Wednesday's Skull Session will offer some commentary on things happening around the world of college sports.
Monday night was not ideal for the Ohio State fan that chose to endure another ugly outing from the basketball team en route to its fourth consecutive loss on the season, equaling the longest losing streak of Matta's tenure at Ohio State since the 2007-08 season. That season was the letdown campaign after Ohio State fell short in the (basketball) national title game against Florida. Ohio State rebounded in its next two games against no. 15 Purdue (which used to be a very good squad not not long ago, believe it or not). It won the season finale against no. 17 Michigan State in Value City Arena. At the time, I remember thinking that should be sufficient for one of those last spots in the NCAA Tournament.
However, Michigan State bounced the Buckeyes in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament, punting Ohio State to the National Invitational Tournament. The Buckeyes did win that tournament, though I doubt anyone wants to see the Buckeyes return. It's also a bit early to be pressing that panic button for the 2013-14 team.
This Skull Session will eschew a freak-out regarding the basketball team in favor of some other items of interest for college football fans.
ALL FOR MAMA. Though Monday night was not a happy occasion for Ohio State basketball fans, Ohio State football fans had reason to rejoice over the addition of Brady Taylor to the 2014 recruiting class. We had suspected for a few days this was coming. Taylor, from Bishop Ready High School near the western edge of the 270 loop, was a Virginia Tech commitment who we assumed was just waiting for an Ohio State offer. Once it came, he committed.
This might belie the importance of Virginia Tech losing its offensive line coach to Louisiana State and Virginia Tech scrambling for an eleventh hour replacement. Further, interest from Ohio State preceded these developments, though Taylor swore to his commitment to Virginia Tech and was even discussing enrollment procedures with the coaching staff. But, it sounds about right. It would conform well to a standard template for these things.
This would downplay the important of Taylor's mother, who might be a bigger Ohio State fan than him. Taylor spoke with the Columbus Dispatch on his recruitment, offering what follows.
While in eighth grade, Brady Taylor went to an Ohio State football game with his mother, Susan.
Even then, he was determined that one day he would be more than a spectator at Ohio Stadium.
“I told my mom, ‘I’m going to play here one day. You know that, right?’” Taylor recalled yesterday.
Susan was a tad skeptical. She’s such a big Buckeyes fan that she tears up during Script Ohio, Taylor said. The thought of her son playing for the Buckeyes must have seemed too good to be true.
“I said, ‘No, Mom, I’m serious,’” Taylor said. “I’m going to play here one day.”
Taylor discussed the recruiting process, mentioning how frustrating it was to be seemingly "slow-played" on a scholarship offer. He committed to Virginia Tech in the meantime, whose coaching staff, per Brady, was understanding how and why the switch to Ohio State happened.
By now, you are probably aware how Taylor and his family chose to announce the commitment and celebrate.
Newest Ohio State commit Brady Taylor @beTaylor56 and family celebrating the big day appropriately #Buckeyes #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/8LHLMDXdoQ
— David Wilkinson (@David10TV) January 20, 2014
"LIKE BOOM BOOM MANCINI". One of the juicier stories in college football yesterday was the reemergence of a story from 2010. I remember well that incident first surfacing when I was living in Tuscaloosa at the time.
Long story short, Kristen Saban, daughter of Alabama coach Nick Saban, has a bit of a feisty side to her. In a 2010 incident, Kristen Saban got into an altercation with a sorority sister at the University of Alabama. As is customary for something involving sorority sisters, both of whom confessing to attorneys that they were heavily intoxicated for this incident, it involved a boy. The plaintiff, Sarah Grimes, admonished Kristen Saban to stop being "pathetic" about this particular gentleman.
That apparently did not sit well with Kristen Saban.
Grimes began beating on her door after she posted "No one likes Sarah, yay" on Facebook, Saban said, and the confrontation turned physical after Saban opened the door.
I mean, hell, son. You can't post something like that on Facebook and not expect everything to hit the fan.
And it did. Really, this whole write-up of the lawsuit being considered by an Alabama judge now is humorous.
While Grimes said the other woman pushed her first, Kristen Saban testified that Grimes initially grabbed her around the neck. The two pulled hair and tussled in a fight that was "a lot of slapping and punching, not many landing, and scratching," Saban testified.
After the fight, Kristen Saban said she was crying on the floor beside her bed when Grimes came into the room and straddled her.
"She told me to look at her, because I had my hands over my eyes crying. She said, 'We can't do this to each other. We're best friends," Kristen Saban said.
"And then what happened?" asked a lawyer, according to a transcript of the testimony.
"I said, 'You came at my throat. You came at my throat.' And she said, 'We can't do this, we need to talk about this, but I need to go to the hospital to document this,'" Kristen Saban said.
The injuries suffered by the plaintiff are the source of contention in this lawsuit. The plaintiff suffered a concussion and needed nasal surgery, making it substantively more than a "fight".
That said, this write-up is just amazing. What say you, attorney for the plaintiff?
But Grimes' attorney, Stephen Strickland, told Roberts jurors should get to hear the dispute. Kristen Saban punched Grimes "like Boom Boom Mancini," Strickland said, referring to the professional boxer.
"She had the devil beat out of her," said Strickland.
Would you say the defendant was "madder than a wet hen"? That both were "drunk as Cooter Brown"? That the plaintiff looked "rode hard and put up wet" after the altercation and you're just "fixin' ta" get justice for your client, "right quick"? Oh, I do declare.
Bless all y'all's hearts.
Eddie George on America's Dream Builders EDDIE GEORGE WILL BE ON A REALITY TV SHOW. Ohio State fans in their 30s at the earliest may appreciate this reference. There was a talking point in Ohio State football that precedes James Laurinaitis' pro wrestler father. There was a time when the talking point du jour in Ohio State football did not reference Brady Quinn's sister. Craig Krenzel and his molecular genetics program were still awaiting fans of the program.
The time was 1995 and Eddie George, Ohio State's star tailback and Heisman winner of that season, was a landscape architecture major, sometimes erroneously called "turfgrass management" from a few telecasts I recall. As it was discussed during these games, it meant that George was studying the grass on which he was gaining yards. Get it? I can draw a picture if you need it!
Eddie George will now put that degree to some use as a judge on an NBC reality TV show titled "American Dream Builders", which debuts March 23. He will be judging home building and interior design.
"American Dream Builders" features 12 contestants divided into two teams to redesign and renovate a home inside and out in a matter of days. Each week, one contestant is eliminated until two reach the finale, where they renovate two Southern California homes while competing for a cash prize. At-home viewers can go online to enter a contest in which the show's winner will renovate their home.
George discusses his perspective as a judge on this show.
"You can make a room look fabulous, but if you are in there for about five minutes and you notice all of the small things that are wrong, it can go south really fast," George said. "One of the things that I've learned on this show is how to truly go into a space and gauge it for what it is and how much thoughtfulness has gone into it and how the details really speak volumes down to the knobs that you use on the drawers or the counters."
I highly doubt I will watch even a second of this TV show, though that it is not meant to be dismissive of George. George has done quite a lot for himself since concluding his professional football career. He finished his degree at Ohio State and earned an MBA at Northwestern University. Beyond some bit acting in community theater and studio analysis for FOX Sports, he also founded The Edge Group, a planning and architecture firm with offices in Columbus and Nashville.
More than that, what does this say about John Cooper? We always knew he was an exceptional talent scout for football and a pretty good football coach on top of that. Who knew he would place so many of his program alumni on television? His list includes Joey Galloway, Eddie George, Kirk Herbstreit, and Robert Smith. Heck, even Chris Sanders' son, C.J., played the young Ray Charles in Ray, which I will attribute to John Cooper's scouting for the sake of this post.
If football didn't pan out for John Cooper early in his coaching career, he could've been a talent agent.
MISCELLANY. Send it in, First Lady... Gus Johnson on the call... Seriously, the First Lady's dunk face is amazing... Her "heat map" is certainly ideal... I'm surprised Michigan's recruiting efforts have nose-dived this badly of late... On that note... I'm jealous of Creighton's offense after watching the Buckeyes try to score basketball points for the past two weeks... "Thug"... The Cleveland Browns make me hate everything... I mean, it's not like Jim Tressel wants the job or anything... I mean, at least the Browns' owner isn't a hillbilly con man, or something... The Royal Rumble is on Sunday. My college friends have been doing this for a few years now... Alex Rodriguez has no friends... There was a time when Ryan Leaf could've been the no. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft... Too much information, Coolio.
