Eleven Warriors

You Don't Want Your Autographs to Run, Do You?
As mentioned in the comments, the Tuesday evening open practice and autograph session was canceled because of the threat of heavy storms in the Columbus area and rescheduled for Thursday evening. Same rules and restrictions apply. If you can't make it out, ONN and 10tv.com will be carrying the practice live at 8PM.

Is Little Animal Ready?
As Buckeye Commentary astutely pointed out a month ago, we've basically known who three of the captains will be when announced later this week: Barton, Freeman and the Gun Show. A lot of folks are thinking Laurinaitis for the fourth -- if a fourth captain is even selected. Will it be Laurinaitis or a darkhorse?

And while we're on the subject, Michigan selected tri-captains and not one of them is a senior QB named Chad. Must be one heck of a leader.

The Greedmongers Televise Your Team
Evidently a PR firm employed by Comcast has been posting not-so-nice things about the Big Ten Network on various B10 fan sites. Sample post @ GoSpartans.net:

I'm a big fan of State sports so I went to the Big 10 Network's kick-off party in East Lansing last week. Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delaney was there telling everybody how great this new TV package is going to be for college football and b-ball fans. WHAT A CROCK! Delaney is like the emperor who wore no clothes...the BTC has already sold its best games to ABC and ESPN. How delusional is Delaney and these other Big 10 greedmongers who want to charge us for the games we'd be able to see on our local cable station? If you want to learn more about the Big 10's big time rip off, I found a web site that explains a lot... www.puttingfansfirst.org VICTORY FOR MSU!!!

The web cool kids call it "astroturfing" as in the opposite of grassroots and regardless of what side of this debate you're on, it's pretty weak. This PR firm needs an ecard.

This season, we're pleased to be participating in the BlogPoll, a creation of Brian Cook of mgoblog. We think he's on to something with his idea and appreciate the fact that in only a few seasons, the BlogPoll is starting to get used in the same sentence as the AP Poll.

It's completely transparent and the voters all really know their teams and the sport. You can make a case for homerism, but because of the transparency, every ballot is on display for the world to see. Another neat feature is that the BlogPoll is people powered in the sense that a given blog's community helps shape the ballot. The goal is to have our ballot posted on this site early Mondays throughout the season. Then after a round of comments, the ballot is updated if needed, and then sent off to the big show.

So without anymore delay, here's our 1st preseason ballot. Be sure to chime in as you see fit, but a quick note that we're not the biggest fans of preseason rankings:

1		The machine is so well-oiled, that we half expect to see Pete guest-starring on Entourage while his team reels off 7 straight.
2		Stacked with veteran skill players, but who will blow it first - Lloyd or the defense?
3		Stout defense will help break in a new quarterback and a favorable schedule could give Miles his put-up or shut-up moment with USC.
4		Wooderson's boys have a young Colt on offense, but concerns about the secondary may come back to bite them.
5		Herban's team speed continues to light up the scoreboard and police blotter. #5 out of respect and repeating is tough, but don't count out Meyer.
6		Loaded backfield and a great young coach, but the team hasn't proven capable of winning every single weekend of the season.
7		Under the radar, as usual. Fact is, if they run the table in the Big Ten, they'll be a NC candidate.
8		Another team loaded with talent, but Big Game Bobby is on a skid of sorts. Texas is also over the hump mentally.
9		Never been a huge Beamer fan, but there's no way you can't root for these guys this season. Still, you gotta wonder how a team gathering in Michael Vick Hall will do.
10		We're cautious, but there's too much talent on this squad to keep it out of the top ten.
11		Brohm's a stud, but you never know how things will go when a veteran QB gets a brand new coach.
12		Cal - that team you root for to beat USC each season, so your squad can rise in the rankings.
13		Little known fact: Phil Fulmer's blood type is Gravy+. Despite that, Ainge could have a monster year. The Coker situation hurts, though.
14		Only 11 returning starters, but friendly schedule could help the cause. Is this the season that it all comes together for Stafford?
15		Click-Clack. Tubberville knows how to win in the tough SEC.
16		Schiano is building something special out east and will own NJ shortly (ouch, Joe Pa). Rice will get about 1800 and the Scarlet Knights could easily be staring at a BCS bid when the dust settles.
17		Joe Poo's boys get OSU and Wisconsin at home, but until they can prove that they're capable of beating the Wolverines, we gotta keep them down.
18		The talent is most definitely there. How many other schools could Felix Jones start for right now? The real question is to the (mental) state of the program.
19		The Ian Johnson feel-good fest is alive and well for year 2. A tough season-ending ame at Hawaii may prevent them from repeating last season's heroics.
20		We still have grave doubts about Callahan's abilities as a coach, but the program is back on the up and the addition of Keller helps.
21		Jones is an underrated coach and Brennan should pass for .. oh.. about 75,000 yards and 200 TDs this season. A very favorable schedule could have them becoming the Boise State of 2007.
22		Big win over USC last season is wonderful for the program's confidence, but your WR coach getting busted for robbery - not so much.
23		New coaches, new ideas, and the venerable Bobby Bowden. The program is a little down, but don't be surprised to see a slight resurgance heading into the Alabama game on 9/29.
24		It just wouldn't feel right leaving the Ol' Ball Coach out of the rankings, would it?
25		Steele likes Bama as a darkhorse national title contender, but Saban's karma may check those plans.

On August 20, this blog celebrates its first birthday. It's been an incredible first year and a real thrill to think that folks are actually stopping by to read what two idiots have to say about their beloved Buckeyes.

What originally started as a post questioning whether Jason Whitlock may indeed be burning down morphed into more serious posts such as game previews. In short, we've had a blast and met a lot of really cool people along the way.

To celebrate, we've launched a new design that while being able to showcase some cool new features, still pays homage to the look and feel that you're all used to. On the surface, not much has changed, but we were able to pack a lot of functional elements in. We're really digging the blog-friendly football and basketball schedules as well as the Big Ten Blogger feed.

If you have a second, let us know what you think.

Props to lexco44 for this subtle reminder that even though the Buckeyes sent Troy, Teddy, Pittman, Gonzo and company to the NFL ranks, the cupboard is far from bare.

Perhaps Ken Gordon of the Dispatch was looking in all the wrong places when he complained about the lack of information in the official 2007 Buckeye football media guide.

The fellas over at Buckeye Planet have put together an amazing document -- hypertext variety -- entitled 2007 Ohio State Additional Information. Marketers they are not, but they've managed to pack more relevant information into one web page than I thought humanly possible. Wikipedia approves.

The football team will be holding the annual open practice and autograph session this Monday and it immediately brings up memories of me getting Mike Doss's autograph on the bottom of a Buckeye cap in the summer of 2002. Of course, being the jackass that I am, I wore the hat and the autograph is now faded and entirely illegible -- but, there's no doubting the fact that my autograph played a small (but significant) roll in leading the Buckeyes to the national championship that season. Give me the Will Allen pick at the end of the Michigan game at least.

If you plan on making it down to the session, heed the fine print:

On Monday, gates will open at 5 p.m. People seeking autographs will be allowed onto the field from Gates 31 and 32 starting at 5:15. Unlike at last year's autograph session before the open practice, this year's session will be limited to the first 10,000 fans. There will be a limit of one item per person.

I guess your OSU stepping stone is kinda cool, but its got nothing on Scott McIntyre and his four acre soybean field of majestic Buckeye love. According to an interview in the Coshocton Tribune, McIntyre, who works for the Ohio State University/Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, spent six hours planting the the message in yellow leafed soybeans back in early May. That's what I'm talkin bout.

Tackled Chuck Norris. Twice.

Astute reader and prolific commenter Corey tipped us off to a deal at Cardboard Heroes. For the price of two cups of Starbucks, you can own your very own Antoine Winfield autographed 8x10.

Just to put that into perspective $5.11 gets you one of the finest defensive backs in Buckeye history, or you can shell out $79.95 for a Braylen Edwards autographed 8x10 (don't even think about it Browns fan).

Get your code for an extra 10% off and you're in under $5.

Will Small come up big?

If the Buckeyes are to earn a BCS bowl berth for the fifth time in six years, that effort will no doubt be supported by another bumper crop of stars out of Glenville High School. Last year, Tarblooders Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. led OSU to the National Championship game and according to Doug Lesmerises' fantastic article in Sunday's Plain Dealer, this years batch of 'Blooders is ready to make their mark.

Ray Small is the favorite to have the biggest impact as a third receiver and the top kickoff/punt return man, however that could depend on his ability to bounce back from a reported ankle sprain that should have all of Buckeye Nation nervous. Following the logic that teams will stack the box and dare OSU to throw, it's imperative that Small stretch the defense and punish teams getting too greedy at the line of scrimmage. All reports say Small is as fast as Ginn but it won't matter if he's not on the field. Small will also need to prove he's not gun shy about making catches in traffic after Troy got him lit up against Minnesota last year causing Small to basically miss the rest of the season. A healthy Small combined with the new kickoff rule (from the 30 yard line instead of the 35) should set up excellent field position for the young offense. Of course, this assumes teams don't kickoff to Mo Wells everytime which begs the question, where in the world is Brandon Saine? Small and Saine are gamebreakers - exactly the kind of guys you want returning kickoffs. Seeing Mo Wells listed as a starting kickoff return man smells of Tressel's well known love for upperclassmen. (I hope it comes back to bite me, but I have no idea why Mo Wells gets to touch the football.)

Defensively, the Buckeyes sport a number of proven Glenville products including S Jamario O'Neal and LB Curtis Terry but the unproven commodity is true sophomore DE Robert Rose. According to Lesmerises, Rose has put on 25 pounds allowing Jim Heacock to experiment lining up Rose at a tackle spot in passing situations creating a speed/quickness advantage to compliment outside rushes from freak of nature Vernon Gholston and the 6'6", 270lb Lawrence Wilson. How's that experiment going? Pretty well according to OSU's Director of Football Performance, Eric Lichter:

"I happened to catch one of the last periods of practice this week, and he made a play where he just overpowered one of our fine tackles. I won't say which one, but it was like, Wow,' and if that guy can put together some consistency, he can do that all the time."

With the only questions defensively centering around the D-Line, the maturity of Rose could ensure the 2007 unit is one of the top 5 in the country.

Greg Oden has posted a new video to his Yardbarker blog featuring his current living arrangements -- his mom's small apartment in Indy. No marble staircases, hot tubs with a flatscreen per jet or a tricked-out Escalade. Just a cramped pad punctuated by a middle school photo of Oden sporting a 'fro.

You knew it was coming. The nation is crushing on the guy. The Big Lead says it best:

It’s better than any episode of MTV cribs we’ve ever seen. The nerdy middle school photos are priceless. We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: Greg Oden is eminently likeable. Perhaps moreso than any other player in the NBA. And he hasn’t played a minute!

I love many things about college sports, but it's a shame that we only got a peak of this during his year in Columbus.