Happy Birthday sir Nut!

And what a birthday present we have for you!  A brand NEW sense of morality for THE Ohio State University!  Ok, so it's not that extreme, but come on, how does it take MONTHS to figure out that Tressel needed to go?  The coach LIED about NCAA rules violations.  His overall record or the fact that he owned us Weasels from the North really do not matter after that.

Let's take a step back for a second and examine this situation:

• Several star football players at Nutsville traded leveraged their name or actual memorabilia for perks.  Yes, the school makes millions off of these players and yes, star players across the country are likely doing the same.  But there's a rule against it, and the player's got caught.  Does the rule make sense?  Not entirely.  Should it be changed?  Probably.  Are the player's guilty?  Yes.
• The head football Nut has not only been a success on the field, but supposedly off the field as well.  He really did seem to run a clean program.  But he uncovered violations and then started a whole snowball of mistakes.  First, he failed to report it, looking to protect his players (his words) and protect his program (a reasonable interpretation by the rest of the country).  Then, he failed to report it and LIED that he knew of any violations.  Finally, as the store broke of his prior knowledge, he still didn't come clean.  Let's face it folks, there is a lot of shady stuff going on in college sports and the coach's best course of action is to be open and honest about potential violations.  If you are not, well, the head football nut is a good example of what happens.

In a previous post, the Nut correctly pointed out that tOSU is likely not alone in this situation.  I fear that we are seeing the beginning of a long string of scandals across the NCAA.  It's sad to say that no school is safe from this wave, even us Weasels and Greeks from that state up North.  Yes, even the Greeks of East Lasning are at risk for a scandal like this, despite the fact that the only play football once a decade or so.

Nonetheless, we should all wish the Nut a happy birthday for at very least, he doesn't have to find himself wearing Michigan gear all fall in protest.

And as promised, now that tOSU has finally shown some sense of decency with their football program, my protest has ended and I promise to become a full participant in our blog.

--The Weasel

Happy Birthday Nut!

Let the rumor mill begin.

No one leads a rumor charge like ESPN (http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/blog?name=feldman_bruce&id=6607026) Among the names:

• Urban Meyer, who The Nut already debunked on purchasing a house. If he almost killed himself in Gainesville, will things really be much better in Columbus?
• Bo Pelini, from Youngstown, Ohio where they just grow coaches. The kids working at McDonald's are qualified to coach any D3 program
• 
  
• Gary Patterson of TCU - would he jump ship after leading the frogs to the Big East where he can work to overtake UConn as the Big East football 'power' and make a BCS bowl
• Jon Gruden - When searching for a coach, you have to mention his name. It actually rule 1428.2.3a of the NCAA guidebook. This is automatically out since no one in Columbus has even taken the shrink wrap off of their copy.
• Mark Stoops - He's not Bob. (But still part of the Youngstown tree.)
• Gary Pinkel - He's turned around Missouri into a very solid program in the real Big 12. But he'll never be Texas, or Oklahoma, or Nebraska - oh wait, he doesn't have to be them any more.  For a guy who's almost 60, it'd be a big move to start over unless he wants to get a thick pair of glasses and try to coach to 85 like the real legend.
• Mark Dantonio - This one would make me sad quite honestly. He's a Tressel guy and did a great job with Cincy and Sparty and it would probably crush the Greek. Does OSU really want to take a guy who is part of the Tressel regime?

Would anyone want to pull a reverse-Carroll - leave the NFL for a program that's about to go on sanctions?

Personally, I'd love to see Rich-Rod come in to Columbus.  How do you make the most hated rivalry even more hated? Through the fire-starter into the mix. Take the guy who failed at Michigan and put him in a situation loaded with players of his ilk. An then watch him succeed. I think we'd see the ROTC programs doing hand to hand combat.

The other question running through my mind - what else was going on underneath the sweater vest? The known allegations are obviously true, but probably no worse than would probably be seen at another school. There's something more there - and we're not just talking about a pocket protector or chest hair so thick it could be its own sweater vest.

THE rivalry is completely reset. Can Sparty take advantage or got through its own turmoil?

Finally!

Tressel quits on my birthday. Odd to say that it's a gift, but it certainly makes me happy.

Though I think Interim Coach Luke Fickell is going to need more than the Force to keep the team in balance this year. He'll need something much more powerful... he'll need the Schwartz.

Pryor's career may now be done. Fickell doesn't owe him anything, and if they win the first 5 games without him, I think it will be very unpopular with Buckeye nation to start him again.

What are the odds that Urban Meyer becomes the next head coach at OSU? There was a rumor that he bought a house in Upper Arlington... but searching the Franklin County property register reveals no Meyer, Urban. Who knows.

Anyway, 2011 is going to be a radically different Big Ten season, with Michigan and Ohio State both having new coaches on the sidelines, 2 new divisions changing the schedules, and the addition of Nebraska. It should be good to watch the overall races.

Schadenfreude

The definition.
http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-football/billboard-mocking-ohio-states-jim-tressel-appears-along-michigan-interstate/

I have been really surprised to read comments from Michigan fans and alumni like "What a great day it is to be a Wolverine" whenever more bad news for the OSU football program hits the press. Maybe a great day would be when Michigan figures out how to actually beat OSU... especially if Michigan can beat OSU with eligible or (even better) ineligible players on the roster. That would be a day to celebrate. However, I feel that beating OSU, even if severely crippled by NCAA sanctions, will be good enough to declare a public holiday and parade around town.

I'm not saying that Michigan football fans or alumni shouldn't feel some satisfaction. Even if this was truly the work of one man, OSU has been deeply shamed, and the cover-up is much worse than the stupid stuff RichRod ever did. This event, along with the hiring of Hoke, now gives the Michigan football program a chance to get back in the running for the Big Ten crown. But isn't excellence really about conquering the tallest mountain? Cheering for the earthquake that reduced the height of the mountain seems a little beneath Michigan alumni.

BTW, the URL above was sent to me by a fellow buckeye who just relocated to Michigan for the 2nd time. Apparently he found the job that 11% of Michigan residents could not. (Sorry... just keeping up with the subject of this post.)