Buckeye News around the Net for 7/21/08
Coach Cooper,
LeCharles Bentley, Donte Whitner, Troy Smith, Shane Olivea, Drew Carter, Coach
Tressel, Vernon Gholston and Pete Johnson
By Bill Smith
The Great
We
don't get to report great news often but we can this week. As reported here earlier this week, Coach
Cooper has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Coach Cooper. On Wednesday, we will have an article about
the other OSU members of the hall.
The Good
Jonathan
Feinsod the agent of LeCharles Bentley has told ESPN that as many as 5
teams have expressed interest in his client.
Feinsod would not comment on whether Bentley has visited any teams to
this point.
Unless
you’re Joe Namath, “guarantees” in the NFL typically get greeted with either
apathy or incredulity. But word out of Buffalo
is that S Donte Whitner’s guarantee in a SportingNews.com story that the
Bills will make the playoffs this season was marked by enthusiasm from his
teammates. The Bills have made a host of fortifications this offseason,
especially on defense, and the players have bought into the notion that it’s
playoffs or bust.
From Pro
Football Weekly: When it comes to the
Ravens’ QB battle, the competitor who makes the fewest mistakes may have the edge
to win the job. Veteran Kyle Boller has made too many errors for the team’s
liking over the years, and rookie QB Joe Flacco will have to avoid the
interceptions and fumbles that can plague young passers. Mistake-laden summers
for Boller and Flacco would only strengthen second-year QB Troy Smith’s
case for the job. The way we hear it, Smith has distinguished himself to date
by making relatively few errors.
Bart Scott
the star linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens gave testimony to Smith's
improvement. He told the NFL Channel “I
think the dark horse in the whole competition is Troy Smith AKA Willie
Beamen (a reference to the QB in the Any Given Sunday movie). He's going to surprise some guys. I mean he's working hard and I think the
completion is open. May the best man
win. Troy's been doing a great job. He came in and is very mature. He is a natural leader.” Of course we Buckeye fans knew that.
The Giants
have signed OT-OG Shane Olivea (San Diego) after a four-game suspension
for missing a drug test was pulled back by the NFL when Olivea (fourth year,
Ohio State) explained he was at his doctor’s office that day for treatment of
drug abuse.
If Javon
Walker is not ready, or even limited, Drew Carter, a less expensive free
agent from Carolina,
could make a play for an increased role.
Carter has been a regular during the Raiders offseason and according to
Kiffin, was the first new receiver to develop chemistry with Russell.
Joe Shad of
ESPN has posted his Preseason B10 Rankings.
The Bucks are #1. Here is the
rest of the league according to Shad.
1 OSU
2 ILL
3 Wisc
4 Penn St
5 Michigan
6 Michigan St
7 Purdue
8 Indiana
9 Iowa
10 Northwestern
11 Minnesota
Pat
Sperduto was named head coach of the Columbus Destroyers. He opened his first news conference by saying
he was looking for some help from the Buckeyes. “Everybody knows the tradition right down the
road with some great coaches—guys that have walked that sideline. You have one right now in Coach Tressel. That's a big thing and we are going to tap
into them and try to build a relationship over there as best we can with them.”
The Bad (sort of bad)
The Jets
have five picks under contract, with first-round linebacker Vernon Gholston
(No. 6) their only unsigned rookie. They're well into negotiations with the
former Ohio State standout. So far 6 of the 31 1st round
choices have signed.
The Ugly (Very Ugly)
There
was a brawl at a Crew Game this week.
West Ham United soccer team was visiting the Crew for an exhibition
game. West Ham won the 04-05 English
soccer title. Their fans went into the
Crew fan area and a fight broke out.
Police broke it up and moved the West Ham fans out to the concourse. Of course, the fight erupted again. According to the Columbus Police, one fan was
arrested.
Pete
Johnson could get as much as a year in prison in the penalty phase of his
conviction for check fraud involving a bad check for a truck. He made the check good but was still
prosecuted.
Bill Smith is a
former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com. He has
also published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and
edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com