The Tuesday Morning Rush for August 17, 2010

CINCINNATI - It's Tuesday August 17, 2010...

STAY UP LATE: It's a key stretch for the Reds, and a challenging stretch for their fans. They play nine games in three western cities over the next nine days.  That means some late nights next to the radio.

THE TUESDAY LID-LIFTER: Bronson Arroyo(12-7) throws against Arizona's Daniel Hudson(4-1) .  I couldn't find any evidence to show that Hudson has ever pitched against the Reds and that makes sense, because Arizona got him from the White Sox. He's won three games this month so the Reds are facing a hot pitcher.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Reds have the second best road record in the National League at 31-25 and they have won five straight games in Arizona. The trips to Los Angeles and San Francisco would appear to be more problematic where the Reds are 7-19 since 2006.

HAPPY TRAILS: The Hamilton Westside All-Stars leave this morning for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  They found out last night that they'll face the Tom's River team from New Jersey. They won the Mid-Atlantic Regional on Monday night.

BACK HOME: The Bengals, after a victory on Sunday, get back to practice this afternoon.  They have a quick turnaround, playing the Eagles on Friday night.

WELCOME TO DAYTON: Then Sunday, the Bengals hold an afternoon practice at Dayton's Welcome Stadium. They have 11,000 seats at Welcome and all of the passes for the practice have been exhausted. Gates open at 2 p.m.

ELI'S GOING: Did you see Eli Manning get crunched during the Giants preseason game with the Jets on Monday night? He dropped back, first colliding with his running back.  When he tried to reach for the loose ball, he got cut in half by a Giant defender. He had to leave the game with a bloody three-inch gash to the left side of his head. He needed 12 stiches to close the cut.

STRONG START: Ninth-seeded Andy Roddick lost a second set tiebreaker, but then rallied to win his first round match at the Western and Southern Financial Group Masters in Mason. Roddick won a three setter over Sergiy Stakhovsky.

FEELING BETTER: Roddick said over the weekend that he's getting over a case of mononucleosis. Monday was a good test. "I don't feel perfect, but good enough" said Roddick. "That third set was actually a blessing in disguise. That's the best I've played in months."

MANLY BREAK: The women in Mason wilted under the intense heat last week.  It appears the men are going to have much nicer conditions.

TODAY AT 11AM: James Blake plays Denis Istomin.

TODAY AT 1PM: Mardy Fish plays Gilles Simon

TODAY AT 7PM: John Isner plays Lukasz Kubot

BAD CHOICE IN HATS: Arkansas Radio personality Renee Gork went to an Arkansas football news conference wearing a Florida Gators cap. Arkansas lost a bitter 23-20 game to Florida last season. After answering a question, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said "that will be the last question I answer with that hat on."  And he was right.  Gork tweeted Monday that she had been fired.

Hope you have a great Tuesday.  It's supposed to be another fabulous day. If you wear a hat, be sure you wear the right one.

Popo