First a word on language: We love to curse. We talk like sailors out on the street and there's not likely anything you could say to offend us. Saying that, we're a little concerned with the flippant f-bombs and especially the use of the word "faggot" in some of the comments on this site. On the former, we're not one to censor -- we don't delete comments and even let you comment anonymously -- but we are trying to keep 11W accessible to as many fans as possible, so if you could please use discretion on some of the more colorful language, we'd really appreciate it. Regarding slurs, they will not be tolerated in any form. It's 2009, not 1957 -- homophobia is no longer acceptable. Thanks! And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
For some reason, the thought of a benched Dukie joining the Michigan football team has been burning down the internets the last 40 hours, so we figure we ought to address it -- if only to drive some more daggers into our eternal nemesis from the wasteland above us.
The news of Greg Paulus potentially heading to Ann Arbor to compete for the quarterback position broke last Wednesday night when FOX Sports reported on a visit Paulus made to Michigan's practice on Tuesday. The former Gatorade National Player of the Year hadn't thrown a football in a competitive situation since his senior year of high school, but Rodriguez was interested and had him over to check things out.
Kind of funny on the surface, but with Sheridan on the shelf and the quarterback battle raging between David Cone and freshman Calista Forcier (with another frosh, Denard Robinson arriving in the fall), if there's an extra schollie, it makes sense to take a flyer on a guy that could possibly help out right away.
But then things got weird.
Paulus showed up on the Dan Patrick Show and PTI basically insinuating that he already had an offer from Michigan and that he was strongly considering becoming a Wolverine. Not so fast, said Forcier, who was off to a good spring start (albeit by increasingly lowering standards) and appeared to be a little blindsided by the news:
From what I’ve heard, I’ve been talking to coaches all morning, my position coach, Coach (Rod) Smith, he told me specifically that they have not offered him. They don’t know why he would lie. They don’t know the kid. They haven’t offered them. They said we’ll let you’ll know what’s up, because right now, their specific words were, they haven’t offered them.
I want to believe my coaches, I committed (to) them. Why would a kid like him lie to national media? So to me it’s still up in the air.
Awesome. Say what you will about Rodriguez's merits on the field, but it's becoming quite clear that he lacks the other set of skills vital to any coach of a big FBS program: that of a manager. Setting aside whether or not Paulus would be effective after so long away from the gridiron, is hanging your freshman quarterback out to dry like that a good idea? Would you do that to someone that reported to you in the workplace?
We're convinced that Tressel is out to destroy us. How else do you explain the parade of open practices and the accompanying avalanche of quotes and tidbits provided by those worthy enough to attend (or lucky enough to have press credentials). What we learned from Thursday's session:
- Pryor is "a ripping ball of muscles" and the staff is working more on his foot and hip techniques instead of the perceived weirdness with his throwing motion.
- The year under his belt is showing up in his swag as he made comments about how disgusted he was when he watched tapes of last season and how there were some teams the Buckeyes "owe stuff to".
- LeBron in Cleats also excels in the classroom: his GPA was above 3.0 for winter quarter.
- ESPN's Adam Rittenberg took in his first practice and brings news of Boren dominating Larimore and Garrett Goebel. Winning hearts quickly, Boren is.
Speaking of academic quarters, Doug Lesmerises of the Plain Dealer does a fantastic job of breaking down how the move to semesters will benefit the athletic department. Some highlights:
- Hoops: Players testing the NBA draft waters will now be able to work out for teams without worrying about having to be in class. This is an APR+.
- Football: The NFL has a rule limiting players to one minicamp while school is in session. Players from other schools on semesters have had a leg-up heading into the draft.
Comments
First off, great picture of Paulus becoming a poster for any Danny Green fan. Second, Dick Rod's approval in the pic only made me howl here at work and my co-workers wondering what the hell is going on.
I would be insulted if I was Forcier. It's funny that in an ESPN piece, Paulus said he wouldn't go to an FCS School. The way scUM played last season, any FCS school would've beaten scUM just like 2007(Appalachian State).
Great website fellas!! Enjoy reading it on a daily basis from hell,er SEC country.
BTW, could you please put a None of the above choice on your poll for today? Because none of your choices will occur in 2009(especially Ray Ray). He'll do something stupid to get in JT's dog house again.
1) couldnt agree more on your stance on slurs - there is no room for that type of nonsense in anything associated with ohio state. like it or not, we as fans are a big part of how others around the country judge the university, and we need to act accordingly.
2) michigan, ha. ha ha ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAA.
Jason,
First, good call on slurring and over-the-top profanity. A good *-bomb now & then suits me fine (like anyone really cares!).
Interesting story regarding UM QB drama. It'll be amusing to see how this plays out. Good news from Thursday's practice. Kind of a goodnews-badnews with Boren; good to see him kicking arse in practice, I'm a little concerned that a couple DT's getting handled. At least it waw onr-on-one and not 7-7 drills.
Finally, I fear I may cross the "no-no line" with sexual and political comments, but it looks like Paulus is getting tea-bagged... and DickRod approves.
waw = was. good grief.
I love Pryors attitude. The guy wants to be great, and he puts in the work too!
........thanks for the shout out on the slur issue... people will remember my battle with Mr. Pogue on the use of religious slurs and the overuse of the F word... that has no place here.
As for that piece of crap for a University in Ann Arbor, I seem to remember a disco song that went something like this .... BURN BABY BURN--- and it is really fun to watch. What makes it even more enjoyable is the obvious way in which DickRod seems to piss off his players. The supposed "leader of the pack" QB does not know that they supposedly offered the Dukie?? That would make me want to leave the team--oh wait, most of the team already left and that is why we have Boren,,,,,, thanks DickRod. Calista can be our water boy!!!
When I first read about Pryor and some of his battles with opposing fans I was skeptical about his attitude, but the more I read the more I love his attitude. He was disgusted with a 10 win season and wants to pay back certain teams... that is something that has been missing for a long time. If he is disgusted, I want every other player disgusted and I want them to play hard and make everyone pay for the Fiesta bowl and Penn State game.
... oh yea and the USC game--almost forgot !
I agree with the slurs, but being a sailor, do I have special access to the use of the so called "F" bomb? (Just kidding, I don't need any lectures). The Paulas situation is crazy. I still don't understand why Duke won't give him a shot at QB though...
I agree 100% with the language moderation and even if I didn't, it wouldn't matter because you guys provide this platform for us and what you say goes.
I could care less about this Paulus stuff though. Unless they have a good o-line blocking for the QB, it won't matter who the signal caller is. On an unrelated note, when does OSU select captains? I'm trying to guess what the breakdown will be; methinks Kurt Coleman and a senior D-Lineman (Wilson or Worthington likely) on defense, and T-Pryor and Jim Cordle on offense. And for the historians out there, correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't that make Pryor the first sophomore captain in Ohio State history? I just don't know whom else on the offense you'd place above him. Ballard? He's a non-factor. It's got to be Pryor. I think that's how the teammates will vote, at least.
Ill try to be on my best behavior. The trolls bring out the worst in me tho sometimes LOL.
Paulus tea-bag for the epic win
Finally, Buckeye fans and Nittany Lion fans can agree on something.
hahahaha, LOLverines!
Thank you guys for not putting the cavs losing in the first round as a possiblity so that people could vote on it! If that happens I will streak through the oval..
I Run the O is hoping that happens, because he is a big pile of sticks LOL
It's just most likely to happen. Doesn't mean one of the three choices will happen.
For instance, me getting struck by lightning is more likely to happen than Ohio State losing in Ann Arbor this season.
You get the military waiver, which grants you one f-bomb every 30 days. Use wisely.
Seriously, we're not anti-cursing, just trying to tone things down a bit on the f-bomb front.
touche
We had angry, disgusted players going into the '07 title game. Didn't work out. In fact, it may have cost us the game.
If not for yourself, do it for the bluehairs in the lower deck that wouldn't stand up for a Beanie-hop if you gave them a crispy Franklin
What cost us that game was the skill differential (and 200 seniors on LSU's roster). Angry, happy, melancholy -- don't think it would have mattered either way.
Pryor and Boren? Sounds like Boren is THE dominant lineman, and I don't know if any of the WRs or RBs will have earned being singled out. Plus, you know, DickRod daggers are always nice.
Yeah well he can just shut the F..
front door..
:)
watch the interview for yourselves... dude is ripped!
http://www.theozone.net/flash/...
can we also agree that the zombie nation/white-out schtick is tired?
awesome interview
i like how espn/abc(disney) is always playing that up like it's only something they do when OSU or another bigger game is played there. they do the "white out" every time. sure, it looks cool, but it is tired.
Zombie nation - yes (mainly because they don't let the band play enough as it is)
White-out - no (I will not give up that atmosphere. I just wish they would find a better name than "White Hhouse"
WHAT THE F[rench toast]!
they're giving him a shot out of despiration.
Looks like people have been watching too many Rudy reruns on TBS. Paulus is not a scrappy underdog pursuing his dreams at all costs, he’s a gifted athlete so scared of his life without athletics that he’ll do anything to prolong his inevitable life without them.
Check out more about Paulus' lost cause here:
http://spinserum.com/blog/2009...
it was cool the first time it happened. now it's old hat. "atmosphere" or not, i thinka s long as it's loud it doesn't matter what color shirt or jersey they wear to the game.
I think David Cone will win the starting job. I mean the guy was a starting pitcher in the major leagues for a long time and if memory serves me correctly here, he even threw a no-no.
Who wouldn't want a QB with a laser, rocket arm?
gotta love the people that sit behind you and get mad at you because you only sit down for tv timeouts. if you want to sit down and enjoy the game in peace and quiet, watch it on your TV at home
Two things:
1) It's cool looking
2) Selling all those white shirts makes money for our super greedy athletic department. So, it will never go away.
i'm hoping that boren's attitude rub's off on the rest of the big eaters up front. we haven't had any guys on the o-line that have had that attitude in years and it shows.
LMF(reindly)A(ssets)O
i just want brent musberger to not get a boner everytime he sees it and stop acting like he's surprised.
and how bout those guys that wear the masks with football uni and pads? do we have to see them everytime PSU televised?(so every home game)
I totally agree with you on the slurs, I mean really, Homophobia is so gay!... wait...
\shows self the door
I appreciate the step forward on the slurs and language. People can be funny without all the cursing. Though I reserve the right to curse out loud to myself while typing anything on this site.
it's between him and that Taint Forcer feller
One thing a lot of people don't know is that most Penn State fans despise those desperate-for-the-camera masked freaks. Don't get me started.
well i'm glad you're annoyed by them too. every school has "those people" (what do you mean, those people?) but i think the masked idiots are the most annoying from my POV.
They're on about the same level as this guy:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c...
no one is on that level. i won't insult anyone with putting them on the level of that scUM sucker.
I see nothing wrong with seeing the white out or the guys with the masks. It is their tradition. Let them have fun with it.
How would we all feel if they asked OSU to stop dotting the "I" or if they told us to stop saying "O-H-I-O?"
The guys with the masks aren't really tradition, though. They're just annoying.
@SC
dotting the I and theo-h-i-o chant are ona different level than turds in halloween costumes. let's compare apples to apples here....
@SC
let's compare apples to apples.
dotting the I, and the O-H-I-O chant are not the same as goons wearing halloween costumes.
sure, keep doing the whiteout. just tell brent musberger that we've heard/seen it before.
crap^^ don't know how that happened
Prolly funniest thing I herd/read all week, very nice
I think the whiteout is fine - it's really cool seeing the whole stadium pure, blinding white like that.
We just need to convince the commentators to stop acting like it's some kind of magic charm to win football games :)
I want to apologize for slurs used by myself in previous posts, if I offended anyone I am truly sorry. I knew as soon as I pressed "enter" that was a very inappropriate post and not the way i want to portray myself. I dont even talk that way on a daily basis. I also happen to have family members that are gay and would never want to offend them. If i can offer any explanation, it was intended as a put down more than a shot at homosexuals, but still that is not an excuse. I promise to tone it down in future posts and am proud to be a member of a blogsite that takes a stance against that behavior, once again I am truly sorry.
I cant explain how elated I am to have a QB with "swag" or cockiness or arrogance for that matter. As much as I enjoy Tressel's ability to be diplomatic in his public intreractions, I feel too many players try to emulate that characteristic and it may be spilling over onto the playing field. We need someone to kick our team in the behind, and make them not be afraid to knock somebody's teeth out and be proud of it.
IM SICK AND TIRED OF OHIO STATE BEING A DOORMAT FOR THE MEDIA AND THE OTHER BIG PROGRAMS ACROSS THE NATION TO WIPE THEIR FEET ON!!!
ITS TIME TO RAISE UP AND TAKE OUR RESPECT BACK!!!
i wouldnt read too much into Pryor's GPA. he was in my "how to use the internet" online class last quarter which I took as a graduating senior. it was 2 credits and worth about 3 hours of actual work for the entire quarter. i'm infinitely more impressed with how big he got.
You don't think the constant personal fouls, the roughing the punter, and Heyward punching fools had a bit to do with it?
I agree that in the end LSU had more talent, but we heard all december about how riled up Tressel was getting the troop and what we got was a mistake-prone team that seemed to be itching for a fight rather than wanting to win a game.
Oh, and another thing: it's good to see you guys taking a stand on slurs. I personally have no problem with language; as most here can attest.
I think it had a bit to do with it. But not much more.
No problem. The statement above wasn't directed at any one reader/commenter -- just a reflection of a growing trend we're trying to nip.
Get your braveheart on iball
that's graduate level work up north.
Yes, but he passed... How many of us remember Katzenmoyer struggling with 'History of Music' and 'Golf?'
i have that sports illustrated in my attic still.
another season of great talent down the s[ugar]er
I thought the Penn State white out was cool, back when they first did it in what 2005? It was the night game against us. Maybe they did it before then, but that to me was the first game that I really noticed it. Well now, every primetime game on ESPN is a white out, black out, red out, green out purple out, who cares lol. Penn State, to me, did it first and theirs is still the coolest. Who cares of oregon state orange out or Purdue does a black out. It's like you are crappy teams who's fans where the same color shirt. WOOHOO
Fair enough. But I really think the game swung fully in the Tigers' favor once Spitler roughed the LSU punter. From there on out, it was over.
I know it wasnt directly at me, but I was guilty of an indecent post or two, so i just wanted to own up to it.
THEY MAY TAKE OUR RANKINGS, THEY MAY TAKE OUR CONFERENCE, BUT THEY'LL NEVER TAKE TEMPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
I'm impressed with you shutting the hell up.
!
I hear Duke doesn't offer it and Paulus will study it at Michigan.
Agreed on the slur issue. It's one of the few things I actually give detentions to my students about ( I like a bit of chaos in the class)... anyway, this scares me a bit. How scUM felt about OSU during the 90s, that's how I'm starting to feel and these stupid stunts Rich "Mountaineers for life" Rodriguez keeps pulling are going to continue to make the rivalry feel less relavent. Don't get me wrong, nothing I love more than seeing a good skunk bear smack down, but I just don't want it to become a joke... at least it was always competitive under Lllllllllllllllllloyd
Why isn't the B10 network broadcasting the spring game? That sucks....i was looking forward to drinking with the boys again.....looks like its laptop feed @ work day instead of a day off......
[...] Saturday morning question Jump to Comments Can somebody explain to me what all the fuss over Greg Paulus is about? [...]
Big Ten Network will probably show Women's Tennis instead.
I like how they fight to get the BTN on every provider then switch the spring game back to ONN. I don't get ONN HD.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE??!?!? ALLOW ME TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION FOR YOU:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SIP2...
Ginsburg: one saucy mama
I'd hit it.
+?
I just hope we DON'T CHOKE again when SC comes to town. The fact that we all think we are so big and bad...I don't know ? We keep getting embarrassed by Florida,Texas,USC.. we have to beat these programs to be great! And now we have a piece of meat rejected from Michigan and we are to be excited? Not sure I like where we are headed. Remember a guy named Leach?(4 in a row from woody) This may be the second coming with this QB named Tate. Just be careful of what we wish! The tide may be turning BLUE AGAIN!! Go BUCKS
You sound like a closet michiscUM fan buckster........
C'mon........I know you agree, in some shape or form. I know we don't want to hear it,read it or think about it. But nothing stays the same. Just laying it out there,you decide......... but don't be in denial. It could happen AGAIN!!!
To say that we are never gonna lose to scUM again is dumb, we will....but I truly dont think it will be while DickRod is at the helm. I wouldn't be suprised if we take the next 3-4 in a row to push it to 9
Hear Ya Ski,then you agree.GBks