In the calm before the storm… it’s midweek mayhem.

Really? No... Really??

The rest of the week will be dedicated to hoops, particularly the matchup with folks from Cincy, but I thought I’d drop a little mascot knowledge on you. While that thing above may technically be a “bearcat”, I’m still convinced that the official team name should be “UChickFilAs.” According to some, it’s a version of a wolverine found in Asia, so strike two. And finally, the pajamas… with stripes… like the Bengals, but not like a bearcat. Ah well- if you want good UC coverage, you’ll need to go to the source.

The Scoops In Hoops

• Closure- We haven’t heard much from our friend Robby since he moved down south (guess he’s got all SEC- uppity), but he did give the world a great article about one of our favorite non-Buckeye basketball players, looking at the end of Robbie Hummel’s career-

All of this pain, it multiples by 50 when you see a player like Robbie Hummel break down.

His career, his unbelievable and shining career at Purdue has come to an end. All of those clutch shots, all of those hustle plays, they’re all memories from now on.

But those memories have left a legacy on a program that needed something. Purdue Basketball NEEDED something to re-energize it.We were blessed to have #4 for FIVE years. We didn’t make it to any Final Fours, we didn’t win any National Championships…but we didn’t have to.

We won SO MUCH more than a trophy in the last five years at Purdue. We won excitement, memories, moments. Those stand the test of time, you can’t put that on a trophy.

• Best Wishes- Go out to former Buckeye Greg Oden, who was released by Portland this past week after a career cut short by continual knee issues.  As someone who only marginally follows basketball, it does seem odd that three epic big men had their legacies fall to pieces in the Rose Garden- Walton, Bowie, and now Oden. Either it’s a) bad luck, b) poor scouting, c) horrible facilities, d) overwhelmed athletic training staff or e) a combination of the above.  Maybe they should have some sort of parade for the situation. While the folks in Wyoming think there’s still hope for Greg’s career, I’ll prefer to remember what was rather than think on what might have been.
• I!L!L! – I!N!I Don’t Know Who Our Coach Is- While everyone keeps pointing to VCU’s Shaka Smart as the new Illinois Coach, there are indications that he’s not ready to jump ship just yet.  He’s a good coach, and would be a great addition to the B1G- plus, how would you like to be an Illini fan who lost out to VCU? At any rate, here’s a quick  introduction to what will probably be a new Illinois Pep Band song.

Musical Interlude

Got an email today about a junior Engineering major at OSU and his new career. I’ll let you judge for yourself:

This Week In Scandal

• Agents, Man… Agents-  With former NFL Agent Josh Luchs’ book set to drop at any moment, several media outlets have noted that his major idea for reforming college sports is to… wait for it… get more agents involved. He posits that the best idea would be to go ahead and regulate what’s already happening- to let student athletes hire agents even early in the recruiting process and have the NCAA supervise them and control the “loans” they give to students.  While Andy Staples points out that there is a precedent for the NCAA helping with student’s loans, it behooves me to point out the following.

1. The NCAA is already under staffed and has problems with consistently enforcing much of their draconian regulations, how will having another layer to coordinate help anything?
2. The thought that this would stop all improper benefits comes from the same logic train that brought you “If Terrelle Pryor had an additional student stipend, he wouldn’t have needed to sell his stuff”.
3. Remember, the NCAA only works if you work with it. How would having an outside group of people looking to profit help this dynamic?
4. This is, as far as I can tell, the first time “behoove” and “draconian” have been used in the same post here at tBBC.  “Word Of The Day” calendar FTW.

• In Case You Forgot- Luchs is the agent who claimed to have given money to numerous players while they were still in college, including Ohio State’s Santonio Holmes. Holmes has denied this allegation.
• And Then There’s This- Luchs’ book also includes his account of working to sign Maurice Clarett and MoC’s preparation for the NFL draft-

The next day it was time for the 40-yard dash and the other field work. Gil Brandt, an NFL legend who runs the combine and happened to be supportive of Maurice, broke precedent and let me and Steve into the media green room with all the writers to watch the monitor while Maurice ran. Most of the beat writers had no idea his agents were floating among them, so they were openly rooting against Maurice.

He got ready to run and it was as if everything was in slow motion. Not because that’s how I imagined it, or because it was important to me – this was because Maurice was literally running in slow motion. No burst, no explosion, just flat. He finished the 40 in 4.7-plus seconds, a good two-tenths of a second slower than the 4.5 he needed. Disaster.

There was laughter and howling in the media room, pretty cold delight. Now Maurice was supposed to run routes and running back drills. The only thing he could do worse than his 40 time would be to just quit. And that’s exactly what he did. He walked off the field. He knew he was [expletive], so he walked.

• As If Having Bielema As Your Coach Wasn’t Embarrassing Enough-  Wisconsin fans have got to be cringing at Deadspin’s coverage of the alleged sexual assault by a former Badger staffer at this year’s Rose Bowl. The Tournament Of Roses impacts some people differently than others, I guess.
• History? Present?  The Huffington Post today pointed out that this season’s MSU team might have some skeletons in it’s closet that most folks don’t seem to know or care about. Hmmmm… wonder why??
• But What About The Children? In all of this year’s “Expansion O Rama” excitement, it’s easy to miss the tension and broken relationships behind all of the bags o’ cash. Luckily, the Columbia Tribune has taken a deeper look at Missouri’s exit from the Big Integer,

The lawsuit, slated to be filed in Boone County Circuit Court, never came to pass. But the 12-page draft of a petition for injunctive relief was obtained by the Tribune this month. It charged the SEC with illegally enticing Missouri to breach its contractual commitment to the Big 12 — an effort the suit states was “willful, deliberate and in bad faith” and the cause of “irreparable injury to the Big 12 for which money damages is not an adequate remedy.”

• I Wish You Were Dead- Nope, not a sentiment from the Mizzou/SEC situation, but still something that a Big Integer program felt. Believe it our not, T. Boone Pickens was betting that Oklahoma State Boosters would croak- betting to the tune of a $33 Million loss.

Other Notes

• Harvard Of The West- News this week included revelation that an Ann Arbor man was hospitalized after being assaulted in an argument about books. I’m assuming that the assailant was frustrated that the victim wasn’t staying in between the lines.
• This Should Be Interesting-  Our friend Rob Harley is going to be busy helping Michigan State’s defense prepare for the Blur Offense (and ridiculous uniforms) of Oregon’s Ducks in 2014 and 2015.
• Major Moves- News Tuesday was also that a Columbus area franchise had usurped the king and was aiming for the clown.  For me, though, there is only one winner.

And Finally…

• Welcome To Southern Cal-

Tags: Ann Arbor, Cincinnati Bearcats, Greg Oden, Illinois, Maurice Clarett, Michigan State, Mizzou, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Robbie Hummel, Robby Donoho, Santonio Holmes, Shaka Smart, Southern Cal, TBPU, Wisconsin Badgers
Categories: College Basketball, College Football, Humor, NCAA Investigations, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football