Edinson Volquez Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds bobblehead of Edinson Volquez.

An Exclusive Bobblehead

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame is not only a great place to learn about the history of Redlegs, but it is also a great place to pick up some bobbleheads for your collection. Usually the Reds Hall of Fame will give a bobblehead away with the price of admission on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the baseball season with a different bobblehead being featured every month. This year there will be a bobblehead given exclusively to Reds Hall of Fame members that features Chuck Harmon.

The bobblehead will be given out with every membership tier meaning you can still get it if you purchase the cheapest membership for $60. The membership itself is a great deal and automatically includes at least the first two bobbleheads the Reds hall of Fame distributes during the season. The more expensive the membership, the more bobbleheads you are guaranteed in addition to the Harmon bobblehead. Some of the other benefits include Redsfest passes, discounts on Reds merchandise, and use of the Reds Hall of Fame batting cage.

With the Harmon bobblehead being given away only to Reds Hall of Fame members, I decided to get a membership for the first time. I usually paid the $10 admission fee once a month to get the featured bobblehead for the month. After learning that Harmon would be a member exclusive bobblehead and discovering all the benefits that came with a membership, it turned out to be a great deal. If you are a Reds fan who collects bobbleheads, I suggest becoming a Reds Hall of Fame and Museum member. The benefits are incredible and the first ever Reds bobblehead of Chuck Harmon is a must have for bobblehead collectors.

The More the Merrier

A few weeks ago, Major League Soccer awarded FC Cincinnati an MLS franchise officially making the Queen City a three sport city. The Cincinnati Reds are part of Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Bengals play in the National Football League, and FCC will take to the MLS pitch in 2019. I’m a fan of all three and will always cheer for all three of Cincinnati’s professional sports franchises. I just have one question. Why stop at three?

Having three of the big five professional sports leagues in Cincinnati is nothing short of awesome, but why can’t the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League call Cincinnati home? The NBA actually did at one point. From 1957 to 1972, the Cincinnati Royals were the Queen City’s NBA representatives. They migrated over from Rochester and featured star players Jerry Lucas and Oscar Robertson before leaving for Kansas City and eventually Sacramento where the team still plays as the Kings.

The closest Cincinnati was to having an NHL team came in the form of the Cincinnati Stingers. They made their debut in 1975 as part of the World Hockey Association. The original incarnation of the team only lasted until 1979 when the WHA and the NHL merged. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, the Stingers were not selected to join NHL as part of the merge and were paid to disband. They redebuted as a minor league in the Central Hockey League during the 1979-80 season.

The Queen City had a taste of the NBA and flirted with the NHL. Unfortunately, the NBA left town and the NHL dream was never realized. As a result, Cincinnati was a two-sport city for over 40 years. People said that three sports franchises could not exist in Cincinnati. FCC proved that idea wrong. In less then three years, they went from minor league phenomenon to MLS expansion team. In a city that is known as a “Baseball Town” during the summer and as “the Jungle” during football season, FCC showed the world that Cincinnati can also be a “Soccer City.” I honestly believe it can be a basketball and a hockey town as well.

Cincinnati is a sports town. We live and die by how well our teams perform. When they lose, we are devastated. When they win, we celebrate as if we had won with them. Sports require passionate fans and Cincinnati is a city full of them. I will be more than happy to extend my love for Cincinnati’s three major league sports franchises to an NBA and an NHL team. Cincinnati can be a five-sport city. Hey NBA and NHL, we’re waiting!

Money in the Bank 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank 2018. 

Ernie Lombardi Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobblehead of Ernie Lombardi. 

A New Network

SmackDown is once again on the move. WWE's blue brand will reportedly be broadcast on Fox starting in October of 2019. For the past year and a half, SmackDown has been airing live on USA on Tuesdays. It made sense for WWE as the company's flagship program, Raw, airs live on Monday nights on USA. With SmackDown once again moving to another network, how will it affect the current WWE landscape?

I think the biggest change will be the official end of the brand split as wrestlers will now appear on both shows. Fox is not a cable network. It broadcasts over the air for free meaning there are more eyes on it than USA. With more people watching SmackDown, I would think that WWE would want to showcase their top stars on a weekly basis and the only way to do that is to merge both Raw and SmackDown once again. The brand split's end seems imminent as pay-per-views now feature both brands. The move to Fox could prove to be the final factor that reunites the Raw and SmackDown rosters.

Another possible change is that SmackDown could go on tape delay again. Aside from a few special episodes, SmackDown was taped on Tuesdays and aired on Thursdays and for a few years on Fridays. When it moved from SyFy to USA, the decision was made to have it air live on a weekly basis like Raw. Will the move to Fox change that? I think there is a strong possibility as the last three over-the-air broadcast networks to air SmackDown all aired it in a taped format. UPN, the CW, and My Network TV all broadcasted the blue brand on tape delay. Fox is a bigger network though and is grouped together with CBS, ABC, and NBC as one of the "Big Four" networks. With ratings being king on television, the only way to ensure good SmackDown ratings every week on Fox is to have it air live to avoid spoilers being leaked on the internet.

The last factor I'll talk about in this post is the day and time SmackDown could air on Fox. As of now, the blue brand airs from 8-10 PM on Tuesday nights. Will Fox change that or possibly change it to a three hour show like Raw? I doubt that SmackDown will be expanded as Raw faces criticism for its three hour length. As for the night, SmackDown will most likely end up on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Fox will air some Thursday Night Football games this season and there is absolutely no way WWE will allow it to air on Monday directly against Raw. I also do not see Friday night as a potential slot as ratings could fall.

Those are some of the factors that could change both SmackDown and the WWE landscape. A new network could lead to an end in the brand split, a new night for SmackDown on television, and the possibility that the show could go back to a tape delay format. If I were in charge, I'd have SmackDown air live on Tuesdays and keep it as a two hour show. Hopefully it will also reunite the rosters and bring about a quality that has been missing from the blue brand for quite some time.

Chris Sabo Rookie of the Year Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Chris Sabo Rookie of the Year bobblehead. 

Three Bobbles in Two Days

This is a good weekend for Cincinnati Reds bobblehead fans. If you play your cards right, you can head to Great American Ballpark on Friday and Saturday and come away with three bobbleheads. You may be asking yourself how you can capitalize on the opportunity to attain three bobbles this weekend. Have no fear. I have you covered.

On Friday, June 8, the Reds will be giving away a bobblehead of Captain America as part of Marvel Super Hero Night. This bobblehead is only available to fans that buy a special ticket package to the Friday night game against the St. Louis Cardinals. There are three different ticket packages available for fans to purchase. View level seats are $25, field box seats are $59, and infield box seats are $85.

The team will also be hosting Scooter Gennett bobblehead day on June 9. This will be a standard stadium giveaway bobblehead free to the first 20,000 fans through the gates. The bobblehead features Scooter riding the scooter he was awarded by the team following his four-homerun game against the Cardinals last year.

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is also giving away a bobblehead this weekend. Johnny Vander Meer will have his back-to-back no hitter showcased as a dual bobblehead in order to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the amazing accomplishment. This bobble is free to everybody who buys a general admission ticket while supplies last.

I have the Captain America tickets for Friday’s game, and I also have tickets for the Scooter bobblehead game. I also plan on heading to the Reds Hall of Fame before one of those games to pick up the double bobble of Vander Meer. Three bobbleheads in two days is always a good deal. Combine that with free fireworks on Friday night and the fact that you will get to see the Redlegs in action against a division rival twice, and you have the makings of a fantastic weekend. The only thing that could make it better is a pair of Redlegs wins.

Go Redlegs!