PRESS CLUB C Podcast with Ray Keating – Episode #5: Interview with Thom Brennaman – TV Play-by-Play for the Cincinnati Reds & FOX NFL

Ray Keating once again upgrades the podcast with a great guest. Thom Brennaman, Cincinnati Reds play-by-play TV announcer and play-by-play announcer for the NFL on FOX, is that special guest. 

Thom and Ray talk about Brennaman’s broadcast experience and some of his fellow Reds announcers; the NFL’s noteworthy accomplishments with this year’s draft; NASCAR getting out front on re-opening among major sports; what lies ahead for baseball; and what the Reds were up to in the offseason and what the team promises to look like whenever the first pitch is tossed out for MLB season. Thom also plays “Tell Me Your Favorites” and talks about some matters beyond sports. Despite being a ridiculous Reds fan, Ray manages to act professionally. Enjoy the conversation!

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7 Reasons to Get Excited about the NFL Draft

by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – April 22, 2020

Count me among the severely sports starved during the current period of self-isolation. And therefore, I’m excited – probably too excited – about the NFL Draft. 

Let’s take a moment to consider reasons why this Minnesota Vikings fan has been donning purple and gold each day in the home office this week, including Vikes jerseys, hats, sweatshirts, and tees. It’s largely about what I’ve been missing, but also what I can look forward to as a fan.

First, I know it sounds like typical baseball Spring Training optimism, but this Cincinnati Reds fan really was getting excited about the moves made over the offseason. This was supposed to be a big year for the Reds – and hopefully, it still will – but hope has been put on hold since spring baseball came to a halt on March 12.

Second, I’m one of those people who not only enjoys playing golf, but also watching it on television. Yes, I’ve been known to shout at the TV when a putt is sunk or missed. But the last PGA Tour stop was the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which finished up on March 8. And The Masters not being played in April was simply depressing.

Third, the last NBA game was played on March 11. Well, okay, I’m not a fan of the NBA, so I don’t really care. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I watched the NBA. But I’m sure that there are lots of people out there that miss the NBA, and they’re probably sad. So, there’s that.

Fourth, I do enjoy hockey, however, and the last time the puck was dropped in an NHL game also was on March 11. Though my own San Jose Sharks were destined this year for a rare postseason miss, playoff hockey always rocks, but we have no idea when or if that will now happen for the 2019-20 season.

Fifth, the NFL Draft always gains a degree of attention from this fan, varying year to year. But this draft could be major for my Vikings. The team has lost an assortment of players on the defensive side of the ball, including starting cornerbacks, who largely played lousy football last season anyway. In addition, trading Stefon Diggs to the Bills leaves a big vacancy at wide receiver. But the good news is that Vikes have 12 – count ‘em 12 – picks in this draft, including two first round picks. This jacks up the interest in the 2020 draft. 

Sixth, focusing on the draft means getting me focused on reasons to rant as a fan. When the hell are the Vikings going to win a Super Bowl? I know this is unpopular, but I’m not exactly enthralled with Coach Mike Zimmer. Everybody calls him a defensive guru, but I’m not seeing it. Zimmer has a great attitude as a coach, but quite frankly, he appears rather conventional and unable to adjust in terms of the Vikings defense. And as head coach, he ranks as a negative in terms of the offense. Zimmer has come up short in terms of fully utilizing the talent on the team, so what’s going to happen with an influx of draftees?

In contrast, unlike many, I like Kirk Cousins as our quarterback. He has the tools to get the job done, if he had consistency in terms of offensive coaches and schemes. 

That’s right, I’m pro-Cousins and skeptical on Zimmer. Come at me!

Seventh, the truly big deal with the NFL Draft 2020, of course, is that this is something that finally matters in the world of sports. There’s only so much streaming of non-sports viewing a sports fan can do. I look at my phone for scores, and there are none. But at least for this week, I’ve caught some draft analysis, and on Thursday night, Friday night, and much of the day on Saturday, I can take in the NFL Draft, and assess what my team and key opponents might look like in the 2020 season. Like I said, I’m excited.

What about after Sunday? Well, I’ll be back to waiting for sports, and perhaps turning to streaming. Maybe it’s finally time to catch up on years of television shows that I meant to watch but never got around to seeing. That’s a pretty long list – including Mad Men, Star Trek: Discovery, Lost, and all of those Marvel shows on Netflix (Daredevil (I did see season 1 and it was excellent), Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Punisher, Iron Fist, and Defenders). Actually, I love great storytelling via television and movie, but also via sports – and I miss the thrills, surprises, heartbreaks, drama, action, and joys of catching my teams in action.

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Ray Keating is a columnist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  You can order his new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. Keating also is a novelist. His latest novels are  The Traitor: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, which is the 12^th book in the series, and the second edition of Root of All Evil? A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel with a new Author Introduction. The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcast and the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast  

What the Heck is Going on with the Cincinnati Reds?

by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – January 31, 2020

With Spring Training’s date for pitchers and catchers fast approaching, the season of baseball hope is upon us. But this seems like a different kind of hope for my Cincinnati Reds this year.

I have two early baseball memories. 

First, I recall watching the New York Mets celebrate their World Series win in 1969, with Tom Seaver spraying champagne on the television camera. But I was only six years old.

My second memory comes from a moment four years later during the National League Championship Series. Pete Rose slid into shortstop Bud Harrelson and second base trying to break up a double play. The result was a fight, and empty dugouts. This time, I was 10, and becoming far more interested in the game. It was time to pick a team. As a New Yorker, I was expected to side with Harrelson and the Mets. But Pete Rose grabbed my interest, and I quickly came to appreciate the way he played the game. Yes, Pete Rose made this kid, living in New York, a Cincinnati Reds fan.

Today, my oldest son, David, reminds me of a chat with a friend while in high school. Somehow, they got talking about what baseball teams their fathers followed, and after David noted that I was a Reds fan, and when I became one, his friend simply declared, “Your father is a frontrunner.” Each time my son mentions this, I chuckle, and acknowledge that, in a sense, it seemed pretty easy for a 10 or 11 year old to become a Reds fan at the time (and shortly thereafter with the Big Red Machine winning the 1975 and 1976 World Series). 

But I then note that I’ve stuck with my Reds ever since, including some very thin years, including the last six seasons that included four years of losing more than 93 games, and two years of losing 86 and 87 games.

In fact, over the 28 seasons since the Reds won the 1990 World Series, they’ve managed to make the postseason only four times (five if you count an extra game in 1999 to decide who would make the playoffs, by the way, against and losing to, you guessed it, the Mets). 

As a fan, over such a long stretch, losing almost becomes the norm, and worst of all, the expectation. And that only gets magnified when one roots for a so-called “small market” team, and you start buying into the argument that we’re trading our top players in order to stockpile prospects to win in the future. And one waits for the future to arrive – year after year.

All of this is why I now ask the question: What the heck is going on with the Cincinnati Reds ... with my Reds?

Cincinnati suddenly has become the most active team in the offseason in signing free agents. It started in early December, with the Reds signing Mike Moustakas, the three-time All-Star, to a four-year, $64 million contract. 

And then, a couple of weeks later, came a two-year, $15-million deal with lefthanded starter Wade Miley.

The new year brought the signing of the Reds first player from Japan. Outfielder Shogo Akiyama, a career .301 hitter, signed for three years at a total of $21 million.

On January 27, the Reds announced the signing of free agent outfielder Nick Castellanos to a four-year, $64 million contract.

And on January 30, the Reds added to their bullpen by signing Pedro Strop for one year at a base salary of $1.825 million.

Suddenly, the Reds have a solid and deep starting rotation of Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer, Wade Miley and Anthony DeSclafani. And the lineup ranks as formidable with Joey Votto, 1B, Moustakas, 2B, Freddy Galvis, SS, Eugenio Suarez, 3B, Tucker Barnhart, C, and an outfield of Akiyama and Castellanos being joined by either Aristides Aquino or Nick Senzel.

So, this is something that I’m not used to with the Reds – at least not in recent times. I mean the Reds have made big moves, spent money, and look competitive this year. Could they be postseason bound? Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As a Reds fan, I’ve been disappointed before. 

Whenever the date for pitchers and catchers fast approaches (Feb. 13th for the Reds, this year), hope rises for this baseball fan, as it does for most others. But after this unexpected and welcome offseason, this Reds fan’s springtime hopes are not fanciful, but instead actually have some basis in reality. Play ball!

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Ray Keating is a columnist, a novelist (his latest novel is The Traitor: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, which is the 12^thbook in the series), an economist, a nonfiction author (among his recent works is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know), a podcaster, and an entrepreneur. The views expressed here are his own.