Ohio State should be in the College Football Playoff next season
Harry Lyles Jr. via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


If the Buckeyes make necessary adjustments and get production from certain players, 2017 should be fun.

“For Ohio State to reach its potential and be part of the CFP final four, these five things must happen.”

- Joey Johnston, FanRag Sports


We’re not talking the simple “win out” here. Johnston lists five things we must see out of the Buckeyes on the field for them to get back to the playoff. None of these factors are groundbreaking by any means, but are good reminders of what the Buckeyes have been, and what they need to be in 2017.

The five things are J.T. Barrett succeeding in the passing game, Mike Weber following up his freshman season, starting quickly, winning on the road, and retooling where necessary. The first two are things we can all assume off the top of our heads. The other three are where things are a little more complex.

The season opens at Indiana on a Thursday night. The past two seasons have proven that the Indiana game could be tricky for the Bucks. That could very well be different with Kevin Wilson on the Buckeyes sideline now. That also is in relation to winning on the road, where the Buckeyes have some challenging games at Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan. Yet perhaps those games won’t be so tough, if they reload at defensive back to a similar if not equal level that Marshon Lattimore, Malik Hooker, and Gareon Conley played at in 2016.

“Here is a look at Ohio State’s 2017 schedule.”

- Tom Dienhart, BTN.com


We’re slowly but surely getting closer to the 2017 college football season. For now, we have time to look at, and over analyze everything. One thing that isn’t so tough to decipher is the schedule, and what it’s going to mean for Ohio State’s season. Dienhart broke it down for BTN, taking a look at the toughest non-conference game, the toughest conference game, the easiest game, and other items of note.

Of course, the toughest non-conference game and biggest opportunity for Ohio State to be upset comes when the Oklahoma Sooners make the trip to Columbus. We’ll all be hoping that one goes similarly to the one last year that produced Noah Brown’s breathtaking catch.

The Bucks’ visit to Michigan is unsurprisingly the toughest conference game. Ohio State will also have a pair of could-be tricky games at Nebraska and at Iowa. Luckily for the Buckeyes, they won’t play Wisconsin or Northwestern this season, who are expected to contend in the Big Ten West. Army’s visit to Columbus is expected to be the easiest things will get this fall.

“1. Oklahoma Sooners at Ohio State Buckeyes, Sept. 9”

- Chris Low and Adam Rittenberg, ESPN


ESPN ranked the 10 college football games with the highest stakes going into next season. The one most of us are looking forward to on the schedule just so happened to be No. 1 on their list — Oklahoma vs. Ohio State.

The game means a lot for both teams. Sure, a win would go a long way in helping that team make the College Football Playoff, but it’ll be an early test to help set the pace moving forward. Ohio State looked good in last season’s matchup offensively, but it didn’t resonate through the rest of the season. This time around, the game is at home, so a lesser performance might be a red flag for Ohio State, if it comes down to that.

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Kevin Wilson’s contract at Ohio State is worth $1.4 million
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The contract details for all of Ohio State’s new assistants are out.

Land-Grant Holy Land has obtained the details of new Ohio State football offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson’s two-year contract with the university.

The former Indiana head coach’s base salary will start at $650,000 for the 2017 season, and will then increase to $750,000 beginning on February 1st, 2018. Additionally, Wilson will receive an 8.5% bonus if the team wins a Big Ten East title, and another 4.25% bonus if they will the Big Ten championship game.

The contract also includes bonuses for College Football Playoff appearances and victories.

Following Wilson’s unceremonious firing at Indiana that involved accusations of player mistreatment, a stipulation of his agreement with Ohio State requires that he “shall perform his duties and personally comport himself at all times in a manner consistent with good sportsmanship and with the high moral, ethical and academic standards of Ohio State and its Department of Athletics.”

Cleveland.com obtained the contracts for Ohio State’s other new assistant coaches. New QB coach Ryan Day will make $1.2 million over a two year deal, ($400,000 to $800,000 in year two), and new LB coach Bill Davis will make $500,000 on a one yer contract, per Cleveland.com.

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This is considered "expert" trolling? Yeah.....it takes a lot of creativity to come up with playing Michigan's fight song in Columbus. What's next....going to a Yankee game and saying Go Sawx?

BH: Mike on a mission | Pryor engagement - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


BH: Mike on a mission | Pryor engagement
247Sports
But with the Buckeyes offering, Oweh now says OSU is in his top two with the Nittany Lions. And in speaking to his head coach, it seems like Ohio State could definitely be the landing spot for the freak athlete. "Coach Johnson is a great coach, but an ...


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The wildly pessimistic case for Ohio State basketball next season
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Here’s how everything could go wrong.

Earlier this week, we wrote the wildly optimistic case for Ohio State basketball this season. You might have to squint, especially during this run of bad news, but there is still a path for the Buckeyes to improve, make the NCAA Tournament, and turn the program back towards the regular Big Ten title contention we’ve come to expect. It’s a narrow path, but it does exist.

But this website is fair and balanced, and we have to admit, there’s also a path where the wheels absolutely fall off for the Buckeyes. And we should probably talk about that too.

This roster has zero depth right now


Thanks to attrition and transfers, right now, Ohio State has the roster of a basketball program under NCAA sanctions. There are exactly two centers on the roster for next season, a true sophomore and a true freshman, and the sophomore is probably a better fit as a stretch four anyway. There are two point guards, C.J. Jackson, and Braxton Beverly, a true freshman who the Buckeyes flipped from the MAC. Even the walk-ons are leaving. Right now, the Buckeyes have just 10 players on their roster. These are problems.

It’s possible Ohio State can patch some of these roster holes with graduate transfers, but the window to add players is closing, and the possibility that Ohio State will head into next season with a drastically thin roster is increasing. That might end up working out, but if players get injured, or even if they get into foul trouble (something that’s probably likely with a big man rotation of Micah Potter and Kaleb Wesson), the Buckeyes could really struggle. And if a point guard or big man gets injured and has to miss appreciable amounts of time, things could get even worse.

Ohio State’s best player is coming off a serious injury


To make matters worse, there is no way the Buckeyes make the NCAA Tournament, and probably not even the NIT, unless Keita Bates-Diop has a big season. KBD brings a ton of important skills to the table for the Buckeyes. He can shoot. He can defend multiple positions. He has experience, and is a team leader.

But he also missed almost all of last season with a stress fracture, and he struggled with other injuries even before that (he missed five games in November). Plus, when he was on the court, his shooting lagged (he hit only 20% from three), and other production dipped.

If he’s healthy, KBD is capable of performing at an All-Big Ten caliber. But he’ll need to do more than just lock up opposing wings. He’s going to need to shoot and score, and based on (admittedly small sample size of) last season, the extent that he’ll be able to do that over the course of an entire year just isn’t known. If he can to do it? Awesome. And if he can’t do it...well...

Just who is going to score, exactly?


Thad Matta’s best teams have thrived on a defense-first mindset, and Big Ten games often devolve into grindfests, but as Uncle Drew taught us, the game has always been about buckets. Ohio State won’t win games if they can’t get buckets, and without Thompson, Loving or Lyle, who exactly is getting those buckets is not clear.

C.J. Jackson’s three point shooting improved dramatically near the end of last season, but over the course of the season, he still only shot 32% from downtown, and he can’t get to the basket and create his own shot like Lyle. Jae’Sean Tate plays hard, is super fun, and has improved every year, and he’ll probably lead the team in scoring, but he also can’t space the flour, and hey, he’s still 6-4. Micah Potter can splash threes, but he’ll need to learn to defend well enough to stay on the court. Kam Williams is very streaky. Kaleb Wesson is a freshman.

When you don’t have clearly defined scorer roles, that means you’re relying on scoring by committee. That can work, but it means that you can’t afford an off-night by nearly anybody on the roster. And with the Buckeyes counting heavily on either role players with defined flaws, or underclassmen, that’s a very risky plan.

Oh yeah, this schedule is hard


We don’t know Ohio State’s full schedule yet, including the Big Ten slate, but we know enough to know it won’t be easy. The Buckeyes have to play the defending national champs (UNC) in New Orleans. They’ll play in a massive non-conference tournament that will feature at least two games against brand-name teams. They’ll face a Big Ten gauntlet with a vastly improved Illinois squad, a Penn State team that returns a ton of big name recruits, Minnesota and Northwestern squads that could compete for Big Ten titles, and oh yeah, the usual suspects like Michigan State, Wisconsin, Maryland, etc.

In mid-May, it’s hard to point to many teams in the Big Ten who project to be much worse than they were last year. Every game is going to be a battle.

Now, that means there’ll be plenty of RPI points to be had, but it also means that if there are injuries, or if the young players are not mentally strong, then little slumps can become big slumps in a hurry.

This is a pivotal season for Ohio State basketball. With a few roster additions, the future might look a little rosier, and it’s still possible for the Buckeyes to start their rebuilding effort in a big way. But that path is very narrow, and if just a few things go wrong, things could get ugly in a hurry.

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WATCH: Ohio State QB Dwayne Haskins predicted his Buckeye commitment 9 years ago - Landof10.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


WATCH: Ohio State QB Dwayne Haskins predicted his Buckeye commitment 9 years ago
Landof10.com
On May 17, 2008, Dwayne Haskins visited Ohio State. Then 10 years old, Haskins made a prediction: “I'm going to college here.” Haskins is now on the Ohio State roster as a redshirt freshman quarterback, and the Buckeyes shared Haskins' home video on ...

and more »

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2017 football schedule analysis: Ohio State Buckeyes - Big Ten Network
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


2017 football schedule analysis: Ohio State Buckeyes
Big Ten Network
But the Buckeyes want more in 2017. OSU didn't win the Big Ten last year. Heck, the Buckeyes didn't even win the East Division. But Ohio State still landed a playoff berth—and then got embarrassed by Clemson. The Buckeyes are looking to forget that ...
BM5: Gant a HR recruit for Buckeyes | Mitchell to FSU?247Sports
5 things the Buckeyes need to make College Football PlayoffFanRag Sports (blog)
Barfknecht: At Ohio State, semifinal loss calls for change; new hire Wilson could energize relentless Buckeyes' offenseOmaha World-Herald
Landof10.com -Eleven Warriors
all 21 news articles »

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Sooners Set for Sweet 16 Match With Buckeyes - Soonersports.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Sooners Set for Sweet 16 Match With Buckeyes
Soonersports.com
With just three losses on the year, OSU ran through the Big 10 Championship en route to the conference title. The Buckeyes boast a pair of top-10 singles players and a pair of top-30 doubles tandems as well. Ohio State has won its last 15 matches ...


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2017 football schedule analysis: Ohio State Buckeyes
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Ohio State made the playoff for the second time in three years last season. But the Buckeyes want more in 2017. OSU didn’t win the Big Ten last year. Heck, the Buckeyes didn’t even win the East Division. But Ohio State still landed a playoff berth—and then got embarrassed by Clemson.

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OK, back to my mission. I headed south to St. Lo and what did I find but a prosperous river city and a helpful tourist bureau guide who didn't believe me when I told her what a frightful battle took place right here. That's because St. Lo isn't the real location - it was simply the nearest city to connect with what took place in cow pastures, farm fields and orchards about 12 kilks (kilometers) away.

She did, however, know of a museum that I might like, but she'd have to get on the phone and see if the proprietor would open it up. "I don't know what will happen," she warned, "he speaks very little English."

I imagine Kathy cringing, knowing that I will pull up to the place and begin using my French - I took one year and got a D the first semester and an F the second. I'd have gotten a second D, but I was thrown out of school for 3 days - but I'm getting away from my story.

So back in the car and fire up the GPS. Find the burg of Marigny

Turns out that Marigny is named for Pere Marigny and is therefor something like Madison, or Franklin, in America, there's a Marigny in every bureau in France. I finally pick one that sounds right and sally forth.

I picked the right one and there it is: a museum to honor a battle of hundreds of thousands on both sides, the fate of France and Europe hanging in the balance, the battle that sets the American army free to roll - and it's a garage.

There you go, Uncle Bobby, your 15 minutes of fame rests in a curio shop of bits of this and that and photos.

The owner, Eugene Lemerre, is four years older than me, so a really old dude. He lived through the occupation, the aerial bombardment, and the battle He spoke slightly more English than I speak French, but we got along. (Poor Miz Mary Belle Warren, my French teacher. She'd either be amazed at what I remembered and could cobble together into something that seemed to make sense, or horrified by the damage I did to "la belle language.'). Lemerre has been introduced to General Huebner (RIP), who was the CG of the First Infantry Division at St. Lo . Lemerre is also a great admirer of General LeClerc, the French general who worked while DeGaulle postured and played politics. (and who also took off for Paris on his own, sending a giant "Phouck Vous" to Patton and Eisenhower who needed his troops at Falaise.)

He then gave me directions to a cemetery just three kliks away. It was set up by the US Army's graves registration unit immediately after the battle and began burying the American and German dead. At the end of the war, the American bodies were exhumed, most sent back to the states and the rest buried at Omaha beach cemetery. The German bodies remained. Later other, smaller, German cemeteries exhumed remains and sent them to this and other cemeteries.

The cemetery is reached by a narrow gravel road and on the other side were the plowed fields of French farmers. Already sprouts were appearing in the fields where these men fought so fiercely.

So there you have it, Uncle Bobby. Your baptism of fire remembered and kept alive by a tiny, silver-haired man in the little French town of Marigny, a town too small to have a battle named after it.

5 things the Buckeyes need to make College Football Playoff - FanRag Sports (blog)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


5 things the Buckeyes need to make College Football Playoff
FanRag Sports (blog)
And for a few — such as the Ohio State Buckeyes — it's an expectation, a notch on the to-do list, an anticipated destination. The 2017 season is no different. It wouldn't be a shock if the Buckeyes run through their schedule unbeaten, earning a spot ...
Ten college football games with the highest stakes in 2017ESPN

all 2 news articles »

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Pierre Dorion a Finalist for ‘NHL GM of the Year’
T6S via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



Yesterday it was announced that Senators general manager Pierre Dorion garnered enough support from his peers to be named as one of the finalists for the ‘GM of the Year’ award.

According to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, “voting for the award was done by the league GMs, a panel of executives along with print and broadcast media at the end of the second round of the playoffs.”

Given the timeline and the Senators successfully reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2007, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise to see that the three finalists for the award – David Poile, Peter Chiarelli and Dorion – manage teams that went deeper into the postseason than many forecasted.

Considering the kind of trades that are made each and every year in the NHL, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that recency bias plays such a big role in how general managers vote for their peers.

In all truth and with no disrespect to Dorion, the ‘GM of the Year’ award is a pretty fucking goofy award. I mean, seriously, how bad does an award have to be for Mike Gillis to win it back in 2010-11?

It a profession where you should never look at player transactions or moves exclusively through the prism of a one-year timeframe or ignore the fact that team success is the culmination of a series of events over a long period of time, the ‘GM of the Year’ award essentially falls to the same shortcomings as the Jack Adams Award. It rarely goes to the best GM, but often to the GM whose team exceeds expectations.

Is Peter Chiarelli really a good GM because he walked into a job where Connor McDavid fell into his lap? His biggest splashes within the last year – the Taylor Hall/Adam Larsson deal and the Milan Lucic signing — are indefensible and have essentially been panned.

David Poile’s case is a little different because he’s been the GM of the Nashville Predators since the formation of the expansion franchise in 1998. He has been the only architect of this small-market team and unlike his peers, the product and every player who is on the ice – including last summer’s deft decision to send Shea Weber to Montreal for P.K. Subban – is the result of years’ worth of work. And even if we laud Poile for the Subban deal,

For Pierre Dorion, he’s been one of the league’s most active GMs in terms of transactions since he supplanted Bryan Murray as the Senators’ GM last April.

None of his personnel moves have been particularly splashy – which is why his decision to hire Guy Boucher and let him implement his infamous 1-3-1 system have received a ton of fanfare and praise.

His first big trade allowed him flip a third round pick with the 12th overall selection to move up one spot at the 2016 NHL Draft and select Logan Brown.

He followed that up by trading Mika Zibanejad and a second round pick to acquire an experienced and cost-controlled second line centre in Derick Brassard. Neither player enjoyed the regular season that they were hoping for.

After a torrid start, Zibanejad’s season was derailed after he suffered a broken tibia. Despite some strong underlying possession numbers that probably warranted more production than he was responsible for, Brassard only tallied 14 goals and 39 points in his first full season in Ottawa. (As an aside, the weird thing that is despite some improved point production in the playoffs, Brassard’s five-on-five points/60 rate stat has plummeted from 1.47 during the regular season to 1.06. Hopefully this turns around soon.)

In free agency, Dorion added Tom Pyatt and Chris Kelly to add some depth and experience to the team’s bottom-six.

In terms of his best value deal, Dorion added Mike Condon to the goaltending mix when Andrew Hammond was felled by a lower-body injury early in the season. The depth paid dividends not just in Condon’s performance, but because Hammond had a Pascal Leclaire’esque season in which he couldn’t escape the injured reserve for any prolonged length of time.

Coupled with Craig Anderson’s prolonged absence because of his desire to spend time with his wife Nicholle during her cancer treatments, it’s fair to reason that Senators would have missed the postseason without Condon’s 40 games played. Any below-replacement value from the Senators this season would have sunk their chances.

At the trade deadline, Dorion’s decision to bring in Viktor Stalberg for a third-round pick and Alex Burrows for Jonathan Dahlen have been okay. Neither player has really excelled or taken their game to another level since arriving in Ottawa and yes, there’s definitely, definitely, definitely something to say about the massive overpay for Burrows given his contributions and the cost of relative depth pieces that were moved at the deadline, but their addition to roster has relegated shittier players to the press box.

The contributions of both players may leave something to be desired, but Like Mark Borowiecki’s injury in the postseason opened the door to better alternatives, getting lesser players like Chris Kelly and Chris Neil out of the lineup as regulars is important.

Does this body of work warrant a nomination?

Meh.

It’s going to take years to assess the impact of Dorion’s moves, but considering that he’s not only in charge of running the league’s smallest hockey operations department, but has to do so while working within the slimmest of margins under an owner who loves the limelight and has a reputation for being meddlesome, the challenges that Dorion has to endure are pretty significant.

I don’t envy the circumstances under which he has to work.

Maybe he does deserve it after all?



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JCOSU86 said:

Bucks beat Toledo, somehow finish with a winning record vs the MAC

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/051617aaa.html

OLUMBUS, Ohio – Fifth-year seniors Zach Ratcliff and Shea Murray both homered as the Ohio State baseball team won, 11-8, against Toledo Tuesday night at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 21-32 overall, while the Rockets fall to 15-37 in 2017.

ROCKETS SCORE FIRST
Toledo chalked the first run in top of the first vs. right-handed starter Jake Vance. A RBI double by Dalton Bollinger scored Riley Campbell. It was Bollinger’s team-high 18th double of the year.

TOLEDO ERROR PUSHES TWO OSU RUNS HOME
With Conner Pohl on second and Zach Ratcliff on third, a ground ball was hit by Shea Murray to second base. The throw to first was offline and allowed both runners to cross the dish. Ratcliff led off the inning with his eighth double of the season and Pohl walked. A balk by UT starter Joey Prechtel put both in scoring position.

continued...

Click to expand...

finished the year 4-2 vs the MAC....wooooooooooooooooooooo

Ohio State sends out a flurry of offers to Florida prospects
Austin Kemp via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


2019, 2020 prospects pick up Buckeye offers.

An offer to another Sunshine State star...


Ohio State sent out an offer to 2019 outside linebacker Ge’Mon Eaford (Deerfield Beach, FL /Deerfield Beach) on Tuesday. Last year, Eaford had a productive sophomore season, which ended up running his offer total to 27. He’s a four-star prospect, according to 247Sports, and the No.16 rated linebacker in the country.


Ohio State will have its work cut out in this battle, as it always is, when dealing with another highly ranked recruit out of Florida. Though this recruitment is still very new, the top challengers seem to be Alabama, Michigan, Florida and Florida State. At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Eaford can play in space and is also a force coming off the edge in passing situations.

Look for his stock to continue to rise as he continues to get older.

...And another offer to a Sunshine State star


Staying in Florida, the Buckeyes also offered class of 2020 prospect Marcus Dumervil out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Ohio State has built a nice little pipeline with St. Thomas Aquinas over the years and they will look for Dumervil to be another piece. At 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, Dumervil is already a space-eater after his freshman season.

As he continues to mature, he will develop into the coveted defensive tackle that Ohio State chases every year. Coming into today Dumervil had just one offer, however, it’s likely that a ton of schools haven’t evaluated thoroughly just yet because of his age. Look for Dumervil to be one of the top prospects in the state by the time his junior and senior years roll around.

And one more for good measure


The offers didn’t stop with the previous two. Ohio State also made a move and offered fellow St. Thomas Aquinas star Marcus Rosemy. Again, like Dumervil, Rosemy is a class of 2020 prospect who is just getting his feet wet in this process. In addition to the Ohio State offer, Rosemy has also been offered by Cincinnati, Illinois, Pittsburgh and South Florida. Rosemary should be one of the top wide receivers in his class when it’s all said and done. Both of these recruitments have years to go, but it good that the Buckeyes have gotten involved this early. That alone should tell you that these are big-time prospects to watch going forward.

QUICK HITS:

• Outside linebacker Dallas Gant committed to Ohio State. Read the full update here.

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Ohio State-Toledo 2017 final score: Buckeye baseball slugs its way to 11-8 win - Land-Grant Holy Land
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State-Toledo 2017 final score: Buckeye baseball slugs its way to 11-8 win
Land-Grant Holy Land
At the very least, Ohio State baseball has stayed true to form to the very end of the season. Watching a commanding late-game lead disappear against Toledo at Bill Davis Stadium on Tuesday night, the Buckeyes were forced to scratch and claw their way ...


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Ohio State Football: Buckeyes in the CFL - Scarlet and Game
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State Football: Buckeyes in the CFL
Scarlet and Game
We have entered a dead period where we sit and wait for the NFL and college seasons to begin. But before those seasons get rolling, don't forget to follow the football played up north. In June, the Canadian Football League beings its first week of ...

and more »

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Former Buckeyes' star Clarett shares message of hope with Mansfield audience - Richland Source
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Former Buckeyes' star Clarett shares message of hope with Mansfield audience
Richland Source
MANSFIELD – Former Ohio State University running back Maurice Clarett shared a message of hope with Healing Hearts Counseling Center clients and staff on Tuesday. Clarett was in town letting them know that “they too can overcome their addiction and ...


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Ohio State-Toledo 2017 final score: Buckeye baseball slugs its way to 11-8 win
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Big contributions from Zach Ratcliff and Shea Murray propelled the Buckeyes to the victory.

At the very least, Ohio State baseball has stayed true to form to the very end of the season. Watching a commanding late-game lead disappear against Toledo at Bill Davis Stadium on Tuesday night, the Buckeyes were forced to scratch and claw their way to an 11-8 victory.

After a four-run seventh inning by the Rockets tied the game at 8-8, a Bo Coolen pinch hit RBI triple in the bottom half of the frame scored Shea Murray to deliver the game-winner.

Joe Stoll and Thomas Waning made the lead stand up over the final two innings, working around traffic on the bases to secure the win. Waning rolled two double plays in his 1.2 innings, earning the first save of his career.

Ohio State finishes the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 4-2 record against MAC opponents, and a 14-18 record overall outside the Big Ten. The overall record now stands at 21-32.

With their respective careers winding down, seniors Murray and Zach Ratcliff continued their recent hot streaks at the plate. Both players had two hits, including a home run, two runs scored, and three runs batted in.


Freshmen Dominic Canzone, Noah West, and Connor Pohl showed why the future for the scarlet and gray may be brighter than the 2017 campaign would lead one to believe, combining for three hits, four runs scored, and an RBI. Junior Tre’ Gantt also drove in two runs, reached base safely four times, and stole three bases.

A Toledo team that entered the ballgame hitting just .246 as a team and averaging fewer than five runs per game, took advantage of a Buckeye pitching staff that has struggled all year long. The Buckeyes utilized four pitchers total on the night, with freshman Jake Vance making the start and giving up four runs on six hits in four innings of work.

Austin Woodby relieved Vance and needed just 13 pitches to record his first six outs and set down the first seven he faced before the wheels came off. Protecting a four-run lead, he yielded a sacrifice fly and three-run home run in the seventh to allow Toledo to tie things up.

The Rockets struck early, putting Riley Campbell into scoring position in the top of the first by way of a hit by pitch and a passed ball, and scoring him on a Dalton Bollinger bullet double into the left-center gap.

Ohio State grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second, scoring a pair of runs. Ratcliff led off with a double down the left field line, Pohl walked, and both moved up a base thanks to a balk by Toledo pitcher Joey Prechtel. Murray followed by hitting a ground ball to second baseman Casey Gose, who made a low throw wide of first, allowing Ratcliff and Pohl to score.

But Vance ran into trouble in the fourth, yielding three runs and the lead. Three straight singles to lead off the inning brought home the first, a squeeze bunt the second, and a fourth single the third before a 6-4-3 double play ended the threat.

The Buckeyes came right back and tied the game in the home half of the frame, though, with Murray smoking his third homer of the season with Pohl aboard.


They weren’t finished, either, loading the bases on a West single, a Gantt walk, and a Jalen Washington hit by pitch. Canzone then walked on four pitches against Rockets’ reliever Austin Calopietro, forcing in West for a 5-4 lead.

In the sixth, Ratcliff delivered his team-leading seventh longball of the year, a three run shot with two outs that extended the advantage to 8-4.

After setting down seven in a row, Woodby had issues in the seventh, loading the bases with one out. A sacrifice fly by A.J. Montoya trimmed the deficit to three, and a three-run bomb by Ross Adolph knotted the game.

In the bottom half of the inning, though, Murray led off with a single against Toledo reliever Casey Johnson before Coolen sent a fly ball to center that was badly misjudged and went for a triple. He would score on a Gantt RBI single, pushing the lead back out to two.

The Buckeyes’ tacked on an insurance run in the eighth after a pair of walks by Pohl and Murray to start the inning, a West sacrifice bunt, and a Gantt line drive single off pitcher Jordan Kesson’s leg.

Ohio State wraps up its season with a three-game home series against Indiana beginning on Thursday evening. The Buckeyes haven’t been mathematically eliminated from the Big Ten tournament, though their magic number is down to one.

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Recruiting Spotlight: Dallas Gant
Richard Tongohan via our good friends at Men of the Scarlet and Gray
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here





Dallas Gant, an Outside Linebacker prospect from Ohio, just made it official as he is now a part of the Ohio State Class of 2018. Another top tier and highly sought after recruit, Gant will now add to another stellar recruiting haul under Urban Meyer. Gant brings more than just star power to this class, he is another recruit that is talking to prospective Buckeye targets to join their squad and be great. He will most likely focus on recruiting other and getting bigger, faster and stronger before setting foot on campus. Gant is a rangy, hard-hitting Linebacker that fits the Darron Lee mold. Always around the ball and aggressive, and he will attempt to get another stud to play alongside him, namely Teradja Mitchell, who is expected to announce next month.




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Urban Meyer is 'very disappointed' in number of O-line misses - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Urban Meyer is 'very disappointed' in number of O-line misses
247Sports
While not taking anything away from the work Jordan put in to earn the left guard spot, there's a reason no Buckeye true freshman lineman had started from the season opener since the legendary Orlando Pace in 1994. "True freshmen should not play here," ...


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Watch: Buckeyes winning TD vs. Michigan gets creative recreation - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Watch: Buckeyes winning TD vs. Michigan gets creative recreation
247Sports
On Tuesday, Armstrong took a break from making NBA stars look silly to stop by the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and imitate former Ohio State H-Back Curtis Samuel and Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer. He specifically targeted Samuel's now famous (or ...
NBA impersonator Brandon Armstrong visits Ohio State football, recreates win over Michigancleveland.com

all 4 news articles »

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Watch @BdotAdot5 impersonate Curtis Samuel, Urban Meyer vs. Michigan
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

Brandon Armstrong delights fans with his NBA player impersonations. Armstrong (@BdotAdot5) recently brought his impersonation skills to the gridiron - more specifically Ohio State.

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Could losing JaQuan Lyle be addition by subtraction for Ohio State basketball?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Buckeye hoops fans are looking for any reason to be hopeful about the coming season.

“Addition by subtraction only works when the solution results in a net positive. Subtract Lyle and Loving from an Ohio State roster already light on talent and the Buckeyes are toying with a negative number.”

-Rob Oller, The Columbus Dispatch


Anyone who went along on the roller-coaster ride that was the 2016-2017 Ohio State men’s basketball season knows that it was a classic case of unrealized potential on both a micro and a macro level. Players showed signs of what they could do individually, but were never able to maintain their highest levels of play. In kind, eight of the team’s 15 losses on the season were by two or fewer possessions; a painful reminder of what might have been.

That is likely the reason that Rob Oller and Land-Grant’s own Matt Brown have at least a modicum of optimism about this fall’s squad. However, it cannot be denied that losing JaQuan Lyle, who was the team’s third leading scorer (11.4 points per game), is a bad thing on the court, but it is perhaps even more damaging to the team in a larger sense.

Failing to make the NCAA tournament two years in a row is bad enough for a program as successful and affluent as Ohio State, but when you begin to add in all of the drama that has surrounded the team in recent years (most notably the entire 2015 recruiting class transferring in less than a year and a half), and things don’t look good for head coach Thad Matta.

In his article, Oller posits that perhaps rumors of Matta’s increased frustration with entitled players, buoyed by an AAU system that makes them feel like stars far before it is deserved, has led him to prefer to coach “hard-working players;” even if that means that the amount of wins that Buckeye fans became accustomed to early in his tenure are a thing of the past.

Will Matta’s scrappy group of go-getters win enough to inspire affection from the OSU faithful? Only time will tell, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt if Matta and company could find a way to add a little more talent to the incoming recruiting class.

“It also wouldn’t be surprising to see defensive end Chase Young make his way to the field. Young could be a terror on the edge for the Buckeyes as early as this season.”

-Dan Murphy and Tom VanHaaren, ESPN.com


When a team has 19 players drafted into the NFL over two seasons, and yet continues to be projected to finish at or near the top of both conference and national rankings, you have to expect that there is a fairly solid pipeline of players ready to step up when opportunities present themselves.

With three Buckeye defensive backs taken in the first round of the NFL draft last month, there will definitely be holes to fill on the back end of the OSU defense. So newcomers like five-star recruits Shaun Wade (cornerback) and Jeffrey Okudah (safety), and top junior college corner Kendall Sheffield will be battling to solidify OSU’s burgeoning reputation as DBU.

It’s not just the secondary looking to fill some holes, either. The Buckeyes lost talent all over the field over the last two seasons. Luckily, as mentioned above, monster talents like DE Chase Young are already looking primed to take their shot at the college level.

“You could've given the students playing softball 100 guesses, and they wouldn't have figured out who the trainer was. He's not another Buckeye football player. He's not a coach, or even a graduate assistant.”

-Bill Landis, cleveland.com


When ESPN can have a “quarterback guru” as part of its biggest college football program, you know that personalized training has hit the mainstream. However, how often do you hear about a college student training other college students?

Sure, college students coaching and training high school athletes is nothing new, but to see someone like Ohio State’s Austen Rankin forging a career and reputation training his peers, who just so happen to be vital parts of one of the biggest college football programs in the country, that says a lot about his talent, hustle, and future.

So apparently now OSU is not only the go-to school for football players looking to make it big, but football trainers as well.

“Jim Delany thinks cities like Detroit, Minneapolis and other cities ‘should aspire’ to bid on future Big Ten basketball tournaments. ”


-Adam Rittenberg, ESPN.com

Nationwide Arena has been the host of NCAA Tournaments numerous times before, so that seems like the logical locale if Columbus were to bid on the tournament. Not only is Ohio the heart of it all in terms of state slogan, but with the ever-expanding Big Ten footprint, it would make sense for a fairly central CBus to play host. (Though Indianapolis is even more central, and its downtown is perfectly constructed for events like this.)

With the rapid growth in the Arena District over the past 10-15 years, there would be plenty of places for fans to stay, eat, and celebrate before, during, and after the tournament if it were to come to Central Ohio.

Just please don’t let it end up in the Schott. We’ve got a reputation to maintain.

STICK TO SPORTS

• Pirates pirated “Pirates of the Caribbean 5” and are now demanding booty.
• Seth MacFarlane’s new “Star Trek” spoof is more “Spaceballs” than “Family Guy.”
• Tour all of the “Twin Peaks” shooting locations in and around Los Angeles.
• Summer book recommendations from the best independent book store owners.

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Buckeyes Land In-State Four-Star LB Dallas Gant - Scout
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes Land In-State Four-Star LB Dallas Gant
Scout
Ohio State picked up a huge commitment Tuesday afternoon when the Buckeyes landed four-star linebacker Dallas Gant, who announced his college choice at Toledo St. Johns High School. Gant, the number-ten ranked outside linebacker in America, chose ...
Penn State Recruiting: Can Nittany Lions steal 4-star LB Dallas Gant from front-runner Buckeyes?Landof10.com
Kurelic: Elite LB talks Buckeyes; rugged walk-on Buckeye247Sports
Buckeye Football Through the Eyes of a 2017 Graduate and an Incoming FreshmanEleven Warriors
BT Powerhouse (blog) -The Columbus Dispatch -The Detroit News
all 100 news articles »

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The Football Fever: Buckeyes get verbal commitment from 4-star Toledo linebacker - ABC6OnYourSide.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


The Football Fever: Buckeyes get verbal commitment from 4-star Toledo linebacker
ABC6OnYourSide.com
According to the Toledo Blade, if Gant signs with the Buckeyes, he will become the first player from a Toledo high school to sign with OSU since former Central Catholic safety Jayme Thompson in 2013. Former OSU offensive lineman Jack Mewhort, who is ...


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