Next Stop, Ann Arbor
It’s Wednesday, halfway to what’s sure to be another glorious June weekend. Big thanks to “Darth Grant” for finding the inspiration for this week’s title and lead photo- Eric may have some more on this story a bit later in the summer, but for now, here’s one of the men behind that amazing flying machine.
Buckeye 411
- Two Sport Athlete? We introduced you to the newest member of Ohio State’s 2013 class on Tuesday, but found out later in the day that Johnny Townsend hopes to walk on to the Ohio State baseball team as well. Given that we’ve got a Boren with similar interests, I’m looking forward to seeing how Coach Meyer chooses to allow these opportunities- although, I remember that several Gators also ran track. We’ll see…
- It’s Not A Red Flag, It’s Scarlet- After news broke regarding Jared Sullinger’s “medical red flags”, several interesting comments emerged. Jared’s dad theorized that some of this “news” was actually being leaked by teams lower in the draft who were hoping Sully would fall to them- this would be frustrating, in terms of lost money, but might put him on a much better team to start his career. At any rate, you’d think that the NBA would not allow tampering with… sorry, I just couldn’t finish that without laughing. You’ve got to wonder, though, if there are numerous players with these types of issues, why is Sullinger’s the only name we’ve heard? The Four Letter Network had a couple of diverse opinions- Dickie V said that you don’t need clinics and workouts to know Sullinger’s going to be a star, you just have to watch him play. And then there’s Michael Wilbon, who said that he’d pass on Sully in the first round because “Ohio State. And Greg Oden”. Somewhere, Mark May rubs his hands together and gloats…
- “Crushed”- According to Tim May, that was Urban Meyer’s reaction when hearing about Mewhort and Stoneburner’s transgressions, although he went on to say that he thought they’d rebound well. This is an interesting observation, and one that Andrew made today over at The Empire– Kids that Urban respects and counts on make a mistake, and he “feels” for them. But, he still holds them accountable at a very high standard. While this is an intriguing corrective decision given that both Ohio State and Florida have struggled due to student athletes being on their own agenda and not on the team’s page, I’m also impressed at this from a Higher Education Professional’s viewpoint. While not always true, there is a sense of privilege and entitlement that has crept into the current generation of young adults, and learning early on that decisions have real consequences is more than developmentally appropriate. Given that young adults are still developing their pre-frontal cortices, where decision making occurs, a concrete life lesson like the one that these guys are receiving has the possibility of lasting long after the days in the ‘Shoe are over.
- Making The Grades- The OSU football team announced spring quarter GPAs today, and over 45 members of the squad had a 3.0 average or higher.
- Troll On- Well, since we’re already on the topic, the Four Letter Network decided to list the “greatest sports moments in state history for each of the 50“. Ohio’s signature moment? Well, it was the BTN’s number
onethree icon, although it actually happened in Germany and not within the state borders. Yup, even ESPN plays “Germany or Ohio?” - TBUN- Yup, I’ll give some love to a Sun and Blue blogger; our friends at Maize and Brew had a great article this week about Ohio State’s place in the conference,
So as we stare down the coming 2012 college football season, a billowing cloud of fury and excitement just now beginning to peak over the late-June horizon, it becomes apparent that no matter how bad things got in Columbus last year, that the Buckeyes were merely down on the mat for a short time. The cartoon birds flew in quick circles as Ohio State shook its head and looked up at the rest of the Big Ten standing over it grinning. But the birds have gone away and the Buckeyes are back on their feet.
Wisdom, Thy Name Is Alton
Across The NCAA
- Sandusky- Defense is doing what it does, his wife testified, and this could go to jury by the weekend. That’s all you’re gonna’ get from us; sorry. It’s almost a tie to find out which is more frightening- the testimony of the victims or the rationalization by some people on some of the Lion message boards. This isn’t meant to be a commentary on PSU fans, but on the nature of message boards and fandom in general- every team has folks that want to believe what they want to believe, in spite of the evidence otherwise.
- This Week In Horticultural Studies: Speaking of guilt and innocence, you probably don’t want your client telling the newspaper that he is indeed guilty of the charges he was accused of. Of course, this will probably be spun as “Southern Integrity”, instead of “Wow, that guy can’t even do stupid things correctly”.
- We Talkin’ Playoffs? Well, we know that the BCS is dead (at least in name), and that we’re getting closer and closer to a new “playoff” model. There’s an interesting take here on Scout... your thoughts?
- My Old Kentucky Home- Ramzy tweeted a link to a great article from Dr. Boyce Watkins regarding both athletics in Lexington and the “student athlete” ideal. His perspective is not a new one, but is especially pointed given the recent success of this year’s group of one and done “students”
The University of Kentucky basketball program is always happy to recruit fresh negroes each year, some of whom leave campus without ever learning how to read or write at a 9th grade level. While the campus always finds excuses for not recruiting black students, staff or faculty, they never run short of ways to find big, black bucks to fuel their economic powerhouse. In many ways, the campus is the worst version of what many universities have become across America: Places where there is more talk than action, and “diversity” is just a meaningless buzzword recited in order to make people feel good.
Dr. Watkins was an active undergraduate while I was at UK, and I’m excited to see that he’s still asking big questions about higher education, race and ethnicity, and (in this case) the intersection of these things in college athletics.
And Finally
- Yeah, That’s Just Awkward- And of course he’s wearing a “Block O” hat… although, it could have been worse:
