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Q: How much fun or what did you enjoy, I guess, about this last year playing basketball at the high school level and starting to really think about going toward college? What has this last year been like?
Thompson: "It's been really fun. I think, finishing out AAU and going into the school ball season, like you said, looking towards college and just I think improving my game to the best that I can before I get to Ohio State."

Q: I know you had one game this year with 43 points. Just what did that feel like? That's like very few people are capable of doing something like that. What was your remembrance of the game? Was everything going in, or just what was going your way that day?
Thompson: "Yeah, I mean, it was a really hard game. We were down for most of the game. But yeah, I was hitting a lot of my shots. So I think I was just, I had a kind of groove going and it was enough to be able to bring us back into the game and win. I think because of that, it felt good."

Q: To earn the McDonald's All-American honor, just when you've heard that, what was your thought when you heard that was coming true?
Thompson: "I was really grateful for it. I've been working towards it for a while. It's been something that I've been looking to be a part of. And so when I was selected for it, I was really excited for it."

Q: What areas do you think you were able to kind of build and improve your game this past year? What were some things you really wanted to work on?
Thompson: "I think my physicality with my body, being able to just use it more on the offensive and defensive side, be able to go stronger and use that strength as an asset to my game. So I think that's probably the biggest thing that I've worked on and improved on with pressure."

Q: People think about you as a shooter primarily, but you're able to attack in a lot of different ways offensively. Talk a little bit about your offensive game and how you feel you can impact the game with the different things you can do offensively.
Thompson: "I think my ability to shoot the ball allows me to take the ball to the basket and be able to catch the finish off guard. And I think I'm a really good finisher as well. So being able to finish up at the rim, like dunks or, just finishing around the rim, I think I've gotten a lot better as well with both hands. So I think over past years, I've definitely improved my game and expanded it."



Q: What have the Ohio State coaches talked to you about a role? It seems pretty simple that you'd be playing on the wing. What have they talked to you about what they want you to come in and be able to do for them and really help the team succeed this year?
Thompson: "Yeah, I mean, they're kind of looking for me to have the instant impact on the perimeter, kind of anywhere on the perimeter as a shooter, as a scorer and a playmaker. So I mean, that's kind of what they preached to me since they started recruiting me. I was to just be a really high-level asset from day one on the perimeter. I mean, whether it's a small forward or just on the wing or any composition on that perimeter that I can kind of use to help the team.

Q: What are some things you want to continue to work on between now and the start of the season? They have a good summer program and obviously they just hired Coach Richardson to be the strength coach and the coaches will be able to work with you a little bit. Just what are the things you want to continue to build as you get ready to go up against guys who are 22, 23 years old? It's going to be a little tougher, probably.
Thompson: "Yes, sir. I just want to continue to build all aspects of my game and build it all to the same level to where I have the confidence to really do anything on the court. So I think that's what the summer's going to be about for me is just expand my game to the point where it doesn't really matter who I'm playing against, I'm comfortable with pretty much everything I can do."

Q: You see like there's mock drafts out there and they already have you listed as a guy who could be drafted a year from now. Is that kind of crazy to see your name associated with that? And do you have to kind of let things like that just go in one ear and out the other and concentrate on the day-to-day?
Thompson: "Yeah, I don't really focus on it at all. Because I think, looking at that, you can get people complacent and happy with where they're at right now. I'm definitely not focused on that. I'm just focused on having the highest production that I can for Ohio State next season. Being the best player that I can be."

Q: When they bring in a player, like if you're caliber, people are expecting big things. And obviously, Coach Diebler is trying to build a program and everything else. Just what do you feel are good, realistic expectations for this team and maybe for yourself this coming year?
Thompson: "For me personally, I think I have the highest expectations of both myself and for the team. I think I'm coming in with the thought process of, I want to help lead this team to the highest possible thing we can go to and that is the national championship. So I mean, that just comes with a lot of work in the gym, a lot of trust with my teammates and just a lot of just hard work, I think. So that's what I think summer's going to be about. And obviously, once the season starts up, that's what it's going to be about, too. But it's just all about going in with a mentality that we do have really, really high expectations for ourselves. And I think that's, I think we're going to be able to achieve that."

Q: Do you know much about some of the other guys they brought in, like Justin Pippen? I know he's coming from Cal, and Andrija Jelavic is coming from Kentucky -- different guys that are coming in to play roles. Some of them, starting roles, some of them to be key backups. Do you know a whole lot about some of these other guys? Have you met with them?
Thompson: "I haven't met with them yet, but I mean, I've definitely watched like them at their previous schools and how they play and the impact they'll be able to make when we started the season."

Q: As you head to Ohio State, just what is your thought? Are you just excited to get on the freeway and get up there and get started? Or what do you think, I guess?
Thompson: "Yeah, I'm just really excited to get started. I'm really excited to meet everybody and just get started from tomorrow all the way up to next year when the season's done. I think this is where everything's going to start. And I'm just excited to go through the entire process."

Miami Dolphins: Tap 261-Pound Offensive Weapon​

The Dolphins officially signed Will Kacmarek to a four-year rookie contract. Spotrac projects his deal to be worth $6.849 million with a $1.441 million signing bonus, prorated at $360,356 per year. In addition, they project Kacmarek’s cap hits to be $1.245 million in 2026, $1.556 million in 2027, $1.868 million in 2028, and $2.179 million in 2029.

Studies from England on rugby, and European study on soccer reveal the same level of rain injuries as football.

Fuck Michigan.

Isn't Larkin the guy that's hurt more often than JJ McCarthy.....except actually hurt?

Not an annoyance per se, but I found it odd that there was a free feminine hygiene products dispenser in a men’s room in the Seattle airport, and yes I am sure that it was a men’s room, not a gender neutral restroom, and that I also hadn’t accidentally walked into the women’s room.

Jaxbuck said:

I'm rooting for the sinkhole

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late season category 5 hurricane that only occurs once they're in the stadium and the anti-flooding drainage system fails...

BB73 said:

A @Jaxbuck has nailed Jessica Alba. Of course, that second number has the possibility of someday becoming a positive integer.

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why has he been at two schools already?

DubCoffman62 said:

Where I went to high school along the Colorado river in western AZ it was pretty secluded and at night you could hear all of the frogs, toads, crickets and on moonless nights you could see all of the stars. I kind of miss that.

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As a kid in Vermont, I had the stars and lots of fireflies.

How were his stats after the cheating broke compared to before? I think I know the answer but would like to see it.

Kentucky has placed the winning bid $$$$$$$ for Milan Momcilovic.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...tate-star-milan-momcilovic-transfers-kentucky

Do we need a title change? To “transfer to Tennessee…maybe?”

Taking my 13yr old daughter to Clev/NYY business man's special next Wed June 10. Driving up from Columbus that morning and looking for best places to park. Any suggestions from BP Cleve fans???

Compare this guy to Underwood. One guy has been the best player in the sport since he stepped on the field and is still the hardest worker in practice, blocks his ass off, roots his ass off for WR2 and is the most solid teammate in the locker room. The other guy is a $12M mouth.

tdfbia certainly stumbled into one truism. There really is a fundamental culture difference between the two programs.

Jesus. This guy might be the biggest douchebag ever at tsun, which puts him high in the running for biggest douchebag worldwide.

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After Jackie Robinson's retirement from baseball following the 1956 season, Rachel Robinson further pursued her nursing career, obtaining a master's degree in psychiatric nursing from New York University in 1959. She worked as a researcher and clinician at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Department of Social and Community Psychiatry, a position she held for five years. She then became an assistant professor at Yale School of Nursing and later the Director of Nursing at the Connecticut Mental Health Center.

In 1972, she incorporated the Jackie Robinson Development Corporation, a real estate development company specializing in low- to moderate-income housing, and served as president for ten years. In 1973, she founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a not-for-profit organization providing educational and leadership opportunities for minority students. The Foundation has provided support for over 1,000 minority students and has maintained a 97% graduation rate among its scholars.

In 1996, she coauthored Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait with Lee Daniels, published by Abrams Publishing Company.

Awards and honors​

Rachel Robinson accepting the Congressional Gold Medal for her husband from President George W. Bush, 2005.
In 2007, Robinson received the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award by Commissioner Bud Selig.

In 2009, Robinson was awarded the UCLA Medal from Chancellor Gene Block for her lifetime achievements. The UCLA Medal is the university's highest honor and was created to "honor those individuals who have made extraordinary and distinguished contributions to their professions, to higher education, to our society, and to the people of UCLA." In addition to earning twelve honorary doctorates, Robinson was awarded the Candace Award for Distinguished Service from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Equitable Life Black Achiever's Award and the Associated Black Charities Black History Makers Award.

Robinson answering questions at the 42 film workshop in the State Dining Room of the White House in April 2013.

Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2014. In 2017, she received the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jackie Robinson Foundation​

The Jackie Robinson Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides scholarships to minority youths for higher education, as well as preserving the legacy of Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson. It was founded in 1973 by Rachel Robinson and is located in New York City.

Zurp said:

I know this is a little late from when this was posted - almost a month ago. But if you don't want teams to tank, how about you reverse the draft order? The top pick goes to the champions. Then the to the team that lost the finals. And so on...
Yeah, the best get better, but now the lesser teams need to do better with free agency and managing salary caps.
If we keep rewarding schlubbery, then we're going to get more schlubbery.

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if you cut off the ability for schlubbery teams to get better, you're going to get more schlubbery.

When you are starting a four hour webinar and the intro presenters, who are the people who organized it, are allotted 20 minutes for their kickoff presentation but go nearly double that. UGHHHHH!!!!!

Update - It has not gotten better. I'm feeling like half the presenters have never done a webinar presentation before. And they are not old either.

Latest developments around Marvin Harrison Jr. might be just what the former Ohio State star needs for his NFL career​

Arizona Cardinals and former Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is back to full health with a new offensive role expected under new head coach Mike LaFleur to hopefully finally maximize his NFL potential.

Things are shaping up to change for the better for Harrison and the Cardinals’ offense now that he’s getting back to full health with a new offensive minded head coach in Mike LaFleur, who knows exactly how to utilize his top pass catcher.

Mike LaFleur looking to replicate a similar approach at WR with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson​

LaFleur arrives to Arizona after spending the last two years in the NFC West as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams under head coach Sean McVay. This will be a second chance for LaFleur to run an offense of his own and first opportunity to lead an entire team that’s eager to make some kind of forward progress.

While McVay was the mastermind behind the Rams’ offense, LaFleur played an integral role in the unit’s success, which featured two top wide receivers last season in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. LaFleur plans to run a similar approach in Arizona with Harrison and Michael Wilson.

“With Marv, typically with the X-receiver – let’s just say Davante Adams last year in LA or Julio Jones in Atlanta Falcons – those typical X-guys, they’re not necessarily next to the core very often in terms of playing in between the tight ends and in between the tackles,” LaFleur said. “You look at more a Z-receiver, a Mike Wilson, who’s a little more compact of a guy, those guys are a little more comfortable playing [inside]. You think of Puka Nacua.”

Coming out of the draft, Harrison was compared closely to big-bodied X-receivers such as Julio and AJ Green. He doesn’t have the same release and footwork that makes Adams so dangerous, but the size is comparable between the two. And it’s not just using Harrison on the outside as a traditional X-receiver, LaFleur has other plans for Harrison as well.

“His profile would be that of a typical X-receiver. Just kind of that lengthier body that can play on the outside,” LaFleur explained. “But, what’s unique about this system is you can move them inside and outside on a whim. Just in terms of our formations, our motions, all that kind of stuff. You can utilize your skill sets in different ways. So, (Harrison) is our X-receiver, but you can move him around so that sometimes he is, sometimes he’s not.”
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pnuts34 said:

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“Ohio State is going toe-to-toe with Tennessee for the nation’s No. 2 running back,” Spiegelman wrote. “From speaking with sources informed on this recruitment, the Buckeyes took another step in the right direction over the weekend.”

Ohio State and Tennessee are the two schools at the top in Gabriel Georges’ recruitment. The 6-foot, 215-pound running back will take visits to Ole Miss and Georgia after the trip to Knoxville this weekend. Ole Miss is a distant third in the recruitment and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Georgia visit didn’t happen. The Bulldogs have the No. 1 RB in the country committed with Kemon Spell, and they’re not getting both.

Just sayin': Look who is predicting that Brock Williams will flip to Ohio State.

Ohio State football commitment Brady Edmunds says the Buckeyes will be stealing away a five-star recruit from the Texas Longhorns​

Ohio State QB commit Brady Edmunds reveals the player who’ll end up signing with the Buckeyes ​

The Buckeyes don’t yet have a tight end committed for the class of 2027, which will change at some point. When four-star Libertyville (Ill) TE Brock Williams committed to Texas, it was a miss for tight ends coach Keenan Bailey for the Buckeyes. Ohio State recruited Williams hard until close to his commitment to Texas on May 15 when it was clear he was trending toward the Longhorns.

Ohio State’s 2027 QB commit believes the Buckeyes will end up getting the elite tight end recruit.

“Brock Williams is going to flip from Texas to Ohio State on Signing Day,” Edmunds said via 247 Sports.

Edmunds has long been a recruiter for the Buckeyes since he committed in December of 2024. Even as his commitment to Ohio State feels a bit rocky, he’s clearly still trying to lure elite talent with him to Columbus, which may say something about where things really stand with him.

According to 247 Sports Composite, Williams is the No. 4 tight end and No. 79 overall player in the class of 2027. Ohio State, Texas, and Alabama were all amongst the top schools for Williams — but he ended up selecting the Longhorns.

Ohio State will keep trying to flip Williams until the pen hits the paper, and Edmunds believes they eventually will. There’s no doubt the Ohio State QB commit wants to be throwing to Williams in the future, we’ll see if what he said becomes reality down the road.