Recapping an Epic Weekend in Cincinnati Sports
By Jason Marcum
Aug 21, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey (34) delivers to the plate during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Reds defeated the Phillies 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE
This past weekend may just go down as one of the greatest sports weekends in the history of the Queen City. It all began on Friday night with the Reds needing a solid outing from pitcher Homer Bailey to keep his team in the race for the #1 overall seed in the National League and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. He stunned everyone by becoming the first Reds pitcher since 1988 to throw a no-hitter as he mowed down the Pittsburgh Pirates en route to a 1-0 victory. He also was just named the NL Player of the Week for his outstanding performance.
After dropping Saturday’s contest to Pittsburgh, the Reds went into the top of the 9th inning in Sunday’s game trailing 2-3 with a chance to clinch home-field advantage in the NL division series if they were to rally. Pinch-hitter Xavier Paul led off with a home-run to tie the game, and shortstop Zack Cozart hit the go-head double to give the Reds the win and ensure the Pirates would suffer through an MLB-record 20th-straight losing season.
With 1:43 remaining in a highly-contested contest that saw theUC Bearcats football team trail the Virginia Tech Hokies by 4 points with the end-zone 85 yards away for the go-ahead score, QB Munchie Legaux marched the Bearcats dwon the field before hitting WR Damon Julien for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left on the clock for the game-winning score as UC rallied to win, 27-24, and remain undefeated at 3-0 and even come in at #23 in the latest USA Today college football poll and now looked poised to claim at least a share of their forth Big East Championship in five years. Butch Jones has done an outstanding job helping UC football continue to rise in the college football landscape.
You can re-live the memorable game-winning touchdown by the Bengals and Bearcats’ play-by-play man Dan Hoard:
Of course, by now you know the Bengals pulled off their second-consecutive road win as they downed the Jaguars to improve to 3-1 and remain tied for the AFC north division lead. Its safe to say this was a weekend to remember in Cincy sports, and hopefully all of the teams mentioned can continue to have the same success as their seasons move forward.
Also, our friends at WhoDeyFans.com, who run the best Bengals podcast there is, are up for this years Podcast Awards. Due them a favor and log on to vote at PodcastAwards.com. They’ve certainly earned it.
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