Are.
It's a Monday sterling stepping in holiday week. Thanks for all topsy turvy, Up is down, down is up, and a whole lot of people on the road with shiny happy faces trying to get to a close family and friends and enjoy all the holidays. And there are many happening, all in the matter of a couple of days. Christmas Honka in full swing. You got Kwansa as well. After holiday Christmas time in twenty six, I think is when
that starts. And in the news, which has gotten quite a bit of attention to start, we got a lot of groundcover tonight. By the way, Bengals with a big win in Florida, a little too late to make a difference for a playoff run. They're eliminated. But we'll talk to Joe Danaman about how that to outcome and how they played and what that means for the future of
the Woday. We also have Mark Crumbine going to join us on that Elwood case where he was convicted of murder and he said he was innocent the whole way. And then they find that apparently there was no DNA or something weird and they overturn a case or say that at least he's not going to be able to be retried and and he's going to be free.
And then they go, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait.
A minute, there is no hepatitis as we initially had thought. So now I scratch my head and go, so does this guy really innocent? Not innocent? And we'll talk to a guy who knows about criminal defense cases and trying to get innocent people released, and obviously also dealing with putting the people who are not exactly safe for the rest of us to play with in the big sandbox of life locked up so they can be isolated in a way and keep us safe. Mighty Wall from space
dot Com gonna join us as well. A lot of groundcover in James Rapine too. Holy crap, there's a lot going on. But first to start, you may have heard there is news about and there's tons of politics in the news. But I like to bring it home to what matters to us here in the dry state, and what matters to us is local stuff. And about election day, which has been election days for some period of time
time where you could vote early. You can only vote once, not often, no matter what anybody says, and you could do mail in voting, and that's the case for a lot of our military personnel around planet Earth, as well as a lot of people in rural areas who have a hard time getting around, maybe seniors, and a lot
of people who can't get off work. Today comes news that a governor Dwine would like to have apparently a vetoed a tightening up of rules surrounding when votes will be counted and tabulated, meaning election night, with the s still being allowed a four day grace period. I figured, why not talk to someone who knows a little bit about the politics of voting in history of it, former
head of political science at Writes State and Dayton. She is a Cincinnati kid now professor Meredi, doctor Dona Schlehick. Welcome back to seven hundred WLW with Sterling.
How are you hi?
Sterling? Doing well?
And you're right, there is really never a slow news day, is there not anymore?
It's like whiplash, And you know, days ago you would think, well, this is clearly going to be a topic a You're like, it's like months ago, some stuff has happened. So I guess that's the nature of the world we're living in. As far as this election thing in the vote deal.
Governor Dewin would like to have vetot it. He said he could not what does this effectively mean when it comes to people looking to cast their vote midterm elections or any other election moving forward in the great state of Ohio.
Well, I think the bottom line, you know, and I'm so glad you wanted to talk about this to remind people to be registered. And if you have to vote absentee, if you're going to be traveling for work, you know, you may be called to active duty, if you're in the Guard or the Reserve, you may be in a nursing home. But there are many reasons why people do absentee ballots. You've got to move your timeline up at
least by a week to be sure. It's got to be postmarked by the day of the election to be counted. And I don't know about you, I don't have major complaints about mail delivery, but it has gotten slow, which is why we had that grace here, right. He wants, as Governor DeWine said, he wants every vote to be counted. And I think most Americans would would agree with that sentiment. Ohio. The slightest bill that they're trying to tighten up some
of the voting practices. You know, not a single audit has found any systematic fraud anywhere in in the Ohio system, and Ohio voters generally have a higher level of confidence in the integrity of the elections that happen in our state. But if you have to vote absentee, and Ohio is still not going to go to online voting, so that is you know, there is technology out there that might
help us more sterling. We don't have to go into that, but if you, for any reason think you may be requesting an absentee ballance, get that thing filled out and in the mail a week ahead of time. I admit I'm genetically one of those people. I run a little early, but if you really want it to be counted, if we have a close race, We've got a couple of interesting ones. We have a governor's race coming up. We may see Vivek Ramaswami and Amy acton the term that JD.
Vance left in the Senate. You know that seat now has to be filled permanently. Maybe John Houstead and Shared Brown are some of the names. But there are going to be a couple of big and potentially very closely contested races. Every vote will count, But that four day grace period, the governor really wanted to make sure that veterans serving overseas. Of course, it's always experienced problems with
their ballots arriving late. Of all the people who are voting absentee, would you not want people on active duty serving the country overseas to have their votes counted?
Is that rhetorical or are you actually asking me? Because I got to say, yeah, of course their votes should count. I think all of our votes should count too. Okay, okay, let me reintroduce you. By the way, former head of political science at Right State. She is now professor, married to doctor Donna Slick, with Sterling on seven hundred WLW. The four d grace period historically has been for those straggling votes that have been to be county that have
been mailed in or otherwise. Right, they've tightened up the ballot box, the drop offs in county after county, all eighty eight and Ohio. Doctor Slick and you mentioned something also interesting about the slowing down of the mail and they've sort of centralized some of the delivery. I know from points south of Dayton that would normally have gone to a Dayton processing center coming from part of the tri State, maybe go to Cincinnati instead of going to
Dayton's hub that's not there anymore. In all that region in Dayton goes to Columbus before it even would go to their next door neighbor's house, which is sort of bewildering. Some have argued that some of the changes to the postal services functioning and processes have been deliberately slowed down for something such as this. Do you buy into that or is that paranoia and more of the you know, tenfoil hat wearing conspiracists out there.
Do you think, Oh, I was living and working in Dayton, moved to Cincinnati, and I have noticed, you know, I have insurance in that sort of thing, and my mail is much slower because they mail it to me from Dayton, but it goes to Columbus yep, and then it gets I have personally noticed the change since they closed that big Dayton hub. I don't know what the rationale was. You know, our Secretary of State they audit every election. The level of fraud is small. They may also be
challenging people in terms of their citizenship. This could be a very interesting year, especially if you haven't voted before or if you're a new citizen, and it will be you know, it's an off year election, so the roles will probably be smaller, but we want to encourage participation and confidence in the system.
Uh.
And you know the governor was he was really reserved about it. But there is there's a case pending in another state, you know, to kill that four day grace period. So the legislature sort of is ahead of the curve on this one. But you know, the voting fraud is so small, uh, if it will be tight, remember to take your ID with you. That's also required if you're voting in Ohio. But measures like this, uh, particular for people, you know who maybe are on a rural route. What
if you're in a nursing home. What if if you're in hospital and you you know, or you're you're you're disabled, students who are living away from home, they're you know there these people have very valid reasons for needing an absentee ballot process, but they're going to have to move up the timeline. The burden is going to be on the voter this time to make sure your vote is.
Counted doctor Flake.
Something that comes up regularly is to talk about it and say, other countries where they will have a day off and the sort of the national holiday for people to go on election day in some places obviously even longer than our early voting that takes place at more of elections county facilities around All eighty eight and Ohio, and it's pretty standard and a lot of places around the country.
Are there big problems systemically in other places around the world where they have it a little bit more stretched out, in a little bit more openness, or are we on the right side of this? I mean, nobody wants impropriety, wrongdoing or shady things that changing the outcome of an election of what the people want doing.
All right, I mean it is you know, the integrity and the public confidence in the integrity.
You know, states that do.
Online voting show very high levels of compliance and an absence of fraud. States that require voting. Countries we just had an election in Chile, voting is mandatory. You may get some time off, but you have to vote. So the variation across how countries practice a synth uh we I wish we could think of a you know, a more direct way, perhaps to incentivize people a national holiday. Uh that that that will be tricky in in times like this because you know that's an expense for offices, et cetera.
But it's it's been discussed.
For a long time. I don't think we're going to see that one. I'm holding my breast at the legislature will now move on to figure out how to fund public education in Ohio. You know, wait, wait, waiting for the for the big one to happen. But an online voting would would address so many of these problems, you know, particularly with the delays, three or four delays, it's very rare for it to have changed the outcome of an election,
extremely rare. Ohio voters tend to be pretty confident, you know, despite our public discourse that talks about stolen elections and fraud, Ohio voters have an above average level of confidence. And and I think you know, Frank LeRose is Secretary of State. He's been auditing them as as is his job.
Traud.
You know, the audits just come out clean every time. So we'll have a lower turnout. It's it's an off year, but we're going to have some good races in Ohio, and I'm I'm glad that on radio we can remind people this is the rule has changed. And if you know, if you have typically voted absentee, get it in early. Make sure it's postmarked by the day of the election. That is the best thing that you can do. Do it early and be sure it's postmarked on the day
of the election, and it should be counted. And if you happen to be on active duty, there's going to be special attention paid to those ballots, as there should be, as we would all hope that there would be. It's going to be an interesting election. It's just so much going on right now.
I mean, there's so many things.
I've had people paying me doctor Slake in the midst of this conversation. What about naming on buildings and putting a phases up, like you know, a dictator is another part of the world. I don't know it is there regular to put name on stuff of somebody sitting in office. Usually it comes after they have passed and people who
support them and want to memorialize them as happened. Also questions, of course, about the legality of taking out boats in and around Venezuela and we've talked about regime change there and how the US historically has not exactly been very successful in trying to overturn governments or get people out of office and install either our puppets or ones that we find more conducive to our business needs or our
national security needs. Let's, in short order, in about three minutes, explain if you can, or at least your take on what's going on with Venezuela, because I think that is maybe more top of mind for a lot of us who maybe have friends and family in the military and navy, and maybe we've seen a little of this dog and pony show before in some fashion when it comes to us as a nation looking to somehow else someone elsewhere for a number of other reasons.
Yes, it is regime change.
Yes, I think that that's that's that's what they're not saying out loud very often to put financial pressure on Venezuela and also indirectly on Cuba, which is kept a float financially by what used to be Russian oil and now it's it's Venezuelan oil.
I heard an.
Analyst this weekend say Maduro is so well protected, particularly by his Cuban bodyguard. That the smartest way to have regime change without complete chaos following would be to put the entire Venezuelan military on the American payroll.
And that's awesome.
Can we do that, I thought in the long run, given given what it costs to have diverted ten percent or so of our our forces to the Caribbean. Seriously, what happens after the regime change?
Yeah, that's a good question. I think the Venezuelans would like to know too.
I think I think they would.
Is there a good model of regime change that has ended well for the people, for the economy, and for the region. Like you said earlier, there's not a long list of those good models, and quite frankly, I'm not sure how extensive. Right now, we're sort of scaring off the tankers. We're chasing them away before they could load up. It's going to cause a little pinch to the Chinese, you know, the major customer of the Venezuelans. I've been,
you know, reading up on Venezuela. But you know, the first time I ever read about Venezuela back in the fifties, they helped get opequ organized, So that country has always had a strong sense of you know, their national wealth it's in petroleum, and that their national self determination depends upon their ability to control their country's wealth. So they worked with several Arab states to create what we know
today as you know, a great, big oil cartel. But that census nationalism, national pride, and pressing the Venezuelans on this point, Sterling is almost guaranteed to get a real aggressive pushback from the Maduro regime.
But you know, as a.
Political science is my question is, okay, so after you've changed the head of the regime, what then that's.
A solid question. I'm sorry, he's an.
Office because of the stolen elections and he was able to miss the pressure to overturn him. He is unpopular in his country, but he is well guarded and the military is keeping him in office right now, so this thing will be coming to a head. I just wonder what, you know, Stage two and three and four is, you know, if we have offered him exile someplace, but how to have continuity without the chaos that typically follows a violent regime change.
And the other interesting thing that we're out of time. But one of the things here is that that crude oil from Venezuela is easier to process with the facilities that we have that don't get built very fast in parts of Louisiana and all up and down most of the country. So there is obviously oil at the forefront of this too, not just the idea, which is of course our national security. It's not just the idea of drugs.
That's sort of a dog and pony show. Arguably, it's always great to get in your head talking voting, talking national security and everything else. It's always good to have you here, your perspective and insights. Former head of political science at Wright State now Professor Meredith Cincinnati Kid doctor Dona Schleheck. Have yourself a great Christmas Honukah at Kwanta the holiday the new Year.
We'll check in with again.
Soon Mary, Christmas.
Thanks, take care of yourself. More sterling coming back.
Joe Daniman Fox nineteen don't talk food day, whip me after your nine thirty report on seven hundred WLW.
Well, well, well it.
Was like Sazime Street easy good times in the summer sun where at least December sunshine of South Florida for those Bengals on the road yesterday with a big dominating win over the Dolphins, who really aren't that great, and this Bengals team somehow looked a little closer to what we expected than the look all year, but injuries and there's all kinds of the weirdness that went with that baggage.
Your twenty five season so far.
Joe Daniman knows covers Bengals and everything else sports for Fox nineteen, giving us some time. How are you, how's everything? And how was the weekend? I know you did some stuff with the family.
Too, Yes, the weekend was wonderful, getting a chance to see my boys played some high school basketball this weekend before watching the Bengals play on Sunday. And a Merry Christmas to you. I hope you get to enjoy some.
Time off this week sot enjoy the holidays, Absolutely, you too. What about this Bengals team?
All of a sudden, after what was a demoralizing shutout loss which has not happened very often in recent years for the Bengals against the Ravens, they take a trip south and you kind of like, well, what's this Bengals team gonna do? Are they just gonna work on the future and see what other guys can they've tried some other guys out a Burrow, Chase Higgins, Chase Brown. I mean, all of the offensive weapons clicking, especially the second half.
Just pounded those fish or I guess there are a porpoise, it's a mammal.
Whatever.
The dolphin is what it is, and I hear it's good on it. They're good eating. But I don't want to eat a dolphin. I really don't.
I try to think back to what ah Ventura said about the difference between a porpoise in a mammal in the movie, but it felt like the ultimate get right spot for the Bengals to play the Dolphins, playing a rookie quarterback and a seventh round rookie in that and coming off the shutout loss to the Baltimore Ravens. To
see what it looks like yesterday. That has to be both at the same time a great feeling for Bengals fans to see it, and also at the same time the big what if of what this season could have been and what these last three years could have been. When you see what it looks like the Big three are firing like they did on Sunday with mar chse T Higgins and Joe Burrow.
And now it's got.
To be urgent on the organization again when you're reminded what it looks like that if you just put the pieces around the big three to be successful, it's as dangerous an offense as there is in the NFL.
And they've got to get it right.
They've got to get the right people around those three for this team to play better football in twenty twenty six, because what they have in those three is pretty darn special, and I think the numbers would show it out, but our eyeballs held the tail for us as well. We all saw it, we know it, we know what it looks like, and it happened again, and I think it again reminds the front office what they've got to do right next year for this team to be in position to be playing in January.
Talking to Joe Danman Fox nineteen, it's at Fox nineteen, Joe, if you're on ex or Twitter, whatever you want to call. It was Sterling on the big one the spine Monday night. We also saw a defense that look tremendous, But again it's the Dolphins and it's been a struggle for a long time. They've had draft after draft after draft, high top type draft picks. And my question to you is is it a development problem? Is it a talent problem? Is it a coaching problem? Why has the defense been
so consistently inconsistent for so long? Regardless who is where worn that hat is ahead of that defense when it comes to you know, I guess coaching for one of a better way.
If I had to land on one answer, I think I would land on a talent evaluation problem. That when they go into the draft and they target these players, and you go back to the draft just this last spring and all the talking heads who were pointing towards certain players for the Bengals to take, and those players being available, and the Bengals deciding to put their draft pick on someone else and bank on their ability to coach that person up and get quality football out of them.
And it felt risky with some of their picks, especially the first two picks, Shamar Stewart and Demetrius Knight. And here we are now sixteen weeks into the season, and I really don't know if you have a great grasp on what you have, and really any of these rookies, especially Shamar Stewart, who hasn't played a lot of football. He certainly flashed a little bit Sunday in Miami, but he hasn't played a ton, so I'm not sure if
you know what kind of a commodity he is. Demetrious Knight has been up and down in his rookie season, so the jury's still out on him. Barrett Carter is one that I'm sure Bengals fans are hoping either starts to show that he can play at a level where he deserves to start, or the Bengalis think about either investing in free agency or the draft with another high draft pick of finding someone to play that linebacker spot
that they can rely on a little bit more. But I think what's the most important about the second half of this season with the defense, And let's be honest, they have been and better. Now the bar was really low for them to be better, but to have been a little bit better incrementally here in the second half of the season. And I do think you can pick out certain players that have played well and you can say, okay,
they can be contributors in the future. The guys like Miles Murphy who we didn't know if he could be a contributor, I think he's shown here in the last month and a half that he can do that. DJ Turner, Dax Hill, guys that have proven this year they can be contributors. I think Jordan Battle, while he's not perfect, has made enough plays this year that you can rely on him to be a contributor. So that's what I'm watching for the final two weeks, especially the rookies. Tamar Stewart,
Demetrius Knight, Barrett Carter. Can these guys continue to show the kind of flashes that at least validate the Bengal is looking forward to twenty twenty six and say, Okay, these are guys we can rely on to contribute.
To a defense.
So that's going to have to get a lot better, and it's going to have to get a lot better in agency, not just the draft. The Bengals have got to do it. They've got to go for it in a free agency for this defense to make the kind of jump it has to make next year for the Big three to be able to play in playoff games.
Talking to Joe Danaman Fox nineteen Sports Sterling seven hundred wlw uh, it's harder from people I've talked to to develop and have younger guys come in on a defense than it is on the offense.
Do you buy that?
I mean going out and getting pieces of more experienced players. I know there have been some injury issues. We obviously know guys who were expected to be here have not necessarily been here for the whole ride this season, or playing less than eight hundred percent, which is fairly common anyway. But to have some guys on defense that are players that are gamers, that are not green, it's is it really harder on defense than offense to get out there and get it clicking?
I think on offense, there's a lot of plug and play positions in football that you can put a guy out there and and they can make plays right away when you plug them. In defense, just in general, and this is going to sound very rudimentary, but just in general, it's very much more a read and react kind of
spot on the football field. And so yeah, I think part of the problem the first eight weeks of the season, especially when Dak Taylor and the coaching staff committed to going to these two rookie linebackers, is understanding these guys have to figure out where to line up, what are their keys, where do they go, how do they react?
And you're seeing teams through a lot of misdirection to try to test the eye discipline of these guys to make sure that they, without a lot of experience, can make the kind of right read and go to the right spot. Now, even when they are doing that, you're still seeing some problems pop up with tackling, and that isn't something that should happen at this level, especially if you're a high draft pick like Matrius Knight and Barrett Carter who was a relatively high draft pick as well.
But I think in general, the development on the defensive side of the football is probably more growing pain than the offensive side. Certainly, Dylan Fairchild has been plugged in right there at the offensive line and has played a solid season Dat Taylor said as much today, But he's also right next to two really betteran guys who can help cover up for his mistakes. You look on defense to Meetrius Knight and Barrett Carter make mistakes. Who's really
back there to help them cover up those mistakes? Gino Stones, That's not a great thing for a defense. And I think two as I say Geno Stones name, I think too, what's important where this defense can show the guys that you can count on to contribute in twenty twenty six.
I think it's also important to understand that the Bengals coaching staff and the organization now gets to look at the guys they don't want to count on in twenty twenty six, and those guys have proven themselves this year that some aren't good enough to be relied upon going into next year, and that there have to be changes. And certainly safety is one of those positions where the Bengals have to make a change. So it's not just the guys who are flashing and developing and getting better
that you can rely upon. It's also making the assessments on the guys that you have to move on from. And I think the Bengals have gotten a long look at both of those and have some decisions to make.
Here in a couple of weeks now it's clear that there's almost been sort of there's the learning curve that's been shortened, and you get to see some guys in showcase in the midst of what has been an ugly season, you know, and you know, it's all we want the guys to start strong, you know, And so they did they go like what two and oho to starts they're like, oh four, and then you go, oh, Joe's toe, and then you get Flacco, I mean, and then you go, well,
he only wins one. How is that possible? They only could win a couple more games? How much better would this whole circumstance be coming from the AFC North. They could have been in contention for the AFC North tidle and go in that way if there would just been I mean, how many of these games have been just a score away, a field goal, even just a point where you're like watching or listening to Lap and Hoard
and you're just like, oh, my head's gonna explode. It's just ridiculous, and I think I care too much Joe Danaman.
But if you think about the Jets and the Bears game though, those are those one score one play games that very much were winnable for the Bengalis, and if they win them, here they are seven and eight and week fifteen and they might have a pulse in the AMC North. But it's been such an odd season because it feels like it's been three different seasons in one maybe even four where they had the start of the year, and you mentioned it. Everybody said get off to the
fast start, and they did that. That includes beating a Jacksonville Jaguars team right now who is as hot as anybody in the AFC and might be one of the favorites to play for an AFC championship here in about a month. So you can see what they look like when they have their team together.
So that was season one.
Then Joe goes down, and season two was this midsmash of Jake Browning and Joe Flacco, and then season three was Joe Burrow's come back, and you look at what they've done, and I think it's important to look at what this team has done with Joe Burrow the last and let's go back to last year, the last twelve thirteen weeks, because they've won the final five games. Last year with Joe, they won the first two and that
includes bidding a good Jacksonville team a playoff team. Then he comes back and they go on the road and beat a good Baltimore team, and then they have Buffalo on the ropes in the fourth quarter before the turnovers happen, and then the Baltimore game. So outside of the Baltimore game, the one at home where the Bengals were shut out.
When the Bengals have Joe Burrow playing their competitives and they're playing with some of the better teams and beating some of the better teams in the AFC, So they're not far away, right, and it's not just getting.
To the playoffs.
And I think that's important to hammer home when you start talking about all the changes that Joe Burrow is hinting towards in the offseason, whether or not that's coaching changes, whether or not that's funt office changes. The changes have to be urgency and free agency for this team to not only say, okay, what do we have to do to get back to the playoffs. This is a championship level,
top heavy team with those three. So if you surround the right players around those three, you're not just competing with playoff teams like they've done this year with Joe Burrow. You're beating them. And if you're beating them, you can compete for championships.
Yeah, and it helps. I mean, you don't even need an extraordinary defense. You need a serviceable defense with an offense that scores the way they do, which at times seems like it's at will, which is an amazing thing. When they're hitting it, it's it almost looks like it's slow motion, which is is a wild thing. But we'll see how it comes together. Anything I have not asked.
I know we need to let you go on about your day and enjoy Christmas time and family and friends and everything else that's going on.
Joe Danaman, if I can ask you a question, Oh.
No you oh here we go?
Oh no, okay, oh no, Christmas week, yes, yes, it's Christmas Week.
I have three boys, and I'm trying to think of a last minute great gift, and I'm thinking Bengals tickets.
Now.
Is that a good gift because they're out of the playoffs. But it's a home game, it's a winnable game, Joe Burrow is playing, and two of my boys have never gone to a Bengals game. So is that a good gift from a dad to a son to give them tickets to a game that doesn't have any playoff meeting?
Well, just to be serious, one, let's forget about the fact that you're Joe Danaman, Fox nineteen Sports, who knows people, who has connections, So let's start there.
I think it's a no brainer. Yeah.
I mean you get to go to pay Corps, you get to get up close and personal and watch NFL football, Bengals go at it with Joe Burrow, Jamar, Chase T. Higgins if his head's right still, Chase Brown, p Ryan who was all over the place, and a defense that maybe can do some work. I mean they got the Cardinals, right, you got the Browns.
Yeah.
In fact, I want to be one of your kids right now is bright? No, they should be happy.
It's about to be decently warm on Sunday. Although I've heard the word storms for first Sunday. We'll see about that. What a wild thing that would be in late December. But yeah, I think I'm gonna do it. I think I'm gonna make that my last minute gift.
I think I think it's a great choice. Even mister Waddell, who's producing, is like, well what about us? What about us? I totally get that. Yeah, it's always good to talk to you. I hope you have a great Christmas and a great New Year. If we don't connect again, I appreciate you bringing what you do and certainly watching it and seeing what you bring. On Fox nineteen Joe Daniman, thank you and take care of yourself and have fun.
With the boys Sunday. Christ I appreciate it. Merry Christmas, guys.
Take care of yourself more Sterling coming back seven hundred W WELLW here we are a couple of minutes away from your ten o'clock report. It's a Monday night, Sterling. Garrett Jeff was on earlier.
I'm here now.
It's the holidays, Christmas kwans Hanikah a full effect right now and just trying to get through it. And I just picked up a Mark, a criminal defense counsel superstar, gonna join us after the ten o'clock report to try to make sense of It's an odd case because you have a case about a woman, Rodea Nathan, who lost
her life at the hand of another. She was murdered, brutally beaten in a hotel room at Embassy Suites, Blue ash in like a third and was it ninety three, ninety five somewhere at ninety four, so we're talking in excess of thirty years ago. There was a guy tried who worked there, his name Elwood Jones. He the whole time is our prisons are filled with people who say they're innocent, and he said he was innocent. He's kept to that story. Then people start fighting for him. They say, listen,
it's circumstantial evidence. That doesn't mean anything. DNA hepatitis, no hepatitis, there's something, And they go, okay, fine, we can't try you again. I think it's called no prejudice on the overturnament or what have you, and I'll probably be corrected. Mister Crumbine momentarily, that's why he's here. He knows what's what. And then just a couple days later, Joe Dieters now in the Supreme Court, used to be prosecutor, comes out and says, that's a bunch of crap. We had what
we needed. He should be locked up. He is guilty. And then a day or two after that, Miss Somarco, she's the coroner here in Hamilton County, she comes out, apparently they have for research, they've done study, they look into che tech I guess whatever biological pieces in parts of samples that they had that were still viable, and then apparently there's no hepatitis shown. Now a defense council
says that's wrong. Of course, they're defending their client. So I would like to just have an experienced criminal counselor on who's been on the side both sides effectively of this type of circumstance to say, one, we don't want anybody railroaded. I think that's clear. No one should be put away and due time for a crime they didn't commit.
On the other side of it, you want someone who's culpable to be held accountable in some type of justice for someone who can't speak for themselves and their family members who died at the hand of another in a brutal fashion. So we'll get into Mark Crumbine's brain about this case and maybe how many people could be locked up who shouldn't be, and maybe sometimes how people get away with stuff that they should not because they actually
did cause harm to another. I guess you work the system in some cases, or you don't have what you need to get a conviction when it comes to evidence. So Mark Crumbine joins me after your ten o'clock report the latest on what's going on around the tri State
and the planet Earth that matters to us. Here on a Monday night, Sterling, where the Hooda got a big win over the fish in a game that arguably didn't matter yesterday, and they got three more to go, and they're reds who will be in the desert in just a matter of weeks. Here the Nation Station seven hundred WLW, Cincinnati.
Here we are.
It's a fine Monday night, sterling hanging out. Hope you're doing okay. The holidays are upon them. Hope you and yours are enjoying yourself. A lot of people already on the road getting where they're going. And the idea of being able to freely travel and to get around and to visit family this time of year especially, I think
hits close to home. And for the better part of thirty thirty five years, give or take the Nathan family after the loss of RhoD and Nathan as she was brutally beaten in a hotel room in Blue Ash, it didn't leave a whole lot for them to celebrate over well decades now, frankly and looking for closure and murder.
Police in Cincinnati or Blue Ash, and across the country for that matter, Planet Earth do their best to speak for those who can't to get justice, to get retribution for one of a better way to describe it, For those who are responsible for the pain the suffering and the lives taken of people who have been murdered. And in the midst of this was a guy who worked at this same hotel, Elwood Jones, who with circumstantial evidence, the law enforcement was able to find their way effectively
to a prosecution. As I understand it, and the whole way, mister Jones had said that he was not guilty. Many people do. In fact, prisons are filled with people who say that they're in a A lot of people came to his defense over these last three decades, and basically there was an overturning of some of that process and saying now that he can't be retried for it, and
some of it was it was circumstantial. They did not have DNA, there was a hepatitis question, and just in the last week or so, it was the idea of him not having to deal with another prosecution and Joe Deaters came out.
It was a part of the prosecutor's office.
I think he may have been the DA at the time here in Hamilton County who was behind the conviction at this point, said that what had been discussed was not legitimate, that they had more than enough evidence and it was a legitimate, upstanding prosecution and conviction as I understand it, his defense council says. Otherwise, as we are now here, Coroner Somarco in Hamilton County comes out today.
You heard her here on the Big One even talking about the fact that they did more testing there is no hepatitis, so that the idea that there had been hepatitis, and that the accused in this case, Owood Jones, would not have been able to have committed this act without finding himself exposed to an in fact, showing then some type of positive sign for it was his way out
of being culpable. Kind of have to give us some time who was dealt with more than his handful of cases and defense of those who were facing death penalty, capital murder cases or otherwise and been around in the Tri State for quite a while doing this kind enough to take my call and to show up in person to talk about this as a criminal defense counsel Mark Crumbine, Welcome back to seven hundred w welw, how are you and happy holiday?
Oh thank you Shary. It's so great to be here and so great to see again. Thank you for having me here tonight.
How irregular is this case. This is a high profile case, and I think anyone of any reasonable rational mind would say, we want someone who is responsible for taking another's life or causing another's harm, let alone property damage, but the loss of life to be held accountable and to be taken away and no longer a life, to playing the big sandbox of life, or in some cases maybe execution because we are a death penalty state. How often do we see a case like this where they're convicted and
then they say, hey, subsequently there's no evidence. How often because that's just the first part of.
This, Well, that's extremely unusual, and I don't think you know. A couple of things I want to point out. Sometimes people say, well, it's just a circumstantial evidence case, but that there are a lot of cases that are circumstantial evidence. That doesn't mean it's a good case or a bad case. It just means that there's probably not an eyewitness, and there aren't a lot of murders and things where there are actually eyewitnesses. Otherwise there wouldn't be a lot of
trials if somebody saw it. So a lot of cases go to trial. Circumstantial cases they could be great prosecution cases.
They could be very weak.
And then also I don't think necessarily anyone saying that there's no evidence here against mister j Ownes. There was some evidence, but apparently not sufficient evidence, and that doesn't tell you certainly whether he did or didn't do it. At this point, the case is the charges have been dismissed. And again that gets to another concept. You can't prove Typically, you cannot prove that you're not guilty when you if you ever say that as a defense attorney, that could
be the end of your career. You can't prove it. I mean, nobody can really prove they're innocent. And there really is not an expectation in the Constitution of the United States.
That we have to do that. We don't have to do that.
That's up to the prosecution to prove that you're guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And the question here is is there a reasonable doubt? And initially with this that they felt that it was enough there to beyond a reasonable doubt put him away.
Correct, Well, the jury thought that, yes, correct, yes, And the jury thought that and that you know that doesn't this is you know, my understanding. I don't think there's you know, sometimes there will be a case where they'll say, factually a court will decide that later on that the persons didn't do it, for sure did But those are so rare, they're like you can kind of on one hand. Typically it's either not guilty at trial, or maybe if you're found guilty it's thrown out. But that doesn't mean
there's some evidence, doesn't mean you did it. I mean, frankly, you could be found guilty and still not have done it. Of course, sure that happens sometimes so and I believe that that's what mister Jones is saying.
In a circumstance like this.
Mare Crombine, criminal defense counsel, was Stirling seven hundred WLW talking about this horrible circumstance with Elwood Jones and the loss of life of wrote to Nathan, and I think sometimes in the midst of this conversation you think about the guy who may be locked away for the rest of his days or extended period, three decades, whatever it is, in losing their freedoms. But people often forget about there was a woman who was brutally murdered. Her family has
had to navigate this and would like some closure. They felt like they had had that closure and then now here we are, this type of thing comes out and you have current prosecutor who says, you know, things are not as we thought they were. Previous prosecutor says, oh, yes they were. And the defense counsel is going to do what they do, which is try to protect and provide whatever they can in defense of their client to be able to get them back to freedom or at
least change what they're obligated to be punished for. How often in what type of arguments? I mean, this is a weird thing prosecutor to prosecutor, right, especially forget about the fact go into the Supreme Court. But that carries another bit of weight. This is an odd case across the board, is it not?
Absolutely? I mean, we have our new prosecutor, County Pillage. I believe she's saying, you know, she was talking about how the test result was one thing. Mister Dieters the original prosecutor, county prosecutor in Henry County for decades, and you know he's saying, no, you know, he's seeing it differently in this agreeing pretty strongly with Countye Pillage.
Very unusual.
As you look at this in the time that you've you've studied it, and it gets weird and murky water. I suppose from someone in your position to maybe touch too deep into this. But from what you've seen and from what you've heard, is you assessed this. Where do you see their truth to be? Well, it doesn't matter defense or prosecution.
Sure it matters, but you know it's really I mean, I haven't this is a new development. I haven't really I haven't been able to study it that much. It just came out, sure, But you know, I see I think what it sort of boils down to is originally and I could be wrong in some of these facts.
I can remember the original case, but you know, I think the original part of the original theory was that Missus Nathan, the person the woman that was killed supposedly the corner, not supposedly the corner back then, not latch me. So Marco said that Missus Nathan had hepatitis bright okay,
which is very contagious. Okay. But then the the back then even they said that Elwood Jones did not have it, but he supposedly could have been was bitten by her and this and that that's the prosecution's case back then, that was just part of the case though, so that I think there was a significant factor. And now the county prosecutor watched me. So Marco is saying, well, I reviewed it. I looked at the microscopic evidence that you know, the it's left, and I see that there is no
inflammation in the liver and that indicates no hepatitis. So he's saying, missus, Nathan did not have hepatitis then, And she said, is that the corner back then made a human error and thought that she had it right. So I think back then, and this is the part I gotta be careful, but I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think back then they said that Nathan Jones did not have hepatitis correct, so so and they said, so that was maybe I guess that would be part
of his defense back then. But now they're saying, well that that doesn't matter because she didn't have it either. So if if she beat him, why would he have it right? But there's still other evidence that was brought up and it doesn't mean that it's that it's damning there. You know, they were claiming that I think some bite marks matched. I hope I'm not kidding these cases mixed up.
I don't know how many people are bitten on a regular basis, but I mean, you have someone who have apparently bit someone in the midst of a horrible beating, and then you have a guy who allegedly had a bite on them right.
Well, but you know that science has changed over the years a lot. Yeah, and so you know, they I think back then, if I have the right case, they were saying that it matched. But now they're seeing that science isn't that good, and I don't know if they can still.
I don't know if they could tell.
Back then, for sure they thought they could that it was even a bite mark. Maybe it's something else. And then you know, there's some other evidence.
Back then they said that.
You know, a unique item of jewelry was found in Elwood Jones trunk and it must have been it was from the victim.
That it was custom made or something cestimde.
But then there were allegations that it was planted there by the police officer. But now the police officer has passed away, so then that leaves you in the lurch there.
They're also been talking if I'm not mistaken Mark Crumb by Criminal Defensive attorney was Sterling on the big one talking about this Elwo Jones case, and it was horrible murder situation and now and it's effective. Is it an overturned case. That's the other thing that's kind of weird in how this plays out, because they said he couldn't be charged or at least retried.
But and you mentioned the jewelry.
They said that it apparently was calm found in New York, which then says sort of takes away that as being religid evidence. But they had a stack of other bits and pieces of stuff that put pieces that they said, look, here's the guy, he was there, he did this.
Yeah, and I think there was I better be really careful.
I don't want to put in a bad spot.
Well, I just want to be careful.
I don't want to get in trouble. Either you've got I'm in a world or heard. If I get in trouble, you've got experienced, license licensed.
But there's something about some infection, not just hepatitis, but some type of infection from the so called bite.
I don't know.
I can't remember the details of that, yeah, or the accuracy of it. And then there was something about you know, supposedly she got hit with a radio like he had, and there was a mark from the radio on her body. There's a lot of other stuff too, But you know, I think part of it, I guess, is that you know, that's circumstantial evidence. It could be true, it could be false, it could be accurate, it could be inaccurate. You know, you've got you know, sit uh forensic people on one side,
you know, analyzing it. Obviously, the state's going to use who they think supports their theory of the case, and the defense will try to find somebody that can counter it. And and by the way, it just points out there it may not be like you may never be able to show truthfully or not. Some things are not discernible. They're just not, I mean not everything is a scientific thing, a perfect scientific thing, So you know, it's not in a lot of most cases are really the totality. And
the prosecutors like to use this phrase. I've been a prosecutor, That's what I'm saying. You've done them both scientific sides. Yeah, you know, they like to say totality of the circumstances, you know, and that's really true, Like if you looked at one little part you'd say, well, that doesn't mean it, that doesn't mean it. But if you look at everything, well maybe that's enough. Maybe that's enough to prove beyond
a reasonable doubt. That's what you have to have. So you know, some people they look at these cases for years, for one hundred years. You know, some famous cases, Jack the Ripper and all this stuff. Sometimes it's never going to be clear, and somebody has to decide. It's got to be a jury or a judge typically, and they're making a decision. They could be right, they could be wrong. That is the nature of human beings. That's our system.
That's our system. And we always hope, you know, whether you're a prosecutor or defense attorney, you always hope the real truth will come out. Now that you know, your job as a defense attorney is a total advocate, you're not worried about you can't worry about what should be because.
You don't really know.
People think as a defense attorney, this might be interesting for some people. They think that as a defense attorney, you know for sure what happened.
Right, do you want to know before you finish your thought? Like it's say, for instance, God forbid, let I don't even want to put anybody's name in it. If you have someone standing over here who's been charged with a horrific crime and they're like you, like, do you want to know if they really did it when they call you to defend them? Or do you do you not want to know and just try to defend them with whatever you can.
Well, you need what you need to do as a defense attorney.
I found this earlier early on, is you need to look at the case and say, don't waste your time trying to form an opinion, because you might be right or you might be wrong. It doesn't matter believe it or not. For your job, you have to try the best you can, and deep inside, as a human being, you're hoping that that the truth comes out.
You really are, but you're not.
But if you make like, for instance, early on in the case, I thought I had a guy as really Early on, I thought, man, this sounds so bad. This guy probably did it, which is a dangerous thought as a criminal defense attorney. But sometimes you're like you listen and you're like, oh my gosh. But then by the time I tried the case, I was like, oh my gosh, this guy, I mean, is innocent for sure.
Have you ever been fooled? Do you think or somebody you found you got to off? For one of a better way to describe it. They're found not guilty, then subsequently they look at you with a little smirk and a wink, and you're like, oh, hell no, no.
I mean, I'm not saying I couldn't have, but usually I'm pretty comfortable with what happens.
Sure that helps, you know I am. I mean, I would you know?
And like I said early on, that the one case I can think of that really changed my whole career about how I felt about things, what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had a guy that sounded so guilty, and everybody kept telling me and it seemed like he was. And I shouldn't have bothered forming an opinion because by the end of it, when I saw that the verdict came back and even the policeman came up and shook my hand and said, you were right. He goes, you were right, but that
guy didn't do it. He told me who he thought did it, and I was like amazed because I didn't even figure it out. But I didn't have to figure it out. That wasn't your job, and it shouldn't be my job.
Now here, that goes to something else more crumbined criminal defense attorney was Stirling on the big one. So the other side of it, because you were a prosecutor and we see it, and I know TV is not always real, you know, even the procedurals like first forty eight, which they have shot a lot of those early on here in Cincinnati, and it's fun to watch. And none of them ever say I want my lawyer, which is bewildering.
But the first thing if a cop gets in trouble is they want they want their their defense counsel that comes hopefully from their union. So if they're not going to answer questions and they want counsel, by god, if you get in trouble, you better find somebody to protect you.
Yes, And they even have special rules because they the rules are for their union. They have to get two days before their question something like that. They have special rules through their union for the police.
We should all have that. Yeah, now here's the other side. I agree because I've had I know people in law enforcement. I've known people have been prosecutors actively and otherwise. And now you here Mark Crumbine. So, and we only have about two and a half minutes, so this is difficult. But I in a prosecutory investigation situation as well as with law enforcement, you may think somebody is guilty, but
you don't. You want to go after the evidence. It's first to find who you're pointing at, rather than pointing the finger and then finding the evidence. Because I've heard conversation on both sides of that from people in that business.
Yes, well, as a prosecutor, there's no doubt. By the rules of ethics. As an attorney and everything, you have a duty to be fair. So you have to look at it. And if you think the person's not guilty or you're you can't prove beyond reasonable doubt that they're guilty, you have to say, hey, I'm not going to prosecute that person. That's just a general way rule of it. That's your decision. As a defense attorney, you're not like, you're not supposed to judge guilt or not guilt, guilty
or not guilty. You just have to do the best you can. If your client tells you I didn't do it, that's what you need to know. And if you're not, if you don't go all the way and try as hard as you can. You will be failing that person and you will be failing the system. So it's different when you're a defense attorney than a prosecutor.
Mark Crumbining criminal defense counsel Stirling seven hundred double lub. You know, let's take this back to this horrible case about Rhoda Nathan and know with Jones so outside looking in, this guy, as I understand, it cannot be tried for this again.
Is that correct?
Yes, with prejudice, that's what that means.
So with prejudice, he can't be tried again. Now there's a question to say what initially had gotten that thrown in that direction was something that apparently may not be accurate. So then that does that mean that that case, that order, that decision should be nullified and not valid because or or is it because I mean, you either have hepatitis or you don't have hepatitis in the genetic matter that was tested, or am I out of the water?
Well, I think and this is difficult for me. I don't know all the facts right, but you know, the hepatitis thing at the beginning was more in favor of the defendant correct. So the fact that it got thrown out anyway, even though there was appetitis thing against him would still be I think in favor of the defendantor Sterling, you're more logical than I.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that, but it's just a horrible that you want justice for the family and for the woman who lost her life, Miss Nathan, of course, and you want you know, justice and penalty and punishment whatever you want to call it for the guilty, whether it's Elwood Jones or somebody else who maybe has been free all this time, and he was just in the bad you know, bad situation, wrong place, wrong time, bad history, and oddly some injuries that fit sort of
in line with the way they put together this prosecution. It's tough final thoughts on how about anything in this or otherwise before I let you go.
Well, it's really interesting and I think it shows something that that constantly happens, no matter how sophisticated in scientific things.
In DNA.
I had the first DNA murder test murder case in Cincinnati's history, by the way I tried it. Wow, And there was something that was that I pointed out without any scientific knowledge that came true within ten years.
Well yeah, and.
That makes you feel good that you didn't. There wasn't an up truck, right, And I argued it.
But I lost anyway. But then my client's case was commuted by the governor later. Okay, but I figured it out. It's just a simple logical thing. You know, the testing would change, it will change, It will change ten years from now. Now, who would have predicted that, you know, the test results would be different for the hepatitis. I
don't think anybody could have necessarily predicted that. But you know, I noticed one basic that drives me crazy, just as a logical semiological person, is they didn't have the names on the hepatitis, like the decisions like in nineteen ninety four. They didn't put so and so hepatitis so and so. They didn't even have that. They were using numbers. I'm like, ah, might not put the name. Okay, That's something I noticed that just as a logical thing.
I We'll have to have you back because I could.
I could.
I mean, I have so many questions about this, and I think most people, and I know mister Waddell's like due, hurry up, and I'm sorry relate. Let me just say I appreciate what you do, Mark Crumbink, criminal defense counsel. I know you got a potential client you gotta meet after this, and we thank you for making time.
Thank you.
And it's just a horrible case.
I mean, you want the innocent to be free, the guilty to be punished and locked away in validation, in some type of retribution, if nothing, closure for a family of a victim of something like this. This is ugly all the way around.
It's a very upsetting scenario. And there's no two ways about that.
Thank you for talking. Thank you giving us your insight. That's Mark Crumbeine Sterling coming back, seven hundred WLW. I do love Session the Street as a kid man growing up, that was tremendous. I liked mister Rogers too, but I got to a certain point.
I don't know what it was.
I grew up beyond the mister Rodgers and he creeped me out a little bit. And then years later, with the niece's nephew, pseudo nieces nephews and so forth, they were into mister Rogers reruns. And then I started watching and I was like, oh, I remember, and it made me feel good. He was like a good dude and even talking with the little train and the little people in the make believe world. But what really creeped me out? And I don't mean any just respect. And I love
CET and I love PBS. So hear me out at Sterling by the way, hanging out on a Monday for Gary Jeff who was in on earlier holiday season. We're all mixed up. It's hard to even know what day it is, to be honest with you, Uh, but is we're here and we're enjoying ourselves and trying to have a good time, uh with the holidays and everything. It's it's just nice. Hopefully you're doing okay. Five point three
seven four nine seven eight hundred the big one. We go open up the phones, give you a chance to get interactive, uh and see how the season is going and everything along with that.
It's uh, it's good times.
And I lost my train of thought thinking about mister Rogers and uh, you know, the back in the fold and embracing it and everything else. But I mean, it's just it's just good. I used to like the Electric Company with Morgan Freeman before he was the president and the voiceover for just about everything that was going on. I think he even voiced and played God at some point.
I remember while watching him on the Electric Company too, which was always tremendous, and so forth five one, three, seven, nine, eight hundred the Big One James were Peene conversation with him talking Bengals, dolphins and the future of the hoode coming up after eleven o'clock. Uh so, yeah, there is that happening as well. So uh, since I derailed my own thought, which is difficult, I blame that on blundhead trauma. I want to bring something else up. And I've seen this.
It happened once on the way in tonight and once over the weekend coming home, and then in the neighborhood walking the dog. A buddy of mine I noticed had done the same thing. And everybody's doing decorations for the season in different ways. A buddy of mine, his dog attacked his big inflatable like Frosty the Snowman. So then he changed it and it got what looks now like a big snow globe, and the dog is no longer
allowed all the lead out front. I don't know if it was the blower in the frosty waving in the wind, but he was unnerved and attacked, I think, probably to protect his people, but it was not good for the snowman. It did not end well, ripped apart just a little bit. So it's just tough times. But what I don't understand, and I don't know if it's legal, but it's interesting. It is all these cars I have seen, and I don't know if they're selling a blanket wrap for vehicles
with led Christmas lights right now. But driving down seventy one to get off here at Montgomery Road to do this show tonight, there was somebody in a white I couldn't tell. It was a low rider type of car as sort of a sports car. Thankfully, no bad weather. I mean it's nice and above freezing, and that's great. But I literally I thought, what is behind me? Is the motor passed? I'm not saying it was speeding or not.
I can can neither confirm nor tonine. I don't want to get anybody in trouble, but I thought it was like Santa or something, and then I realized, no, it's just a car loaded with lights and it was I felt festive, I felt good all of a sudden, I felt warm and fuzzy inside. But then I was also like, man, how much time does that take? You see these vehicles in occasion. I used to see it a lot in and around Coryville in East want At Hills when I
was living there. In and around Eton Park, there were a couple people that would put all these little weird knick knacks, like I assume they super glued them. I can't imagine they've belcrowed them to the hood of the car or the roof of the car, in the trunk of the vehicle, and they would travel around that way.
I'm like, that's like an iceore. That's troubling. I kind of liked the led Christmas light thing, however, unlike the house where I don't have a problem with anybody keeping their lights on for as long as it is that it makes them happy to celebrate the holiday. I mean,
they can be on now until New Year's. Maybe you switch to like a Valentine's colors, and then maybe you switch to Saint Patrick's Day colors, and maybe then you switch to well, well, I don't know, Opening Day Reds colors, and then in the summertime for Fourth of July, maybe you have lights that are red, white, and blue for well these United States of America and are twenty fifth or two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, I should say, which is coming up in twenty twenty six.
I see all those things, but on the road with those.
Lights all the time, that it's almost a little too much, a little overwhelming. But it kind of made me feel good, just the same if I won three, seven, four, nine, seven, eight hundred, the big one. And speaking of holiday lights, because I know some people don't like it when their neighbors keep the lights on all the time, there's a story, and I want to say it is in California where some people have now gone to court and they're suing a neighbor because they had had lights on for Christmas.
They apparently had kept festive lights on for much of the year, and not quite necessarily to the same extent that I just laid out in color configurations for different holidays throughout the seasons of the year. But their neighbors
say they're too bright. The neighbors say that they're overwhelming, that it's psychological warfare, and effectively, now that they're going back and forth on it, and I saw an interview earlier this afternoon with this couple, and this woman is literally in tears upset because she doesn't understand why anybody would have a problem with the Christmas lights or any
of the other lights just in general. And I suppose there is a very subtle line between becoming a nuisance and an eyesore and some type of problem, because they would even do it, apparently for Halloween with lights and big stuff. And I've seen the big skeletons that are like ten feet tall, maybe eight foot tall at least. I mean I'm six foot plus, and I've seen some
that are taller than that. And they have dressed the skeletons in like Santa outfits, which I find to be a black But I don't know where that line is overall, as long as it's not becoming a sound annoyance, as long as it's not it lit up like the sun to where it's you know, bleeding through your you know, blackout curtains or otherwise, I say, embrace the season, Christmas, Hanka, Kwanza, whatever it is, Bring on Valentine's Day, Saint Patrick's Day,
fourth of July. There's probably some others I can't think of. In between, but either way, it's it's good times. I'm looking at Monday Night football in the Red Panda doing this halftime show, which is pretty wild. It looks like on a unicycle, which unless you've gone to clown school, there's not a lot of people who were able to get around on a unicycle, let alone throw like flatware
and dishes and so forth. But she was doing it, and she's of course in Indianapolis where the forty nine ers are leading the Colts thirty four to twenty seven in the fourth quarter now as the forty nine er, so just taking a kickoff. I'm not doing play by play. I'm just giving you an update if you're driving around trying to figure out what's going on with the Monday Night football. James Repene going to join me after the
eleven o'clock report. We'll talk on Bengals, how their Sunday went, how these next couple of weeks will go for them, and what it means for twenty twenty six for your Cincinnati Football Bengals. That's coming up after the eleven o'clock report. I'm not done yet. There's more to do here on seven hundred WLW. Glad you're alone, Sterling hanging out. Gary Jeff was on earlier.
I'm here now. Holidays.
Everybody's different places, different times on the road, they say, record numbers of people trying to get where they have to go over the hills and far away to Grandma's house or wherever else for Christmas or Hanka Klans or whatever you're into, maybe just a vacation. I have friends sending me text with pictures of iguanas climbing trees and
Marco Island, Florida. James Rapine headed home from Miami after checking out the Bengals and the dolphins getting it on down there, and the Bengals get a big dominating abuse of wind for those fish, which, by the way, it's like a mammal, right, it's not really a fish, but they do swim in the sea, and I like a dolphin,
you know what I mean. It was really warm there yesterday, but I was glad to see the who Day wins well to pick on James Rapine in his brain about what's coming on after the eleven o'clock report conversation with him I had, and then some other stuff. So wherever you're going, in whatever you're doing, I hope it's good, I know it could make it a whole lot better. About three minutes and fifty seconds away from right about
now for the next drawing of the power Ball. If you're keeping score at home, it is one billion, six hundred million dollars in the fool On jackpot, which is paid out as an annuity over like twenty or thirty years or whatever it is, or you could get the cash out value and then taxes after taken out. That amount is a staggering to me, seven hundred thirty five million, three hundred thousand dollars. And that's still just an estimate
because there's still money. It's being worked out fast carry outs and drive throughs and wherever else you get tickets right now they're just printing them like there's nobody's business, so that number is possibly going to go up at this point. I have never won really anything, and I did not get to the tickets for this one, So in all honesty, I don't mean this disrespectfully. I would like for you to do well in your life. I would love for you to be able to win. Joe Waddell,
I appreciate you and everything you do. I'm not trying to weasel out any money if you actually cash in and the big money. But all I'm saying is I would like to be able to get into the next drawing. So if you don't win, now, that's fine with me. But you know, even the regular measily just start over, begin again. Number is enough for most normal, reasonable, rational human beings effectively lived the rest of their lives without much of a worry. And time and time again, what
is amazing to me? And until I guess you've walked in another shoe, it's hard to necessarily like judge or at least make sense of a circumstance. But the numbers are outrageous of people who have won fat, historically large jackpots.
And I don't know about internationally, like over in the UK and other places they have big lotteries, but I know in the United States the number, I mean, it's easily beyond like sixty percent of people who cash out big, they end up often in worse financial situations after the money is won, which I can't process how that could happen. I mean, you would have to work really hard to
spend that kind of money. And the only thing I can think of is if you don't have anonymity, you get overwhelmed by beggars and hangers on and leeches and sucubus and people trying to just like termites, just suck out every bit of money they can from you, or people just don't know how to live within your meanings. And even if it was only a third of the seven hundred and thirty five million dollars, you're still talking what two hundred and twenty five two hundred and fifteen
million dollars. Even if you just lived off this simple interest, if you spread that around, if it was just something ridiculous like all of two or three percent, right, I mean you would have to struggle. I would have to struggle. I can't process helping charity after charity, Cincinnati Animal Care rescues for animals, you know, at risk kids, families issues, and give people you know the weight off their shoulders. I mean, after you even did all that I just described,
there'd be a fortune left. So hopefully if you win, you do not become a cautionary tale and someone that later on, I try to, like quismically, try to make sense of how the circumstance didn't bode well for you. I think a lot of people probably are just quietly you keep the anonymity. I don't think I would tell anyone, I really don't. I mean I would get counsel, I would get a good CPA, and I would just I don't think I would changed the way I live or what I do.
I'd still show up.
Here to do this, which is maybe crazy, but I mean it's something I love to do, and I mean that would be effectively, officially what you would call few money, right, Like, for any particular reason you did not want to deal with anything you didn't want to deal with, you could go, yeah, I'm not bothered by that, I'm through with it, and then you could just comfortably, quietly just get up and walk away, which is probably a big weight off your shoulders,
because what they say is people worrying about stress of money and you know, finances and the future and health care cost and everything else is as bad in the way it affects people who are on the lower end of that scale, where desperation and unsure you know, outcomes with those things are concerned. It's just as bad as somebody having a history of heart problems and major health
issues genetically predisposed. So there is a lot of stress about where the food's gonna come from, and the roof over your head, and the shoes on your kids feet and everything. And I would think a billion, six hundred million dollars would probably cover that worry for the rest of your days and probably generation after generation after that, at least, I would hope. So so good luck to you. We'll let you know what those numbers are post haste.
I'm not sure if it's Lee Mallen or in fact if it's Brady Hopkins, but one of them will be in the booth giving you news right now that matters to us here in the tri State and a round planet Earth on the Home of the Bengals, the best Bengals coverage with James Rapine joining me next talking who Day, plus the Reds, the Musketeers, the Bearcats, Me Sterling, Gary, Jeff r Willie, Eddie and Rocky. We're all here, including Joe Waddell. News Radio seven hundred WLW, Cincinnati.
All right here where you go.
It's the Monday after Sterling hanging out seven hundred wy W from parts unknown, something money and warmer than your thousands of the Mason Dition like closer to the Atlantic yea, the Atlantic nothing, gul What am I talking about? South Florida bound and homeward bound sooner than later? James Rapine of course locked on Bengals Cincinnati Bengals talk enter the Jungle, which I think in time for Christmas is still available. You're still in the warm What is going on?
Yeah, I'm living it up, starling every ounce of warmth I can get.
I'm gonna take no doubt.
I respect and admire that I want to talk about this whiplash weather, but it also is a whiplash Bengals team from being shut out by the Ravens to going into the Dolphins place in Miami with a rookie quarterback, and really especially the second half, it seems like they just put on a clinic like they were doing what you would have expected this Bengals team to do most of the season.
Yeah, yeah, it's I think there's certainly somewhat could have been when it comes to watching that offense and Bo Burrow and Jamar Chase and you know, all of the weapons, and I think that's it is. T Higgins has battled the concussion symptoms and everything that he's had.
Well when he was out there, you know, with Jamar and Joe, you're.
Like, oh man, these guys they're just so good, they're so special. And you also saw a young defense that was opportunistic that forced some turnovers.
You know, they forced that fumble, it didn't come to them.
They vetted a pass in the air to force that second interception, they get off the field on fourth and short, like, those are big plays that they do deserve credit for, but it does feel hollow because they improved a five and ten, right, and that's that's just not where we expected. That's certainly not where I expected this team to be, and they didn't expect to be there either, And so I get the hollow feeling.
And I also understand.
How good it is to see them play the way they should have played for most of this season.
I think No, I mean, I think that's about as great of an overview and a sad reality is what we're all getting. But Chase Brown, you know, scores three times the defense, like you mentioned, you know, a couple of what two three take three takeaways. Openly, I mean, that's huge and it is sort of for not but this is good for their psychology, right, and is it good for the fan?
Base and this situation.
I tell you, I felt a whole lot better yesterday afternoon and evening than I did a week ago and going into Christmas week. And I don't know why it should. It has nothing absolutely to do with me. I didn't play, I didn't win, but we all seem to walk differently when that team does well.
Yeah, for sure, there's no doubt.
I think that it has such an impact, and it has such an impact if we go like really high overview because we know how good they can be with Joe at quarterback. I was talking to someone before the game yesterday with the Dolphins, and I won't go any farther because I don't want to get.
Him or her in trouble.
Yes, but he's like, well, he's like, I can't believe I gave it away right away. But it's so hard to find that guy at quarterback. And so when you find it, you do have a little strut in your walk. You do feel a little more confident because you know you have a chance. And so as a as a city, and I think as a fan base, Bengals fans look at it and say, well, if we have Joe, we have a chance. And for the past three seasons, it hasn't really felt that way.
It felt it's felt.
Like they've wasted him, and so they need to figure that out in this offseason. And I think that's my big takeaway from Sunday.
Is, Oh, Joe's still that guy. Jamar still that guy. He's still that guy.
You can turn this around really fast when you have those dudes, because everyone else in the league wants those dudes.
You have them, So it's up to the organization to turn it around.
And a hurd Yeah, and that really is James Rapine by the way, from Lockdown Bengals Cincinnati Bengals talk and enter the jungle of the book, which is perfect for Christmas time and stocking stuffing if you're looking for something last minute. Not that this is an ad, it's not, but I just because I think it's cool and I got you on the lines and you're hanging out in Miami.
Still, I'm not jealous at all.
There's two games left, So do they go balls out to just do what they can against the Cardinals into the Browns or do you start seeing them work through some other things and see what else they have? Depth wise, is they try to figure out off season moves.
No, I think I think they're one hundred percent going to push forward.
Now.
They're already playing a lot of their young guys yea, And so it's not like there are a bunch of guys that are just unknowns.
There are certain guys that I'd like to see more of.
You know, you want mckimmy Jackson getting a bunch of snaps and to see what he can do. But talking about a second year defensive tackle, right there's not a former third round pick.
There's not like a smar Stewart.
Of course, he got to play him and he's healthy and hopefully that continues. But no, overall, like from a Joe Burrow Lamar Chase perspective, I think all those guys are going to play, and I think that this is going to be a team that pushes for that seven and ten mark, which again is going to feel hollow.
And I think they are going to be fans that are disappointed that they put to that hard to get to seven and ten, and they very well could would not surprise me one bit if they handle business over the next couple of roots.
James Rapine was sterling seven hundred WLW locked on Bengals talking Bengals, and of course a very nice trip for them to South Florida to take on the Marlins. And people were upset when I said the fish. I realize that it is not really a fish, the dolphin. It's a whole nother thing. It's a mammal. I guess it's got a blowhole. That's all I know. But that being said, we look at people really were effect they distrol for nothing,
and I kind of enjoy it. But anyway, as you look at this and you see what the team is capable of, and you wonder, is it We've joked about it before, but I mean, did they bear Like do they build on a burial ground at pay Corps? And what was synergy Riverfront? Is there something beyond this? Because it seems like, well, if we could just get a better start, if you can just somehow keep the quarterback healthy.
I mean, it is one thing after another. And I do realize that only a handful of teams actually get to the playoffs, and only a handful of teams get there regularly and get to the super Bowl regularly. But you want to a playoff caliber caliber football team, obviously, But it just seems like it's all you write this story, you go, really what happened?
Yeah, yeah, the answer is yes, right. All off season it was the it was the oh, they got to start fast, or of course you do, you got to start past and they did. They started to and oh all right, well there's still fifteen more games.
And what they need is they need.
To understand that, yeah, their quarterback might get hurt. The world can't end. It got to be able to survive. As great as Joe is, you got to be able to survive without him. And so how do you build a roster that puts Joe in position to succeed and your Super Bowl contenders.
With him and without him?
You're a competent football team that can go four and five without him.
Let's say he misses nine games again, which he doesn't want to. They don't want him to. Hopefully he doesn't, right.
But going one in eight without Joe, like if they had just gone four and five under five hundred average team, right, it's completely different.
And they're still they're still on the hunt.
They probably win the division too, you know, because because some of these some of these games that were kind of up in the air would have felt different when Joe comes back, it just feels different.
Everything everything would have changed.
And so that's that's where I'm at is you need to have a competent team. That whether it's Joe Burrow or Joe Flacco or one of the other backups. I don't think it should be Jake Brownie be on record now and I like Jake, but I think we saw you know it just it can't work. So whoever that guy is at quarterback, if Joe goes gets hurt, the team around him needs to be good enough to be an average team, and the coaching around him, by the way they're coaching around him, needs to be good enough
to be an average team. And that's up to the front office, the organization, ownership, all of the above to make sure they push the right buttons of the sawt season to get that.
Part of it bout.
James Rapine from Cincinnati Bengals talk with Sterling on the big one. We're short on time. I appreciate you making it a hanging out in South Florida. You're not like even at the beach or trying to get out of there to get back home. How fun is it? By the way, looking forward to coming back to the tri State and the cold.
Well, yeah, the cold part I'm not looking forward to. I am looking forward to being home. Yeah, but the cold element.
If I could just bring home here, let's just say, I can say put it that way. Still, no move's coming anytime soon, but it is always tempting when you leave one of these tropical places.
Oh yeah, they're like, well let's go back to twenty degrees.
You know.
Yeah, it's art worried, but it'll be like fifty sixty. This Christmas week is weird. I'm sure we'll get punished for it. I'll take it all day, every day. Yeah, this defense. They've drafted a lot high picks for a while. Is it coaching? Is it them not being able to finish? Aside from how good they looked yesterday.
It's it's a little bit of everything. I think they're young.
I think that some of the draft picks that they're banking on weren't ready for the roles that they've been put in.
But I go back to the off season and just.
Not adding proven guys when you're any win now scenario. Rookies couldn't be able to walk in the starting zones, and that's what Demetrius Knight did. I mean he walked into one. And I'm not being mean to Demetrius. Barrett Carter essentially did too when they benched Logan Wilson. And so you're talking about two rookie linebackers, like you should have to earn your way onto the field. It should have to be hard to get into the starting lineup, and it just isn't. I mean, they're playing all their
rookies right now, substantial time on defense. I mean they need any and everything, and so the hope would be that all this experience this season that they learned from it and can be building blocks moving forward. I do think Miles Murphy has been a right spot, like he's been a guy that has gotten more reps, has shown it. DJ Berner another one back, still another one. So there are some guys on defense that I think should start next year. But man oh man, do they need They
need to add some proven talent this offseason. And I think that was their biggest mistake coming into this spear.
Yeah, I think, so, well, go get some boat drinks or whatever you can get before you hop on that plane. Tell you not to do that, Stay hydrated, and we'll look for your Christmas time and into the bank.
Yeah they Yeah, well I.
Don't know who they are that I've been told, you know, the alcohol in the air, you know, three miles up going five hundred miles an hour, Yeah, that it will suck the hydration right out your body.
All right.
But I'm just saying, sitting here where I am looking outside going out, it seems really extraordinarily warm for the season. But watching and listening to that game yesterday and having it look like summertime, I think boat drinks are a mandatory thing.
But that's just me.
I mean, you know, I don't know, Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So it's a Cardinals in town on Sunday, a couple of days after Christmas, and then of course the Browns come in after the new year. So we'll see how they go. You think they win both or or they go fifty to fifty on this or what, And then I'll let you go. Not that you're like the prognosticator, predictor or otherwise.
But maybe I picked them to brush the Dolphins and they did that. Now I think you did it.
I think they'll handle business against the Cardinals. The Browns is a real toss up, and I would consider. I would consider, especially if you beat the Cardinals kind of pulling things back in that Browns game.
I don't think they will, but I would.
Do you want Miles Garrett potentially coming after Jill Burrow for a sack record?
Ok? I just don't really want to deal with those problems. But that's just me.
So you put flack of it. Let him take a beating for a guy who's almost a senior citizen. I see how you are sling out.
You kidding me? I mean there's not enough pads to keep me safe. I'm just saying.
But I mean, if I could get the league minimum, sure even for the Lake minimum. Yeah, all right, sure, I mean check, I'm trying to get your paid.
All right.
Well, I'm glad somebody is. James Rapine, thank you for looking out for me? My god, where have you been on my career?
A lot? Don't say that now, wait till those hits happened.
Well that's true, that's only it only takes one and I've already had a few concussions.
I think it makes sense.
I have fallen on my head off a piece of modern art on the Square A downtown, but that's another show. And another talk. Oh yeah, yeah, that's why I wear a lot of hats man literally and figuratively. James Rapine, Cincinnati Bengals Talk. Locked On Bengals, You do it all and enter the jungle in time. It does sort of fit in a very large stocking unless you get the electronic copy if there is one.
There's non electronic copy yet.
If there is, maybe I'll have Sterling do the voice for it, because it certainly shouldn't beat me.
Oh no, no, no, no, you got to you gotta find voice. I appreciate you too.
If I don't talk to you before you and have a fantastically Christmas time and we'll catch up sooner or later. And my best of the family rapeen this holiday.
Thanks to appreciate you.
Take care of yourself. I appreciate you too. That's James Forrapene.
Locked On Bengals, Cincinnati Bengals Talk more Sterling coming Back seven hundred WL do.
All kinds of Love for the age of news, traffic and Weather. News Radio seven hundred w l W, Cincinnati.
And retired general says it's the test Perck example of unt military consequences.
Well, if you're eleven thirty report, I'm ley Mawan breaking.
Now we could end up with, you know, thousands of migrants showing up on the shores of Key West.
As you know, they run out of food and every