Courtesy the Cincinnati Inquirer

(September 9, 2010) Before Dave Lapham starts his 25th season as Bengals radio analyst, he has a few things on his To Do List.

The La Salle-Lakota East "High School Game of the Week" at 7 p.m. today for Fox Sports Ohio.

The Georgia Tech-Kansas "Big 12 Game of the Week" at noon Saturday for FSO in Lawrence, Kan.,

The Bengals-Patriots game at 1 p.m. Sunday in Foxborough, Mass.

"I just love the game. It's been a longtime love of mine, since I played sandlot football," Lapham says.

As if anyone who has heard his excitable Bengals broadcasts couldn't tell how much he loves the game - and the team that drafted him 36 years ago from Syracuse University.

"I like good football. So when there's a big play, I tend to get excited," says Lapham, 58. He played 10 years for the Bengals (1974-83), and two for Donald Trump's USFL New Jersey Generals (1984-85).

After retiring, the Massachusetts native moved into the Bengals radio booth with Phil Samp. Lapham has worked with all five Bengals announcers: Ken Broo, Paul Keels, Pete Arbogast and 11 years with current announcer Brad Johansen.

He's the Bengals' Joe Nuxhall. He's the biggest cheerleader and often the biggest critic. Fans who don't like his enthusiasm appreciate his disappointment and honesty when things go wrong - in a game, a season, or a decade.

"He may be called a homer, and he is," Johansen says. "But he's got a lot invested in this team. It's been his life."

Bob Trumpy, former Bengal and retired NFL analyst, says Lapham's candor during the bad years gives him great credibility.

"He had to watch (quarterbacks) David Klingler and Akili Smith. People who listen to him, believe him. When he says 'they suck,' they suck," Trumpy says.

Lapham, a communications major at Syracuse, credits Trumpy with helping to start his broadcasting career - as Trumpy did for former Bengals Cris Collinsworth, Solomon Wilcots and Sam Wyche.

It started minutes after the Bengals' 26-21 loss in Super Bowl XVI to the San Francisco 49ers in 1982.

"Players were running to the showers. Dave Lapham talked to me, even though he was almost in tears," Trumpy recalls. "I told him, 'If you ever want to get into broadcasting, I'll do anything I can for you.' "

Lapham would fill in for Trumpy on sports talk shows. By 1988, Lapham was doing a few network TV games.

Trumpy also taught him the secret to analyzing football: Never watch the ball.

"I look at the line of scrimmage, and as wide as I can. Everyone's movement takes me to the football," Lapham says. "The play-by-play guy tells what happened. My responsibility is to say why it happened."

Knowing each player's job isn't new to Lapham. As a rookie in 1974, head coach Paul Brown graded his performance by how it impacted his teammates.

"Paul Brown was the guy who helped me the most to see the big picture," he says.

For the Bengals, Lapham played all five offensive line positions - including all five in one game. Three times. They called him "The Tool," with great respect.

"I was the interchangeable drill bit. You could throw me in anywhere," he says.

He lived up to his nickname in broadcasting. He did high school football; college football, wrestling and track; and UC and Xavier basketball.

"How did he do it? With desire and over-achievement. He wanted it so badly," says TV director David Ashbrock.

The hard work paid off. Lap often correctly predicts a penalty before the referee's yellow flag hits the turf.

"He has great confidence. He isn't afraid to say, 'Here's what I think it is.' And most of the time he's right," Johansen says.

Lapham has flexibility to do three games a week because he works for Clear Channel, the Bengals' radio flagship. In the off-season, he sells Bengals radio advertising.

Before Clear Channel, Lapham did various off-season jobs, from selling chemicals to substitute teaching. He and his wife Lynne, also from suburban Boston, decided to make their home here in 1975.

"We had our first child, and I didn't want to be a wandering nomad," he says. They have two children, Dave Jr., 34, and Sarah, 32.

"It's amazing when I think about it. For 35 years, I've been doing something for the Bengals," he says.

That's how loyal Lap was raised.

"My grandfather and my parents told me, 'If you like what you're doing, and they're treating you well, and you're treating them well, what's wrong with that?' "

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