Buckeyes at #1: Why not?

The Ohio State Buckeyes are still #1 in the nation, though so many people seem to wonder why. Routinely, I hear comments that "they aren't that good" and that they "Don't deserve to be #1".

I ask: Why not?

The season began with the Bucks outside the top 10. While their season schedule hasn't been the toughest nut to crack, they've still made it to almost the end of October without a loss. That's more than can be said for Florida, LSU, USC, Virigina Tech, and every other team that started the season ahead of the bucks.

Until another team proves that they can beat the Buckeyes, they should remain #1.

This is a team that hasn't lost a regular season game since 2005. The only loss since was to Florida in that infamous rout last January. No other undefeated team (Kansas, Arizona State, Boston College, Hawaii) can claim that kind of history.

With the toughest segment of the schedule still ahead, there's plenty of opportunity for the Buckeyes to prove their worth. Illinois, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan all have the potential to knock OSU from the top spot. I'll concede that this team isn't as sharp as it has been in recent years: no Heisman hopefuls, no Ted Ginn, and no league dominant linebacker corps. Despite that, they haven't lost a game yet. Why not #1?

The King Earns His Crown

Let me preface this by saying that I don't really follow the NBA. I've never been a big fan of professional basketball, but I've followed it through watching/listening to Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption. Through these means, I generally stay current regarding what's going on in the league enough to speak intelligently of it, but I'm certainly not a regular fan.

That said, Go Cavs!

Last night, I watched more professional basketball than I had the whole season. I tuned in for one of the most impressive performances of basketball that have happened in recent years. In case you missed it, the Cleveland Cavaliers edged out the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. In double overtime, LeBron James scored the final 25 points (holy crap.) for his team, giving him a total of 48. Unreal.

The sports pundits have been calling for LeBron's "coming of age" for a while. They blamed #23 for not taking more initiative in the first two games of this series. After the last 3 wins, you can be assured that LeBron has redeemed himself. Just check out that picture. You can see all five Detroit players and LeBron floating to the basket- with no other Cavs players in sight. Seriously, where are they? From the perspective of this photo you can see pretty much the whole court. Where'd they go?

Photo from Getty Images via Deadspin

But look at the bright side- Baseball is Coming!

The Jackets may be done for the season, but my team to watch when the NHL is not in season is just starting.

The major league baseball season is just around the corner, and my team, the Reds, are just getting started down in Sarasota. Every new season brings a clean slate for every team, and the Reds can use it just as much as the Jackets. Good news from the Dispatch about them today too- five homers in yesterday's game, including Adam Dunn going long in his first at-bat. Let it be a sign... oh lord, let it be a sign.

The Loser's Merchandise

At the end of the Super Bowl, or any championship game for that matter, it takes only moments from the time that the last seconds tick off the game clock until the victors have donned their "championship" attire. All of that merchandise is printed in advance, of course. The contractors who produce all of those items don't hedge their bets on one team or another. They print sufficient merchandise for either team so that their hats and t-shirts are ready to go regardless of the outcome.

So what happens to the the merchandise with the loser's logos on it?

In a recent post on the The Sports Economist, we learn where it goes. The short of it is that it is never ever sold, and instead collected in a warehouse where it is later sent abroad to the world's poorest countries. The charity organizations that do the logistics make it a point to send the clothing to places where few have even heard of American sports, let alone be aware of which team won a championship. According to the article, the league does this to prevent "traumatizing" on of it's teams. Before, during and after the big game the merchandise is protected like "Elizabeth Taylor's diamonds." The MLB even goes so far as to destroy the mislabeled merchandise.

I appreciate the fact that professional sports leagues go to such great lengths to make sure that these clothing items get to people who are in most dire need (except baseball), but also find it amusing. It's strange how uptight they can be on controlling this kind of merchandise. The image above is from a New York Times article. Besides that, I could not find the 'loser's apparel' anywhere else online. I guess they need to prevent sports memorabilia collectors from selling Buffalo Bills super bowl t-shirts on eBay.

Super Bowl XLI: A Midwestern Showdown

Way to represent the heartland! Indianapolis and Chicago will square off in what we all hope to be an outstanding NFL Championship game. If it's half as exciting as the New England - Indianapolis game, we're in for something special. Even Chicago's rout of New Orleans was entertaining. Few things are more representative of January football than snow in Soldier Field. I'm pleased with the match-up this Super Bowl, as neither team has been to the big game recently, yet both have been the focus of so much media attention this season.

The big game is still two weeks away, so there's plenty of time to hear about the big storyline. As a matter of fact, ESPN will consist entirely of basketball and super bowl predictions and reports. Needless to say, it'll be a long fortnight. We'll hear all about how Chicago has an outstanding defense, though their biggest weakness this season has been their starting quarterback, Rex Grossman. Then we'll hear about how Peyton Manning has been so successful as an NFL QB, but has not led his team to the big game until now... I'm sure they'll mention the Colts' defense that was weak all season but stepped up to stop the running attacks of Baltimore and Kansas City, and then got the job done against the Pats. The sports pundits will probably even remind you that Jerome Bettis is from Detroit, in case you forgot.

I'm gonna go ahead and make a prediction for the game. After seeing both teams play today, I think the Bears are going to win it. Between Chicago's special teams and stellar defense, the Colts are going to have a real tough time getting the ball down the field. Grossman is about the only thing that could jeopardize the situation because he's been completely unpredictable. He's been hot and cold all season. If he plays mediocre or better, the Colts defense aren't going to be able to keep the Bears under 20 points, and so it'll be all on Peyton's shoulders- which will be crushed by Chicago's pass rush. Furthermore, the axiom states that "the best defense will beat the best offense."And that has pretty much held up, as far as I'm concerned.

Congrats to the Colts and Bears, as well as their loyal fans. Enjoy south Florida in the winter, I'm sure the weather is more accommodating than it is up here.

Greg Oden: Man or Myth?

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Ohio State v. Iowa basketball game. It was a quite convincing win for the Buckeyes, who lost twice to the Hawkeyes last season.

Just as you'd expect from all of the media hype surrounding the player, Greg Oden was the star of the show. The kid (and I can say that because he was born in '88) is unreal. He towers over everyone else on either team and dominates down low. He's automatic in the paint. Essentially, the rest of the team just needs to feed it in to him and it's two points on the board.

Oden scored a thus-far career high of 29 points, and all of them were scored from right under the hoop or from the free throw line. He's still shooting with his left hand, and he's right handed by nature.

What impressed me the most about Oden wasn't his dunking, his reach, or his blocking skills, but his lack of fouls. Any player who spends that much time under the hoop is bound to pick up a few. After all, center is one of the most full contact positions in all of sports. But Oden took only two fouls while attaining those 29 points- a true feat for a guy who plays so many minutes.

If you should have the means to get to a Buckeye basketball game this season, do so. Oden alone makes the experience worthwhile. What's more, chances are high he won't be sticking around for another season. (though reports are quite mixed on this issue) Oden has been touted as the savior of the NBA, and the competition to select him in the upcoming draft has been dubbed "The Greg Oden Sweepstakes."

At least a few reports have stated that Oden likes the college life and wants to spend another year or two being an 18-22 year old college kid. I can't say I blame him there. The NBA will still be there in a couple of years, and so long as he doesn't become injured, his future is more than secure. If you need any more proof that he's having a good time at OSU, look no further than right here:

Ohio State loses BCS Championship because of old age

The Ohio State Buckeyes, beloved by all the world, fell to the Florida Gators last night in the BCS title game. The Bucks were defeated as much by Father Time and their own lack of discipline as they were by Florida.

It had been 51 days since the Bucks' last game, which is a long time to ask of any team. Players get out of rhythm, out of shape, and outright out of the right mental state to play a competitive football game. In that same time Florida played not one, but two games. If Ohio State had been 14 days fresher, who knows what difference that may have made. Let's take a look back to remember the world 51 days ago.

A young, hip, President Reagan was leading the United States out of the Iranian hostage crisis, as well as developing a space based anti-missile system.





Bruce Springsteen, or "The Boss" as he would later become known, took the radio waves by storm with his hit Dancing in the Dark. The video for the song also starred a little known actress, Courtney Cox, who would become famous for her role in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.


The futuristic Tron was the top grossing movie. Few knew how accurate the movie would be in predicting the future. By the time the BCS bowl games started, the red guy was already up 3-1 on the blue guy.


It is ridiculous to ask any team to wait so long to play again following the regular season. I've been a fan of a playoff system for a while now, as I documented in this post on The Soap Box. If Ohio State fans ever needed another excuse to support the disposal of the bowl system, last night was it. No other sport uses such an archaic and outright absurd system for evaluating a champion as does NCAA football.

The Chris Quinn - Brady Quinn race to riches

Most of us are pretty familiar with Brady Quinn. The Dublin Coffman graduate is the quarterback for Notre Dame, a two time Heisman finalist and the Out magazine posterboy. What you may not (or you might, whatever) remember is his unrelated co-Coffmanite who also went to Notre Dame.

Chris Quinn, who is once again unrelated to the aforementioned Brady, also went to Notre Dame and starred on their basketball team. His college career was less successful, which is to say he didn't even almost win any national championships, but he has no less made his way to the next level. It was brought to my attention just yesterday that he plays for the Miami Heat. Go figure.

I attended Dublin Coffman at the same time as the two Quinns. I knew who both of them were, as they were obviously athletic stars. Brady led the football team pretty deep into the state playoffs and Chris' play on the court filled the stands pretty well for every game. I had a class or two with Chris as well, but I always thought he was a jerk with funny ears. He used to rub in the fact that he was being aggressively recruited by colleges. I remember a few times in 11th grade American Lit where he would bring in collegiate scholarship letters, open them during class, then toss them in the trash on the way out. Can't help but resent that a little.

Anyhow, the kid is making over $1 million between 06 and 07. I bet when Brady goes in the first round of the NFL draft (maybe first overall... Oakland does get the first pick, and lord knows they need some offense) he'll make even more, but I no reason to think little of Brady.