Joe Nuxhall, 1928-2007

Today is a sad day for Reds fans, Cincinnati, and pretty much all of baseball. Last night, Joe Nuxhall passed away at Mercy Hospital in Fairfield after a long battle with lymphoma. We had been hoping for a nice recovery, but it seems things turned for the worse as of Thursday, when he later died that night, and his passing would make its way onto the news wire earlier this morning.

Most of us knew of Joe as Marty Brennaman's broadcaster partner for over thirty years, also handling some of the broadcasts up to this year on a part-time basis. Nux is also famous for being the youngest major league player at the age of 15 for the Reds in 1944. The "'ol left hander" spent some time as a pitcher until the 1960s, when he began broacasting with different partners, including Al Michaels, until Marty joined in 1974. Not only was Nux associated with the Reds and Cincinnati, the Hamilton native had lived in Fairfield since the 1970s, and in recent years had a foundation, which the Reds will continue to be a partner of.

I never got to personally meet Joe, but have heard him so many times outside of the broadcast booth, including in commercials with Marty for Kroger, and I last saw him on stage at Redsfest last year. I'm sure that this year's Redsfest will be a somber one, on December 7 and 8 at Duke Energy Center. In honor of Joe, the lights at Great American Ball Park have been turned off, except for the sign along Fort Washington Way, that is of Nux's most famous quote, "Rounding Third And Heading For Home." His statue on Crosley Terrace at the ball park has also been illuminated, and is set up for flowers as a memorial.

Viral Video: We're Live, Bert!

Minnesota Twins anaylyst Bert Blyleven, during a pre-game at Yankee Stadium, and not realizing he was on live TV, messes up and colorfully shows us his frustration...

NSFW: Contains vulgar language.

Cardinals win World Series!

Last Friday night, the World Series finally ended, at Busch Stadium, when the St. Louis Cardinals won game 5, with a score of 4-2. David Eckstein was named MVP of the World Series, and I must say, what an interesting season!

This was a season that was lackluster at best. They even clinched the NL Central with a loss, and only Atlanta's defeat of the Astros got the Cardinals in. Hell, can you ever imagine Busch Stadium full of fans doing the tomahawk chop?

I was a little more optimistic that the Cardinals in the postseason, predicting that they would get past the Padres in the division series, but have low chances of getting past the Mets in the NLCS, because the New York team just had the National League's best regular season record. When I saw the first two games at Shea split, I thought "eh, not so bad, but what about Busch?" STL ended up with 2 of the next 3 at home - almost as if the home team won every game. This would prove to be true with game 6 at Shea. But game seven came, and it went down to the end. The hero? Yadier Molina. Molina who? Ninth inning. I would't exactly say the Mets imploded, since an otherwise Scott Rolen HR was barely caught, but the Metropolitans lost some key guys... The improbable had finally happened. My naysaying friends were stunned.

Now the World Series, and the Detroit Tigers, who bumped off Oakland in four games, were the media's favorite in this series. You've got several young guys, like Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman, along with a veteran in Kenny Rogers (pine tar, not roasted chicken), some good defense. Oh, and Sean Casey, who was slumping with the Reds in 2005, although a fan favorite in Cincinnati. He'd be traded to NL outhouse Pittsburgh, albeit his hometown, and then to the quickly up and coming Tigers. And of course, the self-described 'hard-ass' that is Jim Leyland.

On the other hand, you've got 2005 NL Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter, a powerful Jeff Suppan, and an improved Jeff Weaver. Hungry fans who've waited 24 years, and a hungry Tony La Russa. David Eckstein, while short, is fast on his feet, Jim Edmonds still plays great defense, and Scott Rolen is healthy and playing this time around. You also have the iconic Scott Spezio available.

And Albert Pujols. While it seemed #5 was cold this postseason as a hitter, great defense by Albert and teammates made up for it. And the Tigers and their pitching staff made some bad errors that the Cardinals were able to take advantage of. The Tigers' only win had something to do with pine tar... But now, it's the Cards fans who've been dancing in the streets, after what I think has been an awesome comeback.

Some may say that a loaded team is expected to dismantle some after being so successful, because of the stars wanting dramatic salary increases -but think about what would have happened if they didn't go this far? Congratulations, Redbirds!!! Your hands are full of rings!

Does the dream come true tonight?

Tonight, the St. Louis Cardinals are just one game away from winning the World Series in Game 5 at Busch Stadium. They lead the Detroit Tigers 3-1.

While I'm depressed that I can't be there, especially since I had a ticket to LAST YEAR'S Game Five, I'm definitely excited that the Cardinals are about to reach this great pinnacle! If they do win tonight, the Cardinals will be the first team to win the World Series in a brand-new stadium! Yes, I still miss the old Busch Stadium, but this is definitely beyond what Cardinals owners were hoping for with a new facility. Many teams have demanded new stadiums and arenas in the hope it would boost revenues, bring in top players, and to win championships. Do we have a great case study on or hands, a really good team that's already been in the making, or just great luck.

As some may say, "Champions don't hesitate." Will the St. Louis Cardinals be world champions after game 5? Stay tuned!