Buckeyes and Browns News and Insights

Oh what a great time to be a hater. If you haven't heard, Jim Tressel is in some trouble. He was informed of some of his players selling memorabilia, which is against NCAA rules. In the interests of full disclosure, I'm an Ohio native and a Buckeyes fan. However, Jim Tressel is not the devil he is being made out to be by some, especially on Twitter. He's not perfect by any means, and he made a very large mistake, but I'm with Gordon Gee and Gene Smith on this one. He doesn't deserve to be thrown out for this. Should he be punished? Absolutely, and he has been suspended for two games and $250,000 worth of game checks. I would also expect the NCAA to give out some form of punishment as well, so let's not count our chickens before they hatch. There are still a lot of questions swirling around the whole matter, so it's prudent to wait and see what the NCAA decides.

ESPN.com has ranked the top 10 wide receivers in the NFL. I don't think anyone is surprised to see that no Browns made this list. In fact, no AFC North receiver made the list. Pittsburgh's Mike Wallace got some consideration, and rightfully so, after having a breakout year as one of the best young deep threats in the league, but he still has much to improve on. Hopefully for Cleveland's sake he never joins this list, but I think he's well on his way to being the terror of the AFC North for a long time.

ESPN's James Walker broke down how Mel Kiper's latest mock affects the AFC North. I'll be ecstatic if A.J. Green is indeed the pick, as Kiper is now predicting. I'll be even more ecstatic if the Bengals actually take Cam Newton, as I don't expect him to be an effective quarterback in the pros for several years, if ever. The situation in Cincinatti with Carson Palmer is very unfortunate for them, especially considering the lack of a "slam dunk" quarterback prospect in this year's draft and the lack of trades or free agency that might allow them to get a veteran quarterback like Kevin Kolb and use their high draft pick on another need. While the Browns are generally seen as among the biggest losers in a potential lockout, the Bengals are right there with them due to their QB situation.

James Walker also ranked his top 7 players with the most to prove. Peyton Hillis (#3) and Colt McCoy (#1) headline this list for the Browns. Hillis needs to get healthy and work on decreasing his fumbles for next season. Hopefully the return of Montario Hardesty from an ACL injury will allow the Browns' workhorse to stay more rested throughout the season and not have his production slow down as the season goes on. Colt McCoy needs to prove that he can be a franchise quarterback for a full season. The new West Coast offense should get the most out of McCoy's strengths while minimizing his weaknesses. His accuracy, intelligence, and mobility will help offset his lack of elite arm strength and prototypical QB size, but he needs to show that he can be effective over 16 (or 18?) games. A full offseason to bulk up and get healthy will help, but a lack of team activities in the offseason could slow his understanding of the new offense being implemented.

On the CBA front, it appears that progress is being made but the players want NFL owners to open their financial books to public scrutiny. I believe I am in the majority of fans who feel that this is not a ridiculous request by the Players Association. The owners are claiming they are losing money, so they should support their assertion with evidence. If none is supplied, I won't believe them and I doubt the players will either. Hopefully this situation will be resolved as soon as possible.

Mocking the Draft, one of my favorite sites for draft information, has put up their analysis of the Cleveland Browns' team needs. I think writer "GarrettFalk" is absolutely correct in his assessment of what the Browns should do in the upcoming draft. Wide receiver is the biggest need, with defensive line a close second. As he states in the article, the Browns could get some very solid defensive tackle prospects in round two if they take A.J. Green or Julio Jones in round one.

As always, stay tuned for more news and analysis.

Wednesday Football Two-A-Days

Um, Coach Tressel, it's the NCAA on line one, for YOU.

The Longest Tenured Falcon Will Not Be Back

Last week, the Falcons announced some fairly regular for this time of year roster moves. They re-signed a back-up offensive lineman, Will Svitec, and believe it or not, a back-up punter, Ken Parrish. The team also announced that CB Brian Williams, whose Falcons career started off so well before he was hurt in the middle of the 2009 season (likely costing the team a few wins and a playoff shot), will not be back. The big news however, is about the other player the team announced would not be back: WR Brian Finneran.

Finneran has been on the team since 2000, and is, or was, by far, the longest-tenured Falcon. Finn has seen it all in Atlanta: the end of the Dan Reeves Era, the beginning brilliance of Mike Vick’s first two seasons as a starter (with that one, Vick-injured season in the middle), the Little Jimmy Mora Era of Disarray and the mediocrity of Mike Vick’s last two seasons, the fallout from the Vick’s despicable and sociopathic off-field pursuits, and the rebirth of the team under Thomas Dimitroff, Mike Smith, and Matt Ryan.

Finneran, a Philly kid from the tiny school of Villanova, was drafted by his hometown Eagles in 1999, but became a stalwart for the Falcons at WR over his career. His first few years were marred by untimely drops, like dropping a sure-fire touchdown that would have beaten Green Bay in Lambeau during the first game of the 2002 season, but he quickly turned his situation around, becoming Johnny on the Spot for any QB the Falcons employed during his career, especially on third downs and in the red zone.

What is most impressive about Brian Finneran is how he came back from not one, but two unfortunate knee injuries in 2006 and 2007, and was still able to perform for his team and his teammates. Yes, he was never quite the same, but Finn showed the kind of dedication to team and professionalism towards fans not often seen in today’s culture of the jaded athlete. In the offseason, Finneran has also become a beloved voice on local sports talk radio, offering keen insights into football, yes, but also into different sports, showing him to be an intelligent, all-around sportsman.

Finneran probably caught a bit of a reprieve this past season, as the WR drafted to be his replacement, Kerry Meier, suffered a season-ending knee injury of the type Finn knows only too-well, and he made the most of his limited time on the field, catching 3 touchdown passes from amongst his 19 receptions. Finneran never had a 1000 yard receiving season, playing as he did with Mike Vick during his formative years, but he was reliable and hard-working, and a great teammate and locker room presence for the Falcons.

Finn will be missed by his coaches, teammates, and fans alike. I wish him well in his next endeavor, which I know will be a success. Thank you for your dedication and efforts as an Atlanta Falcon, Brian. Wherever you go, you will always be appreciated and find a home waiting for you in Atlanta.

Ohio State's Arrogance Will Finally Be Its Undoing

Jim Tressel lied to the NCAA about when he knew about five of his players committing NCAA infractions revolving around the selling of personal team effects for profit. He told the NCAA, and the rest of the country via a press conference in December that he did not know anything about anything until December.

This past weekend we found out, thanks to a brilliant report by Yahoo Sports, that Tressel knew 8 months prior to that date in April, and he did not immediately report the wrong-doing as he is compelled to do by his contract and simple ethics. He sat on the information, and if any further digging is done, we might find out that he tried to cover up the wrongdoing. Tressel lied to a country of college football fans, he lied to the administration of his university, and he lied to the NCAA. And yet, for the magnitude of his lie, Jim Tressel was given a slap on the wrist by Ohio State in an attempt to show the NCAA they can police their own problems, no further punishment needed.

Bruce Pearl also lied to the NCAA once upon a time. The head coach of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team, Pearl lied to the NCAA regarding his recruiting practices while at Marquette, and for his lies, Tennessee saw fit to suspend Pearl from the first half of the SEC basketball schedule (8 games) and docked his pay about 1.5 MILLION per year, not some measly drop in the bucket. Bruce Pearl paid a heavy price in games missed and in the wallet for his lie.

What did Ohio State, of the “upstanding” Big-10 Conference do to punish Jim Tressel? A slap on the wrist consisting of a fine of $250,000, amounting to chump-change for one of the best-paid coaches in college football, and a two-game suspension at the beginning of the year against Akron and Toledo. This punishment for Tressel is an absolute joke compared to what the Tennessee did to Bruce Pearl for the same offense: lying to the NCAA. Big surprise that once again, the SEC does something better than the Big-10. Usually it is on the football field, but now the SEC is beating the Big-10 in justice, too.

In fact, the most galling part of this minor spanking is that Tressel misses two games, while his players miss five. How in the hell is that justice? Tressel and Ohio State's arrogance in last night's press conference was palpable, both parties refusing to actually admit to any wrongdoing. Lame excuses were proffered, and cringe-worthy jokes were made (by Gordon Gee) instead.

Jim Tressel, once again, escapes any kind of real punishment, for the time being. I say once again, because somehow, like John Calipari, wrongdoing seems to follow Jim Tressel like hippies follow Phish. At Youngstown State there was malfeasance being done in his program that somehow never stuck to Tressel in the national media. Of course, everyone remembers the scandals involving Maurice Clarret, Troy Smith, and now the five players Tressel blackmailed to coming back for their senior years, including his starting quarterback.

We were to believe that all of these instances of wrongdoing occurred right underneath Tressel’s nose, without his knowledge. That sounds like a man who does not have institutional control of any football program he has coached, does it not? If we were to take a common sense approach, and apply logic to Jim Tressel’s legacy of wrongdoing, we could postulate that maybe the Sweater Vest has had far more knowledge of the violations in his football programs than we were led to believe. Now that he has been caught lying, it is time we stop believing his claims of ignorance.

Here is the good thing: we will not have to postulate for much longer, because the NCAA is coming. They are coming for Jim Tressel and Ohio State just as assuredly as they came after USC and Alabama. The NCAA is probably as stunned about the limp punishment issued by OSU President Gordon Gee to Tressel as the rest of us are, and that will make their investigation that more focused.

No more striking compromises with the NCAA, Ohio State, as you did shortly before this year’s Sugar Bowl. Your arrogance has finally caught up with you. It doesn’t matter who you have your in corner (Jim Delany), you won’t be protected this time. You called down the thunder, well now you got it!

Today in History

On 09 March 1454, Amerigo Vespucci is born in Florence, Italy. Vespucci is of course important because two continents and one world super power bear the feminized version of his Latinized first name.

Amerigo was a cartographer who was a member of two post-Columbus ocean-crossing voyages for Portugal that made the serendipitous discovery of Brazil (though he would later claim 2 additional voyages that remain unverified). Amerigo helped to map out, or begin to map out the eastern coast of what would become South America. Vespucci wrote letters to speak to the new discoveries, and he wrote them in Latin, using the name Americus Vespucius, so educated people throughout Europe could understand them. These letters were reprinted and became widespread throughout Europe, and when mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller printed the first map for general use, he named the continent using the feminized name, America (a common practice at the time; think of Georgia, feminized version of George, my fair state named after the King of England).

So let us raise a glass to Amerigo Vespucci today, and give thanks. I mean, if it weren’t for Amerigo, we could all be living in the United States of Columbia! Bullet: dodged.

TV Dinner

It is March, and for our favorite shows, this month is the start of the beginning of the end. Whether you prefer shows with complex mythologies and drawn-out plot and character arcs, or like the mindless fun of shows without, March is the time when everything begins to wrap up.

Unfortunately for the people who work on Two and Half Men, they are finished now; no more episodes to shoot, no more income to earn. The last thing I want to do is talk about what is going on with Charlie Sheen, who seems to have taken the Tom Cruise train to Crazy Town, without the benefit of worshipping a pedestrian science fiction writer. Yeah, his antics are funny, and if you go for hedonism, his life sounds fun (except the hangovers must be massive), but there are people who are not celebrities, who do not act in front of the cameras, but rather operate those cameras, who are suffering the highest toll for what has transpired in the last two weeks.

Charlie Sheen has more money than he obviously knows what to do with, and the other actors like Jon Cryer will be absolutely fine. The people behind the camera, however, will be losing four episodes worth of pay (the production company for the show, WB Television, will be paying the crew for 4 of the 8 episodes that were cancelled). For crewmembers making a middle class living in the state of California, missing four paychecks was probably not in their budget. Now, with the added stress of not knowing when, or if, the show is coming back, many of these people will of course try to find new jobs, which would adversely affect any comeback attempt CBS tries to make with Two and a Half Men, as the people behind the camera are every bit as important to making a show run as those in front.

I am not picking sides between Chuck Lorre, Charlie Sheen, CBS, or whoever else has a beef with each other. Those people will all be fine, by their own definitions of fine, of course. I do, however, feel for the people working on the crew, who have been pawns in this battle of humongous Hollywood egos. They are the real victims in all of this mess.

Smart Quote

O, what a tangled web we weave, / When first we practice to deceive

Sir Walter Scott, Marmion, 1808

Hey, Check This Out!

This is for all the Ohio State fans out there in denial about what is coming their way.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @UGABugKiller. Thanks!