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TWC vs. BTN: Which side are you on?

By Kyle Nagel | Saturday, July 5, 2008, 01:10 PM

So, we got the news this week that two early-season Ohio State games will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Because Time Warner Cable and the BTN don’t yet have a deal, TWC customers have no chance of seeing these games.

We said from the beginning that the Big Ten was taking a big chance with creating this network because it could turn some of its own fans against it. When it comes to upset people, they like to blame one side (or sometimes both).

From conversations I’ve had, I get the sense that half the people blame Time Warner and the other half shakes their fists at the network.

I’m asking to hear from as many folks as possible. Which side do you take?

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Ohio State writer makes his picks

By Doug Harris | Thursday, July 3, 2008, 01:31 PM

The college football season gets its unofficial launch, at least in this part of the country, at the Big Ten kickoff luncheon in Chicago on July 24-25.

The media meet with all of the league coaches and a few players from each school for two days of interviews, and Ohio State then will report for preseason camp Aug. 3.

It’s hard believe it’s just weeks away. But if you’re a college football buff like me, it can’t get here fast enough.

The Big Ten asked all reporters to predict the top three finishers in the conference and pick an offensive and defensive player of the year, which will be unveiled at the kickoff event.

For the first time in my nine years of attending, I didn’t put Michigan in my top three. The Wolverines seem to have lost too many horses, and the quarterbacks they have in the program seem ill-suited for coach Rich Rodriguez’s system.

The Wolverines haven’t had a losing season since 1967 and haven’t missed playing in a bowl since 1974, but those streaks could come to an end this year.

OK, Buckeye fans, simmer down. The Wolverines are eventually going to reload and become a national power again. C’mon, it’s Michigan.

For what it’s worth, I picked the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten, followed by Wisconsin and Illinois.

OSU running back Chris Wells was my offensive player of the year, and linebacker James Laurinaitis was my defensive pick.

Given all the attention the Buckeyes and that duo are getting in the offseason, I’ll be shocked if my fellow scribes don’t see it the same way.

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Tippy Dye has his say

By Kyle Nagel | Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 01:54 PM

Two years ago, as Ohio State headed into its monumental 1-against-2 matchup with Michigan, some Buckeyes fans learned the name Tippy Dye for the first time.

Heading into the game, one of the major storylines was the possibility that quarterback Troy Smith could collect his third straight win against the Wolverines. Only one other OSU quarterback had done that.

Before the game of the year, No. 1 Ohio State versus No. 2 Michigan on Nov. 18 at Columbus, Ohio, somebody recalled that only one Buckeyes quarterback had ever beaten archrival Michigan three consecutive times.

His name was Tippy Dye and the years were 1934, ‘35 and ‘36. He was 5 feet 7, 135 pounds, wore No. 50 and played offense and defense as the Buckeyes shut out the Wolverines all three years. Dye’s three straight were viewed as an especially significant feat last fall because Ohio State’s quarterback, eventual Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, was about to match that accomplishment. Smith did exactly that in the Buckeyes’ 42-39 victory that day, a victory that set up Monday’s national title game against Florida.

Dye did many things after he left Ohio State, a line of success that included a stop as the University of Washington’s basketball coach. Dye visited Seattle recently. Now 93, he was asked by a Seattle reporter about his history with the school, his experiences as a coach and administrator and his thoughts about the state of college sports.

We learned that, if he were leaving college today, we would never have known Tippy Dye the coach:

“We had great teams, great people,” he said. “They were all good folks, not like they have today. “I couldn’t coach today. I wouldn’t want to.”

The rest of Dye’s story is interesting and worth your time. But it’s this last part that is the most disturbing. We hear former coaches many times say that it would be much more difficult to do that work in today’s environment.

But to hear a man with the accomplishments of Dye say that he wouldn’t want to even coach at all is troubling. I suppose, though, that every generation feels the same about the next one. Perhaps those who coached Dye and his comrades thought they were too difficult to deal with.

Hearing such things does make one thankful that some powerful coaches are seemingly doing what Jim Tressel stresses — creating good citizens, graduating players, and the like.

If nothing else, be impressed with Dye because he beat Michigan three straight times. That has rarely happened in this series.

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George Bush likes Ohio Stadium

By Kyle Nagel | Tuesday, July 1, 2008, 06:59 PM

The Ohio State fencing team won its third national championship this season, already a great accomplishment. Then team members got to visit the White House on the NCAA Day of Champions, to be recognized by President Bush:

Some of the champs here are building on long legacies of excellence. Ohio State Men’s and Women’s Fencing finished in the top five for the seventh consecutive year and earned the third fencing championship in school history. And we welcome you here. (Applause.)

By tradition, each team brought a present for the president. I’m not sure what other teams gave, but the Buckeyes handed him a photo of the football stadium.

The Buckeyes presented the President with a large framed photograph of Ohio Stadium, with the OSU marching band spelling out “George W. Bush” on the field.

Even though the national championship win in March was an exciting one, this gesture shows as much as anything that the major athletic symbol at Ohio State is Ohio Stadium. At the same time, few schools could do something as impressive with their marching band and also have it considered a symbol for the school.

Unless, of course, Mr. Bush remembers that semi-embarrassing loss Texas suffered against the Buckeyes two seasons ago.

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Groce gets his anticipated head coaching job

By Kyle Nagel | Thursday, June 26, 2008, 02:29 PM

For the past few seasons, Ohio State’s John Groce has been considered one of the top assistants in college basketball.

Now it looks like he’s finally got his head coaching job.

Reports have come out today that Groce, who has worked with Thad Matta for eight seasons will be hired by Ohio University. OU had an opening because former coach Tim O’Shea went closer to home to take the job at Bryant University.

Still just 36, Groce has been a head coaching candidate several times in the past few seasons but has stuck with Matta at Ohio State. The move brings the question that many often ask: Is it better to be an assistant at a powerful program or the head coach at a lower-level program?

Groce, like most coaches, just wanted that head job.

In the past few seasons, though, OU has stayed one of the top few programs in the Mid-American Conference, finishing third in the East Division last season while going 20-13 overall.

O’Shea was thought to be on the outs with OU athletic department management anyway, which might’ve been another reason he took the job at Bryant. Whatever the cause, it opened up the spot for Groce.

Now, another question for Groce: Will he be able to make Beavercreek native Jerome Tillman more than an honorable mention all-conference pick?

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Buckeyes enjoying ‘golden era’ in football

By Doug Harris | Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 03:15 PM

Ohio State picked up six recruits in a dizzying five-day span recently, giving the team 23 verbal commitments in the 2009 class (seniors-to-be).

That’s a mind-boggling total when you consider it’s only June and players can’t sign letters-of-intent until the first Wednesday in February.

Texas is the only other national power keeping up with Ohio State, having gotten 19 commitments. Southern Cal has 13, Michigan 12, Notre Dame nine and Florida six.

The Buckeyes always have had a lot of clout in the recruiting realm, but they’ve never made it look this easy.

“Ohio State, in this part of the country, is really on top of the mountain right now,” said Bill Kurelic, recruiting analyst for Bucknuts.com. “Michigan is a little down. Notre Dame is down. If you’re a great player, it’s hard not to take a long look at Ohio State.”

Top recruits are jumping at offers from OSU because they know the class is filling up fast and they don’t want to get shut out. It’s gotten to the point where the Buckeyes might have to turn away premier prospects simply because they’ve run out of scholarships.

These are heady times for the football program. And with three national-title game appearances in the last six years and mega-talent Terrelle Pryor set to launch his career, OSU should be able to maintain its stature for the foreseeable future.

“This could go down as the golden era of Ohio State football,” Kurelic said.

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Are Archie Griffin’s two Heismans safe?

By Kyle Nagel | Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 03:19 PM

We have a full summer and football season to wonder whether Florida quarterback Tim Tebow can win a second Heisman Trophy and match only former OSU running back Archie Griffin in accomplishing that feat.

At least one Heisman observer thinks Tebow has no chance at all.

Besides the remote likelihood of the aformentioned circumstances repeating, keep in mind that Tebow’s biggest opponent in the race for the 2008 Heisman will be himself. He will be running not only against his peers, but the legacy of his incredible 2007 performance. If his stats do not compare to his sophomore season, then it will be hard to avoid the perception that he underachieved.

Additionally, there could be structural changes to Florida’s offense that will prevent Tebow from piling up such huge numbers, especially on the ground. By this I mean that there is a chance that the Gators will actually have a legitimate tailback, be it Emmanuel Moody, Chris Rainey or Mon Williams. Throw in the increased Heisman attention that is sure to descend upon Percy Harvin and, once again, the obstacles will be there for Tebow. On top of all that, he will be challenged to stay healthy once again given his reckless style.

It does, indeed, seem like a long shot sitting here on June 24. But, who’s a better player in college football heading into the season? (Don’t say Terrelle Pryor.)

Yes, Chris Wells is in that category, and he’s second to the oddsmakers at 6-1. Tebow, though, is the favorite at 3-1. Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy is 20-1.

The site HeismanPundit.com has a list of Heismandments, which includes No. 9:

Sorry to all of you who think otherwise, but the odds are very good that there will never be another two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy. Why is that? Why has there not been a repeat winner since Archie Griffin of Ohio State in 1974-75? An even more pertinent question should be why there was even one.

Fair enough, but it happened, and it’s been a source of pride for Ohio State fans since. The award wouldn’t hold the same mystique and anticipation if there were a pair of two-time winners instead of just one.

So, while I’m not rooting against Tebow, I’m fine with Griffin standing alone on this one.

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