Buckeye Blogger NetworkThe 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
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
Sure, there’s games on Monday, but the weekend has been so amazing that we just couldn’t wait to get back in the saddle for our reflections on the games of note. Plus, are we really all that excited about a game that’s all technical and stuff? I thought not. Obvious choice for this week’s soundtrack… happy Labor Day.
Whew… I’ve got to admit, I should have been working out with Coach Mick during the offseason. Saturday found me trying to knock the rust off of my college football regimen, although I can definitely say that I was well hydrated. I’m guessing that’s what happened during the livechat- I hadn’t prepared enough, and brought the jinxation. You can breathe a sigh of relief, though- when I caught the replay on Sunday, my presence made no difference in the outcome… Baby steps, right?
That Isht's Cray, Bray
From the looks of things, a number of teams were still in “preseason” form, and didn’t have their moves down pat just yet. For instance, while I’m sure that Dabo Swinney’s mom is sure proud of him for leading his fellers to victory over North Carolina State, she certainly couldn’t have been too excited that his first steps leading the team onto the turf ended up in a faceplant. That, combined with this excellent display of exuberance are enough to remind Volunteer fans that their team still has some work to do. Which is good… no one likes to peak during the first weekend of games- well, no one outside of the B1G, that is (more later).
Some of the butterflies were even evident in the Southern Idaho State University trip to East Lansing. Sure, the B1G represented well, as Michigan State showed many why they are a favorite for the conference title… but the game turned out to be “off-script” for both teams. For instance, no matter how hard they tried, Rob Harley’s new squadron couldn’t “Sparty” the game away. Shocker. Oh, and SISU broke their streak of beating out of conference teams when they have a ridiculously long time to prepare… effectively ending their bid at a BCS bowl until they join a legitimate BCS conference in the Big Eas…. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t bring myself to type that. The game also gave us a pretty amazing interception- as always, Tim Burke has ALL the great screencaps and stuff from the weekend’s events.
Saturday’s festivities kicked off with Notre Dame pounding the living stuffing out of Navy in their game in the Emerald Isle… Brian Kelly, why you no like America? And then, your boys let this happen?
Man, back in my day, we fought revolutions for less <adjusts tricorner cap>. Read More
We’re excited to add Jason to our merry band of miscreants, and look forward to his weekly “review” of Saturday’s game. If you haven’t already, give him a follow on the old twitter-bot.
| Well here we are. September 1, 2012 has come and gone. Before we get into what we witnessed yesterday, a quick update and comment. Those of you familiar with my ramblings/writings/blogs- I can’t tell you how honored I was to be asked to contribute to this site. To our loyal readers and the great people who write here and run the site, I won’t let you down!For those of you who don’t know me, I take a different look back on the game that has just been completed. I don’t typically get in to the stats of the game, more so the atmosphere and feelings I’m left with after it.Without further ado, let’s get into the bashing that was Ohio State vs. Miami yesterday. |
Jitter bug
I don’t honestly know that things could have looked any worse in the first quarter. Then I think “What if Miami hadn’t dropped so many balls?” and I realize it easily could have. First game jitters and nervous energy seemed to be radiating from the sidelines all the way to the broadcast booth infecting the comments by the stooges giving us play-by-play and analysis on the Big Ten Network.
It had to be expected: New coach and coaches, all new schemes, new pregame rituals on the field, the list goes on and on of “firsts” accomplished on Saturday. All it took was a little spark from the offense and everything seemed to suddenly be right in the state of Ohio. Read More
Our friend Janelle checks in with a unique perspective on the school in Happy Valley.
Schadenfreude
I hate Penn State.
No, really, I loathe Penn State.
Now, when I tell people this these days, I’ll get responses telling me to have a heart and to have some sympathy for what they’ve been going through the past nine months.
They don’t realize that I grew up in Penn State territory, about an hour and a half away from State College. My dad is a Penn State fan. My grandparents are Penn State fans. My brother and sister-in-law are Penn State alumni. My mom and I are the lone ones that wear scarlet and gray in a sea of blue and white on football Saturdays in the fall.
As a kid, my dad used to take me to Penn State games to try to convince me to become part of “Nittany Nation.” It never worked. I was destined to be part of Buckeye Nation from day one. But I never imagined I would end up hating Penn State like I do.
Recently, I’ve spent time trying to find out where exactly my hatred for the Nittany Lions comes from.
It isn’t their players (although players like Moxie McGloin add fuel to the fire). It isn’t the school itself (I mean, it’s a school in the middle of nowhere…and since I go to Ohio State, The Best D&%# School in the Land, all I can do is feel sorry for students who end up in Happy Valley and not in Columbus). Up until recently, it wasn’t the coaching staff (although, even before this Sandusky scandal, I was never a Joe Paterno “fan”…as the rest of the world is finally starting to see, he was held in an almost god-like light by his supporters, and had way too much power over an entire town and even state). It’s not the new coaching staff.
No, my hatred comes from Penn State’s fans. It honestly has to be one of the worst fan bases in the entire country. Read More
It’s your regularly scheduled look around the world of college sports- a bit more in depth than the tidbits we’ve got after practice. Following Tuesday’s notes, be sure to check the latest on “reform” from the NCAA and thoughts on Penn State’s constant appeals processes.
Buckeye 411
Always. Forever.
Not So Fast… Any speculation about Roby playing offense and defense was shut down by the coaches today. He made a spectacular play on an overthrow today, though- he’s going to be special. However, Corey Brown said that Roby wasn’t the fastest guy on the team, and called him out saying that he (Corey) wasn’t able to run during testing but that he could beat Roby in a race.
There has been much speculation about what was going to happen to the Penn State football program and it all came to fruition this morning in a huge way. The question isn’t will they recover, it’s can they? Let’s take a look at their punishment for covering up the crimes of a former assistant that needs not be named.
Statue is done . . , is the program done as well?
Pointed to the coming storm?
The quiet of this week around Buckeye Nation provides a moment of peace prior to August’s chaos of fall camp and Olympic dreams. It’s completely different than July of 2011… and I don’t hear many complaining.
What I do hear, though, are the thunder and raging winds still swirling from last week’s Freeh Report. Both the national news coverage and the responses from Lion Faithful and PSU alums are clamoring- and, like what passes for dialogue these days, neither side are really listening to the other. Civility seems to be yet another casualty of this situation- although, it can be argued that this merely highlights the fact that it’s been dead for a long while.
So, this week’s SBP will take a look at some of the interesting articles and reflections on this almost indescribable set of circumstances. The view we’ll be taking will be a bit farther out- looking not at the particulars but at the “culture” that’s seems to have been on everyone’s mind lately… although, I’m not sure we’re looking deep enough.
If you’re tired of this story, I hope you’ll at least stick around for the commentary after the jump- there’s a lot to learn and think about from this, even if you’re not Nittany.
Responses to the Freeh Report
Everything about the crimes and the cover up is horrific, so please keep that in mind while you are celebrating Penn State’s coming reckoning. When you pop the champagne tonight in jubilation, try to remember that children were raped and grown men in charge of leading young men allowed it to happen. Then try to think of any reason why a human being should ever be happy that this could happen to a child, let alone children.
…
Don’t let football blind you, because that’s what Penn State did. They willingly let themselves lose sight of of what actually happened to these children, and then somehow found a way to ignore it. Hate Penn State for what happened here all you want, but don’t forget why you feel the way you do. And it should have nothing to do with football.
The Greggster must have gotten what he was looking for, because his next comments on the matter were… get this.. a complete change in tone that went against what others were saying. Read More
