Happy May, everybody! Let’s check out the ways that the BBN fellers are keeping out of trouble.
As part of their ongoing “Favorite Buckeye” series, Dan at OHD gave us a look at wrestler Kevin Randleman, who might just join Vrable in the BBAMF Hall of Fame:
There’s a lot of talk about toughness in sports. In fact, some time there is so much talk that it ends up getting tuned out. Well, I assure you that when I tell you that Kevin Randleman’s 1993 was one of the most impressive displays of toughness that I have ever seen in any sport, I’m not being hyperbolic. Randleman entered the tournament as the #1 overall seed and he backed it up scoring an impressive first-round victory over Clarion’s Dan Payne. In the second round, however, things took an ugly turn. During his match against Central Connecticut’s Mark Frushone, Randleman suffered a dislocated jaw. The injury wasn’t caused by an illegal move, so if Randleman couldn’t get back on the mat within the allotted “injury time” he would forfeit the match and be eliminated from the tournament. However, instead of taking the easy and understandable way out, Randleman popped his jaw back into place and kept wrestling.
The Yahooligans over at the newest OSU Blog and rookie member of the BBN took umbrage at the way that many in the media were responding to some of former OSU Quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s comments in Sports Illustrated, and asked some pointed questions of the “media elite”-
Then there is ESPN. I don’t even know where to start with these guys. Brian Bennett of the Big Ten Blog drew the short straw to do the writeup on this and, as usual, kowtowed to his employer’s agenda. Here’s a tip Brian. When the NCAA has investigated Pryor and found zero evidence of an infraction occurring, that’s probably a good indication that it didn’t occur. For instance, you referenced the ESPN story about how Pryor was receiving a steady stream of checks from Dennis Talbott for signing memorabilia so that Talbott could sell it. I, as well as many others, have talked with Talbott. He categorically denies giving Pryor any monies. In fact, the NCAA declined to even contact Talbott as part of their investigation.
We’re never tired of talking hoops here at tBBC, and we entered the finals of our “Greatest Buckeye Teams” tournament with Conley/Oden squaring off against Hondo/Lucas:
Fans of Ohio State basketball who have followed our tournament to find the best basketball team in school history probably have thought that this match up was inevitable in the championship game of the All-Time Tourney. When Chris and I started this, one of our first conversations was how these two teams would match up. On one side, you have a team that was destined to win a championship behind the play of it’s super stud leader. On the other is a squad that the country knew was good, but surprised with big shots, amazing comebacks, and a final four run that ended short in the National Championship game.
The story of the week, though, was the “Twitter stalker” situation and Alex Anzalone’s decision to reopen his recruiting process. After “losing” Lewis Neal earlier in the week, it was great for Michael Chung to give OSU fans a different perspective on the whole matter:
If a de-commitment so soon after issuing one’s verbal is a negative sign, is keeping your word amidst tragedy a positive one?
Such is the case for Joshua Edward Perry. After Tressel resigned and later retired, Perry never wavered from his verbal commitment. He told us that schools came after him, but he was always a Buckeye. He graduated early from high school and enrolled at OSU early so he could participate in Spring Drills. With every reason to de-commit, Perry stayed committed and has been a leader even before Urban Meyer was introduced as head coach. He has four years of eligibility at linebacker.
Grant took another angle; while everyone was talking about the “fan” at the center of the controversy, he decided to look deeper at what it means to be a true fanatic, particularly one for a major powerhouse:
In the end, I think being a true fan has to do with some level of mental illness. You have to live for the emotional roller-coaster. Simply showing up for the celebration does not make anyone a real fan, it demonstrates how little character someone really has. It’s easy to celebrate, high-five and do a victory dance; its a lot less easy to be beaten in a blow-out and still wear the colors the next morning. Please tell all the band-wagon jumpers and fair weather fans that you know that they can go find other teams to root for because you have far too much invested in your Ohio State Buckeyes.
And what would a great week in coverage be without wisdom and insight from MotSaG; in a way that only they can bring:
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