Event calendar notification: The historic city of Piqua hosts its annual craft beer festival tonight on the shady banks of the Great Miami River. It's truly a marvel of modern engineering to behold with 99 craft beers, wine, food trucks, etc.
The local team practices at Coffey Road fields today ahead of its Aug. 31 date with the Indiana Hoosiers. A date that's only 19 days away, folks.
ICYMI:
- The NFL discovered a preponderance of evidence that led them to believe Ezekiel Elliott repeatedly assaulted his then-girlfriend in 2016 and suspended him for six games.
- Local linebackers: About that businesses.
- Pickerington Central point guard Jeremiah Francis, a top Buckeye target in 2019, committed to North Carolina.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Fakir.
DOBBINS HYPE TRAIN: SOLD OUT. Militantly online Buckeye fans already know the name of four-star freshman running back J.K. Dobbins. Which means there will be tens of thousands of Buckeye fans (and hundreds of thousands of college football fans) that will be caught unaware by the hype train barreling down on them for the last six months.
Breakout junior linebacker Jerome Baker is the latest to praise the Texan.
From OSU beat G.O.A.T. Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch:
Dobbins was an early enrollee in January, but he picked up the system quickly. Baker said the freshman has been working more like a veteran in camp.
“He’s played like he’s been here for a few years,” Baker said. “He’s definitely a good guy, he’s fun to be around. But on the field he’s a monster.”
At this rate, Dobbins will need a Maurice Clarett-like freshman season to meet expectations placed upon him by YouTube videos, camp quotes, and blog posts.
WRESTLEBUCKS OFF TO FRANCE. I refuse to be scared by nuclear war because only one country in the world has weapons like Kyle Snyder and Logan Stieber.
And those weapons will be on parade later this month during a international show of strength in Paris, France.
From buckeyesports.com:
Yabo’s Sports Grill and Bar in Powell, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus, was jam-packed Thursday evening to bid farewell to Kyle Snyder and Logan Stieber before they compete in the 2017 United World Wrestling Senior World Championships in Paris, France, from Aug. 21-26.
Snyder, a current Ohio State grappler, and Stieber, a former Buckeye, qualified for this year’s Senior World Championships at the World Team Trials in June at Lincoln, Neb., where they both claimed the title in their respective weight classes.
[...]
“I’m looking to wrestle the best that I ever have,” Snyder told BuckeyeSports in regard to this year’s Senior Worlds. “I feel like I’m a better wrestler than I was a year ago at the Olympics and I just want to prove that through my wrestling by scoring points and competing as hard as I can.”
I don't think any college students can relate to Snyder's grind. Dude travels the globe demolishing the world's baddest dudes in between statistics exams. Couldn't be me.
ELLIOTT WON'T GO QUIETLY. As mentioned above, the NFL discovered a preponderance of evidence in a yearlong investigation that led the league office to conclude Ezekiel Elliott assaulted repeatedly assaulted his then-girlfriend in July 2016.
Elliott disagreed with the league's findings and will fight his six-game suspension.
From nfl.com:
"We just learned of the NFL's decision to suspend Mr. Elliott for six games for allegedly engaging in 'physical force' against the accuser. Mr. Elliott and his team of representatives are extremely disappointed with the NFL's decision.
"Our offices have been engaged in this matter since last July and have worked hand in hand with the Columbus Prosecutor's office as well as the NFL with their respective investigations. Accordingly, we are fully aware of the full body of evidence that exists in connection with this matter.
"The NFL's findings are replete with factual inaccuracies and erroneous conclusions and it 'cherry picks' so called evidence to support its conclusion while ignoring other critical evidence.
"For example, both the Columbus Prosecutor's office as well as the NFL investigators expressly concluded and conveyed to our office (and others) that the accuser was lying about an alleged July 22, 2016 incident whereby she accused Mr. Elliott of pulling her out of her car and assaulting her.
An allegation that was ultimately undermined by her own friend's affidavit which stated that no such assault occurred.
The affidavit also outlined the accuser's plan to orchestrate a story to police to in order to corroborate her false allegation of assault. In addition, the NFL's own medical experts concluded that many of her injuries predated the week in question and likely occurred during a period of time when Mr. Elliott was not in contact with the accuser.
During the upcoming weeks and through the appeal a slew of additional credible and controverting evidence will come to light."
That's obviously a big chunk of paycheck, but Elliott should slow his roll as he's lucky the Franklin County prosecutor didn't press charges.
Consequences for his actions could be what Elliott needs. Given his track record, it's not hard to deduce it's been awhile since he ran into those.
BOOK CLUB NOD. Perhaps you're in the market for a new book. Could I interest you in a historical yarn about the time Michigan and Ohio almost went to war over Toledo?
From btn.com:
Owing to murky maps and even murkier legal language, the newly formed State of Ohio and the Michigan territory had a difference of opinion as to where their shared boundary lay. Ohioans claimed a more northerly line and Michigan a southerly one, leaving both squabbling over a spit of land due west of Lake Erie known as the Toledo Strip.
Faber’s book [The Toledo War: The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry] contextualizes the “border war” in the broader terms of the political sovereignty of states and territories and the influence of the federal authorities in what was then the burgeoning western United States. Michiganders, lacking representation in Washington, felt every bit David to the federal-recognized State of Ohio’s Goliath. The issue even attracted the attention of former US President John Quincy Adams, who entered the fray on the side of Michigan.
Ultimately, the conflict ended relatively amiably, with Ohio taking the Toledo Strip and Michigan gaining recognition of its statehood and dominion over the entirety of what is now known as the Upper Peninsula. And, as it turned out, that strip, once thought of as a worthless wilderness, would contribute unparalleled mineral wealth to the coffers of Michigan.
Always knew John Quincy Adams was on that dope. What a joker.
I am salty Michigan still got the UP, though. Say what you want about Michigan's football teams and fans (and I've said more than most) there's no denying the scenic beauty of the state.
HOW STOOPS QUIT. Here's the public relations version of how Bob Stoops quit his job, like he wasn't terrified of getting his ass whipped again by Urban Meyer on national television next month.
From espn.com:
As Oklahoma's football operations director and Stoops' right-hand man for nearly two decades, [Matt] McMillen had long been counted among Stoops' most trusted friends. Their two families even ate dinner together at least a couple of times a week.
But on this evening, as Stoops flipped the chicken on the grill, he was unusually quiet, McMillen noticed. Then, as they sat to eat, Stoops dropped the bombshell.
"Matty," he began, "I'm not going to coach anymore."
Stoops will be back. But come the early morning hours of Sept. 10th, he'll toast a highball to himself for not coaching the Sooners anymore.
THOSE WMDs. The body in Room 348... Wall Street trader seeks redemption for intellectual grift... Why Clinton Township never fully annexed into Columbus... A Baccarat binge helped launder the world's biggest cyber heist... These partners in fighting crime weren't cops.
