Happy Friday Ya’ll and welcome to the end of another work week. I’m filling in for Johnny who was gracious enough to swap Skullys with me so I could head back to the Buckeye state for a wedding primed to be money that folds not money that jingles (it’s something the kids are sayin… just roll with it). It'll be my first trip back to the promised-land in a while so describing my mood as “excited” is an understatement akin to describing Hoke as “rotund."
Before we jump into the main course I quickly wanted to take this opportunity to speak to some TP news David referenced during yesterday’s Skull Session. If you didn’t get a chance to check it out, the story is here. Essentially, Terrelle told SI he sold his Gold Pants for $3,000 to pay his mother’s gas bills and rent. The timing of this announcement is strange at best and it leaves me with a lot of questions.
Why not say this months ago to spare yourself some of Buckeye Nation’s vitriol? Where did the money from the rest of your sales go? What is this book you’re talking about writing? It’s hard to say how much of this report is true, but if proof of Pryor using revenue for good not ink ever does surface it could soften some of the ill-will felt in and around Columbus toward the former QB.
I'M SORRY WHAT?... Last week the Ozone proposed an interesting question to its readers essentially asking if they would root for Michigan to beat Alabama this upcoming season. The understanding is that a win against Bama would make The Game that much more important. My initial reaction is to gouge out my eyeballs for even considering the question, but let’s take a step back from that ledge…my friend.
Putting aside the rivalry (by that I mean put aside genetics, some religion and most of the 90’s) a Michigan win against the Fighting Sabans would elevate this Buckeye team’s "Bowl game" into another echelon of importance. Beyond Alabama, Michigan is playing another dough-boy schedule avoiding Penn State and Wisconsin. If they somehow find a way to beat Bama the possibility of Hoke making it to Columbus unscathed is a definite possibility.
Imagine the circus surrounding an undefeated Michigan squad coming into Columbus to play a vengeful Urban-led team. It’s a storyline that’s almost too juicy to print. Winning a game like that would shut the book on Tat-gate for good and offer plenty of these DERPS for Buckeye fans to enjoy for years to come.
Unfortunately, all of that depends on a Sept. 1 Michigan win. So what do you think, should Buckeye Nation root for them? Personally I’d rather go back in time, book a trip in steerage on the Titanic and hope for the best but I’d be interested to hear what you think.
GET OFFA MY LAWN 2.0. Jim Delany recently weighed in on how he thinks a four-team playoff should be run. Specifically he believes all four teams should be conference champions (read: Delany taking a shot at Alabama playing LSU in the championship last season).
Delany had this to say:
"The polls don't always measure strength of schedule. Some conferences are playing nine games, some are playing eight... If they're ranked fifth in the country and they won a conference championship, I think that's quite an accomplishment. Some teams don't even win their own division. They started off highly in the rankings, lose early, don't play a championship game and they might end up at four."
Never change Jim. Never change.I hate to say it but I find myself agreeing here. If a playoff system simply takes the top four teams as decided by polls we are going to have years where two of the top four are from the same conference. This would ultimately lead to some of the same problems people have with the BCS now.
Developing a qualifier where the top four also have to be conference champions adds a layer of importance to conference championship games that was absent last season. Of course a lot of this could also be solved by adding more than four teams in the playoffs (so teams aren't penalized for playing in a tougher conference), but what do I know, I’m just a guy who likes to make sense.
ARNETT TO PLAY IN 2012. The Michigan State football program and former Tennessee wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett received some good news yesterday after the NCAA granted the transfer wide-out a residence waiver allowing him to play with the Spartans this season. Arnett a Saginaw Michigan native, applied for the waiver in order to be closer to his father who is awaiting a kidney transplant.
This is a feel-good story for both parties. Arnett had already arrived at Michigan State and even participated in the spring game where his father got a chance to see him play college ball for the first time.
As a freshman at Tennessee Arnett caught 24 passes for 242 yards and 2 TDs. In high school he was listed by Scout as a 4-star wide receiver and the No. 12 overall wide receiver in the nation. If Michigan State can find someone to get him the ball he should be exciting to watch this season.
POSEY SPEAKS. Cincinnati.com recently spoke with former Buckeye star DeVier Posey about his trials and tribulations last season as well as his selection in the third round by the Houston Texans.
Obviously Posey was ecstatic about being picked to play at the next level, but as a Buckeye fan I was more interested in hearing what he had to say about last season. To that end, DeVier wasn’t exactly candid about the circumstances regarding his 10-game suspension saying:
“It was a mistake that I made. I learned from it….I guess they didn’t like who I worked for. The guy was a booster and they said I got paid too much. In the end, I think it came out to be a positive for me personally because of all the things I learned.”
I know Posey took a lot of missteps in his time at Ohio State, but I can’t help but feel hopeful for DeVier. I believe the 10 game suspension was excessive, but I admire the fact that he stuck it out and graduated. A lot of guys in his situation would have bolted but Posey decided to stay and claim his position as the greatest scout team receiver in the history of Ohio State. Good luck to him in Houston and here’s hoping the Texans got a steal in the third round.
ARE YOU STARING AT MY LINKS? Browns invite former Oregon QB Thomas to rookie minicamp. If we are all swallowed up in some sort of fiery armageddon I want this to be the only thing that survives as proof of life on the planet. Sports' least coveted auction items. The entirety of Tumblr summed up in one glorious picture. Pizza Hut is doing its part to bring peace to the Middle East. Dad's need em too.
