Death Cab for Woody

EPIC FAIL

2008-08-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Obviously...

This place is a shell of the shell that it used to be, so I am heading over to Men of the Scarlet and Gray to add value...so to speak.

It has been real....

I hope to see you over at my new locale...posting under the moniker

YNBA

Herringbone...out.

There is Hockey in Columbus - Vol I

2007-10-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

What a difference a summer can make for a young team with a disciplinarian for a coach.

I saw something on opening night that I havent seen since the inception of this organization...an actual "breakout" with all of the players on the ice skating towards the opposing team's net with...wait for it...wait for it....SPEED!!!

It has been chronicled over and over again that Hitchcock wanted these guys in shape for this season and now we are seeing why this was so important to him and the performance of this team. I am not sure that they can keep up this pace of forechecking, backchecking and overall effort, but it is very refreshing to see a Columbus team go out on the ice and expect to win...no matter the opponent.

Obviously, Hitchcock has made some strategic changes to the CBJ attack this year, as the defensemen are jumping into the play a lot more and collapsing down low in the attack zone, which would have put the fear of god into any CBJ fan over the last 6 seasons. This team is only destined to be a successful as its defense will take them..on both ends of the ice. Other changes inlclude the "chip and chase" strategy instead of the "dump and chase" strategy utilized over the last few years, which accentuates the speed of some of the smaller forwards (ie Brule, Vyborny, Fritsche) and protects them from getting too roughed up in the corners. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is not easy to change directions for defensemen...even for the best of them when a small forward is flying by you at top speed.

From an individual stanpoint, I havent seen a player that has caused me to want to break something in my living room or change the channel, due to lack of effort or hustle. Players like Zherdev have played hard...even after a "so so" camp where it looked like he was soon to be on the trading block.

Way too early player reviews:

Nash = Stud. I dont think I need to say anything else. If you dont believe me, watch the Phoenix game where neither Jovo or Derek Morris could not move Nasher off of the puck. He will be a force this year..he already is.

Vyborny = See Vyborny's last 3 years in Columbus. They look eerily similar to this year.Most consistent CBJ player on the ice every game...and it looks like he is starting to want to shoot more.

Zherdev = "Less Toe Drag = More Effective Tricky Nick." This year's edition backchecks like a maniac.

Chimera = The best move of the Dougy Mac Era. This guy is Kris Draper with scoring touch. Once he gets his wheels moving, there isnt anyone that can stop him going to the net.

Malhotra/Fritsche = These guys need to pick up their games. Peca looked good in his first game back and Brassard will be ready after Christmas to contribute to this team

Boll = Think Blake Sloan with talent and skating ability...and he didnt go to Michigan. Can you imagine him and Picard on the same line together? Whoa...

Hejda/Novotny = Thank you Mr Howson. You have already proved your worth in bringing talented players into the organization that aren't named LaChance and Cassels.

Hainsey = DCfW whipping boy has started playing strong on both ends of the ice. His offensive game was always a known commodity...hopefully he can keep up the defensive play as the season moves forward.

Kris Russell = This guy will end up being a Calder candidate...I hope. It is nice to see a non-first round draft pick finally flourish for the CBJ. It is tiring seeing the Red Wings bring a new Kronwall-type player to its roster season after season. Power-play QB of the future for the CBJ, which is very exciting. Hopefully, his body can hold up with the amount of beatings that he is sure to take on the blueline. I dont look forward to games against Iginla, Tckachuk, or Bertuzzi for Kris....they will be brutal.

Fedorov = Starting to look like the dominant player that he was in the 90's when he wants to...which is for about 2-3 minutes a game. I'll give him a break, but there seems to be a lot of #2 Centers on this team...

Peca = When this guy is finally brought into the rotation of the top 6 forwards, the CBJ will be an even better defensive team. It is exciting to have a proven commodity at the center position...that is consistent.

LeClaire = 'Le Grinch' has been stellar so far this year through two games and hasnt even seen a puck laying behind him in a game yet. This is sure to change, but Pascal has been aggressive and is playing his angles very well. He still has the fastest legs in the league.

Hopefully, the CBJ will continue its fantastic play tonight in Colorado. This should be a good game...

Go CBJ! and dag gummit...Go Tribe!!

State of the "Diss" Union

2007-10-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Ohio State is 6-0 (probably 7-0 after this weekend). After this weekend, the Bucks will attempt to navigate the “murderer’s row” section of its schedule.

Understandably, the "IRA-esque" section of the “SEC Fandom” has deemed OSU and the entire B10 conference as garbage. Calls of “Kentucky or South Carolina would dominate that conference of slow northern Yankees” have emanated from below the Mason-Dixon line since January 8th and Michigan’s colossal collapse against App State and trunk-f*cking by Oregon have done the rest of us simple plodding Midwest folk no favors.

I really don’t want to bother with these types of arguments, as it is a simple fact that OSU will most likely make the MNC game in New Orleans if it finishes undefeated. LSU’s home schedule of tough games and away schedule of VMI 5 or 6 times will likely not provide any challenges, until a neutral field contest for the SEC Championship game. Cal still has some tough games, but the preliminary SOS ratings will most likely favor OSU if both schools win out (HT: TellShow).

I have seen some articles making mention of the idea of LSU losing in the SECCG and whether or not they ~~will~~ still deserve to be in the MNC game. Simple Answer: No. There is past precedence for this type of loss and with teams of this caliber. Look no further than Ohio State in 1998. A late season loss (not even the last game of the season) and the team never had a chance to get back in the MNC discussion. Why should someone get a pass now? ESPN will have its say on this topic if it occurs and, of course, no one is allowed to have an opinion that goes against the mighty gauntlet of college football knowledge employed by ABC/ESPN. Ultimately, the SEC could get its way in the polls through public opinion, which is so ass-backwards right now that SEC fans and media could make an argument that the SEC should have a permanent seat in the MNC and Craig James, Rece Davis, and our own Herb Kirkstreit would nod in agreement so quickly that they wouldn’t even know which side of Slive’s scrotum is hitting them, during “ESPN’s Teabag Saturday” in early December.

Winning out for OSU or Cal will not be an easy task. Too bad either school doesn’t have the media on its side in case of a late season loss, which will, in all likelihood, be afforded to LSU, if it stumbles. This is sad…this is SEC homerism. Almost makes you wish that Notre Dame was decent so some of the homerism could rationed to more than one set of schools. Oh yeah…one more thing. How does the entire conference get credit for it’s set of two exceptional teams (UF and LSU)? That would be like the Columbus Blue Jackets taking credit for the Red Wings dominance in the Central Division for the last eleventy-billion years or something. The fact that I have to root for the schools in my conference that I have perennially hated during their OOC schedule makes me want to puke. Fore the love of god, I had to root for UM when they played in the standard “meteor” game against Notre Dame this year. FU SEC…FU for making me stoop down to this level. You make me feel like a Red Sox fan rooting for the Yankees, which is just wrong in so many ways.

Big Ten Roundtable - Week 2

2007-09-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

While I was absent last week (or all summer...depending on your perspective), you cant keep the DCfW down. Let's get it on!

There Is No Name On My Jersey brings us a good series of questions for the Week 2 Edition of the Big10 Roundtable.

And away we go...

Clearly, Week 1 was a huge week for upsets with Appalachian St. beating Michigan and Clemson beating FSU (though if that really shocked anyone I'd be surprised). What are your upset games for Week 2 and why?

Upset Special #1
#22 TCU at #4 Texas – Let’s face it. Without UM’s collapse against App State, Texas’ performance against Arkansas State would have provided a great deal of message board fodder and material to the blogosphere. They were borderline terrible after the first quarter and were lucky to win this game, from some post game reports. We have all heard about TCU’s defense this off-season. Don’t think that the Frogs haven’t had this one circled all summer. It is going to be a war. It will be interesting to see how many shots a beef-up Coly McCoy can take from this defense, because TCU will bring the house every chance they get on Saturday.

Upset Special #2
#12 Cal at Colorado State – This is a classic “let-down” game. Colorado State has never been an easy place for visiting teams to win. Yes, Cal has the talent, but is the motivation there? Fortunately for Cal, this is not a night game.

Upset Special #3
Alabama at Vanderbilt – For those of us not fortunate enough to see Vanderbilt’s entire season on the Jefferson-Pilot Network, Vandy was a force to be dealt with in the SEC last season. Neither team is ranked, but common sense would tell you that Alabama is just another class above Vandy…WRONG! We’ll see if Saban’s Alabama squad has an answer for the sweet combo of Chris Nickson (19 of 25 for 284 and 4 TDs against the mighty Richmond Spiders) and Earl Bennett (13 catches for 233 yards with 3 TDs).

2. What do you think about the BTN? How'd it look? How were the announcers? Did the first weekend change your opinion of the BTN?

- Overall, the BTN was a success this weekend. A lot of the mainstream media seemed to have issues with the BTN commercial spots being played over and over again, but it is obvious that the BTN knows that most of us were watching it in a bar or at a friends house. So for the Dodd’s and Fiutak’s of the journalism world…”DEAL WITH IT!”

- I primarily stuck with the OSU-YSU game, but the announcers put together a good product. Tomczak and Twibell did a decent job of making the game interesting, which YSU’s decent play in the first half was a great help, as well. I would say that the current level is above the old ESPN+ game crews and below ESPN2 MAC game crews at this point. I think that once the HD feeds are settled the BTN will be a great product.

- My opinion of the BTN is unchanged after this weekend. I want it at home. However, COMCAST wants to give me a steady diet of the Food Network, Oxygen, and WE. Seriously…How many Daphne Zuniga movies can be shown in one weekend?

3. Now that we're a game into the Season evaluate the Big Ten's strength.

- Linebackers – Connor, Lee, Laurinitis, Leman. The linebacker play over the course of the first weekend was what we all expected from these four. 20 tackles for Leman and a big game from Sean Lee with 2TFL, 1 sack, and a forced fumble. Linebackers are still all the rage in the Big10 this year.

- Wide Receivers – Brian Robiskie is the next OSU receiver stud with his 9-catch 153-yard performance on Saturday. Luke Swann put together a nice afternoon with a 170-yard performance. Notice, I made no mention of all-world receiver Mario Manningham or James “The Gigantor” Hardy.

- First-Year Starting Quarterbacks – There were a lot of question marks for Wisconsin and OSU starting some new blood under center this season. It looks like some of those concerns have been alleviated for the time being. Todd Boeckman, Tyler Donovan, and Brian Hoyer all had nice starts in some “cream-puff” type of games.

On Notice - Week #1

2007-09-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

DCfW Post Game Review: Youngstown State

2007-09-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

It was a typical September OOC game for the Buckeyes against an old friend of Jimmy T. The Youngstown State Penguins were in town and the Buckeyes were a not-so-gracious host. I wouldnt say they were rude to YSU, but they didnt provide level of hospitality afforded up at the Big House(with Kittens and emo).

Things of note...
1. Todd Boeckman is a pretty good quarterback and he throws a pretty deep ball, which we have been hearing from the coaching staff for last 18 years of Todd's college career in Columbus. Good start for him. I read that he missed some check downs (and did not utilize consumate v's when drawing dragons..see below). I didnt see them, but you guys explain icing or delayed offsides? I didnt think so...so BACK-OFF!
2. All of the running backs were fantastic except for one. Unfortunately, this was the running back that has the biggest expectations...Chris Wells. Chris stated that his focus was not there in a post-game interview. I hope this is not a sign of things to come for the perceived leader of the Buckeye backfield. However, Maurice Wells and Brandon Saine were very good. Saine was hitting holes hard and running with authority, while Wells seemed to be a little more comfortable inside of the tackles.
3. You cannot understate the signifigance of the Lawrence Wilson injury. Go watch his sack in Saturday's game about 4 times and tell me that OSU's D-Line will not miss that type of player. Let's hope that true freshman Cameron Heyward can help with the load. All you can really say here is "Thank God it wasnt a defensive tackle.."
4. Youngstown State was no slouch. They had a gameplan to take away the run and stacked the box in doing so. Mostly, their hopes relied on a slow start by Boeckman, which just did not happen. YSU's undersized, yet quick, defensive line caused some issues for the OSU O-Line. YSU's quarterback was efficient, but did not dazzle. YSU did not have any turnovers in this game, otherwise, the score would have gotten out of hand.
5. Youth prevails! There were a lot of freshman that played in this game and made significant contributions to the OSU victory. Brandon Saine, Dane Sanzenbacher, Taurian Washington, and Eugene Clifford made some plays that make the loss of playmakers from last year's squad seem a little more palatable. Again, it was YSU, but (in the past) OSU hasnt seemed to have many true freshman step in the early going.
6. Brian Robiskie is a monster. I really cant wait to see him go up against Justin King later this year. Speed against size and strength. Let's hope that offensive line can give Todd some time in Happy Valley to find him.
7. Kurt Coleman & Anderson Russell. Best Safety tandem at OSU since...I cant even think of a good one to compare them to at this point. Coleman was flying all over tha place in this game, and Russell was very disruptive as well.

Other notes...
1. That whole UM fiasco up north...well...I dont think it really means a lot at this point. UM will still have a good season most likely. If they are not motivated by now...they never will be. For some reason, I see them beating OSU and winning their bowl game this year. Too much talent. Unfortunately, most of that talent is on the offensive side of the ball. The coaching is kind of shit-riffic on that side of the ball as well. I mean the "English Majors" smelled that like they had a couple of bottles of "Olde English" spilled on them after Saturday's debacle.
2. Cal is pretty good. Obviously they are very fleet of foot. I mean they cant be SEC fast. Seriously, Mississippi State and Ole Miss would kill them on a neutral field.
3. Speaking of the SEC...How long until Les messes this one up? That defense is fantastic, but that offense is teh suxor. Any team with a competent offense will score some points against LSU, but will LSU be able to score against these teams? To be continued...
4. Tim Tebow can throw a football. Apparently, he threw 12 passes for 300 yards. Still not impressed....yeah I know...it's just me.
5. Jake Locker (from the UW) looks pretty fast. Unfortunately, it was against Syracuse, which is "hella" slow. He looks the part, but let's wait and see how he looks against Boise State before we call him the savior of the Husky Nation. Ok?
6. The trunk-f*cking of the week? Notre Dame. It looks more and more like Charlie cant gameplan his way out of a wet paper bag. Guess who is getting the trunk-f*cking of the week in week 2? Notre Dame. Penn State is going to unleash hell on those guys next week. It could get ugly. From urine on the band to a sieve-like offensive line, Notre Dame is in serious trouble in Happy Valley next week.
7. Can't Read, Can't Write, Kent State. Way to make us Ohioans proud. Taking out Iowa State is no small feat. Honorable Mention to BGSU for it's game against a rebuilding Minnehaha squad in Tim Brewster's head coaching debut.
8. I'm already tired of seeing stuff about the App State-UM game on ESPN or any other sports outlet. Yes, it was a huge and monumental win for a I-AA school, but in typical EPSN fashion...they need to glamorize it to a point of nausea. Thank god I am not a UM fan...otherwise it would feel a lot like the weeks following 1/8/07.
9. Go Tribe! Beat Johan Santana for the fifth time this season. No other team has beaten Santana more than once in any season prior to this year.
10. One other note for the CBJ faithful. Detroit picked up Mark Hartigan this past offseason. This was a quiet move in the grand scheme of things in the NHL, but anyone that knows how Mark Hartigan plays will realize this is a huge get for the Wings. Like the Wings need any freakin' help. I am calling it now. He will be a scoring machine in Detroit's system. He is a 2nd or 3rd center in the Wings' system...and is a farm club call on almost every other team's roster.

Finally...I bring you Strongbad at his finest...enjoy...

Peace...

Herringbone

Championship Afterbirth...err...math

2007-07-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

I have always been a big fan of watching people confirm that they would endure much confusion when attemping to decipher the difference between their ass and a hole in the ground.

I have always stated that the University of Michigan has been yearly overrated by the pre-season polls. Well, most Buckeye fans have stated as much on a yearly basis. There is also a small contingent of Buckeye fans that probably think the same thing this year, as well. I am not among them. I am not seeing many other teams outside of USC that really look to have everything it needs to be a true MNC contender this upcoming season. Every one of these teams in the Top 5 this year has a major flaw that it will need to develop or mask effectively to make it through it's schedule this year.

A quick glance...the order doesnt matter to me..USC will be a head-and-shoulders above everyone this year...IMO

2 Michigan - A lot of holes on that defense that need to be filled with departures of Woodley and Branch. Dont get me started on that secondary. The Yost crowds have a word that caters well to the UM secondary...sieve.
3. LSU - QB. It doesnt matter if they are bringing back someone that has experience as a starter within the LSU system. LSU will not be able to have the same luxuries it had last year with Uncle JaMarcus under center. Also, LSU's biggest shortcoming...Les Miles...does less with more consistently every year.
4. West Virginia - Give me a team with an average secondary and is willing to stack nine in the box. Crap...that's right the Big East doesnt have one of those.
5. Texas - Young offensive line. Hopefully, Colt spent some time in the weight room this summer.
6. Florida - See West Virginia. However, the SEC probably has a few teams that can expose Tim "Dont call me a mobile Tim Couch" Tebow's throwing ability. Championship hangovers are a bitch...ask the 2003 OSU team.

All in all...everyone is playing for #2 this year. There are a lot of teams that could end up undefeated this year, so we are already starting to hear about supposed SEC superiority and why they should be given a free pass if a team wins the SEC champoionship.

Lesley Miles dogging the Big12 and the PAC-10, which is curious to SEC and non-SEC fans alike.

Kyle over at Dawg Sports

Corporate Bloggers over at EDSBS

Fanhouse Crazy Talk

Nick Saban taking a shot on the Big 10.

Hey Nick, what was your record in the Big10? Dont worry Nick, I got your back...34-24-1. Nick was pretty much the picture of mediocrity in the Big 10 with the exception of one year (1999) and still managed to choke his team out of a BCS bid with two late season trunk-f*ckings at the hands of Purdue and Wisconsin. Nick tosses out this gem...

"No disrespect to the Big Ten, but most of the time there were three or four good teams in the Big Ten each year," he said. "Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State were pretty good and then there might be another team or two that was better that year. But here (in the SEC) there were eight or nine teams that were all pretty good. That was a challenge to play with the kind of consistency you needed to be able to sustain that kind of performance.

Yeah OSU, UM and PSU (Saban 6-7 versus the Big Three) were pretty good, but they never laid losses on Saban and MSU like Wisconsin and Purdue did in 99.

Needless to say, SEC-homerism is a great drug.

Looking further at Saban's Big10 Record...combined record against Wisconsin and Purdue ...wait for it...wait for it....2-5-1. I guess there are more than 3 good teams in the conference. I know...it's crazy. That puts the Big 10 at 5 good teams, but the SEC has like a hundred good teams. I mean even Ole Miss could give USC a run for it's money.

See, the coaches are good at slightly dogging other conferences, but the real heavy-hitters for the SEC are the footbaw bloggers. In particular, Gatorpilot from Orange and Blue Hue tends to rival the zealotry of a typical Monticello, Utah-based polygamist.

I very seldom stick up for Michigan in anything (bastards), but comments like these are stale and over-played from below the Mason-Dixon line, my friends. In reference to UM's schedule and potential to get better from 2006-2007..

No, Michigan didn’t get better since then. But their schedule didn’t get any worse, either. In fact it got a lot easier, if such a thing is possible, and that lines them up for a BCS appearance if they can beat a couple of decent teams before January. Remember, this is the entire schedule. The Big 10 doesn’t play a conference championship game.

I just want to pull out a snippet of the schedule bashing and ask a simple question afterwards....

October 20th - @ Illinois (Gatorpilot references as "Push Over")
October 27th - Minnesota (Gatorpilot references as "Cupcake")
November 3rd - @ Michigan State (Gatorpilot references as "Tediously Average")
November 10th - @ Wisconsin (Gatorpilot references as "Legitimate Top 25")
November 17th - Ohio State (Gatorpilot references as "Blood Rival")

Allow me to re-tort in a different manner...

How would UF and Timmy Tebow fare in these four games?

October 20th - @ Illinois - I think that the pushover tag would be removed either in pre-game or after UF's first offensive series. See, this is around the time of year that Memorial Stadium starts to turn into a freakin' wind tunnel. I see nine in the box and Tim Couch..err..Tebow limp-wristing throws into the wind (Come on non-Florida fans...we've seen him throw...the "noodle-arm" era is beginning in Gainesville). UF will probably win, but it will be a struggle and UF will be awfully sore after that game. Illinois' defense was extremely tough last year by the end of the year and should be pretty good this season as well. (Likelihood of win = 60%)

October 27th - Minnesota - Win...probably a blowout. Minnehaha is in a serious re-building mode right now. (Likelihood of win = 95%)

November 3rd - @ Michigan State - Win...MSU has some athletes and probably wont make the same John L Smith mistakes in the past with Dantonio at the helm. UF will actually have to beat MSU...MSU will not implode. An interesting wrinkle would be the gameplanning between Dantonio and Meyer. Dantonio is Meyer's equal in defensive versus offensive gameplanning, but he doesnt have the horses that Meyer does at his disposal. (Likelihood of win = 70%)

November 10th - @ Wisconcsin - Loss. UF may have the speed advantage...just like Auburn did in 2005 and just like Arkansas did in 2006. However, Wisconsin would be the toughest team that UF would face all year. Toughest is the key word. I am not saying that they are the better team, but you dont go into Madison in November and expect to win. It will probably be snowing or in the upper 30's for gametime. Elements and the fact that they are playing a good team with talented players would be a likely loss. Remeber...Wisconsin doesnt run around you...they run through you...and your 240lb Defensive ends. (Likelihood of win = 10%)

November 17th - OSU - UF will have the advantage on the offensive side of the ball, but you can ask any UM fan, as this will not be an OSU team that you would want to play at the end of this upcoming season. It will be a straight forward running attack and the defense will be worlds better than it was last year. Tebow will get his yards and UF will definitely have a homefield advantage. (Likelihood of win = 65%)

Any team that will make it through those 5 games undefeated probably deserves some recognition...well...at least some educated recognition.

About that whole Conference Championship thingy, it is a money train for the conference....not a rite of passage to a National Title appearance. If Florida would have played aginst Michigan they way that it played against Arkansas in it's last game of the season, Florida would have lost by 20 to UM. They fumbled and bumbled their way into a win in that game and were fortunate enough to find a fat and happy OSU team waiting in Glendale. Florida won that BCS Championship game very impressively, but Florida walked into a nice situation similar to OSU in 2002 with Miami.

If I were a UF fan, I would be more worried about the bullseye on the back of the Gators and the subsequent "best shot" from each team on its schedule. Then again who could argue with a group of fans supporting a team that is finishing it's season with this minefield of games....Georgia, Vandy, @ South Carolina, Florida Atlantic, and Florida State (Herringbone references these teams as "Terrible"...yes, even Georgia and Florida State...and dont get me started on Western Kentucky)

See it's all about perspective, SEC fan looks at Big Ten schedule and thinks there are only 2-3 tough games on there a year. I look at UF's schedule this year and I see 3 teams this year that are even in the arena of being worthy to describe as formidable (Tenn, Auburn, and LSU). Outside of those teams, Georgia and South Carolina are the only teams that might give UF a Northwestern-style scare in-conference. However, Georgia = No Offense, Florida State = NC State w/Chuck Amato..all athletes...no football knowledge. The rest of that schedule is garbage.

The only thing that is going knock the SEC zealots off of their high horse is a sound arse whipping in the bowl season. I dont see the Big10 having two representatives in the BCS this year, so this should be an interetesting year for Big 10-SEC matchups in the bowl season. Then again, outside of Florida's game against OSU, the SEC has been teh suxor against the Big Ten in bowl games the last few years. Dont let that fact cloud your judgement SEC fans, because CBS will be ready to tell the world during an in-game soliloquy of the SEC's dominance...in earnest. Unfortunately, the rest of the college football world will have CBS on mute, so they wont have to hear about for the 400th time.

A few updates to this blog of antiquity

2007-07-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

Again, ignoring the masses of fans that frequent this site. Apologies...I really mean it this time. Seriously. In all honesty...

Additions to Greatest Blogroll Ever...

Buckeye Lane - A new Buckeye site. If he follows the lead of any site but mine, he will have great success.

Badger Sports Fan - Our first Badger link. Awesome.

Hawkeye State - Ditto, but Hawkeyes of course.

Blogroll Fixes...

Fixed "The 12th Manchild"...sorry it took so freakin' long.

The Hockey Report = Fixed. My bad Adam...

Draft Party in Cowtown...That is Columbus for you Non-Ohio types

2007-06-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

So Anaheim has won the Stanley Cup...awesome. California winning the cup is about as useful as a third nipple...unless you are into that kind of thing...not that there is anything wrong with that.

More importantly, everyone was able to see how the ratings were terrible for this year's Cup Finals broadcast. There is nothing more entertaining than watching the journalists play the equivalent of tee-ball when they dont have a good story with juicy bits involved.

The thought process involves...

Ratings were poor this year + Hockey is not broadcast on "Worldwide Leader" = Hockey is sure to die in the future.

I say nay...

Look, a lot of people love hockey, but we all saw this coming. This is not a sport for the simple-minded creature that enjoys basketball or football on the periphery. This is a sport that takes some time to learn and understand what is actually going on out there. Hell, it takes some people a half of a season to understand icing when they are first learning the game. Lets slow down a little bit before we start talking about "cycling" and "zone responsibilities" with the noobs..ok?

To more positive news, and by positive I mean CBJ new...which is never positive, the candidiates for the CBJ jobs seem to be jumping ship or are just not delicious enough to get excited about. Bob Murray hung around long enough to get a cup of coffee, which makes a lot of CBJ fans sad. So that leaves Howson from Edmonton and Les Jackson from Dallas as the "real" remaining candidates. The one thing that really seems to be a little curious is Detroit denying Jim Nill the opportunity to talk to the Columbus organization about the position. I would think that this would make Steve Yzerman (regardless of his current position in the organization) a little upset, as he will probably want this job prior to eventually moving up to the Red Wing GM position whenever Kenny Holland decides he has had enough. I cant see him moving into the GM chair without some time as the assistant GM. IMO...

The 2007 NHL Entry Draft is coming to Columbus. Finally! Some postseason excitement.

I cannot attend (stupid new plane), but my CBJ Blogging Brethren (Drew and Michael) have decided to throw a clambake of some type for the in-town and out-of-town bloggers. It should be a pretty good time.

Here are some details...I suggest you attend...and bring something for the party..like local food...and that doesnt mean Coney Island food (whcih sucks) Wings bloggers!

Peace Out

Herringbone

Wait for it...yeah...Troy Smith is no longer able to throw footballs or walk upright.

2007-04-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

According draft gurus Todd Shay and Mel Kiper Jr., Troy Smith has gone from a first day pick to free agent status in the last 18 hours. The basis for this judgement has nothing to do with past performance, which has been basically perfect with the expection of a few hiccups against Penn State in 2005 and the Disaster in the Desert.

The assessment has been accumulated from Todd and Mel tossing Brady's and Russell's salads so much that they forgot what a Troy Smith salad tastes like. Personally, I am not keen to Troy Smith's salad, but most of the draft experts approach a Chester the Molester level with the amount of information and gushing over the flavor of the month talent that can throw a football over a mountain with a set of testicles in his mouth and nine broken fingers.

Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay carpooling to a private prospect workout near you

Let's look at the DCfW resumes of the two quarterbacks that are destined to be the first two quarterbacks taken in the draft tomorrow. Of course, this is all conjecture and factless banter, but bear with me...

JaMarcus Dilfer...err...Russell

Accomplishments inlude being able to being throw a football 6,000 yards underhand. I know this because this is all that I heard about when I watched the most ridiculous media "circus-sealing" ever, during this past Sugar Bowl, as JM faced a secondary and overall defense in Norte Dame that rivals that of an average MAC team.

Hey NFL draftniks, just because the guy is the size of a large condominium in the Seattle-area (if you lived here you would understand) that doesnt translate to on field success. JM has had a knack for not showing up in the biggest of games, especially in-conference. Take Auburn in 2006 and UT/UGA in 2005. These are games that a team with the talent of LSU (which is what we hear every year) should not lose at home or not have the ability to score one single freakin' touchdown.

Brady "I'm Notre Dame's QB, so that means I'm great against Coast Guard" Quinn...

Never has there been a QB that has earned more accolades for buckling in his biggest games each year. The best games in his career have been against team like Navy, Boston College, and Stanford. Notice that I did not mention USC, OSU, LSU, or Michigan. Yeah...basically he has not been able to lead his teams to victories in any big games....

And that just simply screams...pick me first!

In Conclusion...

I dont care about where Troy Smith gets drafted this year, but the fact that he is shade under 6-feet shouldnt make him any less of a high draft pick candidate than these other two that have played in the same amount of big games as Trpy Smith, but have lost twice as many games as Mr. Smith.

Makes you wonder when the NFL is just going to admit that they are just drafting like the NBA...for potential...not performance....not intangibles (unless you Notre Dame QA emu-ish

hair) nor leadership ability.

Enjoy the draft. I will be watching it from my high-altitude tent...I've got to start training for all of the games next year that may give me a heart-attack. The Bucks are going to have some problems scoring points...welcome back to 2002...

Where is my mind?

2007-04-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

It's freakin' all over the place...

I havent been writing about the CBJ, the OSU Men's BB (that almost won a national championship...by almost, I mean not a chance in hell), or OSU spring football.

Yeah, I am a little removed from the blog and have been for the last couple of months. I apologize to my six loyal readers.

But in an attempt to make amends, I come back to the blogging community asking for a second chance to write about things that mean little to many people yet important to very few.

So...let's start with something that I do know about...hockey and the luck of the draw.

Let's look at the CBJ and it's recent draft history and look at another franchise that doesnt deserve half of the luck it has been granted over the last 15 years....The Pittsburgh Penguins.

CBJ Name-dropping...
Top Brass:
Rick Nash - Most hockey aficianados and causal fans have a least heard of Rick. He is the face of the franchise.

Everybody Else:
Nikolai Zherdev - Columbus' Enigma or Zenigma. Does the term "uncoachable" do anything for ya?
Gilbert Brule - Too bad the CBJ doesnt play in the WHL...otherwise Gilbert would dominate.
Pascal LeClaire - The Grinch that cant finish a season. Fastest legs in hockey.
Rusty Klesla - Every time he is ready to turn the corner, a Kirk Maltby is waiting to check him into an open bench door.
Alex Picard - Couldnt score at an airport spa with $100 bills hanging out of his pocket
Derick Brasard - Drafted in the first round with bad shoulders. Its like buying a BMW with both axles broken.

Of the players listed above, only Nash, Klesla, and Zherdev have provided any meaningful minutes or contributions to make the team better, which is pathetic.

Pittsburgh Name-Dropping...
Top Brass:
Sidney Crosby - Watch the CBC and let me know if you can go more than an hour without seeing a Sid "The Kid" commercial. He scores points in bunches and makes Pittsburgh legit.
Evgeni Malkin - Remember that scene from "Bottle Rockets" where Owen Wilson wonders how one of his friends, who is such an asshole, can have such a nice kitchen.
Marc-Andre Fleury - If you are keeping track at home, that is 3 draft picks in three years in the top two slots.
Jordan Staal - Yeah...that would be a single #1 pick and 3 #2 picks in 4 years.

I didnt even bring Colby Armstrong into the equation.

For the CBJ faithful, let's realize that if the CBJ had accumulated these types of draft picks over the last four years, the CBJ would be in the playoffs. Hell, they would have probably made a run for the Central Division.

So....while we can blame Doug MacLean for a lot of poor management decisions, the CBJ fans need to realize that there is a lot of luck involved in a building a great team. "Cant-miss" prospects are normally in the top 3-5 picks of the draft.

Amazingly enough, I just realized that Dougy Mac has just been fired this evening...

Apparently, his poor management decisions have caught up with him.

Happy Trails Doug....

Week #5 - DCfW Song of the Week

2007-02-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

Another week...another song...

Name the commercial...

Artist: The Walkmen
Title: We've Been Had
Album: Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone(Buy the Album here)

Let me know what you think and any suggestions that you may have for next week's contribution.

Herringbone

**Dont be a dick..dont download..this is for evaluation purposes only!

Again, there is an issue with Firefox autoplaying the SotW, which is totally uncool. Any suggestions (like another embedded player)? Let me know...yo...

OSU wins defensive struggle..Butch Sprains Shoulder...Doyel Sprains Vagina

2007-02-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

I took in the OSU-UW game this afternoon. It seemed like a typical Big10 showdown with massive amounts of defensive play and physical intensity that is not in seen other conferences.

Basically, this game turned into a slugfest and the final scored indicated this as such.

Quick hitters...

- Oden is still a work in progress. Some of his travels were obvious...some were not travels. Yes,he could go to the NBA right now, but he wouldnt play...even for the Celtics. He needs another year....or two.
- Speaking of travelling, have you guys seen Alando Tucker play basketball? His jump-step is NBA ready now.
- Conley will be one of the best point guards to ever play in the Big10 before he leaves. His confidence level increases every game.
- Wisconsin plays basketball just like it plays hockey....deliberate..intense..disciplined
- The 2-3 zone works great (against teams that cant rebound), but OSU has the depth to man up the whole game, regardless of Oden's presence in the middle of the 2-3.
- That injury to Butch in the first half was brutal. It looked like he had a grapefruit on the back of his elbow when he got up.
- That injury that Greg Doyel received while putting together his write-up from the game was brutal. It looked like he had a grapfruit on the front of his vagina when he finished writing it. Weird..
- I hope these two teams meet up in the Big10 tournament final. Hopefully, it will be the same type of game, so none of the pundits give UW or OSU a chance in the Big Dance.
- As a Buckeye fan, I am really pulling for UW to get healthy for the NCAA tournament. They are a team that will give a lot of good teams fits. They play defense very well, which is something that most teams in the country arent doing right now...even flavor of the week Kansas...

In other news...
Speaking of vaginas, Jack Johnson and the Michigan Hockey team were in town this weekend. I single out Jack Johnson, who has a history of cheap shots, took out OSU's leading scorer, Tommy Goebel on Friday with a questionable hit (It seems like Jack has a lot of those...doesnt it?). Role reversal between the two teams, as UM scored with about a minute left on Friday night and OSU returned the favor on Saturday pulling out a 6-5 victory.

Week #4 - DCfW Song of the Week

2007-02-18T00:47:00.000-08:00

The feature is back from the dead...similar to this blog.

Artist: Silversun Pickups
Title: Lazy Eye
Album: Carnavas (Buy the Album here)

Let me know what you think and any suggestions that you may have for next week's contribution.

Herringbone

**Dont be a dick..dont download..this is for evaluation purposes only!

Again, there is an issue with Firefox autoplaying the SotW, which is totally uncool. Any suggestions (like another embedded player)? Let me know...yo...

Yeah...so I am back...

2007-02-17T23:54:00.000-08:00

So...after a bit of a hiatus, I figured that it was time to get back in the saddle and spew some vitriol in all the right places. Rest assured...the fork has been removed from my temple...and now approaches unattended electrical outlets...constantly.

OSU Football...see pic above and imagine doing this every day for about a week. This would some up the life experience that was the 2006 OSU Football Team

OSU Basketball - As unexciting as it was when I lived in Columbus, imagine how unexciting it is out here in Seattle. The pathetic crowds rival that of the OSU men's hockey team. At least the hockey team has an excuse for poor attendance, they're rebuilding.

CBJ...Aww F**k Off. So happy that I am not a season ticket holder anymore...dont know if I am could stand another empty prmoise from the management and ownership while Minnesota is a consistent threat to make the playoffs and the CBJ players are a consistent threat to have their handicaps squared away by June.

Onto more interesting topics like the non-big news of February.

Recruiting
OSU signs mediocre recruiting class...or should we say that OSU signed a class that did not rival the ridiculousness displayed by Flavor of the Week Florida and yearly recruiting juggernaut USC. I am really not concerned about the star ratings and such. They really mean little to most. I mean take USC, for example. All that talent being recruited every year, yet still managed to lose to Oregon State. I dont recall Oregon State having any 5-star recruits on it's roster.

I rarely agree with Brian about anything. However, his nice article about creepy SEC recruiting in conjunction with Jim Delaney's recent statement on the SEC versus the Big10 was very insightful. OSU and UM have pulled together some great recruiting classes over the last 4-5 years, yet never have the sheer numbers that schools like Florida and Georgia seem to put together every year. Then again...OSU and UM doesnt seem to have nearly the class attrition each year that the SEC schools have either, which isnt caused by the school curriculums but the fact that the 600 players that sign to go to school at UGA cant even qualify. Sad that the SEC schools count on this attrition to allow them to over-recruit. You would think that the NCAA would maybe spend ome time on this scenario instead of Native American mascots, but I digress...

Music
I had started a weekly song of the week post to relay some music to the masses that might still listen to that Green Day - Dookie album...or just cant figure out why every band sounds like Blink-182. Well, it hasnt gone away. I will bring back this feature this week and will continue to put out more music that you may or may not want to sample.

The greatest band of all-time....The Shins...released a new album at the end of January "Wincing the Night Away." A very highly anticipated album out here in the Pacific Northwest, as they were able to sell out two shows at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. Not sure how this album is going over in Columbus. However, the last time they played in Columbus in 2005, The Shins were not able to fill up the Newport, which is sad.

Another favorite band, Explosions in the Sky released a new album this past week "All of a Sudden, I Miss Everyone." I havent picked it up yet, but the band's popularity is soaring, as a majority of it's US shows are sold out and they will be playing at Coachella on 4/29.

Other bands/albums of note...
- Silver Sun Pickups - Carnavas
- The Black Angels - Passover
- Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

So...apologies to all for not posting about the Bluejackets and SEC dominance in every competitive sport every created...with the exception of hockey.

Better times are ahead....now if Boeing can just build this new plane everything will be alright....

Pwned...Seriously...Jorts 41 - Land of Coaches 14

2007-01-08T21:38:00.000-08:00

I'll be back after I visit the emergency room to get this fork removed from my temple...this could take weeks or it might just take until the next CBJ victory....

Herringbone...in severe misery

Congrats to the UF Gators...Cant argue the ass-whooping....

More Bulletin Board Material...and Lazy Journalism at its Finest

2007-01-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

Brandon Siler...We Knew You Could Do It!!

But when fielding questions at the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game Media Day, Florida linebacker Brandon Siler, from Evans High School, said his team will win.

"I've had the feeling all year," Siler said. "We will win this game. I know it."

Las Vegas says Florida's a 7-7.5 point underdog. But Siler insist not to bet on Ohio State.

"Not unless you want to lose some money," he said.

I guess you guys really are disrespected down there...I feel your pain brother...oh it stings...it stings...

Moving on...
I have been hearing a lot of smack from moron SEC beat writers (not bloggers) that feel the need to bash OSU's academic standing and utilize the NCAA numbers from past year graduation rates (Student entering in 1999...aka documentation containing players that were on the roster before Meyer or Tressel took over their respective programs) and african-american graduation rates.

First, I will never understand the need to segregate a race in the graduation rates, but whatever works...like people in the south (sans African-Americans) give two shits about the african-american graduation rates at UF or any other school in the south. It has about the same importance for the schools in the north. Regardless, people in the south speaking about how much they care about the well-being of african-americans and their team cumulative GPA at Florida would be similar to an *insert totally politically incorrect Al Queda & American "caring" comparison here*. This little ditty from the Miami Herald is a good example of slanted reporting at its finest...

"If academics were the measuring stick, the Buckeyes might be considered a two touchdown underdog. UF had an 80% graduation among football players while OSU had a 55% mark. Also, Ohio State's 32% graduation rate among black football players was the next to lowest of all the bowl eleigible teams this year. (Georgia was lowest with 24 percent)

Wouldnt it be nice if these article utilized some relevant numbers (which would be difficult because then the writer might have to spend a few more minutes on research by picking up a phone) like let's say this past quarters numbers for the OSU football team...I'll let the UF fans tell me what it's team academic numbers are for the semester/quarter.

OSU Football Academic Numbers - Fall Quarter 2006
Ohio State had a Football team cumulative GPA of 2.93 with 61 players over 3.0 (BTW Notre Dame had a team cumulative of 3.04 .)
21 Big Ten All-Academic Football players in Fall of 2006. This number led all of the the Big 10 Schools
(HT: Ozone Forum)

I think the most interesting aspect of this whole can of worms is that we go through this with the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News every year. They find a million things wrong with how OSU conducts it's business, but the Ohio newspapers pretty much just focus on the game and people involved in this event. No matter how much people want to dish out crap to the Dispatch and other Ohio newpaper outlets, they are still a professional and classy bunch. I am sure that the OSU backing papers could find plenty of dirt on the Florida program and it's players, but they are taking the high road, which apparently doesnt exist in Florida.

Bad Karma...The Next Night Beatdown and the Tag that comes with it...

2007-01-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

The approach for proper gloating generally requires pointing out the shortcomings of others,

Hopefully the CBJ will have some juice leftover for the Sharks tonight, who absolutely trunk-f*ckedthe Red Wings the other night. That was such a savage beating, I am surprised it didnt lead to an A2Y Glossary entry.

while basking in the sun of the *insert name of favorite sports team here*'s improbable comeback.

In this case...After livin' it up from the CBJ 4-3 comeback against the Ducks, I am now reeling in the misery of the San Jose Sharks trunk-f%cking on the CBJ by a count of 5-2 (not really 9-4...I'm looking at you Iwo). Apparently, there was some officiating that rivaled the IIHF shootout rules(which are ridiculous...it is a team sport Muir..not a skills competition), but I dont know about any of that...I didnt get to watch the game. However, in savoring the taste of sweet Red Wing fan tears, I am now faced with being tagged by IwoCPO for one of the "5 Things" Lists that was semi-started by AlanaH over at "Canucks & Beyond" and passed along to A2Y.

While there are a few people that read this blog who actually know me, here are "5 things about me which people might not know"...Yeah...This is gonna suck...

Grew up as a member of the Red Wing fandom watching Stevie Y, Klima, Burr, Hanlon, Cheveldae, Gallant and the boys. This was going to cease when Stevie Y retired. However, it came to an end a little before schedule when Kirk Maltby decided to (INTENTIONALLY) check Rusty Klesla into an open bench door towards the end of the last season before the strike. It was officially over at that point...much rage and hatred. I could imagine that this act pushed a lot of old Wings fans into the corner of the CBJ at that point. Kirk Maltby = A washed-up version of Sean Avery...without scoring or witty remarking ability.
WAS a certified River Guide in West Virginia on the New River("Was" is the key word). It never really amounted to much, as I started working on my MBA right after getting certified. I will be working on certification out here in Washington on at least a few rivers, so whenever you are ready to put yourself, friends, and family in extreme danger...let me know. Remember...most of the time...a "Downstream V" is your friend.
My first car was a 1982 Brown Ford Granada Stationwagon (This...but Brown and a stationwagon)...aptly named "The Turd." The ladies loved it...honest.
The first two CDs that I ever bought (Yes youngsters there was a transition between cassette tapes and CDs in my childhood) were Living Colour - Vivid and Winger...I just admitted that...and I will now throw myself into traffic for shaming my Indie Rock persona. I was young and stupid, but, no, I did not have a Kip Winger poster on my wall, so dont ask....jerks.
I am currently working for a company that is supporting the assembly of Boeing's newest plane, the 787 Dreamliner. Crazy stuff...I have worked on Automotive heavy assembly in the past, but nothing compares to this project, which sucks up a majority of my time. Hence, my inability to post at freewill, which is what I would really like. If anyone has any ideas on how I can become independently wealthy, bring it on... I think I still have that number for the Truck Driving School around here somewhere...

I must pass this punishment onto some of my CBJ brethren...Drew at End of the Bench (..ahem..you too Dose of Reality) and Michael over at Army of the Ohio

Peace

Herringbone

DCfW - Song of the Week - #3 - BCS Edition

2007-01-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

Friday Night Lights (The Movie...duh) put this band on the map (so to speak), but this Austin, TX quartet was a great band long before the movie actually came out...

While this song may not want to motivate you to tackle someone, I thought the title was fitting for the Gators on Monday evening.

Artist: Explosions in the Sky
Title: Greet Death
Album: Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever (Buy the Album here)

Let me know what you think and any suggestions that you may have for next week's contribution.

Herringbone

**Dont be a dick..dont download..this is for evaluation purposes only!

UPDATE: There is an issue with Firefox autoplaying the SotW, which is totally uncool. Any suggestions (like another embedded player)? Let me know...yo...Otherwise, you might have multiple players going at once, which sucks for Firefox users.

CBJ loses...oh crap...CBJ WINS!!!

2007-01-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, you kind of get a feeling about a game before it is played. I was still at work when this game started, but remembered to DVR it. I had a feeling that the CBJ were going to take it to the Ducks. That feeling was quickly changed as I started to catch up and watch the first two periods after arriving at home. It was pretty much like watching the Kings game, which going forward will refuse to admit actually occurred.

First two periods of the game...yeah...they sucked, so let's move forward to about the 11 minute mark of the third period. Something happened. That "something" would be Freddy Modin (Team MVP) getting pissed and starting to take over in the corners. Modin and Vyborny had a great cycling shift, which led to an Anaheim penalty. The Jackets did not score on the PP, but they did set the tone for the rest of the game, and scored just seconds after the Power Play finished when Klesla got everything he could into a long shot from the point. Bryz-Gollum (Obvious misspelling) did not see that shot until it came out of the net. I didnt think that this goal made a huge difference, as the Jackets and Ducks skated around for the next 6 minutes without any real action....then all heck broke loose...

Fast forward to 3:14 remaining in the 3rd period, Svitov wins a big face-off in the Ducks zone and Klesla hammers a shot form the right point that looked a lot like his first goal. Breeze-gollob did see the puck until it ricocheted off of the back iron to bring the jacket within a goal.

...33 seconds later...

Modin makes a nice play on an attempted defensive clearing and started to cycle with Vyborny. Vyborny fed Modin in the slot twice and Modin hammered the second one home to tie the game. Again, Modin = STUD...

...1 minute and 21 seconds later...

This play was really started by Norrena who played the puck up to Klesla at the CBJ blueline and caught the Ducks in a semi-change. Klesla dumped the puck in the corner, which was passed and then misplayed in the corner by the Ducks defenseman. Malhotra gabbed the misplayed puck and started the cycle with Chimera, who found Malhotra driving hard to the net and put the Jackets up 4-3 with 1:20 left in the game..

...1 minute later...

Svitov covers the puck in the crease when a mad scramble occurs in front of the CBJ net after the Ducks caught the CBJ defense in the midst of a change. A penalty shot is called (with 20 secinds left in the game) for the Svitov error. Selanne takes the penalty shot...he aims at Norrena's shoulder...and hits it square. Too bad hitting Norrena's shoulder wasnt the same as scoring a goal.

Game Over...Ducks are sad. Ducks fans are shocked. The two CBJ fans in front of the FSN camera at the end of the game were going crazy. Yeah...I guess this sport just isnt exciting anymore...(HT: KK)

Hopefully the CBJ will have some juice leftover for the Sharks tonight, who absolutely trunk-f*ckedthe Red Wings the other night. That was such a savage beating, I am surprised it didnt lead to an A2Y Glossary entry.

And so it begins....

2007-01-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

How about these gems...

"We're anxious to see what kind of defense they play to match up with all of us on the field, because there's gonna be a lot of speed and playmaking ability out there," he said. We personally don't think they can stop us, but I know they feel they do, so we gonna see if they step up to the challenge with all that speed and playmaking."

"I really feel like they haven't seen people like us,"

"Guys down here in the South that move as well as we do, are as fast and athletic as we are, they'll get a pretty good taste of it on the 8th."

"You really can't simulate our team speed and our athleticism."

"Hopefully it will catch them by surprise and we just kind of shock them,"

It's quotes like this that really dont make the whole "underdog" thing work for the Florida Gators. Yet, they seem to play "dis-respect" card at the drop of a hat. I am going to be totally honest here. I do not think that an analyst would think that this game would be close if the Buckeyes had played a few more games after November 18th (outside of the obvious attempts to hype up a game that needs absolutely no hype). I am starting to think that people are forgetting how good the Buckeyes have really been this season. If anyone is taking the UM game as a litmus test for the BCS game, they are going to be sorely mistaken. Dont be fooled by the performance that UM had against USC. They had a great front seven..AND..had an offense with both a passing game and running game. This is not something that UF can claim on its best day, unless a Tebow rush counts for double these days.

Maybe we can get some testimonials from the Hurricanes on Northern Speed...or maybe we can just go ask the other SEC teams that lost to Big10 Teams on New Year's Day.

Mark it down...if UF goes down in this game, the SEC myth will be over...and there will be much rejoicing....YAY!

Mini-Rant...

"el fin"

Thoughts on UM for next year...

2007-01-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

I will not pile on the UM haters club for 2006...there is plenty of time for me to jump back on to the wagon next fall...

Obviously, I am not a Michigan fan.

However, I am one of those guys that will root for the conference, during the bowl season and OOC games.

I had heard that the radio stations in Detroit were absolutely ripping Henne for his performance in the Rose yesterday. First of all, I am a Henne supporter. I think that he is a good quarterback, brought along in the patented UM-Loeffler QB system, which is to recruit statuesque quarterbacks and make sure that any athleticism that they may have is rendered useless by schemes...and grooming. I ask UM fans this question...seriously...This is not the mid-80s or mid-90s anymore. Do you think that this QB style is really helping UM make strides anymore? The last two athletic QBs that UM has had on it's roster played 3rd base for the Clippers and the other transferred after Henne earned the starting position as a true frosh.

With that being said...
Chad Henne can read a defense if he has time...and he can make all of the throws on the field. Here is where things get ugly...

College football is about gameplanning and halftime adjustments, which UM failed miserably at both of them in Pasadena. Teams that are able to accomplish these facets better than it's opponents are most likely to win games when competing against an evenly matched opponent (duh..). I think that Debord and Lloyd Carr need to take a good look at the piss-poor effort put into the game plan that was created for the USC defense. If anyone on the UM staff thought that the OSU gameplan was going to work against USC, they need to have their head examined. OSU is a team that employs a rush-3 or 4 without blitzing and will attempt to contain, contain, contain. OSU was able to get some pressure on Henne (4 sacks), but Henne had time to sit in the pocket and was able to make some plays against the OSU secondary. However, USC took a different approach and blitzed almost every down against UM, which really took Henne out of his rhythm, until it was too late.

Where were the adjustments at halftime? Where were the quick slants? Why is the waggle and the play-action the only pass plays that UM knows how to run? Why hasn't Manningham been learning another move besides his "double-move" technique, during the break? Does Henne really need to take a seven step drop for each passing play? I know that UM hasnt had a lot of game where they have had a lot of pressure on the QB, but the quick passing (3-step drops, etc) game should be a part of base packages. Maybe I am missing something, but it doesnt seem that UM utilizes this type of attack in it's offense.

I think that some UM fans might think that I am bashing here...I am not. This is constructive criticism from a football fan, first and foremost. There are times that a coaching staff will need to adjust its scheme to the tempo of the game and actually consider trying something different. The OSU offense has evolved around its personnel over the last 4 years, this evolution has changed from a pro-style run first - play-action style, which UM still employs, to a spread-based pro-style offense.

I am not saying that UM should run the spread, but the results of the last 4 years for UM in its games with OSU and bowl games is indicative of a stale "played-out" style of football that UM just doesnt seem to want to let go. This might be crazy-talk here, but what about maybe...just maybe...putting Henne in the shotgun to give him an extra couple of seconds to survey the field. The guy has a cannon for an arm and can throw any pass on the field. Shouldn't UM base it's gameplans on the player that has gotten better and better this entire year? No offense to the M. Hart backers out there, but Henne is the key to next year's success for UM...not Hart. With Arrington and Manningham coming back with an adequate slot-receiver, the passing game for UM ought to be deadly. Hart should be a compliment to the passing game....not the basis for the offense. I think that Hart is a good back, but he is not a gamebreaker. Hell...I would take Pittman over Hart as a complete running back. Pittman is not going to get caught when he is in the open field and I know that you cannot say that about Hart. Gamebreakers for UM are in the receiving corps and it will be up to Lloyd and Debord to get the ball into the hands of these guys next season. Hart is important, but he is not the team.

As for the Rose Bowl..."Wha' Happened?"

No Pressure on Booty = Dead Meat

Top 5 for Pre-Season 2007? Not sure...I dont think that anyone is sure about where UM is going to be next season. There will be a lot of soul searching in Ann Arbor this offseason.

Week #2 - DCfW Song of the Week

2007-01-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

A good start with DJ Shadow from last week. This week we go in a different direction.

Grandaddy. A now "broken-up" band put out some great music in it's existence. In the Columbus-area, you have been able to hear a CD101 Big Room acoustic presentation of the band's single "Now It's On." Today, DCfW presents you a selection from the band's second album, which happens to be my wife's favorite song...seriously folks.

Artist: Grandaddy
Title: Crystal Lake
Album: The Sophtware Slump (Buy the Album here)

Let me know what you think and any suggestions that you may have for next week's contribution.

Herringbone

**Dont be a dick..dont download..this is for evaluation purposes only!

UPDATE: There is an issue with Firefox autoplaying the SotW, which is totally uncool. Any suggestions (like another embedded player)? Let me know...yo...

DCfW Post of the Day

2006-12-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

Compliments of the Ozone...

Halftime Show: Meyer says Leak is just as good as Troy when Leak is on his game..........Agree? * - UW AREA FAN
Oh, I'm buying a load of that. I bet I can bottle it and sell it to crazy people. - Swinginforthefences

I dont really want to talk about it - Coney Island 7 - City BBQ 4

2006-12-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

A glimmer of hope...dashed....

Turning point of the game(from my totally homer-tastic viewpoint) was non-call against Draper when he rode Duvie into the boards face first. I am not sure why it wasnt called, but it was a penalty. Was it intentional? Nope, but it was still a penalty. A penalty which would have given the CBJ a two-man advantage for over a minute. It was a disappointing non-call compared to the penalty that gave the Red Wings it's PP goal to take the lead. I am not saying it wasnt a penalty, but...let's just leave it at that...

The rest of the goals that the Red Wings scored were gravy. Once the Lang goal was scored, it was pretty much over.

Congrats the Wings and the Subway Fans that, for some gawd awful reason, still exist in the '614'...but like I said...I dont really want to talk about it.

Peace

Herringbone

PS. I havent had a City BBQ Brisket sandwich in almost 5 months...send to Seattle...stat.

PSS. Rivalry? Not enough hate...maybe if Draper smashed Duvie's face into the boards...something is going to happen in a game between these two in the near future. That will be awesome when the CBJ moves over to the Eastern Conference (I am looking at you Gary...jerk)

Cheesy DCfW New Year’s Big11 Fan Expectations for 2007

2006-12-28T15:30:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when you make those hollow resolutions that you wont eat like you have a feedbag strapped to your face...or your visits with Vietnamese prostitutes will lessen in frequency below your visits to Airport Spas.

At the DCfW, instead of resolutions...we like to set some expecations for the 2007 season (Yeah, I know...2006 season isnt really over yet, but bear with me here.)

So let us run through 2007 Football Festivus Expectations for the BigTeleven...

Not to fall into the trap of believing that Zook’s recruiting prowess will equate to wins (Ask these guys any queries you may have….EDSBS)

Not to allow visiting fans to take over stadium, since schools like OSU and UM seem to treat this as a pseudo home game every other year. Enjoy Lewis, Fisher, and Hardy. They will be will be a fantastic combo next season.

Prepare for letdown of losing coach to the Steelers…and get ready for a return to the days of pre-Banks/Tate Iowa. Well, it seems like you guys had some practice this year.

Not to get to overzealous about Ron English, as he will actually have to “coach up” his players in 2007. However, the offense should be “fant-abulous.”

Prepare to have a team that doesn’t implode at game six (or sooner) on the schedule each year. A pre-emptive welcome back to consistent Big10 competitiveness from the rest of us.

New Quarterback…Running game in shambles…There is always hockey..and when is that stadium construction starting?

Bacher and Sutton will be efficient next year…and the defense will most likely be efficiently bad.

Welcome to the world of platooning QBs…crap….

Welcome to the world of platooning QBs….yay….

QB will throw for 50,000 yards…defense will give up 50,001 yards

Hello 3 yards and a Cloud of Dust…and House of Pain…

DCfW - Post(s) of the Day

2006-12-27T10:37:00.000-08:00

Compliments of the Ozone

Florida defense eager to line up against Heisman-winner Smith - KG [13:00:39 12/27/06] (4)

Yep-I'm eager for a night with Brittany Spears. In both cases, the excitement will last two minutes. - Buckcyrus [13:17:29 12/27/06] (0)

DCfW - Song of the Week - #1

2006-12-27T00:35:00.000-08:00

A new feature on the DCfW....going back into the music vault at the DCfW Headquarters...

I will try and feature at least one song a week from "way back when" or may be a newer band

You never can tell...

So I want to start this party with a great song that you may have never heard of...

Artist: DJ Shadow
Title: The Number Song
Album: Endtroducing (Buy the Album here) ...more history on this great album here (Wiki-Style)

Let me know what you think and any suggestions that you may have.

Herringbone

**Dont be a dick..dont download..this is for evaluation purposes only!

Columbus 5 - Chowda 4 OT

2006-12-26T22:55:00.000-08:00

Talk about a night and day scenario with this team....

Play hard on Friday night....get killed on Saturday night...play "so-so" for two periods and absolutely dominate play in the 3rd period last night against the Bruins.

I dont know what Hitchcock said to the team in the 2nd intermission, but that was one of the best periods of hockey that I have seen the CBJ play in a long time. While some of this may have been Boston going into a defensive shell, the CBJ definitely carried the play and the late 3rd period make-up calls for the two-man advantage given to Boston in the 2nd period were due to a lot of hard work and players crashing the net. Still, my only complaint is the lack of physical play near the net and in the corners...with the exception of Klesla, who is turning into a wrecking ball on the blueline. Nobody gets a free pass in the corners when they are going in there with Rusty, which is nice.

Slapshots...

Rick Nash probably played one of his best games this season and he didnt even score a goal. He made the biggest play of the night on the penalty kill in the 1st leading to a shorty by Fedorov, which was the first of his two goals. He was a monster in front of the net and almost won the game himself in the OT period with a fantastic individual effort driving hard towards the net. Hitch putting him on the penalty kill is just a great...fan-nificent coaching move. Teams have to worry about him and Fedorov going the other way if they get careless with puck.

Fedorov....skating like he is 27 years old. He is slowly but surely building up his campaign for a Selke-ish year. Man-crush status is being approached, as Sergei is starting to look more and more like the Fedorov that was dominating play in the Winged Wheel a few years back.

Modin = Stud. This guy was a machine in the corners...even against Chara. I dont recall seeing Freddy lose a battle down low the entire night.

Chimera. I am not sure if he has been reading the blog (Cant say that I would blame him), but he sure has shaked off any remnants of that whole "not going strong to the net anymore" problem. Sweet backhand on the first CBJ goal which came from...

Dan Fritsche. Is there a player that has benefitted more since Hithcock has taken over this team? Dan skates hard all of the time and gets rewarded with ice time. Now, he is starting to show off some of his offensive abilities in the corners and utilizing his speed to beat people to pucks all over the ice.

Hainsey..."uber-suxor" is granted a reprieve for tonight's performance. His offensive game is never an issue for the DCfW...it is his deadful defensive posture that makes me want to "stab stab stab stab myself in the stabby places."

Vyborny. Player of the Game. Two sweet vintage Vyborny goals. Showing off all of the patience that the CBJ fans have been accustomed to over the last 6 years. Man, I hope this team makes the playoffs soon, because this guy deserves it.

Norrena. Was barely noticed tonight, which is a good thing. Really only had to make one big save in the 3rd period, which stemmed from an odd-man rush...due to the defense pinching in hopes to tying the game.

Brule...glad he is getting ice time...but he needs to create some more offense...he is not a mucker or a grinder like his linemate...

Shelley. It has been stated over and over again. His time in C-bus is numbered. I love the guy, but we need more speed on that line to keep up with Brule (ie Picard). With that being said, Shelley actually had a decent game tonight with some strong shifts and prolonged cycling down in the Bruin end.

Blogosphere...

A2Y made a nice post with the potential rivalry that is just waiting to happen between the CBJ and Detroit. By the way my comment holds true in tonight's game as well...Patrice Bergeron has the same approach in his game as Datsyuk Zetterberg...take the damn roughing penalty and watch him keep his head up the next time he is coming into the zone. Pussy...

Love this quote from the IwoCPO when describing the potential of the rivalry and the CBJ fans..."one with fans and bloggers who glory in your sorrow"...This is so true I can feel the maltby-esque hatred running through my veins. Hey IWO...Let us know when you might need to buy another defenseman before the trade deadline. We just got Derrick Walser back from the Hurricanes for a bag of pucks and a few rolls of tape. Maybe he can be the Jamie Macoun (OSU Alum) for this year's Red Wing team. By the way, when is the Jamie Macoun Career Retrospect coming up on A2Y?

Oh yeah...I updated the Blogroll to A2Y's somewhat recent move to Kukla's...apologies, mate.

Death Cab Updates

BCS Championship Updates coming soon. SEC fans are so fast that they may have my posts read before I have finished them, but only if they are reading them below the Mason-Dixon Line. I am not sure that they know where this is located, but someday one of the teams in this conference will travel up north to play a game where there is actual football being played...not southern weekend "combines" with a couple of extra footballs being thrown around.

New DCfW Feature - Song of the Week. I am still working on this one, but I am trying to get some of these streams to work correctly. I dont feel like dealing with the legal mumbo jumbo, but would like to pass along some good music that is not normally on the airwaves....at all....or anymore.

Also planning on making some aesthetic changes to the blog...but may need some help with some grpahics and HTML on the Blogger...any assistance from the OSU or CBJ brethren would be appreciated.

Peace and Happy Holidays

Herringbone

Team from the Land of the Dying Economy 5 - Columbus 0

2006-12-21T10:54:00.001-08:00

I really dont want to write about this game. I am terribly vexed at this point.

All of the CBJ Faithful knew it was coming. A crisp Detroit team ready to offer up some retirbution for its poor showing in Nationwide a few night ago....and the CBJ taking with minimal lubrication....

Check out the write-up from the Truth Serum at the EOB.....

Since I dont feel like doing an entire write-up on the game...here is my comment to Truth Serum's review.....

Hainsey….my arch nemesis…his new name is “uber-suxor.” I have seen C Leaguers in the Chiller league play with more intensity than that guy

The thing with Detroit is that they are all about spacing and puck possession (duh…like you didnt already know that). However, when the playoffs come around the same thing always happens…they suck. Why? Because no one gets a free pass in the playoffs…every time somebody has the puck they are checked (on most occasions with a little more angst). Detroit is always going to get it’s offensive chances with it’s style of play, but more often than not they are not willing to pay the price outside of Holmstrom (Datsyuk is a major “sally” come playoff time..ask A2Y about his past playoff disappearring acts). There were only a few players last night that played with some zest and anger…Fritsche, Chimera, Klesla, Vyborny, Fedorov, and even Zherdev. They took the body or chased with maximum effort every time they had the puck. Notice I only named one d-man in that list…that is the problem.

I keep saying this over and over when I do post on my site. It is worth the penalty to absolutely lay out a Datsyuk or Zetterberg when they come in the zone with their head down or across the middle just to put the thought in their head that they might get killed coming into the zone in that manner. Instead, the CBJ sits back on it’s heels and waits for the red wing players to move the puck around and give them space to pick apart the defense. I know that this ia bit of barbaric behavior being promoted, but (as much as I cant stand the guy) Tie Domi used to do this all of the time for the Leafs (gawd I hate the Leafs) and it would change the flow of the game…sometimes it works…sometimes it doesnt, but the CBJ’s past history against the Wings suggests that it may be time to try something new…IMHO

To sum up this game from last night….Maltby scored…and he couldnt score with $500 in his pocket at an airport message parlor this year.

I know that the CBJ isnt the most physical team in the league, but I am sure that Hitch will probably make some changes in the near future to help that….

Peace Herringbone

Glad I got that out of my system....back to regularly scheduled programming...

***UPDATE***

MotSaG gives us this little postgame ditty from Hasek , which should be on the bulletin board for next week's matchup. It better be...and somebody better read it to Ron Hainsey...

"We know we're a better team,'' he said. "And if you want to be a contender, a top team in the NHL, you can't lose two games in a row to a team like Columbus.''

Stay Classy Dominator...Nice to see that the Red Wing class hasnt escaped you from your last stint in Detroit.

Michigan Marketing Campaign...Renames Stadium...

2006-12-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

(HT: kellogg @ Ozone)

5 Out of 6…Not Too Shabby

2006-12-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

We are Upright...Bitches!!

After watching most of the last 6 Bluejacket games, I came to the realization on a couple of important factors:

1. The honeymoon period for Hitch and the players is over.
2. The CBJ is still playing great hockey.

These two points mean a great deal to the future of this team. Not only have the players bought into the “swampland” system that Hitchcock is selling, but they are thriving in it. The team had an opportunity for two points last night in Phoenix in a game that they had no business of even coming within 3 goals of the Yotes…let alone a chance to win..

A great NBA ambassador once said that “The Ball Don’t Lie” in reference to a bad foul and the subsequent free throw misses of an opposing player. I think that anyone that watched the CBJ-Phoenix game last night could say that “the puck dont lie” either.” Towards the end of the second period last night, Coyotes defenseman Keith Ballard decided that he wanted to “look for some change” next to the CBJ bench with the puck at this feet. Dan Fritsche put a shoulder into him and the melee ensued. Somehow CBJ defenseman Tollefson takes a bare-knuckle punch right in the mouth during the scrum, but Dan Fritsche is the only person that gets a penalty FOR A CLEAN HIT. For anyone planning on using the “he was in a vulnerable position” card on me, then I want to understand how any of Scott Steven’s hits in the past were not penalized. Regardless, less than a minute into the resulting Phoenix power play, the CBJ score a “shorty” to tie the game at four. Justice is served…anyways…

FU Koharski you ‘effing scrub. You make Kerry Fraser seems like a blessing.

Notes:

Wait for it…Wait for it…Yeah, Koharski just called Vyborny for another ticky-tack hook…

Remember that stuff in my last CBJ post (which would have been around October with my uber-fresh posting frequency) about Sergei Fedorov’s play. It keeps getting better and better. He is really starting to look like the dominant player that he was in the late 90’s, which is magnifi-tastic for us CBJ fans.

Definitely missed Foote last night on the Blueline. With the Phoenix style of play, his toughness and grit in the corners would have been effective against the vertically and physically challenged line headed by Mike Comrie. Comrie is a lot like Daniel Briere, but Comrie has a vagina. Briere is tough as nails. Do you think Phoenix would still like to have him on the roster?

Good news on the injury front. Duvie looks like he will be back in the near future.. According to Arace, he will be skating in a full practice today.

Nash...thank you for finally starting to realize that you can play defense and still dominate in your ricknash-ish way around the net.

Lloyd the BCS Elf

2006-12-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Tis the Season...Dance Mothertrucker Dance!!!

HT: Ozone Forum...If someone knows the person that created this wonderful piece of media, email me...pronto.

Backhanded Compliments...At least we have crayon "Spell Checking" up North

2006-12-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

The boys of EDSBS decided to pay homage to the uber greatest (non-suxor) team ever...

Which somehow led to the joke that Ohioans sound like every person that lives in Hillsborough County (Buccaneer fans like their steaks sizzlin' with side dishes of Nitrous and Nickelback)...but I digress...

Blast you Comcast DVR....

2006-12-06T21:34:00.000-08:00

I wasnt able to watch the CBJ game last night, but I am just as happy as MT with the victory. I did get to see the 3rd period and the team looks like it is competing and winning physical battles in the corners. Norrena is play stellar in goal ( or godmode-ish), which is nice. I hope Leclaire is watching and learning from him, becuase his team will need him this year.

Looks like the team is ready to buy into Hitch's system, but will Dougy be ready to fall into line? Drew's new contributor, Truth Serum, throws his two cents into the ring

Onward to St. Louis and the fighting Mickelsons (...unabashed A2Y Glossary Reference)

Gary Danielson...oh geesh...

2006-12-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

Great Quotes (by "great" I mean crap-tastic)....from Gary Danielson in his interview with Detroit SportsTalk WXYT 1270AM...(HT Brian) defending his comments during the SEC Championship game...

"I figure that I had to catch up with ESPN banging the drum for the Big10 this year, since they had a two month head start."

Yeah...Because CBS is has been playing "yucky cookie" with the PAC-10, Big10, Big12, and ND this year. These conferences are an afterthought on any CBS SEC broadcast.

"I think it is very shortminded to think that the best two teams in the country were from the Big10 this year."

Why? We get to hear about how the SEC is the nest conference every year...even when a supposed powerhouse Auburn team gets it's arse handed to it on NewYear's Day last year to a Big10 third place Wisconsin team.

"I dont think that Big10 minded when ESPN had the countdown clock for the game a month before it occurred."

Hey dickface...guess where the countdown clock started? That's right jerkhead...CBS Sportsline.

"My drum was banging for college football."

Gary, kudos to you. You were a philanthropist for college football fans all over the country. I am not even a UM fan and that was a ridiculous statement.

"Best conference (SEC),according to the polls, doesnt have a chance to be represented in the BCS narional championship game."

Gary. How do you know it is the best conference? I can look at statistics, but considering that the teams in this conference never travel above the Mason-Dixon line to play a game, while other schools are playing decent out of conference schools. How do you know it is the best conference? Gary says that he cant tell us the best two teams, so how can you state that the SEC is the best conference?

This guy has ambitions to be a Jefferson Pilot announcer and is approaching the credibility level of the Iraqi Information Officer.

Jerkhead...Gosh...I dont agree with Brian too often, but Gary's 4th quarter diatribe in the SECCG was an infomercial of Tony Robbins stature, and was awfully pathetic.

"If the uniforms on the OSU Michigan game were WV and Louisville, there would be calls of no defense in the league. "

Gary. Why would you say that? When we can watch about every SEC game this year and ask where the offenses are in the SEC? The "SEC defenses are so magnifi-tastic" argument is getting stale. All of QBs in that league are garbage (Russell has the consistency of freshman QB, Leak looks worse than Henne under pressure, Cox is a slower version of Drew Tate, Ainge is the Big10 equivalent of /*insert name of any Purdue QB here sans Drew Brees*/. I could go on, but there is no need. This conference is all about defense...by default. There isnt a competent offense in the bunch, but we supposed to believe that the best football is being played in this conference. Get real. Auburn and Tennessee are the exceptions to this standard SEC scheduling practice, but the rest of the conference OOC scheduling is a joke. I know that it is being stated that the conference has too much competition internally to schedule tough OOC games, but when you schedule The Citadel and Western Carolina you will need to be prepared to be scrutizined. For my friends down south, small college or mid-major football in the north (ie Cincinnati, MAC schools) is a lot more competitive than small school football in the south (Western/Eastern Carolina,etc). If you dont believe it, tell me a small school in the south is going to beat Rutgers this year. Thanks for playing.

"The SEC coaches are irate, because they have to play in a conference championship game."

You signed up for it...deal with it. Blame Slive...not the other coaches and conferences. When the SWAC dissolved, there was no need to grab teams and make a supposed "super-conference" to stroke the dilusional egos of the people in the south that already believe that northern football players can barely walk let alone play football with any speed whatsoever (Apologies in advance to JL, ST, and TL).

Conclusion...
All in all...Gary Danielson looks like any idiot in most circles around the country right now(obviously)...with the exception of a few states in the SE corner of the country.

Florida's Worst Nightmare..and a heckuva Heisman Campaign Video

2006-12-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

HT: HeismanPundit and YouTube(Timbuck2)

Calling a Spade...Well....a Spade...

2006-12-01T23:59:00.000-08:00

I tend to read Brian's "Upon Further Reviews" over at MGoBlog. They are normally pretty fair evaluations for UM's team performance on Offense and Defense. However, I see that Brian has been sipping some of the excuse "Kool-Aid", which has made its way around the message boards and the blogs over the last two weeks. Here is Brian referencing the field conditions at Ohio Stadium and it's possible effects on the UM offensive performance against OSU.

This will no doubt lead to an assertion that "both teams played on the same
field," but if Michigan installed a field that randomly shot white-clad
players in the kneecap you would agree that this is not a situation that
impacts both teams equally, yes?

Brian. I just wanted let you know that OSU looked into that a while ago. If OSU would have been able to install it, Desmond Howard would be using a wheelchair ramp to get onto the College Gameday set.

Here are some other gems....

Michigan has guys who rely on sharp cuts more often. Manningham's a double move guy. Breaston's entire football usefulness is built around his ability to
change direction faster than anyone else. Hart is a low-to-the-ground, compact
back in a running game that demands wild changes of direction fairly regularly.
Meanwhile, Pittman and Wells are more north-south guys and Ginn just runs
straight past people.
Overall, far more Michigan players ended up face down on the turf than Ohio State players, and though I gave the turf theory little credence in the immediate aftermath of the game I have to say that on replay there's about 8-10 instances where a Michigan player's inability to plant is relevant and maybe 1-2 similar plays for OSU.

The Aftermath...

Geesh...I guess the excuse we have been waiting to surface has finally reached its critical mass. For the love of all things holy, quit whining. I am sure that when Ted Ginn gets the ball he just runs in a straight line. Yeah...he nevers jukes or cuts or anything like that...whatev.
I might be mistaken, but UM had this same problem a few years back. I wonder if all of the teams that they played against would like to use the field as an excuse for their losses.
I also realize that UM had a few minor slips and one major slip (Manningham on the fly). Now you can blame the field one time, but if he is cuttting so hard...he needs to make an adjustment.
I dont know let's see. *Mario's Brain Processing after slipping on hard cut* Maybe I should keep cutting this hard, because the OSU DBs apparently have stalactites for feet and they wont slip. WTF. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that he was getting his arse physically handed to him on every play in the second half by Jenkins...not a shoddy field that he could have cut on if adjustments were made.
Dont ever use the words "Steve Breaston" and "speed" in the same sentence. He may have BEEN able to cut and utilize some speed in the past, but I think he is still finishing up his punt return against Indiana.
As far as slipping 8-10 versus 1-2...let's just call that a wash with some of the terrible penalties that were called on Jenkins and O'Neal. Alright? Or...maybe we can trade one of the biggest slips (Springs in 1996) in the OSU-UM series history for 10 of them.

In regards to rematches, excuses, theories, and such...

I have heard some good ones over the last few weeks in general...

John Q UM Fan: "Man...we just ran out of time."

Herringbone response: More time? You want more time to have the OSU offense get to 700 yards total offense and maybe 60 points?

John Q UM Fan: "A rematch...on a neutral field, we win...no doubt."

Herringbone response: In 1993, 1995, 1996, & 1997, a rematch..on a neutral field, we win...no doubt. You guys can play this game as well....2002...2004. It's fun to speculate. Feel fortunate that there is even a possibility to play OSU again, because there have been plenty of years in this series where these types of statements could be made with regularity

In Conclusion...

It's official. I am done talking about this game. I am sure there will be much rejoicing. The better team won...no matter how anyone wants to spin it.

Update...

sportsMonkey chimes in from the MotSaG. Sounds like a familiar topic.

CBJ versus Calgary - A story told many times over....

2006-12-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

The CBJ lost again....surprising...not really.

I was hoping that I would not have to pull out this pic again...damn you Rick Nash...you are playing like a fat veteran...somewhat 2005 Tkachuk-ish, if you will.

The CBJ looked solid for 2 periods...too bad the games are three periods. Maybe I can utilize a good UM fan excuse, like "they just ran out of time." Nah...that would just be silly.

Observations...

Fedorov with another great game
Leclaire with another great game. I cant fault him for that second goal, but it just seems that the CBJ are not going to get one of these reviewed plays in their direction anytime soon. Dont get me wrong. The goal should have counted, but the guy/gal with their finger on the red light trigger should have it broken off.
Rick Nash is slowly but surely turning into John LeClair. Unfortunately, he looks like the John LeClair that just cleared waivers. Skate Rick...EFFING SKATE!
Where are you David Vyborny? A healthy scratch? Your team needs you to contribute...in the worst way.
Brule, Picard, Fritsche, Malhotra, & Tollefson. Keep doing what your doing...Hitch will keep playing you. Hopefully, without...
Jody Shelley gives all beer leaguers hope. Had a wide open net in the first, which he had enough time to put it in twice. Oh...Jody...

I cant argue that the team played hard, but the beginning of the 3rd period was atrocious. Sad part about it was that they knew it was coming...*tears and anger*

Edmonton tomorrow night.

Cant wait to see another Leclaire performance wasted
Cant wait to see another goal by Ryan Smythe that will make me want to jab an unsharpened pencil into my temple
Cant wait to see another set of ridiculously "not even close" set of missed checks by Hainsey
Cant wait to see Jody Shelley lumber up and down the ice, while the rest of his line is 40-50ft in front of him...waiting to get into the offensive zone.

Blast you CBJ....

CBJ - Vancouver...Effing Naslund and the Chimera "Around the Net" Paradigm

2006-11-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

Hey guess what!

The CBJ got shutout again. YAY!!!

The CBJ played the Canucks. You know what that means...Naslund scored a goal, and ultimately that means a CBJ loss.

Positives

Sergei Fedorov is playing his best hockey as a Bluejacket. His skating is strong and he is making plays...too bad the CBJ doesnt have a finishers. I'm looking at you Rick Nash.

Another fantastic Pascal Leclaire effort...wasted.

The defense seems to be making better outlet passes.

Zherdev is playing better...and Fedorov has a lot to do with that.

Gilbert Brule is getting more and more playing time...he will breakout this season...no doubt. Thank goodness Hitchcock is willing to play him on a line that doesnt include Jody Shelley.

Negatives

Rick Nash...

Modin's Injury

Hainsey's Non-Existent Mean Streak

Chimera (See Below)

The Chimera Paradigm

I have been watching Chimera pretty closely this season and last. He is a heckuva a skater and has great size to absolutely level people. However, I have noticed that his line with Malhotra has not been nearly as productive this year, as compared to last season. After watching the last few games, I have noticed that Chimera doesnt drive to the net this season. He is simply skating hard on the outside and travelling around the net in hopes of finding a cutter on the backside. However, Chimera will normally keep skating around to the high boards and will not attempt to dump back down Jason's game is not a finesse game. I know that there are times that going around the net will draw some attention and will have some collapsing players on the opposition, which will open up some passing lanes. However, once the skater gets to the half-boards, a decision needs to be made by the skater. Either curl to the middle, dump back to the corner, or slow down and draw the high slot defender for a pass to the point. Generally, Chimera has been going around the net without a purpose or a plan, so to speak.

The main point to these observations is that the CBJ's second half success last season was predicated by the stellar play of the Chimera-Malhotra

Note to Jason: Please drive to the net and throw the damn puckon the net. Malhotra and Fritsche are waiting for rebounds...seriously.

OSU fares well against the UNC "Travelling Hansbroughs"

2006-11-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

"Hey Tyler, I'll see you in March"

Game Thoughts...

OSU shoots well in the first half...not surprisiing.

During the first half, T. Hansbrough shows why he is a great player in the middle. T. Hansbrough also shows us something we havent seen in a long time, the old-school Robert Parrish/Lew Alcindor "lazy" pivot foot. Now, I understand why Dookies cant stand the guy.

OSU is building a house in the beginning of the second half...bricks galore.

UNC goes on a 12-2 run (expected).

Ivan Harris turns into Vinnie Johnson for about 5 minutes.

Ivan Harris turns into Manute Bol for about 3 minutes.

Ron Lewis shows that UNC still does know the first thing about playing defense, even with Gigantor Hansbrough and Wright on the blocks....unless Mike Conley is driving to the hoop.

T. Hansbrough travels 6 times in the second half...surprisingly..none of them are called.

These travels lead to 8 UNC points.

If Oden plays in this game, Hansbrough scores 10 at the most...probably travels at least 4 more times without it being called. OSU probably wins by 10+.

Ron Lewis just scored another lay-up.

Conley needs to gain an understanding of the "sense of urgency" concept.

I guess OSU was overhyped...*sarcasm font = ON*. This team is damn good and they played strong defense, until "raging Hansbrough" was able to somehow not commit a foul in the second half...and basically throw his weight around as he pleased.

If any UNC fans read this post, I think that Hansbrough is a great player, but he was able to get a away with murder down low...some of it was warranted, but dont tell me was playing great defense in the second half. He was watching players go right by him on the drives to the basket. He probably fouled Conley on 3 separate occasions, which were never close to being called.

Good times coming for OSU BB fans. It looks like we will be going back into an era similar to the Jimmy Jackson days, which is a good thing.

So when are we getting that Big10-ACC Challenge in Football?

On Notice - Michigan Hangover Edition

2006-11-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

CBJ has a new Coach

2006-11-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

If you thought "Hitch-Chicken", may you read Ndnation.com boards until your eyes bleed.

I hope things are looking up...any signs of life and I might consider removing the CBJ from the "You're Dead to Me" Board.

Running to a Re-match?

2006-11-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

The “Game” is over. An overhyped defense of underclassmen wearing Scarlet & Gray was overmatched. However, another more overhyped defense was on the field, which just happened to be wearing Maize and Blue.

Troy Smith…*in his best Pavel Bure voiceover*

“I make Michigan defenses look like Swiss Cheese.”

Quotable…Bo would be proud….

“Ohio State’s defense played good, but they’re not as good as people thought. We didn’t put enough points on the board. There’s nothing special about that
defense.”

- Mike Hart

This will be the first thing that goes up on the bulletin board, if there is a re-match. I would be willing to put money down now that Hart doesn’t get 75 yards the next time he plays OSU, if there is a rematch. Mike, we thought you were classy. I guess respecting your opponent isn’t a part of the Michigan Man’s credo these days. I would imagine that Troy Smith could have made a better case on which team’s defense was “less” special…

Leaning on the Big Play…

Lamar Woodley stated that it was big plays that would be corrected by UM’s defense, if there was a rematch. You know the kind of silly mistakes that equate to 2 huge running plays for touchdowns and then a dagger on a play-fake by Smith to cap the second quarter. Let’s take a closer look at how the UM defense gave up its yard and points to OSU…

1st Touchdown = “Sustained Drive” 14-Plays 69 Yards.
2nd Touchdown = “Big-Play” 52-Yard Touchdown Run (2-Play Drive)
3rd Touchdown = “Big Play” 39 Yard Touchdown Pass (4-Play Drive)
4th Touchdown = “Sustained Drive” 9-Plays 80 Yards
5th Touchdown = “Big Play” 56-Yard Touchdown Run (2-Play Drive)
6th Touchdown = “Sustained Drive” 11-Plays 83 Yards (w/Questionable PF Call)

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that not only did the UM defense “take it like a champ” with big plays, but they also caught the money shot in the eye with all of the sustained drives that Troy Smith and Company put up on the supposedly “vaunted” UM defense. I guess what I am trying to say is that it made “no” matter, which way the OSU offense scored. They scored whenever they wanted and absolutely dominated one of the “best” defenses in the country.

Leaning on the Turnover….and Penalties

UM had some fireworks of it’s own to start off the game by abusing Antonio Smith on the first drive, but without assistance from the “stripes” and poor OSU snapping (How in god’s creation do you snap the ball behind the left tackle? I didn’t think this was physically possible) this game is no closer than two touchdowns..

1st Touchdown = “Sustained Drive” 7-Plays 80 Yards
2nd Touchdown = “Big Play” 37-Yard Touchdown Pass (w/Questionable PI Call)
3rd Touchdown = “Sustained Drive” 5-Plays 60 Yards
Field Goal = “Turnover” - Rivas Donut Power (Branch Interception = Forced Turnover)
4th Touchdown = “Turnover” 1-Yard Touchdown Run (Fumble Recovery = Unforced Turnover)
5th Touchdown = “Sustained Drive” 11-Plays 81 Yards (w/Questionable PI Call)

Looking at the UM scoring drives, it was obvious that they have some firepower on the offensive side, but without the help of three questionable penalties (PI calls on Jenkins and O’Neal were absolutely ridiculous..and don’t get me started on the Splitler penalty…pathetic)…UM wouldn’t have even been in this game. Doesn’t it seem like OSU finds ways to get penalties called on them every year from the dust-laden section of the rule book. Last year, it was the defenseless player call against Indiana and this year…the hit of a center when he snaps the ball. Now, I understand if you hit the guy in the neck or take a cheap shot at him, but Spitler nudged his shoulder…and it should have never been called. OSU gets the ball without that awful call and there is no doubt that OSU goes for the jugular on that the defense. Do you have any doubts that OSU scores a touchdown on that drive as well?

Troy and his Trophy

This is a foregone conclusion. It doesnt even matter what Brady Quinn does against USC.

Handling a loss with class…

Each one of the OSU captains gave UM a sincere Tip o’ the Hat for a good game between two heated rivals, which is what we would have expected from these guys win or lose this year. This senior class has been special…seems like we say this every year.

As much ribbing as I like to give Chad Henne for his Lloyd Christmas look-a-like pictures and that he is “more smarter” this season, the guy was all class in his post-game interview. He played a good game and gave credit where it was due.

Mike Hart needs to take a note from Chad Henne on handling a loss with some class. I mean he has already done it three times now to OSU, and he finally had a good game against an OSU defense. I believe that there was some frustration on his part, but he did nothing but ensure that OSU will be all over his arse if there is a rematch.

Handling a win with class….

I let my UM brethren at the M-Zone tell you their tales of powdered donut dodging and other various classless acts that had been witnessed throughout the day. I am done trying to fight it. Scottish Soccer Hooligans have got nothing on us. I saw my fair share of idiots on campus, in Port Columbus on Sunday, and even in Sea-Tac on Thursday evening….and they were wearing both team’s colors. Apologies to Yost and Benny for the behavior issues…

I am sure that there will be millions of stories of ritual sacrifice and maximum carnage, which seems to be the MO of our fans win or lose. I am sure there will also be some exaggerating and some stories that are right on target.

Lloyd’s Calling…and Complaining…Again

Lloyd griping about the personal foul on Crable was to be expected. It was helmet-to-helmet…and TS might have already been out-of-bounds, and it doesnt matter if he was scrambling. He was in the throwing motion when he was smacked in the head. If the play would have been in the other direction, I don’t think Lloyd would have been complaining, but….this is Lloyd we are talking about here, and when has he lost and not complained about something. Lloyd should take some solace knowing that if he doesn’t get his two PI calls, his teams loses by double digits. He should also some take comfort in knowing that if that ridiculous defenseless center call doesn’t get pulled out of the doldrums, his team is down by 21-28 points going into halftime.

The Rematch?

UM is probably the second best team in the country…probably.

UM and its fans will tell you that they want a rematch. If you guys watch this game again, do you really want a rematch? Are you going to bet on Troy Smith having a bad game? He already trunk-f**ked the UM defense once this season. Any doubt that he wont do it again? Has the UM defense reached it’s peak? I see a lot of upperclassmen on the defensive side of the ball for UM, and they aren’t going to get much better in the next 50 days. Do you think that the OSU defense is going to get better in the 50 days? Do you think that the OSU staff will not utilize Mr. Hart’s slip-up to create some motivation for the next time these two teams meet up (whether it is January or next November?)?

OSU played one of its worst games from a penalty and turnover standpoint. What happens if Datish learns how to snap again? What happens if a non-Big Ten officiating crew is brought in to call the BCS game? Michigan lost a game where it got almost all of the calls and had three turnovers on OSU’s side of the field gift-wrapped for them…and they still lost.

So they can call for a rematch all that they want but the fact remains…they were given a golden opportunity to win and yet…the game was never really in doubt after the second quarter. On top of all of the mistakes….UM only led the game for 9 total minutes.

They only lost by three points, but it looks like that 500+ yards of offense wasn’t supposed to happen against the “English Majors.” Mike Hart needs to take a good look at his own defense that was shredded all day on Saturday, instead of ripping on the OSU defense that made stops when it needed to throughout the day.

Think about that while you are watching USC hammer Notre Dame next weekend…and then try and say that UM will provide a challenge to the OSU title hopes in Glendale.

Herringbone...

The CBJ...meh...ugh...One Down...One To Go

2006-11-15T00:25:00.000-08:00

Well...they finally held someone accountable. Gallant...Dead...

Was it the correct person? Probably, for the short-term, it was the correct person.

The Real Crapper in all of this...we could have had a couple of great coaches over the last few years, but Doug keeps breaking his d*ck off in the fans and season ticketholder arses with his crazy ideas of coaching competency (including himself behind the bench)...

Two guys that would have made things a lot better for the CBJ that we never even thought about...

- Bob Hartley - Thrasher fans dont know how great they have got it.
- Ted Nolan - Motivator and an ass-kicker...with a bit of a history that no one wants to talk about. Whatev...its all about results, baby!!

I am going to cry myself to sleep and hope that nightmares of Ken Hitchcock dont occur with regularity over the next few weeks. Damn You Doug....Damn You to Hell...

On-Notice - Michigan Week

2006-11-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

OK People....Quick Recap Here So Far This week...

2006-11-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

So...in case you havent noticed (and judging by my sitemeter stats, you havent), I havent posted for a little bit. Apologies, as I have been attempting to get shitpots of work done before the wife and I head out to Columbus on Thursday evening. It is not cheap to fly from Seattle to Columbus, so I have been putting in extra shifts to pay off our airfare.

Thank the good lord we dont have SE Michigan's economy out here. Otherwise, I would never be able to pay off these Delta tickets.

So where were we?

Let's see....there are a couple of games this week between OSU and UM.

The first game takes place this week, which includes all of the OSU Fans and Alumni versus the applicants and graduates of the UM School of Perpetual Bitching and Ironic Rhetoric, which just happens to be one of it's most popular colleges...second to only kinesiology. If kinesiology didnt exist at UM, there would be no athletic department.

When I look at where we stand this week, I see a few things that stick out like a sore thumb.

The Game within "The Game"

First Thing...(HT Double Deuce)...there is this little matter of a letter that some dipshit from the UM Student Association wrote to discuss the perils that involve a trip into Columbus for gameday. I have been notified that there were some inaccuracies and typos that were ignored before this correspondence was sent out. I am not sure if Sue Ecklund typed this motherfucker (yeah this week is making me cranky as well) in Wingdings font or if spellcheck wasnt part of the UM standard MS-Office licensing agreement, but I wanted to spend some time correcting a few of the most careless of errors on this letter.

We are sure that you are excited about this Saturday's football game versus Ohio State, and the possibility of capturing the Big Ten conference title and playing for the national championship.

For those of you traveling to Columbus, we invite you to kick off your Saturday by joining the Alumni Association, Michigan Student Assembly, Division of Student Affairs and other Michigan fans at a fun-filled True Blue Away-Game tailgate. You and your fellow fans can enjoy food, music, large-screen TVs and a variety of arcade games and activities before the game. The cost of student tickets is free with a valid U-M student ID. The tailgate is being held at the Fawcett Center, which is approximately 1/2 mile northwest of Ohio Stadium. The tailgate entrance will be located inside the Fawcett Center. There will be signs posted inside directing you to the Alumni Room and patio. Game-day parking is $10 per car.

We know that it can be uncomfortable being in an opposing team's environment, especially when the stakes are so high. We would like to offer a few suggestions in order to help you stay safe and have a positive experience this weekend:

--Try carpooling to the game; if possible, drive a car ~~with non- Michigan license plates.~~ and dont act like an arrogant prick that can do no wrong while travelling in a state where you are generally not welcome.
--Keep your Michigan gear to a minimum, or wait until you are inside the stadium to display it . especially if you have the constitution of a 6 year-old girl with a skinned knee.
--Stay with a group . and dont act like a bunch of arrogant pricks that can do no wrong while travelling in a state where you are generally not welcome.
--Know and obey the laws regarding alcohol use. , which includes drinking within your own personal limits and not succumbing to bouts of liquid courage on Lane Avenue
--If you are of legal age to drink, use alcohol in moderation. Stay in the blue. and dont act like an arrogant prick that can do no wrong while travelling in a state where you are generally not welcome.
--Stay low-key; don't draw unnecessary attention to yourself. and dont act like an arrogant prick that can do no wrong while travelling in a state where you are generally not welcome.
--If verbally harassed by opposing fans, don't take the bait. and dont act like an arrogant prick that can do no wrong while travelling in a state where you are generally not welcome.
--Avoid LANE AVENUE in Columbus. and dont act like an arrogant prick that can do no wrong while travelling in a state where you are generally not welcome.
--Ask fans and UM administrators to stop sending letters to newspapers and other people in hopes that things will get better.
--Act like a football fan...not an elitist.

If at any time you feel ~~unsafe~~ feel like you are in Detroit, you should call 9-1-1 for assistance. U-M campus police also will be available in Columbus to ~~support our fans~~ provide a shoulder to cry on when your feelings are hurt. You may call them with non-emergency concerns at (734) 216-****.

We look forward to a tremendous game on Saturday. Let's help the Wolverines win with spirit and class.

Go Blue!

Sue Eklund, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students
Steve Grafton, President, Alumni Association
Nicole Stallings, MSA President

Second Thing...
The Dispatch decided to print a letter a whiny UM fan wrote to the editor about their poor treatment in Columbus over the years. It was Pulitzer material. I laughed...I cried. It was a magnificent representation of the what the UM fan evolved into over the last 10-15 years...let's examine shall we?

I am not sure about anyone else, but I was at OSU from 93-98. I dont recall ever hearing about poor fan behavior until 2001-ish. Maybe this has to do with the fact that OSU had only won 2 games in five years against UM in that span and had knocked many of OSU national championship contenders out of the race in November for quite a few years, when UM's season were basically over at the end of August most seasons.

Do you think that they are looking for something to lean on now that UM's diminishing aura of invincibility, (directly correlated with the now apparent lack of self-imploding OSU football squads) seems to coincide with this increased level of sensitivity?

Or do you just wish that every UM fan who is whining, blogging, or playing message board hero about Columbus would heed the simple words below...

Simple...and to the point.

"The Game"

As for the game itself...this is the type of game where a program can turn itself into a dynasty...or can remain on the status quo. If OSU wins this game, UM is in deep trouble on many fronts. First, this is probably the best team that UM has fielded since 1997. They have a competent defense for a change, and, as an OSU fan, this makes you do a double take. UM loses this game and the wall around Ohio for recuits will get a little higher for Lloyd and Co., as well as the chances of HS players leaving Michigan increases to an even greater rate than is already occurring this year. There are serious long-term (duh on the short-term) ramifications on the outcome of this game.

Some of my SEC brethren think that OSU hasnt played anyone this year...they may be correct. I am not sure how the SOS between UM and OSU is so disparate. I guess Wisky really makes that much of difference this year. Good thing we dodged them..lol.

Regardless, I know that most people want a good close game. I really want a blowout for OSU. I want an OSU performance that is dominating on all fronts similar to 1998, where UM had a total of -6 yards rushing on the day. Do I think that this will happen? No, but I can be a dreamer.

However, from what I have heard from Chad Henne thinks that UM deserves this win. Well, "Deservin' has got nothing to do with it.."...if it did, OSU wouldnt have lost to UM 4 out of 5 years from 1995-2000.

At least UM is winning at something this week...

Let's not forget about the former players taking part in a yearly tradition like no other...

Current Standings

UM = 2 (Chris Perry; Marcus Ray = Garbage)

OSU = 1 (Thanks Kirk)

I understand that there are certain former players that just cant seem to keep their mouths shut, during the week of the game. You have your old "stand-by's" like Cato June...and Cato June (Hey Cato...did you see that? That was Maurice Hall beating you to the corner). Chris Perry brought some new flavor to the smack-talking...and by "flavor", I mean sounding a like a freaking moron. Chris is a great example of what the Kiniseology program really means to a fine educational institution, such as Michigan. Kudos to you Chris...

"Ain't no ifs, ands or buts about it. It's a blowout," said Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris Perry, a Michigan grad. "(Defensive tackle Alan) Branch is going to knock the stuffing out of - what's his name? - Troy Smith. He shouldn't even win the Heisman. He's not going to win his league or the national championship."

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has won four of the last five meetings with Michigan's Lloyd Carr. Perry even has an explanation for that trend.

"We all know what's going to happen. We're going to win it. It's been long overdue. Tressel's been cheating," he said, laughing in the Bengals locker room. "Hey, we're going to keep it real. There ain't nothing else to say."

All class Chris...that UM education is paying dividends my friend.

Chris Perry's ineffectiveness in the NFL is due to less time to wince with fake pain after each play.

If any of the fellow Buckeye-bloggers are tailgating this weekend, give me a hollar...will stop by with massive amounts of snobby Pacific Northwest Beer and tall tales of good weather and no preicipitation in the Puget Sound region.

Peace...

Heringbone...

Another Addition to the Greatest Blogroll Ever

2006-11-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

There are times when I tend to forget all the things that are going on around me...

I made an addition to the Blogroll last week and forgot to add somebody that I had been meaning to add for a while...so without further delay....

The POJO Dojo makes it's debut on the DCfW.

Apologies POJO-Risin' and welcome aboard...

Addition to the Mighty Blogroll

2006-11-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

Welcoming Andy to the Blogroll from My Casual Thoughts. He is pro-Buckeye, which lessens the sting of the Detroit Tigers hat in his "About Me" section of the blog.

Welcome aboard Andy...

DCfW - Illinois Preview

2006-11-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

Just to get you ready for this weekend...

You gotta love the DS....

I will be working this weekend, so I wont have any comments post-game...just like last weekend...good times.

BCS Smear Campaigns...you gotta love 'em.

2006-11-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

Notre Dame

Big East Fires a Shot Across the Bow

The SEC Returns Fire

CBJ Buzz

2006-11-02T23:37:00.000-08:00

Yeah...I watched the CBJ against the Avalanche...

It made me sad. I got to watch Rick Nash turnover the puck at the blueline (when he could have easily passed it another forward that was wide open), fall down on the ice, do a great snow angel on the blueline, watch some scrub for Colorado skate in alone on Pascal Leclaire. I also got to watch Pascal Leclaire leave a 2x2 foot space above his right shoulder that a one-armed midget could have scored on. Yeah...that was a momentum killer. It was nice to see Anson Carter and Modin contribute to the team. Hopefully, it will be a sign of things to come. Well, not the Nash thing, but the Modin/Carter thing was nice

Basically, I came to the following conclusion...

The CBJ are the Chicago Blackhawks with a TV Contract. Harsh? Yes. Truthful?...Becoming more of a truth everyday.

The next day I conversed with the man behind the plan at "The Hockey Report." It is crazy enough that the blogging community possesses the uncomfortable scenarios of reaching out to other blogs and trying to get other people to read their work. I have met some really good people, during the time that I have spent pulling together this blog, but I would have never imagined that I would run into an actual person from my past.

Well, lets just say that the purveyor of the Hockey Report was my roommate from my sophomore year at OSU. Small world, huh?

Yeah. I thought the same thing, but this is the guy that really got me back into hockey ( I used to play in Elyria when I was younger until I moved to Northwest Ohio). So check out his site...it is a great aggregator for hockey news and has war rooms already setup for the divisions...including the freakin central where our beloved CBJ are already sucking it up and making us think about next year....

Check out the Hockey Report when you get a chance...He is a Penguins fan, but dont hold it against him. Adam...its good to be back in the fold.

Peace Out...

Herringbone

On-Notice - Week #9

2006-11-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Siskel & Herringbone - At the Movies.....

2006-11-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well....

Just when you think that the stupidity level cannot sink any further...leave it to an idiot with a video camera to whip some people up into a frenzy.

The boys over at the M-Zone decided (in poor judgement) to post a video of OSU fan behavior on the day of the OSU-UM game in 2002. It was a great day in Columbus...and a sad day all in one.

Here is the video....

A now for some commentary...

Years of frustration of past Buckeye losses at the hands of UM had been exorcised. There was much rejoicing...and drinking.

There are few things in life that you can count on...College Football fans in the midwest drinking like it is their last day on earth, Garrett Rivas eating donuts at an alarming rate, a UM fan or alum pulling a class move you and telling you that have no class, an OSU fan not really caring what a UM fan has to say about their behavior, and other various statements of character flaws graciously stated between the two fanbases....

I watched the video...very stupid. I didnt like the UM fan getting a can thrown at them or getting jumped, but I am not sure the point of that video. Nothing like waiting 4 years to release a video "mostly" showing that us fans do the unthinkable....LITTER...

First thing is last....I am not excusing the poor fan behavior...at all.

I know that we have a littering problem in Columbus...and somewhat of a rioting problem. However, it takes an actual event for this to occur in our grand city. We could take a camera to Mount Elliott Ave or Mound Street in Detroit and it looks like this everyday (sans people enjoying life a little too much) without any events at all..let alone smashing 200,000 people into 9 city blocks.

Within the 6+ minutes of the video, there were two incidents that were displayed of UM fans getting harassed. I would think that if you spent an entire day in the hornet's nest (aka Columbus) that you could get more than two events. I mean...come on...we are the worst fans ever....to infinity. Instead, we got look at how the OSU fans litter on gameday. That is an efficient utilization of time, if I have ever seen one. Then again, I have my own blog, so time utilization isnt exactly a strong point for me either.

While the timing of this is a little curious, it seems that someone has been holding onto this nugget for a while and decided that now is a good time to show the world how OSU fans act on gameday. Like we didnt know that there are issues on Lane Avenue. Maybe we should all take a camera to the Golf Course in Ann Arbor next year when they are all frothy and havent won a big game (that means anything...I'm talking to you ND and MSU) against a rival in about 3 years...

Regardless, I thought about how we could spend some time in Ann Arbor with cameras to see how real Michigan Men and Women treat people....

Too bad we didnt have a camera when the UM students were on the field in 2003 spewing obscenities like it was an education requirement at the OSU parents that were waiting to get out of the stadium...classy

Too bad we didnt have a camera at any UM hockey game where acceptable fan behavior hasnt been seen in almost 20 years...

Too bad we didnt have a camera at any of the local grocery stores in Ann Arbor the days before a UM home game against OSU to see the actual students that put thought into the marshmallows that they are going to stuff and throw at OSU players and students at the stadium.

Too bad we didnt have a camera at the local Home Depot where UM fans get extra keys made for their Saturday keychains

Too bad the M-Zone didnt have a camera at this little ditty

Too bad that we didnt have a camera

Too bad...Too bad...

Too bad this video is a thumbs down....and an utter waste of time.

On Notice - Week #8

2006-10-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

CBJaded…again…

2006-10-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

FU...CBJ

You know I had a lot of reservations with moving to Seattle…being away from family, no more Buckeye games at the Shoe, moving away from my 2.25 friends.

Most of all, I thought that I would be devastated, as this was my first year that I did not have Bluejackets Season Tickets in old Section 213 Row G Seats 5&6. I mean, short of have the T-Shirt cannon never shoot anything to our section, and the single-game visit by the Pepsi girls (They always sent the ugly one…you know…the one that shouldn’t be a Pepsi girl..yeah…she was allocated to 213 each year)…I really thought I would miss it. The worst part is that we have sucked every year that I have been a season ticket holder.

However, after watching last night’s dismantling by the hands of an impressive San Jose Sharks team, I was glad that I wasn’t in Columbus. Happy, that I woudnt have to hear all of the excuses by Jeff Rimjob and the venerable GM DM. Glad that I wont have to hear the Wednesday call-in show on 1460 The Fan and listen how we have a good team and we are just in a funk.

This is the start of some candid commentary after watching the every game this season (with the exception of the Penguins game on Saturday).

I am going to skip games 1, 2 & 3 as they were not a true reflection of what is really going on with the CBJ this year. However, games 4, 5, & 6 will definitely generate some vitriol.

Over the last 3 games, the CBJ has looked lethargic. The team is not skating hard, the Blueliners have been deficient in basic hockey skill that should have been keened up in training camp, and the goaltending has actually been pretty good.

Forwards
The forwards (with the exception of 4 players – Malhotra, Chimera, Fedorov (Inj.), and Zherdev) have been worthless. Dumping pucks into the corner and NOT SKATING HARD to get them has been the most consistent activity by the forwards so far in the this short season. Modin and Carter tend to glide into the offensive zone (Note to Freddy and Anson…the Sedin twins nor Brad Richards are on your line!) and it is just disgusting me to no end. Here is the other one….Why in the hell is Jody Shelley still playing. Havent we gotten enough depth that some of the younger forwards can take some ice time away from this guy. I know he is there for a purpose and that he has made strides to improve his game, but the fact remains that there are players in Syracuse that could make the 4th line somewhat formidable…and not such a joke like it is now. I feel sorry for players like Picard and Svitov, who are totally bogged down by the lumbering skating of Jody Shelley. Bring Platt back up. Have a line with some speed and size that can potentially create some scoring opportunities. OMG…ANGRY!!!

If I had it my way, this is what the forward lines would look like for the next 5 or so games…

Nash-Fedorov-Vyborny
Balastik-Brule-Zherdev
Chimera-Malhotra-Picard
Platt-Svitov-Fritsche
Modin-Hartigan-Carter

If Modin and Carter want to get some more playing time, they will have to earn it. We need people that are willing to skate into the corners or willing to try and carry the puck into the offensive zone. I have seen neither from the Modin and Carter, and it makes Herringbone very sad. I am hoping that the return of Fedorov will help out some of the issues that the forwards have been dealing with in games 4-6, but he will need some time to get back in the swing of things. He is the unquestioned leader of the forwards

Defense
It has been nice to see what a frustrated Adam Foote would be like on the ice. He is cranky and throwing his weight around every chance he gets (legal or illegal). Tollefson…OMG Young guy that can barely skate. Klesla seems to be playing not to get hurt right now. Not throwing his weight around right now, which is understandable as he seems to get injured every time there is a atmospheric pressure change in the 614. Hainsey…proving to us why the Habs put him on the waiver wire. Last year, he was trying to prove himself. This year, he is just plain lazy. Can somebody tell me why we didn’t re-sign Suchy again? Westcott has been the best blue liner so far this year, and that is saying a lot.

You can t really change the blue line combinations, as we have got no one left.

Maybe we could spend some money and bring in a defenseman, instead of an overpriced forward (Not mentioning any names…Anson)

Coaching
We haven’t had a coach, since Dave King. I know that Doug cant play well with others, so takes about 90% of the coaches available out of play. Let’s take a look at the coaches that we have passed over in the past…shall we?
Bob Hartley, Ted Nolan, and…it doesn’t matter. Bob or Ted would have been a perfect “no nonsense” coach for a young team, instead we’ve got Gallant. I like Gerard, but he is Doug’s puppet and hasn’t made a decision that hasn’t gone through the GM DM decision chain since he was made head coach.

Bottom Line
1. The CBJ just needs to play hard…there is talent on the team, but the best hockey talent is negated by players that outwork the talent. You argue science here people.

2. Coaching. If Rick Nash isn’t skating hard and finishing checks, bench his arse. That goes for any player on the team. Come on Doug…Err…Gallant, accountability in the locker room and on the ice is imperative for a team that still doesn’t have an identity in its 6th year of existence.

I hope that this rant is something that I can look back on in the next 5-6 months and laugh at, but I am not counting on it.

On Notice - Week #7

2006-10-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

OSU - MSU - Game Thoughts...and Rants

2006-10-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Well...they exorcised the demons of past OSU #1's against MSU. The 1998 "Black Saturday" has been replaced with the 2006 "Lansing Beatdown."

I really believed that MSU had already packed it in for the year, but you just never know with Sparty...you never know...

The game was pretty much over after Chris Wells' mother$#cking fumble was not converted into points. So here we go...

OSU Offense

Troy Smith - Heisman (Earned and By Default). Peterson is done for the year. Quinn had a good week (by "good week" I mean that he didnt play and increase fumble and interception stats against a service academy). Wolfe decided to lay an egg against another MAC school, which was a terrible idea. Both of Troy's TDs were great...great...great throws and displays of fine quarterbacking. Stepping up in the pocket, breaking tackles, and making throws that just dont look like they should have a chance to be completed are turning into descriptions of a lot of Troy Smith's TD passes. I dont see a secondary out there that has the ability to stop him...and we are talking about UM as well.
Pittman. Tough game for the Pitt. He had 48 yards on 18 carries, and dinged up one of his ankles early in the game. While he didnt have the yards, Pittman still made some tough runs and kept the MSU defense honest.
C. Wells. Hold onto the damn ball. I dont care about anything else that he did in the game.
Maurice Wells. I hope that we never recruit a player like Maurice again. This is not to discredit Maurice, as he is a great player, but OSU doesnt use him outside the tackles, which makes me sad. We should have let him go to Georgia Tech where he would have been used appropriately.
Ginn. Finally, another punt return for a touchdown. 3 receptions for 58 yards...ho hum..wait until teams start keying in on Gonzalez
Gonzalez. Looking forward to seeing Leon Hall try and cover this guy, because they wont put Hall on Ginn...well...at least if they dont want Gonzalez to put a repeat from the Texas game on the Wolverines.
Robiskie. The best 3rd Wide Receiver in the Big Ten. He would probably be a #1 or #2 on most of the teams in the conference. Prototypical WR that OSU has not had on its roster, since Michael Jenkins.
O-Line = Incomplete. MSU didnt put a lot pressure on the OSU backfield. I think that this has a lot to do with MSU not being good...

OSU Defense

D-Line. The D-Line looked good and didnt really miss a step with Joel Penton stepping in for the injured David Patterson. Pitcock should be an All-American this year, and it would be a crime if he didnt end up with a buckeye tree in the grove at the end of this year.
Linebackers. Another solid game for Laurinitis, but with no interceptions (Slacker). Freeman is starting to look very comfortable, and his ability to read and react to the MSU screen play was huge, as it led to a momentum changing interception (I know...MSU didnt have any momentum, but just for argument's sake). Curtis Terry also had a big stick near the goal line, which was nice.
Secondary. Jenkins was all over the place. You kind of get the feeling that the OSU secondary is lying in wait for 11/18, but there are still a couple of decent challenges for the youngsters in the defensive backfield to get a little more experience before Chad "deer-in-headlights" Henne comes to Columbus for another "go-around."

MSU Offense

Bright point of the day = Brian Hoyer got some snaps for the Spartans. He will take over for Stanton next year, and should be a good one.
You gotta feel bad for Stanton. He took beatings from the likes of Pitcock chasing him around the field to a stationary water cooler on the OSU sideline.

MSU Defense

Incomplete. They are not playing defense in East Lansing this year...check back next year.

It was a good day to be a Buckeye, and it sounded like Spartan Stadium was really Ohio Stadium North...even on TV.

In other big news of the day...

Auburn-Florida was entertaining. Chris Leak sounds like he is a great practice player until someone wants to tackle him..then everything changes.
Penn State - Michigan = The Michigan defense was pretty damn good, but PSU still made a game of it. I dont care how good UM's defense is this year. If UM plays that same type of game against OSU in November, OSU wins by two touchdowns...maybe three. The UM D-Line is good, but using PSU to compare the teams is not a good idea. UM will see a complete team on November 18th...not the patsies that they have been building up their stats against over the last seven weeks.
Vanderbilt - Georgia = Georgia is bad. I dont care what the governor says. Good for Vandy. They have a good young QB and WR in Nashville and hopefully they can pull out a couple more wins this year.
The SEC is still overrated as a conference. ..and the Big-10 isnt much better...Iowa losing to Indiana...geesh...
USC is just a normal college football team. With each passing game, the aura of invincibility is leaving the USC program. Sure, they are still winning, but it is not coming as easy as last year against a standard mediocre Pac-10.

Message Board Exchange of the Day

2006-10-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

This comes from the Ozone...

Original Post
Remember when CFB teams were not allowed to may make more than 3 reg. season TV appearances over a 2-season period? (m) - Ipse Dixit

Response
Remember when people died from polio? others lived, let's stop vaccinating. * - '96Buck

Manningham 86'ed until OSU Game

2006-10-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

Brian has the story...

The PSU match-up just got alittle more interesting for this weekend. I am sure that the Paterno-ville faithful are conjuring up more magic urine for those UM fans and band members that are willing to make the trip.

At least we wont have to see how wide open he is until November the 18th when Mr. Jenkins actually covers him rather than watch him run by without a care in the world.

APB: Where in the world is Abel to Yzerman?

2006-10-10T00:16:00.000-07:00

His site is down...and massive amounts of twitching has ensued...

No Weekend Football for DCfW...I spent the weekend in Victoria, B.C.

2006-10-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

First things first...

I didnt see the game this weekend for all those re-cappers out there thanks for letting me know that we won...now onto more skiddish topics...

Victoria is a very cool city. It sort of reminds me of Provincetown, Massachusetts, yet is a lot more liberal (Most would not think this is possible, but it definitely more "left" than Provincetown). Lots of history...lots of sights...lots of food...lots of Pacific Northwest Ales & Lagers...from 'Hefe' to 'IPA'. Came across a T-shirt in a souveneir shop..and thus the rant begins...

You might remember a Molson Canadian commercial that debuted back in the year of XXXX, which was aptly named "I Am Canadian." I had seen this commercial in the past,but had never really thought about the shots on American Culture and politics and that have become more and more annoying from our friends up north. This really reached its ultimate pinnacle, during the World Junior Hockey Championships last year in Vancouver, B.C. The US WJC team was booed anytime it was on the ice...not just when they played the host Canadians.

While I understand that there are activities conducted by our home country, which will not always shine the US in the best of lights. However, there are some things that are just unexcusable from our neighbors up north where 80% of the Canadian population lives within 100 miles of the US border.

Here is the video...

So let's examine the "I Am Canadian" Manifesto...

I am not a lumberjack, or a fur trader.

I think that we realize this as there are not that many forests or large beaver populations within 100 miles of the US Border.

I don't live in an igloo,or eat blubber, or own a dogsled,and I don't know Jimmy, Suzy, or Sally from Canada, although I am certain they are really, really nice.

Blubber = Inuits and other Native Americans Tribes...so you are ok there. What is wrong with Dogsleds? I would own one, if I were able to use it. I am pretty sure that you hurt Jimmy, Suzy, and Sally's feelings by not admitting that you know them...and yes...they are pretty nice.

I have a Prime Minister, not a President

No you have a puppet...just like us...deal with it.

I speak English and French, not American. I pronounce it "About" not "a boot"

No, you speak American...not English (like the British) otherwise we wouldnt understand Canadians either. It's beautiful how the Brits invented the language and have done their best to destroy the English language in the last 500 years. Please dont act like French is an accepted language. If Quebec was, geographically, the furthest province to the east in Canada, secession would sound like a great idea each time it comes up...actually it still does to most non-French Canadians I have ever met. Actually, I have never heard a Canadian say "a boot" or "about". However, I have heard Canadians say "abou..ooot", but I cant say that I am "agaynst" that.

I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack

Most "Granola's", like myself, can proudly put just about any patch on our backpack without fear of ridicule. I will say this though...the Canadian Flag is a little more aesthetically pleasing than the "Stars and Stripes."

I believe in Peacekeeping, not policing

Did you ever see that scene with Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men"? I speak for the US Military counterparts in saying "Your Welcome" for allowing the country of Canada to not have to worry about its existence with the last Superpower in the world setting underneath it and giving off bad vibes to any country that would think it might be a good idea to f*ck with Canada knowing who is waiting to the South to "Unleash Hell."

Diversity, not Assimilation

You got us there. Every Canadian city I have ever visited seems more like Ellis Island rather than a demonstration in Canadian culture.

and that the Beaver is a proud and noble animal.

We'll take your word for it...

The Toque is a hat,

So is a cap or a stocking cap...or a woolen hat...or a beanie...What is your point?

A Chesterfield is a couch

AKA Davenport, sofa, etc...Come on...You are better than that.

,and "Z" is pronounced "ZED" not "ZEE", "ZED"

See the above part about speaking English and the ultimate destruction of the language. Last time I checked, I have never heard anyone call it a "Zed-bra"...then again...I havent had many exotic animal conversations with my friends up north.

Canada is the second largest land mass,

Let us Americans know when more than 1000 Canadians travel more than 2000 miles north of the US border. It's great that you "got all that" land mass going for ya, but maybe use some of it and we would be a little more impressed. Dammit Canucks...Why do you think that New Mexico is not talked about when American geography is brought up? NOBODY GOES THERE!!!

The first nation of hockey,

When are you going to get that Lacrosse thing fixed? Ok...sweet.

and THE BEST PART OF NORTH AMERICA!!

To take a cue from my friends in Badgerland...."That's debatable"...

It more like it is the part of North America for Americans to take vacations in the wrong direction (ie away from warmer climates) and take advantage of a favorable exchange rate...aww crap...you guys went and found some oil in Alberta and my exchange rate is shrinking...dammit...shrinking!!!

My Name is "Joe", and"IAM CANADIAN!!!"

Yes, it is Joe, but let's not forget about Jimmy, Suzy, and Sally next time alright ya selfish, condescending prick....

I really do like Canada...and the people are great, but sometimes a little too much nationalism can be a bit of an annoyance...If you are looking for an example, look no further than our friends up north...where red and white maple leaf t-shirt with torn jeans is acceptable attire in the best of Canadian restaurants.

Two weeks removed from playing SUNY Buffalo and cries of "playoff" are starting from the mouth of Tuberville

2006-10-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Oh gawd....here we go again...Tuberville crying....what else is freaking new.

You know Tommy...I didnt hear anybody in the SEC complaining when LSU made it to the BCS Championship in 2003...I didnt hear anything when Tennessee made it 1998 (OSU was the best team in the country that year hands-down..and a late loss killed them in the BCS Standings). I didnt even hear Spurrier complaining when his Florida Gator team was given a do-over against FSU by the Bowl Alliance for its MNC in 1996...even though there is an argument that the title could have been split by OSU and Florida.

This is on you Tommy...quit playing effing Buffalo...and start playing some decent OOC teams.....and on the freakin' road. If Auburn plays Texas in Austin this year and wins, Tommy isnt complaining right now....he is garnering all of the coaches poll #1 votes...not just his own vote that is currently given on the Auburn line of the Coaches Poll. As a Big10 fan, I feel no sorrow for any of the SEC teams. They play in the best weather conditions possible and dont leave their conference settings to play anyone. Strength of schedule matters more in the human polls than any computer poll. A win over a Buffalo team is as about as pretty as a win over the Citadel in 2003. As a coach, you know there is distinct possibility that there will be more than two teams that could be undefeated at the end of the year. Plan for it accordingly, Tommy. Schedule some decent OOC teams and beat them. Dont get you arse handed to you when Southern Cal comes into town. Maybe travel above the Mason-Dixon line to play an opponent. Baby steps...start with Louisville...maybe WVU...and then come up and play the big boys in the Big10. We are waiting for you. We have been waiting for you, but you dont seem to want to play anyone outside the state of Alabama. That is your problem...not the BCS's problem.

If you are waiting for the SEC Commissioner to lead the charge to get a playoff going, why not ask him why the need for a conference title game? If you have that many teams in the conference and parity is so high, why not split off a group of teams into another conference? I'll tell you why...money. Sure there is the bowl money, but the money from the conferences adding more teams is just as significant. TV contracts for these mega-conferences with two divisions is ridiculous (Big12/SEC/ACC) and it isnt necessary. Remember when there were more conferences...things used to be a lot easier back then.

Steps to making things better for Tommy:
1. Quit believing that the SEC is the only conference that fields competitive teams
2. Quit crying to the Media
3. Schedule meeting with Athletic Director to schedule home-and-homes with competitive teams that actually attempt to have winning programs (and try to skip The Citadel, VMI, Temple, Buffalo, etc.)
4. Repeat Steps 1-3 Every Year

On Notice - Week 5

2006-10-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

More Blogroll Hi-Jinx

2006-10-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

I may have missed a few new blogs on the roll...(by "a few" I mean four)

Continuing with the treachery that is being a Cleveland Sports Fan....Why God Why?

A Florida State Blog (ScalpEm.com) that thinks this blog's title is neato...that gets you a link immediately.

With a cool name like Eleven Warriors, you get a link. Good OSU blog in the making.

Anybody that feels this way about Drew Tate.."And don't even get me started on Drew Tate. Since when was this guy the second coming of Jesus Christ?" is alright in my book. Welcoming Second Rate News to the Mighty Blogroll.

Auburn Laptop and Gameplan Found...First Look

2006-10-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

Missing Auburn Laptop Found:

Luckily, this didn't fall into the wrong hands...

DCfW has the exclusive insider gameplan information on what was on the laptop stolen from Auburn. We have decided to evaluate these gameplan milestones for Tommy.

[TT] If temperature is less than 80 ensure top button is securely fastened on game shirt and close neck gasket to ensure that no heat is released through neck-area. CHECK
[TT] If temperature is greater than or equal to 80 degrees at kickoff, ensure that gametime sweater is worn on top of gameday longsleeve shirt mentioned above. CRITERIA NOT MET
Run Kenny Irons into middle of USC defense. Makes no matter if they cant contain the corner on either side of the line. CHECK
Leave entire middle of field open for tight end to roam freely without any consequence. CHECK
Attempt to make a converted wide receiver look like a Heisman candidate for last 15 minutes of the game. CHECK
Fool South Carolina crowd into thinking that they actually won, so they can applaud heartily in the postgame. CHECK
Get Kirk Herbstreit to use the word “poopsie” on national television. CHECK
Ensure that Southern Speed “Myth” lives on to fight another day. CHECK
Find way to get The Citadel or VMI on schedule for the next 6 games. IN-PROGRESS…Have a call into Coach Glen Mason.
After winning ugly (we are talking about Notre Dame co-ed ugly here people) against inferior opponent, vote War Eagle #1 and disregard the absolute trunk-f*cking that the REAL #1 team put on I-O-W-A… CHECK

Additions to the Mighty Blogroll

2006-10-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

New additions to Death Cab Blogroll

Buckeye Battle Cry - Canton-based blog showing much love for the Bucks. Keep writing and people will notice.

The Penalty Kill - Plano, Texas Buckeyes Up in this Mutha...funny stuff.

God Hates Cleveland Sports - Someone else who absolutely shares in my hatred of two things. Jose Mesa...and Mike Hargrove's decision-making for not bringing out the best reliever in the bullpen to finish game 7 of the 1997 World Series (that would have been Brian Anderson).

Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times - Freakin' Ditto

Sorry, it took me a while to update the roll...not cool...I understand.

TCB...Buckeye Style

2006-10-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Ohio State - Iowa Observations

Overall
After watching the the #2 (in one poll) struggle on the road against a converted WR playing QB and the other #2 have a tough time in Pullman, the Buckeyes of Ohio State absolutely trunk-f*cked the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. That's right...a trunk-f*cking that was over after about the first 5 minutes of the game.

OSU Offense

Antonio Pittman - He is just a tough runner. It helps when the O-Line is making holes on the left side of that Iowa D-Line that you could drive a dump through or around. Hell, I think that Kevin Grady could run through them if there werent any stray Rivas-donuts laying around the field. Earlier in the day, Lee "The ORACLE" Corso stated that he didnt think that Antonio could win a game for the Buckeyes....what an a$$hole.
Troy Smith - Mr Heisman. I had heard that there were grumblings on some of the message boards (Namely..Oklahoma and Notre Dame) that Troy's stats were not Heisman-worthy. Well, there is only player that can win this year's Heisman with an unbelievable stat-line and his name is Garrett Wolfe...otherwise, it will be the player that makes unbelievable plays for a MNC contender. I mentioned earlier this year that Garrett would be the best back that the Buckeyes face (I dont want to hear about Michael Hart...start gaining your yards against a real defense...not Notre Dame and Vandy). Your Welcome.
Anthony Gonzalez - Stud. Pretty soon teams will be keying on him instead of Ginn, which should lead to Ginn having some big days.
Teddy Ginn - Not really understanding why he is having such a tough time catching the ball on punt returns. It is starting to feel like he is playing his way out of the first round, because he is not going be getting the ball from a better quarterback than Troy Smith at this level. His route running is better, but his receiving will not be the reason that he is a first round pick.
O-Line - Geesh. Probably the most complete game by the OSU offensive line this year. The chemistry is finally starting to come together with this unit, and that is simply scary for opposing D-Coordinators.

OSU Defense

Tough break with Anderson Russell. Sounds like he is out for the season. Nothing like having your ACL (speculation of course) blown out on a touchback. Looks like Jamario O'Neal is going to grow up in a hurry .
Gholston is still unblockable...yet...still quite holdable. Did Iowa have a penatly? Ughh...Delaney...our officials reached for Pac-10 ineptitude status in this game. I hope that you dish out some punishments. Phantom PI calls on Iowa's first scoring drive, Drew Taint's Brady-ish fumble, and the ever-present Ginn incompletion on a play where not only did catch the ball and was down, but was speared on a late hit (yeah that wasnt called either)
Laurinitis - One more interception. They are almost inevitable in every game now. Brian over MGoBlog will tell you that he is the fortunate receiver of a lot of lucky bounces, but I could use the same logic and tell you the entire D-Line for UM is the fortunate receiver of sacks due to an overblown schedule of patsies without a decent O-Line among them, but hey...that's just me.
Mitchell and Smith - The old guys in the secondary are playing like Tressel always want his seniors to perform...by leading and setting the tone for the young guys.

Iowa Offense

Drew Tate - He is a great QB. That is never in question, but his attitude has got to get old for the Iowa players...and fans. He is not a good teammate in the "fire of battle." He made up nice in the postgame interviews and pointed the finger at himself, but he needs to be a leader on the field...and keep his young receivers in the game...mentally.
Albert Young - We didnt get to see him strut his stuff. Not surprising as the Buckeyes were up 14-3 early in the second quarter and Iowa was playing catch-up the entire game. Iowa was able to run the ball, but not consistently.

Iowa Defense

Slow....really , really, really, slow. Iowa is a good team, but they are not elite. They had a chance on a national stage to make such a statement, but they were in shellshock after the first 10 minutes of the game.

Now OSU gets to play against themselves for the next 6 weeks. Complacency and health issues will give UM its only chance against OSU. Really, I know that UM is humming, but they havent faced a defense with a pulse. I want to see how they react to PSU in a few weeks where PSU will turn this game against UM into a one game season. We saw what Henne looked like as a freshman in the Shoe...he doesnt look that much better...unless he is playing against inferior competition, which has been every game this season, including Notre Dame.

Zherdev signs...and there is much rejoicing....

2006-09-28T20:02:00.002-07:00

For all of you CBJ fans out there....3 years/7 million

The Central just got a little more interesting...uh oh...the CBJ have 4 solid lines (as soon as Fedorov and Svitov return to the lineup.) that can score and rough up the opponents.

Let's take a quick look at the top three lines for the CBJ this year...these are assumed line combinations, but you can see the most depth that the CBJ has ever had at the forward position

Nash-Fedorov-Vyborny
Modin-Brule-Carter
Chimera-Malhotra-Zherdev

There is only one question mark on these three lines...and that would be Gilbert Brule.

We'll talk about the defense...someday.

Auburn - South Carolina Observations

2006-09-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Started watching the game in the second half....

Kirk called Erin "poopsie"...yeah...he said "poopsie."
I still stand by my claim that Auburn is the most overrated team in America. Please note that a team with a pulse on the offensive side of the ball (and a former WR playing QB is giving that mighty defense all it can handle) will give any uber-strong defensive SEC team problems. Dont get me started about Georgia....
Longest 3rd Quarter Ever....that drive that Auburn put together felt like I was watching a mid-90s Gary Barnett Northwestern team with the on-side kick and the fourth down conversion.
I am going to go out on a limb and say that Jamarcus Russell could have even made that throw on the South Carolina touchdown in the beginning of the 4th quarter. A very sieve-ish Auburn secondary....not surprising...even with all of that SEC speed. I dont even think he was touched...nope he wasn't.
Hey Tommy...Irons has been able to turn the corner all night. Why (on 3rd and 2) run him up the middle where the 'Cocks have some strength?
Can you hear that puckering? That would be the Auburn defense.
Auburn comes up with a big stop on Rice in the endzone.
I guess that Auburn will take a dip in the polls (Blogpoll, Harris, AP, Coaches, whatever) OSU took a ribbing for not blowing out PSU in its game. No reason why it shouldnt happen to Auburn.

OSU - PSU Game Review

2006-09-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

That's more like it...

A win is a win...and against Penn State that is always the case. Games against this team havent been pretty the last 4 years, but one thing always holds true...Penn State will not score more than 10 points in the Horseshoe..even with 9 new starters on defense.

To sum up this game....

OSU Offense
Troy Smith made a "Heisman-ish" play on a field reversal bomb to Robiskie.
Antonio Pittman continues to carry the load (20 carries for 110 yards).
Chris Wells is a short down back, until he learns how to see a hole. Imagine a Lydell Ross with about 25 more pounds of muscle.
Maurice Wells - Someday we will use him consistenly on swing passes or utilize his speed OUTSIDE of the tackles.
Brain Robiskie is turning into a problem for defensive coordinators and Troy isnt afraid to throw to him.
Teams will be praying for bad weather when OSU comes to town. It is really their only chance. Teddy and Anthony were not effective in yesterday's terrible elements.
OSU Defense
James Laurinitis is a tunrover machine, but in a good way.
Malcolm Jenkins is the most physical corner that OSU has had since Nate Clements, and he keeps getting better.
Freeman's tackling is getting better with each game.
The D-Line is getting pressure without blitzing, and isnt that super-cool?
Vernon Gholston is unblockable. However, he is very "holdable" as shown on many occasions by the PSU O-Line.
Pitcock and Patterson are anchoring the #1A D-Line in the country. #1B is up north at Michigan. Branch and Woodley are sweet.
Curtis Terry looked good...just wish we could have seen him for some more snaps.
Malcolm please return the ball to referee after scoring. Spiking the ball is so cliche.
Brandon Mitchell quietly played one of his best games as a Buckeye yesterday. He was rarely out of position and seemed to make all of the tackles that came his way.
PSU Offense
Anthony Morelli has a great arm, but cant read a defense to save his life. He will be a great QB some day, and knowing the ability of the PSU staff to bring QB along that should about 2 years after he graduates.
Tony Hunt is a stud. He ran very hard in the second half when the Nittany Lions needed him the most. Cant wait to see him against UM later this season.
Derrick Williams was a non-factor. See above reason for Ginn.
PSU's O-line needs to get its shite together. They were very sieve-like on Saturday.
PSU Defense
Dan Connor was the best PSU LB on the field yesterday. Shaw came in second (even if he was playing with his hand down).
Jim Shaw was great on the pass rush. Not so much on the running defense. He pretty much got road-graded a few times, which is to be expected. Moving from LB to DE isn't an easy task, and he wasnt exactly the size of a Bobby Carpenter.
PSU Secondary = Inc. Elements had a lot to do with this game and the secondary performance on both sides. Nice INT by King though.

This was a good game for OSU, no matter how the media will see it. There was adversity and elements that had some effect on the plays. Next week should be huge, it will be interesting to see how far along this defense has matured against a senior QB in Drew Tate. It is going to be a war.

OSU has proven it can win ugly in a year that was predicated by the offense having to shoulder the load for a young defense. The defense is starting to come around...and man...are they making plays.

Fan Behavior..and the Sea of Scarlet?

2006-09-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

There are things that happen which will go unnoticed through the course of a college football season…Garret Rivas’ staggering donut consumption, Lydell Ross’ inability to hit a hole that wasn’t attached to a female freshman or sophomore, urine getting tossed on OSU’s TBDBITL last year at Happy Valley.

Oh wait…that’s right. Nobody in the state of Ohio forgot about the urine tossers in State College. Absolutely nobody. The fact is that this game has shown that no matter how high OSU fans will set the bar for poor fan behavior, we can always count on Penn State to pursue stupidity at a level of excellence with no equal.

Now, there is a contingent in the message board community that attempt to make this event from last year’s game out to be a non-issue (Even though this came directly from a band director, ,who just happens to be a PSU alum…not an OSU fan). Actually, there are a few that will tell you that it never happened. I mean, I will not name any names or anything ( FearandLoathinginWoolrich & Shundo), but this type of thinking has caused quite a stir among those OSU fans who may believe that John Q PSU fan gets off easy because of its lovable teddy bear corpse of a coach that hasn’t spoken a word of English since at least 1974. This has lead to a “Sea of Scarlet” promotion that wants to make a statement in the Horseshoe on Saturday, but also wants to make sure to let the PSU fans off easy who make the trip to Columbus.

Well, do you want to know what I think. Whatever happens…happens.

This “Sea of Scarlet” thingy is not who we are as OSU fans. I commend the students that have attempted to put this together. It is very noble but, WE DO NOT NEED GIMMICKS! If crap happens to PSU fans, then so be it. I am sure there will be cases where some of them deserve it and there will be some cases where they don’t. It is no worse than the treatment that any other fan receives at any other stadium in the Big10. Any of us who have been to a visiting stadium in the Big10 know that it is not a welcoming environment, and it never will be. With exception of Indiana, even the lowest of teams in the conference will have fans that will do their best to ensure that the visiting team is miserable and with the proper amount of “liquid courage” hometown fans will do their best to ensure that visiting fans that came to support their team will be miserable as well.

This is the way that it works. College sports is not youth soccer. It is not intended to have everyone play the game, get along, and share Sno-Cones and Swedish Fish after the game.

Notice that this is a red sno cone? Yellow Sno Cones are only found in Happy Valley...on gamedays

There are many examples of poor fan behavior in the Big10. OSU fans are obnoxious and I am not afraid to admit it, UM fans will tell you that they are above that type of behavior, but that could be the biggest crock of shit that you will ever hear. If you want to see a true “Michigan Man” in action, head down to Yost Arena (Click Here for a PG rated version of some of the activities that happen) and see how sportsmanship at Michigan really works. Head over to Wisconsin and listen to the “Asshole” cheer that most certainly stretches the standard 5 word vocabulary that is possessed by most Wisky fans. Michigan State fans are just like OSU fans, but they suck at football. However, basketball season is a different story, and you can throw Illinois into the same boat. Northwestern fans are generally pretty classy, but they are not your typical Big10 school. Indiana has obnoxious basketball fans…even though haven’t won anything in the last ten years (I am not sure how long it has been, but you would think that it had won the last 40 Big Ten championships if you have ever attended a basketball game in Bloomington).

This brings us back to Penn State. PSU fans have been treated to extreme forms of mediocrity in the Big10 since 1993. PSU had one season where it absolutely kicked the shit out of everyone (1994) and was moderately competitive throughout the the 90s. Then PSU had to suffer the consequences of not dictating its own schedule (It will be a great day when ND has to got through this scenario) and once the conference teams became accustomed to playing them each year…there was a big “UH OH” coming from Happy Valley. This lead to significant downgrade in team performance and it showed with a terrible 5-year stretch where it was just dreadful. I can understand the frustration. Hell, I would be uber-pissed if I had to endure what PSU fans did in the 2000’s. This frustration came to a head in 2005 when they had undefeated team that was taking on OSU, and the game was moved to the evening (1st Mistake…see above statement regarding “Liquid Courage,” as there were many “heroes” in Happy Valley that night.) The hype surrounding this game was ridiculous and I was never able to see it, as I was out in the Utah desert for a week without any access to TV or Radio. However, when I returned to Columbus I found out quicky what had transpired in State College and was not only disappointed with the loss, but was also disappointed when I watched a copy og the broadcast, as our resident Anti-homer Kirk Herbstreit was making statements on the crowd and how the atmosphere was simply electric. Well Kirk, with this type of environment comes consequences. We saw this happen on our own campus, as Texas fans were treated poorly. We had a university president that was willing to take a stand and apologize for the behavior of the fans…whether it was warranted or not. OSU ADMITTED it had a problem with fan behavior. Fast Forward to PSU game…same atmosphere…same behavior if not worse than at the Horseshoe. Were there big articles in the newspaper about it? No. Did the poor treatment of the OSU fans make it into the media’eye? Yes. Was it addressed by PSU? Absolutely not..and this is the problem that PSU is going to put itself into by not acknowledging the behavior that was documented. The university administration is basically stating that it is ok to act like a fucking moron and thow urine on a visiting team’s band, as it is simply part of the game.

By the way:

"With nearly 110,000 people attending the game, Penn State officials say it is possible there were "a couple jerks" among the fans."

This is not an apology.

Well, poor fan behavior is one thing; bodily fluids being thrown on fans or representatives of a fellow conference school is pathetic.

In other words, PSU is pathetic, as a university…as an institution that is attempting to groom another generation of leaders. Where does this start? University President for PSU. The same university president that allows this behavior also allows its head football coach to make derogatory statements about the inhabitants of a rival state/school and its education level on national television without any consequence. I know that there are a section of people that will say that is JoePa being JoePa…well….I think that JoePa has used all of his free passes by now, and what point will he make a Fisher DeBerry-type statement? Let’s face it, JoePa’s speaking ability rivals that of the “Ding! Fries are Done!” guy at this point, and to have him as the figurehead of a major university is probably the most pathetic part of the PSU aura today.

I have no idea where I am at right now. Where is my ice cream?... Is this coming out in english?

Does OSU have its problems? Absolutely. Do we have leaders that are willing to admit it? Yes. Am I proud of the university actions to attempt to fix the problems? Yes. Is there much more work to go into this effort? See Texas game this year.

Dude...like West Virginia is so jealous.

Are we Penn State? No….and thank goodness. So, to all of the fans at the game this weekend, enjoy yourself in the way that you are accustomed to enjoying OSU games. Don’t let the Sea of Scarlet make you go out of your way to make everyone feel comfortable. You take that away from the OSU psyche and the aura of Ohio Stadium will take a downturn with it. Just don’t throw any urine or large cups of “dip” spit or anything else I may be missing…that’s simply not cool.

Go Bucks!!!

A weekend in Greensboro...and Atlanta...oh yeah...OSU wins 37-7.

2006-09-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

This guy is pretty fast....give this man a TF Sticker and let's "call it a day."

It seems like the UC guy is pretty close...well...he was pretty close at least.

OSU 37 - 7 UC... homerism displayed in the South, and new terminologies are born.

As many of you have noted, I have not put anything on the blog for the last few weeks. Again, this work thing has been necessary and my projects are starting to kick into full gear. This would include the one where I am delivering multiple pizzas on a single delivery run, and manning the fries and the front counter at the same time. It's killer.

So I had to travel for work this past week, which included a stayover in Greensboro, NC for the weekend. I will be the first on to admit that I am not a big Greensboro fan, so getting out here for the weekend was top priority. Got a hold of some buddies in the ATL and headed down to watch the OSU game, the slice of heaven (Separation Satruday Games), and partake in the consumption of many alcoholic beverages at fine establishments...American-Pie and Taco Mac in Decatur. Of course, I woke up late on Saturday morning, so I started my drive to Atlanta and made it to American Pie at about 12:30. A rowdy bunch at the American-Pie, which is an OSU Alumni spot on gamedays, and after sharing a few beers with some fellow ATL buckeyes here were some observations:

Mark Dantonio is still a top notch coach with a great defensive mind. I almost wish that another top level school would give him a chance. Not that UC isnt a school with potential, but put this man at the helm at a Washington or any other school looking an identity and its program would take-off in a major way.
OSU fans havent seen an offense like this since 1998. I know it was a down day, but Dantonio's scheme had a lot to do with that and there is some rivalry undertones with Cincy that seemed to come out at the beginning of the game. Dont take this offense for granted, fellow OSU fans, because we might not see one like it for another 7-8 years. The maturity of Troy Smith cannot be understated and there is depth at tailback that we havent really seen since the days of Raymont Harris, Butler By'Note, and Pepe Pearson. The scary part is that OSU is not really trying to run the ball all that much....yet.
James Laurinitis. OMG...freakin awesome. This guy is all over the place. It is amazing how the fans could be all over this guy with his performance in the N. Illinois game and then be "all over his jock" after the Texas and UC games. I didnt really have an opinion after the N. Illinois game, but I knew that he would get better...along with the rest of the LBs. Homan and Freeman are starting to solidify their holds on the positions and Curtis Terry has also shown promise in the early season.

Spikes on Shoulder Pads...so many levels of awesome attained here.
Depth. It seems like Tress has made a real statement for the program on a national level this year. It cannot be understated that 57 players participated in the Texas game this year and this will be mentioned to every recruit that thinks that they cant play early at OSU. Tress stated over and over again that the best players will play...and he is stating the truth. The dividends of this move will pay off this year and for many years to come in recruiting and lessening the effects of player injuries, during the season.
The Secondary. It makes me a bit giddy to think that the back seven of the defense primarily consists of RS Freshman and Sophomores. They are performing and getting better every week. Think about how tough this OSU defense is going to be next season. There will be some holes to fill on the D-Line with the departure of Richardson and Pitcock, but the back seven will be "HARD."
Pittman. Let's start giving this guy the ball a little bit more. He was solid and helped swing the momentum when things just weren't clicking for the OSU offense on Saturday. I have a feeling that OSU will need contributions from all of its backs over the course of the next two Saturdays, as they open Big Ten play against Penn State and then have that fun game against Iowa...at night...in Kinnick.
Gonzo. This guy is Chad Cacchio with wheels...and two good shoulders...and can run routes...and did you know that he sleeps in an altitude tent? He also invented the Oreo cookie and helped term the crafty phrase "Trunk Fu*cking." More on the TF'ing later. Well...not much more...the imagination will have to take over on this one.

Anyways, the OSU game pretty much went, as planned. Slow start in the first; takeover in the second half with the unbelievable depth against a wore down opponent.

ND- UM. The advent of the term Trunk-F*ck rightfully takes its place in history, during this asswhipping. So after leaving the American Pie, I met with my ATL connections (JL, JL, and TL) and headed over to Taco Mac in Decatur. For those of you not familiar with the chain, it is similar to our beloved BW3. Watched the dismantling of ND, which I really belived that it was over when Burgess intercepted the Quinn pass and "housed" it. Believe it or not..this game sort of reminded me of the 2004 UM-OSU game, where it seemed like OSU could do no wrong. The only things that were different was that the road team was playing the role of OSU and home team got their shit handed to them on national television. Congrats to the UM fathful. I understand that last year was a bit of a downer, but things seem to be looking up. However, there was one constant....ND is still slow at both CB positions...and Steve Breaston has the hands of an offensive lineman. If he holds to a few more balls in this game UM breaks 50...possibly 60.

Auburn-LSU. Since I was in the heart of SEC country, I couldnt possibly miss this game. I wasnt dissapointed in the game. It was low scoring, but "low scoring" in a good way. I am still not sure what to make of that last flag that the refs picked up when LSU was driving at the end of the 4th quarter, but it was really close. They probably should have never even thrown the flag, because nobody in the bar had any doubt that thing was getting picked up. There was no way that the SEC officials were going to try and make that call at Auburn. Auburn and LSU have good defenses, but I am not totally sold that these defenses arent the product of the standard "bad-to-terrible" offensive production that is turning into an SEC mainstay.

Florida-Tennessee. How sad is that you have to bring in a Freshman quarterback to run specific plays (ie Designed QB runs)? I really wonder how Chris Leak would have turned out at another school that runs the West Coast or another Pro-Style scheme. He is not made for Urban warfare, and that is a simple fact. This was also a good game. It seemed that it would come down to whoever had the ball last would probably win, and that seemed to be the case. UT is back though and UF still has a lot of tough games ahead of it.

Nebraska - USC. The Neb got itself royally trunk-fu*ked. I cant believe that I am going to say this, but JD Booty actually looks like a better QB than Leinart did last year. IMO.

Oklahoma - Oregon. Ugly uniforms. Referees performing some TF'ing on Stoops and the boys. I guess that on-side kicks can travel 7.5 yards now before being touched by the kicking team.

Whewww...that was Saturday. Review of terms that were used in discussion or utilized in describing a myriad of including Florida fans, the LSU or Auburn offense in no particular order: douche bag, knob, trunk-fu*ked, trunk-fu*ker, sac (Solid Ass Crazy), Buccaneer Fans Like Their Steaks Sizzlin'...

Other observations.

Potential Man Law: Guys dont send back food at a BW3-ish establishments. Especially, if you were outside smoking, while the food got cold. Dickheads.
When you are out of your region, dont ask for your game to be put on the Big Screen at BW3-ish establishment. Same two guys above wanted to watch the Clemson-FSU game....ummm....yeah right. We were in FREAKIN' ATLANTA. You may as well have asked for the Mountain West game of the week to be put on the big screen, as it would have had the same effect. That's right...it was the same two douche bags that were smoking while their food got cold...and they were Buccaneer fans, which I guess is bad thing in Atlanta. I am not sure of the origin of the animosity, but there were many references to Jort-wearing and El Caminos.

Sunday morning...wake up around 10:30AM. Start driving back to Greensboro at 11:00AM. Listened to Atlanta's 680AM Pigskin Tailgate Show, while driving out of the ATL...semi-hungover, but still representing of course. And then it happened, I had made it almost the entire weekend without any SEC smack, but the two guys on the radio were talking college football and talking about the effects on the polls from Saturday's games. There was a consensus that OSU was #1 and that Auburn should be #2. Then a discussion occurred on who would win between War Eagle and the Buckeyes on a neutral field. This is where the massive twitching started to occur while driving.

Here was the tale of the tape...

Defense - Auburn. I can live with this, but OSU's defense will be among the best by the end of the year. When has OSU ever had a bad defense...it was probably around the same time that Auburn had a bad defense.
Wide Receivers - OSU. Effing...Duh.
Running Backs - Auburn. Irons is good and I understand this, but OSU has better depth, and Pittman isnt a slouch.
Here is where it gets really good....QB = PUSH. Apparently, this Cox guy is supposedly the next Staubach or something. A fit of violent twitching started occurring while driving. Surprisingly, not enough rage was conjured to set fire to anything, but I really just chalked it up to blind-homerism. Look here "Johnny Auburn" fan, I am not saying that Cox isnt a good QB, but he is not Troy Smith. He is not completing 70% of his passes like Troy Smith, and probably wont do that unless he plays against Buffalo 8 more times this year. This isnt a PUSH and it isnt even close. Auburn fans can feel free to bash me here, but this isnt blind-homerism. If Cox was on the OSU depth chart, he would most likely be the first guy off of the bench...you cant argue science here. Troy Smith isnt a Heisman Candidate for nothing.
Overall Netral Field - Homer-tastic SEC-guy gives Auburn the edge...and the reasonable guy gave OSU the slightest of edges. Personally, I still think that SEC is the college hockey equivalent to the CCHA. Teams swear that they beat the crap out of one another in the regular season and dont have anything left in the bowl season. Shenanigans...I say.

So, overall it was great weekend...friends, college football, alcohol, football, alcohol, John Gruden impersonations, UT fans that painted their faces to watch a gmae at a bar, football, the advent of the TF Stickers, which I will now be tallying each week after the games are played, and my first taste of the Jefferson-Pilot (Lincoln Financial) Three Daves Broadcast.

Go Bucks!

FU Nikolai Zherdev....sign already....

OSU 35 - NIU 12 - Missed Tackles, Kickers, and Fumbles...Oh My!

2006-09-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well....

..it seems to have gone as planned.

Troy and the Wide Receivers...

We finally got to see the offense that we had envisioned from the end of the Fiesta Bowl through Spring and Fall Camp. It was efficient and effective. Troy Smith looked like he could do no wrong, and ...Uh-oh....Ted Ginn learned how to run crisp routes (Sorry Brian). Another bright surprise was the emergence of Brian Robiskie. Robo is first the tall receiver that OSU has had in its stable, since Michael Jenkins was still here in 2003. He replaced Sr. Roy Hall at the 3rd WR spot, due to an ankle injury.

Running Backs...

Antonio Pittman looked solid as usual. It needs to be stated over and over again that we will not see too many 195lb RBs that have the ability pound a defense. This is a strength of Tony and he did not disappoint yesterday. He got his 100 yards and left the field. It was also the debut of uber-frosh Chris Wells. He ran strong and had a very good showing (sans fumble at the goalline). Chris and Antonio pretty much displayed what was expected of them during this game. Now the running back I would really like to talk about is Maurice Wells. This is the guy that Chizik and Mack Brown will be having nightmares about this week. He was finally put into a situation where had some space to work with and not running between the tackles. He took a dump pass and we finally got to see what all of the hype over Maurice was about with a twenty yard scamper. Now only if JT and Co decide to use him a little more. This could possibly happen and might be part of he master plan for next weekend. The offense in general was magnificent, but went very "vanilla" after getting out to the 28-point lead in the first half.

The real test...and kudos...

The defense looked new and inconsistent. There were times that the D-line was in there and causing all sorts of confusion for Horvath and the NIU offense, while there were other times that the intensity was just lacking. From my standpoint, Gholston and Richardson had the best performances on the D-line yesterday. I know that there are a lot of people worrying about the play of the defense, but the fact remains that the O-line that NIU brought into Columbus on Saturday was one of the best it will see all year. It uses a good zone blocking scheme and has NFL-level talent at the tackle and tight end positions. I will admit that it was a bit disconcerting that Wolfe was able to get to the corner a lot on screens and sweeps, but let's give credit where it is due. Wolfe will probably be the best overall running back that this defense will face all year. There may stronger or bigger backs on the schedule, but there isnt a back with better vision and field awareness than Wolfe. When you combine that type of talent with his sheer speed, it becomes awfully hard to stop him. He will have a great year and should be invited to NY for the Heisman ceremony, but it most likely wont be in the cards for the MAC school talent.

Jay Richardson....dreaming of Colt McCoy and bringing the whammy...

I am not even going to talk about the linebacker play in this game. There were too many people rotating into the positions for this game. Larry Grant had a nice interception, but geesh man...wait for your freakin' blockers next time. It was good to see some agressiveness from Homan and Freeman, but there were too many missed tackles. Give credit to Wolfe on this again. He is a very slippery target to bring down. For the Texas game, I just dont see S. Young of Jamaal Charles making the kind of moves that were put on display by Wolfe. No offense to the Texas running backs, but if G. Wolfe was in Austin...Jamaal and Selvin wouldnt be playing very much...IMO.

The secondary...yuck...

Nick Patterson needs to take off the D-Line shoulder pads . Maybe that will make him a look a little faster than Mike D'Andrea. Antonio Smith and Mitchell played pretty well, but, again, missed tackles were the message of the day.

Kicking game....

Trapasso = 1 punt for 43 yards. Could turn into this year's version of Tom Malone.
Pettrey and Pretorious...OMG...We know the conditions were poor, but come on that was too Garrett Rivas-ish for Buckeye tastes...

Donuts are the key....my buckeye friends.

Overall, this was the best way the season opener before the Texas game could turn out. OSU played a team with an experienced O-Line and Backfield and the D played a "bend but dont break" style that we have all come to know and love. We should see a great deal of improvement between week 1 and week 2, as NIU provided a lot of learning material for the coaches this week. The "O" was lights out, but the competition was suspect on the NIU defensive-side of the ball. Regardless, the offense looked solid and will give Chizik and Brown a lot to think about this week in the film room. The offensive explosion in the first half was refreshing and really reminded me of watching a game from the mid-90's where OSU would be up by 35-42 points before the 1st half expired. The best part of the offensive display was that a LOT of players got to play in this game in the second half, which gave the coaches a better chance to the see some of the non-starters show their stuff in a game-situation.

Catching up...

2006-08-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well...the Herringbone has been busy with work and finally settling into the Emerald City. Tis a beautiful place with way too much to do on the weekends. Its official...moving from Lynnwood to Capitol Hill or First Hill in the Seattle metro area by December. I love moving...good times.

The Big10 Previews...I pretty much crashed and burned on those, so here is a rundown on the top 6 teams:

6. Michigan State - It has been stated many times. There is just something about MSU. The ability to beat anybody and lose to anybody on any given Saturday. Will most likely beat ND this year, but will find a way to lose against UM.
5. Wisconsin - Typical Wisky O-Line + New Running Back + Alcohol + Pumped-in House of Pain to start the 4th Quarter = 1000 yard rusher and the most pathetic, yet organized fanbase in the conference.
4. Penn State - New QB, that will be a tight end or wide receiver if he follows the standard path of PSU QBs. But Hey....they got the "Rail." Losing to OSU, ND, and another heartbreaker to UM. Welcome back to the norm PSU. Minnesota and Purdue missed ya. Maybe the Big East would be EASIER for you to compete consistently.
3. Iowa - Experienced D-Line, but they are small...very small. Will be interesting to see how they do against O-Lines with size (See OSU). Tate will be the real deal this year. Heisman Dark Horse.
2. Michigan - Things have to get better this year for the Big Blue. Did I mention that there are too many Michigan fans out here in the Pacific Northwest? They all have one thing in common...they all think a Supply Chain is a bracelet with a Jolly Rancher on the end of it.
1. Ohio State - Got to hear the Trev Alberts comment on OSU. It was great. He mentioned that the new players at LB and in the secondary are too much to overcome. Hey Trev...how about that D-Line? Top5 in the country with returning talent surrounding Pitcock. Ahhh...it feels like old times. Trev is back. OSU is going to have a big year. Looking forward to seeing what the offense can do this year with Tressel's best O-Line and skill all over the field.

MotSaG chime in on Trev's return....

Bradshrugged has moved his Football endeavors to the12thManChild

Sean is slacking over the at the-614, while moving (aka furnishing apartment with furniture found behind houses on North Campus...I never did that.)

Zherdev still hasnt signed. Effing bastard better sign or the chances of the CBJ making the playoffs decrease from 40% to 22%.

Brian over at MGoBlog..selling out...err...T-shirts...and to AOL. How long do you think it will take for him to conform to the TW/AOL Way? Good Luck Brian...The Blogpoll has officially been tainted. There should be a ruling on commerce-driven blogs voting on the poll...seems to be a conflict of interest could be on the horizon. I know its your poll, but it seems shady.

Brian has also provided a Preview, I mean statement of hope from all biased UM fans, of the Buckeyes for this season

America...You Are "On Notice".....

DCfW's Colbert "On-Notice" Board...make your own here (Thanks to EDSBS)

CD101 - The Alternative Station? Or just a town with no other alternatives?

2006-08-17T23:43:00.000-07:00

Updated: A few interesting comments have made their way onto this topic well after it was posted. I want to bring this up to the top of the list. For the central Ohio readers..How many people have actually heard of WOXY out of Oxford (No..it is not a college radio station)?

Some thoughtless comments being passed on the topic:

"Solution: Move back to Seattle. Sorry dude but CD101 has to pay it's employees, it's not some glorified college station that's bankrolled by NPR. Oh, and you come across as real ass."

That comment was delightful and well thought out.

This comment had some actual thought and knowledge within it on the topic.

CD101 has to play the ratings game (and consequently, the "hits") because their management has opted to live life as a fully-blown commercial radio station operating in a major market. Aside from being independently owned, which is true, they operate in a way not too dissimilar from any corporate station, hence, "has to pay its employees". It's another way of saying 'we wanna play with the big boys & we gotta make some dough to pay for this stuff'.

WOXY was a true mom-and-pop operation that operated on the fringe of the Cincinnati/Dayton markets and chose not to go head-to-head with better funded stations because they couldn't: weak signal, niche format. They kept operating costs low & as a result, they had the leeway to be a lot more left of center. CD101 enjoys no such luxury, by choice.

Don't be fooled by KEXP. They are awash in funds from the University of Washington, Paul Allen (Microsoft) & his Experience Music Project, in addition to having numerous pledge drives & fundraisers. They also have the benefit existing in a left-leaning metro like Seattle where like-minded listeners (and donors) are a lot easier to come by than if they tried to do the same thing in Ohio.

WOXY exists online as WOXY.com & is still operating as an independent operation. Sorry to say that they are hurting for money & may not exist much longer but give them this: they've never sold out & have remained true to the spirit of independent radio.

"Gotta pay their employees" is a fucking copout, btw.

Here is the original post...in all it's glory.

I was in Columbus this past weekend, and am really starting to have some issues with a radio station, namely CD101, which I really enjoyed compared to other local offerings including "The Big Wazzu" and "The Blitz." There is a weekly program called "The Invisible Hits Hour," which is supposedly award-winning and exists to play the best indie and sprinkle in some local flair. I have some real issues with a station that will bring on an EFFING Roadie from a local band that has kind of made it...but is past its prime. That's right. CD101 was not bringing on the band Watershed, but was bringing on one of its roadies named "EJ" or "JC" or whatever, who is now playing some music with a guitar that he found behind a tour bus during Watershed's latest White Castle Parking Lot World Tour. Disclaimer: I like Watershed...they have a few catchy tunes, but if they are the face of Columbus music to outside world then Columbus has no music scene at all. Bands like Fenster and Embassy have come and gone or just left the town, because they know that the music scene in Columbus is like a graveyard.

This is not a rant in snobbery, I have access to one of the best independent radio stations in the world, KEXP Seattle. I listen religiously and basically hear all sorts of music on station that is "listener sponsored." Now, all you Columbus radioheads are out there stating "Well, we dont have anything like that in Columbus." I'm calling "Shenanigans!" CD101 has the ability to be every bit as good as KEXP in Seattle or even WOXY in FREAKIN' Oxford, Ohio of all places, but they are just falling into the same routine as every other radio station in the Columbus area. I am still hearing the Clash every 2 hours on this station. I like "The Clash," and while it was very hip to play them in the 90', there is other music out there that needs to be heard....which isnt being pushed by record execs. For some reason, CD101 is talking a big game of being "independently-owned." Well, that doesnt mean jack shit if you are not doing anything about it. What makes CD101 so special? Is it the fact that they have the "Andyman?" I sure hope not....he is still pretty much playing the same crap he has been playing for years with a few new tracks that every other Alternative Rock DJ across this grand country has been playing for 2-3 months before him. With the amount of Columbus-credibility that Andyman possesses, he should be able to play a local band, not named Watershed, every couple of hours. He should be able to play songs off of albums that are not in normal rotation in every other freakin' city in America (Sorry to single you out Andy, but with the local fame comes the heightened scrutiny..and you are the face/voice of the radio station). Andyman does provide a great philanthropic service to the community with Christmas-time "Andy-manathon," but outside of that he an his offerings to the local or even Ohio music community have been freakin' terrible.

The Andyman: "You're with me, Watershed"

Case in Point:

Bonnaroo 2005

A band by the name of the Heartless Bastards from the Dayton/Cincy-area were slated to play early on Sunday afternoon a one of the lesser stages on the festival. A modest crowd of about 100-200 people showed up to watch this trio. Not a single soul from the CD101 crew came over to see them play and provide some support (either that or they were incognito) even though the Heartless Bastards were considered an up and coming band by the festival publications. The fact that CD101 was pimping themselves as a radio station that supports the local music, yet not being seen the entire festival says a lot.

The Heartless Bastards are a good band, which deserves exposure and gets it in Cincy and Dayton...but not C-Bus. Why? Because CD101 wont play anything that isnt deemed popular by some source like Rolling Stone or Spin...or some source really cool that we've never heard of before.

So what does CD101 really stand for? Over-exploiting an almost monopolized niche market in the Columbus-area, which doesnt possess another alternative (I mean the Blitz is all about playing AC/DC, Staind, and Nickelback every 30 minutes, while the Big Godsmack...err...Wazu isnt mch better). A radio station that was, at one time, very original in its content delivery to the market, but now is, basically, ClearChannel Jr. with Watershed, The Violent Femmes, and The Clash (again...not "the only band that ever mattered"...just the only band that ever mattered to CD101).

The sad part about all of this is that if one of the big conglomerates, like ClearChannel, ever decided to start an Aternative Station, similar to 89X in Windsor/Detroit, it would decimate CD101 in less than a year. Be thankful CD101, you will be able to continue playing The Clash and The Violent Femmes until all of their members are wormfood, because nobody sees Columbus as a viable market for another radio station.

Until CD101 is playing bands (more than one song every other day) such as the following (these are examples...and there are many more that could fall into this category)....people should consider logging onto KEXP or even WOXY to listen to some music that isnt part of a regular rotation.

The Shins (if it wasnt for Garden State...James Mercer would never be heard in Columbus.)
Band of Horses
Optimus Rhyme
Grandaddy (They are broken up now...but wouldnt it be cool to hear something besides the Big Room rendition of "Now It's On")
Calexico
Particle
Los Lonely Boys
The Decemberists
Sufjan Stevens
Travis
Hayden
Iron and Wine
The Secret Machines
My Morning Jacket (something off an album besides Z)
Drive-by Truckers
Jurassic 5 (Good Hip Hop...that you will never hear in Columbus)
DJ Shadow (Still waiting to hear something off of Private Press)
Boards of Canada
and many many more.

DCfW - Big10 Preview #5 - The Minnehaha Golden Gophers

2006-08-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

DCfW is obligated to pay homage to the former Buckeye Glen Mason, who is the current head coach of the Gophers. You will always be a part of the Buckeye family.

Now that we have the sentimental part of the review completed, let's get down to business.

Minnesota has followed a formula for its season progression, since Mason took over the program in 1997. This has basically been the scheduling of patsies in the early season, which generally will get the squad to a 4-0 or 5-0 record before entering Big10 play. At this point, media pundits will start make some noise that Minny is ready to take on the Big10. Generally, this will start the tailspin for Minnesota, as it will face an OSU or Michigan and get its ass handed to them. This starts the downspin that generally leads to a Bowl Game where Minny will let down the conference and lose to a team that it should have beaten by about 2 touchdowns(See Virginia).

The one thing you could always count with Minnesota is a stout running game, which in the past has produced Marion Barber, Laurence Maroney, and Gary Russell (if he could only keep his grades up). Last year, the Gophers lead the Big10 in rushing and points scored per game, while only punting 23 times for the entire season.

Last season, the Gophers started off the season well with a 5-1 record and were fortunate enough to finally get that Michigan monkey off of its back. It exploited the chronicled late game displays of stupidity where Michigan would regularly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. However, according to plan, Minnesota would lose games to Purdue, Penn State, Ohio State, and Iowa...and eventually lose again in the Music City Bowl.

I have been nothing but negative in my other previews for the first four Big10 teams, and I dont see this getting any better. If you really want to get an idea of the upcoming season for Minnesota, realize that Coach Mason has just moved a 260lb LB to take reps at running back. Oh yeah...good times in the Metrodome are on-deck.

Offense
The Gophers will be led by 5th Year Sr QB Brian Cupito, who seemed to hit his stride against the Buckeyes last year, in a 45-31 loss. Cupito finished 5th in passing efficiency in the conference, primarily because of the presence of Rimington winner Center Greg Eslinger and Guard Mark Setterstrom. The offensive line loses three starting lineman for ths year's team, including Eslinger and Settertrom.

WRs Ernie Wheelwright and Logan Payne will give Cupito significant targets, as well as all-world TE Mark Spaeth. If Cupito has a bad year, it will surprising, but the new starters on the offensive line will dictate a lot of Cupito's success this season.

For team that depends on the run as Minnesota does, its running back situation is dreadful. As mentioned above, Alex Daniels (Columbus Brookhaven) has moved over from the LB position to take some reps with the offense. Amir Pinnix was thought to be the shoe-in replacement for Maroney and grade-casualty Gary Russell (Big Walnut), but his spring and summer performance has motivated Mason to open up the competition for the position.

Simply stated...the Minnesota running back situation would be the same as OSU having one punter on the squad that happened to be missing both legs...OMG...Not Good..

Jesse "The Body" can rock, wrestle, and govern, but can he run the football? Glen has Jesse on speed dial slot #2 (Slot #1 is saved for rotating NAIA schools that have an open slot for 2008).

Defense

The Minnesota defense was "Hit or Miss" last season. It was very good in some of its games, such as the UM game where they only gave up 20 points and 250 yards on the road. Unfortunately, there were some other games on the schedule (ie Penn State, OSU, and Iowa) where the defense looked very "Sieve-ish" and gave up about a gazillion yards.

Linebackers will be the strength of Minnesota's defense this season. John Shelvin and Mario Reese will anchor the linebacking corps for Minnesota, but will have three new faces on the defensive line, as the only returner is sophomore Steve Davis.

The secondary has minimal losses, but this group causes much concern, as it cannot seem to stop anybody other than Chad Henne from moving up and down the field. Three starters return this year, while a new face will inhabit one of the corner spots. This new CB looks to be freshman Keith Massey, which will make a lot of experienced QBs in the Big10 happy to see him out on an island by himself.

Sieve...it's not only a good descripter of OSU Goaltending.

Special Teams
Two sophomores will lead the special team units into battle this season. PK Jason Giannini was 13-19 last season and P Justin Kucek carried a serviceble 39.4 yard average. Jason should be kicking a lot of field goals this season, if there isnt a suitable running back in the Mason Stable. Justin will probably be able to save his strength again this season...for what? I dont really know.

Season Outlook: Well, Minnesota should start out 1-0, but the issue is the 2nd game of the season against California. That's right California...not California School of Culinary Arts, but California or Cal. This will be a for sure loss. Sorry, I just dont give Minny a chance on this one. Overall, Minnesota should be competitive in most of its games, and Cupito is poised to have a big senior season. However, this is Minnesota here, and the prospect of Minny pulling out a 10-win season are minimal. Minnesota will most likely have to keep up with its opponents on the scoreboard, as it looks there will be a bunch of high scoring games for the Gophers. Without an established running game, all of the teams on the Gopher schedule will scheme to force Minny to run the ball. One more thing...Why in the hell is Minnesota traveling to Kent State for a non-conference game? Must be the big "gate admissions" check waiting for them to help pay for that new stadium.

@Kent State
@California
Temple
@Purdue
Michigan
Penn State
@Wisconsin
North Dakota State
@Ohio State
Indiana
@Michigan State
Iowa

“Fa Show” Wins: Kent State, Temple, North Dakota State, Indiana
Could Go Either Way: Purdue, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin
“Fa Show” Losses: California, Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa

Projected Season Record: 7-5(4-4)

Bottom Line: There are running game question marks, but the Gophers will still be able to score points in bunches this season. The real question is...Will they be able to stop anybody from scoring. Temple, Kent State, North Dakota State...Man 'o man does that feel like Mason football or what?

Team Song for 2006: "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" by DJ Shadow

***Update: Corrected a massive typo on Coach Mason's start date. Thanks to "Anon" for the heads up.

Quick Blogroll Update...

2006-08-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

Everybody dont be sad, but Drew over at EndoftheBench is moving. Well, he's only moving from Blogger to Wordpress, but that's not important right now.

No Funny Captions Needed Here...

What is important right now is that the new link to his new and improved site has been updated on the DCfW blogroll.

Now, Drew...since you are in your new "digs" and all...when should be expecting the Steve Maltais career retrospect and his contributions to the CBJ or how about a post showcasing Derrick Walser's fantastic defensive skeeelllss???

DCfW - Big10 Preview #4 - The Purdue Boilermakers

2006-08-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

After a strong showing in the Fulmer Cup this summer, Purdue looks to carry the momentum into the 2006 season.

There was a lot of hype that was incorrectly pushed the way of the Boilermakers last year, and there were even discussions of Purdue being a darkhorse national title contender. This was being mentioned after Purdue hit the lottery last year and missed both OSU and Michigan (Dont get me started about how a schedule can dictate an MNC contender..effing media love obsession with Louisville last year). Well, it's apparent that lightning can strike in the same place twice, as Purdue is granted another reprieve and will miss the Big "2 " again this season.

For those that follow the Big 10 religiously, Purdue has always seemed like a decent team that could pull off a few upsets, but would always lose a game or two that is absolutely should not lose. You could share this same categorizing with Michigan State, but that's not important right now. Generally, you always wanted to catch Purdue on the days that they werent the world-beaters. This never seems to happen if you are an OSU or Michigan fan, as tough games have been the trademark for the Purdue match-ups for the last 5-6 seasons.

I have always kind of pulled for Purdue when the advent of the "basketball on turf" really came into the fold of the Big 10 in the late 90's, when a fantastic QB by the name of Drew Brees took the helm at Purdue. However, as time has gone on...Coach Joe Tiller seems to have moved his philosophy from the "Basketball on Turf" to a more Big 10 I-Formation style of football, which has not paid dividends, since Drew Brees' Rose Bowl season in 2001.

There will be no hype for Purdue this year...and that is a good thing...

Offense

Painter...trying to hit the broad side of a barn this year.

There will definitely be improvement here. Six starters will be returning this season, and QB Curtis "Dont call me Matt" Painter should be ready for a breakout season after a rough season where he only completed 52.4% of his passes. Receivers Dorien Bryant and 6'9" Kyle Ingraham should give Painter adequate targets to improve his numbers from last season. Protecting Painter, Purdue also returns four starters from its O-Line, including the two tackles, Sr. Mike Otto and Jr. Sean Sester.

While, there are some questions on the offensive side of the ball, Purdue should be able to put up some points through the air. However, it would be nice if Purdue could get some support out of the RB spot, which looks to be filled by Junior Running Back Kory Sheets. This will definitely be the strong side of the ball for the Boilermakers. With that being said, let's look at the...

Defense

These next three lines sum up the outlook for the Purdue defense this year.
Bernie Pollard...Gone
Ray Edwards....Gone
Rob Ninkovich..Gone

This guy is gone, and we have sunk to a whole new level.

Only 4 returning starters from a defense that ranked 11th in the Big 11 in pass defense and red-zone defense.

DCfW's Prediction...Pain...OMG...So Much Pain.

Special Teams

Seniors PK Casey Welch and P Jared Armstrong will definitely man the most experienced unit on the Purdue squad. This says a lot about this year's chances for Purdue.

Season Outlook: We know that the Boilermakers should start off the season 3-0, but after that there is only one certainty...Purdue will get the standard "no-lube" welcome to Hawaii after a rough season in the Big 10. Maybe Tiller can give John L. a call and ask him about the refereeing on the islands.

Indiana State
Miami (OH)
Ball State
Minnesota
@Notre Dame
@Iowa
@Northwestern
Wisconsin
Penn State
@Michigan State
@Illinois
Indiana
@Hawaii

“Fa Show” Wins: Indiana State, Ball State
Could Go Either Way: Miami, Northwestern, Penn State, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota
“Fa Show” Losses: Notre Dame, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Hawaii

Projected Season Record: 6-7(3-5)

Bottom Line: Is there anyway that we can get Taylor Stubblefield a 12th year of eligibility? This year's version of the Boilermakers will look a lot like last year's...only scoring more points. Unfortunately, looks like Purdue will be giving up a whole lot more points this year as well. For the fans in Ross-Ade, how can a year without UM and OSU on the schedule look this bad?

Team Song for 2006: "Will You Smile Again?" by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Booster gives USC Player $18,001. USC Slithers Out of Penalties.

2006-08-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

I know this will sound like whining coming from a Buckeye. But if I am a Pac10 school or an Oklahoma administrator, I am asking questions on the NCAA's ruling on USC WR Dwayne Jarrett. His total benefit from a booster (Matt Leinart's Father...yes...he is a booster by NCAA standards) totaled $18,001 from the rent and utilities paid for in Dwayne's name by Mr Leinhart to "ease" the financial burden associated with living off-campus.

I dont even have enough money for sleeves. How in the hell will I pay back $18,001 to charity?

I guess what the NCAA is really saying to all of those schools out there that have rogue boosters is that you should wait to dole out any pro-active punishments. I dont know if JT would like a "do over" with Troy Smith and his $500-handshake, but I am sure that Stoops is probably thinking that maybe he overreacted with the dismissal of Rhett Bomar.

All in all, the NCAA infractions committee just made a murky benefits rule pretty much opaque at this point.

Pete should be feeling pretty good about himself. He played the system, got an All-American receiver back in the fray, and reached Barry Switzer-status all in one day. Kudos to you, Satan!

Myles...I fart in your general direction.

In Buckeyeland, there is a single moral to this story....$500 > $18,001 to the NCAA....unless you are Sneaky Pete.

***Update...

HeismanPundit has chimed in with his take, which is basically dripping with USC homerism and takes the stance that it was different than other benefits received by other players....from boosters. I think that this is the chicken-shit approach to look at a group of USC compliance administrators that seem to allow more and more shit to go down in Southern Cal (Hello...Reggie's Dad). I guess it will take a Clarrett-like level of activity to reduce USC to the level of a normal university in the eyes of the NCAA. I understand the standard Pete Carroll line will be used as a defense("USC knew nothing about or had nothing to do with these activities"), but I think it is at the point where this line is going to grow very old...very quickly. Maybe he can have a press conference Uncle Johnny Papapapapadaaakis' Greek Restaurant and talk about how its boosters really dont do anything wrong at all.

***Update

I spelled Leinart incorrectly. Why couldn't Matt's last name be Smiht errr Smith......:)

Thanks...SMU0104 at Bucknuts

MotSaG put on their funny hats....

2006-08-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

Doesn't ND have its own network already? (Courtesy: Deadspin)

Men of the Scarlet and Gray come through with fantastic Gameday Preview for the 2006 season. You can peruse the hilarity by clicking here.

Recent Happenings....

2006-08-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

As is the case, I am finally able to post a few things and try and finish up the Big Ten Review for this year. Though highly unlikely, I will try and finish by the end of August.

bradshrugged sheds a little more light on the Rhett Bomar situation, and unless you have been living under a rock, there were people stating this was happening well before Saint Stoops stepped in and said that it was naughty to take $18,000 and not work for it.

Adding American Hockey Fan to the blogroll. Probably, the funniest hockey blog that I have come across. Granted, it isnt "OSU Football coach's obsession with hovercrafts and prostitutes" funny, but it will do.

Update: Also added The Battle of California, which focuses on the Mighty Ducks with Earl Sleek (Contributor) currently ranking the best hockey video games with sweet commentary.

Army of the Ohio brings us a good article about the whining over the doping, or should I say the excessive whining about the doping and cheating in the Tour, or sports in general.

Men of the Scarlet and Gray chime in on the Zherdev situation. I agree with the sportsMonkey on this one. We have a youth movement going in the organization, and things have been very quiet in the form of off-season acquisitions and free-agents. Why in the freakin' world would we jack around with a young talent and scorn him in his first major contract negotiation. If Dougy Mac is looking to make seasoon ticketholder enemies in Columbus, this is the perfect way to do it. Sign the kid...he is a proven NHL talent that is learning his way in an organization that does not have the luxury of keeping him in Syracuse to mature. Doug...Think of what would have happened in Detroit if a certain young flambuoyent centre by the name of Sergei Fedorov was shipped out of town, because his dedication was in question. In other words, quit being a dick and sign the effing kid already. If he isnt signed by training camp, Dougy will be fired by Christmas, becuase the team will be in the same situation it has been in every year of its existence...being eliminated from the playoffs before December.

MotSaG also have put up its D-Line preview for the 2006 squad.

It's official....Death Cab for Woody was passed over on the Blogpoll for 2006. Thanks Brian. May visions of Phil Helmuth's Testicles or Chuck Amato's Moobs haunt you until the day you die. Congrats to the-614 and MotSaG on the nominations.

DCFW - Big10 Preview #3 - The Northwestern "Tony Shinns"

2006-08-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Tragedy in Evanston, but the Fighting Tony Shinn’s don’t crumble under pressure.

Good old Northwestern. You know the school whose students swear you will be working for them at hands of the annual woodshed beating that is placed on them by OSU. Now, it is obvious that there was a hiccup in 2004, but there is, obviously, a different feel with the passing of Randy Walker and subsequent hiring of Pat Fitzgerald to fill the coaching void. Not only did NW bring back one of its own, it brought back an impact player who was the heart and soul of the mid-90s Northwestern defenses. Patty also happens to be the youngest coach in D-I football.

For those not familiar with Northwestern Football, a good description of it is a standing tradition of spread-option football, a scrappy defense, and multi-angled punches to the gnads at any point in the game. Let’s just say that the Northwestern defensive and offensive players have been known to take some liberties in the pile and in the open.

It looks like this year will be no different (hopefully minus the shots to the “boys”). However, this year motivation will come in huge doses, as the team will surely pull together to for the old "win one for Coach Walker routine," which I cant say that I blame them. Tough times lie ahead for that team.

Offense:
The offense will start and end with Tyrell Sutton. A downhill runner that never seems to go down on the first hit. He is straight from the mold of Mike Hart, but with a little more straight-ahead speed. CJ Bacher will take over for All-World QB Brett Basanez. The sophomore will surely start slowly, but will catch onto the offense..and probably become just as efficient as Basanez was before his departure last year. While it doesn’t look like the NCAA’s #1 Pass Efficiency offense will be back for another spin on the stat-lines, it will definitely have some punch with Sutton carrying the load until the rest of the offense catches up. This will definitely mean that the NW offense will see a lot of 8-9 man fronts until Bacher can prove he is up to the challenge with the standard “dink and dunk” passes that are the hallmark of the NW offense. This will also be made a little tougher as the starting wide receivers Philmore and Johnathan Fields have also graduated leaving a fresh new crop of receivers for Bacher to utilize for 2006.

Mr. Sutton..Life after Basanez is not so much fun.

Defense: The defense will be anchored by two returning starters, Adam Kaedla, Nick Roach, and Marquice Cole. With the loss of McGarigle at middle LB, the NW defense will be missing the services of the all-time NCAA career leader in tackles. Roach, Kaedla, and Cole have starts under their belt, but there are questions abound. Who will the take the second cornerback slot next year? This is the big question that surrounds the defense, as breaking in a new CB in this years’ version of the Big Televen will be a test in attrition and short-term memory. Overall, Fitzgerald and the assistants for NW will have its work cut out for them, but the emotion backing this team with its loss should help out the defense for the first part of the year until the emotional charge wears off.

Special Teams: Senior Punter Slade Larscheid and Senior Joel Howells, returning placekicker will look to improve on a rather inconsistent season for the NW special teams last year. Howells was probably one of the worst placekickers in the league last year, hitting just 2-10 field goals from 40+ yards, which is almost Rivas-like…minus the Joey Bag’O Donuts Fixation. Slade is a senior and, while only punted 10 times for a 38.8 yds/punt average, should bring some consistency to a position that will most likely need it.

Howells doesn't like donuts. Rivas loves donuts. Howells cant kick field goals outside of 30 yards. Rivas Can. Howells...You need to eat brother.

Season Outlook:
The karma of the cream-puff non-conference schedule is returned with no quarter on the three game stretch of Michigan and Iowa on the road and finishing with OSU at home.

@Miami
New Hampshire
Eastern Michigan
@Nevada
@Penn State
@Wisconsin
Purdue
Michigan State
@Michigan
@Iowa
Ohio State
Illinois

“Fa Show” Wins: New Hampshire, Eastern Michigan, Nevada
Could Go Either Way: Purdue, MSU, Miami, Illinois
“Fa Show” Losses: PSU, Wisky, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State

Projected Season Record: 7-5 (3-5)

Bottom Line: Fitzgerald takes over, but this is a rebuilding year in Evanston.

Team Song for 2006: “A is to B as B is to C” by Boards of Canada

DCfW Suggested Listening...Bel Auburn

2006-08-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

While this thing called "work" has hampered my ability to post as much material as I would like over the last few weeks, I have been fortunate enough to listen to a lot of music. Recently, I received a friendly email from a band named "Bel Auburn" out of Ashland, Ohio. I used to drive by Ashland on a daily basis, during a stretch of time (2002) when I commuted from Columbus to Akron (dont ask) for a long...long...painful project. It was a daily ritual to try and tune into the morning show on Ashland's University Radio station. This station introduced to bands, such as "The Sea and Cake" and helped me get ready for my on-slaught in Akron. The fact is that this area, while may not seem like a breeding ground for good music, is one of many areas of Ohio that has decent music coming out of it, but you would never know it.

Back on Topic....Bel Auburn.

I visited its website,read the Bio, and listened to all of the tracks that were available on the website. I also perused some other blogger reviews of the band. The band still resides in the Ashland-area, which is a unusual for bands that are trying to get its music heard by the masses. However, I appreciate the members' reasoning for such a bold move, which is the simple fact that they really enjoy the pace of life in Ashland and like the idea of having a house with a front porch. I understand the front porch concept, having grown up in a small town myself.

The great thing about this band is the music. The music is fantastic, and just makes you wonder if there is something in the Ashland water that can spark this kind of creativity. The first song that I listened to off of the band website was Metropolitan (Watercolor), and proceeded to listen to all of the website music a few times. I was impressed. From a musical and production standpoint, these songs are very polished and all of the components are very complimenting to one another. I generally critique music, based on its musical content, not the creativity of the lyrics. However, the lyrical tone and delivery from Scott and Mark melts into the pieces and really compliments the songs, while not overpowering them.

I have seen comparisons of Coldplay with Bel Auburn's work, but unlike Coldplay's music, Bel Auburn's music has a genuine feel to it. It doesnt feel like it was made out of a cookie-cutter. The musical composition is very fluid and really feels like a mix of Verve tracks spanning "A Storm in Heaven" and "A Northern Soul." The guitar action between Jared and Scott is very naturally "Nick McCabe-ish", and this a high compliment to any guitarist that prefers to set a mood with their music rather than see how many hammers and pull-offs they can do in 0.18 seconds.

While I really liked all of the songs on the website, songs that really seem to stick out to me are Metrpolitan (Watercolor), Blind Ward, and Burn Unit.

I would suggest checking these guys out sometime in the near future at their website. The band's album "Cathedrals" is available on eMusic. Hopefully, I will be able to see them someday when they make it to the West Coast.

Thanks for the email Jared and Good Luck!!!

Sorry about the lack of posting...in the process of moving and closing on previous home in the C-bus...

2006-07-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

A landslide of material soon to follow...Lots of dead time on these long plane rides.

"You are now free to be delayed for 9 hours at Sea-Tac...Thanks Northwest!"

Come on feel the Illinoise

2006-07-20T04:44:00.000-07:00

If you are a Sufjan Stevens fan, then I must say that life is pretty good. If you are an Illinois football fan, then life has been pretty bleak since the days of Kurt Kittner.

Having family in the central Illinois-area, I am subject to the recent problems with Illinois football and its inability to consistently put good teams on the field, while other schools in the region are able to have success (ie Northwestern, Notre Dame, etc.)

There is a different feel to the Illinois football program, since the hire of Ron Zook. With his own recruits starting to trickle into the fold, Illinois can only get better. After watching the OSU-Illinois game last year, I had realized far Illinois had fallen since its last Big Ten title in 2001.

Offense:
The Illinois offense is bound and determined to get better. There is talent waiting in the wings with Freshman QB Isiah Williams shunning the likes of ND (there isn’t a an ND fan who would ever believe this) and OSU to play under Coach Zook. There is plenty of talent at the RB position with Halsey and Mendenhall leading a very experienced backfield. Add in QB Tim Brasic with another year of experience under his belt and Illinois should be able to put some points on the board against lesser opponents. However, Brasic does need to improve his status as a Big Ten signal caller this year, as he was near the basement in pass efficiency last year and had a 1:1 TD:INT Ratio Last year…not good. The entire O-line returns this year and is serviceable, but seemed to have uber-problems when facing teams with even marginal speed on the ends. Unfortunately for Tim, he is playing in the Big10 where marginal speed is there on the ends for most teams and fantastic speed is there for a few teams (PSU, UM, OSU, and Wisky). I would expect that things will get better for the Fightin’ Illini, but its all relative in the amount of success generated in year two of the Zook Era. Look for Williams to contribute early this year, it would be wise for Zook to get this talented freshman on the field now.

Brasic has to get better...at running for his life.

Defense:
This is where the problems really begin. The unit that Zook put on the field last year couldn’t stop Grand Valley State…let alone a team with decent offensive firepower. The front four was ridiculously overmatched in almost all of its Big10 match-ups this past season…even Indiana. Teams were able to beat the Illini to the corner on most days running the ball and the vertical passing game was always there for its opponents. With another of Zook’s football philosophy being brought in at Illinois, the defense will improve. It has to improve with better recruiting classes being brought into Champaign, which is something you can always count on with Zook at the helm. The LBs should improve this season as the freshmen and sophomores are ready for another season of brutal Illinois football.

When Googling "Illinois Defense" this is the first that pops up...surprising...not really.

Special Teams:
Freshman Punter (Kyle Yelton) = Good Times…for opposing teams. Junior Jason Reda returns as the placekicker for Illinois, which is a good thing, as the winds that swirl around Memorial Stadium are brutal for even the best kickers. I am sure that both of these guys will be top notch by the end of the season with the amount of repetition provided by the Zook-style offense.

Season Outlook (Homes Games – BOLD):

Eastern Illinois
Rutgers
Syracuse
Iowa
Michigan State
Indiana
Ohio
Penn State
Wisconsin
Ohio State
Purdue
Northwestern

“Fa Show” Wins: Eastern Illinois
Could Go Either Way: Purdue, Syracuse, Indiana, Ohio
“Fa Show” Losses: Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Northwestern

Projected Season Record: 3-9 (1-7)

Bottom Line: It wont be a fun season in Champaign, but it will be better than last year.

Team Song for 2006: Downward is Heavenward by Hum.

Really a better preview of the Illinois season can be summed up by replaying this YouTube Video 12 times

CBJ Summer Review – Part I

2006-07-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well, another draft and summer skate at the Ice Haus been completed for the Columbus organization. Let’s take a look at where the Bluejackets stand with its lineups for the 2006 NHL Season

Potential Forward Lines

Modin – Brule – Zherdev
Nash – Fedorov – Vyborny
Chimera – Maholtra – Fritsche
Shelley – Hartigan – Picard

Extras:
Svitov
~~Rupp~~
Pineault
Platt

Top 2 Lines

"Fedorov being Fedorov...in the Playoffs...this year...hopefully."

It is pretty much a given, barring any unforeseen injuries, that the top three lines are pretty much set with the top two lines being interchangeable parts. I am not sure if Brule is ready to handle the physical level of the NHL, but after getting watch a few of his games against the Everett Silvertips in the WHL Semis, he is a wrecking ball with a scoring touch in close similar to Dino Ciccarelli. He is not afraid to get his clocked clean and plays with a mean streak a mile wide. It will be interesting to see how he can do this upcoming season. The one thing we can all say about the first two lines is that there is now some defensive responsibility on both lines with the recent addition of Modin. Now that Dr. Hook is gone (Jan Hrdina) I wont wince when any forward (from Tie Domi to Brian Gionta) comes into the CBJ zone with anything resembling speed. Fedorov still has the wheels, but has taken more of an Yzerman approach to his game and is making sure that everything is order defensively before leaving the zone. The skill is still there and it makes an appearance from time to time, but the Fedorov we saw last year is most likely the Fedorov that will be playing for the CBJ this season. He is a bit overpriced, but the effect that he has had on Zherdev and his work ethic in the defensive zone has provided a level of leadership that past CBJ’ers Ray Whitney ( He still isn’t playing defense) and Andrew Cassels (Nice guy…terrible two-way hockey player) would never and will never be able to attain. If and when this team makes the playoffs, Fedorov will play a critical role in any success that occurs. In regards to Modin, he is a player that most people do not notice or appreciate unless he has played on or against your team in the past. A heavy shooter that will probably chip in about 25-30 goals this year, and provide even more leadership in the dressing room. Plays a great two-way game and should command a little more respect from other teams keying on the likes of Fedorov, Nash, and Zherdev.

3rd Line

"Is very bad to stand in Jason's way. Is very very bad."

The third line was pretty much set last week, as Trevor Letowski signed a free-agent contract with the Stanley Cup Champs (Carolina Hurricanes..if you have been living under a rock or prefer to watch poker on TV). This will definitely be the energy line for the team with three hard skaters possessing serviceable offensive punch in Fritsche, Chimera, and Manny Malhotra. This is the line that most Bluejackets fans will probably love this season. Chimera can put the puck in the net and skates ridiculously fast for a guy that is 200-215 lbs. He is pretty much a freight train on skates. Manny and Danny are both hard working skaters, and while Manny is really starting to blossom as a NHL player, Danny is still trying to gain the consistency needed to stay in the NHL. Getting Manny signed for another year and a providing him a decent amount of ice time, which he has not received in the past, should provide fantastic results for Manny and the franchise.
The fourth line will continue to be a “hodge-podge” of players. The players that end up on the ice will ultimately depend on the opponent for the evening. You know what you are going to get with Shelley. A blue-collar player that has worked very hard to improve his game, but let’s face it, fourth line ice time is going to be the best that Shelly will probably ever be able to get in this franchise going forward. The farm system has talent waiting to play, and the need for an enforcer is slowly going the way of the dodo. Mark Hartigan is an interesting story. Here is a career AHL’er with exceptional offensive skill, but, in the past, hasn’t been able to put it together at the NHL level. Mark did himself a great favor last season by finishing out the season on a terror, and guess what the CBJ did for him. That’s right…put him on waivers, so he could back down to Syracuse for the playoffs. Genius Doug…genius. I am still surprised he didn’t get picked up by Detroit. I know that the Detroit fans would say that he was not good enough to make its roster. Bullshit. He is a perfect Detroit-type puck possession player, who, in my opinion, is a much better player than “Bluejacket-Killer” Jason Williams. Hartigan is good enough to play on any of the top 3 lines, but will most likely play as the centre man for the 4th line to keep teams honest. Also looking to make a splash this season will be resident agitator Alexander Picard. CBJ fans love this guy already. Skates hard and will hit anyone in his path (Think of a motivated Blake Sloan with skating ability and talent…don’t think Blake Sloan after his first five minutes of ice time as a Bluejacket.). His only problem was that he turned into Robert Kron on the offensive end, and couldn’t buy a goal. Picard could also make a splash on the 3rd line, if Manny, Danny, or Chimera is struggling.

It is really nice to finally see some depth in the organization, so it is not required to bring up the first rounders to provide skill and excitement for the fans of the team. The scorig will go up this year, but I also believe that the forwards will take a little more responsibility in their own end, which should make the CBJ even more competitive for 2006.

New Coach for old Northwestern

2006-07-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

Former LB Pat Fitzgerald was named the head coach of the Wildcats today. This will be an interesting situation as he is awfully young (31) to become the head coach of any team..let alone a team in a power conference. This means that the Big10 has the two youngest coaches in Division-I. Impressive to say the least.

Good luck Coach Fitzgerald.

Good Luck Wildcats...it will definitely be an interesting and emotional year for the program and fans.

Ty Conklin and the Red Wing Connection...

2006-07-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the CBJ signed Ty Conklin, which offifically opened the goaltending position up for competition in Columbus (Well, not really the starting position).

John McConnell: Ty Webb?
Doug MacClean: No John, Ty Conklin.

While the Red Wings fans are having a tough time digesting the potential Ed Belfour acquisition, the CBJ look to hand over the keys to a young Pascal LeGrinch and see how things will fall out. I am all for this move, as it puts Pascal in the same position Denis was in with Tugger back in the early days of the franchise.

I am kind of curious about Detroit's move. Now that Stevie has retired, wouldn't it be prudent to move towards a little youth between the pipes and potentially develop a goaltender for the future? I know that this is one area that the Red Wings have struggled with over the years. Exhibit A. Chris Osgood. A good goaltender that had confidence bouts with shots that have a smaller percentage of hitting the net rather than being an actual scoring chance. He was still able to win a cup with the Red Wings in 1998, but the goaltending coach(es) at the time (ie. The Detroit fans & media) gave him little chance to succeed beyond that year. Wouldn't it be great to win a Cup as a goaltender and have the city and media basically believe that you did a decent job of not screwing it up?

I have always been a big fan of Osgood. He seems like a good team guy that can play in pressure situations, WHEN HE DOESN'T HAVE ANOTHER STARTING GOALTENDER ON THE TEAM WITH HIM. Confidence will always be the issue that Osgood has to deal with in the future. Go ahead Detroit...bring in Belfour. Keep Osgood on the bench. When that no good piece of crap goaltender Belfour has another injury within the first 10 games of the season, Osgood will be put in the same situation that has plagued him since Vernon was brought to Detroit in 1997 (I know that Vernon didnt really start playing until the playoffs started). A STARTING NHL goaltender that will have him looking over his shoulder. In my honest opinion, Belfour is not the solution in Detroit, Ty Conklin was the solution. Why? He wont put the pressure on Osgood that an Ed Belfour will eminate while in the prone position with another sprained cooper's ligament.

Kenny, my boobs hurt....

I pose this question to Kenny H. Why not put Ozzie in the starting position with Howard as the back-up for the year? This started to work last year for the CBJ with Denis and LeClaire...

Just a thought. However, I think that the Detroit organization is looking for a quick fix to a problem that may bite them in the ass in the future. Who is Detroit's next hired gun after this coming year's playoff disappointment?

I dont think that Goaltending is the problem. I think that this team lacks any grit outside of a few players. Stevie Y used to provide this grit and determination through his own play, but his game as gone down a few notches, due to injuries and such. Who is the leader on this team? Nick Lidstrom? Please. Lidstrom is a great player, but a Captain has to lead...not look like a gazelle and make smooth defensive plays. I am sure that someone will tell me differently, but I just dont see him having the presence required in the locker room to lead that team with the entire city on his shoulders. Basically, I think he would move back to Sweden after one year of being a Captain with an early playoff exit, and I know that the Detroit fans dont want that.

The Wings have some big questions to answer this offseason. Unfortunately, I dont think that Belfour was an answer to any of them.

Offseason Roundtable

2006-07-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Referencing Bruce Ciskie's blog,

I wanted to chime in on the first of the two offseason roundtabe posts that have been posed the college football blogging community. EDSBS's roundtable will be posted tomorrow.

Which preseason college football magazine is your favorite?

I, like many others, utilize the season preview magazines for depth charts will eventaully read all of the fluff pieces on topics such as:

Jeff Samardzija and Geddy Lee are never in the same place at the same time. Discuss.
Chad Henne & Anthony Morelli. Which one flops in 2006? Let it be Morelli...for the sake of the Michigan fans and band members travelling to "Urine Valley."
The OSU Defense...it could be really good or awfully mediocre.
Charlie Weis' affinity for being really nice to sick children....and food.
The ability to have over $10,000 floated your way for rent subsidization...and not miss a game...
What direction will circle-jerk seal (Nick Lachey) face this year now that his wingman is in Arizona?
Which WAC games will be pre-empted by Poker Tournaments with or without Jennifer Tilly on Fox and ESPN?
Where in the hell is Trev Alberts? The overabundance of Mark May sewage produced on Gameday Final has made the cllege football gods very unhappy. Another season of this crap and we may have to sacrifice Suzy Colbert (and all of the needy African children that she helps for "pennies a day.") to the Krakon.

That being said, I dont really have a favorite publication to mention.

What team is being supremely overrated in the preseason rankings?

I think that the easy answer is Notre Dame (I think OSU just scored another touchdown), as I am totally against ranking teams high based on its schedule. Notre Dame will have some tough match-ups this year...if they make it through the schedule and most of its opponents keep up their end of the bargain (I am talking to you UCLA) and finish with a respectable record...unlike this past year (UT...cmon) then Notre Dame will be in the BCS Championship game and there is nothing that anybody can do about it. However, a defense that slow last year wont get faster with incoming freshman wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs. I fear for Defensive Coordinator Rick Minter's job, if the Irish get into another shootout like they did with MSU or give up yardage like a "Sieve-ish" Manny Legace playoff goaltending performance. I would not be surprised if they lost a game or two next year that they shouldnt, because of that awful and porous defense, as the Stanford game comes to mind from last year. That was as good as a loss in my mind, because it really exposed all of the weaknesses present on the defensive side of the ball for the Irish. The Irish were fortunate to win that game...period.

That leads me to West Virginia. I know I know...the spanking that they put on Georgia may have opened some eyes on the national scene, but I dont think Goergia was nearly as good as its record had shown last year. The SEC was a battle of attrition with inept offenses and this crazy notion that defense will win games, while WVU had a pretty easy schedule and still managed to lose a game in the Big "Conference USA" East. Dont ask me why, but a 9-3 or 8-4 season seems to be on-tap for our couch-friendly football fans south of Ohio. Lousiville will be tough, and Pitt has to better this year...plain and simple.

Which conference will be the best in 2006?

SEC

Probably the SEC by default. Apparently, Big10 Football is alive and well with the resurgence of actual defense being played in the SEC. I am not sure what is going on down there, but maybe it is a little something with the speed myth finally wearing off and some SEC schools are figuring that athletes posessing football skill are better than sprinters in pads.

Big12

Until they even out those conferences and their is a meaningful game in the first weekend in December for the B12 title game, this will still be one of the most ridiculously top-heavy conferences in America.

Big10

Defenses from last year are not there, with the exception of PSU. However, even PSU with its great LB corp will only be able to hold up that new secondary and depleted front four for so long. Regardless, it looks like a good year for QBs in the B10, as Troy Smith, Drew Stanton, and Chad Henne lead this year's group of signal callers. It will be a good year for the conference, but ultimately, OSU and UM will most likely decide the conference with potential for a scare or two from the likes of Iowa and maybe PSU (if Bill Brasky...I mean Anthony Morelli steps up his game in a major way, while running for his life behind that O-Line)

Which "non-BCS" conference will be the best in 2006?

The one that Notre Dame plays in..."Oh snap!"

Which non-BCS conference team will have the best season?

The Horned Frogs....TCU baby.

Let's get your first read on this one...who will win the H*i*m*n? Oh, by the way, players whose last names begin with the letter "Q" are ineligible.

Adrian Peterson...Unless OSU goes undefeated...then it's Troy Smith...

PSU Hockey 2006-2007..."Now We're Only 30 Years Behind UM and OSU."

2006-06-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

According to Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic, Penn State has hired a new coach for its club...errr...D-VI Men's Ice Hockey program. Geesh...How pathetic is it that a D-I school that has over 500 wins in the ACHA...is still in the ACHA...with schools like Ohio University (No offense my fellow Bobcats, I think it is comical that your school is the proverbial "thorn in the side" of the PSU Hockey Program). If I were a Penn State alum, I would be wanting some answers at this point (Thank God I am not...Tossers...of Urine...). This should be a D-I program already. If Alabama-Huntsville can play D-I competitively, somebody should pass the memo onto PSU. Why get a new coach and stay in D-IX? Apparently, an AD with a weak consitution thought that it would be good to be play in the local Pittsburgh Tuesday Night Beer League and clean up some more championships...unless Ohio University, again, shatters those dreams of D-XXIII glory.

At this rate, PSU should have its D-I hockey program ready to get hammered by OSU and UM on a yearly basis by 2030. I am sure the refs will have everything to do with those losses as well. And maybe...just maybe....they will have something this awesome....

to celebrate that milestone event when PSU hockey pulls out its first D-I win against Ferris State or Northern Michigan.

"Will this man be coaching when PSU moves to D-I in hockey? Well, since he hasnt really coached a game since the mid 80s...No, but it sure would be fun to see him try and chase officials across the ice when he goes on one of his ice-cream deprived temper tantrums."

DCfW - Big10 2006 Preview - Indiana "Tigers"

2006-06-26T00:27:00.000-07:00

This marks the first installment of the DCFW Big 10 Preview. We will walk through all of the Big Ten teams and provide some predictions on team performances this season.

First stop on the DCfW Express: The Indiana "Tigers"...

It's a blog...not an art contest....but I am sure you get the point.

They copied Clemson's "Rock"

Just off Exit 149A....

...so they may as well take the team name, logo, and Mascot.

Indiana...Indiana...Tiny Bottles of Liquor!!!!

Coach (Season): Terry Hoeppner (2nd Season - 4-7 Overall)
2005 Season Record (Big Ten): 4-7 (1-7)

Key Returning Players: Blake Powers (QB), James "The Law" Hardy (WR), Chauncey Incarnato (OL), and Tracy Porter (DB).

Offense: The IU offense was a pleasant surprise in 2005 Big Ten Season with new coach Terry Hoeppner bringing some of that University of Miami magic that helped produce Gary Busey...Superbowl Champion. The emergence of sophomore Blake Powers and mega-receiver James Brasky...errr....Hardy put some fear into the hearts of defensive coordinators in the Big Televen. However, this is Indiana Football and while some early success created some hope for the Crimson and Cream faithful, the late season games against OSU and Michigan helped reality set in on the place of IU Football under a first-year coach. With that being said, 2006 will look a lot very similar next season. Powers and Hardy (pending some domestic battery charges) will have another year under their belts and should have some success against teams on its schedule that happen to posess a weak D-Line. The team has no depth on its O-Line..end of discussion. With only Justin Frye and the much-ballyhooed Chauncey Incarnato anchoring the line, it will interesting to see how much Powers will be running for his life against the likes of Iowa, Ohio State, and Michigan.
Defense: The IU defense should be respectable on the front four as two seniors are the bookends with a sophomore and junior plugging the middle...that's the good news. The bad news = The back seven. All of the starting linebackers for a team that gave up 215.2 rushing yards/game, which was 110th of 117 D-IA teams ahev graduated. In the secondary, both corner starters return with Tracy Porter and Leslie Majors, but there is some hope with the safety starters (Troy Grosfield and Will Meyers) and surprisingly there is some depth at this position. This depth may be the reason that one of the safeties was moved down to work with LBs this spring.

Special Teams: Let's not go there...Tyson Beatty better keep that leg warmed up this year.

2006 Season Schedule with Predicted Result (Home Games in Bold)

9/2/2006 Western Michigan - L
9/9/2006 Ball State - W
9/16/2006 Southern Illinois - W
9/23/2006 Connecticut - L
9/30/2006 Wisconsin - L
10/7/2006 Illinois - W
10/14/2006 Iowa - L
10/21/2006 Ohio State - L
10/28/2006 Michigan State - L
11/4/2006 Minnesota - L
11/11/2006 Michigan - L
11/18/2006 Purdue - W

2006 Season Record Prediction (Big Ten):

4-8 (2-6)

Final Analysis: Terry has got a lot of work to do on the defensive side of the ball and the O-Line. It is going to be a long year for Powers. I would be surprised if the back-up is not starting by game 5. Sorry Hoosier Fans. Terry needs to keep recruiting..just dont ask Sampson to hit the phones.

2006 Team Song: "Greet Death" by Explosions in the Sky

Quick Note....

2006-06-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

A skinny post with additions to the Blogroll...

First off...I was perusing my site meter report and am starting to see some domains pop-up on my radar that I wasnt really expecting. These would include dispatch.com & harvard.edu, and I need to reiterate this simple statement(Not that the dispatch or harvard guys/gals have anything to do with this statement). I do not really care so much about the grammar on these posts, so please dont email me about it. I am not getting paid to write this stuff and I just finished working on my MBA less than a year ago (tired of writing at that level). I dont want to put that kind of time into this...yet. So...

Additions to Mighty Blogroll...

Added bradshrugged an A&M Blogger with a liking for one of the inspirations of the blog - Death Cab for Cutie.

And believe it or not, there is another CBJ Blog out there...Army of the Ohio. The CBJ Blog landscape is a little less lonely, and now I cant get that Bjork song "Army of Me" out of my head. Good Times.

Carolina representing with the Stormbringer making the roll. I know that I dog Carolina, but the fans that do follow the sport...love it, as they should..as it is the greatest sport there is..."hands down" (Dammit...I am starting to sound like a soccer or "proper football" fan.)

I am not sure if this the equivalent of the College Football Blog Yellow Pages, but DCfW has an entry at the College Football Resource. So we got that going for us, which is nice.

Coming Soon on the DCfW:

First Installment of the DCfW Big 10 Preview - Indiana
Look ahead for the 2006 Columbus Bluejackets
Jorts...Man Laws Revisited

I am heading out to enjoy record high tempatures in the Seattle-area. Peace.

Herringbone

It's actually clear here (for a change) and I can see this:

So...I am jumping in the family truckster and driving until I get there....

Eteamz Remnants...Body Art Hockey Represent!!!

2006-06-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

One of the fiercest rivalries in the CAHL over the last few years, Body Art versus Eagles games were filled with extreme amounts of chippiness and some pretty good hockey.

Here are a few posts from my old Eteamz Site for Body Art Hockey. Enjoy!!

Eagle's MacDougall = All-Star and the "missing link?"

Team Focus = Eagles

I lost focus on this team site after about a week or two. I guess I had other things to do...like work or something.

Yay! The Canes Win...score one for a state that could give two shits about hockey!!!

2006-06-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

I know that there are hockey fans in Carolina...at least 17,000 or so filled that arena, but those few people might be the only people that care about the sport in the grand state of basketball....North Carolina.

I know that this sounds like bitching about the state of hockey, but the fact is that this would be very easy to swallow if the Canes were still the Whalers and were above the Mason-Dixon Line.

Seriously, I dont want this to sound like a Teddy Montgomery statement of the obvious, but the fact remains, there are more people interested in the amount of sweat that comes off of JJ Reddick's testicles, during a Carolina-Duke game than accomplishing a feat of winning the oldest trophy in sports in the state of North Tobacco.

I feel for the Oiler fans. They are great fans. Knowledgable. Passionate. Somewhat crazy. Know how to throw a post-game party. Really the whole city and province of Alberta cares about hockey. Even Calgary or Vancouver fans, though they would never admit it on record, were probably pulling for the Oil to come through in game 7. Why? To bring that Cup back to Canada. Some silly Canadians think that is where it belongs. However, what these Canadians dont realize that there are cities in the US that are worthy of Cup-sitting for a year. There are the obvious cities like Detroit, Boston, Hartford (oops!), Chicago (No worries as long Billy is the owner), and even St. Louis (Hey Keith! Stop trying to eat small babies for lunch and in between periods..See Mickelson Reference on A2Y). However, there are some cities that are making strives in fandom and true appreciation for the great sport that we all love..or should love unless they are unfortunate to have some chemical imbalance that makes them crave sports that require timing of pit stops and left-turns of all varieties. You know who you are....

I wonder if they'll show the Duke game on the big screen tonight?

Case in point, I currently am employed by a company that is based in High Point, NC (Right outside of Greensboro, NC). I think out of the 300 people that work in the corporate office, only about 4-5 people could name more than 3 players from the Hurricanes. This is not exactly a Gallup Poll or anything, but I should be able to find more than 2 people that realize Rod Brinda'mour is a heckuva hockey player (This is karma taking another shot at Bobby Clarke for the whole 72 Summit Series thingy dingy. Dont worry Bob the hockey gods arent done with you yet.)

The Columbus Union Soldier References

Next year we're playing outside...and bringing back Deron Quint (God help us all!!)

Up and coming hockey cities, obviously I am biased, but the Columbus loves its team and cares about its success. There are still a large number of Red Wing and Penguins fans in the central Ohio area, but the number seems to dwindling with each passing year. Having previously been a season ticket holder for the CBJ, I have been witness to the transition. I can remember the first regular season game against the Red Wings at Nationwide arena. The local Red Wing fans came into our flashy new arena, which was quite an experience for them as the JLA, despite its history, is a bit of a craphole. They basically took it over, which was understandable. A franchise with a great deal of history and recent success over the last 10 years and a lineage of great players that have defined the NHL including Howe, Sawchuck, Lindsay, Able, Yzerman, and dare I say Peter Klima. That franchise's history and rabid fans dominated the Red Wing to CBJ proportion in the arena. What was once a 70/30 split for Detroit in Columbus' home arena in the year 2000 is now 80/20 in 2006 in favor of Columbus. The local children's and adult hockey leagues have also grown by leaps and bounds. This transition has finally grown to another level of maturity within the city as the CBJ have successfully acquired a USHL team to play in Columbus. This city will be a hockey power within the next 10-15 years, as the infrastrucutre has been put in place similar to that of Illitch's and Karmanos' commitment to Detroit's youth hockey program. Look for the first player to come out of the Columbus youth hockey program in the relatively near future. For the haters out there that dont think its possible, look at every other major sport (sans Baseball) at the high school level. Ohio produces top-notch Football and Basketball talent each year. As soon as the interest in hockey increases, which it will with likes of the Fritsche brothers (Parma) and hopefully a consistent OSU Hockey Program, Columbus will turn into hockey hotbed just like Detroit.

Other teams worth mentioning:

The Nashville Biting Tootoos
As much as I hate to say it, you can throw Nashville into this category as well. Rabid fanbase with very recent success giving the Wings all they could handle in the 2004 playoffs. Can country music personas and hockey mix?

"We have the facts and we're voting Yes."

The Minnesota NorthWild
Minnesota is a given for a successful franchise. But I have a serious question. Why did NorthStars leave the Twin Cities in the first place?

I'm going on record. Modano's appearance in this movie was the catalyst that brought hockey to Dallas. FU Eisner.

All in all it was a good season and like I have said a few times in previous posts, it was too bad that this playoff season was not as accessible as previous years, while on OLN. It was a great playoff and seriously...congrats to the Carolina Hurricanes the 2006 Stanley Cup Champions.

I see a fine on the horizon for Mark Cuban...

2006-06-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

and I am sure he will get his money's worth on this one.

You gotta love how Wade can push a few guys off crossover to his left, drive to the hole, barely get touched and get a foul called to bail him out for not using his teammates when there were three guys on him. I am sure that DWade will be sending a heart-felt christmas card to Joey Crawford for that gift.

The bigger question is...Why am I mad when I cant stand the NBA? It may have to do with remnants from that matchup of the USA verus the Triple Lindy Divin' Bastardos from that Country that Looks Like a Boot or maybe its just a flare up for general disdain for staets or country's that look like common objects (Like Michigan...Stupid Glove.."Look this is where I live on the glove" Way to go Michigan where do the Yuppers fit on that glove...damn elitists. Not only towards Ohio, but even to those lovable UP Bastards up north. Thanks Michigan for bringing up my anger to a Ryan Leaf-ish level on Sunday night before I have to go work delivering pizzas for lunch tomorrow)

Not even this can make the 16-inches of injustice wrongly subjected to USA Soccer and Dallas Mavericks Fans feel any better.

UPDATE: $250,000 it is...mere pocket change and he's always got that DQ Job to fall back on, if need be.

If Italy were a submarine, it would what?

2006-06-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Dive!

Dive!

Dive!

This should be the new national flag for Italy. That is all....

Death Cab for Woody

EPIC FAIL

There is Hockey in Columbus - Vol I

State of the "Diss" Union

Big Ten Roundtable - Week 2

On Notice - Week #1

DCfW Post Game Review: Youngstown State

Championship Afterbirth...err...math

A few updates to this blog of antiquity

Draft Party in Cowtown...That is Columbus for you Non-Ohio types

Wait for it...yeah...Troy Smith is no longer able to throw footballs or walk upright.

Where is my mind?

Week #5 - DCfW Song of the Week

OSU wins defensive struggle..Butch Sprains Shoulder...Doyel Sprains Vagina

Week #4 - DCfW Song of the Week

Yeah...so I am back...

Pwned...Seriously...Jorts 41 - Land of Coaches 14

More Bulletin Board Material...and Lazy Journalism at its Finest

Bad Karma...The Next Night Beatdown and the Tag that comes with it...

DCfW - Song of the Week - #3 - BCS Edition

CBJ loses...oh crap...CBJ WINS!!!

And so it begins....

Thoughts on UM for next year...

Week #2 - DCfW Song of the Week

DCfW Post of the Day

I dont really want to talk about it - Coney Island 7 - City BBQ 4

Cheesy DCfW New Year’s Big11 Fan Expectations for 2007

DCfW - Post(s) of the Day

DCfW - Song of the Week - #1

Columbus 5 - Chowda 4 OT

Team from the Land of the Dying Economy 5 - Columbus 0

Michigan Marketing Campaign...Renames Stadium...

5 Out of 6…Not Too Shabby

Lloyd the BCS Elf

Backhanded Compliments...At least we have crayon "Spell Checking" up North

Blast you Comcast DVR....

Gary Danielson...oh geesh...

Florida's Worst Nightmare..and a heckuva Heisman Campaign Video

Calling a Spade...Well....a Spade...

CBJ versus Calgary - A story told many times over....

CBJ - Vancouver...Effing Naslund and the Chimera "Around the Net" Paradigm

OSU fares well against the UNC "Travelling Hansbroughs"

On Notice - Michigan Hangover Edition

CBJ has a new Coach

Running to a Re-match?

The CBJ...meh...ugh...One Down...One To Go

On-Notice - Michigan Week

OK People....Quick Recap Here So Far This week...

Another Addition to the Greatest Blogroll Ever

Addition to the Mighty Blogroll

DCfW - Illinois Preview

BCS Smear Campaigns...you gotta love 'em.

CBJ Buzz

On-Notice - Week #9

Siskel & Herringbone - At the Movies.....

On Notice - Week #8

CBJaded…again…

On Notice - Week #7

OSU - MSU - Game Thoughts...and Rants

Message Board Exchange of the Day

Manningham 86'ed until OSU Game

APB: Where in the world is Abel to Yzerman?

Blogroll..Bigger...Better...Stronger...

No Weekend Football for DCfW...I spent the weekend in Victoria, B.C.

Two weeks removed from playing SUNY Buffalo and cries of "playoff" are starting from the mouth of Tuberville

On Notice - Week 5

More Blogroll Hi-Jinx

Auburn Laptop and Gameplan Found...First Look

Additions to the Mighty Blogroll

TCB...Buckeye Style

Zherdev signs...and there is much rejoicing....

Auburn - South Carolina Observations

OSU - PSU Game Review

Fan Behavior..and the Sea of Scarlet?

A weekend in Greensboro...and Atlanta...oh yeah...OSU wins 37-7.

OSU 35 - NIU 12 - Missed Tackles, Kickers, and Fumbles...Oh My!

Catching up...

CD101 - The Alternative Station? Or just a town with no other alternatives?

DCfW - Big10 Preview #5 - The Minnehaha Golden Gophers

Quick Blogroll Update...