The Key for the week of March 23, 2026
Play Ball!
It’s a mix of Christmas, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day and New Year’s Eve. And no other city does it quite like Cincinnati. Yes, every team has an opening day in their home ballpark, either first day of the season or shortly thereafter. But Cincinnati historically had been THE first game of the season (some say because the Reds were the first professional team in baseball, but most the likely reason was that for generations, the Reds were the southernmost team in the majors). And Reds fans still party like it’s 1869 on Opening Day. It’s a holiday, kids miss school and no one clutches their pearls, and it’s a day when hope springs eternal for a winning season.
Oh yeah, there’s a ball game to be played
Wait, we get baseball, too?? Sometimes we forget that the Reds actually take the field after the noon parade and festivities. So what about the Reds? After optimism early about a deep, healthy pitching staff, those dreams were popped as quickly as Nick Lodolo’s blister which,by the way, is sending the Reds #2 pitcher to the IL to open the season. (remember, a blister on the same hand, same finger, kept Lodolo out of the lineup almost a month a year ago) Ace Hunter Greene won’t be back until probably the All-Star game, so Andrew Abbott becomes the default Opening Day starter and youngsters Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder will be leaned on more than expected to carry the staff until the top two get healthy.
The coach’s carousel continues to spin
And for the University of Cincinnati, it stopped at Utah State, where the Bearcats found their next head coach and kept it in the Clifton family. Calhoun is a 2004 graduate of UC, was on the bench with Bob Huggins and just took Utah State to back-to-back NCAA tourney appearances.
Speaking of keeping it in the family, this time it didn’t work for North Carolina who loves to hire from the Dean Smith coaching tree, but former Tar Heel star Hubert Davis just couldn’t make it work in Chapel Hill. So who’s next? How about Billy Donovan, who won two titles at Florida before heading to the NBA. He has the credibility to bring recruits and transfers to Tar Heel nation and restore the Carolina Blue luster.
Ben’s Best Bet
Speaking of Florida, after their untimely exit before the Sweet 16, along with Duke’s struggles (at times) in the first two games, who is the favorite now to cut down the nets next month? BetMGM now has Michigan as the slight favorite over Arizona to take it all, with Duke as the third favorite and Purdue right behind. Ben says that’s all well and good, but Michigan doesn’t have a Boozer on its team, and Duke has two. (Cameron and Cayden) Ben says stick with the plan and expect Duke to cut down the nets in Indy.