Paulo's Book Club: "War As They Knew It"

It started with a punch -- and ended with a punch.

"War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler and America in a Time of Unrest." by Michael Rosenberg starts with Woody Hayes assaulting one of his own players, and essentially ends when Hayes assaults an opponent.

While purporting to cover the heated football rivalry between The Ohio State University and the University of MIchigan, the changes in America during the late 60s and early 70s and the teacher-student relationship between Hayes and Bo Schembechler, Hayes is such a powerful figure he steals the show.



Having been born a few months before his last game, I only came to know Hayes as a crazed codger who threw tantrums and acted like a boor (sort of Bobby Knight before Bobby Knight).

But this book reveals a much deeper side to Hayes. Hayes was tough, but he loved his players. And he was far from a meathead laser-focused on football. Hayes was a history buff, with an encylopedic knowledge of war and U.S. Presidents. He was also a huge fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson (my favorite transcendentalist author), owning nearly all of his published works. Rosenberg generously sprinkles the wisdom of Emerson throughout the text.

Hayes's antics are the best part of the book. And that's why at times it seems like a biography of Hayes with some other characters thrown in.

Though a powerful character in his own right. Bo Schembechler takes a backseat to Hayes in this book. In fact, he's the third most interesting aspect of the Michigan story.

Most of the focus in the book goes to Michigan's student body's political activism. Michigan is cast as the progressive school with sit-ins and protests while Ohio State is the old stodgy school wanting to remain in the 40s.

But there's also Athletic Director Don Canham who created the famous Big M logo and ushered in a new era of marketing for college sports.

There's a raft of interesting characters mentioned, Bill Ayers, Bobby Knight, Presidents Nixon and Ford and even Dick Vitale is mentioned.

But there's also the football. Each game in the Ten Year War is described in detail and all the dramatics surrounding football blend prefectly with all the dramatics at these schools and in the country during the time when these two great coaches went head-to-head.

Here's to 3-9

The last few seasons haven't ended great for The Ohio State Buckeyes, but at least they've got hating Michigan.
Now Maker's Mark bourbon has a new billboard in Columbus, celebrating the Wolverines' horrible 2008 season.



Story suggested by Pizza Parlor Derek

Not Everyone Loves Brutus

An adorably cute moment at the end of ESPN's College GameDay. It was time for Lee Corso to make his pick in the Ohio State-Penn State game, and he decided to call in the four young sons of his broadcast partner and former Ohio State star Kirk Herbstreit to help him. If you've ever seen the show you know that Corso makes his pick by donning the head of the mascot of the school he thinks will win, in this case, Brutus the Buckeye. Unfortunately, the youngest, 2-year-old Chase, broke out into hysterics when he saw this crazed man with a giant head.



If you want to see moving pictures of the incident it starts about 8 minutes into this clip.

The Bad Guys Won

In a game that set offensive football back 50 years Penn State beat Ohio State 13-6 in Columbus. With no tough games left (Iowa, Indiana, Michigan State) and no conference title game, the Nittaly Lions should cruise to the BCS National Title Game where they'll get the chance to restore the Big Ten's reputation.
(Note: I don't expect both Texas and Alabama to remain unbeaten.)
But, the biggest challenge for the State Penn may come off the field where they'll have to keep their players out of jail, which isn't such an easy thing for them to do lately.
So congratulations to Freedo, Nails, JLeary and any other Penn State alums who are sounding out the words to this post.
And Buckeye Nation, I move to revoke Pizza Parlor Bob's passport. Ohio State NEVER wins when he's in Columbus.

Everybody Hates a Parade

Our Poop family adventure to Buffalo Wild Wings in New Rochelle was a great success, but it got off to a rocky start.
First, the internet directions included a couple of streets we didn't really need.
Then when we got to the streets we did need, they were closed off due to a Thanksgiving parade. Thankfully the cop directing traffic gave us good enough directions that we were able to get there only a few minutes after the game started.
B-Dubs was in an outdoor mall called New Roc City, and we had to pay to park in the structure, but it was only $1 for 2 hours.



We were the first ones there, followed by a father and son dressed in Michigan gear. We both agitated to get the game on in the big screens in the front.
The game wasn't much to speak of, there was almost no offense for either side, and Michigan was particularly bad. But Ohio State won and advanced to the Rose Bowl and possibly back into the national championship pictures if Oklahoma wins the Big XII title game and LSU loses the SEC title game.
Mrs. Poop and I ordered the roasted garlic mushroom caps, delicious. We both had chicken tenders, Mrs. Poop also got popcorn shrimp. She went with the mild sauce, I went with hot.
With the tenders, the sauce comes on the side, and you can spread it yourself. I liberally doused 3 tenders, and sparsely decorated the other 3. Good idea. After the first two tenders bathed in hot sauce my mouth was burning, I was starting to sweat. I have no idea how Pizza Parlor Derek braved the Blazin wings.
Unfortunately, the place filled up quickly and we had the world's worst waitress. It was an hour or more after I asked that she finally brought the device to play the interactive trivia and poker games. Mine was defective so I couldn't see what my cards were. I did better at trivia though.
Chase slept the whole time, I didn't even get to take him out to show off his Poop on Michigan onesie.
We ended the meal with a delicious piece of chocolate cake a la mode.
The biggest problem was that there was a lot of traffic on the way home which turned our trip from what should have been half an hour into 50 minutes.
We did love B-Dubs, all 3 of us, but we probably won't head back until they build one a little closer.

Ohio State - Michigan Preview

The annual Ohio State - Michigan game has lost some juice this year because both teams lost last week.
The game doesn't have the meaning of last year's contest, when both teams were undefeated and the winner earned a spot in the national title game.
But despite last week's losses and Michigan's early season embarrassments (Appalachian State, Oregon), the winner of this game wins the Big 10 and goes to the Rose Bowl.
I have previously documented how much these schools hate each other and now HBO stole my idea and turned it into a documentary.
When we went to Columbus in January, I found a onesie I thought would be great for a little kid, but because we had recently had a miscarriage scare I was afraid to buy it or to tell Pizza Parlor Derek that Mrs. Poop was pregnant.
I asked PPD to get it for my child someday and he came through once Chase was born.
When we go to Buffalo Wild Wings on Saturday, I will be wearing my lucky Ohio State sweatshirt and Chase will be wearing this:

The Ohio State Exodus

Anybody reasonable knew that Greg Oden was going to leave Ohio State for the NBA after his freshman season. Only the morons in the media will be shocked (shocked!) to find out that despite claims that both Oden and Kevin Durant love college they would like to find out if they love the pros more.
Minor digression: of course they love college. I loved college. Now imagine how much I would have loved college if I never had to do any work and I could get laid whenever I wanted. That would be what college is like for Oden, Durant and a lot of other guys who are only forced to attend school because of the NBA's unconstitutional rule against high school kids.
Oden reportedly took 12 credits during the winter quarter - 5 for history of rock n roll and 2 for basketball. Tough life.
Anyway, Oden is gone.
Mike Conley Jr. is also leaving for the NBA, not a big surprise because he really played great during the tournament especially during those times when Oden was out with foul trouble. He likely won't get another chance to show a better side without Oden around.
But I am surprised with Daequan Cook for declaring. I said several times during the season that he was my favorite Buckeye because he was capable of some sick moves, but his game is far from complete. But we see this time and time again in the NBA, talented but raw players get drafted because of the NBA Draft's buzzword: upside.
I don't think Cook will be drafted and I hope he sticks with his current plan not to sign with an agent. Conley of course won't sign because his father's going to be his agent, and he can accept anything from his father that an agent would give him.
Add in the graduations (or loss of eligibility) of Ron Lewis and Ivan Harris and Ohio State is down to David Lighty, Jamar Butler, Othella Hunter and another strong recruiting class.

NCAA Title Game Disappointment

So I won't be winning my September Vegas bet on Ohio State, but they gave me a good ride and I had a lot of fun following the team this saeson. It was nice to have a team to root for in the tournament.

Greg Oden finally played like a dominating big man. He could not be stopped on offense and his defense was great too, and he played without fouling.

The difference in this game was the three point shooting. The final numbers were 4-23 for Ohio State and 10-18 for Florida. And those numbers were padded by 2 late makes by the Buckeyes.

Considering those numbers I'm surprised the game was as close as it turned out to be.

Florida made every big play they needed to keep OSU from getting the lead with 6. they are a worthy repeat champion and probably have to go down as one of the greatest 5 man teams in NCAA history.

Does Lee Humphrey ever miss? 15-28 from downtown in the last three games. He is the record holder for made 3-pointers in NCAA tournament play.

I'm pretty sure Oden played maybe his best college game as his last college game, but what a game it was.

Even without Oden Ohio State should have a good team next year like by Mike Conley who will be one of the best point guards in the country.

Lucky Sweatshirt?

Loyal Poopheads will remember that two months ago on my trip to Columbus, I bought Mrs. Poop an Ohio State sweatshirt featuring their lovable mascot, Brutus the Buckeye. When I got home she said Brutus was retarded. She has never worn the sweatshirt. At halftime, when OSU was trailing by 17, I rescued the sweatshirt, put it on and the comeback ensued.



I also noticed that the shirt I wore during the first half was the same shirt I wore when OSU got smoked by Florida in the football National Championship game. Needless to say I'll be sporting Brutus on Saturday.

Anatomy of a Comeback

How Jim Boeheim's prevent offense cost Xavier an upset over Ohio State.

6:59:

Xavier takes 11 point lead.

6:46:

Xavier has a 9 point lead. Dan Bonner says "You don't want to lose your aggressiveness." Xavier kills 32 seconds and turns it over without getting a shot off.

6:08:

A foul and a missed free throw. Dan Bonner says "it's too early to start running time off."

5:30:

Up 7, Xavier kills 30 seconds before Oden commits his fourth foul. Both free throws are made.

4:45:

Up 9, Xavier kills 28 seconds, shoots a 3 that comes within the offense, but it misses.
Dan Bonner says "it's too early to be running time off the shot clock."

4:03:

Up 7, after killing only 14 seconds Xavier makes a layup.

3:33:

Up 9, Xavier kills almost the whole shot clock and Drew Lavender chucks up a horrible 3 as the buzzer sounds.

2:54:

Up 7, Xavier kills 28 seconds and misses a contest layup.

Here's where it bites them. Ohio State hits a 3, steals the inbounds and Lewis makes a layup and gets fouled. Xavier gives up 6 points without touching the ball.

1:35:

Up 1, Xavier kills 21 seconds, Cage gets fouled and makes both.

0:59:

Up 2, Xavier kills 30 seconds, they force it inside and Oden strips it.

0:09:

Oden commits a foul, Cage misses a FT, Xavier has a 3 point lead.

0:02:

Ron Lewis hits a game tying 3. Ohio State wins in overtime.



As you can see, when Xavier killed clock they got bad shots. When they didn't they scored or got fouled. I understand the importance of using the clock, but I say hold until 15 seconds are gone then work an offense. The extra 10 seconds you don't kill each trip don't mean as much as the points you would get. Xavier made one field goal in the last 7 minutes.

Put a Jersey On

One thing I forgot to add about the Ohio State trip:
Derek loved the fact that the football coach, Jim Tressel came to the game in a #20 Greg Oden football jersey. And that he showed it off to ESPN hottie Erin Andrews.

My Trip to The Ohio State University

Friday
12:55 pm (all times approximate) – Arrive in Columbus, Ohio. (Read my thoughts on the city of Columbus). I make my way to baggage claim where Pizza Parlor Derek (he’ll be just Derek for the remainder of this post) is waiting serenely with his Contented Face on. Not his Gay Picture Face. His Contented Face.

Friday 1:30 pm – Arrive at Pizza Parlor Daren’s house. Yes, he is shrewd enough to be the owner of his own home (single guy, for the time being) at the age of 27. His house is really nice, on the small side, but what you’d expect for a first house. The kitchen is great with all new appliances. He’s got a nice living room with two sofas, two rooms on the first level, an office and another room which he rents out to a friend. Upstairs is Daren’s bedroom and the guest room. But the best part is the basement. That’s where the house becomes an Ohio State alum’s bachelor pad. He’s got a sofa, an easy chair, a leather recliner and another OSU chair; plus an OSU area rug. And the last piece of guyhood, a pool table.

Friday 3:30 pm – After watching a little TV, Derek and I decide to play pool. Minnesota Fats, we are not. We each lose one game on a scratch of the 8 ball and then I secure victory with 8 ball corner pocket to win the best of 3 affair.

Friday 4:15 – Nap time

Friday 5:15 – Around the Horn. Woody Paige is the decider.

Friday 5:30 – Pardon the Interruption. Of course Chris Harris owes that guy a ticket. As Dan Greco would say “a verbal agreement is legal and binding.”

Friday 7:00 – The door opens. In walks AnnMarie (Daren’s lovely – inside and out – girlfriend), and her dog, Bentley, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the breed favored by the Poop’s favorite actress, Courteney Cox-Zucker. Derek loves this dog. He was constantly petting and holding Bentley all weekend.

Friday 7:15 - Daren comes home from work. Brothers don't shake hands...brothers gotta HUG!

Friday 8:30 - We meet up with the rest of Daren's crew.
This includes Jamie, who lived with Daren on my two previous visits to Columbus. Great guy, exceptional gymnast (more on that later) and a great needler of people which I really like him about him. Then there was Jamie's wife, Laura who I really liked. She was so hurt that Derek didn't mention her in the blog of his last trip to Columbus that she offered to show him her tits if he'd mention her this time. I'm not sure if this ever happened but if you read Derek's blog and her name is in there, you can assume he saw her knockers.
Jon Marc, the aforementioned roommate/rentor of Daren and his future wife Abbi. Abbi seems to be worried about the impending bachelor party especially Jamie's vision of it. And the last couple joining us is Rac and his wife who is expecting (congratulations) and as such she opted for the salad instead of the raw meat smorgasboard. Rac was also a very accomplished gymnast in his heyday which I later learned much to my surprise, was in the late 1980s.

The group hit BD's Mongolian Barbecue for dinner. If you are unfamiliar with this restaurant style here's how it works. Buffet style, all the food is laid out, chicken, steak, pork, shrimp, scallops, lamb...all raw. You throw it in a bowl. Add some vegetables, pick your sauces and spices (I think Derek overdid it with the cayenne) and they cook it for you on a huge steam table in the middle of the restaurant. If the food sucks, it's your fault.

8:45 - Derek orders the Mongo-tastic Margarita, which is blue and comes in a huge glass. The gay waiter thinks this is a sign and spends the rest of the night flirting with Derek, forcing Derek to order a beer (in his deepest voice) for his next drink.

9:30 - After stuffing myself to the point where I feel like I am going to vomit, I go up for one more bowl of food.

11:00 - We head to Ugly Tuna for some after dinner drinks. A cool bar with a combination of college students and alums. One hot waitress had huge tits and a big ass and I told Derek that he deserved more than a chick who was just tits and ass. I was lying to boost his confidence.

Saturday
11:00 - Head over to the basketball arena to catch ESPN Gameday. Not quite the same as college football (this would be a theme for the weekend) but the band was there, the cheerleaders were there, some fired up students were there, some cute kids in OSU outfits were there. Mostly the hour was spent chanting and singing songs of hatred towards Michigan. Read more about the hatred towards Michigan.

12:00 - We walk around the arena to see some of the history. There's a computer with an interactive menu on the history of OSU athletics but it wasn't updated. We saw a picture of Rac commemorating his achievements. We saw Archie Griffin's Heismans.

12:30 - Eddie George's new restaurant/sports bar for lunch. Great sports bar atmosphere, tons of TVs, good food at reasonable prices. On each TV were the logos of the two teams playing in that game on that TV, and the logos of the teams that would be featured next. One guy was standing in the corner and his only job seemed to be to print those logos and play a song during commercial breaks. At night Eddie George's turns into Bungalow 27. I have no idea what that entails.

1:30 - After lunch Derek and I encounter some gastro-intestinal problems related to last night's supper. That's all I'll disclose.

2:00 - Daren's crew comes over, we hang out in the basement watching the Senior Bowl (people seem more interested in Troy Smith than Greg Oden), watch some other college basketball, play pool and listen to a Columbus pop radio station.

2:15 - "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce on the radio. Derek says "this is a good song, too bad it gets no radio airplay." I fall for it. Derek giggles.

2:20 - "Walk Away" by Paula DeAnda.

2:25 - "Fergalicious" by Fergie.

2:30 - "It's not Over" by Daughtry.

3:15 - "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce.

3:20 - "Walk Away" by Paula DeAnda.

3:25 - "Fergalicious" by Fergie.

3:30 - "It's not Over" by Daughtry.

4:15 - "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce.

4:20 - "Walk Away" by Paula DeAnda.

4:25 - "Fergalicious" by Fergie.

4:30 - "It's not Over" by Daughtry. You get the point.

5:00 - Quick 5 person poker tournament. I see a flop with pocket 4s, flop is a-10-4, I go all in, knock out Derek (pocket queens) and cripple Daren (A-10). But I couldn't do much else and Daren survived several all-ins to win the title.

7:00 - SU - Louisville. We watch the first half and record the rest for later.

8:00 - We head to Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center for college hoops action, Ohio State vs. Michigan State. Read more about the game.

8:30 - Popcorn at the arena, almost as good as at Target, but not quite.

8:45 - Drunk old dude walks by us to go to the bathroom. He did this like 5 times.

9:00 - Dippin Dots (The Ice Cream of the Future!) When my server bends down to scoop my dots, I see a picture of Jamie on the wall heralding the great 1999 season the gymnastics team had.

9:15 - Derek loves the second half because the band plays "Hang On Sloopy" and we spell out O-H-I-O with our hands above our heads. Like YMCA, only less gay. Or more gay? I'm not quite sure.

11:15 - Derek walks aimlessly around the parking lot even though he has no idea where the car is parked. Daren has to direct him about 4 times before I finally encourage him to just walk behind Daren and follow him.

11:30 - Late night snack at Buffalo Wild Wings (Bee-Dubbs). Exactly the type of wings/sports bar I would love, but pompous New Yorkers think they are too sophisticated for. I was very excited for this place because I'd been hearing about the stock for years. I ordered the boneless wings (I hate mess) but Derek chose the hottest sauce for his wings. The waitress was incredulous and tried to talk him out of it. He would not be deterred. And he actually ate all the wings with no problem. Almost no problem. Derek failed to sufficiently wipe his hands of the sauce. Then he rubbed his eye and had to rush to the bathroom for emergency eyewash. He was tearing up, his eye was red and burning. It was freakin hilarious.
I played an interactive trivia game and little did I know it but they would broadcast my username (Poop) on several of the TVs. AnnMarie thought this was hilarious. The waitress brought the checks (Columbus restaurants are big on separate checks) and she put AnnMarie's food on my bill, assuming that she and I were the couple. I was flattered, AnnMarie was disgusted.

Sunday
1:30am - Derek and I watch the end of SU - Louisville. SU blows a huge lead. I get pissed, Derek saw the result at Bee-Dubbs so he is calmer. But he doesn't blame me. This team sucks.

1:00pm - We go to Buckeye Corner for some souvenirs. I buy Mrs. Poop a hooded sweatshirt with a picture of Brutus the Buckeye whom she later calls retarded and tells me she'd rather have had the plain Ohio State sweatshirt that I passed up. This store has everything. As Daren explained, everything you need for your house, you can buy with an Ohio State logo on it, and you often do. Bathmats, cookie jars, grill covers, I even saw a kitchen table, with an OSU logo.



1:30 - Buckeye Cafe, what a cool place. It's an arcade, with a fancy room for banquets or dinners. It has a souvenir shop, and a display case for Ohio State athletics in which both Jamie and Daren were recognized for their accomplishments. Out front is a brick inscribed with Daren's name and feats, courtesy of Bob and Judi.

2:30 - Lunch at a cool little Irish place in downtown Columbus.

3:30 - I hate goodbyes! Read Pizza Parlor Derek's version of the events.

Fuck Michigan

One of the most pervasive and fun parts of my trip to Columbus was the hatred for "that school up North."

Here are some examples:
The staff at the Mongolian BBQ had shirts that said "Wolverine tastes like Chicken"
State Farm advertises "In case you hit a Wolverine"



At Eddie George's restaurant logos are used to identify which TV will show which game. The Michigan logo was upside down. This happens everywhere Big Ten schools' flags are flown. Michigan is always upside down.
Also at Eddie George's, the urinals in the men's room had Michigan logos as piss targets.
The cool thing to have in your bathroom is a Michigan toilet plunger.
At the Gameday event, they showed a story on Michigan and when Chris Webber called his ill fated timeout, everyone cheered.



But the coup de grace, was the new song I learned: "We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan, the whole state of Michigan..."

Ohio State 66 Michigan State 64

As part of my trip to Columbus we took in a basketball game featuring the 5th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan State Spartans.
Two big reasons for my interest: my wager on the Buckeyes to win it all and the presence of one of the most promising freshman to hit college in years, Greg Oden.

Ohio State got off to an early lead by feeding Greg Oden. He hit two hook shots and a couple other shots, had OSU's first 7 and 9 of their first 15. But then he sort of disappeared on offense, he had no field goals in the last 33 minutes of the game. He sat for long stretches, then when he came back he didn't try hard to get open. He did get fouled a few times and ended up shooting 11-14 from the line, not bad for a big man who still shoots with his off hand due to injury.



But in the first half they didn't need Oden's offense, everyone was clicking and they had a 43-23 lead, as my man Daequan Cook nailed a 3-pointer.



But then the game devolved into the other OSU games I've seen this season. Too many good players, only one ball and not enough effort on defense.
Led by Drew Neitzell (a cross between Mike Nardi and Kevin Leitzell), who went off scoring 24 of his 29 in the second half (one more point than the whole OSU team had in the second half), Michigan State made a furious comeback.
Ohio State had no field goals in the final 6 minutes, but hit 7 free throws to hang onto the lead.
A good close game but more exciting than what we wanted to see.

But we did get what we paid for. At one point a Michigan State player went up for a layup and Oden blocked it, but not just blocked it. He caught it. Picked it out of the sky. I loved it.

One thing I didn't love was the crowd. They clearly lacked enthusiasm, especially as compared to the football crowds. This was more like a Carrier Dome crowd. Even though it was a 9pm start on a Saturday night there weren't enough drunk students. Apparently, this is due to an SU-esque policy in which the best tickets are sold to rich old boosters and the students are stuck behind the basket. And there are no alcohol sales at the arena during college games. Those seated behind the basket did however wear red and white warmup jerseys provided by the school to create a big red O into which the opposing team had to look when shooting.

Great Place to Visit, and I Would Want to Live There

I really liked the city of Columbus, so for those of you who have never been there, let me try to explain it's charm.
It's a classic Midwestern city with a good enough population (about 730,000) to have some cool things, without being too big.
It has the university which pretty much dominates everything.
But it also has a lot of things that keep alumni, like Daren in the area after graduation. Hey SU alums, could you imagine settling in Syracuse?
There are some major employers, AEP & Nationwide, as well as four major hospitals, that add money to the city.
It has college bars and restaurants, but it also has more upscale places, in the Arena district, where the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL play their games.
And of course it has the older alumni who keep coming back year after year.
The real estate market is good, affordable but a good investment.
I would equate Columbus to cities like Austin, Texas and Charlottesville, Virginia, college towns, with other things around to attract people.

Nice Day for a White T-shirt

For Saturday night's Ohio State - Michigan State basketball game, Ohio State is asking all fans attending the game to White Out the Value City Arena (VCA).
That means we cannot wear our Ohio State red t-shirts. Don't understand why they didn't do a red gimmick, but oh well.
Pizza Parlor Derek and I are going to be there, and I for one, will be wearing white. I bought a cheap OSU t-shirt yesterday.

How Good Are the Buckeyes?

At football, good but not good enough.
At basketball, not sure yet, but probably the same answer.
The young Buckeyes hoopsters led by Greg Oden, Mike Conley and my favorite player Daequan Cook got their first big victory over Tennessee.
Greg Oden finally got the ball on offense and scored a career high 24 points.
Pizza Parlor Derek was ambivalent about the victory because it came against his favorite coach, Bruce Pearl.
Now OSU has lost it's 3 games against 3 of the top 4 teams in the country (North Carolina, Florida & Wisconsin), though North Carolina will slide down in the rankings after losing to Virginia Tech.
All of this is relevant, for two reasons.
First, I have $90 riding on the Ohio State to do in basketball what they couldn't do in football.
Second, Pizza Parlor Derek and I have made travel arrangements to visit Pizza Parlor Daren in Columbus. We will hopefully be seeing OSU against Michigan State but as yet we haven't secured tickets. We might have ticket connections but due to the astronomical prices on stubhub I fear we're going to end up going the scalper route.
Nonetheless, I look forward to the trip and to seeing Greg Oden in person.

Speed Kills

Florida dominated The Ohio State University Buckeyes in the BCS title game. Once again, the much maligned BCS produced a real national champion. A team that earned it on the field -- ALL SEASON -- not just over a two or three week span.
To be honest, I thought Florida was going to get killed but they didn't; because they had faster players and better coaches.
After Ted Ginn returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, he hurt his ankle during the celebration.
Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought OSU had it locked up at the point, the whole Ohio State team did too.
But Florida came after them with speed. The spread offense worked to perfection. Ohio State couldn't cover. Every short pass was a 6 or 8 yard gain.
And on defense, Florida kept blitzing and Troy Smith got so rattled he completed only four passes in the whole game. He cost himself a lot of spots in the draft with his inability to handle the pressure.
But the game turned when Jim Tressel panicked. Down 10 points in the second quarter he went for it on 4th and 1 at their own 29 yard line. Yes, they should have been able to get one yard but the risk wasn't worth the potential reward.
If they get it, they have first down at their own 30, not great field position, they still need a long drive to score. If they don't get it, they give up 3 points, which is what happened.
On the next drive the pressure got to Troy Smith, he fumbled and Florida easily scored a touchdown to take a 20 point lead and win the national title.

A few notes:
Florida is the first school to hold the heavyweight and intercontinental belts at the same time. I mean football and basketball titles.

Florida has two quarterbacks. One is slow and likes to throw from the pocket. The other is fast and comes in on running downs. The former is black the latter is white. Down with racial stereotypes.

Congress took the day off to watch or in some cases, go to the game.

I fell asleep during the second quarter and woke up after the game had ended and watched the rest on DVR.

Congratulations, Troy

Troy Smith, QB of The Ohio State University, won the Heisman Trophy by the second largest margin ever. The largest margin came in 1968 when the trophy was won by O.J. Simpson.
Congrats, Troy, you're in great company.
Let's just hope Smith never has to sell his Heisman to pay off the parents of the people he killed.

Abstinence

Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel abstained from voting in the coach's poll that would help determine his team's opponent in the national title game. Many are criticizing him for being chickenshit, but he said he had a conflict of interest. He clearly did have a conflict of interest (his interest to win the national title against his interest to vote for the best team). And I don't have a problem with his abstention. Whomever he votes for, it's assumed he only voted for them because he didn't want to play the other team. But a lot of critics are saying he didn't vote because he knows Michigan is the better team but he wanted to play Florida without looking like a coward or a traitor to his conference.