I wear plaid. I'm a blogger.

Kids love to ask why. A hypothetical, yet very typical conversation with my 3 year old might go something like this: "Did the Reds win?" No, they lost. "Why?" Because they didn't play as well as the other team. "Why?" Because we don't have the same level of talent on our roster. "Why?" Because the scouts didn't do a good job finding better talent. "Why?" Because our organization is....well...look, just because! Ultimately the conversation ends when I play the trump card of "just because," which either constitutes me not being able to answer the impossible, or irritation that I keep having to answer the same question. The cyclical "why" question we attribute to childlike behaviors. Eventually we grow out of the "why" stage and we move into an exploring stage where we discover "why" on our own. Ultimately we enter into a stage of complete enlightenment (sarcasm implied) an...

Cincinnati sports fans have grown restless. With the most recent playoff loss by the Bengals (and a failure to even make the playoffs by the Reds) many fans have declared the end of their allegiance to Cincinnati sports. " I just can't handle the emotional roller coaster ... I've been let down too many times...I'm just not ready to root for them again ," have all been statements I've heard the past couple weeks. And yet..... The Cincinnati Reds have made it to the first round of playoffs 3 of the last 6 years. The Cincinnati Bengals have been a playoff team for the past 5 years in a row. What more do you want Cincinnati!? You have competitive teams who are among the best in America (yes, by default, if you can make it to the playoffs at all, you are one of the best teams). And yet you gripe and complain that we can't win playoff games!? I would much rather make it to the playoffs and lose than not make it at all--that way we at least have hop...

The Cincinnati Bengals are about to make their 5th straight playoff appearance on Saturday night. Many are the naysayers, who claim that the Bengals can't win a playoff game (which, thus far, has been true). But for every doubter there are 10 true fans, eager to watch the Bengals play a post-season game against their worst rival: The Steelers. Winner takes all, loser goes home. The Bengals are ranked with the #3 seed after losing to the Broncos in week 16--a head-to-head match-up that determined who would get a first-round bye in the playoffs. Realistically speaking, the game against the Broncos held the exact same importance to the Bengals as this game in week 18. Both games are markers as to whether the Bengals will make it to the second round of the playoffs or whether they wrap up their season after the first round of playoff games again. And yet there is some kind of magic in the air about this weekend's game that week 16 didn't have; an excitement that can only ...

Every time Facebook makes a significant change to its layout and look, people complain and swear up and down that the old way was better. For that matter, any website that gets a face lift and a couple new buttons and features to click on will likely come with a tab at the top that says something akin to "Not ready for the new look? Click here to view the old site." Or let's say you break your phone and go to the store to get a new one. Now you have to learn a whole new interface and perhaps even operating system. Your favorite sports team trades a beloved player and now you have to learn the name, stats, and personality of a new third baseman. Your company changes from paperwork forms to web-based forms that auto-complete and require an internet connection. Your church integrates a new digital mixer in the sound booth and now you have to learn what all the fancy knobs and lights do. So I suppose what I'm saying here is this: I don't like change. ...