting

    Posted on June 29, 2009 | Leave a comment

    (12:09 p.m.): Since I had to turn in my Big East preseason predictions to the conference last week, I figured I’d release my ballot and tell you my reasoning for picking the way that I did.

    2. UC: Naturally, we’ll talk the Bearcats football program to death these next few months – present and otherwise. The defense will have to replace 10 starters, but I don’t think that dooms UC. The offense is probably the best in the conference, and as long as the defense doesn’t hurt the Bearcats, they’re going to compete for another major bowl game.

    Read the rest here.

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    Posted in Katz on the Cats

    The future of Nippert Stadium

    Posted on June 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

    (10:22 a.m.): After the Brian Kelly contract news conference Monday, in which we discussed the removal of the practice bubble/practice facility clause from his contract, I also wanted to talk about the future of Nippert Stadium.

    I asked Mike Thomas if there was anything specific in BK’s new contract regarding upgrades to Nippert (there aren’t) and I asked BK if he had shifted his thinking about playing more games at Paul Brown Stadium (at this point, he’d rather play home games at Nippert). To me, it’s an issue that will play a role in determining how seriously a player the administration thinks football can be in the next decade or so (whether BK is here or not).

    A few months ago, during a football spring practice, Thomas and I talked for a while about the state of the stadium and what could be done to upgrade it into a facility that could generate more revenue streams. What I took from the conversation: it’s going to be tough to expand the stadium past, say, 45,000 seats, and it’s going to cost a boatload of money to put in club seats and private boxes. Tens of millions of dollars that would take many years to pay itself off.

    Read the rest here.

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    Posted in Katz on the Cats

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    More Bearcats Rising pre-hype pub

    Posted on June 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

    From MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince:

    You like reading, and you like football, right? Sure you do. So why not give, “Bearcats Rising,” my buddy Josh Katzowitz’s upcoming book on UC football, a shot?

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    Posted in Bearcats Rising, Uncategorized

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    New BK contract is official

    Posted on June 22, 2009 | Leave a comment

    (1:48 p.m.): Brian Kelly officially has signed his new five-year contract, and you know what that means? It means he thinks the Bearcats are on their way to competing for a BCS title.

    Big East titles? Feh. Try national titles. That’s what he wants now. Big change of perspective than when he was hired in 2006.

    “Then, we were talking about winning and being competitive in the Big East,” BK said. “Now we can talk about building a national championship program. No, we’re not there yet. This contract really signifies the university’s desires and wants to be a national player. That’s all I wanted. Are you happy just being in the Big East? Or do you want to do this as a BCS program and compete every year at this level? Those decisions had to be made, or I wasn’t signing it. They were able to put those pieces together that makes the university committed to being a BCS program.”

    Read the rest right here.

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    Posted in Bearcats Rising

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    Book signing announcement

    Posted on June 19, 2009 | 1 comment

    Books by the Banks, Oct. 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Duke Energy Center

    I originally thought this book fair would be near the river (you know, it being on the “Banks” and everything), but I never really asked anybody where it was. Instead, it’ll be indoors a few blocks from the river. But there will be books aplenty there. And no UC football game that day (the Bearcats are at USF on Oct. 15). So, no excuses.

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    Thursday afternoon mailbag

    Posted on June 18, 2009 | 3 comments

    (2:43 p.m.): Well, we haven’t done one of these in a while. Little mailbag time, based on this blog post I wrote earlier this week.

    And if you don’t want to reread the blog entry, the main point I made was Mick Cronin’s contract extension was probably a good move made by UC AD Mike Thomas. Here’s the nut graf (thought it came at the end of the post, making it more of the kicker):

    Check here for the rest of the blog post.

    EXCEPT for the promised BONUS question that I’m inserting here:

    From Darrell:

    That was a nice article about Mick and the contract extension. However, I don’t agree that the basketball program is getting better under Mick…What happened at the end of last year is inexcusable…Going into the season last year with one point guard is inexcusable…Playing players such as: Rashad Bishop and Alvin Mitchell was inexcusable…. UC basketball is dead at this point in time…It will remain so until Mr. Thomas pulls the trigger on getting UC another head basketball coach…Mick is NOT the answer! Thomas hired Brian Kelly…and gets an A + for that… However, Mick is dragging down his grade point average.

    I don’t disagree with some of the points here. Yes, the end of last season was horrible. Yes, Rashad Bishop hasn’t been great so far in his UC career (5.4 points per game) and Alvin Mitchell was pretty much a disaster. Yes, UC basketball isn’t as nationally-relevant as it was under Huggins. But if you’re saying UC basketball has not improved, I think there’s some sort of ax to grind. The win total has increased (although yes, the non-conference schedule isn’t quite as juicy), the players have improved (remember, Marcus Sikes was the starting center in Mick’s first year) and UC was competitive in the Big East last year. UC had a chance at an NCAA tournament berth. You can’t say the same about Mick’s first two teams.

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    Posted in Katz on the Cats

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