Welcome back from a stormy weekend. I hope power has returned for all of you, but with 200,000 without power in Franklin County alone, I realize that may be wishful thinking.
Speaking of wishful thinking, word of 10 weeks of shelf time for running back Jordan Hall after foot surgery may be an under-promise/over-deliver type thing. That worst case would put us at somewhere around September 7, or a day before taking on UCF in game two.
If Hall's rehab, which would include getting his flexibility back in the foot and regaining lost strength in the leg, goes according to plan, it may not be unthinkable for a return for the opener, especially if Hall "rehabs like crazy" as he's vowed to do.
While he could be ready early, there also may be no need rushing him back when he's emerged as Urban Meyer's top offensive playmaker. Foot problems have cursed Buckeye running backs of the past, most notably Keith Byars and Beanie Wells, and having Hall at 100% for Big Ten play should still be the goal.
It will be really interesting to see who Meyer, offensive coordinator Tom Herman, and running backs coach Stan Drayton decide to go with in the hybrid running back/receiver role best exemplified by Percy Harvin while Hall is out for fall camp. Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith are both traditional between-the-tackles guys, as are incoming freshmen Bri'onte Dunn and Warren Ball. Hyde, Smith, even in limited action, and Dunn, at the Spring Game, have all shown the ability to catch passes out of the backfield, while Ball showed similar skills at the Big33 Classic two weeks ago in Hershey. That's nice to have if the staff needs it.
They could also turn to wide receiver Philly Brown, but he finished 2011 with no rushing attempts, so that may be an experiment that's not worth carrying out. I wonder if Jaamal Berry is keeping up on what's going on in Columbus?
"WHAT I LIKE ABOUT HIM IS THAT HE'S COMPLETE." Celtics GM President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge acknowledges that there were medical issues with Jared Sullinger -- even admitting Sullinger "may need surgery at some point" before backing off that statement -- but he feels fortunate to have the former Ohio State big on his team:
"What I like about him is he’s complete. He can pass, he can think, he can rebound, he can shoot."
Meanwhile, Satch Sullinger believes the back issues reported about his son were overblown by the media:
"We knew he had some tightness in his groin and in his flexor, which caused a little problem in his back. Stretching and flexibility will alleviate all of that. I was just surprised to find out that there were nine other guys that were supposedly red-flagged with different issues, but Jared was the only one that took all the hits. That’s what comes when you’re a pretty good player. You are the news and so they jump on you. Sometimes it feels unfair, but I’d rather for them to talk about him than not talk about him at all. If they’re talking about you that means you have something to offer."
Go on...
"I’m just talking about some of the people that were on ESPN and in the national scene that, instead of reporting the news, they were trying to be the news. Some of the people were over the top with some of the things that they said about another human being instead of just keeping it on the professional side of opinions. It’s hard to hear so you don’t watch it."
Fatherhood'd.
UMM... HONEY, ABOUT THOSE NEW YEAR'S EVE PLANS... As we hurtle towards our playoff future, things just took a turn for the awesome:
According to Bill Hancock, the "Big Six" bowls will be played three each on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, around 1 pm/4:30 pm/8.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) June 28, 2012
If Bill Hancock is to be believed -- and as the executive director of what used to be the BCS, he should be -- college football could not only be on its way to reestablishing itself as a TV force on New Year's Day, it could be making a play to create two days of madness. Matt Hinton on what that means:
Imagine college football's version of the first two, all-consuming days of the NCAA basketball tournament in March. For those two days – not just one – the American sporting universe will revolve around college football and nothing but college football.
With the NFL playoffs typically starting on the first weekend of January, there's no impediment to this happening at the pro level at least. As for your New Year's Eve plans, it's too cold to go out, anyway.
LET'S HAVE A REAL REMOTE TIME. Back in the days of internet infancy, when Nicholas Negroponte, John Perry Barlow and so many others were preaching how the internet would connect the people of the world in a free exchange of ideas, hotwire democracy and create markets we couldn't even imagine, they were no doubt referring to things like jacking a social network to send Pitbull to a Walmart in Kodiak, Alaska.
Thanks to the enterprising souls at r/CFB and others, the remote Kodiak Island community (population 6,000) is leading to receive a very special visit from the man that haunted our commercial breaks during the 2011 college football season. At last count, the Kodiak Walmart was way out in front1 with over 33,000 "Likes."
The contest ends on July 15, and we all know no lead is ever safe, so if you happen to think the Kodiak, Alaska Walmart deserves a visit from Pitbull, follow these steps:
- Visit the contest page on Facebook.
- Type 99615 into the textbox; Submit.
- "Like" the Walmart on 2911 Mill Bay Rd, Kodiak, AK 99615.
- Tell a friend.
Pitbull is wise to our tricks, but to his credit, he's taking the prospect of a trip to the former capital of Russian Alaska in stride:
I hear there's bear repellant at Kodiak, Alaska @walmartspecials @sheets #exilepitbull daleeeeeee!
— Pitbull (@Pitbull) June 30, 2012
WILL MUSCHAMP KNOWS VOODOO. Former Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell on what led to his arrest and subsequent departure from the Dawgs:
Seem like somebody burnin candles on me...God has a plan and all the hatas can say whatever, because ima get stronger and still reach da top
— Isaiah Crowell (@iSAIAH_RIP_STEV) June 30, 2012
BTN BIG10K. Like running? Live within a day's drive of Chicago? The BTN's inaugural BIG10K will be held Saturday, July 28, and after the race, you'll be able to cool your heels at a tailgate that will feature music, food, beer (!!), games, prizes and a photo opp with this iced out baller.
Best of all, if you sign up by Sunday, July 8th, you'll be eligible for a free dry tech school-specific race shirt.
ETC: Happy 75th birthday to former Buckeye coach John Cooper today. Time really does heal all wounds... buckeyegifs.tumblr.com is a thing and needs fed... Mike Leach REFUSES TO EVEN FATHOM THE NOTION of Oregon fans outnumbering Cougar fans when the two schools meet in Seattle later this year... Erin Andrews has agreed to terms with FOX... TCU and West Virginia are now officially Big 12 members and Texas Tech rolls out the country roads red carpet for the Mountaineers... Crimson Tide fan hears about Charles Eric Waugh and raises... How much does it cost to outfit a big school college football player? At Nebraska, that price tag is $1,000... The Penn State debate is quickly moving from "What did Joe know?" to "Should the NCAA hammer the Nittany Lions?"
- 1 A quick spot-check of other major metros proves that Atlanta really, really loves their Pitbull and appear to have three stores in the top five with over 6,000 "Likes" each.
