I hereby dedicate the July 25, 2017, Skull Session to Specialist Sam Frank of the United States Army’s 1st Armored Division, who reads 11W all the way in Afghanistan. Stay frosty, my friend, and go Bucks!
Secondary shoutout to the Piqua industrial powerhouse of Winan's Chocolates + Coffees. I don't even like coffee, but their iced mocha was delicious. Check out their locations in Dublin, German Village, and the Columbus Commons.
ICYMI: Football season is barreling down the tracks. Big Ten media days kicked off in Chicago on Monday, and a torrent of #news fell from the sky.
- Urban Meyer presser recap (with full video).
- Notes from Day 1.
- Redshirt junior defensive end Darius Slade transferred, likely to Arizona State.
- The Buckeyes will rely on fifth-year seniors this season.
- Meyer raved about Johnnie Dixon and says Zone 6's culture is "clean as a whistle."
- Video: Tyquan Lewis, Chris Worley, and Billy Price discuss what makes Meyer great.
- Greg Schiano turned down two "significant" head coaching offers earlier this year.
- Meyer discussed his strategy of fall camp moving to five weeks in the wake of the NCAA eliminating two-a-day practices.
- BTN set to produce a weekly Ohio State show featuring James Laurinaitis.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Day 2 kicks off at 9 a.m. ET on BTN with P.J. Fleck (Minnesota), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern), James Franklin (Penn State), Jeff Brohm (Purdue), Mike Riley (Nebraska), Chris Ash (Rutgers) and some guy named Jim Harbaugh (Not sure what school he coaches).
Word of the Day: Anodyne.
MONEY IN THE BANK. You might have woken up today with ringing in your ears.
No, it's not a reason to call 911. A hospital bill isn't about to send you into bankruptcy court.
It's the sound of the Big Ten cashing out in its enemies with a $2.64 billion (yes, that's billion with a "B") contract.
From sportsbusinessdaily.com:
ESPN will pay an average of $190 million per year over six years for essentially half the conference’s media rights package, according to several sources close to the talks. Two months ago, Fox Sports agreed to take the other half of the package for an average of $240 million per year. CBS Sports also has told the conference that it will renew its basketball-only package for $10 million per year.
The six-year, $2.64 billion media rights haul represents a big win for the Big Ten Conference, of course, which will see its average media rights payout nearly triple when it takes effect next fall.
More significantly, the deal is a good sign for the broader sports business, showing that ESPN will remain an active player in the live rights business, especially when it comes to premium rights.
Everyone here knows my stance: I pray to Warren G. Harding not a single $20 bill falls into the hands of the players that helped make this contract possible. They already get paid compensated with inflated scholarships and should be thankful they get medical care.
For me, the non-football player with zero financial stake, it would ruin amateur athletics. I want to keep this sport sacred and marvel at the insurance ads intertwined into field goal nets in peace.
It's also heart-warming to see a shoestring operation Big Ten, which was on the brink of bankruptcy just last year, get a little spending money for the club. Who says the American Dream is dead? Point them out to Jim Delany so he can crush those communist clowns with his billfold.
INJURY UPDATES. Marcus Baugh was spotted at Friday Night Lights in a walking boot, which can mean anything from a broken foot to a simple medical precaution.
Thankfully for Ohio State, which is known for its heavy offensive involvement of the tight end, it's simply a precaution for Baugh.
From 247sports.com:
"Marcus Baugh had, I believe someone asked me about that, that was an inflammation of his toe," Meyer said. "He's fine. He'll be ready to go Thursday. I don't believe we have anybody else."
Jokes aside, it's good to see Baugh healthy. He had some beast mode plays last year, and I've been drinking the tight-end-usage Kool-Aid. Please pray for me.
In other news, linebackers Malik Harrisson and Baron Browning will be about 80% to start the season.
Also from 247sports.com:
While Baugh will be ready when fall camp begins Thursday morning, two Buckeye linebackers, sophomore Malik Harrison and freshman Baron Browning, who both dealt with shoulder issues in the spring, will not be full go quite yet.
"They had shoulder surgery, so they're going to be 80 percent to start," Meyer said of the duo. "But within 10 days they'll be full speed."
I'm notoriously bad with numbers, but last I checked 80% is 0%. Hopefully those guys will be 100% and up to speed when crunch time rolls around. As Jerome Baker showed last year, you can never have too much depth.
WHEN DESTINY STRIKES. Here's something I didn't know: Eddie George would have lost his mother, Donna, on TWA Flight 800 if his agent hadn't talked her into appearing at Eddie's professional signing.
From chicagotribune.com in 1996 (via Ramzy):
HOUSTON — The Houston Oilers' signing of Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George may have saved the life of his mother, Donna.
The TWA flight attendant was scheduled to work ill-fated Flight 800 from New York to Paris on July 17 and return two days later.
But her son's agent, Lamont Smith, persuaded her to change her schedule so she could go to San Antonio on July 19 for the signing of the tailback from Ohio State.
"Donna said she didn't know if she could take off. But I was persistent," Smith said. "They were already spiritual people, and they say the Lord works in mysterious ways. If he worked through me in this instance, I couldn't be happier about it."
That's up there with Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane missing an ill-fated flight on 9-11.
WELCOME TO 'SIPPI Y'ALL. The most intriguing thing about Ole Miss firing Hugh Freeze for dialing a hooker hotline is how did Houston Nutt's attorney know the dirt was there?
As it turns out, he got a hot tip from a Mississippi State fan, who swears he wasn't trying to take down a rival coach.
From espn.com:
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The man who helped take down Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze is a lifelong Mississippi State fan who attended his first Bulldogs game 37 years ago and has the university's logo tattooed on his left hand.
[...]
But when [Steve] Robertson saw a phone number with a 313 area code, he was stunned by what he discovered in a Google search. A call made on Jan. 19, 2016, lasting one minute, was made to a number connected with several advertisements for female escorts. Robertson then asked his wife to read him the telephone number again to make sure it was correct. The escort service ads came up again.
Robertson called Thomas Mars, an attorney who is representing former Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt in his defamation lawsuit against Ole Miss. Mars had been introduced to Robertson through a third party he found while doing online research into Nutt's case. They've since developed a close working relationship, talking on the phone several times a day and sharing what they found in their investigations.
Folks, if you ever see me on TV swearing I did not mean to tip off the FBI about Jim Harbaugh's meth empire, please know I'm full of shit. I definitely dropped a dime and am only trying to avoid the ire of Harbaugh's Mexican cartel suppliers.
Also, I respect that this paragraph got more bizarre with every sentence:
As one SEC power broker puts it: "[Mississippi–Mississippi State] makes Ohio State-Michigan and Auburn-Alabama look like Sunday school." Robertson puts it another way: "It's the two runt puppies in the SEC West fighting for the hind teat. When you finally get locked on that hind teat, you do whatever you have to do to stay there, even if the other guy has to starve."
Props to Robinson for keeping it real, but I'm still adding this to the litany of reasons why I will never visit Mississippi unless I'm on the lam. Even then, federal prison may be the move.
THAT'S A BIG BOY. Speaking of Mississippi, what in the Hell are they feeding their children down there? Bowls of steroids for breakfast?
From usatodayhss.com (via 11W member OSU56):
Jaheim Oatis is big. How big?
Well, he’s 6-4 and 286 pounds and describes himself as a “beast.” That description seems to fit. Oatis, from Columbia (Miss.), tweeted a photo with Alabama coach and said “one of my dreams came true.”
Oatis has done camps at Alabama, Ole Miss and Mississippi State and has walked away with offers from each. As he noted on Twitter, “REMEMBER THE NAME JAHEIM OATIS!!!!”
One of my dreams came true.... He couldnt believe I was going to the 8th grade..... pic.twitter.com/ZX8qrvNRAX
— Jaheim Oatis (@JaheimOatis) July 23, 2017
You might think that's an eighth grader masquerading as a grown ass man, but I assure you it's actually Alabama coach Nick Saban.
THOSE WMDs. When an oligarch owns the (empty) apartment next door... The neutrino went from ghost particle to vital physics tool... Court: Man who isn't father of child still owes payments.. The hunt for Death Valley Germans... Sentencing approaches for New England's "Codfather."
