That's a big piece on the Offensive end. Still have no defense

Man it would be hard for me to spend a quarter of that money in my lifetime and he lost it in a decade. Pathetic

Tomateaux Quinoa Gumbeaux said:

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Id say he's doing alright. 2 more of those and I'm joining the LDS myself!

TITLE TIME. Jamari Wheeler is a champion — or, to be more accurate, a campeon. Last week, the former Ohio State point guard helped Rayos de Hermosillo secure a Mexico CIBACOPA title over the Astros de Jalisco.

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Wheeler, who played three years at Penn State and one year at Ohio State before becoming a professional, spent last season with BC Prievidza in Slovakia. Following a couple of workouts for NBA G-League teams, Wheeler ended up in Hermosillo, where he appeared in 47 games and averaged 8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for Rayos.

In his team's four-game sweep of Jalisco, Wheeler averaged 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals per contest. His best performance came in Hermosillo's Game 3 win as the 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard scored 17 points and added six boards, seven helpers and three forced turnovers.

Bye

Thanks DaddyBB, was thinking the same thing, but glad to see thoughts confirmed. Will add to your comments, in that when the 'fall tour' goes on B10, it will NOT have 'Fall Tour- OSU' or somesuch, but just Fall Tour. Doesn't help we poor folk on the other end of the TV much at all. I agree that they're trying for fairness, which will only become more diluted now that the B10 has grown by four. On my TV at least, there's two other channels blocked out for B10 football games, so how about they add one or more camera crews to travel to other venues and capture two different sets of teams to plug on their channels? Know that it's expensive, but if they're paying a billion for the rights, then use 'em, huh? With an apology to the other members of the league, don't really hurry to watch a replay of X versus Y teams, unless it's our beloved Buckeyes. Maybe Texas had it right all along....maybe we need a Buckeye channel, and share rights with the B10. Betcha the ratings would be higher....if the Buckeye fan base all have TV sets. Go Bucks!

Former UConn star: Dan Hurley told me to 'get the hell out of here' and join NBA​

Donovan Clingan was the 7th pick of the NBA Draft​

Donovan Clingan wanted to contend for a three-peat, but Dan Hurley was having none of it.

The former UConn star helped the Huskies to a second straight national championship earlier this year.

For a second straight year, the Huskies won every tournament game by double-digits and won their sixth title in school history.

The big man cemented himself as not just a lottery pick, but a top-10 selection in the draft with his performance in the tournament, averaging 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Clingan spent two seasons at UConn, and he was looking for a third title.

But Hurley knocked some sense into him.

"I went into Coach Hurley’s office, and I was like, ‘Yo coach, I’ll come back. I’ll go for another one.’ He’s like ‘You’re out of your mind, bro. Get the hell out of here.’ And I guess I had to go," Clingan told the "Knuckleheads Podcast," hosted by ex-NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles.
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REMEMBER WHEN: BILL WILLIS DESTROYS A TACKLING DUMMY DURING SENIOR TACKLE​

Bill Willis was a Buckeye legend who helped the team win the 1942 national title and later went on to break the color barrier in what is now the National Football League.

Willis was notorious for his strength, and he exerted it on every opponent he faced – even if that opponent was a hapless tackling dummy.

During the Senior Tackle, a tradition in which seniors hit the tackling dummy one last time ahead of Ohio State's showdown with Michigan, Willis hit the dummy so hard that it tore the thing from its bearings.



The dummy was so dismembered after Willis' hit that assistant coaches Paul Bixler and Ernie Godfrey had to physically hold it for Jack Dugger's Senior Tackle.

After the tackling dummy event, Willis went on to play in the NFL until 1954, where he was a four-time All-Pro and won the NFL Championship with the Browns in 1950.
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Did in fact look for something like this, but could not find. Please move if I missed.
OK, Looking forward to the B10 studio crew visiting the B10 schools with an hour or so vignette on how the teams are looking. Realize I'm a bit early, as fall practices are a month or so away, but.....Does anyone know when (or if) they will be scheduled, etc? Realize that with the four new additions, it will take a bit more to happen, but so enjoy listening to the plusses and minuses (or in the Buckeye's case, just the plusses). DiNardo knows his stuff, as do the others, and reviewing with the HC is always a treat. Hopefully one of you guys has some info. Go Bucks!

D'Angelo Russell exercises $18.7 million player option with Lakers, per report​

Russell is widely expected to be a trade candidate for the Lakers this offseason​

D'Angelo Russell is opting into the final year and $18.7 million of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. Russell, whom the Lakers acquired at the 2023 trade deadline, signed a two-year deal with the Lakers last offseason that included this player option. With trade rumors swirling around him at both the deadline and during this offseason, there was some fear that he might opt out and leave the Lakers for nothing. However, with Russell opting in, the Lakers will either bring back their starting point guard or have extra salary to use in a trade.

Russell has had two strong regular seasons with the Lakers since joining the team in 2023. He averaged 17.4 points in his final 17 games of the 2022-23 season, and then put up 18 points and 6.3 assists per game while breaking the Laker record with 226 total 3-pointers last season. However, Russell struggled mightily in consecutive playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, both of which the Lakers lost. He averaged a pathetic 6.3 points per game in the 2023 Western Conference finals, and then shot below 39% from the floor in the first round against Denver last season. He was benched for Game 4 in 2023 but started all five games last postseason.

While Russell is a strong offensive player in the regular season, those playoff issues combined with his well-known defensive weaknesses make him a tough fit for a Lakers team with lofty postseason ambitions. He was an upgrade on Russell Westbrook when the Lakers were desperate, and his ability to run the offense for lengthy stretches helped keep LeBron James healthy, but now that he has opted in, the Lakers will likely consider him as a trade chip.

Their books sorely needed his salary for that purpose. The Lakers have four other players earning between $10 million to $20 million: Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent. This is the optimal range for trading purposes because it is a small enough number to be traded individually for a single, non-star player, but big enough that, when lumped with other contracts, can take in a very expensive acquisition. The problem here is that the Lakers view Reaves and Hachimura as long-term core pieces. With only Vincent and Vanderbilt as likely trade options, the Lakers were pretty limited in the kinds of players they could pursue. Adding Russell's $18.7 million to the mix gives them more flexibility to seek out help.
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Tom Izzo 'not a fan' of transfer portal, argues against players making more money than him via NIL​

The Michigan State basketball coach has problems with the current state of college athletics.​

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo has criticized NIL and the transfer portal in the past and doubled down on his stance during an interview with Big Ten Network on Friday. Izzo shook his head at players transferring "3-4 times" and argued for a cap on NIL earnings for student-athletes.

"I'm not a fan of the transfer rule," Izzo said. "If that hurts me in recruiting, that's a shame. It should help me. I look at these kids; not every place is for everybody. But when you're transferring 3-4 times, I wonder what that's going to be like for those kids later on in life? Every student needs a place to go back to. They're going to be going back to four different places? They ain't going to be embraced by all those people.

"I always believed players should get more money, but it went to more money than you and I make. I don't think that's right. Paying your dues and going through things is what's going to make you better in the long run."

Izzo's comments follow statements he made earlier this month about players getting too much money at too young an age. He also compared his marriage to the transferring portal, arguing that good can come from standing by your first choice and working through differences.

"Sometimes, when you're given too much at an early age, as we see with movie stars or we see with people in music, it's never a great ending," Izzo said at the Detroit Economic Club. "I know my wife has tried to put me in the transfer portal a lot, but I'm still there. You don't get to just transfer out of everything. I'm 100% for the true version of the NIL if name, image and likeness can make you money. I'm not interested in pay-for-play."

Oh8ch said:

This reads like Odom/Roy was a first to commit.

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One man's humble opinion, but the staff is in full pursuit for Hill and for good reason. He's more of an edge guy and thankfully we have Merrit and Mathis on board who are both legit. I don't see Dye as an interior DL, so I don't think Odom/Roy were the holdup rather than anticipating the 3 edge guys above being in this class

I don't know that this was a numbers game because he's a great player and we wanted him, but it could have turned into that. A lot can happen though, so this might be a guy we come back after if needed.

If you ever get a chance to see Ian Munsick, do it.

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BETTER KNOW A BUCKEYE: MILES LOCKHART’S SKILL SET AND INSTINCTS MAKE HIM A NATURAL FIT AT SLOT CORNERBACK FOR OHIO STATE’S SECONDARY​

IMMEDIATE IMPACT​

An early enrollee, Lockhart is quite ambitious regarding his goals early on as a Buckeye.

“I definitely want to get my black stripe off first in my position group,” Lockhart said. “I want to stay on top of academics and fight for my spot, really. I just want to compete every day.”

While Lockhart is willing to play anywhere in the defensive backfield, his frame will make him an ideal slot cornerback, which is what Ohio State coaches have already told him.

"I would say (coach Walton) mostly talks about me in the slot," Lockhart said. "But I can play outside. I think (it’s mostly at slot) because I’m not a 6-foot-1, 6-2 guy, more like 5-11. So that’s probably why I’ve been in the slot."

Given that Jordan Hancock will be manning the slot/nickel cornerback starting job in 2024, Lockhart's first season in Columbus will likely be a redshirt year as he develops his body and adjusts to the speed of the college game.

“I'm just gonna sit behind him and just watch him do his thing and learn as much as I can behind him,” Lockhart told Eleven Warriors in regards to Hancock returning. “Just soak up everything I can from him, (secondary coach Tim Walton), everybody else.”

He won't likely receive significant playing time on defense as a freshman, but he could fill out the three-deep in the slot, behind Hancock and Lorenzo Styles Jr. Jermaine Mathews Jr. might be more likely to see play significant snaps in the slot this year than Lockhart, though.

LONG-TERM IMPACT​

Hancock is entering his senior year at Ohio State, so the Buckeyes will have a new slot cornerback a year from now. While Styles will likely be the frontrunner to take over the starting job next season, Lockhart can put himself in the mix for playing time with a good first year of development.

That said, Lockhart will face plenty of competition to get on the field throughout his Ohio State career. In addition to Mathews, Calvin Simpson-Hunt, Scott and West all set to vie for starting jobs next year, Ohio State is set to bring in at least two five-star cornerbacks in the 2025 class with Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Offord both committed to the Buckeyes.

Lockhart isn’t one to back away from competition, though.

“I'm gonna give them my all from start to finish,” Lockhart said. “They’re getting a competitor, for sure, and just a good person overall. Not just a football player, but somebody that's going to help the community and do everything that he can to help the team.”

Lockhart says his biggest goal for his Ohio State career is to help the Buckeyes get back to beating Michigan.

“That's the biggest thing for us, really. I mean, we can't lose to team up north, that’s the biggest game,” Lockhart said. “No other game matters, really. We can go undefeated and losing that game, it just feels like a failure to the season. So yeah, the team up north is the biggest game, we have to win that. And that's how you get to the Big Ten championship, that's how you get to the playoff. So that's something that we're taking very seriously. And that's not a game that we're gonna lose. We gotta get the Gold Pants every time.

“Guys always say that like, the guys that didn't grow up in Ohio don't understand the rivalry, but that's not something that I take lightly at all. I don't like that at school at all. We don't talk about that school, I don’t wear that color anymore. Like, that's part of me now. So all of our commits I feel like that are not from Ohio take it just as serious. Like, we talk about it all the time. That's not a school that we're going to lose to if it’s up to us.”

thanks.

NEW BEGINNINGS. Former Ohio State women's basketball standout Taylor Mikesell will continue her professional career in Munich, Germany, this summer after she signed a one-year contract with Gernika Bizkaia.

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The Indiana Fever selected Mikesell with a second-round pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2023 WNBA draft, but the team waived her that summer. Three weeks into the regular season, Mikesell signed with the Atlanta Dream and appeared in nine games. This past offseason, Mikesell earned a camp invite with the Los Angeles Sparks but did not make the final roster.

Why the defensive tackles are the key to the Ohio State football team's defense​

The Ohio State football team is going to have one of the best defenses in the country this season. The defensive tackles are the key to it.



The Ohio State football team is supposed to have one of the best defenses in the country this season. Last year, they were elite as well. Not only did they have the second-best scoring defense in the country, but they also had the best pass defense in the country.

The only part of the defense that wasn't as good was the run defense. They allowed 112.5 yards per game on the ground, which was the 23rd-best mark in the country. That's not bad, but it's not elite like the other numbers they put up. They also allowed the third-fewest total yards.

That's why the defensive tackles are going to be the key to the defense this season. Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton are back up front. They combined for five sacks last season and Williams in particular showed some burst up the middle on passing downs.

Those two defensive tackles will be tasked with plugging up the middle on run plays. If they can do that better than the Ohio State football team did last year, those rush yards per game totals will go down. Teams are already going to be afraid to throw the ball against them because of how good the secondary is.

Ohio State knows that they will be a defensive team again this season. Defense is how they won most of their games a year ago because the offense didn't have a consistently explosive pass game. They won't again this season, but it will be a little bit better in that regard.

Jim Knowles has transformed this defense into a powerhouse unit. Before he took over, big plays were given up at an alarming clip. That was an issue in his first season as defensive coordinator too. Since then, they've been very good at that. This team's defense is going to be brutally tough to beat.
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AKAK said:

Failed coup in Bolivia today.

Which sucks.

Or maybe it doesn't, how the hell should I know?

Bet the Scotch is cheap tho

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I've disavowed anything I said on August 22 2007.

AKAK said:

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Saw this one in the theaters too

FORMER OHIO STATE SWIMMER HUNTER ARMSTRONG OVERCOMES YEAR OF MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES, HEARTBREAK AND SEMIFINAL SLIP TO QUALIFY FOR PARIS OLYMPICS​

Hunter Armstrong has always been a performer at heart. But outside the swimming pool – his grandest stage – he felt like he was drowning.

In June 2023, the man Armstrong followed out to California to train under, Matt Bowe, left Cal to become Michigan’s head swimming and diving coach. While Armstrong understood the move was best for Bowe and his family and didn’t hold it against him, it still created a major personal hardship.

In July, just before the former Ohio State swimmer won his first world title in the 50-meter backstroke at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, his grandfather passed away. Then in February, three days before he left for the 2024 Worlds, he suffered the first real heartbreak of his life when his girlfriend broke up with him unexpectedly.

“After I got back from Worlds, I was missing a lot of practices. I would sleep – I think the most I slept during that little time period was 20 hours – but I’d average 16 to 18. I didn’t leave my bed really. I maybe would go to practice, but I’d wake up and DoorDash food and stay in my room and try to watch movies, because that was really the only thing that I knew could distract me.”

It took a lot of support and self-growth for the multi-talented Armstrong to pull himself back above water, seek the help he needed and cap it all off by qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games – his second Olympiad – in both the 100-meter back and as part of Team USA’s 100-meter freestyle relay team.

“My coaches and teammates noticed that,” Armstrong said. “I wasn’t going to tell them that I got broken up with. I’m very much of the handle your own business (mindset). But it became clear that I wasn’t able to handle it anymore. And so my friends and teammates and my coaches stepped in and they really helped me get back to it. So that's why it was such an accomplishment for me to make the (Olympic) team because for five months, I maybe trained two of them.”

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A gold medalist as part of Team USA’s 100-meter medley relay team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the array of interests pursued by Armstrong is signified strongest by his nickname in the swimming world, “Magic Man.”

Since childhood, he’s practiced magic. The moment that sparked his interest was a long drive to a swim meet.

“I was little, but one of my buddies was in the car with me and like, ‘Hey, want to see a magic trick?’ (I responded) ‘Um, sure,’” Armstrong said. “It was super cheesy, exactly what you’d expect from a 6 or 7-year-old. I really thought that was cool, and I got on YouTube, and I started learning some and I realized that it’s actually really fun. So I just stuck with it.”

While he wants to stay in close-up magic, he said that cards are “elementary” when it comes to the art and wants to expand his horizons. He’s been working with rings and other items people keep on themselves as well as mentalism.

Musical theatre is another of his passions. He starred in multiple plays while in high school. Acting is something he hopes to pursue after his swimming career is over, and he’s already made friends with an accomplished actor at the highest level of show tunes, Jordan Litz. Following the Olympics, Litz plans to take Armstrong backstage at a Broadway production. Armstrong also played a role in a commercial for FIGS, a medical wear company that is outfitting 250 American healthcare workers and volunteers in Paris.

“I’d love to get back into it,” Armstrong said. “I’ve made a lot of friends within Broadway. It was actually really cool, last time I was in New York I went to see 'Wicked,' which I’ve seen probably six times now, but my sister-in-law had never seen a Broadway show. ... The lead Fiyero (played by Litz) came out, and the dude was massive. Like, there’s no way this is just a normal theatre guy. Then, turns out, he actually swam at Olympic trials in 2012. He was a college swimmer. So I made friends with him.”

All his interests fell dull in the wake of his struggles over the past year, however. The end of his relationship brought all the pain to a head.

“I lost a lot of people that I loved and that heartbreak, I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Armstrong said. “That was my first real relationship. I had a proposal planned out, I was already preordering the ring. Like, I was certain that I was going to marry this girl, and I quickly watched it all crumble.”

It took a weightlifting incident at the Olympic Training Center for Armstrong to realize just how big of a rut he was in.

“It was our national team camp and so we all went out to Colorado Springs and I was training the best I ever trained,” Armstrong said. “I thought I was using the negative emotions to sort of fuel myself. So I went into the weight room and added like 150 pounds to my squat and hurt myself. That's when I realized I wasn't actually in control of my emotions.”

"I HAD A PROPOSAL PLANNED OUT, I WAS ALREADY PREORDERING THE RING. LIKE, I WAS CERTAIN THAT I WAS GOING TO MARRY THIS GIRL AND I QUICKLY WATCHED IT ALL CRUMBLE."
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ORD_Buckeye said:

Yeah, I don't know what the report I read that said 7th was thinking. No excuse for this, not even an off year in a few important sports should push us this far down. Given our history of top 5 finishes, AD budget and number of sports, anything outside the top 5 is a complete failure.

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I think any finish out of the Top 10 is unacceptable.

The "Tier" level of support for certain sports (the financial plan going forward) probably won't help our finishes (in the Directors' Cup).

pnuts34 said:

It’s going to be very VERY difficult to convince a 2026 QB come into the class when he may not see the field for 3- 4yrs with Sayin AND TSC in front of him. You can have all the confidence in the world, but common sense sets in, and TSC has arguably been the hottest ‘25 prospect in the country for the past few months. They may be better off just getting a transfer for ‘26

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Exactly. Plus its the '26 class and there is a lot of time. Sayin/Noland/TSC...I would find another home, that is a crowded QB room but a situation you want as an OSU fan. No reason to worry about QB recruiting at all right now.