Woke up yesterday to emails, calls, and texts from my dad and thought my brother died. Turns out, he thought I died because I accidentally scheduled the Wednesday Skull Session for Thursday.
Haven't published late in nearly two years, and I'm sick about it because I pride myself on prompt and professional delivery. Thankfully the only way today's will be late is if the world ends or Ukranian teens hack the site.
ICYMI:
- Full men's basketball non-conference schedule released.
- Video: Intense body camera footage of Adolphus Washington's arrest.
- Ramzy's latest dispatch.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Bonhomie.
SCOUTING HUBBARD. Sam Hubbard, who you might not know once committed to Notre Dame lacrosse, could be preparing for his rookie NFL season right now. Instead he returned to Columbus to perfect his craft and chase a national championship. (Tilt of the cap to Hubbard.)
While we all love to know Hubbard, he can still improve his craft before (likely) entering the 2017 draft. Let's look at where his stock stands.
From dynastyfootballfactory.com:
Strengths: The single most important piece for perhaps any defender trying to make the jump from college to the pros, is simply being able to keep up with the speed of the NFL game. For Hubbard, this will look like a walk in the park. Converting from safety to linebacker to defensive end, you can still see that absurd straight line speed that Hubbard possesses.
[...]
Weakness: Like many college players who are big, strong, and athletic like Hubbard, they actually rely too much on their natural ability while pass rushing and don’t develop very many pass rush skills. Too often Hubbard simply tries to run around the blocker, or push him right back into the quarterback. While that might work just fine, for now, that isn’t gonna work quite as well when going against the beasts the NFL has to offer.
[...]
Summary: Sam Hubbard has all the natural talent you could ask for. With size, strength, and athleticism being strengths for him, he is set up very well for an illustrious NFL career. With really only needing to add pass rush moves to his arsenal, Hubbard should be a dominant player once again for the Scarlet and Gray. As for now, I have Hubbard as a high second round prospect. I realize that by reading the first sections you may have thought I would have ranked him as a high first rounder, but let me explain: While Hubbard is athletic, his quickness off the edge isn’t first-round quality at this point.
Hubbard should have plenty of opportunities to perfect his pass-rushing ability this fall. Unlike Joey Bosa, he won't command double and triple teams throughout the game because his teammates are better and the depth chart deeper than Big Bosa's.
Even if he doesn't make that kind of leap, a second-round draft selection will still put two commas in your bank account, which is a nice way to start adulthood (especially when it comes without crippling student loan debt).
THE ABSOLUTE BOY. A neat thing about following a school like Ohio State is it's impossible to learn 100% of its history. It seems I learn something new about the university every week.
For example, did you know Brutus Buckeye wasn't the first mascot? That honor went to Chris, a dog.
From library.osu.edu:
Did you know that the University’s first unofficial mascot was a dog? His name was Chris, and he was a performing police dog. Owned and trained by Richard Armel, then a member of the OSU cheerleading squad, he was introduced in the fall season of 1941 to jump through hoops and perform other tricks at football and basketball games and rallies.
Chris and the Pitt Panther mascot, 1941 (via The Ohio State University Library).
Chris appeared to have made it through only the fall season at OSU, but he certainly made an impression on the other team mascots. (See above.)
Not pictured: Chris mauling the Pitt Panther to reveal three kilos of cocaine taped around his waist. It would be the worst loss for the Panthers until John Cooper's team detonated them 55 years later.
SHAZIER MUST STAY HEALTHY. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier is the prototypical linebacker in the NFL. Unfortunately, his body has not cooperated with him. The most games he's played in a season is 13.
Entering Year 4, he'll need to prove he can stay healthy if the Steelers are to make a long-term investment in him (the club picked up his fifth-year option earlier this year).
Easier typed than done.
From behindthesteelcurtain.com:
Not all transcendent players are iron men, but Shazier plays a position that is characterized by toughness and longevity. For instance, Lawrence Timmons, one of Shazier’s many successful predecessors, missed two regular season games over the course of his career in Pittsburgh. Hence, by failing to live up to this standard, Shazier has been stigmatized as injury-prone, albeit unfairly. There is a considerable difference between playing hurt and playing through an injury, and most Shazier’s career DNPs have come as a result of the latter.
No one is more frustrated by this than Shazier, who told ESPN that the “best ability is availability” in reference to what he hopes to achieve this season. Number Fire projects that a full season from Shazier would yield a borderline All-Pro stat line.
If Shazier is to miss any regular season games, let them come against the Cleveland Browns. It's tough enough watching Browns–Steelers without the crippling fear of a former Buckeye murdering a random fan the Browns tossed into their quarterback meat grinder.
SO YOU THINK YOU'RE A FAN? Any college football fan can drink alcohol or paint their face or cuss the television when their favorite team plays.
But who out there is ready to hire a prostitute and trespass into their team's stadium to play a rousing game of Yahtzee? The answer is at least one Louisiana Man.
From wbrz.com:
BATON ROUGE - Police arrested a man Monday after he was caught with a prostitute on LSU's campus.
According to LSU PD, officers were notified of a man and woman who were seen exiting a vehicle and walking toward Tiger Stadium on Monday. Police arrived on scene to find 36-year-old Lucien Hamilton of Brusly near a mechanical ladder which leads inside the stadium.
Police say Hamilton admitted to sneaking into the stadium by way of the ladder. He also admitted to soliciting prostitution from the female sighted with him.
Marionaire Lawyer Tip: If caught red-handed committing a crime, don't immediately throw yourself and your gaming companion under the bus for another one.
ANOTHER FACT. A stretch of High Street in Clintonville has a set of stairs descending into the ground on each side of the street.
It turns out they lead to a tunnel that allows students access to Clinton Elementary without having to cross the busy street. It was erected by the family of a young boy who had got hit by a car and had to have a leg amputated.
From radio.wosu.org:
“A child was killed by a car trying to cross the street while headed to or from the school, and the family raised funds to build the tunnel," Darbee says. "So it has been there a long time, almost a hundred years."
Local teachers and other people familiar with the tunnel have their own stories like the one Darbee heard. In some accounts, the kid does not die, or the accident takes place in a different year, sometimes a different decade.
“You see how these historical stories get a life of their own and get transmitted,” Darbee says. “It’s like the game of telephone, you start with one thing and it ends up being something completely different in the end.”
At least that tragedy prevented countless others. If only they all had a silver linings like that.
THOSE WMDs. The gang murder in the suburbs... Florida Man steals, beaches boat during FourLoko binge... "Free gift" and other redundancies... A police chief, a Facebook scandal and now, a bank robbery suspect... Mark Zuckerberg meets regular folks—with a few conditions.
