Go Get 'Em, Joe Barton

Rep. Joe Barton of Texas is contemplating perjury charges against an Alamo Bowl official for exaggerating the amount of money donated to charity from bowl games. Hey, whatever it takes to give college football fans a playoff system...

A Little Blurb on Sonia Sotomayor and Maurice Clarett

From Peter King of SI ~ "That name. Sonia Sotomayor. President Obama's choice for Supreme Court justice rings a bell in the sports world, especially in Big Ten country. Remember?
In 2004, Maurice Clarett tested the National Football League's draft-eligibility rules, which state that players are not eligible for the draft until three seasons have passed between the time they graduate from high school and the time they declare for the draft. Only two years had passed when Clarett tried to enter the 2004 draft. His case went before the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York, where a three-judge panel, Sotomayor included, ruled against Clarett and forced him to wait 'til the 2005 draft.
Clarett's attorney, Alan Milstein, argued keeping Clarett out of the NFL would unreasonably restrict his client's earnings. Of course it would restrict his earnings, because it would keep him out of the NFL for another year. But the question for the three-judge panel was whether this was unreasonable or unfair.
Opined Sotomayor: "That's what unions do every day -- protect people in the union from those not in the union. Why is this case different?''
It wasn't. Clarett lost the case. He was drafted in the third round the next year by the Broncos in what turned out to be a ridiculously bad pick, a total waste by then Denver coach Mike Shanahan. And now Sotomayor, who is a big Yankees fan, will be up for confirmation to the highest court in the land."

Happy Memorial Day

Before Colleen and I go over to my parents for a visit this afternoon, I wanted to wish all of you a safe and happy Memorial Day today.

New addition for the blog: Ohio State Player Database

On The Columbus Dispatch's Buckeye Xtra feature I saw that they added this recently, and figured others who frequent the blog would enjoy it as well. I have added it over to the right side of the blog. Enjoy.

Recruiting Updates On 2 Shoremen Players

I saw this on espn.com and wanted to copy here. I'm curious if Ohio State will eventually offer Christian Pace, as his offer list is starting to include almost all of The Big Ten and other top programs around the country...

***
Dan Schneider of Avon Lake
On Friday, tight end Dan Schneider (Avon Lake, Ohio) landed scholarship offer No. 14 from Cincinnati and No. 15 from Syracuse. Schneider said coach Charley Molnar from UC called to let him know about the offer, and the offer from Syracuse came in the mail later in the day.
The 6-4, 230-pounder also has offers from Indiana, Pitt, Louisville, Marshall, Ball State, Air Force, Miami of Ohio, Bowling Green, Toledo, Kent State, Buffalo, Ohio University and Akron.
"I'm going to decide on visits and the like after the spring evaluation period," Schneider said.
Christian Pace of Avon Lake

Offensive lineman Christian Pace (Avon Lake, Ohio/ Avon Lake) keeps adding to his scholarship offer list. The 6-4, 275-pound Pace landed an offer from Illinois on Thursday. That was offer No. 23 for him.
"The (Illinois) coach had told me that he liked me a lot and just needed to meet me and talk with me," Pace said. "I was offered at school (on Thursday) afternoon."
Pace's list of scholarship offers includes Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern, Indiana, Pitt, Louisville, Vanderbilt, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Stanford and Colorado.
"I am going to try and narrow things down soon, but as of now I have no clear-cut favorites," Pace said.

2000 Days And Counting...

May 14, 2009 marks the 2000th day since Ohio State's last defeat in football to That School Up North. I believe these articles (this one from Ramzy on bucknuts.com and this one from John Campanelli of The Cleveland Plain Dealer) articulate how much pride and satisfaction Ohio State fans can revel in this accomplishment. Enjoy.

Only 190 days till THE GAME...

Possible 2009 Ohio State TV times

I found this on bucknuts.com and figured it was worth posting here for those of you are like me and try to plan your fall weekends around Ohio State football. Steve Helwagen emphasizes at the top of the article that this is not official, but his logic for when the kickoffs may take place seems plausible to me. For those of you who actually have a meaningful social life outside of Ohio State football...good for you.

Good Article On SI.com re: BCS Hearings

For those of you like me who want a college football playoff system, and enjoyed hearing and reading about last week's Congressional hearings, below is a good article for you to review and enjoy.

For those of you who do not want a college football playoff system, perhaps you'll enjoy finding out how much the head of the Alamo Bowl makes.

Enjoy.

Congress Puts The BCS On The Ropes

Today's meetings on Capitol Hill discussing the BCS are hopefully the very first steps toward giving college football fans a playoff system that they so richly deserve. Based on the comments I have read online regarding those meetings, it sounds as though BCS Chairman John Swofford would prefer to be in just about any other situation, including this one.

While I certainly believe Congress has so many other important issues that should be consuming their time, I truly applaud Congressman Joe Barton and the other members of Congress who are putting the BCS on the spot. Without their pressure of proposed legislation, the BCS could and would continue this mockery of voting on a championship game, rather than allowing teams to play it out on the field.