Buckeye's Win!

The Rose Bowl is over. The Buckeyes won. Elation (and a huge sigh of relief) washes over the entire Buckeyes fan base. And Stusigpi owes me a box of cards. Good times abound in Cleveland.

In my last post I (without his prior knowledge) forced Stusigpi (I Am Joe Collector) into a bet that, with benefit of hindsight, was somewhat unrealistic. If I had taken the time to consider it, I surely would have realized that Jeff would very unlikely be able send me an anti-government militia following a Buckeye's Rose Bowl Victory. This in no small part is due to the fact that most of those militias are probably in Washington. Despite Oregon's close proximity to it's northern (slightly deranged) neighbor, the fact remains that it's a whole other state.

Jeff, being the intelligent lawyer that he is, saw the folly of my original proposal, and counterproposed a more realistic "box of cards" wager. He did this in the midst of a post whose main purpose was to mock the idiots (myself incuded) who insist on calling Ohio State THE Ohio State University. No matter, it is a tradition that we will continue despite the fact that none of us actually know WHY we do it.

(I can never figure out which pictures will be big and which ones really small)

As you all know by now, the Buckeyes emerged victorious against a very good Oregon Ducks team. This will go a little way toward restoring some of the respectability that the Buckeyes and Big Ten have lost the last few years. Some of the criticism is deserved, and some isn't.

Jim Tressel has taken a lot of heat for not being able to win bowl games, and big games in general. There are a lot of places to read about this in more depth and detail than I can provide. I will simply offer a few thoughts:

Jim Tressel is now 4-3 in BCS Bowls. The 3 losses occurred at the hands of teams that finished 1,1, and 2 in the nation. I don't know. I guess I just don't see why people think that's so terrible.

(damn, another tiny picture)

As for the game, I will say simply that the Ducks are damn fast. I think they are a national title contender next season. I think the Buckeyes (who were able to keep up...barely) will also be in that picture. It would be fun to see a rematch for all the marbles next year.

Terrelle Pryor finally looked like the type of player deserving of the hype he received in high school. He doesn't look like he is moving fast (not like that LaMichael James kid - holy crap is that kid fast) but he must be. All season he seems to be half a step ahead of anyone pursuing him. And, he finally learned how to pass. He looked in control, less panicky than he has at any other time in his career.

He looked like a QB. I really good QB. It was a hell of a thing to watch for someone who has seen every snap, good or bad, that he has taken in his college career.

The game ended on a high note as LeGarrette Blount didn't sucker punch anyone in the face.

Now I just await my prize.

Or, we can wait until next year in the National Title game and go double or nothing.

Rose Bowl

Well, it's a new year. My plans last year for a post a day have failed miserably. I enter this year with a new resolve not to fall so drastically short of my goals. This year my goal is a post a month. I feel like there is a good chance I can meet, or even slightly exceed this goal.

Because this is supposedly primarily a baseball card blog, I will kick off the new year by talking about football.

The Rose Bowl is today. Ohio State v Oregon. Or, more widely known as Motherscratcher v Stusigpi (AKA I Am Joe Collector)

That's right, Stusigpi is from the Pacific Northwest. Way out Oregon way. I will assume (for the purposes of this ridiculous post) that he is a die hard Oregon fan. Here is where I'd make fun of him for having a Donald Duck mascot, but I'm a Buckeye nut so I'll just let that one slide. Forget I mentioned it.

When Jeff and I first met over the ether he said: "I hold a special place in my soul for the dislike of a few college football programs." And then he lumps us in with Nebraska and Florida State. Can you imagine? We probably pay our players twice as much as those schools combined.

And Oregon? They spend their money on uniforms.

And Cheerleaders:

We might have The Best Damn Band In The Land. But, Oregon definitely has the best cheerleaders.

Since our inauspicious introduction, I feel like I may have turned Jeff's image of Buckeye fans (well deserved in many respects) around somewhat. Maybe instead of reserving a special place of dislike in his soul we've moved closer to the bowel or possibly the armpit. I'd take that. Baby steps, you know.

But anyway, in a few short hours the Buckeyes will rumble into Pasedena for the first time since 1997 and take on a Ducks team that is likely more talented. The Buckeyes haven't seen the likes of their offense, but the Ducks haven't seen the likes of our defense either. It should be entertaining.

No mention on whether Tressel intends to deploy the Dick Chaney Defense at any point.

If we were mayors of our respective towns, we would make some kind of silly bet based on what we are most known for. So, if Oregon wins we'd get rain and anti-government militias. If the Bucks win I'll be sending over some brown road sludge and unemployment. It should be epic.

And so, 364 days a year Stusigpi is one of my favorite bloggers. Today...he's my mortal enemy. That is unless he's an Oregon State fan. That would be OK I guess. I've got nothing against Oregon State. ( I won't even entertain the possibility that he's some kind of front running SEC fan. No, he seems like way to decent a guy for that).

After the game, Jeff, Beardy, and I can go back to being the 3 best friends that anyone could have.

And, of course, Woody hovers over all.

The Buckeye's Future

There was nothing about what the Buckeyes had accomplished this season that led me to believe that they would be able to beat Michigan State. Yesterday they made a believer out of me again. There's no real need for me to recap what happened as anyone who cares already knows. What I would like to do is just point out a few things about Terrelle Pryor.

1. Terrelle Pryor is an incredible athlete. He's very fluid. His throwing motion looks a little funny, but hopefully the coaches will work that out with time. A lot of people are comparing him to Vince Young, and I thing that's a fair comparison. But, when he runs, he reminds me of another runner. A guy who I had the privilege of watching in high school and is also one of the best RBs ever at Ohio State and in the NFL. Robert Smith.

I'm not trying to imply that Pryor is as good as Robert Smith was. I'm just saying that he's who I think of when Pryor is running. They both have those long strides that make it look like they aren't running very fast at all. It's really beautiful to watch. Let's hope that Pryor ends up being at least half the football player and person that Robert Smith turned out to be.

2. Terrelle Pryor desperately needs a nickname. Usually I'm against the arbitrary assigning of nicknames as I believe the best ones are not forced, but come about naturally. However, Pryor was referred to today in the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "T.P." I don't know about you, but when I hear T.P. I think of toilet paper. We obviously need something better before that one sticks.

I fear that if we leave it up to ESPN he will end up being something like "T. Prod". I've shown my significant ineptitude in this department already. I keep coming back to Skippy McGillicutty. Obviously, I don't have the answer. Let me know what you think reader, man, sir.

This is your new homework Larry.