Well, well, well... the bosses didn't plan for this.
Another Friday in the workers' utopia? Hell, I'm celebrating by stuffing the HR stooge in the company gym locker and walking off the job at 10 o'clock to claim a complimentary coffee.
ICYMI:
- The women's basketball team clinched back-to-back Big Ten titles.
- Mask Off: Tracy Sprinkle discusses his life outside of football, overcoming adversity and faith.
- After walking on to the Ohio State football team last season, Nick Seme is currently training for the Buckeyes' pro day and interning with their strength staff.
- Jae'Sean Tate's performance before, during and after Tuesday night's win over Rutgers showcased exactly why he's the heart and soul of Ohio State's basketball renaissance.
- Kirk Herbstreit will replace Jon Gruden during ESPN's first-round coverage of the 2018 NFL Draft.
- Reserve your (or your business’) spot next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
Word of the Day: Lachrymose.
BUCKEYES TAKING IT TO THE HOOP. Well, it happened like we all predicted.
Ohio State can't win the trophy outright; it could still lock up a No. 1 seed with some help from Wisconsin this weekend. The Buckeyes begin that quest tonight in Bloomington, Indiana, at 8 p.m. on FS1.
Here is where we stand heading into the weekend:
I'm not sure how the Big Ten translates to a national scale. I do know this weekend will entertain. Wisconsin could easily beat Michigan State. Maryland could dump Michigan's sorry ass. Nebraska may rise up against the Nittany Lion leviathan! Who's to say? Not me.
Here are the scenarios:
- If Ohio State wins and Michigan State loses, Buckeyes clinch the No. 1 seed.
- If Ohio State wins and Michigan State wins, Buckeyes clinch the No. 2 seed.
- If Ohio State loses and Michigan State and Purdue win, Buckeyes clinch the No. 3 seed.
Crazy how a three-seed could be considered a disappointment. However, in the Eternal Court of the Skull Session, whatever seed is rendered shall be deemed fair. My only hope is the local team doesn't draw Penn State in the opening round. I want that potential showdown as late as possible in the tournament.
THIS GUY SHOULD BE GOOD. Obviously every player that signs with Ohio State dominates peers. That doesn't change my pleasure in reading old stories about recent Buckeye signees dominating future middle managers on the gridiron.
Consider four-star linebacker K'Vaughan Pope. As you might imagine, a product of a football family showed an early predilection to physical domination of opponents. Most impressively, he did it before being street legal in Virginia.
From theozone.net:
“Junior varsity is mainly ninth and tenth graders,” Dinwiddie head coach Billy Mills explained. “Every now and then if we get a different kind of eighth grader we bring him up, and he was definitely a different kind of eighth grader. He came up and dominated. We don’t allow here in Virginia to play eighth graders on the varsity, but he would have started as an eighth grader on the varsity. That was the year we went 15-0 and won a state championship by 60 points. It was the best team we’ve ever had.”
When Dinwiddie was getting ready to face a player that they couldn’t necessarily mirror in practice, they would call Pope up from the junior varsity to give them some good looks.
“We would bring him up if we were facing a team with a big, physical receiver because we didn’t have one,” Mills said. “So if we needed a good look at that, we’d bring him down and he loved it. He loved to compete."
Love of competition is the bedrock DNA of every Urban Meyer recruit.
Still, I wish we had a reaction GIF database of high school coaches' faces immediately following the first big play from a future D-1 signee. It would be a bastion of comedy.
WORKING MAN PARLAYS SYSTEM INTO PAYDAY. It's uncertain for which NFL team former Ohio State slob Andrew Norwell will play next season. The only certainty is he will be payed a big bank salary:
On #Panthers G Andrew Norwell: Very clear hes one of the top FAs regardless of position. Carolina wants to keep him. But the tag number of $14M+ is more for a tackle than a guard. Creates a difficult situation for a team, great one for a great player.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 22, 2018
Pay that man his money, Panthers. Unless Norwell would prefer the greener pastures of Cleveland. In which case, welcome to the Empire.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN CATCHES A CASE. Ohio State won't play TCU until the third game of the season. Still, this is a case to watch as it makes its way through the Texas judicial system.
From star-telegram.com:
Details of alleged abuse involving five former TCU football players have been added to a lawsuit accusing TCU football coach Gary Patterson and the university of a pattern of verbal abuse and a pressure to play despite serious injuries.
In a filing Wednesday, former receiver Kolby Listenbee added the stories of Lonta Hobbs, Ed Wesley, David Johnson, Stansly Maponga and Cameron White to his lawsuit against Patterson, TCU and former athletic director Chris Del Conte.
Listenbee claims there was a pattern of "systematic misconduct" at TCU before he enrolled there in 2012 out of Arlington Bowie.
Ohio State is currently litigating a case against Chris Spielman. That feels like squabbles over pennies compared to the allegations in this lawsuit.
And yes, Keyboard Lawyers, I'm aware allegations aren't synonymous with convictions. I'm still thankful to cheer for a program where former players don't sue the coach.
THOSE WMDs. The notorious Crossbow Killer... Match quality, search, and the internet market for used books... Homelessness, step by step... Revealing a secret message in a piece of music... Police union: City should let officer fired over hidden cameras used to spy on ex-wife go back to work... If your Apple Watch knows you'll get diabetes, whom can it tell?
