Eleven Warriors

<poof>

Greetings, time liners.  I have popped in to your present to assure you of the future.  It doesn't take a Time Traveler to tell you what's coming.  Just trust it.  I once told Ray, a friend of mine, "If you build it, they will come."  But that was another sport altogether. 

I am here because IT is coming to Ohio State.  Yes, steel yourselves for a host of naysayers throughout the summer and the football year...they will swarm like MAYflies on a warm moist night crying and buzzing about their frenzied claim that we don't belong in a championship game...but I don't need a crystal ball to see a new crystal ball sporting its hot self in Ohio State's Trophy Room.  It is waiting...in the future.

But how did we get there?

A look back on the year 2013-14 revealed the craftiness of Urban Meyer in applying the science of (HO)2C6H3CH(OH)CH2NHCH3 to the success of the championship run.   Huh?   (HO)2C6H3CH(OH)CH2NHCH3?  Anger.  ANGER!!!  As you can see, its formula is uniquely suited for use at Ohio State...but first, the backstory:

An artful motivational speaker is Urban Meyer, and in discussions with his coaches right now, is tweaking the approach for the fall, I assure you.  We all know that ANGER is a large focus in the 2013 season already dubbed "The Chase". 

Anger.  It is one of the most basic human emotions.  It is a physical and mental response to a threat or to harm done in the past (perceived or real).  Anger takes many different forms...from irritation to lingering resentment to blinding rage that becomes an uncontrollable monster.

And of course, the best (anger) motivation happens when perception is closest to reality.  The pundits really DO doubt that an Ohio State team is ready NOW to take down the mighty SEC.  It really DOES seem like the burden is on OUR shoulders for the recent humbling of the Big Ten (though our record is above reproach in the BCS era).  Other fan bases actually DO mock us for being "arrogant" in our assumption to the throne of college football (as yet, still in our heads, but soon to be remedied). 

So yeah.  This team DOES have valid bulletin board drawing points for their anger.  All true.  But the beauty of THIS anger...and the genius-ness of the mad Dr. Meyer...is found in the nature of the PHYSICAL effects that anger has on the human body.  Let's analyze Anger for a moment:

Many of our emotions are linked to a particular physical response, but Anger just happens to get the mind and body ready for ACTION of some kind.  It arouses the nervous system, increases the heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow to muscles.  This prepares the muscles for imminent physical combat.  The blood sugar level rises, and perspiration begins. It also sharpens the senses and increases the production of adrenalin (epinephrine) and nonepinephrine...hormones produced in times of anger or stress...and famously known to exponentially increase strength and agility as well.

However, along with these physical changes, anger is thought to affect the way we THINK.  Anger is thought to speed up the synaptic firing sequences in response to the flood of adrenalin, and helps us quickly translate complex information into simple terms: 'right' or 'wrong' for instance (or perhaps cover this guy instead of that guy)...the point is that a quicker translation of decision making factors happens.  This allows a person (like a football player) to appear to react quicker than others (akin to the "game slowing down").  This can be useful in an emergency as we don’t waste valuable time weighing up information that doesn’t affect the moment's core decision.  And useful also, as Urban has discovered, to set up a sort of "controlled anger" mentality, which feeds adrenalin intermittently as needed by the practiced user of said "controlled anger".

In short, Anger allows us to make quicker decisions!

Now I know you say, but wait...doesn't anger make people do STUPID things too?

Yes.  Yes, it does.

We all have vivid memories of some friend, relative, or complete stranger (or shockingly, myself) acting in stupendously stupid stupidity at the moment of anger.  Anger makes you crazy!!  Well, that is until it is harnessed scientifically by the cunning staff at Ohio State to bring about the perfect storm of physical changes in the bodies of their players in a controlled, sustainable way! 

Of course, since this is a "controlled substance", look for the NCAA to ban it soon after the season, Nick Saban to decry its use in fueling the illegal Jet Offense that insidiously puts opponents at a health risk, and half the known universe of Ohio State haters to mock at whatever we do...until the second Rose Bowl.

But seriously, would it surprise you to learn that the diet of our players also addresses foods that aid in the production and use of epinephrine?

But do you know what the coolest feature of epinephrine is?  As demonstrated above, its scientific formula is UNIQUELY Ohio State, for its designation is (HO)2C6H3CH(OH)CH2NHCH3, and any objective fan in the future understands that (OH) and (HO) are simply imprinted mirror codes that can be read from either side of the DNA coil. 

Oh yeah.

The Time Traveler

<poof>

In one of the several posts and threads about the most recent, and ultimately tenure-ending gaffes committed by legendary Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee, someone asked for a succinct recitation of his many, many accomplishments. While the general consensus is that he is a "transformational leader" who has significantly advanced the mission and vision of our university, it's hard to put his many achievements into a handy list or set of talking points.

Fortunately, two writers at onCampus, Ohio State's faculty and staff news outlet, did just that. Here are some highlights:

• Significant gains in student retention and graduation rates.
• Hundreds of millions of dollars more for research and student aid.
• A nearly doubling of the international student population.
• An increase in the number of faculty named to the national academies and as fellows to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• Endowment fund growth that led the nation among colleges and universities in 2012.
• Generating revenue through creative use of university assets and affinity agreements to enhance Ohio State’s core academic mission.

Okay, but what about some quantifiable stuff? Well, the authors had some numbers to back up our warm and fuzzy feelings for Dr. Gee, too:

• Cancer research donations have increased by 669 percent, including $42 million raised via the Pelotonia.
• Institutional financial aid for students has risen to $450 million from $370 million.
• Average ACT scores have risen to 29 from 27.
• New Gateway Offices have opened in Shanghai, China and Mumbai, India, expanding our outreach to students, alumni and partners.
• Six-year graduation rates are 82.4 percent, up from 72.7 percent.
• President Gee helped raise more than $1.6 billion in private funding. The past two years have been the most successful fundraising years in university history.
• Applications to Ohio State have risen by 60 percent, to 35,000 from 22,000.
• Finance strategies generated more than $1 billion to support academics core ­— including century bonds, parking lease, streamlining and affinity agreements.

In other words, the second Gee era (2007-2013) has been a pretty damn amazing success story for the Ohio State community. Perhaps his biggest fingerprints, however, are left in the form of the vision that is guiding the University now and moving forward.

Since that time, Ohio State has rolled out the One University Framework, a universal planning document that provides direction for current and future growth for the next 50-100 years — all in context of a larger picture of increased collaboration and cooperation.

University leadership, under Alutto’s academic direction, has mapped out the intersection between OSU’s strengths and global needs and unveiled three Discovery Themes — Health and Wellness; Food Safety and Security; and Energy and Environment — to focus both its significant intellect and its funding in order to make a difference in the world. According to its strategic plan, Ohio State will hire 500 new faculty members over the next 10 years in the Discovery Theme areas.

At the same time, Gee and Alutto have focused on helping students succeed.

Much of the early fundraising for the $2.5 billion “But For Ohio State” campaign focused on student financial aid. And, guided by the One University Framework, efforts also are now solidly under way on a new Second-Year Transformational Experience Program — building and renovating student housing space that will allow all sophomores to live on campus where they will have more opportunity to interact with faculty members.

“It should be clear to all that President Gee has enhanced the university in immeasurable ways,” Alutto told the Board of Trustees. “Because of his vision and the remarkable team he has assembled, the journey from excellence to eminence is well under way. … President Gee leaves us with a foundation of strength and a model for presidential impact that will serve Ohio State well in the future.”

So as July 1 approaches, and along with it the end of one of the greatest eras in University history, let us again raise a glass to one of our greatest presidents, E. Gordon Gee. May he live forever.

Forgive me for reposting this from two years ago with some minor update/changes.  If you read the original and don't want to read it again, I understand.  But with the aquisition of Phil Steele, I am now officially in ramp up mode.  And our summer of discontent isn't because of scandal anymore.  Its because of the impending excitement that recaptures my anticipation of Christmas from when I was a child.

On a cold December night, a woman is wheeled into a delivery room at St. Luke's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.  After winning the fight with the nurses, she clung to an ashtray with a grey football attached to its center like it was going to protect her from the coming pain.  As the spasms of childbirth wracked her slender frame, she refused any help that would remove her concentration.  No, this was her moment.  Her whole purpose for going through this scary and painful night was not going to be deterred by a well-meaning nurse or doctor.

Finally, as she was wracked by the spasms and the feeling she was passing a bus, there was a final push, and then the sound she was waiting to hear...the cry of a newborn.  Now!  Now was the moment she was waiting for!  And she looked at the small talisman she brought with her, and found the little lever on its side.  She moved the lever and the unmistakeable sound played out of the music box. As she sang the words to herself and the nurses cleaned up the newborn, she smiled.  Across the Field was the first sound her new son heard.  Later in her life, not only her grandchildren, but any members of the local Alumni Association would all call her Grandma Buckeye.  That woman was my Mom.  That baby boy was me.

As young children, before we could even understand why, Saturdays in the fall were important in our house.  While my friends were watching Pixie and Dixie confuse Jinx the cat, and while Sky King and Roy Rogers were rounding up the bad guys, my sister and I were listening to the early LP releases of The Ohio State University Marching Band.  My Mom played those records over and over until Marv Homan or someone came on the radio to broadcast the only football game that mattered that weekend.  To this day, the tune from Nationwide Insurance brings a smile and a memory to my face as my Mom and I sat and listened to the broadcast together.  If we were lucky, once in a great while, Ohio State would show up on TV, but I have no memory of any of those days.  I remember sitting and listening to the radio.

As my Dad's practice grew and they could afford to go, they would travel the long drive down Rt 42 from Cleveland to Columbus to see a game.  Next to Woody Hayes, the biggest thing to help Ohio State football grow into the monster it is today was the completion of Interstate 71.  A two day drive suddenly became two hours down and two hours back.  Suddenly, attending the game became something we could all do.

Our next door neighbor, who I grew up calling Uncle Bob turned out to be, along with his wife Aunt Ginny, the best friends my parents ever had.  Uncle Bob had one flaw.  Every Saturday, just to bust my Mom's chops, whether he needed it or not, Uncle Bob would cut his grass wearing an old dark blue football jersey.  You see, Uncle Bob was the blocking fullback for Tom Harmon. 

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I was doomed.  No matter where I went, Ohio State football was so ingrained into my soul by my Mom, that to this day my wife complains that while we do attend church on Sunday, the pilgrimmages I make on Saturday to whereever I have to go is my real religion.  As I have gotten older, I think I have started to find a balance that has saved my soul.  Summers like this one, might be purgutory on earth, and Ohio State football is still my number one hobby, but I have passed the torch to my children.  You see, all six times I was in the delivery room, I continued the tradition my Mom started.  I didn't have that music box.  But I did have my voice so each time the doctor handed me a new born so that I could place them in my wife's arms, I first sang a little tune to each of my children

"We don't give a damn for the whole state of michigan, the whole state of michigan, the whole state of michigan

We don't give a damn for the whole state of michigan, we're from O HI O"

Grandma Buckeye has been gone now for a few years.  When she died, my kids threatened to blow up the cemetary in Brookfield, Ohio if my aunt didn't arrange to have the Headstone actually say Grandma Buckeye on it.  It now does.  Earlier this year, when the controversy about ticket prices came to a head, I said that despite all the emotional ties to the program we have, that I was going to pass on season tickets.  I had already told my friend with whom I have submitted tickets for twenty years that tOSU had crossed the line for us and that he would be sitting alone for the first time in 20+ years.  However, Grandma Buckeye would have none of that!  two weeks before the ticket deadline, I won a drawing at my local club that was waaaaaay more than the cost of my two season tickets.  My wife, God bless her, even before I could say anything about the issue observed that Grandma Buckeye arranged for the good fortune to befall us so that I could still sit in 14C with Rick.  So thanks Mom. I'll be there when the Urban Meyer story really unfolds this year!  

My eldest daughter claims that all 6 kids are cursed. Because it would be so easy to turn away from a program that has suffered through the In and Out Burger Bowl,  The Mad Hatter Bowl and the summer of our discontent.  But they can't.  No matter what.  Its their heritage.  Now she is about to make us grandparents for the first time.  I have volunteered to be in the delivery room so that the baby hears the right sounds first.  For some reason, she said no.  But no worries.  She'll need a baby sitter soon enough.

After a long sleepless night, reading every comment, to every post. A thought of my kids going to scum crossed my mind. It crept up on me. Like those repressed memories of busting my parents that one awful night. I feel sick. I feel dirty. I just cried. What a horrible thought. My kids wearing piss and blue. Am I wrong to feel this way? I would rather them not go to college, than to see that. Please tell me I'm right. That I'm not the only one who would feel betrayed by their kids if this were to happen. We need a plan. Like a ten step, back away from the ledge plan. I have three kids. 11,7,5 yr olds. . I buy them buckeye gear galore. I preach the OSU gospel to them. What if they backslide and end up scum. Any thoughts on this living nightmare? What would you do? How would you react? Could you disown your kids? Is the hate that deep? Have any of you had any of these horrible thoughts? What if they got the full ride, all expenses paid scum treatment? How can we prevent this from happening? I'm kinda freakin out, but I haven't slept in a few days. And now with this on my brain, I may never sleep again. Can you sleep imagining your pride and joy looking up to Brady choke? Yes, I know. I'm overreacting a little bit. I know worse things could happen. I just don't know if I could stomache this. What about you?

I've always loved the opening narration in Field of Dreams.

          My father’s name was John Kinsella.
     
          It’s an Irish name. He was born in
          North Dakota, in 1896, and never
          saw a big city until he came back
          from France in 1918.

          He settled in Chicago, where he quickly
          learned to live and die with the White
          Sox. Died a little when they lost the
          1919 World Series...

          ...died a lot the following summer when
          eight members of the team were accused
          of throwing that Series.

          He played in the minors for a year or
          two, but nothing ever came of it. Moved
          to Brooklyn in ’35, married Mom in ’38,
          and was already an old man working at
          the Naval Yards when I was born in 1949.
       
          My name’s Ray Kinsella. Mom died when
          I was three, and I suppose Dad did the
          best he could. Instead of Mother Goose,
          I was put to bed at night to stories of
          Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig...and the great
          Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Much like Ray Kinsella, my father put me to bed with stories of his favorite athletes. Instead of the Black Sox, I heard about Archie Griffin, Woody Hayes, and the "the greatest play action passer who ever lived", Rex Kern.

Dad used to describe the way Kern would hold the ball after faking a hand-off. Sometimes he would just kinda jog away from the pile up, holding the ball in one hand, down behind his thigh. By the time the defense, and the cameraman, realized what was happening, Kern was heaving the ball downfield to a wide open receiver. To this day, a poorly executed play action will grind his gears. "He's not even trying!" Dad will say. "Who's gonna be faked out by that?"

I have to agree. The art of the fake handoff has been lost. Of course, Dad also talked a lot about "three yards and a cloud of dust". It wasn't until years later that I put two and two together, and realized how much of an advantage Kern had when he was faking a hand-off, mostly because they really were handing off ninety percent of the time.

My father graduated from Ohio State in the early seventies. Although I did grow up on Buckeye football, he never pressured me to follow in his footsteps. He wanted me to do whatever I thought was best for me. As a junior in high school I thought I knew it all, including these three things: I wanted to go to a big school. I wanted to study Industrial Design. And I thought I might like computer animation. At the time computer animation was only being taught in master's programs, and only two public schools in the country offered it: Texas A&M and Ohio State. My family had moved to Texas when I was in middle school, so of course my Mom was rooting hard for A&M. But A&M had no Industrial Design department. It just so happened that OSU was a perfect fit.

On November 23, 2002, I was a junior sitting in C-Deck, watching Will Allen pick off John Navarre near the end zone. We had beaten Michigan and were on our way to the National Championship game. As my friends and I ran down the ramps to rush the field, we could hear the chants building: TEMPE! TEMPE! My buddies were already making plans. How much would the flight cost? Should we stop in Vegas on the way? 

Those guys would have a blast, but I knew I would not be joining them. There was only place I wanted to go for that game: back home in Texas, with Dad.

As a Buckeye fan, there will probably never be another experience quite like watching that Championship game. When Krenzel's pass to Gamble fell incomplete, I looked over at Dad. Although the loss was devastating, we couldn't even be that mad about it. What a game! What a season! And then... what a yellow flag! Soon after the interference call (which seemed perfectly reasonable to me) we were national champions and Coach Tressel (or JT, as I like to call him) was going on about the "best damned team in the land".

Getting back to the opening narration of Field of Dreams...

          Dad was a Yankees
          fan then, so of course I rooted for
          Brooklyn. But in '58 the Dodgers moved
          away, so we had to find other things to
          fight about. We did. And when it came
          time to go to college, I picked the
          farthest one from home I could find.

          This, of course, drove him right up the
          wail, which I suppose was the point.
          Officially my major was English, but
          really it was the Sixties.
         
          I marched, I smoked some grass, I tried
          to like sitar music... and I met Annie.

Just like Ray, I had chosen a school a thousand miles away from home (though we had different reasons). At the time, I thought Dad liked my decision to attend OSU. It would be cool for him to see me at his alma mater, right? Now I wonder if he hadn't been quietly agreeing with Mom, wishing I would stay closer to home. By the time I was a senior, my life was continuing to parallel Ray Kinsella's. Instead of Annie, her name was Beth.

I had always planned on moving back to Texas after college. That never happened. I stayed in Columbus to be with Beth. A few years later we got married. Today, I'm celebrating my very first Father's Day as a father.

I have finally given my parents their first grandchild, but I feel bad that they are so far away. Luckily, we have family traditions to help us feel closer. Hopefully my son will enjoy Buckeye football as much as I do. If so, then we'll watch games together and call Dad afterwards and we'll all complain about the refs and about the poorly executed fake hand-offs. My son will grow up hearing stories about JT, Mike Doss, Teddy Ginn, AJ Hawk, and of course, Rex Kern. Also, he'll hear a lot of stories about my Dad.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Hello fellow Buckeyes, 

I attend Johns Hopkins University and am very excited about the recent news that we'll be joining the Big Ten in lacrosse. Sadly, I will have already graduated by the time the men's Ohio State team plays their first conference game at Homewood Field. I'd like to share with you the email the Johns Hopkins community received from President Ronald Daniels as he goes through why Hopkins inevitably chose the Big Ten and the advantages the conference brings. I found it very interesting to read what went into such a big decision. Enjoy!

Dear Members of the Johns Hopkins Community:

A few weeks ago, I announced plans to seek a conference affiliation for our men’s lacrosse team, a decision that was based on a recommendation from a special committee charged with examining all aspects of this issue. Today, I am very pleased to announce that I have accepted an offer from the presidents and chancellors of the Big Ten to have Johns Hopkins join the conference as a sport affiliate member for men's lacrosse.

Athletics Director Tom Calder, Coach Dave Pietramala and I will make a formal announcement at a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT. I invite you to watch this news conference through a webcast available here.

This is an important moment for both Johns Hopkins and Big Ten men’s lacrosse. For the first time, the Big Ten has welcomed a university into its ranks to participate in a single sport. For the first time, there will be formal Big Ten competition in men's lacrosse. And for the first time, after more than 130 years of independent participation at the highest levels of the sport, the regular season schedule for our Blue Jays will include league games.

You will recall that I convened a special committee of alumni, former Blue Jay lacrosse players and other Johns Hopkins leaders and stakeholders to consider the question of conference affiliation. That committee wrote a report recommending that we pursue affiliate membership in a conference, citing in particular the rapid growth of lacrosse and the dramatically changing landscape of NCAA Division I athletics as reasons to reconsider independence.

For example, changes in the conference affiliations of traditional rivals threaten our ability to keep them on the Blue Jay schedule in years to come. In addition, with so many leagues now eligible for an automatic qualifying spot in the NCAA Division I Championship, it seemed imprudent to become the only school denying our student-athletes and fans two qualification routes into the post-season. You can find the report, which I ultimately accepted, here.

The special committee looked into several possible conference affiliations in the course of its deliberations. In the end, Tom Calder and Dave Pietramala recommended that Johns Hopkins join the Big Ten for several reasons, including:

-- We are a good fit with the Big Ten institutions, research universities with whom -- in most cases -- we already share close connections through the Association of American Universities;

-- The commitment of the Big Ten and its members to the academic success of student-athletes;

-- The opportunity for Johns Hopkins to help to launch Big Ten lacrosse play, including the adoption of competition rules and procedures;

-- The opportunity for Johns Hopkins to contribute to the creation of the league's lacrosse culture, bringing to bear the experience of our 44 national championships and the traditions and history of the nation's most successful lacrosse program;

-- The chance to continue a historic series with arch-rival Maryland, which is also joining the Big Ten;

-- The conference's understanding and encouragement of our desire to maintain as many of our other traditional rivalries as possible;

-- The conference's understanding and encouragement of our desire to maintain our agreement with ESPNU for national telecasts of all games from Homewood Field; and

-- The strength, stability and resources of the Big Ten, which bode well for the success of its venture into a new sport.

It also means a great deal that the Big Ten is so enthusiastic about welcoming Johns Hopkins into its ranks. Commissioner Jim Delany and other Big Ten officials and coaches have made it clear that they consider Johns Hopkins central to the league's strategic decision to expand into lacrosse competition.

We will begin league play with the rest of the conference in the 2015 season. We have agreed to an initial membership term of five years and to re-examining the relationship after three years to determine if it should be extended. Our NCAA Division I women's lacrosse program will continue play as part of the American Lacrosse Conference next year before moving to independent status in 2015. And, as always, we remain proudly and deeply committed to NCAA Division III status in all other varsity intercollegiate athletics.

I want to thank the Big Ten presidents and chancellors and Commissioner Delany for inviting us to join them. We are excited about our future with the Big Ten lacrosse teams from Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers, and about our association with the  conference and all its members.

Go, Blue Jays!

Sincerely,

Ronald J. Daniels

I was at Penn State last week for a work conference, and I had a chance in the evening to take in the town.  Now, I should preface this by saying I have a lot of friends who are Penn State alumni, and I found the campus to be very charming and the people to be extremely nice.  It was also summer break, so perhaps all the rude jerks were off-campus. 

Checking out my food options, I walked by the famous Sub Shop, and was struck by something amazing.  Keep in mind this photo was taken on May 22, 2013.

I like to think there was someone who had this job, was a little crestfallen by disappointing losses at the beginning of the season, only to get really excited by a win streak until...

I mean, I would have at least painted over the schedule if I wasn't going to update it any longer.  Or, I might have painted over it once the season ended.  But here we are, May 22, and the poor people of State College can't bring themselves to update this schedule, which is painted on their exterior, street-facing wall for all to see.

I almost considered doing them a solid and filling that week in for them. :)

I always understood the SEC to be a Southeastern Conference, an American college athletic conference whose 14 member institutions located in 11 states, are primarily in the southeastern part of the United States.  A growing and strange phenomenon has occurred over the last 7 years.  Now at games you can hear the chant of "SEC SEC SEC" being screamed at the top of their lungs even when the opposing teams are in the same conference.  This is something unique to that conference.  The two teams playing could be at the bottom of the standings both within conference and national polls, but they still try to make themselves nationally relevant by cheering their conference.  Are they cheering because they haven't been asked to leave? Or are they cheering because 4 teams in the SEC have been successful enough to win consecutive National Championships over the past seven years?  Do they now live vicariously through, what would in any other conference, be their most hated rivals?  Perhaps getting steam rolled year in and year out by the heavy weights of the SEC provides them with a sense of entitlement to the crystal balls that Florida, Auburn, LSU and Alabama have been talented enough to win.  Those four schools and their fans earned the right to call themselves the best.  The support for them should have been sung LOUDLY for the entire year, but only by their fans, not the rest of the conference, well maybe the commissioners' office as well.  The other 11 teams in the conference who've won nothing must feel they have done their part to get a sliver of associative glory.  Their claim to fame is being used as cannon fodder for the previous champions.  Do you think the coaches and their respective staffs were cheering "SEC SEC" at any game or any time after for that matter?  I do not understand the "We helped get you there by getting are asses kicked by you" mentality.  So in honor of those glorious losses, they cheer conference before school in hope that the power schools will appreciate them.  Then they can claim to be good and cool too. (Just pay no attention to their irrelevance and they'll cheer even louder)  Is it SEC syndrome?

My personal opinion on competing against rivals in our conference is that I never ever Ever EVER cheer for another conference member.  I love the rivalries we have and the (measured) hate and contempt that goes with it.  There is simply no way imaginable I would ever cheer for another member of the Big Ten conference, especially if they were to win a championship!  The thought of the team up north winning a National Championship, which would HAVE to be our expense, is HATEFUL to me.  I laughed hard when Bart was getting his backside handed to him the the Rose Bowls.  His tears and facial contortions were like love to me.  Even seeing the skunk weasels get completely BLOW OFF THE MAP by Alabama in the early season game in Dallas was cause for an enjoyable evening of drinks and laughing, mostly at Brady Hokestone's expense.

So I pose these questions to you all.  Has what was once the exception, now become the norm?  Are conference rivals becoming chummy with those they they wouldn't pee on if they were on fire, to create a harmonious love-in of the conference?  Is this communal love-fest an inbred aberration of the SEC (which would explain a lot) or are all of the "power" conference fans now choosing to advocate their conference as whole over the traditional support of one university?  If your team was to get steam-rolled year in and year out, would you adopt the theory of "if ya can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy?

My personal opinion:

I would rather slam my testicles in a drawer than ever wish victories for the skunk weasels in the piss and blue.  I want them to FAIL at everything!!  I would not cheer our conference name "just to be associated in the same group" with them, EVER.  The only thing we ever want ttun for is, to use them as the doormat they are, to wipe their bullshit from our shoes.

I grew up in Cleveland. I have always been a big Buckeye sports fan. I'm known in the Maine theater community as the guy who brought a TV into the dressing room if I had a rehearsal during an important Buckeye game. When our team won that was as it should be. When we lost I felt as if it were my own butt that had been kicked. After an especially depressing loss I have stopped watching sports completely for weeks, until I can remember that it was only a game. I don't take the Scarlett and Grey lightly.

For reasons that made sense at the time I did not go to Ohio State. Since I left for the college I did attend I have never lived closer than 800 miles to Columbus, so I know nothing about the school president other than what I read. Getting endowments does not get press; acting like Homer Simpson does; and so that is what I know. And to know Gordon Gee this way is most definitely not to love him.

The "little sisters of the poor" comment was both mean and ignorant. It was mean because iit insults both those who provide service to the poor; It was ignorant on two levels,. First, I certainly hope that a university president does not devote so much of his time to football that he actually knows anything about who the "good teams" are. Second,  because Ohio State football teams have played notoriously soft out of conference schedules; and in too many years the in-conference competition has arguably been soft as well. And while the Buckeyes have won we have frequently made "bad" opponents look pretty good. Regardless, that  kind of athletic trash talk should be left to the running backs, and the athletic department employees who are paid royally to defend Ohio State athletics' honor. The university president should have more important things to do than weigh in on the SOS. Gee came out of that looking like a mean clown. His defenders can probably rightfully claim no harm no foul; and there are no lasting injuries except to Gee's own reputation.

Not so his comment about Tressell. We will never know but unless someone in the NCAA tells me directly that I'm wrong I will believe till I die that Urban Meyer was doing TV commentary instead of coaching during the 2012-2013 bowl season in part because of the arrogance of a school that, in the words of its president, feels that its football coach is more important than that president. At least in the court of my own opinion Gordon Gee was on probation following that verbal disaster.

In my opinion the comments that have just been made public are violations of that probation. Attacking an entire religion is not "boys being boys" - it is symptomatic of the hatred that leads its victims to commit suicide and retaliate with violence. That Notre Dame and other Catholic universities will not actually attack Gee or Ohio State does not make any less serious his transgression.

His comments about the SEC are  particularly ironic, because had he lived 50 years ago Gee would probably be vocally championing the racism of Adolph Rupp and Bear Bryant. He is intolerant in their mold, and there is nothing innocent about his hatred, he is too well educated, too experienced to believe that he can un-ring a bell.

And a university that is lead by one who on too many occasions has demonstrated both that he is intolerant and is unable to control his anti-social behavior loses the right to be respected. It is no longer an accident when Gee flames; it is the norm for the university.

Gee is being defended as a great fund-raiser. He may be. Though that doesn't pardon unacceptable behavior, anymore than being a great football coach excuses giving a job to your mistress. And though I do not know the details I think it possible that Gee is being given credit he does not deserve. Ohio State was a strong institution before Gee arrived - it was not made great by Gee. Likely anyone committed to fund raising could accomplish for The Ohio State University what Gee has. And if Gee has sources others might not it is likely to be people who find his intolerance attractive. How much blood is Ohio State willing to allow on its money?

Penn State's Board of Trustees did not want to fire Joe Paterno but his behavior finally left them no choice. I think it entirely appropriate to consider whether Gee has proven himself similarly not worth the positives he brings. Tressell was replaced by someone better; O'Brien was replaced by someone better. I think it appropriate for the Ohio State Board of Trustees to consider whether Ohio State can improve itself by now replacing Gordon Gee.

Saw this on ESPN.  I was hoping this was not true.  http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/77676/lb-david-perkins-leaves-o...

Now that he is out do we get a few more Line backers?  I thought he did a great job in the Spring filling in for Shazier.  I would think he would have had a great shot at playing time in 2014.  Did the recruitment of Mitchell and Johnson scare him off?  Were there any off the field issues? I am really blow away that he decided to leave.  I know we have three LB recruits for 2014, but two of them are not true linebackers.  Hope we land Chase and Mcmillan.  Garrett, Bates and Morgan seem to be looking elsewhere.  What other LB's are we going after? Can we convert any of our running backs to LB.  With the great LB's we have had in the past I would think recruits would want to come to Ohio State. James, AJ, the big Kat, Speilman, Tovar, the linst goes on.  Some of our young Lb's are really going to have to step up to provide depth. I know I am probably overreacting but this has me concerned. Michael Chung must have a good source.  He called this a while ago.