Who will stand with us?

January 5, 2007 by 6 Comments

OSU FootballYou’ve probably heard by now that the Michigan bloggers (and fans) are bailing off the Big Ten Bandwagon to shack up with the Gators from the Dirty South, leaving their Big Ten brethren high and dry. We understand they’re still stinging from the brutal drubbings they received from two of the better teams in the country. We know that not beating Ohio State in the last three tries really hurts. And we know it’s going to absolutely KILL THEM to see Troy Smith and Sweatervest hoist the crystal pigskin over their heads in exultation after the dismantling of the Gators. But, guys, can’t we, for three hours on Monday, be friends? Some of our best players are from Michigan (see: Vernon – Gholston’s – Arms). But we understand if it hurts too much. We’ve been there.

(A side note to Wolverine Nation: You think 1-5 hurts? You’d still have to lose another five more before you reach the bottomless pit that OSU fans endured during the Cooper era. So trust us, it can get much, much worse than this.)

So Michigan refuses to be on board, out of spite. So be it. If Michigan fans want to cozy up with the Flavor-of-the-Month, that’s their choice. But who is going to stand with us? Buckeye Nation doesn’t have many friends. We’re mercilessly ridiculed and no one comes to our defense. We’re accused of wrongdoing and crimes against humanity for simply loving our team. Sure, a few Buckeye fans are cavemen, but let me assure you, we’re not all powdered doughnut-winging freaks. So who’s it going to be?

Come on Notre Dame fans! We know there’s no love lost between us, but your enemy’s enemy is your friend, right? That 2005 soap opera between Shrek and Donkey AJ Hawk and Laura Quinn did nothing but give tons of extra media attention to Brady. It was a year ago since the Fiesta Bowl. We can put that behind us now, right? Surely the Michigan game stung more, right? Come join us break the hearts of thousands of Wolverine fans. It’ll be fun!

Where’s the rest of the Big Ten? Don’t leave us hanging. Wisconsin, what say you? You’re the only Big Ten team that totally owns Tressel. Cheer us on, so that we can make sure two Big Ten teams end up in the top five of the BCS standings. This is our league, our legacy. Penn State, we gave your coach his record-setting victory a couple of years ago, and your victory over OSU helped you to finish #2 in 2005. Plus, we gave him a place to change his shorts in his moment of most dire need. Let’s give it up!

We are the Big Ten. OSU’s continued presence in the BCS system is bringing home a crapload of money for all of us to share. Together we stand. We were rooting for you in your time of need, now it’s time to join in the good fight. If Michigan really wants OSU to lose that badly, then maybe we can kick them out and invite West Virginia to join us or something. Enough with Canada’s Alabama anyway, right?

As Rob Van Winkle once said, “drop the zero and get with the hero!”

coolasice8.jpg

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

MotSaG update

January 3, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Blog/site newsFirst off, a big thanks to the sportsMonkey for providing some great stuff while the rest of the MotSaG staff slacked off. Now we’re all back from our extended holiday break, and we’re fired up for a certain bowl game just a few days away. I myself just got a new HDTV so I am eagerly anticipating my first Buckeye game in High Definition.

CSTV.com is doing their “Battle of the Blogs” again, and we’ve been tapped to contribute. Our piece will be going up next Monday, but they’ve already posted the first matchup. Poor Pfef was matched up against the blogging-wunderkind Orson Swindle, but I think we can safely say that Pfef not only held his own, but wrote a pretty darn good piece. We’re hoping to present a good argument ourselves, but our subject is a little more involved.

Besides football, how about those Buckeye cagers? After watching the Florida game last month, it was obvious that the team is still gelling, still finding its identity. One of the commentators last night made a good point about this team versus last year’s team. While this year’s team is probably much more talented than the team last year, last year’s team had great chemistry. Dials quietly led the team while the other players fed off each other. This year’s team has so much fire power that sometimes it doesn’t look like their playing cohesively as a team. I think the Big Ten season will work out those wrinkles, but once that chemistry is established this year, look out.

And enough can not be said about the way Oden and Conley are playing. The whole “Thad Five” are playing up to the expectations, but those two are not playing like freshmen. Oden is a manchild and Conley has some disgusting moves. They are fun to watch, especially when they’re beating Indiana. Oh how I loathe thee, Indiana!

We hope to have some time over the next few days to look at matchup with the Gators. I haven’t been watching the line since this game was set, but it seems like a lot of the talking heads are starting to bail off the OSU bandwagon, shacking up with the Gators. Maybe they seven week layoff has made people forget about what the Buckeyes have done. This is the team who averaged over 36 points a game (Florida averaged 28.8). Did they forget how the OSU defense that had to replace NINE starters only allowed 10.4 points (Florida gave up 13.5). Did they forget who won the Heisman? They can go with who they want. We know who we’ll be backing come January 8th.

Filed Under: Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football

We’re still here

December 14, 2006 by 18 Comments

Blog/site newsWe, like most of you I’m sure, have been a little lax after the excellent 2006 regular season. While we didn’t have finals to worry about, we did have family and other requirements that demand our time. Our updates have been sporadic as of late, but we appreciate all of you checking in peridoically for new content. We’ve got some material lined up and there’s still a lot of great Ohio sports action going on, so bear with us as we come out of our blogging-funk.

We’ll be looking back fondly at some memories of the 2006 football season with the return of “Friday Fun,” we’ll be watching out Basketball Buckeyes tear up the non-conference schedule (the upcoming Bearcats game should be excellent), and of course we’ll keep a watchful eye on the Gators from down south. We’ll be taking a look at how the Buckeyes match up with the scrappy Gators. They’ve got to watch out for that SEC speed!

We’ve also got something that, if we release it to the public, could shake the very foundations of Buckeye fans everywhere. We’re still trying to decide what to do with the information we’ve uncovered, but just be aware that we have Ohio State fans’ interests in mind. Watch this space for more information.

Filed Under: Blogging

Troy is the MAN

December 10, 2006 by 5 Comments

HEISMAN, that is.

More Troy goodness coming soon.

smith_heisman.jpg

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Now, the waiting game.

December 3, 2006 by 2 Comments

FootballThanks, Southern Cal. Thanks a lot. So much for your eight-Pete (or whatever “-Pete” you were on). Way to go and screw it all up.

Now it becomes the waiting game. Florida looked okay in their SEC championship game win. The points brought up in that game, about the strength of schedule, were telling. I think Florida edges Michigan out of the number two spot for three reasons. One, Michigan’s impressive season ended three weeks ago (four, if you look closely at the Ball State game) while the Florida victory is fresh in the voters’ minds. That’s important when they have to get their votes in tonight. Two, whether it’s true or just a figment of SEC fans’ imaginations, there is the mindset that the SEC is the tougher conference and that’s going to nudge Florida up in the voters mind as well. Three, how will SEC coaches vote in their poll? That could be the difference.

So what do you want to see? I’d like to see Florida in for the obvious reason — the Buckeyes would kill them. I’m not worried about playing Michigan again, but I’d like to see Florida just for a change of pace. And it’s been said a million times, but it bares repeating — what would a rematch prove? The results would be most unsatisfactory.

So the BCS picture is a mess. Things will be all worked out tomorrow and the picture will be crystal clear. And the wailing and gnashing of teeth will commence.

(On a side note, did you catch Danielson’s remark near the end of the Florida/Arkansas broadcast? Something along the lines of, “Let’s face it, Michigan is a second place team.”

Ouch.)

Filed Under: College Football

Buckeye Accolades

December 2, 2006 by Leave a Comment

FootballWith one of the greatest seasons coming to an end, the Ohio State Buckeyes, as a team, have accomplished an impressive 12-0 season. This is perhaps the best “award” a team could be given — a chance to play for the National Championship. While there can only be one “Team Award,” many individual Buckeyes have played exceptionally well, and our deserving of personal recognition.

Now that we prepare with the bowl game, let’s take a look at the awards that Buckeyes have qualified for. Hit the jump for the complete list.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: College Football, Ohio State Football

OSU vs. North Carolina, Semi-live update

November 29, 2006 by 6 Comments

OSU LogoI figured I’d do a little live blog of the Buckeyes game. I’ll update this post periodically throughout the game.

Incredible first half. Buckeyes up by four. The Buckeyes are absolutely unconscious from three-point land. Currently 8-12. Lewis and Butler are playing great. I didn’t think the Buckeyes would be able to keep up the fast tempo for the whole twenty minutes but they hung with the Tarheels. The freshmen are playing excellent as well. Twiggy is actually playing very well against Hansbrough, which is commendable. Buckeyes are looking good. They need to stay out of fould trouble and keep shooting the lights out.

Half-time
OSU: 48
North Carolina: 44

11:28 left
After surviving a 9-0 run by Carolina to start the half, the Buckeyes claw back into the game with a flurry of three’s from Harris.

OSU:66
North Carolina: 62

6:14 left
So I take it that if Hansbrough is dancing, his doesn’t have to actually dribble the ball, right? Got it.

OSU: 72
North Carolina: 80

Game Over
Ohio State’s shots simply didn’t drop at key times in the second half while North Carolina stepped up the pressure on defense and made some huge shots. It was a good game and I think the Buckeyes are in a good place. The #1 rating was definitely based on the voter’s perception of how the future Buckeyes will play, not necessarily how they’re playing now. When Oden comes back (I don’t know if you heard, he’s coming back) this will be a completely different team.

OSU: 89
North Carolina: 98

And Dick Vitale. I know a lot of people love to hate him. I listen to him and sometimes I love his excitement, but there are times (see the comments below) when I want to grab a steak knife and drive it into my ear drum. Arrgh. If I heard them refer to how “Oden is coming” one more time, I think I would have snapped.

Filed Under: Ohio State Basketball

We’re not dead

November 28, 2006 by 3 Comments

Blog/site newsWe’re just now coming down from the high of the Michigan victory. Seriously, for like a week we all had smiles on our faces you couldn’t beat into a frown, even with a ballpeen hammer. It was some serious after-glow. We decided we would take a rest from the blogging game during the Thanksgiving week. With the Thanksgiving holiday now over, we’re getting back into the swing of things, trying to bring you some more excellent OSU content, hopefully entertaining you in the six weeks of downtime until it’s time to go Bowling in Glendale.

We’re not completely ignoring the other Ohio sports, we just have been so laser-focused on Ohio State football that we haven’t had time to mention the other sports. But we’re watching them and we have opinions. Like my opinion that the Browns are the biggest embarrassment the NFL has ever seen. Could the Buckeyes hang with the Browns right now? I wouldn’t be surprised. OSU Basketball is starting to heat up. How good is Thad Motta going to make this team? He must go recruiting with Playboy bunnies or something, he gets whoever he wants. The guy is amazing. The Cavs are looking strong (if uninspired) and LeBron makes some of the best commercials, ever. The Jackets aren’t in my wheel-house of expertise, but from what I can tell, they’ve been disappointing. The Indians aren’t exactly tearing up the off-season with any killer signings. Typical Cleveland behavior, but it’d be nice to see something exciting happen for a change.

Here at MotSaG, we’re working on a number of items, so I thought I’d give you a taste of things to come:

  • How does OSU matchup with its potential BCS Championship opponent?
  • OSU Basketball has a couple marquee match-ups during the next month. We’ll be taking a look at the team and their chances against North Carolina and Florida.
  • What OSU footballers are finalists for what awards, and their chances to win them.
  • Lots of Troy Smith stuff
  • We’re still in awe of what Joe Paterno has done this year. We’re still going to make fun of him.
  • … and much more

Hopefully you’ll stick around and enjoy the show.

Filed Under: Blogging

Blogpoll Ballot, Week #14

November 28, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Rank Team Delta
1 Ohio State —
2 Southern Cal 1
3 Michigan 1
4 Florida 1
5 Boise State 1
6 Wisconsin 1
7 LSU 5
8 Louisville 3
9 Oklahoma 5
10 Auburn 3
11 Arkansas 7
12 Brigham Young 3
13 Virginia Tech 5
14 Rutgers 3
15 Wake Forest 7
16 Notre Dame 8
17 California 4
18 West Virginia 9
19 Texas A&M 7
20 Nebraska 3
21 Texas 11
22 Hawaii 2
23 TCU 3
24 Georgia Tech 5
25 Boston College 9

Dropped Out: Tennessee (#20), Clemson (#25).

Here’s our Blogpoll ballot for this week. Our voters actually voted Michigan and USC to a tie for #2, but since a majority of the voters voted USC #2, I ranked them accordingly. West Virginia and Texas suffered the most from their losses. Hopefully we can put to bed the idea that the Big East was a good conference with teams that should be considered for the national title and accept the fact that it’s a decent conference with decent teams. Other than that, not a lot to say here.

Most of us watched the USC/ND and LSU/Arkansas games with a smattering of other games here and there. We’re all lamenting the fact that the college football season is coming to a close. It’s been such an awesome season (for Buckeye fans, natch) that we’re sad to see it end and anxious to get to Bowl Season.

Filed Under: Blogpoll

Blogpoll Ballot, Week #13

November 22, 2006 by Leave a Comment

Rank Team Delta
1 Ohio State —
2 Michigan —
3 Southern Cal 4
4 Arkansas 1
5 Florida 1
6 Boise State 2
7 Wisconsin 2
8 Notre Dame —
9 West Virginia 2
10 Texas 4
11 Louisville 1
12 LSU 1
13 Auburn 9
14 Oklahoma 3
15 Brigham Young 1
16 Boston College 5
17 Rutgers 12
18 Virginia Tech —
19 Georgia Tech 4
20 Tennessee 4
21 California 1
22 Wake Forest 12
23 Nebraska 2
24 Hawaii 1
25 Clemson 1

Dropped Out: Maryland (#19).

Here is our Ohio State + the rest of college football rankings. Ohio State is head, shoulders, knees, and toes above the rest of the field. I think most OSU fans are rooting for USC to leapfrog Michigan, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to rank them higher. Other than that, we don’t have much more to say. We’re spent from Saturday’s game to care about the rest of the teams. We’re just watching the calendar tick down the days.

Filed Under: Blogpoll, College Football
« Previous Page
Next Page »