You’re either reading this from home on a “ice day”, or from work after having dug yourself out of yet another mid-week snow storm. Stupid freaking groundhog… At any rate, here’s today’s soundtrack… for reasons that will hopefully soon be evident.
In addition to Gold Pants…
Buckeye 411
Well, given the news today in college sports and elsewhere, I think I’ve got a couple of soundtrack offerings that will draw it all together. Stay warm people!! (it’s supposed to be down to the 60s in Los Angeles today… brrrrrrr.)
Squirtgun In January
Buckeye 411
Quick change of title format for our Wednesday update, for reasons that will soon be evident. Also taking a beat from the news, today’s soundtrack goes all Roger Goodell on life.
Buckeye 411
21 And Over, Please
Tight End, Loose Cannon? Kyle Rowland of Eleven Warriors broke the news late Tuesday that Buckeye tight end Marcus Baugh had been suspended from the team indefinitely for yet another issue with underaged alcohol usage. While many of us would file this either under “meh” or “college lyfe!!”, it’s important to note that this would be Baugh’s third “incident” while a Buckeye, and his second involving alcohol. He was removed from scholarship last summer, and was removed from team activities in September as well… it will be interesting to see if Coach Meyer believes in a “three strikes and you’re done” policy. Baugh has always been seen as an amazing athlete, but his absence will mean that the other tight ends in the system (Heuerman, Moore, and Vannett) may be asked to bear the burden during the spring and beyond; the 2014 recruiting class does not have a tight end in the mix as of yet.
Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Wonderings. Researchers at The James were awarded a sizeable grant, and the Buckeye football team added to its coaching staff. Other than that, not much going on. Grab whatever beverage you need and let’s proceed.
The James/Wexner, Cleveland Clinic
After receiving a 5-year grant renewal to study thyroid cancer in September 2013, the James was awarded an additional 5-year, $11.3 million grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study and treat thyroid cancer. This project will be led by Matthew D Ringel, MD.
“Thyroid cancer incidence rates are rising faster than all cancers in the United States, making it the fifth most common malignancy in women and 11th most common in men,” says Ringel.
According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 60,000 people are diagnosed with thyroid cancer annually in the United States and nearly 535,000 are currently living with the disease.
Additionally, here is a short (3:59) video with Dr. Michael Caligiuri explaining the new home of The James and an overview of new treatment processes. These are exciting times at The James, and we should be proud that it is an integral part of the Ohio State community. Read More
We’re two weeks into 2014 and we’re still wrapping up 2013. We’ll look at who is staying and who is going, also who is on campus already to get ready for the spring. Plus we’ll have a fun look back for my “best of” 2013 edition that involves music and movies. It’s Wednesday, let’s rumble! (Don’t forget to click anything red for a surprise!)
Who’s in and who’s out?
Mike Vrabel, headed to the NFL’s Houston Texans
Since the end of the Orangle Bowl we’ve tried to determine between Ryan Shazier and Braxton Miller who would stay and who was NFL bound. We’ve all weighed in with our own varying opinions and we found out the answers to the question for both last week. In the immediate weekend following the Orange Bowl loss we heard from Ryan Shazier that he would be entering the draft. Later in the week we heard from Braxton Miller that he was staying.
What we didn’t know was that another person who spends his time at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center was also listening to The Clash on his iPod. In a move that seemed like a pretty big surprise, defensive line coach Mike Vrabel announced he will be joining former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien in Houston with the NFL’s Texan’s where O’Brien is now running the show.
I don’t think it is a stretch to say that Vrabel will be missed on the staff. He’ll certainly be missed for his recruiting abilities. Being able to slap three Super Bowl rings onto the kitchen table have a way of impressing high school kids and their families that are making a decision on where to go to school.
It’s just a hunch, but I think ultimately Mike Vrabel wants to be either a head coach in college or a defensive coordinator, maybe even a head coach in the NFL. The path starts with two seasons as a defensive line coach at Ohio State followed by two seasons as a linebackers or defensive line coach with the Houston Texans. You can almost see it playing out. The next natural progression is a defensive coordinator spot somewhere and naturally that is followed by a head coach spot.
Welp, here we are Buckaroos… the Basket Bucks and Football version both have two game losing streaks. Nevertheless, there’s great things happening in Columbus…. give this a listen as we dive right in.
Buckeye 411
Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Wonderings. The Buckeye football season ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. The basketball teams are beginning to engage in conference play to keep our attention.
Hopefully none of you suffered too much from the recent polar vortex induced weather. And if you did, you’re thawed out by now. Grab whatever beverage you’d like and let’s proceed.
The James/Wexner, Cleveland Clinic
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society just announced the award of $12.5 million in grants to 21 studies in 6 areas. Please click the link to get the details. Among the awardees:
In response to requests for proposals (RFPs) from researchers in these six critical areas, LLS has awarded these grants under its Translational Research Program (TRP), an initiative designed to help accelerate the movement of promising discoveries from the lab to the clinic. Each grant is for a three-year duration with a total value of $600,000.
Good luck Dr. Baiocchi.
Here’s a two-fer for you. Sign up for a fitness boot camp conducted by John Simon/Anthony Schlegel and make a contribution to the Urban and Shelly Meyer Fund. It’s never too soon to start on your New Year’s resolutions while contributing to a significant cause.
“Michigan State is Ohio State’s new rival.” This theme began around 11:30pm Tuesday night.
To be fair, rumblings of this new theme began long before the Spartans defeated the Buckeyes in overtime at the Breslin Center, but they began to emerge heavily after the scarlet and gray’s 72-68 defeat.
I reject this thought immediately. Michigan State is NOT our new rival. Ohio State has one rival, and only one rival.
Tradition dictates that the Michigan Wolverines are the lone rival to my alma mater, and their misfortunes of late do not knock them from the ranks of rivalry. (By “misfortunes of late”, I mean their football team being a steaming heap of dung throughout the entire 21st century. Boom, roasted.)
Michigan State is atop the Big Ten, and they earned it by knocking the Buckeyes from the ranks of the unbeaten twice in five weeks. I can accept that they are the champions in football and the current leaders in basketball. They’re a damn good team in both sports, and while I am not happy about it, there’s no denying it.
But I cannot and will not allow history and tradition to be rewritten over an excellent stretch of athletic competition.
To me, a rivalry requires more than wins and losses on a stat sheet. It takes decades of hatred, frustration, glory, and respect. Michigan State will never evoke those emotions the way Michigan does.
The Spartans are our chief competitors for the title. They are our most difficult opponents. They are our toughest struggle. But they are NOT our rival.
So what’s the difference between MSU and UM?
There are several teams that want to claim us as their rival. That’s fine with me – they do it because beating us would make their season. We’re the kings. But just because Penn State or Indiana wants to declare us their rival doesn’t mean we should reciprocate. Let it go. Take the games seriously, but there simply is no massive rivalry aside from the maize and blue. You’ll never compare to our greatest rival.
If that’s not enough to convince you, perhaps a history lesson is in order.
Towards the end of the John Cooper era at Ohio State, there were similar rumblings coming from Ann Arbor. Michigan had handled us so many times recently, and their fans were losing the flavor for The Game. They were declaring Michigan State to be their biggest rival. Perhaps they were doing it to get under our skin, because that’s what Ohio State and Michigan does to one another – constant contempt and mockery.
It worked. It got under our skin. Michigan began to take us for granted, and after they knocked us off 38-26 in 2000, we’d had enough. We went and hired Jim Tressel. Since that day, the Wolverines have paid the price for disrespecting The Rivalry. They’ve only tasted victory twice in the 13 years since.
Buckeye fans, I urge you – do not declare MSU to be our new rival. They simply aren’t.
Keep your eyes on the ball. Those bastards to the north are our rivals, and they always will be.
