Cincinnati

Cincinnati financier Carl Lindner disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that he increased his stake in Republic American Corp. to 49% last month. Lindner controls the Encino workers' compensation insurance company and serves as its chairman. According to the filing, he bought 397,700 shares from April 19 to April 27 at between $15.25 and $15.74 each. The filing says Lindner bought the shares through his Cincinnati company, Penn Central, which holds about 1.

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said he didn't have a good feeling going into Saturday's game against Cincinnati. His misgivings nearly proved correct, as the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions needed a 75-yard touchdown drive late in the game to beat the Bearcats, 23-17, at University Park, Pa. Tailback David Clark ran the final six yards with 3:07 left to erase a 17-14 Cincinnati lead. Penn State added some insurance when linebacker Shane Conlan blocked a Cincinnati punt for a safety with 1:15 left.

Coming off a game in which their offense sputtered and the defense was manhandled, Baltimore was looking for a turnaround Sunday. Hello, Cincinnati! Rookie Jamal Lewis ran for 116 yards and a touchdown to back a dominating effort by the Baltimore defense, and the Ravens forced four turnovers in a 37-0 rout of the hapless Bengals. Tony Banks threw two touchdown passes for the Ravens (3-1), who were intent on bouncing back from a 19-6 defeat in Miami last week. "We needed this for our confidence.

When Bryan Murray took over as the Mighty Ducks' general manager, his priorities leaned heavily to bigger, more physical players. "We are out of small jerseys," he said at the time. Now in his second season, some of that has panned out. Murray was able to send to Cincinnati last week for defenseman Chris Armstrong and forward Casey Hankinson, two career minor leaguers Murray signed as free agents last summer. The Colorado Avalanche felt their presence in a 4-3 Duck victory Friday.

Eight Milwaukee and Seattle players, four from each team, and Brewers Manager Tom Trebelhorn were suspended by American League President Bobby Brown today for their roles in a 28-minute brawl last Saturday. Trebelhorn and Milwaukee pitcher Bob Sebra, who was sent to the minors Wednesday, each received five-game suspensions, effective today. Gary Sheffield, Mike Felder and B. J. Surhoff of the Brewers drew suspensions for three games each, with Sheffield's to begin today and the others Wednesday.

Sophomore guard Roger McClendon scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half as Cincinnati upset No. 13 Louisville, 84-82, Monday night in a Metro Conference game at Louisville, Ky. Louisville (11-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference) held a 56-43 lead, but the Bearcats (7-9, 3-3) went on a 14-4 tear to pull to within three points with 10:29 left. McClendon had nine points during the run. Cincinnati tied the game on a 20-footer by McClendon with 5:29 left.

It's no accident of geography that brings President Obama to Cleveland on Thursday while his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, appears in Cincinnati; the two cities, at opposite ends of the state, are key to who will win what could be the deciding battleground of the 2012 election. Already, the two campaigns are spending more money in Ohio than any other state, reflecting the judgment on both sides that if Obama wins Ohio, Romney will have very little chance of carrying the election.