Showing posts with label Ohio State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ohio State. Show all posts
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tough One Ahead for My Buckeyes
Wisconsin, at Madison, will be a formidable obstacle to the Buckeyes' quest for an undefeated season. Go, Buckeyes!
Friday, February 4, 2011
The #1 Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball Team Display Other Skills
Michael Arace has an excellent column about the real soul of this team. Great insights!
Can the Buckeyes remain undefeated? That seems almost impossible in the Big 10 (AKA The B1G), probably the toughest conference in the country this year. But that this is a great team already is clear. And with their unselfishness and obvious personal chemistry, they are also a real joy to watch! Whether in their harrying defense, their willingness to pass the ball to get the best play, or doing Jackson 5 and Miley Cyrus covers, these guys are fun. (I hope that they have just as much fun in the classroom.)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Braxton Miller is Committed
Braxton Miller, the incoming freshman quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who will vie to be the starter as QB Terrelle Pryor sits out his five-game suspension, left no doubt about his loyalties to OSU. Long before National Signing Day, he had a Block-O tattooed to his left shoulder. I don't like tattoos and can't understand why anyone would deface their bodies that way, but the OSU coaches had to breathe easy knowing that the country's #2 high school quarterback prospect was so sure so early about where he would be matriculating this fall.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Sad Day for Ohio State Football
Finishing lunch, during which I watched the press conference with Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and head football coach Jim Tressel. Five Ohio State players have been suspended from playing the first five games of next season by the NCAA. Smith indicated that Ohio State will appeal the penalties. (Another player has been suspended for one game of the 2011 season.)
As an Ohio State alum and fan, I hope that Smith will reconsider that move. The rules are clear: Players are not to exchange goods of any kind, including awards for athletic achievement, team garb, or signed memorabilia, for goods, services, or money. They're to be amateur athletes until, if they're good enough, the NFL drafts them or they're signed to play professional football elsewhere.
The suspensions meted out by the NCAA are light penalties, considering that such egregious violations could be seen as warranting revocations of the players' athletic scholarships.
One of the notions I've nurtured is that, with his emphasis on character development in his players, Jim Tressel is unique among big-time college coaches. I still think that's true, although like the rest of we members of the human race, he isn't perfect. And he certainly can't be expected to know what happens every moment of every day in the lives of his players.
But an appeal of the charitable penalties meted out by the NCAA runs counter to the tone I think Tressel has always worked to foster in the Buckeye football program.
I hope that Ohio State will refuse to compound the sadness of this day by appealing. I would expect such a move by USC, Auburn, and other schools, but not by Ohio State.
Having said all of that, I hope that these players will learn a lesson and be stronger, better people for the experience. (That's my daily project as I cope with the realities of my own sins and deficiencies. God help us all! And I mean that literally.)
As an Ohio State alum and fan, I hope that Smith will reconsider that move. The rules are clear: Players are not to exchange goods of any kind, including awards for athletic achievement, team garb, or signed memorabilia, for goods, services, or money. They're to be amateur athletes until, if they're good enough, the NFL drafts them or they're signed to play professional football elsewhere.
The suspensions meted out by the NCAA are light penalties, considering that such egregious violations could be seen as warranting revocations of the players' athletic scholarships.
One of the notions I've nurtured is that, with his emphasis on character development in his players, Jim Tressel is unique among big-time college coaches. I still think that's true, although like the rest of we members of the human race, he isn't perfect. And he certainly can't be expected to know what happens every moment of every day in the lives of his players.
But an appeal of the charitable penalties meted out by the NCAA runs counter to the tone I think Tressel has always worked to foster in the Buckeye football program.
I hope that Ohio State will refuse to compound the sadness of this day by appealing. I would expect such a move by USC, Auburn, and other schools, but not by Ohio State.
Having said all of that, I hope that these players will learn a lesson and be stronger, better people for the experience. (That's my daily project as I cope with the realities of my own sins and deficiencies. God help us all! And I mean that literally.)
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Ah, Nuts!
My Buckeyes lost to the Badgers on Saturday night.
It's tough to spot a team as good as Wisconsin 21 points at their home field and have any chance of coming back. That was what the Buckeyes faced in trying to salvage this game last evening.
While the Buckeyes' play in the third and the start of the fourth quarters revived hopes for getting the win and retaining the Number 1 ranking conferred on the team after Alabama's loss just last Saturday, Ohio State's defense broke down on a key Wisconsin offensive drive in the fourth.
Some of the Buckeyes' flaws visible throughout the year showed themselves and proved costly. OSU's special teams gave up a touchdown on the first kickoff return twelve seconds into the game. The defensive line was repeatedly blown off the line of scrimmage throughout much of the game.
But there were bright spots. Terrelle Pryor showed his maturity as a quarterback by repeatedly making good decisions with his reads. Dan Herron showed real toughness and, I think, played a very good game. He is now indisputably the Buckeyes' #1 running back. The comeback bid made by Ohio State in the third quarter is a tribute to the ability of Coach Jim Tressel and his staff to calm and refocus the team.
At this point, it's tough to even see how this season can end with a Big Ten title for the Buckeyes. Michigan State appears to be poised to run the table and the Buckeyes and Spartans don't meet this season.
But we will see. There's still a lot of season to be played. Go, Buckeyes!
It's tough to spot a team as good as Wisconsin 21 points at their home field and have any chance of coming back. That was what the Buckeyes faced in trying to salvage this game last evening.
While the Buckeyes' play in the third and the start of the fourth quarters revived hopes for getting the win and retaining the Number 1 ranking conferred on the team after Alabama's loss just last Saturday, Ohio State's defense broke down on a key Wisconsin offensive drive in the fourth.
Some of the Buckeyes' flaws visible throughout the year showed themselves and proved costly. OSU's special teams gave up a touchdown on the first kickoff return twelve seconds into the game. The defensive line was repeatedly blown off the line of scrimmage throughout much of the game.
But there were bright spots. Terrelle Pryor showed his maturity as a quarterback by repeatedly making good decisions with his reads. Dan Herron showed real toughness and, I think, played a very good game. He is now indisputably the Buckeyes' #1 running back. The comeback bid made by Ohio State in the third quarter is a tribute to the ability of Coach Jim Tressel and his staff to calm and refocus the team.
At this point, it's tough to even see how this season can end with a Big Ten title for the Buckeyes. Michigan State appears to be poised to run the table and the Buckeyes and Spartans don't meet this season.
But we will see. There's still a lot of season to be played. Go, Buckeyes!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
