Folks, please don't pay a cent for the Floyd Mayweather–Conor McGregor fight tonight. It will be a boring farce as Mayweather sits back and picks apart the inexperienced Irishman who must chase a knockout to win.
If you have a friend dumb enough to order it, fine. Let them burn their money. Just don't be duped by a carnival act. You're smarter than that.
And since we're talking about getting hustled, don't fall for this "college football is back!" talk that will undoubtedly smatter social media today. Any neutral observer pretending to be jazzed about these pathetic scraps is a charlatan with ulterior motives:
| TIME (ET) | MATCHUP | FAVORITE | TELEVISION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:30 | OREGON STATE at COLORADO STATE | CSU (-4) | CBSSN |
| 3:00 | PORTLAND STATE at BRIGHAM YOUNG | OFF | ESPN |
| 7:30 | No. 19 SOUTH FLORIDA at SAN JOSÉ STATE | USF (-22) | CBSSN |
| 10:00 | No. 14 STANFORD vs. RICE | STAN (-30) | ESPN |
I wouldn't watch any of those if you are an Ohio State fan. It's simply not worth having the secret state police break down your door and shipping your family to a gulag on the banks of Lake Erie for blaspheming the one true local team.
Stay strong. You've made it this far. Five more days is a cakewalk.
ICYMI:
- Five-star 2018 RB commit Jaelen Gill begins his 11W senior year diary.
- Trevon Grimes and Mitch Rossi lose their black stripes.
- Season Preview: Mike Weber and the running backs.
- Season Preview: 11W Staff roundtable.
- Earle Bruce diagnosed with the onset of Alzheimer's.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Narcoma.
BRING BACK THE FREAK SHOW. The degradation of the offense has been a popular topic in Columbus the past two seasons. But there is another, lesser problem plaguing Meyer's team: The lack of punt blocks.
When Meyer arrived in Columbus, we all heard about "the Freak Show." The freaks are still on the team—hell, there are more freaks than ever before—but they are not blocking punts.
Look for that to change this season.
From cleveland.com:
When opponents punt, Ohio State isn't scaring anybody. And the Buckeyes know it.
"We were poor last year, very poor in punt return," Urban Meyer said. "That's an area that we deemed inadequate a year ago, obviously. And we worked very hard on it."
[...]
"I'll take that on the coaching, that's on me," said assistant Kerry Coombs, who coordinates the special teams. "We'll get better. We made it a focus of the spring, we made it a focus of the summer. We changed some of the things, the way we do them and how we do them from both a technique and scheme standpoint."
11W's Kyle Jones, who tutored a young Bill Walsh and cultivated his love for football, detailed the problem in depth over here.
Thankfully for us schmoes, the time for talk wanes. We will soon see how much emphasis Meyer placed on this phase of the game in the last year.
MACK HYPE. Austin Mack became the first freshman to lose his black stripe in the spring last year, which instantly led to forecasts of a Randy Moss-like season.
Unfortunately what is hype is not always real. Mack hit the dreaded freshman wall before the season and never broke through.
This year, the hype is back once again:
I received AWESOME news today that @Austin_Mack10 will be starting in next Thursday game vs IU so proud of you #11AM #zone6 pic.twitter.com/hqVHTBwf40
— Shannon Mack (@ShannonMack4) August 25, 2017
Look like Austin Mack is ready to emerge. Had one source tell me hes been an animal in recent weeks. https://t.co/TDt5zme4Fb
— Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm) August 25, 2017
Like with the Freak Show, I'm in a "believe it when I see it" mode with the wide receivers. I've been huffing hype all summer, and my doctor says if I continue my heart will pop like a balloon.
MORE MILLIONS INTO THE WHAC. As expected, the Ohio State trustees met Friday and approved a $7.8 million upgrade to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, because the facilities race in college football never sleeps.
From dispatch.com:
Ohio State University’s board of trustees voted Friday morning to move forward with upgrades to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center as well as acquire a Polaris-area building for its medical center.
The updates to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the football team’s practice facility, will cost $7.8 million.
Renovations will include a new production kitchen and nutrition area, rehabilitation space, team activity areas, staff offices, additional storage and updates to the existing players’ lounge. Work is slated to begin in 2018.
And as a reminder, this is 90% funded by private donor money.
If any of these donors read my column: My office, which is also my kitchen, could use an upgrade. My friends are dead and my enemies are in power. I need all the resources I can muster to continue the fight.
GALAXY BRAIN PICK. Everybody dumped on this SEC Network analyst's CFP pick for obvious reasons:
My FINAL @CFBPlayoff picks:
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) August 25, 2017
Alabama
Ohio State
Stanford
NC State
Here's the thing: College football is a wild-ass sport. NC State probably won't make the playoffs, but it could! Crazier things have happened. I respect picks like this rather than the usual, "Alabama, Ohio State, USC, and Clemson" or whatever. Folding laundry is more entertaining.
You now have my sword, Wolfpack. At least until you face the one true local team to rule them all.
BEEEEERRRT. One team I feel confident in saying won't make the playoffs is Arkansas:
Highlight of the @BretBielema presser today was this exchange with @BobHoltADG ... pic.twitter.com/ADRRfNvjWE
— Trent Shadid (@Shadid13) August 25, 2017
When the Hogs fire Bert for another subpar season, a Big Ten team needs to do the right thing and bring him home. (Iowa, I'm looking at you!)
THOSE WMDs. Ringside physicians say Conor McGregor isn't safe boxing Floyd Mayweather... Mayweather-McGregor and the death spiral of American sports... Facebook figured out my family's secrets, and it won't tell me how... The 13-year-old USC QB commit turned West Virginia WR... To survive in tough times, restaurants turn to data mining.
