Cincinnati Enquirer Column

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- I spent most of the 1990s freelancing sports for The Cincinnati Enquirer, and was fortunate enough to have made the acquaintance of John Erardi.

In fact, when I got my very first opportunity to do something for the Enqy, it was around 1991 when I sat in the press box at Riverfront Stadium, shadowing E, as they call him, and he sent me down to the locker room of the playoff-bound Atlanta Braves after a late-season defeat of our hometown Reds. I got some quotes for E, and as an eager college kid, also got to come home and tell my roommates that I spoke to Terry Pendleton and even saw Deion Sanders goofing around with pitching coach Leo Mazzone in the clubhouse.

E is still too young to be referred to as a legendary sportswriter, but has been around for a while and has accomplished enough to be considered one of the finer scribes in the country. He's written several books about the Cincinnati Reds, and is always an easy and enjoyable read.

He called me Wednesday and interviewed me for more than an hour, a very thorough and at times entertaining conversation. And then in Thursday's Enquirer, here was the very nice piece he wrote about the One Great Season project.