Banned in Ohio

I apologize that this may seem like old news, but I am a little behind in blogging right now.
ESPN's Adam Rittenberg wrote on July 26th that Terrell Pryor had been banned from Ohio State for five years.

Ohio State on Tuesday declared Terrelle Pryor ineligible for the 2011 season and banned the former starting quarterback from associating with the program for five years.
The school's decision was exactly what Pryor wanted.

We are not shocked are we?  Most people would consider being banned from their alma mater a "bad thing."  Not Mr. Pryor.  Not when it serves his purposes.  Apparently Mr. It's-All-About-Me-I-Want-My-Name-On-My-Jersey is looking to use this to qualitfy for the NFL supplemental draft.

Pryor's attorney Larry James asked Ohio State for a letter stating that the quarterback wouldn't have been eligible for the entire 2011 season, rather than just suspended for the first five games for selling memorabilia items to Edward Rife. In order to be eligible for the NFL's supplemental draft, Pryor needed to show that his circumstances with Ohio State had changed significantly after the Jan. 15 deadline to apply for the NFL's regular draft.

But as Lee Corso would say, Not So Fast.

Bill Williamson of ESPN's NFL Nation Blog wrote yesterday that Terrell Pryor won't be participating in the supplemental draft.
Well, we can forget the notion of Terrelle Pryor becoming an Oakland Raider this season.
ESPN’s John Clayton is reporting that the former Ohio State quarterback is ineligible for the supplemental draft.

Clayton's link is a Tweet saying:

There may not be a supplemental draft this year because Terrelle Pryor isn't eligible and they may not be any players to select

Wouldn't it be nice to see a cheater actually punished for his mistake?  But I won't hold my breath until after the NFL season starts and Pryor is still not on a roster.  If there's a way fro TP to come out on top, I'm sure he will find it.

Four More Years

Like a political slogan that rolls around during election, the phrase has been thrown out there again by Paterno, according to this article by Mark Wogenrich.

Joe Paterno has been declaring his future plans as "four more years" since at least 1986, when he told then-Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz as much before their game in South Bend. Twenty-five years later, the Penn State coach maintains the same timeline.

"Right now, I'm looking at four or five years," Paterno said Thursday in Chicago. "I may be optimistic, I don't know."

Another stalker reporter writes about the rejuvenated JoePa at StateCollege.com:

The word is Paterno is working out – speed-walking, actually – like a mad man so he can run out of the tunnel for that opening game.

Paterno came over to the car, peered in and after a few seconds realized it was Okoli.

“Hey Coach,” Okoli said. “Do you need a ride?”

“Can’t you see I’m exercising?” Paterno snorted, and walked off in a huff.

My buddy kept an eye on Paterno as the coach headed off in full stride. Paterno walked straight down the street, then suddenly crossed over to the other side.

Apparently the icon noticed an attractive (my friend says) young woman out gardening in her front yard. Paterno stopped and chatted with her.

When the conversation ended a short while later, Paterno headed down the walk a bit, then crossed back over the street to his original path, the diversion obviously – my friend says – worth the detour.

Hope Sue doesn't read about that!
Early reports coming out of Big Ten Media Day indicate that Paterno is looking better than a year ago.

Will the team look better as well?

THEY"RE HERE!

Tickets came today! 

I'm starting to feel something.

(Probably just gas.)

Can't wait to check out the view from the new seats!

Can't wait to see if there's something worth checking out!

WE ARE . . . PENN STATE!

Elton Joe

Big Ten Primer

Rick Reilly (ESPN) has composed a primer for Nebraska.

Your new rival -- Forget Oklahoma. Now it's Iowa, like it or not. You close out your regular season with the Hawkeyes on the day after Thanksgiving at home. Iowa's a natural for you. Both your states are so flat you can watch a train pull out for three days. . . . Got a name for it, too. The Cornfrontation.

Dress code -- Now that Jim Tressel and The Vest are gone from Ohio State, there is no dress code. Your lunatic screamer of a head coach, Bo Pelini -- the man who could be an entire season of "What Not to Wear" -- is going to fit in nicely. Your fans aren't exactly ripped from the Armani catalog, either. Oy, that Sea of Red some of you wear: red socks, red overalls, red cowboy hats. Goes nice with your necks, though.

There is a thing you'll discover called The Michigan Man. The Michigan Man believes he is above Normal Man. The Michigan Man is certain he invented the Big Ten, along with intellect, cocktails and sex. The Michigan Man is full of pride in himself and his Michigan degree -- so much so that you're going to want to bring a throw-up bowl along with you.

Sadly, the Michigan Man has had to reduce the volume a little lately, having not beaten The Ohio State Man since the debut of the Edsel.

Michigan has arguably the grandest stadium in college football. The Big House is the largest in the United States -- holding 109,901 -- and yet they still sell out 102 percent of the seats. Can you imagine? They have very cool helmets that have nothing to do with their nickname, the Wolverines, which is about as indigenous to Michigan as the fairy penguin. They're talking about having a mascot, though, which is going to ruin everything.

Anyway, Michigan runs things. It's the Dean Wormer of the Big Ten. It's fun to mess with Michigan.

I'm afraid Wisconsin is you, Nebraska, only with much better parties and more wins.

Q: How is the health of the 84-year-old Paterno?
A: His ears still hurt a little from The Big Bang.

If you want to get under their skin, just go up to Michigan State fans wearing Spartans jerseys and say, "Oh, couldn't get into Michigan, huh?"

 Them's the highlights there.  A few other gems I might have missed, but that's the essence.  He nailed the THEM Man spot on.  Not so sure about the Wisconsin is you with MORE wins, but hey, pretty funny article all things considered.

Now, they need a primer on the referines.

A Letter to Mike

If you are one of those ardent fans that browse the Internet like a surfer in search of the perfect wave, then you probably already know about BSD Mike retiring at Black Shoe Diaries.  Or, maybe you just live under a rock.

Normally by the midway point of the summer, I'm starting to feel the flame flicker a bit. The season is coming up, and camp will be starting in a few weeks. This is the time when I start gearing up for the season and really getting fired up. But this year, I'm just not feeling it, and like you've probably heard from Joe Paterno and a lot of athletes in the twilightof their career, when you don't feel that passion while preparing for a new season, it's time to get out. I'd rather turn it over to someone who cares than keep slugging along giving less than 100% effort.

But don't feel bad for me. I actually feel a sense of liberation. For five years I let this blog consume my life. Don't get me wrong, until recently I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a hell of a ride building this puppy up from nothing to the internet monster it is. I wouldn't trade these past five years for anything. But make no mistake, it's a ton of work. I eventually got to the point I realized the blog was keeping me from the things I really wanted to do in life.

My boys are six and three, soon to be seven and four, and they want more and more of Dad's time.

Ultimately, though, and this is going to sound a little weird, but I feel God putting a burden on my heart to do great things to the glory of His name.

Mike, you will be missed.  But I share or have experienced many of your feelings over the years.

Welcome to the
Lion's Den!

This little hole in the wall of the Internet I now call home is not an Internet monster by any stretch of the imagination.  Maybe Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. Probably not as funny, though.  But I digress.

At one time I wrote for Penn Live and built the 50-Yard Line Blog from scratch.  We didn't even have a name when Campbell (Campbell's Homestyle Sports--he has since moved on to other things) emailed me and asked me to write for them.  I was paid $50 per month the first year, and six years later was making $200 per month.  Six years of almost daily posting.

I felt burn out many times, and I think Mike, that is what you are feeling right now.  I am feeling burned out at the beginning of this season--hence the paucity of entries these past few months.  (I actually started a non-football blog, Living the Eye Life,  as a way to continue blogging despite the burn-out.)

I never walked away from blogging.  I was fired from PennLive after my "Buckeye Buddy" Dick complained about the language I used in what I thought was a private and personal email.

I thought seriously about walking away at that point and just being a fan.  I did take a little time off, but eventually, the need to vent and to put my thoughts on the screen overwhelmed me again.  A couple of sites tried to recruit me to write for them, but they weren't willing to pay me anything.  If I'm not going to make any money, then I may as well stay right here.  I'm not going to have all my hard worked yanked out from under me at the whim of  a deranged Buckeye stalker again.

Hopefully you can still do some guest writing on the site.  Or, perhaps come back in a year or two when the passion has been rekindled.  It was you--as readers saw through your writing--that built that site into what it is today.  It will go on, but it won't be the same.

As for God calling, that is probably a good thing and I admire you for answering your call.  I have struggled with those issues myself as a Christian over the years.  When I write out that Nittany Lion Club check each season, I pause to wonder why I don't find a better cause to donate it. 

But in the end, I rationalize it.  Does God want me to watch Penn State football in the stands?  Does he want me to buy a new shirt?  A new car?  An ice cream?  Where can you draw the line?  If everyone lived as Christ did--totally devoted to the work of the Lord--there would be no food to eat because no one would be farming or fishing.  Trash wouldn't get picked up.  People would die in hospitals because all the doctors and nurses are out spreading His word.  There would be no roads to travel or houses to stop at.  Obviously there are other things--worldly things--that need to be done for society to exist.  Penn State football isn't one of them, but it is a hobby just as much as stamp collecting, or listening to music.  Does God really want you to have that Ipod?  That I-phone?  Does He have a problem with us playing Angry Birds?  Has God not given us talents to produce works of art and music and literature?  Are we not to enjoy those things?  Has he not given these athletes abilities and the opportunity to get an education--are we not to enjoy that either?

But I fear I have digressed again.

Thank you Mike for all your had work.  Good luck in your new endeavors and good luck with your Engineer license.  I hope to see you back some day.

Coach P and K

Others Doubt Buckeyes Perfect

Several weeks ago, Dick sent a letter into my local paper claiming how special the Columbus experience was and how everyone he talked to complained about coming to Beaver Stadium.  He was puzzled at Nittany Lion fans basking in the light of Ohio State's fall from grace in the eyes of the NCAA.

In that letter, he said, and I quote, "You never read stories of Penn State fans coming to Columbus and being abused, verbally and physically, so I just do not get it."

Well, Dick.  Now you can get it.

In last Sunday's Altoona Mirror, two fans wrote in about their special experiences at the Shoe.

Finally - unlike Rich Foust from Troy, Ohio, and David Winters of Altoona - someone from Ohio State's trustees, Terry Jurgen, saw and admitted guilt and troubles in Ohio State's value systems.

Indeed, all sports fans should re-evaluate their priorities of intercollegiate competition.
Foust, in the spirit of Johnnie Cochran, chooses to blame Penn State fans and Penn State for coach Tressel cheating and lying about it. Yes, it's like blaming Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson for O.J. Simpson's heinous actions.

As far as abuse, Ohio State is the top venue in the Big Ten for drunkenness, verbal abuse and vulgarity. I've quit going to Columbus for games because of the extreme vulgarity of the Buckeye fans. I've been there, seen it, heard it and my nephew and his wife and 6-month-old daughter were sworn at and abused verbally at last year's game at Columbus.

. . .

In reply to the letter recently by Rich Foust of Troy, Ohio, the man needs to get his head out of the sand.

I am a Penn State season-ticket holder since 1966, been to nearly 400 games all over the country along with 20 bowl games (all the major ones). I have been to every Big Ten Stadium, and when the question, "who do you dislike most, for whatever reason?" comes up, the answer is always Ohio State.

Why? The answer is almost always treatment of visitors by the fans and the university itself (lousy seats). Even Indiana, which is not a football school, doesn't like the Buckeyes. That is bad.

My wife and I went to Penn State's first three games at Ohio State and because of the taunting and foul language directed at us, we swore we would never go back - and we haven't.

Thank you Ed and Lloyd.

But I suspect Dick has an excuse for that too.

Say Goodnight, Dick.

Please feel free to click Agree or Disagree below, or better yet, leave a comment with your own Beaver Stadium/Ohio Stadium experience.

Buckeyes Vacate 2010 Season

It's as though it didn't happen.  And that is exactly what the Buckeyes want the NCAA to think when it comes time to hand down punishment for their wrongdoings.

In a not-so-surprising move, the University has willingly vacated their wins for the 2010 season, according to ESPN.

Ohio State's 2010 Big Ten championship, its 12-1 season, its victories over rival Michigan and in the Allstate Sugar Bowl -- all gone. Coach Jim Tressel is out and so is star quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Left behind: two years of self-imposed probation.

The question now is whether it will be enough to save Ohio State from more severe penalties in an upcoming trip to see the NCAA committee on infractions.

In a reversal, Ohio State -- which earlier said it had asked for Tressel's resignation on May 30 -- said Friday it had now agreed to allow him to call it a retirement. The school also said he did not have to pay a $250,000 fine levied against him for his actions. On top of that, Tressel will receive the last month of his base pay ($54,000) and has agreed to cooperate when Ohio State goes before the NCAA infractions committee on Aug. 12, and both he and the university agreed that they wouldn't sue each other.

Just last month Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee vowed that Tressel "will pay the fine."

In response to whether the punishment is adequate or not . . .

"All I know is that this is significant," Smith said. "A lot of people may not view it that way externally, but this is significant. When you think about all the other athletes who participated in those games, those records will be gone."

And what about all the athletes that played against the Buckeyes?  Where's their justice?  Is vacating the win really going to atone anything for Arkansas and their fans?

Vacating wins is a rather lame punishment.  Better than nothing, but still lame.  I tried to come up with an analogy, but I fear I fell short of anything useful.  It's kind of like a gambler winning a poker tournament.  He concedes he cheated and gives the trophy back, but not the money.

No one knows how well the Buckeyes might have fared without Pryor and the other tatoo-weanies.  Assuming they wouldn't have done as well, is a vacated win really just compensation for the team that should have gone to the Sugar Bowl, but didn't?

I am still hopeful that the NCAA will impose further sanctions such as limiting scholarships to more adequately punish the school for breaking the rules and cheating.

HAPPY JULY FOURTH!

Waxing Philosophically

If a Buckeye Fan falls in the forest, and no one else is around . . .

Is he still annoying?