Today at ESPN’s Headquarters, the Reds were the featured team in the ESPN Bistro Cafe.

As part of ESPN Ballpark Bistro Thursdays, an MLB team lunch is offered to ESPN employees and visitors in their café each week for the baseball season.

All teams are recognized alphabetically from April 12 (Arizona) through October 11 (Washington).

Cincinnati chili and Cincinnati-style pork ribs were some of the menu items available.

They asked for Reds logo’d items to help decorate the café….so I sent them some banners, stickers, a jersey, a few hats, etc.

On the lunchroom TV’s was the July 7, 2010 Reds vs. Mets game.

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Late lunch, voted with the 6 year old over and over and over and so on… #VoteReds

— Shannon Stout (@ghshanj) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog I #votereds for Drew Stubbs cause he is kinda really cute

— Ashley Higashi MPH (@Ashleysh22) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog Sorry we missed the #VoteReds lunch today, but @KyleHoman and I are eating at Toby Keith’s and voting, if that counts…

— Geoff Homan (@GeoffreyHoman) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog finally getting around to a #VOTEREDS lunch. Will vote early and often.

— Karen (@KarenCincy) May 16, 2012

@jamieblog a roast beef/turkey sandwich, sun chips, mt dew, and 75 votes for the boys of summer. Especially Wolfgang. #votereds

— Dan Hartmann (@dan_ha) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog Jelly Bellys #VoteReds 5! twitter.com/mattgcincy/sta…

— Matt (@mattgcincy) May 16, 2012

Opening a new practice, stuffing my face and still managed 30 votes for my @Reds #VoteReds

— Anthony Morgan (@tweetingReds) May 16, 2012

#VoteReds 25 votes and currently no time for lunch

— Head First Slide Pod (@HFSPodcast) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog Spinach Salad w/ grilled chicken and 25 votes for our boys. #VoteReds

— Brandon Fadley (@topline19) May 16, 2012

#VoteReds Frisch’s Club, spicy chicken soup, and 25 votes for dessert. #VottoAllStar

— Beatrice Derffo (@BeatriceDerffo) May 16, 2012

Oh, salad for lunch. RT @Tonester5 #VoteReds 25 votes for Reds – LeCure write in for outfield. He has at least 150 votes now!!!

— Tony Arno (@Tonester5) May 16, 2012

I am having breakfast while I #VoteReds today. Biscuits and Gravy, Sasuage Links, 2 Eggs, and Fried Potatoes. 25 Votes for Reds Players.

— Joshua Tucker (@jmt5887) May 16, 2012

#VoteReds lunch done. 50 votes while munching on a Pepperoni, Turkey, Chicken breast sami!

— Big Red Redemption (@BgRedRedemption) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog Did my #VoteReds civic duty to take my mind off of the reheated leftovers.

— Valerie Wolford (@vjwace) May 16, 2012

25 votes and fruit #votereds

— Amy Meier (@lsmomma) May 16, 2012

time to get my#votereds lunch on!

— Big Red Redemption (@BgRedRedemption) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog 100 votes with my BLT & potato salad…will probably #VoteReds more tonight during the game. Love mailinator.com!

— Melissa Fronckowiak (@sweetmelissakae) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog 25 votes & a roast beef sandwich & chili cheese fritos. #VoteReds

— Amber Hall (@amlehall) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog 100 votes and some Jersey Mike’s. #VoteReds

— Sara Middendorf (@semidden) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog Wheatberry salad, Greek yogurt and 50 votes, for Votto, Phillips, Bruce, & Cozart.#VoteReds

— Not A Dumb Blonde (@NotADumbBlond3) May 16, 2012

50 votes and 50 Skyline cheese coneys #VoteReds (I may have miscounted the cheese coneys consumed)

— Zach Bonkowski (@Bongreatness) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog PB&J,25 votes! #VoteReds

— wendy adams (@qendy) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog Haven’t gotten around to the food part of lunch yet, but 100 votes have been submitted! #VOTEREDS

— Lori Smith (@LoriS526) May 16, 2012

I voted the @reds players into the @allstargame. Did you??? #VoteReds

— Adam(@adamgray85) May 16, 2012

#voteReds is sooooo easy your pet can do it!! Let’s get the #Reds to the All Star Game

— Lynnea Weitz (@LynneaWeitz) May 16, 2012

@Jamieblog Quick lunch at my desk today. 25 Votes. #VoteReds twitter.com/CamBlamWam/sta…

— Chris Caulfield (@CamBlamWam) May 16, 2012

FARM REPORT PDF

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My Red to Rock? How can I not go with this guy…

My Red to Rock is…

CINCINNATI (May 16, 2012) – Sign up now for the 11th annual Subway® Redlegs Run on Saturday, June 2, 2012. Runners, walkers and families have many options to participate:
• 5K: Chip-timed 3.1-mile course starts at Great American Ball Park, winds along the riverfront and finishes inside the ballpark near home plate.
• 10K: Chip-timed 6.2-mile course starts at Great American Ball Park, winds along the riverfront, crosses over the Ohio River on the Taylor Southgate Bridge into Newport and across the Purple People Bridge and finishes inside the ballpark near home plate.
• One Mile Family Run/Walk: 1-mile course starts at Great American Ball Park and finishes inside the ballpark near home plate. (not chip timed)
• Gapper’s Kids Fun Run: This course is along the warning track of the ballpark.

All participants receive a race t-shirt (technical shirt for 10K participants), post-race party and awards ceremony in the Fan Zone and one View Level ticket voucher for the June 7 (7:10pm) Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game.

Register online by May 21 and receive discounts:
• 10K: $42 ($50 after May 21)
• 5K: $32 ($40 after May 21)
• One Mile Family Run: $21 ($25 after May 21)
• Gapper’s Kids Fun Run for kids 10 and under: $16

For more information and to register online visit reds.com/run. (Online registration closes May 21at 11:59 pm)

An optional fundraising initiative has been added for 2012. Raise dollars for the Reds Community Fund and earn great incentives such as autographed Reds memorabilia, game tickets and unique experiences. Full details at reds.com/run.

Race start times:
• 8:00 am: Runners and walkers for 10K and 5K (round 1) — first 2,000 5K to register, all 10K participants and elite runners
• 8:10 am:  Runners and walkers for 5K (round 2) — remainder of 5K runners/walkers
• 9:30 am: One Mile Family Run/Walk
• 10:15 am: Gapper’s Kids Fun Run

Packet pick-up and walk-up registration dates:
• Saturday, May 26: 10 am to 4 pm at Fleet Feet Sports — Corner of Kenwood and Cooper roads in Blue Ash (513-793-8383)
• Thursday, May 31: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.  at Great American Ball Park — Outside the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum
• Friday, June 1: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.  at Great American Ball Park — Outside the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum
• Saturday, June 2 (race morning): 6 a.m.  at Great American Ball Park — Gate 3, Pete Rose Way

Recommended parking for the Redlegs Run:
• The Banks Garage: $1/ half hour; max. $8/day
• East Garage (east of US Bank Arena): $5
• Lots B & D (east of Paul Brown Stadium): $5
• Lot E (south of Paul Brown Stadium): $2.50

Race sponsors include Subway®, Cintas, United Healthcare, 700WLW, WCPO-TV Channel 9, Trophy Awards, Fleet Feet Sports, LaRosa’s, UDF, Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water, Queen City Sausage, Kroger Co., Nike and Castellini Group of Companies.

Over 4,300 runners and walkers participated in 2011 generating over $150,000 for the baseball-themed outreach programs of the Reds Community Fund.

FARM REPORT PDF

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I was going through the Reds archives and discovered this photo of Marty when he first started broadcasting Reds games…

For those of you not familiar with the Vote Reds Lunches, here’s the deal:

1. Follow me on Twitter at @Jamieblog
2. When the lunch bell rings (12pm ET), Tweet me using the hashtag #VOTEREDS and tell me what you’re having for lunch (photos are encouraged) and tell me how many times you voted your favorite Cincinnati Reds for the NL All-Star team.
3. For those of you not able to participate or if you’re not dining during the typical Cincinnati lunch hour, Tweet me when you do get around to meal time. I’ll accept Tweets all day.
4. I’ll post results (and photos) Thursday right here on Better Off Red.
5. Vote Reds HERE.

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My ‘Red to Rock’…