Winker Amazingly Avoids Tag

In the Reds' 7-1 win over the Brewers last night, Jesse Winker pulled what's been called a Matrix move to elude the tag at third to record a triple. Pretty amazing.



But more than the Matrix diversionary moves, Winker's hurdle over the third baseman reminds me of the hurdling of Chris "Beanie" Wells, the Ohio State running back, during the 2008 season.





But, back to baseball, a cleaner jump for a score was turned in by the Toronto Blue Jays' Chris Coghlan back in 2017.


All pretty amazing stuff!

A funny prayer request

I was out and about on Tuesday, wearing my clerical collar, when a guy spied me from across the parking lot. "Hey!" he hollered. "Pray for the Buckeyes!" I told him it might be better just to tell the receivers to get open for J.T. Barrett's passes.

[Blogger Mark Daniels is pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

This never gets old

College football season begins in about forty days.

As an Ohio State fan, I have to say that one of my favorite moments from last season didn't even involve the Buckeyes, but Michigan State versus the team up north. The game gets periodically re-aired on the Big Ten Network, from which the video above and the still photograph below are captured. I could watch the video again and again. It just never grows old!

For we in Ohio, the moment brings guiltless schadenfreude for ttun.

Immediately following that game, some enterprising shirt makers introduced the design below for Ohio State fans.

By the way, when bowl season comes along, I root for every single Big Ten team to win. In non-conference games, I also root for all Big Ten teams to win. And when my favorite college season rolls around, basketball, I root for all Big Ten teams to do well against non-conference teams. What's good for the conference is good for every team in the conference.

Go, Buckeyes!

[This is all posted in good fun. My niece's husband and I always show up for family occasions sporting our respective favorites' colors, he in his maize and blue and me in scarlet and gray. His son, my great nephew, also is a Buckeyes' fan. We have a lot of fun with it...and we always root for each other's teams in non-conference games.]

Saturday This and That

Some things that caught my eye this past week.

David McCullough on the Wright Brothers...
...in an interview with the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast.

The next time someone's offended because you fail to notice someone's new haircut...
...tell them it's that pesky inattentional blindness. Actually, this article makes me wonder about what a mess my brain must be because I always notice changes in people's haircuts.

What might Michael Jackson have looked like...
...if he hadn't had all those surgeries.

How has nobody thought of this until now?...
...it's a shoe that grows with a child's foot.

Disgusted with the misogyny and gratuitous sexual violence of Game of Thrones?...
...You're not alone. I've never seen it. This doesn't make me want to.

A way to get kids to listen to the sermon on Sunday...
...amazingly simple.

It's the only technique for learning...
...or so says James Altucher.

Science says that two basic traits...
...are what make all relationships work. Cinchy, right?

The Backwards Brain Bicycle...



Anxious, afraid?...
...Check out the Bible verses linked here.

Notes by Martin Luther found...
...They were jotted down (if you can imagine someone as intense as Luther ever jotting) as he worked on his important essay on Christian freedom.

How Lutherans might cross themselves...
...and why they might want to do so.

The five best running backs...
...in Ohio State history. Joe Dexter has so far named four of them on Buckeye Sports Radio:

#5: Howard "Hopalong" Cassidy #4: Keith Byars #3: Chic Harley #2: Eddie George #5: Archie Griffin

What the Inklings wrought...
...(Hint: They had an enormous impact on the world and still are impacting it.) A sample:

Drawing as much from their scholarship as from their experience of a catastrophic century, they had fashioned a new narrative of hope amid the ruins of war, industrialization, cultural disintegration, skepticism, and anomie. They listened to the last enchantments of the Middle Ages, heard the horns of Elfland, and made designs on the culture that our own age is only beginning fully to appreciate. They were philologists and philomyths: lovers of logos (the ordering power of words) and mythos (the regenerative power of story), with a nostalgia for things medieval and archaic and a distrust of technological innovation that never decayed into the merely antiquarian. Out of the texts they studied and the tales they read, they forged new ways to convey old themes — sin and salvation, despair and hope, friendship and loss, fate and free will — in a time of war, environmental degradation, and social change.

Tantrum...
...This mom seems to say, "This is how ridiculous you look when you have a tantrum. Now, let's go before I let you have it." Advert from the UK.



By the way...
...when watching the video linked in the article on inattentional blindness, I lost count of the number of passes between people in white shirts because I noticed the gorilla. Does that mean I can't focus? Maybe I suffer from the as yet undiscovered attention satiety. Squirrel...

Go, Buckeyes!

I feel apprehensive as my Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball get ready for their first game in the NCAA Tournament this week.

It's been an up-and-down year for the Buckeyes, marked by the incredible play of freshman D'Angelo Russell, the suspension of Marc Loving, and the difficulties associated with integrating Loving back into play once his suspension was served.

Ohio State is seeded 10th in its bracket, facing 7th seeded Virginia Commonwealth University.

There's no doubt in my mind that Ohio State has the talent to make a run in the tournament. But I'm skittish.

With all that said, Thad Matta is a great game coach and I wouldn't bet against him, if I were a betting person.

And guess what? Next year's team looks to be tournament-worthy too.

Go, Buckeyes!

Aaron Craft is Getting Noticed

Aaron Craft, the former Ohio State point guard, seems finally to be getting some of the notice he deserves from the NBA. Toiling in basketball's D-level, he continues to be a great ball handler, an effective thief on defense, and a spark plug who can ignite his teammates. (Glad a high school friend posted this over on Facebook.)

"I told him, 'It's OK to do the right thing.'"

This is such a cool story!

Turner, who is from Chicago, met Pitts through a mutual acquaintance — an assistant coach on Turner’s high-school team — and the friendship grew as both began to realize they shared similar interests and personalities.

“We would text and talk and I came to Ohio and we’d hang out and I saw a little bit of myself in him,” Turner said. “He’s kind of quiet and trying to find his way. The difference is, with the shyness and insecurities, I had a brother, Darius, who made me feel comfortable. Devon didn’t have any siblings. I just tried to lend an ear and lead by example. I told him, ‘It’s OK to do the right thing.’”

Evan Turner is da bomb!

Judge for Yourself

Aaron Craft probably didn't get a chance to go to the foul line for Ohio State at the end of the Buckeyes' overtime game against Michigan at Ann Arbor, despite what appears to me to be three fouls committed by two Wolverines against Craft in the span of a few seconds because, just moments before, he wasn't called for what also appeared to be a flagrant foul committed by him.

Was the no-call a make up for that? Who knows? After all, referees may have objective rules to follow and for the most part big college refs are excellent, but many judgments are, inevitably, subjective. I certainly don't envy them having to make quick calls with 15,000 would-be refs in the stands.

But for Buckeye fans like me who saw our team fight in a hostile environment against the #3 team in the country for a chance to tie or win on the last possession of overtime, the end of Tuesday night's game was a little less than satisfying.

Fans, of course, can afford the luxury of looking back and rehashing a loss. But in the rush of a season in America's best college basketball conference, the Big 10, coaches and players can only look back for a few lessons and then move ahead.

I'll let you be the judge of whether a foul should have been called on this play...and then move on.

Go, Buckeyes!

[UPDATE: I really do love the Wolverines' fluorescent yellow sneakers. They are cool! And that's hard for a Buckeye to admit.]

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A fight in honor of flight safety that honors loved ones.

Dick Vitale on Saturday's Ohio State-Wisconsin Game

Here.

Tough One Ahead for My Buckeyes

Wisconsin, at Madison, will be a formidable obstacle to the Buckeyes' quest for an undefeated season. Go, Buckeyes!

The #1 Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball Team Display Other Skills

Michael Arace has an excellent column about the real soul of this team. Great insights!

Can the Buckeyes remain undefeated? That seems almost impossible in the Big 10 (AKA The B1G), probably the toughest conference in the country this year. But that this is a great team already is clear. And with their unselfishness and obvious personal chemistry, they are also a real joy to watch! Whether in their harrying defense, their willingness to pass the ball to get the best play, or doing Jackson 5 and Miley Cyrus covers, these guys are fun. (I hope that they have just as much fun in the classroom.)

Braxton Miller is Committed

Braxton Miller, the incoming freshman quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who will vie to be the starter as QB Terrelle Pryor sits out his five-game suspension, left no doubt about his loyalties to OSU. Long before National Signing Day, he had a Block-O tattooed to his left shoulder. I don't like tattoos and can't understand why anyone would deface their bodies that way, but the OSU coaches had to breathe easy knowing that the country's #2 high school quarterback prospect was so sure so early about where he would be matriculating this fall.

The Freshman Who Got Overlooked

Eleven Warriors has an excellent article on the contributions of Ohio State freshman point guard Aaron Craft to the Buckeyes' 22-0 start, especially to the Buckeyes' wins in this B1G campaign.

Sad Day for Ohio State Football

Finishing lunch, during which I watched the press conference with Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and head football coach Jim Tressel. Five Ohio State players have been suspended from playing the first five games of next season by the NCAA. Smith indicated that Ohio State will appeal the penalties. (Another player has been suspended for one game of the 2011 season.)

As an Ohio State alum and fan, I hope that Smith will reconsider that move. The rules are clear: Players are not to exchange goods of any kind, including awards for athletic achievement, team garb, or signed memorabilia, for goods, services, or money. They're to be amateur athletes until, if they're good enough, the NFL drafts them or they're signed to play professional football elsewhere.

The suspensions meted out by the NCAA are light penalties, considering that such egregious violations could be seen as warranting revocations of the players' athletic scholarships.

One of the notions I've nurtured is that, with his emphasis on character development in his players, Jim Tressel is unique among big-time college coaches. I still think that's true, although like the rest of we members of the human race, he isn't perfect. And he certainly can't be expected to know what happens every moment of every day in the lives of his players.

But an appeal of the charitable penalties meted out by the NCAA runs counter to the tone I think Tressel has always worked to foster in the Buckeye football program.

I hope that Ohio State will refuse to compound the sadness of this day by appealing. I would expect such a move by USC, Auburn, and other schools, but not by Ohio State.

Having said all of that, I hope that these players will learn a lesson and be stronger, better people for the experience. (That's my daily project as I cope with the realities of my own sins and deficiencies. God help us all! And I mean that literally.)

Ah, Nuts!

My Buckeyes lost to the Badgers on Saturday night.

It's tough to spot a team as good as Wisconsin 21 points at their home field and have any chance of coming back. That was what the Buckeyes faced in trying to salvage this game last evening.

While the Buckeyes' play in the third and the start of the fourth quarters revived hopes for getting the win and retaining the Number 1 ranking conferred on the team after Alabama's loss just last Saturday, Ohio State's defense broke down on a key Wisconsin offensive drive in the fourth.

Some of the Buckeyes' flaws visible throughout the year showed themselves and proved costly. OSU's special teams gave up a touchdown on the first kickoff return twelve seconds into the game. The defensive line was repeatedly blown off the line of scrimmage throughout much of the game.

But there were bright spots. Terrelle Pryor showed his maturity as a quarterback by repeatedly making good decisions with his reads. Dan Herron showed real toughness and, I think, played a very good game. He is now indisputably the Buckeyes' #1 running back. The comeback bid made by Ohio State in the third quarter is a tribute to the ability of Coach Jim Tressel and his staff to calm and refocus the team.

At this point, it's tough to even see how this season can end with a Big Ten title for the Buckeyes. Michigan State appears to be poised to run the table and the Buckeyes and Spartans don't meet this season.

But we will see. There's still a lot of season to be played. Go, Buckeyes!

Feel-Good Video from Ohio State

Ohio State University president Gordon Gee and OSU Alumni Association president Archie Griffin are shown surprising a number of faculty members for outstanding scholarship, researching, and teaching. It's fun!

'Pilgrimage of Progress'

That's the name of this fantastic documentary about four African-Americans who studied at The Ohio State University in the late-40s and early-50s. Each faced challenges at Ohio State and in life. But all four went on to achieve great things. I knew something of the story of Judge Duncan, but not of the other three alums. Take the time to watch this video, created by The Ohio State University Alumni Association, and be inspired!

Thoughts on the Buckeyes Loss to Tennessee Last Night in NCAA Tournament

Of course, I was sad to see the Buckeyes men's basketball season come to an end last night. But Ohio State put up a great fight against Tennessee, who feature imposing front-line players and stifling defense. (See here.) As Buckeye fourth-year junior David Lighty said, the shots just weren't falling.

At least that was the story offensively. Most important of all, probably, was how effectively the Volunteers bottled up Buckeye three-point threat Jon Diebler, who may have had his poorest shooting performance since the Buckeyes' game against Penn State in Columbus back on February 3. (That was a game the Buckeyes won 75-62. But the final score was more lopsided than most of the game had been. The contest was nip and tuck most of the evening. The turnaround moment, ironically, came when Diebler, who had struggled all evening long, hit a three with 1:29 left in the game. But there was no such turnaround moment last night!)

Once again, as has been true of every year he's been a collegiate head coach, Thad Matta did a masterful job this season. With a short bench, the Buckeyes made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Matta has proven year after year that he is more than a great recruiter; he's a guy who can mold a winning game plan around varied personnel. As an Ohio State grad and lifelong Ohio State basketball fan, I feel that the university is as fortunate to have Matta at the helm of men's basketball as it is to have Jim Tressel coaching football!

I would love to see national player-of-the-year Evan Turner return next year. But I doubt that it will happen.

And who could blame Turner for going to the NBA? The injury he sustained earlier this season--breaking several bones in his back--demonstrates how vulnerable to injury an athlete can be. A few inches difference in the impact point of that injury and Turner might have been far more seriously injured. At least in the NBA, Turner will be paid for taking such risks and be able to afford any long-term care afterward. The risks are simply too great to expect him to come back with the Buckeyes for his senior year.

But, WOW! Turner has certainly added another great chapter to the annals of Ohio State basketball history.

Next year, with two of the top high school recruits in the country and a terrific returning cast of characters, Ohio State's basketball team will be outstanding once again. A Big 10 championship and a deep run into the NCAA tournament are clearly possible.

I'm excited!

Sweet Sixteen!

Go, Buckeyes!

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