Men of the Scarlet and Gray

Proudest Dad

I’m working on a Spring Game post (yeah for being a week late to the party) but before we get to that, I need to take a moment to show off.

There are moments, as a parent, when your kid does something completely unprovoked that makes “it all worth it.” For some, it’s their kid’s first steps or the report card with straight A’s or maybe becoming a doctor. For me (and hopefully, to a certain extent, Mrs. Kaiser) one of those moments was the morning before the Spring Game. My oldest was painting pictures with her brother in the basement. She asked me how to spell “Buckeyes” and “Michigan” for a couple posters she was painting. Innocent enough.

The results, as they say, brought a tear to my eye.

Here’s my daughter and her brother holding up her “signs”:

(They read “Boo Mich” and “Go Bucks” respectively. Yes, my daughter was aware that we weren’t playing Michigan. She also knows that Michigan is the team you boo. My parenting is good like that. She’s also a little miffed she didn’t get to hold the “Go Bucks” sign)

Get your football fix Open Thread

We’re planning on taking the kids to their first Spring Game today, so I doubt I’ll be able to watch much of it before they get bored, but the DVR will be working overtime so I can catch it on my own. Are you planning on going?

We’ll also be watching the NFL draft with interest when we get back!

Update: Spring game (the half I’ve seen already was great) but I just came in from some yardwork and saw that Beanie fell all the way down to the 31st pick? That was unexpected, to say the least.

Oops.

Double oops.

Compare and Contrast

As we are wont to do from time to time, we like to take a couple articles, clip a little nugget out of each and compare the two. Today’s articles look at the physical development of a couple of the future and present signal callers for the Michigan and Ohio State football teams, respectively.

First, we have Tate Forcier, commenting on his development, strength-wise, under the tutelage of Mike Barwis:

“Coach Barwis has definitely showed me a little bit of a different life,” Forcier said. “He’s doing a great job with it, and I’ve got to give a lot of credit to him. He’s trying to bring me along as fast as he can. … Coming here, you’re [bench-pressing] a 45-pound plate on each side, it’s kind of pathetic. He’s gotten me a lot stronger.”

To be fair, Forcier is a freshman and probably hasn’t had access to facilities or coaches like he will at U of M. But seriously? Benching one-hundred-and-thirty-five pounds? At 6′ 1″ and 187, he should certainly be stronger than that.

Compare that to what’s being said about Terrelle Pryor’s progress and growth:

“He’s been in there every day, and I am talking about two and three hours at a time,” Hall said. “What I see is how much bigger he’s gotten under Ohio State’s strength and conditioning program. He told me he weighs 238 pounds and, kidding him, I said, ‘You better watch it. They might make you a defensive end.’”

Again, we’re not exactly comparing apples to apples here. Pryor is a bigger guy with a year under his belt and an off-season with some of the best trainers in the country. So it’s to be expected that he’d not only get bigger, but stronger.

That being said, if Forcier does get any playing time of consequence, Big Ten linebackers are going to be licking their chops. I can hear Thaddues Gibson’s stomach growling already.

The Face of the Team

A real quick check-in post so we don’t fall completely off the radar.

As we hear the reports coming out of spring camp, I got to wondering how was going to be the poster boy of the 2009 Buckeyes. It’s no secret that a certain Mountain of a Man was our man-crush for 2007 and a particular Stiff Arm was the face (hand? arm?) of the Buckeyes of 2008. So who will it be this year?

I present two candidates. The first was an emerging beast of a man last year, one Thaddeus Maximus. He’s already on people’s radar with lines like “Destroy everything moving” and “You just have to know when to be aggressive”.

The other nominee, via The Silver Bullet, is incoming freshman Dominic Clarke who, as Drew says, certainly passes the “Look Test”.

So who is your nomination for the 2009 MotSaG man-crush Face of the Buckeyes?

Spring is in the air

As often happens around these parts around the end of the NCAA tournament, things have slowed to a crawl in terms of posting frequency and snarkacy. We don’t officially go into hibernation mode, but past performance has pointed to a reduced number of posts.

This year may change that, however, as I have a travel assignment that will have me on the road for extended periods of time for the next 5-6 months. That frees up a lot of time for reading and writing, so hopefully i’ll be able to keep things going at a decent pace around here.

In the meantime, we are vigilant of all things Buckeyes, especially now that Spring Practice has started. I’m already getting a vibe of excitement around the Buckeye camp. What things have you excited? Besides the obvious (Terrelle Pryor’s sophomore effort) I’m anxious to see the new look of the defense, especially how the linebacker corps is looking.

We also didn’t comment much about the sad state of affairs that was the basketball team’s sole tournament game. What a horrific display that was. Here’s to hoping for something better next year.

And because we can’t end on a sour note, here is your Ohio State NFL Pro Day Vernon Gholston Shot:

You can’t see the pipes, but they’re there. They’re always there.

(via Ohio State Buckeyes dot com)

Weekend Madness Open Thread

We missed yesterday’s (okay, and most of today’s) action, but our Buckeye’s weren’t playing, so WHO CARES? We’ve got a reason to watch and cheer this evening. It’s all been leading up to this moment.

Buckeyes tip off at 9:40.

A couple links for your enjoyment and perusal. First, we recently received a spam comment from Dr. Big Toe. At first I thought this was joke, but maybe the joke was on me?

The talk of whether or not Mullens sticks around another year isn’t dying down. Is this a reason for concern?

OSU 72 Siena 74 (Final, 2 OT)

Once again, if OSU’s big men assert themselves, this should be an easy game. Siena can’t match up.

Cleveland State (my upset special) is up on Wake, by the by.

Are they not allowed to dunk in the MAAC? The number of missed dunks by Siena is embarassing. (OSU 41 Siena 34)

So it comes down to this — 8 seconds, game tied at 56.

And now it’s overtime. (Oh, and Cleveland State is still beating Wake Forest)

Yeah, after that second overtime, I went to bed. No need to dwell on the game last night. We’ll post a wrap up later. Feel free to continue to comment on the weekend of fun, though. At least the Cavs play a couple times this weekend.

MotSaG Tournament Pick’em 2009

It’s that time again — the annual MotSaG Tournament Pick’em. We’ll be doing it over at Yahoo’s Fantasy Sports. We’ve already set up our bracket. If you participated last year, you should have received an invite already.

If you haven’t received an invite, or you’re interested in joining us this year, just drop us a note at motsag@gmail.com or send us a message through our contact page.

There will be a prize for the top bracket, but those details haven’t been finalized. Either way, enter early before the tournament starts!

Update – There’s only a couple more hours before the brackets are closed, so if you’re interested, get us your email ASAP.

Big Tournament Championship Open Thread (and NCAA updates)

I just realized I didn’t start an open thread for the biggest game of the season thus far. Unlike football, I don’t plan my schedule around basketball games, so while I have been watching the game, posting an open thread slipped my mind.

So far, Buckeyes are doing what they did yesterday against Michigan State — hitting their threes and playing tough defense. They take a five-point lead in to the locker room at half time.

Ohio State: 61 Purdue: 65 (Final)

Well, that didn’t turn out how we’d hoped.

Ohio State was given an 8th seed in the Midwest Bracket, drawing Siena, a team I don’t know a lick about. I know they are our of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference taking teams such as Marist and Canisius.

Size-wise, it looks like we’ll have a physical advantage with our bigs, but up to this point that really hasn’t been much of an advantage. I’m sure we’ll be reading more about this team as we get closer to game time, but for now, let’s plan on a first round win and second round match-up with Louisville. That should be interesting.

Ohio State vs. Michigan State (Big Ten Tourney) Open Thread

Time to get your Open Thread on. I’ll be chiming in as we go along. Check out 11W for preview.

This is going to be a tough match-up, but if shots fall and the Extra Terrestrial can get some assistance, the Buckeyes can pull it off.

OSU: 82 MSU: 70 (Final)

All things considered, the first four minutes plus the Buckeyes look okay. Michigan State is playing a bit sloppy. Outside of the breakdown on the MSU in-bounds play, OSU’s D has been okay.

The threes absolutely have to continue to fall, but right now we’re hanging with the Spartans. The combo of three makes and sloppy turnovers on the part of MSU makes el Kaiser happy. (OSU 19 v. MSU 15)

It looks like the sloppiness is rubbing off on the Buckeyes. They had more than one easy scoring opportunity to pass them by. Luckily Michigan State is in a shooting slump of their own. (OSU 21 v. MSU 15)

Tight defense to close out the half. It’s good to see the Buckeyes get out in transition, and it’s especially promising that they’re leading Michigan State without a contribution from Evan Turner. We’ll need him to come out strong in the second half, because Michigan State will come out firing. (OSU 34 v. MSU 29)

HERE. WE. GO.

Who is this man in Lauderdale’s jersey? He’s blocking shots, taking the ball to the hoop and showing people he will not be pushed around. (OSU 46 v. MSU 37)

Oh, Mr. Hightower, we missed your theatrical calls. Oh, and the Buckeyes are running the floor with success. (OSU 51 v. MSU 41)

With Turner’s third foul, Matta is showing faith (and making me nervous) in his bench, with Offutt, Mullens, Simmons and Madsen all on the floor. Has Diebler come out of a game at all this season? (OSU 54 v. MSU 41)

Mullens finally asserting himself on both ends. The paint should have been owned all season long by Mullens and Lauderdale. Either way, they’re pouring it on when it matter most. Buckeyes in control. (OSU 58 v. MSU 42)

Five minutes left and Michigan State is going to make this into a game. Come on Buckeyes, don’t let them sniff 60 points. (OSU 65 v. MSU 53)

It’s getting too close for comfort. (OSU 68 v. MSU 58)

And the chants of MVP come out with Evan Turner at the line. Simmah down nawh! (OSU 75 v. MSU 61)

Big win for the Buckeyes, big second half for Evan Turner (18 points). (OSU 82 v. MSU 70)

Quick Hits

Ohio State beats Wisconsin 61-57 in the Big Ten tournament. I didn’t get a chance to catch the game on TV (due to a nasty habit of working from nine to five) but thanks to 97.1’s streaming of their broadcast, I was able to listen in on Paul Keels calling the game. Things didn’t look good with five minutes left, but all’s well that ends well, so we’ll take it.

We’ll see Michigan State tomorrow at 1:40 PM. Three times a charm, right?

Beanie Wells is fast. The internet is atwitter with the performance of one Chris “Beanie” Wells at Ohio State’s pro day today. Word is that he pretty much killed it, running at least forty yards in under four and four-tenths of a second. Those in the know seem to think that is rather rapid. From what we hear, this speed is unheard of north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Some Swedish dude took off almost all of his clothes to hit a shot out of the mud at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral yesterday. He’s getting a lot of credit for his dedication to his craft. I’m not impressed. I’ll show you dedication: I’ve written well over half of the MotSaG posts in my skivvies. Even when the heat is turned off and it’s 50 degrees in the house. That’s dedication.

Finally, Delonte West showed teammate Ben Wallace and the rest of the world how to rock ‘fro.

Block O Table, Shooty Hoops Edition

We’ve been invited to sit with the adults at the Block O Table. Finally, we don’t have to eat turkey with the five year olds. This week we’re looking at OSU hoopage. Questions come from Vico over at Our Honor Defend.

01. Evan Turner was not named the Big Ten Player of the Year. This is A) highway robbery B) petty theft or C) no big deal (I didn’t need my wallet, car keys and shoes anyways, sir)? Really though, do you feel Turner was jobbed? Why?

This is a tough one. I’m saying “no big deal.” In other sports (baseball most prominently), the MVP (aka PotY) is often expected to be on a “contender.” Whether that’s fair or not is up for debate, but if we hold the players in the running to this standard, the argument could be made the Lucas “deserved” it more than Turner because Michigan State won the regular season Big Ten Title.

That being said, there were a couple games when Turner took too much on his shoulders, tried to do too much and perhaps cost his team chances to get back into the game. He was obviously the Buckeye’s most valuable player, but was just a couple games short of Big Ten’s.

02. You might have noticed, but the women’s basketball team has been on quite a roll recently. They won their 5th straight Big Ten title and won their second Big Ten tournament. They’re destined to play their first two games in Columbus and will, by all logic, be on ESPN/ESPN2 for it. Do you plan to follow them as well or am I really the only one who cares about this team?

No and most likely. I’ll watch an occasional womens tournament game, but it’s an extremely rare occurrence. I’ll stop if they’re playing Michigan, but that’s just out of respect. If there’s absolutely nothing else on, maybe. That includes repeats of Damon Zex.

03. The single biggest thing Ohio State’s men’s team needs to do/change/get in order to turn this team back into a national title contender is ______________. Why?

Get kids to stick around for more than one year. You’re 2008-9 starting five could have been Conley Jr., Cook, Turner, Koufos and Oden. Could you even imagine it?

It’s hard to blame these kids for leaving early, but it’s obvious some of them (Conley Jr. and Koufos) could have used a season or two of growth.

04. The person on the mens’ team that has been most disappointing this season is _______________________. Explain.

Tough call here. I initially was going to say Mullens, but it’s hard to pile on a kid that has dominated at every level of play up to this point and has struggled adjusting his game. I’ll give him a pass, but he’s on the board for next year. I’m going with Dallas Lauderdale, who at this point has become a liability. He may have erased a mulititude of sins with his block against Northwestern, but the guy should have been a rebound machine all year long but wasn’t. His offensive game is non-existent and the pleasure he takes in fouling the opposition has become tired.

Plus his free throw motion bothers me.

(I don’t have a dog in the fight from #5)

How would you answer those?

In Case You Missed It

Here are some of the stories and what-not we wanted to talk about in the past week or so but never got around to it. Hope you enjoy.

[Football] – College Football News looked at the top 50 non-conference games coming up in 2009. Ohio State makes two appearances: USC’s visit to the Horseshoe comes in at #1 (duh) and Navy’s visit the week before as #42. I can’t wait to see the triple option in the ‘Shoe. (via UWeekly.com)

[Football] – We figured this already, but JB Shugarts was also cleared of drug charges. Phew.

[RUMOR] – Terrelle Pryor was seen walking around campus in a walking boot. THIS IS A COMPLETELY UNSUBSTANTIATED RUMOR. I just felt the need to get it out there. Not sure why. Do not run for the hills. It’s only March

[Basketball] – Evan Turner says he’s coming back. Bring back Buford and Mullens with you, ET and we’re sitting mighty pretty.

[Basketball] – Lots of recognition for Buckeye Ballers — Evan Turner was All-Big Ten (and could have arguably been Big Ten Player of the Year), along with William Buford as Freshman of the Year and BJ Mullens as Sixth Man.

[NCAA Tournament] – We’re planning on another MotSaG Tournament Bracket contest again this year, complete with real prizes. Stay Tuned.

Anything you thought was interesting lately?

Ohio State vs. Iowa Open Thread

Because I’ll be suffering through Biggest Loser with the missus (just kidding, sweetie, I love it!) so I won’t catch up to the game until half-time, but here’s an open thread for the game. I won’t be checking comments until I’ve got up live.

For previews, you can check 11 Warriors or Storminspank’s.

Go Bucks!

Ohio State 60 – Iowa 58 (Final)

I’m finally queuing up the DVR to get this show on the road. And, I’m immediately saddened to see Hightower is reffing this game. Great.

Good Lord, Iowa basketball is boring. I may just fast-forward every Iowa possession until there’s 10 seconds left on their shot clock. Sheesh. Add to the fact that one of the Hawkeyes name is Bullwinkle. Hilarity is ensuing.

There are some bad whistles already, and none of them from Hightwoer’s whistle

Dang, all of a sudden Iowa can’t miss and we can’t hit. This could get ugly. (OSU 19 Iowa 27)

And BAM, just like that two threes in a row and OSU is back in it. (OSU 25 Iowa 27)

And double-BAM, Turner goes down in a heap. NO NO NO.

Dang, that Iowa 3 and half-time hurt. (OSU 30 Iowa 32)

We can’t let this turn into another Northwestern incident. Hands need to be in faces of those three-point attempts. (OSU 35 Iowa 40)

A sign of maturity for Evan Turner: 7 assists (at the 13 minute mark of the 2nd half). He’s been required to do so much recently that it seemed like he was putting too much pressure on himself. It seems like he’s learning to trust his team.

Hey, it’s a Dallas Lauderdale sighting! (OSU 48 Iowa 47)

There’s another Dallas Lauderdale sighting, committing an egregious foul. (OSU 50 Iowa 50)

I take back what I said earlier about Iowa’s offense, they’ve put up some points. (OSU 60 Iowa 58)

HOLY CRAP DALLAS LAUDERDALE I LOVE YOUR MAN HANDS.

Phew. THAT was a close one. OSU wins.

More ugh

This came across the wire yesterday, but the Monkey and I were unable to get it up in a post for various reasons. I’m sure you’ve seen it already, but here it is again: J.B. Shugarts and Mike Adams, future anchors to the OSU offensive line, were in a bit of trouble.

Operative word being were. That’s the way it looked earlier. Now, as details emerge, it looks like much ado about nothing. Adams’ charges were dropped yesterday and Shugarts, who has his pretrial tomorrow, should have his charges dropped as well.

Phew.

In other news, the Monkey pointed me to this late last week. We do have a rather strict rule of not mentioning HWSHBN, but this was interesting. I don’t know the full story about this site, but the Monkey claims it’s legit. Does anyone else have any more background here? Don’t worry about being censored for mentioning his name, but we do prefer to that your refer to him as HWSHBN.