Cincy Sports Spot Awards: Part 1

The ESPY Awards show takes place tonight on ESPN heralding the best players, teams, and moments of the past year. Although there are no players from any of the Cincinnati sports teams nominated to receive awards on tonight's show, there are plenty of deserving players on professional and collegiate teams in the local area. Many players have risen to stardom and teams in the city like the Bengals and Reds have accomplished more than in the past twenty years with back to back playoff appearances and almost one hundred victories respectively. Now, Part 1 of Cincy Sports Spot's first annual awards for Cincinnati teams and players.

Best Athlete: Geno Atkins-Atkins collected 12.5 sacks to lead defensive tackles this past season, and could have easily been the Defensive Player of the Year if it wasn't for the amazing year JJ Watt had for the Texans. Atkins is already probably the best nose tackle the Bengals have ever had. Yes, that includes Tim Krumrie. He brings a rare skill set with his speed rushing and unbelievable leg strength. Atkins is almost impossible to block for an entire game.

Best Upset: Cincinnati over Marquette 71-69 (OT)-The Bearcats needed a signature win in mid January to make March Madness, and a victory over twenty-fifth ranked Marquette fit that bill. Sean Kilpatrick hit the game winning shot in that game with less than five seconds left during a dynamic scoring performance of thirty-six points. Kilpatrick hit five three pointers in the game for Cincinnati, who went on to make the tournament and lose to Creighton in the first round.

Best Male College Athlete: Semaj Christon-Christon was largely left to lead the rebuilding Xavier Musketeers in 2012-2013. The Musketeers had to play two walk-ons throughout the season, and Top 100 recruit Semaj Christon was the standout as a freshman. Christon almost single handedly willed his team to victory against ranked teams Memphis and St. Louis with thirteen and twenty points respectively. Christon became the nation's second best point guard heading into the offseason right behind Marcus Smart after he averaged 15.2 points, almost three rebounds, and 4.6 assists. Christon can easily play his way into the top ten in next year's NBA draft.

Best Coach/Manager-Dusty Baker-As much as fans like to give Baker grief for some of his decisions in regards to lineups and pitching changes, not many people can argue with the results of a manager who has become one of the winningest managers in the history of baseball. The Reds finished with 97 wins in 2012, making the playoffs and winning the first two games before losing the next three to the World Series Champions. Baker currently has the Reds in a Wild Card spot with the Reds sitting pretty comfortably in third in the NL Central eleven games over the .500 mark.

Best Moment: Bengals defeat Steelers 13-10 in Week 16-Just before Christmas, the Bengals got an early present by clinching a playoff spot with a win over the Steelers. The game decided a Wild Card spot and clinched the Bengals' second straight playoff appearance for the first time since 1981-82. The game was extremely ugly and low scoring as the Bengals rushed for just fourteen yards, but Andy Dalton hit AJ Green near the sidelines at the right time with under a minute left in the game to set up a game winning field goal by kicker Josh Brown. What an exciting victory for a historically playoff starved Cincinnati Bengals franchise.

Best Comeback-Leon Hall-Hall suffered a season ending Achilles injury after playing in nine games in 2011, and made it back after a commendable rehab period to play in fourteen games in 2012. Hall collected two interceptions, including one for a touchdown against the Steelers, and also earned a pick against the Texans in the playoffs. Hall has become a marquee cornerback in the league, and he does it the right way by being a consummate professional. Look for Hall to only improve after a full year back from the injury.

Rich Hidy
Cincy Sports Spot

Xavier officially enters new look Big East

After a long road of dominance in the Atlantic 10, the Xavier Musketeers are looking to become the pride of the new Big East Conference, featuring the "Catholic 7" schools. Today, Xavier officially made the move to join the conference for this upcoming season in all athletics and beyond.

Basketball wise, this conference should be the premier league in terms of competition. Not only does the league keep traditional powerhouses Georgetown, Marquette, St. John's, and Villanova, but the arrivals of Creighton, Butler, and Xavier will add quite a pedigree of success.

Butler has made two title appearances in the past 4 years. Xavier has made it to at least the Sweet 16 in 4 of the past 6 seasons. The Musketeers entered the rebuilding stage of the basketball program under Chris Mack last season, but expect to be much improved after many young players gained valuable experience and new talent begins a string of scholarship years.

If the Musketeers want a chance at winning the Big East in basketball next year, it is going to be up to many of the returning starters from last season. The best returning player by far is the hometown product Semaj Christon out of Winton Woods high school, who is quickly becoming one of the top prospects in college hoops. He was recently invited to LeBron James' basketball camp, and Christon projects as a top 15 pick in the loaded 2014 NBA Draft. He is the best prospect for the NBA game to attend Xavier since David West.

Christon is fearless in attacking the basket and is rapidly developing the savvy skills to run an offense at the point position. Brandon Randolph, Miles Davis, and returning starters Justin Martin and Isaiah Philmore can knock down shots to help Christon carry the load of the Musketeer offense. If Christon continues to develop in the offseason and at the Deveroes Summer League, he will continue to benefit his draft stock and the team's ability to beat the heavy hitters.

Creighton returns one of the best players in college basketball, Doug McDermott, the 6'8 forward who averaged 23.2 points and 7.7 boards. Georgetown will undoubtedly be hungry to prove itself after falling in the first round of the tournament this past season.

Former Xavier commit D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera is a rising superstar who can knock down shots from anywhere on the court, and he will likely take over a spot in the starting lineup. Markel Starks and Greg Whittington are also plus players on John Thompson III's team.

Also, every educated college basketball fan knows Brad Stephens will have the Butler Bulldogs ready to go for next season. Moeller graduate and former walk-on Alex Barlow is basically an extension of Stephens on the floor at the point guard position. Roosevelt Jones is a physical forward who averages over 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs will also look for an impact season from former top 100 recruit Kellen Dunham.

Xavier basketball 2013-14 outlook for returning players

After a disappointing 17-14 finish a year after a Sweet 16 birth, the Musketeers look to rebound and return to the NCAA Tournament. The Musketeers will no longer be playing in the A-10. The team is moving to the newly formed Big East with the Catholic 7, which includes Georgetown, Villanova, and Marquette. Gone from the Musketeers will be Travis Taylor, Jeff Robinson, and Brad Redford, but Xavier should be much improved from last season. Chris Mack could start to be on the hot seat if he cannot make the tournament in his 5th season. Xavier has a new Athletic Director who could be looking to eventually make a change if the Musketeers do not have success next season. Mack has an impressive 90-44 record, but needs to make the next step deeper than the Sweet 16 with a talented unit. Mack should follow Butler's road map to make that final push into the Elite Eight and Final Four.

Xavier returns an emerging stud in sophomore point guard Semaj Christon. Christon was the A-10 Rookie of the Year and will only get better after averaging 15.2 points and 4.6 assists per game. Christon will have the green light to create his own offense next year. He should be in the NBA in the next 2 seasons once he adds some weight. Dee Davis and Isaiah Philmore will be solid contributors to the team, but these two upperclassmen cannot carry a team like Christon has the ability to do. The wild card in the returning players group is Justin Martin. Martin, who averaged about 8 points and 4 and a half boards last year, will be a junior and has the pedigree to develop into a Derrick Brown or a BJ Raymond. He has a smooth jumper and was a top 100 recruit out of high school. Martin needs to become more consistent to reach that potential.