OSUMG: Clark Engle/Will Grimmer Advance to 2nd Round of USGA Four-Ball
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


This is sort of Ohio State golf related; Buckeyes Clark Engle and Will Grimmer are participating in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. This is not a NCAA sponsored event, it is overseen by the United States Golf Association (USGA). This casts the net for qualified participants far wider than under NCAA aegis. This is top level competition.

The Men”s Four-Ball is held at historic Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, NY. The starting field consisted of 128 2-man teams that will be reduced to the low 32 teams, based upon 36 holes of stroke play. These 32 teams will then participate in match play to determine the champion. The four-ball format is:


This match play format is common in local club matches as well as prestigious international competition, such as The Ryder Cup and The Solheim Cup, for examples. I’ve played in quite a few four-ball events, and they are fun, challenging and turns very quickly into a chess-match. I actually prefer this format to stroke play..

Stroke Play


Clark and Will got off to a hot start (always a good thing) with a round of 65 (-5), which placed them within the top ten after the first round. In Sunday’s 2nd round, the Buckeye duo shot an even par 70, which placed them well inside the top 32 teams, seeding them in 17th place.

Mission accomplished: Clark and Will are comfortably in the playoff bracket and can continue their week.



Match Play (Round of 32)


Clark/Will faced off against the 16th seeded side of Mason Glinksi/Jacob Johnson in the first round of match play. The California teenagers are solid players (and play in a golf-friendly area) but Clark/Will bring experience against top level competition.

Clark/Will got off to a quick start, being 3-up after 6 holes. They ended the front 9 holding a 2-up lead. So far, so good. Through 5 holes on the back 9, Clark/Will won a hole while halving (tieing) 4 holes to hold a 3-up lead with 4 holes to go.

At this point, the match is pretty well in hand. All that Clark/Will need to do at this point is to halve two holes to move on to the round of sixteen. The teams halve #15 and Glinski/Johnson win #16. Clark/Will are now dormie 2, which means they are many holes ahead as there are to play. Their opponents must win the remaining holes.

Clark/Will match pars with Glinski/Johnson on #17 and close out the match with a 2-1 win. Clark/Will played this match perfectly. A team needs to jump out to an early lead to establish control, and the Buckeyes did, holding a 3-up lead after 6 holes. This forces your opponents into trying to “force” birdies, which makes them play differently then they probably ordinarily would. Remember, your team has the lead; all that your team needs to do at this point is make pars. Make them chase you; if you’ve already established an early lead, chances are your opponents, barring fortunate bounces, aren’t capable of making enough birdies to overtake you.

Through the 17 hole match, Clark/Will were -7 to par, their opponents -3. Congratulations to Clark and Will.

Their next match is Tuesday morning at 7:00 AM. If successful, they move onto the Elite Eight and a 1:00 PM match. Hopefully a double round on Tuesday; it will be a long day.

Go Buckeyes!

The post OSUMG: Clark Engle/Will Grimmer Advance to 2nd Round of USGA Four-Ball appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Dienhart: My 4 biggest assistant coach hires in East Division
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

When Chris Ash arrived to help run the Ohio State defense as co-coordinator in 2014, he had an immediate impact—especially on the pass defense. [ MORE: A look at the West’s four biggest assistant hires ] Ash took over a defense that placed 112th in pass defense and 47th in total defense in 2013. In his first season, OSU’s defense ranked 19th nationally in total defense and 29th in pass defense. The Buckeyes also ranked fourth in the country with 24 interceptions en route to Big Ten, Sugar Bowl and national championships. In 2015, the Ohio State defense continued its

Continue reading...

Yup. Michigan has the second best 2016 national championship odds at the moment
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


*thinking emoji*

If all the chatter surrounding satellite camps, recruiting graphics, and all the other minutiae orbiting Jim Harbaugh's extremely prolific self promotional early run as Michigan's head coach hasn't gotten to you, just wait until we get to the football part.

Before we do though, at least one prominent Las Vegas sportsbook is assuming the hype is real -- or at least that enough UM fans believe it is.

Per ESPN's Brett McMurphy, Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, one of the largest in the world, has the Wolverines at 7-1 favorites to win next January's College Football Playoff national championship. That checks in as second best in the country, behind only Nick Saban and defending national champion Alabama, who have 6-1 odds. Ohio State finds themselves not too terribly far behind Michigan in a three way tie for third at 8-1 odds. The Buckeyes are joined by Clemson and Oklahoma.

So what does this mean? Is Michigan materially better than Ohio State? While the Buckeyes have outrecruited Michigan consistently enough to give them a meaningful talent advantage, they haven't done so to such a degree that a perfect storm of attrition and youth could lend to Harbaugh's best shot at revenge after losing by 29 at home in his The Game debut.

Michigan's defense should be one of the best in the country under its new engineer, former Boston College defensive coordinator Don Brown. Though Brown's never coached outside of the mid-Atlantic at any point in his career, his Eagles defense last year was the country's most stout, despite having virtually no help on the opposing side of the ball during a 3-9 campaign.

The primary unknown for the Wolverines is their signal caller. Finally eligible transfer John O'Korn, he of the "he's even better than Jake Rudock in practice" fan gossip, followed a prolific freshman season in a pass happy offense at the University of Houston by falling off a cliff to such a degree that he was eventually benched for a wide receiver. While Jim Harbaugh's proven his quarterback whisperer skills are top notch, after turning virtually unheard of Josh Johnson into an NFL QB and a mediocre Big Ten QB in Rudock into a late round NFL Draft pick in a matter of months, O'Korn wasn't even the top quarterback selected by his teammates in an intra-squad draft for this past March's 2016 Spring Game.

That said, goodness is their schedule ever so forgiving. Assuming the Wolverines are even to tap a replacement level quarterback, it would take a lot going wrong for Michigan not to be unscathed heading into their end of the season matchup against Ohio State. Even if they had another black swan event loss akin to last year's other rivalry loss against Michigan State, it makes a lot of sense to think they'd be well positioned to beat Ohio State and claim the Big Ten East divisional crown.

Should Buckeye fans worry? Probably not yet. It's May and even Urban Meyer doesn't fully know what he has in his team yet. Assuming a bit of good luck and some maturation and development from last year's team to this, even if the Buckeyes drop a game to, say, Oklahoma out of conference and a team-to-be-determined in league play, OSU should be very capable of continuing Jim Harbaugh's winless ways as a head coach against Ohio State.

Of course should UM play to the level of their lofty Vegas odds, you might want to see if your friendly neighborhood IT person can go ahead and blacklist all relevant Michigan related destination sites by no later than this November. Better safe than sorry.

Continue reading...

Coaches can protest all they want, but college basketball's transfer rule is perfectly fine
Grant Freking via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


There are so many things worth complaining about in college basketball. This isn't one of them.

Transfers are prominent topic in Division I basketball circles these days. ESPN's list of transfers over the past year is so extensive it reads like the graduation role call of a Division I Ohio high school. A handful of Big Ten coaches recently weighed in on the subject at the Big Ten's spring meetings in Rosemont, Illinois.


Et tu, Northwestern coach Chris Collins?


According to ESPN's account of the Big Ten meetings, Nebraska coach Tim Miles believes the current graduate transfer rule that allows players who have obtained their undergraduate degree to play immediately at another school -- such as former Ohio State forward Anthony Lee -- does not "foster or nurture accountability and other things that go with growing up" and that Big Ten coaches would support a rule necessitating that all transfers sit out a season.

So we have Izzo referencing the "real world" consequences of transferring, Collins' comments on an "ultimate free agency" and Miles' pining for a universal one-year ban on transfers. Let's unpack their thoughts one at a time.

Izzo's theory on leaving a job without having another gig lined up in the real world is a reasonable one. But that rationale does not make the situation a black and white comparison, and the real world does in fact allow you to move from one job to another if you feel your employer is short-changing you in some way or if you feel your future does not lie with your current company. And while leaving one job without another occupation waiting in the wings is certainly not ideal, if personal contentment is at stake, splitting from that job should not be viewed as a sign of weakness or personal failure.

Collins' theory of "ultimate free agency" is silly speculation; the only way that an extreme environment of rampant player movement would come to fruition is if the NCAA lifted the one-year playing ban on normal transfers.

And as for Miles' musings on accountability and a universal one-year transfer ban, forgive me for lacking sympathy for coaches who may be forced to re-recruit a player pondering a transfer, especially when said player's future replacement is likely waiting in the wings. The basic tenet of the graduate transfer rule is perfectly satisfactory: permitting players who've already garnered their undergraduate degree to pursue greener pastures at another school. Many of these players are simply seeking more playing time or increased competition at better program, with a sect of those players choosing this particular path with the hope that their next move betters their chances of playing professionally.

At least a portion of the flawed logic and proposals from Izzo, Collins, Miles and other coaches reeks of the control that they all crave over their programs. There's a difference between a player toughing it out through a difficult time and jumping ship at the first sign of hardship. It's hard to know where that line is, but force-feeding values and further player restriction into the situation is not productive path to resolving the uptick in transfers.

The power in revenue-producing programs in college athletics resides with everyone but the players (who are not paid), and in most cases the hub of that authority -- along with the hefty paychecks -- belongs to the head coach. And statistics show that those coaches have a habit of changing schools at a higher rate than players do.

So, is it concerning that players are transferring at a high rate? Maybe.. But I haven't seen a resolution that benefits the players and the programs. But I do know this: placing further limits on player movement is not a prudent answer to the problem, especially not on players who have done everything they've been asked to do in graduating. If anybody should be rewarded with more flexibility, it should be those kids.

Continue reading...

Has Meyer 'hand-picked' the Buckeyes' future tight end? - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Has Meyer 'hand-picked' the Buckeyes' future tight end?
247Sports
70 overall prospect in the country in the 2013 class, per the 247Sports Composite. He originally committed to Oregon, but after Chip Kelly departed for the NFL, Wilson re-opened his recruitment and selected the Buckeyes two days before signing day (Feb.


Continue reading...

Buckeyes could ultimately add Texas's best to top-ranked class - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes could ultimately add Texas's best to top-ranked class
247Sports
In that same vein, who will have the biggest impact between Curtis Samuel or Michael Weber? What will be the biggest strength of this year's OSU team? What is the biggest question mark the Buckeyes are facing? Bucknuts contributor Jonah Booker drops by ...
OSU's over/under for wins already moved from 8.5 to 9247Sports

all 5 news articles »

Continue reading...

A Conversation With Amanda Furrer
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


(photo courtesy of www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com)

I want to provide the conversation that I had with Buckeye and Olympian, Amanda Furrer. This conversation took place on Tuesday May 17, 2016. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.

tBBC: Thank you for calling ….

Amanda: I’m a little early … I hope that’s okay ….

tBBC: Absolutely. I’m ready. I was just going over my notes and I’m ready. We’re going to have fun….

Amanda: Is this a recorded interview?

tBBC: Yes it is … I am recording just to assure accuracy. I don’t want to add or delete something down the road because I don’t know, or forgot … I won’t be prying or asking anything crazy…

Amanda: Oh that’s okay I’m an open book …. for the most part, almost to a fault…

tBBC: We’re going to have some fun … it’s going to be all about our love of the Buckeyes …. That’s what it’ll all come down to …

Amanda: There you go! That’s great!

tBBC: I do want to thank you for spending some time with me and pass on a little of yourself to Buckeye Nation … I must start with a little edge of honesty. I initially had four pages of questions and ideas for our conversation. But my wife, God love her, reviewed these four pages ad set them down and said “really?” reminding me that we were going to have a conversation …

Amanda: (Laughs)

tBBC: Thank God for women, right?

Amanda: (Laughs again)

tBBC: It’s about us having some fun, chatting, and talking about Amanda Furrer that’s why …

Amanda: Thank you.

tBBC: …that’s why we are here.

Amanda: I appreciate that. That’s so cool …

tBBC: Let me ask you – you’re back home … home being Washington, the State …

Amanda: Yeah, I actually grew up in Spokane, Washington. Right now I moved to Seattle …

tBBC: Oh, really? That’s a beautiful city … I’ve never been there – but certainly what I see on TV …

Amanda: Oh yeah – it’s great. It’s kind of new for me too. I’m sort of in a transition period right now. It is allowing me to get out and enjoy the outdoors, enjoying nature ..

tBBC: Hiking and trails? That’s a lot of fun…

Amanda: Yeah. There’s like hundreds and hundreds of trails here, valleys – it’s the perfect place…

tBBC: Beautiful I bet…

Amanda: It’s like the TV series Twilight – I mean the scenery. It actually looks like that over here. It’s just as beautiful. So I’m enjoying that, the scenery, and all that, right now.

tBBC: That’s great. See I’m in NYC so there isn’t much of nature here to feast on …

Amanda: Oh but New York is a great place. I have a friend who has a place there. It’s a great place.

tBBC: Yeah. I do love New York – it’s a part of me now. I’m originally from Columbus – so this is a new world for me … or it was way back when. Now it’s home. I do enjoy it.

Amanda: That’s cool.

tBBC: Let me ask you what possessed a West Coaster when searching for a College to find the cornfields of the Midwest and Columbus, Ohio?

Amanda: (Laughs) This is actually a funny story …I was going to get a shooting scholarship no matter what, that was already determined I had been shooting all through High School so I was going to be shooting through College as well. I was pretty limited from the schools I could choose from and I had my heart set on between two different schools, and then I found out about Ohio State. I actually didn’t know they had a shooting program. So I went to the other schools and about to commit – I don’t want to say which school that was …

tBBC: Oh – let me tell you I was o the verge of asking which school…
Amanda: (Laughing) Yeah! So I was about to commit and my Dad was in his office and he called me and he had been looking through websites of all the Universities that had the program I was in and he said “Did you see that Ohio State has a program? They also have one of the best Business Schools in the Country.” That’s what I was going to go into. See I was never into all the sports like football, basketball, and all those, so I was really unaware of Ohio State and their power in these sports. See to me I thought Ohio State was just in the middle of nowhere, you know just another State University. I said to my Dad, “I’m not going to Ohio State – probably nothing but a bunch of cornfields. See I’m from a city and there was no way I was going to go there. And he said “Well – just go take a visit and if afterwards if you aren’t interested then the other schools can be the decision.” So I went to Ohio State and as soon as I got there I absolutely fell in love with the place. And after my first day I called my parents and said I wanted to go to Ohio State. I was sold. I went to one of the football games and I was able to hang out with the team … it was everything I imagined a College to be…

tBBC: That’s nice. That’s a great story. See I don’t see through the eyes of those beyond. I was born and raised in Columbus. So Ohio State was ‘home-planet’ for me. I drank the Kool-Aid…

Amanda: (Laughs)

tBBC: …see I had the Kool-Aid from birth so the bottom line is that’s it – nothing else … but you are right. I have seen many campuses and The Ohio State University is beautiful, very Collegiate, I mean, The Oval, the whole area, Mirror Lake, so soothing. You do fall in love with it…

Amanda: Oh yeah – totally awesome. It’s just so funny because it turned out to be everything I did not expect. Everything I had thought of Ohio wasn’t this place. Ohio State is just a universe upon itself. I just had no idea. And now after going there I have become a huge sports fan. I follow it all…

tBBC: You are addicted now, huh?

Amanda: (Laughs) Yeah – oh yeah – I am!

tBBC: And it doesn’t matter what sport does it? You know the Pistol Team won the National Title recently…

Amanda: Oh yeah. I follow all of Ohio State’s teams. See when you’re from Washington you root for only Washington teams. But my family and I weren’t into all those sports… Ohio though is another level and participating in it is really cool.

tBBC: That’s great. Tell us – what’s Amanda Furrer up to these days?

Amanda: Well I just retired from competitive shooting …

tBBC: So there’s no 2020?

Amanda: No not for me. I was recently living in the US Olympic Center in Colorado and then I transitioned to Washington. Right now I am working on a couple TV Shows…

tBBC: Really?

Amanda: Yeah. One is called The American Marksman for the Outdoors Channel. It’s a competitive shooting show – so I’m hoping that takes off. The other channel, well it’s not a channel, its with MTV, and it’s going to be on where The Flash is on – but a show in the works. I spent a weekend a month on those. So in the meantime I am taking some time off. I am learning a lot about firearms, training and different disciplines. I’m getting a lot more experience …

tBBC: That’s fantastic. You said the Outdoors Channel?

Amanda: Yeah the Outdoor Channel.

tBBC: Whenever that comes on let me know I would love to help in any way that I can.

Amanda: Yeah it isn’t on yet … it’s a show for amateurs who try out for the show – for anybody who feels they got it … they can try out at any local range that is involved in the program. So I hope it kicks up some interest – so they are playing that now trying to get people involved. Then once that happens then the show can go forward. I think next Monday they will be playing that same segment – I’ll have to check. So that’ll be the beginning of that show.

tBBC: Great … congratulations.

Amanda: Thank you.

tBBC: I wish you much success.

Amanda: Yeah it’s going to be a lot of fun. It won’t be what I am looking to do in the long run. I plan to use my degree in Finance. I hope to get into Business Development or contract negotiations for Government contracts especially in the Military Industry or something in the firearms or for the lack of a better word – weapons. I am a big advocate of the Military. My dad, my brother, my boyfriend were all in the Military. I have always been a big supporter. I want to get into that Industry. I want to help out as much as I can.

tBBC: That’s absolutely great. That actually answered where I was heading which was what lays in the future for Amanda Furrer…

Amanda: Yeah it looks like I’ll be traveling around to different bases. It looks like I will have an opportunity to move around to get the training I’ll need. So yeah, I am really looking into that Industry right now. So I believe it’ll be Government contracts …

tBBC: That could be a life-long thing too. That’ll keep you busy ….

Amanda: Oh yeah – for sure.

tBBC; Congratulations on that too. You are heading into a positive direction.

Amanda: Thank you.

tBBC: I also wanted to talk about – you in your rifle competition you have had astonishing accomplishments…

Amanda: (Laughing) Yeah I’ve done alright!

tBBC: Yeah you have. You have done very well for yourself. Just looking over some of your accomplishments – you were in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. The 2015 Pan-Am Games. You were in the national Championship of 2014 … I mean I can go on – I mean there’s many, many more – you have done quite well. How does that all feel – I mean, speaking for myself and for many others we can never imagine being an Olympian. Could you open that door for us?

Amanda: Well that was always the goal – The Olympics – just performing at a top level. I mean I started competing when I was ten or eleven so that is always the goal. I grew up with all that, the competing, always pushing for the next level. So a lot of those things just didn’t feel like enough. You know something like the Pan-Am Games or the National Championships – they just never seemed like enough. I know they were great accomplishments but just with the goal of being in the Olympics, trying to be the best in the world, they were just another stepping stone. So I never look at that list and go “Wow”. I just know they were great things and they were just a part of my past and they were something I had to do to be where I wanted to be – The Olympics. I am very appreciative to compete in those events and I loved every part of it. I love the entire journey. I didn’t just love being in the Olympics – I loved being in each and every competition I’ve been in and everything in between. But it just all seems like a natural part of the past.



tBBC: Yeah the learning you must have traveled through. In those competitions you’ve been to many places. You have seen places, dealt with cultures that most of us only visit in reading.

Amanda: Yeah – it’s kind of funny. I was talking to my Mom about that. The other day we were in the car with my nephew – he’s twelve. And I was thinking how old we are all getting. I mean I started traveling alone when I was fifteen. I went to Korea by myself. It was Korea or China – I don’t remember. I had just turned sixteen. And I was thinking all those airports … we were about the same age and I was so much “older” you know mature and I was traveling the world by myself (laughing) I mean I was a little older then him, it was crazy. My first trip, I mean I have been to London a few times but the first time was with my local club that I grew up with we went to London a few different times and then for my first competition that I went to outside of the USA, my first World Cup was when I turned sixteen. So that year was Australia, Korea, Germany, The Czech Republic, and the Brazil for the Pan-Am Games and that all on the first year I was on the Team. It was a world-wind and I was in High School. I was very fortunate in High School – I mean they worked with me they said the experience I was getting was invaluable and it was something they couldn’t teach so they worked with me and let me take tests and assignments on my trips and mail them back …

tBBC: Kind of like a Home School situation?

Amanda: I was probably missing about a half-a-day a year from sixteen on through Senior Year. I mean I was hardly there. I was always away or at the range…

tBBC: I mean you weren’t a normal sixteen year old. You had major goals insight ….

Amanda: Yeah, that’s the thing. I didn’t have a normal childhood. I mean my parents tried to give me as normal of a childhood that they could. But the fact that I was one of the youngest on the Team … everyone was mid-twenties, thirties, even younger twenties. I was sixteen and was competing with them and was still trying to be a kid. So I missed a lot of things at School, sleepovers, things like that. I didn’t like it at the time, but looking back I don’t regret it. You know because of everything I accomplished.

tBBC: That’s true. When we are young we don’t have the vision to see ahead. When you’re at that age there is so much that you think you are missing, or that you have it all figured. Only when you are older you recognize that there were just other things and that you didn’t necessarily have it all figured.

Amanda: Yeah. Right… You know I had a pretty close group of friends through High School that I hung out with, the ones from home, and those I got to know through the country from competitions. I had a really tight knit group of friends. They were really supportive of what I was doing and never took me away from it.

tBBC: You were lucky…

Amanda: Yes I was.

tBBC: You have done well…

Amanda: Thank you.

tBBC: I have to ask about training. We all figure a lot of time on the range, but in other sources of training but is there anything like weights, running, things like that?
Amanda: It all depends on the individual. What I was doing – it all based on the cycle, when the next competition was coming up. I would train between somewhere of two-to-six hours a day. I know that’s a big gap, but again, it depended on the cycle. Normally it would be around three-to-four hours a day. I would spend time at the range, take a break at lunch, lift in the afternoon. I would work five or six days a week. I would do three lifts and at least two days a week of cardio, sometimes three. I do free weights and that’s for where you have to hold position for a very long time and cardio helps out on that too. Yeah I lifted really actively. I would be involved in outdoor activities as well. On the Team we would have psychologists and they would test our blood to see where, this wasn’t like a daily thing, but every few months, or six months to get your blood tested to see what level everything was at to make sure you weren’t missing anything in your diet, or something that might be useful for you and make sure you were capable of this level of competition. So they were constantly testing what was up with you to see what supplements you should or should not be taking. See shooting is very internal sport so it’s all about feeling. It’s about how your body is reacting to certain things. You could be sitting still for two hours trying to focus on a target and wanting to be perfect and anything off with your body and mind can effect everything. So they want to constantly test you to assure you give your best performance.





tBBC: So the sport of Rifle – I don’t know if people fully understand just how competitive it is. How many would you estimate goes out competitively nationwide for the level, or dreams of the level that you have reached?

Amanda: Well, if you think about it – it all starts at the local clubs then it advances people regionally then people go to the national level. To get to those levels you must have met certain things. Then you can move on. So the elimination grows. It’s a big sport. It’s everywhere. I mean it isn’t as big as football or basketball but it is big in its own right…

tBBC: When you look around there’s a lot of clubs around, more in certain places then in others. But it is a big sport…. If you were to pop into any of those clubs you would actually see a bigger number of faces than you would have guessed…

Amanda: Exactly. A lot of people don’t really know they are around. They don’t know how to get their kids involved. They really don’t even know where to begin to look. Clubs are everywhere.

tBBC: So do you think your passion and love for the sport will still be burning when you are sixty plus and gray?

Amanda: Oh yeah! You know you miss a lot when you stop competing – I miss all the friends I have made in the sport. As someone who is older I will look back and know I want to contribute to the opportunity of someone else seeing their dream. I don’t know if that will be a local club, a mentor. I know my passion for the sport will always be there. It has done so much for me. I would absolutely do whatever I can to see someone else get the opportunity that I got.
tBBC: We did mention that the Pistol team won the National Title. The Men’s Volleyball Team did too. And the Women’s Tennis Team is advancing nicely in the NCAA Tournament – in the Round of 16 for the first time ever….

Amanda: Wow – that’s cool!

tBBC: Yeah whenever they are on find a TV and root them on…

Amanda: Yeah!

tBBC: Tell me though how does it feel to be an actual part of such a powerful and successful organization such as The Ohio State University’s Athletic Program?

Amanda: It’s crazy to me. I initially had no idea about it before going there. But learning about it and experiencing it is amazing. Knowing the people while I was there and the people before me is so cool knowing you are growing up I an organization with so much success and they continually breed success … I mean one person and one team at a time, they are always good ad always will be…. They offer so much, academically, competitively, just everything they can to make you better

tBBC: I know Ohio State is just one of those schools that is always good. If they aren’t on any such year, it won’t be long, they’ll be back. Ohio State isn’t one of those schools that someone likes. It is either love or hate. If someone loves it – it’s a religion….

Amanda: Yeah!

tBBC: If they hate it – it’s hate!…

Amanda: Yeah everyone I talk to says that too…

tBBC: You never hear someone say “I like Ohio State.” It’s either “I love Ohio State” or “I hate Ohio State.”

Amanda: Yeah, no in-between’s like Michigan State….

tBBC: Yeah, or some other Big Ten School – other than The Team Up North. I think they fall into the same bracket as Ohio State. People love or hate them too. Like Alabama, or most SEC teams for me. I hate them all ….

Amanda: See I have no compassion for any team other than Ohio State.

tBBC: That’s the only answer….

Amanda: (Laughs) Being from Spokane though, even though I didn’t follow them when I was younger, but I do now, and that’s because they are local and are nationally good is Gonzaga….
tBBC: Any thoughts about the Team up North?

Amanda: We don’t give a damn about the whole State of Michigan….

tBBC: (Laughs) Only answer.

Amanda: Yes, the only answer.

tBBC: Pat Cherry. (Ohio State Rifle Coach) Tell us about Pat.

Amanda: I love Pat. He was like a Grandfather to me. He was someone who told me from the beginning, I mean I had already accomplished so much prior to coming to Ohio State, he told me that he didn’t know how much he could teach me as a shooter, but he said he would do all he can to do my best and accomplish everything you want to accomplish. And he absolutely did that. He was a great man and a great coach.

tBBC: The Buckeyes did well under Pat…

Amanda: Yeah. He was there for a very long time and I enjoyed being around him. He was extremely helpful. Not just as a coach but as a person he was very invested in that we all succeeded and that we had everything we needed to do our best.

tBBC: That’s what young athletes need – someone that loves ad respects the sport they are teaching…

Amanda: Absolutely. When the Coach as the passion and love for what they are doing it reflects to the athlete.

tBBC: Definitely a trickle down. It’s nothing but good.

Amanda: I agree.

tBBC: In final … some of my toughest questions to date and they are coming your way….

Amanda: Toughest questions?.

tBBC: Yeah ….Scuba diving or water slides?

Amanda: (Laughs) I was just talking to my boyfriend about scuba diving today or was it yesterday? But, anyway, one of my worst fears is drowning – so I get claustrophobic in weird situations. I’m not claustrophobic in small areas but things like wet socks o beds – I start to get claustrophobic… (laughs) … the scuba diving would be the other thing because I am absolutely afraid of the water without any air. So the answer is water slides.

tBBC: Water slides? The safe bet…
Amanda: Absolutely… water slides.

tBBC: Can you share with us any of your pet peeves?

Amanda: Ewwww! (Laughing) They’re really stupid ….

tBBC: No such thing as a stupid pet peeve. Our obsessions won’t ever accept that categorization….

Amanda: Okay … here we go … but, I don’t care about other people, but I absolutely cannot have socks on a bed. When I want to sleep I just feel like I’m drowning basically. Also listening to people chew their food…

tBBC: Oh yeah … that’s up there with me. I cannot stand that. That’s a big irritation. .

Amanda: Yes. That’s a big one….(Laughing) That’s all. I’m really easy going. I really don’t have that many things that bother me a lot.

tBBC: I had fun. This is it. Unless you want to add anything … promote your shows again…tell us more….

Amanda: I don’t have much more to add… but as far as the shows go if you’re interest you can go to Sun TV and American Marksman – people can go – if they think they have a shot, or even if they are a beginner and want to try out they ca go to a local qualifying range and try out for the show. It’s a pretty cool opportunity to try out – they just need to go to the range and shoot a couple targets and see if they qualify for the show. It’s pretty cool. They can checkout the website too. It’s www.ammarksmen.com....

tBBC: www,ammarksmen.com?

Amanda: Yeah. AM – Marksmen .com www.ammarksmen.com Anyone can follow me on social media. I will update info from there. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram …

tBBC: That’s a good idea. I’m a little slow on this Social Media explosion…

Amanda: Are you?

tBBC: I do the Twitter thing, though I’ve slacked. I follow you on twitter …

Amanda: Oh really. I haven’t put anything up on Twitter lately. Instagram is where I am posting now – is what I’ve been doing…

tBBC: That’s the new one, right?

Amanda: It’s not very new….(laughing)

tBBC: See what I meant earlier … shows you where I’m at ….

Amanda: It is one of the popular ones though. I’m @Amanda_Furrer.

tBBC: Well thank you. I appreciate for you taking the time with me and get this out for all your fans in Buckeye Nation ….

Amanda: I’m glad you wanted to talk to me ….

tBBC: Well, you know better than I that Buckeye Nation loves their athletes, which you are…. You are on that pedestal we dream of ….

Amanda: Thank you so much.

tBBC: I do appreciate your time. If you ever feel a need to rant or rave about a Buckeye win or loss in any sport, or talk Buckeye anything, including the School itself keep me in mind. I would love to be the vessel to pass it on. And when you show comes on stop by and tell us about it….

Amanda: Great. Thanks.

The post A Conversation With Amanda Furrer appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Looking ahead: Buckeyes' growing pains should be over - ESPN (blog)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Looking ahead: Buckeyes' growing pains should be over
ESPN (blog)
It's never too early to look at what's to come. Over the next few weeks, we will give you a peek at what is ahead for teams in the Power 5 conferences and some other teams expected to be players on the national scene. Next up: Ohio State Buckeyes.
ESPN analyst: Why Buckeyes will be better in 2016 than 2015247Sports
Ohio State Football: 5 Toughest QBs Buckeyes Will Face in 2016Bleacher Report
OSUWG: Buckeyes in Top 15 after 2nd RoundThe Buckeye Battle Cry
Eleven Warriors (registration) -Columbus Dispatch -TexasSports.com
all 44 news articles »

Continue reading...

Script Ohio: Baker Mayfield is the best quarterback Ohio State will face in 2016
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Clair Crawford and Joe Dexter discuss the toughest signal callers that Ohio State will face during the 2016 season, including Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and discuss the Bosa crime family, and the amount of snaps from players last year that the Buckeyes will have to replace.

The post Script Ohio: Baker Mayfield is the best quarterback Ohio State will face in 2016 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

OSU Women’s Tennis NCAA Championship Run Ends
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Ohio State University’s Women’s Tennis Team’s 2016 NCAA Championship run ended Saturday, May 21st, in Tulsa – falling to the # 12 Oklahoma State University Cowboys, 4-2.

The Buckeyes in the quarterfinals for the first time in Program history were also denied improving on their 16-match winning streak.

For The Ohio State University it has arguably been the best season ever in their history. The team was 31-3, the first time with more than 20 wins in a season, and was ranked in the Top 6 (a program high) since early February, including a moment at No. 1. The squad won the outright Big Ten regular season title with an 11-0 ledger and claimed the first conference tournament title in school history. For the first time, the Buckeyes reached the NCAA Championship quarterfinals and hosted NCAA first and second round matches.

Oklahoma State won on courts one and three to clinch the doubles point. Katrina Adamovic and Vladic Babic defeated Francesca Di Lorenzo and Olivia Sneed, 6-1, to open doubles. On court two, the Buckeyes’ No. 58-ranked team of juniors Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus topped No. 54 Viktoriya Lushkova and Carla Tur Mari, 7-5, breaking to win the match and improve to 14-1 in dual play. Doubles came down to court one. The No. 9-ranked Buckeye duo of junior Miho Kowase and sophomore Anna Sanford came back from 15-40 down to break and get on serve at five all. The Cowgirls’ team of Maria Alvarez and Kelsey Laurente broke back and then held to win the last two games and claim the match and the doubles point for Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State won the first two singles matches off the court for a 3-0 lead. On court two, Babic was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over No. 89-ranked Sanford, followed by a 6-1, 6-3 win by Lushkova over No. 96 De Santis.

The Buckeyes tied the match with back to back wins. On court six, Niehaus, ranked 81st, topped Alvarez, 6-2, 7-5. Niehaus was 14-0 in dual play and 19-3 overall this season. Kowase then posted a 6-0, 7-6 (2) win over Laurente on court four to tie the match. In dual play, Kowase was 24-2, with a 30-4 overall mark.

Three Buckeyes will compete for NCAA individual titles. Di Lorenzo is the No. 3 seed in the singles draw, while Sanford and Kowase were selected for the doubles tournament. Singles play starts Wednesday, followed by the start of doubles Thursday. Scoring, video and updated brackets are available on the tournament central page.

Coach Melissa Schaub: “It stings right now, obviously. I think that if we can look back on it we had an unbelievable year. These guys fight really hard, but it didn’t go our way today. It hurts, it hurts right now but we do have everybody in our starting lineup coming back next year. If we can focus on that and the kind of year that we had I think in a little bit when this starts to wear off we will be really proud of what we were able to accomplish this year.”

“The doubles point was big, we knew that coming in. They have a couple spots that are really tough and I think we fought hard. Ferny (Angeles Paz) fought to the end, maybe had some chances there, but these guys played well. All the credit goes to Oklahoma State and it is going to be a good final four.”

The Buckeyes are deserving of great applause. Their achievements this year was phenomenal.

We are proud of them.

The post OSU Women’s Tennis NCAA Championship Run Ends appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

41 rookies, including several former Buckeyes, get NFL trading card - ABC6OnYourSide.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


41 rookies, including several former Buckeyes, get NFL trading card
ABC6OnYourSide.com
LOS ANGELES -- From one of the most promising and impressive NFL Draft classes in years, 41 of this year's top rookies will come together this weekend in Los Angeles for the NFLPA Rookie Premiere presented by Panini. The annual event features one of ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Texas standouts check out Ohio State
Charles Doss via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


It was a busy weekend for Urban Meyer and crew.

A pair of Longhorn State prospects made the trek to Columbus over the weekend. Getting a chance to see the campus with their own eyes, and mingle with Urban Meyer, and the rest of the Ohio State coaching staff, class of 2017 five-star recruits Jeffrey Okudah and Baron Browning invaded the Capital City.

In recruiting it's all about having a strong relationship, and that is exactly what the Buckeyes are trying to build with the Texas duo. Holding OSU in high regard throughout their recruitment, it was the 6 feet 1 inch, 195-pound South Grand Prairie High standout, Okudah's second time visiting OSU, while it was Browning's first time having the opportunity to make the trip north.

Holding well over 30 scholarship offers apiece, Okudah, and Browning have their fair share of college programs trying to keep them out of the Scarlet and Gray. Alabama, Stanford, and others are in the mix for Okudah, but some around scene believe he will end up choosing Ohio State in the end.

Browning on the other hand is a little different. All signs pointed towards his OSU visit going very well, but he isn't done checking out college programs anytime soon. Wanting to take more trips, the 6 foot 3 inch, 230-pound Kennedale, Texas native will visit Notre Dame next month.

With nearly eight months left until national signing day, and Urban Meyer, Greg Schiano, Tim Beck and others on the prowl, could the Buckeyes strike Texas gold once again? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Keep checking Land-Grant Holy Land for the latest.

Buckeyes offer 2017 DT


Always looking to bring in talent up front, the Ohio State coaching staff have entered the recruiting race for another one of the most sought after defensive tackle prospects in the class of 2017. On Friday afternoon, the Buckeyes dished out Fayetteville, Ark. native and four-star rated recruit Akial Byers an opportunity to join the Big Ten powerhouse program.

Announcing his scholarship from Ohio State via his Twitter page, Byers now holds around a dozen offers from schools across the country. Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss,and Washington State are just a few of the other programs to give the 6 feet 4 inch, 275-pound standout a chance to attend their university on the next level.



When it comes to rankings, Byers finds his name mentioned among some of the best prospects on the high school level. Currently considered the 15th defensive tackle, and 263rd overall recruit in the class of 2017, according to the 247Sports Composite, he definitely backs the accolades he receives off the field, on it. Last season as a junior at Fayetteville High School, Byers accounted for nearly 70 total tackles, and three quarterback sacks to help lead the Bulldogs to a 13-2 overall record, and a state championship title.

Quick Hits

• The Buckeyes are still in the mix for one of the top class of 2017 cornerbacks. On Friday, four-star standout Lamont Wade announced he is still considering taking his talents to Penn State, Tennessee, UCLA, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Duke, West Virginia, Alabama, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State. The 5'9, Clairton, Pennsylvania native, who received his scholarship offer from the Buckeyes in March of 2015, has made numerous trips to Columbus, including earlier this month.
• Following in the footsteps of Wade, and others, a pair of OSU targets were selected to participate in this summers The Opening, a elite camp held on the grounds of the Nike headquarters. After shining against other elite recruits at the events regional camp held in Oakland on Sunday. class of 2017 running back Najee Harris, and defensive tackle Jay Tufele were among the nine recruits picked to travel to Oregon in July. The five-star rated Harris is currently committed to Alabama, but visited Ohio State during the spring, while Tufele reportedly has the Buckeyes currently out in front over programs such as BYU, Michigan, and Oregon.

Continue reading...

BTN LiveBIG: Big Ten sends some of its brightest to Britain
Brian Summerfield via Big Ten Network

Students from Big Ten universities accounted for an impressive five out of 15 Churchill Scholars for 2016-2017. These students will travel to the United Kingdom this fall to study their academic disciplines for a year at the University of Cambridge’s Churchill College. Each academic year, the Churchill Scholars selects a few graduate-level students from throughout the United States who excel in mathematics, engineering or hard-sciences fields. The prestigious academic program was started more than a half-century ago by the legendary British statesman Winston Churchill, who requested the scholarship be set up through the foundation that bore his name. Here are

Continue reading...

The Hurry Up: Texas Two-Step Could Bring Big Results, Vann Changing His Game, Buckeyes Reportedly Lead for Tufele - Eleven Warriors (registration)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


The Hurry Up: Texas Two-Step Could Bring Big Results, Vann Changing His Game, Buckeyes Reportedly Lead for Tufele
Eleven Warriors (registration)
The Buckeyes have been the leader for months and the combination of Tim Beck and Chris Ash/Greg Schiano – with increasing dashes of Urban Meyer – has proved to be a great recipe for Ohio State so far. Okudah and Shaun Wade are the two biggest ...
Meyer lifts ban against color blue, temporarily247Sports
See Jeffrey Okudah, Baron Browning during their unofficial visit to Ohio Statecleveland.com

all 5 news articles »

Continue reading...

OSUWG: NCAA’s End Not With A Bang, But…
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


(Team photo and tournament information courtesy of Ohio State Athletic Department, the NCAA and GolfChannel.com. Event scoring and statistics courtesy of GolfStat.com)

… with a flurry of double bogeys.

I’ll try to make this short, since there isn’t too much to say. In a round where the Buckeyes were positioned to make the cut of low 15 teams and edge up closer to the Elite Eight (match play). they inexplicably imploded. On a day when they had an opportunity to advance, because earlier starters were “backing up” to the field. they didn’t deliver what was needed. I say this unflinchingly, because it’s unlikely that you’ll find anyone affiliated with the golf program happy about this performance.

Bad News


Maybe there was some fall-out from the team doing poorly on their final hole in the previous round. I don’t know. Whatever it was, the shot-making and round management wasn’t there for the Buckeyes. In the first two rounds, the averaged 12.5 birdies per round and had a total of 2 double bogeys and 1 triple bogey. In their third round, they collected a respectable 11 birdies, but suffered through 7 double bogeys and 1 triple bogey.


Good News


I don’t believe that anyone took ill or passed away as a result of Sunday’s play, so in the Big Picture, this falls into a learning experience. If you remember last season, the Buckeyes just missed out on qualifying for the NCAA’s; they missed out by 4 strokes to qualify in the top six that year.

This season, they powered through their post-season and easily qualified fr the NCAA’s. Coaches Hession and Strom will have an experienced, talented and hungry team returning for next season.

The Buckeyes were led by Jessica Porvasnik’s 73 (+1). Rio Watanabe 78 (+6). The rest of the team scoring consisted of, Katja Pogacar 76 (+4), Rio Watanabe 78 (+6), Niki Schroeder 79 (+7) and Jaclyn Lee 79 (+7).

Rio ended the three rounds at even par, tied for 15th place.

Buckeye scoring, below:

NCAA Championship Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3
Team 293 293 306
Katja Pogacar 73 75 76
Jessica Porvasnik 77 74 73
Rio Watanabe 70 68 78
Jaclyn Lee 75 77 79
Niki Schroeder 75 76 79
5 5 18

The Buckeyes put together a round of 11 birdies, 53 pars, 18 bogeys, 7 double bogeys and 1 triple bogey. For the tournament, Ohio State played the par 3’s to an average of 3.20, +12 to par, ranking them 16th. They played the par 4’s to an average of 4,22, +33 to par, ranking them T-15th. They played the par 5’s to an average of 5.00, even par, ranking them T-17th. In the 3rd round, they were absolutely chewed up by #14, a 161 yard par-3. The Buckeyes played this hole to an aggregate of +9. This hole was the second hardest (to par) of the round.

Go Buckeyes!

The post OSUWG: NCAA’s End Not With A Bang, But… appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Buckeyes score big as 5-star LB Baron Browning makes first visit - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes score big as 5-star LB Baron Browning makes first visit
247Sports
Per Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch, the Buckeyes will have a Memorial Day-themed workout on Friday where players will be wearing red, white and blue. It's part of OSU's "Patriot Week" where the players will have four days of seminars to learn ...


Continue reading...

Should the Big Ten consider expanding to 16 teams?
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Things are quiet now, but they probably won't be forever.

Following conference expansion rumors are a lot more fun when you can view them as just an intellectual exercise, and not something that directly impacts your favorite team. Right now, the Big 12 in back in their perpetual "will they, won't they" game of expansion, which is huge news if you're a fan of a team a team trying to get in, but the impact on the Big Ten at the moment is probably minimal.

Whatever decision the Big 12 makes would impact The American, and potentially Conference USA or the Sun Belt, but thanks to the TV agreements that the other major conferences have secured, it's highly unlikely any of the power conferences will make any moves until the end of their current TV agreements.

But it's not like those agreements all expire in like, 2040. By the mid-2020s, in less than a decade, everyone's contracts will end, including the Big Ten's brand new contract that could be worth about eleventy billion dollars. And when that happens, all bets are off.

Could the Big Ten look to expand again in the near future? Should they? Who might they look at? Because inquiring minds want to know, let's take a closer look.

Why would the Big Ten hypothetically consider expansion? 14 teams is already kind of a lot


The most obvious answer, of course, is money. The Big Ten Network has been a fabulously successful product, not just in terms of production value and exposure, but financially as well. One of the recent reasons for BTN's financial success has been their expansion into the DC and New York media markets, via the additions of Maryland and Rutgers. Those programs have mostly stunk on the football field. They might stink on the field throughout the bulk of this current TV deal. But thanks to Big Ten saturation in those cities, and expansion of BTN coverage, it's making everybody a lot of money. Well, not Rutgers, but it will eventually make Rutgers a lot of money.

Who knows what the TV industry looks like in 2024. There's reason to be more skeptical of how much higher TV rights deals can go. But if there's more blood to be squeezed from this rock, expanding into other TV markets could potentially be another way to do it.

Is a money grab the only reason the Big Ten could hypothetically consider expansion?


It's probably the most likely reason, but it doesn't take too much imagination to think of other ones. We don't know exactly what the College Football Playoff will look like once it hits its second contract, but it seems reasonably likely that the field will expand. Depending on what other conferences do, it is possible the conference could have an incentive to expand in order to give them a better chance at making that playoff, especially if the western flank of the conference continues to underperform compared to the eastern side.

It's also possible that a program could be available that is so enticing, the conference could completely change their long term plans in order to secure that program. I can think of two that would fit under this category.

Okay. If the Big Ten decided to expand, who could be on the table?


We can make a few educated guesses here. First, given how important academic prestige is to conference administrators, it's a safe guess that the conference wouldn't add a team that didn't have a strong research tradition unless they had an amazing athletic program or a really good reason. So that rules out schools like West Virginia, Cincinnati, any commuter campuses, BYU, most of the Big 12, and others. Remember, it's worth pointing out that how U.S. News & World Report ranks how "good" a college is, and how a Big Ten administrator might, are two different things.

Typically, it's a safe assumption that if the Big Ten wanted to add another program, it would probably come from the prestigious Association of American Universities. That list includes every Big Ten program except Nebraska, who got kicked out right after they joined the Big Ten.

If we just took a look at that membership list and tried to isolate programs that had a snowball's chance you know where of joining the Big Ten, we'd come up with Texas, Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Kansas, Iowa State, Missouri, and Vanderbilt.

Is it possible the Big Ten could take a look at a program outside of that group?


Sure. Notre Dame, after all, isn't in the AAU, but nobody would look at Notre Dame's addition to anything as diluting the academic clout of the university. In the unlikely event that Notre Dame wanted to join the Big Ten for all sports (they're a future Big Ten member in hockey), no Big Ten university president would complain.

I am willing to consider a scenario, albeit an unlikely one, where the Big Ten chases a very successful athletic program that does not hit AAU classification, but is close. In a hypothetical world where the Big Ten would need to add Oklahoma in order to get Texas, I think leaders could be persuaded to keep academic concerns to themselves. It's also possible that over a stretch of eight or so years, a school could raise their profile to get close enough to a research benchmark that the conference could take them anyway. UConn is the school that comes to mind there, but perhaps there are others.

In the interest of being thorough, Syracuse was an AAU member until 2011. If the Big Ten was interested in Syracuse, I doubt that'd be the deal breaker.

Are all of those schools equally likely?


No. After all, if a program doesn't offer a new TV market, an expansive athletic brand or a strong football program, there isn't much of an appeal, at least from the Big Ten's perspective. That rules out Pitt, Iowa State, Syracuse and probably Virginia (unless UVA was needed to grab a more attractive ACC property). A school with an already stable conference home with large TV payouts isn't likely to want to leave either, which removes SEC programs like Missouri and Vanderbilt. Notre Dame also isn't joining a league unless they're required to because of the playoff, and even then, alumni and donors would probably raise hell to keep them out of the Big Ten.

In my humble opinion, if the Big Ten decided to expand, I think the single most likely candidate would be Kansas. The Jayhawks bring AAU membership, new TV markets in the west, a national basketball brand, and a football team that will get plenty of exercise (if they had everything, they'd already be in the Big Ten, right?). Following that, you're looking at Texas, one of the ACC programs (Georgia Tech, UNC, Duke, maybe UVA), and then UConn.

Wait, Texas? Like, for real?


I wouldn't sleep on this. When the next TV deals are done, the idea that Texas and/or Oklahoma would want to leave the Big 12 isn't crazy. Both programs could likely get better TV revenues than they would in the Big 12, and they'd be free from the membership squabbles and competing interests of Big 12 membership.

I would expect every other conference to make strong pitches to add Texas, whose athletic department, brand, and recruiting territory would make it the most attractive program that could go on the proverbial market. Academically, the Big Ten would be the best fit, but the Pac-12 or SEC could make compelling cases as well for different reasons.

Should we root for this? Would this be good?


I can only speak for myself. Any additional teams, of course, would mean Ohio State would play other Big Ten West programs less. If you care about regular matchups with say, Northwestern, or Iowa, or Wisconsin, you should probably root against expansion, no matter what.

I think it's possible, depending on the teams, that expansion could improve the actual quality of product. North Carolina is good at virtually every sport, and is a fun road trip. So is Texas. Kansas would cement the Big Ten as a basketball power. So would UConn. But adding say, Kansas and UConn would make Big Ten football unquestionably much worse.

I think 14 teams is fine. I'd be fine with the Big Ten staying that way indefinitely. If they can make a run at Texas in a few years though, that's probably fine too.

Things are quiet now. But you shouldn't plan on them staying quiet forever.

Continue reading...

OSUWG: Buckeyes in Top 15 after 2nd Round
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


(Team photo and tournament information courtesy of Ohio State Athletic Department, the NCAA and GolfChannel.com. Event scoring and statistics courtesy of GolfStat.com)

The Buckeyes had a solid 1st round of 293 (+5) that had them within the Top Ten. They need, first, to make the top 15 after the 3rd round so they can be in a position to qualify for the Elite Eight and advance to championship match play. After their first round, so far, so good…


2nd Round


The Buckeyes shot another steady team score of 293 (+5) , but they fell into 14th place after 36 holes. They are three strokes in front of the 16th place team (Georgia) and five strokes out of 8th place (Northwestern). The Buckeyes had this round very much under control until the 18th hole. Through 17 holes, Ohio State’s team score was +1 on the day, a very good round that had them placed within the Top Ten.

Then, things went to hell in a hand-basket for them on their final hole. Rio’s closing birdie wasn’t enough to offset 2 bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey: the team lost 4 strokes to par, dropping them to 14th. All their previous good work on the day was undone on one hole; it happens…

The Buckeyes were led by another sub-par round by Rio Watanabe 68 (-4). The rest of the team scoring consisted of Jessica Porvasnik 74 (+2), Katja Pogacar 75 (+3) and Niki Schroeder 76 (+4). Jaclyn Lee’s 77 (+5) rounded out Ohio State scoring for the round.

As a side note, Rio’s round was her third consecutive sub-par round in NCAA ply (Regionals and Championships). Her two day scoring (-6) places her tied for 4th place in overall scoring (132 golfers) after 36 holes.

They Buckeyes began their rounds on the front nine, beginning with hole #1. The front nine is par of 37, the back nine has par of 35.

Rio continued her stellar post-season play by recording 5 birdies on her round. Her 3 birdies on the front side got OSU off to a fast start and her birdies on #17 and #18 may have saved their bacon in team standings.

Katja had a great front nine (2 birdies/7 pars) but lost her mojo with 5 bogeys on the back nine. Still, a 75 was a good score.

Niki had a solid start, shooting a +1, 38. She did have a nice stretch of 6 consecutive pars in her back nine 38 (+3).

Jaclyn was even par on her front side (2 birdies/2 bogeys) and was cruising along at +2 for the round until a triple bogey 7 on the 18th hole, which knocked her out of the team scoring. Ugh.

Jessica was rolling along (2 birdies/2 bogeys) at even par through 17 holes. Then a hiccup with a double bogey on #18.

Buckeye scoring, below:

NCAA Championship Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 3 Total
Team 293 293 0 0 586
Katja Pogacar 73 75 0 0 148
Jessica Porvasnik 77 74 0 0 151
Rio Watanabe 70 68 0 0 138
Jaclyn Lee 75 77 0 0 152
Niki Schroeder 75 76 0 0 151

Through two rounds, Ohio State played the par 3’s fairly well, averaging a 3.03, +1 to par, ranking them T-5th. They played the par 4’s “sort of OK”, to an average of 4,20, +20 to par, ranking them T-16th. They played the par 5’s decently well, to an average of 4.98, -1 to par, ranking them T-17th. In the 2nd round, they played the par-3’s one stroke worse, the par-4’s exactly the same and the par-5’s one stroke better. That is amazingly consistent golf.

The Buckeyes put together a round of 12 birdies, 57 pars, 17 bogeys, 1 double bogey and one triple bogey (ugh)..

Next up, Round 3.

Go Buckeyes!

The post OSUWG: Buckeyes in Top 15 after 2nd Round appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

2016 Big Ten baseball tournament bracket: Ohio State will face Michigan in opening round
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


If Ohio State wants to find a way to make the NCAA Tournament, they'll once again need to go through Michigan.

Ohio State concluded their regular season with another clutch victory over a ranked opponent, a 6-5 victory over the Big Ten regular season champions, Minnesota. Ohio State's NCAA Tournament fate is still unclear, but the Buckeyes are still postseason bound, and they'll participate in the Big Ten Tournament, hoping to solidify their postseason profile. They'll start against the most familiar of foes, the Michigan Wolverines.

Ohio State is the fourth seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and will face fifth seeded Michigan at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast on BTN. Also on Ohio State's side of the bracket are Minnesota, who earned the top seed in the tournament, and eighth seeded Iowa. Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State and Nebraska will compete on the other side of the bracket.

The Big Ten baseball tournament is a double elimination tournament. If Ohio State is able to beat Michigan again, they'll face the winner of the Minnesota-Iowa game. If they lose, they'll face the loser. The full bracket can be found below.

As of late Saturday night, Ohio State has a sterling 38-17-1 record, but an RPI of only 60. That's a massive improvement of where it was only a few weeks ago, but it likely isn't good enough to earn a tournament bid. If Ohio State is able to pick RPI boosting victories over Michigan and Minnesota again though, their computer profile may be rehabilitated enough to sneak in, even without winning the tournament.

The Buckeyes are a combined 7-2 against Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa, winning a series against each program. Ohio State is also a perfect 3-0 against Michigan this season, sweeping the series in their final Big Ten regular season homestand.

Here's the full Big Ten baseball tournament bracket. Here's hoping that Ohio State can shake off some of the disastrous finishes from the last few seasons, continue their hot streak against quality competition, and a find a way to extend their season.



Continue reading...

Buckeye baseball takes two of three over Minnesota, finishes fourth in Big Ten - OSU - The Lantern
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeye baseball takes two of three over Minnesota, finishes fourth in Big Ten
OSU - The Lantern
The Buckeyes' offensive fortunes came in the form of wild pitches and passed balls. Scoring on a wild pitch in the second, OSU once again crossed home plate in the seventh on an errant pitch from Golden Gophers' pitcher Matt Fielder. Sophomore Tre ...
Gophers baseball aims to bolster NCAA case in Big Ten tournamentMinneapolis Star Tribune
Ohio State baseball finishes regular season with dramatic extra innings win, 6-5, over MinnesotaLand-Grant Holy Land
Ranking The Big Ten's 6 Best 2017 Recruiting Classes So FarChat Sports
TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press -WILX-TV -ESPN (blog)
all 28 news articles »

Continue reading...

View the 2016 Big Ten Baseball Tournament bracket and schedule
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

The Big Ten released the 2016 Big Ten Baseball Tournament bracket on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Ohio State baseball finishes regular season with dramatic extra innings win, 6-5, over Minnesota
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ronnie Dawson powered the Buckeyes to a victory as the team closed the Big Ten schedule with a 15-9 record.

Ronnie Dawson put an exclamation point on the regular season for Ohio State baseball, hitting both game-tying and game-winning home runs, as the Buckeyes defeated Minnesota 6-5 in ten innings. The win gave Ohio State a series victory over the Gophers, who clinched the conference regular season title on Friday, and a 15-9 record in Big Ten play.

Down a run in the top of the eighth and facing a Gophers' bullpen that shut the Buckeyes down on Friday, Dawson launched his 11th homer of the season to tie things up.


The junior left fielder came to the plate again with one out in the tenth, and scorched a nearly identical shot to put Ohio State on top. Dawson had been 0-for-3 on the day before the two longballs.


Yianni Pavlopoulos came on to shut the door in the bottom of the tenth, setting Minnesota down 1-2-3 for his 13th save of the season.

Ryan Feltner got the win, improving to 2-3 on the season, after tossing a scoreless ninth inning out of the bullpen.

Saturday's Big Ten results were not all in as of this writing, but it appears Ohio State will be the fourth seed in the Big Ten tournament in Omaha, and open with a game against Michigan at 10:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Like John Havird on Friday night, Ohio State starter Adam Neimeyer couldn't avoid a big inning against the Big Ten's most explosive offense. A four-run fourth inning ultimately doomed the redshirt sophomore righty to a short outing after he allowed five runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings of work, striking out four and walking one in a no-decision

Troy Kuhn and Troy Montgomery also had banner days at the plate. Kuhn went 2-for-5, including a double that moved him into a tie for sixth place on the program's all-time leader board, and scored a pair of runs. Montgomery had two hits of his own, with an RBI and a run scored.

Minnesota starter Toby Anderson was solid, but by no means spectacular, working 5+ innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits, with no strikeouts or walks. The Gophers' bullpen, which had been lights out on Friday, just could not contain Dawson and hold onto the lead.

For the third straight game, Ohio State took the early lead. Kuhn reached base on an error by Minnesota third baseman Micah Coffey and Montgomery bunted his way aboard. After the two moved up a base on a wild pitch by Anderson, Jacob Bosiokovic came up with an RBI groundout and Jalen Washington had a run-scoring single for a 2-0 lead.

In the fourth, Minnesota broke through against Niemeyer, taking a 4-2 lead. Back-to-back singles by Austin Athmann and Coffey led things off and a sacrifice bunt by Alex Boxwell moved both into scoring position. Toby Hanson followed with a sacrifice fly to bring Athmann home and Riley Smith singled in Coffey to things up at 2.

After a walk to Jordan Smith, leadoff man Dan Motl tripled to right field on a ball lost in the sun, which brought home two more runs. As was the case on Friday night, the Gophers put up a nice crooked number to charge back to the lead.

The Buckeyes got one right back in the top of the fifth thanks to a leadoff double by Tre Gantt. The sophomore right fielder moved to third on a groundout by Nick Sergakis and then scored on a bunt by Craig Nennig to make it a 4-3 ballgame.

The lead shot right back to two in the bottom of the fifth, as a pair of singles by Athmann and Matt Fiedler set up Boxwell for an RBI groundout and a 5-3 lead. Niemeyer was pulled with two outs in the frame, and Seth Kinker assured no further damage was done.

But Ohio State would not back down. Kuhn led off the sixth with a double into the left field gap and came around to score on a Montgomery single back up the middle to trim the lead to 5-4 and end Anderson's day.

Dawson and the Buckeye bullpen took it from there, ending the regular season on a resoundingly positive note. Ohio State won four straight Big Ten series to close things out, and has plenty of momentum going with it to Omaha.

Continue reading...

Buckeyes win district championship - Athens Messenger (registration)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes win district championship
Athens Messenger (registration)
CHILLICOTHE — The Nelsonville-York Buckeyes entered Saturday's Division III District Track and Field Championships already in first place. Their performances on Saturday only widened the gap between them and the field. Nelsonville-York's boys track ...


Continue reading...

ESPN analyst: Why Buckeyes will be better in 2016 than 2015 - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


ESPN analyst: Why Buckeyes will be better in 2016 than 2015
247Sports
The Buckeyes won the first ever college football playoff era national championship in 2014. With most of their starters returning the 2015 Ohio State team was ranked No. 1 in the country and the pick of virtually everyone as the favorite to repeat as ...
OSUWG: NCAA Championships, Round 1, have Buckeyes in Top 10The Buckeye Battle Cry
Ohio State sports roundup | Men's, women's tennis in NCAA quarterfinalsColumbus Dispatch
George Goldhoff knocked off the nation's top-ranked player in Friday's loss to the Buckeyes.TexasSports.com
Eleven Warriors (registration)
all 9 news articles »

Continue reading...

ESPN analyst: Buckeyes will be better in 2016 than 2015 - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


ESPN analyst: Buckeyes will be better in 2016 than 2015
247Sports
The Buckeyes won the first ever college football playoff era national championship in 2014. With most of their starters returning the 2015 Ohio State team was ranked No. 1 in the country and the pick of virtually everyone as the favorite to repeat as ...
Pat Caputo - Can lofty expectations match reality for Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football in 2016?Southgate News Herald

all 2 news articles »

Continue reading...