Just a friendly warning that there are only four more days to borrow money from your pops so you can buy him a gift. If you’re looking for ideas, check our friends at The Buckeye Room… And now, the news.
Buckeye 411
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For The Guy Who Has Everything We Hardly New Ye- Well, it wasn’t news to us, as we’d heard for a while that Brian Bobek was looking to transfer, but earlier this week the University made it official. Potential landing spots could be the University of West By God Virginia, and a B1G program yet to be named. Brian’s got family across the conference, so we wish him luck in all of his games except one. A bit of a sad note, since he was supposed to be “next up” after Brewster graduated; however he was jumped on the depth chart in the spring, including being passed up by the latest in the Boren Legacy (just an incoming freshman). Again, godspeed!
- Now That’s What I Call Trolling- News early Tuesday was that Urban Meyer and the staff were going to… Michigan? Seems that the staff at TTUN was being a bit slow in responding to requests to be a part of a clinic in the Southfield area, an event that has had the tenor of a UM/MSU pep rally in the past. When the staff of the event reached out to Coach Meyer, he jumped at the opportunity and will bringing the entire coaching staff with him to work with the campers on drills and build relationships with the folks in Hoke’s backyard. Great move, if you ask me… although I’m certain that he’ll refrain from purchasing any gas in that god-forsaken state.
- Check Out The Big Brain On Brad! Coach Smith took to the twitters on Tuesday and gave love to the receivers who had excelled in the classroom… and we found out that, for Spring Quarter, Philly Brown managed to achieve a 3.9. Heck, that’s practically Krenzel-esque.
- Congrats!- First and foremost to our own Joe Dexter (and apologies to his bride) who tied the knot on Tuesday. Second, Buckeye Mark Titus was betrothed over the past weekend as well… Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at the reception, which was sure to be a “who’s who” of OSU hoops.
- And Condolences– Go out to Jake Ballard, who saw his breakout season with the world champion New York Giants end with an injury and a release from the team this week. Obviously, his recovery is not going as quickly as the team wanted… He landed on his feet, though, and was picked up by the Patriots on Tuesday. It’s uncertain what this means, as they’ve extended Gronk’s contract long term and have Aaron Hernandez as well… but it’s good to have another person in Foxboro to ensure that this continues to happen. Oh, and since we’re talking about the G-Men… imagine lining up on the opposite side of the line from this.
- Try And Beat This! Tuesday night, our friends at OSU Rugby were able to surpass 2000 followers on Twitter, and will “occupy” the Michigan Rugby Twitter page for one week. Be sure to give them a follow, if you’re of the tweeting kind.
- Luke, I Am Your Father… Where’s My Card?- Well, it’s with great fanfare that we welcome the Buckeye Empire into the BBN- be sure to check out their daily take on Ohio State sports and coverage with a bit of a sideways twist. I’m excited for this new project, but hope the guys don’t go and get a big head.
NCAA News And Notes
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Keel-Hauled? Sending Cal And UCLA A Message? Face it, you’ll never be as awesome as Cap’n Leach… although, it’d be fun as hell trying, right?
- This Week In Expansion- Well, things are pretty quiet… although it could be the calm before the storm, with conference meetings and Board of Trustees business on the QT for the summer. If you’ll remember, though, it was pretty peaceful right before aTm and Mizzou hit the bricks last summer. Of note thus far- Dabo Swinney is not excited about the chance to go to the B12, and TCU is getting sued by the ghost of the Big lEast for not coming over to play when they totally said that they would. For realz.
- Speaking Of Missouri- Good to see that Ohio State’s not the only one with fan problems- a Tiger fan that traveled with the team is now under investigation by the Feds for being a part of a drug cartel. Insert your favorite “Columbians” joke here.
- This Week In Scandal, Part One- If you’re not paying attention to the North Carolina investigation (and who can blame you, since it’s North Carolina), you probably didn’t see that there are continuing academic concerns… including a class aimed at a lot of football players where attendance, testing, and other such things were not really a part of the plan.
- Something To Keep An Eye On- The next round of the “four team event” meetings between the major conferences start today in Chicago. Playoffs and expansion will, out of necessity, go together like the Thunder and second half comebacks.
- And Then There’s This- In an interview with the New York Times, NCAA President Mark Emmert had a really interesting quote:
Well I don’t worry about a splintering of the N.C.A.A. If schools or a conference wanted to create their own association and take on that role, that’d be fine. But those are their decisions, of course.
To the best of my knowledge, that’s the first time he’s acknowledged the possibility that some of the current institutions might reach a point where they’ve outgrown the NCAA- either due to finances involved, frustrations with NCAA limitations and oversight, or out of an attempt to move to a “professional” model for their student athletes (with remuneration). Again, as we move to “mega-conferences” with TV deals that are stratospheric, it’s not out of the imagination to think that the “haves” might want to move to their own affiliation; and that some of the “have-nots” might also see this as positive, since it gets them out of the financial arms race.
- This Week In Scandal, Part Two- Look. there’s a trial going on over in Pennsylvania. You know it and I do. However, we’re not going to cover every sordid detail of everyone’s testimony- I recommend the Yahoo! team for that. What I will point out, however, is that this might have a much larger reach than just the athletic department, particularly if the University president and other high ranking officials did know about the situation and chose not to act. In addition to being a violation of numerous laws regarding children’s safety and appropriate reporting (with lawsuits and so forth possible), this may also be a violation of the Federal Clery Act. For institutions who are found to be outside of the expectations of these expectations, fines are probable and other sanctions, including not allowing them to participate in federal student financial aid programs (Pell Grants, Federal Work Study, Etc.). This is in addition to the NCAA’s planned investigation of the Athletic Department for Lack of Institutional Control, and inquiries into whether the current governor might have sat on this investigation during his time as attorney general. In all, it’s a pretty terrible situation.
- Getting Your Money’s Worth- A couple of articles this week about the finances of major college football. First, USA today steps away from the pie-charts and gives us a look at the importance of recruiting at Florida State University, including the funding spent on those endeavors. The Four Letter Nework also joins in with coverage of the recruiting budgets at a ton of major schools– Ohio State’s numbers are pretty low for the past year or so, but it’s important to remember that the recruiting process was in flux given all of the controversy around the program. Also of note: Tennessee spends 1.5 Million on recruiting, with those results?? National Champion Alabama spends almost a million dollars- and that doesn’t count the suits and SUVs.
And, Finally:
- Giving Dad His Due- As my old man recovers from spinal surgery, it was refreshing to read this article regarding the way that father’s have been portrayed in the media. Yup, they’re not all idiots. Interestingly enough, this was the source of a major paper that I wrote during my master’s program. Yeah, I know.
- And For Father’s Day- I certainly hope this isn’t an inspiration for my kids:
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