Upvote
0
-
New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.
Google Spartans' rally magic stalls in semis loss to Buckeyes - The Detroit News
- News
- 0 Replies
Spartans' rally magic stalls in semis loss to Buckeyes - The Detroit News
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Spartans' rally magic stalls in semis loss to Buckeyes
The Detroit News
3 seed Buckeyes will face top-seed Minnesota in the championship tonight, and the winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan will find out its NCAA Tournament destination during Sunday night's selection show. Michigan State's run ...
Michigan State softball falls to Ohio State in Big Ten semifinalsDetroit Free Press
all 40 news articles »
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Spartans' rally magic stalls in semis loss to Buckeyes
The Detroit News
3 seed Buckeyes will face top-seed Minnesota in the championship tonight, and the winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan will find out its NCAA Tournament destination during Sunday night's selection show. Michigan State's run ...
Michigan State softball falls to Ohio State in Big Ten semifinalsDetroit Free Press
all 40 news articles »
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State Softball defeats Michigan State in Big Ten Semifinals
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State Softball defeats Michigan State in Big Ten Semifinals
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Buckeyes will face top-seeded Minnesota in tonight’s championship game.
On Saturday afternoon, the No. 4 Ohio State softball team continued adding accomplishments to the program’s best season in recent memory, as they knocked off the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans 4-3 in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Having comeback victories against Indiana and Michigan already in the tournament, Michigan State made things exciting down the stretch, despite the Buckeyes opening an early lead and extending late in the game.
The Buckeyes, who eliminated No. 6 Wisconsin on Friday, are currently receiving votes in the national poll, and, having earned a spot in the tournament finale tonight against No. 1 Minnesota, have upped their standing for tomorrow’s Selection Sunday. The championship game will begin at approximately 7:10 tonight on the Big Ten Network.
Ohio State got the scoring started in the top of the first, as shortstop Lilli Piper hit a two-run home run to left-centerfield, plating lead-off batter Anna Kirk, who had been hit by a pitch. Piper ranked third in the conference in home runs during the regular season with 16. Piper ended the game going 3-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Touch 'em all, @PiperSwiper! #Buckeyes take an early 2-0 lead. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/kRvk2rgbVK
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioState_SB) May 13, 2017
After Michigan State upset the tournament host, No. 2 Michigan, yesterday, the Spartans made things difficult on the Buckeyes early. While MSU didn’t get on the board in the first, a 14-pitch at-bat for lead-off batter Lea Foerster forced Buckeye pitcher Shelby Hursh to throw 31 pitches in the frame.
This would be a reoccurring theme throughout the game, as the Spartans had numerous chances to score, but the OSU pitching and defense always seemed to step up when it was most needed. In the game, MSU stranded 14 batters to Ohio State’s five.
In the bottom of the second, Big Ten all-defensive team third baseman Kirk snagged a a hot shot from MSU’s Lexi White. Even though the Spartans got two more baserunners in the inning, the Buckeyes held onto their 2-0 lead through two.
Why was @annakirk47 on the all-defensive team? This. Right. Here. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XN4aVPlczT
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioState_SB) May 13, 2017
In the top of the third, Ohio State right fielder Alex Bayne hit a high fly to right. MSU’s White lost the ball in the sun, and it fell in for a hit. As the ball rolled into the right field corner, Bayne circled the bases, running through a stop sign from head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly at third.
The relay came in and Michigan State’s catcher Lindsey Besson got the tag down before Bayne reached the back corner of the plate to keep the score at 2-0. Piper drove a base hit into right-center in the next at-bat, but was stranded to end the threat.
Lose it in the
?
Corral it and sling it toward home plate to get the runner.
Like, @MSU_Softball's @lindsebess. https://t.co/TurY3QDaXz
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 13, 2017
The bottom of the third saw MSU’s first two batters reach base (McKenzie Long walked, Kaitlyn Eveland singled on a bloop down the left field line), which prompted Kovach Schoenly to make a change in the circle, bringing in Morgan Ray.
While the traditional softball philosophy has been to ride the arm of one dominant pitcher as long as possible, the Buckeyes have used their entire stable of hurlers all season, so the early change was very much in keeping with the team’s philosophy.
After three infield ground balls, including two great plays by second baseman Emily Clark, Ray ended the threat.
If you ain't getting dirty, you ain't trying.
, @OhioState_SB's Emily Clark.#BTNStandout x @AutoOwnersIns https://t.co/MyaD08opNw
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 13, 2017
Ray struck out Ebonee Echols to open the home half of the fourth, but on a Baltimore chop from Besson, the throw from the OSU pitcher went wide, deflecting off Goodwin’s glove and careening into the dugout. With a pinch-runner now on second, Clark stops a groundball up the middle before planting and throwing to first to record the second out of the inning. After Foerster was hit by a pitch, Clark fielded a Long chopper to end the inning.
After a 1-2-3 top half of the fifth for the Buckeyes, Eveland was walked to reach base for the third time in the game, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The next batter, first baseman Sarah Gutknecht singled to left field to put runners on the corners for the Spartans. Gutknecht advanced on a passed ball, before a walk to White loaded the bases with one out. However, two ground balls later, Ohio State had ended the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Piper lined a rope to center field to record her third hit of the game, and on a 3-1 pitch to the next batter, Clark, who was the defensive star of the game, smashed a two-run home run to left field to increase the Buckeye lead to 4-0.
Touch 'em all, @clarkemily448!! OSU 4, MSU 0. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Xx7cVqIcQZ
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioState_SB) May 13, 2017
MSU’s lead-off batter in the bottom of the sixth, second baseman Melanie Baccay, reached on an error by Piper, and advanced to second as the ball ricocheted off the SS’s leg. Up next, Foerster drove a ball deep into left for a double, plating Baccay.
After Long earned a walk, Kovach Schoenly again went to her bullpen, this time calling upon Shelby McCombs. The first batter she faced, Eveland, drove a ball up the middle that scored Foerster; moving the score to 4-2 in favor of the Buckeyes with runners on first and second with no outs.
After Ohio State generated a flyout and groundout, Echols earned her first hit of the tournament to score Long and move the score to 4-3, where it would stay heading into the seventh.
The Buckeyes failed to score in the final inning, and McCombs shut down the Spartans in order to earn the save. Ray was credited with the win, her sixth of the year.
In this evening’s championship game, Ohio State will face the tournament’s top seed, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers overcame an early 2-0 deficit to defeat No. 4 Illinois, 6-5 in the day’s first semifinal.
Minnesota’s Sydney Dwyer led off the bottom of the seventh inning with her second solo home run of the game to cap the comeback. The final game of the tournament will take place thirty minutes after the conclusion of the OSU-MSU semifinal, and will air on the Big Ten Network.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Buckeyes will face top-seeded Minnesota in tonight’s championship game.
On Saturday afternoon, the No. 4 Ohio State softball team continued adding accomplishments to the program’s best season in recent memory, as they knocked off the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans 4-3 in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Having comeback victories against Indiana and Michigan already in the tournament, Michigan State made things exciting down the stretch, despite the Buckeyes opening an early lead and extending late in the game.
The Buckeyes, who eliminated No. 6 Wisconsin on Friday, are currently receiving votes in the national poll, and, having earned a spot in the tournament finale tonight against No. 1 Minnesota, have upped their standing for tomorrow’s Selection Sunday. The championship game will begin at approximately 7:10 tonight on the Big Ten Network.
Ohio State got the scoring started in the top of the first, as shortstop Lilli Piper hit a two-run home run to left-centerfield, plating lead-off batter Anna Kirk, who had been hit by a pitch. Piper ranked third in the conference in home runs during the regular season with 16. Piper ended the game going 3-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Touch 'em all, @PiperSwiper! #Buckeyes take an early 2-0 lead. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/kRvk2rgbVK
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioState_SB) May 13, 2017
After Michigan State upset the tournament host, No. 2 Michigan, yesterday, the Spartans made things difficult on the Buckeyes early. While MSU didn’t get on the board in the first, a 14-pitch at-bat for lead-off batter Lea Foerster forced Buckeye pitcher Shelby Hursh to throw 31 pitches in the frame.
This would be a reoccurring theme throughout the game, as the Spartans had numerous chances to score, but the OSU pitching and defense always seemed to step up when it was most needed. In the game, MSU stranded 14 batters to Ohio State’s five.
In the bottom of the second, Big Ten all-defensive team third baseman Kirk snagged a a hot shot from MSU’s Lexi White. Even though the Spartans got two more baserunners in the inning, the Buckeyes held onto their 2-0 lead through two.
Why was @annakirk47 on the all-defensive team? This. Right. Here. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XN4aVPlczT
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioState_SB) May 13, 2017
In the top of the third, Ohio State right fielder Alex Bayne hit a high fly to right. MSU’s White lost the ball in the sun, and it fell in for a hit. As the ball rolled into the right field corner, Bayne circled the bases, running through a stop sign from head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly at third.
The relay came in and Michigan State’s catcher Lindsey Besson got the tag down before Bayne reached the back corner of the plate to keep the score at 2-0. Piper drove a base hit into right-center in the next at-bat, but was stranded to end the threat.
Lose it in the
?Corral it and sling it toward home plate to get the runner.
Like, @MSU_Softball's @lindsebess. https://t.co/TurY3QDaXz
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 13, 2017
The bottom of the third saw MSU’s first two batters reach base (McKenzie Long walked, Kaitlyn Eveland singled on a bloop down the left field line), which prompted Kovach Schoenly to make a change in the circle, bringing in Morgan Ray.
While the traditional softball philosophy has been to ride the arm of one dominant pitcher as long as possible, the Buckeyes have used their entire stable of hurlers all season, so the early change was very much in keeping with the team’s philosophy.
After three infield ground balls, including two great plays by second baseman Emily Clark, Ray ended the threat.
If you ain't getting dirty, you ain't trying.
, @OhioState_SB's Emily Clark.#BTNStandout x @AutoOwnersIns https://t.co/MyaD08opNw— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 13, 2017
Ray struck out Ebonee Echols to open the home half of the fourth, but on a Baltimore chop from Besson, the throw from the OSU pitcher went wide, deflecting off Goodwin’s glove and careening into the dugout. With a pinch-runner now on second, Clark stops a groundball up the middle before planting and throwing to first to record the second out of the inning. After Foerster was hit by a pitch, Clark fielded a Long chopper to end the inning.
After a 1-2-3 top half of the fifth for the Buckeyes, Eveland was walked to reach base for the third time in the game, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The next batter, first baseman Sarah Gutknecht singled to left field to put runners on the corners for the Spartans. Gutknecht advanced on a passed ball, before a walk to White loaded the bases with one out. However, two ground balls later, Ohio State had ended the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Piper lined a rope to center field to record her third hit of the game, and on a 3-1 pitch to the next batter, Clark, who was the defensive star of the game, smashed a two-run home run to left field to increase the Buckeye lead to 4-0.
Touch 'em all, @clarkemily448!! OSU 4, MSU 0. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Xx7cVqIcQZ
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioState_SB) May 13, 2017
MSU’s lead-off batter in the bottom of the sixth, second baseman Melanie Baccay, reached on an error by Piper, and advanced to second as the ball ricocheted off the SS’s leg. Up next, Foerster drove a ball deep into left for a double, plating Baccay.
After Long earned a walk, Kovach Schoenly again went to her bullpen, this time calling upon Shelby McCombs. The first batter she faced, Eveland, drove a ball up the middle that scored Foerster; moving the score to 4-2 in favor of the Buckeyes with runners on first and second with no outs.
After Ohio State generated a flyout and groundout, Echols earned her first hit of the tournament to score Long and move the score to 4-3, where it would stay heading into the seventh.
The Buckeyes failed to score in the final inning, and McCombs shut down the Spartans in order to earn the save. Ray was credited with the win, her sixth of the year.
In this evening’s championship game, Ohio State will face the tournament’s top seed, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers overcame an early 2-0 deficit to defeat No. 4 Illinois, 6-5 in the day’s first semifinal.
Minnesota’s Sydney Dwyer led off the bottom of the seventh inning with her second solo home run of the game to cap the comeback. The final game of the tournament will take place thirty minutes after the conclusion of the OSU-MSU semifinal, and will air on the Big Ten Network.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State-Iowa 2017 final score: Baseball Bucks win wild one over Hawkeyes, 12-7
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State-Iowa 2017 final score: Baseball Bucks win wild one over Hawkeyes, 12-7
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Buckeyes made things difficult on themselves, but hung tough for the victory.
After Friday night’s series-opening loss to Iowa, Ohio State head coach Greg Beals lamented a host of wounds the team inflicted upon itself. “You would think we would be beyond this at this point in the season, and we should be,” Beals told Press Pros Magazine. “But I think what’s happening with our ballclub is that (the mistakes and failures) are building instead of getting better. It’s compounding. We’re playing with the fear of failure instead of just trying to win, putting ourselves in a position to win.”
On a sun-drenched Saturday at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, the Buckeyes put that fear of failure squarely out of mind for five and a half innings before the old familiar issues crept back up.
With a commanding 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, two crucial Brady Cherry errors leading to five unearned runs, six runs total, let Iowa back into the game. It was more of the same for an Ohio State team that has too often this season beat themselves.
The club hung tough, though, and a Shea Murray solo home run, Tre’ Gantt RBI double, and Connor Pohl two-run homer sparked a four-run ninth inning to help deliver a 12-7 victory over the hosting Hawkeyes.
Ohio State improved to 7-13 in Big Ten play, and now has an opportunity on Sunday to win its second conference series of the season and first since early April.
Murray was 3-for-4 on the day, driving in two and scoring two, and the homer was perhaps his biggest hit of the whole season. Gantt went 4-for-5, reaching base safely five times, scoring twice and driving in two as well.
Beals handed the ball to sophomore Connor Curlis, perhaps the team’s most vital arm this season alongside Seth Kinker because of his versatility. In his seventh start and 19th appearance, the southpaw gave his team what was needed, yielding four runs, just one earned, on six hits in six innings of work, striking out four while walking just two. Curlis earned his team-high fourth win of the year.
Kinker tossed the final 2.1 innings to earn his sixth save of the season.
Sophomore second baseman Noah West drove in three runs and Cherry, Zach Ratcliff, and Jacob Barnwell also added RBIs, as the scarlet and gray racked up 19 hits and went 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
The degree of difficulty in getting the W was well beyond where it should have been, but a win is a win, and showed perseverance the team has largely lacked in 2017.
As was the case in Friday night’s lidlifter, Ohio State put a run on the board first in this one. Gantt worked a one-out walk against Iowa starter Ryan Erickson, then came all the way around to score when Cherry doubled down the right field line.
Unlike game one, though, the Buckeyes expanded on their lead. After Curlis completed his third shutout inning to begin the ballgame, a Ratcliff single, Barnwell hit by pitch, and Bo Coolen walk loaded the bases with one out. Murray delivered a run-scoring single to right and West sent a shot off the right-center wall to plate two more, giving Ohio State a 4-0 advantage.
The squad wasn’t done, either. After Jalen Washington struck out, Gantt delivered his second hit of the ballgame, bringing Murray plateward and pushing the lead out to five. Erickson’s day was done after that inning, comprising five runs on seven hits in four innings of work in the losing effort.
The momentum was clearly in the Buckeyes’ favor, but in the bottom half of the inning, Adams stole some of it back, crushing a 2-0 fastball for a deep leadoff homer to left.
Ohio State got that run back in the top of the fifth, with the bottom of the order once again coming through. Ratcliff and Coolen each singled and Barnwell walked, loading the bases with two outs against Hawkeye reliever Drake Robison. West then put together a quality at-bat that concluded with another free pass, forcing Ratcliff home to make it 6-1.
Another two runs came home in the sixth, the third straight scoring inning for the Buckeyes. Gantt’s third hit of the day led things off and was followed by a single from Dominic Canzone, and Cherry bunted the pair into scoring position. An infield single by Ratcliff and a double off the bat of Barnwell that short-hopped the wall in right-center got them home extending the lead to seven.
Curlis kept churning through the Iowa lineup until the bottom of the sixth, when things started to unravel. A throwing error by Cherry at third on a play that should have ended the inning led to the Hawkeyes getting back in the game. A three-run homer by Matt Hoeg cut the lead to 8-4.
The Ohio State bullpen was charged with preserving the lead over the past three innings, but it wasn’t easy. Another Cherry throwing error led to a pair of runs off Kyle Michalik in the seventh, trimming the Buckeye advantage to just two.
It got worse, as Adam Niemeyer and Kinker both had to be brought of the bullpen before the frame was over. An RBI double by Grant Judkins made it an 8-7 game before Kinker got an inning-ending groundout.
Murray’s solo home run leading off the ninth gave Ohio State a two-run pad, and the Gantt RBI double and Pohl two-run dinger proved more than enough insurance for Kinker, who set down the heart of the Iowa order in the ninth to close things out.
The rubber match of the series is scheduled to get underway at 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Continue reading...
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Buckeyes made things difficult on themselves, but hung tough for the victory.
After Friday night’s series-opening loss to Iowa, Ohio State head coach Greg Beals lamented a host of wounds the team inflicted upon itself. “You would think we would be beyond this at this point in the season, and we should be,” Beals told Press Pros Magazine. “But I think what’s happening with our ballclub is that (the mistakes and failures) are building instead of getting better. It’s compounding. We’re playing with the fear of failure instead of just trying to win, putting ourselves in a position to win.”
On a sun-drenched Saturday at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, the Buckeyes put that fear of failure squarely out of mind for five and a half innings before the old familiar issues crept back up.
With a commanding 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, two crucial Brady Cherry errors leading to five unearned runs, six runs total, let Iowa back into the game. It was more of the same for an Ohio State team that has too often this season beat themselves.
The club hung tough, though, and a Shea Murray solo home run, Tre’ Gantt RBI double, and Connor Pohl two-run homer sparked a four-run ninth inning to help deliver a 12-7 victory over the hosting Hawkeyes.
Ohio State improved to 7-13 in Big Ten play, and now has an opportunity on Sunday to win its second conference series of the season and first since early April.
Murray was 3-for-4 on the day, driving in two and scoring two, and the homer was perhaps his biggest hit of the whole season. Gantt went 4-for-5, reaching base safely five times, scoring twice and driving in two as well.
Beals handed the ball to sophomore Connor Curlis, perhaps the team’s most vital arm this season alongside Seth Kinker because of his versatility. In his seventh start and 19th appearance, the southpaw gave his team what was needed, yielding four runs, just one earned, on six hits in six innings of work, striking out four while walking just two. Curlis earned his team-high fourth win of the year.
Kinker tossed the final 2.1 innings to earn his sixth save of the season.
Sophomore second baseman Noah West drove in three runs and Cherry, Zach Ratcliff, and Jacob Barnwell also added RBIs, as the scarlet and gray racked up 19 hits and went 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
The degree of difficulty in getting the W was well beyond where it should have been, but a win is a win, and showed perseverance the team has largely lacked in 2017.
As was the case in Friday night’s lidlifter, Ohio State put a run on the board first in this one. Gantt worked a one-out walk against Iowa starter Ryan Erickson, then came all the way around to score when Cherry doubled down the right field line.
Unlike game one, though, the Buckeyes expanded on their lead. After Curlis completed his third shutout inning to begin the ballgame, a Ratcliff single, Barnwell hit by pitch, and Bo Coolen walk loaded the bases with one out. Murray delivered a run-scoring single to right and West sent a shot off the right-center wall to plate two more, giving Ohio State a 4-0 advantage.
The squad wasn’t done, either. After Jalen Washington struck out, Gantt delivered his second hit of the ballgame, bringing Murray plateward and pushing the lead out to five. Erickson’s day was done after that inning, comprising five runs on seven hits in four innings of work in the losing effort.
The momentum was clearly in the Buckeyes’ favor, but in the bottom half of the inning, Adams stole some of it back, crushing a 2-0 fastball for a deep leadoff homer to left.
Ohio State got that run back in the top of the fifth, with the bottom of the order once again coming through. Ratcliff and Coolen each singled and Barnwell walked, loading the bases with two outs against Hawkeye reliever Drake Robison. West then put together a quality at-bat that concluded with another free pass, forcing Ratcliff home to make it 6-1.
Another two runs came home in the sixth, the third straight scoring inning for the Buckeyes. Gantt’s third hit of the day led things off and was followed by a single from Dominic Canzone, and Cherry bunted the pair into scoring position. An infield single by Ratcliff and a double off the bat of Barnwell that short-hopped the wall in right-center got them home extending the lead to seven.
Curlis kept churning through the Iowa lineup until the bottom of the sixth, when things started to unravel. A throwing error by Cherry at third on a play that should have ended the inning led to the Hawkeyes getting back in the game. A three-run homer by Matt Hoeg cut the lead to 8-4.
The Ohio State bullpen was charged with preserving the lead over the past three innings, but it wasn’t easy. Another Cherry throwing error led to a pair of runs off Kyle Michalik in the seventh, trimming the Buckeye advantage to just two.
It got worse, as Adam Niemeyer and Kinker both had to be brought of the bullpen before the frame was over. An RBI double by Grant Judkins made it an 8-7 game before Kinker got an inning-ending groundout.
Murray’s solo home run leading off the ninth gave Ohio State a two-run pad, and the Gantt RBI double and Pohl two-run dinger proved more than enough insurance for Kinker, who set down the heart of the Iowa order in the ninth to close things out.
The rubber match of the series is scheduled to get underway at 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Continue reading...
Google Buckeyes could be in good shape to land two stud tight ends - 247Sports
- News
- 0 Replies
Buckeyes could be in good shape to land two stud tight ends - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Buckeyes could be in good shape to land two stud tight ends
247Sports
When asked if the Buckeyes are one of the schools that stands out Goede didn't hesitate. “Yes sir,” he said. “But I'm just keeping my options open right now.” Goede said Ohio State is one of the schools recruiting him the hardest. “Ohio State for sure ...
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Buckeyes could be in good shape to land two stud tight ends
247Sports
When asked if the Buckeyes are one of the schools that stands out Goede didn't hesitate. “Yes sir,” he said. “But I'm just keeping my options open right now.” Goede said Ohio State is one of the schools recruiting him the hardest. “Ohio State for sure ...
Continue reading...
Google Ex-Ohio State guard JaQuan Lyle arrested, released on bond - ESPN
- News
- 0 Replies
Ex-Ohio State guard JaQuan Lyle arrested, released on bond - ESPN
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
ESPN
Ex-Ohio State guard JaQuan Lyle arrested, released on bond
ESPN
Lyle, a guard who averaged 11.4 points and 4.6 assists per game for the Buckeyes last season, left the team on April 11, a school spokesman told ESPN's Jeff Goodman on Saturday. The disclosure of Lyle's departure comes after he was arrested in ...
Breaking: Lyle taken into custody on Saturday morning247Sports
Ohio State confirms JaQuan Lyle no longer with the teamLand-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State guard JaQuan Lyle reportedly quit team in April, arrested SaturdaySporting News
Eleven Warriors -OSU - The Lantern -Landof10.com
all 20 news articles »
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
ESPN
Ex-Ohio State guard JaQuan Lyle arrested, released on bond
ESPN
Lyle, a guard who averaged 11.4 points and 4.6 assists per game for the Buckeyes last season, left the team on April 11, a school spokesman told ESPN's Jeff Goodman on Saturday. The disclosure of Lyle's departure comes after he was arrested in ...
Breaking: Lyle taken into custody on Saturday morning247Sports
Ohio State confirms JaQuan Lyle no longer with the teamLand-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State guard JaQuan Lyle reportedly quit team in April, arrested SaturdaySporting News
Eleven Warriors -OSU - The Lantern -Landof10.com
all 20 news articles »
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State confirms JaQuan Lyle no longer with the team
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State confirms JaQuan Lyle no longer with the team
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The hits just keep on coming.
The hits just keep coming for Ohio State basketball.
Earlier today, news that Jaquan Lyle was placed into custody for multiple offenses last night in Indiana came to light. According to The Lantern, Lyle, among other things, allegedly punched a police car. What Lyle’s departure means for the future of Ohio State basketball is now clear.
Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors reports that an Ohio State spokesman confirmed that Lyle is no longer a member of the Ohio State basketball team.
An Ohio State spokesman says JaQuan Lyle quit the basketball team April 11.
— Tim Shoemaker (@TimShoemaker) May 13, 2017
On the court, this is a significant loss for Ohio State. Lyle averaged 11.4 points, 4.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game last season for the Buckeyes. One of the highest-ranked recruits on the roster, the Buckeyes would have counted on Lyle to have a major impact on the team in 2017-2018 if they were to get back to the postseason.
With Lyle’s departure, every single member of Ohio State’s highly touted 2015 recruiting class, one that ranked fifth in the country, is now off the roster.
The Buckeyes are scrambling to fill increasing roster spots on the 2017 team with late-deciding freshmen, graduate transfers, and perhaps JUCO players. Without Lyle, the Buckeyes now have a huge hole at point guard, and depth all over the roster is fraught.
If the Buckeyes are going to turn this ship around, get back to the NCAAs, and perhaps salvage Thad Matta’s job, well, things just got a whole lot harder.
Continue reading...
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The hits just keep on coming.
The hits just keep coming for Ohio State basketball.
Earlier today, news that Jaquan Lyle was placed into custody for multiple offenses last night in Indiana came to light. According to The Lantern, Lyle, among other things, allegedly punched a police car. What Lyle’s departure means for the future of Ohio State basketball is now clear.
Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors reports that an Ohio State spokesman confirmed that Lyle is no longer a member of the Ohio State basketball team.
An Ohio State spokesman says JaQuan Lyle quit the basketball team April 11.
— Tim Shoemaker (@TimShoemaker) May 13, 2017
On the court, this is a significant loss for Ohio State. Lyle averaged 11.4 points, 4.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game last season for the Buckeyes. One of the highest-ranked recruits on the roster, the Buckeyes would have counted on Lyle to have a major impact on the team in 2017-2018 if they were to get back to the postseason.
With Lyle’s departure, every single member of Ohio State’s highly touted 2015 recruiting class, one that ranked fifth in the country, is now off the roster.
The Buckeyes are scrambling to fill increasing roster spots on the 2017 team with late-deciding freshmen, graduate transfers, and perhaps JUCO players. Without Lyle, the Buckeyes now have a huge hole at point guard, and depth all over the roster is fraught.
If the Buckeyes are going to turn this ship around, get back to the NCAAs, and perhaps salvage Thad Matta’s job, well, things just got a whole lot harder.
Continue reading...
BTN Big Ten softball tournament: Semifinals and finals roundups
- News
- 0 Replies
Big Ten softball tournament: Semifinals and finals roundups
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network
The 2017 Big Ten softball tournament semifinals are underway in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Big Ten champion Minnesota survived in the first semi, while Michigan State and Ohio State are battling on BTN/BTN2Go.
Continue reading...
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network
The 2017 Big Ten softball tournament semifinals are underway in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Big Ten champion Minnesota survived in the first semi, while Michigan State and Ohio State are battling on BTN/BTN2Go.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State point guard JaQuan Lyle taken into custody, cited for three charges
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State point guard JaQuan Lyle taken into custody, cited for three charges
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
A rough offseason for Ohio State basketball looks rougher.
A rough offseason for Ohio State basketball took another ugly turn, as Ohio State point guard JaQuan Lyle was cited for multiple offenses in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana early Saturday morning.
Per Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office records, Lyle was taken into custody at 2:09 AM, and charged with public intoxication, criminal mischief to a vehicle, and disorderly conduct. He was released on a $150 bond.
247 Sports was first to the news.
Lyle, who will be a junior next season, averaged 11.4 points, 4.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game last season for the Buckeyes, manning the starting point guard spot for most of the season.
We’ll have more as this story develops.
Continue reading...
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
A rough offseason for Ohio State basketball looks rougher.
A rough offseason for Ohio State basketball took another ugly turn, as Ohio State point guard JaQuan Lyle was cited for multiple offenses in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana early Saturday morning.
Per Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office records, Lyle was taken into custody at 2:09 AM, and charged with public intoxication, criminal mischief to a vehicle, and disorderly conduct. He was released on a $150 bond.
247 Sports was first to the news.
Lyle, who will be a junior next season, averaged 11.4 points, 4.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game last season for the Buckeyes, manning the starting point guard spot for most of the season.
We’ll have more as this story develops.
Continue reading...
Google 2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football schedule: Games and dates - Gridiron Now
- News
- 0 Replies
2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football schedule: Games and dates - Gridiron Now
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football schedule: Games and dates
Gridiron Now
The Buckeyes will open the season Sept. 2 against Indiana at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. After a marquee non-conference matchup against Oklahoma on Sept. 9, Ohio State will play at Rutgers in its Big Ten opener on Sept. 30. The Buckeyes ...
and more »
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football schedule: Games and dates
Gridiron Now
The Buckeyes will open the season Sept. 2 against Indiana at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. After a marquee non-conference matchup against Oklahoma on Sept. 9, Ohio State will play at Rutgers in its Big Ten opener on Sept. 30. The Buckeyes ...
and more »
Continue reading...
Google Counting down Top 15 Ohio State 2019 targets and predictions - 247Sports
- News
- 0 Replies
Counting down Top 15 Ohio State 2019 targets and predictions - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Counting down Top 15 Ohio State 2019 targets and predictions
247Sports
I have only included prospects the Buckeyes appear to have a legitimate shot at landing at this early point, and have also included the current Crystal Ball prediction as well as my own personal prediction. So, let's get started with my Top 15 Ohio ...
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Counting down Top 15 Ohio State 2019 targets and predictions
247Sports
I have only included prospects the Buckeyes appear to have a legitimate shot at landing at this early point, and have also included the current Crystal Ball prediction as well as my own personal prediction. So, let's get started with my Top 15 Ohio ...
Continue reading...
Jim Delany (B1G Commissioner)
- College Football
- 1 Replies
Wow. Of course paying "scholar athletes' some kind of stipend is just unmanageable. Well, that and it would taint the purity of college athletics.Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany set to cash in with over $20 million in bonuses
It’s good to be a college commissioner nowadays but it seems it’s an even better time to be the one leading the Big Ten.
USA Today reports that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is set to cash in big time with some $20 million in future bonus payments on the books from the conference. The league’s most recent tax returns shed light on the paychecks, which will come in addition to the over $2 million he already receives each year.
Entire article: http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsport...t-to-cash-in-with-over-20-million-in-bonuses/
Upvote
0
LGHL Ohio State-Iowa 2017 final score: Buckeyes lose series opener to Hawkeyes, 9-5
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State-Iowa 2017 final score: Buckeyes lose series opener to Hawkeyes, 9-5
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
It was more of the same for the baseball Bucks in Iowa City.
The record won’t stop skipping and the games just won’t stop slipping for Ohio State baseball. Low quality at-bats, baserunning mistakes, and a lack of execution in the field and on the mound spelled defeat for the Buckeyes once again, this time by a 9-5 score to Iowa.
Despite notching 12 hits and a three-run comeback attempt in the ninth, Ohio State struck out 11 times, went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, left nine runners on base, had a runner picked off, uncorked two wild pitches, balked once, and committed three errors en route to falling to 6-13 in Big Ten play.
What head coach Greg Beals has called “more of the same” has all but sunk any chance the Buckeyes may have had of defending their conference tournament championship. Two games back with six to play entering Friday, the scarlet and gray essentially needed to win out to have even a glimmer of hope.
Redshirt senior Jake Post was once again a hard luck loser, going four innings and allowing five runs on six hits.
Jacob Barnwell had a nice night, driving in a pair of runs while going 2-for-3 at the plate and hitting his second home run of the season. Jalen Washington added a three-run homer of his own, his sixth on the year.
9⃣ | Three-run HR by @jay_washington4!
OSU 5, IOWA 9
#GoBucks https://t.co/zsGIXPgkO3
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioState_BASE) May 13, 2017
The Hawkeyes’ Jake Adams, who entered the weekend leading the Big Ten in home runs and tied for the lead in runs batted in, gave the Buckeyes a taste of what the rest of the conference has experienced, going 3-for-4 with a homer, an RBI, and three runs scored.
With nothing to lose, Ohio State went the bold route in scoring first in this one. After a Brady Cherry walk, Bo Coolen smacked a hit-and-run single to put runners on the corners with nobody out in the second inning. Barnwell then pushed a squeeze bunt to the first base side of the pitcher’s mound, allowing Cherry to score. But that was where the boldness ended.
No one-run lead is safe against any lineup with Adams in it, and in the bottom of the third, he took Post deep off the batter’s eye in center field to tie things up.
Iowa would take the lead in the fourth as the mound execution and defensive issues that have plagued the Buckeyes all season reared their ugly heads. After getting two quick outs, Post yielded a single to Ben Norman. He would then advance to second on a wild pitch, Post’s second of the game, and come around to score when Washington let a ground ball roll right under his glove ranging just to his left up the middle.
The lead was extended to 5-1 in the fifth by the Hawkeyes thanks to a Robert Neustrom RBI single that scored Mason McCoy and, after Thomas Waning relieved Post, a balk that allowed Adams to trot home and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Matt Hoeg that brought Neustrom plateward.
In the sixth, Barnwell’s solo home run down the line in right field pulled Ohio State back to within three at 5-2, though the deficit felt larger.
6⃣ | Solo by @jacobbarnwell28! His second of the year.
OSU 2, IOWA 5
#GoBucks https://t.co/jYiDld1eja
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioState_BASE) May 13, 2017
Iowa got that run back in the bottom half of the frame, loading the bases with nobody out against Waning. The redshirt sophomore rolled a double play off the bat of Adams, which scored Mitchell Boe, and got Neustrom to fly out, limiting the damage.
A seventh run for the black and gold came home against Waning when a Hoeg double brought Tyler Cropley around to push the advantage to five. That brought redshirt junior Austin Woodby out of the bullpen, and he got a popup and strikeout to end the inning.
More poor execution allowed Iowa to score in a sixth consecutive inning in the eighth, as an error on Tre’ Gantt put runners on the corners with one out. A Neustrom groundout scored a run, and a Cropley single scored another, making it 9-2 headed to the ninth.
As has often been the case for the Buckeyes late in games, the sense of urgency needed from first pitch finally showed up. The team put two runners on before Washington lifted a homer over the left field wall, but it was too little, too late.
Game two of the three-game set is scheduled to get underway in Iowa City at 3:05 p.m. ET on Saturday. Ohio State will send sophomore Connor Curlis to the mound against Iowa’s Ryan Erickson, with the game being available for live streaming on BTN Plus.
Continue reading...
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
It was more of the same for the baseball Bucks in Iowa City.
The record won’t stop skipping and the games just won’t stop slipping for Ohio State baseball. Low quality at-bats, baserunning mistakes, and a lack of execution in the field and on the mound spelled defeat for the Buckeyes once again, this time by a 9-5 score to Iowa.
Despite notching 12 hits and a three-run comeback attempt in the ninth, Ohio State struck out 11 times, went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, left nine runners on base, had a runner picked off, uncorked two wild pitches, balked once, and committed three errors en route to falling to 6-13 in Big Ten play.
What head coach Greg Beals has called “more of the same” has all but sunk any chance the Buckeyes may have had of defending their conference tournament championship. Two games back with six to play entering Friday, the scarlet and gray essentially needed to win out to have even a glimmer of hope.
Redshirt senior Jake Post was once again a hard luck loser, going four innings and allowing five runs on six hits.
Jacob Barnwell had a nice night, driving in a pair of runs while going 2-for-3 at the plate and hitting his second home run of the season. Jalen Washington added a three-run homer of his own, his sixth on the year.
9⃣ | Three-run HR by @jay_washington4!OSU 5, IOWA 9
#GoBucks https://t.co/zsGIXPgkO3
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioState_BASE) May 13, 2017
The Hawkeyes’ Jake Adams, who entered the weekend leading the Big Ten in home runs and tied for the lead in runs batted in, gave the Buckeyes a taste of what the rest of the conference has experienced, going 3-for-4 with a homer, an RBI, and three runs scored.
With nothing to lose, Ohio State went the bold route in scoring first in this one. After a Brady Cherry walk, Bo Coolen smacked a hit-and-run single to put runners on the corners with nobody out in the second inning. Barnwell then pushed a squeeze bunt to the first base side of the pitcher’s mound, allowing Cherry to score. But that was where the boldness ended.
No one-run lead is safe against any lineup with Adams in it, and in the bottom of the third, he took Post deep off the batter’s eye in center field to tie things up.
Iowa would take the lead in the fourth as the mound execution and defensive issues that have plagued the Buckeyes all season reared their ugly heads. After getting two quick outs, Post yielded a single to Ben Norman. He would then advance to second on a wild pitch, Post’s second of the game, and come around to score when Washington let a ground ball roll right under his glove ranging just to his left up the middle.
The lead was extended to 5-1 in the fifth by the Hawkeyes thanks to a Robert Neustrom RBI single that scored Mason McCoy and, after Thomas Waning relieved Post, a balk that allowed Adams to trot home and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Matt Hoeg that brought Neustrom plateward.
In the sixth, Barnwell’s solo home run down the line in right field pulled Ohio State back to within three at 5-2, though the deficit felt larger.
6⃣ | Solo by @jacobbarnwell28! His second of the year. OSU 2, IOWA 5
#GoBucks https://t.co/jYiDld1eja
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioState_BASE) May 13, 2017
Iowa got that run back in the bottom half of the frame, loading the bases with nobody out against Waning. The redshirt sophomore rolled a double play off the bat of Adams, which scored Mitchell Boe, and got Neustrom to fly out, limiting the damage.
A seventh run for the black and gold came home against Waning when a Hoeg double brought Tyler Cropley around to push the advantage to five. That brought redshirt junior Austin Woodby out of the bullpen, and he got a popup and strikeout to end the inning.
More poor execution allowed Iowa to score in a sixth consecutive inning in the eighth, as an error on Tre’ Gantt put runners on the corners with one out. A Neustrom groundout scored a run, and a Cropley single scored another, making it 9-2 headed to the ninth.
As has often been the case for the Buckeyes late in games, the sense of urgency needed from first pitch finally showed up. The team put two runners on before Washington lifted a homer over the left field wall, but it was too little, too late.
Game two of the three-game set is scheduled to get underway in Iowa City at 3:05 p.m. ET on Saturday. Ohio State will send sophomore Connor Curlis to the mound against Iowa’s Ryan Erickson, with the game being available for live streaming on BTN Plus.
Continue reading...
Google Ohio State-Iowa 2017 final score: Buckeyes lose series opener to Hawkeyes, 9-5 - Land-Grant...
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State-Iowa 2017 final score: Buckeyes lose series opener to Hawkeyes, 9-5 - Land-Grant Holy Land
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Ohio State-Iowa 2017 final score: Buckeyes lose series opener to Hawkeyes, 9-5
Land-Grant Holy Land
The record won't stop skipping and the games just won't stop slipping for Ohio State baseball. Low quality at-bats, baserunning mistakes, and a lack of execution in the field and on the mound spelled defeat for the Buckeyes once again, this time by a 9 ...
Top O-Tackle on Buckeyes: 'They really know how to recruit'247Sports
2019 OL Nolan Rumler talks Ohio State offer, a look at a 2019 DE offered by Buckeyes and new DL name to watchLandof10.com
Indiana Football Week 1 Preview: Ohio State's DefenseThe Crimson Quarry
The Columbus Dispatch -Eleven Warriors -Go Iowa Awesome
all 40 news articles »
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Ohio State-Iowa 2017 final score: Buckeyes lose series opener to Hawkeyes, 9-5
Land-Grant Holy Land
The record won't stop skipping and the games just won't stop slipping for Ohio State baseball. Low quality at-bats, baserunning mistakes, and a lack of execution in the field and on the mound spelled defeat for the Buckeyes once again, this time by a 9 ...
Top O-Tackle on Buckeyes: 'They really know how to recruit'247Sports
2019 OL Nolan Rumler talks Ohio State offer, a look at a 2019 DE offered by Buckeyes and new DL name to watchLandof10.com
Indiana Football Week 1 Preview: Ohio State's DefenseThe Crimson Quarry
The Columbus Dispatch -Eleven Warriors -Go Iowa Awesome
all 40 news articles »
Continue reading...
tBBC Senators vs Penguins: Eastern Conference Preview
- News
- 0 Replies
Senators vs Penguins: Eastern Conference Preview
T6S via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
OTTAWA, ON – APRIL 5: Erik Karlsson #65 of the Ottawa Senators carries the puck out of his end while being chased by Patric Hornqvist #72 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Canadian Tire Centre on April 5, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)
The Eastern Conference Final.
Before this season, the Senators have only been there twice in their franchise history and it was never supposed to happen this year. Not to this team.
Much can and will be made of the circumstances under which the 2016-17 Ottawa Senators reached the postseason. The NHL’s playoff format punished better Metropolitan Clubs and gave the Senators an easier path. The Boston were decimated by injuries to key positions and were undone by the absence of their second line centre and three of their defencemen. The New York Rangers’ Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist faltered during the series with Senators stopping only 90.5-percent of the shots on goal.
Unquestionably, the Senators’ road to get to this point was relatively easy.
Maybe they could have met a tougher seed like a Pittsburgh or Washington earlier on and suffered the consequences. Or had Erik Karlsson not been able to get that pass through to Derick Brassard in the third period of game two of the Senators’ series versus the Bruins, maybe the Senators lose that game and fail to overcome a 2-0 series deficit.
The Senators have been fortuitous, but when the NHL playoffs represent an exercise in good fortune and very good teams are undone by bad luck each and every year, there’s not a chance in hell that the team, its players or its fans should be feel that this run should be lessened simply because the team continues to take advantage of its situation by winning games. I mean, the same number of people weren’t out there bemoaning the fact that the Edmonton Oilers were one win away from the Western Conference Final because their 11.5-percent chance of winning the draft lottery in 2015 was fulfilled.
Sure, in the larger picture, there’s definitely going to come to a point when management will have to take a critical eye to this club, try not to romanticize the results while also recognizing the limitations of this group in an effort to give this franchise the best opportunity to win again down the road, but that time can wait for the offseason.
Right now, the next test is the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The defending Stanley Cup champions are a handful.
They are fast. They are skilled and they still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin centering their top two lines.
The good news for Ottawa is that maybe for the first time since the 2006-07 season, the Penguins are vulnerable or at the very least, the task of beating the Penguins doesn’t seem as daunting as it once did.
Sure, this could be false confidence talking here, but…
Yeah, it may sound crazy to believe the Senators can win, especially since this undermanned Penguins team just proved itself capable of disposing of the Presidents’ Trophy winning Washington Capitals, but maybe there is just a chance that the Senators can get by the Penguins.
To borrow the words from Eugene Melnyk, once you get in, anything can happen. Or at the very least, the Penguins probably represent an easier path to the Stanley Cup Final than the Capitals did, so that’s got to count for something! (And of course, I’m totally ignoring the fact that in each of the Penguins’ past two Stanley Cup championship runs, they beat the Capitals in the second round each time.)
Here’s how the two teams match up at five-on-five based on their underlying numbers this season via Corsica.Hockey:
5v5 Senators (Rk) Penguins (Rk)
CF% 48.55 (22nd) 51.39 (6th)
FF% 48.80 (22nd) 51.24 (7th)
SF% 50.10 (17th) 51.39 (6th)
Sh% 7.01 (21st) 8.60 (5th)
Sv% 92.64 (10th) 92.67 (T-7th)
xGF% 49.13 (20th) 52.32 (6th)
SCF% 49.70 (19th) 52.81 (5th)
Give the Penguins get the slight edge there…
Like the Capitals, the Senators haven’t had their share of postseason success over the Penguins in recent years either, but just in case you came here looking for some validation that the Senators can beat the Penguins, here’s a video showing what happened the last time these two teams played with the Senators’ season on the line:
Feeling better?
Good.
I hate taking joy in the fact that people are hurt, but if there’s a sliver of a chance against the Penguins, it’s created by the mounting injuries — particularly to the blue line — that could play into the Senators’ hands.
Kris Letang, who’s unquestionably their best defenceman, had neck surgery and is expected to be out for the next four to six months. Trevor Daley missed Penguins practice again this morning and he has not skated since leaving game five of the series against the Capitals with a lower body injury. There’s no word on when he is expected to return.
If the Senators can put pressure on these defenders, create turnovers and get their cycle game going, it could open up the middle of the ice like it did for the Capitals.
https://twitter.com/IneffectiveMath/status/862511227813212160
Continuing with the injury theme, a lower-body injury has kept the Penguins’ best goaltender out of the net for the past 11 games and Marc-Andre Fleury has had to fill the void. Thanks to the prolonged absence, Murray hasn’t had a chance to reclaim his post and because of Fleury’s performance – in which his postseason numbers are markedly better than his regular season numbers – Mike Sullivan has continued to run Fleury out there on a game-in/game-out basis.
If the Senators can win a game or two early on and put some pressure on the prohibitive favorites, it could be an instance where Sullivan turns to Murray to change the momentum – in which case, you have to wonder how long or whether Murray will have enough time to round into form.
Of course, if Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby continue their dominance over Ottawa, none of this really matters.
In 20 games, the two players have combined for 22 goals (Crosby 14, Malkin 8) and 57 (Crosby 33, Malkin 24) points. One of these centres is going to draw regular matchups and log significant minutes playing against Cody Ceci and Dion Phaneuf.
In the 132:58 of five-on-five ice time through the playoffs, whenever the Phaneuf-Ceci has been on the ice, the opposition has scored 70.0-percent of the goals and taken 56.3-percent of the shots.
The speed, skill and tenacity of Pittburgh’s forwards is going to put a ton of pressure on the Senators’ defencemen to move the puck and make good decisions quickly. I’m not worried about Erik Karlsson here, but I can’t say the same for the rest of this group.
By now, everyone’s grown accustomed to seeing the Senators’ second pairing be caved in from a puck possession standpoint, but if Phaneuf and Ceci can bend without breaking, it gives the Senators a chance.
Of course this speaks to the necessity for Craig Anderson to be on point, but if the Senators have an edge in this series, it probably comes in goal. They need him to excel and become a prominent and decisive factor – through the team’s first two series, he hasn’t been at his best.
Through 12 games, Anderson’s sporting 2.49 goals against average, with one shutout and a pedestrian .914 save percentage. At five-on-five, he has the fourth lowest save percentage (.914) amongst goalies who have appeared in the postseason and if he can’t play at a higher level, the Senators will be done.
He has to step up. There’s simply no other alternative if the Senators are going to advance.
Prediction: It’s been a hell of a storybook run, but the Senators are going to have to play at a higher level than what they have exhibited so far in the postseason. I think this will be a much closer series than many are giving it credit for, but it’s difficult not to pick the Penguins in six games.
Continue reading...
T6S via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
OTTAWA, ON – APRIL 5: Erik Karlsson #65 of the Ottawa Senators carries the puck out of his end while being chased by Patric Hornqvist #72 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Canadian Tire Centre on April 5, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)
The Eastern Conference Final.
Before this season, the Senators have only been there twice in their franchise history and it was never supposed to happen this year. Not to this team.
Much can and will be made of the circumstances under which the 2016-17 Ottawa Senators reached the postseason. The NHL’s playoff format punished better Metropolitan Clubs and gave the Senators an easier path. The Boston were decimated by injuries to key positions and were undone by the absence of their second line centre and three of their defencemen. The New York Rangers’ Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist faltered during the series with Senators stopping only 90.5-percent of the shots on goal.
Unquestionably, the Senators’ road to get to this point was relatively easy.
Maybe they could have met a tougher seed like a Pittsburgh or Washington earlier on and suffered the consequences. Or had Erik Karlsson not been able to get that pass through to Derick Brassard in the third period of game two of the Senators’ series versus the Bruins, maybe the Senators lose that game and fail to overcome a 2-0 series deficit.
The Senators have been fortuitous, but when the NHL playoffs represent an exercise in good fortune and very good teams are undone by bad luck each and every year, there’s not a chance in hell that the team, its players or its fans should be feel that this run should be lessened simply because the team continues to take advantage of its situation by winning games. I mean, the same number of people weren’t out there bemoaning the fact that the Edmonton Oilers were one win away from the Western Conference Final because their 11.5-percent chance of winning the draft lottery in 2015 was fulfilled.
Sure, in the larger picture, there’s definitely going to come to a point when management will have to take a critical eye to this club, try not to romanticize the results while also recognizing the limitations of this group in an effort to give this franchise the best opportunity to win again down the road, but that time can wait for the offseason.
Right now, the next test is the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The defending Stanley Cup champions are a handful.
They are fast. They are skilled and they still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin centering their top two lines.
The good news for Ottawa is that maybe for the first time since the 2006-07 season, the Penguins are vulnerable or at the very least, the task of beating the Penguins doesn’t seem as daunting as it once did.
Sure, this could be false confidence talking here, but…
Yeah, it may sound crazy to believe the Senators can win, especially since this undermanned Penguins team just proved itself capable of disposing of the Presidents’ Trophy winning Washington Capitals, but maybe there is just a chance that the Senators can get by the Penguins.
To borrow the words from Eugene Melnyk, once you get in, anything can happen. Or at the very least, the Penguins probably represent an easier path to the Stanley Cup Final than the Capitals did, so that’s got to count for something! (And of course, I’m totally ignoring the fact that in each of the Penguins’ past two Stanley Cup championship runs, they beat the Capitals in the second round each time.)
Here’s how the two teams match up at five-on-five based on their underlying numbers this season via Corsica.Hockey:
5v5 Senators (Rk) Penguins (Rk)
CF% 48.55 (22nd) 51.39 (6th)
FF% 48.80 (22nd) 51.24 (7th)
SF% 50.10 (17th) 51.39 (6th)
Sh% 7.01 (21st) 8.60 (5th)
Sv% 92.64 (10th) 92.67 (T-7th)
xGF% 49.13 (20th) 52.32 (6th)
SCF% 49.70 (19th) 52.81 (5th)
Give the Penguins get the slight edge there…
Like the Capitals, the Senators haven’t had their share of postseason success over the Penguins in recent years either, but just in case you came here looking for some validation that the Senators can beat the Penguins, here’s a video showing what happened the last time these two teams played with the Senators’ season on the line:
Feeling better?
Good.
I hate taking joy in the fact that people are hurt, but if there’s a sliver of a chance against the Penguins, it’s created by the mounting injuries — particularly to the blue line — that could play into the Senators’ hands.
Kris Letang, who’s unquestionably their best defenceman, had neck surgery and is expected to be out for the next four to six months. Trevor Daley missed Penguins practice again this morning and he has not skated since leaving game five of the series against the Capitals with a lower body injury. There’s no word on when he is expected to return.
If the Senators can put pressure on these defenders, create turnovers and get their cycle game going, it could open up the middle of the ice like it did for the Capitals.
https://twitter.com/IneffectiveMath/status/862511227813212160
Continuing with the injury theme, a lower-body injury has kept the Penguins’ best goaltender out of the net for the past 11 games and Marc-Andre Fleury has had to fill the void. Thanks to the prolonged absence, Murray hasn’t had a chance to reclaim his post and because of Fleury’s performance – in which his postseason numbers are markedly better than his regular season numbers – Mike Sullivan has continued to run Fleury out there on a game-in/game-out basis.
If the Senators can win a game or two early on and put some pressure on the prohibitive favorites, it could be an instance where Sullivan turns to Murray to change the momentum – in which case, you have to wonder how long or whether Murray will have enough time to round into form.
Of course, if Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby continue their dominance over Ottawa, none of this really matters.
In 20 games, the two players have combined for 22 goals (Crosby 14, Malkin 8) and 57 (Crosby 33, Malkin 24) points. One of these centres is going to draw regular matchups and log significant minutes playing against Cody Ceci and Dion Phaneuf.
In the 132:58 of five-on-five ice time through the playoffs, whenever the Phaneuf-Ceci has been on the ice, the opposition has scored 70.0-percent of the goals and taken 56.3-percent of the shots.
The speed, skill and tenacity of Pittburgh’s forwards is going to put a ton of pressure on the Senators’ defencemen to move the puck and make good decisions quickly. I’m not worried about Erik Karlsson here, but I can’t say the same for the rest of this group.
By now, everyone’s grown accustomed to seeing the Senators’ second pairing be caved in from a puck possession standpoint, but if Phaneuf and Ceci can bend without breaking, it gives the Senators a chance.
Of course this speaks to the necessity for Craig Anderson to be on point, but if the Senators have an edge in this series, it probably comes in goal. They need him to excel and become a prominent and decisive factor – through the team’s first two series, he hasn’t been at his best.
Through 12 games, Anderson’s sporting 2.49 goals against average, with one shutout and a pedestrian .914 save percentage. At five-on-five, he has the fourth lowest save percentage (.914) amongst goalies who have appeared in the postseason and if he can’t play at a higher level, the Senators will be done.
He has to step up. There’s simply no other alternative if the Senators are going to advance.
Prediction: It’s been a hell of a storybook run, but the Senators are going to have to play at a higher level than what they have exhibited so far in the postseason. I think this will be a much closer series than many are giving it credit for, but it’s difficult not to pick the Penguins in six games.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ezekiel Elliott is gonna be an even bigger problem for NFL defenses next season
- News
- 0 Replies
Ezekiel Elliott is gonna be an even bigger problem for NFL defenses next season
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Feed Zeke more touches and receiving yards, and the former Buckeye is gonna soar to new heights in the NFL.
“The Cowboys were mindful of the work they gave Elliott. They did not want to tax him in his first year. He was too important as a runner,”
— Todd Archer on how Ezekiel Elliott will have an even bigger role with the Dallas Cowboys in his sophomore season in the NFL, ESPN.com
The rookie campaign for Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was spectacular. Look for his second year in the league to be even more spectacular as Zeke may have an increased role on offense.
In an article for ESPN.com, Todd Archer broke down how the Cowboys could utilize the former Buckeye hero in a half shirt. In 2016, Elliott rushed for 1,631 yards on 322 carries and scored on 15 of those touches. However, Zeke only caught the ball 32 times for 363 yards and scored only once.
While the Cowboys didn’t need Elliott to be the go-to guy on every play, that will change heading into this season, as America’s Team lost third-down rusher Lance Dunbar to the Los Angeles Rams.
Without a solid replacement to fill Dunbar’s absence, Elliott looks to be the guy to handle the workload. But, third-down rushing may only be part of the equation for Zeke heading into his sophomore campaign in the pros. Receiving yards will also be something the Cowboy staff will look to give their franchise sensation.
Zeke wasn’t utilized that much on the receiving end, and he still finished as one of the top running back in the ESPN fantasy football rankings. Other notable RBs that finished above Elliott were David Johnson (Arizona Cardinals) and Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh Steelers), who both had significant roles in the passing games of their respective offenses.
Now with his feet already wet in the NFL, Elliott knows his way around defenses. It’s the perfect time for the Cowboys to feed Zeke, and let him become one of the biggest all-around offensive weapons in the league.
“The equipment they use is getting better, but they don’t yet have the endless resources the football program seems to have. Last year the coaching staff wanted to make a video highlighting a new Nike LeBron shoe, but couldn’t because the social media staff’s only camera was broken.”
— Bill Landis on the ever changing social media landscape, and how OSU basketball is changing the way they present graphics and videos, cleveland.com
Social media is one of the biggest tools any college athletic department can utilize. From gameday graphics to videos, the creative minds put together an online image for the fans and recruits.
Ohio State basketball is getting with the social media program, thanks to Kyle Davis and David Aaron. While they are the creative minds behind the OSU basketball program, they have other roles, too. Juggling hats as video coordinator and students, the road to creating content for the masses is just one of the responsibilities the duo has. But when the content is good, it takes off—like when they put Thad Matta into one of the new uniforms.
Media day today! No players around yet to try on our new style uniforms so Coach Matta gave it a shot! #StillGotGame #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/hDfhcC6KYU
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) September 29, 2016
There have been some hiccups on the way to making the freshest content possible. For instance, the duo wanted a behind-the-scenes look at the program last season, but because the Buckeyes were constantly on the losing side of battles, the idea didn’t really take off. Combine that with the occasional equipment failure, and the problems get compounded.
On the bright side, the OSU athletic department has embraced the expansion into the social media world, and are playing a role in making the Buckeye brand strong online.
Bill Landis’ story is definitely worth the read if you want to take a look at how the Buckeye basketball game has picked up online.
Ohio State men’s lacrosse begins their quest to get the university another natty
After the men’s volleyball squad pulled off the win last week for a national title, the men’s lacrosse squad begins their journey to do the same. The Buckeyes start their journey for an NCAA Championship as the No. 3 team in the land, and play host to No. 13 Loyola at 5 p.m. on Sunday for a first-round battle.
With the game taking place at Ohio Stadium, the Scarlet and Gray have the home-field advantage. This makes advancing to the quarterfinals a tad easier, but in 2015, the Bucks went on the road to beat Duke in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament, but fell to Denver in the quarterfinals.
Claiming an at-large bid, the Buckeyes have defeated the likes of John Hopkins, Denver and Maryland over the course of the season. If the Buckeyes can get the win on Sunday, they would have to play the winner of John Hopkins-Duke in the quarterfinals on May 20.
If the Buckeyes get past the quarterfinals, then they have the chance to win the title at a place known for winning: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The New England Patriots’ home stadium is the site for this year’s semifinals and championship game for men’s lacrosse.
STICK TO SPORTS
• Colin Morris breaks down if pop songs have become more repetitive over time.
• Parking in downtown Columbus is a problem. Is that hampering C-Bus’ growth?
• IRS declares man dead, but Senator brings him back (figuratively) to life.
• A day in the life of an exotic animal vet.
• Cyber attacks rock 12 nations.
Continue reading...
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Feed Zeke more touches and receiving yards, and the former Buckeye is gonna soar to new heights in the NFL.
“The Cowboys were mindful of the work they gave Elliott. They did not want to tax him in his first year. He was too important as a runner,”
— Todd Archer on how Ezekiel Elliott will have an even bigger role with the Dallas Cowboys in his sophomore season in the NFL, ESPN.com
The rookie campaign for Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was spectacular. Look for his second year in the league to be even more spectacular as Zeke may have an increased role on offense.
In an article for ESPN.com, Todd Archer broke down how the Cowboys could utilize the former Buckeye hero in a half shirt. In 2016, Elliott rushed for 1,631 yards on 322 carries and scored on 15 of those touches. However, Zeke only caught the ball 32 times for 363 yards and scored only once.
While the Cowboys didn’t need Elliott to be the go-to guy on every play, that will change heading into this season, as America’s Team lost third-down rusher Lance Dunbar to the Los Angeles Rams.
Without a solid replacement to fill Dunbar’s absence, Elliott looks to be the guy to handle the workload. But, third-down rushing may only be part of the equation for Zeke heading into his sophomore campaign in the pros. Receiving yards will also be something the Cowboy staff will look to give their franchise sensation.
Zeke wasn’t utilized that much on the receiving end, and he still finished as one of the top running back in the ESPN fantasy football rankings. Other notable RBs that finished above Elliott were David Johnson (Arizona Cardinals) and Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh Steelers), who both had significant roles in the passing games of their respective offenses.
Now with his feet already wet in the NFL, Elliott knows his way around defenses. It’s the perfect time for the Cowboys to feed Zeke, and let him become one of the biggest all-around offensive weapons in the league.
“The equipment they use is getting better, but they don’t yet have the endless resources the football program seems to have. Last year the coaching staff wanted to make a video highlighting a new Nike LeBron shoe, but couldn’t because the social media staff’s only camera was broken.”
— Bill Landis on the ever changing social media landscape, and how OSU basketball is changing the way they present graphics and videos, cleveland.com
Social media is one of the biggest tools any college athletic department can utilize. From gameday graphics to videos, the creative minds put together an online image for the fans and recruits.
Ohio State basketball is getting with the social media program, thanks to Kyle Davis and David Aaron. While they are the creative minds behind the OSU basketball program, they have other roles, too. Juggling hats as video coordinator and students, the road to creating content for the masses is just one of the responsibilities the duo has. But when the content is good, it takes off—like when they put Thad Matta into one of the new uniforms.
Media day today! No players around yet to try on our new style uniforms so Coach Matta gave it a shot! #StillGotGame #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/hDfhcC6KYU
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) September 29, 2016
There have been some hiccups on the way to making the freshest content possible. For instance, the duo wanted a behind-the-scenes look at the program last season, but because the Buckeyes were constantly on the losing side of battles, the idea didn’t really take off. Combine that with the occasional equipment failure, and the problems get compounded.
On the bright side, the OSU athletic department has embraced the expansion into the social media world, and are playing a role in making the Buckeye brand strong online.
Bill Landis’ story is definitely worth the read if you want to take a look at how the Buckeye basketball game has picked up online.
Ohio State men’s lacrosse begins their quest to get the university another natty
After the men’s volleyball squad pulled off the win last week for a national title, the men’s lacrosse squad begins their journey to do the same. The Buckeyes start their journey for an NCAA Championship as the No. 3 team in the land, and play host to No. 13 Loyola at 5 p.m. on Sunday for a first-round battle.
With the game taking place at Ohio Stadium, the Scarlet and Gray have the home-field advantage. This makes advancing to the quarterfinals a tad easier, but in 2015, the Bucks went on the road to beat Duke in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament, but fell to Denver in the quarterfinals.
Claiming an at-large bid, the Buckeyes have defeated the likes of John Hopkins, Denver and Maryland over the course of the season. If the Buckeyes can get the win on Sunday, they would have to play the winner of John Hopkins-Duke in the quarterfinals on May 20.
If the Buckeyes get past the quarterfinals, then they have the chance to win the title at a place known for winning: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The New England Patriots’ home stadium is the site for this year’s semifinals and championship game for men’s lacrosse.
STICK TO SPORTS
• Colin Morris breaks down if pop songs have become more repetitive over time.
• Parking in downtown Columbus is a problem. Is that hampering C-Bus’ growth?
• IRS declares man dead, but Senator brings him back (figuratively) to life.
• A day in the life of an exotic animal vet.
• Cyber attacks rock 12 nations.
Continue reading...
Google Top O-Tackle on Buckeyes: 'They really know how to recruit' - 247Sports
- News
- 0 Replies
Top O-Tackle on Buckeyes: 'They really know how to recruit' - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Top O-Tackle on Buckeyes: 'They really know how to recruit'
247Sports
Edina 2019 offensive tackle Quinn Carroll attended the Buckeyes junior day on Jan. 28. Afterwards Carrroll told Bucknuts he was very impressed and was definitely interested in Ohio State. Three plus months later Carroll's interest in the Buckeyes ...
Ohio State offers 2019 in-state stud OLLand-Grant Holy Land
Indiana Football Week 1 Preview: Ohio State's DefenseThe Crimson Quarry
Ohio State feeling Blue, more from Devontae Dobbs and Belleville High School, 2019 in-state lineman offeredLandof10.com
The Columbus Dispatch -Eleven Warriors -Go Iowa Awesome
all 37 news articles »
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Top O-Tackle on Buckeyes: 'They really know how to recruit'
247Sports
Edina 2019 offensive tackle Quinn Carroll attended the Buckeyes junior day on Jan. 28. Afterwards Carrroll told Bucknuts he was very impressed and was definitely interested in Ohio State. Three plus months later Carroll's interest in the Buckeyes ...
Ohio State offers 2019 in-state stud OLLand-Grant Holy Land
Indiana Football Week 1 Preview: Ohio State's DefenseThe Crimson Quarry
Ohio State feeling Blue, more from Devontae Dobbs and Belleville High School, 2019 in-state lineman offeredLandof10.com
The Columbus Dispatch -Eleven Warriors -Go Iowa Awesome
all 37 news articles »
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State CB Rodjay Burns transferring to Louisville
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State CB Rodjay Burns transferring to Louisville
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Another Buckeye will continue his college career elsewhere.
We knew roster attrition was coming this season for Ohio State. Now, it looks like another Buckeye will be continuing his college career elsewhere.
Defensive back Rodjay Burns will be transferring to hometown Louisville:
Hard thought out life decision, and the decision i making for me and my future, I love my brothers at TOSU but i have to further my career elsewhere due to my fathers health, i have to decide to transfer to University of Louisville #UofL2020
Burns, a sophomore, played in six games last season, and recorded a pick-six in the opening game of the season against Bowling Green. A former three-star prospect, he originally committed to Louisville, before flipping to the Buckeyes.
The fact that Burns played as a true freshman, even sparingly, was a sign that he should have been able to compete for other playing time in the future. But given the fact that he’s a Louisville product, and that the Buckeyes just signed a truly elite recruiting class at his position, a look elsewhere may have made sense as well. Plus, per his Instagram, the health of his father was a factor in his decision.
Burns is the second three-star defensive back to announce his departure this week, as Joshua Norwood will also transfer, reportedly to Georgia Southern.
Best wishes to Burns as he continues his college career, and to his family.
Continue reading...
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Another Buckeye will continue his college career elsewhere.
We knew roster attrition was coming this season for Ohio State. Now, it looks like another Buckeye will be continuing his college career elsewhere.
Defensive back Rodjay Burns will be transferring to hometown Louisville:
Hard thought out life decision, and the decision i making for me and my future, I love my brothers at TOSU but i have to further my career elsewhere due to my fathers health, i have to decide to transfer to University of Louisville #UofL2020
A post shared by Rodjay Burns (@roddyb_) on May 12, 2017 at 11:54am PDT
Burns, a sophomore, played in six games last season, and recorded a pick-six in the opening game of the season against Bowling Green. A former three-star prospect, he originally committed to Louisville, before flipping to the Buckeyes.
The fact that Burns played as a true freshman, even sparingly, was a sign that he should have been able to compete for other playing time in the future. But given the fact that he’s a Louisville product, and that the Buckeyes just signed a truly elite recruiting class at his position, a look elsewhere may have made sense as well. Plus, per his Instagram, the health of his father was a factor in his decision.
Burns is the second three-star defensive back to announce his departure this week, as Joshua Norwood will also transfer, reportedly to Georgia Southern.
Best wishes to Burns as he continues his college career, and to his family.
Continue reading...
Google Three Buckeyes That Could Benefit From Proposed Redshirt Rule - Scout
- News
- 0 Replies
Three Buckeyes That Could Benefit From Proposed Redshirt Rule - Scout
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Three Buckeyes That Could Benefit From Proposed Redshirt Rule
Scout
While nothing has been decided, a new NCAA rule that could allow redshirts to play in bowl games could benefit certain Buckeyes. News broke May 8 that the American Football Coaches Association is set to propose a rule to the NCAA that would allow ...
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Three Buckeyes That Could Benefit From Proposed Redshirt Rule
Scout
While nothing has been decided, a new NCAA rule that could allow redshirts to play in bowl games could benefit certain Buckeyes. News broke May 8 that the American Football Coaches Association is set to propose a rule to the NCAA that would allow ...
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State baseball prepares for final road trip of the season
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State baseball prepares for final road trip of the season
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Buckeyes will be in Iowa to take on a Hawkeyes squad hoping to improve its seeding for the Big Ten tournament.
In many ways, at the opening of the 2017 season Ohio State and Iowa were in similar positions. Both had watched the core talent of their rosters exit their respective programs, either due to graduation or the MLB draft, and both had myriad questions about whether they would be able to reload or be forced to rebuild.
For the Buckeyes, the answer to that question is clear after 49 games. A team that won 44 in 2016, won the Big Ten tournament, and played in its first NCAA tournament regional in nearly a decade simply lost too much, and had too little in reserve, to compete at the same level.
Ohio State brought in 17 new players this season between freshmen and junior college transfers, and transitioning to a higher level of competition has been anything but smooth. There have also been multiple injuries throughout the year, particularly affecting the pitching staff, which was thought to be the club’s strength.
Yet, simple inexperience and injuries cannot explain away the fact that, far too often, the Buckeyes have beaten themselves. Wins over nationally-ranked Oregon State and Michigan and a close call with Texas Tech have shown that head coach Greg Beals has some talent on the field, and that the team can hang with anyone. But noncompetitive at-bats, fielding errors in droves, base-running mistakes/pickoffs/TOOTBLANs, and frequent pitching execution issues seem to bite Ohio State in nearly every game.
“It’s a lot of the same,” Beals told Press Pros Magazine after a defeat last Saturday at the hands of Michigan. “That’s the disappointing part, and we know that. It’s a young ballclub, yes, but still, we have to make better and more adjustments in order to compete. We have to do that to have better success than we’re having presently. You see signs throughout a game, positive things, but when the going gets tough we need to be the ones to find a way to get the hit or the big out when we need it. We’re just not doing that right now.”
This season has been a monumental test for Beals and the coaching staff, with “a lot of the same” rearing its head since opening day. It’s natural to become frustrated, to write the entire season off as a failure. And maybe it is. But there have been pockets of improvement, young players beginning to come into their own, quick flashes of potential that suggest one rough season can serve as a stepping stone back to contention.
Perhaps that’s just blind optimism. In any case, the Buckeyes have six conference games remaining on the schedule, and sitting two games behind the eighth spot in the standings needed to punch their ticket to Bloomington for a chance to defend their conference crown; it goes without saying that they essentially have to win them all. Even then, it may not be enough.
Beals, the coaches, and the players need a positive finish to the season. An Ohio State program that crashed back down to earth in 2017 must finish strong as the offseason approaches. A series win in Iowa City would represent a much-needed beginning to the Buckeyes’ using this season as just one stumble on their way back to relevance.
Iowa Hawkeyes (29-17, 11-7 in Big Ten play)
Whereas Ohio State has struggled mightily this year, Iowa has barely skipped a beat. Head coach Rick Heller has his squad in line for its fourth straight trip to the Big Ten tournament. Hellerball, as the Hawkeyes’ style of play is often referred to, is highlighted by a sound defense, grind-it-out pitching, and an offense that can win games with station-to-station play or the longball.
Iowa scores just under six runs per game, and ranks in the top half of the conference in nearly every important statistical category. This is a balanced attack, with five regulars hitting .295 or better, and one of the premier power hitters in the Big Ten.
That slugger would be junior first baseman Jake Adams, who leads the conference in home runs (16), runs batted in (52), slugging percentage (.672), and ranks tied for third in doubles (14). Much like Drew Lugbauer last weekend in Ann Arbor, the Buckeyes will have to be selective in pitching to Adams, who can turn the outcome of a game with one swing.
Complementing Adams is the trio of redshirt sophomore left fielder and leadoff man Chris Whelan, senior shortstop Mason McCoy, and sophomore right fielder Robert Neustrom. Whelan and McCoy both sport on-base percentages north of .400, meaning they get on ahead of Adams and Neustrom and provide numerous RBI chances. McCoy also has some pop in his bat, tallying 18 extra-base hits, good for third on the team.
Neustrom hits cleanup behind Adams, and has put up impressive numbers of his own. The Sioux City native is slashing .335/.377/.487, leads the Big Ten with 15 doubles, and places second on the Hawkeyes’ roster with 43 RBIs.
Another similarity between Iowa and Ohio State entering the season was the belief that the pitching staff would be a strength, but unforeseen injuries have proven a challenge. Where the Hawkeyes’ story departs from the Buckeyes’, though, is that Heller’s stable of arms has stepped up. Iowa’s staff gives up just 4.5 runs per contest, and has a deep bullpen capable of holding leads.
The weekend rotation is anchored by junior right-hander Nick Gallagher, who is 6-1 with a 2.30 earned run average in 11 starts covering 70.1 innings. Gallagher limits opposing hitters to a .230 batting average, sports a WHIP of just 1.09, and has excellent command, with a 3.5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Following Gallagher on Saturday is senior Ryan Erickson, who is also enjoying a successful season. In 12 appearances that include eight starts, the southpaw is 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA, pitching to contact and allowing his defense to make plays behind him.
Rounding out the starters is another lefty in junior Elijah Wood, pressed into the rotation due to the aforementioned injuries. In 12 appearances that include four starts, the JUCO transfer has been hit around a bit, giving up a .313 opposition batting average and 1.52 walks and hits per inning, but has limited damage to the tune of a 2.93 ERA.
Heller has a number of arms to call on in the bullpen to attack the opposition late in games, highlighted by senior Josh Martsching and sophomore Zach Daniels. Martsching has five saves, a 2.12 ERA, and holds opponents to a .202 batting average, while Daniels has gone 7-3 as a reliever and strikes out more than a batter per inning.
This is the last time Ohio State will travel away from Columbus this season unless the team can catch fire and sneak into the Big Ten tournament. Iowa is secure in its conference tourney standing, but will be fighting to improve its seeding. Finishing the season in a winning way will be a tall task for the Buckeyes.
Game times and probable pitching matchups
Friday, May 12th, 7:05 p.m. ET (streaming live on BTN Plus)
Jake Post (1-5, 3.98 ERA) vs. Gallagher (6-1, 2.30)
Saturday, May 13th, 3:05 p.m. ET (streaming live on BTN Plus)
Connor Curlis (3-3, 4.53) vs. Erickson (2-2, 2.70)
Sunday, May 14th, 2:05 p.m. ET (streaming live on BTN Plus)
TBA vs. Wood (0-0, 2.93)
Continue reading...
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Buckeyes will be in Iowa to take on a Hawkeyes squad hoping to improve its seeding for the Big Ten tournament.
In many ways, at the opening of the 2017 season Ohio State and Iowa were in similar positions. Both had watched the core talent of their rosters exit their respective programs, either due to graduation or the MLB draft, and both had myriad questions about whether they would be able to reload or be forced to rebuild.
For the Buckeyes, the answer to that question is clear after 49 games. A team that won 44 in 2016, won the Big Ten tournament, and played in its first NCAA tournament regional in nearly a decade simply lost too much, and had too little in reserve, to compete at the same level.
Ohio State brought in 17 new players this season between freshmen and junior college transfers, and transitioning to a higher level of competition has been anything but smooth. There have also been multiple injuries throughout the year, particularly affecting the pitching staff, which was thought to be the club’s strength.
Yet, simple inexperience and injuries cannot explain away the fact that, far too often, the Buckeyes have beaten themselves. Wins over nationally-ranked Oregon State and Michigan and a close call with Texas Tech have shown that head coach Greg Beals has some talent on the field, and that the team can hang with anyone. But noncompetitive at-bats, fielding errors in droves, base-running mistakes/pickoffs/TOOTBLANs, and frequent pitching execution issues seem to bite Ohio State in nearly every game.
“It’s a lot of the same,” Beals told Press Pros Magazine after a defeat last Saturday at the hands of Michigan. “That’s the disappointing part, and we know that. It’s a young ballclub, yes, but still, we have to make better and more adjustments in order to compete. We have to do that to have better success than we’re having presently. You see signs throughout a game, positive things, but when the going gets tough we need to be the ones to find a way to get the hit or the big out when we need it. We’re just not doing that right now.”
This season has been a monumental test for Beals and the coaching staff, with “a lot of the same” rearing its head since opening day. It’s natural to become frustrated, to write the entire season off as a failure. And maybe it is. But there have been pockets of improvement, young players beginning to come into their own, quick flashes of potential that suggest one rough season can serve as a stepping stone back to contention.
Perhaps that’s just blind optimism. In any case, the Buckeyes have six conference games remaining on the schedule, and sitting two games behind the eighth spot in the standings needed to punch their ticket to Bloomington for a chance to defend their conference crown; it goes without saying that they essentially have to win them all. Even then, it may not be enough.
Beals, the coaches, and the players need a positive finish to the season. An Ohio State program that crashed back down to earth in 2017 must finish strong as the offseason approaches. A series win in Iowa City would represent a much-needed beginning to the Buckeyes’ using this season as just one stumble on their way back to relevance.
Iowa Hawkeyes (29-17, 11-7 in Big Ten play)
Whereas Ohio State has struggled mightily this year, Iowa has barely skipped a beat. Head coach Rick Heller has his squad in line for its fourth straight trip to the Big Ten tournament. Hellerball, as the Hawkeyes’ style of play is often referred to, is highlighted by a sound defense, grind-it-out pitching, and an offense that can win games with station-to-station play or the longball.
Iowa scores just under six runs per game, and ranks in the top half of the conference in nearly every important statistical category. This is a balanced attack, with five regulars hitting .295 or better, and one of the premier power hitters in the Big Ten.
That slugger would be junior first baseman Jake Adams, who leads the conference in home runs (16), runs batted in (52), slugging percentage (.672), and ranks tied for third in doubles (14). Much like Drew Lugbauer last weekend in Ann Arbor, the Buckeyes will have to be selective in pitching to Adams, who can turn the outcome of a game with one swing.
Complementing Adams is the trio of redshirt sophomore left fielder and leadoff man Chris Whelan, senior shortstop Mason McCoy, and sophomore right fielder Robert Neustrom. Whelan and McCoy both sport on-base percentages north of .400, meaning they get on ahead of Adams and Neustrom and provide numerous RBI chances. McCoy also has some pop in his bat, tallying 18 extra-base hits, good for third on the team.
Neustrom hits cleanup behind Adams, and has put up impressive numbers of his own. The Sioux City native is slashing .335/.377/.487, leads the Big Ten with 15 doubles, and places second on the Hawkeyes’ roster with 43 RBIs.
Another similarity between Iowa and Ohio State entering the season was the belief that the pitching staff would be a strength, but unforeseen injuries have proven a challenge. Where the Hawkeyes’ story departs from the Buckeyes’, though, is that Heller’s stable of arms has stepped up. Iowa’s staff gives up just 4.5 runs per contest, and has a deep bullpen capable of holding leads.
The weekend rotation is anchored by junior right-hander Nick Gallagher, who is 6-1 with a 2.30 earned run average in 11 starts covering 70.1 innings. Gallagher limits opposing hitters to a .230 batting average, sports a WHIP of just 1.09, and has excellent command, with a 3.5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Following Gallagher on Saturday is senior Ryan Erickson, who is also enjoying a successful season. In 12 appearances that include eight starts, the southpaw is 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA, pitching to contact and allowing his defense to make plays behind him.
Rounding out the starters is another lefty in junior Elijah Wood, pressed into the rotation due to the aforementioned injuries. In 12 appearances that include four starts, the JUCO transfer has been hit around a bit, giving up a .313 opposition batting average and 1.52 walks and hits per inning, but has limited damage to the tune of a 2.93 ERA.
Heller has a number of arms to call on in the bullpen to attack the opposition late in games, highlighted by senior Josh Martsching and sophomore Zach Daniels. Martsching has five saves, a 2.12 ERA, and holds opponents to a .202 batting average, while Daniels has gone 7-3 as a reliever and strikes out more than a batter per inning.
This is the last time Ohio State will travel away from Columbus this season unless the team can catch fire and sneak into the Big Ten tournament. Iowa is secure in its conference tourney standing, but will be fighting to improve its seeding. Finishing the season in a winning way will be a tall task for the Buckeyes.
Game times and probable pitching matchups
Friday, May 12th, 7:05 p.m. ET (streaming live on BTN Plus)
Jake Post (1-5, 3.98 ERA) vs. Gallagher (6-1, 2.30)
Saturday, May 13th, 3:05 p.m. ET (streaming live on BTN Plus)
Connor Curlis (3-3, 4.53) vs. Erickson (2-2, 2.70)
Sunday, May 14th, 2:05 p.m. ET (streaming live on BTN Plus)
TBA vs. Wood (0-0, 2.93)
Continue reading...
tBBC Eugene Melnyk Speaks: PTS Appearance
- News
- 0 Replies
Eugene Melnyk Speaks: PTS Appearance
T6S via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
As his team prepares for game one of the Eastern Conference Final versus the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has been making the rounds through the media again.
Not only was Melnyk featured in another Bruce Garrioch Postmedia article (it seems like these pieces are done every round now), the owner jumped aboard his favourite Toronto radio program to talk to Bob McCown and Damien Cox on the Fan 590’s ‘Prime Time Sports’.
To listen to the full interview, you can scroll to the bottom of this post where there will be an embedded audio player.
As always, my thoughts are in bold.
On why Eugene Melnyk had his phone out taking pictures at MSG during game six…
“I have (photographers), but people lose pictures. These are times that you never ever, ever, ever want to forget. I just made sure that I had a few nice pictures of the moment. I don’t know which game because I take them at every game. I keep every stub, but I’ve been to every single game but one. It’s been just fantastic going around to these arenas.”
It’s not often that you have a chance to clinch a series at Madison Square Gardens, soak it in.
On actually keeping ticket stubs…
“Yes, if we’re in the Stanley Cup playoffs, yeah. We’re making history.”
“We’re making history” might be a better tagline than #AllIn
On where these ticket stubs go…
“I will donate them to a museum no less. I’m actually giving the history museum my Queen’s Plate. They have a big Canada display and they have a whole hockey display. Apparently they’ve got a Northern dancer display and they asked me if I would give them my Queen’s Plate. I have a Queen’s Plate and I have all the trophies from all the Triple Crowns across Canada. So I’m donating them and hopefully people (come to see them) along with my ticket stubs.”
I’m not much of a horse racing fan, but I’m sure there’s got to be some Canadians out there who’d love to check out that exhibit.
On how he would categorize his degree anxiety as games approach and whether he’ll be a mess for game one in Pittsburgh…
“Probably, I bet you I will (be a mess). Yeah, yeah, yeah. The stakes are so high now that every goal and every minute counts. Even that game that we played – the last game – that we had to keep them out of the scorecard for the first 10 minutes. That was the first objective, the basic philosophy was if we could score a goal in the first period and then be either even or up, we win the game. And we got out of there 2-0, so we felt that there’s a little less pressure. You can blow a game in… you’ve seen it. You can blow a game within 90-seconds. It’s gone, three goals. You spend the next two hours sitting there looking at everyone else cheering against you, so yes, you get very nervous about these things.”
Nothing matched the anxiety during the third period of Tuesday’s series-clinching game.
Chris Neil had more total ice time than how long it took for the Senators’ third period two-goal lead to dissipate. Without the insurance marker, it did not stop the Senators from going into prevent mode where they spent most of the period defending within their own end. In the box score, the Senators were outshot 15-5 in the third period, but thanks to one glorious Jean-Gabriel Pageau empty net goal, the Rangers’ fate was sealed and Sens fans were given a few days off to collect themselves.
Heading into the series versus the defending Stanley Cup champions, I don’t feel any anxiety heading into game one.
It probably helps that the Senators are opening on the road for the first time during the playoffs or maybe it’s because they are being portrayed as significant underdogs going into it. Even though the past playoff history between these two teams has no implications on how this series will play out now, the fact that Pittsburgh has won each of the last four and handled the Senators rather easily lends itself towards lowering the expectations for what the Senators can do.
That doesn’t mean that I’m writing the Senators off.
For me, the Penguins don’t seem as daunting and for the first time in over a decade since the Senators disposed of them during their 2006-07 Stanley Cup run, the Penguins seem vulnerable. If a few things break right for Ottawa, there’s the possibility of an upset here.
On whether the Senators’ and Predators’ success now proves that you don’t need to spend to the upper cap limit to have success on the ice…
“Yeah, absolutely it does. I’ve always said it and by the way, we’re no slouch. Even though you say we’re in the bottom-third, there’s like $3-million between us and the (sixth-highest club) or something.”
Melnyk’s right here and I hate fans who belabour the point about this owner’s financial ability to spend to the upper reaches of the salary cap. It’s a colossal waste of energy and as Melnyk reiterated, it’s not like the gap between the haves and the have-nots is big. Compared to other league sports, it’s relatively small and it’s not a situation like baseball where the Tampa Bay Rays have to overcome sizable competitive advantages to knock off financial juggernauts like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox or even the Toronto Blue Jays.
Obviously this doesn’t mean that teams should get complacent and ignore trying to find market inefficiencies to overcome competitive advantages where they can because it’s still important for a smaller market team like the Ottawa Senators to get the most bang for its buck.
On being able to spend more if he wanted…
“Yeah, but you could waste more if you wanted. Some of these teams that are no longer with us, do you know how many millions of dollars they got buried in the minors that you’d never see?”
“Do you know how many millions of dollars in Senators contracts the Maple Leafs buried just to get out from underneath Dion Phaneuf’s deal?”
On Toronto having a history of burying money in the minors…
“I can’t say those things, but you can but it’s true. They did. I just did, but seriously… for us, it almost forces the GMs to really think five times before they spend a nickel because they know they only have so much. If you’ve got all the money in the world, you’re going to blow it out and you really, frankly don’t care because you make so much money. In our case, we don’t have that luxury. We blow it on a few contracts and we can’t recover. In some cases you win and some cases you lose, but if you’ve got too many in the loss column, you’re going to hurt in many years until you do a rebuild, which we did.”
I don’t want to dwell on some long-term problems for the Senators considering everyone is swept up in this playoff fever, but those Bobby Ryan and Dion Phaneuf deals are the kinds of contracts that are going to hinder this team’s ability moving forward to augment the current core and keep moving it forward.
On imagining where this franchise would be without Karlsson…
“Ugh, I’ve lost count with him, I honestly have. You can’t… you know, every time you think he’s in the windshield, he turns out to be a fly somewhere else. He’s just so, he is just so good and it kills me. It doesn’t kill me because you’re seeing what you’re getting, but you’re imagining him healthy. Forget about what you’re seeing on the ice today, I saw him after the game. I went down to the dressing room after we won and I always do on the road. You look at the guy and he could hardly walk. He was almost carried into the shower when he took his skates off. How he loses that or controls that pain, I have no idea but he has two fractures on his heel. And he goes in and they somehow block (the pain) off. It’s the same with all the others. I’ve got seven guys that would never play in a regular season (game) right now ever. They’d be on the sidelines. They are pressing us to play and these are serious. I mean, I saw one of the boys. He had a cut into the right side just under his rib and it was as gross as you could ever see and he’s playing! Every shift you almost can’t tell. When you talk about Karlsson, he’s just beyond the best and many times I’ve tried to compare him, but there’s no comparison on him. That’s all I can tell you.”
Karlsson is beyond the best and the fact that it took this playoff round for so many pundits’ opinions of him to change, it’s embarrassing.
On whether there’s anything from the team’s run in 2007 that he learned and can apply to the team now…
“They have all thought it through and they’re changing a few things up in the way they do things: how they travel; when they travel; what they eat; when they eat…”
On needing to do things different because the team didn’t play well in the Cup Final in 2007…
“In (2007)? No, that Anaheim series was a disaster. I was there and it wasn’t fun at all. I did not appreciate how special that time was because I was kind of a newbie. I’m kind of walking around thinking, ‘Well, if we lost this year, we’ll be back in the next few years.’ Like 10 years later, we’re going wild just being into the third round. But the players, that’s one of the reasons why we’re so balanced, we have the veterans. Been there, done that and have the pressure. You’ve got (Daniel Alfredsson) there and he’s very interactive with the players and he’s there for every game. He’s in the dressing room. We’re just trying our best. We’re very humbled. Everybody is very humbled by this, but they are extremely focused on winning. It’s all about the winning.”
Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning.
On being only four wins away from possibly getting another crack at beating the Anaheim Ducks…
“I’d rather play the Predators.”
I see you there, bulletin board material.
On really wanting to play the Predators…
“Yeah, I think so. It doesn’t matter who we play. It’s not me playing on the ice, but as a team, you’ve got Mike Fisher over there. It’d be interesting to have (P.K.) Subban in the playoffs and that’s kind of a fun team. Plus, we get home (ice) advantage. We do get home (ice) on them. That’s the only team we get home (ice advantage) on. But, it is what it is.”
A world where one of Erik Karlsson or PK Subban lifts the Cup? I could live with that.
I’m not surprised that Melnyk’s preference for more home gates when he is still hurting financially from the team’s attendance issues during the regular season.
Melnyk admitted in that aforementioned Postmedia article that the playoffs aren’t “the financial windfall it should be because of previous mismanagement, but there’s no question the organization benefits in a whole number of ways.”
http://pmd.fan590.com/audio_on_demand-5/Eugene-Melnyk-on-PTS-PTS-20170511-Interview.mp3
Continue reading...
T6S via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
As his team prepares for game one of the Eastern Conference Final versus the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has been making the rounds through the media again.
Not only was Melnyk featured in another Bruce Garrioch Postmedia article (it seems like these pieces are done every round now), the owner jumped aboard his favourite Toronto radio program to talk to Bob McCown and Damien Cox on the Fan 590’s ‘Prime Time Sports’.
To listen to the full interview, you can scroll to the bottom of this post where there will be an embedded audio player.
As always, my thoughts are in bold.
On why Eugene Melnyk had his phone out taking pictures at MSG during game six…
“I have (photographers), but people lose pictures. These are times that you never ever, ever, ever want to forget. I just made sure that I had a few nice pictures of the moment. I don’t know which game because I take them at every game. I keep every stub, but I’ve been to every single game but one. It’s been just fantastic going around to these arenas.”
It’s not often that you have a chance to clinch a series at Madison Square Gardens, soak it in.
On actually keeping ticket stubs…
“Yes, if we’re in the Stanley Cup playoffs, yeah. We’re making history.”
“We’re making history” might be a better tagline than #AllIn
On where these ticket stubs go…
“I will donate them to a museum no less. I’m actually giving the history museum my Queen’s Plate. They have a big Canada display and they have a whole hockey display. Apparently they’ve got a Northern dancer display and they asked me if I would give them my Queen’s Plate. I have a Queen’s Plate and I have all the trophies from all the Triple Crowns across Canada. So I’m donating them and hopefully people (come to see them) along with my ticket stubs.”
I’m not much of a horse racing fan, but I’m sure there’s got to be some Canadians out there who’d love to check out that exhibit.
On how he would categorize his degree anxiety as games approach and whether he’ll be a mess for game one in Pittsburgh…
“Probably, I bet you I will (be a mess). Yeah, yeah, yeah. The stakes are so high now that every goal and every minute counts. Even that game that we played – the last game – that we had to keep them out of the scorecard for the first 10 minutes. That was the first objective, the basic philosophy was if we could score a goal in the first period and then be either even or up, we win the game. And we got out of there 2-0, so we felt that there’s a little less pressure. You can blow a game in… you’ve seen it. You can blow a game within 90-seconds. It’s gone, three goals. You spend the next two hours sitting there looking at everyone else cheering against you, so yes, you get very nervous about these things.”
Nothing matched the anxiety during the third period of Tuesday’s series-clinching game.
Chris Neil had more total ice time than how long it took for the Senators’ third period two-goal lead to dissipate. Without the insurance marker, it did not stop the Senators from going into prevent mode where they spent most of the period defending within their own end. In the box score, the Senators were outshot 15-5 in the third period, but thanks to one glorious Jean-Gabriel Pageau empty net goal, the Rangers’ fate was sealed and Sens fans were given a few days off to collect themselves.
Heading into the series versus the defending Stanley Cup champions, I don’t feel any anxiety heading into game one.
It probably helps that the Senators are opening on the road for the first time during the playoffs or maybe it’s because they are being portrayed as significant underdogs going into it. Even though the past playoff history between these two teams has no implications on how this series will play out now, the fact that Pittsburgh has won each of the last four and handled the Senators rather easily lends itself towards lowering the expectations for what the Senators can do.
That doesn’t mean that I’m writing the Senators off.
For me, the Penguins don’t seem as daunting and for the first time in over a decade since the Senators disposed of them during their 2006-07 Stanley Cup run, the Penguins seem vulnerable. If a few things break right for Ottawa, there’s the possibility of an upset here.
On whether the Senators’ and Predators’ success now proves that you don’t need to spend to the upper cap limit to have success on the ice…
“Yeah, absolutely it does. I’ve always said it and by the way, we’re no slouch. Even though you say we’re in the bottom-third, there’s like $3-million between us and the (sixth-highest club) or something.”
Melnyk’s right here and I hate fans who belabour the point about this owner’s financial ability to spend to the upper reaches of the salary cap. It’s a colossal waste of energy and as Melnyk reiterated, it’s not like the gap between the haves and the have-nots is big. Compared to other league sports, it’s relatively small and it’s not a situation like baseball where the Tampa Bay Rays have to overcome sizable competitive advantages to knock off financial juggernauts like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox or even the Toronto Blue Jays.
Obviously this doesn’t mean that teams should get complacent and ignore trying to find market inefficiencies to overcome competitive advantages where they can because it’s still important for a smaller market team like the Ottawa Senators to get the most bang for its buck.
On being able to spend more if he wanted…
“Yeah, but you could waste more if you wanted. Some of these teams that are no longer with us, do you know how many millions of dollars they got buried in the minors that you’d never see?”
“Do you know how many millions of dollars in Senators contracts the Maple Leafs buried just to get out from underneath Dion Phaneuf’s deal?”
On Toronto having a history of burying money in the minors…
“I can’t say those things, but you can but it’s true. They did. I just did, but seriously… for us, it almost forces the GMs to really think five times before they spend a nickel because they know they only have so much. If you’ve got all the money in the world, you’re going to blow it out and you really, frankly don’t care because you make so much money. In our case, we don’t have that luxury. We blow it on a few contracts and we can’t recover. In some cases you win and some cases you lose, but if you’ve got too many in the loss column, you’re going to hurt in many years until you do a rebuild, which we did.”
I don’t want to dwell on some long-term problems for the Senators considering everyone is swept up in this playoff fever, but those Bobby Ryan and Dion Phaneuf deals are the kinds of contracts that are going to hinder this team’s ability moving forward to augment the current core and keep moving it forward.
On imagining where this franchise would be without Karlsson…
“Ugh, I’ve lost count with him, I honestly have. You can’t… you know, every time you think he’s in the windshield, he turns out to be a fly somewhere else. He’s just so, he is just so good and it kills me. It doesn’t kill me because you’re seeing what you’re getting, but you’re imagining him healthy. Forget about what you’re seeing on the ice today, I saw him after the game. I went down to the dressing room after we won and I always do on the road. You look at the guy and he could hardly walk. He was almost carried into the shower when he took his skates off. How he loses that or controls that pain, I have no idea but he has two fractures on his heel. And he goes in and they somehow block (the pain) off. It’s the same with all the others. I’ve got seven guys that would never play in a regular season (game) right now ever. They’d be on the sidelines. They are pressing us to play and these are serious. I mean, I saw one of the boys. He had a cut into the right side just under his rib and it was as gross as you could ever see and he’s playing! Every shift you almost can’t tell. When you talk about Karlsson, he’s just beyond the best and many times I’ve tried to compare him, but there’s no comparison on him. That’s all I can tell you.”
Karlsson is beyond the best and the fact that it took this playoff round for so many pundits’ opinions of him to change, it’s embarrassing.
On whether there’s anything from the team’s run in 2007 that he learned and can apply to the team now…
“They have all thought it through and they’re changing a few things up in the way they do things: how they travel; when they travel; what they eat; when they eat…”
On needing to do things different because the team didn’t play well in the Cup Final in 2007…
“In (2007)? No, that Anaheim series was a disaster. I was there and it wasn’t fun at all. I did not appreciate how special that time was because I was kind of a newbie. I’m kind of walking around thinking, ‘Well, if we lost this year, we’ll be back in the next few years.’ Like 10 years later, we’re going wild just being into the third round. But the players, that’s one of the reasons why we’re so balanced, we have the veterans. Been there, done that and have the pressure. You’ve got (Daniel Alfredsson) there and he’s very interactive with the players and he’s there for every game. He’s in the dressing room. We’re just trying our best. We’re very humbled. Everybody is very humbled by this, but they are extremely focused on winning. It’s all about the winning.”
Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning. Please keep winning.
On being only four wins away from possibly getting another crack at beating the Anaheim Ducks…
“I’d rather play the Predators.”
I see you there, bulletin board material.
On really wanting to play the Predators…
“Yeah, I think so. It doesn’t matter who we play. It’s not me playing on the ice, but as a team, you’ve got Mike Fisher over there. It’d be interesting to have (P.K.) Subban in the playoffs and that’s kind of a fun team. Plus, we get home (ice) advantage. We do get home (ice) on them. That’s the only team we get home (ice advantage) on. But, it is what it is.”
A world where one of Erik Karlsson or PK Subban lifts the Cup? I could live with that.
I’m not surprised that Melnyk’s preference for more home gates when he is still hurting financially from the team’s attendance issues during the regular season.
Melnyk admitted in that aforementioned Postmedia article that the playoffs aren’t “the financial windfall it should be because of previous mismanagement, but there’s no question the organization benefits in a whole number of ways.”
http://pmd.fan590.com/audio_on_demand-5/Eugene-Melnyk-on-PTS-PTS-20170511-Interview.mp3
Continue reading...
