Hope everyone had a safe Fourth of July and avoided incarceration in the county clink. That's no way to start a July 5th.
ICYMI:
- Ohio State's 2018 class is impressive all the way around, but its defensive haul stands out.
- Ohio State's strength under Urban Meyer has been its defensive ends. And they're only getting better and better.
- June featured four Buckeye commitments. The outlook for July is eerily similar.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Incommode.
GALLOWAY WINS THE FOURTH. Joey Galloway is a great American. We already knew that, but it's always refreshing to remember every Fourth of July when he shames American cities with his annual fireworks budget.
To my knowledge, we have never seen a video of his cache in action. Galloway ended the drought in the early hours of the Fourth while shaming Red, White and Boom.
From @joey_galloway:
Another successful year in the books. Happy 4th of July. pic.twitter.com/Vs3f6A9ItU
— joey galloway (@Joey_Galloway) July 4, 2017
Next year's goal will be getting him to film in landscape mode. But after I saw this video, I cancelled plans to attend West Milton's show. I'm good on fireworks until at least 2020.
WHAT'S YOUR POINT? Many questions will be asked of the 2017-18 Ohio State men's basketball team. Such is the case with a new coach and a threadbare roster.
Other than how Thad Matta's players will bend to Chris Holtmann's system, the biggest question remaining is who will distribute the rock?
From dispatch.com:
There are some holes on the depth chart, but this is the biggest and most pressing. Fifteen months ago, C.J. Jackson was still at Eastern Florida State. Now, he’s the only true point guard on Ohio State’s roster after the departures of JaQuan Lyle and Braxton Beverly.
Jackson struggled early but the game seemed to slow down for him by the end of the year. He scored in double figures four times in the final seven games while eventually outplaying Lyle for the starting position. But he only averaged 21.6 minutes per Big Ten game, and he’s not going to play every game.
On June 23, Holtmann said Jae’Sean Tate is a likely option to help shoulder some of the responsibilities there. It’s an intriguing option and just one of many variables that need sorted for the Buckeyes to have many chances to be successful this year.
I'm going to approach this season with zero expectations. Chris Holtmann will be good, but it's not like his team will burn down the tournament in March.
"It's better to set no goals and avoid disappointment." — An old Marion proverb.
SLEEP ON BARRETT IF YOU WANT. It seems like the secret is out: Despite allegedly losing to Clemson to end last season, Ohio State will compete for a crown this fall.
Yet oddly, it appears these same soothsayers underrate the team's offensive catalyst.
From landof10.com:
By one measure, Sports Illustrated’s ranking J.T. Barrett the 59th best college football player in the country could seem downright progressive. After all, NFL.com left Barrett entirely off its May list of the 150 best NCAA football players.
In reality, though, it’s still kind of insane. Barrett won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten MVP in 2016. Last season! That same season, he was receiving Heisman Trophy consideration midway through the year. With him playing the most important position on the field, Ohio State went 11-1 and made the College Football Playoff. His new offensive coordinator, then the coach at Indiana, called him the best quarterback in college football. Again, all of this happened last fall. Less than one year ago. The player he split the 2016 Silver Football with, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, is ranked fifth.
And now we’re supposed to believe Barrett is worse than Quinton Flowers?
I hope national media outlets continue slighting Barrett in their subjective lists. If they need inspiration, they can read comments from alleged Ohio State fans on Twitter. (Cliff notes: Barrett has a tiny arm and runs with the speed of a pregnant penguin.)
GOT 'EM. Only Millennials like Zach Smith can relate to catching a buzz at the pool on the Fourth and viscerally RTing a tweet before you can properly investigate.
Can't wait until American elections are decided by RTs.
THE WATCHERS. My favorite part of being an Ohio State fan is knowing there are patriots creating memes like this to keep local morale high during the dog days of summer.
Poor Antonio Williams.
THOSE WMDs. Young farmers get a helping hand in Ohio... Meet Nevada's cow cops... Why striking the soccer ball worse is actually better... What I wish I'd known about my knees.
