The more I keep doing these, the more I run out of creative ways to open these Saturday Skull Sessions. I already used a Loverboy reference some months back.
I would reference Sam Cooke's lonely cry that I ain't got nobody, but I do have some money because I just got paid. Alas, Jason doesn't want me writing a Saturday Night Skull Session, nor would the 11W commentariat care much if I mention that I met a woman, who bore a strange resemblance to a cat named Frankenstein.
Plus, who names their cat "Frankenstein" anyway? That's weird.
TEXAS A&M GOING BIG AND REDESIGNING ITS HOME. There is usually not much to mention for the sports you care about this time of the year. This is usually a good thing more often than not. No one should want to revisit the summer of 2011.
The Southeastern Conference dominated the headlines this week, which follows neatly from it being a rather quiet news cycle that would allow the conference to be the top story with its SEC Network project. One conference member, in particular, made some waves. And it wasn't the Rammer Jammers.
Texas A&M is wanting to revamp Kyle Field in order to push the stadium into one of the upper echelons of the college football experience. Texas A&M already has the distinction of having one of the most — if not the most — unique student body experiences in college football. The "12th man", complete with the Midnight Yell Practice, is an imposing bunch.
However, Kyle Field itself isn't a particularly impressive venue. It has one open end (that cameras strategically avoid showing) and the fans are a little further from the action than they are in a place like Ohio Stadium, where the fans almost figuratively sit on top of the field. In some respects, Kyle Field seems quaint despite its capacity of 82,000+.
Texas A&M's board of regents just approved a $450 million redevelopment plan to address just that.
The proposed amenities include a seating capacity of 102,000+, football field-length luxury suites, and a host of other things that are unique to Texas A&M that this author wouldn't know. The one thing I did notice was the redevelopment project is proposing a Paul Bear Bryant pavilion at one of the corners of the stadium. The famous Alabama coach coached Texas A&M for four years before leaving for his alma mater at Alabama. His combined record was 25-14-2 with one conference championship. That's really nothing in the broad scheme of things for a program like Texas A&M, I would think.
Likewise, I expect Paul Bear Bryant pavilion to leave Kyle Field for Bryant-Denny Stadium if "mama came calling" again.
Alas, who would've thought, just five years ago, that Texas A&M would be positioning itself like it is now? It changed to a more prestigious conference, just had a freshman Heisman winner, will sit on a pile of conference network money, and is going to revamp its stadium into one of the nicest in the country. Gig 'em indeed, DeLoss Dodds.
BEISBOL UPDATE. This will be a recurring theme for the rest of the baseball season. Plus, you guys need Buckeye sports updates in some way. Hell, I just began a Saturday Skull Session with a story on Texas A&M, for crying out loud.
Ohio State is stuck in place in the Big Ten right now. It took a brief reprieve from league play to host Northern Kentucky in a two-game series this week. It won both games in a doubleheader. Ohio State won the first game, 9-8, in large part thanks to 3-for-4 days at the plate from center fielder Joe Ciamocco and catcher Aaron Gretz. Both had 2 RBIs as well. The Buckeyes won the second leg of the doubleheader, 6-5. A four-run sixth inning did the trick.
Ohio State is supposed to begin its last road series of the season at Northwestern, though the game on Friday was postponed due to inclement weather. The series will instead be played Saturday through Monday.
The Buckeyes improved to 30-13 this week overall and, by virtue of not playing in league this week, have moved to just a half-game behind the Big Ten leaders, Indiana and Nebraska. Indiana is 34-8 overall on the season and is the only nationally ranked team from the conference. Again: Big Ten baseball is equivalent to Conference USA football, and I really wish the league (and Ohio State, in particular) could do something about that.
Quinn Pitcock in 2006, playing for the Buckeyes. QUINN PITCOCK DISCUSSES HIS VIDEO GAME ADDICTION. I think most Buckeye fans have known about this story for several years.
Professional football careers for various Ohio State alumni have been derailed as a result of different vices. Art Schlichter's compulsive gambling addition, including the predatory tactics he used to fuel his addiction, ended his NFL career before it effectively started. Too many players have been caught up in substance abuse in various forms as well. Quinn Pitcock's pro career was derailed by video games.
That "Call of Duty" can be thought of as a source of addiction may seem quizzical to the average person who is used to thinking of addictions as chemical dependencies fueled by alcohol or illicit drugs. For Pitcock, video games were an escape from social anxieties that made adapting to professional football in a new city too taxing to execute. On Katie Couric's show "Katie" this week, Pitcock addressed what we ultimately knew: his video game addiction ended his NFL career.
In fairness to Pitcock, he made sure to reiterate two things. First, he took responsibility for the addiction and admitted that the only way he ultimately had his addiction helped was because he recognized he needed to receive help. Further, he gave credit to the Indianapolis Colts franchise, which drafted him in the third round (98th overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft. The Colts paid for the psychologists and therapy to treat Pitcock.
Pitcock is currently playing in the Arena Football League for the Orlando Predators, but still holds out hope for playing in the National Football League.
MISCELLANY. This Bob Ley moment needs to be cherished forever... Notre Dame is trying to get on the stadium expansion circuit... Penn State QB transfer considering Mississippi State and South Florida... Why don't you have a seat right over there, Mark Richt... NCAA suspends rule changes that would deregulate almost all of recruiting... This would probably make the family Christmas a little awkward... The WNBA can't compete with that kind of salary... Should we asterisk all of Mickey Mantle's records? Kentucky Derby is today.
