Buckeye Blogger Network
Me, After A Successful Week Of Picks
I have decided to remove whether I got the score right or not and am going straight up with my picks. I will continue to include a guess of the score in most cases but it will just be a guide! The reason for this is the fact that I was an amazing five and one based on team picks and the score would have ruined the joy I felt! Here are the results from last week’s picks!!
Why bother. Minnesota @ Iowa. Iowa 21 to 16; Right Iowa 31 to 13
On Campus Recruiting Bowl. Penn St. @ Illinois. Illini 23 to 10; Wrong PSU 35 to 7
Hoosiers v. Nerds. Duh. Northwestern 35 to 10; Right Northwestern 44 to 29
Lumps are Us. Wisconsin @ Nebraska. Nebraska 21 to 13; Right Nebraska 30-27
Best of the Week. #14 Ohio State @ #20 Michigan State. Ohio State in a romp; Right OSU 17 to 16
Battered and Bruised week off. Purdue v. Marshall. Boilermakers 28 to 13; Right 51 to 41
I have finally found the right format as well, in sticking with what I know best, I am going with all of the B1G games and will pick a national best game. Hope you’re doing well in your pick-em contest and enjoy the week! Read More
South Carolina AD Eric Hyman may be winning the NCAA Violations sweepstakes.
It’s the sports dead season again and, as is rapidly becoming a tradition around these parts, we find ourselves updating the table of violations for a school on our Compare and Contrast board. This edition’s winners are the South Carolina Gamecocks and the rather surprising conclusion to a two year investigation into improper benefits for the football team.
On April 27th, the NCAA Committee on Infractions released the dreaded Public Infractions Report (PIR). As you may know from our previous work, the Public Infractions Report is the document outlining the final decisions of the Committee and the ultimate penalties resulting from their violations. The document is particularly helpful in giving a window into the inner workings of the investigation. Sometimes that can be more interesting even than the penalties leveled at the institution.
Obviously, we’re still waiting on several other NCAA documents. That wait could stretch on for as long as a couple years, particularly for Miami and Oregon. We’ll include those documents when we can.
Until then, you can find our previous update here. That includes the full information available on all of the other investigations.
Ah, the joys of a new server to bring you the midweek morass that is SBP. Thanks to everyone’s patience as we had a bit of a sabbatical earlier this week to upgrade the hamsters in the wheel.
Circle of Life
Buckeye 411
Before we get into the usual links and fun-making, I wanted to talk a bit about fan expectations.
Over the past few days, Buckeye Nation has seen both sides of the loyalty of young adults, and hopefully our amazingly rabid fan base can gain a bit of perspective.
First, we watched in shock as Ohio State Senior (and tBBC favorite) Michael Brewster went undrafted in the NFL selection process. Even more shocking was that several centers from inferior programs did not suffer the same fate- Western Oregon? Michigan? C’mon…
While there are surely lots of reasons that this happened, including, as our friend Jeremy Birmingham pointed out, really REALLY poor coaching during his college career, it’s difficult to pinpoint one specific instance that led to Michael falling from a first rounder as a junior to an afterthought as a senior. It could be some of the season’s struggles- Michigan State and Florida both indicated that they could get a jump on their rush due to his rhythm (Might also explain Shugarts’ issues); at times his shotgun was a bit off target as well. It could have also been the “post-season”; reports that he had some challenges at the senior events, rumors of a rift that led to a last minute change of agent. Or, like many members of last year’s team, perhaps all of the off field drama and change caught up with him all at once.
But for Buckeye fans, our feelings of empathy and sympathy for Mr. Brewster were also tempered with another realization- this happened, in part, because he is a Buckeye. No, I’m not insinuating that the NFL is intentionally snubbing Ohio State players- the data proves that to be less than accurate. Instead, I believe the Michael cost himself lots of money because his loyalty to the program and to the coaches wouldn’t let him cut and run in the middle of the chaos.
Granted, we don’t know what went on behind the scenes other than this- of the members of the “Block O/Brew Crew”, Michael was the highest profile recruit and player to not find himself in the papers on a regular basis for off field issues, particularly during the past 13 months. To the contrary, as his friends and teammates (some of whom he helped bring to Columbus) continued to make decisions that led to last season’s issues and were over and over again sanctioned in ways that hurt the team, Brew was the anchor that sought to keep things together. During a time when it would have been easy to jump to the next stage in his career- first round projections, programmatic instability, loss of friends and coaches, Michael chose to stay in the Scarlet and Gray.
And that decision, in part, cost him on draft day 2012.
Let me be clear- Michael Brewster doesn’t need me to be an apologist for him. He’s landed with his home-town team (although Kansas City would have been nice for family reasons), and is bringing the positive attitude and hard work mentality to his current situation in the same fashion that he showed in Columbus. Tuesday’s Dispatch has a great article on where he’s currently at, including this great quote-
Just more people that I get to prove wrong. I think it’s an exciting challenge.
But you’ve got to wonder- if you took off your Ohio State glasses for a minute, and imagined that he was your son or grandson or family friend; If you knew in January 2011 how the season would end up for the Buckeyes, what would you tell him to do? Would you ask him to be loyal to his alma mater, or pursue his dreams in “The League” even if that made Ohio State weaker in a key position?
You’d hopefully choose the career option in your advice- particularly if you had the wisdom of hindsight. And yet, as fans, we often want young adults to think not of their own needs and dreams, but to have the same needs and dreams that we do- to be enthralled with Carmen Ohio no matter the cost.
And that brings us to Lewis Neal. Read More
Time for the hump day look around the world of college sports, with a soundtrack from a reunited legend. We look at playoffs, SEC controversy, NCAA hypocrisy, and other items this week.
There's Your Problem
Buckeye 411
Playoffs?
This article has gone through two separate iterations in its lifetime already. This most recent version finalizes the condition of Ohio State by analyzing their final Public Infractions Reports, and looking at the final penalties handed down by the NCAA. I also add one more school, Michigan, as yet another example of the NCAA’s methods and mentalities. You’ll still find the original article here if you so desire.
This article will continue to be updated as a few more investigations pan out. We’re still waiting on the North Carolina Public Infractions Report, which should be out soon. LSU may have another Notice of Allegations coming, and we’re just waiting on Oregon’s NOA before adding them to the mix.
There’s also the possibility that Penn State will get an NOA up here considering the letter sent them by the NCAA after the Sandusky issue dropped. As unfortunate of a situation as that is, it would also be essentially unprecedented in NCAA history, and absolutely worthy of a spot on this list.
Update: H/T 11Ws. Thanks!
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USC fans telling their favorite organization what to do
This is the article you have all been waiting for. Rather than just looking at all of the allegations leveled at Ohio State like I did a couple weeks ago, I now list every single allegation leveled by the NCAA at several different schools.
This article is a public service for anyone who is interested in the details of the allegations for a number of different schools including: Southern California, North Carolina, Tennessee, Boise State and Ohio State. Each table of allegations is a faithful representation of the allegation posed against the institution along with the response provided by the University for each. I hope that everyone who reads this will find it an informative and useful resource for discussing the NCAA, amateurism and the recent string of investigations that have swept the nation.
This is not a short article, so you may want to take it in slowly and in pieces. Reading it in one sitting may cause any number of complications that we hold no responsibility for including, but not limited to; excessive optimism, finger pointing, extreme laughter and glassy-eye dazes.
I also point out that what is included in each table is entirely factual information based off the documents provided by either the NCAA or the university in question. So too with the “results” of the investigation at the end of the discussion for each school. The discussions themselves are entirely a matter of writer’s opinion and should be taken as such.
For an in depth look at each allegation and the violations therein,
If Buckeye fans use the weekend to ease their minds from the stress of everyday life, then Saturday’s non-conference match up with South Carolina was the sporting moment that helps take years off your life.
It was foul trouble, turnovers, and superior positioning on the court early and late that led the Ohio State Buckeyes to an 74-66 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday afternoon.
The Gamecocks came out aggressive early in the first with the full court press, looking to contain the backcourt and create havoc on the outlet into the post. The only problem is when you press a very patient guards, you open up plenty of shooting space on the floor.
So despite missing Jared Sullinger throughout parts of the first half, it was the Buckeyes’ precision defense creating turnovers and turning them into points early in the first.
With Sully sitting on the bench, with trainers attending to his foot, William Buford took over all over the court. After a three pointer from the far-side corner fell through, it was the senior guard dishing off to Deshaun Thomas who hit the open jumper and a breakaway to the hoop for the slam off the assist from Jordan Sibert to cap a 7-0 run to start the ballgame.
Today’s liveblog tips at 11:30 am as the Buckeyes travel to Columbia to face off with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Our Buckeye Blogger friends will be joining us as usual. Make sure to check out their place: OSU Silver Bullet, Buckeye House Call, Our Honor Defend, the Buckeye Blog, Men of the Scarlet and Gray, Scarlet and Game, and Fox Sports Ohio.
If you’re looking for web-video for the game, try First Row Sports (warning: pop-up ads). Click the basketball tab, and you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the right game.
Go Bucks!
The Buckeyes are in South Carolina this weekend to face the Gamecocks for their second of two away games for the non-conference season. Let’s take a look.
Gamecocks.
| School: | University of South Carolina |
| Location: | Columbia, South Carolina |
| Founded: | 1801 |
| Student Population: | 29,597 |
| School Type: | Public |
| Division: | NCAA |
| Conference: | Southeastern Conference |
| Stadium: | Colonial Life Arena |
| Seating: | 18,000 |
| Built: | 2002 |
| Head Coach: | Darrin Horn |
| Year: | 4th |
