Thumbs up —

        The Cincinnati-Miami football rivalry. OK, the “Oldest Rivalry West of the Alleghenies” stuff gets a little old. But good for the players if they get a kick out of ringing that darn bell. The point is, it's always a tremendous college football game. And whether it's at Oxford or UC, the atmosphere is special. And really, any time UC and Miami play in any sport, it's great.

        2. Keeneland. Despite the fact many Kentuckians get a little high and mighty about their beloved fall meeting, it truly is one of the Tristate's treasures. How nice is it? You could visit, admire the beauty of the complex, get a bite to eat, watch some races and not even bet — and still enjoy yourself. Honest.

        3. Pete Sampras. The all-time grand slam leader has shut it down for the year. On the heels of his exciting U.S.Open victory, he has decided to devote his time to his wife and the birth of his first child.

        4. Notre Dame. Hey, the 4-0 start entering Saturday's game with Stanford grabbed all the national headlines. But that was far from the biggest upset recorded by the Fighting Irish. Nothing's a bigger victory than the one over the BCS, which allows their victory over Maryland to count in those standings.

        5. Midnight Madness. A truly great college tradition, it's super-exciting to catch a glimpse of your favorite team and start getting fired up. It's just a shame no one in this town knows how to do it any more. Oh, well. Guess we'll all just have to make the trip down to Lexington next weekend.

        Thumbs down

        1. The Bengals. Another day, another completely outrageous stat. Our men entered today's game with a 37-game losing streak on the road against teams with winning records. Thirty seven. And even if they win, and Jon Kitna is the answer, it couldn't possibly make up for this brutal first month. You can't turn on a national media outlet — much less local — without hearing someone make fun of the Bengals. They are a laughingstock from top to bottom.

        And now they have a bunch of unhappy players, which, come to think of it, may be a good thing.

        2. Queen Elizabeth. Does anything make the average sports fan angrier than some celebrity dropping in and getting the good seats? Seems the Queen last attended a hockey game in 1951. But today, she not only gets in free to the San Jose Sharks-Vancouver Canucks game, but she gets to drop the ceremonial first puck.

        Shades of Naked Gun with Leslie Nielsen and O.J. Simpson, eh?

        3. University of Cincinnati fans. Sure, there is the hardcore base loyal to the football program. But by the same token, the same fans who jump on the basketball bandwagon shun football — unless they have to buy tickets to get into basketball games. It's sad football coach Rick Minter has to plead to fans to say the program deserves a sellout — against its backyard rival.

        4. Major League Baseball. The Family Channel? With 17 ESPN networks, why would they make it so difficult to find a playoff game to watch? It's just a wonder the sport survives in spite of itself.

        5. Shaquille O'Neal. The big fella said he'd be glad to play on the 2004 Olympic team — as long as his coach, Phil Jackson, was named the coach. We couldn't figure out whether to congratulate him for his loyalty, or rip him for a grandstanding move. We choose the latter.

Sports Stories

Enquirer Page Two Power rankings Get ready, college basketball fans Miami wins Lefty McFadden Invitational Xtra Heat beats the boys at Keeneland Area women make up Miami's soccer nucleus Bowling Green 72, Ohio 21 Dayton 41, Butler 0 No. 24 Iowa 31, Purdue 28 No. 5 Ohio State 27, Northwestern 16 Irish mystery stretches into another episode Running game the story in Mount St. Joe win Special-team turnovers fuel Purdue loss Top 25 roundup How the Top 25 fared Expect the unexpected at Talladega Smaller gas tanks throw wrench in race Sorenstam grabs share of lead

Miami 31, Cincinnati 26
UC Miami stats
Daugherty: UC-Miami
UC-Miami notebook
UC's Minter rushes to judgment
Huggins intends to make 'Breakfast'
Daugherty: All talk, no action
Kitna aims to be QB solution
Spirit of '96
Jones: Life as a rookie
Keys to the game
The isolation booth
Curnutte's NFL Power Rankings
This week's NFL picks
Chargers, Bledsoe highlight NFL's first quarter
NFL considers black coaches issue
NFL notebook
Just win, baby
Overdue comeuppance buries pinstriped glory, myth
Yankees and Diamondbacks knocked out in first round
Angels 9, Yankees 5
Braves 10, Giants 2
Cardinals 6, Diamondbacks 3
Twins 11, Athletics 2
Playoffs notebook
Reds Q&A with John Fay
Indians hike ticket prices for big games
Edgewood 34, Franklin 6
Elder 47, Moeller 21
Highlands 28, CovCath 14
Hughes 39, Taft 8
McNicholas 33, Roger Bacon 7
Prep football scores & game results
How Enquirer poll teams fared
Soccer: Lakota West girls, boys seeded No.1
Boys Golf results
Cross country results
Girls Tennis results
Soccer results
Volleyball results
Groeschen: Move state playoffs
Schmidt: Kentucky preps