Basically, college football is to me what cocaine is to Paris Hilton- I go through withdrawal without it. Therefore, as the season begins (and that long offseason finally ends) I’m covering not one but two games this week.
Throughout the season, I’ll be bringing you these informative yet blunt game previews of every contest I cover; with a heavy focus on Northwestern, Illinois, Notre Dame, and the Big Ten in general.
Ohio St. versus Marshall should be a very tight and exciting game…for the first quarter and a half. Ohio St QB Terrelle Pryor came into Columbus with sky high expectations. In the state of Ohio, he’s had almost as much hype as ESPN’s airing of Lebron’s The Decision. After two seasons of mixed reviews, Pryor began to live up to that hype in the 2010 Rose Bowl, as he carved up the Oregon defense like a surgeon (“Like a surgeon, HEY! Cutting for the very first time. Like a surrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgeon, here’s a waiver, for you to sign.”)
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
This Thursday, at about 7:15 p.m. on September 2, the 2010 Ohio State Football Buckeyes will rush from the depths of Ohio Stadium and onto the Horseshoes’s FieldTurf for their opening game battle against the Marshall Thundering Herd. For the faithful, there will be goose bumps. For the rest of the college football community (and the Ohio faithful too), there will be a torrential downpour of expectations for the Buckeyes to play up to. And for many Ohio State fans, that’s a little scary.
Hans Hetrick
Possibly Related Posts:
We’ve all made fun of the most shopworn of sports cliches, sayings such as “at the end of the day,” “defense wins championships,” “we’re taking it one game at a time,” and “we try not get too high after wins, or too low after the losses.”
We all know these phrases make us dumber each time that we hear them. We delete or cut them the instant they are uttered (at least journalists that are trying to at least be half-way competent at their jobs do) because we know they bring “nothing to the table.’ (Had to ironically finish that sentence with a cliche!)
Now let’s move on to the new crop of football bromides that have sprouted up. You haven’t heard these phrases as much as the previously mentioned group. But trust me, you will get nauseous from hearing these football expressions by December.
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
Today we live in a world and marketplace that is more globalized than ever.When the NYSE is closed the Nikkei is open for business. There are deals to be closed somewhere in the world around the clock. After all, this website is one of the top 5,000 viewed sites in Costa Rica. In that vein, the Philadelphia 76ers‘ Evan Turner is making cheddar in China, a nation where the NBA is huge! Like the video below tells us, the number of people who play basketball in China is larger than the entire population of the U.S.A.
If you follow Evan Turner on Twitter, you might notice that his page quote is the exact same that I have on my own Facebook page: Jay-Z’s famous “I’m not a business man, I’m a business; MAN!” from his rap on Kanye West’s single “Diamonds from Sierra Leone.”
Possibly Related Posts:
In order to motivate his stud D Lineman Cameron Heyward, Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel gave him a list of all the defensive linemen that were leaving for the NFL.
“He broke it down that if you want to be great you have to aim high, just don’t be satisfied with being good enough, and I told coach Tressel, I want to be the best out there. I’m setting my goals high and expecting more,” Heyward told me at Big Ten Media Day.
Amongst Big Ten star players Heyward is very overlooked. People talk about his teammate, QB Terrelle Pryor first, last year’s offensive conference player of the year, Wisconsin‘s John Clay second. On defense, the conversation usually turns to Iowa‘s Adrian Clayborn, and perhaps Michigan State’s Greg Jones.
But Heyward could have been picked somewhere in the #15-#25 range in the NFL Draft had he come out last spring. His stock is rising for 2011; even though people don’t often talk about him. He’s the “sneaky hot” player in the Big Ten. I guess you could call him the Pam Beesly/Jenna Fischer of college football.
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
Big Ten member Ohio State and Big 12 defector Colorado are working on solidifing an agreement to play each other in the 2011 college football season.
OSU athletic director Gene Smith commented on the rumor of the two schools setting up a game.
Possibly Related Posts:
Ohio State senior defensive lineman Cameron Heyward has received many honors. This summer, he’s been named to the 2010 Playboy Preseason All-America College Football Team, as well as the Ted Hendricks (best defensive end in the nation), Lombardi (best lineman) and Lott (best defensive player) Trophy watch lists.
He’s a guy that easily could have come out of school and received a nice NFL paycheck, but for the sake of his game and his development, stayed in school. Heyward was huge for Ohio State’s Top 5-ranked defense in 2009. He led all defensive linemen with 46 tackles and had his best game of the year with 9.0 tackles and 2.0 sacks in the win at Penn State. On the season he led the Buckeyes with 6.5 sacks and had 10 TFL, earning himself a 2009 Second Team All-Big Ten selection.
Heyward shares a fundamental trait with his Coach Jim Tressel: a famous father with a collection of accomplishments that he aims to (not just equal) but surpass one day.
“Tressel said, my Dad had a road named after him, but I want a highway. It shows that he’s aiming high and we’re all aiming high and expecting more out of each other,” Heyward told me at Big Ten Media Day.
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
[More …]
Ohio State seniors Chimdi Chekwa and Jermale Hines were named to the 2010 Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list. It lists the 35 of the nation’s best defensive backs.
Chekwa, a senior corner, recorded 43 tackles, one interception and seven pass break-ups last season and has three INT’s and 20 break-ups in his career. He’ll serve as veteran of the defensive backfield this season with 39 career games under his belt.
Possibly Related Posts:
You heard about the guy who wore a Lebron Heat jersey to a Cleveland Indians-New York Yankees game Wednesday night? It created such a scene that it became national news, and the story is spreading like wildfire over the internet.
And what happened made a large group of Indians fans look about as uncivilized as they did 36 years ago on Ten Cent Beer night. Yes, whenever you get a large group of New York Yankees fans together, you get MLB’s version of what gets caught in the gene pool skimmer. Yet the Yankee fans present looked downright classy and sophisticated compared to the fun at the old ballpark that went down.
Seriously Cleveland, you had a NBA star. Now he’s gone, GET OVER IT!
But on the other hand, Matt “LeBron Heat Jersey in Cleveland” Bellamy did something described as extremely attention whorish at best, completely knobbish (yes, I know these are not words) at worst. (Or maybe being an attention whore is worse than being a complete knob?) And Ohio State fans, he’s also one of your people. Thought I’d mention it.
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
As upset as I get when the Chicago White Sox lose to the Minnesota Twins, or as “Earth-shattering” as this summer’s NBA free agent news seemed the moment it became public knowledge, I have perspective. I know that what I observe, analyze and then publish about every day is a matter of win or lose, not life or death.
The sports world is filled with people who have perspective- like Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. Stan and I have both fought and conquered Hodgkin’s disease- twice. And in a remarkable instance of coincidence, I received my own stem cell transplant, 6 years to the exact date of Bowman’s. Since 2003, I have been in remission and living healthy enough to even swim in the Triathlon last summer. I actually met Bowman in a cancer survivor/patient support group before I started covering his team.
Saturday night, I met another famous sports figure, Ohio State legend Chris Spielman, whose life has unfortunately also been shaped by this monstrous illness. On the night of his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, I spoke with Spielman about the Stefanie Spielman Fund.
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
Each member of the 2010 College Football Hall of Fame class had a large contingent of fans present in South Bend, Indiana this weekend to honor him. But of the 24 person class, the partisans present on behalf of Ohio State legend Chris Spielman stood out above the rest. They were the largest group; over a hundred strong showed up sporting Spielman’s scarlet #36 jersey.
And as well they should have- because Spielman truly made a name for himself during his four years in Columbus, leading the Buckeyes to three consecutive bowl games and two Big Ten Championships. Like every player eligible for CFHOF induction, he was also a first team All-American; and first team All-Big Ten three times.
Today, he works as a college football color commentator in Columbus for local sports talk radio as well as ESPN. So when I had an exclusive with him on Saturday, my first question was, of course, what about the 2010 Buckeyes?
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
Former Ohio State legend Evan Turner has already completed his first NBA Summer league, but that hasn’t stopped the fans of his old Big Ten rivals from still talking smack at him online. I guess when you shoot just 33%, and your play doesn’t come anywhere close to living up to your hype during the five game NBA summer season, detractors will come out of the woodwork. Including whomever runs the Twitter account for The Paint Crew, Purdue’s student cheering section.
This is good stuff- enjoy!
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
It may seem too early to write a eulogy for Michael Redd’s Milwaukee Bucks career, but all indications are that the $18.3 million man will not step foot on an NBA floor until February at the earliest, for the second year in a row.
Redd devoted 10 years of his NBA life to the Bucks, but the chapter written Milwaukee is as officially closed as it can be at this point. It’s been an unfortunate end to the record-breaking career of a player that will always be remembered for being the one shining light in a decade of team mediocrity.
By Jake McCormick
Possibly Related Posts:
NBA Draft #2 overall pick Evan Turner got off to a great start in NBA Summer League. However, after his first game things went down hill. In the opener of the NBA summer league in Orlando, Turner had 12 points and eight rebounds to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat Derrick Favors and the New Jersey Nets 84-74. Turner got the better of a match-up between the #2 and #3 picks in the Draft, playing even better than his box score would indicate. But he really struggled in his last four summer league contests.
The Ohio State product, Big Ten Player of the year, and Wooden and Naismith award winner has flourished in the open court, but struggled massively in half court sets.
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
Today, we learned the roster of the USA Basketball Select Team that will train against the National Team during its July 19-24 camp in Las Vegas. Five of the 20 collegians chosen for the Select Team are from the Big Ten: William Buford (Ohio State), JaJuan Johnson (Purdue), Mike Tisdale (Illinois), Jon Leuer (Wisconsin), and John Shurna (Northwestern). These players will help the U.S. National Team prepare for the upcoming FIBA World Championship. The Big Ten leads all conferences with it’s 5 selections.
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
Thousands of college football fans from across the country will join the National Football Foundation from July 16-17 at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., for the organization’s annual Enshrinement Festival, which will pay tribute to the storied careers of Chris Spielman from the Ohio State University along with 23 other football standouts as they are formally enshrined into the Hall of Fame.
Possibly Related Posts:
This July, the NBA Summer League is certainly taking a back seat to the NBA Free Agency period. But here at The Sports Bank we got you covered. Especially when it comes to His Royal Smoothness Evan Turner, the most blogged about individual in TSB history. Although David Kahn, Adam Burish, Erin Andrews and Jenn Brown are not far behind.
They say only geeks and die-hards follow the NBA Summer League. Well, include me in that group. Hey this is Mr. Turner, a southside Chicago native we’re talking about, and he put on a clinic Monday night.
By Paul M. Banks
Possibly Related Posts:
Alex Wimmers has been chosen as the best pitcher in college baseball for the 2010 season. Ohio State’s junior All-American, who fashioned a 9-0 record and a 1.61 earned run average this season, was named by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) as its National Pitcher of the Year Friday in Lubbock, Texas.
Career-wise Wimmers, who was drafted in the first round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft by the Minnesota Twins, ranks among Ohio State’s all-time Top 5 in four key statistical areas and he is sixth in another. He is fourth at Ohio State in fewest runs allowed (81) and he is fifth in strikeouts (273), fewest earned runs allowed (71) and fewest hits (173). He is also sixth in earned run average (2.94). His 18 career victories rank 23rd. His strikeout total is also good for a tie for 16th-place all-time in the Big Ten Conference.
Possibly Related Posts:
Remember this past March when Demetri McCamey, D.J. Richardson and the rest of the Illini were talking trash to Ohio State‘s Evan Turner in Big Ten Tournament semifinal game? And Turner responded by later showing the “holding my dollars” sign at the Illini bench?
Presumably that was in reference to all the money he’ll make in the NBA come June.
Well TMZ.com indeed sent this link to the right place. Because TMZ obtained video hours after the Philadelphia 76ers took Chicago native Evan Turner as the #2 overall pick in last night’s 2010 NBA Draft – the 21-year-old and his family hit Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in NY … where he told TMZ.com how he plans to spend his new fortune.
Possibly Related Posts:
Evan Turner, Southside Chicago born and bred, the most written about individual in the history of The Sports Bank, and the individual athlete I’ve written about more than any other, became the sixth Ohio State player under the direction of Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, to be selected in the opening round of the annual National Basketball Association Draft in the last four seasons when the Philadelphia 76ers selected Turner with the second pick Thursday.
Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook, all freshmen from Ohio State’s 2007 NCAA runner-up squad, were taken in the opening round of the 2007 NBA Draft. Freshmen centers Kosta Koufos (2008) and B.J. Mullens (2009) also were first round selections.
By Paul M. Banks
- evan turner
Portland, with the first overall pick in 2007, selected Oden. He was the first Buckeye selected with the opening pick. Conley went to the Memphis Grizzlies with the No. 4 pick and Cook was selected by Philadelphia with the 21st pick of the opening round. Koufos was taken by the Utah Jazz with the 23rd pick in the first round in 2008 while Mullens went originally to the Dallas Mavericks with the 24th pick in 2009. He was then [More …]
