Happy Sunday Buckeye fans and welcome to today's Skull Session.
Isn't it great to wake up to the sun rising and the roosters crowing on a lazy Sunday morning? Well, if roosters equal several car alarms, NYC bus horns, and people screaming, then yes, it's great.
Walking to work Friday gave me an extreme feeling of nostalgia. It was a brisk 62 degrees around 9 am, very reminiscent of those mid to late September Saturday mornings filled with bloody marys, shotgunning beers, and unlimited O-H chants. Obviously, the weather meant all I had on my mind was Buckeye football.
However as I looked around me, all I saw were suits, business casual attire, and people downing their morning coffees instead of dawning nice scarlet jerseys (or in reality any jersey as the school representation in this city is limitless).
Hey, only 5 more Saturdays.
PAPA LAURINAITIS. Heeee's Baaaackkkk and yes, this definitely deserved it's own bullet point.
World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer Joe Laurinaitis, father of all-world linebacker James, returned to the ring Friday night for a special guest match and it was awesome. No, I don't still watch wrestling, but when I heard about this, I had to DVR.
I definitely miss these fans in the student section.
Thought everyone would enjoy this:
Now on to some "relevant" information.
IT'S SCANDAL SEASON. Does anyone besides Buckeye fans actually remember Tat-Gate?
Lucky for Ohio State fans and unlucky for others, the NCAA seems to have their hands full.
The Miami-FL scandal definitely and obviously took a back seat to the happenings at Penn State. But don't worry, the NCAA didn't forget and it seems that newish 'Canes coach Al Golden is making things worse.
Yahoo! Sports reported on Friday that a former "U" staff member Sean Allen, who was tied to the Nevin Shapiro shenanigans, was helping current coach Al Golden's recruiting efforts causing the NCAA to visit the school this month.
If these allegations prove to be true, this could be another major allegation notch on Miami's belt before the NCAA comes down with any sort of hammer.
Golden released a statement for the press Friday:
''The inferences and suggestions in the Yahoo! Sports story that my conduct was anything but ethical are simply false."
Lucky for you, Coach Al, the NCAA has bigger fish to fry at the moment.
SELF IMPOSITION. With the NCAA beginning to weigh in on the on-going Penn State debacle, self imposed sanctions could soon come about.
However, will it be enough? How do you hammer down your own program in a situation that's above football?
Let's take a look at a some thoughts, particularly from Mike Farrell, going around the net about what PSU will do:
I think #PSU self sanctions bowl ban and scholarships“@smansf1: @rivalsmike What's you thoughts on actual (not deserved) penalties?
— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) July 21, 2012
I'm starting to think if Tat-gate happened again, things would be different.
Starting to feel same way, headed that direction “@smansf1: @rivalsmike I foresee USC-type penalties re: ban & scholarships deducted”
— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) July 21, 2012
USC type penalties? USC was paying recruits. How can you compare the two? Then again, SMU got shut down years ago for paying recruits and the instance with PSU does not bring a competitive advantage on the football field.
Being the king of speculation, this is a very tough one to crack.
URBAN PUTT-PUTT. Coach Meyer and Alex Smith were paired together on Friday during the American Century Championship, the first time the two had played golf together since 2004.
The two badly wanted to beat one an other for old times sake.
“I played with Alex one time at Utah, and I beat him,” said Meyer, who shortly will begin his first year as head coach at Ohio State.
Smith responded with:
“Yeah, he remembers beating me but I don't remember that,”
The duo was joined by former Buckeye legend A.J. Hawk making this a to-die-for trio to follow. I can name a few people that would give their left leg to hang out with that crew for an afternoon.
Smith was also able to shed some light on how it probably has been for current Buckeye players who have experienced the new Meyer regime:
“When he first got there, it was tough. You had to prove yourself to him. It was demanding. It was eye-opening for me.”
In the end, Meyer was victorious, his second victory over his former quarterback in as many tries. The golf continues today and more stories to come.
ACE VENTURA'S Top 2 recruit and OSU target Julius Randle is dominating at Nike's Peach Jam. Should Penn State get new uniforms to signify a new era? That's if there is a new era. SI's Luke Winn examines basketball transfers and how players are transferring out to go to better programs. The Rock Chalk Jayhawks could be the first team to have eight true freshman to be ranked in the preseason top-5. Another sensitive Onion "masterpiece" on how all Penn State students knew about the scandal. More SEC fluff on how it's great to be an LSU fan. Arkansas RB Knile Davis comes back from injury and squats 600lbs, wow! Cool spreadsheet on wins per year in NCAA football. Once a Buckeye target, Josh McNeil picks Bama over Florida.
