Paul Daugherty Blog: MLS reality a shot across the bow of NFL's Bengals/ MLB's Reds.

MLS is a reality. A town whose people spend lots of time fussing with each other came together and breathed new life into the local sporting scene. It doesn’t matter what you think of soccer. I’m still lukewarm on the world’s game. What’s important is it took our village and our village came through.

Given the arrogant guidelines imposed by MLS – stadium has to be soccer-specific and it has to be where we say – and our fractious regional relationships, it’s kind of a miracle this got done.

MLS expansion: Here's everything we know about what could change

MLS bid: FC Cincinnati announcement imminent

But it did. I wrote a whole lot about this aspect for this AM’s TM. As a resident of this community, I’m thrilled for us. A few points popping into my head today:

This is a shot across the Bengals/Reds bow. They’ve already seen declining interest from younger adults, some of whom have chosen to drop their disposable dimes on FC Cincy. With a new stadium and a new big league on the horizon, that defection could speed up.

I know the Reds have marketed to younger people for several years. “Start your evening with us’’ was a theme a few years ago. Lots of marketing the game as an appetizer. The one TV spot now shows people playing ping pong at GASP. I mean, who doesn’t want to play ping pong at a baseball game? Lots of emphasis on drinking beer and hanging out. The game is incidental.

Baseball is a tougher sell to the younger demo, though, and not just here.

Meantime the Bengals, bless ‘em, think all they have to do is win and the world will flock to their doorstep. They work in different seasons than MLS, sure, but disposable income is disposable income. Good luck to them.

I’ve said forever the Tristate simply isn’t big enough for three pro sports teams. I always figured the 3rd was the NBA. That’s still true. No way the NBA works here unless the Bengals leave.

But soccer is different. It’s not a Big 4 sport. (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB.) Stadium capacity will be about 21,000. It’s major league, but it’s still a niche entertainment. Ownership has said it will keep ticket prices reasonable. So let’s say we have 2.5 major sports teams.

For MLS to be very successful here, the current nature of the fan base has to change. The diehards, the Bailey-ites, are great. But I’d bet you that if 20K people show up to a FC game now, 15K couldn’t name you three FC players. The roster turnover year to year is huge, for one. But lots of fans go to the games to sip beers and meet up with friends. It’s entertainment, not passion, and entertainment tastes come and go.

Eventually, the current novelty will wear away. It better be replaced with fans who are able to identify with individual players, same as in baseball and football. How often have we heard from fans disgruntled with the departures of their favorite Reds?

It will be interesting to see how sexy the stadium is. It has been 17 years since we’ve had a new one. Lots of fan-pleasing goodies since. Given the club is paying for its own playpen, how swanky will it be? The Columbus Crew stadium, for example, looked like a glorified Erector Set. (OG reference, kids. Lookitup.)

Will a souped-up stadium need to be part of the draw? Nippert’s not exactly sporty.

Now, then. . .

THE CADAVER-LIERS never had a chance last night in Boston. The TV guys noted that LeBron James looked tired. Fatigue is a possibility when you’re playing 1-on-5 all night. If Golden State finishes off Houston, who else believes the Rockets will make a big effort to bring James to Houston?

What a nothing game. Sloppy, choppy, boring. The conference finals have not produced this year, with the exception of Game 4 in Oakland the other night. For us one-month NBA fans, it’s been disappointing.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU PEOPLE DO? I shared on Facebook last night a column by my Enquirer colleague Kevin Aldridge. Kevin wrote, correctly, that NFL owners missed a chance to put the Anthem Protest issue to bed. This was at dinner time on Wednesday.

As of this moment, 8:43 a.m. Eastern time Thursday, people are still responding. My phone is lighting up every coupla seconds. Honestly.

Problem is, it’s the same 5 or 6 people. Let me ask you:

Do you sleep?

Are you gainfully employed?

Are you running for political office?

Do you allow for the possibility of Life Beyond Facebook?

Is it possible that valid opinions wholly different from yours actually exist?

Can I get you something? Half a bottle of Valium, perhaps?

Having started (incited?) my share of virtual debate, I know the drill: You introduce a (hopefully) reasonable point on a topic o’ the day. The initial conversation is often rational. Then the trolls and the right/left wackos take over until the original point is buried in the dung of extremist rhetoric. Posters cite sources such as “Ammoland.com’’ (as God is my witness) to buttress their pro-gun arguments.

Here’s a thought:

Get out in the daylight. Go for a walk.

That means you, Russ Jackson.

AS FOR THAT DEBATE. . . The NFL owners somehow made things worse. You don’t want Anthem protests? Make a rule the teams stay in the locker room until after the song is finished. Or make a rule, like the NBA, that everyone stand on the sideline, no exceptions, no protests.

Make the fine for not doing that standard and universal. Do not allow individual players to remain in the locker room. Their absence will be duly noted by the heathen media. Problem not solved.

Do not allow individual teams to levy their own fines. That’s crazy. One player’s freedom of expression is another player’s $100K fine. Problem not solved.

As it is now, the rule allows players to stay in the locker room and allows teams to fine players a la carte. And the debate rages.

Nice job. Money doesn’t buy brains, does it?

REDS LOSE. WHY IT MATTERED. Homer got piñata-ed again. There’s nothing more dicey in the game than being a small-money team owning a huge-money starting pitcher who’s bad. Can’t trade him. Can’t realistically demote him to mop-up duty. Can ask him to go to the minors, but he will likely laugh at you. (See: Harvey, Matt). Can let him go, but you have to pay him anyway.

The Reds have made some astoundingly bad signings in the Big Man Era. And I’m not even talking about paying Jonathan Broxton $9 mil to be Chappy’s set-up man.

AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE ADS FOR MIAMI VALLEY GAMING, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INNING? Tawdry commerce reaches a new frontier.

AND NOW, SOME EDIFICATION FROM THE -ESPONDENTS. . . BeermanDave keeps it local.

One of Each Please



Finally! A week in Cincinnati and a chance to try some local brews. Attended a charity event where Big Ash Brewing, technically a home brewer, supplied the craft suds for our enjoyment.

I tried their Kolsch, Stout, and Big Buck Brown Ale, all of which were solid. Brewmaster Dave has an amazing custom dispenser for his craft Brew which added to the fun experience. Hoping to find more of these unique offerings at parties throughout the Tri-State this summer.

Also hosted a small shindig at casa de beer guy, which allowed me to share a couple bombers I had been saving for just such an occasion. Despite being slightly out of season, the Three Floyd’s Alpha Klaus Porter tasted absolutely delicious.

A friend brought a seasonal Sam Adams plenty pack, which had a few never before tasted varieties. The Coffee Black Lager, Toasted Lager, and Kellerbier were all good. We ended the night with a bomber of Rogue’s Sriracha Stout, which was superb.

I’m not usually a huge fan of gimmicky beers, but Rogue has been in the craft game a long time and I should have trusted that they could handle a spicy stout with ease. Finally, it just wouldn’t be me if I didn’t share the IPA of the week, which was MadTree & Fat Head’s collaboration called Lupulin Effect IPA. Named after the active ingredient in hops, it goes without saying that I loved it. Cheers! cincybeerguydave@gmail.com

Personally, TML loves everything about summer but its beers. I still enjoy, say, a Nellie’s Caribbean, or a Rhinegeist Cougar, but the warm-weather sodas simply lack the taste of their winter brethren, unless you’re into fruit, which I am mostly not.

Then again, Johnny Thinwallet loves the drinkability of his Keystone Light after a hard day on the links. He won’t even mention it’s $9.99 a case at JJ’s Eastgate.

FUN-ESPONDENT BRIEN CHECKS OUT EVERYBODY’S RECORDS. . . Summertime is conducive to music. Driving with your windows down and the sound system blaring, partying with friends deep into the night by the pool, or attending a concert – the warm weather encourages celebration.

Since it is getting to be that time of the year, I wanted to give a shout out to Everybody’s Records. This little music store has been on Montgomery Road in Pleasant Ridge for as long as I can remember and there has never once been a trip there that ended in disappointment. In high school, my friends and I would forage for Phish and Led Zeppelin bootlegs in row after row of CDs. More recently, I have been able to acquire coveted vinyl classics as well as many hard to find punk splits and EPs. In the rare event that they do not have the item I am after, I will most assuredly stumble upon some other treasure I did not even know I needed.

Beyond the inventory though, the staff is laid back, friendly, and helpful. Plus they really know their music, which is organized with convenient specificity. They will also properly appraise the tunes you might bring in to trade, offering a great price for the items you are looking to unload.

Every time I need some new music, I head to Everybody’s. I am never disappointed.

Everybody’s in an evergreen on The Morning Man’s annual 10 Reasons to Love Our Town.

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Speaking of. Everybody's... this is my favorite tune from one of my favorite albums, ever. I have my original, ratty copy, would love a mint replacement. I asked Vinylmaster Woody to launch a search. So far, no luck.

Anyway, this. Truer words were never written:

And when you feel all alone

Don’t sell your heart, it’s your home.