Thursday Skull Session

Apologies for the goof yesterday, y'all. Sadly, it wasn't due to a Tuesday night bender (I miss those) or overdosing on heroin in a Marion McDonald's bathroom as some of you speculated. Rather, it was my old nemesis, general incompetence. Let's cross our fingers that snake doesn't rear its ugly head again for a couple of months days hours.

Now that we've handled that bit of business, let us turn to the day's most pressing issue: How the Almighty Cleveland Browns will go about bungling the first round of tonight's NFL Draft. (The only silver lining for me is Brandon Weeden can't be drafted again.)

Cleveland's answer is the same it's been since last summer: Johnny Messiah. Yet, I have a feeling tonight ends with me vomiting into my Tim Couch jersey after the Browns trade down to select Taylor Lewan and then pick David Carr's little brother with their second first round pick.

If that happens... well... Friday's Skull Session will again be late. Not that it will be a concern of mine, because I won't be responsible for it in the afterlife. But just know I will have died as I lived: naked, surrounded by a herd of feral cats and penniless.

BY GOLLY, THAT'S JIM TRESSEL'S MUSIC. Jim Tressel, currently hunting two university presidencies like a don dada, made headlines earlier this week when he appeared to close the door on returning to coaching. 

BUT NOT SO FAST MY FRIENDS. Rowland, hit these folks with that sunbeam of hope, my dude:

Jim Tressel said "never is a long time" when asked to clarify comments he made about coaching career being over.

— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) May 8, 2014

Assuming Tressel doesn't get either presidency, some athletic director has to make a godfather offer to him, don't they? Show-cause penalty be damned, there are only so many proven winners like Tressel available every off-season. 

On another note, Tressel was in Toledo last night to watch his former apprentice Mark Dantonio speak. (Kyle has the full breakdown over here.) Ol' Dino had some interesting things to say:

Speaking in Toledo, Mark Dantonio says Ohio State is the Big Ten benchmark and he feel Michigan State has reached that level.

— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) May 7, 2014

When we [arrived in East Lansing] in 2006, we dreamed big. ...Were now at the top, and thats where Ohio State has been. - Mark Dantonio

— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) May 8, 2014

I love Dino... but he's kidding himself if he thinks one Rose Bowl win against a two-loss (eventually three-loss) Stanford team puts MSU on the same pedestal as Ohio State. 

JAMES FRANKLIN TALKIN' THAT TRASH. James Franklin, as I've noted seemingly every day this week, has been killing it on the recruiting trail. Yesterday, however, during something called a "Coaches' Caravan" in Maryland, Franklin had some interesting words.

From The Baltimore Sun:

Such successes, Franklin suggested, must be accompanied by tenacious recruiting. The new coach aspires to dominate in an area extending six hours in any direction from Penn State's campus. That, of course, includes the Baltimore-Washington region considered by the University of Maryland as its base.

"I consider this in-state. I consider New Jersey in-state," Franklin told the crowd. While there are other schools in the region, "they might was well shut them down because they don't have a chance."

Tough words for Rutgers and Maryland — noted football powerhouses — from a man who once cancelled a game with Ohio State and Northwestern via the United States Postal Service.

Urban Meyer dropped 63 points on noted good guy Bill O'Brien. When OSU rolls into Happy Valley, Urban might be gunning for 100, and that's not an exaggeration.

A little over two years ago, I wrote about Michigan's habit of popping off at the mouth after they came within an overthrown pass from freshman Braxton Miller of losing at home to the worst Ohio State team since the Truman administration. I'll let Michigan's record in the two years speak from there.

Penn State is getting a lot of verbal commitments, but it's only May. I think Franklin is starting to write some checks his team won't be able to cover. Why put another coat of paint on the target on their back created by their recruiting success? In my humble internet opinion, it's not wise.

COLD WEATHER AIN'T NO THING TO GEORGIAN BRADLEY ROBY. Here's a short ThePostGame.com documentary about Bradley Roby training for the NFL Draft that was sent to us yesterday.

Say what you will about Roby (and you can certainly say a lot), but the dude did some things for Ohio State. I think he'll be in the NFL for a long time.

JIM DELANY SPEAKS. Jim Delany gave an interview to USA Today:

Q: There are no plans to move the football championship game East, right?

A: I think we're going to keep it central. It's too hard. In basketball, you have 14 fan bases. With football, you have two fan bases involved in the championship game. Out of respect and common sense, you don't want to move it to a place where 100% of the people that are involved are going to have to come from someplace else.

Q: What might you project would be a next move for the Big Ten?

A: I think the next frontier, really, is the restructuring of the NCAA and getting our house in order. There are some things we haven't been able to do that we need to do. It's not about expansion at this juncture. It's about creating more balance for the student-athlete in his/her collegiate experience. In my view, that means getting cost of education legislation through, getting some improvements in time demands – it's pretty clear to me that the 20-hour rule has not worked. … We need to get the best medical information. We've got great trainers and doctors, great concussion protocols. There are things I'm hoping over the next 18 months that we can get done, that are legislative in nature, policy in nature.

You're a shrewd man, Jim Delany.

OLD ROSE BOWL PICS. If my foray into the Ohio State library's photo archives hasn't tipped you off: I enjoy looking at old pictures. So of course ESPN's gallery of 100 years of Rose Bowl history piqued my interests.

Here's a small sample, from OSU's 27-16 win over USC in the 1969 Rose Bowl:

THOSE WMDs. Presumably written by a psychopath: How to Stop a Wedding... Oral history of the XFL... Oral history of the NBA's 2002 Western Conference Finals... Ex-con's guide to prison weightlifting... A Death in the Texas Desert... Horrifying: Octopus opens jar from the inside... New Hampshire Supreme Court rules COPSLIE vanity plate is okay... One out of every 140 Americans still paying AOL for dial up... Chevron destroyed a top Washington law firm...