Team preview: Ohio State (ESPN)

[BB73]

Not anymore. That site needs to update the largest crowd.

For the 105,565 at the Texas game.

The official site has not updated data from the 2005 season into the all-time records.

 

[msj2487]

that is the official capacity. basically, they cram more bodies in than the place can officially hold. plus, media seats are not counted towards official capacity, but the media members are counted towards the attendence totals.

Present Capacity 101,568

I stand corrected, my apologies and thanks for clearing this up for me lvbuckeye and scooter.

 

[aesculus glabra]

Wow.........

Are you guys serious? It amazes me how so many take anything that ESPN writes and runs with it. Who gives a shit about the Woody Harrelson/ Hayes comment? He was alluding to Tressel being such a chilled out guy.

I don't think author(s) meant any harm in the comparison, but I do think that such a comparison is flawed. Nothing screams Jim Tressel like choking a paparazzi, being outspoken politically, and the advocacy of legalized marijuana.

I do think the author was trying to be cute, but confused Woody Harrelson with his character Woody Boyd on Cheers. Even then, Woody Boyd was a dimwhitted, loveable loser, so the comparison is still invalid.

 

[pianobuck46]

Look I said nothing about East Coast Bias because I don't feel that is even an issue, Espn Likes who they like and thats a stone cold fact, just look at the poll the took last year comparing the best national championship team to the 1 1/2 time National Champion USC trojans, after picking Usc to be end all beat all greatest team in the history of football, most of the guys like Chris Fowler (total and intential name drop) said that Texas would despite the fact that Usc had Matt L. A.k.a. God with a football helmet. I'm just asking that espn be fair because they are after all a news outlet.

Do you agree with that?

ESPN fairness = Dan Rather & CBS, New York Times, LA Times, etc.
In fact, "ESPN Fairness" has been an oxymoron the last few years as far as tOSU has been concerned. The only exception I saw last year was Mark May (!?!?!), and that was only after the season and the Fiesta Bowl.

We're all kind of forced to watch them in the fall on Saturdays occasionally (when they telecast the Buckeyes), but that's about all I can take.


:gobucks3: :osu2: :gobucks4:

 

[t_BuckeyeScott]

I agree with daddyphatsacs. In fact one might think that they learned from going after a huge university like tOSU. Its not good to alienate the fans. I think that's why they're giving USC more of a pass right now, not because they are favorites. It was bullshit at the time but their are plenty of columnists who give tOSU respect. I think you all are holding a grudge.

 

[BayBuck]

I think you all are holding a grudge.

Damn right!

 

[aesculus glabra]

I agree with daddyphatsacs. In fact one might think that they learned from going after a huge university like tOSU. Its not good to alienate the fans. I think that's why they're giving USC more of a pass right now, not because they are favorites.

I also believe they are giving USC more of a pass because they (especially Tom Friend) got embarrassed by (1) the NCAA's findings against OSU and (2) their "smoking gun" Maurice Clarett himself. I think that this time they are being a little more cautious before they start an all-out attack attack (if one even comes at all).

 

[Dryden]

Wow.........

Are you guys serious? It amazes me how so many take anything that ESPN writes and runs with it.

The argument might actually be credible if ESPN even wrote this stuff. As mentioned in the lead to the article, these are not ESPN's previews, these are Blue Ribbon's, which publishes a college football yearbook and, more notably, has done one of the most widely respected college basketball yearbooks for over 20 years.

Blue Ribbon previews used to be on CNN/SI before ESPN came up with the Insider/Mag program.

For example, here's the Buckeyes 2002 Blue Ribbon preview at SI:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/2002/preview/ohiost/

Let the old news ESPN grudge go fellas, it just makes OSU fans look bad when you take everything and turn it into a shot against the Buckeyes. Plus, it gives them fuel to write stories to rile you all up.... I'm no ally of ESPN, but it gets a bit old hearing the same tiresome bitching and moaning from some.

Absolutely agree. I'm sick of hearing the same old complaints too. Anyone who thinks there is a real bias at the network has a very myopic view of the programming and is looking for something to dislike.

The irony is that 90% of college football fans outside of Ohio are sick and tired of hearing about Ohio State on ESPN all the time. Look at the CFB pages this summer, this is the second Ted Ginn picture for an Ohio State lead, there have been at least two Troy Smith pictures, and there was the one of Nate Salley standing at midfield giving the #1 sign in Ann Arbor.

 

[Dryden]

I also believe they are giving USC more of a pass because they (especially Tom Friend) got embarrassed by (1) the NCAA's findings against OSU and (2) their "smoking gun" Maurice Clarett himself. I think that this time they are being a little more cautious before they start an all-out attack attack (if one even comes at all).

Then again, they just might hate Ohio State ...

Maurice Clarett was the linchpin to the whole thing. ESPN, like any other "news" organization, thought they had a story because they had the first-hand testimony of a central figure. The problem is, they hadn't yet figured out what Clarett's word was worth, so they wound up with egg on their face.

I'm sure if Reggie Bush called up Tom Friend and said, "Hey, I've got something I think you need to know," Friend would be on the horn to ESPN telling them to get the blitz ready, and the USC mud slinging would be unlike anything any of us have ever seen before.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

Of little note, espin's former producer, Shapiro, (he directed the espin onslaught against Bucks re:MC and debacle), now the ceo at Six Flags Amusement whatever, has "discovered" the SF amusement parks are losing their financial ass. With down earnings across the board, Shapiro regretfully has decided to unload the lot.

Calling Shapiro a weasel is almost an insult to the weasels.

He's doing the same thing for Six Flags Darien Lake (Buffalo)

 

[aesculus glabra]

Maurice Clarett was the linchpin to the whole thing. ESPN, like any other "news" organization, thought they had a story because they had the first-hand testimony of a central figure. The problem is, they hadn't yet figured out what Clarett's word was worth, so they wound up with egg on their face.

I'm sure if Reggie Bush called up Tom Friend and said, "Hey, I've got something I think you need to know," Friend would be on the horn to ESPN telling them to get the blitz ready, and the USC mud slinging would be unlike anything any of us have ever seen before.

I pretty much agree with what you have asserted in the text quoted above and I also agree with the assertion that ESPN is not out to get Ohio State per se. As you have pointed out, espn.com has been giving the Buckeyes a lot of love and hype this summer.

I also think Tom Friend (and others at ESPN and the New York Times) saw an opportunity to make a name for himself by exposing a corrupt athletic department of a sports crazy university. The problem for Buckeye Nation was that the opportunity arose from the actions of an OSU player. The problem for Mr. Friend was the fact that no matter how good the information sounded or how believable the source was, the information needed to be verified and the source needed to be corroborated. Indeed, Mr. Friend started out looking like Woodward and Berstein, but ended up looking like Dan Rather.

 

[pianobuck46]

Maurice Clarett was the linchpin to the whole thing. ESPN, like any other "news" organization, thought they had a story because they had the first-hand testimony of a central figure. The problem is, they hadn't yet figured out what Clarett's word was worth, so they wound up with egg on their face.

I'm sure if Reggie Bush called up Tom Friend and said, "Hey, I've got something I think you need to know," Friend would be on the horn to ESPN telling them to get the blitz ready, and the USC mud slinging would be unlike anything any of us have ever seen before.

I think that some of us are forgetting who originally broke the story in the summer of 2003 (more than a year before Clarett went to Friend et al.)--the good ol' New York Times.

The story, as I remember, was based onj interviews with Clarett and the McGill woman. Neither Geiger nor Tressel, among others were ever interviewed before the story hit.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the way I remember it.

:gobucks3: :osu2: :gobucks4:

 

[Dryden]

I think that some of us are forgetting who originally broke the story in the summer of 2003 (more than a year before Clarett went to Friend et al.)--the good ol' New York Times.

The story, as I remember, was based onj interviews with Clarett and the McGill woman. Neither Geiger nor Tressel, among others were ever interviewed before the story hit.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the way I remember it.

:gobucks3: :osu2: :gobucks4:

Correct. Good ole' Mike Freeman, who left the NY Times for the IndyStar, then was released by the IndyStar in disgrace after it was discovered he'd lied on his resume, now settled in Jacksonville, where he continues with a once-a-year "I hate the Buckeyes" column.

He certainly has an axe to grind and an agenda, but it's going on five years now and nobody can figure out for why or what that is. My take is that he is the original (to borrow from aesculus glabra's post) "Woodward and Berstein" wannabe, who took his shot at the system of big time college athletics with his story on Clarett and McGill, and lost, now he's just bitter.

 

[pianobuck46]

Correct. Good ole' Mike Freeman, who left the NY Times for the IndyStar, then was released by the IndyStar in disgrace after it was discovered he'd lied on his resume, now settled in Jacksonville, where he continues with a once-a-year "I hate the Buckeyes" column.

He certainly has an axe to grind and an agenda, but it's going on five years now and nobody can figure out for why or what that is. My take is that he is the original (to borrow from aesculus glabra's post) "Woodward and Berstein" wannabe, who took his shot at the system of big time college athletics with his story on Clarett and McGill, and lost, now he's just bitter.

Hey, Dryden--thanks for the validation.

:gobucks3: :osu2: :gobucks4:

 

[Steve19]

Correct. Good ole' Mike Freeman, who left the NY Times for the IndyStar, then was released by the IndyStar in disgrace after it was discovered he'd lied on his resume, now settled in Jacksonville, where he continues with a once-a-year "I hate the Buckeyes" column.

He certainly has an axe to grind and an agenda, but it's going on five years now and nobody can figure out for why or what that is. My take is that he is the original (to borrow from aesculus glabra's post) "Woodward and Berstein" wannabe, who took his shot at the system of big time college athletics with his story on Clarett and McGill, and lost, now he's just bitter.

On the other hand, its possible that he is just a wanker. You decide! :)