Good morning and welcome to your Saturday Skull Session. Before we begin, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Jerry Sandusky news. Last night he was convicted on 45 out of 48 counts of sexual abuse. Sandusky will be sentenced in approximately 90 days where he faces a maximum sentence of 442 years.
There’s not really much else I want to say on this other than watching Sandusky’s lawyer, Joe Amendola, crack jokes with CNN reporters moments after finding out his client will likely die in a jail cell was bizarre. Dispatch reporter Bill Rabinowitz summed it up best with this tweet:
Watching Joe Amendola joke and smile before going on CNN makes me think Jerry Sandusky got the lawyer he deserved. Just awful.
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) June 23, 2012
Really no easy transition from that news into sports talk, so can we all just embrace the awkward shift?
ROUGH DRAFT. Tony Gerdeman of the Ozone brought back an interesting concept of his from a few years ago, imagining how a 2012 draft would shake out if Big Ten teams could select any current players in the conference to play on their squads.
Obviously something like this can’t be conducted all nimbly-bimbly from tree to tree, which is why Gerdeman laid down a few ground rules: only one player can be taken from a given team in a round (once a team selects an Ohio State player in a round, no other team can select a player from OSU), a team can’t draft their own player and once a player is drafted, he can’t be taken a second time. Draft order was determined based on each team’s record in conference, allowing the Hoosiers to blaze a football related trail for the first time in the program’s history.
With the first selection in the draft, Gerdeman had Indiana taking Denard (wait throwing it to a player not wearing my jersey is a bad thing?) Robinson, followed by Illinois selecting Montee Ball and Minnesota taking Big Johnathan Hankins.
Interesting that the first Buckeye off the board is Hankins, but when you really think about it, the dude might be the most dominating presence (at least defensively) on the team. Fortunately for him this whole draft thing is just for fun, as getting psyched to play football after slipping into one of these little numbers has got to be a challenge.
Gerdeman has the Buckeyes selecting MSU linebacker Denicos Allen at No. 5 to bolster a relatively young corps that has questions. The pick makes sense, but I was a little surprised he didn’t have OSU reaching for a wide receiver. Someone like Iowa’s Keenan Davis (who was still available based on the rules) would be a nice addition to a largely unproven unit.
Either way it's an intriguing concept and something I’d love to see him blow out beyond a first round.
HANDING OUT HEISMANS LIKE HOTCAKES. Athlon Sports recently released their list of the Big Ten’s Top 25 Heisman Trophy Contenders. It seems a little crazy to compile a list of 25 Heisman hopefuls from a single conference as there are probably only 25 legitimate Heisman contenders in all of college football...but I digress.
Heisman hopeful?Topping the list was none other than Denard (I put the “I” in interception) Robinson. I know I know, the guy has eye-popping stats, but putting him above Montee Ball (who was No. 2) on the list is probably off the mark. Robinson played against a soft schedule last season and still managed to lead the Big Ten in interceptions. Looking at Michigan’s 2012 slate I see the very real potential for a 5 loss season (Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State). Not even three loss QBs make it into the conversation, so I wouldn't bet the farm on shoelace.
On the other hand, Ball was invited to New York last season as a Heisman finalist. With the departure of Russell Wilson his road to the Heisman will be more difficult, but all things considered he should have been ranked above Robinson.
Buckeyes On The List: Braxton Miller at No. 4, John Simon at No. 7, Johnathan Hankins at No. 14, Jake Stoneburner at No. 22 and CJ Barnett at No. 24.
WE'VE GOT A HALL OF FAME FOR THAT. Jim Tressel was inducted into the Hall of Fame!…well a Hall of Fame. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported the Senator will headline a list of eight sports figures inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.
Established in 1976, almost 500 individuals with connections to Greater Cleveland have been inducted into said hall. The ceremony will be held on Sept. 19th.
Good for Tress. I believe this is only the beginning of a delayed outpouring of praise for the beleaguered former coach turned administrator. The abrupt nature of his exit left fans with little time to process how suddenly “former” Coach Tressel should be viewed. In time, the good Tressel was able to accomplish over the last 10 years will eclipse the scandal. While other Ohio organizations may be slower than the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame to recognize him, it will happen. The man took Buckeye Football to another level, and for that fans will always thank him.
Congratulations, and here’s to JT dotting the “i” before it’s all said and done.
GOING CAMPIN'. Earlier in the week, Alex wrote a bang-up piece on Meyer's third recruiting camp of the summer. The head man has invited players from both the 2013 and 2014 classes, and a number of prospects will be in Columbus to soak up some of the sights and sounds of big-time college football. If you'd be so kind as to stare into the box below, a moving picture will highlight a few of the notable 2014 names in attendance. It should be interesting to see how things shake out over the weekend.
LINK A DOODLE DANDY. I know Johnny linked to this yesterday, but it might be the funniest thing on the internet. Continuing to pile on, sorry can't help it. Folks in advertising will understand this one. Always always ALWAYS watch out for this. Nicholas Cage cats, rescue one today!
