As all is quiet on the (mid)western front, here’s Wednesday’s bucket o’ links and commentary.
Buckeye 411
- Let’s Go Camping!! Well, it’s summer and the final quarter at Ohio State is wrapping up as we speak. So, how better to celebrate than cramming all the kiddos in the family truckster and heading out to the great outdoors. Ah, the wilderness… where legends are made and- what? That’s not the kind of camping that we’ll be seeing at the WHAC? Shoot- I had my Deet all squared away and everything.
Nope, this weekend starts the summer football camp season in Columbus, which is a B1G deal for the 2013/14 classes as well as for Coach Meyer’s continued scorched earth policy building relationships with coaches and programs across the state. This weekend’s a one day camp, and the process builds to July’s Friday Night Lights event. For many HS students, this might be the make or break opportunity that they’ve been looking- a number of OSU targets have been encouraged to camp in order to either earn an offer or to be evaluated and have their offer “bumped up” to “Commit-able”. Many thought that QBs Malik Zaire and Mitch Trubisky were in this category, as Urban wanted to see them camp prior to having them join the 2013 class… obviously they wanted to be somewhere else or wanted someone who didn’t require them to “audition”.
Names to keep an ear out for this weekend include national #3 safety Vonn Bell, who will be making his second unofficial in less than a month- that’s got to be a good sign, methinks. Also, Lakota’s Kyle Meadows will be participating, as will Wayne’s Lovell Peterson, both will be looking to earn offers. Finally, North Carolina DE/LB Tyquan Lewis will also be present- another interesting recruit from the Tar Heel State.
- ZEKE! Speaking of recruiting, Ezekiel Elliott earned RB MVP honors at the Illinois Nike event and an invite to the big doin’s in Oregon later this summer. Here’s a great interview with Scout.com about how he felt his performance went and what he’s most looking forward to.
- We’ve All Been There, Right- Just a quick commentary on this week’s “Bladder-gate”. First, if I had a dollar for every time I took a leak outside, I’d be able to buy a tank full of gas. In California. Yeah, it’s a lot. Heck, in college we had a “Doughnut run” tradition where we made the new guys on our dorm floor “christen” a certain tree on our path, both leaving campus and returning. So the fellers choice of actions, while wrong, is not something I’m going to freak out about.
What stands out to me, and I’ve read varying reports, is that the lesson here is the same one that should have been learned from a certain sleeveless sweater wearing coach’s exit from the glory of Ohio State: Making a mistake is never a good, but how you deal with it is crucial. If you try to run (if that is what happened), if you fail to report accordingly, if you are unwilling to own up to your actions, that’s what ends up blowing up in your hands (as it were).
Playoffs, Expansion, And Whatnot
- Same As The Old Boss- All the buzz this week was about the B1G’s Jim Delany’s position that the conference’s first preference is the “status quo”. While some people had issues with that (that they might want to get medication for), others reminded their readers that the B1G is looking out for the B1G. Everything else is window dressing.
Look, you know my position on this- I liked the old bowls a lot, because I’m a geezer. Actually, I like the old bowls because they don’t fulfill Homer’s philosophy of everything… the issue here is that we want to argue about something different. With the old system, we could hang our hats on “what if team X played team Y?” Now, it’s “Why shouldn’t Team X get a bid if they won their conference?” or “Team Y’s loss was against a tougher schedule” The future, I’m certain, will hold such goodness as “Why should Team Z get left out just because they’re #33 in the polls” and “How can the committee/computer/cthuluu choose those four/six/eleventy teams?”
Gang, there’s always going to be someone that feels slighted and left out… get used to it.
- In Case You Forgot, Though- Even our bow-tied leader admits what we’ve been saying all along… schools are looking for new revenue streams, be it parking contracts or new television deals/conference allegiances. Heck, even Domino Dave Brandon can see the writing on the wall– and he’s the guy that’s willing to sell just about anything to raise money for his University.
Across College Sports:
- Prepare To Be Uncomfortable- The Jerry Sandusky trial is nigh, which means that we’ll get tons of new creepy updates about what is alleged to have happened and what folks at PSU were supposed to have known. I’m sure they’ll have an easy time finding jurors though…
A young man who will be a Penn State senior this fall was seated, despite connections to individuals connected with the case, including a high school football coach who was mentioned in a report from the grand jury that investigated the allegations against Sandusky. The man, Juror No. 7, wore a Penn State jersey to jury selection.
- Uniformity! Arkansas might have some new attire, and the great BHGP retooling of B1G clothing continues with Northwestern. New arkansas unis?
And Finally
- Survey Says… RIP, Corporal Newkirk.
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