O-H.... I-O!

Photo courtesy of norwalkreflector.com.

I don't think there's a whole lot of use in talking about the lockout again. Just get it over with. For now, we have March Madness, and there's more than enough to talk about there.

For Ohio State seniors Dallas Lauderdale, Jon Deibler, David Lighty, and Nikola Kecman it was an even bigger day than any other game day. It was graduation day, and that's something that is easy to look past when we see how well they're playing in the tournament. Being a college graduate isn't something that is recognized as much as it should be in the world of sports. One-and-done guys in basketball seem to come along every day, college is just a one year layover until they get to where they really want to be. Many of these players have extenuating circumstances, and I don't hold it against them as people. But it does make those college grads that much more exceptional.

ESPN's Gregg Easterbrook has repeatedly brought up the fact that NFL player introductions have them listing the college they played at, even if they never graduated. This gives a false sense of accomplishment, as if they had earned the right to represent their universities when in fact the school they should be representing is their high school. I agree completely with his point, and it makes me value these newly-minted college graduates that much more. I'm proud to cheer for these guys because of their talents on the floor, but also because they did it the right way off of the court. Congratulations, guys. You've earned it.