Greetings. My birthday is in July and I would like one of these, please.
She made this Ja Morant piece out of rice
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 24, 2021
(via @friedriceart)pic.twitter.com/9Sw45XZejy
But I'd settle for a year's supply of Arby's.
Word of the Day: Beguile.
STILL DECIDING. When you're a first-team All-Big Ten player, that usually means you at least have a chance to test the NBA waters – or at least get a feel for the process.
That's probably where E.J. Liddell is at right now. But between the death threats, the interviews and just adjusting to life in the offseason, he hasn't really made a decision about whether or not he'll go through the NBA draft process.
E.J. Liddell says he hasn't made a decision on if he'll go through the NBA draft process or not yet. Just focused on getting his life back to normal or getting back to his video games, he says.
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) March 24, 2021
My unsolicited take (that I'm sure E.J. will take strongly into consideration) is that there's pretty much no downside to going through the draft process, even if you're 100 percent certain you're coming back to school.
Why not get feedback from NBA scouts and decision-makers about how to improve your game? It seemed to work for Kaleb Wesson.
TIME AND CHANGE. Carmen Ohio is one of Ohio State's most beloved campus hymns that I'm sure I've sung hundreds of times at this point. But not once in my five years in school did I ever hear the song's origin story.
Thankfully, André White of The Lantern has us covered with a history lesson.
“Carmen Ohio” was composed by Fred Cornell, an Ohio State football player and men’s glee club member, in 1903. Cornell set the song to the tune of a song called “Spanish Hymn,” which was popular at the time, Evan Drexler, communications director for the athletic and marching bands, said.
The song, which was voted best spirit song by Lantern readers this year, was first performed by the men’s glee club and gained popularity after being published in The Lantern in 1906, Drexler said. After the lyrics appeared in a program for the game against Michigan that same year, the tradition of singing the song after home games began, according to Land-Grant Holy Land.
...
There are many interesting details that define the song as the community knows it today. “Carmen” means “song” in Latin and “Carmen Ohio” can be translated to “Ohio’s Song” or “Song of Ohio.”
What I did know is that the of singing Carmen Ohio after football games began with Jim Tressel, which is wild, because it just feels like a tradition that would date back way longer than that.
So, Tressel gave us postgame Carmen and Urban Meyer gave us pregame quick cals. Decisive – and I mean DECISIVE – edge to Tressel there. In fact, I'd argue quick cals is the single worst of Meyer's Ohio State legacies.
BEST OF THE BEST. It looks like noted football knower Bill Connolly is getting an early start on the portion of the offseason #content cycle I affectionately call Subjective List Season, rolling out a list of the 80 best defenders in college football since 2000.
And you'll be shocked to learn that Ohio State is well represented.
56. DE Joey Bosa, Ohio State (2013-15)
Ohio State's title-winning 2014 campaign is remembered primarily for late-season charges from Ezekiel Elliott and Cardale Jones, but Bosa was the team's steadiest star, logging 21.5 TFLs and 13.5 sacks in his first of two All-America seasons.
...
40. LB A.J. Hawk, Ohio State (2002-05)
Even at a school that has seemingly produced thousands of stud linebackers, Hawk stood out. He began his career helping the Buckeyes to the 2002 national title and finished it by winning the Lombardi Award and unanimous All-America honors.
...
32. S Mike Doss, Ohio State (1999-02)
Maybe the perfect free safety. Doss started 40 games, earned All-America honors three times, combined eight INTs with six sacks, put out countless fires before they could start and earned defensive MVP honors in his final game: 2002's BCS Championship win over Miami.
...
17. LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State (2005-08)
Laurinaitis recorded between 115-130 tackles, between 7-8.5 TFLs, between 3-4 sacks and between 2-5 INTs each year from 2006-08, earning consensus All-America honors each year and winning the Nagurski Trophy one year, the Butkus the next and the Ronnie Lott Trophy the next.
...
15. DE Chase Young, Ohio State (2017-19)
The former blue-chipper was good from the start, making five TFLs as a freshman backup. He came into his own as a sophomore (14.5 TFLs, 10.5 sacks, five pass breakups) before putting together one of the best pass-rushing seasons ever in 2019: 21 TFLs, 16.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, three breakups.
Ohio State was tied with a few schools for the most players on the list with five.
I'm sure I could think of some snubs and complain about some of these rankings (for example, No. 15 is a really weird place for the best pass rusher in college football history), but I mostly just tip the cap for a fairly solid list.
AT LEAST SOMEONE'S CARRYING THE BANNER. I think it's fair to say the Big Ten defecated its pants in the NCAA men's basketball tournament this year. After getting a nation's-best nine bids and half the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, the Big Ten has one (1) team in the Sweet 16.
But I'm pleased to report that at least somebody is representing the conference well.
Four Big Ten teams -- Indiana, Iowa, Maryland and Michigan -- have reached the Sweet 16, the most the conference has ever had in the regional semis. https://t.co/qSsBu5eiif
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) March 24, 2021
It's also worth noting that Ohio State was a top-25 team but was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament this season (if you missed it, the current players are basically being punished because players who are no longer on the team got sexually harassed by a coach who is no longer with the team.)
SONG OF THE DAY. "Yesterday" by The Beatles.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. A woman who was missing for three weeks is found trapped in a storm drain... Scientists have discovered why the human brain is so big... Miller Lite is releasing a candle that smells like a dive bar... A mom shows up to her daughter's school wearing a boxing glove, fights a child, and gets arrested... The three biggest regrets people have at the end of their lives... A man receives his last paycheck in over 90,0000 oil-covered pennies dumped on his driveway... What it's like to be addicted to work...
