Bye weeks are good times for introspection. Coaches and fans have different goals, but both want to understand how to do better. The Buckeyes are in the top ten of scoring offense and scoring defense; what improvements can/ought to be installed in two weeks?
In the mean time, looking ahead a month to a Big Ten Championship Game showdown with Michigan State is reasonable. The divisional front runners have nearly clinched, the Spartans are the best opponent the Buckeyes could face, and weeks of anticipation will make the conference championship game more emotionally intense.
CRAFT IS THE SIXTH MAN. The day after Ohio State men's basketball kicked off its preseason with a blowout of Walsh, the Associated Press named its preseason All-America team: Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State, Doug McDermott of Creighton, Russ Smith of Louisville, Mitch McGary of Michigan, and Ender Andrew Wiggins of Kansas. Aaron Craft just missed out, finishing sixth in voting. Smart is the first unanimous preseason All-American since Jared Sullinger in 2011-2012, and Wiggins is only the second freshman to ever make the preseason All-America team.
Fear not, swooners. Having a plausible starting five rather than a "four forwards and a center" lineup shows the voters have sense, and if there's a better energy man in the country than Craft he must have DynaPep coursing through his veins.
A few more OSU basketball nuggets: the cast on LaQuinton Ross's hand is off after he sprained the hand in the scrimmage against West Virginia, Michael Redd has effectively retired from the NBA, and Greg Oden is making the most of his latest NBA opportunity.
SUSPENSION IN THE MAKING. Michigan senior, team captain, and All-American offensive tackle Taylor Lewan has been praised for his "mean streak and nasty attitude". On Saturday, that attitude boiled over into something unseemly. The already chippy Lewan became chippier as Michigan State's onslaught took Michigan out of sync. In the second quarter, Lewan grabbed the facemask of Michigan State safety Isaiah Lewis, who was lying facedown on the ground, and jerked it to the side in a play reminiscent of Will Gholston's attack on Denard Robinson in 2011. Though Lewis avoided injury, the incident was captured on national TV.
On Monday Brady Hoke sent out Lewan out in front of media to apologize for the plays. Lewan admitted his actions were wrong and claimed he had to protect his quarterback. In the same press conference, Hoke also said that Lewan was trying to get Devin Gardner out of the pile. Hoke was asked if he would suspend Lewan:
If Big Ten office steps in and suspends Lewan for a game as it did Gholston, the parallels will be uncanny. Gholston punched Lewan and went for Denard Robinson's neck; Lewan punched Kurtis Drummond and went for Lewis's neck. Dantonio refused to suspend Gholston, forcing the conference to suspend him for a game; with Hoke's refusal, the conference will probably suspend Lewan against Nebraska. From 2011 to present, Dantonio's tacit approval of Gholston's thuggery has been cited as an example of why Michigan State would always be Little Brother to Michigan. When you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
PATRIOTIC CONSUMERISM. In the spirit of billions and billions of uniform advertising campaigns, Under Armour has set forth a number of uniforms to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. Northwestern and Minnesota are participating, this being an example of a uniform:
Unlike most military-related uniforms, this uniform has generated some pushback. The ostensible purpose of this promotion is to raise money for a worthy cause – in this case, the Wounded Warrior Project – but schools will only donate 10% of the proceeds to charity, making this 90% a money grab and 10% an image boost. Teams could donate money from regular jersey sales to the same charities with the same announcement about proceeds, but they likely wouldn't be as popular. The flags on Northwestern's uniforms appeared to be bloody – Under Armour denied this – or have runny colors, not to mention that modifying the American flag for wear on apparel is illegal. or the unseemly marriage of war and football.
Three years ago, when Ohio State redipped its toe into the water with uniforms recognizing Ohio State's 1942 national championship team, Charles Csuri spoke about how the Pro Combat™ Hyperwicking© Ultrabreathable® series didn't reflect war as he knew it. The uniform, whatever uniqueness it may have had in 2010, is lost with a dozen other patriotic uniform promotions. A decade ago, Kellen Winslow II was a pariah with rage issues for analogizing himself to a soldier. If a player made the same statement tomorrow, the worst that would happen is a tut-tutting from the usual national media columnists.
Does football need to be cloaked in the shallow rhetoric of war when – ooh, sweet sock/shoe/cleat combo. Put me down for two pairs.
HOCKEY REALIGNMENT RUMBLING. A few days ago, the Bowling Green Sentinel Review published a story claiming that Bowling Green could be headed to a reformed CCHA, the conference Ohio State left this year to form the Big Ten Hockey Conference. The reporting and predictions are hazy, but the article claims the league would draw teams from several conferences, disrupting the college landscape with potential competitors.
The CCHA's reformation wouldn't do much to Big Ten hockey, which is fine staying pat with the two top-ranked teams in the country. What a CCHA reformation would mean is more conference slots and a lower barrier of entry for club hockey programs looking to go varsity. It would be interesting to see small schools in hockey country – Ohio, Buffalo – and larger schools outside hockey country – Arizona State, Iowa State – turn Division I in a potential money sport because of this change.
GOOD WORK, BLOCK O. There were no press conferences in which to relish defeating the curse of Purdue Harbor, but Block O commemorated the occasion by turning Ross-Ade Stadium into Columbus West with a hearty O-H-I-O:
LINKS AHOY. Honey badger vs. wolverine; who wins?... The world’s quietest room drives people insane… Predicting Kentucky basketball's first-round draft picks… Richie Incognito and the cliques of football… Arizona State coach Todd Graham had an airplane scare… I don’t like you, national sportswriter… Florida personnel already abandoning ship... Some fine introspection on Michigan-OSU and Michigan-Michigan State hate… Rutgers' lawsuit against the Big East moves to RI... The Herculean task of getting HBO without cable... Ohio’s best sandwich is the Polish Boy Kielbasa sandwich? Whuh?... Juxtaposition: John Clayton and Slayer… Rolando McClain’s life after the NFL… Bas Rutten is a scary man… The fake hitman... Jermichael Finley’s account of a near-paralyzing hit… *stares for hours*.
