Reds Opener: Who's going?

As you all know by now, President Bush is throwing out the first pitch at the Cincinnati Reds home opener next week, and Sen. Mike DeWine said yesterday that he had already planned to attend.

So who else is going?

Sen. Jim Bunning would be a good bet, especially considering that the the Southgate, Ky., Republican is himself a former Major League pitcher and baseball Hall of Famer. When asked today, Bunning said he plans to meet Bush at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport - and attend the game! It was uncertain, however, if he'd be giving the president some pitching tips.

What about U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, who lives in Terrace Park and represented Greater Cincinnati in Congress for the past 12 years?

You bet!

Here's what Portman told a group of Cincinnati business leaders at lunch today:

"Last weekend I was in Mexico, this weekend I’ll be in Brazil, until Sunday afternoon, making it home in time for Opening Day where I will be joining our president to watch him throw out the first pitch, better than I did last year, by the way."