One of these that is a great deal of fun is Fruit Bowl XXV. This is a retro kind of slot with a difference, and combines the old fashioned fruit machine with football players. For instance the players are based in fruits such as grapes, strawberries, bananas and pineapples, the cheer leader is a plum, and all the spectators are depicted as cherries. There are also symbols that represent tickets, the ball, stadia and a cap. There is a bonus feature where the player instructs the player as to his moves as he makes his way up the field avoiding other players; the further he progresses the greater the number of free spins that are awarded and the higher the multiplier. If you are looking for the chance of winning a mega payout, then your slot of choice will be $5 Million Touchdown. If you want to win the five million dollar jackpot, then you will need to make the maximum bet and spin five scatter symbols. In this game the symbols are based on more realistic players and cheerleaders as well as the ball, the trophy and football moves. There is also a touchdown bonus feature where you pick a group of players who pass a ball to each other gaining distance and hopefully making a touchdown. The maximum bet is $200.

Our third game of choice is Pigskin Payout. This game has some fun animations including dancing cheerleaders. The maximum regular payout is 7,500 coins, but the game’s best feature is the “Can’t Lose” jackpot feature. Here you can win up to 25 free spins and your winnings are multiplies by 3.

NCAA rules are massive in quantity but difficult in understanding. Some are extremely specific - pass/fail - while others are left open to a bit of interpretation. As an institution the rules are undeniable. As a head coach the they're very clear, concise and concerning. As a student-athlete, the rules - all of them - are learned to the best of your ability in a matter of months when you enroll, and then (hopefully) through repetition of training and communication over the duration of your career. As fans - the rules only exist in conversation about others. They're a topic at the water cooler, or a point of interest when someone else breaks them. After all, "we're just fans, not coaches, agents or boosters." Speaking of the 'water' cooler, make sure to check out Leg Ends Sup for the best surf boards!

Thursday's news that a registered Kentucky sex-offender had made contact with current, former and prospective Ohio State student-athletes has raised all sorts of questions and concerns about the ease of access these young men and women give to the fans through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In many, many ways it's simply a direct reflection of the social media age that we now live in, but it's that 'ease' that opens these kids up to controversy and puts them into a position to make decisions that could change the direction of everything they've worked for.

On the surface, these decisions are pure and innocent. Unfortunately 'no harm intended' doesn't always equate to no harm done. The fact of the matter is these student-athletes are a major draw for fans and in an age where seemingly everyone has a phone in-hand 24 hours a day - fully equipped with Facebook, Twitter or both - we literally have the opportunity to talk to our favorite athletes whenever we want. And therein lies the problem.

Actually there's a line there somewhere for the fans, and it's very fine. If you can't decide, check out some Flat Water SUP!

These kids have a local 'celebrity' status about them as soon as they hit the map as a college sports recruit. That status ramps up considerably once they actually commit to an institution to play their sport of choice, and when they finally suit up in their new school colors all bets are off. Consider this - J.T. Barrett, the 4-Star dual-threat quarterback who committed to Ohio State back on April 18th, has sent out just 57 messages on Twitter with his @Jt_theQB account but has gathered in nearly a thousand followers that want to hear what this seventeen year old has to say.

When I was seventeen I didn't have a phone and Twitter didn't exist. As a matter of fact when I was seventeen there were only 130 websites in existence - today there are 162 million. Needless to say I couldn't have spoken to a thousand people in a day even had I shook every hand in my high school. Barrett can roll over and hit snooze at 5:15am, grab his phone and throw in a quick 140 characters or less and find himself quickly receiving replies from one thousand complete strangers. But believe it or not that 'thousand' is a relatively low number compared to what he'll see once he enrolls, suits up and runs out into the Horseshoe wearing Scarlet and Gray.

Braxton Miller, our star sophomore quarterback, currently has 34,903 Twitter followers. He's sent a total of 917 messages out through the social media platform, which basically means for every one he's sent - nearly forty fans have jumped on board. Is a quick Brax "Good morning , have a blessed day" worthy of forty sets of ears? If not, this certainly is, as he sent out shortly after lighting up the Horseshoe in this year's spring game: "Shout out to all the buckeye fans that came out to support us. #buckeyenation." And why does that deserve attention?

Because fans get to say "thank you" back to him - or whatever else crosses their mind at any given moment.

They root their asses of for these kids for three hours on a random Saturday, and then have the opportunity to possibly speak with them shortly there after. There's no waiting for a press conference on BTN, or a newspaper clipping from The Dispatch with hopes there's a quote or two in there from your favorite player. Just manage your way out of the stadium and wait about ten minutes before hopping on Twitter. You're sure to find any number of players, all of which you just watched perform at the highest collegiate level, bombing out tweets to coaches, teammates and, yes, you the fan. That ease of access to these 'celebrities' - and their willingness to participate - is the root of a potential problem.

This brings us back to the NCAA and their feelings about the ever-uncontrollable world of social media. With current players, such as Miller, the rules are pretty straight forward, well documented - and abundant. With recruits like Barrett the line between fandom and booster becomes far more blurred but equally as harmful to all parties involved. There are specific activities that are clear violations and, while very difficult to police or enforce, are no less against the rules. From The Ohio State University compliance department, sent Wednesday, April 18th:

With that in mind here are a few examples from Elizabeth Heinrich, Interim Chief of Compliance, University of Michigan (hhhhock, spit):

• Boosters are subject to some limitations on their contact with prospective student-athletes. One component of NCAA rules is that only the authorized coaches may recruit on behalf of the institution. This promotes competitive equity by ensuring that every program has the same number of people available to recruit for their program. Boosters are not permitted to recruit prospective student-athletes on behalf of the institution. So it would be a violation of NCAA rules for a booster to contact a prospective student-athlete by Twitter or Facebook to encourage them to attend Michigan. Likewise, it would be impermissible for a booster to set up a fan page in order to encourage a specific prospect to attend Michigan, such as a page entitled “Michigan Fans Love Johnny Prospect.” Because the institution is held responsible for the conduct of its boosters, doing so would require the University of Michigan to self-report a violation of NCAA rules.
• It is not, however, impermissible for booster to follow a prospective student-athlete on Facebook or Twitter, as long as they are not reaching out to that recruit to in any way encourage them to attend Michigan. Boosters may not contact a prospect even if a prospective student-athlete invites people to contact him or her to advise them about what school to choose.

If you're not and never have been on Twitter, let me give you a quick little nugget of information - the above happens, by fans towards recruits - to every single 'prospective student-athlete' who chooses to sign up for Twitter/Facebook and make their identity known. No, not just those who are being recruited by Ohio State. Every university. Every program. Every recruit.

The Daily O'Collegian (Oklahoma State University) editor James Poling put together a very informative - and real-world - article on the topic a couple of weeks ago and quotes the Cowboys' head football coach Mike Gundy, who hits the nail directly on the head...

“We’ve had young men who have showed up on recruiting list late in recruiting in January, and he gets 500 hits that night on Twitter, ‘Come to Oklahoma State,’ or whatever. There is not anything to concern ourselves about because there is nothing you can do about it. You can’t stop people from posting on Twitter.”

While most college representatives around the country likely feel the very same as Gundy, it's no less of a concern nightmare for each and every compliance department who are held to the highest standards by the NCAA and their rules committees.

So where does this leave Ohio State in the wake of the recent issues with sex-offender Charles Eric Waugh and his Twitter-turned-personal meetings with prospective recruits? Likely out of harm's way, but on high alert.

Fans are going to be fans and it seems everyone realizes this and accepts it for what it's worth. But the prospective student-athletes involved - the ones who are not yet eighteen years of age or enrolled into a college - must be better educated on the rules by all involved, from universities to high school coaches to, most importantly, their parents. But in order for mom and dad to be part of the solution rather than the problem, they must first become educated on the issues themselves. From what I gathered from the comments of Alex Anzalone's father in recent days, this isn't yet the case either.

And of course....

Urban Meyer and The Ohio State Buckeyes collected their 15^th commitment for the class of 2013 in three star athlete Taivon Jacobs from District Heights in Maryland, and it couldn’t have been at a more needed position. As I’m sure all Buckeye fans are aware, Coach Meyer along with Offensive Coordinator Paul Herman have brought the Spread Offense to Columbus, and with this new offensive scheme, a demand for a highly athletic and versatile playmaker. Urban Meyer was able to recruit some highly athletic playmakers in his time at Florida, such as Percy Harvin, Jeff Demps, and Chris Rainey, who were utilized in the backfield as well as split out wide on the line of scrimmage. Taivon has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at a speedy 4.4, which Meyer and Herman will be sure to utilize as they try to deliver him the ball in open space to make plays. Jacobs, along with fellow 2013 class commitment Jaylin Marshall, hopefully will provide Coach Meyer with the playmakers that are desperately needed for the Buckeyes next season.

Meyer of course is continuing the trend of recruiting great talent from all across the nation, but with talented four star Cleveland Heights receiver Shelton Gibson still available, will Coach Meyer look to add another speedy wide-out in the class? Meyer already lost out on four star Hilliard Darby athlete Caleb Day to Illinois, but only time will tell if Meyer will continue to recruit athletic playmakers, or address other needs for the 2013 class. However the staff decides to approach this position of need, Buckeye Nation should all take some time out of their day to welcome the newest member to the 2013 class and the Buckeye Family, Taivon Jacobs! Welcome to Buckeye Nation!

In-State Recruiting: Part 1

 To anybody who has paid any
attention to my many rantings on various social media sites, you know that I am
not only a recruiting addict, but also a staunch supporter of locking down the
state of Ohio from all who dare try to take our talent elsewhere.  I am not shy to argue my ways and am open to
argument from any and all who challenge me, but the matter of the fact is that
in my arguments and my rantings, a truth lies within: The in-state pipeline is
EVERYTHING! The only other states that have produced more great talent in the
past ten years or so have been Florida, Texas, California, and Georgia. Little
argument can be made over the fact that Ohio as a state plays some of the best
damn football in the country on the prep level.

In a study done in
2008 by USA Today, Ohio ranked 5^th in the nation with 231 players
sent to the NFL. With all the talent that Ohio produces annually, Ohio State has
taken advantage and usually cleans up the state of all of its best talents.
Sadly, Ohio State cannot keep all of the players in the state whether it is
because of lack of scholarships available, lack of interest in the player, or
lack of interest from the player.

  Whatever the reason may be, the starving institutions from around the Midwest
flock to the Buckeye State to scoop up those players left over. Schools such as
TSUN, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and other schools from the Big Ten and around
the region are able to collect a few players or more, and add some of the best
talent available to them to their rosters. Now I know that Ohio State can’t get
them all, and I also know that Ohio State may not even want them all in the
first place, as some players may have character issues, flaws in their game, or
may just not fit right into the system. What I do know however, is that it is
the responsibility of the coach at Ohio State, whoever it may be, to get as
many Ohioans as possible in the recruiting class to not only make sure the
schools surrounding know who runs the state, but simply because most recruits
outside of the state just can’t truly appreciate what Ohio State is, what the
rivalry is, and what Big Ten Football is. You may not believe what I believe,
you may think that my logic is flawed and that I don’t know a damn thing about
recruiting and College Football, but I ask you to keep on reading, and listen
to the argument that I bring to you. In this seven part series, I will bring
you six coaches that we know all too well on both sides of “The Game” and tell
the tale of the importance of recruiting in Ohio. Are you ready? Let us begin.

Jim Tressel: Locking down the state

Jim Tressel was not the coach that
many had expected to take over after John Cooper at Ohio State. Tressel, who
had spent the last 15 years at Division 1-AA school Youngstown State, certainly
had the resume to impress: 4 National Titles, ten playoff appearances (A
College Football playoff, how about that?) and was named the Coach of the Year
in 1991, 1993, 1994, and 1997. But a coach at the Division 1-A level? And at a
place like Ohio State? Not an easy transition to make for any coach, but for Jim, this was a dream come true.

    Tressel’s return to Ohio State since his departure as an assistant in 1985 was
nothing short of a blessing for the Ohio Native, and he never let anybody forget
how important it was to him being there. Taking the reins from a coach who led
a pass happy, high scoring offense, a national recruiting base, but a 2-10-1
record against TSUN, and a departure from the tradition that Ohio State is
blessed with, Tressel knew that he had a lot of work to do in restoring pride
back into the team. It wasn’t long after his hiring that Tressel told Buckeye
Nation where he stood on Ohio State tradition, and especially with TSUN, when
he spoke at halftime of an Ohio State-TSUN men’s basketball game, saying: "I
can assure you that you will be proud of your young people in the classroom, in
the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the
football field.”

Jim Tressel knew the importance of The Game, and the tradition
of Ohio State, something that previous Head Coach and Tennessee native John
Cooper just couldn’t grasp while at the helm of the Buckeyes. Tressel would go
on to hit the recruiting trail hard in the state in an effort to lock down Ohio
from TSUN and other suitors out of state, something that Cooper never put too
much stock into. Tressel, restoring the pride that was lost in the Cooper era,
would go on to beat TSUN nine time in his ten seasons Columbus, with a National
Championship and seven Big Ten Conference Championships and an overall record
of 106-23 (yes I am counting the vacated season because fuck the NCAA). Through
all of his time at Ohio State, many people sought out flaws, starting with the
famed “Tressel-Ball” style of play that Ohio State featured, along with his
sometimes suspect recruiting classes that were either some of the best, or on
the fringe of the top 25. Within those recruiting classes you will find much of
the reason of his success, 60% of the recruits he brought in from 2002 until
2011 were from the state of Ohio with many going on to success at both the
college and pro levels.

    With his dominance in recruiting in the state, it also
limited rival schools such as TSUN to dive into the state to bring in talent.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that many schools in the Midwest depend on
talent from Ohio to succeed. Any player worth anything at TSUN, for example,
was more than likely an Ohioan (i.e. players such as Charles Woodson, Desmond
Howard, Dan Dierdorf etc., and coaches like Bo Schembechler, Gary Moeller, and
Brady Hoke.) Other schools such as Notre Dame and the rest of the Big Ten,
journey to Ohio often in search for talent, and are often left with the scraps
left over from Ohio State and TSUN. What made Jim Tressel so great in this
department is that by locking down the state of Ohio, he effectively clamped
any pipeline that rival schools had into the Buckeye State, which then affected
the final product put out on the field by those teams.

    Now granted those schools still got their fair share of talent from the state, players like Mario
Manningham, Fitzgerald Toussaint and LeVeon Bell among others left for schools
up north and around the Midwest, and even some down south (Trey DePriest to
Alabama) and out west (Aundrey Walker to USC), but all in all Ohioans new that
the school to go to was THE Ohio State University. There are very little
schools in the country that can match the tradition and excellence of Ohio
State, and Jim Tressel was as great of an example as ever of Ohio pride. It was
truly an honor and a privilege to have Jim Tressel at the helm of the Buckeyes
for ten great years, and I wish that he was still on the sidelines.

      If you have been keeping up with the blog, you may notice that there has not been a new entry for some time now. We at BHC
apologize for this, as we are going through a transitional period in our blog. As such, we are extending an invitation to our faithful readers out in Buckeye
Nation to come join us at Buckeye House Call and become full time writers on our staff. WE are looking for talented, motivated, and dedicated Buckeyes who
have a strong passion for the Scarlet and Gray and are willing and ready to lets their creative juices flow and extend their voices out to Buckeye Nation. 

     To become a part of the BHC team, simply prepare an article for submission, and contact us through either the website page under the contact tab, or you can also message me directly at either my twitter account (Ohioan_330) or through our new Facebook Page. Along with your submission, tell us a little bit about yourself, how you became a Buckeye fan, what you hope to accomplish as a possible writer for the blog, and how much you love the Buckeyes!

      I am happy to begin this new era of the Buckeye House Call blog, and hope to assemble only the best team of writers to aid in our mission of supplying Buckeye Nation with all the great news, interviews, reviews and updates from our beloved Buckeyes as much as we can.

       So stay tuned, and GO BUCKEYES!!!

On December 23, 2010, during a broadcast of the MAACO bowl, Kirk Herbstreit broke Tatgate to the nation (outside of Columbus). I remember it like it was yesterday, having a drink at the bar, and sitting in a daze of what I just heard. I promptly closed my bar tab, put on my Ohio State fleece, and snuck out unnoticed.

At one point in the evening, I was both listening to Columbus radio and hounding the Internet. Betrayal became the prominent word. Buckeye Nation had been back stabbed, not only because it involved some of the most important awards in Ohio State lore, but it involved superstar players.  As the days went by and the scandal was regurgitated to death, the nation laughed at us (especially the SEC). I assume a large part of the laughs stemmed from jealousy of the three years of beat downs of those involved in the Tat5. The laughs turned to rabble-rabble as the Tat5 were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl (funny how it seemed much more vocal than that of the Cam Newton loophole).

Sides divided in the Buckeye world as well, sit them or let them play. They played and what followed was one of the most intense games of the 2010-11 Bowl Season. After the game one of my friends, brave enough to watch the game with me, said, "You look like you have been to hell and back." Sweater vest covered in beer, a couple of blood stains on my rolled up sleeves, you know, normal people stuff.  Aside from the 2002 title, this was one of the most personal and vindictive wins of my OSU sporting fan life. It meant everything. 30 years of oppression at the hands of the SEC was resolved.

As a couple months passed, I would wear my Sugar Bowl Champs shirt without a care in the world. OSU flag hanging proudly in the dead of the miserable Midwest winter. The Tat5 would serve their 2011 suspension and that was that. Little did we know that EVERYTHING was about to change.

On the March 7, 2011, Robinson and Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports dropped the nuclear bomb. Jim Tressel knew and did not properly disclose it to his employers. The media world went into hysteria (so did we) and particular agenda-machines fired up. Blood was officially in the water.  On March 8^th, JT and OSU announced a suspension and monetary fine. However, that was not good enough. This bylaw breaking finally gave sports writing blow-hards something negative to press about The Vest. The same Vest that answered every single interview question with a politically correct answer. Conservative and successful was not the way to fly in this day and age of TMZ style sports coverage. Untested, unproven, and anonymous hearsay came out of nowhere.  My old pal, George Dohrmann, accused Jim Tressel of rigging raffles at football camps. He also tried to accuse other current players of free tattoos. The NCAA stormed in and nothing turned up. One can only hide behind a Pulitzer for so long. Dohrmann proved to be nothing more than a man trying to sell magazines and striking while the iron was hot, journalistic integrity be damned. I would love to have a beer with Dohrmann and ask him what it is like to be getting schooled by actual journalists (Yahoo! released their masterpiece Miami scandal report a couple months later). Unfortunately, the pressure and talking heads had no sign of stopping. Jim Tressel had broken NCAA bylaw 10.1 and this was a million times bigger than Bruce Pearl. Aside from the sensationalistic media hounds, the survival of breaking bylaw 10.1 was, historically, not the easiest of routes (I could go on for days regarding the reasons of breaking the bylaw, ranging from Federal Government agents to the disgraced attorney Cicero).

Something had to break.

The news came on a Monday, May 30th. James Patrick Tressel had resigned. The Roman Empire had fallen. Buckeye Nation was numb, lost, humbled and humiliated. Lyrics from a Michael Stanley song stuck in my head in between private breakdown sessions: "It seems so easy climbing to the top, you better know your way back down." The Vest that we built our Spring hope, Summer dreams, and Fall passion was no more. The entire Ohio State world went into its' Stages of Grief, while the nation rejoiced (That rejoicing really bit them in the ass on November 28^th). The lone solace was that JT had long-time assistants that could right the ship. Meanwhile, ESPN still had its' agenda machine on DEFCON 5.

ESPN had been chomping at the bit to get their agenda attacking the prized possession of the Big Ten (The conference that stiffed them and formed its' own television network causing ESPN losing out on some serious money). You name it, it ran for days and days, hours and hours. Bar stool sports fan ate up (I bet 1 in 5 sports fans do not realize that ESPN is currently in the Ohio Supreme Court vs. OSU). My neighbor's brother's cousin's sister told me that TP was getting free cars and OSU players had specials with car dealerships for years. Thaddeus Gibson was even dragged into it. Ohio government agencies stepped in to check it out. Nothing turned up. The NCAA had nothing, much to the anger of many talking heads.  Talking heads began subjectively comparing violations of previous schools, complete with ignoring the actual comparison violations, as some sort of plea to the NCAA for USC style sanctions. Journalistic integrity be damned again.  However, ESPN did its' damage. The Ohio State University Football Program's public image was destroyed. Their relentlessness of anonymous sources and coverage became comical and transparent.  In all reality, the meat of the story started and ended with Jim Tressel breaking NCAA Bylaw 10.1. It was the worst Winter, Spring, and Summer that any sports fan could ask for.

Emotionally and mentally exhausted, we headed into the Fall. Luke Fickell took the unenviable job of becoming a first time head coach and leading one of the most storied programs in all of NCAA. Dude has Buckeye balls of steel and we love him for it. The Bucks struggled through the worst season since 1897. Minus a miraculous win against Wisconsin and a finger length loss to scUM, brighter days had disappeared. Unfortunately, a first time head coach is probably not the best method for a program like Ohio State. A one-time sworn enemy was waiting in the wings.

Then Urban Meyer accepted the job as Ohio State’s Head Football Coach on November 28, 2011. That quickly silenced scUM fans' celebration of finally beating the Buckeyes once again. There is really no need for me to discuss Urban's track record. The entire nation knows it. Urbanization came quickly. He staffed himself with some hungry, youth-filled, and talented coaches (Fickell included). The introduction of Fickell at halftime of the Indiana basketball game was a thing of beauty. Top recruits started flocking to Columbus again. Minus a road bump with the 2012-2013 Bowl ban (I am not going to argue against it), brighter days returned. The Ohio State University is once again one of the most feared programs in the country. BCS title talk has already started for the 2013-2014 campaign. Order has been restored in the world.

In the end, we lost one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of the program, on and off the field. We enjoyed a glorious decade with some of the best sporting moments that some people dream of and ended up with a black eye. I tell you this, I can not wait for the day when JT ‘Dots The I’ during a game that Urban Meyer coaches. I will be there proudly in my sweater vest, standing, and thanking Jim Tressel for everything.  You will be doing the same.

Good morning temporary Boston Celtics fan extraordinaire. I hope everyone had a safe Memorial Day weekend, had your minds where they belonged given the occasion and have started trying to figure out what to do with your inmates kids since they're about to escape Alcatraz for the summer. It's that time of year when Kingsford charcoal flies off the shelves, bloggers go hunting for something to entertain the readers with and this guy, in long pants, calmly strolls toward the NBA Playoffs MVP trophy.

Speaking of hoops, the Buckeyes are still in the running for a championship. Ok, not any current Bucks. And not Evan Turner, who's gutsy Sixers squad took the Celtics to seven games before bowing out over the weekend. But Daequan Cook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is alive! In OKC's Game 1 loss he logged 8 minutes, missed his only shot from the field and unenthusiastically  suffered a minus-10 in the +/- category. But Cook, of the 40 earned credit hours and a $3.3M annual salary plan, has kinda already won, no? Game 2 is scheduled for tonight at 9pm from San Antonio.

Enough of the nonsense. Let's collect some hardware...

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IS WHAT WE DO

The Evil Empire that is The Ohio State University is back at it, collecting more National Championships for the trophy case.

The tandem of Chase Buchanon and Blaz Rola knocked of Texas Tech's Carvalho/Escobar duo on Monday to collect the men's tennis doubles NCAA National Championship, adding that all-important trophy to the All-American Championship and National Indoor Championship that they had already collected. They finished the season with a 34-6 overall record, including 18-1 against nationally ranked opponents, and collected their hardware by going 14-0 as the number-one seed of the three championships. The senior Buchanon closed out his collegiate career with 112 career doubles victories. The Slovenia-born Rola is just finishing up his sophomore season.

While the Virginia Cavaliers Rowing Team won the overall national championship on Monday with 87 total points (any idea how those are earned?), Ohio State's women's First Varsity Four won their first individual national championship by defeating the Cavaliers' 1V4 (I learned that lil abbreviation from the official announcement) by 2:09s. Members of the Buckeye national champion squad included Alexandra Sawatzki, Taylore Urban, Katie King, Stephanie Johnson and Emily Ralph.

Both Memorial Day national titles come on the heels of the Fencing team winning a national title in March, their third in eight years, and the Synchronized Swimming team earning their fourth straight national championship and their 28th in 35 seasons. Yes, no kidding. 

WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT

Ohio State's men's and women's basketball teams will open their 2012-13 seasons on the same night at the same venue for the first time in school history. Of course they have to make a trip to an aircraft carrier in Charleston, S.C. in order to make it happen, but still.

After last year's ultra-hyped Michigan State vs North Carolina opener on the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego, the NCAA has decided to put on a similar show, deemed the Carrier Classic, on the east coast this year pitting the Buckeyes women's team against Notre Dame and the men's team opposite Marquette. The big boat of choice this season will be the USS Yorktown, and it will be the first time the women's teams will be involved after last year's Carrier Classic debut involving the Spartans' and Tar Heels' men's programs.

It will also mark the first time any of Ohio State's thirty-six varsity sports programs face a Muffet, for what it's worth. 

TRESS REUNITED WITH FORMER RECRUIT

Former highly-touted 4-Star defensive end recruit of Jim Tressel's has landed in Akron. Jamel Turner, who survived from being shot multiple times in two different incidents while being recruited by Ohio State, will be playing for the Akron Zips when football season opens up this fall.

After being declared academically ineligible his senior year out of Youngstown-Ursuline, before either shooting occurred, he attended Fork Union Military Academy but was still on Tressel's hot list of recruits he wanted suiting up in Scalet and Gray. His football career went to the back burner when the second incident left him in critical condition but after a few years of rest and recovery he's ready to give it another try.

A story like this is typically one without a positive outcome, and often proves to derail a kid for life, but to see Turner's dedication to come back is heart-warming to say the least. Heading to Akron is just the icing on the cake. While former tOSU coach Jim Tressel isn't directly involved with the Zips' football program, he'll undoubtedly be in consistent contact with Turner during his stay in Akron, and common sense says there's a good chance Tress had something to do with Turner's decision on where to land for this second go around.

Is there really a better person to have in your life than Tress, given what this young man has gone through? He's forever loyal and dedicated to his players, is the ultimate player's coach in personality and will be a very good influence on Turner and his life on and off the football field.

Turner was not charged of any wrong doing in either shooting incident but instead deemed to simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We wish him nothing but the best as he re-stokes the fire of a promising football career that was - and hopefully is. 

SPEAKING OF TRESS

The date of Jim Tressel's resignation last year, May 30th, happened to also be Memorial Day 2011. While the actual anniversary of his resignation isn't until tomorrow, plenty of Ohio State blogs paid tribute to the man who spent ten years as the big dog at one of the most successful programs in the country during his tenure. You can catch up with each of those tributes here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

"What we do over here is a lot of fun, and I'm sure people recognize Ohio State football and all of that, but it's not as recognizable as that flag with the stars and stripes."

Jim Tressel always had the men and women of our armed forces on his mind, finding any way he could to honor them, going so far as to create a position on his Ohio State staff for a Director of Military Appreciation. He honored the armed forces both publicly and privately, through his highly visible position within college athletics, and he always did it with class.

His father Lee, who had enrolled at Ohio State to play football in 1943, participated in his first spring game before choosing to enter the United States Navy. He served in the South Pacific before returning to play his college football at Baldwin-Wallace. That dedication to his country was never lost on Coach Tressel.

"I recall vividly, as I learned more and more about my dad, that serving his country came first to him, even more than his football playing and wanting to live a civilian life."

Among many other things, that appreciation to the United States Armed Forces was something Jim Tressel shared with his father. In August 2010 Tress was honored with the Patrick Henry Award, along with his Director of Military Appreciation Bob Tucker, which recognizes "local officials and civic leaders who, in a position of great responsibility, distinguish themselves with outstanding and exceptional service to the Armed Forces of the United States."

Coach Tressel knew the importance of his position at The Ohio State University, but he also recognized it as a platform that would allow him to actively seek out opportunities and channels through which he could support our military members, especially the hometown heroes from the great state of Ohio. But his efforts weren't limited to only the state for which he was employed.

In 2009 Jim Tressel accepted an invitation to be part of a an overseas coaches tour of sorts, along with a handful of others, which saw him pay visits to US military installations in Djibouti, Africa as well as Germany, Turkey and Camp Victory just outside of Baghdad, Iraq. It was that trip into Iraq, where the coaches needed helmets and bullet-proof vests, that really showed Tressel's love for what he was doing. A quote of his from a Dispatch story on the trip summed it up nice and tidy:

"We'd had very good response at the previous places (bases in the U.S., Germany and Turkey), but now we were 'down range,' as they say. Now we were in Iraq. We had rolled in there wearing our bullet-proof vests. This was the right place to be."

Many might participate in such a trip out of nothing more than a feeling of responsibility, but coach Tressel really got into his 'work' during the tour. At one point, while coaching up some of the soldiers in 100-degree heat on a football field made of nothing but dirt, rocks and chalk lines, Tressel could be found celebrating with a pretty damn enthusiastic chest bump with a young man who had made a nice catch.

In short, he wasn't over there to get his name on some list or into a newspaper headline. He was there pay tribute to our armed forces and to help the morale of our young Americans who were on the front line of a global war, and that was just like Tress, but it didn't always take a trip half way around the globe for coach Tressel to honor the efforts of our troops.

Last year's spring practices, the final spring of coach Tressel's Ohio State career, saw the Buckeyes wearing gray, digitally camouflaged helmets with the standard issue red, white and black helmet stripes in honor of our armed forces. While never worn during a game (thankfully) the Bucks sported their camo throughout the spring, ending the helmet's run after the 2011 Spring Game on 'Military Appreciation Day,' closing out practice for the summer.

This wasn't the first time Tressel helped to integrate a military theme into the Buckeyes' wardrobe. A year prior they took their appreciation for our service men an women, painted it on their chests Nike Pro-Combat style, and welcomed That Team Up North into the Horseshoe for their annual beat down. But for Jim Tressel, that uniform was special.

Ohio State has teamed up with Nike for the last three seasons to design a special uniform, which the behemoth shoe company has tagged as 'the Nike system of dress,' and designated one game each year to don the special threads. In 2009 it was the white, bright red and charcoal gray version that marched into Ann Arbor in late November. 2011 saw the Bucks sporting a Scarlet and Gray version while pulling off an epic upset of the Badgers on a cold Saturday night in the Ohio Stadium. But the 2010 version, red helmets and all, were designed in honor of the 1942 National Champion Buckeyes, with one man in particular sitting front and center within the design.

Charles Csuri was a lineman on the 1942 Ohio State team that brought the university it's first football national championship, and was awarded with the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player Award as well as being named an All-American, but his career in Scarlet and Gray was put on hold for a while when he was drafted into World War II in 1943.

Csuri entered the war during the Battle of the Bulge and at one point, when communications failed between the front lines and his artillery unit, he took it upon himself to cross enemy lines in order to get information back to Allied headquarters. In the process Csuri had both his belt strap and helmet shot off, but made it safely to his destination. He was later awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his heroism.

Enter Jim Tressel.

Before the 2010 season, Csuri's daughter had pulled that old medal out of storage and given it to Tressel, who proceeded to display it at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on campus. When it came time for the unveiling of the 2010 Nike Pro-Combat uniform design, honoring Csuri's 1942 team, Tress decided he wanted Csuri himself to head to New York to present the uniform to the media gathering. Reluctant at first, Csuri headed east.

While he knew the purpose behind the design, he didn't know why he was specifically chosen to present it until after he had given his speech to the press who were their to cover the event. As he walked off stage, after having stood next to the uniform for nearly a half an hour, a Nike spokesman pointed out a design that had been placed on the back of the helmet in Csuri's honor (pictured to the right, via the-Ozone). It wasn't until then that he realized coach Tressel and the university had worked with Nike to have a graphic put onto the helmet to replicate the Bronze Star Medal he had earned nearly seven decades earlier.

While coach Tressel had a history of honoring the military, his biggest show of public support may have came on Saturday, September 5th, 2009 - the opening weekend of the 2009-10 college football season.

Most of us remember that game for the nail biting finish that had Navy lined up inside the Buckeyes' 3-yard line looking to punch in a 2-point conversation to tie the game late, only to have LB Brian Rolle intercept the pass and rumble 98 yards for two Ohio State points to would prove to be clincher for the Buckeyes. But it was the events leading up to the game that afternoon that moved Buckeye Nation.

While pregame is generally meant to get 105,000 screaming Ohio State fans ready for kick-off, complete with the team running out onto the field to the roar of the crowd, that ceremony went a little differently with a branch of the armed forces in town. Coach Tressel decided that instead of releasing his team onto the turf of the Horseshoe alone to receive all of the praise, he would invite the young men of the Midshipmen squad to join them in spite of the fact they were just minutes from squaring off head to head for three and half hours.

The two teams came out of the tunnels simultaneously, created two single-file lines, and greeted each other with a handshake along the back side of the endzone - not something typical within any pregame ceremony we had seen. Once done, they grouped back up with their respective teammates and coaching staffs and entered the field as one. Running between throngs of Ohio State band members, with two of the Navy players leading the group with American flags waving, both teams took the field together (video) to the roar of support from 105,092 in attendance that day. It was show of respect from Tress and the university, and it was one more example of the class of man we simply knew as The Vest.

On May 30th, 2011 Jim Tressel resigned his position of head coach at The Ohio State University. It also happened to be the morning of Memorial Day. Now nearly a year later we're reminded of our former coach who did so much for the fans, the community, the university and the men and women who have served our country. There's one thing we can be certain of today, and that's that coach Tressel isn't sitting somewhere thinking of the year anniversary of his resignation. Instead he's somewhere honoring those who have given so much more - just as he's always done.

RELATED

• Honoring Our Heroes (Buckeye House Call)
• Tressel Tribute - One Year Later (The Silver Bullet)
• Remembering Tress - The Coach I Knew (The Buckeye Battlecry)
• Jim Tressel and TBDBITL (Our Honor Defend)
• Remembering Tress - Roy Hall (The Buckeye Battlecry)
• Remembering Tress - Fire and Nice (The Buckeye Battlecry)
• Remembering Tress - Billy Brewster (The Buckeye Battlecry)

Memorial Day. The dictionary defines it as the last Monday in May, on which those who died in active military service are remembered. America has long been entrenched in war, from the jungles of Vietnam and Korea to the trenches of France and Germany and the deserts of the Middle East. America was built from war, it is in our blood. The fighting spirit of our forefathers, who called their brethren to stand and fight against tyranny and injustice, forged a nation. That nation has known war ever since, and this is why we mourn and remember those who have given their lives to serve and protect our nation and preserve our freedoms. It is with this fighting spirit that was born a sport of controlled warfare, a game of gods and gladiators, bearing the colors of their respective homes and carrying the pride and spirit of its people within their hearts. This game would become more than just a game to those few who would so choose to take part in it.

War and football are more in common than most people realize. Forged during the Civil War era from a similar game brought to us by our cousins from across the sea, football quickly dug its roots deep into the heart of America, and in time, spread like a brush fire to all corners of the country from the white collar Ivy League cities, to the blue collar towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio, to the sun drenched wetlands in Florida, the oil derricks in Texas and the beaches of California, this game would become one of the most powerful enterprises in America.

From the early dominance of the Ivy League, on to the Military Academies of Army and Navy, and to Notre Dame and TSUN, football grew in popularity and stature, but not without the help of a state we all know and love and a team that would help define a nation during one of its darkest times.

Ohio has always been heralded as one of the “Football States”, and it is hard to argue that Ohio was where the sport was perfected. Born through the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, the sport quickly spread across to the Buckeye State where the sport would reach a whole new level, but not without the aid of arguably the most important coach in the game, Paul Brown. At Massillon, Brown captained and later coached his hometown Tigers to many state championships before taking on the difficult task of coaching at The Ohio State University.

Ohio State, referred to by many as the graveyard of coaches, did not offer much when Brown stepped foot in Columbus. The war had taken many of Ohio State’s best players, and Brown was left with the near impossible task of fielding a football team that could compete for a championship. But for Brown, the task would almost prove to be an easy one.

From a 6-1-1 season in 1941, Paul Brown led the 1942 squad, captained by All-American and future Army soldier Charles “Chuck” Csuri, to a 9-1 record with wins over a squad from the Fort Knox Army base and the U.S. Navy pre-flight school at the University of Iowa, and a share of Ohio State’s first national championship. The next season would see even more departures due to the war, and a less than favorable record of 3-6 which would see Paul Brown depart for Military service, being commissioned as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in the U.S Navy where he would coach the Bluejacket football team to a 15-5-2 during the final two years of the war. 

Ohio State has had more than its fair share of military servicemen from All-American Quarterback and pilot Don Scott, to Pro Football Hall of Famers Lou Groza and Dante Lavelli. Whenever the call was sounded, young Buckeyes have answered and met the challenges of fighting for the home that they love, trading in their Scarlet and Gray for the uniforms of our armed forces, and wore them proudly - wore them with honor.

Memorial Day for most can be defined as one day where we remember those who have fought and died for our country but we all must ask ourselves, have we ever really forgotten them?

In my opinion, Memorial Day is every day of the year. Memorial Day is looking outside your window and seeing homes decorated with Old Glory hanging proudly from a post. Memorial Day is playing catch with your friends in the front yard on a hot summer day. Memorial Day is smoky barbecues, tipsy tailgates, chilled swimming pools and friendly campfires. And for many of us in this great country, we can say that Memorial Day is wearing Scarlet and Gray as well. Not just to represent the school we so proudly and fiercely cheer for, but to represent those Buckeyes who have fought for our freedoms and to be able to enjoy the things that we take for granted every day.

So to all of you in Buckeye Nation, and all of my brothers and sisters serving today and to those who went before, I can proudly say thank you, friends, for your support.

God Bless America and Go Buckeyes!

Editor's Note: We want to thank BHC team member EB Cooper for his service and dedication as a US Navy Hospital Corpsman. He's currently making a pit stop back in Ohio after serving in Washington state and will be heading overseas this summer to continue his service. We simply can't thank him enough for all he has done and continues to do.

RELATED

• Jim Tressel and the US Armed Forces (Buckeye House Call)

Plenty to talk about around the B1G this week, although we won't be giving you your weekend dose of Buckeye love today. We started a new weekly series here at BHC yesterday to cover everything Scarlet and Gray for you, passing out helmet stickers  to all the best Ohio State news and commentary from around the Buckeye blogosphere for the week that was - 28 links in total - ranging from full coverage of the Gene Smith Saga to the psychology of Urban Meyer and his approach to competition. We slipped in some hoops chatter and gathered plenty of football coverage, as well as hopping into the Wayback Machine and pulled in stories about former Buckeyes such as Joey Galloway, Cris Carter, Keith Byars and Chris Spielman - all written this week. If you haven't yet, go get caught up on all things Ohio State before we roll into enemy territory. We'll wait...

Back? Good, because a Purdue baseball player threw a punch in the B1G tourney, fans around the B1G hate Bret Bielema (you don't say?), Warren Buffet donated more money to Nebraska than I could fit in my work cubicle and Northwestern celebrated their Buckeye-less football schedule.   

Enjoy the B1G links from the week that was - 26 in total...

Indiana Hoosiers

• Indiana University assistant strength and conditioning coach Tom Morris was seriously injured in an off-road mountain biking accident Thursday afternoon. (The Hoosier Scoop)
• With two off days between Thursday’s game three loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals and game four on Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade ventured a hour south to Bloomington on Friday afternoon to visit with Tom Crean. (Inside the Hall)

Illinois Fighting Illini

• And just like that, the 2013 recruiting class for our beloved Illinois Fighting Illini reaches double digits. News hot off the presses has 3 star ATH Reon Dawson (Trotwood-Madison, OH) giving his verbal to play for Coach Beckman next fall. (Hail to the Orange)
• So we've won back to back bowl games for the first time in school history. And we've produced the most first round NFL draft picks out of any school in the Big Ten over the past five years? You could almost be forgiven for thinking that Illinois has finally made that leap into the upper-middle class of the conference. Almost. (Hail to the Orange)
• For whatever reasons, people are still clinging to the idea that Ron Zook was/is some sort of mythical recruiter. And you know what? That's just not true. (Hail to the Orange)

Ohio State Buckeyes

• Ohio State Helmet Stickers - 05.26.2012 (Buckeye House Call)

Penn State Nittany Lions

• While there hasn't been any movement on the commitment front, the staff has been busy extending offers to a number of new targets. (Black Shoe Diaries)
• Waning support for The Second Mile Charity in the aftermath of the Sandusky Scandal has forced action. This morning, the organization announced that it would be shutting down and transferring its assets to the Houston-based Arrow Child & Family Ministries. (Onward State)
• I am not sure exactly how this news is to be received, but Michigan State is coming back on the football schedule in 2015. And they are bringing back the Land Grant Trophy for old time's sake. (Nittany Lions Den)

Purdue Boilermakers

• Morgan Burke gave a few nuggets on his thoughts regarding lights at Ross-Ade Stadium to the J&C recently and the gist is, as always, that you dumb fans just don't get it. (Boiled Sports)
• (VIDEO) Purdue won the 2012 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, but the late fight tonight could be costly. The video shows that All-Big Ten second baseman Eric Charles possibly threw a punch. In fact, he most definitely threw a punch. (Hammer and Rails)

Wisconsin Badgers

• Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema was not very popular among Badger fans in 2008. Now he only draws hate from the fans of opposing teams, a sign that his success has gotten under the skin of the rest of the Big Ten. (Bucky's 5th Quarter)
• The NBA released its select list of 60 players who are invited to attend the NBA Draft Combine. Jordan Taylor was not on that list. (Madtown Badgers)
• When Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany officially welcomed Nebraska to the conference, many fans were excited. The move created a 12-team conference, allowing for a conference championship game. But a major downside of the move is beginning to come more apparent. (Bucky's 5th Quarter)

Iowa Hawkeyes

• For somebody whose path was always clearly paved as a basketball player, Matt Gatens now faces an uncertain journey. The former Iowa guard, who committed to the Hawkeyes as a ninth-grader at City High, is currently training in Los Angeles in his quest to play professional basketball. (Hawk Central)
• If you've been living under a rock for the last week, you might have missed that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany waived the white flag on his push for on-campus playoff games. Gone are the thoughts of tanned-ass Southerners playing football in the Rust Belt in December. (Black Heart Gold Pants)

That Team Up North

• Last fall, Michigan introduced the "Michigan Football Legends" as an alternative to retiring uniform numbers, honoring Desmond Howard before the Under The Lights game with a patch that now adorns the #21 jersey. (MGoBlog)
• I'm not sure where exactly the majority of fans stand on this upcoming season. Of course it is well known that the schedule will be incredibly difficult, there is little proven production at wide receiver and on the defensive line, and 2011 brought a few fortunate bounces that may have helped to inflate the record. (Maize n Brew)

Michigan State Spartans

• The Rose Bowl has been portrayed by many in the media as something only old men in the Big Ten still enjoy. While we all agree the playoff is the right way to go, keeping the Rose Bowl in some form still matters to a wide variety of people, including players. (The Only Colors)

Minnesota Golden Gophers

• The 2014 and 2015 classes of kids from the state of Minnesota (or near) is looking like they are extremely talented classes. (The Daily Gopher)
• Phil Steele is widely known amongst college football fans for his preseason analysis. This week Steele released his all-conference teams and his Big Ten teams do not paint an pretty picture for state of the Gopher football program. (The Daily Gopher)

Nebraska Cornhuskers

• Let's suppose that Osborne gets run over by a bus (or Ndamakong Suh, for that matter)...who would be the other candidates to be Nebraska's next athletic director? (Corn Nation)
• Known as the "Oracle of Omaha", Warren Buffet has decided to donate an unknown but undoubtedly enormous pot of money to the University of Nebraska's athletic department to create the "Warren Buffet Stuff It Defensive Line Coach" position. Buffet stated in an interview with the Lincoln Journal Star's Steve Sipple that he hopes to inspire other Nebraska gazillionaires to think about endowing other positions in the athletic department, stepping up the competition as other athletic departments around the nation follow suit. (Corn Nation)

Northwestern Wildcats

• This, y'all, is Northwestern sports. I've been here four years. Four years. Four losses in bowls. Four NIT appearances. I could sit here and bitch and moan about that, about how unconscionable it is that Northwestern's mountaintop is about eight feet above sea level, that this school's athletics seem to have no ambition. (Sippin' on Purple)
• Dan Persa can't catch a break. The former Northwestern quarterback needs a second surgery on his right Achilles tendon, and that could spell the end of his football career. (Chicago Tribune)
• The ‘Cats once again lose Ohio State and Wisconsin during these two seasons and now add Penn State to the mix. You can’t ask for much more than that from being schedule-friendly. Wow. (Lake the Posts)

RELATED

• Ohio State Helmet Stickers - 05.26.2012