In Nerone’s Notes this week, the Cincinnati Reds get a boost from rookie Rece Hinds. The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team needs a new head coach. Plus, Cincinnati endures an epic typo at the Big 12 Conference’s football media days.

The dazzling debut of Cincinnati Reds outfielder Rece Hinds

Prior to this week, many Cincinnati Reds likely never heard of Rece Hinds. Yet Hinds is in the midst of a historic start to his major league career. Hinds hit a home run and went two-for-three during his debut on Monday. He hit another home run on Tuesday and was a single away from hitting for the cycle. Hinds made history with the most extra-base hits in the first two games of a major league career.

Going into Friday, Hinds has a .500 batting average in 16 at bats. With two home runs, four runs batted in and two stolen bases in four games. This helped the Reds win three-out-of-four against the Colorado Rockies. Now the Reds head into their last series before the MLB All-Star break. Hosting a three-game series against the Miami Marlins.

Miami is faring similarly to the Rockies right now. Both teams are last in their respective divisions with 61 losses. Despite having a better record, Cincinnati goes into this weekend’s series tied for last in the National League Central. Holding a 45-49 record, tied with the Chicago Cubs nine games out of first place. After struggling in the last two months, the Reds will strive to head into the All-Star break on a high note.

Gregg Berkhalter out as USMNT head coach

The United States Men’s National Soccer Team is searching for a new head coach. Parting ways with Gregg Berhalter after a nearly six-year stint this week. Days after the USMNT crashed out of the group stage of Copa America. Berhalter’s USMNT head coaching tenure was full of drama. Along with some underwhelming results against teams outside of their CONCACAF federation.

Off of the pitch, Berhalter faced a scandal last year. After the parents of USMNT player Gio Reyna contacted the U.S. Soccer Federation. About a domestic violence allegation involving Berhalter in 1991. Berhalter was suspended by the USSF as they commissioned an investigation by an outside law firm. Berhalter was ultimately re-instated in June 2023.

So where does the USMNT collectively go from here?

Well first, the U.S. U-23 team will participate in the upcoming Paris Olympics. FC Cincinnati player Miles Robinson will be a part of the team. Despite being 27, Robinson is one of a handful of players getting an exemption to play. Meaning FC Cincinnati will have to fare without him until August. The U.S. will play their Olympic group stage games on July 24th, 27th and 30th.

U.S. Soccer will have many candidates to consider as Berhalter’s successor. A few Major League Soccer head coaches’ names have been floated. Such as Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtain. I’ve not seen FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan’s name floated as a candidate though. Some pipe dream options have also been floated around. Such as French legends Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry. Another potential dream candidate is recently retired Liverpool FC head coach Jurgen Klopp.

What happens in Vegas is occasionally misspelled

The Big 12 Conference has many new member schools to get acquainted with. The University of Cincinnati is one of those schools. Even though UC has been part of the conference for a full year. Cincinnati is one of eight schools to join the now 16 team Big 12 Conference since mid 2023. This week, as the Big 12 hosted its football media days in Las Vegas, NV. Someone involved in the media day prep managed to misspell Cincinnati on a name plate. By dropping one n and adding an extra t.

After temporarily replacing the erroneous name plate with UC punter Mason Fletcher’s plate. A name plate with Cincinnati correctly spelled was added. Ironically, a Cincinnati jersey with Cincinnati properly spelled was on display under these name plates the whole time. It’s not unusual for people to misspell Cincinnati. Even on sports apparel, there have been instances of game worn Cincinnati Reds jerseys with Cincinnati misspelled. The more baffling thing is that one would expect an organization connected with colleges to be more on the ball. When it comes to proper grammar and spelling.

Especially when dealing with members of the media. A profession that takes great pains to ensure they spell names correctly. Yet, in this era of college sports. One need not be surprised by a viral incident like this. Plus, as anyone in the media can attest. Nobody’s perfect and misprints just happen sometimes.