SI hates the Reds

Negative Sports Illustrated Reds note of the week: In analyzing which teams have the best chances of making a late summer run, SI decides, again, that the Reds miss the cut. The magazine rips The Trade and says Cincinnati has too many old players to stay close in the heat. SI thinks the Rockies will be the NL wildcard team. Uh-huh.

A local guy I know, Ray Edwards, is being interviewed by HBO's Real Sports. Edwards claims to have one of those rare Honus Wagner baseball cards. I did a story on it a few years back. At the time, Edwards couldn't get anyone of influence in the card industry to authenticate it. Now, Edwards claims he's gotten it authenticated, and will have it up for auction next month. Starting bid: $800,000. BTW, if you've never seen Real Sports, you should. It's the best, most clear-eyed look at sports currently on TV.

Shameless plug: Writing something for Saturday's paper on the 1952 Lockland Wayne HS basketball team, the first Hamilton County school to win a state title and, according to several team members, the first all-black team in the country to win an integrated state title. It's a great tale about the impact a school can have on generations of kids, on the basketball court and in the classroom. Makes you wonder how much better Cincinnati would be if we had more Lockland Waynes for our kids to attend.

To golf fans, there's nothing better than waking up and turning on the British Open. I'll be in the bunker all weekend. Live big.