Has Bill Cowher bought his house in Strongsville yet? Inquiring minds NEED to know…

billmac91 said:

So you don’t want Caleb Downs with the #6 pick??

I’d love to take him, but agree it’s cruel to wish upon him.

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In the abstract - if he's the best guy available and fills a need, sure.

I personally believe they need to take the best offensive tackle available at whatever pick he's best valued at. If that means trading down, not too far of course, sure.

But yes, I'd rather not afflict him with the Browns. He seems like a good dude plus he's a Buckeye.

Mike80 said:

I'm happy Vrabel didn't get suck in this vortex of suck emanating out of Berea.

My only wish is any Buckeyes still on the roster are able to go elsewhere before the suck consumes them too.

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So you don’t want Caleb Downs with the #6 pick??

I’d love to take him, but agree it’s cruel to wish upon him.

billmac91 said:

Could've had Mike Vrabel last year. Bypassed him, and will likely end up with a Todd Bowles or another retread.

Fantastic.

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I'm happy Vrabel didn't get stuck in this vortex of suck emanating out of Berea.

My only wish is any Buckeyes still on the roster are able to go elsewhere before the suck consumes them too.

I know the mood around here is gloom and doom, expecting OSU to lose every key game like this, but this game seems like a toss-up. Nebraska has gone 14-0 so far this year, and is riding an 18-game win streak (nation's longest). If the Buckeyes could come out with a W tonight, it would be a big boost to the tournament resume.

Although it counts for nothing, OSU is slightly favored to win this game by the point spread and analytics. I saw on Kenpom OSU's defense was only rated #75 in the country. My feeling is that defense is the end of the court where the Buckeyes will need to find a way to step up in order to win this game. Nebraska has a very talented 3-point shooting outfit, including Rienk Mast (he's still around!?!), who just nailed 6 threes in a victory over Sparty. Coincidentally, Mast also hit 6 threes against the Buckeyes two years ago when they won at home against OSU. I know Tilly in particular seems reluctant to get out and guard the 3 - Diebler is going to have to put someone on Mast (Bynum?) who's comfortable guarding bigs who shoot beyond the arc.

mattynokes said:

Seems odd to me to fire Stefanski, but keep Berry. I get it, there has to be a scapegoat for truck stop Jimmy, but they've been in Cleveland the same amount of time. Fire 'em all and start fresh or keep them for another year. Otherwise, I think it sends the message that a better HC could have won more with the same roster(s).

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Not to say Stefanski didn't need to go - I think he did for professional reasons. Don't turn him into Art Shell where he stays so long he can't get a job elsewhere.

But I totally agree with you - keeping Berry and getting rid of Stefanski should tell you everything you need to know about the Clowns. TEMU Jerruh is in charge and he's hellbent on getting his new stadium for a Super Bowl and a Wrestlemania, even if his team never plays a playoff game in it.

I wouldn't be shocked to see them hire a retread coach, Jim Schwartz fits that bill even though he's an excellent DC, trade Garrett and Ward and "rebuild" again sometime in the next 2-3 years.

Seems odd to me to fire Stefanski, but keep Berry. I get it, there has to be a scapegoat for truck stop Jimmy, but they've been in Cleveland the same amount of time. Fire 'em all and start fresh or keep them for another year. Otherwise, I think it sends the message that a better HC could have won more with the same roster(s).

BuckyKatt said:

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I’m not sure how they left out the part where Jimmy Haslam’s company defrauded trucking companies out of millions of dollars in rebates……

ScriptOhio said:

Just sayin': According to this site the Blue Jackets are $12,325,353 under the salary cap.

https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/yearly

Did they even try to get a good free agent for this season?

NHL Free Agent Tracker | NHL.com

Comprehensive list of signings by team, available players

www.nhl.com

NHL Free Agent Tracker​

Comprehensive list of signings by team, available players

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS​

Signed​

Provorov signs 7-year contract with Blue Jackets
Sillinger signs 1-year contract with Blue Jackets
Lundestrom signs 2-year contract with Blue Jackets
Voronkov signs 2-year contract with Blue Jackets
Mayo signs 1-year contract with Blue Jackets
Pyyhtia signs 1-year contract with Blue Jackets
Hunt signs 1-year contract with Blue Jackets
Fasching signs 1-year contract with Blue Jackets

Free Agents​

Group 2 Restricted Free Agents: Daemon Hunt (re-signed), Mikael Pyyhtia (re-signed), Dmitri Voronkov (re-signed).

Group 3 Unrestricted Free Agents: Justin Danforth (signed: BUF), Christian Fischer (retired), Dylan Gambrell, Jack Johnson (signed: PTO with MIN), Luke Kunin (signed: FLA), Sean Kuraly (signed: BOS), Kevin Labanc (signed: PTO with CAR), Joseph LaBate (signed: VAN), Ivan Provorov (re-signed), Owen Sillinger (re-signed), James van Riemsdyk (signed: DET).

Group 6 Unrestricted Free Agents: Trey Fix-Wolansky (signed: NYR).

Unrestricted Free Agents (did not receive qualifying offer): Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm (signed: Cleveland of AHL), Cole Clayton (signed: SJS), Jordan Harris (signed: BOS), Samuel Knazko (signed: Vitkovice of Czechia).

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So for the first part - it takes two to tango. Players have to want to play in Columbus for them to sign.

The other thing is this team doesn't have a personnel problem as much as it has a maturity problem. The younger guys especially need to learn how to finish games because that's clearly an issue this season.

Does the roster still need improvement? Yes. And it will be once Elvis's stupid contract isn't around anymore. I thought they might be a year away going into the season and they've mostly underperformed. The talent is there, I think, but they aren't quite getting the job done for whatever reason.

The real issue is the 3rd period leads lost. Every team is going to lose some of these games, and I'm not too worried about losing a game that is 1-0 or 2-1 going into the 3rd. Those are going to happen. It's the multi-goal blown leads that are killing them. Here's a partial list mostly from memory but with a scenario from GoogleAI

• November 10, 2025 @ Edmonton Oilers: The Blue Jackets blew two separate two-goal leads in the third period and lost 5-4 in overtime (OT).
• November 15, 2025 vs. New York Rangers: Columbus held a 1-0 lead in the third period but allowed the tying goal and lost 2-1 in a shootout (SO).
• November 22, 2025 @ Detroit Red Wings: The team surrendered a two-goal third-period lead and lost 4-3 in overtime.
• November 26, 2025 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Columbus led 1-0 late into the third period but allowed a tying goal and lost 2-1 in overtime.
• November 28, 2025 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: The Blue Jackets lost a 3-1 lead in the third period, eventually losing 4-3 in overtime.
• December 6, 2025 @ Florida Panthers: Columbus blew a multi-goal third-period lead in a high-scoring game and lost 7-6 in overtime.
• December 13, 2025 vs. Vegas Golden Knights: Yegor Chinakhov scored early in the third period for a 2-1 lead, but the team surrendered two goals to lose 3-2 in regulation.
• December 20, 2025 @ Anaheim Ducks: The Blue Jackets held a lead in the third period but eventually lost 4-3 in overtime.
• December 31, 2025 vs. New Jersey Devils: Columbus held a 2-0 lead entering the third period but allowed three unanswered goals and lost 3-2 in regulation.
• January 4, 2026 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: The Blue Jackets blew a three-goal third-period lead and ultimately lost 5-4 in overtime.

The 3 games in red were games that "happen" to everyone.

If they just hold on to win the multi-goal leads, which should be every "good" team, that's at least 8 more points, and those 8 points would have them as the 2 seed in the Metro.

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Just sayin' - it's not the roster, it's how the team finishes games. Something has to change.

Yeah right.