Friday Skull Session

By D.J. Byrnes on January 17, 2014 at 6:00 am
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Ohio State men's basketball continued their free-fall last night, losing at Minnesota by a final score of 63-53. It was an ugly game even as college basketball games in January go. 

The Block O threw shade at Aaron Craft. Lenzelle Smith continued his slump in Big Ten play. Rick Pitino's coitus trophy gave us this face. And y'all wonder why I don't mess with college basketball outside the month of March.

Kyle dumped more words into a recap of a game that ultimately should be abolished from the records of basketball.

THE HUNT FOR A FIVE-STAR TE. As the recruiting dead period ended at 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, rumors swirled yesterday Urban Meyer would attend 2014 five-star tight end (and PSU commit) Mike Gesicki's basketball game last night. Gesicki took to Twitter to dispel those rumors.

In the end, Urban Meyer sent his tight ends coach and Boss Hogg Marionaire: Tim Hinton. (Be scared, Nittany Lions fans, be very scared. Tim Hinton could get a death row inmate fired up about his own execution.)

After the game, Gesicki had this to say:

I'm still firmly committed to Penn St. The only other school I really talk to is Ohio State. I like the people at OSU, but I'm still committed to Penn St. Just trying to get a feel for where [PSU] is heading.

So yeah, Gesicki seems about committed as a dude texting two girls at the same time. The newly-installed James Franklin is allegedly a helluva recruiter/salesman — Christian Hackenberg seems to be on board — but Franklin has already lost five-star DT Thomas Holley. As Urban always says, a verbal commitment just means you're in a prospect's top three, so Ohio State is in great position as National Signing Day looms in a few weeks.

JAMES FRANKLIN: STILL NICE. Yesterday, James Franklin took out a full-page ad in the Nashville Tennessean thanking Vanderbilt fans. (It's become the de-facto way for an athlete to exit a city while still maintaining the "classy" image.)

Well, it turns out Penn State University paid for the ad. There was a weird, visceral reaction to this revelation.

Unfortunately those people are going to have to wait to bash Franklin. Yes, he requested PSU place the ad and pay for it, but also asked PSU to send him the invoice once it was completed. Which makes sense, because he has people like Urban Meyer and Will Muschamp(!?) in his recruiting henhouse and doesn't have time to touch base with the Tennessean's sales reps.

Brick CITYThe basketball team solved homelessness in Columbus.

NOTHING TO SEE IN ALABAMA. You gotta hand it to Alabama. These people openly flaunt the NCAA rulebook and it led them to the BCS mountaintop. Are you ready for the latest dispatch about the smoke emanating from the mighty skyline of Tuscaloosa? From CBS Sports:

A disassociated Alabama booster says there's “nothing to worry about” over a report he has broken NCAA rules by selling memorabilia signed by top Crimson Tide players.

Tom Al-Betar told CBSSports.com on Thursday he obtains memorabilia from fans via the school's fan day and former players who visit his store after graduation.

... Outkickthecoverage.com reported Al-Betar's new business, T-Town Gallery, is selling, among several items, autographed jerseys of current players T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper.

So there you go, folks. "Nothing to worry about," from the mouth of the disgraced Alabama booster. So glad we got that settled.

WHERE FOOTBALL PLAYERS CALL HOME. Here's a county-by-county heat map of where the 25,000 Division-I athletes call home:

Where Football Players Call Home

The image comes from Mode Analytics, which has a completely interactive map over at their awesome site.

Apparently the old theory of shifting demographics leading to a boon of football talent has some weight. Ohio definitely isn't slouching though.

THOSE WMDs. Chris Brown breaks down Seattle's tweaked Cover-3 domination... The increasing use of rap lyrics as evidence in trials... Brian McBride discusses storied career... I don't want to meet Alan either... Australia is putting thousands of tiny tracking pads on bees... Japan to test 'magnetic net' to clean up space debris around Earth... Crazy lady was told by AppleCare she could walk in and get a part... Your dad lied lol... Accused groper caught by OSU police... Custom Shia LaBeouf vehicle wrap on his mom's '97 Honda Accord.... Four bad-ass kittens break into a maximum security prison... Best to keep on driving... Some OSU students undettered by legal risk of using fake IDs... 

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