This Skull Session is dedicated to Eleven Warriors pioneer Corey Carpenter, who passed away this weekend.
I wasn't Corey's best friend. He just made me feel like it every time we interacted. He was gregarious, a talented storyteller, and the kinda guy that turned standing in a circle drinking alcohol into a memorable event. He was one of the first elders of the site to believe in me back when I was an even more flawed writer than the one who woke up today.
At the 2014 Dubgate before the Cincinnati game, I had game day responsibilities with the site. Before Jason, our founder, walked to the game, he sobriety checked me. Such are the downfalls of making cheap, caffeinated malt sewage a pillar of your #brand.
After he left, Corey's eyes lit up as he handed me a bottle of Greygoose Vodka. "I think you should do whatever you want," he said.
"I do too," I said. "I do too." The Greygoose went down smooth like water on that crispy fall afternoon, and I've tried to carry his words on my heart every day since.
Without Corey's efforts when the site had an audience of 10, I wouldn't live the bucolic lifestyle I do. And yet whenever we conversed, we did so as equals like we had known each other our whole lives... or so it seemed.
That was Corey's magic. And I'm heartbroken for his surviving family and the circle of friends who knew him best.
Rest in peace, buddy.
Corey is survived by his loving wife, Amber, his son, Zade, and his extended family. If you knew Corey, or just want to pay your respects, his family will receive friends Friday, March 10 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at the Schoedinger Northeast Chapel on 1051 E Johnstown Rd in Gahanna. Services will be held at noon on Saturday with visitation starting at 10 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, contributions to a memorial fund in Zade Carpenter's name at any Fifth Third Bank branch or contributions may be mailed to the Fifth Third bank at 155 W. Main St in New Albany, 43054, ATTN: Zade and Amber Carpenter Memorial Fund.
THE BOYS ARE BACK ON THE FIELD. Spring practice No. 2 kicks off at 8:35 a.m. today. Afterwards, Greg Schiano and Kevin Wilson will be made available along with J.T. Barrett, Billy Price, Tyquan Lewis, and Chris Worley at 11 a.m. ET.
Follow Eric Seger, Tim Shoemaker, Andrew Lind, and Kevin Harrish on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates from the WHAC, where this is apparently the theme song.
I would have thought I didn't know any songs from The Who. Turns out I do. Whatever, The Who are fine.
SHOT AND CHASER. Let's play a game.
Here's Thad Matta speaking to boosters back in July:
Number one, I'm tired of the B.S. I'm going to coach basketball. I'm going back to running this program the way we did when we got here.
The second thing is, some of you are going to transfer. You don't know it yet, but whatever you do—don't come see me. Just shoot me a text, because I'm tired of looking at you.
And we got rid of some guys we needed to get rid of. We got rid of problems, but we kept solutions.
Fast forward to last night, after Rutgers dropped Ohio State, 66-57, in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament for the Buckeyes' 15th loss of the season.
Hours after Gene Smith gave Thad Matta a vote of confidence, Ohio State fell on its face against the worst team in the Big Ten.
Due to an inability to keep Rutgers off the offensive glass and a horrific display at the free-throw line, the 11th-seeded Buckeyes bowed out to the 14th-seeded Scarlet Knights 66-57 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday at the Verizon Center.
Nigel Johnson scored 21 points off the bench to lead Rutgers while Deshawn Freeman added 10 and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out to lead the Scarlet Knights. It is their first-ever Big Ten Tournament victory in what is their third year in the league.
Maybe Kaleb Wesson and Dane Goodwin will become the Stockton/Malone of Ohio State basketball. Maybe.
HEY, IT HAPPENS. I'm bad when it comes to names, which is problematic for a media member. I blame it on Marionaires rolling with memorable monikers like "Malt Liquor" and "Fuzzy Slippers."
Anyway, I've had some doozies in my day. Bruce Earle. Woody Hates. Samuel Curtis. Jeremy Emig. We could keep going.
So my heart goes out to the recruiting staffer that flubbed the mailing address to four-star wide receiver Jacob Copeland:
Ohio state sent me some mail that say "Jason Copeland"
— Jacob Copeland (@JCope5era) March 9, 2017
That's why everybody should have a moniker as opposed to government names. It'd make for a brighter tapestry of life.
SO THIS IS WILD. Bosses cut more slack for employees that bring home the bacon. That happens everywhere.
But when you bring in millions of dollars in prestigious grants for a university striving for a higher academic standard, your Teflon armor is capable of rebuffing multiple ethic violation allegations.
From newyorktimes.com (via @dernsthoffman):
Dr. Carlo Croce is among the most prolific scientists in an emerging area of cancer research involving what is sometimes called the “dark matter” of the human genome. A department chairman at Ohio State University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Croce has parlayed his decades-long pursuit of cancer remedies into a research empire: He has received more than $86 million in federal grants as a principal investigator and, by his own count, more than 60 awards.
With that flamboyant success has come a quotient of controversy. Some scientists argue that Dr. Croce has overstated his expansive claims for the therapeutic promise of his work, and that his laboratory is focused more on churning out papers than on carefully assessing its experimental data.
[...]
Over the last several years, Dr. Croce has been fending off a tide of allegations of data falsification and other scientific misconduct, according to federal and state records, whistle-blower complaints and correspondence with scientific journals obtained by The New York Times.
Reading the article, I went back and forth. Sure, Croce could be a crook. These could also be the tears from inferior and jealous scientists.
But then it became crystal clear.
He said that he traveled professionally more often than he was on campus, in part because he disdained what he called the lack of culture in Columbus. Born and educated in Italy, he is noted for his private collection of Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings — a testament to having an uncanny eye for spotting works by genuine masters and buying them for a fraction of their true worth, as Smithsonian magazine wrote in 2009. The hometown passion for Buckeye football leaves him cold. He also has little patience for scientific colleagues who are unwilling to part with accepted wisdom.
Buddy, if you can't appreciate poisoning yourself in a parking lot before the local team plays a big game, then perhaps Columbus isn't the place for you.
Maybe if he learned some Midwestern humbleness, this bon vivant's greed wouldn't have led him into a predicament that could not only ruin his career but also tarnish Ohio State's rising #brand.
LATER, T.P. It's more clear every day Terrelle Pryor won't return to the Cleveland Browns, who will look to build a championship roster by letting talented youth walk out the door.
If that happens, it will be because the analytics don't value Pryor as much as his agent and other teams.
From Tony Grossi of espn.com:
1. Whither Terrelle Pryor: The Browns feel their analytics department is pretty good at forecasting the market value for their own players. Last year, they correctly gauged the market for right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, which was less than what Schwartz thought. The problem was when Schwartz came back to accept a previous Browns offer, the team told him it was no longer available, and he signed with the Chiefs. Now the Browns are testing their acumen again by confidently allowing receiver Terrelle Pryor to seek his value.
Former agent Joel Corry of CBSSports.com estimates Pryor’s value at a $12 million-a-year average (five years, $60 million). I’ve heard the Browns held the line way below that figure and Pryor believes he can get more. We’ll soon find out who’s right. One difference this time is that if Pryor does come back to accept the Browns’ offer, I wouldn’t expect them to be so haughty to yank it off the table, as they did to Schwartz. If Pryor does attract a number closer to his target, I would not expect the Browns to budge off their number. Playing into Pryor’s interest in seeking greener pastures has to be the Browns’ deplorable quarterback situation.
At least football fans in this glorious state will always have the Buckeyes.
THOSE WMDs. Old West's Muslim tamale king... Americans could kill the McMansion for good... Places MLB teams get their information in the post-Moneyball era... Georgia Dome got the farewell it deserved... Dog grooming world in knots over ban on bows.
