#AUTOGRAPH PAGE IS NOW LIVE @ http://t.co/oiRAWLpVYr #Reds #Bengals #WhoDey #LetsRoar #ATOBTTR #TNA #WWE #NFL #MLB pic.twitter.com/85j4y3qNHN
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 30, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Autographs Page Is Now Live
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Picture Page Update
PIC PAGE UPDATE @ http://t.co/yzF6TznxxM with #REDS vs #DODGERS PICS #LADvsCIN #GoReds #ATOBTTR #MLB #Bengals #NFL pic.twitter.com/EEjkAjVFPk
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 27, 2015
Celebrity Softball Challenge
SmackDown Solutions
What do you think of when I say “WWE?” You probably think of
the biggest wrestling event on the planet in Wrestlemania. Perhaps you think of
legendary wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, the Rock, or Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Maybe you think of WWE’s weekly television program and my personal favorite
show on television, Monday Night Raw. I’m sure a lot of people think of Raw as
it is WWE’s flagship program that, to me and other wrestling fans, is must see
television. It advances storylines, features a few quality matches and
segments, and is overall a pretty entertaining way to close out the beginning
of the week.
This same sentiment is not felt toward SmackDown though.
SmackDown is known as WWE’s “B” show. It is taped on Tuesday and broadcast on
Thursday. What was once considered another opportunity for WWE to showcase
wrestlers and progress storylines has essentially become a watered down version
of Raw.
Since SmackDown has lost its luster, I too have generally
lost interest in it. I used to tune in every week to see what was going to
happen on SmackDown. During the Attitude Era, it felt like it was as good as
Raw and from about 2002 to 2005, it was better than Raw. Wrestlers like Edge,
Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, the Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Rey Mysterio among
others put on classic matches that had me on the edge of my seat. Other notable
SmackDown moments from this time period were Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon being
engaged in a classic feud during the Wrestlemania 19 season, Brock Lesnar and
Kurt Angle having the best rivalry in SmackDown history, and Lesnar and Big
Show causing the ring to collapse after a monster superplex. Sadly, SmackDown
has since decreased in quality, and if you a miss an episode, it usually isn’t
a big deal as you won’t be missing much.
So is WWE wasting its time with SmackDown? I think so and
unless WWE changes the way it presents its blue-branded wrestling show, I think
they should consider cancelling it. If WWE were to broadcast SmackDown live
once it moves to USA Network in 2016, that could generate some buzz about the
show and hopefully force WWE to treat SmackDown the same way they treat Raw by
creating compelling content that viewers would feel a need to tune into
SmackDown to watch. Also, spoilers for SmackDown would be a thing of the past
if it were live. A lot of people read the spoilers for SmackDown since it is
taped on Tuesday. This causes a lot of fans to not tune into SmackDown because
they already know what happened.
Another solution I think WWE should look into is cancelling
SmackDown and broadcasting NXT in its place. NXT is phenomenal and sometimes is
as good if not better than Raw. The wrestlers in WWE’s “minor league” system
are really good, and I think WWE should give them the opportunity to show the
world what they can do on an actual television network instead of the WWE
Network. I would defiantly watch NXT if it were on actual television, and I am
sure a lot of wrestling fans feel the same way.
In conclusion, I think WWE should either treat SmackDown like
it would an episode of Raw and broadcast it live, or cancel it and air NXT in
its place. SmackDown today is just not a wrestling program worth watching every
week. Hopefully WWE does something with its Thursday night television programming
that will make it must see TV again.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Welcome FC Cincinnati
Cincinnati has a rich history in sports. The Reds were the
first professional baseball team in history when they were formed in 1869 and
have gone on to capture 5 world championships as well as the hearts of baseball
lovers in the Queen City. The Bengals were formed in 1968 and turn what is
regarded as a baseball town into a jungle filled to the brim with members of
Who Dey Nation during the fall and winter months. The Cyclones hit the ice with
routine hockey finesse and have captured a few Kelly Cup Championships over the
last few years. Next year, a new chapter in Cincinnati sports history will be
written as the United Soccer League showcases the sport of professional soccer
to the Queen City when its latest team, FC Cincinnati, takes the field.
FC Cincinnati will play in the USL, which is a Division III
Professional Soccer League according to the United States Soccer Federation.
This division is below the Division II North American Soccer League as well as
the Division I, and perhaps most well-known professional soccer league in the
United States, Major League Soccer.
The team will play its home games inside the newly renovated
Nippert Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. The stadium is
also the home of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team, and with
it being able to hold a capacity of 40,000 people, there will be plenty of
seats for Cincinnati soccer fans to watch their new professional team in
person.
This is not the first professional soccer team to call
Cincinnati home. Currently, the Cincinnati Saints of the National Premier
Soccer League, which is considered to be a lower tier than the USL, play both
indoor and outdoor soccer and have garnered a nice fan base. Personally, I
would love to see the Saints play FC Cincinnati in some sort of scrimmage that
would promote both teams and attract a larger audience for Cincinnati soccer.
Plus, I think it would be awesome to see the two soccer teams that represent
Cincinnati duke it out for Queen City soccer supremacy.
At the time that this post was written, all that is really
known about FC Cincinnati is that they will be playing inside Nippert Stadium,
their colors are orange and blue, they are owned by Carl Linder III of the
Linder family who had previously owned the Reds, and their coach is former
professional soccer player John Harkes.
I am very excited to see the USL come to Cincinnati, and I
will definitely be rooting for FC Cincinnati. I plan on going to a few of their
games as well as watching the ones that I cannot attend via the USL YouTube
channel which streams live USL matches. Hopefully they have a bobblehead night
or produce a bobblehead for purchase. I would love to add an FC Cincinnati
nodder to my collection.
In conclusion, I am very excited that FC Cincinnati will be
playing soccer and with a USL team now in Cincinnati, maybe the NHL and the NBA
will look at the Queen City as a potential expansion city. U.S. Bank Arena is
getting a complete makeover, and I think it would be a perfect place for a
revived Cincinnati Royals basketball team! Until that happens, I am very
satisfied having a new soccer team to cheer on to victory!
Go FC Cincinnati!
The Reds Tweeted a Picture of Me!
The Reds posted this picture on their Twitter account featuring Raisel Iglesias and me! In case you can't tell, I'm the one getting the baseball back from Iglesias.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Photo Page Update
PIC PAGE UPDATE @ http://t.co/yzF6TznxxM WITH #REDS & #BENGALS PICS #beyondthestripes #whodey #letsroar #goReds #MLB pic.twitter.com/9go3HsZsGq
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 19, 2015
Thursday, August 13, 2015
MLB All-Star Kickoff 2015
Sting's SummerSlam Surprise
SummerSlam is
WWE’s biggest event of the summer and its second biggest event of the year
behind Wrestlemania. With this year’s edition being extended to four hours, one
has to expect it be at the same level if not better than Wrestlemania. The card
is shaping up nicely with matches that should be entertaining to watch but one
match stands out from the rest. That bout, of course, is the Wrestlemania 30
rematch between the beast and the phenom.
Brock Lesnar and
the Undertaker are set to square off in the main event of SummerSlam and while
it looks great on paper, I can’t help but worry that this match will drag like
their bout at Wrestlemania 30 did. The only thing memorable about their
encounter at the 2014 edition of the showcase of the immortals was the jaw
dropping finish in which Lesnar ended the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at
Wrestlemania. So how can WWE salvage the match that is going to headline their
second biggest event of the year? Enter Sting.
The vigilante
has not been seen since Wrestlemania 31 after he was defeated by Triple H. What
better way to reintroduce Sting to the WWE universe by having him interfere in
the SummerSlam main event and cost the dead man the match? This is how I would
book the ending of the bout.
After a grueling
battle between the Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, the phenom has gained the upper
hand and is about to tombstone the beast and claim the retribution that he has
been so desperately craving since Wrestlemania 30. The Undertaker picks up
Lesnar and slams his skull into the mat. As the dead man crosses the arms of
the beast in rest in piece fashion for the pin, the lights go out as the cry of
a crow echoes throughout the arena.
When the lights
turn back on, the Undertaker is standing across the ring from the baseball bat-wielding
vigilante. The crowd is roaring in shock and excitement as two of the biggest
names in wrestling share the same ring for the first time in history. Then
Sting makes his move. He swings for the fences and misses, allowing the phenom
to pick up the vigilante in preparation for the tombstone. Before he can
deliver the blow though, Sting manages to reverse the signature move of the
dead man into a scorpion death drop. The vigilante connects and stands up and
surveys the carnage in the ring. The lights go out and the cry of the crow
echoes throughout the arena as Sting disappears.
When the lights
turn back on, Lesnar, having recovered from the tombstone, staggers over to the
Undertaker, picks up the limp body of the phenom, and delivers an F5 to the dead
man for the pin and the win. This makes the Undertaker look strong in defeat,
allows Lesnar to still remain undefeated since 2013, and more importantly, it
sets up the long awaited dream match between Sting and the Undertaker at
Wrestlemania 32.
That is how I
would book the ending to the SummerSlam main event. It has shock value,
violence, and it tells an intriguing story that will culminate in the biggest
dream match in wrestling history. Hopefully this prediction I have for
SummerSlam is correct and proves to be more than fantasy booking on my part!
Friday, August 7, 2015
Paul O'Neill Bobblehead Unboxing
Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2015 Paul O'Neill bobblehead from the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
Bobblehead Page Update
#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE WITH A NEW #REDS NODDER @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #GoReds #ATOBTTR #CINvsARZ #Bengals #MLB pic.twitter.com/RZoRkf7uVU
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 7, 2015
2015 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Bobbleheads Review
Earlier this year I wrote a blog post previewing the 2015
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum series of bobbleheads. They gave away
five different nodders on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from April to August
and all were of a member of the 1990 World Series Championship Cincinnati Reds
team. In this post, I will share my thoughts on every bobblehead I received
from the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
The first bobblehead I got from the Reds Hall of Fame and
Museum was of former first baseman Todd Benzinger. I thought this was an
awesome looking bobblehead and a great way to start of the series as Benzinger
had never been immortalized as a bobblehead. The pose they chose was also
topnotch. It features Benzinger making the final out in the fourth game of the
World Series to both end the game and give the Reds their fifth World Series
title in franchise history.
The second bobblehead was of Joe Oliver. He was the popular
catcher on the 1990 team whose clutch hitting scored Billy Bates in walk off
fashion in Game 2 to put the Reds ahead two games to none over the Athletics.
In fact, that moment is what the bobblehead was based on and in my opinion,
they mirrored that moment almost perfectly.
The third bobblehead of the series was of Billy Hatcher. He
was one of the most popular outfielders on the 1990 team and also serves as the
current first base coach for the Reds. Hatcher being featured as a bobblehead
was a no-brainer because of his record setting performance in the series as he
had a batting average of .750. I’m shocked that he hadn’t been featured as a
bobblehead sooner because he is just as popular today if not more than he was
in 1990 with members of Reds Country. They did a nice job with this nodder, and
it is my personal favorite of the bunch.
The fifth bobblehead was of Ohio native and former Reds
outfielder Paul O’Neill. This was the last bobblehead the Reds Hall of Fame and
Museum gave away, and they picked an excellent player to immortalize as a
nodder. Even though he might be more famous as a Yankee than a Red, he will
always be considered a member of the Redlegs to me and to other members of Reds
Country. This bobblehead looks great and was a fantastic way to end the series.
It was also flying out of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum as its release was
on the same day as the Devin Mesoraco bobblehead game and virtually every fan
who attended the game hit the hall before going to the game. That’s what I did,
and at the end of the night, I left the game with both the O’Neill bobblehead
and the Mesoraco bobblehead.
You probably noticed that I did not pick up the fourth
bobblehead in the series. It was of Tom Browning, one of the pitchers on the
team. The reason I did not go and pick up this one was because I have a
Cincinnati Reds Tom Browning bobblehead that the team gave away in 2008, and I
usually only collect one bobblehead of a player per team.
In conclusion, the 2015 series of Cincinnati Reds Hall of
Fame and Museum bobbleheads were great and the best series of nodders that they
have done to date. My only gripe with the series is Browning being featured as
I thought that should have gone with somebody else other than him as he has
already been featured as a Reds bobblehead. I think Jose Rijo, Glenn Braggs,
and Lou Pinella would have been great choices. Hopefully the Reds or the Reds
Hall of Fame and Museum make bobbleheads of these guys in the future. If you
were not able to get your hands on any of these bobbleheads, then eBay is your
best bet to find them. All fans of the Reds need these bobbleheads in their
collection as they celebrate the only wire-to-wire team in the history of the
Cincinnati Reds.
Make sure you check out the unboxing videos for these bobbleheads by clicking here!
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Photo Page Update
PIC PAGE UPDATE WITH #REDS VS #CARDINALS PICS @ http://t.co/yzF6TznxxM #GoReds #STLvsCIN #ATOBTTR #MLB #baseball #NFL pic.twitter.com/Lrq4i49lBQ
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 6, 2015
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Photo Page Update
PIC PAGE UPDATE WITH #BENGALS PICS @ http://t.co/yzF6TznxxM #NFL #TrainingCamp #whodey #letsroar #TC53 #football #mlb pic.twitter.com/KkSzZ2NBlI
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 2, 2015
Devin Mesoraco Bobblehead Unboxing
Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2015 SGA Cincinnati Reds Devin Mesoraco bobblehead.
Bobblehead Page Update
#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE WITH NEW #REDS NODDER @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #Mesorocket #PITvsCIN #ATOBTTR #GoReds #MLB pic.twitter.com/oNDlhJtvY3
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 2, 2015
Photo Page Update
PIC PAGE UPDATE WITH #PIRATES VS #REDS GAME PICS @ http://t.co/yzF6TznxxM #GoReds #PITvsCIN #Bobblehead #MLB #ATOBTTR pic.twitter.com/7IaxMEGaPz
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 2, 2015
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