Skull Session: Meyer's Trigger Finger, Cooper Ready to Fill Void, and Steelers Play for Shazier

We begin today with a specific shoutout to the brave Americans who referee junior varsity games (or any youth sporting event). Every day, these patriots rise up to referee games with psychopaths lurking at seemingly every turn.

From kansascity.com:

Raytown Police Det. Larry Jackson, who was working off-duty security at the school at the time of the incident, said in the report that while he was interviewing that witness, Marshall Jr. told him, “I regret punching the ref in the face. It was an emotional response. I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.”

Jackson obtained surveillance video from the school and said in the report that it shows Bryant “backs away from the court, stands in front of Dwan Sr., partially covers his mouth with his hands, gestures with his hand (and) points at the exit doors.” Bryant then returned to the court, where he was hit by Marshall Jr., who was sitting several rows above his father, Jackson wrote in the report.

Jackson said that when he walked into the gym, Bryant was lying on the floor and holding the right side of his jaw.

"I regret punching the ref in the face." He couldn't even say Bryant's name!

Eventually there will be no youth sports leagues because rabid parents desperately want to purchase a new patio with their kid's college fund because they're banking on a scholarship.

ICYMI:

• Ohio State wins r/CFB's Imperialism Map.
• The Buckeyes' recruiting hits and misses of 2018.
• Alex Grinch to make $800,000 next year in defensive role yet to be defined.
• Reserve your (or your business' spot) next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!

Word of the Day: Satyr.

 HELLO OFFSEASON MY OLD FRIEND. When Nick Saban went to the bullpen at halftime of the championship game, I almost broke my legs rushing to my computer to shoehorn Dwayne Haskins into a tweet based on an unrelated event 570 miles away.

Would Meyer have pulled the trigger. We all know the answer to that, which is funny because I remember thinking Meyer would put an end to Jim Tressel's deference to senior players.

From theozone.net:

For one, when was Meyer supposed to pull Barrett from a game in favor of Dwayne Haskins? You can point to Iowa, I suppose. The Buckeyes trailed 31-17 at the half and Barrett had already thrown two interceptions. But this was just one game after Barrett had led the miraculous comeback against Penn State. Barrett had just proven Meyer’s trust was correct one week earlier, so there was no way it was going to be called into question seven days later.

Should he have pulled Barrett at the half of that game? In hindsight, absolutely. The only hindsight he had at that time, however, was the 13-for-13 passing the last time Barrett played in a fourth quarter.

By the time it was clear that Barrett wasn’t going to get it done, the game was already out of hand. And the OSU defense wasn’t up for the challenge anyway.

The time to do it was the Wisconsin game. But alas. We have the rest of the offseason to debate this in 300-comment forum threads.

Shelley Meyer, however, issued an encomium yesterday on behalf of Barrett.

As they leave us, , I just want to publicly thank @JT_theQB4th, our QB, one more time-and our seniors and early draft guys-we and appreciate all your sacrifices, therapy after injuries, bumps/bruises/tears-everything u gave to THE OSU. NO one outside gets it. We do.

— Shelley Meyer (@spinnershells) January 9, 2018

I don't think it's fair to say NOBODY outside the program understands what J.T. Barrett means to the program. A large majority of fans love him. And even the critics (like me) respect the Hell out of him and appreciate his accomplishments.

 COOOOOOOOP. I've been enamored of Jonathon Cooper's talents since he wrecked the offseason circuit in 2015. A special teams contributor, Cooper has been in the trenches honing his craft. With the departure of another wave to the NFL, the time for the Gahanna product is now.

From landof10.com:

“We’re passing the torch to him, and I know he’s going to take off with it,” [Jalyn] Holmes said. “He’s got a motor and the heart of three men. That’s the most unselfish dude I know, man. The success that you see from me, Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis, it’s because of guys like him.

“You can tell by the way he’s played, next year you’re going to see a guy with No. 18 on his jersey play relentlessly, play hard and he doesn’t get tired for some crazy reason. He’s a special person. To see a dude like that, dudes like Coop always win.”

Dudes like Coop always do win, indeed. He's going to feast on lines that focus too much on Nick Bosa next year.

"They're not booing, folks, they're saying, 'Cooooop'" should become a commentating tic by Week 3.

 FOR SHAZIER. As a Cleveland fan, I feel more emotion in hating the Steelers than any Browns game in the last five years. They're the second worst professional franchise in America, trailing only the Boston Celtics.

But this year... this year I would welcome a Steelers championship if only for what it will mean for Ryan Shazier.

From Sports Illustrated:

“I was watching that guy barely be able to sit up in a bed,” [free safety Mike] Mitchell says. “He’s got RJ, his little boy, and I want him to be able to run and play with him.”

 Of far less importance, Shazier’s injury has extensive implications for the Steelers. Their goals—beat the Patriots, win Super Bowl LII—remain unchanged, and their defense still revolves around a passionate 25-year-old inside linebacker. Just not in the same way. Shazier’s injury divided Pittsburgh’s season into two parts: what they did with him, and what they’ll do for him.

“I believe we’re going to win it now even more,” Mitchell says.

I think the Steelers can do it if they beat the Patriots. Saints are looking tough, though, and they also bring their own Buckeye juju into the mix.

In the meantime, I'll be watching 1980s Browns highlights from before I was born.

 BAD NEWS, BASEBALL. Gallup released a fascinating poll yesterday about spectator sports. Soccer will soon replace baseball as the No. 3 spectator sport in America.

From news.gallup.com:

Basketball and soccer will eventually overtake football. This will either be my greatest prophecy or worst take. It's hard to say.

 ROCKY ROAD TO A CHIP. We're all disappointed in Ohio State falling short of a national title. But at least we can take solace in the fact that it's hard to do (for everyone not named "BAMA," obviously).

Just went through 50 years of college football rankings. 75.5% of top four finishes have been split between a grand total of 15 schools. CFB is the toughest sport in which to win a championship and the sport with less change than any other.

— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) January 9, 2018

In the last half century, less than a third of Division One programs have had a single season finishing in the top four. Only 24 schools (less than 20%) have done it more than once.

— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) January 9, 2018

At least Ohio State is one of the blue bloods. It definitely could be worse (just look at Michigan).

 THOSE WMDs. An acclaimed Toledo crime reporter leaves her newsroom for police work... Why 14,000 homes got built inside two Houston reservoirs... Trial begins in Brooklyn of guard accused of raping female inmate... The astronaut who smuggled a sandwich into space.