WOOOO.

Ohio State 30 Purdue 37

Not related to the game, but the just announced Mike Vrabel was traded to Kansas City. Bummer for him.

Back to the game. How does Ed Hightower continue to be employed?

The Buckeyes started the second half nice and quick but they’ve shot themselves in the foot a couple times and instead of being within 2 are now down by 7. Diebler needs to find his shot. The refs aren’t helping issues, either.

Feel free to post what you feel so inclined to post.

I feel free to say that this is an ugly start to the game. Purdue up quickly, 10-2.

And a little patience and some nice defensive pressure and Buckeyes tie it up, 14-14.

Halftime

It’s interesting to see what effect big men have on the game. Even when he’s not making shots, if Mullens is playing tough defense and crashing the board, this is a very good team. When he gets lazy and isn’t contributing on defense, it’s not. Game is now tied 48-48.

Buford, DEEP IN THE SCHOOT!! (Opps, wrong announcer)

Man, a flurry of action and Purdue ties up the game, we’re going to OT.

End of regulation, 64-64

I’m embarrassed by the crowd at the Schott. We’re in a crazy overtime battle, and the entire section behind the scorer’s table is seated. Weaksauce, old Buckeye fans.

Okay, Buckeye fans, that’s much better.

Congrats Buckeyes, excellent win over #13 Purdue. Buford and Evans combine for 48, with another 17 from Mullens. Hopefully this is just the start of a final push to solidify their tournament resume.

There was nothing more annoying about living in Columbus than hearing about how everyone was a Yankee fan, because the Clippers were the AAA affiliate for the club. I mean really…who wouldnt be a Yankee fan when you would get to watch Derek Jeter play in Columbus for about 12 minutes and then leave for the Bronx. Remember watching Drew Henson get booed nightly for attending UM and sucking at baseball…that was awesome. Finally and thankfully, those days could be over…

It was made “unoffically” official today, the Indians have signed up the Columbus Clippers to be the club’s top minor league team (AAA) for the next four years. This relationship will begin when the Clippers open the 2009 season in it’s new downtown ballpark “Huntington Field in the Arena District.”

I wonder if Mo Vaughn bought into this?

Being an Indians fans has been a tough go for the YNBA this season and most seasons, but there have been a few occaisions, such as seven years ago today, that will always manifest a little warmth in my heart (notably the sub-cockle region). The Cleveland Indians trailed the Seattle Mariners 14-2 in the seventh inning at Jacob’s Field. Yeah…if you dont remember the outcome, believe it..the Indians scored 12 runs over the final 3 innings to tie the game and added another in the 11th inning to win 15-14.

(HT: Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times)

There were eight sports teams from Ohio that either lost a championship game or had the coveted #1 ranking elude them in 2007. Never before have so many teams from a single state reached within inches of the promised land, only to fail at accomplishing the utmost feat.

The following teams from Ohio finished #2 in their respective sports in 2007:

History shows that the team never took its BCS opponent seriously, and after a 50-day layoff came to the stadium overweight, flat, and uninspired – and was promptly dispatched by a tough Florida team that had grown weary of hearing about its underdog status.

The Buckeyes survived a tough playoff bracket and matched up against Florida in the championship game. Despite a career game for Oden, the Buckeyes simply couldn’t match up with a Gator team full of talented, experienced veterans.

San Antonio then swept the series, 4-0.

They lost the championship to the San Jose Sabercats, 55-33.

The women won the Southern Conference and made it to the NWFA Championship game — where they were beaten 32-0 by the Pittsburgh Passion.

Cleveland then took a 3-1 lead against Boston in the ALCS, but then lost the pennant with three straight losses to the Red Sox.

The Bombers came in only four points behind Northwestern of Miami Florida. The two did not play against one another.

The Buckeyes played a dominant first half, but Wake Forest came from behind late in the game on a controversial goal. The Demon Deacons went on to win.

So, what say you? Is this list an example of Ohio superiority in athletics, or weakness?

2008 starts off well, with another Ohio team competing for a championship as the football Buckeyes get a chance to redeem themselves in the Bourbon Bowl. Let’s hope that this pattern of #2 ends on January 7th.

At some point, Ken Griffey, Jr. had enough, and responded to a fan’s heckling with a present of his own (sic):

I was going to try and get in Ken Griffey Jr’s head a little bit. He had to walk right by us to get to the dugout and I just couldn’t help myself. So I started with the basics: YOU SUCK..SHOULDN’T YOU BE ON THE D.L…TOO OLD FOR CENTER….that kind of stuff… He called me some fat references which was hilarious and then he told me I couldnt touch the threads on his jock…

…After the 6th inning he walks out and stops to talk to me holding a brown paper bag in his hand. He motions to throw it to me and I told him no, I know that trick. He laughs and says catch it, so I put up my hands and he tosses it over. He wouldn’t leave until I opened it and when I finally did, the whole place erupted with laughter. Griffey throws me his jock…

…He shot me a grin. When he came out in the 8th he shot me another smile, and I told him he still has the greatest swing in baseball. I hope he heard me, I think he did. I love Griffey. In fact, some of my first Dodger games were because Griffey was playing and my boy was a huge fan of his in Seattle. He may be the greatest fielder of all time, but when you come to my stadium, you’re fair game.

Griffey even autographed the jock “3 Jr.” A nice touch.

Read the entire story (with pic goodness).

Yes, it’s early in the season, but the Cubs haven’t won at home yet. This does not bode well for a team that was expecting nothing less than dominance and a Series berth.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati seems to be shaking off the cobwebs and getting into a rhythm. Maybe I was alone in this, but I felt that the only thing that kept the Reds from being a lot more dominant last year was a handful of ill-timed injuries. If they can stay healthy, I wonder if they’ll stay at or near the top of the Central for most of the season.

And how about this Hamilton kid? Hitting .308, reaching base 7 of his last 10 attempts, and two HRs in both starts. What do you think: is Hamilton just hype or is he the real thing?

This change should breathe a bit of life into the ballclub. The Yankees have moved all of their minor leaguers to their new affiliate in Scranton, so we’ll have an entirely new team – from managers to players – dressing in Clippers pinstripes this year.

The change also brings another benefit. The Clippers are no longer affiliated with an American-league team. The move to the DH-less National League will mean that we’ll finally be able to see pitchers swinging bats, the way baseball was meant to be played.

To generate some excitement in the city, and hopefully start off on a good foot with existing Clippers fans, the Nationals will be playing the Baltimore Orioles at Cooper Stadium tomorrow (March 29th):

True, the Columbus sports universe still centers around the Buckeyes and Blue Jackets, but the Clippers games are still one of the best family experiences in the city. Where else can you take your kids on a delightfully cool spring evening, relax with a delicious ten-cent hot dog and a hoppy beer, watch players in clean uniforms running on the bright green grass, while the buildings on the Columbus skyline turn orange from the setting Sun? Spring is here!

Links:
Columbus Clippers
Washington Nationals

For the past several decades, most of the talent dressing in New York pinstripes came from the triple-A Clippers.

It’s interesting timing. The Clippers, once the biggest draw in the minor leagues, are building a brand new stadium in Columbus’s Arena district (near Nationwide Arena). Popularity with the triple-A club is sure to spike during and after the construction of the new $55 million stadium. This should make the search for a new MLB affiliate much easier.

Fan affiliation, however, will probably suffer. Columbus is in an odd place when it comes to MLB. It’s geographically right in between the Reds and the Indians, and the fans are split accordingly. Further complicating matters has been the rivalry between the Indians and the Yankees. Do we support the Ohio team, or do we support the Yankees because those players started on the farm team here in Columbus?

With this move, the latter issue will probably go away, and we’ll be back to splitting loyalties between the Reds and Indians. (Well, whatever little loyalty is left after Columbus’s required Buckeye obsession, that is.)

Back when baseball was still the national pasttime, and before he became a pariah, Rose spent a humid summer chasing the ghost of Cobb across the green fields of America.

If you grew up in Ohio, then you probably remember where you were when it happened. Some of you may even have Red Machine caps hidden in a dusty chest up in the attic.

It’s worth taking the time to revisit history.

Or, feel free to follow the sportsMonkey on a stroll down memory lane.