Shoutout to the stooges that duffed the Selection Sunday Show. Just another example of disconnected executives thinking they're smarter than customers.
Secondary shoutout to Boise, the San Diego of Idaho. If you have the time and capital, take the plunge and visit the City of Trees. If you can't have fun in a foreign city during the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, you're a boring person.
ICYMI:
- The women's hockey team dumped Boston College and advanced to the Frozen Four.
- The men's hockey team beat Michigan in OT and will face Notre Dame for the Big Ten championship.
- The men's basketball team earned a fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament, will face 12th-seeded South Dakota State in Boise on Thursday. The Buckeyes opened as 8½-point favorites.
- Making the tournament does not satisfy Chris Holtmann's overachieving team.
- Once upon a time, Dwayne Haskins and Keandre Jones flipped from Maryland. Their patience is about to pay off.
- Thad Matta reportedly a "strong candidate" for Georgia vacancy.
- Reserve your (or your business’) spot next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
Word of the Day: Billingsgate.
GET DUMPED THEN, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. Time is a flat circle, which is why South Dakota State—a university I learned to respect as a wayward undergrad at Montana—has once again sauntered into my life.
The Jackrabbits appear as venerable as ever. The Summit League champion hasn't lost since Jan. 24th—a 86-67 defeat at the hands of South Dakota. They're led by a man who will be a problem for the local team.
From Kevin Harrish and Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors:
MIKE DAUM IS A DOMINANT FORCE
South Dakota State is led by one of the most dominating players in the country in Mike Daum.
This season, Daum ranks sixth in the nation in points per game and averages a double-double with 23.8 points per game and 10.4 rebounds.
Daum has scored 30 or more points 24 times the past two seasons, dropping a career-high 51 points against IUPUI during the 2016-17 season.
Daum can score from anywhere on the court and will likely present matchup problems for Ohio State, just as he has every other team he's played the past two seasons.
Mike Daum is a character straight out of Dakota central casting. And that's not me having a go on South Dakota. I have a respect for that state as only a person who has driven through it can. I have been to Wall Drug, and I have the bumper sticker to prove it.
Michigan–Montana is the other opening-round game that interests me. As somebody who knows nothing about college basketball, let me just say this is a terrible matchup for that team up north.
I eagerly await the Montana–Ohio State matchup in the Elite 8.
CORNELL MOVES OUTSIDE. Former Ohio State defensive lineman Adolphus Washington signed as a five-star defensive end. He left Columbus as a second-round defensive tackle selection.
Jashon Cornell, who once melted our servers by committing within 20 minutes of Justin Hilliard (2015 was a wild ride, y'all), hopes to pull the reverse Washington by starting inside and moving outside.
From theozone.net:
“It’s a need right now where we’re needing a defensive end,” he said. “I’m willing to sacrifice myself for the team. I feel like playing defensive end is my natural position and I think I’m ready to go back to it.”
And what will he bring to the position this season?
“I’m bringing aggression and aggressive effort every time,” he said. “That’s what I’m here for as a defensive end. I’m pretty much the punisher. Beat up the tight ends and beat up the offensive tackles.”
At most programs, Cornell could move outside and see serious minutes. At Ohio State, his best hope is providing valuable depth. Those are the moves of which championship teams are made.
EAT BREAD. Ohio State fans love walk-ons who contribute on the field. C.J. Saunders could be the next in line. Urban Meyer, however, expects receivers to contribute in the run game as much as the passing game.
In attempt to improve his blocking ability, Saunders has been attempting to gain weight by eating anything in sight.
From Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch:
"He was honest,” Saunders said of Meyer. “He wasn’t going to hide anything away. It was true. I think I added value in the pass game, but as far as the run game, I wasn’t effective enough (as a blocker) to be at Ohio State.”
[...]
“I thought it was weight lifting; the harder you lift, the more weights you lift, you’re going to get bigger,” Saunders said. “That’s not necessarily true. It will be part of it, but for me, it was eating consistently. It’s eating six, seven meals a day, every two, three hours, to keep food in the system.
“I thought it was, you can just eat the three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and (that) I’ve got to lift. I’ve just got to keep working hard."
Saunders is going to be in salty in five years when, like every other middle-aged American, he must choose to live fifteen pounds overweight or eat rice and grilled chicken six days a week.
BLUE CHIP RECRUIT: ELECTRIC ATHLETE. Folks, I hope you're sitting down for this one. It appears Urban Meyer recruited an elite athlete to Ohio State.
Five-star defensive tackle signee Taron Vincent's father played in the NFL. His son is better.
From philadelphia.cbs.com:
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Taron Vincent’s surname should be familiar enough to any ardent Eagles’ fan. Yes, he’s Troy’s son. And yes, he’s a heck of a football player—like his father was. But Taron comes in a different package.
It was enough to attract some looks and wide-eyed wonderment each time Taron ran track in middle school. Vincent gradually gained, and then passed each one of the other runners along the curve of the track. The glares also usually came with the question: How could someone that big move that fast?
Vincent was always large for his age. His parents used to carry his birth certificate to validate how old he is. So, when Vincent came barreling around the curve running the third leg of the 4X100 relay his freshman year of high school no one could believe it—especially when he tore by the other runners at 6-foot-2, 285 pounds.
I'm 6-2. If I weighed 285 pounds I wouldn't be able to run around the block. Bad news for Big Ten quarterbacks.
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