Hello all, and welcome to the Skull Session. Congratulations to Ohio State students for getting out of class again today. Amedeo Della Valle might be a weather demigod.
There's some scattered recruiting news in the lead-up to the beginning of the signing period. Ohio State is getting a last look from five-star DE Malik McDowell, who will take his final official visit this week, but any progress with him could be counterbalanced by losing Jamarco Jones to Michigan State or Demetrius Knox to UCLA.
Though recruiting this close to signing day is especially stressful, the home visits sometimes are relaxing, such as Meyer showing off with a ping pong match against OSU commit Kyle Berger.
You just know Urban Meyer was biting his tongue to let Berger win the first few points before his competitive rage took over, spittle started flying and he transformed into a Dragon Ball Z Great Ape.
HANGING ON. OSU men's basketball dropped in the polls again, this time to 24th. This is the lowest the Buckeyes have been ranked since 2009-2010, when Evan Turner broke his back and the team was unranked when deprived of his services for a few weeks.
Ohio State is now the lowest of the five ranked Big Ten teams, while Michigan made a huge leap into the top ten based on three straight victories over top 10 Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan State. The Buckeyes are still in the 6-8 seed range, not bad considering they have yet to beat a current top 50 RPI or Kenpom team, but will they stay there?
Tom Izzo's tie laughs at gravity. PAC BREAK. Are you tired of being competent at your job? Have you ever wanted to fail on a larger stage? The Pac-12 has an exciting offer: the chance to be a football official!
The Pac-12 has long been humiliated by its officials, like the ones that blew the 2005 Oklahoma-Oregon game, or 2008 BYU-Washington, or 2012 Notre Dame-Stanford, or 2013 Wisconsin-Arizona State – the list goes on. In need of warm bodies, the Pac-12 has opened its doors for you, provided that you have the following qualifications:
- Reliable, able to commit to evenings, weekday, weekend work.
• Prior experience in a similar capacity expected.
• Must have a minimum of 5 years of football officiating experience with a thorough understanding of collegiate rules, interpretations and 7-person mechanics.
• Be physically fit in a condition to successfully perform the services required on a continuing basis.
• Understanding of college sports.
• Must have exceptional positive attitude and team based philosophy.
• Must have exceptional oral / written communication and interpersonal skills.
• All candidates pass a background check.
Note that “a thorough understanding” does not mean one has to officiate well or fairly, so if you hate USC or Washington or another school, you too can job them out with a nonsensical penalty or replay decision.
In all likelihood the Pac-12 already has some hand-selected candidates, but it's still funny to imagine Joe Sixpack in way over his head in the Rose Bowl and trying to pantomime the proper penalty calls.
B1G COACH SPENDING. For years, one of the major factors that separated the Big Ten from the SEC and the other power football conferences was an unwillingness to pay top dollar for coaches. This trend appears to have finally come skidding to a halt.
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN's Big Ten blog wrote about this increase as it relates to the head coaches. In 2011 only Urban Meyer had a salary greater than $4 million; a couple years later Meyer, Brady Hoke, and James Franklin all have compensation greater than that, while Kirk Ferentz and Mark Dantonio are right behind.
It's not just the conference elite paying more; Indiana has poured money into Kevin Wilson's salary and doubled the assistant coach salary pool in a futile effort to improve the football team's fortunes. It's an across the board investment that hasn't paid off for some schools, but the Big Ten has the luxury of playing catch-up thanks to its wealth. Don't you dare pay players, though.
EURO TRANSITION. It has been a good few weeks for Buckeyes playing pro basketball. Greg Oden is playing at a high level after years of horrid injury luck, Evan Turner is doing his thing with the 76ers, and Deshaun Thomas is enjoying his stay in Europe.
The Columbus Dispatch caught up with Thomas a couple days ago to talk about his time abroad, and he had this to say:
“The fans are crazy,” Thomas said. “They’re very loud. They’ve got these drums — like the loudest drums you’ve ever heard.”
A trip to Serbia, he added, offered a new life experience.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. It was way different than the Big Ten,” Thomas said. “I saw SWAT cops everywhere. We came in, and the fans were throwing stuff. The benches had plastic around them so it wouldn’t hit you. A guy comes out and sweeps it up like nothing has happened. I’m like, ‘Where is this?’ ”
From the sound of it, Thomas is enjoying his time in Paris, though he admits he hasn't been up the Eiffel Tower because he's afraid of heights. The transition to Europe is not for everyone, and it seems like Thomas enjoys the foreign environment .
FEEL THE EXCITEMENT. Thanks to the sharp eyes of Team Speed Kills, we are now aware of the most boring football paraphernalia on Earth: College Football Playoff gear.
The breakfast of someone who buys one of these: dry toast with bottled water.
LINKS AHOY. Ohio State men's lacrosse is ranked ninth in preseason media poll... The murky world of middle school college recruiting... James Franklin is on a roll with the poaching of recruits, this time from Rutgers... Jay Glazer, Fox's bombastic, crazy, and effective reporter... Mexico Olympic Ski Uniform to have Three Amigos! mariachi suit... Ben Roethlisberger has a twin... Michigan Stadium workers screwed up setting a Guinness World Record for attendance... Purdue Pete is aching to kneecap you... The double standard of beauty for male and female reporters... Last Hoosier Dies In Captivity... 92-year-old receives degree from Ohio State... TCU students: "give me two-ply TP or give me death"... the best high-top fade in the game... and the white Ford Bronco reappears.
