All good things must come to an end, and so did the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball season on Saturday night in the Final Four. Some say they choked after losing a thirteen point lead. Some say they looked ahead to Kentucky. Some incredibly blamed Thad Matta. Whatever you want to believe is the reason they lost is fine with me. It doesn't change the fact that it happened and we all had to suffer through Kansas looking like the JV against Kentucky's varsity. I'm not going to sit here and tell you Ohio State could have beaten Kentucky or even given them a better game than Kansas, but I sure wish we would have gotten the opportunity to find out.
Is it goodbye for Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas? Consensus seems to be that yes, they are leaving despite not being ready. I'm not even sure what that means: ready? Have you seen the state of the NBA? Are you telling me Deshaun Thomas and Jared Sullinger, while certainly not being all-stars, couldn't have made considerable contributions to the Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Bobcats and even our own Cleveland Cavaliers? So what does "being ready" mean? To come in to the league and dominate like LeBron did? That's unrealistic. By that standard Anthony Davis isn't "ready". I want these guys back in scarlet and grey as much as the rest of Buckeye Nation. But if they feel entering the draft and getting paid millions, even if it is to be a role player, is what they want then more power to them. Of course, legitimate NBA talent evaluators who spend their afternoons in offices, classrooms and preparing sandwiches will laugh and call them stupid...
Last bit on the Buckeye hoops team, I found this season was a lot of fun. And that term gets thrown around a lot, especially lately, to describe mediocre teams with inferior talent (I'm talking to you Cleveland Indians fan who likes to say "Yeah, but the Tribe is fun to watch!") giving their all despite coming up short. Well this team won. And by fun, I mean it was fun watching them win despite ripping my hair out on several occasions during the Big Ten season. You want to know what's "fun"? Having a great team given little chance to win a season ending road game at Michigan State's Breslin Center, watching them go up there and dual Sparty in a classic that they win at the buzzer. That, my friends, is fun. You know what else is "fun"? Beating Syracuse to go to the Final Four and watching Jim Beoheim make faces like someone took a leak in his coffee and he is being forced to swallow it. That was fun!
So long William Buford. You gave us four years, a rarity in the college basketball world for a player that has your type of potential. Most thought he was a goner after his sophomore year. Good luck young man, we'll miss you!
World Wide Calipari
I'm not going to rant and rag on Kentucky and their what should be vacated national championship. I just have a few simple and honest questions:
How does Calipari pull a crop like that? Which leads to...
Why is World Wide Wes sitting behind the bench as a guest of Calipari? Which leads to...
Why is nobody questioning World Wide Wes sitting behind the bench as a guest of Calipari? You ask why World Wide Wes is a problem, which leads to...
Why is someone who works for an NBA agent, is widely known to be a power player in NBA meeting rooms, the guy who talked LeBron James into leaving his original agent Aaron Goodwin to sign with his boss Leon Rose, on the court hugging Anthony Davis after the national championship game?
So George Dohrmann wants to investigate tattoo's at Ohio State and stalk players at UCLA to tell stories about guys who had bad attitudes and left the program, but World Wide Wes hugging it out with the NCAA player of the year, ON THE COURT, doesn't peak his interest? And I don't mean to bag on Dohrmann exclusively. Where is Dan Wetzel or, God forbid, ESPN? The World Wide Leader even seems unfazed about World Wide Wes and his relationship to the Kentucky program.
Truly amazing. And people wonder why Ohio State fans feel like the media is always out to get their beloved. I'll stand behind this statement until someone can prove different: If World Wide Wes is involved, it isn't on the "up and up". Bank on it.
And maybe the best part of it all is Calipari's complete faith in Wes covering up and making whatever is happening so untraceable that he flaunts their relationship! He gives him tickets to sit behind the bench! Allows him on the court to hug the star player! Almost as if to say "Look at us! So what are you going to do about it?"
Truly amazing.
Radio Girl (it's a Volbeat song, look it up)
Stop complaining about local radio in Cleveland. Stop! If you don't like WKNR and especially Aaron Goldhammer (I personally want to throw up just mentioning their names) then don't listen! And I don't mean that in a righteous, defiant, "I can't hear you" smack talk way, I mean it literally.
Understand how radio works: Clown A, we'll call him "Rizz", gets a show on WRNK in Steubenville. As a professional, it's Rizz's job to go on the air and find what gets a reaction. Maybe acting like a fool and arguing ridiculous points draws the most callers and public talk about his show. Maybe he actually makes a lot of sense and that draws callers to his show and generates buzz. Maybe it's a series of crank calls and flatulence jokes. Whatever it is, whatever generates the buzz, good or bad, is what he will stick with. Notice the key phrase there, good or bad. Because whether you're agreeing with his intelligent points, screaming at the radio because of his smug attitude and unintelligible rambles, or laughing with him as he goes on a wild string of buffoonery, you're listening. And if you're listening, that means the guy is good as a show host, right? No! It means the station can sell advertisements at a higher rate and make WRNK in Stuebenville very rich!
If a program begins to lose ad money, it cannot survive. If you are not listening and talking about the program, they have no leverage when negotiating with sponsors, or sponsors simply say "nobody listens to that show" and pulls their funds. And series of events is how someone like Goldhammer will find himself with his bags packed and on his way to Pawnee for the afternoon drive polka show because it's the only work he can get, faster than you can say "I wanna punch Hammer in the mouth".
Instead, with Goldhammer, he agitates you. Then you rant and rave on Twitter and Facebook and call the show to tell him how much he needs to go. Well guess what? He wins.
Votto-Jeter-Cabrera
I didn't think much of the Reds signing Joey Votto to a ten year deal when I first heard about it. My initial reaction was "good for them" and I moved on with my evening. Then Tony Mazur @TonyMazur had to go and tweet this:
"@TonyMazur The Reds locked Joey Votto up for a decade. The Indians locked Asdrubal Cabrera up until Derek Jeter calls it quits."
And I instantly got upset because Tony is dead on. Nothing more needs to be said. This one statement completely defines the Dolan era as owner of the Cleveland Indians.
By the way, opening day is Thursday.
Finish him!
I hope everyone, despite the outcome, did as I suggested and had a great time watching the Final Four on Saturday night. Being new to Charlotte, I foolishly passed on the opportunity to watch the game with the Charlotte Buckeyes (www.charlottebuckeyes.com) My nerves and ridiculous superstitions kept me at home. And while Peanut and I had a great time yelling at the tv and sipping on Red Hook (thanks Dan Patrick show for bringing this product into my life) and a few Olde Mecklenbug Copper's (local brew that a few coworkers turned me on to) it still would have been more fun to be out with the crowd and cheering with the faithful. I regret it. It won't happen again.
And yes, Radio Girl is a fantastic song that mixes 50's pop with heavy metal by a band you need to take an interest in called Volbeat. Do yourself a favor, cut and paste the link and watch the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfWXo9gKYJ0
Until next time, SEE YA!
Metallica track of the week:
Creeping Death
With Easter coming this Sunday, how could anything but a story about God not be our track of the week? With lyrics pulled directly from the bible, James Hetfield tells us the story of Passover, right down to the bush of fire! And the song, in my humble opinion, is hands down the best concert opener they do.
Here they are opening the Big Four show in Sofia, Bulgaria with our track of the week! I found a clip that include the "Ecstasy of Gold" classic intro that they've had for some 26 of the 30 years they have been a band. You know me pretty well by now, you know my affinity for sports and love for my teams... nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the moment you are about to see for me. There is no more adrenaline/excitement pumping through me than this moment right here. Sorry, it may be disappointing to you. Can't help it. There is no place in the world I'd rather be!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTMWaxLCpAs
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