I had a bad take yesterday. Despite recognizing Homeowner Associations as America's most fascist institution, I took an Association's side against Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.
I blame this on the psychological damage of the Iowa City result. May Warren G. Harding forgive me, because he won't forgive those that participate in Homeowner Associations.
ICYMI:
- Parris Campbell, Dre'Mont Jones, and Johnnie Dixon announce return to Ohio State.
- Meet the 2018 early enrollees.
- Proposed NCAA rule change let coaches play more players while redshirting more as well.
- Katie Smith is one of ten finalists for the Women's College Basketball Hall of Fame.
- Reserve your (or your business' spot) next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
Word of the Day: Gemütlichkeit.
BASKETBUCKS TOP TERPS. Ohio State rolled Maryland last night, 91-69. It's been awhile, folks, but I'm thinking THE LOCAL TEAM IS THE BIG TEN'S BEST.
From Dan Hope, whom you should follow on Twitter, of Eleven Warriors:
Four days after their win over the previously No. 1-ranked Spartans, the Ohio State men's basketball team kept its winning ways going, defeating Maryland 91-69 at Value City Arena to improve to 14-4 on the season and 5-0 in conference play.
Keita Bates-Diop led the Buckeyes with 26 points and Andrew Dakich added 11 points off the bench as Ohio State shot 56 percent from the floor, including 17 threes – a school record for a Big Ten game – on 29 attempts, to pull away from the Terrapins on the scoreboard.
The Buckeyes are now 5-0 in Big Ten play. Mind you, they were already forecasted into the Big Dance before tipping off against the Terrapins:
Ohio State added to ESPN Joe Lunardi's Bracketology #Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/6D3ksQDCBu
— Jacob Myers (@Jacob_Myers_25) January 11, 2018
Get dumped then, Rhode Island! Andrew Dakich is the new Pistol Pete.
We still need to work on our week night atmosphere, though:
At the Buckeye hoops game. If you took all the people in the upper bowl and sat them in the lower bowl, you might have a half full arena and a better environmen
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) January 12, 2018
That said I went to the bathroom and got a beer in 5 minutes so pros and cons
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) January 12, 2018
The good news is weather will only get better as the season progresses.
GIANTS (OR MAYBE THE PATRIOTS) HOLD THE KEY. Bruce Feldman reported yesterday Greg Schiano is a hot commodity as a defensive coordinator prospect in NFL circles.
Who are these teams trying to steal our team's underpaid and overqualified coordinator? The New York Giants hold the key while the cold, odious hand of Bill Belichick lingers.
From nj.com:
The Giants -- a team whose former head coach he once angered by blitzing a kneeldown -- seem to be the key piece to the puzzle for the next move in Schiano's career should he want to move on after two years as defensive coordinator at Ohio State.
If the Giants hire either Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels or Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as head coach, Schiano would make sense as the Giants defensive coordinator given he would receive a strong recommendation from coach Bill Belichick.
Unless, of course, Belichick wants to keep Schiano for himself as a replacement for Patricia, who is reported to be at or near the top of the list for vacancies with the Giants and Lions.
Everybody was begging Schiano to stay for another year. I think that ship has sailed, hence the delay in defining Alex Grinch's role. Just be thankful Urban Meyer got a former NFL head coach as a defensive coordinator for two seasons.
LOOKIN' LIKE A STREET FIGHT. Urban Meyer loves to call things "street fights"—everything from hard-fought games to recruiting battles.
His team will need to bring that mentality every week in 2018 if it's to prosper in what will be the toughest division in America.
From Dave Briggs of The Toledo Blade:
Las Vegas bookmakers list three of them — Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State — among the top half-dozen national title favorites. And the fourth? All Michigan State does is bring back 21 of 22 starters from another Spartans team that turned water into 10 wins.
Sure, these early odds often favor brand over substance. But the flow of cash is a good barometer of expectations nonetheless. My way-too-early 2018 rankings go like this: 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Ohio State, 4. Georgia, 5. Wisconsin, 6. Auburn, 7. Penn State, 8. Oklahoma, 9. Michigan State, 10. Miami.
Michigan is right there too, a top-10-caliber team that returns nine starters from a top-five defense and adds quarterback Shea Patterson to defibrillate the offense. Let’s just first make sure it has a top-10-caliber coaching staff.
Those ratings aren't far off, either. The Big Ten is going to be that good next season, even when Michigan flames out after the NCAA rules Shea Patterson ineligible.
From gridironnow.com:
| RANK | UNIVERSITY | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | "There will be the usual personnel churn, but the Tide still will have the most talented roster in the nation as well as the best college coach ever." |
| 2 | Clemson | "The defensive line was the best in the nation, and it seems likely that three of the four starters will be gone. But there is ample talent on hand, and the Tigers again will be the class of the ACC." |
| 3 | Ohio State | "There will be a lot of new starters on both lines, and that could be an issue; at the same time, there is talent aplenty." |
| 4 | Georgia | "There’s also QB Jake Fromm, who led the Bulldogs to the national title game as a true freshman, and what should be the best recruiting class in the nation." |
| 5 | Wisconsin | "The defensive line will undergo a makeover, and Nelson’s early departure to the NFL hurts the secondary. Still, the defense again will be stout." |
| 6 | Penn State | "It’s always dangerous to talk about schedules this far in advance, but while Penn State has games against Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin in 2018, all three are at home." |
| 7 | Washington | "The defense could be lethal even with the early departure of Vea. Washington clearly looks to be the class of the Pac-12." |
| 8 | Michigan State | "If the Spartans can find a legit feature back, watch out." |
| 13 | Michigan | "A lot depends on Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson at quarterback." |
Crazy how far the Big Ten has come since Urban Meyer's arrival. The days of it being a punchline are over. Let's just hope this year the conference champ doesn't have two losses, because it won't be a conference cakewalk for them like it is for Alabama.
NOW THAT'S PARTYING. Only people who drink know the thrill of waking up with their wallet, phone, and keys within arm's reach.
Unfortunately for one Alabama student, his university's latest national championship will forever be tainted by memories of waking up in jail seven hours later.
From tuscaloosanews.com:
A University of Alabama student was jailed early Tuesday morning after UA staff found him naked on the front porch of a UA office building on Queen City Avenue.
Officers found the 19-year-old man on the porch at 5 a.m., hours after thousand of people congregated on the nearby Strip to celebrate Alabama’s 17th National Championship win.
“Upon our arrival, I saw a white male sitting on the porch naked with his clothes scattered in various places,” a UAPD officer wrote in the arrest report. ”(The student) stated that he had been drinking earlier in the night and didn’t know how he ended up there.”
The officer said the man was not a danger to himself or others, but charged him with public lewdness because UA employees had seen him.
Hell, he got off light. If Ohio State employees saw me passed out naked outside a campus building, I'd be charged with treason.
THOSE WMDs. Is Trae Young the second coming of Steph Curry? That's for his father to decide... A school's way to fight phones in class: Lock 'em up... Anatomy of a Scam: The end... Akron man pleads guilty to impersonating an officer, numerous other charges for Scared Straight tactics gone wrong... Community buy-in, Naxalone credited to Indiana county bucking fatal trend.
