Buckeye Blogger NetworkWelcome to Wednesday, the first of May… it’s officially grilling season (unless you live in California, where it’s always that time). Here’s today’s soundtrack; if you don’t know why, then… well… keep reading.
Archie’d
Buckeye 411
Lotta stuff rattling around the ol’ brainpan the last couple of days… sometimes it’s good to have a bit of distraction from the harshness of our realities. Here’s the song that’s been stuck in my subconscious…
Buckeye 411
The Buckeye basketball teams backs are against the wall. A big time football player is rumored to be contemplating sitting out a season to his protect draft status and financial future. It’s Wednesday night, let’s rumble!
Hoops getting interesting
As you’re reading this, or maybe after you read this or a little before you read this, the Buckeye basketball team will be on the court facing the Minnesota Golden Gophers at The Schottenstein Center. This is a huge week for the Buckeyes after being slapped in the face with a backhand in Wisconsin on Sunday to the tune of a 71-49 beat-down.
Backs against the wall after the Wisconsin meltdown
At 18-7 the Buckeyes see their backs against the wall but home turf on their side as they face a must win situation against the Gophers. This would set up a huge showdown/rematch, again at home, against Michigan State. Win both games and watch the swagger return to set up the final push before the tournaments begin. A split has to be what the Buckeyes consider a worst case scenario as losing both would be catastrophic.
Michigan State took on the Indiana Hoosiers last night in a #1 vs #4 matchup. In a tight game that was actually pretty exciting to watch, it was the Hoosiers holding on to win 72-68 and keep their #1 ranking at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Sparty will now come to Columbus facing the possibility of a two game losing streak and certainly a little grumpy. Tom Izzo will have his team ready for what should be a war at 4pm on Sunday. (CBS tv) Read More
The offseason brings us another variation from the format of your midweek news and notes, as a couple of big stories have dominated the college sports landscape. That being said, it’s not like I’m going to deprive you of your Wednesday motivational tunes.
Might As Well Get Comfy
Lack Of Institutional Control
For those of you waiting for the other shoe to drop in the Hurricane Situation, you can breathe a bit now. Kinda.
On Tuesday, the NCAA finally sent their Notice of Allegations to the Hurricanes, after a week that saw the folks from Indianapolis as the well focused center of national ridicule. We’d be wondering what was taking so long in this process, given that the NCAA had been “involved” in the investigation for over two years- turns out that the time in question had been spent violating the NCAA’s own principals and going against the advice of their legal counsel in their conversations with Nevin Shapiro.
In addition to paying the attorney who was questioning Shapiro as a part of his financial issues, the folks at the NCAA also provided him with a “burner” cell phone to contact them and financial resources to his prison account. Again, not the best idea for an organization who prides themselves on holding people accountable because the “should have known” what to do and dings them for not doing it.
The fallout was immediate- NCAA folks terminated or “resigned”, and folks calling for NCAA president Mark Emmert’s head, which, given the recent friends that he’s made across the nation, completely seems within reason.
The news of the “injustice” done by the NCAA to the fine folks in Miami ended up finding many fans in an interesting place- turning to Da’ U as their white knight in the fight against the evils of Emmert’s staff. Tuesday’s official response by University President Donna Shalala continued to create the dissonance- she is right that the NCAA has overstepped themselves extensively, but seems to forget that the University’s representatives were involved things that led them to receiving what many say is the “lack of institutional control” label in their Notice. Read More
Buckeye hoops had a bad week. The Paterno’s just won’t stop. I don’t feel that same about college basketball as I used to. It’s Wednesday, let’s rumble!
Buckeye bruises
For the first time in 121 games, dating back to 2010, the Buckeye basketball team lost back-to-back games. The first was last Tuesday’s overtime road loss to TTUN in Ann Arbor (covered last week) followed by Sunday’s 81-68 loss at Value City Arena to number one ranked Indiana. It’s easy to say that the TTUN loss was more heartbreaking. Meanwhile, the loss to the Hoosiers at home was far more devastating.
We’ve been discussing how the Buckeyes have been in a constant search for a number two scoring threat to compliment Deshaun Thomas. While that search has been ongoing, the Buckeye defense has been a stalwart to keep them in close games and a source for momentum when a big play is needed. Most teams look for a big three pointer to change momentum or a high flying dunk, the Buckeyes look to lock down on defense and get a quick score off a turnover. While not the completely unconventional path to a momentum burst, it is certainly the road less traveled. Read More
It’s February and more importantly it’s national signing day for college football players and programs around the country. Take a break from following the updates of who faxed their letter of intent to whom and let’s hit some big topics. Who’s ready? Let’s rumble!
The Athletic O
Late Monday afternoon it was revealed that the Ohio State Athletic Department has revamped the Ohio State athletic crest. As with any type of change, opinions flew around Twitter and the blogosphere quickly and in large quantities.
The new athletic O
It seems as though the overwhelming consensus is that the newly redesigned Athletic O is an atrocity. Despite there really only being one major difference between the old and new (the words Ohio State are filled in with black rather than being white and grey) people have gone off the ledge and are expecting the return of the Lord at any moment. Read More
We’re one week away from National Letter Of Intent Day, and the excitement (and chaos) is building. We’ll talk a bit this week about the idea of “verbals” and visits, but let’s dig through the news bucket a bit first, shall we? Oh, and Mark Titus’ favorite band brings us our musical inspiration for the morning. Happy Wednesday.
Buckeye 411
Commentary- Commitment Read More
The Buckeye hoops team dropped a tough one in East Lansing. Recruiting rankings were released and the Buckeyes are on a roll. My girlfriend is hotter than Kate Upton. Yeah, so what if we’ve only met on the internet?! What’s the worst that can happen? Let’s rumble!
The Rivals top 100
On Monday, the newest and last Rivals top 100 for 2013 was released. Among those 100, Urban Meyer’s coaching staff has received seven verbal commitments and is still waiting patiently for answers from two others. The most “top 100” players the Buckeyes have ever claimed were 8 commits in 2008. If either Vonn Bell (safety from Rossville, Georgia, ranked number 32) or Dontre Wilson (running back from Desoto, Texas, ranked number 100) commit to Meyer’s 2013 class it will match or exceed that ’08 record. I am a math genius.
Vonn Bell… still deciding
