The Weekend Read

What's $15 million between friends?

Our traveling reporter friend, Paul, tipped me off to this the day Jenkins and Robo announced their return, but on Thursday The Dispatch picked up on this great story. The OSU juniors collectively decided to come back for a senior season ("juniors" meaning a smaller group considering red/gray shirts and I'm assuming non-starters like Jamario O'Neal were planning on sticking around regardless.)

This is a great read for any Buckeye fan but I have to recommend watching the audio slide show as well. I'll get to the meat of the post in a minute, but I can't stress enough how key it was that not once did any of the players mention anything about coming back to beat Michigan or, god forbid, win a National Championship. After the failed, albeit bad ass, "Take Home Talk" video, the last thing we needed to kick-off the 2008 campaign was a publicly mentioned mission statement (a la the boys up north.)

Anyhow...

In my opinion, this article an example of one, if maybe the largest, reason that college football will always be a more "pure" form of the game. NCAA football has its fair share of unscrupulous goings ons year in and out (Google: RichRod, Reggie Bush, Dennis Franchione) and lets not even touch on the college football profit machine, but it's the intangibles like character and loyalty that resonate the loudest.

Perhaps it's too harsh to rag on the NFL as a whole, since The League hasn't yet managed to corrupt OSU (modern) legends like A.J. Hawk, who evidently delivered a powerful senior season endorsement to protege James Laurinaitis. Though the specifics of the conversation weren't touched on, Laurinaitis and the others made it clear that pros like Hawk and Bobby Carpenter (whose perks include tagging along on Tony Romo's pre-playoff game retreats) harped on the invaluable college experience and their shaggy-haired memories of Fast Times at The 'Shoe.

Though I can't quite sympathize with the "rough" life that D-I scholarship athletes Boone, Freeman and the rest will have to "endure" next year, it's truly impressive when you consider that , as Jenkins more or less mentions, most of those kids flat-out turned down a multi-million dollar paycheck. In a few months they will watch the NFL Draft from their campus apartments and see former teammate Vernon Gholston's (where was he during this shower meeting?) name appear in the first two hours. And then they will go to class, work out, grab a burrito and read about how good USC is.

Will the money still be there in the '09 Draft? Absolutely. Barring any tragic injury, the juniors all (with the possible exception of Laurinaitis) guaranteed themselves a higher pick and more of that green. But don't let take away from the significance of last week's decisions. In a culture where "get rich" is always proceeded by "quick" and picking a suitcase with only $300,000 on Deal Or No Deal is reason for disappointment, a 21-year-old postponing his fortune to be with his friends is news worthy of The Enquirer.

Silver Bullet Points

Laurinaitis: "I am proud to represent Buckeye Nation"

The Jr. Butkus Award winner ended all speculation and announced that he will return to play a final season at The Ohio State University. In what sounded like an emotional statement given to the Plain Dealer, the Buckeye captain says:

"I think we have an opportunity to do something special," Laurinaitis said. "You can't come back and want to do this or do that. We have to go through the same process we do every year. It's going to be hard for us this year. Last year we came in under the radar. Other people didn't have much confidence in us but we knew we had a solid team. Now every big game, everyone is going to start doubting us again and we have to be mentally tough and that starts with this offseason."

Though mid-season reports hinted at this surprising decision, it was pretty much a general assumption that Laurinaitis would have left after his sophomore season if he could. Now it seems certain that the skinny freshman who was baptized by fire in the 2005 Michigan game will leave Ohio State as the most decorated--didn't say "best"--linebacker in OSU history.

Consider that lil' Animal (a nickname I personally dislike but employ because it's a lot easier to spell than Laurinaitis) has already earned the Nagurski and Butkus awards, as well as back-to-back All-American team selections; what's left but a huge National Championship-style rock on his hand?(See:Fergie)

Silver Bullet Points

Picking up the pieces


Well, that didn't go the way I would have liked.

This is sure to be light on links, as there aren't too many articles I'd like to read again myself. A few stray observations while attempting to avoid anything too heavy:

• Beanie will begin the season with a nice cushion in the Heisman race. That is to say, he'll start the race (more like a marathon, really) at about the same place Troy Smith did--remember he didn't become a legit contender until after the Texas game. He can afford a game or two with mediocre statistical output and still be in the thick of things but a strong showing against USC would be ideal.

• Yes, that stiff arm was sweet, but will never achieve its legendary potential because of what proceeded. Much like this monster dunk attempt and the brick that followed.

• Brandon Saine had a huge reception early...and then kind of disappeared, as offensive players have a tendency of doing during Tressel-era losses.

• Unlike last year, the stats don't tell the story. Most disconcerting, to me, is 3-13 on 3rd downs. Eighty-three penalty yards comes in close second.

• Give veterans Laurinaitis and Freeman the credit they deserve, posting 18 and 14 tackles respectively.

• Between the well-intended motivational tape, all the hype about OSU needing to prove themselves, Tressel's "new" game plan that included these cutesy "Tiger Drills," Kirk Barton's "everyone hates us" spiel and about twenty other things, OSU looks pretty hapless after that game. Even though everyone tried to do it for them, with all this chatter and providing the trappings of a Disney-esque redemption, when it came time to play the Ohio State players couldn't do it for themselves. Maybe what got lost in the media mix was that this Buckeye team shouldn't have needed a single reason to win that game. The 'why?' to the equation is "because we're Ohio State" and, since it's not late November in Ann Arbor, the 'who?' doesn't really matter.
  

• But, because this is still well within the two-month mourning period where irrational, harsh reasoning is welcome, let's not forget to point a finger in the direction of Coach Tressel. If you're the girl across the table from me at the bar on Monday night, you think he was to blame for each and every misstep and needs to be fired; no further explanation necessary (if you are this girl then you are also still hung over and tried to steal a pint glass, only to spill stale Bud Light in your purse in doing so.) In all seriousness, the man needs to crack some heads while the gun is still smoking and then take time for some soul searching of the college football variety. I would hope that a symbolic firing is in order; removing Jim Bollman would be a great start. If Tressel, bless his talented heart, can't bring himself to be the catalyst of change in this program then he must surround himself with people who will--regardless of how well the personalities line up.
  

• The following excerpt from Stewart Mandel's (who shockingly picked OSU 2nd in his 2008 poll) post-game thoughts is what I believe to be the most disheartening news of the week and lies on the shoulders of both the coaches and the players:

Ohio State tackle Alex Boone did not mince words about when describing the state of the Buckeyes' huddle as Monday's game unraveled. "Everybody started pointing the finger at somebody," said Boone. "Guys were trying to fight each other, getting pissed because they didn't think people were helping them and all that stuff. Just selfishness."

• The above quote hints that exodus to the draft may be more dramatic than previously expected. No chance on Laurinaitis, Jenkins and Gholston staying and now maybe say goodbye to Freeman (who stated before the game that he'd return), Boone and Robiskie. I may regret saying this later, but I imagine that this Jr. class has nothing left to prove. Wins over Michigan will never get old, but for guys like Little Animal who have suffered two embarrassing losses at the expense of their reputation, why hang around to have your gold pants tarnished once more?

But enough with the somber retrospective. Let us begin to look forward to that Sept. 13 date with USC...

The Road to The Championship

Gameday:

The temptress that is New Orleans did her best to distract us from the reason we came down here, but even hand grenades and hurricanes couldn't stop the Old Columbus Town reporters from bringing you coverage on the ground. It's gameday, the game we've been preparing for since September, since last January to be honest. The debate of whether or not we belong here is moot now, all that matters is that we show up. The opportunity that this game provides is like something out of an Ashton Kucher movie. Imagine, the biggest regret you have in your life, and you have a chance to do it over. Laurinitis, Wells, Gohlston and the rest of the crew have been given a mulligan and I promise they will take advantage of it.

Ohio State fans are outnumbered down here, as expected, but every person that made the trip knows what's at stake. The itinerary today consists solely of football. There is a "Varsity Club South" set up near the stadium where Buckeye fans have been going to pasture. We'll spend the morning down there trying to sell an extra game ticket. Maybe we'll give it away.

We have to give a quick shout out to the women who made this little road trip possible. Lauren and Jennifer played key roles in this excursion, allowing their men to spend a few days in hedonism. Paul of course has no female to answer to; this allows his focus to rest singularly on the Buckeyes.

This will be our last post before the game. Hopefully we'll come back to Cbus tomorrow with some hardware.

Go Bucks.

-Paul, Josh and JR, 10:25 AM CST

That's some nice work there, boys. I think I know the Ashton Kutcher movie of which you speak. It's called Cheaper by The Dozen and co-stars Steve Martin, Hilary Duff and that girl from Coyote Ugly who is supposedly a former OU Pi Phi.

Sounds like plenty of 'strategery' was done last night. As far as that extra ticket is concerned, I know a handsome fellow who is ready to jump on the next flight direct flight to the Superdome (I hear the LAX-Superdome seats are cheap).

Will good fortune give us another report tomorrow? Perhaps from the "victory lap" home?

Stay tuned...

'Eye Candy

Film Study

For anyone who feels so inclined to brush up on his/her SportsCenter...














I agree, Mark Schlabach has all the personality of a used napkin.

More to come...

Silver Bullet Points

"Don't start with B-Hart"

If SI's Austin Murphy likes anything better than his Nordic track jackets, it's rhyming with bogus nicknames. Even without the slightly effeminate boy band moniker slapped on Hartline, these kinds of articles have to make OSU fans a bit nauseous. You can’t blame the players and coaches for defending their talent, but in print and out of context, their interviews make for decent locker room material.

These “LSU Tiger Drills” sound promising though a Woody Hayes inspired silenzio stampa would say the most, the loudest in these final weeks before the game.

• If you're like me and believe a season can come down to one play, don't read this about this ref's (of Illinois game infamy) seedy past. On the other hand, if you're a realist who thinks the outcome of a game can be more than partly attributed to a painful 4th quater drive consisting only of several variations of the same play who also happens to have a flare for life stories mirroring the plot of a Scorsese film...
  

• ESPN All-America team

• A similar, though better-voiced meditation on the Rodriguez situation.

• Laurinaitis making friends with the enemy and an unsettling Larry Grant factoid.

Silver Bullet Points

No surprises here:

The AP All-American teams were released yesterday (this is one that 'actually matters'). After a quiet start to the season, Gholston continues to receive his due recognition as one of the top DE's in the country.

• CFN unveiled their end-of-the year Big Ten recognitions. Lots of OSU love; Buckeyes account for nearly 25% of their top 30 Big Ten players. Despite all this flattery, one can't help but notice the omission of Marcus Freeman from this list and those like it. Dan Conner, Laurinaitis and J Leman were arguably the top three LB's in the nation, yes, but it's a shame their talent overshadowed the conference's 4th or 5th best linebacker--boasting 21 more solo tackles than Laurinaitis--who would shine almost anywhere else.

• I'm not one to jump on bandwagons long after they've passed by, but this one is too good to continue ignoring. (Note: Chris from Eleven Warriors and I are thinking alike today) So, at the expense of seeming behind the times in the blog metaverse:

According to his interview with SI, Tim "thinks people just Photoshopped [the jorts] in."
Photo c/o www.loserswithsocks.com

• Even though the increasing popularity of the Tebow/jorts approximation has left me without an original post for today's 'Eye Candy section, I couldn't be happier that that "Tebow Wears Jorts" has vaulted into the fan-friendly lexicon of college football along with "O-H...I-O!," "Roll Tide!," that cat sound they play at Beaver Stadium, and, to a much lamer extent, "Geaux Tigers!" Losers With Socks, a particularly nasty Tennessee blog, seems to have declared ownership of the phrase, but I suspect there's a clever second-year on UGA's campus who thought of it first. Either way, the mutual disdain for Tebow amongst SEC and Big Ten fans is a welcome reminder of the holiday spirit.

Silver Bullet Points

Sources: Using Doc Brown's DeLorean, Michigan AD Martin travels back to 1997 and hires John Cooper as head coach

No, no friends, just yanking your chain! But Martin did talk to Brady Hoke. (Who?)

• Chekwa, Heyward named to CFN's 2008 Freshman All-America squad

• "Tressel named finalist for coach of the year award." Unfortunately, this year Ron Zook, Sylvester Croom (Miss. St.) and Mark Mangino (Kansas) will likely split the bevy of coaches awards--and Mangino doesn't look like a man who likes to share.

• More from the 'patch: Dorsey over Laurinaitis again, Wilson's status and yet another slip of the tongue by Kirk Barton.
  

• Barton: "I think about it every day."
  

Silver Bullet Points

Thanks, Captain Obvious





for this unprecedented take on the implications of January's match-up:

"OSU can't waste chance to regain lost stature"

Thesis: It would be for the best if OSU won the BCS National Championship.

• "Laurinaitis' awards tour will be a trip"

• "Skybus adds Jan. 5 flight to New Orleans for BCS game"