Happy weekend, Buckeye fans! I'm making a special guest appearance for your Saturday Skull session, which gives me the opportunity to wish everyone a pleasant Saturday night, though unlike Elton John, I cannot endorse fighting.
Some of you are probably watching Hang Time and California Dreams on TNBC1 this morning. I'm assuming those are still on, anyway. I haven't been up before noon on a Saturday since 1996.
If you don't keep up with the NBA playoffs, or you only pay attention when it's a close game with a couple of minutes left like I do, you might have missed the 76ers overcoming an 18-point deficit to beat the Celtics. The series is now tied at two games apiece.
The Sixers were terrible in the first half, and Evan Turner struggled mightily with his shot. Despite only going 5/22 from the floor, Turner did lead his team with 16 points and also grabbed nine boards.
Somehow, the Lakers avoided falling into a 3-0 hole to the Thunder, but since no former Ohio State player did anything of note, I don't care.
ALL THINGS MUST PASS. Living up to his middle name, Urban Frank Meyer is not one to mince words, especially when it comes to criticizing the receiving corps. Jon Spencer of CentralOhio.com praised his candor when discussing the passing game, which the new coach continues to describe as "not very good right now."
Meyer puts most of the blame last season on the inexperience and lack of leadership at the QB and WR positions. Since his staff is limited in their coaching duties until August, that means players have to take charge and build chemistry:
"What I'm hearing is that our quarterbacks (Miller and backup Kenny Guiton) have taken a leadership role, the receivers are working on things, and they're starting to figure things out."
Based on his comments, it sounds like the QBs have come a long way in that category, but there is still much progress to be made. Hopefully that happens, considering Ohio State is, according to former Wolverine Steve Everitt, "stuck" with Braxton Miller. I will remember that remark the first time Denard Robinson gets dinged up next season and Devin Gardner has to come in to replace him.
THE INCREDIBLE HOKE. Everitt was not the only former UM player to bring the asinine, although at least they raised money for charity while doing so. Yesterday at the WTKA radiothon, whose proceeds benefited Mott Children's Hospital, Dhani Jones could not stop complimenting Brady Hoke. As Angelique S. Chengelis of The Detroit News shared, Jones even went as far as to claim, "There's no coach out there right now in college football that's better than him."
Well, he does boast all those conference titles and national championships...oh wait. Never mind. Since becoming one of the weakest teams to ever win a BCS game, Michigan seems to have their pre-Rich Rod arrogance back2.
Charles Woodson got in on the action, too:
I guess Weight Watchers buddies need to support one another.
Jeff showing off his long jump skills. Violation!A FISTFUL OF PAINTBALLS. After reporting Thursday night on Ohio State's secondary violations, Doug Lesmerises further examined them yesterday.
Other than the occasional misleading headline, most agree that almost all of the offenses were of the innocuous variety, the kind that every major university commits.
While it's important to report them, particularly for a school like Ohio State that's on probation, they also exemplify one of the failings3 of the NCAA:
But a compliance department bogged down in paperwork dealing with emails and voicemails and text messages that really have no effect on anything is a compliance department that may have a little less time to actually monitor and attempt to prevent the kind of violations that actually do matter.
According to Lesmerises, many of the violations are simple humor error or coaches accidentally breaking bureaucratic technology rules, such as Dick Tressel replying to a text from Warren Ball's parents, who needed directions when they were visiting the Shoe.
My favorite transgression, though, was this gem:
A recruit playing paintball with the track team on an official visit was a violation because the recruit was "allowed to demonstrate his athletic ability in the presence of an assistant men's track and field coach." An event viewed as entertainment is OK for a recruit. Paintball is not.
Apparently the the NCAA has never seen Community4 because I consider paintball very entertaining.
RANK IT UP. This time of year, polls are only useful for debating purposes and to remind us of how much longer we have until college football season begins. Still, it's a more preferable topic for discussion than what we had to deal with a year ago.
ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and Brian Bennett compiled their post-spring power rankings for the Big Ten. Michigan State tops their list due to the strength of their defense while Michigan's offensive duo of Denard Robinson and Fitzgerald Toussaint places them right behind their in-state rivals.
After Wisconsin and Nebraska, Ohio State checks in at #5, as they mentioned Miller's improvement and the dominance of John Simon and Johnathan Hankins on the DL.
Meanwhile, their WWL colleague Matt Schlabach offered his Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25. Filling out the top three spots are, in order, LSU, USC, and Alabama. Calling Michigan "the team to beat in the Big Ten in 2012", he put them at #9 on the list, and based on his top ten, I hope Schlabach is a crap psychic.
Following Michigan State (#11) and Wisconsin (#15), he ranked Ohio State at #17 and then Nebraska at #24.
TOP OF THE LINE. Apparently this was also the week to rate B1G offensive linemen, both separately and as a unit. BTN's Tom Dienhart looked at them individually and concluded that Ricky Wagner's, Wisconsin's senior LT, was the conference's best. Another LT, Michigan's Taylor Lewan, a noted tandem bike enthusiast, came in second.
Ohio State was represented on his list by #3 Jack Mewhort and #8 Andrew Norwell. Dienhart referred to both of them as versatile players who can line up at different positions on the OL. Even though Norwell will return at left guard, where he started last season, Mewhort has moved from RG to LT.
The Daily Northwestern evaluated the OL as a whole and determined that Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio State earned the 1-2-3 spots, respectively. Their analysis of OSU's:
Miller’s speed and coach Urban Meyer’s offense don’t require as much from the offensive line as a typical pro-style offense, but the unit should still be solid and will give Miller ample time to throw.
Now, if only he had the jump-ball technique of Denard, right Steve Everitt?
LADIES LINK FOR FREE. A few Buckeyes hanging with kids on the Oval... Greg Oden's controversial knee procedure... Charles Eric Waugh was indicted... A breakdown of Indiana's crowded basketball roster... Evil Abed's take on the Dan Harmon news... You're lion if you don't enjoy this... The Marvel universe timeline... 27 Shocking TV Deaths (spoilers for almost every show ever).
- 1 Skip Saved by the Bell: The New Class and all its bastardized awfulness.
- 2 Though, a trait so inherent probably never left.
- 3 Of which there are many. Oh so many.
- 4My reaction to this.
