Silver Bullet Points

Donald's back! (maybe)



...and it feels like he never left. The sophomore CB's ears must have been burning all day while the local media fumbled over reports slowly leaking from the OSU Athletic Dept. Here is the final word at time of publishing. Unfortunately, Eugene Clifford seems to have secured himself a spot at B-Dubs on High St. for the biggest game of his short career.

One would assume that, despite the early reports of Washington's suspension, he is in the clear--whether or not he broke any rules. I simply can't imagine that Gene Smith and Jim Tressel would want to draw this out anymore by making a separate announcement that Washington is also suspended. But still, why did the starting CB's name come up at all? And it still doesn't explain how Old Man McConnell was making those spooky noises if he was down at the boat docks the whole time! Either way, this whole thing seems pretty dubious to me.

The only thing that's for certain is how sorely D-Wash (as he is called over at Eleven Warriors) would/ will be missed. I distinctly remember midway through this season when he left a game with a tweaked ankle and a combination of Jamario O'Neal, Andre Amos and a hot dog vendor's stray shadow failed to accomplish anything in the defensive backfield. Washington is great stopping the run and probably the most underrated player on either side of the ball.

• "Heisman winner Smith gets the ball against Seahawks" - Excellent. He almost brought the Ravens back last week as well. It'd be hard for his tenure as a NFL starter to be worse than this guy's.
  

Silver Bullet Points

Not to go over-kill with Troy Smith sightings, but #10 was in the ESPN studios yesterday for appearances on Cold Pizza and College Football Live. Good to see someone outside of Columbus still acknowledges his Heisman and place in the college football pantheon, even though he was clearly just the "de facto player of the year"...

• Heacock takes bow for OSU's defense

• A nice Wednesday afternoon read here. Joey Johnston, the college football writer for MSNBC.com who evidently moonlights at the Tommy Bahama outlet store in Las Vegas (see photo), really puts himself out there as the 73rd columnist to predict a Buckeye loss in the National Championship. This article, however, is particularly insulting and acutely contradictory to last year's manifesto titled: "Florida won't stop Ohio St. in title game."

• Finally, head over to Collegefootballnews.com and peruse their trademark listings of hypothetical scenarios. No, really. Today they unveiled an impressive collection of Heisman related features including:
  
• "If The Heisman Came After The Bowls"
• "Ranking the All-Time Heisman Winners"
• and "2008 Top 25 Heisman Contenders

• Even though CFN unceremoniously stripped Troy and Eddie of their awards, the Buckeyes fair well throughout the conversation. Particularly flattering are the five OSU trophies ranked in the top 40 of all time. Beanie/Boeckman '08.

'Eye Candy

Jalen Rose has a heart-to-heart with Braylon Edwards and Reggie Bush,er,Troy Smith
Truly a multiple viewing piece, albeit a red carpet train wreck of Tara Reid proportions. Though I'd like the viewer to simmer in the awkwardness cooked up by ESPN's Jalen Rose on his own terms, I've highlighted a few items below:

• Jalen Rose, sans Final Four banners, has parlayed a mediocre pro career into a mediocre commentating career.
  
• As evidenced by the Blair Witch- esque camera work, ESPN producers probably had no idea Rose was at the ESPY's, let alone harassing guests.
• Rose seems to be filling that ever-so-necessary role of "the young Lou Holtz" with his unintelligible, nerve-fueled banter at the beginning of the interview.
  
• If you make it to the end of the clip without sticking forks in your eyes, take to heart Rose's candid plea for help as he throws himself on the dapper Edwards (who, despite spending four years in Ann Arbor, wasn't aware Michigan had a basketball team.)