Ohio Sports Randomness

ODEN # 1
A lot has happened since my last post, and the biggest news was the Portland Trailblazers taking Greg Oden first overall in the NBA draft last Thursday. This was no surprise, because pretty much every media outlet had reported that Oden was going to be the number one pick over fellow freshman Kevin Durant out of Texas.

The big surprise to me was the Atlanta Hawks passing on Mike Conley, Jr., with the 3rd pick. I thought Conley would've been a great fit in Atlanta and he would've made a lot of their young players better. Instead of taking Conley with the 3rd overall pick, they nabbed Florida power forward Al Horford and with the 11th overall selection the Hawks ended up getting their floor general in Texas A & M guard Acie Law IV. I think Law could be a decent role player type PG in the NBA, but Conley will be a superstar and has the quickness that can't be taught. This will go down as another one of the Atlanta Hawks' bigger draft mistakes.

BROWNS BANTER
And I hear that Cleveland Brown tackle Joe Thomas, the # 3 overall selection from the April 2007 NFL draft, is set to hold out. Reportedly the Browns don't want to pay the former Wisconsin Badger the money that the past few # 3 overall picks have gotten, but they were aware of what the pricetag was for drafting that high. If they weren't prepared to pay a player that amount of money, then they should've dealt out of the 3 spot and picked lower in the draft.
I think that Thomas should get at least Braylon Edwards money, and his figures should land somewhere between what Edwards and Vince Young received. I'd say that 6 years at 52 million (with about 23 million guaranteed) will be what the two sides will agree upon.

I picked up my first college football magazine over the weekend. I'm about halfway through it, and already I can't wait for college FB. It'll be a long 7 weeks until kickoff.

It's Been Awhile

So it's been awhile since my last post, and a lot has changed since February.

Joy and I had our first child on the night of the National Championship game, and you can read all about that day here. We named him Greyson Denney, and this new adventure called parenthood has been a wild and fun ride through the first 10 weeks.

The kid thing is really cool, and it's amazing how much it effects what your old schedule used to be. We still get to watch plenty of baseball on tv, but staying up late enough to watch the end of the Cavs playoff games? Forget about it. Bedtime is now no later than 11 pm, and I can't wait for the day when the little guy starts to sleep through the night.

But the Cavs playoff games bring up quite an issue, mostly because they looked so good through the Pistons series and now they appear lost against the Spurs. As for this being a true NBA finals matchup? Not so. The Cavs are not that good and until they can find someone who can complement Lebron they will not be considered a serious NBA title contender.

Daniel Gibson has been a very nice surprise, but as good he's been, Larry Hughes has been equally as bad. Hughes has become as overpaid as they come, and he would be much better off being a 6th man. If I am the Cavs, I'd hold tight until Gilbert Arenas opts out of his contract next year. I know that he and LeBron had their spat last year during the playoffs, but a Gilbert Arenas type would be the perfect complement to LBJ.

June 12th
So we're in the middle of June, which means that it will be football season before we know it. Throughout the summer I'll be tossing out some good football info, as we're only 10 weeks away from the start of Tailgating season.

And I promise I'll keep this updated at least 3 times a week from here on out. Happy to be back....

OSU 85, Minnesota 67

Today's win at Minnesota was a solid victory, although I didn't expect a loss coming at the hands of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This post isn't going to be so much about today's game, but more about what I like and dislike about the state of the OSU basketball team. I guess we could name this one State of the Matta or something corny like that.

Now that OSU is approaching 30 games played and the Big Ten and NCAA tourney's are in sight, we are starting to learn alot about this Buckeye squad. I like the way that this team is assembled, because it is starting to become more apparent that all of the pieces are in place for a Final Four run. Here are a few things that I like and don't like about the Ohio State Buckeye Men's basketball team as of February 18th, 2007.

1. The Ohio State guards/small forwards- I love the fact that OSU has Conley, Jamar Butler, Ron Lewis and Daequan Cook that love to run the floor and take the ball to the rack. Conley does a very nice job of running the point and also has lightning quick hands and phenomenal anticipation that lead to many backcourt steals and easy buckets. Butler, Lewis and Cook have the ability to be smooth behind the the three-point line, and if those 3 are hitting threes the Buckeyes are very hard to beat.

2. Greg Oden and Othella Hunter- The inside presence that Oden provides is a luxury that not many college basketball teams can match. In the NCAA tourney it is the guards that run the show, but a dominant big can open up open jump shots for teammates and limit easy looks down low for the opposing team. Keeping these two out of foul trouble will be of utmost importance if OSU plans on making any sort of run in late March.

3. Ivan Harris- "The Microwave" can be quite the x-factor, and it seems like opposing teams forget about him when they focus defensively on stopping Oden, Cook, Conley, Lewis and Butler. The open looks will be there for Harris, and his ability to hit the 3 will be huge for the Bucks down the stretech.

4. Matt Terwilliger and David Lighty- These two get overlooked quite often, but they have both supplied solid defense and invaluable minutes off the bench in the Buckeyes 24-3 season record. Keeping Oden fresh and out of foul trouble is a key to the Buckeyes success, and Terwilliger and Hunter have done a nice job of providing solid minutes off the bench.

Buckeye Basketball

Bucks hang on for win over MSU

The Ohio State men's baskeball team held on for a 66-64 win at the Schott on Saturday. Ohio State blew a 20 point halftime lead, and barely snuck away with a win. Along with blowing the big lead, Ohio State's defense was shredded by Michigan State point guard Drew Nietzel, who had 29 points.
Nietzel was junk in the first half, but exploded in the second half for 24 of his game high 29 points. I was extremely impressed with the way Nietzel played as he was always hustling and played very hard all game long.
Ohio State's scoring attack was led by Greg Oden's 19 points, which included 8 for 10 from the free throw line in the second half. The Buckeye offense managed to only put up 23 points in the second half, and Jamar Butler's 12 and Daequan Cook's 11 points rounded out the scoring.

Thoughts?
I thought the Bucks played a complete first half. The defensive intensity was present and OSU seemed to be unconscious from outside the arc.
Conversely, the second half was a terrible 20 minutes of college basketball for the Buckeyes. Greg Oden did have 3 nice blocks in the second half, but that seemed to be the lone bright spot for the Bucks defensively. The Spartans were able to garner 10 offensive rebounds in the game, and I believe that OSU gave up at least 12 second-chance points tonight.
After utilizing the DVR and rewinding different MSU offensive rebounds, I noticed that the Buckeye defenders are in terrible position to get defensive rebounds. Our guards don't box out well at all, and the only defensive rebounding presence seems to be Oden.
It's good to see another Buckeye conference win, as Wisconsin is now 6-0 in the Big Ten and the Bucks are a game behind at 5-1. Indiana resides in 3rd place and is the lone 5-2 team.

Up next for the Buckeye hoopsters is a tough road game at Purdue on Tuesday night (7 p.m.). Purdue is a team that plays very well at home and this could be a trap game for the Bucks. Purdue is 14-7 this year and is 3-4 in conference play. On Saturday they destroyed Illinois for a 17 point win in West Lafayette. Purdue boasts a couple of guys that can fill it up in Carl Landry and David Teague. Landry, a forward, is averaging 19 points and 7 boards per contest. David Teague averages 13 points and 4 rebounds, respectively.
Purdue is a little shaky down low, and it wouldn't really surprise me to see an assertive Greg Oden put up 23 and 14 on Tuesday. I see Conley having a nice game, finishing with 9 points and 8 assists.
I'll call it a Buckeye win 68-61. Go Bucks.

Where do we go from here?

Well, I'm not going to post a score because if you're Buckeye fan, you know what happened.

I've done a pretty nice job of blacking out Monday night, although that's a bad taste that will probably never go away. In regards to the '06 season, those are the types of college football seasons that rarely happen for any program, and we as Buckeye fans might not see a team that talented for another 20 or 30 years. My dad says that the 68 team with Rex Kern, etc. was the best team that he'd ever seen until this year (and I believe he maintains that the 68 team is still the best he's ever seen), and I feel that this is the 1968 team of our generation. Unfortunately, JT and the boys couldn't wrap up a National Championship trophy with all the talent they had in the cupboard.

In terms of game analyzation, I'll try to keep this short. OSU Coach Jim Tressel FLAT OUT GOT OUTCOACHED. I liked the going for it on 4th and 1, the one in which we didn't make, but I supported the decision. I felt that was the right time to make a call like that, but OSU didn't execute. Losing Ted Ginn due to an unexcusable injury did hurt how OSU was going to operate offensively, but JT's ability to game plan on the fly apparently didn't make the trip out to Glendale. First off, a ton of credit needs to be given to the Florida defense, but Tressel's play calling post-Ginn injury was ATROCIOUS. If you lose your best WR, and you quickly go down 21-7, it is mandatory that you run the ball and attempt to control the clock the best that you can. JT has that game plan in the arsenal, as only 4 years earlier he used it to beat Miami only 8 miles away in Tempe for a National Championship. If you'll recall, the Pittman 18 yard run for a TD brought our Bucks back to within 7, then the Buckeye D holds UF to a 3 and out. What did our offense do? A cold Troy Smith goes 0 for 3 to complete our own 3 and out, as the Bucks (who the posession before ran UF down the field for a score) put up their own 3 and out. That was the chance to get back in the game, and from then on the Buckeyes never really had a pulse.
Here's a couple of things I must relay: Florida played an awesome game, and Urban Meyer's game plan was phenomenal. Their defense was Baltimore Raven-scary, and OSU didn't act as if they had any desire to even be there. That being said, I'd also like to credit Florida LB Brandon Siler for playing well, but at the same time I must call him out for acting like the douche that he is and I hope he blows out a knee soon. Really classy way to handle the victory.

THE BUCKEYE FUTURE
If you're a Buckeye football fan, you know by now that OSU junior Anthony Gonzalez has declared to go pro. I am a bit surprised by this, especially after he said that everybody he knew that was playing in the pros was miserable (due to always being sore and injured). But I also agree with his decision to go pro, because his stock will never be higher and this is the best time for him to go pro. I see Gonzo as one part Ricky Proehl, one part Isaac Bruce, and one part Marvin Harrison. I don't think he'll go much higher than the middle of the second round, mostly because he'll be the 6th or 7th receiver taken (at best). Dwayne Jarrett, Calvin Johnson, SC's Rice, and Tennessee's Robert Meachem will likely go ahead of Gonzo, and you might as well throw Ted Ginn Jr. on that list as well. I do see him being a very good NFL receiver if he is fortunate enough to be in the right system (the Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Tennesee Titans, New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers would be ideal destinations).
The announcement of Gonzo going pro pretty much makes Ginn's exit to the NFL a foregone conclusion. If Ginn stays, what does he really have to prove? His numbers would decrease with a new QB coming into the fold in either Rob Schoenhoft or Todd Boeckman, and would certainly see 60 minutes of double coverage on Saturdays next fall. So, I wholeheartedly believe that Ginn will not be returning for his senior season in Columbus, unfortunately.
This also brings us to the Antonio Pittman decision. He is to announce on Monday his intentions, but I think his return to play in his senior season is also doubtful. Super sophomore Chris Wells will be more than capable to handle the bulk of the RB carries, and there are a couple of big time RBs coming into the fold in 07. I see Pittman heading to the NFL, and all of the sudden we'll have to replace almost every skill position on offense.
So where does this take us leading into the 07 season? I think Ohio State will be ranked somewhere near 15, but no higher than 12 but no lower than 20. The loss of Heisman winner Troy Smith, center Doug Datish, Tony Gonzalez and likely Ted Ginn Jr. and Antonio Pittman will put alot of inexperience on the offensive side of the ball. The defensive line will have some holes to fill, as DE Jay Richardson and DT's David Patterson and Quinn Pitcock will depart to the NFL. Senior CB Antonio Smith played himself into being an NFL draft pick, and with a good combine Smith could go as high as the early 4th round (and the way NFL teams take chances on CBs, a 3rd round pick might not be out of the question). So there are some huge holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but a weak schedule will benefit the Buckeyes. The opener at Washington should be an interesting one.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the 07 football season. There were euphoric highs, and a Michigan game that no one will ever forget, but the sour ending will leave a bad taste in a lot of Buckeye mouthes for a long, long time.
We'll chat basketball in the near future, my friends.

Birthdays, Buckeye Basketball, and Troy Smith

First off, a couple of happy b-days need to be recognized. My good buddy Dave Clark turned 30 yesterday (gees that means BDS' big 30 is within striking distance) and cousin AJ finds himself at 28.
So with that out of the way, I've got a few little random notes to divulge as we creep towards the new year.

The Florida/OSU basketball game
I was pretty shocked with the way OSU played on the hardwood on Saturday. I can honestly say that Ohio State played with very little emotion, and I think that is the first time I can say that about a Thad Matta coached OSU Basketball team. In the past his teams might not have been extremely sharp or might not have always played well together, but you could never accuse them of playing without passion.
I saw lazy defense (Daequan Cook primarily) and many more open shots than a Thad Matta team gives up. Toss in those two factors with a very sloppy game on the # 4 team in the nation's court and you've got the recipe for 30 point drubbing.
What good can come from this win? Well, when you've got that many young kids playing, this can be a good learning experience for them. Hopefully this gives the young kids (Conley, Oden, Cook, Lighty) some fire and passion for the Big Ten season and gives the Buckeye veterans (Lewis and Butler) the desire to become team leaders. In college basketball, you need that player or two that looks for the ball and looks to score/make the big play at critical points in the game, and I saw none of that from Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler on Saturday. And who better to want as leaders of team than a SG/SF and a PG/SG? Those are two guys who can handle the rock, penetrate, and either finish at the rim or kick out for an open look. The ingredients are there for Matta to be successful, now it is up to him to make them gel and play as a team.

Next up for the Buckeye hoopsters is Coppin State at the Schott on Saturday, and I've got a feeling that the Bucks will be there to play, and if the spread is 27 or under I'd take the Bucks. On Saturday, Coppin State played at #10 Alabama and got beat 99-49. Tonight, Coppin State traveled to UConn and lost 84-41. Playing #10 Alabama, #12 UConn, and #8 Ohio State-all on the road-is quite a three-game stretch for anyone. So much for happy holidays, huh?

Steroids in Baseball
I saw on the ESPN today that what were once "anonymous" testing results from 2003 are know going to probably be public knowledge in the coming days. There were a reportedly 100 MLB players that were anonymously tested, and now this list is to be made public knowledge?
I do think this will be very intersting and there will be some big names on it (hope you enjoyed the ride, Miggy Tejada), but I was wondering what the legal ramifications of this could be? (Can there be any since this is a gov't led decision/investigation?)

If a player such as an Albert Pujols took a steroids test under the condition of anonymity, and then 4 years later that the results are to become public knowledge, wouldn't you be concerned? What happens when the trickle down effect occurs, when a player such as an Albert Pujols or Alex Rodriguez doesn't get an endorsement contract or has their contracts terminated due to the outcome of what was once an "anonymous steroid" testing? I think there could be some serious legal ramifications coming, and I really doubt we ever see these names published because of the prospective damage it could do to the game of baseball.
And by the way, I was only using Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez's names as examples and was in no way accusing them of ever using steroids.

Troy or Buster?
I've been watching the Florida State/UCLA Emerald Bowl tonight. Geesus, these could be the world's worst announcers. Dan Fouts is fair (at best) as a color guy. He's been the play-by-play man tonight, along with Tim Brandt, and since the 2nd quarter I put the TV on mute and have had the MP3 player going. It's much better. This also makes me think that something had to happen to whoever the pbp guy was supposed to be.

Anyhoo, this game made me realize how much we, as Buckeye fans, should appreciate Buster Davis' decision that he made nearly 5 years ago. In '02, Buster Davis (a very good ILB for Florida State) was offered the last scholarship of that class. Davis, who is a stocky run stuffer/pass rusher at 5' 11", 240 pounds, turned down that last scholarship in favor of the Seminoles. The scholarship that opened up was then offered to Troy Smith, and I think we all know how that worked out.
So from everybody here in the heart of Buckeyeland, thank you Buster Davis for turning down the Buckeyes, and allowing number 10 to give Michigan fans nightmares for 3 years in a row.

That's really all I've got on a slow Wednesday night in late December. I'll try and post before all of the bowls on Monday (New Year's Day), so hopefully we'll talk to you then.
Happy New Year!!!!

Merry Christmas Bucks Fans

This post is primarily a response to a few of the comments that were made after my last post that briefly touched on the National Championship game in which our Buckeyes will play the Florida Gators.

For the fella that wanted to know how many days it's been since Michigan last beat Ohio State....I've got it at 1,123 days since Michigan last beat Ohio State (and I did incorporate an extra day in there because I believe that 2004 was a leap year). The last UM victory came on Saturday, November 22nd, 2003 at Michigan Stadium. Braylon Edwards had 130 yards receiving and two receiving TDs, and Chris Perry ran wild on the Bucks for 154 yards and 2 rushing TDs.

Before I get into a long and winded blog, I'd like for everyone to know why I'm responding to a post. You can read the comments at the bottom of the Back Again post or just click on this link, but consider yourself forewarned as it is a pretty long comment....but it is well put together and Mr. Ferguson has some solid points.
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=33987512&postID=116604233707836591

A different era
I'm at a loss on where to start on this one. I'll kick it off by saying I've never had anything against the SEC conference. I know that the SEC has dominated the Big Ten in bowl games, as the SEC's record is 34-23 against the Big Ten in bowl games. Ohio State is 0-7 in bowl games against the SEC, and the most recent Buckeye loss was to South Carolina in the 2002 Outback Bowl.
All of those losses were from 1978 to 2002, and the Big Ten played a different brand of football than the SEC then. The team that Coach Tressel has assembled is far different than that of what Earle Bruce and John Cooper put together. In fact, this OSU team resembles a SEC team, and you could even say that Michigan has a SEC flavor to it now as well. The reason for this is that the upper echelon and elite college football programs have become somewhat homogenized in the brand of football that they all play. College football coaches across America have seen the National Championship recipe, and the main ingredient is being heavy on team speed. Ohio State is now considered one of (if not the) fastest teams in college football.

Response to Ferg
First off, I've read JD Arney's OSU blog, and I really haven't been on board with what he has said and his stance on some OSU related issues. It's been about a month since I last visited his site (http://www.aroundtheoval.com), mostly because if I don't care for his views, why should I visit his site? I've taken on some OSU media types in the past (Adam Jardy, then of The Lantern when I was part of OSU Student Radio), and I'm still not afraid to voice my opinions now. So Ferg, don't let all OSU media outlets rub you the wrong way, because there are some Buckeye idiots out there (I guess when you have 300-plus Buckeye experts, you're going to have your handful of morons).

As for you thinking that the "ratings are going to be a flop," well I'm not so sure on that one. Ohio State is one of the biggest ratings draws in America, and I can't see any National Championship game that tOSU plays in being a flop. Call me a homer if you like, but when you've got OSU Alumni clubs in every major city across the U.S. and one of the most entertaining football teams to watch, I that this would be the recipe for a ratings flop.

Another quote from Mr. Ferguson was that OSU "is not ready to keep up with the speed and athleticism of the Florida Gators." Ferg's point is valid on this one, because the Gators are very quick and athletic. I feel that with OSU's speed and depth on offense, mixed in with Tressel's scheming, that OSU will find ways to take advantage of mismatches and confuse the Gator defense. I doubt that Ferg has any idea of how good Brian Hartline, Brian Robiskie and Chris Wells actually are.

In response to the OSU schedule not being very strong, well a few of my buddies and I have had this conversation five times over with our one buddy who is a Wisconsin fan. When OSU has to travel to the then number two team, and beat them handily (24-7 win over Texas) on their own turf....that's a pretty big win to me. The Penn State win was kind of ugly, but every Buckeye fan and Columbus resident can tell you how crappy of it day it was here in central Ohio. And this is one thing that Mr. Ferguson failed to mention....and that is the weather being a factor in most Big Ten games. I'm sure he was probably just too busy putting on more suntan lotion on his SEC body to mention that conditions aren't always as pretty in October and November in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan as they are in the southern part of the U.S.

And while I'm at it, all of Ferg's stats are accurate and factual, but many times you have to look beyond the stats to understand things. Ferg had a nice statistical breakdown of the OSU/Texas game and hit on the point that the OSU defense allowed just as many yards as the Texas D allowed. While that might be a great stat for your argument, you've got understand that OSU replaced 9 (NINE of ELEVEN!!) defensive starters for the 2006 season. Since the Texas game was only the second game of the season for the Buckeyes, this means that the starting defensive unit only had played 60 minutes together before their trip to Austin. It should also be mentioned that the James Laurinaitis strip on the goal line (and Donald Washington recovery) might've been the biggest defensive play of the year for the Buckeyes, and it came only 80 minutes into the 2006 season. It's also worth mentioning that the OSU defense has made drastic steps in the maturation process throughout the season.

Also, after reading Ferg's statement of "Kentucky would've given the top 5 (Big Ten teams) a run for their money," I realized that it was now time to take all of his SEC greatness with a grain of salt. I mean, Kentucky? Come on Tubby Smith, this isn't basketball. There is no way that Kentucky would've held it's own against OSU, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Wildcats might've hung with Penn State, but to think that Kentucky could've hung with the big three, well, as Cosmo Kramer would've said, that's cooky talk.

I'll wrap this up with a thank you to Ryan for posting such a thorough and well thought post that gave me motivation to so rabidly defend my beloved alma mater. I want to also state that the ENTIRE Buckeye team is predicated on team speed. The defense, special teams, and of course the offense has phenomenal team speed and I think that some of these SEC fans who didn't really see OSU play that much in 06 has underestimated what OSU can do in all facets of the game. I really think the X factor here will be Coach Tressel and the entire OSU coaching staff. Tress game plans, schemes, and creates mismatches better than any other coach in D-I, and his game plan will confuse the Florida Gators more than they think.