PETE ROSE

Something should happen this year, and perhaps soon. But to be reinstated, would he have to admit to betting on baseball? Would the reinstatement allow him to manage? Would he get into the Hall of Fame? Hey, Bud, we're waiting ...

DAN O'BRIEN

The new Reds general manager might need smoke and mirrors to produce a credible pitching rotation. But if his position players stay healthy, it'll be interesting to see if the Reds are buying or selling at the trade deadline.

CARSON PALMER

Jon Kitna was the answer in 2003. But Bengals president Mike Brown might not remain so patient about paying a No. 1 overall draft pick to hold a clipboard. Will Palmer get the starting quarterback job this year? Would that mean getting rid of Kitna?

UC BASKETBALL

Bob Huggins' Bearcats enter the new year unbeaten and ranked 12th in the country. But we won't know how good they are until they play at Marquette (Jan. 14) and at Louisville (Jan. 21). Can this team make a run in the NCAA Tournament?

MARK DANTONIO

Here's the task at hand for UC's new football coach: Ignite interest in a program that ranks after the Reds, Bengals, UC basketball, XU basketball and high schools in local interest. Sell out the stadium. Recruit. Get ready for the Big East, for which you'll have 20 months starting ... now. Go.

WOMEN'S TENNIS RETURNS

It has been absent since 1988, so it will be great to see the women's tour return to town this summer. It's a Tier III event and will coincide this year with the Olympics. But there's a chance intriguing names such as Jennifer Capriati, Kim Clijsters or Chanda Rubin could be here instead of Athens. Maybe even Anna Kournikova (!) if she's not retired.

LOCALS IN THE OLYMPICS

We know one already: Synchronized swimmer Becky Jasontek (left), who nearly died in 1999 of a ruptured ovarian cyst, has made the U.S. Olympic team, which will compete in August. Other names to watch: swimmers Nate Dusing and Whitney Myers, soccer player Heather Mitts, gymnasts Samantha Sheehan and D.J. Bucher, and boxer Ron Siler Jr.

BEN ROETHLISBERGER

The Miami University junior could be the first quarterback taken in the NFL draft in April and is perhaps a top-five pick. How quickly can he make the transition to the NFL?

O.J. MAYO

The circus has come to town, and so far, it's a heck of a show. Can he really elevate a North College Hill team that was 2-17 last season into a state contender? Perhaps the bigger question is how long NCH will be big enough for him.

MEL THOMAS TO UCONN

The Mount Notre Dame basketball star joins the big time with the four-time NCAA champion Huskies. Good thing is, she'll play here occasionally when UC joins the Big East.