By Mike Ball
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Thumbs up

1. The Bengals. It's hard to believe, but they're in a division title race. Baltimore (Denver), Cleveland (New England) and Pittsburgh (St. Louis) all have losable games today. Come to think of it, any time an AFC North team takes the field, it's a losable game.

2. Army. Sure, the program is a far cry from its glory days. But those Army guys deserve more than being Homecoming fodder. Good for them for putting a scare into the Bearcats.

3. Tiger Woods. Yawn, another historic performance. He made the cut this weekend for the 113th consecutive PGA tournament, equaling the record set by Byron Nelson from 1941 to 1948.

4. Alex Zanardi. The race car driver, who lost his legs in an accident two years ago, finished seventh in a FIA European Touring Car Championship race at Monza last weekend. When you see the horrific accidents involving the IRL's Kenny Brack or NASCAR's Elliott Sadler, it's a wonder any of those drivers ever gets back in a car.

5. Kirk Jones. The guy who went over Niagara Falls without a barrel was apologetic upon his arrest. "I'm sorry for the pain I've caused," he said. Apology, heck. Get the producers of the X-Games on the line. This has possibilities.

6. ESPN. The network jumped on the super Red Sox-Yankees ALCS with an hour-long special on ESPN Classic. It really was.

Thumbs down

1. Corey Dillon. Well, there's a slam-dunk. Not appreciated? What about the Bengals fans who have forked over their hard-earned money for tickets to see, shall we say, a below-average product over the past 12 years?

2. Kobe Bryant. Mike Tyson, the poster child for trouble, was at the Lakers' exhibition game Thursday night bearing a "Free Kobe" sign. Just what Bryant needs, to be lumped in with Tyson.

3. College realignment. Will it ever end? Now, after the Big East-Atlantic Coast Conference moves shook the college world, comes this: Utah State and New Mexico State are bolting the Sun Belt Conference to join the Western Athletic Conference. Wait, that makes sense.

4. Knuckleheads, bobbleheads. Attendance at 69 Major League Baseball games that featured bobblehead giveaways was up 15.3 percent from other games. Look for more promotions: games featuring beach towel giveaways was up 31.4 percent.

5. Fox sports. We're not naÔve enough to think that Fox paid for the rights to the World Series for anything other than promoting itself. But calling so-called celebrities on a sponsor's phone DURING the game crosses the line.

6. Notre Dame. The fleeting Irish. They are completely off the radar. Can anyone remember not being able to see their game on TV or radio in this town?