The Drought is Over
Caleb Downs scores Ohio State’s first punt return touchdown since 2014.
Well, there's a slate of football on today, which is better than no slate of football, right?
The best game of the day is probably the Las Vegas Bowl, but we also have a lightweight version of OSU-Bama scheduled as a nightcap:
| Time (ET PM) | BOWL | Matchup | Favorite | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 (ET AM) | NEW ORLEANS | NEVADA vs. UL-LAFAYETTE | ULL (-1½) | ESPN |
| 2:20 | NEW MEXICO | UTAH STATE vs. UTEP | USU (-10½) | ESPN |
| 3:30 | LAS VEGAS | No. 22 UTAH vs. COLORADO STATE | UTE (-3) | ABC |
| 5:45 | POTATO | WESTERN MICHIGAN vs. AIR FORCE | WM (-1) | ESPN |
| 9:15 | CAMELLIA | SOUTH ALABAMA vs. BOWLING GREEN | BAMA (-3) | ESPN |
TV REMINDER: The No. 12 men's basketball team takes on No. 24 North Carolina in Chicago today at 1:00 p.m. on CBS. Tim Shoemaker will be in the house and dishing all the information you need to know.
SOME HOLIDAY FEELGOOD. One of my favorite things is when positive is pulled from jaws of tragedy.
Allison Manning of Dispatch.com wrote about the earthly struggles of Linda Mulligan, the woman who first found Kosta Karageorge's missing body, and it apparently moved community members to rally around her.
Her story resonated with many. After The Dispatch wrote about her finding the missing football player, several people reached out to help her. One was Tracy Taylor, who, with the organization End the Violence, adopts families in need to give them a Christmas they couldn’t otherwise afford.
“When I read her story, I said, ‘That’s going to be one of our families,’” Taylor said.
End the Violence took care of Christmas for Mulligan, her grandson Marcine, who was with her that day, and his two little brothers. Aaron’s, a sale-lease furniture company, donated a living-room set to replace Mulligan’s tattered furniture. She now has toys to give her grandkids and a meal to serve on Christmas.
I'd like to think this story helps Kosta Karageorge (and his family and friends) find some sort of peace. That aside: I couldn't be prouder to be a Columbusite today.
JOEY BOSA INTIMIDATED BY THE GATES OF HELL. Joey Bosa is an All-American, but before that, he was a fifteen year-old kid without any scholarship offers. Yet, even then, Bosa was talented enough to find his way to Nick Saban's football factory, and he has some stories.
From Ari Wasserman of cleveland.com:
"They're pretty serious, intimidating guys, especially when you're 15 years old sitting in Saban's office," Bosa said. "Then he pushes this button that automatically closes his door."
"He was like, 'Get the kid a towel,' so I had a little towel over my shoulders," said Bosa, who recalled shivering at the time, maybe because he was nervous. "I heard about the door, he just clicked (the button) and it shut. I was pretty scared."
[...]
"It was a super nice door," Bosa added, letting that sarcastic personality out a little bit to lighten the mood.
That's an amazing anecdote, because it plays out like I've always envisioned Nick Saban behaving... exactly like a tinpot Godfather figure.
WHO IN THE HECK IS VONN BELL? I always enjoy looks at Ohio State from other teams' media. This one from RollBamaRoll.com was no different:
In many recent bowl games, Alabama has shown the importance of recruiting when it comes to the overall success of a team. In other words, if a team is loaded with four and five-star players on the two-deep, that team has a decided advantage and a higher chance of dominating a team with lesser talent. While that's not rocket science, it is a statement that precludes the following point.
Competing with teams like Ohio State, who have players like Bell, will be a whole different ball game. While Alabama can usually lean on its talent advantage, in the Sugar Bowl, that will not be the case, as Ohio State has numerous nationally recruited players who decided to don the scarlet and gray. Bell could have just as easily ended up on an SEC roster, and once there, would have been a phenomenal defender and All-American candidate. Urban Meyer has turned Ohio State into an SEC-type team playing in the Big10, and this team is not the Buckeye paper-tiger of recent memory. It is players like Bell who elevate the Buckeyes above their Big10 brethren, which should give fans of the Crimson Tide at least a little pause heading into the Sugar Bowl match-up.
This will be the first game this season in which Ohio State doesn't have the clear-cut talent advantage, and as a fan, I couldn't be more excited. Even with Ohio State entering with its third-string quarterback, I'm eager to see where Ohio State stacks up against the nation's best. It's been a long time coming.
I understand why national media is picking against Ohio State; that doesn't fire me up. What fires me up is when people act like Alabama is light years of Ohio State (no, sorry) or that Alabama is going to trounce Ohio State.
HELP AN 11W READER. Homage is selling "Be Brave" tshirts this winter with 100% of the proceeds going to the Be Brave Foundation. Find out more over here at Homage's Instagram.
TODAY'S SIGN KING CARDALE IS COMIN' FOR YOU, BAMA. *Omar Little whistle*
12Gauge
— Cardale Jones (@CJ12_) December 20, 2014
THOSE WMDs. 1976 Toledo Police Chief William Moton was an American badass... Makes me wonder where my old 1993 Nissa Sentra from high school is... How not to get away with murder... Reaching My Autistic Son Through Disney... Gold in the mud.
