So Long, Farewell

I sit here still in utter disbelief. My coach is not the coach anymore. I knew this day would come, but I thought that was still off in the distance, after another national title and a few more wins over that school up north.

I am hurting for Coach Tressel and his family. I am hurting for the players (expect for a certain 5) that have lost their coach.

I am hurting for the alumni like myself who began their college years at Ohio State with Jim Tressel at the helm. I am hurting for the fans like myself who, although we questioned him at times, loved him.

Someone posted on Twitter yesterday that they were glad the violations involved tattoos because those individuals have permanent reminders of what they did to contribute to Coach Tressel losing his job.

Yesterday, like many times in his life before, and most assuredly after Ohio State, Jim Tressel chose integrity and loyalty over letting someone else take the fall. He could have hung those players out to dry, but he didn't. He could have went to the NCAA before he went to Gene Smith and Gordon Gee, but he didn't. In the coming months, we will see who else falls victim to the media lead lynch mob....I wouldn't be surprised if Gene Smith is next.

SI Article Shows 9 Players To Add To TatFive, Little Else

Not deep enough, obviously

The hype around the SI investigative report against and on Jim Tressel was built up to the point where it was getting monstrous, and (many people believed) is the reason for Tressel's resignation. That turned out to be very, very wrong. When the article came out last night at around 8 PM eastern time, people flocked to the site to see what all the fuss was about, and see how dirty the program really is.


What we all found was...well, nothing. The only big deal would be the fact that 9 other players were involved with the Tattoo guy, Rife. Those players were: defensive back C.J. Barnett, linebacker Dorian Bell, running back Jaamal Berry, running back Bo DeLande, defensive back Zach Domicone, linebacker Storm Klein, linebacker Etienne Sabino, defensive tackle John Simon and defensive end Nathan Williams.


It doesn't help Sports Illustrated's cause when more than half the article that was written, didn't even pertain to the fact of Tressel in his OSU era. Most of it was during his time at Youngstown State. Really? I mean, give me a break. The fact that they say they've "dug up" some pretty serious stuff is just looking plain stupid right now.

Sports Illustrated Releases Post-Spring Top 25

As the title says, Sports Illustrated has released some power rankings of the Top 25 teams in college football based off last year, and everything that happened during the spring. The Buckeyes currently sit 11th, the lowest they've been since the opening of the 2007 Preseason. Here's the rankings:

1. Oklahoma
2. Oregon
3. Alabama
4. LSU
5. Stanford
6. Texas A&M
7. Oklahoma State
8. South Carolina
9. Florida State
10. Boise State
11. Ohio State
12. Nebraska
13. Arkansas
14. Michigan State
15. TCU
16. Wisconsin
17. Missouri
18. Auburn
19. Virginia Tech
20. West Virginia
21. Notre Dame
22. Mississippi State
23. Arizona State
24. Maryland
25. Utah

Overall not too bad of a list, but I would definitely change some things. I'm sure along the way this summer we will have a first look at a preseason poll. For now, we will just have to take a look at these rankings and hope for the best as far as when August comes around.

Your POW.

This is the first POW we have done in about 2 weeks, so it's time to get back in the swing of things here. As you know, we did not have one last week due to the Big Ten Tournament taking place. With the NCAA March Madness Tournament starting today, (Join the Open Thread at 12 PM!) we won't really have time to post one. So, this week's picture of the week comes from the element of "March Madness" Plus, it has Evan Turner on it. How can you not like it? If you would like to suggest some photos, just email us at insidetheshoe2009@hotmail.com or tweet @InsideTheShoe, or even fire off a message at Facebook.