You know what would be hilarious? T-shirts..Inspired by this heaping pile of drivel, I give you the very type of article some sports writer 6 months from now will inevitably write. It may seem stupid now, but it will seem like absolute gospel to many of us then. Let this be your warning: be mindful when a 21-year old kid under duress inevitably behaves like one.
COLUMBUS/IOWA CITY/WHEREVER -- To Terrelle Pryor, this doesn't matter. That is the unyielding, undeniable truth. His meteoric rise to greatness has come too easily, and the Jeanette, PA. product still just doesn't get it -- it takes a relentless, unapologetic drive bordering on obsession to win Heisman trophies and BCS crystal trophies. He's posing with Todd McFarlane-styled figurine manufactured in his likeness while he was still just in high school. Sating his desire to skip the part where hard work is necessary by leading the media on and then playing them cold about whether or not he'll be back for his senior season.
Pryor's following in the footsteps of pre-BCS National Championship Game Troy Smith and pre-NFL draft Sam Bradford, when he should be modeling his path after pre-Rose Bowl Vince Young (pick either one). He wants to sweep the award banquets, re-don the infamous all white suit he wore to prom to collect on an NFL pay day that would situate he and his family for life. The reality of the situation is, he's a linear figure who's career arc is far from original, and if he doesn't start caring about what he should, he'll soon find it instead emulating an all-too familiar figure -- a guy named Clarett.
Worst of all, Pryor's pulling the wool over all of our eyes. Selling a story book ending without the narrative. Pitching a treatment without a screenplay. In sum, selling a hollow lie. He's lobbing for the 'A' on the Final Exam, without ever having so much as attending a single class.
Give it up. Get over yourself. Put down the iPhone 3GS, and do something for your legacy, Terrelle.
Win a game that matters.
Put your team in a position to beat one from the best -- the Southeastern Conference. Better you get the real monkey off the school who's brand you have tattooed on your bicep's back than the fictitious one you and the media took credit for when you beat an overrated and exposed Oregon team, a one-and-done BCS fluke at best.
And yet here was the so-called "chosen one", "LeBron-in-Cleats" after an entire season-on-the-brink came down to the maturation (or lack there of) of his game: "We'll be back. I'll be back. Go Bucks."
Who does he think he is? Some kid in a jersey drinking Natural Light in a Chittenden Ave. apartment having just lost a game of NCAA11 on the PS3 to his roommate? That's what drives quarterback hungry teams across the country nuts about this guy. Some day, he'll get how great he could've been, when he's not letting his team down with injuries like in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, or sabotaging his team's chances like he did against Purdue last season. Because big time college football wins aren't measured like frat party conquests, no sir. They're measured like scars on a man coming back from war. [Kevin Newsome/Jacory Harris/whoever] didn't need to be the presumptive leading man, and yet he still walked out the stadium with an Academy Award for Best Performance.
Somewhere, the echos of this great game speak the legend of what he could've been. Somewhere, Terrelle Pryor still sits idly with his Beats by Dre headphones blasting ignoring the very kind of advice he should be receptive to.
Terrelle Pryor's in the two minute drill of life now, and these next few contests could be it for cementing his legend in the scarlet & gray. He's been walking onto field turfs like he was entitled for too long now, lobbying for immortality but not willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to make that a reality. The illusion lingers; it's all smoke and mirrors. This isn't about inflating rookie card values, autograph asking prices, or upping his Madden rating. This is the time of Tebow's promise, Vince Young's will, or Krenzel's savvy. Destiny's on the other line calling collect Terrelle -- do you accept charges?
R.I.P. St. John?
In what has to be pure nightmare fuel for the many who still remember fondly what a ruckus home court advantage used to be like, word's beginning to trickel out that University Trustees will make a decision in the not too distant future that will likely culminate in the tearing down of St. John Arena:
"The Arena and surrounding area have outlived their useful life, and the cost for renovating and repairing them would far exceed what they're worth," Ohio State Senior Vice President for Administration and Planning Jeff Kaplan said
Spoken like a man who's never been to a skull session or attended a basketball game in its heyday. My time on campus sadly came far too long beyond the peak of St. John relevance, but attending the make-shift NIT game against Cal in the building is an Ohio State experience I'll never forget. Would the net benefit of adding another residence hall or more A-Pass parking really outweigh the the collective good of leaving the local treasure intact?
Comments
Good piece Luke. Let's hope it (winning them all, beating an SEC team at the end) happens.
Woj is a doucher, nuff said.
WATE R U SAYING TERREL PRIOR IS LEBRON? LULZ KOBE IS THE MAMBA!!11!!
I can't wait until 2045 and we're both writing columns like this but for realsies.
By 2045 I WILL be retired from the Navy, and either writing with you guys, or working at a shoe store a la Al Bundy. I swear. Actually, I'll be retired from my second job. Or Dead.
Chief, it's good that you're keeping your options open. Well played, sir.
Good sendup, Luke. File this article, god knows it may come in handy some day. Or not.
You were pretty hard on Terelle Pryor. And what you said flies in the face of everything I've ever read or heard about his work ethic. I think you were totally wrong unless you were just being sarcastic. Whatever, I hope you are wrong.
Go Bucks,
Ted in Clark County,Ohio
Dude 6 months from now? No way he still has a 3GS.
ummm everything in the article that you linked to is true. i'm not sure how that's a "heaping pile of drivel." it's 100% true. but hey i'd love to hear how you defend lebron after that act of a basketball game tues night. the night he quit on his city, his teammates, his franchise, and himself, while he stood in the corner in the 2nd half w/ his team down AT HOME in a do-or-die game [aka the biggest game in franchise history]. but hey that's ok, right? what a joke.
Uhhh, Ahem: "WhoMever the Kicker is."
Touche.
"Inspired by this heaping pile of drivel, I give you the very type of article some sports writer 6 months from now will inevitably write. It may seem stupid now, but it will seem like absolute gospel to many of us then. Let this be your warning: be mindful when a 21-year old kid under duress inevitably behaves like one."
That's satire, Ted in Clark County, Ohio.
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or what, who has ever claimed that Terrelle had a bad worth ethic? or that he cared more for a Heisman than a National Championship?
I'm not sure what you were trying to achieve by writing this, maybe there's something underlying I don't know about. But this is pretty rough.
Although now looking back I suppose this is just a jab at the article on LeBron.
The article states as gospel that "michael jordan and kboe did whatever it took" to get a championship. That is not true. What everyone conveniently forgets is that MJ was in the league 7 years before he won a title. Kobe had freaking SHAQ on his team and he still couldnt get it done that year either. You know what both those guys have in common? Neither of them won ANYTHING until Phil Jackson came along. Now im not the biggest Phil fan, but his Zen-madness seems to really be able to focus great players. Without Phil, who knows if either of those guys would have taken the leap. Meanwhile, Lebron has freaking Mike Brown to help him focus.
And lest you forget, before MJ won his title, he did MORE media stuff than lebron. I have at least two VHS cassettes MJ put out before he ever won anything - MJ's playground and MJ airtime. Not to mention he was on every gatorade commerical and was sporting his "crazy-wild" (at the time) nike shoes everywhere.
Botom line - NO ONE has ever done what we expect lebron to do. He is the ONLY ALPHA on his team. Both MJ, Kobe, and every other NBA champ has had at least ONE other guy (be it a coach or player) who helped them carry the load.
GET OFF LEBRONS NUTS. Thank you, and god bless :)
+1 - THIS ARTICLE IS UNREALIZTIC
+100000
PLEASE find one game where mj played like lebron played tues. yes, he had off games. but would he ever quit attacking/quit shooting and stand in the corner w/ his team down in the 2nd half? wake up from your dream son. lebron will never eclipse mj. period. he doesn't have the killer instinct or the drive to do so.
I don't know if Lebron will ever win a championiship and I don't know if he will be in Cleveland next year and I don't know if he has the "desire and drive" to win but I do know that watching that game I felt that he had quit and it even made me wonder if he was purposefully trying to lose to get an excuse to leave town. Just my two cents.
THIS IS TOTALLY RELEVANT TO LUKE'S PIECE BECAUSE TERREL PRIOR'S FAVORITE SPORT IS BASKETBALL.
its St. John Arena. St. John's is in new york
Celtics trolls now? Serious?
So should I slit my wrists in the bathtub or what?
Fixed thanks. That's what i get for making a post addendum late. Ha
s'all good. you guys do great work
MJ never would have been shit without Phil Jackson, not Pippen. Phil created Pippen ouit of a lanky college towel boy.
LeBron was sending a message to the mindless drones of Cleveland fans who continue to support their Cavs/Browns/Tribe no matter what cracker the team owners throw them. This is a wake up call that Cavs management is NOT dedicated to winning. Kobe pulled the same shit before finally getting the help he needed.
Who said LeBron quti? He did you a flippin favor.
Being a fair weathered fan is a good thing when it comes to pro sports.
@iball - just curious.... what brand of crack have you been smoking today? Jordan wouldn't have been the shit without Phil?
Certainly the Bulls games you were watching had Jordan and Phil on the court together with Phil carrying Jordan around on his back and shooting his J's for him. He also stepped in as a shutdown defender and step-stool so Jordan could jump up for rebounds.
MJ may not have won as many Championships as he did without Phil, but don't take away from what Jordan did as a player on the court.
grammar nazi alert
i'm not a cavs fan at all. but i've followed the cavs ever since lebron was drafted. he's obviously fed up w/ cleveland and made it quite clear tues night that his mind is elsewhere [read: NJ, NY, Chi]. i've always hated the city of cleveland but i honestly feel sorry for them now b/c the greatest player in franchise history quit on them in its biggest moment which is a damn shame. that's why i feel a comparison to TP is unfair. TP wouldn't pull this shit. yeah, he's cocky and sometimes arrogant. but every story i've heard of him being cocky i've heard one of him busting his ass, refusing to leave the gym, and callling WRs @ all hours to go throw aka destroying himself to make him the best player on the field every night... something lebron isn't committed too. the only comparisons you can make between the two is pure athletic ability.
thank you.
Achtung
Just remember, its "down the road" not "across the street"
If your gonna do something, do it right
Honestly, a lot of level headed Cleveland fans feel the same way the yahoo writer does. Woj is a complete douche, but in this case, he's not far off.
This used to be one of my favorite buckeye blogs, but you guys started writing really weird stuff once your staff turned over, get back to what you used to do, buckeye analysis...
Not dedicated to winning? Haven't the Cavs had the best record in the NBA for 2 years in a row? I'm sorry but one dude doesn't do that all on his own. I don't care much about the NBA or Lebron, but in a pivotal game in a series, the man, whoever he may be, must step up and carry his team or at least show some effort.
Weird. That's one of my favorite sayings. GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!
hey, at least it's not buckeye commentary.
I agree iball is very wrong. Case in point, Jordan retires for two years and where did Phil and Pippen go, nowhere! He comes back and they win three more. Phil is great and having talented teams help, but the difference between Jordan and Lebron is knowing how to lead a team on the floor. Lebron makes great passes, shoots the ball well and is probably more athletic than anyone. He doesn't recognize when is the right time to let a teammate who is hot take the reigns and when he needs to take over the game. Nobody was better than Jordan at that.
Pryor needs to idolize Jordan and Peyton Manning. Not Lebron and Vince Young. They are talented but not the leaders that I grew up watching.
I like when things are funny and provide laughing.
Pryor can idolize Vince Young all day if it's the Vince Young from the championship Texas team. That Vince Young was pretty damn good.
This time of year is tough to come up with fresh football material anyway. It's not like we can talk about last week's game, and speculation of recruits, expansion and Duran's grades has already grown pretty boring.
actually "whomever is the kicker"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
LOLOLOLOL <3 Clerks
i hate to say i told you so... but... I TOLD YOU SO. ok, now back to TP winning the heisman, our bucks winning the mnc, and so on and so forth.
You know what, I am sick of being everyone else's bridemaid. Enough if enough. 97 Indians, 06 Bucks x 2, 07 Bucks, Cavs... F it.
I love my state even if I am 14 yrs removed.
If I win out in my (Running) Grand Prix for my division, it gets dedicated to ya'll.
I remember my buddy Todd who is from Ohio and I made Chief together in 07 after thr FLA debacle times 2, our other buddy from Ohio was happy that at least a Buckeye made.
FTW.
O H
No way Brian, the good teams know all theyt have to do is MAKE the playoffs. The Cavs battle for the best playoff position because they know they are NOT the best Team in the east.
The cavs failed to pull the trigger on Ariza and Stoudamire and chose Jamison due to financial concerns. The whole Shaq signing was just another carrot dangled in front of dumb Clevand fans faces.
great video, but sorry. your site makes me want to push people off a bridge.
I'm not buying it, the guy quit on is team. He had a good stat line last night but had a ton of turnovers and no confidence in his shot. Look how good he was a week ago. 21 points in one quarter. The last 2 games he looked disinterested and even kind of timid. You just didn't get the feeling he knew he was going to make his shots. He quit on his team.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/...
Mike Brown is the first to fall in Cleveland.
does shaq still have money left on his contract?
Gilbert just denied SI's report, but from reading body language, Brown is on the clock.
Damn, no I O?
Anyway I'm of the opinion Lebron is hurt more than we know. I don't think he quit, but was doing his best to suck it up...and I'll tell you right now, if he leaves, I have a bunch of gear to cut the grass in. Shoes included.
This is exactly why I didn't choose that option.
Certainly not "in the neighborhood".
Or, the '54 Indians, for that matter.
I O
You're right about one thing Luke. This article does seem stupid.
Or John Elway and Ernest Byner for that matter, IO.
that St. John arena R.I.P. comment deserves its own post.
I haven't lived in Ohio for 20 years, but every time I go back for a game I attend the skull session. I'm old and misty-eyed that way now I suppose, but sumbitch they better give us a suitable replacement.