Was philosoraptor's suffering through UCONN a noble act?Happy Monday everyone and welcome. . . wait, it's Thursday? How did I miss three whole days? The last thing I remember, UCONN bricked another shot. Then a Butler player tripped over himself while checking his e-mail. After that, I must have blacked out from boredom. . . In any case, the 2011 NCAA Basketball Title was possibly the worst Game-I-Glanced-at-While-Redditing I've ever left on in the background, but that's what happens when the all of the best teams exit before the Final Four.
Here's your Monday Skull Session.
We're finally getting our chance! They've been dodging us for decades, scared to play one of the young, up-and-comers like Ohio State. All of the trials and triumphs, pain and exultation; everything that the Buckeyes as a team and we as a fan base have been waiting and working toward is finally near. Yes, it's true. In 2013, we finally get a chance to slay the leviathan and score one for the little guy by hosting mighty Vanderbilt in 2013. It's not often we get the chance to bring such vaunted opposition to our humble stadium, so I'm sure this matchup will immediately become a huge topic of discussion (Tennessee would previously have been a bigger "get" from the SEC state, but unfortunately they folded their football program in 2008 and sold the stadium to the German vacuum manufacturer, Wirsüc).
Less importantly, the 2013 and 2014 B1G schedules are out, and Ohio State looks to miss Nebraska and Michigan State for 2013-14, and Minnesota for 2011-15. So we should face one of the easier schedules of the conference: Nebraska and MSU will certainly be among the better programs over the next 4 years, and Minnesota has a coach named Kill. It'll be a bummer to miss the new kid so soon after they join, but with Vanderbilt coming to town, we'll take all the help from the schedule gods we can get.
Move along people, nothing to see here. Tony Gerdeman over at the Ozone.net thinks the football staff is doing itself a disservice by making the actual football portion of Spring Practice a more open affair.
Don't cry for us, however, as we'll finally get to talk to assorted players and coaches on Saturday, which is ten days into Spring practice.
But just think of all of the things we could have talked about in that time--and everything we talked about instead.
Ohio State missed an opportunity to make their football team the topic of conversation for a change, and in so doing, kept the one topic that they don't want to talk about at the forefront of everyone's mind.
As big fan as I am of propagandistic manipulation of the media to suit one's personal interests, I tend to think the collective soul-searching prompted by the Tressel fiasco made clear many of the glaring contradictions and absurdities that lie at the heart of college football. As painful as it is for us, as Buckeye fans, to see the Wizard of Oz exposed, it's also an opportunity to put into perspective what we actually value as a community. The discussions that have raged through the blogosphere on the Tat-5 fallout have been some of the more engaging commentary I've seen in awhile, and sometimes what's best for the team isn't what's best for the program.
That said, it's a good writeup on the value of media access, and Ohio State has traditionally held it's practices very close-to-the-vest (pun intended). In an era where everyone seems to be obsessed with avoiding tough questions or the media glare, it would certainly be refreshing to see a move toward more openness, even if it's only in one college football team. So keep fighting the good fight, Mr. Gerdeman.
Quit harshing his buzz, broticus. Oft-troubled South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia has been suspended, again. The official release didn't mention the specific offense. Money quote from the release:
Stephen has exhibited behavior that is unacceptable for one of our student-athletes. Therefore, he has forfeited the privilege to participate in any football-related activity until further notice.
Ouch. While in previous eras would involve the liberal use of words like "lout", "rake", "hooligan", and "misbegotten rogue of ungentlemanly opprobrium", but you can almost feel the anger in that cold, corporate castigation. It's like dealing with your significant other after a particularly egregious screwup. The lack of appliance throwing or spittle-flecked shouting only serves to emphasize the gravity of the offense.
EDSBS has the Twitter breakdown, and while I don't want to shock anyone with delicate sensibilities, alcohol may have been involved.
Hopefully the Patron Saint of Partying gets back off the bus soon.
It's Spring, I promise. While Winter keeps refusing to hand over the remote, we petty humans are still going about our lives on schedule. Yesterday's spring practice was no exception. The Dispatch focuses on the cornerback battle where Travis Howard and Dominic Clarke have apparantly earned the starting spots, though whether they keep them remains to be seen.
At the quarterback position, Pryor was out of his post-surgery boot but still mostly sitting out, while Bauserman was apparantly in class. The other three quarterbacks took turns running the show.
