What a great game yesterday at Paul Brown Stadium. It was a pleasure to be there with Orlando and Dana Antigua and Tom Wynne (view from our seats, left) and even though I’m a Steeler fan at heart, I’m so happy for Marvin Lewis. It was Marvin’s birthday on Wednesday and beyond the phone call I made to him on the 23rd, it turns out I also gave him a heck of a gift!

You see, because of recruiting commitments, I had to catch a plane and therefore left the game early. When I left, my Steelers were winning. I got to the airport and the Bengals were winning in dramatic fashion!

I guess my pre-game trip down to the sidelines (right) didn’t quite enthuse Ben and the boys the way they needed!

But I know how dear the Bengals are to Big Blue Nation and because of that I now have split allegiances so I truly am happy for Cincy. I really only (semi) root against them twice a year!

The thing that will probably hurt the most about the game is that Orlando, Dana and Tom will never let me forget that I left early and missed such an incredible ending!

Between the excitement of the Bengals game and the great practice we had on Sunday, I hardly needed a plane to fly me to North Carolina where I’ll do some recruiting. Also, I hope to get over to the Charlotte Bobcats camp to see Coach Brown. He is scheduled to have my former guard at Memphis, Antonio Anderson, in for a tryout and I can’t wait to see “Ant.” He was one of the best leaders I have ever coached. He improved every year because he worked harder than almost anyone. I really think he could have a great career in the NBA – it’s just going to take someone to look beyond his numbers and watch his game. He does ALL the little things, he’s relentless on defense and can surprise with his offense.

It will be great to see Coach Brown and Ant – they are two people who have had big impacts on my careers in their own, unique ways. Coach Brown has always been a mentor and a confidant and Antonio is a son to me.

As for the weekend’s two practices, I continue to see great things from everyone. Patrick was really active and involved yesterday and there wasn’t an offensive rebound out of his reach. Even with him playing on the perimeter, he’s still able to rebound with tenacity and aggressiveness. DeMarcus was a beast both days and all the guys are really picking up the offense well. We had two strong days with great effort and attitude.

For me, it’s just fun to go back-to-back days, even if it’s only two hours total – it’s starting to feel like the regular season a little bit. After this weekend of practices, doing what I love, I’m energized again to head out on the road for another four or five days and be back for more sessions with the team next weekend.

It was another great atmosphere at the football game on Saturday and even though the outcome wasn’t what we would have wanted, Coach Brooks’s team never stopped competing.

I made it a point to go down on the field and get near the Florida bench. They’ve got some huge players on that sideline and you all saw how fast they are. It’s scary what speed can do for a team; whatever the sport, speed does kill.

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