If you're killing time until the 2018 Pro Bowl—and aren't we all?—the Senior Bowl kicks off in Mobile, Alabama at 2:30 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes will represent the beloved local team.
Word of the Day: Truculent.
GET DUMPED THEN, BAKER. Baker Mayfield talked a lot of shit this year in Columbus. And, much to my chagrin, he backed it up in a game that got away from the Buckeyes in the second half.
This didn't satisfy him, though. The revenge win got him so jacked up, he tried to plant a flag into the turf field of Ohio Stadium. This rankled some Buckeye fans.
It's not like I looked upon that move with fondness. But it's not like I'll go to my grave angry about it, either.
Looks like Jalyn Holmes and Tyquan Lewis felt the same way. Down at the Senior Bowl with Baker Mayfield, the Buckeye duo probably about made Mayfield soil his slacks.
From Sports Illustrated:
This is the guy who ran to the middle of Ohio State’s field after a 2017 win and symbolically planted an Oklahoma flag on the logo at midfield. He is, as always, a prisoner to the moment.
This week, he had to answer for that last one. On a charter bus ferrying the North team to and from practices at Ladd-Peebles stadium, two Ohio State players surrounded Mayfield in his seat, blocking him in. Defensive linemen Jalyn Holmes and Tyquan Lewis stared down Mayfield, and one of them broke the silence: “What’s wrong with you, bro?”
A pregnant moment passed, then the three burst out laughing. “That’s what you get for kicking my ass the year before!” Mayfield said, referring to the Sooners’ 45-24 loss to the Buckeyes in Norman back in September 2016. The Ohio State pair admitted they probably would have done the same thing had the tables been turned.
Mayfield busting out laughing there like an employee trying to follow along with his psychotic boss. He's lucky he didn't wake up two weeks later after catching a whirling elbow from Holmes:
Nice spin & hammer by former @OhioStateFB DE Jalyn Holmes @seniorbowl pic.twitter.com/B3uvP0lVDU
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) January 24, 2018
I wish I could just forget Mayfield existed entirely. Unfortunately I have a premonition the Cleveland Browns will draft him No. 4 overall (with Saquon Barkley at No. 1). Please don't gank me, Browns fans. I'm just the mentally ill man trying to pass off his sickness as valuable sports foresight.
BUCKS LOOK TO REBOUND. Well, it happened. Ohio State's inevitable march to the Final Four took a temporary detour Thursday night when Tony Carr electrified the Buckeyes on their home court with a last-second, off-the-glass three-pointer.
Last year, a loss like that could've sent the team into a tailspin for the month. This year's rendition looks to prove they're mentally tougher than one loss.
From cleveland.com:
Ohio State, which lost for the first time in over a month and had an eight-game winning streak snapped, will tell us if it was simply one bad night, or something more. Teams lose, and the Buckeyes weren't going 18-0 in Big Ten play. They'll have some time to rest now after six games in two weeks. How they come out on the other end next Tuesday against Indiana will tell us some things about what this team is ultimately destined for this year.
The season shifted long ago from a rebuild to one with some expectations. Ohio State played its way into that position. Now the expectation is to bounce back quickly.
"We've been on the other end, teams that started 0-4 and had losing seasons," senior forward Jae'Sean Tate said. "I think our biggest thing is learning our lesson now. We gotta continue to come out with more effort, pay attention to more scouting and personnel, play with more urgency or this is gonna continue to happen."
Holtmann said the team will focus on bringing physicality back to its defense in response to the latest setback.
The team's lack of depth will catch up to them (only five points off the bench Thursday night), but it's clear they're going down swinging, which at this point feels like a $1 million bank roll of house money.
BENEDICT GETS NEW THREADS. After reported interest in joining Mike Vrabel's Tennessee staff never came to fruition, Ed "Benedict" Warinner received his official Michigan title Friday afternoon.
From rivals.com:
Ed Warinner's official title has been updated to "Senior Analyst — Offense" in Michigan's official M-community directory.
[...]
Warinner will take over the same title that Scott Turner held last year. Turner came to Michigan prior to the 2017 season after spending three years with the Minnesota Vikings, but left on Jan. 10 to become the quarterbacks coach of the Carolina Panthers.
It is unclear what the responsibilities of a senior offensive analyst are in Ann Arbor, but it could obviously mean several things.
In Harbaugh's defense, you know the old saying—if you can't beat 'em, hire their disgruntled assistants two years after departure. I'd pay good money to hear their conversations during Game week (and I'm sure Urban Meyer would pay even more).
A LEGEND COULD RETURN. Wilton Speight announced his transfer from Michigan after former Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson announced his transfer to Michigan.
The NCAA, however, must still rule Patterson eligible. If that doesn't happen, Speight could return to Ann Arbor.
From freep.com:
A source with knowledge of former Michigan starter Wilton Speight's thinking told the Free Press on Thursday the quarterback would be open to returning to the Wolverines next season if incoming transfer Shea Patterson is ruled ineligible for 2018 by the NCAA.
Speight, who graduated from Michigan in December and planned to pursue a graduate transfer, is currently in Los Angeles training while he goes over his options for next season. He plans to have a destination picked by June.
According to the source, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has told Speight he would be open to the quarterback returning to school if Speight would like to.
Can't wait to see how Harbaugh the QB Guru parlays his promising padawans into a puddle of pitiful quarterback play.
#SAVETHECREW. Incompetent grifter Anthony Precourt is having trouble with moving the Crew to Austin, Texas.
Precourt Sports Ventures is putting the blame squarely where it belongs—on Crew fans' unwillingness to be complicit in the heist.
From thecomeback.com (emphasis theirs):
We are disappointed because our city leaders are backing down as a result of pressure from a vocal minority, some of whom are from Columbus, Ohio, and who have the obvious motive of killing this move to Austin.
In a city of more than 1 million people, it’s unfair that a few hundred people may ruin this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring major league sports to Austin.
If this gets killed, we are going to look back in 10 years and think this is one of the worst decisions made by this Austin City Council.
With potential stadium spots in Austin withering up, it's no surprise Precourt is at least seeing what he could pawn the franchise for.
From Laura Newpoff of Columbus Business First:
Alex Fischer, CEO of the Columbus Partnership, told me on Friday that after the contentious meeting in New York between city leaders and Precourt and Major League Soccer he was approached by the local investors.
Precourt agreed to "preliminary" conversations, which Fischer calls encouraging. "The team could benefit from local involvement," he said.
Precourt might be able to ensure he won't have rotten food thrown at him whenever he returns to Columbus if he sells the team to local investors.
THOSE WMDs. Spartan secrets extend beyond Larry Nassar case... $400 million missing from Japanese crypto coin exchange... How a church deacon found the biggest prime number yet... Inside the trials of Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier... Dog bites man, man bites dog, then man is arrested... Forgetting a child in the backseat is a horrible mistake; is it a crime?
