Had we thought about this ahead of time, I think the writers for the site could have come up with a Bengals draft drinking game.  The events of the two day draft seem to repeat themselves year over year.  For instance here's a few that I've found so far this year.

• Draft player with a criminal record that was kicked off his college squad?  Check.
• Select multiple players that most other teams had serious concerns about?  Check.
• Player not named Chad Johnson asks for a trade out of town?  Check.

Any other events that I missed?

Reds' right hander Edinson Volquez moved to 4-0 on the young season with yet another stellar performance in the Reds' 10-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. He once again held down the opponent by working through minor control problems on his way to brilliance. Volquez gave up five hits, walking three, but struck out a career 10 batters.

I have wrote in before on this blog, but with every Volquez start it becomes more true, the Reds' fans still griping about the team dealing the popular and multi-talented outfielder Josh Hamilton are getting fewer and fewer with each trip to the mound by the 24-year old hurler. After Sunday's fifth straight quality start, that group of fans should now be extinct.

The mixture of a 97+ MPH fastball, a wicked curve ball, and a change-up that comes in at 78 MPH, makes it very tough for opposing hitters to have a chance. It's hard to keep in mind that this kid has only had 25 starts, but based off the five he's had in a Reds' uniform it's hard not to envision many All-Star caliber seasons and maybe even a Cy Young ahead. Sure, it's a huge stretch to talk like that right now, but at his age and raw talent who knows where the kid will be at in four or five years from now. Hopefully, he's still on the Reds and still getting me this excited.

The numbers speak for themselves (4-0, 1.23 ERA, 29.1 IP, 20 H, 16 BB, 33 SO):

Apr 6 - PHI - 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K's (WIN)
Apr 11 - @Pit - 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Apr 17 - @ChC - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K's (WIN)
Apr 22 - LAD - 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K's (WIN)
Apr 27 - @SF - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K's (WIN)

If you are still sitting on the couch watching the draft coverage at this point you have a real problem. For most of you that haven't been hypnotized by  Mel Kiper's hair, here are the things you need to know from Sunday.

BENGALS
The team used the extra picks to their advantaged and continued to fill holes:

Round 3 (77) - DT Pat Sims, Auburn - Only started last year after quitting team, but has great upside.

*Round 3 (97) - WR Andre Caldwell, Florida - Reche's brother posted good 40-time at combine, but hasn't shown it on field yet.

Round 4 (112) - T Anthony Collins, Kansas - Shows great versatility and could develop nicely; nice value for the spot.

Round 5 (145) - DT Jason Shirley, Frenso State - Has nice size, but lacks much consistentcy; many had him going undrafted

Round 6 (177) - S Corey Lynch, Appalachian State - Immediate special teams contributor; kick-blocking specialist

*Round 6 (207) - TE Matthew Sherry - Villanova - Athletic, pass-catching tight end. WOW! That's two on the team

*Round 7 (244) - OLB Angelo Craig - Cincinnati - Hometown favorite played DE in college, but he's better suited to be a LB

*Round 7 (246) - WR Mario Urrutia, Louisville - Junior is very raw, but has the frame and attibutes to develop

OTHER NEWS
Lions trade up to get running back
Detroit News - "The Detroit Lions turned aggressive on the second day of the NFL draft, using trades that netted three third-round picks to fill needs at running back and defensive line. Running back Kevin Smith of Central Florida, defensive tackle Andre Fluellen of Florida State and defensive end Cliff Avril of Purdue were drafted on the third round."

Giants gamble on Michigan's Mario
New York Daily News - "The Giants just made a very controversial selection by taking Michigan wide receiver Mario Manningham. There's not a lot of doubt about the talent in that pick of the 5-11, 178-pounder. But there's a lot of baggage that comes along with him, too."

Draft sets new trade record
ESPN.com - "NFL decision-makers were a finicky lot at the NFL draft, making a record 33 trades on Saturday and Sunday, surpassing the previous record of 28 from the 2004 draft."

DRAFT TRACKER: ROUNDS | TEAMS | POSITIONS

I honestly don't know which is more agonizing, being a Bengals fan in the off-season or a Bengals fan during the regular season. For most teams, hope springs eternal in the off-season. The wait-til-next-year mentality usually spurs interest for the fan base. But here in Cincinnati, it's a never-ending case of disappointed drafts, head scratching free agent moves, lack of free agent moves, off-the-field troubles, and players shooting their mouths off about wanting out of town.  All of this is a mounting frustration for fans. It almost makes you yearn for the season to start, just so we can have the distraction of yet another disappointing season of missing the playoffs and to hear Marvin Lewis' lies and smugness. Instead we get to hear Marvin's cronies (revolving door of coaches and coordinators) try to convince us that they were right about Jerome Simpson and EVERYONE ELSE was wrong and that it wasn't a reach to take a 4th-round projected WR from a two-bit college so early. No, trust us, and drink this Kool-Aid, and while you're doing that, keep buying up the tickets for the season because this is the year.

No, the Bengals franchise is an absolute laughing stock. Abysmal ownership, poor coaching, poor drafting, poor personnel decisions, poor performance which leaves all of us fans angry and poor from paying for tickets and merchandise. And for what? 

The NFL draft may have diverted your attention, so here's everything you need to know for Week 5:

STUDS OF THE WEEK
The Phillies are happy with their new closer Brad Lidge. He has yet to allow on in 11 innings this season and converted four saves over the last week making his fantasy owners happy too. Lidge's former teammate, Astros' 1B Lance Berkman, joins him on our stud list this week. Berkman has homered four times over his past six games, driving in 12 runs and hitting .500 in that span.

DUDS OF THE WEEK
Manny Corpas, who was stellar in the Rockies' playoff run last year, lost his job as the Rockies' closer after blowing two more saves this past week. In three innings of work this week Corpas allowed five runs. It was a week of flukes for the Blue Jays' Alex Rios. After a routine off day on Tuesday he caught the flu bug and missed Wednesday only to return to the lineup and get tossed early on in Thursday's game. All of this left Rios' owners with just four games of production.

KEY INJURIES
OF Alfonso Soriano (CHC):OF- Should be back May 1
SS Jimmy Rollins (PHI): Could be back at end of draft
DH David Ortiz (BOS): Day-to-day with bruised knee
3B Chipper Jones (ATL): Day-to-day with back cramps
3B Hank Blalock (TEX): Out until at least TUE, DL a possibility
RP Rafael Soriano (ATL): Should resume as closer by mid-week
OF Mike Cameron (MIL): Suspension ends Tuesday
2B Howie Kendrick (ANA): Should return early in week.
OF Shane Victorino (PHI): Should be back on Tuesday
OF Moises Alou (NYM): Rehab put on hold due to sore ankle
SP Jake Westbrook (CLE): Put on DL and out until late May
SP Scott Kazmir (TB): Might pitch on May 3 or 4
SP Kevin Slowley (MIN): Expected to make rehab start May 1

TWICE AS NICE
Here are some two-start pitchers to consider this week:

AL
Must-starts:
Roy Halladay - @BOS (Daisuke Matsuzaka), CHW (Javier Vazquez))
Fausto Carmona – SEA (Carlos Silva), KC (Brett Tomko)
Joe Saunders – OAK (Greg Smith), BAL (Undecided)

Sleeper Picks:
Daniel Cabrera - @CHW (Javier Vazquez), @LAA (Jon Garland)
Chad Gaudin - @LAA (Jon Garland), TEX (Vicente Padilla)
Phil Hughes – DET (Kenny Rogers), SEA (Carlos Silva)

NL
Must-Starts:
Cole Hamels – SD (Greg Maddux), SF (Matt Cain)
Johan Santana – PIT (Ian Snell), @ARI (Dan Haren)
Derek Lowe - @FLA (Andrew Miller), @COL (Kendry Morales)

Sleeper Picks:
Tom Glavine - @WAS (Tim Redding), CIN (Bronson Arroyo)
Todd Wellemeyer – CIN (Bronson Arroyo), CHC (Jason Marquis)
Tom Gorzelanny - @NYM (Oliver Perez), @WAS (Tim Redding)

WAIVER WATCH (from leagues played at CBSSports.com)
Five most added:
RP Brian Fuentes - COL (+45% roster change)
OF Curtis Granderson - DET (+34%)
RP J.J. Putz - SEA (31%)
SP Jonathan Sanchez - SF (30%)
SP Chad Gaudin - OAK (30%)

Five most dropped (non-injured):
RP Manny Corpas - COL (-29%)
SP Edwin Jackson - TB (-15%)
SP Francisco Liriano - MIN (-13%)
OF Corey Patterson - CIN (-13%)
SP Justin Germano - SD (-12%)

GAMES PLAYED
Let's take a look at how many games each team will be playing this week:

American League
7: BAL, CLE, LAA, NYY, OAK
6: BOS, CHW, DET, KC, SEA, TB, TEX, TOR
5: MIN

National League
7: PIT
6: ARI, CHC, CIN, COL, FLA, HOU, LAD, MIL, NYM, PHI, SD, SF, STL, WAS
5: ATL

Stanford University hired longtime Duke assistant Johnny Dawkins as their new head men's basketball coach, replacing former coach Trent Johnson, who left the school to fill the open job at LSU.  Some might say this is a slam dunk hire; others, like myself, are looking at this for what it is - the ultimate judgment of Mike Krzyzewski's coaching tree.

Dawkins has been hyped for years as Coach K's prodigy.  He's been a Duke assistant for 11 seasons, nine of those as the associate head coach.  It was even speculated for a while that Dawkins was being groomed as his eventual replacement.  I'd often wondered, if he was such a fantastic prospect of a coach, why he hadn't been offered a head job somewhere.

Maybe the reason is that, for the most part, Krzyzewski's protoges haven't fared all that well.  Check out some of the leaves of the Coach K tree:

• Mike Brey (not a lot of people remember that he came from Duke, but he's probably their most successful former assistant)
• Bob Bender (a general disaster at Washington)
• Jeff Capel (pretty solid career so far at VCU and Washington)
• Tommy Amaker (left a mess in his wake at Seton Hall, needed help from Dick Vitale to get the job at Michigan, and then departed under shaky circumstances from Michigan, where he never made the tournament in seven seasons)
• David Henderson (irrelevant at Delaware)
• Neil Dougherty (TCU; who?  'Nuff said.)
• Quin Snyder (recruited well, coached poorly, and had a litany of questionable incidents at Missouri - if he was a Bob Huggins assistant, I can only imagine how the national press would have treated this guy)

No one ever seems to want to discuss this in relation to Coach K, but his assistants have been some of the most overrated in college basketball.  As much hype as Dawkins has garnered over the years, the pressure ought to be on him to produce.  We'll just have to sit back and see how this works out.

Even with a 10-5 lead coming into the ninth inning on Saturday, Todd Coffey failed to deliver. The Reds' relief pitcher continues to prove that he no longers warrants a spot in the team's bullpen.

Coffey immediately proceeded to allow back-to-back doubles and walked a third batter. The right-hander left without recording an out. Closer Francisco Cordero came in for the save situation and proceeded to give up a base-clearing triple.  Coffey had made four straight appearences without a run before giving up three runs on three hits here. Cordero would settle in and retire the next three batters as the Reds held on for a 10-9 win. Still, how many times can you allow Coffey to blow a game?

The numbers don't lie for Coffey. He has yielded 11 runs, 18 hits, and 6 walks in just 14 1/3 innings. His 6.91 ERA is not a mirage, but a trend. Coffey has a good arm, but for whatever reason it is not translating into good pitching. He is a mental case at times and at this point the best thing that can happen for him is a change in scenery. For the Reds, there has to be a better option in the minors. You can do much worse! I have seen Todd Coffey and what he can do and now it's time to see somebody else.