Right: Former Buckeye Devon Lyons is putting his entrepreneurial skills to use in a new video web site for athletes called BeyondPhenom.com. (OSU Photo)

There have been many inventions that have come out since my high school playing days that can greatly help today’s athlete get his or her name out to college recruiters and professional scouts. Things like home computers, the internet and camcorders were not around during my glory years on the gridiron wearing a leather helmet.

Devon Lyons, a former Buckeye wide receiver who played at Ohio State from 2004-08, has created BeyondPhenom.com, one of the world’s newest and best video sites specializing in personal sports videos and highlights from new emerging talents and established professionals alike. The site’s motto is, “The best go beyond,” and Lyons plans to do just that.

Anyone can watch and share videos on Beyond Phenom. People can showcase their own talent, see first-hand accounts of talented athletes from all levels of sports, and compare skill sets of athletes from around the globe. Beyond Phenom is not only a video sharing website, but also has social networking features. You can make friends and send them videos and private messages. Beyond Phenom also has a built-in rating and comment system so that people can rate, discuss, and comment on interesting videos.
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Tags: From Matt Comments

Right: Ohio State’s William Buford throws it down past yet another one of Iowa’s unathletic farm boys with a crew cut. (AP Photo)

Ugh. Watching Iowa play basketball is like watching paint dry. It’s quite possibly the most boring spectacle in college sports as a bunch of unathletic farm boys chuck the ball around the court for 30 seconds before heaving up a three-pointer.

Once again, Iowa controlled the tempo against Ohio State as the Buckeyes managed just 56 possessions in a 68-58 win over the Hawkeyes, Sunday afternoon.

Evan Turner was one of the few that showed up to play for OSU. He tied a career-high with 32 points while adding seven rebounds and five assists. Of Turner’s 32, 20 of those points came in the second half. Only one other player scored in double figures for the Buckeyes as Jon Diebler added 12 points.

William Buford only scored nine points, but did pull down a team-high nine rebounds. Dallas Lauderdale, who saw limited action due to foul trouble, scored just two points with one rebound in 18 minutes. David Lighty also scored nine points, but all those all came from the foul line.
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Tags: Men's Basketball Comments

Right: Wide receiver Santonio Holmes went from being a three-star recruit out of Florida to a Super Bowl MVP. (AP Photo)

First of all, I want to start out by saying that I really don’t get into recruiting that much. I know. I am sure that breaks some sort of commandment since I am a blogger. I do not subscribe to premium Buckeye web sites nor do I gossip around the water cooler wondering if “Player A” is going to commit to Ohio State or if “Player B,” who already verballed, is going to make a huge impact right away.

But I am quite surprised of some of the comments made about Ohio State’s 2010 recruiting class. If you browsed through the Buckeye message boards over the last few days you would of read things like head coach Jim Tressel should change his style of recruiting among many others that were not nearly as “soft.”

Not sure why there’s such “doom & gloom.” There are still two recruits out there that have yet to sign, and even though I don’t expect them to sign with Ohio State, they still have the Buckeyes on their short list. With that being said, I still think that the 2010 class is solid, if not spectacular.
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Tags: Football Comments

Right: Ohio State’s Evan Turner drives by Penn State’s David Jackson on his way to the tin.
(AP Photo)

Ohio State’s Mr. Everything, Evan Turner, had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds to go along with six assists as the Buckeyes defeated Penn State, 75-62, before an announced crowd of 14,148 at the Schottenstein Center, Wednesday night.

Ohio State scored eight of the games first 10 points and after a pair of free throws from William Buford with 8:02 left in the first half, the Buckeyes claim a 10-point lead at 21-11 and were in control for the remainder of the opening period cruising to a 36-24 advantage at intermission.

It was more of the same for most of the second half.

Penn State’s David Jackson scored on a layup with nine minutes left in the final stanza to cut Ohio State lead down to 53-47. It was the Nittany Lions smallest deficit since midway through the first half. Continue Reading »

Tags: Men's Basketball Comments

According to Pete Thamel of the New York Times, top recruit Seantrel Henderson has not sign a National Letter of Intent with Southern California because of possible NCAA sanctions the program may face and will delay his decision until later this month.

Henderson, a 6-foot-8, 340-pound tackle from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn., announced his decision on the CBS College Sports Network by wearing a white U.S.C. jersey and a cardinal Trojans cap on Wednesday. Though he announced his decision, he has had yet to sign. His top three choices, in order are: USC, Ohio State and Miami.

Thamel recently posted that:

…Henderson’s father, Sean, he will wait until U.S.C. appears before an N.C.A.A. infractions committee from Feb. 19-21 to hear about possible sanctions for the program before deciding whether to sign the letter. Though the Trojans are not likely to hear about any possible sanctions at that time, Sean Henderson said the hearing would give the family a sense of where the process was headed.”

Looks like Ohio State has another shot at Henderson. We shall see.

Tags: Football Comments

No. 13 Ohio State (16-6, 6-3) vs. Penn State (8-13, 0-9)

Date: Tonight
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Place: Schottenstein Center, capacity 19,049
TV: Big Ten Network with Tom Hamilton, Greg Kelser and Charissa Thompson.
Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 and WBNS-FM 97.1 in Columbus and 58 more stations across Buckeyeland on the Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network with Paul Keels and Ron Stokes.
Series History: Ohio State owns a 25-13 all-time record vs. Penn State.
Last Game: Ohio State defeated Penn State 73-59 back on Feb. 24, 2009 at the Schottenstein Center. Jeremie Simmons led the Buckeyes with 14 points.

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Above: Running back Roderick Smith (25) from Ft. Wayne, Ind.,
submitted his National Letter of Intent this morning. (File Photo)

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Out of the 17 high school student-athletes who verbally pledged to attend The Ohio State University and play football for head coach Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes, all of them got their National Letters of Intent in this morning.

Of those who have signed:

Darryl Baldwin, DE, Solon, Ohio, 6-7, 265
Brown had 63 tackles with 25 tackles-for-loss during his senior season.

Drew Basil, K, Chillicothe, Ohio, 6-2, 190
He made 7-of-11 field goals during his senior season with a longest coming from 47 yards. He was also 13-of-13 on his PAT attempts.

Corey Brown, WR, Springfield (Pa.) Cardinal O’Hara, 6-0, 175
Brown rushed for 1,400 yards with 600 receiving yards during his senior season with 26 TDs.

Christian Bryant, DB, Cleveland Glenville, 5-10, 175
Bryant played several positions including defensive back, wide receiver, and quarterback. He had 82 tackles and five interceptions.

David Durham, LB, Charlotte (N.C.) Christian School, 6-3, 226
Durham registered 86 tackles and 9-1/2 sacks during his senior year.

Taylor Graham, QB, Wheaton (Ill.) North, 6-4, 211
Graham suffered a torn PCL in his knee and played in just five games.

Chad Hagan, DB, Canonsburg (Pa.), 6-2, 225
As a senior, Hagan missed two games to start the season before doctors gave him the OK because of his heart condition.

Johnathan Hankins, DT, Detroit Southeastern, 6-3, 315
Hankins had 85 tackles and 12 sacks during his senior year.

James Louis, WR, Delray Beach (Fla.) Atlantic, 5-11, 180
As a senior, Louis caught 39 passes for 661 yards and nine touchdowns.

Scott McVey, LB, Cleveland St. Ignatius, 6-0, 225
McVey had 90 tackles even though he battled a shoulder injury for most of his senior season.

J.T. Moore, DE, Youngstown Boardman, 6-3, 230
Moore recorded 110 tackles, including nine tackles and 16 tackles-for-loss as a senior.

Andrew Norwell, OL, Cincinnati Anderson, 6-6, 290
Norwell suffered a a season-ending injury on the fourth game of his senior season.

Verlon Reed, DB, Columbus Marion-Franklin, 6-2, 185
As a senior, Reed passed for over 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for over 1,250 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Bradley Roby, DB, Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge, 6-0, 182
Roby recorded 40 tackles and six interceptions including two returned for touchdowns during his senior year.

Roderick Smith, RB, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Harding, 6-2, 220
Smith had 1,855 yards on 285 carries with 19 touchdowns during his senior campaign.

Jamel Turner, DE-LB, Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy, 6-2, 220
As a senior, he had 66 tackles with two sacks and two interceptions.

Tyrone Williams, WR, East Cleveland (Ohio) Shaw, 6-7, 215
Williams had 29 catches for 600 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

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Right: Michigan athletic director Bill Martin speaking with reporters during a press conference in Ann Arbor, Monday morning. (File Photo)

With internet rumors swirling around like a F5 hurricane that the University of Pittsburgh will announce that their institution will become the 12th member of the Big Ten Conference, Michigan athletic director Bill Martin seized the opportunity to address the media at a press conference in Ann Arbor, Monday morning.

While Pittsburgh may join the Big Ten, it may not be in terms of expansion, but rather substitution.

Martin, who officially retires in September, has been University of Michigan Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Director since March 6, 2000.

“I am all in for Rich Rodriguez,” Martin said. “He will get the job done. He has assembled an excellent staff. He has got my full support, but I just think he and the university would do better in the Big East instead of the Big Ten.”
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Right: While Pittsburgh would be a nice addition to the Big Ten, it’s assumed that the conference’s television network and its’ commissioner, Jim Delaney, still has eyes for New York. (File Photo)

So I wake up at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning, which is generally about four hours earlier that I normally ever would and as I sit there rubbing my tired eyes, I first check the dozens of emails that have landed into my inbox before checking out what my 2,600-plus fans on Facebook have to say. Then it’s off to Twitter, where I had found some very interesting things about Pittsburgh joining the Big Ten. That led me to several message boards.

I was basically content on posting a Facebook status message about Pittsburgh joining the Big Ten with the hopes of possibly going back to sleep. But then I thought that it was a far bigger story to leave it at just that, a Facebook status message. After a cup of coffee, I dove in head first with a blog article. Admittedly, though, it wasn’t my best piece of journalism.
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Right: Ohio State’s Dallas Lauderdale drives by Minnesota’s Ralph Sampson III. (AP Photo)

Roadkill is the remains of an animal or animals that have been killed on the road by cars or other vehicles. The roadkill this time, though, is what was found on the bottoms of the Nike’s worn by the Ohio State players after the Buckeyes ran over Minnesota, 85-63, Sunday afternoon.

William Buford scored a career-high 26 points with five rebounds and five assists as Ohio State never trailed in the game. The Buckeyes led by as many as 16 points in the first half and went into the intermission break up 49-35.

It was more of the same in the second half as OSU held a 28-point advantage on two different occasions midway through the period.

Ohio State shot 73.1 percent (19-of-26) in the first half to take control early and 63.0 percent (34-of-54) for the contest against a Minnesota team which came into the game leading the conference by limiting opponents to just 38.6 percent from the field.
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Date: Saturday, January 31
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Place: Schottenstein Center – Columbus, OH – Capacity: 19,049
TV: CBS Sports with Kevin Harlan, Bill Raftery and Clark Kellogg.
Radio: 97.1 the Fan/WBNS-AM 1460 in Columbus are the flagship stations for the 60 affiliates of The Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network. “Big Daddy” Paul Keels will call the play-by-play and will be assisted by former Buckeye Ron Stokes.
Series History: The Buckeyes are 74-55 all-time vs. Minnesota.
Last Time: Ohio State lost to Minnesota, 73-62, at Williams Arena back on Jan. 9. Evan Turner led the Buckeyes with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in his second game back after missing more than four weeks while broken bones in his back healed.

Tags: Men's Basketball Comments

Right: If the rumors are true, Ohio State fans traveling to Pittsburgh will be able to enjoy a Primanti Bros. sandwich before or after the Buckeyes lay a beatdown on the Panthers at the Big Ketchup Bottle. (File Photo)

Rumors have been swirling around the internet over the weekend, particularly on message boards like Pantherlair.com and PantherDigest.com, that Pittsburgh will become the 12th member of the Big Ten Conference.

Supposedly, Pitt’s athletic department officials held closed door meetings with all student-athletes this past week to speak with them about the impending move to the Big Ten. That led to Panther athletes posting this information on their Twitter pages and the like, though those messages quickly disappeared.
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Right: Teabagged – Ohio State’s Dallas Lauderdale dunks over Iowa’s Matt Gatens. (AP Photo)

If you happen to tune into last night’s game a little late, in fact, if you missed most of it before reclining back into your easy chair to witness the final five minutes of Ohio State’s 65-57 win over Iowa, it’s a good thing because you didn’t miss much.

With 4:46 remaining to play in the contest, the Hawkeyes led 50-45 after a three-pointer by Eric May. The five-point advantage Iowa had then was the same cushion they enjoyed when both teams headed into the locker room at hafltime, 25-20, so things didn’t look good for the Buckeyes.

Shortly thereafter, though, as if a big alarm clock rang out, Ohio State woke up and started playing basketball.

On the Buckeyes next possession, David Lighty rung up a deep three to bring the Buckeyes closer, and after a pair of 30-second timeouts, Dallas Lauderdale scored in the paint to tie the game at 50-all with 3:36 to go.
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A rare sight, a sellout crowd at Value City Arena watching Ohio State’s men’s basketball team.

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For many years, the city of Columbus lacked a large arena that most other cities of similar size or larger had to house their professional and collegiate sports teams as well as a venue for concerts, trade shows and conventions.

Ohio State’s men’s basketball team had several homes, both on and off-campus, since their beginnings in 1899. The first was the OSU Armory located where the Wexner Center for the Arts is now. The Armory sat approximately 2,000 fans and it was used until 1919.

Columbus’ first arena, the Ohio Expo Center, better known as the Fairgrounds Coliseum was built in 1918 and is located one mile east of campus. The Coliseum currently seats about 6,800 fans, though during the final season of Buckeye basketball, crowds of more than 8,000 were routine. It was the home for the men’s basketball team from 1920 until 1942, then again from 1946 until the construction of OSU’s new on-campus arena was completed in 1956. Continue Reading »

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