Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s newly renamed, semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next TYAACOL? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

PROFESSOR TRESSEL: Martin Rickman of SI’s Campus Union attended Jim Tressel’s class “Principles of Coaching” at the University of Akron. There’s a lot here, so make sure you read it all.

A few choice quotes:

It’s probably no mere coincidence that the repeated refrain in the first week of “Principles of Coaching” was that the coach is ultimately responsible for the player. That extends to on-field technique, player safety and the way an athlete handles himself in society.

We have discussed this at length with all that happened with players behaving badly this summer. But it’s clear that coaches, fairly or not, feel responsible for the kids they take under their wings and try to make them into men. Better than how they found them. Most of the time, they are successful. Sometimes they are not. For whatever reason, we only focus on the latter. Hardly ever the former.

Standing in front of a classroom, Tressel was dynamic. There were even whispers that he might be the next president of the university. He cracked jokes; at one point during the class, a student near the front admitted to being a University of Michigan and Cleveland sports fan. Tressel responded: “So you’re used to being miserable.”

Tressel is quite the jokester.

I REALLY DON’T WANT TO GET INTO THIS: Really, I don’t. I’m sure you’ve already read about it and seen it retweeted a six dozenty times over the past 24 hours. But it bears repeating, if for no other reason, to point out what ESPN is really doing: Manufacturing controversy for their own sake. Both Mark May and Skip Bayless said some profoundly dumb and even more profoundly untrue things about their “memories” of the Notre Dame/Meatchicken “Rivalry”. They should be mocked openly. The should be purged and flogged.

But they won’t. This has already come and gone. ESPN has an ombudsman whose role is to “offer independent examination and analysis of ESPN’s television, radio, print and digital offerings.” Will they offer corrections to May and Bayless’ statements? I’m not holding my breath.

May and Bayless and Cowherd have all taken their swipes at us bloggers. But one thing I will say about sports bloggers: We research and source our facts fastidiously. We admit our mistakes, own up to them and correct them. Is it too much to ask these guys to do the same?

ROBY, SMITH PUTTING IN THE WORK: Both Bradley Roby and Rod Smith will join the team this Saturday against San Diego State. It’s good to see that Roby is getting himself ready mentally and physically:

“The great players don’t try to get out of practice, the great players don’t try to get out of working out, they try to find ways to get in. Last week, all week, (Roby) was in the office watching San Diego State film to prepare himself. He has treated his situation like a professional and he has worked hard to stay in shape.”

Coach Coombs sees all.

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT? It seems like all the good ideas are taken. Then someone comes along and takes another one before I could!

Tailgate Ten provides completely customizable, full service tailgating experiences for people who love to party, but hate to work for it. The company reserves and rents you equipment for your gameday, can drive your car to the event to reserve the best spot possible, and will even set up and tear down everything for you. Finally, you can throw a party that you don’t have to worry about – on land you don’t even own.

Not sure exactly what your tailgate needs are? Check the Tailgate Ten website for some options. For example, if you order one of their Varsity packages, you get a tent, chairs, grill, tables, drink holders, two coolers, a sound system, ladder toss, a saved parking spot, and a party that’s ready to start as soon as you show up to the stadium. You can even rent high-definition TVs, satellites, and generators from these guys. Do you love fresh wings on gameday? Rent a turkey fryer and ask them to buy you the meat. The Tailgate Ten boys even made their own 16-foot projector screen that you can rent for at-home parties when the team is away.

Back to the drawing board…

QUICK HITTERS: Stephen Ross is a very rich man. He just made the Michigan Business School and Athletic department rather rich, too. Pretend that Rick Reilly didn’t write this and just go read a heart-warming story about some college athletes doing the right thing. That didn’t take long.

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