We as a country need to figure out a way to stymy the racketeers who steamroll 22+ items through Kroger's express checkout line. Either the number 15 means something to us as a society or it doesn't.
Between that and neanderthals leaving their carts helter-skelter throughout the parking lot, behavior in a grocery store continues to be one of the clearest moral tests of our time.
It's a pass-fail test, too. You either respect other people's time or you don't.
ICYMI:
- Basketbucks up to No. 14 in latest AP Top 25 as KDB claimed his fourth B1G Player of the Week award.
- Ohio State tends to fend better with one main running back.
- Kam Williams will likely be suspended against Purdue.
- Reserve defensive lineman Dylan Thompson to transfer.
- Andy Vance's wrestling autopsy from Happy Valley.
- Reserve your (or your business’) spot next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
Word of the Day: Azimuth.
THE WAIT BEGINS. Football Scoop reported Monday it "expected" Greg Schiano to be the next defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports followed up by reporting it wasn't yet a done deal.
Football Scoop doubled down later in the day:
New England Patriots: Source tells FootballScoop Greg Schiano is planning to bring University of Minnesota defensive coordinator Robb Smith with him to the Patriots. Smith served on Schiano’s staff at Rutgers and with the Tampa Bay Bucs. However at this time nothing is in place and we wouldn’t expect anything to occur before signing day.
Of course, with National Signing Day looming, these types of things need to be denied with carefully worded tweets.
Contrary to speculation, I am a Gopher#RTB
— Robb Smith (@CoachSmithMN) February 5, 2018
"I am a Gopher" — not quite as confidence-instilling for fans as "I will be a Gopher in September."
And yes, it hurts to lose Schiano.
I'd rather concentrate on how amazing it was a former NFL head coach coordinated Ohio State's defense for two years. The hire was a smashing success, and that wasn't a surefire thing when it happened.
YOUNG MOZART. Keita Bates-Diop is playing on a level that is making the Wooden Award atone for past snubs. The increased production has helped increase his off-the-court profile. Did you know Bates-Diop plays the piano? I did not.
From Sports Illustrated:
Each week, we’ll get to know a standout player a little better by asking them about some of the best things in the world. This week we welcome Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop, who is averaging 19.6 points and 8.8 rebounds for the Buckeyes. So, Keita, tell us about the best...
...season of the year. “Summer, definitely. I’m not a big fan of the cold, but I deal with it. I like to go to the pool, just walk around. Sandals or slides or whatever, and shorts and a T-shirt—that’s my normal wear.”
...show to binge-watch. “I got a lot of those. Dexter is pretty good. Just watched The Walking Dead. All those shows everybody talks about, I’ve seen all of them. Breaking Bad—all those. I’ve watched whole seasons before on an off day. I don’t have a favorite. I jump around with a bunch of different shows, cartoons, doesn’t matter. I just started re-watching the old Justice League cartoons. I’m a big Batman fan.”
...secret talent of yours. “I play the piano. I have since I was young. I can’t even remember when I started. I took lessons and then we had one in our house so I had to learn how to play it eventually. It was something they wanted us to know how to do, to play some type of instrument. My younger brother can play the piano too. I can’t find a piano around here.”
Dexter was pretty good for, like, three seasons. The finale was one of the more ludicrous hours produced in American television history. The Walking Dead is terrible. It's monotonous and zombies are about as original as an affair between an executive and a secretary.
More to the point, why can't we get KBD a piano upon which to riff? The athletic department can afford one.
PITTMAN SETTLES INTO NEW LIFE. Ah, the early thirties, when you can no longer deny the existence of the space-time continuum and have to start thinking about abstract concepts like "retirement."
It's a time of great reflection. Former Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman, now a firefighter in Middletown, is no different.
From the Associated Press:
Pittman, 32, grew up in one of Akron’s inner-city neighborhoods and said he was fortunate that he didn’t take any wrong turns or make any wrong choices. He credits his mother, sisters, grandparents and uncles for keeping him on the right course, even though his father wasn’t around much. As he grew up, his brother died at a young age.
While he described his life as “blessed,” Pittman said he’s “experienced a lot of highs and lows of a true underdog story.”
“A couple of wrong turns could have had you end up in jail, or worse,” he said. “The things that I’ve seen, the choices I could have made, I can honestly say if I’d gone left I would be in another situation or if I made a right turn, I would have a good life. That wrong turn could have been my last.”
Shoutout to Pittman for becoming a firefighter. That job is no joke, and they do a lot more than fight fires. (The older I get, the more I appreciate the middle-of-the-road players who contribute in Columbus and go on to a well-compensated career.)
TEXAS RE-TAKEOVER. Turmoil in Texas is a boon for the bottom line of Ohio State. In recent years, the Buckeyes enjoyed bountiful Lone Star State harvests as Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma all struggled to recruit the state for various reasons.
The shine of A&M's SEC association, however, has worn off. Oklahoma made the playoffs. Tom Herman, who you might not know founded MENSA, the organization for geniuses, is entering Year 2 in Austin.
That is to say traditional Big 12 powers are muscling back into their old recruiting turf.
From diehards.com:
The shift is especially disappointing considering the strength of the Big 12’s ties in the state. Texas boasts four Big 12 programs, the most of any state. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are north of the Red River. Both have huge fan bases in the state, particularly in the metropolitan areas.
Luckily, that clout is starting to rise again. Of the 45 committed 4- and 5-star prospects in Texas, 27 are committed to Big 12 schools. That includes 15 of the top 25 players in the state. Big 12 programs have not reached more than 23 elite commits or 11 in the top 25 since Texas A&M’s first full SEC recruiting class.
By far the biggest change came at Texas. The top six committed players in the state have pledged to Texas, and 10 of 12 overall. Oklahoma and Baylor also are doing well, each with four blue-chip prospects from the state. Texas A&M is the only SEC program with a recruit from the state ranked higher than No. 18.
Well, if Texas talent won't be exported to the Midwest, let it stay out of the Southeast. It will make the Big Ten's acquisition of Oklahoma and Texas that much more lucrative.
SWING AND A MISS. Negative recruiting is an effective tool, which is why every staff in the country uses it, if not every head coach.
Lane Kiffin, who has enjoyed quite the rehabilitation in image since entering rehab under Nick Saban at Alabama, had a quite the line for Alshon Jeffrey while the former coached Tennessee and the latter was a four-star recruit.
From espn.com in 2009 (via sbnation.com in 2018):
According to Jeffery and Wilson, Kiffin told Jeffery that if he chose the Gamecocks, he would end up pumping gas for the rest of his life like all the other players from that state who had gone to South Carolina.
Jeffery was doing his best to stay awake at that point, but that comment from Kiffin woke him up. He clearly hasn’t forgotten it, either.
”He said it, but it’s not worth talking about,” Jeffery said.
This concludes another chapter in "When Negative Recruiting Real Goes Wrong."
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