Imagine waking up and finding out Kyle Snyder's sole mission of the day is destroying your existence. Such is the proposition faced by Penn State tonight. Good luck handling that inbound missile, lads, because you're going to need it.
ICYMI:
- Area man named No. 1 prospect of 2019.
- OSU vs. PSU Q&A with Rob Dougherty.
- What the two latest reports mean about Greg Schiano and the Patriots.
- Ted Ginn enjoys playing with fellow Buckeyes in New Orleans.
- Reserve your (or your business’) spot next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
TV Programming: Ohio State women's basketball faces Wisconsin at 1 p.m. on BTN.
Word of the Day: Dominion.
GET DUMPED THEN, PENN STATE. Tonight at 8 p.m. on BTN, Ohio State invades Penn State in what wrestling experts have dubbed the Dual of the Millennium.
The most intimidating human in the world, Buckeye heavyweight Kyle Snyder, has already decreed his team's bad intentions:
Now that I am back in the US of A, all my time and energy will be focused on PSU. There is no team Id like to destroy more. pic.twitter.com/W9MHMtaQpu
— Kyle Snyder (@Snyder_man45) January 31, 2018
Penn State has responded in its hallmark childish style, by refusing to upgrade the venue in cheap attempt to stack the deck in a tiny arena unbecoming of such a historic event.
The show, hower, must go on.
From nj.com:
On Saturday night, No. 1 Penn State hosts No. 2 Ohio State in what has some in the wrestling community considering it the greatest dual meet of all-time.
[...]
"Yeah man, we've got to get this sport pumping and get it going with events like this," said Ohio state junior 184-pounder Myles Martin, who will compete in the marquee match of the dual against Bo Nickal. "There's a lot of promotion and the sport needs it as wrestling is becoming more and more popular. This match will be sick no matter what, and fans are going to love it. It'll be something to talk about when we graduate. Remember 1 vs. 2. All the national champs, world champs, it's dope. It's sick just to talk about it."
It would not be a bad thing if it played out as the Nomad Prophecy predicts...
Nomad makes his picks for Penn State-Ohio State. pic.twitter.com/lTy0XE6SUs
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) February 2, 2018
The indomitable Andy Vance will be through later this morning with a full preview. In the meantime, make sure you follow him on Twitter. He comes with the Skull Session Good Tweeter Guarantee©.
NEW GUNSLINGER, NEW GAME. After 1 million hot takes, we have moved on from the J.T. Barrett era. For better or worse, we will have a new quarterback next year.
That offers Urban Meyer, Kevin Wilson, and Ryan Day a new opportunity to tinker with the offense. That means a new chance to concoct packages that include J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber.
From Kyle Morgan of theozone.net:
With a change at quarterback, many of the designed QB runs will need to be converted to running back carries, and the Ohio State coaching staff may have provided a glimpse at what part of the offense could look like in 2018.
[...]
I take a closer look at the ONE play that could spur a change in identity next season, as well as offer up variations off the same look with added audio in another edition of Buckeye Breakdown.
#longbet: Dwayne Haskins' arm opens running lanes for Dobbins and Weber like Cardale Jones' did for Ezekiel Elliott. The Tatebots and Burrow truthers can see me in the comments over this, and they better bring military weapons.
TRUSTEES DON'T FUMBLE THE ROCK. Chris Holtmann just led Ohio State men's basketball to its best January in five years. Thankfully university trustees didn't fumble the rock and approved his contract (with bonuses) yesterday.
From dispatch.com:
Holtmann’s contract is an eight-season deal that runs through June 30, 2025, and will pay him roughly $2.7 million per year plus additional benefits and incentives. The benefits, which include a $300,000 annual payment on a life insurance policy, bring Holtmann’s annual compensation to $3 million.
He will also receive a one-time lump sum payment of $2,040,360 within 30 days of the execution of the agreement.
Athletic director Gene Smith said Thursday that the overall package makes Holtmann among the nation’s 10 best-compensated coaches, matching his expectations for the program.
This worked out for all parties involved. Ohio State hired Holtmann, and Matta made millions of dollars to live in luxurious retirement. The arc of the university truly bends towards justice.
DAMN. Old timers among us remember Ohio State safety Rob Kelly terrorizing opponents via the safety blitz. Unfortunately, it's 2018 now, and Kelly's wife is writing harrowing op-eds about her husband's struggles post-football.
From Emily Kelly in The New York Times:
It wasn’t until I joined a private Facebook group of more than 2,400 women, all connected in some way to current or former N.F.L. players, that I realized I wasn’t alone.
Our stories are eerily similar, our husbands’ symptoms almost identical: the bizarre behavior I had tried to ignore; the obsessive laundering of old clothes — our washing machine ran from morning till night.
It was comforting and terrifying all at the same time. Why did so many of us see the same strange behaviors? “Our neurologist said they do it to calm their brains,” one friend told me.
I've thought a lot about my role in writing about an inherently violent sport. The best rationalization I can offer for my further participation is it's a radically different sport than when Kelly played. Equipment, medical equipment, practices, and games are all vastly safer, and that is an ongoing quest on every level.
Still, the NFL—the richest sports league in the world—owes a debt to its former players that I don't think it has fully acknowledged, let alone paid.
IDIOT OF THE DAY. The only more embarrassing thing to your life bottoming out to the point you have to steal from people is when it gets caught on tape for a play-by-play announcer to riff upon.
Last night we captured surveillance footage of a vandal trying to break in to one of our employee's vehicles in our parking lot. While the suspect is still at large, we took the liberty to have John Curley give his play-by-play of the incident.
— KIRO Radio 97.3 FM (@KIRORadio) February 1, 2018
Take a listen pic.twitter.com/FYQTiJsTDt
Hopefully our friend in the video finds the help he obviously needs.
THOSE WMDs. Blood avocados no more: Mexican town says it kicked out cartels... NFL is losing its core audience... Bud Light bets on Dilly Dilly to stem sliding sales... Latest on D.B. Cooper: Investigators say he was CIA... How Fat Leonard infiltrated the Navy's HQ.
