Here's today's Final Four slate:
| GAME | TIME | TV | FAVORITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 7 MICHIGAN STATE vs. No. 1 DUKE | 6:09 p.m. | TBS | DUKE (-5½) |
| No. 1 WISCONSIN vs. No. 1 KENTUCKY | 8:49 p.m. | TBS | UK (-5) |
Embrace Kentucky winning it all. It's happening.
BUCKEYE NATION AIDS ROD GERALD. Buckeye Nation, like all large fan bases, has its fair share of idiots. But I truly believe it to be the best fan base in the country based on simple things like this.
Remember Rod Gerald? He fell on some hard times, and former teammates and Ohio State fans are helping him get back on his feet.
From Dispatch.com:
Today, he is unable to work and struggles to get by on a $1,000 monthly disability check. The 58-year-old former supervisor for the Department of Housing and Urban Development lives near Dallas, where he needs two back surgeries and spends a lot of time in a wheelchair. He said he can “shuffle maybe 20 feet, as long as I have a cane.”
[...]
Medicaid will pay for the surgeries, but she knew Gerald worried about paying for leftover expenses, and she asked if she could put together a crowdfunding page. Although he balked at first, he eventually gave in.
She got together with Tony Reynolds, a Columbus businessman who founded AKickInCrowd.com, and he set up a page called “Rod Gerald’s ‘Team Rod.'"The page has a goal of raising $9,000, and as of last night, the total stood at $2,150. One of the first donors was a teammate of Gerald’s in 1975, Archie Griffin, now president of the Ohio State Alumni Association.
“Archie wrote a check for both of us for $1,000, and we put out his name out there to let people know that this is legitimate,” Greene said.
I've tried to tell people about the "pay it forward" phenomenon but people always think I'm blowing anthrax up their ass. It's true, though; "pay it forward" is a guiding principle in this fan base.
LET YOUR BOY HOLD A STACK, OSU. It looks like we finally got the price on Hawaii pimping out its athletes four(!?) time-zones away.
AP Story: #Buckeyes pay Hawaii $1.2M, NIllinois $900K, WMichigan $1M to play at Ohio Stadium this fall.
— Rusty Miller (@RustyMillerAP) April 3, 2015
For $1.2 million, though, I'd leave my tropical paradise and get knocked out in front of a live BTN audience. (Seger has the full breakdown over here.)
DANIEL GIDDENS COULD'VE PLAYED FOR OSU THIS YEAR. It's going to be so nice to have an agile big man who can run the floor next season:
Beautiful open-court passing by Oak Hill & Daniel Giddens (@DGOOD__) finishes it off https://t.co/klFmiLRzKn
— Mike Young (@MYoung11W971) April 3, 2015
I think colleges should be allowed to promote high school athletes as soon as they sign. Just my take.
ANYONE IN NEW LEXINGTON? If you're around New Lexington tonight and looking for something to do, look no further:
Anyone in the New Lexington area come out and have some fun with us yet again! 7pm Saturday night #Driven #Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/dlOmus2WUi
— Jamie Wood (@Woodwould21) April 3, 2015
NORTH CAMPUS STILL MEMORIALIZES. I thought this was a great gesture from Ohio State.
From Alexa Carson of OSU.edu:
Since 1962, Ohio State’s north residential area has been a standing tribute to student and alumni veterans. More than 50 years later, the university’s most ambitious residence hall project — the North Residential District Transformation — will help grow this tradition.
The Board of Trustees approved a plan in January to name 11 buildings in the North Residential District for student and alumni veterans. The buildings will open in time for the 2015–16 and 2016–17 academic years.
“To have this entire area dedicated to honoring (veterans’) service demonstrates a significant commitment from the university,” said Michael Carrell, an assistant provost, director of the Office of Military and Veterans Services and a retired Air Force colonel. “It’s heartwarming to work for a place that continually recognizes and supports veterans.”
You're damn right Ohio State supports its veterans.
THOSE WMDs. How a home for troubled kids in California came undone... The most powerful person at Rutgers calls investing in sports a priority... Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin releases an excerpt from his novel in progress... 'Ping Pong Go-Round' is the coolest, most unfair game ever... I'm never going to Texas... Hunter S. Thompson's 1958 application letter.
