It’s 8 a.m. Thursday morning, and Luke Fickell is still here.

A bit of craziness yesterday, because every once in awhile, people like me have to spend time chasing leads to nowhere. Late in the afternoon, I got an email from someone I don’t know advising me that the UC football coach’s departure to Michigan State was imminent.

Then he sends me a photo purporting to be a plane ticket on Monday night, from Lunken Field to Lansing, Michigan. Three things: There’s no passenger name on the portion of the ticket shown in the photo. No commercial carrier flies to Lansing from Lunken and if Fickell were traveling by private plane, he wouldn’t have a ticket.

Still, I make some calls, because making some calls is what we do in these sorts of situations. A good thing about being old and being here awhile is, I know whom to dial up, and they’ll take my call.

No one had heard anything.

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There’s something else: Luke Fickell doesn’t lie. He told a Lansing radio show yesterday that he hadn’t talked to anyone at MSU; he said the same to folks in and around the UC program. Normally, this is a convenient (and often truthful) dodge around the question. Maybe a coach doesn’t talk to his suitors, but his agents do, on his behalf. Plausible deniability and all that.

Except Fickell doesn’t have an agent, that I know of. He might have a middle-person working the phones for him. I doubt it. He does his own deals. It’s a remarkable thing. And he wouldn’t have agreed to do a radio interview in which he knew he’d have to prevaricate.

Still, we chase these things down. And after all these years, I still feel bad and silly that I’m texting a coach asking about his plans and bothering sources I seem to talk to only when I need something.

Maybe Fickell does have a deal in the works. Or maybe sees the current landscape in East Lansing for what it is – a train wreck – and remains here for the foreseeable future.

UC’s current recruiting class was ranked by some as higher than MSU’s. And Sparty is still dealing with NCAA trouble. Detroit News:

Lawyers for former MSU football staffer Curtis Blackwell are alleging that (Mark) Dantonio committed multiple NCAA violations, while Dantonio's defense team is calling the case a "sham," according to the latest court documents in a case that long has lingered over Michigan State University and the football program.

In recent seasons, Michigan State has slipped to 4th-best in the Big Ten’s East division, behind OSU, Penn State and Michigan. Maybe Fickell doesn’t want to deal with a mess like that. At the moment, it seems almost a lateral move.

Regardless, he’s still in Clifton. Rumor o' the day aside.

Now, then ...

I JUST GOT BACK FROM GABP, watching as Cincinnati Reds staffers loaded the semi-truck bound for Goodyear. In 32 years here, I’d never attended this annual pre-spring rite, only smiled from afar. Today, I walked from a Stephen King morning and into spring. Baseball might indeed work best as a concept. I.E. the idea of going to a game can be better than the actual execution. But it’s one helluva concept.

It was 9:34 when the semi started backing into its space on the loading dock. The clock on the wall noted it was 49 days, five hours, 38 minutes and 21 seconds until Opening Day. And counting.

YEAH, BUT THEY STILL HAVE THE TROPHY ... The Athletic deep-studied the Houston Astros as hitters in the sign-stealing season of ’17. What they found:

They cut their strikeouts by 365 whiffs – in one year. They went from punching out 1,452 times in 2016 to a mere 1,087 in 2017, which meant they transformed themselves from a team that was striking out at one of the highest rates in history to a team that struck out less than any team in baseball that season.

… when STATS looked only at full seasons, it found the Astros reduced their strikeouts at home by 83 more K’s than the next-closest team in the last 100 years:

… Four of their returning hitters made remarkable improvements in their ability to lay off those pitches. Marwin González went, incredibly, from a 40% swing rate to just 10% … Carlos Correa improved from 27% to 15% … Jake Marisnick dropped from 30% to 13% … George Springer went from 18% to 12%. We’ll mention here that according to Tony Adams’ work at signstealingscandal.com, those four players were among the Astros who were at bat for the highest percentage of trash-can bangs that season.

But hey, that trophy looks fabulous in the lobby, doesn’t it? Those players whose numbers magically improved, they’re still playing, right? Yet Pete Rose molders in Las Vegas, Hit King of all that’s evil in the game. Child, please.

THE REDS' OUTFIELD "PROBLEM" is no problem at all. It’s the best representation of how much the Club has improved in a year.The Enquirer’s John Fay notes, “They broke camp with the four-man outfield rotation of Matt Kemp, Scott Schebler (who’s still on the 40-man, by the way), Yasiel Puig and Winker. Kemp was released after he was injured on April 21.

Now, they have Nick Castellanos, Nick Senzel, Shogo Akiyama; Jesse Winker/Phillip Ervin; and Aristides Aquino. Why do we fret so much over a good thing?

AND NOW, THE -ESPONDENTS ...

Fun-espondent Brien goes Vroom ...

This Saturday, the fifth annual Garage Brewed Moto Show will be going down at Rhinegeist. This is a regional motorcycle showcase that celebrates the art of customization. Participants range from professional garages to talented hobbyists. There are so many eras and styles of motorcycles to begin with and this after-market work elevates each vehicle into a true artistic expression.

Rhinegeist’s massive brewery space will nicely accommodate all of the curated Harleys and Ducatis. There will be more than 50 motorcycles in total. Some are classics that have gone through painstaking restoration. Others have cutting-edge detailing elements. Few things are better than grabbing a beer and chatting with individuals who get to discuss their passions and techniques, showing off their accomplishments. This is a great chance to do just that.

Rhinegeist has great beer and a fun atmosphere, and these motorcycles should help make this Saturday extra special, down in Over-the-Rhine.

The website (www.garagebrewed.com) is worth a look, too, if at all interested. There are some short documentaries about the origins of the event as well as past winners, etc. The event is free to the public. Should be a pretty good party.

Imbiber Dave gets Stone-d ...

It was a rough one this week. San Diego. It should be toward the top of your list if you’ve never visited. The weather is gorgeous virtually year-round. It was actually hilarious to see Californians in coats because it was 62 and sunny this week! The city is unique in several ways. Situated on the Pacific, you are next to Miramar, a massive Naval & Marine base, famously shown in Top Gun. There are several beaches and the famous Coronado Island across a short but very tall bridge that full ocean freighters and aircraft carriers can simply sail under. There are plenty of Coast Guard choppers flying overhead, and you will hear and see plenty of fighter jets if you venture out of downtown a short ways.

Petco Park is where the Padres play, and the stadium is situated in a very similar way to our own GABP. Virtually outside the gate is the Stone Brewing Tap Room, which was awesome to check out. Sometimes I forget just how excellent Stone Brewing is. They’ve been around since the 90s and are currently the 9th-largest craft brewery in the United States. Stone is famous for their California-style, hop-punch-in-the-mouth IPAs. More recently, they’ve added Stone Go To IPA, which is super easy to drink at 4.5%. Their classic Stone IPA is 6.9% and tastes amazing coming out of the local tap. For those ready to really kick it up a notch, check out the Stone Delicious IPA at 7.7% and the curtain call Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0 at 8.5% and 100-plus IBUs. If you start to feel a little fuzzy, go back outside and enjoy the scenery. Cheers! cincybeerguydave@gmail.com

Agreed. Petco Park is a sheer delight and Stone IPA is excellent.

TUNE O' THE DAY ... One of my all-time favorite rock vocalists is Felix Cavaliere, the front man for the Rascals, way back in the day. Here’s one from them.