Thursday Skull Session

By D.J. Byrnes on May 28, 2015 at 4:59 am
121 Comments

Get dumped then, Golden State:

BTW: 11W hired a doctor. Follow Dr. Aloiya Earl on Twitter.

I'm going to start telling strangers that "I work in league with a doctor." It's a better route than people thinking I'm a drug dealer lying about my occupation. ("Wait, so you actually make money... from blogging!? Uh huh. *Eye Roll* Okay.")

OSU FAVORED OVER THE WHOLE DAMN STATE OF MICHIGAN. 5Dimes released some early 2015 lines, and surprise, surprise: Ohio State is favored over the whole damn state of Michigan.

  • Michigan State at (-5½) Ohio State.
  • (-9½) Ohio State at Michigan.

I don't bet real $, but man, I wish I did after seeing those lines. Both seem like gambling locks.

Last year, I'd have added the qualifier, "As long as Braxton stays healthy." This year, OSU's QB depth chart is basically a gambling insurance policy. At this point, they could put Jalin Marshall at QB and hang Michigan by 21.

Gah. Football season needs to get here.

(Michigan State, for the record, is a 3½-point favorite at Michigan.)

 OSU DBU. I don't know if you know, but Ohio State is Everything U now. They did it... they are the top producers at every position. 

From Chase Goodbread of 247Sports.com:

1. Ohio State

First-round picks last 25 years: 9
Top three rounds: 17
Total drafted: 33
The skinny: Although Miami has delivered one more first-round pick to the NFL draft over the last quarter century, none listed here have had as many picked in the first three rounds, or drafted altogether, as the Buckeyes. Among the first-round successes are Donte Whitner, Antoine Winfield, Chris Gamble, Nate Clements and Shawn Springs. And there are plenty others. Want a middle-round pick that turned out well? Try Will Allen (2004 Buccaneers fourth-rounder), who is now a 12-year veteran.

In all seriousness... I'm only 28, and it's astounding to think of the athletes that have filed through OSU's secondary just in the time I've been paying attention.

*Looks at current DB depth chart* I don't think that's about to change, y'all.

BREAKING: OHIO STATE, B1G VERY RICH. Because Ohio State Athletics isn't a subsidiary of Nike, it wasn't able to capture the "richest athletic department" title, but it's honorable finish was within the percentile we've come to expect from Ohio's flagship university.

From USAToday.com:

RANK SCHOOL TOTAL REVENUE TOTAL EXPENSES TOTAL SUBSIDY
1 OREGON $196,030,398 $110,378,432 $2,155,099
2 TEXAS $161,035,187 $154,128,877 $0
3 MICHIGAN $157,899,820 $142,551,994 $256,316
4 ALABAMA $153,234,273 $120,184,128 $5,997,100
5 OHIO STATE $145,232,681 $113,937,001 $0


A 5-7 Michigan team raised $157,889,820 in revenue last year and gave away thousands of tickets. That's as an incredible statistic as I've heard from north of the border since APPALACHIAN STATE 34 MICHIGAN 32.

On the conference front, the Big Ten, the SEC, and the B1G 12 are starting to separate from the pack.

From SBNation.com:

The New Cold War

My only concern at this point is that a Mexican cartel is going to make a Godfather offer to Jim Delany. I could see him becoming a cartel book-cooker too, because I'm sure playing with these chumps and their peanuts is starting to bore him. 

 EARLY 20TH CENTURY INDIANOLA PARK TURN UP LOOKS TRILL. I just discovered @UDHCMH, an account that shares University District history factoids, this past week. It's delightful #content.

(For the record: May 27th was yesterday.)

Uhhh, so apparently Indianola Park was AN AMUSEMENT PARK!?

From Wikipedia:

Indianola Park was an amusement park that operated in Columbus, Ohio's University District from 1905 to 1937. The park was created by Charles Miles and Frederick Ingersoll, and peaked in popularity in the 1910s, entertaining crowds of up to 10 thousand with the numerous roller coasters and rides, with up to 5 thousand in the massive pool alone. The park was also the home field for the Columbus Panhandles for half of a decade. In the 1920s, new owners bought and remodeled the park, and it did well until it closed its doors at the end of the Great Depression.

WHERE DO I SIGN THE PETITION TO RESSURECT THE COLUMBUS PANHANDLERS PANHANDLES? That's a bad-ass name. 

Send me back to 1910 Columbus right now!!!! (I'd shout this until I got there and then realize I've made a massive, massive mistake when there's no internet.)

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE RECKONING INBOUND. Here's a bad omen for the AAC: I've called it "Conference USA" twice since Tom Herman rolled into Houston.

You might say, "Well, DJ, that's just another mark on the ever-growing 'D.J. Don't Know Shit' pile." You might be right — Hell, you are right — but one thing I do know is Houston is going to make some people a lot of money this fall. 

From Bill Bender of SportingNews.com's excellent profile of Herman:

As for the talk of something more – Houston has made its desire to move up to the Big 12 public – Herman prefers not to engage in that conversation yet. The Cougars are coming off back-to-back 8-5 seasons, and that’s not going to get enough attention. It starts with winning in the conference you’re in, and right now the focus is on the American Athletic Conference. 

“I don’t think any conversation starts without saying, ‘We gotta win our conference,’” Herman said. “In 25 years, men’s basketball and football have a combined three conference championships. Kevin Sumlin went 13-1 here and was in the Top 10 at the time, but lost the conference championship game. 

“We have to be dominant in our conference year in and year out whatever that conference is,” he said. “Then, we let the chips fall where they may.”

"Then, let the chips fall where they may." I can't help but read that in Heiseinberg's "Say My Name" voice.

There are 11 members in the AAC, not including associate members. Can you name six schools? I couldn't.

I got Houston, Cincinnati, SMU, Eastern Carolina, and Memphis. (CONNECTICUT FELL TO THE AAC? WHO KNEW!?) 

And yet even I know Houston is going to run roughshod over this shitty little conference. This is Urban-at-BGSU all over again.

THOSE WMDs. In a Five-Star Setting, FIFA Officials Are Arrested, the Swiss Way... Former FIFA executive-turned-informant kept a $6,000-a-month apartment for his cats... Why It Pays to be a Jerk... How the Truth Gets Distorted: The McDonald's Coffee Lawsuit.. Tryout for TBDBITL... The King has Returned to the NBA Finals... Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's manager on Notorious Thugs.

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