Saturday, 4:15 am (thinking to myself in bed):  What another great parenting move I just pulled!   If there was a Fantasy Dad League, I woulda scored  about 50 points tonight!!!

Wednesday, 5:13 pm:  Beth just told me that our daughter, Audrey, is gonna have 4 girls stay overnight for her 11th birthday.

Saturday, 4:33 am (thinking to myself in bed): Man, this would be a great blog!  What can I write about?

Friday, 4:12 pm:  Beth just told me that ten girls are going to be staying overnight.  PREPARE FOR THE HURRICANE!!!

Friday, 5:15 pm:  The girls start rolling  in.  6th grade son Ethan and his buddy Caleb act like they are in great pain with 11 5th grade girls swarming them.  From my faint memories of being a 6th grade boy back in 1982, I know that it is all a facade.  They are loving every minute of it!!!

5:42 pm.  Girls decide to go swimming in the backyard.  No passing balls or shooting balls or wrestling or tackling or running around the pool and jumping in.  Lots of talking though.  Early observation.  BOYS AND GIRLS  ARE VERRRYYYY DIFFERENT.

Friday, 6:33 pm:  My beautiful wife Beth gives me two options.  Option 1:  stay and lifeguard.  Option 2:  carry out Audrey’s meal request by heading to Taco Bell.  After a lengthy deliberation (approximately 1.6 seconds), I decide to make a Run for the Border

Saturday, 4:44 am:  I hate when I wake up in the middle of the night.  I never can get back to sleep!

Friday, 6:48 pm:  (Scanning the drive-thru menu)  I never know what to order at Taco Bell.  Hey, Taco 12-pack!  Let’s get a couple of those!

Friday, 7:17 pm–  Time for dinner.  Audrey spent about an hour after school preparing the dinner table for the feast.  Table settings include fancy plastic wine glasses and name cards.

Friday, 7:20 pm– Audrey asks if they can have pop.  Mom suggests lemonade.  Dad takes a big risk and announces, “who wants pop???”  Beth smiles.  Whew, dodged a bullet there!

Friday, 7:23 pm–Audrey announces that they are going to do introductions around the table.  I have a flash back to my first year of tackle football.  Fifth grade.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Anyhow, that year, I was on the Chiefs, a team of 30+ kids.  I played 2 plays.  THE ENTIRE YEAR!  How do I remember that?  A.  I have a good memory for little useless things.  B.  Being that it was only 2 plays, it’s not like I had much to remember.  In defense of our coaches, we did have a few weekday B games for us to play in.   But the ‘A’ games were Sundays.  I wonder how Dad felt missing Cleveland Browns games to come watch me warm the bench?  At least he got to watch my 6th grade sister Andrea cheer!   That had to be pretty exciting.  Speaking of cheer, that is the reason for this flashback.  Sitting on the bench all year  (and I do remember literally sitting on the bench.  No refs or coaches had to yell at us to get back!  Fifth graders are much more comfy sitting on the bench than tiring themselves out standing on the sideline), I eventually learned the words to all of the cheers that were going on right behind me.

“H….E…..L-L-O, that’s… the way we say hello hello,,,,let’s say hello….WOOOO!!!!”

“R-O-W-D-I-E, that’s the way we spell rowdy rowdy, let’s get rowdy, WOOOO!!!!”

Two instant observations:

1.  Cheerleaders in 1981 appeared to be obsessed with spelling

2.  Every cheer must have needed a “WOOO!!!” as the caboose  (and do kids nowadays know what cabooses are?)

Back to my anecdote.  One cheer that you could count on early in the game is the ‘Introduction’ cheer.  Probably batted #2 in the order after the “Hello” cheer.

Whole cheer squad:  “Jump back, jump back, innnnnntroduce yourself.”  My sister:  “I’m Andrea…A sixth grader…for the Chiefs!”  Whole squad:  “Right on, right on, right on, right on!” “(hey, no “WOOO!!!” on the end of this one.  My theory is debunked.)

Flash forward back to the birthday dinner:  as Audrey finishes her introduction, I quickly make my move:

“Jump back, jump back, innnnnntroduce yourself.  I’m Mac…the dad…of Audrey!  Right on, right on, right on, right on!”

Big laughs from 10 girls.  Evil eye from 1 girl.  I will take that as a solid victory.

Saturday, 4:52 am:  man, I am gonna be a grump today.

Friday, 7:31 pm:  gotta head to Dover’s blowout game vs. some Toledo team so my boys can keep their social lives going. Before I go, though, I have one more gem up my sleeve, compliments of Taco Bell nachos.

I slyly place my pinky finger into Audrey’s nacho cheese, announce to the table that I have a present for Audrey, smear some cheese on her cheek, and yell “CHEESE TOUCH!!!!”

The Terrific Ten are roaring with laughter.  Birthday girl is not.  Oh well, you gotta play to the crowd.

Friday, 7;54 pm:  Walk into the stadium and it’s 38-0 Dover.  Another one of those games I recently blogged about…

Friday, 8:28 pm:  sat down to talk for a while with #1 Dover football fan and historian Denny Rubright.  I always enjoy learning some Dover history from him while he picks my brain for some past and present Louisville Leopard football info (my alma mater and current employer).

Friday, 8:57 pm:  this OHSAA running clock rule (when up by 30 or more points) isn’t too bad.  My mom has been raving about it from the Leopard games she has seen this year.  Being the ornery son that I am, I teased her about it . Hey mom, you were right!

Friday, 9:22pm:  Ethan and Caleb decide to stay overnight at Caleb’s house.  I guess I was wrong about my Friday 6:12 pm accusation.

Friday, 9:20 pm:  Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  Ethan asked if Caleb could stay overnight, and I said no due to ten girls staying over.  Let’s move that Wrong back over to the Right column!

Friday, 9:43 pm:  Back at the house.  The girls are decorating there 3-foot long balloons, drawing faces on them, and giving them boys’ names.  Not something you would see at a boys’ slumber party.  BOYS AND GIRLS  ARE VERRRYYYY DIFFERENT.

Friday, 10:55 pm:  Hitting my wall.  Time for bed.  Beth can handle patrol duties.

Saturday, 2:15 am:  Beth wakes me up as she gets out of bed to quiet down the girls.

Friday, 2:29 am:  Beth wakes me up AGAIN as she gets out of bed to quiet down the girls as they have gotten louder in the last 14 minutes.

Saturday, 2:57 am  Time for Dad to give it a try.  As I head down the steps, I hear and enormous amount of girl chatter and a bunch of balloons squeaking.  Man, girls can talk!  When my boys have had their birthday sleepovers, a 2:57 am visit by me would find an intense X-box battle going.  Pretty quiet for the most part.  BOYS AND GIRLS  ARE VERRRYYYY DIFFERENT.

As I get close to entering the family room where they are SUPPOSED to be sleeping, I hear someone yell, “lay down!” and 7 little girls go scrambling for their sleeping bags and balloons go flying.   I decide to be the good  cop and tell them that they need to talk quietly.  One of the girls shares that they keep taking each other’s  balloon boyfriends.  BOYS AND GIRLS  ARE VERRRYYYY DIFFERENT.  At least those 7 didn’t try the old trick of putting either of the 2 sleeping  girls’ hands in a bowl of water.  Does that trick really work?

Saturday, 3:23 am:  The gigglefest is in full swing again!  Time for trip number two.  I could give the good cop quiet speech again while also scheduling a 3:50 am visit.  I could try the grumpy bad cop lecture, but that would completely waste my Friday 7:23 pm and Friday 7:31 pm works of art.  Hmmm, what can quiet a group of 5th grade girls????

Hmmmm.  I got it!  Technology can be our friend!   Time for my old friend, TV, to save the day!  What’s on the DVR?  My Lil’ Pony show?  Too short.  I will be back down in 30 minutes.  High School Musical?  Too energetic and High School Musical-ily.  They might even start singing.  That wouldn’t be good.  Scrolling down.  Scrolling down.  I GOT IT!!!

Yes!  They won’t be able to resist the lure of Disney!!!  And it’s just long enough to put the sleeper hold on them!

Saturday, 3:36 am:  one girl grabs a bag of chips to eat as the movie starts.  6 other girls  follow and grab a bag. I start to mumble a veto on snacking at 3:36 am, but quickly squash that thought.  Can’t rain on the birthday bash!

Saturday, 3:48 am:  walking up the steps as a triumphant parent as 7 little girls quietly watch their flick.

Saturday, 4:15 am (thinking to myself in bed):  What another great parenting move I just pulled!   If there was a Fantasy Dad League, I woulda scored about 50 points tonight!!!

Follow the author on twitter:  @macaljancic

You can also e-mail him:  macaljancic@yahoo.com

 

Some thoughts to nibble on for Times-Reporter and Repository area readers as we approach the half-way point of the high school regular season…

1.  Maybe they are sprinkling in some Holy Water in the water bottles, because the  three area Catholic schools are off to a combined 11-1 start.  

Tuscarawas Central Catholic is off to a surprising 4-0 start, which includes a win over defending West Virginia state  champion Weirton Madonna.  They have a big match-up with 3-1 Sandy Valley Friday.

St. Thomas Aquinas won three straight shoot-outs to open the season, 140 to 112.  Unfortunately, star QB Anthony Moeglin suffered a shoulder injury last week in a loss to our third Catholic team…

Someone forgot to tell the Canton Central Catholic football program that you are supposed to struggle when replacing a legendary 4-decade coach in Lowell Klinefelter.  But Coach Jeff Lindesmith and his boys have notched impressive wins over New Philadelphia (31-13), Perry (24-13), Minerva (31-0), and rival Aquinas (36-7).

2.  The Garaway Pirates are a big-time force this year and for years to come.

Garaway is undefeated.  What makes that even more impressive is that their vanquished foes (Dalton, Fairless, Indian Valley, and Ridgewood) are a combined 9-2 in their other games.  Coach Jason Wallick has gotten off to this hot start while relying on a talented group of young sophomores in several key spots.  The headliner of this group is quarterback R.J. Jacobs.

3.  The game of the year in the NBC is this week.

3-1 Louisville travels to 4-0 Carrollton.  These are the only two Northeastern Buckeye Conference schools with winning records.  The Warriors have rolled their opponents by a combined score of 166 to 51.  They face by far their toughest foe so far in the 3-1 Leopards,  The question is whether the talented but youthful Louisville defense can contain 246-pound Tyler Dodd in front of what is sure to be a raucous Carrollton crowd.

4.  Will any Federal League teams be able make a play-off run in what appears to be a rebuilding year for the league?

Jackson has gotten off to an exciting 4-0 start.  GlenOak’s sole defeat was a 17-14 loss to undefeated Massillon.  But they are that’s it when it comes to winning records in this tradition-rich league.  Hoover and Perry are 2-2, but those legendary programs appear headed in the right direction.  Two other traditional powers, Lake and McKinley, are off to 1-3 spots, but showed improved play last week.

5.  Speaking of the Federal League:  I would avoid any Hot Tub Time Machines or flying DeLorean automobiles on October 17th when Perry and McKinley meet up.  That match-up will definitely have a time warp vibe to it.  Panther coach Keith Wakefield and Bulldog coach Thom McDaniels are both back for second stints at the programs that originally hired both of them the year that E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial hit movie theaters,  The Eye of the Tiger played on radio, and The Smurfs debuted on TV: 1982.  The old ball coaches might have to break out some Bike sansabelt coaching shorts for old times sake.

6.  How with the E.C.O.L. Big-school division play out?  

Defending  champion Zanesville has lost its last three games by a 116-28 score.  New Philadelphia & Cambridge, both at 2-2, are hard to read so far.  Perennial champion Dover is 2-2, but battled Austintown Fitch tough, and appears to be the favorite.

7.  Is Massillon worthy of it’s #1 state ranking in Division II?  

Friday’s game vs. undefeated  Steubenville go a long way to answering that question.

ROY JONES JR. POUND FOR POUND TOP 10

(how Tusc./Stark/Carroll County football teams measure up in relation to teams it’s own size)

10.  Aquinas–how will they respond to QB injury

9.  Carrollton–can make big statement with a win this week

8. GlenOak–only beat 0-4 Boardman 14-0 last week

7.  Tuscarawas Central Catholic–passed first IVC test by routing struggling Malvern, 56-0

6.  Louisville–defense traditionally does well vs. power running teams

5.  Jackson–won a tough 35-28 battle over a struggling Lake team

4.  Indian Valley–big and powerful with just a missed 2-point conversion from beating Garaway

3.  Garaway–the youngsters are getting older each week

2.   Massillon–which town is more football crazy, Massillon or Steubenville??

1.   Canton Central Catholic–broke a 5-game losing streak to rival Aquinas

Mac’s snack of the week–Cool Ranch Doritos.  I would have no problem eating a bag of these in about 10 minutes.

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Follow the author on twitter:  @macaljancic

You can also e-mail him:  macaljancic@yahoo.com

I have a confession to make.  For the most part, I really like sad movies.  I am not taking an Earth-shattering stand here.  Just about every movie has some element of sadness.  Every plot needs conflict.  Even Adam Sandler had to overcome  losing a mentor…

And facing the disapproval of a parent…

Many extremely popular movies be considered sad movies, including two in my top-five all time favorite movie list…

Let me clarify to take more of a ‘controversial’ position.  I even like those intense dramas with very little light at the end of the tunnel, the beginning of the tunnel, or anywhere in between.  These movies can just wear you down.   For example, any time I come across The Pianist on TV, I have to watch for a while.  What he goes through to survive the Nazis really moves me.

Even lesser known dramatic, tragic movies catch my attention.  Seeing characters courageously face extreme adversity inspires me, and also makes be better appreciate all of the blessings in my life.  In fact, there are three movies that every person should be required to see at some point in their life:

This movie truly wipes me out.  It’s portrayal of extreme Nazi evil against an entire race.  We might want to forget evils like this, but we need to always remember tragedies like these in order to prevent them from happening again.  This movie affects me deeply in so many ways.  It reminds me that the  difficulties in my life are not so difficult.

Saving Private Ryan:  the opening battle scene should make every American better appreciate the courage and sacrifice that our troops have made to protect our great nations and its freedoms.  Students sometimes coast through school, or life, because it is hard or boring.  Watching this film should make every student want to do your best with the opportunities they have, educational or otherwise, due to all of the horrors that soldiers have faced.

The Passion of the Christ:  for Christians, this visual portrayal of Jesus’s sacrifice for our salvation should inspire our faith and encourage us to carry out His teachings.

 

Losing a game is a drop in the bucket compared to these and other tragedies in life.  But losing, like sad movies, is a dish that most prefer to skip.  I, however, can find some satisfaction in a game where my team ends up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.  Now it’s definitely not something that I want on the menu for every meal.  Watch the Browns for the last 15 years makes losing about as appealing as a can of Sardines.

Question:  do people actually eat sardines, or is that just an urban legend?

And before you slap the ‘loser’ label on me, let me point out that, as a coach, one of the main points that emphasize to my players is to ‘hate losing’.  I have told this to my senior football players, my kindergarten baseball players, and just about every age in between.  No, I am that not psycho, ruthless, crazy coach that tells 6-year-olds to trip opposing base runners to get an advantage.  I always explain to my players that ‘hating losing’ does not mean cheating, arguing with a ref, or throwing a temper tantrum.  It means you are going to try as hard as you can every moment until the end.  And that is a mentality they should have not only for games, but for every drill and repetition in practice, playing X-box and ping pong at home, and even shooting a crumbled up paper into a trash can.  Push yourself to maximize your potential.  That is how I measure success in athletics.  Some, like Jordan, Kobe, and Lebron, become legends by combining world-class talent with a hunger and drive to be the best that they can be.  On the hand, there are elite professional athletes that I would consider failures because they don’t stretch to reach their potential.  And I have coached kids that have been the among the last guys on the bench for my teams that I admire and consider a great success since they pushed themselves to be the best that they can be.

I have been to numerous high school football games as a player, coach, and fan.  Many of those have been blow-outs where my team cruised to victory.  Highlight moments abound, stats get piled high, and smiles and laughs are in abundance.  But those victories can sometimes feel like eating this…

or watching one of these sequels…

They don’t really fill you too much.

I have sat through many ‘cotton candy’ games in Crater Stadium over the years.  Dover’s 5-wide receiver offense has sliced and diced through many an inferior opponent.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Coach Ifft, his staff, and his players have worked extremely hard to become the elite program that they are.  They can only play who is on their schedule.  But, just like watching the Buckeyes roll the likes of Kent State on a sunny Saturday afternoon, ‘cotton candy’ football leaves me hungering for a real meal.

That real meal is what I found in the Tornadoes 42-32 loss to Austintown Fitch Friday night.  Yeah, losing stinks.  And it does nothing to help your play-off chances.  In fact, that is the glaring one flaw in the computer rankings.  It rewards you more for beating the smallest team in the state than for losing to Cleveland St. Ignatius in double overtime.  That is why I think that for losses, you should still get 20% of the computer points.  It would encourage teams to take more chances on their schedule.

But Dover’s loss to the big-school Falcons was one of the most impressive games I have seen them play.  When we face an obstacle that seems bigger than we can handle, we usually have two options in handling situation.  One is to avoid it.  We do that by backing down, quitting, complaining, blaming, or just riding out the moment until is over.  That tends to be the popular choice, one that I admit to making too many times.  But the road less traveled is to man up (or woman up), face the challenge, and give it your best shot.  Reach for your potential.  These are the moments when we often grow the most.  When my team loses while playing close to their full potential against a superior opponent, I do find enjoyment and admiration for the exhausting mental and physical effort spent and giving it your best fight for a chance to win.

I felt that the Crimson and Gray (or is is Grey?) did that Friday night.  Fitch had elite size and speed that truly over-matched their opposition.  The previous year, Fitch used that talent advantage to overwhelm the Tornadoes, 41-7.   And in this year’s match up, their quarterback and tailback displayed college Division I talents that Crater Stadium fans have rarely seen.  The Youngstown squad put on some jaw-dropping plays on offense and some cringe-worthy hits on defense that gave the Tornadoes every reason to just weather that night’s storm and live to fight another Friday.

But the boys from Dover have been coached and trained to realize what it means play with D-O-V-E-R on the front of their jersey, and they manned up  to go toe-to-toe with the ferocious, phenomenal Falcons (how about that use of alliteration!!!)  Throughout the first 3 quarters, they answered every Fitch blow with one of their own.  And even as the superior Austintown talent took over, the Tornadoes continued to fight, giving themselves a chance to win in the final minutes.

Senior quarterback Merrick Mamarella really put on a show against an elite Falcon defense.

Merrick has been in and out of the line-up as starting quarterback the last two seasons.  That situation can make it very difficult for a quarterback to develop consistency and confidence. Having two older brothers who were stand-out Tornado QBs likely has added a little more pressure onto the little brother’s shoulders.  (being the oldest of 3 lefty QB brothers myself, the Mamarellas have always held a special place in my heart.  Brotherhood in sports will be a fun blog for another day).

But Merrick’s performance ranked right up there with all of the elite QBs of the Coach Ifft era.  His precision on crossing routes was a thing of beauty, in spite of the intense pressure and tight coverage of the Fitch Defense.  It’s easy for a good quarterback to look great when there is no pass rush and receivers running wide open down field.  But it is very hard for even the greatest quarterback to look good when he has guys in his face and only slivers of openings where to place the ball.  Just ask play-off game Peyton Manning.  But Mamerella made the crucial throw right on target time and time again throughout the night.

I am sure Merrick would be the first to tell you that his success is all because of his teammates around him.  And he would be right.  The offensive line of Myers, Sudduth, Miceli, Hammons, Heidi, and Yackey did a great job of protecting him throughout the game.  As he does every game, Cory Contini displayed why he is an all-state wide receiver.  Two-way player Evan Snyder showed true grit throughout the game, even carrying a pile of Falcon defenders another 10 yards down field after a catch to bring the Tornado fans to their feet.  Tight end Austin Laughlin made some catches in traffic that reminded me either of All-Pro Saint TE Jimmy Graham, or the All-Federal League TE for the legendary 1988 undefeated Lake Blue Streaks (you will have to ask Austin about that).

There were many other big contributors on both sides of the ball.  Two Dover defenders seemed to epitomize the efforts of the team that night.  Alex Bowman took a vicious hit from a Fitch ball carrier, causing his helmet to fly off in the air.  After sitting out a play by rule, Alex came sprinting onto the field, eager to jump right back into the battle.  And seeing my old buddy, 5’7’’, 170-pound sophomore linebacker Drew Nolen, fly around the field and hang with a giants of state power football team shows that the biggest hearts are not just in the biggest bodies.

The Tornadoes did not play that game for a moral victory.  A loss is a loss.  But hopefully, this September L will be on that they will remember as a key building block for many November W’s.

Follow the author on twitter:  @macaljancic

You can also e-mail him:  macaljancic@yahoo.com

We identify ourselves to others through a variety of means.  I have worn these ‘nametags’ among many others at one point or another: Mac, the teacher; Mac from Dover; Mac, Beth’s husband; Mac who went to Muskingum College; Mac, that quiet guy; Mac, the Sunday School teacher; Mac, Drew’s dad;  Mac, that guy who won’t  shut up;  Mac, the coach;  Mac, who graduated Louisville High School;  Mac, Andy’s son;  Mac, that crazy neighbor that might kill himself trying to trim an oak tree while standing at the top of a 20-foot ladder while holding a 10 foot extension saw.

In comparison to most of the world, the United States, at age 234, is pretty young.  In our country’s short lifespan, our population and it’s growth is mostly a product of immigration.  Except for Native Americans, most can trace their ancestry to other nations and continents.  And that ancestry there is what many also have also identified themselves with. Italians, Hispanics, Germans, African-Americans, Chinese,…

I am no anthropologist, but from my observations, but the pattern throughout the last century that I have noticed is that immigrants celebrate and identify their native culture while acclimating to their new home.  The children of those immigrants carry on many of those cultural traditions and pass them on to their own children.  But with each generation, the cultural traditions are practiced less and less as we identify ourselves as Americans more and more.  As a teacher, I will periodically ask a student with a unique last name what ethnicity it comes from.  80% of the time, the student has no clue.  Most students simply see themselves as Americans.

But many of you out their my age or older grew up in a family where a foreign culture still had a strong influence.  Several different Italian friends have told me of their childhood memories of going to their grandmother’s house each Sunday for a big family dinner.

My Polish college buddies, Mark and Mike Masloski, could Polka dance with the best of them. Full disclosure:  those two are elite dancers in just about any musical genre.  They might even be world class at the Waltz!

Many of you out there could tell of your own memories like German potato salad…

Ukrainian Easter Egg decorating…

Greek Weddings…

and Swedish Fish…

Are these really connected with Sweden???

As for me, my cultural memories can be traced back to my great-grandmother, Antoinette Branisel, who came over from Slovenia (a small country which became part of Yugoslavia), around World War I.  She had a thick accent, and could bake a great ‘Potica’ nut roll.

When she visited along with my Aljancic grandparents, we could count on my dad to cue up the Frankie Yankovic music.

My Aljancic grandparents, as well as my dad, are all gone now, and along with that, most of their Slovenian traditions.  I can still pull off a poor imitation of Grandma Sylvia’s special potato salad, and when my kids are in the car with me on a Saturday morning, I periodically will tune the radio station to 88.1 WZIP for some hip polka music.  They love it—NOT!!!  But those cultural traditions of my family are now pretty much limited to my fading memories.

The question is, what is this cultural analysis essay doing in a sports blog??  The answer is that for many Americans, the culture that they associate, celebrate, and pass down to their children no longer is connected to ethnicity.  It’s connected to something that they are passionate about.  For some, it might be fixing cars, or fishing, or embroidery.  But for most that passion would be…

SPORTS!!!!

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2.

It was a tough weekend for Buckeyes and Browns fans.  The losses were devastating for both, but when this State Farms claims adjuster submits up his report …

 

only one team’s insurance rate is gonna go through the roof.

 

And that would be your 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes.

When these two guys ruled the sidelines,

 

OSU had two primary objectives for the season.  Beat Michigan and win the Big Ten Conference.   Adding on a Rose Bowl win was kinda like getting a DVD player installed in your car.  Nice to have, but not a necessity.  And contending for a national championship was like getting one of those newfangled sunroofs.

And as for this guy…

I think his only objective was to keep his ‘dagummits’ under 5 per game.  While we are on the topic of hillbilly language, at my son’s 8^th grade football game a couple weeks ago, the opposing coach, in a moment of frustration, screamed to his team…

DAGNABIT!!!

Sorry, but I just had to mention that.

Anyhow, when Senator Jim Tressel  took office, he raised the stakes considerably.  Both the Big Ten title (7 in 10 years, including the last 6 seasons) and beating Michigan (9 wins in 10 match-ups) became a given.  Contenting for a national championship was the carrot to chase.  Tressel ball finished in the Associated Press top 5 rankings 7 of 10 years!

So when Urban Meyer returned to his home state, the bar was already set high.  And given the weakened state of the Big Ten Conference, it should be.  Speaking of which, let’s do a roll call of the  marquee Big Ten programs this week-end.

Unranked Virginia Tech handles the host Buckeyes, 35 to 21.

Notre Dame shut out Michigan, 31-0.

Oregon scored the last 28 points to roll Michigan State 46-27

Nebraska scored a TD in the final minute to win their epic match-up with mighty McNeese State 31-24.

And Penn State got a solid 21-3 W over the Zips of Akron.  That’ll get some respect!!!

I won’t even mention the Iowa, Northwestern, and Purdue results.  The Big Ten probably needs to quit worrying about trying to catch up to the Southeastern Conference.  They need to look in the rear mirror at the Mid-American Conference!

Back to the Bucks.  Their 1^st home loss to an unranked non-conference team in 65 games pretty much ended their chances for one of the four spot in college football’s first play-off.  The only quality wins left on their schedule are of the Big Ten variety.  And Big Ten stock right now is about on par with…

So I guess we are back to chasing the goals of Woody and Earl.

What’s more disheartening than being out of the national championship hunt is our appearance on the field.  When Urban Meyer was hired, I figured we had a permanent seat at the National Championship Table.  The combination of Ohio State’s ability to draw top recruits, a weak Big Ten, and both Urban’s credentials and innovations looked like the perfect storm.  But from what I see on the field, one of those ingredients is sorely lacking.  And that would be the innovation.  To put it simply, it looks like the game has passed Urban by.

Ohio State’s last 5 games have been Michigan, Michigan State, Clemson, Navy, and Virginia Tech.  They have been badly outcoached in all 5 of those games.  A mediocre Michigan team came within a two-point conversion of beating them, and Navy dominated the first 3 quarters of this year’s match up.  OSU lost the other 3 match-ups.

Offensively,  their version of the spread offense is about as bland as a rice cake.  As the season wore on last year, the pretty much relied on Carlos Hyde to pound over soft defenses and Braxton Miller to shake and bake his way to big plays.  Those weapons are gone this year.  But where other big time college spread offenses look to have defenses on their heals, opposing teams seem to mercilessly attack the Buckeye offense.  It’s glaringly obvious this year with a young QB and offensive line.  But I think it’s been a constant throughout Urban’s reign.  It’s just that superior talent masked it the last two years.

 

As for the defense…maybe they can spend the week studying Va Tech’s defensive performance.  Someone needs to text the OSU coaches and let them know they have more talent than everyone they play.  Less talented teams sometimes choose to  play soft and have the bend-but-don’t break philosophy.  I just don’t get why the Buckeye coaches play the defensive backs and linebackers so soft.

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Let’s move on to our Browns.  I can summarize the first half with one picture…

My dad is from the Cleveland-area.  He took me to my first Browns’ game at age 7.  I have been hooked ever since.  But I truly pondered cashing in my Browns’ fan card at halftime. 27-3!!!  Another year of putrid football?  I don’t think I can take it.

And I don’t like to use the word hate.  I don’t really hate much.  But….

I HATE THE STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taking another beat down by the Black and Yellow (sorry, but that color is about as close to gold as the Jamaican Bob Sled team) is hard enough.  Taking one to start the season made me think of one of this guy’s famous lines…

I CAN STANDS SO MUCH, AND I CAN’T STANDS NO MORE!!!

By the way, do any kids even watch Popeye anymore?

Well, the  Browns musta got a shipment of Grade A spinach at halftime.  Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan shook up the play calling with the no-huddle offense, Brian Hoyer slipped on his Brian Sipe shoes, and the defense decided to be the hammer instead of the nail.

The good guys rattled off 24 straight points to tie it up in the 4^th quarter.  WOW!!!   But with Big Ben on the other sideline, I still gave us about a 20% chance of winning.  And when we went conservative at the end and played for overtime, that writing was on the wall.  Manning and Brady get all the hype, but if the game is on the line, I fear big #7 more than those two pretty boys.  And once again, my fears were confirmed by Mr. Roethisberger in the final seconds.

The nice thing about the NFL, as opposed to college football, is that one loss does not break a season.  12 losses, though, can break a fan’s spirit.  Let’s hope the Browns can build off their 2^nd half so I can proudly wear my Browns’ gear past Halloween!

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