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I've been on a real Johnny Cash kick lately...and have found the perfect Cash song for them...."I Hung My Head". 
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Pride goeth before the fall. I am very proud to be from a university where the coach talks to recruits about how Ohio State will give them a premier education and how participation in our athletics program will give them other skills that will benefit them for life.
Recruits would be smart to doubt a big talker who flashes a ring around and trust a man whose integrity and history says he can get it done again and again.
I want to see our Buckeyes destroy these guys. Period.
Recruits would be smart to doubt a big talker who flashes a ring around and trust a man whose integrity and history says he can get it done again and again.
I want to see our Buckeyes destroy these guys. Period.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
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1/1/06
1/1/06
Tressel enjoys trip; Weis all business
Sunday, January 1, 2006
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]
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Out in the desert, Charlie Weis is leading the Irish to water. And Notre Dame isn’t finished drinking yet this season.
Ohio State has won its two Fiesta Bowl appearances in the last three seasons. It’s where Jim Tressel has already taken the Buckeyes, and where Weis wants to get when it’s for all of college football’s marbles.
So is Monday’s Fiesta Bowl between two of college football’s storied programs about which coach can outwit the other, or about which program has better players?
A little bit of both.
“You do enjoy that strategy of the game,” Tressel said. “I don’t know about getting into his (Weis’s) head.”
As much as this game is about the nation’s No. 4 (Ohio State) and No. 5 (Notre Dame) teams, it’s also about two of the game’s most successful coaches, and brightest minds.
Tressel gets enough out of his players to be near the top of college football rankings each season. Weis won three Super Bowls as New England’s offensive coordinator, turned Tom Brady into the NFL’s posterboy and has turned Notre Dame’s program around in a year.
Tressel is more laid back; Weis is more business with a sprinkle of personality. Tressel looks at the Fiesta Bowl as a reward to his players for a great season. Weis looks at it as determining what kind of season the Irish finish.
“We’re treating this trip a lot like a business,” Weis said. “I’m looking to come into this game and win, and I know only one way to that: That’s to give them little time for rest and relaxation. To get them mentally ready for the game.”
Weis doesn’t shy from his success. During media day Friday, he wore one of his Super Bowl rings. He talked about how the diamonds will sparkle in more than just the Arizona sun.
They shine in living rooms of recruits, as well.
“They start to tell me they’re going somewhere else because it gives them a better chance to go to the NFL,” Weis told reporters. “And I’ll go, ‘So you want to play in the NFL?’ ”
He rested his hand with the ring on his chin.
“They get the point,” Weis said of high school recruits.
Notre Dame’s success isn’t smoke and mirrors. The Irish nearly beat USC before the No. 1-ranked Trojans scored in the final seconds of a 34-31 win in South Bend. The Irish beat Michigan in the second week of the season.
But Notre Dame’s final five wins came against teams with a combined 25-32 record. Only Navy was over .500.
Tressel isn’t biting.
“The biggest thing about Notre Dame that impresses me is how fundamentally sound they are,” Tressel said. “They’re very aggressive and they apply pressure. They have a veteran group of guys who have played a lot of football games. ... Obviously, they are very deserving of being here. This will be a great matchup for us.”
Ohio State may not be a bad opponent, either.
The Buckeyes bring the country’s best run defense to Sun Devil Stadium against a Notre Dame attack led by running back Darius Walker. Ohio State has the No. 4 overall defense.
Walker, a sophomore has 1,106 yards rushing, but just six touchdowns on the ground.
Notre Dame’s passing game, which is where Weis excels, is led by Brady Quinn. His record-setting season at Notre Dame includes 3,633 yards and 32 touchdowns. Under Weis, Notre Dame’s offense has made the biggest yardage improvement from last season, averaging nearly 150 yards more a game.
Notre Dame’s defense, on the other hand, is another story. Surely the Irish will try to confuse Buckeye quarterback Troy Smith by disguising both blitz and coverage schemes. But this is a defense that has allowed almost 24 points a game, and is 63rd out of 117 Division I-A schools in total defense.
“They’re giving up 14.8 points a game, and we’re averaging 38. Obviously, something will have to give statistically,” Weis said. “The truth lies somewhere in between. We’ll have to see how it all plays out. If we score 14 and win 14-13, sign me up and we don’t even have to play the game. ... It’s all about scoring more points than they do.” Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail:
[email protected].
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
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1/1/06
1/1/06
OSU FOOTBALL
Senior class more than made its mark
Group has shot to tie mark for wins in four years
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — What has been a sometimes hair-raising, sometimes airgrabbing four-year ride for 16 Ohio State seniors is careening toward the final bend.
On Monday, the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Not only will it be a chance for OSU to post a school-record fourth straight bowl win, the Buckeyes also could gain a school record-tying 43 rd victory over four years.
"That’s something that would be hard to beat," coach Jim Tressel said. "I’m sure that group that was here from 1995 through 1998, when they got 43 wins, you thought, ‘Man, I don’t know if anyone will ever do something like that.’
"If we can have some success and put them in the league of that group, to me that would be a special thing for these kids."
Of course, this is also a group whose win total was salted from the start with the 14-0 season of 2002 that netted OSU’s first national championship since 1968, and also produced a share of two Big Ten titles.
"When you look at it overall, I guess you could say we’ve been winners," senior guard Rob Sims said. "We set the bar high for the guys who come behind us."
As he pointed out, that’s what the incoming class of 2002 was expected to do. Seven of the 16 seniors were in that group.
"I remember watching TV when we were all getting recruited and they were saying we had the second-best class in the country, and I remember thinking, ‘Man, I’m really part of something,’ " Sims said. "Then we came here and we pretty much backed it up.
"It’s kind of what we all wanted to happen, and it unfolded into being this great legacy we’re leaving behind."
Not that they’ve taken the ride on greased wheels. One key member of the recruiting class in 2002 was running back Maurice Clarett, who turned out to be the spark the Buckeyes needed on the way to the national title.
The winning touchdown he scored here in the Fiesta Bowl against Miami turned out to be his last, at least thus far. He was declared ineligible the next season, and later, while fighting to try to go the NFL, he leveled accusations of misconduct against the OSU program and, among others, Tressel. An NCAA investigation gathered insufficient evidence to support Clarett’s claims.
But the bruising the program sustained is still healing.
"What bothered me the most about that were the things that were said and being written about coach Tressel," said 2005 Lombardi Awardwinning linebacker A.J. Hawk. "He’s a great man just like all of our coaches.
"Otherwise, I think we did a pretty good job of not letting all of that other stuff distract us. We’ve got a big game to go, but we’re proud of what we’ve done."
That starts with being part of a national championship team.
"Everybody comes to a school saying, ‘I want to win a national championship,’ but until it happens, it’s just a dream," Sims said. "Then when it happens, you sit back and think, ‘Man, I really lived a dream of mine.’ . . . It gets better every time I think about it."
Then throw in the two Big Ten co-titles in 2002 and 2005 and beating Michigan three out of four years, "including in our last trip up there in November," safety Nate Salley said. "That was huge."
Yet there are moments when they think about what could have been. Like if they had won at Michigan in 2003; they were poised for a return trip to the national-championship game until then. And there was the three-game losing streak to start the 2004 Big Ten season that took them out of the race from the get-go.
"But you also can look at the way we bounced back from those three losses and then beat Michigan," defensive end Mike Kudla said. "That means a lot, too. It means we didn’t quit. We didn’t give up.
"I think that says as much about this group of seniors and this team as anything else."
Football shoved them all together, "but that doesn’t mean you’re always going to get along," said senior linebacker Anthony Schlegel, who transferred in from Air Force soon after the national-title win.
"That’s why one of the biggest memories I’m going to take from this experience is just how tight this group was, how great we got along. Yeah, winning matters, absolutely. But more than that, I’ve got some incredibly close friends for life now. That means so much more."
[email protected]
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
What a great senior class....
Sunday, January 01, 2006
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Chicago Sun Times
1/1
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Ball in the family
[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]January 1, 2006[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]JIM O'DONNELL Staff Reporter <!-- Empty line is needed --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>
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[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] <!--publication CST --> <!--pub_section SPT last modified 12/30/05 10:02 PM-->[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]COLUMBUS, Ohio -- His world was shaped at the innocently blissful intersection of ''Happy Days'' and ''Dobie Gillis.'' He can remember a time when Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell were the deep backs on the kickoff-return team for the Cleveland Browns, Mitch Miller ruled your father's morning radio and Jerry Lucas was the unforgettable wintertime prince of Ohio.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Now Jim Tressel prepares laser-teched college football players to roll out on an X-Boxed Usher-way.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Along the shores of the Olentangy River at Ohio State, there are many who think Tressel can walk on water. They have ever since he led the Buckeyes to a national championship in his second season on the mast in 2002. He will settle this season for beating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday (4 p.m., Ch. 7).[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel, 53, is a major-college football coach who is the preserved embodiment of all that once was considered good and decent in American life. He is humble, focused, self-reliant, family-oriented, quietly religious, compassionate and instructional. And his reverence never forgets.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]COLUMBUS WAY [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]CAREER PATH OF JIM TRESSEL [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1967-71: Quarterback, Berea (Ohio) High School
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1971-75: Quarterback, Baldwin-Wallace College (Berea, Ohio)
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1975: Graduate assistant, University of Akron
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1976-78: Assistant coach, University of Akron
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1979-80: Assistant coach, Miami (Ohio)
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1981-82: Assistant coach, Syracuse
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1983-85: Assistant coach, Ohio State
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1986-2000: Head coach, Youngstown State (135-57-2)
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2001-05: Head coach, Ohio State (49-13-0) [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] NO BLUE [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]TRESSEL VS. MICHIGAN [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Few have been better than Tressel at passing the annual test for coaches at Ohio State. He's 4-1 vs. the Wolverines:[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2001 at Michigan: won 26-20
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2002 at Ohio State: won 14-9
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2003 at Michigan: lost 35-21
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2004 at Ohio State: won 37-21
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2005 at Michigan: won 25-21 [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Ask him about his childhood as the son of a small-college football coach in Berea, Ohio, and he wants to talk about growing up with the fellow -- the late John-Michael Tebelak -- who conceived and wrote the initial drafts of ''Godspell.'' Put him on a desert island with only a flashlight, and he still will find a way to defeat Michigan. His sort of authenticity is as diminished as the Sunday ice-cream social on Front Street, U.S.A.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''I don't think people always believe my brother's genuineness,'' said Dave Tressel, a middle-school science teacher and the last of the three Tressel brothers in Berea, a far southwest suburb of Cleveland. ''He cares about people; he wants to help people. Those are traits that we got from my parents, and he has taken them to the greatest heights. He has always been special.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Coach is someone who makes it very clear that he cares a great deal about us,'' said A.J. Hawk, Ohio State's superb All-America linebacker. ''His door is always open. He cares about us, our families, our grades, our well-being. Every football team, I think, likes to think it's family. Coach Tressel actually makes it happen.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Says the family-maker himself: ''I am an educator, nothing more, nothing less. And I care.''[/FONT]
<!--startsubhead-->[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Idolized his father[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Back in the happy days, if Dr. Lee Tressel, wife Eloise and sons Dick, Dave and Jim lived any closer to the football stadium at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, they would have had to sleep under the goalposts. Their house -- at 127 East Bagley Road -- overlooked Roy Watts Stadium, the 6,000-seat edifice where Dr. Tressel ruled the Yellow Jackets from 1958 until 1980.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''The house was huge, and the third floor actually had a room that looked out over the football field,'' Dave Tressel said. ''My brothers and I always sold concessions and stuff on game days. But on the more inclement days, some people would use the room almost like a stone-age skybox. My father pretty much had an open-door policy as far as his players were concerned. My mom would cook for them, and she even mended rips in the uniforms.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]That open door was more of a whirring door for the Tressels, none more so than young Jim. He delivered the Cleveland Press and later the Cleveland Plain-Dealer from third grade on. He rabidly pursued all available athletics, which in those days meant the trimestered annual rhythms among Little League baseball, bantam football and peewee basketball. And more than even his equally fervent elder brothers, he followed his father around like a guard puppy. He also later would serve as one of the first ballboys for the Cleveland Cavaliers when the expansion NBA team held their first camp at B-W in 1970.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Jim tried to go everywhere his father did,'' said family friend Jackie Groza, the widow of Browns great Lou ''The Toe'' Groza. ''He absolutely idolized Lee. He was always around practice and games. And always encouraged to be.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Says Jim Tressel: ''I was consumed by following the Yellow Jackets. In our minds, my father was just like Paul Brown or Woody Hayes or Blanton Collier. He always, proudly, shared that he knew them. But we never got to go to Browns games until the B-W season was over, meaning we'd be down at frigid Municipal Stadium around Thanksgiving or so. But our whole life was great.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]That idyllicness continued as Tressel progressed to starting quarterback at Berea High School and, later, starting quarterback -- under his father -- at B-W. In 1974, his senior season, he led the Yellow Jackets to an 8-2 record and was a first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection. That would propel him to assistant roles at Akron after graduation.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]His father's career would crescendo with a Division III national championship at B-W in 1978. But less than three years later, Dr. Lee Tressel would be dead, at age 56, of lung cancer.[/FONT]
<!--startsubhead-->[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]'More personal approach'[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''I never thought about being the head coach at Ohio State until the job opened up in 2001,'' Jim Tressel says. ''And even then, I felt I was a long shot to get it.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]So did many others, even though Tressel had carved out a remarkable record during his 15-year run as head coach at Youngstown State: four Division I-AA championships, six appearances in the national title game and an overall record of 135-57-2.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''This program is much more about players than most,'' said Andy Geiger, the athletic director who hired Tressel at Ohio State. ''Jim came in, immediately got to know so much about each individual player and his family and about their experiences. It's a much more personal approach than most were accustomed to. Within the family, it became a small-college feel.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]That touchin'-squeezin' feel has served both the university and its buttoned-down head coach well. While Tressel periodically endures some criticism for his conservative offense, his sound defenses and emphasis on constantly chipping into favorable field position have led to that 2002 national crown, two Big Ten co-championships, a five-year record of 49-13 and four victories against Michigan.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]He also has worked diligently to make Ohio State players understand that no individual is bigger than the program. Exhibit A was Maurice Clarett, the supremely talented running back whose off-field decisions caused massive turmoil for athletic administrators. Exhibit B, of current vintage, is quarterback Troy Smith, the fleet-footed Clevelander who will try to lead the Buckeyes to victory Monday against the Fighting Irish.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Most recently, Smith hit 8 of 9 passes late to spark the Buckeyes to a 25-21 stunner at Michigan Stadium six weeks ago. But his rustiness -- after serving a two-game suspension for accepting $500 illegally from a booster -- also is cited as a primary reason that Ohio State lost to Texas 25-22 at home in September. That defeat essentially ended any hopes Tressel and Co. had of winning a national championship this season.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Our seniors can still finish 4-0 in bowl games if we win the Fiesta,'' Smith said. ''That's huge incentive for us.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Backstage, the Tressel coaching and athletic trees continue to flourish. Brother Dick retired after 23 seasons as the head coach at Hamline University in Minnesota and is now the running backs coach for the Buckeyes. Dick's sons all coach football: Mike is an assistant at Cincinnati, Luke is an assistant at Minnesota and Ben is a high school coach in Minnesota. And Dave's son Lee is an assistant to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman (Cleveland native George Steinbrenner was a longtime friend of the late Dr. Lee Tressel).[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''The primary thing my parents always emphasized to us was to get involved and to help,'' Dave Tressel said. ''That's the sort of attitude I think Jim has brought to Ohio State. It is about so much more than coaching.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]On Monday, all Tressel is hoping to bring to Ohio State is one more victory, No. 50 lifetime for him on the Buckeyes' sideline.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''What a thrill,'' the football family-maker says, ''to be in the Fiesta Bowl again. Playing the likes of Notre Dame only makes it that much more special. Their very potent offense versus our very capable defense. That, obviously, will be the key. But their defense is so underrated. And special teams will be huge. Really, everything about this game is pretty unbelievable.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]All so near to -- and yet so far away from -- his innocently blissful intersection of ''Happy Days'' and ''Dobie Gillis.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Now on the road to legend.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][email protected][/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel name revered in Cleveland suburb[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]BY JIM O'DONNELL STAFF REPORTER[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]BEREA, Ohio -- Lee Tressel came to this ivy-tinged college town in 1942 to play football at Baldwin-Wallace and to begin to serve his country in the Navy's V-12 program. He died in 1981, but his spirit never has left.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]His most prominent living legacy is his youngest son, Jim (B-W, Class of '75), who is the head coach at Ohio State. Eldest son Dick (B-W, Class of '70) is the running backs coach for the Buckeyes after spending 23 years (1978-2000) as the head coach at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. And reminders of the Tressel legend are also readily apparent throughout the once-bucolic Cleveland suburb.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Not far from B-W's George Finnie Stadium is Lee and Eloise Tressel Avenue, a tribute to the coach and his wife. Eloise Tressel -- who died in August 2001, one month before her son coached his first game at Ohio State -- also is honored for her years of community service with a plaque at the nearby Berea Historical Society. Upstairs in the B-W physical education building is Tressel Lounge. Inside are shelves upon shelves commemorating Dr. Tressel's 23-year run (1958-80) as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, a stint that included a Division III national championship in 1978. Middle son David (B-W, Class of '73) continues to teach blocks from the campus at Roehm Middle School. He has taught in Berea for 33 years.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]THE DOCTOR'S FILE[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Dr. Tressel was the head coach at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio -- a far southwest suburb of Cleveland -- from 1958 to 1980. He finished with a career record of 155-52-6 (.742) and won a Division III national title in 1978. He was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after the national title and died in April 1981 at age 56. He was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., in August 1996. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''There is not enough good to say about Lee and Eloise Tressel,'' said Roy Seitz, 86, a longtime compatriot and the man who operated the scoreboard at B-W games for 45 years. ''He was as fine and honest a man as you would want to meet, and she could have been mayor of Berea if we ever could have gotten her to run.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Added Jackie Groza, the widow of Cleveland Browns great Lou ''The Toe'' Groza: ''They were wonderful people. Eloise was involved in everything, and Lee was totally committed to his family and the game of football. I still miss them both very much.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The couple met while in high school in their native Ada, Ohio, a farming community not far from Lima in the west-central part of the state. Lee Tressel was a star high school running back who began his college career at Ohio State but soon was swept into the Navy's wartime program at B-W. Nicknamed ''Twister,'' he flourished for the Yellow Jackets before beginning active military service after two seasons.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]After the war, Tressel returned to B-W to complete his playing career and degree in 1948. He then set out on a 10-year odyssey throughout Ohio high schools -- Ada, Mentor and the legendary Massillon -- as a head coach before returning to his alma mater in 1958. He never left, accumulating a 155-52-6 record. A heavy smoker, he won the 1978 national championship with an 11-0-1 record, then was diagnosed with lung cancer. He hung on through final seasons of 8-2 and 10-1 in 1979-80 before his passing at age 56.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel's trademarks throughout were fierce dedication to his family, to the game, to his players -- and to his de rigueur bow ties.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Lee could not coach a game without a bow tie,'' Seitz said. ''One Saturday night, we were at Ashland College. I had driven Eloise and my wife, Fran, to the game. When we got there, Lee was motioning me onto the team bus. He had forgotten his bow tie and would not go out on the field until we found him one. I drove around Ashland looking for a store, but the streets had already been rolled up for the night.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Finally, I saw a man sitting in front of the press box wearing a bow tie. I went up to him, told him I'd give him five bucks to rent the tie for the game and return it to him afterward. It turned out he was a doctor and a good sport, so he went along with it all. I gave Lee the tie, still on the bus, and he finally came out for the game. And we won.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel earned his master's degree from Ohio State in 1949, adding a doctorate from Indiana in 1968. He was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][email protected][/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]TALE OF TWO COACHES [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]BUCKEYE COOL VS. IRISH GUILE
<table class="text" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="sports_chart_row" align="center"><td> Jim Tressel </td><td> Category </td><td> Charlie Weis </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> 53 </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Age </td><td id="ltblue"> 49 </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Baldwin-Wallace ('75) </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Alma mater </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Notre Dame ('78) </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Education </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Major </td><td id="ltblue"> Speech and drama </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Berea, Ohio </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Hometown </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Middlesex, N.J. </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Lou Groza </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Remembers </td><td id="ltblue"> Pete Gogolak </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 5th </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Year at current position </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 1st </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> 9-2 </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> 2005 record </td><td id="ltblue"> 9-2 </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> No. 2 Texas </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Should have beaten </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> No. 1 USC </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> ''Mr. Holland's Opus'' </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Apropos movie </td><td id="ltblue"> 'Uncle Buck'' </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Sweater vest </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Cannot leave locker room without </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Brady Quinn </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Buttoned-down </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Essential style </td><td id="ltblue"> Blustery </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Rounded and grounded </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Football core </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Offensive savant </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Coaching pedigree </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Benefits from </td><td id="ltblue"> Learned assistants </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Math teacher </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Demeanor </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Study-hall monitor </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> ''Carmen Ohio'' </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Tears up at </td><td id="ltblue"> Thought of Brady Quinn in NFL </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Low-key, human </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> With media </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Insecure, preachy </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> 184-70-2 </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> College record </td><td id="ltblue"> 9-2-0 </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Five national championship rings </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Jewelry* </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Four Super Bowls rings </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Sport Mart </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Apparent fashion influence </td><td id="ltblue"> Big and Tall Direct </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> College football coach </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Father's profession </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Accountant </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Nurse </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Mother's profession </td><td id="ltblue"> Nurse </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Played quarterback </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> In high school </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Was a reserve center </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Played quarterback </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> In college </td><td id="ltblue"> Cheer-cheered for old Notre Dame </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Buckeyes' renegade element </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Touchy about </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> His Hitchcockian silhouette </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Defense rules </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Will win the Fiesta because </td><td id="ltblue"> Brady Quinn rules </td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"> * Tressel won four Division I-AA national championships at Youngstown State and one Division I-A title at Ohio State; Weis won all of his Super Bowl rings as an assistant in the NFL: one with the New York Giants and three with the New England Patriots </td></tr></tbody></table>[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] UP BY THE BUCK' STRAPS[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] FIVE SEASONS OF JIM TRESSEL AS HEAD COACH AT OHIO STATE
<table class="text" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="sports_chart_row"><td> Year </td><td> Record </td><td> Lost to </td><td> Bowl </td><td> Final AP rank </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 2001 </td><td> 5-Jul </td><td> @UCLA, Wisconsin, @Penn State, Illinois, S. Carolina </td><td> Outback, lost to South Carolina 31-28 </td><td align="right"> None </td></tr><tr id="ltblue"><td> 2002 </td><td> 14-0 </td><td> None </td><td> Fiesta (BCS), beat Miami 31-24 (OT) </td><td align="right"> 1 </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 2003 </td><td> 2-Nov </td><td> @Wisconsin, @Michigan </td><td> Fiesta (BCS), beat Kansas State 35-28 (OT) </td><td align="right"> 4 </td></tr><tr id="ltblue"><td> 2004 </td><td> 4-Aug </td><td> @Northwestern, @Wisconsin, @Iowa, @Purdue </td><td> Alamo, beat Oklahoma State 33-7 </td><td align="right"> 10 </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 2005 </td><td> 2-Sep </td><td> Texas, @Penn State </td><td> Fiesta (BCS), vs. Notre Dame </td><td align="right"> 9 </td></tr><tr id="ltblue"><td> Total </td><td colspan="2"> 49-13 </td><td colspan="2"> 3-1 Consensus national champions in 2002 </td></tr></tbody></table> [/FONT]
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[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Ball in the family
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[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]January 1, 2006[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]JIM O'DONNELL Staff Reporter <!-- Empty line is needed --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>
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[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] <!--publication CST --> <!--pub_section SPT last modified 12/30/05 10:02 PM-->[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]COLUMBUS, Ohio -- His world was shaped at the innocently blissful intersection of ''Happy Days'' and ''Dobie Gillis.'' He can remember a time when Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell were the deep backs on the kickoff-return team for the Cleveland Browns, Mitch Miller ruled your father's morning radio and Jerry Lucas was the unforgettable wintertime prince of Ohio.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Now Jim Tressel prepares laser-teched college football players to roll out on an X-Boxed Usher-way.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Along the shores of the Olentangy River at Ohio State, there are many who think Tressel can walk on water. They have ever since he led the Buckeyes to a national championship in his second season on the mast in 2002. He will settle this season for beating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday (4 p.m., Ch. 7).[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel, 53, is a major-college football coach who is the preserved embodiment of all that once was considered good and decent in American life. He is humble, focused, self-reliant, family-oriented, quietly religious, compassionate and instructional. And his reverence never forgets.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]COLUMBUS WAY [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]CAREER PATH OF JIM TRESSEL [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1967-71: Quarterback, Berea (Ohio) High School
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1971-75: Quarterback, Baldwin-Wallace College (Berea, Ohio)
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1975: Graduate assistant, University of Akron
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1976-78: Assistant coach, University of Akron
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1979-80: Assistant coach, Miami (Ohio)
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1981-82: Assistant coach, Syracuse
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1983-85: Assistant coach, Ohio State
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]1986-2000: Head coach, Youngstown State (135-57-2)
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2001-05: Head coach, Ohio State (49-13-0) [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] NO BLUE [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]TRESSEL VS. MICHIGAN [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Few have been better than Tressel at passing the annual test for coaches at Ohio State. He's 4-1 vs. the Wolverines:[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2001 at Michigan: won 26-20
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2002 at Ohio State: won 14-9
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2003 at Michigan: lost 35-21
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2004 at Ohio State: won 37-21
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]2005 at Michigan: won 25-21 [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Ask him about his childhood as the son of a small-college football coach in Berea, Ohio, and he wants to talk about growing up with the fellow -- the late John-Michael Tebelak -- who conceived and wrote the initial drafts of ''Godspell.'' Put him on a desert island with only a flashlight, and he still will find a way to defeat Michigan. His sort of authenticity is as diminished as the Sunday ice-cream social on Front Street, U.S.A.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''I don't think people always believe my brother's genuineness,'' said Dave Tressel, a middle-school science teacher and the last of the three Tressel brothers in Berea, a far southwest suburb of Cleveland. ''He cares about people; he wants to help people. Those are traits that we got from my parents, and he has taken them to the greatest heights. He has always been special.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Coach is someone who makes it very clear that he cares a great deal about us,'' said A.J. Hawk, Ohio State's superb All-America linebacker. ''His door is always open. He cares about us, our families, our grades, our well-being. Every football team, I think, likes to think it's family. Coach Tressel actually makes it happen.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Says the family-maker himself: ''I am an educator, nothing more, nothing less. And I care.''[/FONT]
<!--startsubhead-->[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Idolized his father[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Back in the happy days, if Dr. Lee Tressel, wife Eloise and sons Dick, Dave and Jim lived any closer to the football stadium at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, they would have had to sleep under the goalposts. Their house -- at 127 East Bagley Road -- overlooked Roy Watts Stadium, the 6,000-seat edifice where Dr. Tressel ruled the Yellow Jackets from 1958 until 1980.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''The house was huge, and the third floor actually had a room that looked out over the football field,'' Dave Tressel said. ''My brothers and I always sold concessions and stuff on game days. But on the more inclement days, some people would use the room almost like a stone-age skybox. My father pretty much had an open-door policy as far as his players were concerned. My mom would cook for them, and she even mended rips in the uniforms.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]That open door was more of a whirring door for the Tressels, none more so than young Jim. He delivered the Cleveland Press and later the Cleveland Plain-Dealer from third grade on. He rabidly pursued all available athletics, which in those days meant the trimestered annual rhythms among Little League baseball, bantam football and peewee basketball. And more than even his equally fervent elder brothers, he followed his father around like a guard puppy. He also later would serve as one of the first ballboys for the Cleveland Cavaliers when the expansion NBA team held their first camp at B-W in 1970.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Jim tried to go everywhere his father did,'' said family friend Jackie Groza, the widow of Browns great Lou ''The Toe'' Groza. ''He absolutely idolized Lee. He was always around practice and games. And always encouraged to be.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Says Jim Tressel: ''I was consumed by following the Yellow Jackets. In our minds, my father was just like Paul Brown or Woody Hayes or Blanton Collier. He always, proudly, shared that he knew them. But we never got to go to Browns games until the B-W season was over, meaning we'd be down at frigid Municipal Stadium around Thanksgiving or so. But our whole life was great.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]That idyllicness continued as Tressel progressed to starting quarterback at Berea High School and, later, starting quarterback -- under his father -- at B-W. In 1974, his senior season, he led the Yellow Jackets to an 8-2 record and was a first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection. That would propel him to assistant roles at Akron after graduation.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]His father's career would crescendo with a Division III national championship at B-W in 1978. But less than three years later, Dr. Lee Tressel would be dead, at age 56, of lung cancer.[/FONT]
<!--startsubhead-->[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]'More personal approach'[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''I never thought about being the head coach at Ohio State until the job opened up in 2001,'' Jim Tressel says. ''And even then, I felt I was a long shot to get it.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]So did many others, even though Tressel had carved out a remarkable record during his 15-year run as head coach at Youngstown State: four Division I-AA championships, six appearances in the national title game and an overall record of 135-57-2.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''This program is much more about players than most,'' said Andy Geiger, the athletic director who hired Tressel at Ohio State. ''Jim came in, immediately got to know so much about each individual player and his family and about their experiences. It's a much more personal approach than most were accustomed to. Within the family, it became a small-college feel.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]That touchin'-squeezin' feel has served both the university and its buttoned-down head coach well. While Tressel periodically endures some criticism for his conservative offense, his sound defenses and emphasis on constantly chipping into favorable field position have led to that 2002 national crown, two Big Ten co-championships, a five-year record of 49-13 and four victories against Michigan.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]He also has worked diligently to make Ohio State players understand that no individual is bigger than the program. Exhibit A was Maurice Clarett, the supremely talented running back whose off-field decisions caused massive turmoil for athletic administrators. Exhibit B, of current vintage, is quarterback Troy Smith, the fleet-footed Clevelander who will try to lead the Buckeyes to victory Monday against the Fighting Irish.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Most recently, Smith hit 8 of 9 passes late to spark the Buckeyes to a 25-21 stunner at Michigan Stadium six weeks ago. But his rustiness -- after serving a two-game suspension for accepting $500 illegally from a booster -- also is cited as a primary reason that Ohio State lost to Texas 25-22 at home in September. That defeat essentially ended any hopes Tressel and Co. had of winning a national championship this season.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Our seniors can still finish 4-0 in bowl games if we win the Fiesta,'' Smith said. ''That's huge incentive for us.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Backstage, the Tressel coaching and athletic trees continue to flourish. Brother Dick retired after 23 seasons as the head coach at Hamline University in Minnesota and is now the running backs coach for the Buckeyes. Dick's sons all coach football: Mike is an assistant at Cincinnati, Luke is an assistant at Minnesota and Ben is a high school coach in Minnesota. And Dave's son Lee is an assistant to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman (Cleveland native George Steinbrenner was a longtime friend of the late Dr. Lee Tressel).[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''The primary thing my parents always emphasized to us was to get involved and to help,'' Dave Tressel said. ''That's the sort of attitude I think Jim has brought to Ohio State. It is about so much more than coaching.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]On Monday, all Tressel is hoping to bring to Ohio State is one more victory, No. 50 lifetime for him on the Buckeyes' sideline.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''What a thrill,'' the football family-maker says, ''to be in the Fiesta Bowl again. Playing the likes of Notre Dame only makes it that much more special. Their very potent offense versus our very capable defense. That, obviously, will be the key. But their defense is so underrated. And special teams will be huge. Really, everything about this game is pretty unbelievable.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]All so near to -- and yet so far away from -- his innocently blissful intersection of ''Happy Days'' and ''Dobie Gillis.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Now on the road to legend.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][email protected][/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel name revered in Cleveland suburb[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]BY JIM O'DONNELL STAFF REPORTER[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]BEREA, Ohio -- Lee Tressel came to this ivy-tinged college town in 1942 to play football at Baldwin-Wallace and to begin to serve his country in the Navy's V-12 program. He died in 1981, but his spirit never has left.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]His most prominent living legacy is his youngest son, Jim (B-W, Class of '75), who is the head coach at Ohio State. Eldest son Dick (B-W, Class of '70) is the running backs coach for the Buckeyes after spending 23 years (1978-2000) as the head coach at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. And reminders of the Tressel legend are also readily apparent throughout the once-bucolic Cleveland suburb.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Not far from B-W's George Finnie Stadium is Lee and Eloise Tressel Avenue, a tribute to the coach and his wife. Eloise Tressel -- who died in August 2001, one month before her son coached his first game at Ohio State -- also is honored for her years of community service with a plaque at the nearby Berea Historical Society. Upstairs in the B-W physical education building is Tressel Lounge. Inside are shelves upon shelves commemorating Dr. Tressel's 23-year run (1958-80) as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, a stint that included a Division III national championship in 1978. Middle son David (B-W, Class of '73) continues to teach blocks from the campus at Roehm Middle School. He has taught in Berea for 33 years.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]THE DOCTOR'S FILE[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Dr. Tressel was the head coach at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio -- a far southwest suburb of Cleveland -- from 1958 to 1980. He finished with a career record of 155-52-6 (.742) and won a Division III national title in 1978. He was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after the national title and died in April 1981 at age 56. He was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., in August 1996. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''There is not enough good to say about Lee and Eloise Tressel,'' said Roy Seitz, 86, a longtime compatriot and the man who operated the scoreboard at B-W games for 45 years. ''He was as fine and honest a man as you would want to meet, and she could have been mayor of Berea if we ever could have gotten her to run.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Added Jackie Groza, the widow of Cleveland Browns great Lou ''The Toe'' Groza: ''They were wonderful people. Eloise was involved in everything, and Lee was totally committed to his family and the game of football. I still miss them both very much.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The couple met while in high school in their native Ada, Ohio, a farming community not far from Lima in the west-central part of the state. Lee Tressel was a star high school running back who began his college career at Ohio State but soon was swept into the Navy's wartime program at B-W. Nicknamed ''Twister,'' he flourished for the Yellow Jackets before beginning active military service after two seasons.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]After the war, Tressel returned to B-W to complete his playing career and degree in 1948. He then set out on a 10-year odyssey throughout Ohio high schools -- Ada, Mentor and the legendary Massillon -- as a head coach before returning to his alma mater in 1958. He never left, accumulating a 155-52-6 record. A heavy smoker, he won the 1978 national championship with an 11-0-1 record, then was diagnosed with lung cancer. He hung on through final seasons of 8-2 and 10-1 in 1979-80 before his passing at age 56.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel's trademarks throughout were fierce dedication to his family, to the game, to his players -- and to his de rigueur bow ties.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Lee could not coach a game without a bow tie,'' Seitz said. ''One Saturday night, we were at Ashland College. I had driven Eloise and my wife, Fran, to the game. When we got there, Lee was motioning me onto the team bus. He had forgotten his bow tie and would not go out on the field until we found him one. I drove around Ashland looking for a store, but the streets had already been rolled up for the night.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]''Finally, I saw a man sitting in front of the press box wearing a bow tie. I went up to him, told him I'd give him five bucks to rent the tie for the game and return it to him afterward. It turned out he was a doctor and a good sport, so he went along with it all. I gave Lee the tie, still on the bus, and he finally came out for the game. And we won.''[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tressel earned his master's degree from Ohio State in 1949, adding a doctorate from Indiana in 1968. He was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][email protected][/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]TALE OF TWO COACHES [/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]BUCKEYE COOL VS. IRISH GUILE
<table class="text" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="sports_chart_row" align="center"><td> Jim Tressel </td><td> Category </td><td> Charlie Weis </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> 53 </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Age </td><td id="ltblue"> 49 </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Baldwin-Wallace ('75) </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Alma mater </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Notre Dame ('78) </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Education </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Major </td><td id="ltblue"> Speech and drama </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Berea, Ohio </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Hometown </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Middlesex, N.J. </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Lou Groza </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Remembers </td><td id="ltblue"> Pete Gogolak </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 5th </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Year at current position </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 1st </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> 9-2 </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> 2005 record </td><td id="ltblue"> 9-2 </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> No. 2 Texas </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Should have beaten </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> No. 1 USC </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> ''Mr. Holland's Opus'' </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Apropos movie </td><td id="ltblue"> 'Uncle Buck'' </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Sweater vest </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Cannot leave locker room without </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Brady Quinn </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Buttoned-down </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Essential style </td><td id="ltblue"> Blustery </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Rounded and grounded </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Football core </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Offensive savant </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Coaching pedigree </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Benefits from </td><td id="ltblue"> Learned assistants </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Math teacher </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Demeanor </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Study-hall monitor </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> ''Carmen Ohio'' </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Tears up at </td><td id="ltblue"> Thought of Brady Quinn in NFL </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Low-key, human </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> With media </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Insecure, preachy </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> 184-70-2 </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> College record </td><td id="ltblue"> 9-2-0 </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Five national championship rings </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Jewelry* </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Four Super Bowls rings </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Sport Mart </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Apparent fashion influence </td><td id="ltblue"> Big and Tall Direct </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> College football coach </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Father's profession </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Accountant </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Nurse </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Mother's profession </td><td id="ltblue"> Nurse </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Played quarterback </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> In high school </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Was a reserve center </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Played quarterback </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> In college </td><td id="ltblue"> Cheer-cheered for old Notre Dame </td></tr><tr align="center"><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> Buckeyes' renegade element </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Touchy about </td><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> His Hitchcockian silhouette </td></tr><tr align="center"><td id="ltblue"> Defense rules </td><td class="sports_chart_row"> Will win the Fiesta because </td><td id="ltblue"> Brady Quinn rules </td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"> * Tressel won four Division I-AA national championships at Youngstown State and one Division I-A title at Ohio State; Weis won all of his Super Bowl rings as an assistant in the NFL: one with the New York Giants and three with the New England Patriots </td></tr></tbody></table>[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] UP BY THE BUCK' STRAPS[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] FIVE SEASONS OF JIM TRESSEL AS HEAD COACH AT OHIO STATE
<table class="text" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="sports_chart_row"><td> Year </td><td> Record </td><td> Lost to </td><td> Bowl </td><td> Final AP rank </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 2001 </td><td> 5-Jul </td><td> @UCLA, Wisconsin, @Penn State, Illinois, S. Carolina </td><td> Outback, lost to South Carolina 31-28 </td><td align="right"> None </td></tr><tr id="ltblue"><td> 2002 </td><td> 14-0 </td><td> None </td><td> Fiesta (BCS), beat Miami 31-24 (OT) </td><td align="right"> 1 </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 2003 </td><td> 2-Nov </td><td> @Wisconsin, @Michigan </td><td> Fiesta (BCS), beat Kansas State 35-28 (OT) </td><td align="right"> 4 </td></tr><tr id="ltblue"><td> 2004 </td><td> 4-Aug </td><td> @Northwestern, @Wisconsin, @Iowa, @Purdue </td><td> Alamo, beat Oklahoma State 33-7 </td><td align="right"> 10 </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#ffffff"> 2005 </td><td> 2-Sep </td><td> Texas, @Penn State </td><td> Fiesta (BCS), vs. Notre Dame </td><td align="right"> 9 </td></tr><tr id="ltblue"><td> Total </td><td colspan="2"> 49-13 </td><td colspan="2"> 3-1 Consensus national champions in 2002 </td></tr></tbody></table> [/FONT]
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A lesson for Charlie Weis:
Beware the quiet man who cloaks his many gifts in quiet modesty.
Beware the quiet man who cloaks his many gifts in quiet modesty.
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Nytejag
Sophmore
Good Luck Guys
From a horn fan, I wish you guys luck in beating the Irish !! I will be rooting for ya ! I don't know if you have realized it yet, but most everyone down South dislikes ND. Mostly because they are an entity in themselves. They don't have to share revenue with a conference, and have their own TV contract. Most of us down south say join a conference, or don't play at all !
Anyway, best of luck guys, and looking forward to seeing you in our home in '06.
From a horn fan, I wish you guys luck in beating the Irish !! I will be rooting for ya ! I don't know if you have realized it yet, but most everyone down South dislikes ND. Mostly because they are an entity in themselves. They don't have to share revenue with a conference, and have their own TV contract. Most of us down south say join a conference, or don't play at all !
Anyway, best of luck guys, and looking forward to seeing you in our home in '06.
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