Yes, for the moment everyone is occupied with the Super Bowl. I’m no football fan, but I’m as wrapped up in it as anyone. It helps when Super Bowl Village is five blocks away from your office. But soon that will be all over with, and then what? March Madness doesn’t even start till June these days!

Enter Fox Sport Ohio with the cure: reruns of old Reds games and a little spring training coverage. Maybe it doesn’t have the level of excitement that the games in April will have, but it’s at least as exciting as the crap we sat through in August.

FOX Sports Ohio is ready to “March to Opening Day” with Reds Classic Rewinds & Reds Spring Training Coverage

Including a NEW 30-minute show every weeknight March 12-30 at 6:30pm

CINCINNATI, OHIO — Cincinnati Reds fans won’t have to wait until Opening Day to enjoy Cincinnati Reds baseball. In a “March to Opening Day,” presented by Tri-State Chevy Dealers, FOX Sports Ohio is excited for the return of Reds Classic Rewinds throughout February. As we head into March, the network will continue to feature coverage of the Reds with the live production of a Reds Spring Training game on March 5th and an all-new nightly show, Reds Live – Spring Training 2012, beginning March 12th.

FOX Sports Ohio will televise four (4) Reds Classic Rewind games, including three games from the 2011 season as well as a game from 1999 in honor of Barry Larkin’s recent election into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Rewind series, hosted by Jim Day, will feature thrilling games such as Opening Day 2011 v. Milwaukee – the Reds notched a walk off win after Ramon Hernandez’ slammed an opposite-field three-run homer. Other 2011 games include the game from July 15th when the Reds claimed a 6-5 win against St. Louis in front of a sellout crowd at Great American Ball Park, and the game from August 13th, the Reds-San Diego win that marked several Reds’ season-highs and the largest winning margin of the season. Fans will also enjoy the Barry Larkin replay from May, 7 1999, in which Larkin went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, including a walk-off double.

FOX Sports Ohio debuts the return of this entertaining series Monday, February 6th at 7pm, with a new game every Monday.

As the Cincinnati Reds enter into their third Spring Training at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona, FOX Sports Ohio will televise the Reds Spring Training game on March 5th at 3pm EST in Goodyear when the Reds take on the Cleveland Indians. Thom Brennaman will call the game alongside Chris Welsh.

Finally, FOX Sports Ohio is excited to announce a NEW nightly show, Reds Live – Spring Training 2012, that will air Monday thru Friday from March 12th to the 30th. Each weeknight starting at 6:30pm, Reds fans will get 30 minutes of Reds Spring Training news, notes, interviews and features. Jim Day, Chris Welsh, and Jeff Piecoro will host the show from the Reds Spring Training complex with appearances by Jeff Brantley, Jim Kelch, and Thom Brennaman. Various features of the show will also be available on FOXSportsOhio.com.

Following each new show every evening, the show will replay later that night at 10pm or following a FOX Sports Ohio live event. The show will also replay the following morning at 8:30am.

Despite the 60-degree weather in my Midwestern neck of the woods, it is actually the dead of winter. And as the calendar flips over to the shortest month of the year–with all new, less shortening this year–once again the Cincinnati Reds announce their now annual sweepstakes for Opening Day tickets.

Now lest you think this is a drawing for actual tickets, no, it’s for the chance to buy tickets. I didn’t win the chance last year, but I’m feeling good about this year.

In a continuing effort to make Opening Day tickets available to as many fans as possible, the Reds have announced the annual online ticket opportunity for the April 5 game vs. the Miami Marlins.

Now through Wednesday, February 15, at noon ET, fans can register on reds.com/openingday for a chance to purchase up to four (4) individual Opening Day tickets.

There are a limited number of tickets available through this opportunity.

Applicants must complete and submit the registration form online on Reds.com to participate in this opportunity to purchase Opening Day tickets.

Winners will be selected at random from the pool of registrants.

Winners will be notified via email and will have the opportunity to purchase up to four tickets to Opening Day.

The best way to guarantee Opening Day ticket options is with a VIP Full, Weeknight or Half-Season Mix plan.

You can register at https://secure.mlb.com/cin/ticketing/opening_day.jsp.

Yesterday we got up early to stand in line for some Reds autographs. It was a pretty weak line-up, but Nick Masset isn’t bad to look at and maybe that Billy Hamilton will be the biggest name of all in a few years. Plus, it’s always a treat to hang out with Rosie.

The Cincinnati Reds were busy yesterday, making two deals to add depth to the club.

First, they traded left-handed pitcher Jeremy Horst to the Philadelphia Phillies for utility infielder Wilson Valdez. And really, “depth” is the nicest way to describe Valdez.

Next season, he’ll be 34 years-old. He’s never hit well, posting a career .290 on-base percentage and a weak slugging percentage of .330. He’s the definition of light-hitting. And his defense hasn’t been rated as stellar either. While I made the joke that recently acquired Willie Harris could be the next Corey Patterson, there’s a chance that this guy could supplant him. Dusty Baker has some bad tendencies with players like this.

The other transaction seems like a much better one. In a move clearly meant to bolster their starting pitching, the Reds signed former Kansas City Royals pitcher Jeff Francis to a minor-league contract.

Francis has been an average, innings-eating pitcher for his career. His ERA+ sits right at 98. He had an excellent career year with the Colorado Rockies in 2007, and finished 9th in Cy Young voting. He’s unlikely to reach that high, but he seems more than capable of taking a few starts. Considering how injury-prone the projected Reds starters are–Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey were both on the disabled list last year–I expect Francis to make quite a few appearances.

So there you go. One kind of bad deal–more due to manager Baker’s weaknesses–and one solid one.

In a bizarre move that I can only attribute to sheer shame from Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty, manager Dusty Baker today announced the signing of Willie Harris.

I understand that Jocketty’s previous announcements have been pretty big and awesome–the surprise signing of closer Ryan Madson and the going-for-it-all trade for Mat Latos–but sending Baker out to do your work? It sounds strange.

Who is this Willie Harris? He may just be this year’s Willy Taveras. At 33, he’s played for 6 teams over 11 years. He’s a speedy guy with lots of veterany goodness, but he’s also quite versatile. He has experience in both the outfield and the infield. And he’s also had some success getting on base, with a .330 career on-base percentage.

The Reds have little depth in the infield, so this signing of Harris to a minor-league contract with an invite to Spring Training does make sense. Should Zach Cozart and Scott Rolen both go down at any point in the season, then the bench would be quite thin. Should he make the club, let’s hope he bears no resemblance to Corey Patterson.