Archives for July 2009

Always bet on Beanie

FootballAccording to The Trenches blog over at Sporting News, Vegas is giving Chris “Beanie” Wells 7-2 odds for finishing as NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the year this season. Those odds are second to only Knowshon Moreno, who they’re pegging at 5-2. Pretty good company, there.

Chris "Beanie" Wells Stiff Arm MSU

I’m not sure how the Cardinals plan on using Beanie, but we will be rooting for the Stiff Arm of Justice, wherever it goes. But with Knowshon playing in Denver’s system, he may have the upper hand. Both should have good rookie seasons as both are great backs, but I still maintain that even if Moreno did it first, Beanie did it better.

Profile of Justin Boren: Is he the next Orlando Pace or Tyson Walter?

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Justin Boren #65, Junior
Offensive Lineman – OL
Height: 6’3″ Weight: 315
High School: Pickerington
Hometown: Pickerington, Ohio

Buckeye Bits: transfer to the Buckeye program who will contend for the starting nod at offensive guard

2008 (Transfer): did not see varsity action sitting out his transfer year … scout team workhorse: Purdue

2007 (Michigan): all-Big Ten honorable mention (coaches and media) … started all 13 games, the first eight contests at center and the final five games at left guard … made first career start at center vs. Appalachian State

2006 (Michigan): earned first varsity letter … played in five games and made one starting assignment at right guard … became the fourth true freshman in modern times at UM to start along the offensive line

Personal: son of Mike and Hope Boren … dad played football (1980-83) and mom ran track at Michigan … younger brother Zach is a Buckeye linebacker

Rumor mill has it that Boren is nastier than a pair of Bill Clinton Underwear. I am hopeful he brings a lot of anger and intensity to the OL and helps them shed their softness.

What do you think?

(info via OhioStateBuckeyes.com)

In other news…

Football(Yes, the Big Ten Media stuff is going on. We’ll get to that soon enough.)

Like any ex-athlete (and I take extreme artistic license with that word), I hope my children are athletically inclined. If playing college sports is in their future, I will die a happy man. But they are dealing with the genetic hand they’ve been given (by me), so I know that, realistically, that won’t be in the cards. So I wonder if I can insure my kids’ brains. They all have a certain earning potential (provided they graduate from college) and it would be terrible for me (and the missus) if they aren’t earning enough to maintain the lifestyle I’ve become accustomed in my twilight years.

Is this thing on…

So the burnout of another season took it’s toll on the MotSaG…or more particularly YNBA…

Surprised? Not Really. It is tough to come up with brilliant material on a weekly basis when nothing is going on in the college football landscape. Here is a quick list of 20 general happenings over the last few months:

  1. Tim Tebow did something magical…not quite sure what it was…
  2. The CBJ made the playoffs and were happy to be there for a week.
  3. Jamal Berry likes to carry the ‘sticky icky‘ in his car.
  4. FC Barcelona won the Champions League against Manchester United and an angel got it’s wings.
  5. Tim Tebow did something philanthropic…not quite sure what it was…
  6. Carlos Hyde is a poor test-taker, or he is dumb, or he doesnt care, or he just really wanted to attend Fork Union next year.
  7. Terrelle Pryor looks like he can read a defense and cleaned up his throwing motion (a little), but there are still 4 QB’s on the Penn State roster that are better than him and a few PSU trainers, as well (Source: Any Ohio State Thread on Audibles).
  8. Ole Miss and North Caolina are in the top 10 in the pre-season polls. Thus fulfilling reason #4576 why polls shouldnt be released until the sixth week of the season.
  9. EDSBS’s Digital Viking Series has won over a nation of blog readers
  10. Deadspin…something is missing over there..well..besides Leitch, “Hirshey is the Closer”, and a gentle dose of “This Week’s Apologies”, but hey, they can embed youtube music videos like no other.
  11. Real Madrid spent over 200 million euros on two players…and that is without including the player salaries for the non-soccer crowd.
  12. The Cleveland Indians bi-annual YNBA soul killing exercise is in full effect this year.
  13. We were kind of ‘witnesses’ to BronBron getting faced…in a Ferris Bueller 31-Flavors kind of way…
  14. The Cavs got Shaq Diesel. Well maybe the Bio-Diesel Version. Doesnt this make Cavs fan hate Carlos Boozer a little more each year?
  15. The US Men’s Soccer Team had a great and completely unexpected run in the Confederations Cup (Spain…really?) and Landon Donovan has been rejuvenated. Did you hear that? That was Bob Bradley getting up from sucking his thumb in the corner.
  16. The Browns continue to be the Browns, but it could be worse…they could be the Seahawks (giggle giggle).
  17. Our Honor Defend’s “Better Know a Buckeye” Series has been top notch work for a slow summer.
  18. David Beckham came back from Italy to sounds of boo’s and a simple chorus of no one really giving a flying crap about David Beckham anymore. Beckham Experiment = EPIC FAIL
  19. Rick Nash signs with the CBJ for 25 years. Oh alright…8 years. Sorry Maple Leaf Fans.
  20. South Carolina really wants Ohioans to leave. It’s like a little kid running a lemonade stand asking someone with a ten dollar bill to get lost.

Dead, but not really dead

Hey, look! It’s the monthly post at Men of the Scarlet and Gray, proclaiming that, “We’re not dead.” It’s true!

In all honesty, the Monkey and I burned out this past football season, tried to get the gumption to continue regular posts through basketball season, but didn’t have much gas left in the tank. Now we’re simply running on fumes.

I’d like to say we’re jazzed up and ready to post like fiends, but that isn’t true. We are both insanely busy at work and family duties and other things keep our evenings and weekends occupied as well. BUT… this isn’t the “we’re quitting post.” I can’t speak for the sportsMonkey, but I know I am getting excited about this season of football and am looking forward to getting back to some regular posting.

Recently, the Monkey and I been having more and more regular lunch-time conversations about the Buckeyes. The 2009 football Buckeyes make for great lunch topics. (Other great lunch time topics: “Zombieland: Best movie of 2009 or best movie ever made?”). We are excited about so many unknowns being answered in the next couple months. And we’d like to start blogging about it again. Just let us get ramped up. It’s coming.

In the meantime, I’ve scheduled a few posts to go live in the “down time” that I thought would good to share. Those little bits of Buckeye that we all love. And I also think you should see this, because you will LOL (via Koo’s Corner):

Also, I love this picture.

So thanks for sticking around. Let us know what’s got you excited about the 2009 Buckeyes, and what you’d like to see us start posting about.