Here is one of my choices for the face of the Bearcats program.  I'll have another of my choices coming soon.

Jim Kelly Sr. (left) has seen every Bearcats Bowl game.  In this photo he's joined by his son Jim Kelly Jr. also a former Bearcat.

Bearcat Insider is proud to name our Players of the Year for this past season.  Here is the list as it stands now.

Offensive Player of the Year

QB - Ben Mauk - Kenton High School - Kenton, Ohio

Co-Defensive Players of the Year

Safety - Haruki Nakamura - Lakewood St. Ed's High School - Elyria, Ohio

Defensive End - Anthony Hoke - Warren Harding High School - Warren, Ohio

Freshmen of the Year

Wide Receiver - Marcus Barnett - Frederick Douglass HS - Upper Marlboro, Maryland

We'll have a few more names to place on this list in the coming days.

It's game day and Nippert Stadium will be packed with Bearcats looking for their team to knock off West Virginia.  During the day several T.V. football experts has expressed the Bearcats are set to knock of WVU in grand fashion.

Just one year ago this weekend, the Bearcats knocked off Rutgers at Nippert Stadium and many things will be the same at tonights game.  The same TV crew, refs, chain gang and several other things will be the same as they were last year against Rutgers.

Have Fun! 

Go Bearcats

Bearcats picked up another commitment from a Fla. defensive back.  They have also offered an outside linebacker from LaSalle HS in Cincinnati (J.K. Schaffer) who I feel will join the 08 Class as early as this week.

You can learn more about this news at our main site www.BearcatInsider.com

Monday night Bearcat Insider was invited to be part of the Andy Furman show on SuperTalk 96.5FM from 6-7.  While we didn't get on the air until the bottom part of the hour, we want to thank Andy and "The Kid" for allowing us on the show and letting us spread the word about Bearcats athletics and Big East Conference sports.

The folks at 96.5 were great and Tim, Doug and I (Dave) enjoyed the chance to show what we could do.  While nothing is in place right now there is talk between the two parties about a possible show or shows that will feature Bearcat Insider and cover UC sports and Big East sports on a weekly basis.

Andy Furman was great and we all enjoyed our conversation on and off the air.  Afterwards Andy stressed he wants us back and that the station should get something worked out with us soon.

Again, thanks SuperTalk 96.5FM, Andy Furman and "The Kid", even if he's an Ohio State fan.

OLD SCHOOL BEARCAT - DON McMILLAN

One of the themes of Brian Kelly's short tenure at UC has been to reach out and connect with Bearcats of the past to embrace the tradition that is Bearcat football. With that in mind Bearcat Insider is doing our part to catch up with past Bearcats to bring you their stories.

A while back I caught up with one of the most interesting people I have ever met, former Bearcat Don McMillan.

Don attended UC just after WWII, at that time almost all college players were older than we would see today. Don was a 24 year old freshman in 1946.  Back in those days players went both ways, Don was a Quarterback and Defensive Back. UC's coach was NFL great Ray Notling for the first 3 years running mostly a full house backfield with a back in motion.

The 1946 season was memorable for Don and UC. On the schedule was defending Big 10 Champion Indiana, who returned 35 letterman that season. The Bearcats came away with the win against the Hoosiers and also beat Michigan State that season to go 9 -2. The season ended with UC's first ever bowl game, the Sun Bowl where they beat Virginia Tech (known as VPI).

In 1949 the Bearcats had a coaching change for Don's senior year. Coach Sid Gillman took over the program introducing an aggressive passing game. Coach Gillman is considered the Grandfather of the West Coast offense, Don McMillan very well may have been the first quarterback to run this offense.

You can read the rest of the story by clicking the link below.

Old School Bearcat - Don McMillan 

On Monday, July 23rd frmo 6:00-7:00 pm Bearcat Insider will be on the Andy Furman show on Supertalk FM 96.5.

For the past six months Bearcat Insider has been working behind the scenes on several projects to give University of Cincinnati athletics and Bearcat Insider more expouser.

After our apperance on Andy's show, we'll have more details to release and hope everyone will find them as exciting as we do.  You can listen to SuperTalk 96.5FM online by clicking the following link.

Supertalk 96.5 FM Listen Online

Tim Adams: BCI Talks With Andre Tate

Andre Tate is well known by Bearcat basketball fans, and Bearcat Insider recently had the chance to talk with Andre about prefix Cincinnati's 2007 recruiting class and much more.

As I sat in the Woodward High School gymnasium watching the Slats team perform in a recent Deveroes League game, a woman asked about a middle-aged man standing in the balcony and watching the action below.  I identified the man as Andre Tate, and the fan immediately replied, "I remember him, but it's sometimes hard to recognize them after they've put on some weight."  True, Tate is no longer the slender guard that averaged 17.1 points in his senior season, but he is hardly the cover boy for Jenny Craig either. 

Link To Premium Story: BCI Talks With Andre Tate 

This is a premium story from BearcatInsider.com, If you would like to see what Andre has to say about the new Bearcats please consider becoming a premium member of BCI for the lastest "INSIDER" news on the Bearcats.

Tim Adams: Slats Loses On Buzzer Beater

On Sunday afternoon, the Slats team composed of future, present and past Bearcats lost on a buzzer beater to the league champion and tournament 1 seed Brick St., which is made-up primarily from Miami of Ohio players.

In Slats' final regular season game of the Deveroes League, the outcome wasn't decided until the final buzzer as the University of Cincinnati's players made a frantic comeback after trailing much of the second half by double digits, but a three point field goal by Kenny Hayes, a juco signee of Miami's, ended Slats' hopes of upsetting the regular season champs and sending the game into overtime.

The Bearcats began the game with only five players as Damon Flint, Deonta Vaughn and Rashad Bishop all arrived well into the first half of the contest, only Flint saw very limited first half action.  Vaughn was a bit tardy in picking up Bishop for the game.  The duo arrived with about 3 minutes remaining in the half.  Because of the shrunken roster, the Slats' starters were Alvin Mitchell, Darnell Wilks, Kenny Belton, Mike Williams and Larry Davis.

Slats trailed Brick St. by a 53-44 score at the half.  Mike Williams and Alvin Mitchell led Slats with 12 points a piece while Kenny Belton chipped in with 11 points.  Belton was 5 of 6 from the line in the half, and unexplainedly, his only miss at the charity stripe was an air ball.  Kenny Hayes led Brick St. with 18 points in the half and was outstanding.  Hayes played junior college basketball for Andre Tate at Cincinnati State and was a teammate of current Bearcat, John Williamson, but UC didn't really recruit Hayes, and he signed early with Charlie Coles and his Miami Redhawks.

You can read the rest of this story by clicking the following link to Bearcat Insider.  Slats Loses On Buzzer Beater