DeCourcy: Early entrants: Offering important lists inside NBA’s list

There are 74 U.S. college players among 103 early entrants for the NBA draft — and 60 players will be selected. Here’s a breakdown on who is making the right decision and who isn’t.
Continue reading at SportingNews.com Ohio State Buckeyes News

DeCourcy: SN’s early 2009-2010 top 25 college hoops teams

Want to get an early jump on the 2009-2010 season? Syracuse is still looking good.
Continue reading at SportingNews.com Ohio State Buckeyes News

Underclassmen must withdraw from draft earlier

Early entrants in the NBA draft will have to withdraw by May 8 starting next year, according to a rule approved today by the NCAA board of directors. The current rule allows players to wait until June 15.

The NBA also agreed to move individual tryouts up to April 30. Those do not begin now until early June.

Next year, the NBA still will not release the list of withdrawals until mid-June, but players still must notify the NCAA by the new deadline that they plan to return to school, said David Berst, NCAA Division I vice president.

NCAA coaches lobbied for the earlier withdrawal date so they could begin planning for the next season sooner. The board approved the rule because it puts more emphasis on helping returning players, especially those at schools on the quarter system like Ohio State, academically eligible.

Also today, the NBA released the list of 74 college underclassmen who have entered the June 25 draft. Ohio State freshman B.J. Mullens was the only Big Ten player to put his name in.

Continue reading at Hoops & Scoops: an OSU basketball blog

Minnesota names 2009 captains

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Quarterback Adam Weber and wide receiver Eric Decker are among the six Minnesota captains selected for the 2009 season.
Head coach Tim Brewster announced the Golden Gophers captains on his Twitter page.
Weber and Decker will serve as captains for the offense, while the defensive captains are linebackers Lee Campbell and Simoni Lawrence, and tackles Eric…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Illinois’ Nixon-Youman sustains stomach injury

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
You wouldn't normally put "torn stomach muscles" and "good news" in the same sentence, but it holds true for Illinois cornerback Patrick Nixon-Youman. 
The Illini freshman sustained torn stomach muscles during a scrimmage April 22 and had to be carted off the field. Team officials feared Nixon-Youman had sustained fractures…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

What if…….???

There are some fans of the NBA who were outraged that Dwight Howard didn’t get ejected from Game 5 for his violent elbow attack on Samuel Dalembert’s face.  Barely two minutes into Tuesday night’s game, Howard picked up a technical foul for the following behavior;

The referees blew the call. They should have assessed a [...]
Continue reading at The Buckeye Battle Cry

Should Tressel have a Hall pass right now?

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
You won't find Jim Tressel's name among the 16 players and two coaches elected to the College Football Hall of Fame earlier today in New York. The Ohio State head coach wasn't even on the ballot this year. 
But Sporting News columnist Dave Curtis thinks Tressel deserves as plaque in South Bend right now, and it's hard to argue with…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Bella Buckeye’s Post Draft Pick Advice for Laurinaitis

My sincere congrats go to James Laurinaitis and his 2nd round 35th pick in the NFL Draft.  I sincerely think he could seriously do his thing for the Rams on any given Sunday.  Only time will tell.  But every former Buckeye that throws their well deserved buckeye leaves into the NFL draft to be picked, makes me think about what’s in store for them and for the other football fans of the world.

I happened to jump into a chat room former QB Justin Zwick was being interviewed in by a local CBS affiliate last weekend.  One chat room member asked Zwick a viewpoint question.  He asked what were Zwick’s thoughts on Laurinaitis’ low draft pick.  Zwick responded by saying he thought that tends to happen to any football college player if they stick around and stay late into their career; that the scouts and clubs take a critical look at the players and pick apart and dissect their game, injury, flaws.  He wished James the best and hoped he stays healthy.  I thought that was some good insight.  But James, I think we’ll be seeing plenty of you on Monday night football highlights.

Interestingly enough someone else asked Zwick what he’s currently doing in the work force now-a-days.  Apparently selling medical devices.  *crickets*

Hey, I can’t knock that.  He’s probably doing more networking and seeing more paper than I am.  But it made me think of the possible footsteps Laurinaitis could follow…  Let’s explore a few, shall we?

Check it:

James could turn out to be like one of my all time favorite Buckeyes  Mike Vrabel.  Former #94 LB of the football Bucks.  ( 91st pick in the 3rd round back in 1997)   I used to hang this dude’s OSU stats and highlights from the Columbus Dispatch in my locker in middle school each week.  Now he’s one of the most reputable Linebacker in the country, bringing the New England Patriots to many Superbowl victories.  I believe he now will be with Kansas City though because of a trade involving a draft pick.

Or how about Pittsburgh Receiver Santonio Holmes?  (25th pick in the 1st round in 2006)  He started off a little rough with some legal troubles, but once he got past that, he turned around and made a game saving catch for the Steelers in the XLIII Superbowl gaining the MVP award.  I recently heard him speak on BET’s 106 & Park encouraging young ones to be positive and strive for their dreams.  Okay, we see you, good job.

One that’s dear to my heart, Andy Katzenmoyer.  The Big Kat.  From that dirty south, Westerville South that is.  (Went in the 1st round  in the 1999 Draft) One of the best linebackers to every grace OSU’s field.  He was injured in the first season with the New England Patriots and never really recovered professionally.  Sweet as all get out (met him once).  Now he is a business owner in Westerville, Ohio with a personal training studio.

Craig Krenzel.  (2004 Draft 5th round) To da Berrs.  He won his first 3 starts in Chicago.  Was traded to the Bengals and didn’t have much NFL success.  Off the field this dude is Columbus’ homeboy.  Bring home a National Championship to Columbus and the Buckeyes, you will forever be employed.  Krenzel has all types of endorsements with Nissan and I think I even saw some type of John Deer commercial.  By the way, you can catch him and Archie in a public gold outing/fund raiser May 11 at OSU on the Scarlet and Gray course.

Maurice Clarett.  This Buckeye was instrumental in bringing home the National Championship but he’s not currently employed  (He tried to get in the draft in 2004, but failed, but in the 2005 NFL Draft  he was  the final pick of the 3rd round)  After all of that, he spiraled downward into some serious legal trouble and he’s incarcerated.  He’s currently a writer of his own blog (via his momma by phone) and is studying while in prison.  James, not the way to go.

Or, you can try your hand at being a restaurateur?  1995 OSU Heisman Trophy winner and Tennessee Titian 1996 NFL rookie of the year, reality TV star Eddie George setup camp on High Street with his bar & grill.  It’s pretty packed on any game night.  Also former OSU & Dallas Cowboys running back Michael Wiley opened a spot on Front Street over a year ago now by.  Went passed After 5 the other day, and it’s under construction? So maybe not around anymore.  So James if you go this route, I like seafood.

So James, the moral of the story is, it doesn’t matter when you got picked, or that you got picked at all.  Make sure you stay healthy and you got some business savvy behind you, because the NFL is dog eat dog world.  But if you have any snags on the field, you got a bunch of fellow Buckeyes that could give you plenty of pointers.

Northwestern’s Phillips lowers the boom

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
A good safety doesn't need to think hard to identify his hardest hit.
For Northwestern senior Brad Phillips, it's a no-brainer. 
"You know the answer to that one," Phillips said with a laugh. "Shonn Greene, of course."
Phillips laid a massive hit on Greene during the fourth quarter of Northwestern's game at Iowa…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Ohio State Tops the List of Top RB Schools

Rich at CollegeFootballNews.com just wrote an article entitled Running Back U. – Top All-Around RB Schools highlighting colleges which are producing the best running backs.  He gives his take on the top 15 Running Back Universities over the last 40 years and highlighted Ohio State as #1 naming Eddie George as our top guy.

Here’s his writeup of Ohio State:

Consistency, dotted with periodic episodes of brilliance, is what separates the Buckeyes from every other NCAA program seeking the title of Running Back U.  And unlike most other schools, Ohio State backs haven’t endured any serious dry spells.  In the 1970s there was two-time Heisman winner Griffin and pile-driving fullbacks Otis, Brockington and Johnson.  The 1980s gave us Spencer and Byars, a Heisman runner-up Byars. The 1990s were highlighted by Eddie George and his 1,927-yard Heisman season.  After a stellar rookie season, Clarett looked poised to carry the torch early in the 21st century torch before his life spun out of control.

Since 1969, 16 different Buckeyes have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a college season.  Six hit the milestone in the NFL. Again, a model of consistency. From 1969-1981, no one was better than USC. Not even close. However, since that time, the Trojans slipped until Reggie Bush came along, and the Buckeyes have stayed the course, passing by at some point in the late 1990s. With both teams recruiting so well in recent years, expect them to jockey for the pole position for the foreseeable future.

Check out his story for the other 14 Universities and his take on them.

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