Three-dot lounge welcomes Dickie V

Vitale says Arizona is a sleeper in the Madness. Like the rest of us, he sees no clearcut stud team, though he likes Ohio State's ability to play at any pace and North Carolina's talent. He sees Xavier seeded anywhere from 8 to 10. The baseball coach at my college, who was Yogi Berra's verbal twin, liked to say "you can't be 2 places at the same time without a station wagon.'' He never met Vitale, who was at Reds camp at noon and Marquette by about 6 that night...

The guy also said, "Line up alphabetically by height'' and "Half of you over here, half of you over there, the rest of you come with me.'' Scary thing is, he was serious...

Tom Browning says the kid pitcher Johnny Cueto is "half a step behind'' Homer Bailey... Browning is here, working w/young guys and eating the free food in the clubhouse. As is Todd Benzinger...

Sat a few innings the other day with Peter King, Sports Illustrated's football guru and someone I've known for 20 years, since we worked together at Newsday on Long Island. He had no problem with the Bengals re-signing Justin Smith and letting Eric Steinbach go. They couldnt keep both and defensive tackles are harder to come by than offensive guards. King also has a 25-year-old daughter. Wow. I remember when she was 5.

Pat Barry is a DJ on an oldies radio station in Tampa. In case you were wondering.

Coolest car in the player lot belongs to Alex Gonzalez, a black Ferrari so low slung, a fat man could hurdle it...

Josh Hamilton won't make the much-anticipated trip today to Tampa, where a horde of media would have awaited, given he was the Devil Rays top pick -- and No. 1 overall -- in the '98 draft. It would have been his first exposure to mass media not in a controlled situation. If Hamilton makes the Reds and plays well, he'll have to deal with lots of press scrutiny and occasionally mean-spirited fan attention on the road. That could be as difficult as hitting an 0-2 curveball...