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

• Our Long National Nightmare Is Over, Part One- Braxton’s hair is back to normal. Whew.
• Making Friends Money- The four letter network was in Columbus on Tuesday, as a part of their spring football trip. As a homer, I’m fully aware that they were in Ann Arbor while spring practice was in session and waited until after Saturday’s game to visit the WHAC. Nonetheless, Coach Meyer met with Rece and Spiels to talk about the expectations that lay before the team for 2013. Good to see that they could take time away from their usual narrative regarding Buckeye football, no?
• Graphic Du Jour- Sammy Silverman knows no off season:

• Our Long National Nightmare Is Over, Part Two- Ohio State has got a new women’s basketball coach.  Now, we need a home run for our hockey program.
• Hoops. There It Is- Congrats to Tayler Hill, who went fourth in Monday’s WNBA draft!
• Smack Talk- Vrabel has it.

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Tags: Boston Marathon, Braxton Miller, Chip Kelly, Concussions, Ed O'Bannon, ESPN, Kevin McGuff, Mike Vrabel, Oregon, Pat Summerall, Ridell, Sammy Silverman, SBP, SEC, Southern Cal, Tayler Hill, TTUN, Urban Meyer, Willie Lyles, Women's Basketball
Categories: College Football, NCAA Investigations, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

Great game, great venue and it was just good to see the Scarlet and Gray back on the football field again this Saturday.

Granted, we didn’t really “learn” much in this practice with a scoreboard, but there were some things that stood out. We’ll continue to talk more about this in the coming days, but I’m excited about the pistol formation that we saw throughout the scrimmage… yet another angle to attack and destroy.

We all identified things that we were looking for- let’s see how our folks did. We’ll be using my elaborate and completely subjective scoring system which awards as follows: 2 points for a correct answer, 1 point for a partial, mockery for everything else.

Thanks again to our friend Josh Winslow for his great photo coverage!

What player scores the first points of the game? Correct Answer: Braxton to Smith

• WVa: Braxton Miller on a long run.  0 points
• Ken: Devin Smith on a long pass play from The Brax 2 points
• Jason: Rod Smith. 0 points
  
• Janelle: Devin Smith on a deep ball from Braxton 2 points
• Eric: I’ll go with Michael Thomas on a nice Brax pass. 1 point
• Dexter: I’m going to go with Evan Spencer from Braxton Miller. 1 point
  
• Charles/Mali: Drew Basil 0 points for both

Who’s the offensive MVP? Correct Answer: Braxton Miller Read More

Tags: 2013 Spring Game, Adolphus Washington, AYNE, Braxton Miller, Cincinnati, Curtis Grant, Devin Smith, Eli Apple, Josh Winslow, Michael Thomas, OSU 2013 Spring Game, Warren Ball
Categories: College Football, Ohio State Football

Urban Meyer has led his Buckeyes out onto the field in Cincinnati and celebrated the return of spring. We’ll be watching the replay and discussing the event in nothing but glowing terms.

Join us and The Buckeye Blog, Buckeye Empire, Men of the Scarlet and Gray, and Buckeye Ninja as we get our brief taste of football in the midst of the dry season! The chat will kick off around 6:45 PM Eastern, with kick-off on the BTN at around 7:00 pm.

Special thanks to Fox Sports Ohio for graciously helping with these livechats all year long!

Tags: 2013 Spring Game, Bradley Roby, Braxton Miller, buckeyes, Ohio State, Urban Meyer
Categories: Basketball Live Chats, College Basketball, Ohio State Basketball

A bit of a different version of WDYWTSOS, since we all want to see the same thing- Awesomeness and no injuries.

So, we’ve polled our staff of experts for their predictions on the following aspects for “Getting Down At Paul Brown”- let’s see how much everyone’s been paying attention to the Spring Practice Updates:

Bombs Away

What player scores the first points of the game?

WVa: Braxton Miller will score first and it will be on a long run. 

Ken: Devin Smith on a long pass play from The Brax

Jason: Rod Smith. My bet is they limit Hyde and with Brax wearing the black shirt his running is cut out.

Janelle: Devin Smith on a deep ball from Braxton

Eric: Might as well ask what your favorite color of M&M is based on the taste.  I’ll go with Michael Thomas on a nice Brax pass.

Dexter: I’m going to go with Evan Spencer on a Bomb downfield from Braxton Miller. That is my favorite color M&M.

Charles: To be a bit different, I’ll go with Drew Basil

Mali: The obvious answer is Drew Basil.

Who’s the offensive MVP? Read More

Tags: Braxton Miller, Brionte Dunn, Cardale Jones, Carlos Hyde, Christian Bryant, Cincinnati, Curtis Grant, Dave Perkins, Doran Grant, Drew Basil, Evan Spencer, Michael Bennett, Michael Thomas, Noah Spence, OSU 2013 Spring Game, Paul Brown Stadium, Rod Smigh, Ryan Shazier, spring football, Tyvis Powell, Warren Ball, WDYWTSOS
Categories: Ohio State Football

Spring is finally in the air. Baseball season is underway. Saturday is the annual Scarlet and Grey game. Basketball has crowned its national champion. It’s Wednesday, let’s rumble!

Buckeye football

We’ve hit the stretch run of spring football and the Scarlet and Grey game is being held this Saturday at Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Brown Stadium. The game starts at 1pm and you can hear it live on the flagship station for Buckeye sports 97.1FM or www.971thefan.com It will be shown on the Big Ten Network at 7pm Saturday night.

Braxton Miller

Student Appreciation Day

One of the highlights of the 2012 spring camp was the first ever Student Appreciation Day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Don’t be cynical, the name implies exactly what it is: a chance for the football team to allow unprecedented access to the students who make up the body of this great university and support it so vehemently on Saturday’s in Ohio Stadium and even on the road in opposing dojos. Read More

Tags: Braxton Miller, Carlos Hyde, Chris Carter, David Perkins, Drew Basil, Jimmy Jackson, Jordan Hall, Louisville Cardinals, Noah Spence, Ohio State basketball, Ohio State Football, One Shining Moment, Urban Meyer, Warren Ball
Categories: Analysis, Basketball Analysis, College Basketball, College Football, Football Analysis, Humor, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

After a weekend filled with excitement and disappointment, it’s a bit of a quiet mood at tBBC headquarters. We like baseball, and know that OSU sports are amazing even if not the “got to be on television” variety, but I’d be lying if I didn’t confess that there’s a bit of a let down these days.  Ah well… only two songs possible for today’s soundtrack. Onward.

Buckeye 411

• Injury Update- As you may have read, Ohio State offensive lineman Antonio Underwood will miss up to 6 months with a torn ACL that he experienced in Spring Practice this week.  There’s significant speculation that he’s going to red-shirt.
• Fired Up- The other “injury” news from Tuesday was Braxton getting blasted as a part of a scrimmage drill, in spite of the fact that he was wearing a black “no contact” jersey. He spent some time on the turf, but then got up and returned to drills later in the practice. There are reports that he tried to lower his shoulder on a run following his return, and that he approached the defense very heated about being knocked to the ground. After practice, Urban talked about the need to have a competitive spirit and to be the kind of quarter back that “want to go get in a street fight and get after it”.
• The Stable- Carlos Hyde sat most of the “team” portion of Tuesday’s scrimmage to get the Young Bucks more opportunities. Rod Smith and Brionte Dunn continue to impress, but Warren Ball seems to have not missed a beat by missing last season with a foot injury, and was a highlight for the second straight week.
• Make Them Pay- Linebacker Armani Reeves took an interception 71 yards in the team portion of practice, but was leveled at the end of his run by Chase Farris.
• Diamonds In The Rough- The Buckeyes showed a bit of the “diamond” formation that the 49ers have made popular since last season (and that Nebraska gashed OSU with in Lincoln two years ago). Today, Hyde was joined by Smith and Dunn in the backfield in a “broken wishbone” look. Woody would be so proud.
• Wither The Slot- Jordan Hall is still recovering this spring, so the “slot” position has fallen to Chris Fields.
• Jonesing- Saturday, Cardale Jones had one of his best practices; enough to make Coach Meyer say that he was confident that Cardale could play Quarterback at Ohio State.  While his accuracy continues to be an adventure, those who saw him in practice said that his running reminded them of a current Raiders QB (No, not Matt Flynn).
• Manning Up- Coach Meyer had good things to say about Patrick Elflein, who saw time at several positions on the offensive line.
• Sparing No XSpence- Noah continues to be the defensive lineman that stands out… man, we need to come up with a nickname for him.
• ‘Preciate It- As you can tell by today’s graphic, something special is in the air for Ohio State Students this week. Here- let Urban tell you about it: Read More

Tags: 'Da U, Antonio Underwood, Armani Reeves, Braxton Miller, Brionte Dunn, Cardale Jones, Chase Farris, Chris Fields, Deshaun Thomas, Ed O'Bannon, Mark Emmert, Noah Spence, Officially Awful, Patrick Elflein, Rod Smith, Rutgers, SBP, Spring Practice, Urban Meyer, Warren Ball
Categories: Humor, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

A big time showdown with the Indiana Hoosiers on the hardwood. Spring practice has started on the astro-grass. The weather must be warming up (soon?) in Columbus, Ohio. It’s Wednesday, let’s rumble!

Upset in B-Town

With the conference tournament and eventually the NCAA tournament still on the horizon, it can be tough to put a ton of stock into the importance of a regular season game these days in college basketball. There’s seemingly always tomorrow or another shot to fix what you have done wrong. Last night’s game in Bloomington, Indiana against the 2^nd ranked Indiana Hoosiers was one of those exceptions, and the Buckeyes rose up to the challenge.

Deshaun Thomas and Lenzelle Smith feeling good in Assembly Hall

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Tags: Aaron Craft, Braxton Miller, Cameron Burrows, Curtis Grant, Damage Inc., Deshaun Thomas, Indiana Basketball, Ohio State basketball, Ohio State Football, Scarlet and Grey Game, shannon scott, spring football, Urban Meyer
Categories: College Basketball, College Football, Football Analysis, Miscellaneous, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

Sexier than the swimsuit issue

Today’s soundtrack is brought to you by 70 degrees and sunny skies in Los Angeles. Oh, and a little bit of EW&F.

Buckeye 411

• Buck And Cover- That thing over there is this week’s Sports Illustrated cover, well everywhere but the southeast. I think that the expectations and so forth for this team are pretty high…
• In Case You Were Wondering- Here’s the other cover… which may explain why Braxton looks so terrified on his “Breakout” photo.
• Healing Nicely- At the Combine last week, we learned that John Simon was recovering from shoulder surgery. It sounds as if it was pretty routine, if you call “requiring diamond tipped instruments to cut through his muscle tissue” routine.
• Nice Gig- Brandon Castel has a great article from the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer (unfortunately named, but it sounds like there are plans to change it). Who do I need to talk to to get assigned to the “Ohio State Cruise” beat?
• Updates- From Brandon: Jordan Hall is no longer a running back, but will be a “pivot”; Christian Bryant is the emotional leader of the defense (more later); and Urban didn’t really ‘call out’ the other coaches but challenged the conference to raise it’s standards.
• Gene’s Scene- We’ve talked before about the expansion landscape; Gene Smith this week said that the conferences is not looking to grow until they see how Maryland and Rutgers fit in. So- the B1G is totally annexing the entire B12 on Thursday.
• So Dreamy- Aaron Craft doing Aaron Craft things, on the radio this time.
• But… He only gets that interview because he’s a rosy cheeked white guy.
• Great Read- MoC’s new book is out, part of his Redemption Tour. Check it out here...
• This Week In Sammy Silv- Seriously, this needs to be a regular feature: Read More

Tags: Aaron Craft, Braxton Miller, Christian Bryant, Gene Smith, Jay Bilas, John Simon, Jordan Hall, Manti Te'o, Maurice Clarett, NCAA, Sammy Silverman, SBP, Texas Tech, Uniforms
Categories: College Football, Conference Expansion, Ohio State Football