The Cavs are winning the title. No, disagreement isn't allowed.
ICYMI: Terrelle Pryor signed with the Bengals.
MIKE THOMAS, THE RECRUITING TOOL. As someone who spares no opportunity to toot his own horn: Mike Thomas' breakout was written in the stars.
But barring a cataclysmic injury or aliens stealing his talent, Mike Thomas will be drafted in the first two rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft, a.k.a Cardale Jones' Homecoming Ceremony.
And while Mike Thomas' production will help his NFL draft stock, it will also help Ohio State.
From Tony Gerdeman of TheOzone.net:
Perhaps nobody is more excited to see what Thomas can do for the Buckeyes this year than head coach Urban Meyer. If Thomas can put up the kind of numbers that many are expecting of him, then that will open the door to more receivers like him — big, strong receivers on the outside with enough speed to go the distance with no direct ties to the Buckeye state.
And if it can help recruiting, Meyer is all for it.
Not that the Buckeyes aren't landing talented receivers, because they are. Just look at the roster. But Thomas is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds and from California. The only 6-foot-3 or taller receiver that Meyer has landed at Ohio State has been 2015 signee Alex Stump, and he is from Cleveland.
I remember when Ohio State plucked Urban Meyer from the ESPN heavens; the haters said his two champions didn't mean shit, actually, because Urban couldn't recruit dominant receiver or an elite running back not named Percy Harvin.
Entering the fourth year of Urban's OSU reign, I think we can put all those urban legends to rest.
I'm biased, but I don't see how an elite prospect says "no" to Urban Meyer at this point. The man with three championship rings has proven his offense can feature any type of talented player.
What do negative recruiters have against Ohio State at this point? The only bullet in their chamber is that Ohio sometimes gets cold late in the year, which is bullet without power until the NFL outlaws cold weather teams.
ARCHIE DISPENSES ADVICE. Ohio State graduated its largest class ever yesterday, and Archie Griffin dropped some knowledge on some heads.
From Charlie Boss of Dispatch.com:
“I am outlining the depths of my despair so I can tell you this: At some point, you will fumble the ball. You will have a big moment in your life that you will screw up.”
But your failures in life do not define you, Griffin said.
“How you handle that adversity, how you pick yourself up off of the ground and come back the next day, is the true measure of your worth,” he said.
It sounds like boilerplate, but odds are that's the realest life advice yesterday's graduates received in their time at Ohio State.
Archie Griffin would not have two Heismans if he didn't cough up the magic diamond early in his career. (That sentence only makes sense to folks of a certain age.)
OSU DONE BROKE ALABAMA, Y'ALL . Obviously, Alabama is too good at football to fade into the night, but you'd have a hard time convincing me that Ohio State didn't drive a stake through the ethos of that program back in January.
From Tyler Donohue of BleacherReport.com:
Alabama claimed the top-rated recruiting class on each of the past five national signing days. It's an unprecedented stretch that replenishes the Crimson Tide roster for perennial postseason contention.
That streak seems to be in jeopardy as the 2016 recruiting cycle moves toward summer. Alabama's class currently sits at 15th nationally—a rather pedestrian placement considering past success.
Yes, it's still early in the game. The ink won't dry on letters of intent for another nine months.
It's no coincidence that the first playoff champion didn't hail from the SEC.
In the old system, 2014's campaign ended with Alabama fading Oregon and a summer chorus of "DANG, THE SEC IS JUST TOO REAL AT FOOTBALL FOR AMERICA." (I'd rather drive a nail through my tiny testicles than ponder what national analysts would say about the Buckeyes in that scenario.)
Alabama will always get recruits because of its history and location, but again, why would an unbiased, elite national prospect choose Alabama over Ohio State at this point? OSU has better academics, and we saw what happened when the hype is placed on the shelf and the two teams square off on the gridiron.
If the Sugar Bowl didn't paint a vivid enough picture about the trajectory of the two programs: Urban Meyer has spent this summer throwing MLB pitches; Nick Saban has spent it explaining away backfired character risks and drunk driving.
Saban did his thing; no denying that, but only a lying Alabama fan wouldn't trade a 63-year-old Saban for a 50-year-old Meyer at this point.
THE DANG BASEBALL TEAM LOST. In retrospect, Maryland wasn't a bad acquisition for the B1G, but I wouldn't stop anybody from pushing the Terrapins into the sea at this point.
From NCAA.org:
COLUMBUS, Ohio. -- The Maryland baseball team scored seven runs in the seventh to push past Ohio State 14-10 at Bill Davis Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Terrapins (35-17, 13-8) fell behind 8-3 after six innings but plated 11 runs in the final three frames. Junior Jose Cuas hit a two-out three-run homer in the seventh to put the Terps ahead for good.
“These guys work hard at it everyday,” [Maryland] head coach John Szefc said. “You hope that every athlete sees success from their labor and these guys certainly saw it this weekend. Our offense was tremendous this weekend."
You might like baseball, but you'd be wise to remember this loss when I'm running for mayor of Marion in 2036 and my platform is "Y'all, let's outlaw baseball."
MIKE BENNETT LIVING LIFE. Mike Bennett grinded his heart out for four years at Ohio State and was selected in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. They'll try to tell you that's a loss for Bennett, but it doesn't look like a loss to me:
A day after #Jaguars Rookie Minicamp ended, the rookies are having some fun at @TPCSawgrass for @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/9OSR6H04VD
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) May 10, 2015
I still think the Jaguars got a steal.
THOSE WMDs. What a goal by Beckford for Preston... How the Bay Area's last slaughterhouse dodged the axe... NFL offensive lineman who publishes in academic journals and plays chest... Epic Story of Orson Welles' Unfinished Masterpiece... The sickness bloggers who fake it online.
