Then former Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason, a franchise legend, trashes the team for inexcusable behavior — notably the two personal foul penalties that ushered the Steelers into range for the game-winning field goal — and strongly suggests on the CBS postgame show that coach Marvin Lewis should step down for failing to control his troops.
If that's not enough, a few days later comes word from the NFL that a Pittsburgh touchdown in that painful setback should not have counted because wideout Martavis Bryant never sufficiently controlled a third-quarter pass while somersaulting out of the end zone in mid-air.
And the hits just kept coming Saturday when Carson Palmer, the quarterback who almost retired rather than play for the Bengals back when they were still bad, led the Arizona Cardinals to an overtime playoff win over the fabled Green Bay Packers.
“The guy’s a champion, man,” gushed Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who took a Palmer pass 75 yards on the first possession of overtime, then scored the game-winning TD on a 5-yard shovel pass from him.
So Palmer won his first career playoff game — at age 36.
And it wasn’t with the Bengals, the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2003, developed him, then finally set him free after he walked out on them.
Look at it this way, Bengals fans. How much worse could it get?
I know. Palmer and the Cardinals win Super Bowl 50.
Wright State cuts corners on Underhill promotion
Nice tribute to the late Ralph Underhill out at Wright State on Saturday night. The first 2,500 fans through the Nutter Center doors received a bobblehead doll of the coach who put the Raiders on the basketball map.
Dayton Daily News columnist Tom Archdeacon captured the spirit of the evening, speaking with Underhill's two daughters and various others from WSU's long-ago glory days.
Only problem with the promotion was that 4,200 fans allegedly showed up, which means 1,700 went home without the giveaway item. I know athletic departments must live within their means, but that’s either poor marketing, poor planning, or both.
Guarantee you Underhill, if he had anything to do with that promotion, would have made sure everyone received his bobbling likeness — not because he was a shameless self-promoter, but because, based on everything I’ve been told about the man, he knew how to sell and promote and keep people coming back for more.
That’s something Wright State has really struggled with over the years.
Support growing for using designated hitter in NL
Indulging in a baseball fantasy on a cold January night: It seems the National League might come to its senses and realize using the designated hitter is the way to go, according to this report on CBSSports.com.
Of course, it won’t happen right away. Whatever does in baseball? The American League has been employing the DH since 1973.
Having grown up with the DH as an Indians fan in Cleveland, I feel privileged to have seen the likes of Frank Robinson, Rico Carty and Billy Williams swing the bat. They were still good, productive hitters as older players. You just didn’t want them anywhere near leather.
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