*clawing through the desert* ... Three-day weekend... it's... it's almost here.
ESPN TRIED TO GET CLARETT TO SELL OUT OSU. Maurice Clarett spoke at Phoenix's Buckeye Alumni Club last night. Among Clarett's reformation tale was this bit:
Clarett said ESPN 1st approached him about doing a bash Ohio State film before he did the 30 for 30. He told them to get lost.
— jbook (@jbook37) May 22, 2014
It would have been a good bit of business for ESPN, to be honest. OSU fans would've hate-watched it and bashed it all over the internet (free publicity) and OSU haters (everyone else) would've tuned into watch OSU get lit up. The formula definitely makes sense.
I didn't think it was even possible to love Clarett more than I did, but here we are. But on the other end of that spectrum....
Clarett said the NCAA actually only requested to suspend him for 4 games for his violations but Andy Geiger recommended the entire season.
— jbook (@jbook37) May 22, 2014
COREY LINSLEY ALMOST QUIT. New Packer Corey Linsley has an interesting tale with which I wasn't familiar. From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
He nearly quit football entirely. Two years into a sinking collegiate career — on and off the field — Corey Linsley considered switching to track and field at Ohio State.
The center even spoke with the Ohio State track coach. He was close. This seemed like a logical exit strategy. One day in Columbus he met his father for dinner and the two discussed a switch.
[...]
"You're better than that," he told his son. "That's like saying, 'Well, that didn't work out. Now, I'm going to go this route.' That's not how you handle life. That's not how you handle problems. You handle them head on."
That's some good, fatherly advice from Papa Mewhort Linsley. It's also a good thing Linsley decided to quit partying so much, because he obviously didn't ooze enough talent to walk into the NFL otherwise. (Hard partying is what torpedoed my NFL career.)
So start curling some dumbbells instead of Natty Light cans, people, and maybe you too could be a starter for a storied NFL franchise next fall like Mr. Linsley.
THE TOUGHEST JOBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL. Recruiting is tough business, even for millionaire coaches on top of the college football pecking order. There are only so many players who can do the things for which they're looking.
Now imagine that same job at a place like the Air Force Academy. Lot tougher, don'tcha think? Kevin Trahan of SB Nation had an article on this yesterday:
In April, when the NCAA changed its policy to allow for unlimited meals, college coaches championed it as a success for student-athletes and as a potential benefit in recruiting. But for Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun, it was just another reminder of what he's up against.
"That doesn't pertain to us," he said of the new rules. Calhoun isn't bitter about the rule change. He knows it benefits athletes at most schools and that it's necessary in a world more focused on player welfare. And he knew in 2007, when he took the Air Force Academy job, that he was signing up for one of the three toughest jobs in college football.
At no other major football schools are recruits agreeing to active military service when they sign to play football. At the academies, physical training mandatory for a degree gets in the way of physical training for football. And that's for the players who meet the height and weight requirements for entry.
The whole article is a fascinating read in some of the obvious (and not-so-obvious) things coaches at military academies are up against. They really shouldn't win any games at the sport's highest level, yet they do. Why? BECAUSE WE HAVE THE GREATEST MILITARY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. That's why.
THE BIG TEN THE CASH KING. Speaking of football teams it's baffling to see win meaningful games, let's turn our attention to the Big Ten.
The B1G might not be the greatest on the gridiron, but baby, do they have money to make it rain on your girl in the club. From USA Today:
The Big Ten Conference maintained its status as the nation's highest-revenue college sports league in fiscal 2013, new federal tax records show.
The new tax return, provided by the conference in response to a request from USA TODAY Sports, also showed the league-owned Big Ten Network increasing its annual after-tax profit for the league.
The 12-school Big Ten reported $318.4 million in total revenue for a fiscal year that ended June 30, 2013. That is just ahead of the $314.5 million reported by the 14-team SEC for a fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2013.
My man Juicy J has already summed up my (NSFW) thoughts better than I:
SOME PSAs FROM OSU FOOTBALLERS:
Can everyone do me a favor and keep your eyes out for my puppy. He was stolen from my house in Columbus. Thanks ! pic.twitter.com/QDgw8qbmxX
— #15 Ezekiel (@EzekielElliott) May 21, 2014
I do not have a app called tinder, it's a fake ran by a random person. Please pass this on.
— BRAXTON MILLER (@BraxtonMiller5) May 20, 2014
Trying to think of what's more pathetic... stealing somebody's dog or setting up a Tinder account and catfishing women under the guise of a 21-year-old college student.
I'm going to go with whomever set up a Tinder account in Braxton's name. (Somebody should probably tell this girl, this girl, this guy, this girl and this girl from freakin' March 2013 that they aren't that cool.)
It should have been obvious to anyone who isn't an idiot, though. Braxton Miller doesn't need a two-bit app to meet women in Franklin County.
The guy behind the fake Braxton Miller Tinder account, however, needs a hot date with a council of psychologists.
THOSE WMDs. The incredible story of Armenian genocide survivor and world wrestling champ Harry Ekizian... All-Star, irritant, folk hero: the career arc of Russell Westbrook... The San Quentin Times is one of the few inmate-produced papers in the world... 30 of the harshest author-on-author insults... Apple pulls drug-dealing game after it topped charts... Donald/Shelly Sterling sure love to sue people... Madrid bullfight called off after all the bulls win... Frostie the Goat uses a wheelchair...
