Buckeye Sports Update

Alright it is tournament time, and this is not just in Men’s College Basketball, but we have numerous Buckeye sports either competing in, competed in, or preparing to compete in NCAA National Championships. So we all know the big dog of big dogs the NCAA Tournament, March Madness, the Greatest 4 days in all of sports is upon us. The Buckeyes are making the short trip to (sorry to all Cleveland Browns fans) Pittsburgh, for what we all hope are two big wins. 

The first game will be against MAAC Champion Loyola Maryland. Now, I know as a 2 seed you are supposed to easily defeat a 15 seed. However, let’s not count all of our chickens before they hatch. A 15 seed winning is not unheard of. It has happened four times since the tournament expanded to 64/68 teams (twice it was especially painful for me, since I had Arizona who lost to Richmond in 1991 and South Carolina who lost to Coppin State in 1997 as final four picks). 

Also remember Loyola, Maryland is a champion, they will not roll over and play dead for the Buckeyes, they are in Pittsburgh to shock the world. Through twitter I have read quotes from Loyola’s Shane Walker (6ft 10 senior forward) that they hope to run and wear down the not-so-deep Buckeyes. In fact his exact quote (through Cleveland Plain Dealers Doug Lesmeires was: “They’re not very deep, I feel like we can run them.”

So I guess it is time to see what Jared Sullinger (whom Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos calls a monster), Deshaun Thomas (whom Patsos is worried about, because he is better then he thought), Aaron Craft, and the rest of the Scarlet and Gray can do this weekend.

Sports Update

Volleyball. OSU Volleyball is playing well right now. Last Saturday night, I had the honor and pleasure of going to Loyola to watch the 8^th Ranked (at the time) Buckeyes take on the #14 (at the time) Loyola Ramblers play an important MIVA (Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) match. 

Both teams were coming off of losses. OSU lost its first MIVA match of the year at top 10 Lewis while Loyola suffered a defeat at the hand of IPFW (for those of you that are unaware IPFW is a hybrid school. It stands for Indiana Purdue at Fort Wayne, that is a mouthful to say). 

The match started off tight with Loyola taking a 3-1 lead in the first game before OSU stormed back to tie it at 7 all. From that point on OSU turned in a dominant match. Seniors Shawn Sangrey and Mike Berzins (who has a brother who plays for Loyola and one who coaches Loyola) led the Buckeyes with 16 and 11 kills respectively. Sangrey who has numerous awards including player of the week, All-NCAA Tournament as a Junior, and various Academic and All-Conference awards was just totally dominant. 

Thursday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning Buckeye fans! It's been a long week, but let's see if I can make it go smoother with today's Bits.

OSU v PU and Jared Sullinger. What a game two nights ago! It is rare to see the Buckeyes play a close game at home, but that Purdue game may have been just what the Buckeyes needed. Every run the Bucks had, Purdue matched, every big shot hit by Buford some guy named Byrd (nope not Larry) answered. Sully, even before his injury was not having a marquee game, in fact he just couldn’t get on track. He went 10-15 minutes (at least, I can’t find any exact numbers) between hitting shots from the field. 

However, the shots I recall him making were pretty excellent, first a great 3 pointer then a powerful dunk. In my opinion that was all overshadowed by the mugging he took all over the court. Sully was being tugged, grabbed, and rocked all night capping it off by being yanked to the ground and walking off the court with a severe limp, not returning to the game. I have been checking/looking for news on his possible injury and if he will play this weekend against Sparty and I have found nothing. 

Ohio State Sports Update

Alright Buckeye fans, the weekend is almost upon us and besides the huge basketball game between the Buckeyes and Wisconsin OSU is in for a large sports weekend. Let’s take a look at some of the other sports that the Buckeyes are suiting up for this weekend. The fifth and sixth ranked OSU Men’s and Women’s fencing teams are looking to continue their highly successful seasons at the Northwestern Invitational in Evanston. 

The Buckeyes are coming off a dominating performance at the St. John’s invitational. The women went 5-0 and the men finished 4-1. Both squads scored wins w over #1 ranked Penn St. and defending National Champion and #3 (women)/ #4 (men) Notre Dame. The only blemish on the meet for the Buckeyes was a loss to the #6 ranked host St. Johns. 

This week at the Northwestern Invitational OSU along with reigning National Fencer of the Week Max Stearns will face tough competition from top ten teams Princeton, Temple, and Duke. So let’s hope the Buckeyes can keep their winning ways up. Also this weekend the #3 ranked Men’s Tennis team will take on #12 Pepperdine at home. The Buckeyes have had a dominating start to the spring season, and are currently 6-0. The Buckeyes are already coming off of championship performance. 

Last weekend the Buckeyes knocked off #29 Indiana in the championship match of the ITA Kickoff weekend tournament. The Buckeyes will be a force to be reckoned with when they travel to Charlottesville, Virginia to compete against the top teams in the country in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. 

The Buckeyes are the 6 Time defending B1G Champions, and they along with successful coach Ty Tucker, look to continue their winning ways. This Buckeyes team is coming into the season stacked. Sophomore Blaz Rola is currently the 8th ranked singles player in the country. Senior Chase Buchanan a 2011 All-American and 2-time defending Big Ten Athlete of the Year and one of only two seniors on this relatively young squad is ranked 28th. 

However, these two Buckeyes are not just singles players, they just happen to be the top ranked doubles team in the country. So hold on to your rackets and nets Buckeye fans, they are off and running. There is always a way for the Buckeyes to beat up on that school from up north. 

This weekend the #6 Buckeyes play host to the #12 Wolverines. This match will take place Friday night and will include exciting matches between #3 Logan Stieber (OSU ) against #16 Zack Stevens at 133 pounds. There also should be a barn burner at 174 lbs. #7 ranked Nick Heflin (OSU) will take on #8 Justin Zeerip. These two matches should highlight a great afternoon of grappling. 

However, there is no rest for this squad, after the Friday night tussle the Buckeyes will be on the road in East Lansing for a Sunday dual with Michigan State. In hockey news OSU senior co-captain defenseman Sean Duddy has been named a finalist for the Lowes Senior Class Award. The award is given to a senior student athlete who has been judged to have notable achievements in the four areas of classroom, character, competition, and community. Hopefully this nominating honor can get the Buckeye skaters off of a tough stretch. 

The Buckeyes were formerly ranked #2 but have since gone an 8 game winless streak, they are 0-4-4 in their last eight. This weekend the #10 Buckeyes host perennial power Michigan State. So let’s go Bucks, let’s get those winning ways back. Last but not least the defending National Champion Men’s Volleyball Team (yep, until they are no longer the defending champs, I will refer to them as the defending champs) travels to State College to participate in the Penn State Invitational. The #9 Buckeyes are obviously one or the marquee teams in a field that includes Penn St., Cal-Baptist, and Mount Olive College.

I am hoping for a successful weekend for the Buckeyes. These are just a brief selection of the games, matches, tournaments, or meets the men and women’s teams will be involved this Friday – Sunday. So go to twitter (where you could follow me: @rudybux), www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com, or www.buckeyextra.com to look for results, or come back to www.insidetheshoe.com where we will do our best to provide results next week. Good Luck Buckeyes!!

Thursday's Buckeye Bits

Recruiting. February 1, 2012 a day which will be marked in the continued rebirth of the Buckeyes. With all of the turmoil that has occurred in the last 12 months, I know I along with many other Buckeye fans was a bit concerned that all of the NCAA issues along with coaching issues would put a damper on National Signing Day. 

However that uncertainty began to dissipate in late November when OSU made the huge Urban Meyer signing. It seemed that as soon as he became head coach, the recruits started coming. Players who said they were coming, reaffirmed, and others made the switch to OSU. 

Yesterday confirmed everything. OSU got a huge class. According to ESPN Ohio State has the #6 rated class in the country (#1 in the B1G), with 24 recruits receiving 3 stars or higher. ESPN has DE Noah Spence out of Harrisburg Pa as the big win as the lone 5 star signee. The Buckeyes were once again strong, and they seem to be rebuilding that fence around Ohio. However, as great as we are in Ohio, Urban Meyer and OSU are national names. OSU received commitments from Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and California. That is a great map and OSU’s footprint is apparently everywhere.

Thursday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning Buckeye fans! Welcome to your Thursday edition of the Buckeye Bits. Let's jump right in!

Non-Revenue Sports Update. Another week of Buckeye sports in the books. Let’s take a look around campus and see what we have. Let’s take a look at the Men’s Gymnastic team. The top 5 Men’s gymnastic team has had a strong start to the season. In their first meet of the year, they knocked off several top 10 teams and won the prestigious Windy City Invitational. This win secured their #2 ranking. 

However, they couldn’t ride that momentum to a win in their first dual meet of the year, losing in a tight battle to #3 ranked Oklahoma in Columbus. They will try to rebound at the Winter Cup in Las Vegas next week, followed by a dual meet against TSUN on 2/18. The Lady Buckeye Gymnasts are 2-1 on the year and currently ranked #11. They are a tough squad with their only loss coming by less then 1 point. In other sports, the Wrestling team is off to another great start. Already this year they have knocked off perennial super power Iowa, and won the always tough Cliff Keen Invitational. 

Gator Bowl Live Blog: Ohio State vs. Florida

The 2011-2012 Gator Bowl is finally upon us. Jim Bollman is coaching in his final game. 'nuff said. Enjoy the game, as Ohio State will not be attending a bowl game next year. Join us down below!

The live blog starts at 12:45 PM EST. We hope to see you there cheering on the Buckeyes!

What We Learned Being Without Sullinger

The young talent needs Sullinger

Well, that sucked. The dream, as unrealistic as it may have been, of an undefeated basketball season has come to a crashing end. The Buckeyes lost to mighty Kansas. To preface my article, I want to give a disclaimer. I have always been a Kansas Jayhawk fan, back to the Larry Brown days. I grew up going to a camp with a larger KU contingent as counselors (not a basketball camp), and they trained me in the art of Rock Chalk Jayhawk. 

One of my coolest basketball moments was going to an NCAA tournament game at the United Center in Chicago, and watch KU knock off Kentucky, it was pretty cool hearing the Rock Chalk Jayhawk cheer reverberate through the rafters. I also respect the fact the Kansas fans are smart enough not to chant the pathetic overrated cheer, they know that it makes them look better to beat a great team, and they are aware that OSU was not at their best without Sullinger. 

One more thing I see Kansas basketball as a similar entity to OSU football. They are traditionally a great team, with a great history, who often times fall just short of winning National Championships (see their 13 trips to the Final 4, with only 3 titles, not counting their pre-tournament titles in the 1920s). So there we go, I am done singing the praises of my 2^nd favorite college basketball team. Yep, as much as I have cheered for them, I will never pick or root for any team including Kansas over The Ohio State University.

Initial Gator Bowl Impressions: My Take

Chill, we got thisss

Wow, Gator Bowl against the Gators, this could get interesting. Urban Meyer’s old team against, Urban Meyer’s new team. A rematch of the 2007 National Championship, debacle!!

Let’s be honest two of the more disappointing teams in the nation this year. I have been reading a lot of people saying they have no desire to watch the game, some say the Buckeyes shouldn’t even have accepted a bowl bid. Well, to them I say: “Go Away!” (I could use much stronger language, but anyone could be reading this article).

The players, on this team, not Jim Tressel, not Terrelle Pryor earned this bowl bid. 95% of the players on this team (not exact math) had absolutely nothing to do with the penalties or infractions of the past year, they were innocent bystanders caught in an awful web of lies and deceit. They fought hard all year, won a game (Wisconsin) or two that they shouldn't have, and achieved the necessary 6 wins to become bowl eligible.

Basketball Preview: #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Duke

Matta is ready. Are you?

Well, it has been an interesting week to say the least. 

First of all it actually happened we lost to that team from up north. Yep, that really stunk, but as an OSU alum who was their during the Cooper era I can say I unfortunately got used to losing to them, however, that did not take the sting out of the game, but I can honestly say it was a great game (though I do believe we lost more then they won. Those over thrown passes will continue to haunt me as a fan, but I am sure Braxton, under new tutelage will correct that). 

Then we have the coaching situation, would he or wouldn’t he? What was going to happen with Urban Meyer, Luke Fickell, and the rest of the staff? Well, as I am writing this out, I have a big smile on my face!! Urban Meyer is officially the new head man at OSU!!!! What a great feeling that is!! He is a true son of Ohio! He is Buckeye born and bred. He had a dream job in mind, and now he is our coach. I would like to be one of the first million people to welcome Urban Meyer back home!! I would also like to congratulate Coach Luke Fickell on working his butt off to keep this team together. 

Ohio State And TTUN: My Thoughts

"The Game" is back

Here we are, at a week like no other on the calendar. There are other big weeks in the sports world. The first weekend on the NCAA Tournament, the Final 4, the Super Bowl, maybe even the Indianapolis 500 are all great weekend. However, each of these weeks pales in comparison to the week that is Michigan Week.

Michigan Week (this is the last time I will refer to that school by name) is more then just the end result a Saturday football game. It is a week of activities, hype, and anticipation. The campus is alive, the sports radio shows are dominated by talk of the game, and social media full of OSU vs TSUN talk. 

What Should We Expect From Ohio State Against Penn State?

It's Penn State week. In previous years people would be clamoring for this game. Media demands would be huge. You would have Jim Tressel battling with Joe Paterno. The Senator verses The Legend. I think it is safe to say that things have changed over the last 12 months.


First, you have the NCAA mess at OSU.This mess was precipitated by players and worsened by the head man himself. So in late May this rivalry lost Jim Tressel to a forced resignation. Okay so we lost Tressel and Pryor, but this game could still have had the winningest coach in college football history, coaching for a division title against a young, inexperienced, seemingly talented team playing at home for the final time this season. But then, all hell broke loose at PSU. 


I don’t want to get into the scandal, we all know what happened, and now this rivalry has rightfully lost Joe Paterno on the other sideline. I can truly say that a Luke Fickell vs Tom Bradley battle does not have the same classic ring as to what could have been. Now on to the game.

Luke Fickell: Is He Done?

I do get to stay, right guys? Right? Guys?

Honest to goodness I don’t know where to start with this team. Even though I don’t know where to start I do know who to blame. Unfortunately the blame lies within the coaching staff and their decisions. Personally, I have no problems with Luke Fickell, he is a home grown Buckeye who loves this school like no other. He wants to succeed, he wants to be a winner, but he just is not ready. This is not his fault, it is not the fault of the players he has, it is the fault of the man who caused this mess. No, I am not talking about Pryor, I am not even talking about Jim Bollman. I am talking about Jim Tressel. 

We don’t know if Tressel had the plan to groom Fickell for the job, and steadily promote him over the next few years. Was he the heir apparent? God only knows. Jim Tressel resigned in disgrace (thankfully, his disgrace is nowhere in the same galaxy as the former coach of Penn State’s disgrace), and with Darell Hazel gone, Luke Fickell got thrust into the position of head coach. 

Buckeye Defense

Howard came up big

Where to start? The Buckeyes defense is an enigma wrapped in a puzzle, within a Rubik’s Cube. I just don’t know what to say. We are young, we have athletes, we are young, we are fast, oh yeah by the way we are young. Obviously, I see being young as a major problem for our defense. We replaced at least 8 starters or contributors from last season’s dominating D. It is not like we replaced scrubs, we lost the likes of Cam Heyward, Brian Rolle, and Chimdi Chekwa to name three. These three players are not easily replaceable, but this is OSU and we don’t rebuild we reload. Now we have reloaded, but not with experience, and this is showing.

In almost every game our D has come out ready to play and they have hit and hit hard, but as games have progressed, the have also hit the wall. I have witnessed our defense miss tackles, get beat, and obviously look tired. This was painfully obvious in our loss at Nebraska. For over three quarters we dominated, Nebraska could not run, they could not throw, they couldn't do anything. Then all of a sudden Braxton Miller gets hurt and our defense stops playing and Nebraska scores 21 unanswered, and boom we lose. However, then comes Illinois and our D plays a great game and shuts down the Illini. Wisconsin comes next, and look at our D again. For 3 plus quarters we shut down the Badgers (for all intense purposes we shut down the powerful Badger run for the entire game, holding them to under 100 yards rushing), but late in the 4^th quarter Wisconsin began to move the ball through the air and boom, we were losing again, but this time Braxton Miller and Devin Smith’s heroics saved us. Now we have the Indiana game.

My Thoughts: Wisconsin

Fickell gaining respect

For those of you who have recently read my posts I know I have been a bit negative as of late. I have constantly attacked Coach Fickell and many of the decisions that he and the coaching staff have made, though I am still not sold on him being our head coach, I am thrilled with how the Wisconsin game turned out. This is not just for the fact that because the Buckeyes won, my brother (a Wisconsin alumnus) had to dress in a Buckeye uniform for Halloween, and I did not have to repeat last year when I wore a Badger uniform, revenge is sweet. I am happy because the Buckeyes played with much of the heart and skill that we have become accustomed too. For 3 and a half quarters our defense played like the Silver Bullets.

Wisconsin is a running team, both Monte Ball and Russell Wilson are as dangerous a QB and RB rushing tandem as there is in college football. They run behind a monster offensive line who many people thought would push around a talented but young Buckeye defensive line. Well guess what, that young Buckeye defensive line had the last laugh. They held the powerful Badger running attack to 89 yards (most of that gained on 1 big run).

Let's See What The Buckeyes Got

Coming To C-Bus

In my last post, prior to the Illinois game, I wrote how important it was for me to have bragging rights (my wife went to Illinois) in my house. Well, the Buckeyes won what it turns out may not have been as big a game (Illinois subsequently lost to Purdue) as we all thought/hoped it would be, but a win is a win and Illinois was ranked so the Buckeyes beat an undefeated ranked team on the road and that is great. Having bragging rights is fun, but honestly my wife could care less, so there was not a lot of residual gloating. Living in Chicago though I can smile a bit brighter around all of the Illini here. This week’s game though is almost as big a rivalry for me as the game against that team from up north (almost, but not quite). 

You see my older brother, my closest blood relative is a 1994 graduate of Wisconsin. He is almost as passionate for his Badgers as I am for my Buckeyes. He shares in season tickets to Wisconsin, has taken me to many a game in Madison. I have been to Madison for ties, wins and losses. For years since the early 1990s we have a “traveling trophy” (a small football) that goes to the winner of the game. Before last season we added to our bet, the loser has to dress in the other’s team uniform for Halloween. Last year on Halloween (my daughter’s birthday) there I was dressed in a Wisconsin uniform, it was a rough and tough night for me (though I did sneak a little Block O on my undershirt to keep OSU closest to my heart).

Hopes And Fears: Illinois

Wow, that Nebraska game was an ugly loss. We looked so good in the first half and so bad in the second half. I understand how important a QB is, especially a starting QB having a good game, but losing him should cause the defense to completely fold, and yep in the second half the silver bullets were more like empty blanks. Now, it is on to Champaign to play Illinois, a game that I really want to win. First of all my wife went to U of I, so we have house bragging rights, and I live in Chicago, so I deal with all kinds of Illinois fans, I really don’t want to lose!!

Now on to my hopes and fears for the game. I believe that my hopes and fears are essentially the same thing in this game. First of all, I hope Miller does not get hurt again, because I fear we will have to see Joe Bauserman again. 

MSU Game/Other Thoughts

Vintage, nice

Wow, what an awful game to watch. To start off, I am happy that the game mercifully came to an end. I am happy that the Buckeyes were not shutout for the first time since 1993 and for the first time at home since the early 1980s. I am happy that the Buckeyes bend don’t break defense made some very big plays to keep the team and our anemic offense in the game up until the very end. I am also very happy that the suspended players (those who are still part of the team, and those not named Herron or Posey) will be back this week. I am also happy that Ben Buchanan’s leg did not fall off. He was a very busy young man.

I am also sort of happy that one excuse (if excuses are allowed) of this offense pathetic play is that they are young. A good number of our skill players were either in high school this time last year or were red shirted and haven’t played a big time game like this in a long time. That is really all I am happy for from that game yesterday, because our Buckeyes looked bad. We looked so bad, I am not sure if an NCAA bowl ban will even effect this team, because I am not sure I can figure out 3 more wins for this team.

Colorado Thoughts/Feelings

Braxton played well, but he's still learning

Well, we are four games into the season, and let me tell you something I have absolutely no idea what to think about this team. I can tell you we are not as good as we thought we were after the Akron game, and we are definitely not as bad as we thought we were after the Miami debacle. This year we have played 2 decent teams (Toledo who got robbed last week and Miami), one incredibly average team (Colorado), and one really really bad team in Akron.

We are 3-1 and we don’t know much. Let’s take a look at the Colorado game. First of all we finally got a true look at our future. We are Braxton’s team now. He played well. He showed the escapability that we all expected. He also showed that as a runner he is more like the QB from That School Up North, then Terrelle Pryor. He doesn't glide as he runs, he doesn’t have the famous stiff arm. What Miller does is fake a defender right out of his socks and then outrun the rest down the field. It appears at this time he is a run first QB with happy feet.

Thoughts On Fickell: My Take

Saving 1 timeout at a time.

First of all let me remind you all I am a 1997 graduate of The Ohio State University. For those of you who may not realize this, 1997 is the same our current Head Coach Luke Fickell graduated from the great university. I did not know Luke Fickell personally, but I went to every home game, a couple of road games, and the 1997 Rose Bowl, a game in which Fickell showed his unbelievable toughness by playing the game with a torn pectoral muscle. He was “the man”. Because of our going to OSU at the same time I can honestly say I feel a kinship to Coach Fickell (though I am sure he does not feel the same way about me), and I hoped he would succeed as a coach, and one day become our head coach, I just don’t think that one day is now. Coach Fickell was a very good linebackers coach and a good co-defensive coordinator. However, he has never actually been in charge of a side of the ball by himself. As co-defensive coordinator he was basically in charge of linebackers, and worked with Jim Heacock on calling plays for the defense. I believe he needs more seasoning as an assistant coach, or if he is going to be a head coach right now or next year, it needs to be at a smaller school, not a school the size of and with the pressures of The Ohio State University.

Let’s take a look at how he has looked so far. Against Akron, he looked like Cooper. I say Cooper because like in the Cooper years we crushed teams that we were supposed to crush. Even with the suspensions Fickell looked to be making all the correct calls (though I thought maybe we would see a little more Braxton Miller in the game). It seemed people began drinking a little of the proverbial kool-aid. Then came Toledo. Make no mistake they are a good team, but elite they are not (look at their Boise State game as proof). We had the same suspensions, nothing new, and we looked awful. In the end our talent and depth was too much for Toledo to handle and we squeaked out an all too close win.