Could Cincinnati be the city of champions in 2023? | Opinion

Editor's note: Handshakes and Headshakes are my quick takes on local events, groups or newsmakers whose actions, decisions or performance deserves to be celebrated or called out.

Could Cincinnati become the first city ever to boast three championship sports teams in the same year? A city/metropolitan area has won multiple championships in a season 18 times – most recently, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2020 Stanley Cup and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl 55 and the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA Finals and the Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2020 World Series.

However, no city has ever won more than two championships in the four major sports (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL) in the same season. (Philadelphia came close in 1980 with all four of its professional teams making their respective championships. Only the Phillies won.)

The Queen City doesn't have an NBA or NHL franchise, but FC Cincinnati currently sits comfortably atop Major League Soccer with the best record in the league and a five-point advantage in the standings over its nearest pursuer. As of Wednesday, the Reds are riding a 10-game winning streak (the team's longest since 2012) and occupy first place in the National League Central. And following an appearance in Super Bowl 56 in 2022 and making two straight AFC Championship games, the Bengals currently have the fourth-best odds to win this year's Super Bowl, according to BetMGM.

Such a suggestion would have seemed ridiculous 11 days ago when the Reds were six games below .500, and might still be a stretch even now. There's a lot of baseball, soccer and an entire football season yet to play. But if the red-hot Reds (now 39-35) can keep winning and FC Cincinnati maintains its on-field dominance, who knows?

These are exciting times for Cincinnati sports fans, and it's fun to dream. The "city of champions" does have a nice ring to it.

Headshake: Trump was right about Massie

There are few things Donald Trump and I agree on, but he was right when he said that U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is little more than a "third rate grandstander." In either a veiled threat or desperate defense of Trump's latest indictment tied to his handling of classified information, Massie said on Twitter that he could reveal national secrets − including information contained in the documents involved in Trump's case − aloud in committee hearings, which are broadcast live on C-SPAN.

Massie said a clause in the U.S. Constitution would enable him to read the top secret information, but as of this writing, he had not acted on his reading of the law. Nor do I think he will. Massie knows what he suggested is dangerous, irresponsible and would put our national security at risk, even if it is allowed by law. He was simply doing what he does best - grandstanding and drawing attention to himself. Well, mission accomplished.

Handshake: Lady shows leadership and love through mentoring

If you know me at all, then you know what a big proponent I am of mentoring youth. So when I read about Kimberly Huckleby and what her nonprofit, Ladies of Leadership, has been doing for teen girls in Cincinnati, I had to show her some love.

Ladies of Leadership empowers and encourages girls ages 7-18 in Mount Healthy, Lincoln Heights and Avondale. Over the last 16 years, the local organization has impacted over 4,500 lives through personal, professional and educational programs, like Princess Mentoring, which provides alcohol and drug awareness, reproductive education, financial literacy and foreign language courses and more. The original mission was to help teenage girls in the region, but Ladies of Leadership has also expanded to include programs for co-ed youth and mothers.

Huckleby understands the importance and impact of pouring into our youth. I've always said that if each of us could take just a few hours each week to mentor a child, we could change the narrative and direction of many lives. Thanks, Kimberly, for showing up and making a difference in the lives of thousands of local children and their families.

Headshake: Vance, Ramaswamy embarrass themselves and Ohio

U.S. Senator J.D. Vance and 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy are hardly the only Republicans stumbling over themselves as they rush to defend former president Donald Trump from his latest indictment. But since both are representing Ohio on a national stage, their shameless and embarrassing attempts to defend Trump couldn't be ignored.

Let's start with Ramaswamy who condemned the federal indictment against Trump and challenged his 2024 competitors to commit to pardoning him. "I have signed a commitment to pardon President Trump promptly on January 20, 2025, for the federal charges … I respectfully request that you join me in this commitment or else publicly explain why you will not,” Ramaswamy wrote in a letter sent last week to every White House contender.

Despite being exceptionally smart, Ramaswamy continues to show why he'd be a dumb pick for president. It's clear Ramaswamy's goal in this campaign is to sell books, raise money and possibly carve out some position in the party moving forward because actually winning isn't happening. A commitment to pardoning Trump even before he has his day in court and all the facts are known is absurdly political, reckless and unethical. Trump will be convicted or acquitted based on the evidence, and we should trust our justice system to work. Thankfully, Americans won't have to worry about Ramaswamy making good on his pledge.

Meanwhile, Vance has vowed to "grind (the Justice Department) to a halt" over the indictment by stalling the confirmation of Biden administration nominees to the agency. Vance probably feels indebted to Trump for the endorsement that delivered Vance his senate seat. But I agree with the Akron Beacon Journal's recent editorial which said that political reality doesn't excuse Vance's "outrageous and irresponsible response to a legitimate indictment.

"No imagination is needed to describe how Vance would flip flop if any Democrat faced the same accusations," the editorial board said. "Vance would argue our national security was threatened by a reckless person. He would demand a full prosecution, a Senate investigation and rile up his base to defeat liberals. And he surely would say 'lock them up' at a political rally."

Vance would have you believe he's a law-and-order Republican, except when it comes to the legitimate prosecution of his benefactor.

Handshake: Taylor scores when it counts − as a father

Zac Taylor has yet to get the recognition he deserves as one of the NFL's top coaches, but earlier this month, he was named Father of the Year by the Talbert House Fatherhood Project. As much work and study as Taylor puts in to make sure the Bengals perform on the field, he's even more committed to being a good dad to his two young sons.

In his acceptance speech, Taylor talked about how he'd want his kids to remember him 30 years from now, and nothing about what the Bengals coach said had anything to do with football. That's a touchdown in my book.

Headshake: Walsh reignites concerns about corruption at City Hall

Just when we thought the corruption smoke had cleared at 801 Plum Street, along comes Democratic Cincinnati Councilman Seth Walsh and a $30,000 settlement to his community director after she alleged she was fired in retaliation for writing a memo revealing there had been campaigning out of Walsh's council office, which, if true, would be an ethics violation. Walsh told Enquirer reporter Sharon Coolidge that he fired the aide due to poor performance, and a city investigation into Walsh's ethical behavior released Tuesday found mismanagement of his council office, but no wrong-doing.

Still, the whole matter stinks and certainly looks like Walsh was retaliating against an employee who might have been trying to save him from making a big mistake. After seeing three council members indicted on bribery charges and convicted in federal court, even minor infractions by city elected officials are a cause for concern. It's also a little puzzling why the city would agree to pay a $30,000 settlement before the investigation into Walsh's behavior was finished. It's reasonable to ask if Walsh should reimburse taxpayers for the cost of the settlement. At a minimum, he owes the people of Cincinnati an apology for even the appearance of impropriety.

Council members need to be more careful, because episodes like this leave me wondering if anything has really changed at City Hall.

Headshake: Messy McGuffey needs to clean up her act

Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey keeps making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Her cruiser and service weapon were stolen from the driveway of her Columbia Tusculum home in 2021. A couple of prisoners escaped from the county jail during in her term. And late last month, McGuffey was pulled over for speeding.

Incidents like these make McGuffey look messy and distract from the otherwise good job she's done as sheriff. "I'm not a superhero," McGuffey said in her defense. But these continuing missteps give her opponents and critics plenty of ammunition to paint her as a villain unworthy of reelection.

Headshake: Huggins needs help, and I pray he gets it

You didn't have to be a fortune teller to see that Bob Huggins' distinguished coaching career was likely to end this way. Huggins resigned as West Virginia University's basketball coach on June 17, one day after he was arrested and charged for driving under the influence. It was a similar incident that got him fired from the University of Cincinnati in 2004.

It's a sad ending and permanent stain on the reputation of a coach who might have been fondly remembered as one of college basketball's greats. I made no bones about the fact I thought Huggins should have been fired by West Virginia University after his inexcusable anti-gay, anti-Catholic rant on WLW 700-AM airwaves in May. Truthfully, I wondered then if Huggins wasn't a little tipsy during his interview will Bill Cunningham.

Here's hoping that Huggins will get the help and treatment he clearly needs before he does any further damage to himself and his legacy.

Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge can be reached at kaldridge@enquirer.com. Twitter: @kevaldrid