Daryll Clark Looks to Lead Penn State in 2009

One of the best, or worst, parts about spring practice is that everybody seems to put out some articles about the evolving leadership of the team heading into 2009. Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did just that with a feature on quarterback Daryll Clark on Sunday.

Musselman recaps Clark’s thoughts on the Rose Bowl loss and discusses how Clark will be looked upon as more of a leader…
Continue reading at Bleacher Report – Big Ten Football

Buckeyes’ practice is open

Ohio State and the seven other men?s basketball teams playing in the NCAA Tournament in Dayton will have 40-minute practices open to the public Thursday in University of Dayton Arena. Admission is free.

The Buckeyes will practice from 5:10 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. The other teams and their starting times are Tennessee, noon; East Tennessee State, 12:45 p.m.; Oklahoma State, 1:30 p.m.; Pittsburgh, 2:15 p.m.; Louisville, 4:25 p.m.; Morehead State, 5:55 p.m., and Siena, 6:40 p.m.

Ohio State and Siena will meet in a first-round game at approximately 9:40 p.m. Friday. The winner will face the winner of the Louisville-Morehead State game on Sunday at a time to be announced.

All first- and second-round games in Dayton are sold out.

Continue reading at Hoops & Scoops: an OSU basketball blog

BASE: Alex Wimmers Named National Player of the Week

Alex Wimmers' 15-strikeout, complete game win over Pittsburgh Friday has earned the sophomore from Cincinnati recognition as a "Louisville Slugger" National Player of the Week.
Continue reading at Ohio State Women’s Basketball Headline News

BASE: Part II of Ryan Dew’s Baseball Blog

It was beautiful in West Palm Beach Friday and junior outfielder Ryan Dew recaps the day that included the No. 30 ranked Buckeyes defeating Pittsburgh, 20-3.
Continue reading at Ohio State Women’s Basketball Headline News

BASE: Wimmers’ 15 Ks Plus Team’s 20 Hits KO Pitt, 20-3

Sophomore pitcher Alex Wimmers struck out 15 batters and went the distance and the Ohio State offense totaled 20 hits in a 20-3 win over Pittsburgh Friday at the Santaluces Sports Complex. No. 30 Ohio State moves to 10-2 on the season.
Continue reading at Ohio State Women’s Basketball Headline News

Florida, Oklahoma odds on favorites for 2009

The Wiz spotted BodogLife’s updated odds for the college football season. Long story short… it looks like the Gators and Sooners are the early picks, followed by USC, Texas, and Ohio State.

Here’s the complete rundown:

Alabama 22/1
Arizona 100/1
Arizona State 150/1
Arkansas 150/1
Auburn 150/1
Boise State 100/1
Boston College 100/1
California 60/1
Cincinnati 90/1
Clemson 60/1
Colorado 100/1
Florida 7/4
Florida State 30/1
Georgia 50/1
Georgia Tech 50/1
Illinois 80/1
Iowa 75/1
Kansas 75/1
Kansas State 175/1
Kentucky 125/1
Louisville 150/1
LSU 20/1
Maryland 200/1
Miami 35/1
Michigan 120/1
Michigan State 100/1
Missouri 90/1
Nebraska 55/1
North Carolina 45/1
North Carolina State 100/1
Notre Dame 30/1
Ohio State 17/2
Oklahoma 5/1
Oklahoma State 50/1
Oregon 20/1
Oregon State 100/1
Penn State 35/1
Pittsburgh 60/1
Rutgers 125/1
South Carolina 100/1
South Florida 80/1
Tennessee 100/1
Texas 8/1
Texas A&M 150/1
Texas Tech 60/1
UCLA 150/1
Utah 125/1
USC 5/1
Virginia 100/1
Virginia Tech 20/1
Wake Forest 80/1
Washington 200/1
West Virginia 75/1
Wisconsin 100/1
Field (Any Other Team) 20/1

And remember… entertainment purposes only… of course.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on Florida, Oklahoma odds on favorites for 2009…

Continue reading at Ohio State Football – Fanblogs.com

Big Ten lunch links: Paterno deserves record

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Slim pickings today. The academic fraud scandal at Florida State is unfortunate, but Penn State's Joe Paterno deserves the all-time coaching wins record, Ron Cook writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  
"It would be a crying shame if [Bobby] Bowden ended up with that record. It would be one of the most fraudulent records in sports,…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

NFL Scout Puts Wells at the Front of the Herd

AN NFL SCOUT BREAKS DOWN 2009 DRAFT CLASS

Tom Dienhart
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

Rivals.com talked to a director of college scouting for an NFL team. Here are his early position breakdowns on the NFL draft heading into the NFL Scouting Combine, which begins in earnest today in Indianapolis.

Ohio State’s Chris Wells is part of a big group of quality running backs.

INTRO: I try to put most of my weight on what guys do in the fall. The tape doesn’t lie. You have the Mike Mamulas and Vernon Gholstons, guys with big biceps who run great, then can’t play. The one thing workouts like the combine are good for is you get a view of how athletic they are and how fast they are on a clock. And, hopefully, it matches what you see on tape. If it doesn’t, then it causes you to go back and look at tape again.

RUNNING BACKS: I think the juniors really boosted the running backs class. Teams should be able to get a good back through the first three rounds. … Look at the underclassmen: [Ohio State's] Beanie Wells, [Pittsburgh's] LeSean McCoy, [Connecticut's] Donald Brown, [Georgia's] Knowshon Moreno, [Wisconsin's] P.J. Hill, [Iowa's] Shonn Greene. That’s a pretty strong group. I think there is real value there, and I think you’ll be able to get them a little later with a chance to hit on one. … I think Wells is the guy who has pushed out in front of everybody. He is the bell cow right now of this group.

Click here to view full article > http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=914271

Story By Buckeye Legends

Holmes makes Buckeyes proud in Super Bowl!

I hope everybody stayed up long enough to watch Santonio Holmes game winning catch in the Super Bowl last night.  Not only did he make a spectacular TD snag, dippin’ his toes in the corner of the end zone, he had four huge catches on that drive to take the ball down to the six yard line.  He finished the game as the MVP with 9 catches for 131 yards and one TD.  You can’t deny that his catch made him the MVP but he was clutch all night long.  James Harrison’s (formerly from Akron U.) play was stellar as well with his record setting 100 yard interception return at the end of the first half but his MVP hopes were probably dashed when he got caught punching an opponent to the ground.

 

Holmes playmaking, especially “the catch”, was text book.  He snatched the ball with his hands and kept both feet in bounds.  Let’s not forget the playmaking ability of Big Ben.  Not only did he keep many plays going with his scrambling but to put that last ball on the money like he did was nothing short of amazing.  But “the catch” is what will be immortalized with the Steeler faithful right along side with Swann and Stallworth, Harris and Bradshaw.  He almost single handedly brought the Lombardi back to Pittsburgh with some help from a solid defense and a crafty QB.

 

He mentioned in his post-game comments that “he wanted to become a superstar in that game” and although I think we would all agree he did help his stature as a big time play maker in the League, most “super stars” are measured by years of great plays and I think it remains to be seen although I like his chances.  I hate to bring it up but MVP’s of the past haven’t always fared all that well after their big game performance.  I hope Santonio keeps things in perspective and continues to grow as a player and a person, and strives to be a roll model from here on out.  He’s really going to be under a microscope from now on and his antics of the past, if repeated, will only take away from a truly phenomenal effort.

 

So let’s all relish in the moment with Santonio Holmes and congratulate him on a Super Bowl win, a great effort and the MVP.  He made the Buckeye Nation very proud, and becomes the first Ohio State Buckeye to be named the MVP of the Super Bowl!

Story By Buckeye Legends

Mid-afternoon Monday wrap-up

Greetings everyone.  I’m sitting in my room here at Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas, and I finally got the time to update The BBC!  Plenty to discuss, so let’s get to it;

The Super Bowl

Hey, how about that Santonio Holmes?  Super Bowl MVP!  I wonder what university taught him to play like that?

I truly hate the Steelers, but I’ve gotta give it up for a former Buckeye putting in a performance like that!

I didn’t think the excitement of Giants/Patriots could be topped, but damn that was incredible.  The last 8 minutes will go down in history as the most exciting SB I’ve ever seen.

Of course, you can read all about that in a million other places online.  Me, I wanna discuss how I think it was the worst officiated game in Super Bowl history.  They officiated the game as if they were afraid of the Steelers.  My personal observations;

• A 15-yard penalty for a late hit on Roethlisberger (while his arm was still in a downward motion)
• James Harrison punches a guy in the back and head three times…and doesn’t get ejected from the game.  The penalty ends up costing Pittsburgh zero yards, as the ball was already on the half-yard line.
• That penalty actually began before the ball left the punter’s foot….possession should have stayed with Arizona.
• Willie Parker has his progress stopped in the end zone and his knee hit before he stretched the ball to the 1.  No replay, and a horrible spot to benefit Pittsburgh.
• Finally, it may have been inconclusive, but why didn’t the replay booth at least TRY to review the game’s final play.  I think Warner’s arm may have been coming forward, but in the sport’s biggest game, shouldn’t they have at least tried to stop the game and look at the call?

Oh, well.  Maybe I’m just bitchin’ too much.

Pro Football Hall Of Fame

On Saturday, my hometown landmark, the Pro Football Hall Of Fame announced their 2009 inductees.  The Buckeye Battle Cry finds it to be a complete travesty that WR Cris Carter is not on the list this year.  This was Carter’s second year of eligibility, and he should be in the hall by now.

Last year I felt that a first-year entry denial was forgivable, especially with Art Monk on the list.  It’s rare to see two high-profile receivers in the same class.

But this year, they’re letting in WR Bob Hayes over Carter?  WTF?

Hayes was a world-class athlete and is worthy of the Hall.  No knock on him, he’s incredible.  But to keep Carter out while putting Hayes in, I just can’t see a reason for it.

Carter’s numbers;

• Receptions – 1,101
• Yards – 13,899
• Touchdowns – 130
• 8-time Pro-Bowler
• 3-time All-NFL
• Elected to the NFL All-1990s team

These are not pedantic numbers.  Shutting Cris Carter out twice is not acceptable.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Hot damn, did you see how they took over that game yesterday?  The Cavaliers were shooting poorly at best for three quarters, and entered the final stanza down by 8 points in a loud Palace in Auburn Hills.  The Detroit Pistons are a team looking for relevance in an era that is fading fast for them.  Beating the Cavaliers would have allowed them to hold their place while they try to rebuild a successful pattern.

But Boobie Gibson and LeBron James wouldn’t let them (that must sound familiar to Piston fans, circa 2007).

The Cavs outscored Detroit 32-14 in the fourth quarter and left the Palace with a comeback victory, 90-80.

But which is bigger for the respective team?  The Cavaliers win or the Pistons loss?

The Cavs win puts them at 37-9, tied for second best record in the NBA (and that’s only because Boston has played three more games and stands at 40-9).  They’re on track to win about 65 or 66 games and will spend the rest of the season battling Boston and Orlando for the top seed.

The Pistons loss puts them at 25-21 and tumbles them to the 6th-seed in the NBA Eastern Conference standings.  They’ve now lost 9 of their last 12 and have failed in their last four home games.  Right now they are a mere shell of the team they once were.  It turns out that trading Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson was the biggest mistake the franchise has made in a decade.

Since Iverson has begun playing for Detroit, the Pistons are 21-21.  Meanwhile, Billups’ new team, the Denver Nuggets, are third in the West.

Yesterday’s game could have been relief for a failing Piston organization.  Their win would have meant a great deal, but the loss means so much more.

Oh, and it’s yet another example that Ohio owns Michigan.  Bow down, bitches.

Mike Brown

Congrats to Head Coach Mike Brown!  He and his staff will be coaching the Eastern All-Stars during the All-Star game in two weeks.  While most of the team will be home resting, he and LeBron will be lighting up the arena, before taking charge down the stretch run to the playoffs!

Vegas, Baby, Vegas!

If you’ve ever been to Vegas, you know what it’s like here.  But even if you’ve visited here before, I urge you to come during a championship game in a major sport.

Yesterday I was in the sports booking area at Ceasar’s Palace for the Super Bowl.  They lined up extra rows of chairs the night before and people began saving them at 6am.  We were fortunate enough to grab a couple of seats in the front row for the Cavs game, and towards the end (as Super Bowl time approached), we began getting cash offers for our chairs.

We gave them up to Marshall, a nice guy who let us sit while his sons were on their way from gambling.  We got to sit for our game, they got to sit for theirs.  Worked out perfectly.  We did see a guy get 300 bucks for two seats in the VIP area though.  Nice.

We gambled for a while at the Pussycat Dolls tables right next to the booking zone.  But it was hard not to watch the game, especially with all the screams coming from 20 feet to our left.

By halftime, we were eating at Mesa Grill, and grabbed a window table, so we got to see the rest of the game in comfort.  But we made our way into the crowd for the final moments, and it was the most fun I’ve ever had watching the game without actually being AT the game.

Seriously, book a trip for the NCAA title game or the NBA Finals.  It was wild and worth every penny!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the Cavaliers are 2-1 odds to win it all.

Story By The Buckeye Battle Cry

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