Bleacher Report - Articles by Ryan Staab

The Four Faces of Ohio State's Mt. Rushmore

Ryan Staab — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:27:59 -0500

Adam Rittenberg, the Big Ten football blogger for ESPN.com, has spent the past week listing the four people of each of the programs that more or less defined the team. Here's who he picked for Ohio State:

1. Woody Hayes

The coaching icon will always be the face of Ohio State football. He won five national championships and 13 Big Ten titles in 28 years on the sidelines at Ohio State. The fiery Hayes went 205-61-10 as Buckeyes coach and led the team to four Rose Bowls.

2. Archie Griffin

He remains college football's only two-time Heisman Trophy winner and one of the game's all-time greats. The College Football Hall of Famer had 5,589 career rushing yards and 26 touchdowns at Ohio State. In his four years the Buckeyes went 40-5-1.

3. Chris Spielman

There's certainly some debate about Ohio State's greatest defensive player, but Spielman certainly is at or near the top of the list. Plus, there are few figures more revered in the state of Ohio than Spielman, a two-time All-America selection who won the Lombardi Award in 1987. Spielman embodies Ohio State football and holds the school record for solo tackles (283).

4. Chic Harley

Yes, Ohio State football did exist before Hayes arrived, and Harley symbolized the program's dominance during the 1910s. A halfback and a safety, Harley led Ohio State to its first Big Ten championship in 1916 and another title in 1917. Harley earned All-America honors in all three seasons he played and helped Ohio State to a 21-1-1 record, with his lone loss coming in his final game.

There were many others considered for the list, including Jack Tatum, Howard Cassady, Les Horvath, Eddie George, Vic Janowicz, Bobby Hoying, Jim Tressel, David Boston, Jim Parker, Cris Carter and Orlando Pace.

I wholeheartedly agree that Woody, Chic, and Archie should be faces one through three on the Buckeyes Mt. Rushmore, but Spielman's a head-scratcher for me. Yeah, he was a great linebacker (with a Lombardi Award to boot) but he had the misfortune, at least by Buckeye Nation's standards, of playing on some mediocre teams back in the '80s. Unless Adam was deliberately trying to even the selection between the offense and defense, there are about two or three other people I would rather see on Ohio State's Mt. Rushmore.

My first thought was replacing Spielman with Paul Brown, the supreme overlord of football in Ohio. Unfortunately, Brown wasn't the Buckeyes' coach long enough to truly establish a legacy like Francis Schmidt before him and Hayes, after the Wes Fesler debacle.

Others argued that Jim Tressel should be on the fourth face but I'm hesitant, despite really liking his personna and emphasis on developing character as much as talent. I don't always agree with his conservative play-calling or his unbreakable loyalty to mediocre offensive and defensive coordinators.

Then we've got Vic Janowicz, Ohio State's first Heisman winner. Here's a guy who even received praise from Woody in his first year of coaching (remember that this was a time when the players and most of Columbus was ready to banish Woody from Central Ohio): "He was not only a great runner, but also passed, was a placekicker and punter, played safety on defense and was an outstanding blocker. Janowicz epitomized the 'triple-threat' football player."

And then there's the first Heisman winner of the Hayes Era, Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, who, as a running back, averaged at least one touchdown per game in his college career. In addition to his 1955 Heisman Trophy, Cassady was also a Maxwell Award recipient and was the Associated Press Athlete of the Year.

So who is the fourth face on Ohio State's Mt. Rushmore? Personally, I'd go with Cassady who in addition to the hardware and accolades previously mentioned, also helped the Buckeyes win their second national title in 1954, the first of many during the Woody Hayes era.

Also, when in the hell is Ohio State finally going to get a Woody Hayes statue? The athletic center tie-in is nice, but the man and his legacy are long overdue for a bronzed likeness near the rotunda of the Horseshoe.

Ohio State's Football Recruiting Rankings Hangover

Ryan Staab — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:56:31 -0500

I admit that I am new to the recruiting media frenzy, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why/how Ohio State dropped to No. 9 in the ESPN recruiting rankings.

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Florida
6. Georgia
7. Miami (Fla.)
8. Florida State
9. Ohio State
10. Michigan

I could see Ohio State as No. 4 with LSU, USC, and either Alabama, Texas, or Florida being ahead of the Buckeyes.

How, when Sports Illustrated/Rivals has Ohio State at No. 3 , Scout has them at No. 1, and CBS Sports/Tom Lemming has the team at No. 2, were Florida State, Georgia, and "The U" better than Ohio State this year according to ESPN?

Oh never mind, I forgot that it's cold in Columbus and nobody wants to go anywhere that lacks palm trees and sandy beaches to play football.

In addition to having two components of the Trifecta of Stupid, (Jenkins works for CBS Sports), I'm finding very little reason to continue patronizing ESPN for anything sports-related other than Bill Simmons.

Ohio State Football 2K8: The Battle For Respect

Ryan Staab — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:34:48 -0500

So this is it: the last game of a roller coaster season for the Buckeyes.

I have to admit that when the bowl match-ups were first announced, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of Ohio State playing Texas, a team that should be playing either Florida or Oklahoma in the BCS Championship.

However, after watching other teams in the Big XII struggle against their bowl opponents, I'm suddenly not as worried as I probably should be.

That's not to say the Longhorns won't be tough. Their only real blemish was a last-second loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock, Tex., back in November. Their passing game is practically unstoppable. The thought of Brian Okrapo going after Terrelle Pryor scares me. And as much as I hate to admit it, I like and respect Mack Brown.

Somewhat off-topic, but I'll never forget the Buckeyes rally held at Chase Field in Phoenix the day before the 2007 BCS Championship (aka the "Debacle in the Desert"). Jim Tressell, Troy Smith and the other players sounded unmotivated when they spoke to the crowd. After three previous bowl victories, playing in Phoenix had been taken for granted.

Little were any of us aware of the 2007 Gators' power and speed.

One of the reasons I held off on writing this preview was due to the fact that I wanted to see if history would repeat itself. Despite the un-Phoenix-like rainstorm we had earlier today, I waited along with thousands of other Ohio State fans to see what, and more importantly how, Tressel and his players would address the crowd at a rally held in Tempe.

Fortunately, Tressel, Brian Robiskie, and James Laurinaitis sounded a lot more focused and hungry than the 2006 team. Whether or not that will result in a victory tomorrow night remains to be seen, but this Buckeyes squad realizes the amount of disrespect they get from the national media and the rest of the country after three blowout losses on the national stage.

As almost every other media pundit has said, Ohio State needs to win this game. The Big Ten conference has had a dismal bowl season thus far, tarnishing the reputation of smashmouth-style northern football.

Before taking a look at positional matchups, here's some Buckeyes links:
Are Big XII Teams better known for strong offenses or weak defenses? Tim May and Ken Gordon of the Columbus Dispatch discuss the fact and fiction behind the perception.

Tressel's reputation will depend on the outcome of Monday night's Fiesta Bowl according to Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State's offensive line will have their hands full with Longhorns defensive end Brian Orakpo says ESPN's Mark Schlabach

Quarterback:
Pryor has a 62.5 percent passing average and has completed 95 passes for 1,245 yards, with 12 touchdown passes this season. On the ground, he has 124 carries for 553 yards.

Colt McCoy has a 77.6 percent passing average and has completed 291 passes for 3,445 yards with 32 touchdown passes. In 128 carries, he racked up 576 yards.

Advantage: TEXAS

Rushing:
Beanie Wells averages 5.7 yards per run on 191 carries (1,091 yards) with eight touchdowns.

After McCoy (128 carries for 576 yards), Vondrell McGee is the Longhorns' next best runner, going 88-376 with four touchdowns.

Advantage: OHIO STATE

Receivers:
Brian Hartline is Ohio State's best wide receiver, but it is uncertain if he will be playing in the Fiesta Bowl because of an alleged curfew violation on New Year's Eve, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Regardless, Hartline averages 22.8 yards per reception and is 21-479 this season with four touchdowns. Robiskie is 37-419 with 8 touchdowns and averages 11.3 yards per reception.

The Longhorns' Jordan Shipley is 79-982 with 11 receiving touchdowns (leading the team in total touchdowns with 13 for the season) and averaging 12.4 yards per reception. Quan Cosby is 78-952 with eight touchdowns and averages 12.2 yards per reception.

Advantage: TEXAS

Expect another strong outing from McCoy and his wide receivers, who have dominated almost every game they've played this season. Laurinaitis and the Buckeyes defense need to attack McCoy in order to stop Texas' passing game, and the offensive line must figure out how to keep Brian Orakpo away from Pryor and open up routes for Wells. As this Buckeyes squad is already aware, mistakes and penalties were a huge factor in their previous losses. There is no room for error against a loaded Texas offense, while Alex Boone and the rest of the offensive line will have their hands full with the No. 2 run defense in the country.

Unfortunately, considering the Longhorns' offensive weapons, this looks to be another BCS loss for the Buckeyes. Ohio State's defense is the best Texas has seen all year, and I wouldn't be surprised if the score is tied going into the half, but Texas will pound Ohio State late in the game.

My prediction:
Texas Longhorns 31, Ohio State 17

Ohio State Football 2K8 Week Seven: Tressel Needs a Moustache

Ryan Staab — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:27:07 -0400

No, Tressel did not grow a mustache, that was just me futzing around with MS Paint, inspired by this article from Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer about coaches with mustaches in the Big Ten.

Upon closer observation, my Paint masterpiece makes it look like Tressel was on the wrong end of, um, something that probably shouldn't be mentioned on a family friendly website. The above picture is a perfect example of why I never pursued graphic design as a major in college...

Anyway, Ohio State beat Wisky 20-17 and I was wrong with my game prediction. I like it when I'm wrong. Terrelle Pryor made some rookie mistakes, but guess what folks: HE IS A ROOKIE. Name one college football team in the country that wouldn't kill to have a true freshman with Pryor's talent?

My only complaint was that I couldn't watch the game on ABC, seeing as how I was in Southern California where of course, USC takes precedent over everything else.

Here's some other links for you to check out:

Doug Harris of the Dayton Daily News thinks the Buckeyes are lacking in the fear factor department.

Megan Couling is Sports Illustrated's Cheerleader of the Week. What can I say? I'm a sucker for girls with curly hair.

Check out B/R newcomer Ryan Burns' prediction of the Ohio State-Purdue game. Welcome to the site, Ryan.

Doug Lesmerises' article from the Plain Dealer breaking down the odds of Ohio State making another appearance in the National Championship game.

Another excellent article from Bleacher Creature Gray Ghost.

Theme song of the week is "Edie (Ciao, Baby) by The Cult:

I'm as perplexed as everyone else regarding Curtis Painter's performance this season (and Purdue's in general). Granted I didn't pick the 'Due to win the Big Ten, but I thought they'd be better than what we've seen thus far. Doesn't help that Painter's in the doghouse with Joe Tiller right now.

As long as we have our dual backfield threat, I'm really not too concerned about this game. Yeah, Purdue would love nothing more than to play spoiler; yeah, it'd be a marquee win for Tiller in his last season.

Yeah, they gave Penn State a rough time last week, but I don't see an upset happening. Not with Pryor and Beanie. Not even against our schizo defense (how else could you describe the way they play other than schizophrenic? Sometimes great, sometimes mind-numbingly infuriating).

Pryor's numbers last week against Wisky were a dependable 13-19-144 with one pick and a 68.4 passing average and averaged 7.6 yards per pass. His overall passing stats this season are 42-65-440-5 with a whopping two picks in four starts and a 64.6 passing average. In comparison, Painter is 110-191-1225-5, but against Penn State he was 57.6 passing average 13-22-112 with one interception and averaged 5.1 yards.

Needless to say, Pryor has the edge in head-to-head match-up.

Receiving is where it gets a little tricky, though. Hartline is the leading wide receiver, going 13-226 with two touchdown receptions so far this season, while Robo is 22-213 with four touchdown receptions.

Purdue's Desmond Tardy is 25-393 with two touchdowns while Greg Orton is 30-330 with one touchdown. Purdue has the edge in passing, if and when Painter can actually throw the ball to his guys.

Long story short, expect to see more of the "Terrelle and Beanie Show" with both running circles around Purdue's defense.

My prediction:
Ohio State Buckeyes 31, Purdue Boilermakers 14

Ohio State Football 2K8 Week Six: Poisonous Nuts Versus Rabid Badgers

Ryan Staab — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:42:53 -0400

Source

Don't have much time for a write-up this week, but here are a few thoughts about last week's game versus Minnesota.

1. Beanie Wells + Terrelle Pryor = EPIC WIN!

2. When in doubt about your bowl aspirations, have faith that other marquee teams are just as capable of losing games as you are.

3. I know by the time the fourth quarter rolled around the score was Ohio State 34, Minnesota 6, but why on earth weren't the Buckeyes' third stringers able to stop Adam Weber?

Here are some links to check out courtesy of the fine writers at Bleacher Report.

Gray Ghost (an avid UGA fan) offers you some Bulldog-flavored humble pie.

Unsure what certain football terms mean? Lisa Horne explains them to you.

Justin Hearn analyzes five up-and-coming teams in the Big Ten that will give Ohio State trouble in the future.

Chip Minnich goes more in-depth about the defensive issues still plaguing Ohio State.

There is no theme song this week because a) I didn't have time to think about one and b) I can't access YouTube at work.

Maybe I'll give you two theme songs next week (does anyone even listen to them!?).

I was ecstatic on Saturday because the Gators were upset by Ole Miss, and I'd heard on the radio that the score at halftime for the UW-UM game was Wisky 19-0. Imagine my surprise when I got home from work to find that scUM had come back from a 19-point deficit and went on to beat Wisconsin.

Honestly, I still believe that Wisconsin is still one of the top two in the Big Ten (the other being Penn State), and it really doesn't help the Buckeyes that this game is being played in Wisconsin in front of fans looking for their team to redeem itself after a surprising loss the previous week.

Of course, Ohio State hasn't played at Camp Randall since 2003, when their 19-game winning streak was snapped in a 17-10 loss to the Badgers. Fortunately, as Ken Gordon of the Dispatch points out, nobody from that 2003 Buckeye squad is still on the team, and a number of these guys on this year's squad waltzed into an always-hostile Beaver Stadium last year and killed Penn State.

Still, I'm a superstitious person at heart, and I don't like the Buckeyes' track record at Camp Randall (their last win there was too close for comfort in 2002), not to mention the fact that Bielema is still undefeated in Madison, and Wisconsin is the only team in the Big Ten against which Tressel has a losing record (2-3).

Let's not forget that last year's game at Ohio Stadium (Ohio State 38, Wisky 17) was closer than the score indicated, and in that game, the Badgers were without star back P.J. Hill.

Adding two more roadblocks to an Ohio State victory in Madison are the return of tight end Garrett Graham and H-back Travis Beckum.

If Ohio State's defense isn't able to rise above the mediocrity that's affected them the past four games, I'm personally going to start a campaign to get defensive coordinator Jim Heacock fired and will spearhead the search for someone who can maximize the potential of Ohio State's defensive talents, especially against those pesky spread offenses.

I figure Pryor (29-46-291-1 with five touchdown passes this season) will be starting, but it was nice to see Boeckman regain some of his confidence in a few key plays against the Gophers. That touchdown pass to Robiskie in the third quarter was icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned.

All in all, this game depends on how the Buckeyes defense handles Wisky's explosive offense and the raucous crowd at Camp Randall on Saturday night.

Two high-powered offenses versus questionable defenses should make for an interesting game, but I'm giving the edge to Wisconsin, which is looking for revenge after last week and playing in front of an always insane home crowd at night.

My prediction: Wisconsin Badgers 38, Ohio State Buckeyes 31

Ohio State Football 2K8 Week Five: Win That Old Conference Now

Ryan Staab — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:59:28 -0400

Photo courtesy of Scout.com

This week’s game preview is not as in-depth as I hoped it would be. I’m in the process of applying to grad schools and looking for jobs in Southern California, so needless to say, my mind is elsewhere and will be until I can get all this sorted out…

All is not well in Buckeye Nation since there’s still questions about the offensive line and whether or not Jim Heacock should still be in charge of the defense, but, to borrow phrases from Barack Obama, there’s elements of “hope” and “change” we can believe in, and it comes in the form of Terrelle Pryor as the starting quarterback.

Given the talent on the 2008 Buckeyes squad, the score should’ve been Ohio State 100, Troy 3, but keep in mind they were trying to overcome the mental issues surrounding another butt kicking by a highly ranked opponent (who will probably go on to win the National Championship this year).

Say what you will about Ohio State, but at least we lose to college football powerhouses. Then again, that’s like saying the Soviet Union should be commended for being second to the United States in terms of world domination.

On second thought, don’t say that.

Fellow Bleacher Creature Chip Minnich still has some concerns about the Buckeyes, despite their victory over Troy.

As much as I dislike Todd Boeckman, I can’t help but admire his ability to handle
his demotion with the utmost class and poise. For more info about the way Boeckman’s handled the quarterback switch, check out Ken Gordon’s column in the Dispatch.

Many of you have probably heard about Boeckman getting booed by fans at Ohio Stadium the two times he took the field last Saturday against Troy. Rob Oeller offers his opinion, but like I’ve said: As much as I dislike Boeckman as a football player, I have an incredible amount of respect for the way he’s handled everything.

Fans booing Boeckman as he took the field was unsportsmanlike and honestly, its one of the few times I’ve ever been embarrassed of Buckeyes fans. We’re better than that, folks, and Boeckman, for everything he did last year, didn’t deserve that kind of reaction from the crowd.

This is a guy who could’ve easily become a cancer in the locker room for being replaced, but instead took the high road and has continued to mentor Pryor while he learns the ins and outs of Ohio State’s offense.

Look at it this way, folks: Let’s say you’re dating the hottest girl in school, but you know she’s way out of your league. You decide to pursue her anyway, and to your surprise, she wants to date you. Things go well for a while, you have the requisite ups and downs that occur in any relationship, but eventually you both realize that things are starting to fall apart, especially when she starts hanging out with your best friend and getting a little too close to him.

Instead of getting psycho possessive like some people, you realize that your relationship is coming to an end, and you welcome the opportunity to support your best friend and his pursuit of your ex, hoping their relationship will be more fruitful than yours.

Okay, while that sounds incredibly unrealistic, bear with me here. Imagine that one day out of the blue, her friends (none of whom liked you to begin with) start harassing you for no reason, following you everywhere and taunting you, even after you begin dating someone else. In real life, you’d probably get a restraining order after the harassment becomes too much to bear.

Now imagine that you’re Todd Boeckman and you sprint onto the field to take your first snap in front of the home crowd a week after blowing a huge game in Southern California…

And with that idiotic analogy, let’s take a look at this Saturday’s game.

This week’s theme song is "Run Like Hell" by Pink Floyd

The good news is that Pryor will once again be starting. Even better news is that there’s a strong possibility we’ll be seeing Beanie in the backfield against the Golden Gophers.

Here’s a combo I never thought would happen: Pryor at quarterback and Beanie at running back. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier. It’s like Christmas was suddenly moved back three months. Those two, along with Ray Small whenever he decides to get out of Tressel’s doghouse, make up for almost all concerns I have about the offense.

Still, Minnesota’s coming to Columbus undefeated, while Ohio State has a rather humiliating loss under its belt.

Stats wise, Adam Weber kills Pryor. Weber’s currently 79-110-967-1 in four games compared to Pryor’s 21-33-226-1. Then again, Pryor wasn’t the starting quarterback for two of those games. He had an impressive first start though, going 10-16-139-1 against Troy.

Minnesota’s biggest offensive strength is their passing game. Gophers wide receiver Eric Decker is 32-454 with four touchdowns in four games and averages 14.2 yards per reception. Brian Hartline, currently the Buckeyes’ top receiver, is 9-147 with two touchdowns and averages 16.3 yards per reception.

The majority of Hartline’s total reception stats came in last week’s game against Troy where he was 2-55, catching two touchdown passes. Brian Robiskie went 2-41 against Troy with one touchdown and is 12-113 for the season.

The Gophers obviously aren’t the same team they were last year, but if the Buckeyes can stop their passing game and pressure Weber, I don’t see Minnesota leaving Columbus undefeated. It’ll be closer than expected, but the Buckeyes should handle this no problem in front of the home crowd.

And if Boeckman is used for a couple of plays, show the kid some respect.

My prediction:

Ohio State Buckeyes 35, Minnesota Golden Gophers 28

Stats courtesy of CBS Sportsline

Ohio State Football 2K8 Week Four: Holy Crap, More Trojans!?

Ryan Staab — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:47:17 -0400

Source

Bad Todd was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum last Saturday. Rumor has it that he murdered Good Todd and threw the body in a crate which currently sits at the bottom of the Olentangy River underneath the Lane Avenue Bridge.

There's been a lot of blame going around from everyone in the media and blogging communities. I say we get it out of the way and place blame on the following people for Ohio State's "Craptastic at the Coliseum" performance against the USC Trojans:

1. Jim Tressel
2. Jim Bollman
3. Jim Heacock
4. Gene Smith
5. The Ohio State University Marching Band*
6. Art Schlicter
7. Todd "I don't like when Ohio State has possession of the football" Boeckman
8. John Cooper
9. Maurice Clarett
10. Brutus Buckeye
11. Bo Schembechler's Ghost
12. The residents of the City of Cincinnati Ohio
13. Mark May and Trev Alberts
14. Andy Geiger
15. Mother Theresa (although I don't really know why?)

*Other than the loss, the second-biggest disappointment for Buckeye fans at the game was the fact that the marching band didn't show up. I too was hoping to see "Script Ohio" in the Coliseum (being a former band geek myself) but was quite surprised at the amount of irritation and animosity coming from fans when they found out the band wasn't in Los Angeles.

Probably didn't help that upon entering the Buckeye Bash rally at Exposition Park, fans were given kazoos and told by the Ohio State Alumni Association that "We [the fans] had to take the place of the band" since the real one couldn't be there.

On the other hand, I'd like to give a huge shout out to the USC faithful. I'd grown to hate USC because of the amount of smugness and arrogance I'd encountered from their fan base in Orange County after living there for five years. Maybe it’s because I was raised in the Midwest, and say what you will about Ohio State fans, but I know very few of us who are smug (and really, we have no reason to be at this time).

My opinion of USC fans was proven wrong in the ten hours I spent on campus last Saturday, especially after the game. I ran into one jackass fan before the game (and this was after walking around the Coliseum and on campus for several hours), but nobody was verbally harassing me about the loss after the game (and I'd be a pretty easy target: A fat guy wearing a scarlet jersey and a buckeye necklace), and most commented on Pryor and his potential.

Speaking of my time in Los Angeles last weekend, I took photos of the game with my new camera.

Apparently Earle Bruce is upset with the way fans are calling for Tressel, Bollman and Heacock's heads, according to Dispatch blogger Keith Godfrey.

I was having a hard time not going completely negative after the Bucks' performance against USC, but really, what good will that do? At least now Ohio State doesn't have a target on its back for the rest of the season (although it would be nice to silence the haters by actually winning a few big games), and a lot of people forget that the team still has a shot at the Big Ten Conference Title.

Really though, there were a lot of explanations for why we got blown out by Florida (Ted Ginn was injured, the team underestimated the Gators' abilities) and LSU (Ohio State was in a rebuilding year, we wouldn't have been in the game had Mizzou and West Virginia won their games), but there's really no excuse for this kind of losing.

With the experience and talent on the 2008 Buckeyes squad, they're still plagued by the same type of penalties that cost them the 2008 BCS game against LSU and last season’s Illinois game.

And really, both the defense and offense need to come up with more creative plays than what we saw last Saturday. The guy I sat next to in the Coliseum (a fellow Buckeye fan) called every play the Buckeyes' offense was going to execute. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez told a Los Angeles radio station that based on the film he saw before the game, he knew what the Buckeyes would do.

If some guy in Section 5, Row 70 seat 114, and the opposing team's quarterback knew what plays Ohio State was going to use, then obviously the USC defense knew just as well. There's a serious problem with the coaching when your team is that predictable, even if you have the #1 and #2 high school prospects at all your key positions. What good is the talent if they're not well-coached?

Rob Oller and Ray Stein of the Dispatch both agree and examine this problem further in-depth in an article written last Monday.

Once again, I have no idea what the hell Pat Forde's talking about. If anyone can kindly offer an explanation of the first paragraph of this week's FordeYard Dash, I'd be most appreciative.

For other's take on last week's blowout, here's a couple of articles from fellow Bleacher Creatures:

Buckeye Commentary's analysis on the team's sub par performance and possible reasons the game turned out the way it did.

Lisa Horne analyzes the Buckeyes' predictability.

Paul Peszko wonders if Tressel was under the influence of some sort of opiate or Valium during his post game press conference.

Gerald Ball tries to put a positive spin on last week's game. Given how much I hate the trolls at ESPN, I like to see this posted as a blog entry over at ESPN just to see what kind of reaction it'd generate.

And finally, Chip Minnich discusses what should be Ohio State's focus the rest of the season.

Alright, enough bitching. Onward to next week's game.

This week's theme song is "The Day That Never Comes" by Metallica

Tressel seems to be wising up to the fact that all is not well in Buckeye Nation, and has decided to forgo seniority for hard work in practice, splitting the playing time between Boeckman and Pryor according to the Dispatch.

Quote of the week from Sweater Vest:
"I would say this: Terrelle has been very impressive. There's not many freshmen that I've had with very limited reps that have been able to conceptually pick up as much as he has, and he's a pretty special player."

Some have likened it to the controversy surrounding Justin Zwick's performance in 2004 versus his backup, Troy Smith. Let’s see how well Pryor handles himself against the [other] Trojans before we start comparing him to St. Troy of Cleveland, but the kid has definitely been a bright spot in an otherwise bland offense the past two games. If the pressure of the USC game didn't bother him, he shouldn't have any problem taking on Troy in front of a home crowd.

But let’s face it: Todd Boeckmancould discover a cure for cancer and at the same time, save a box full of puppies from a burning ship, all during a 30-second time out in the third quarter of the OSU-Troy game with the Buckeyes up 54-3 and people would still probably jeer him.

There was talk of this being a trap game for the Buckeyes if they beat USC since Troy's subjected themselves to some fairly tough competition this year and last season. Their offense is capable of scoring, but this isn't the same defense from last year. Had the LSU game not been postponed until November 15, they probably would've faced the Buckeyes with a 2-1 record.

Check out the Dispatch's article about Troy's scheduling since joining the FBS. And the outcomes of their match ups since 2001.

So how do Boeckman and Pryor compare to Troy's quarterbacks? Boeckman went 14-21 for 84 yards and 2 interceptions against USC. He couldn't run the ball in the right direction, and ended up with -27 rushing yards. Boeckman's currently 44-66-381-2 for the season in three games.

Terrelle Pryor, on the other hand went 7-9 for 52 yards and no picks against the Trojans and put up 40 yards of rushing. He's currently 11-17-87-0 this season in three games.

For the Trojans, Jamie Hampton is 43 of 65 for 459 yards and three INTs with five touchdown passes and 86 rushing yards. Statistically speaking, he looks a helluva lot better than either Boeckman or Pryor. Backup quarterbacks for Troy include Tanner Jones, who is 5-10-42-0 but has only played in one game. Levi Brown is 6-10-56-0 in one game.

Since we're still not sure whether or not Beanie will play, once again, he's off this week's stats comparison for running backs.

Pryor leads the team in rushing yards, with 25-119 this season and averaging 5.2 yards a carry and has one touchdown. Boom is second, currently 28-118 averaging 4.2 yards a carry and also has one touchdown. Boom had 11 carries for 51 yards last week against USC, as well as 23 receiving yards. Zippy went 2-10 and Mo had one carry with negative yardage.

For the Trojans, DuJuan Harris is 28-187, averaging 6.7 yards per carry and has three touchdowns. Harris has also gone 3-25 in receiving for one touchdown. Maurice Greer is 11-114 this season averaging 10.4 yards and one touchdown. Fernandus Edwards is 12-79 with one touchdown and averages 6.6 yards.

Brian Hartline and Ray Small are both tied for receiving yards this season with 92 each. Hartline is 7-92 averaging 13.1 yards per reception while Small is 14-92 and averaging 6.6 yards. Against USC, Hartline was 3-19 while Small went 6-30. Dane Sanzenbacher went 3-29 in the USC game.

For Troy, Jerrel Jernigan has gone 14-137 in two games, averaging 9.8 yards per reception. Kennard Burton is 10-111 averaging 11.1 yards.

So essentially, we've got two teams with weak passing and so-so running backs (I believe that Ohio State's rushing stats are skewed by Beanie's absence). The question is whether or not the Buckeyes' defense can (or is willing to) shut down Troy's offense. Jamie Hampton isn't afraid to run and has so far posted 86 rushing yards this season and compared to Boeckman, his passing stats are decent (Nathan Enderle looks decent compared to Boeckman's most recent game, so take from that what you will). I think this still has the potential to be a trap game, and Troy is arguably the second most difficult team the Buckeyes will face this season (the first being, obviously, USC).

These Trojans show that they hold up fairly well against some big opponents and probably aren't concerned with Ohio State's past tradition of excellence, or the atmosphere inside the Shoe. Since I've been way off in my predictions the last few weeks, I'll go out on a limb and say the Buckeyes lose this one in a close battle and hope that the outcome ends up being the opposite, resulting in a Buckeye blowout at home.

Then again, I've probably jinxed the possibility of a Buckeye win by explaining my reasoning.

Anyway, chalk it up to shattered confidence, fragile egos, and a nagging injury that forces Beanie to sit out for a third game this season that results in another loss for Ohio State. If he's definitely out, the Buckeyes lose another one.

My prediction:
Without Beanie: Troy Trojans 28, Ohio State Buckeyes 24
With Beanie: Ohio State Buckeyes 28, Troy Trojans 24

Stats courtesy of CBS Sportsline and ESPN

Ohio State Football 2K8 Week Three: Good Todd versus Bad Todd

Ryan Staab — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:32:38 -0400

Which Todd Boeckman will make an appearance on Saturday?

Good Todd, who went 19-26 for 253 yards and three touchdown passes against Penn State in an always hostile Beaver Stadium last season?

Or Bad Todd, who was 13-23 for 156 yards and three interceptions against Illinois at home?

Bad Todd's been making a lot of unwanted appearances as of late, if last Saturday's unintentional nail biter against the Ohio Bobcats is any indication (Boeckman was 16-26 for 110 yards in that game).

And if you follow the media as religiously as I do, you're probably convinced that Ohio State should:

a) forfeit Saturday's game against USC,

b) remove themselves from the Big Ten (HEY, IT'LL BE TEN TEAMS AGAIN AND NOT AN ODD-NUMBERED 11!) and

c) demote themselves to Division I-AA or Division II since they obviously can't hold their own when the spotlight's on them in big games.

Hell, even Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatchhas resorted to consoling Buckeyes fans doubting Ohio State's upcoming performance on the 13th.

I don't believe all that (and quite frankly, I'm fed up with the SEC and USC homers who reside on ESPN, SI, Sporting News, CBS Sportsline, and every other sports website known to man), but I'm also not convinced that Ohio State can pull off an upset in the Coliseum.

Lets face it: Last week's game against Ohio shouldn't have turned out the way it did, with the Bobcats leading into the fourth quarter. I'm not fully convinced that Ohio State "was looking ahead to next week" as some experts mused, but really guys, what the hell was up with your lackluster performance last Saturday?

Did Beanie's absence really make that much of an impact? Mo wasn't the greatest (why, if it didn't work the first fifty times, did you continue to run up the middle?), and Boom was by far the best running back of the game, going 50 yards on 12 carries, and made the most impact on that thirteen play, 73-yard drive late in the third, but again, questions arose:

1. Why didn't Tressel go for two to at least attempt to tie the game?
2. How the hell could Ryan Pretorious MISS THAT PAT!?

Fortunately, by the time this all happened the Buckeyes realized that losing the game was an actual possibility, woke up, and dominated the rest of the game thanks to a series of short rushing and passing plays.

It helped that the Bobcats lacked the depth of their opponents and were clearly worn out by the time the fourth quarter began. Ray Small's 69-yard touchdown on a kickoff return sealed the victory for the Buckeyes, but it required an awful lot of headaches to get to that point.

The biggest concern, at least in my opinion, was the mobility of Ohio backup QB Boo Jackson, who seemed to make big plays on every third down. Why, after nearly three seasons of getting pounded by teams with spread offenses, hasn't Jim Heacock taught the defense how to stop a mobile quarterback?

With all those questions out of the way, lets take a look at this week's juggernaut matchup, which according to friends (all USC fans) and anti-OSU co-workers and family, will be yet another in the long line of embarassments Ohio State will receive this decade.

This week's theme song is "Distant Early Warning" by Rush:

First, the bad news. You may have already heard that Beanie is listed as doubtful for the USC game because of continued soreness in his toe. Buckeye haters nationwide are probably salivating at the thought of Ohio State once again getting blown out by a superior team in a big game.

A big shout out to the Buckeyes for nearly giving me my second heart attack this season, and we're not even in week three yet.

However, if you're really concerned about the offense, Ken Gordon of the Dispatch offers this for your consideration.

The (potentially) good news is that Terrelle Pryor will see more playing time than he did last week. I don't know why, but it seems if the coaches really want to test Pryor, the least they could've done was put him in the game when Boeckman was faltering.

However, the problem with that, especially going into this week's game, is the doubt cast on Boeckman's ability and the impact that would have on his (already fragile) ego. The last thing the Buckeyes need is quarterback controversy before their biggest game of the season.

That, and the less film USC has to study Pryor, the better. The way I see it is: Besides Boom, he was probably the most enjoyable part of the game last Saturday when he finally got to play.

The kid is mobile (something the Buckeyes have lacked since Troy Smith's 2005 season) and possesses a nearly superhuman ability to take advantage of defensive holes. The best example being his 23-yard run on an Ohio State 2nd and 10 from their own 32-yard line.

Adding some much-needed depth on the defense are corner back Donald Washington and safety Jamario O'Neal. Both return after serving two game suspensions.

That aside, this game has been bothering me ever since the off season, if only because there aren't enough stats to figure out how each team properly matches up to one another. Working to the Buckeyes' advantage is the fact that Mark Sanchez isn't as mobile a quarterback as Juice Williams, Tim Tebow or even Boo Jackson.

But there's trouble when your stable of running backs includes Joe McKnight and C.J. Gable. Factor in that Ohio State will probably be without its best back, and we're looking at a potential disaster for the Bucks.

Statistical comparisons suck when looking at USC, who demolished patsy Virginia (lets be serious here: Virginia isn't the same team it was last year), while Ohio State struggled against the lowly Ohio Bobcats. There are some statistical advantages for the Buckeyes, considering they've played two games while the Trojans have only played one.

In both games, Boeckman has gone 30-45 in pass attempts for 297 passing yards. He's also had 12 carries for a total of 36 yards. In comparison, Mark Sanchez has 26-35 for 338 passing yards but only one carry for six yards.

Lets not forget that Bad Todd tends to show up against highly-ranked opponents, but it appears he's a lot more mobile than Sanchez, which works to the Buckeyes' favor if that's really true (if you know for sure, based on one lousy game, please let me know).

I'm leaving Beanie off the running backs comparison once again since its doubtful he'll be in the game, leaving us with Boom, Mo and Zippy. Joe McKnight has only gone 6-60 in rushing and 4-24 in receiving. C.J. Gable is 9-73 with one touchdown. Mo is 14-80 after two games and 2-14 in receiving, Boom is 17-67 in rushing with one touchdown, and Zippy is 10-35 with one touchdown.

Damian Williams is (so far) USC's top wide receiver, going 7-91. Ronald Johnson is 3-78 with one touchdown reception. In comparison, Brian Hartline is 4-73 in two games, and Brian Robiskie is 6-49 with one touchdown.

I figured the Dispatch would've had links to USC stories in the LA Times, but instead, they're running stories from my old stomping ground, the Orange County Register.

An article by Mark Whicker evaluating Ohio State's reputation, can be read here.I tend to agree that more than just a victory is on the line for the Buckeyes in this game. If they lose, the hole they'll have to crawl out of to gain respect will be even bigger than before, and I'm not sure Tressel, Heacock and Bollman fully realize that.

On the other hand, Jeff Miller apparently doesn't follow college football as much as the rest of us, criticizing the Bucks for their allegedly "weak" scheduling the past few seasons. Those three #2 teams we played in 2006 don't count? Granted that Florida game sucked, but really, Jeff?

Needless to say, I was way off with my game prediction last week. Lets hope the same thing happens again this week. The line in Vegas is currently USC by 10.5 points. I think it'll be closer than the spread (IF they make the necessary adjustments and let Pryor and Boom run the ball), but the advantage goes to USC for hosting the game in a typically hostile Coliseum and the defensive strength of Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing.

My prediction:
USC 25, Ohio State 17

The 1998 Arizona Cardinals were known locally in Phoenix as the "Cardiac Cards" for several nail biter games that season (but got into the playoffs as a wild card team and defeated long-time NFC East foes the Dallas Cowboys).

Given the two or three near-misses I've had the past few weeks with heart attacks, I'd love to give the Buckeyes some sort of nickname akin to the "Cardiac Cards" but can't really think of anything.

A gold star to anyone who can devise a clever nickname for this year's team. Remember in 2002 they were known as the "Luckeyes," so lets try to be creative here and come up with something different.

In terms of the history surrounding this rivalry, there are several good articles on both the Dispatch and the Bleacher Report

Rob Oller from the Dispatch explains the cause of some of the bad blood between the Buckeyes and Trojans.

Molly Gray from the Bleacher Report has a couple of different articles worth checking out. John McKay vs. Woody Hayes, what USC fans are saying about Ohio State (also seen on Buckeye Commentary), and a different spin on the OSU-USC comparisons seen elsewhere in the sports community the past week.

Kristofer Green offers his perspective on the brush with danger Ohio State experienced against Ohio and why nobody should be surprised by it.

Ben Weixlmann also offers his thoughts on what we'll see in Saturday's game.

Needless to say the biggest advantage the Buckeyes have going into this game is the fact that they're underdogs. There's also a wealth of motivation from bulletin board comments thanks to guys like Carson Palmer and almost every college football analyst in the country. That said, how the Buckeyes will handle themselves and the pressure of this game still remains to be seen.

Lets hope its an upset for the ages.

Stats courtesy of ESPNand CBS Sportsline

Ohio State Football 2K8 Week Two: Tressel's Game Face

Ryan Staab — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:07:25 -0400

Image courtesy of ESPN.com
Inspiration for image courtesy of Dennis Dodd on CBS Sportsline

All right, now that I've got the doom-and-gloom worries of a Beanie-less Buckeyes out of my system, its time to look ahead to Saturday's showdown of epic proportions against Ohio University (or as Terrelle Pryor probably calls them, "The University of Ohio") at Ohio Stadium in the best damn city in the country (I'm a Cincinnati native, but I love Columbus).

I wanted to do a pregame writeup last week before the Youngstown State game, but personal issues arose which prevented me from focusing on college football.

The first chance I got to do any following up on the season was when I woke up with a hangover on Saturday afternoon, checked the Columbus Dispatch, and discovered that Ohio State's star running back left the game with an injury.

Not the greatest way to start what is typically my favorite time of year (hence last week's pissy article).

Anyway, I'm going to try and set up these game previews with some kind of theme song each week. I let my mind wander at work and tend to go with whatever the first thing it is that pops into my head.

This week's theme song: "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" by Tina Turner.

Why?

Jim Tressel is playing it smart this week by keeping Beanie out of the game, and while OU isn't what one would call a formidable opponent, given the team the Bucks play on Sept. 13, what better way to prove that they can win without Beanie than by giving the ball to Manny, Mo and Jack...

...I mean: Mo, Boom and Saine. Speaking of which, I've heard Saine is nicknamed "Zoom," but I don't much care for that one, seeing as how Herron is called "Boom" and that is easily confused with "Zoom."

Now that I've gotten the Dr. Seuss-isms out of the way, I thought about calling Saine "Fizzbitch" but since college sports are supposed to be a family-friendly enterprise, I didn't think giving him a nickname taken from a stupid video I found on the Internet (I'm easily amused) the best plan of action.

With that said, I propose that Saine's nickname be "Zippy." Really, its not any more ridiculous than "Beanie" or "Zoom," and its not easily confused with "Boom."

Ken Gordon of The Dispatch is right: Give Beanie time to heal and prepare for USC while giving Mo, Boom and Zippy the chance to show what they can do.

The last thing the State of Ohio wants (except Cincinnati) is additional mental anguish from watching Beanie hurt himself worse than he already is by playing against the Bobcats.

Not only that, but it gives Buckeye Nation some insight into how Ohio State could get past USC without him.

Truth be told, Beanie should be good to go against USC, and that's really all we can ask of him. If he's not as injured as I originally feared, then kudos to Tressel for one hell of a bluff.

Even Beanie playing at 75 percent to 80 percent health against USC is better than no Beanie at all, and that is why you play cream puffs early.

And speaking of cream puffs, check out Gray Ghost's article on other sugary sweet names you can give to easy opponents.

Now, with all that out of my system, I've decided to try to be a kindler, gentler Ryan when it comes to Ohio State.

Maybe its because I'm sick and tired of reading baseless attacks from "experts" and fans of certain colleges down south and out west who think they're God's gift to college football (but seriously folks, the SEC, Big XII and Pac-10 are arguably the best conferences in the country, there's no denying that).

What drives me nuts is the assumption that football teams from the Midwest and East are inferior. I'm going to try and turn these weekly previews into a weird form of experimental optimism wherein I don't criticize anything about the Buckeyes unless its absolutely deserved (and believe me, I will miss making asinine comments about Tressel and his sweater vests).

And as part of my contrition, the first order of business is admitting that I'm wrong, as Kristofer Green generously pointed out last week. I criticized Tressel for keeping Beanie in the game too long just to run up the score, without stepping back and checking the stats.

As it turned out, Beanie only had 13 carries before he left the game injured, and further analysis shows that Tressel and his coaches were actually doing a pretty good job of rotating players so that everyone could see some action.

Which is why I get pissed when someone who gets paid to write about sports rips the Buckeyes and Sweater Vest for keeping Beanie in when the Bucks were up 26-0 without first consulting videos and stats of the players, which clearly shows that all around, Ohio State is a great team and beat the hell out of the Penguins with help from second- and third-stringers.

Kudos to the Buckeye faithful on ESPN (how do you guys put up with the crap that goes on over there?) for trying to set the record straight. Its just a shame that hardly anyone is willing to listen.

And really, if it weren't for these cream puff games, how else would teams know if playbook scenarios that might look good in practice will work during game time?

Rip on the Buckeyes for playing YSU and OU all you want, but its games like these that allow Tressel to get the kinks worked out of the system before playing a juggernaut like USC.

And lest we forget, lets take a look at the out-of-conference games a certain SEC team plays in 2008: Appalachian State, North Texas, Tulane and Troy*.

Amazingly, there's a couple of great analysis of teams who routinely schedule cream puffs over on ESPN's Page Two, which can be read here, here and here.

As much as people like to bag on Ohio State for scheduling allegedly weak competition, its nice to know that in the real world (at least from a statistical standpoint), we don't even crack the top 20 for "bully teams" who play easy opponents.

One more item before we get into the pregame analysis: I'm sure most Buckeye fans have heard by now about Tressel's marbles (if you haven't, check out Adam Jardy's article on the subject) and also check out Cody Blubaugh's excellent analysis of Adam's article.

Tressel has made it clear that Mo Wells will the starting tailback against the Bobcats. For all intents and purposes, we should see a repeat of last week, wherein everyone should get some playing time (except, of course, Beanie).

Taking Beanie out of the equation, Terrelle Pryor is currently the Buckeyes top rusher. He had nine carries for 52 yards against the Penguins last week including an 18-yard touchdown run. Zippy had five carries for 20 yards, and Boom had five carries for 17 yards.

If Boeckman's going to beef up his passing stats, Saturday's game is the perfect opportunity. As easy as it should be to run through the Bobcats' defensive linemen, lets not forget who's on the schedule Sept. 13.

If anything, I really hope Tressel's been emphasizing the importance of the passing game. Brian Hartline is currently the top wide receiver with a whopping two receptions for 59 yards.

Lets face it folks, there's really not much to get excited about when it comes to the Bobcats. On paper, QB Theo Scott (26-35-1-224 with one TD pass) looks alright compared to Boeckman (14-19-0-187 with two TD passes) from a purely statistical standpoint, but he can't run the ball as well as Boeckman (-2 yards compared to Boeckman's 10) nor Pryor (52 yards), and their top rusher Chris Garrett went 12-30 against Wyoming compared to Mo's 5-32 against YSU.

The only stat the Bobcats currently have the Buckeyes beat is their passing. Wide receiver Taylor Price went 14-139, but had a 9.9 receiving average, compared to Hartline's 2-59 with a 29.5 receiving average.

There's only one game apiece to compare stats, and Ohio wasn't that impressive considering they barely lost to Wyoming 20-21. Clock control isn't a specialty of Ohio's, and that's suicide when facing a team like Ohio State.

My prediction:
Ohio State 45, Ohio 7

The funniest thing I've heard this week are the five or six OU fans convinced that the Bobcats will go up to Columbus and pull off a massive upset.

One even went so far as to call OU "This year's Appalachian State!" which would be funnier if that person realized that theoretically given the talent on both teams, the Mountaineers would probably beat the Bobcats if they ever had the opportunity to play one another.

*Troy as a creampuff is debatable, since they've shown in the past that they're able to hold their own against tough SEC opponents.
**Stats courtesy of CBS Sportsline

Is Beanie Wells Injury Much Ado About Nothing?

Ryan Staab — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:36:41 -0400

Photo courtesy of Adam Alexander, The Columbus Dispatch

Disclaimer: Most of you know I'm a jerk when it comes to Ohio State football. Bear in mind this is just the angry ranting of an insane person who has no connection to the Ohio State University or its athletic program. Its 11:30pm on a Sunday night, I'll be drunk in an hour, and needed to get the Beanie Wells injury/worst case scenarios off my chest.

Uh oh...

Alright, so Ohio State beats the ever-loving crap out of in-state patsy Youngstown State. Great. Freshman sensation Terrelle Pryor scored his first touchdown in a Buckeye uniform on an 18-yard run. Fantastic. Todd Boeckman actually connected with Brian Robiskie. Wonderful.

Beanie Wells left in the third quarter with a foot injury. HOLY F***ING SH*T!

Rumor on CBS Sportsline was that Wells tore a ligament in his foot. X-rays were negative, so no broken bones, but this isn't exactly the way anyone wants to start what should be a championship season for the Buckeyes.

My question: Why the hell was Beanie still in the game in the third quarter when the Buckeyes were up 26-0? Seems to me he should've been benched after the first half to rest for next week's game against Ohio and USC on September 13.

I'm thinking maybe Wells' injury was karmic payback for the coaches' hubris? I mean seriously, why run up the score against a team that doesn't even play in the same division as Ohio State?

The whole thing pisses me off for a number of reasons. The first is mentioned in the above paragraph.

The second being that, at least for me, Beanie is the only thing to be excited about this season. Lets face it: Todd Boeckman can't throw successfully when the Buckeyes play "good" teams (or at least, teams that somehow manage to get through the offensive line...see Illinois and LSU last year).

Thirdly, while Mo Wells, Brandon Saine, and Dan Herron are talented backup running backs, none of them have ever been able to put up anything close to the rushing yards Wells acheived last season, and I personally don't think they're mentally prepared to take over for Beanie.

On the other hand, if Beanie's injury is minor and were I Tressel (I'm not), I'd bench Beanie next week just to leave Pete Carroll and the rest of the USC coaching staff wondering whether or not Wells will play in the Coliseum.

Then again, this is Ohio State we're talking about. Lets face it, folks: They've blown huge games the past two seasons, save for Texas and scUM in 2006. Even with Beanie, I don't think these guys have a chance in hell of winning at USC.

Which makes me wonder whether or not I should sell my tickets to that game, since I've got a hunch that we're going to watch the Buckeyes disgraced in the national spotlight once again. I could probably get a load of money for them on eBay...

Regardless, Columbus Dispatch columnist Bob Hunter has a great writeup about Beanie's injury and how it affects the team's psyche. Read it here.

In other news, Illinois lost to Mizzou and scUM lost to Utah at home. As much as I bitch about Ohio State (being the most pessimistic "fan" in Buckeye Nation), at least I'm not a Michigan Man. I think I'd have killed myself by now were I a Wolverine.

Then again, they haven't suffered two humiliating losses to SEC teams in the National Championship Game...

Civilized Hatred: Hating the Team and Not the Fans

Ryan Staab — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:04:02 -0400

I hate Michigan.

Being a fan of Ohio State, this is expected.

I also hate Penn State, Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan State, and Purdue.

Yeah, they’re in “my” conference, but on any given Saturday in autumn, they play “my” team. As notoriously pessimistic as I am about the Buckeyes, there is no other school I would consider rooting for in college football.

By that logic, I also hate the Gators, LSU, and USC, just for spending five years in the Trojan bandwagon hell that is Orange County. Trying to find a Trojan fan in Orange County that doesn’t just like the team because “they win a lot” is like trying to ask Lee Corso to stop picking winners by wearing the foam heads of mascots on “Game Day.”

Does that mean I hate Gator, Tiger, Wolverine and Trojan fans that passionately follow their teams through all their respective ups and downs as much as I do with the Buckeyes?

Hell no.

As a matter of fact, some of the most intelligent sports discussions I’ve had have been with Trojan fans when I lived in Southern California, and even a couple of Gator fans at the Phoenix airport after that embarrassing 41-14 slaughtering the night before in January 2007.

I’ve even gone so far as to congratulate Wolverine fans for doing what we couldn’t a year earlier—defeating Florida, which they did in the Capitol One Bowl last January.

However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t take a perverse delight in watching Michigan (also known to Buckeye fans as “SCUM," “That School Up North,” or "TSUN") fall to Appalachian State and Oregon earlier in the 2007 season.

The Buckeyes lost to both Florida and LSU in embarrassing fashion, and everyone outside the state of Ohio was drinking Buckeye—flavored Haterade. We were “too slow” and “couldn’t keep up with the SEC speed” and whatever other examples were rubbed in our faces to explain the slaughtering in back-to-back championship games.

For what it's worth, the rest of college football nation had every right to hate the Buckeyes, watching those teams fail as miserably as they did.

It’s when unfounded criticism and harassment of fans, either at the hands of some classless LSU fans in the Superdome, or when Buckeye fans harass fans of opposing teams when they visit the Shoe, that bothers me.

It may look hypocritical on the surface, but there is such a thing as hating the team (and doing so in a respectful manner) without acting like an obnoxious jackass to the opposing fans.

Maybe I have skewed ideals of how a sports fan should behave in regards to rival teams, but there’s a fine line between harassment or assault, and some good-old fashioned ribbing.

Let’s face it: If it weren’t for sports rivalries, why would any of us bother following the teams we love? What would Ohio State strive for if we didn’t have Michigan? Or if Auburn didn’t have Alabama? Or any other historic rivalry in any sport for that matter?

Of course, I use college football as my primary example only because it’s the one sport I follow religiously. I have other sports teams I follow.

For instance, I’m also a fan of the Los Angeles Angels, and hate the Oakland Athletics. However, most of my friends in college are from Northern California and live and die by the A’s.

I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have some heated discussions about our respective teams, but nothing that ever resulted in overly-offensive language or physical assault.

Then again, most of my friends in college who followed the A’s were peace studies majors, so it took a lot of work to get them riled up.

I’ve left comments before explaining how I don’t understand for the life of me how or why fans in the SEC defend each others’ teams.

Where I’m from, you’re more likely to see Woody Hayes’ zombified corpse rise from the dead and take control of the football team away from Jim Tressel than see an Ohio State fan root for the Michigan in any scenario.

Some may argue that strength of schedule and rankings depend on how well the other teams in your conference play, and while that’s a valid argument, I can honestly say I’ve never entertained the notion of rooting for Indiana to beat Purdue, or for Wisconsin to beat Iowa just to make the Buckeyes look better.

In a perfect world (one that probably only makes sense in my head), all those teams would lose to each other, while the Buckeyes continue to win the games they’re scheduled to play, regardless of how strong or weak the Big Ten conference is in any given year.

Since this is reality though, you can’t have it both ways. Forced to choose, I’d probably root for the Hoosiers and Iowa, just because I’m a sucker for underdogs and in turn, sacrifice my team’s chance at looking stronger in the national spotlight.

With that said, we could all probably benefit from being more civil towards each other when it comes to posting comments about our favorite teams.

Some of us need to be more optimistic (I know who I am…) and some of us need to lay off the ad-hominem attacks of other fans just because we don’t like their school or conference (i.e. “The Gators suck because there’s nothing but inbred hicks living in Florida.”).

God knows you get a lot of (ignorant) hate from other fans at places like ESPN or CBS Sports, but part of the reason that Bleacher Report has thrived thus far is because it’s a site where fans of every team and sport have a chance to objectively state their viewpoints on the teams and players they love or hate.

Being civil results in interesting discussions, even if you don’t agree with the writer, or another commenter’s viewpoint. There are numerous examples of such discussion in the articles on this website, which is a testament to the way we’ve avoided of the type of hyperbolic hate you see on other sports websites. To our benefit, the people who come here just to troll usually don’t last very long.

But for what its worth: I don’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan. I’m from O-hi-o.

My Town Rocks: Cincinnati, Ohio

Ryan Staab — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:49:54 -0400

Oh, and this town

Is my town, alright?

Love or hate it, it don't matter

'Cause I'm gonna stand and fight

This town, is my town

She's got her ups and downs

But love or hate it, it don't matter

'Cause this is my town

~Michael Stanley Band—“My Town”

Being a Cincinnatian, I’d probably get tarred and feathered in my hometown for quoting the lyrics to a song written about our upstate arch rival Cleveland and performed by a Cleveland band.

Then again, nobody outside of Cleveland’s ever heard of the Michael Stanley Band, so I think my Cincinnati street cred is safe.

I quote “My Town” because even though it was written about another town, I always thought the lyrics summed up my hometown as much as any other.

Being a die-hard Cincinnati sports fan, we haven’t had much to celebrate the past two decades.

Our last major championship came unexpectedly in 1990 when the Reds went wire-to-wire sweeping the mighty Oakland Athletics thanks to new manager Lou Pinella (to this date, his only World Series victory) and a bullpen consisting of the "Nasty Boys": Norm Charlton, Randy Meyers, and Rob Dibble.

The 1990 Reds were exactly what Cincinnati needed at the time, considering we’d just watched our beloved hometown hero, Pete Rose, banished from baseball for betting on games and then busted for tax evasion.

Our Bengals, at the time led by outspoken coach Sam Wyche (anyone else remember “You don’t live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!”?), star quarterback Boomer Esiason, Icky Woods (with the Icky Shuffle) and Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” suffered yet another Super Bowl loss to Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers.

After the 1990 season, the Bengals would go into a tailspin after legendary owner Paul Brown died and his son Mike took over the day-to-day operations of the franchise.

Marge Schott would make racist comment after racist comment as well as sabotaging the team when she didn’t get along with the manager, and Carl Lindner wouldn’t do much better leading the Reds, despite bringing Ken Griffey Jr. back to his hometown.

Then again, we did get some nice stadiums built in the last decade, even if Great American Ballpark has the worst outfield views in all the majors—Who really wants to look up and see the Northern Kentucky suburbs and the murky Ohio River, especially when the team on the field is awful?

So what exactly makes my hometown rock?

If it weren’t for the Red Stockings organization paying their players way back in 1869, we might never have professional baseball as we currently know it.

Every Cincinnati baseball fan, young and old, speaks fondly of Sparky, Joe, Pete, Johnny and the rest of the Big Red Machine that dominated the National League in the 1970s.

There are still some of us in disbelief that we won it all by sweeping the A’s in 1990.

Cincinnati sports fans' summers consisted of listening to Marty and Joe on the radio, and even though we lost Nuxie last year, we still tune in to listen to Marty and Tom and Jeff broadcast Reds games if we’re not able to be in the ballpark to root for the Reds.

There’s still hope that someday we can get better.

The same can be said for the Bengals.

Even though the team never had a winning season from 1991 to 2005, we still remember the days when Riverfront Stadium was called “The Jungle” (thanks in part to Guns N’ Roses rise in popularity) and we still donned Bengal stripes, even when guys like Dave Klinger and Ki-Jana Carter were supposed to resurrect the franchise yet came up far short of that goal.

Okay, so maybe the relative lack of success of our two pro sports franchises isn’t the best example to use at this time.

Cincinnati still holds an event that is more or less a holiday to most residents in the Tri-State: Opening Day.

For 89 years, fans have lined the streets of Downtown Cincinnati, rain or shine, to celebrate the start of a new baseball season, regardless of how the team is expected to do.

The Opening Day Parade, sponsored by Findlay Market, sees local businesses contributing floats, former Reds greats waving to fans in convertibles and local high school marching bands, cheer and dance squads getting the crowd ready for the start of the new season.

It’s a rite-of-passage to call in sick to work or school and partake in Cincinnati’s Opening Day festivities with the hope that maybe the Reds will surprise everyone and be better than we expected.

Seeing as how the Reds are considered Major League Baseball’s “first professional franchise,” the team has the honor of always starting the season at home.

While in recent years other teams have begun their seasons before the Reds, Cincinnati’s festivities are considered the official start of a new baseball season.

Even if the team isn’t expected to do well, Great American Ballpark (and Riverfront Stadium and Crosley Field before it) is always packed on Opening Day to watch our team open up a new season.

Even though the Reds and Bengals have underperformed the last few years, events like Opening Day and the die-hard loyalty from fans continue make Cincinnati a rocking sports town.

Big Ten Expansion: Boon or Boondoggle?

Ryan Staab — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:50:17 -0400

There's been much debate regarding how the Big Ten can improve to remain among the BCS elite, having been overshadowed (and in some cases, downright humiliated) by bigger and better conferences the past few seasons, such as the SEC and Pac-10.

The obvious choice would be to bring in a twelfth school, one that has the academic prestige of the other Big Ten schools such as Northwestern and Michigan (keep in mind that the Big Ten was originally formed as an alliance of academic institutions, not as a sports conference).

While there are still many who oppose the idea of a twelfth school and a possible conference championship, it seems to me that stretching out the season into early or mid December would help the conference remain competitive with other conferences in the long run.

In that regard, Notre Dame always seemed like a perfect fit. It has all the qualifications. Academically, it's one of the most-respected colleges in the nation, and the Fighting Irish are practically synonymous with college football and South Bend is in the heart of the Heartland.

The Big Ten tried courting Notre Dame in 1999, but were shot down. However, with the exception of football, Notre Dame participates in the Big East in every other sport.

Trouble is, Notre Dame has a lucrative TV contract with NBC, and they’d be fools to give that up and risk losing the national exposure. Then again, if Notre Dame continues to have sub-par seasons like 2007, NBC will more than likely dump them in a heartbeat.

Fellow columnist Adam Helfgott made an even more interesting proposal in suggesting that the Big Ten bring in Rutgers as the twelfth team (you can read his article here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/29958-The-Big-Ten-and-Rutgers-A-Perfect-Match-160608).

That’s partially what inspired this column, as the Big Ten expansion is something I’ve been thinking about over the last two seasons and since I love to theorize about what’s good for the Big Ten despite not having lived in the Midwest for over a decade.

I applaud Adam’s analysis (Rutgers definitely has the academic prestige to become a part of the Big Ten), but my only qualms with the possibility of Rutgers would be that:

The Big Ten is primarily a Midwestern conference, and I don’t know how open conference officials would be to bringing in a team from New Jersey. Then again, Penn State’s been with the conference since 1994, and whether or not Pennsylvania (or at least, State College) is Midwestern is debatable.
I have to be honest: I’m sure Rutgers has some fine football traditions, but outside of a freak run at the Big East title in 2006 and another run at greatness in 2007, how much success has the team seen in the last few decades?

That doesn’t mean I disrespect Rutgers as a current football powerhouse. The Scarlet Knights of the past few seasons have proven to almost everyone that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Also, consider that the Big Ten currently has Northwestern, which last saw success on the gridiron in the mid-to-late 1990s. Hell, Michigan State’s been in a rebuilding mode since forever (so it seems) and Wisconsin football was hardly ever relevant until Barry Alvarez was hired as head coach.

Another possibility is Pitt, which is closer to the Midwest boundary (in this case, the Ohio-Pennsylvania border) than State College, but Pitt already has an established rivalry with West Virginia in the Big East.

Regardless of whom the Big Ten selects as a twelfth team (if it ever happens), several questions remain:

Would the Big Ten restore some of the respect it’s lost the past few years to the Sunbelt conferences?
Would they prove themselves to be a tougher conference if in fact they expanded and added a conference championship?

Much of the criticism of the Big Ten in its current form is due to the fact that the seasons ends two weeks earlier than most other conferences, leaving bowl-bound teams from the conference unprepared to take on teams in late December or January that had been playing well into mid-December.

One of the best examples was the 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes, which had a 51-day lull in between its final game of the season against Michigan and the disastrous BCS National Championship Game against the Florida Gators. Some believe that if the Buckeyes hadn’t had 51 days off between games, they would’ve been better prepared to play the Gators.

Another factor is where the conference championship would be played, and whether it should be in an indoor or outdoor facility, preferably one suited for the NFL as most other conference championships are played in NFL stadiums and take away the possibility of any home-field advantages (were the championship held in a Big Ten stadium).

Indoor facilities include Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Detroit. Outdoor facilities include Green Bay, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. For the sake of neutrality, Minneapolis would be left off the list of potential sites until the Golden Gophers move out of the Metrodome and into their new facility.

If the Big Ten added a twelfth team and extended its schedule into mid December, how in the world would the conference be divided? There are several different scenarios, based on who and where the twelfth team came from. Since I’ve already used Notre Dame and Rutgers as examples of possible expansion teams, I’ll set up conference divisions using those two schools, starting with Notre Dame.

Considering where the schools are in proximity to one another, it seems that dividing the conference up between East and West divisions would potentially be easier than North and South divisions, but these are just hypotheses to consider for right now:

Big Ten North:

Michigan

Notre Dame

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Northwestern

Michigan State

Big Ten South:

Ohio State

Indiana

Iowa

Illinois

Penn State

Purdue

While it is arguable that Iowa is a “southern” Big Ten school, the balance of power is fairly even, with the North’s strongest teams being Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, and the South’s strongest being Ohio State and Penn State and Illinois.

Big Ten East:

Michigan

Penn State

Ohio State

Michigan State

Notre Dame

Purdue or Indiana

Big Ten West:

Iowa

Minnesota

Northwestern

Illinois

Wisconsin

Purdue or Indiana

The problem with the East/West split is the balance of power. The best teams in the conference are in the East, with relatively few powerhouses in the West with the exception of Wisconsin and Illinois.

Adding Rutgers, the conference divisions could look something like this:

Big Ten North:

Rutgers

Michigan

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Northwestern

Michigan State

Big Ten South:

Ohio State

Indiana

Iowa

Illinois

Penn State

Purdue

It’s debatable whether Rutgers is really a “northern” school or that Penn State is a “southern school.” The balance of power is still fairly even with Rutgers, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the North and Ohio State, Penn State, and Illinois in the South.

Big Ten East:

Michigan

Penn State

Ohio State

Michigan State

Rutgers

Purdue or Indiana

Big Ten West:

Iowa

Minnesota

Northwestern

Illinois

Wisconsin

Purdue or Indiana

Again, the balance of power is skewed toward the East, with only a few powerhouse teams in the West.

Of course, whether or not the Big Ten adds another school and whether or not they divide the conference is pure speculation at this point, but it’s interesting to consider what would happen if and how the conference would change if a twelfth school was added to their ranks.

If it happened, some of the Big Ten schools might finally be able to beat those pesky SEC and Pac-10 teams instead of getting slaughtered in bowl games, as has been the case the last few seasons.

Open-Mic: 2007 BCS National Championship Game—Disappointment in the Desert

Ryan Staab — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:30:43 -0400

Buckeye Nation (yours truly included) believed our beloved team to be unstoppable in 2006. We had a quarterback who’d eventually win the Heisman, a star receiver in Ted Ginn Jr., a star back in Antonio Pittman and began the season ranked first in most football polls, a ranking that would continue throughout the season. We were certain we would go wire-to-wire in the polls.

Our final mission was to play our third second-ranked team of the season. After steamrolling past Texas earlier, and a nail-biter against That School Up North in the Horseshoe on a cold November night, we were certain the Florida Gators would be a cakewalk compared to TSUN. Needless to say, there were many happy fans in Buckeye Nation when we learned we wouldn’t have to prove ourselves at TSUN’s expense for the second time that season.

If only we knew the disaster our hubris would bring us that brisk January night in Glendale Arizona.

Since that double-overtime upset over the Miami Hurricanes, Ohio State reigned supreme in The Valley of the Sun, dismantling Kansas State in 2004 and Notre Dame in 2006. The 2006 Buckeyes emerged from the regular season victorious, winning the Big Ten Championship outright and had a final opportunity to prove themselves once and for all with a potential victory over the Gators in what was predominantly a hometown crowd.

So what went wrong?

The 2007 BCS National Championship Game started well for the Buckeyes when Ginn scored a touchdown off a 93-yard kickoff return only sixteen seconds into the game to put Ohio State up 7-0.

Then the unthinkable happened: Ginn limped off the field with an injury that cost him the opportunity to play in the rest of the game. The Gators fought back on a 46-yard drive that led to a 14-yard touchdown pass from Chris Leak to Dallas Baker to tie the score.

Ohio State’s offense was unable to break through the Gators’ defensive line, and Florida retaliated with another touchdown on a four-yard run by Percy Harvin giving the Gators a 14-7 lead.

Following another ineffective offensive drive by the Buckeyes, Florida moved the ball 71 yards on 10 plays, enabling DeShawn Wynn to score another touchdown for the Gators early in the second quarter.

Antonio Pittman closed the gap with an 18-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 21-14 Florida. The Gators punted, and the Buckeyes gambled on a play that would cost them the championship when Beanie Wells was unable to move the ball on a fourth-and-one at the Buckeyes’ own 29-yard line.

Gators’ kicker Chad Hetland scored another field goal to put Florida up 27-14. Another blown scoring opportunity for the Buckeyes occurred when Smith fumbled the ball after getting hit by Gators lineman Jarvis Moss.

Florida recovered the ball on Ohio State’s five-yard line and scored another touchdown on a one-yard pass from Tim Tebow to Andre Caldwell. The Gators went into halftime leading the Buckeyes 34-14.

Tebow scored the last touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, after the Gators successfully stalled the Buckeyes offense in the third to bring the score to 41-14.

When the massacre was finally over, Buckeye fans everywhere realized that the Gators were a true force to be reckoned with, holding Ohio State’s usually explosive offense to only 82 total yards. Smith would only have four complete passes for a total of 35 yards and one interception. Ohio State had possession of the ball for just 19 minutes.

In retrospect, there were too many factors working against Ohio State. It seems the Buckeyes were too complacent and lackadaisical when it came to practice. The team had 51 days off between the Michigan game and the BCS National Championship Game. In that time, Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy and would miss valuable training and practice time as he made appearances at black tie galas and other events celebrating his accomplishment.

The Buckeyes arrived in Phoenix ten days before the game, and rumor had it that most of that time was spent partying, partially helped by their familiarity with the city and its popular nightlife hangouts.

Since that game, the Buckeyes—and the rest of the Big Ten Conference—have paid for their embarrassment dearly. Ohio State looked antiquated compared to Florida’s speed and coverage.

It was obvious the style of play Woody Hayes initiated that had long been dear to the Buckeyes (“three yards and a cloud of dust”) was no match for Florida’s (much less the rest of the SEC’s) spread offense, and were even less prepared to get past the Gators’ defensive line when they had possession of the ball.

The 2007 BCS National Championship Game has haunted me as a Buckeye fan the past year-and-a-half and was only made worse by Ohio State’s loss to LSU in the 2008 BCS championship game. I can’t stress enough how awful my favorite team looked on the field that night in Arizona. We clearly had no business sharing the field with a far superior team from Gainesville.

Shortly after the second half began, realizing that the Buckeyes couldn’t get past the Gators, I started drowning my sorrows in a 12-pack of Rolling Rock. I’d received several calls from friends of mine that night, many of which had little-to-no knowledge of football, to express sympathy (some did so while trying to stifle laughter) over the fact that my favorite team was getting their ass kicked.

The Buckeyes blew the opportunity of a lifetime to put themselves among the elite of college football that night, after so much triumph during the regular season.

On a side note, I was living in California at the time, and I was determined not to miss what I was certain would be a Buckeye victory. I’d missed an opportunity to attend the 2003 Fiesta Bowl because of school, something that I regret to this day, and I wasn’t going to miss out again at the chance to celebrate with the rest of Buckeye Nation. I took two vacation days and stayed with my parents in Phoenix, only to watch disaster unfold.

I’ll never forget waiting in the airport the next day for my flight back to California. Sky Harbor Airport was packed with disappointed Buckeye fans waiting to go home, and there was an eerie silence in the terminal, as most everyone there wore scarlet and gray jerseys, hats, t-shirts and buckeye necklaces.

I was nursing a hangover, and there was a small group of people decked out in Gators gear sitting at the airport bar, loudly celebrating their victory the previous night.

Upon hearing their celebration, myself and several other Buckeye fans waiting to board our plane looked at each other and nodded with the sad acknowledgement that we’d been thoroughly humiliated the night before.

Since I’d blocked out most of the 2007 BCS National Championship Game and needed something to refresh my memory to write this article, I was forced to relive the pain as I referenced the Wikipedia entry on that game, which can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_BCS_National_Championship_Game

Ohio State Playing It Smart by Not Using Terelle Pryor

Ryan Staab — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:47:24 -0400

Anyone regularly following the Buckeyes will tell you they've already got a winning quarterback in Todd Boeckman.

Sure, the last two or three games of the 2007 season (Illinois, Michigan, LSU) may not have been impressive, but before that, Boeckman posted Troy Smith-caliber numbers and had a decent passing accuracy. So when Terrelle Pryor (finally) announced his intent to play for Ohio State several weeks ago, football pundits immediately speculated on how long it'd be into the 2008 season until you'd see Pryor taking snaps in place of Boeckman.

Cautious Buckeye fans knew better, as did the coaching staff and teammates, according to an AP article from April 10 (http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=398197).

Understandably, the biggest fear from many was that Pryor would be thrown into the system too early, and being unable to fully master Ohio State's offense, end up a huge bust. Given the criticism of the Buckeyes' performance in the last two BCS championship games against superior SEC teams, the last thing Ohio State needs is another black eye from the media, especially when it comes to recruiting.

"I don't think it happens too much throughout the country, coming in as a freshman (and starting) just because of the speed of the game and everything you've got to worry about," Boeckman told the AP.

Buckeyes quarterback coach Joe Daniels agreed.

"Its really hard," said Daniels. "About the only way that could be done, your offense would have to be so basic and so elementary."

Boeckman's no stranger to Ohio State's quarterback training, having watched Justin Zwick and Troy Smith for three years before assuming the role of starting quarterback in 2007.

Boeckman's teammates are also behind him, agreeing that the freshman should stay on the sidelines as much as possible his first year.

"I'm not saying Terrelle Pryor's not going to get on the field, but to think that that kid could come in here and run our offense—you're out of your mind, tight end Rory Nicol said.

"No freshman can do that. Not here. Not with the way we run an offense."

However, the AP article curiously lacks any mention of Antonio Henton, Boeckman's current backup QB. Given the hype surrounding Pryor, it's not hard to see why he's been forgotten, but that doesn't mean he should be expected to give up his spot as the team's No. 2 quarterback.

Granted his only stats from the 2007 season (after red-shirting in 2006) were in three games, resulting in three completions in six attempts for 57 yards—including one touchdown pass.

But with a coaching staff that's taken its team to the BCS Championship twice in the past three years, it's safe to assume there's more to him than the relatively meager stats he posted in three games from 2007.

One can hope that bodes well for Pryor, assuming Henton takes over in his senior year in 2009, after Boeckman graduates. If Pryor takes at least two seasons to learn the system and improve his passing game as head coach Jim Tressel has promised, Buckeye fans will have every reason in the world to buy into the hype.

But that doesn't mean you won't see him taking a few snaps during the 2008 season. Despite not arriving on campus until the middle of the summer, Tressel has confirmed that Pryor will be competing with Boeckman (and presumably Henton) for playing time.

While it's easy to make assumptions in April, nobody knows for sure until the 2008 season begins. You may very well see Pryor taking snaps at the LA Memorial Coliseum against USC if the game doesn't go the way the Buckeyes want it to.

Until then, the Buckeyes are making the right choice in sticking with Boeckman.

Johnny Cueto: The Next Great Player to Leave Cincinnati

Ryan Staab — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:07:00 -0400

Good day for this new pitcher Cueto the Reds used against the Diamondbacks in their 3-2 victory yesterday.

Cueto had 10 strikeouts, threw a no-hitter up to the 6th inning, struck out eight of the first thirteen batters, and had a 96 mph fastball.

Hypothetically, lets say this kid becomes the next great pitcher. Given the awful front-office management of the Reds the last few years (lets face it, Krivsky, Jockety and Castellini still have a long way to go before the Reds have any hopes of reaching the playoffs, much less fielding a winning team), Dusty Baker is fired either at the end of this season because of a 74-88 record in 2008, or is fired halfway through the 2009 season because of a 15-40 start or whatever because, *gasp* he wasn't the manager they hoped he would be (lets assume that by the time this happens, veteran pitchers Harang and Arroyo end up like Prior and Wood).

Cueto turns out to be one of the only stars on the team because other players (I'm thinking Adam Dunn, Brandon Phillips and maybe Edwin Encarnacion) finally wised up and left (as it stands, the Reds only look decent when compared to similarly mis-managed teams like Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Kansas City, which tend to be springboards for future MLB superstars who move on to bigger and better teams).

Cueto, in turn, wises up and demands more money from the Reds for his services, but the front office isn't willing to budge. Without a decent manager, or even semi-decent players, he's calling the Reds' bluff, and after botched contract negotiations, he leaves Cincinnati for a better team via a) a fire sale a la 2003 (for minor league "prospects," of course) or b) qualifies for the "Super Two" exception in salary arbitration after two or three successful seasons on an otherwise shitty team.

Worst-case scenario? You bet. Given the Reds' lack of success this past decade, I wouldn't at all be surprised if the team implodes, like they usually do, halfway through this season or sooner. Baker was an awful choice to manage this team considering his preference for vets over younger players. Apparently the front office lives in a bubble, because they either ignored his failings with the Cubs, or didn't care that Baker can't manage younger players, which the Reds happen to be chock-full of at this time. Or better yet, Baker overuses this kid to the point that when he's 25, he'll have the arm of a 46-year old pitcher.

Cueto's debut game against the Diamonbacks was impressive, but too many fans and pundits seem ready to give the kid a Cy Young based on one performance in the majors. Lets see how the rest of this season (hell, even the month of April) plays out not only for Cueto, but the rest of the Reds as well. Anyone else willing to bet they'll be in the NL Central cellar (well, fifth thanks to the everlasting awfulness of the Pirates) come late July or August?

Memo to Bengals: Trade Chad Johnson

Ryan Staab — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:42:08 -0400

In response to the following article by Bengals columnist Mark Curnette from the March 24, 2008, Cincinnati Enquirer:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080324/SPT02/303240118/

If Mike Brown knew what he was doing and wasn't a dickless wonder, Marvin Lewis wouldn't have the dual role of being both a GM and a coach.

2005 was a fluke season where everything (despite Mikey Boy's best efforts) gelled. Most diehard Bengal fans know the only thing Mike cares about is putting 66,000 butts in a stadium he doesn't deserve. As long as the team is turning a profit, who cares about the on-field performance?

The Bengals need more scouts (they have the smallest scouting office in the league) and someone to take over the GM duties from Marvin so that he can concentrate on the players once they (god help 'em) sign with them.

In retrospect, there was nothing more appropriate than Kimo tearing Palmer's ACL in that playoff game. Where else but in Cincinnati would the star quarterback get injured two snaps into the first playoff game the town's seen in 15 years?

Look, I'm a Cincy guy born and raised, I vaguely remember the lore of the "Jungle" years of the 1980s and guys like Munoz, Esiason, Woods and the outspoken-but-always-entertaining Sam Wyche, but the organization in its current form is an absolute joke.

It pains me to see guys like Carson Palmer, T.J. Houshmenzadeh and Willie Anderson waste their talent playing for a team like the Bengals.

While I can't stand Ocho Sucko's antics, I don't blame him for not wanting to play in Cincinnati anymore. You couldn't pay me $8 million a year to play for an organization run by someone as clueless and thick-headed as Mike Brown.

If Mikey Boy really cared about the progress of his father's team, he'd eat the salary cap penalty and ship Ocho Sucko off to someplace he wants to go (Oakland, Dallas, Washington, wherever) for the sake of team unity. Palmer says he hasn't paid attention to Johnson's antics, but I don't buy that for a second. How can anyone on that team not be affected by this negative crap?

If Mike lets Johnson sit on the bench as a Bungle during the 2008 season as he's threatened to do, I hope the Bengals’ organization folds within the next five years. Maybe then, a place deserving of an NFL team (Los Angeles, anyone?) will finally get one and (gasp) care about the on-field performance as much (if not more) than the yearly profits.

Let’s face it, Paul Brown's body stopped spinning in its grave the moment the Cleveland Browns became potential AFC North contenders. He ain't watching the Bengals from heaven shaking his head, he's rooting for the Browns, and to some extent, I don't blame him.