The Bigman's Rolling Buckeye Blog

Oh it's coming, the big clash is coming!

2005-09-08T12:28:00.000-04:00

Hello there, my faithful readers…

It has been quite a while, hasn’t it? There are several reasons why I haven’t made any updates, but that can wait for another time.

I AM PSYCHED ABOUT THIS SATURDAY, 9/10/05 !!!

It’s gonna be a New Year’s Day championship-quality college football game played in the second week of the season.

The Longhorns of The University of Texas vs. The Buckeyes of THE Ohio State University

8:00 PM, Nationally Televised on ABC

I am so excited about this game, I’m gonna give you my breakdown:

Texas (Rank No. 2 in both AP and USA Today polls)

2004 Record: 11-1
Key Win: Beat Michigan in Rose Bowl
Key Loss: Lost to Oklahoma for fifth straight year
Key Players Graduated: RB Cedric Benson, LB Derrick Johnson

Key Players: Vince Young, QB
Roderique Wright, DT
Aaron Harris, MLB

Offense: Vince Young obviously leads the way. His running ability automatically adds another dimension to the Longhorns’ offense, and changes everything in an opponent’s defensive scheme. Young took much media criticism after last season, because his lackluster passing ability kept him from being a complete, enormous threat. He apparently has worked extensively in the offseason to improve that part of his game, and had a decent game in week 1 against Louisiana-Lafayette (3 TD passes), but still, this was against a bottom-of-the-barrel football team. His first big test will be against the Buckeyes’ secondary.
Cedric Benson is gone now, and so the running game is taking a big hit. Incoming freshman RB Selvin Young racked up 135 yards in the first game, but it was due to the fact that the Longhorns’ big O-Line (smallest lineman: 305 pounds) easily overpowered an undersized LA-Lafayette D-Line. But still, the sheer size of that line will be a factor on Saturday night.
WR Limas Sweed is tall at 6’5”, and the Texas media is trying to label WR Ramonce Taylor as a “poor man’s Ted Ginn”.

Defense: DT Roderique Wright is a stud, very likely a first-rounder in the NFL Draft. Aaron Harris is the leader at linebacker. But what may be the biggest concern is the Texas secondary, which has veterans across the board, with a ton of experience. I would not be surprised if it turned out that the secondary was the difference in the game, even with all the talent the Buckeyes have at WR.

Ohio State (No. 4 AP, No. 7 USA Today)

2004 Record: 8-4
Key Win: Beat Michigan 37-21
Key Loss: Lost to Northwestern
Key Players Graduated: CB Dustin Fox, K Mike Nugent, DT Simon Fraser

Key Players: Ted Ginn, WR
A. J. Hawk, OLB
Santonio Holmes, WR

Offense: This is most likely the best offense Jim Tressel has had in his 5 years as the head coach. It is still a question on who will start at QB, but Coach Tressel plans to use both Justin Zwick and Troy Smith, who is fresh off a suspension for accepting money from a booster. Zwick showed some smarts in the victory over Miami (OH), including a couple of runs that reminded me of Craig Krenzel. But Zwick still has a problem: he still makes a lot of overthrows. Even his TD pass to Santonio Holmes could have been an easy play, but Zwick put too much on it, and Holmes had to lay his body out to grab it. All I can say about Troy Smith is that we’ll see how he does once he gets on the field. Who knows, the game could end up being a shootout between Vince Young and Troy Smith, two speedy QBs.
One Man: Ted Ginn. He may single-handedly create matchup nightmares without even touching the ball once. Holmes and Anthony Gonzalez will see a lot of one-on-one coverage, and that may be where the game is decided.
At RB, Antonio Pittman had a solid game against Miami (OH), needing only 14 carries to rack up 100 yards rushing. What was more impressive, though, was his ability to scrap for another yard or two when getting wrapped up. Last year, he would have just tumbled to the ground. The extra 10 pounds he gained in the offseason seem to help. Plus, the O-Line, with Rob Sims moving to left guard, looks considerably improved from last year.

Defense: Bar none, the best linebacker core in the nation. Hawk, Schlegel, and Carpenter will see dollar signs by this time next year. And backups Mike D’Andrea, Chad Hoobler, Marcus Freeman, and John Kerr could all be starters on almost any other Division I school.
DT Quinn Pitcock is rising as the next solid D-Lineman for the Buckeyes. Against Miami (OH) he was able to manipulate double teams to help stop the run. But that may be it for the D-Line. Mike Kudla is a solid, experienced veteran, but the D-Line will have to step up in order to disrupt the Longhorns’ plans on offense.
The starting secondary looked great last week. Safety Nate Salley ran to the ball well, and Donte Whitner’s interception return for a TD was a good play. When the backups come in, however, look out for matchup problems. The RedHawks scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on the Buckeyes’ 2nd team defensive backs.

The Rundown

When Texas has the ball: Against Michigan in the Rose Bowl, Vince Young dominated with his running ability, because the Wolverines could not make their blitz effective. Young just blew by them, many times cutting to the outside. The Buckeyes have better defensive speed than Michigan, though, and much better tacklers in Hawk, Carpenter and Schlegel. The Buckeyes will need to attack Young from many angles, bringing CBs and Safeties on the blitz. If Vince Young is going to run, why not force him to run up the middle at the Linebackers? The bottom line is, let Vince Young air it out. Bring pressure from all angles. With 105, 106, 107 thousand people screaming in The Horseshoe, it will be very difficult for Young to audible even if he does recognize defensive movement. If Young feels the pressure, it will be advantage Ohio State.

And, in order to focus on that gameplan, the Buckeye defense will have to do what it usually does well: stop the run, and the earlier the better.

When Ohio State has the ball: The storyline is and will remain on how the Texas defense will be able to handle two different quarterbacks. In my book, there is a bigger factor. If the Buckeye O-Line can hold their own in this game, then it will not matter who the quarterback is. If the quarterback gets adequate time in the pocket, the Buckeye offense will pick apart the Texas defense, even if it means more short, screen-like passes to Teddy Ginn. Even if freshman Robby Schoencroft is under center, the offense could nickel and dime its way downfield. If Antonio Pittman grinds his way for 100 yards on the ground, it will be a huge plus.

If Texas can get in the face of the quarterback, especially Zwick, there could be a handful of turnovers given up by the Buckeyes.

What Will Happen: The Buckeyes have never lost a home game at night, and I don’t see that trend being stopped. First off, both defenses have a speedy quarterback to practice against, and all of that will carry over into the game. I don’t see as much flash and dash out of Vince Young or Troy Smith that many people want to believe. This game will be about pressure and passing. Whichever defense can get the quarterback on tilt and off his focus will have the upper hand. And honestly, I don’t think Texas head coach Mack Brown is thinking this way, and will focus more on Ginn and pass coverage. The Buckeye offense will take what it can get after that, and there should be plenty. Slowly but surely, I see the Buckeyes take over this game, barring any blockbuster plays. My final score: Ohio State 31, Texas 20.

And whoever wins this game, I think deserves to jump ahead of USC for the top spot in both polls, but will more likely gain a unanimous No. 2 ranking.

2005-05-21T19:37:00.000-04:00

Instead of showing all of the little additions and changes that was made to the robot, which means a lot more pictures, I decided to show you a more complete version of the bot. Obviously, the pickup mechanisms are in place. The shovel mounted on front is made for pickup of "soil samples" on the course. The freakish fork-looking design on the back is for pickup and dropoff of a battery. I'm surprised how our bot is turning heads for the design and how sweet it looks. But of course our bot looks sweet. We are Team Sweetness after all. Check that, we're Team $weetne$$

2005-05-03T16:51:00.000-04:00

This is what we went with for the performance test that was last Friday. The long screws you see were temporary efforts for bump switches for the performance test. Also, we had to raise the Handy Board on wooden blocks because we mounted a Cadmium-Sulfide cell to the bottom of the chassis (under the black spot in the middle of the chassis). The CdS cell is used to detect light intensity; for the robot, it is used to read an LED start light. By the way, we passed the performance test with flying colors.

2005-05-03T16:48:00.000-04:00

Here's an update or our drivetrain. We added the nylon (or plastic?) bar to take away the slack on the belt caused by the new grooves in the idler wheels.

2005-05-03T16:46:00.000-04:00

Here's the new, improved, and current motor drive design. The motors and gearbox were dropped down, and were attached to the drive shafts via chain and gear. Plus, we opted to swap out our drive motors for new ones with better torque, because, let's face it, this thing is a TANK compared to the other bots.

2005-05-03T16:43:00.000-04:00

Did you see the white idler wheels on the drivetrain in the previous pictures? Well, we were having problems with keeping the tread belts from slipping off, and this was one of our remedies. We cut a notch into each idler wheel with a metal file.

2005-05-03T16:40:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is one of the cool, creative parts of our robot. The device on the wall of the chassis is our Dynamic Tensioner System. The left side of the aluminum bar is connected to the tensioner pulley on the drive train, and the right side of the bar is attached to a spring, which gives constant, varying tension that automatically adjusts for navigating inclines.

2005-05-03T16:37:00.000-04:00

Here's the unsuccessful drivetrain. The problem: Our homemade output shaft couplers and adapters were not in good alignment with the motors and drive wheels, causing the output shafts to wobble.

2005-05-03T16:35:00.000-04:00

So, here's what is beginning to resemble a robot. The drivetrain in this state was giving us problems, though... more on that later. Oh, and that box in the middle of the chassis is a Handy Board, invented by some guy at MIT. The Handy Board is our robot controller. Don't forget that this bot will be completely autonomous, meaning it will run by itself, without a human element like a remote control.

2005-05-03T16:31:00.000-04:00

So basically, the robot started like this. This is our main chassis body, made of 18 gage aluminum and bent to our needs. Our team got several remarks that this looked like a section of a heating duct. Not like we were looking to save on our budget...

2005-05-03T16:28:00.000-04:00

So here's the really ugly mockup of our robot. Believe me, it isn't going to turn out looking like this.

First Item Up For Bid, Bob

2005-05-03T15:46:00.000-04:00

Ok, now let me start my ranting on something that has been making me sore for a bit of time now, and that is the Cleveland Browns. Now, last year, they use the high draft pick they got because they sucked the year before, and picked Kellen Winslow from Miami. The same Kellen Winslow who said that the 2002 NATIONAL CHAMPION OHIO STATE BUCKEYES would be too slow for Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, just like in the '01 title game when Miami trounced Nebraska. Way to make a prediction, Kellen! Oh, and of course, Winslow is apparently "a f*cking soldier" or so he says in a 2003 post game interview. What a prick. Plus, he has contract issues, wanting too much money, so he misses the start of minicamp. Then, he lets himself get injured in the second game of the season, and the Browns try to ease the steam off of the horrible season by saying that half of the offense was built around Winslow. What a bunch of liars! If you even try to make a rookie the center of your offense, you're destined to get burned anyway. Looks like Butch Davis learned that lesson when his ass was kicked out the door. Okay, and now, to top the whole thing off, Winslow goes against the stipulations in his contract and rides a motorcycle, and of course, he gets into an accident, and is now sitting in a hospital bed with internal injuries, chest pain, and a concern from the Browns' training staff with his right knee. I hope the team takes back the bonus money and salary he is no longer entitled to since he broke the terms of his contract. Come on, Winslow didn't even have a license or learner's permit for the motorcycle! So, not only is he ignorant, he's breaking the law too. But I guess that's what you can expect from players who come from the University of Miami. Just ask Ray Lewis.

I'm only half done now.

So I wasn't happy with that pick in last year's NFL Draft. And since it just popped into my head, I'm still pissed that the Browns did not take one of the FOURTEEN BUCKEYES picked in the draft last year. Not one. FOURTEEN BUCKEYES picked in one draft. A record. But not good enough for the Browns. In fact, the Browns have had only two Buckeyes on the team since '99, and Chris Spielman got a career ending injury in the preseason! Darnell Sanders is the only Buckeye to play for the Browns in a regular season game since they came back in '99.

That's why I pick the best player ever to play for the old Browns or new: Tom Tupa, Punter.

I thought that would be the worst of it, because things were looking up. Romeo Crennel was brought in to coach and turn the team around, and Phil Savage was hired as GM, having one championship team under his belt already.

But things got a whole lot worse.

Romeo Crennel, a defensive minded guy, with serious needs on defense, takes the No. 3 pick and drafts Braylon f*cking Edwards. F*cking scUM. I was in agony all day that saturday. Ok, so the Browns picked the player who they and many other teams thought was the biggest talent in the draft. Well, first off, Crennel apparently forgot what state he is in and what University is two and a half hours south of him. What a scUMbag. And my hatred for ESPN got hotter when all throughout the draft they glorified Braylon in his effort against Michigan State, which to ESPN is apparently a bigger rivalry than THE GAME. What-friggin-ever. So Edwards racks up close to 200 yards recieving and a pair of touchdowns. Wow, Braylon, I guess it must be really hard to catch a ball over a secondary with player six inches shorter than you. Really tough, Braylon. Tell the people about your dismal performance against The Ohio State University. Tell the people how you couldn't perform against a REAL secondary. And no, Texas did not have a REAL secondary. Tell the people how you only beat The Ohio State University ONCE in your college career, and how you cried after you came into the Horseshoe and lost back in November.

Tell them all Braylon. Tell the truth ESPN. Tell me why you stooped to a new low, Cleveland Browns.

For what it's worth, I'm not gonna watch the Browns unless Edwards gets 1,000 recieving yards or gets injured. You all know who I'd cut first if I was GM for one day.

This year, I'm all about J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS! and the Minnesota Vikings. Those two teams got the biggest steals of the draft, and I bet Nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge sets a scoring record for the Jets.

Man, I'm both tired and riled at the same time...

There is no friggin way I haven't touched this thing in a month!

2005-05-03T15:37:00.000-04:00

Or is there?

I am in complete disbelief of myself... It has been a month of "Gotta post tommorrow" and "Gotta upload the new pictures" and "Gotta talk about the spring game" and all that other fine stuff.

It all snowballed, it seems... I might just be that lazy.

...Or that busy.

I have been working hard on that robot project; hell, I have so many pictures of it on my computer that I can classify it as a photo essay! Don't worry, you'll get to see some of them soon enough. I just have to organize them.

But other than that, I have so much to rant about it's gonna come like several PUNCHES TO YOUR DOME!!!

So much crap happened in the last month that I will certainly forget something...

So I better get to it. I'm out.
...For 30 seconds...

Batter Up

2005-04-03T03:31:00.000-04:00

So, we all know what took up our day on Apr. 2, 2005... Saying goodbye to the Pope. It's going to be a new learning experience; I didn't know what happens next until I looked it up on the web. And the numbers game goes down like this:
4-6 days for the Pope to be buried
9 official days of mourning
15 days until the Cardinals gather in the Conclave to begin selecting the new Pope
117 eligible Cardinals under the age of 80

Here's some good links about the processes:
Tradition And Secrecy
Encyclopedia Entry On The Pope (Very detailed)
History Of The Papal Election
BBC News' Obituary Of Pope John Paul II
Challenges Facing The Church
Possible Key Players For Next Pope

As mentioned above, it will take at least 15 days until deliberation on a new Pope will even begin. While floating around the web, I found a link that gave the current odds on who the next Pope will be: http://sports.bestbetting.com/specials/current-affairs/religion/who-will-be-the-next-pope

I wonder how crazy it is in Vegas.

Really, though, while watching MSNBC, some experts suggested the new Pope should be from one of the other reaches of the worldwide Catholic following, specifically a non-European. I'm all for that. A Latin American Pope especially will globally recognize the broadening of the Catholic faith, and what extra importance would it mean if an Italian regained the Papacy for a country who held the Papacy for 450 years before JP II? I may not have been alive when JP II was named Pope, but I do understand the large scope of his succession. I hope that JP II's reign becomes what will be known as the beginning of the globalization of the Papacy. And if my words aren't saying much, look at those odds from the above link. At one time, the Nigerian canidate had 4 to 1 odds. But only time will tell...

Meanwhile, on to more of the latest. Coming up at the end of this weekend is the beginning of the baseball season, with Boston playing New York on Sunday. That also means the start of fantasy baseball (I have four teams), and the start of the Tribe's march to the top of the division and back into the playoffs. You'll know what I'll be doing at 3:05 on Monday. Cleveland at Chicago, Jake Westbrook vs. Mark Buehrle. And I can't believe the Tribe's lineup. Ronnie Belliard batting eighth? We have nine tough outs in this lineup. Casey Blake, who had 28 HR and 88 RBI last year, seventh? Wow. I can see loooooooooooooooooong rallies at the plate. And don't forget the new pitching contingent. My boy Kevin Millwood in the rotation, I still can't wait. And if Bobby Wickman does his job and has no elbow problems, we'll be smooth sailing into October. It's gonna be a fun season.

So let me sleep and dream of the playoffs....

Eye Candy

2005-03-30T22:31:00.000-05:00

Um... Yeah... We have some nice looking ladies here at The Ohio State University.

But that's a given when you're at the biggest campus in the nation.

Damn! there was some nice stuff to see today. Grable and I went out to the South Oval to toss a baseball around, and there were ladies as far as the eye can see. I love warm weather! I don't know why people can't choose this place. Best atmosphere, best people. Maybe I gotta stop tossing the baseball around and start tossing some ladies into my bed... Damn. I guess seeing bikini tops and less clothing in March is getting to me strong! That's not a bad thing, is it? I'm just a male, I can do that, right? Huh? Huh? It's gonna be a great quarter. I love my University. I see now why some people decide to be professional students.

So the big robot project is on, and there's gonna be WORK to do all quarter. But I'll be smiling when we make flawless runs during the competition. I can see it now... I walk in with the best bot and walk out with the hot chicks. Um... except for the hot chicks part, engineering is where those are in short supply. Can someone lend me some hot chicks for the competiton in two months? Please? So I can look impressive? No? Fine. Like I need em anyway.

Oh, and happy birthday to the man in sports with one of the funniest names ever: Dick Woodson.

Well, anyway... Back to the show.

Awwwwwwww, Did You Miss Me?

2005-03-28T16:11:00.000-05:00

The Bigman's Chronicles Continues!

Ya, so I went away for a while... we all know why. You know who's mother would go balllllllllllllistic if I was on the ol' dial-up for a long time while trying to post one up. I got lucky because I didn't get that grief, my brother did! And for those of you who just can't resist the laughter of it, and for those who want to say again that I'm being mean for saying it, I give you what my mother would have said if I were found on the internet at home for long: "CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIG, god dammit sonofabitch, get off of the damn phone!"

Man, the phone calls are gonna roll in now from Willowick.... HA! But anyway, I'm back from the hiatus known as Spring Break, or as I think of it now, the last reprieve before a hell push to the end of the last quarter. Hey, I enjoyed it though... I'm sporting a sweet new Virginia Tech jersey now, and I was playing out my new copy of Gran Turismo 4, both great deals from my new friend eBay. I suggest you check it out just to see some of the stupid things that get auctioned off, such as:
1. The naming rights to a couple's baby who is approaching birth
2. The engagement ring Michael Jackson gave to whatever her name is years ago
3. A sister's diary that a young lady auctioned because the sister told the girl's boyfriend that she cheated on him
4. That same sister auctioned off the girl's love letters to get back at her

Sometimes I wonder what stupid things I can auction off for some cash. Maybe I'll sell a diary and claim it's Mike's and say that he comes out of the closet in one of the entries...

Man, having money must be cool.

So, I went to the Cavs game, where they shut down the Pistons, and where three of the guys on my floor here, including my roommate Robbie were at as well... THANKS FOR CALLING ME FELLAS! Naw... it's cool. I got better seats anyway.

And, I got to showcase my bowling prowess all over again back on Wednesday, as I wu-hupped by buddies Brubaker, Ross and Mike, sweeping the victories in all four games, bowling cold after not playing in months.

And as for the rest? I spent it with my lady, and NO, I don't mean my grandmother.

I think I spent too much time with Jessica... or not enough... She had better come see me sometime during the quarter. In fact, a lot of people should come see me during this quarter. I'll get pissed if anyone tries to ask me "So, when ya gonna invite me down to The OSU, Bigman?". Everyone asks me that and I tell them to call me and set something up. I mean really, as long as I'm not taking midterms or finals, you can probably come and visit. C'mon, I haven't been able to show off this awesome university to many people!

I'm already anticipating a much better atmosphere here in C-Bus. Our weather is STILL ten degrees warmer than in NE Ohio, and we're pegged to reach 70 this week. The campus is already more animated than the cold last quarter. I'm hoping to discover even more about this campus. I've seen so much, but I really have a lot more to find. I gotta get out and play some baseball, golf, more basketball, and just maybe I'll get in with Mike on some soccer escapade. Who knows. There are plenty of doors to look into.

I better get to lookin' now...

Pictures IN YOUR FACE!!

2005-03-13T01:59:00.000-05:00

Ya, I hope you enjoy the unloading of pictures I put up today. It was a good release from my finals studying to see all of the scenes in which I look or act like an ass! The only thing is that I really meant them to be in reverse order... You'll probably figure that out from some of the captions. I have more pics to sift through, so rest assured there's gotta be more of me doing dumb things and more candid shots from my expeditions on the internet. But that's all for now. Wish me luck this week for my finals...

2005-03-12T23:28:00.001-05:00

This is what I'd like to see happen one winter day...

2005-03-12T23:28:00.000-05:00

OH MAN... If these ever went into production I'd buy a dozen! Ain't it the truth?

2005-03-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

If I was starring in Castaway....

2005-03-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

This was just weird. Paranormal. Matt in deep thought. The unusual lighting and blurriness is nice too.

2005-03-12T22:56:00.000-05:00

You figure an engineer could figure it out, but I guess Matt disproves that Theory.

2005-03-12T22:55:00.000-05:00

Matt's trying to fix this contraption...

2005-03-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

I highly endorse using U.S. Mail

2005-03-12T22:52:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to find the shoe that fits...

2005-03-12T22:50:00.000-05:00

I guess Matt felt like a kid again...

2005-03-12T22:48:00.000-05:00

I WANT A COKE DAMMIT! WHY WON"T THIS THING OPEN!

2005-03-12T22:47:00.000-05:00

Trying to get into the mailbox... seriously, I was not under the influence of anything during this trip. I just have an Idiot chemical that flows though my blood like adrenaline.

2005-03-12T22:42:00.000-05:00

I'm waiting for my cue to start my news broadcast... Mike got me to do this too. Actually, Mike has me do all of the potentially embarrassing stuff.

2005-03-12T22:40:00.000-05:00

Even COSI treats the Buckeye students good. Not only was the night at COSI exclusively for us students, we were treated to a lively jazz ensemble while enjoying some food.

2005-03-12T22:38:00.000-05:00

...And here, I'm having trouble pushing it out... Notice how I'm buckled in on the seat. That may actually be helpful for any toilet...

2005-03-12T22:36:00.000-05:00

Hey look! I'm taking an Intergalactic Crap! I title this one: Literally Going Where No Man Has Gone Before: Matter Coming Out Of A Black Hole.

2005-03-12T22:34:00.000-05:00

Here's me pondering the weather forecast... Look how intellectual I seem!

2005-03-12T22:33:00.000-05:00

Here's Matt at COSI pretending that microphone is something else... and I guess I was too, look at my hand!

2005-03-12T22:31:00.000-05:00

Here's another bus picture... This time it's my buddy Matt being the idiot. And look who's in the background laughing at his idiocy... none other than my roommate Robbie.

2005-03-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

So I'm just gonna unload pictures here... This one's all the way back from the trip to COSI. On the bus going there, Mike enticed me to do something stupid while we were playing with my new camera, so I did. This is on of many, but I don't want to embarrass myself too much. HA!

2005-03-12T22:24:00.000-05:00

While I'm at it, here's a shot from the game against Wisconsin on Feb. 27... The great John Havlicek will now be forever honored as a legend in Buckeye Basketball. Never will #5 be worn again. John Havlicek was a part of the legendary 1960 Buckeye NCAA Championship team which included Jerry Lucas (#11, obviously) and Bob Knight, was an All-American (1962), Team captain (1962), and led the Buckeyes to a 78-6 record over his last three seasons. He won four NBA Championships in his first four seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics, and eventually drove that total to 8 in his 16 year tenure in Boston. John was the first player ever to score 1,000 points in 16 straight seasons and was a 13 time all-star. Upon his retirement from basketball in 1978, his #17 jersey was immediately retired. John finished his NBA career with 26,395 points.

2005-03-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

The Schottenstein Center staff were pushing us out, but I had to grab a shot of the logo

2005-03-12T22:05:00.000-05:00

Here's a scene that I grabbed from on court after the HUGE victory... Sorry, my other snapshots look horrible. Stupid camera. And Stupid me not being able to hold the camera steady. Well, I was in a huge mosh pit at the center of the court, too...

2005-03-12T21:59:00.000-05:00

Ya, I look REALLY weird... but I went all out with the effort to support my Buckeyes... Did anyone see me on camera??

2005-03-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

I didn't need to post about this game. If you follow any sports at all, you know what went down on March 6th! Here's your 25 point scoring hero Matt Sylvester. Props go to the guy to the right, he successfully got to look funny like an idiot with that facial expression.

Finally...

2005-03-03T14:39:00.000-05:00

The day has finally come that I do not have to stay up until 3 AM! I am so mentally beat after the past week of endless crap the people call school and homework. Rest has come short and leisure even shorter. But finally, the evilness is done and I can relax! I'm saying this right now, but I have an engineering lab in 45 minutes. Actually, I am on-site right now with this post, here in Hitchcock Hall, in 346, the 24 hour computer lab. (We have a 24 hour computer lab, but the doors to the building are locked at 10 or 12... stupid...) But anyway, since I have the time, I'm gonna do more of my customary ranting...

So the men's basketball lost again last night... and sadly for me, it was almost the same as how the Cavs lost to San Antonio a couple of nights back... both game-winning jumpers from 18 feet away, left side of the foul line. Horrible. That makes it at least 3 losses in a row for the Buckeyes, and at least 4 losses in a row for the Cavs, including last night. But right now the Buckeyes are what worry me. We have no momentum going into the huge showdown against Illinois on Sunday. I'm praying the boys don't come out deflated for this game. I'm already rearing for the opportunity to storm the court at the buzzer when the Buckeyes win, but either way it is a gigantic task. But it's also the last home game for seniors Brandon Fuss-Cheatam, Tony Stockman and Matt Marinchick. I put my money on Fuss and Stockman feeling it coming off the bench, and lighting up the threes. And I still put my money on CBS getting a huge upset on national TV, because why would I ever bet against the Buckeyes?

You better watch on March 6 at noon. You might even want to tape it. A huge upset goes down in Columbus, Ohio.

And one more thing: E-mail me with your best suggestion. I'm planning to paint my face and dress crazy. mauer.4@osu.edu

But other than that, there's not much else to say... for now. Stay close, though, I have some pictures to upload i nthe near future.

2005-02-27T15:02:00.000-05:00

I don't get it

2005-02-23T02:57:00.000-05:00

Ya, it looks like those of you viewing the blog on Internet Explorer might be having a problem... in a sidebar that's not on the side! Um... bear with me on that one. The sidebar is there, you have to scroll down a long way to get to it though. That's another reason for you to switch to my beloved Firefox. You'll be able to see my blog in full, normal beauty with Firefox. I'm gonna investigate the problem for the IE users. I don't know if there are any issues with Netscape users, but I'm going to make sure about that one too. So bear with me, and please you IE users, if you won't switch, please take time to check out my links by scrolling down to find it.

Eye-Candy

2005-02-22T03:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I hope you've noticed all of the new dynamic content... Check it all out! My personal favorite is above... my countdown to the game against scUM on Nov. 19th! Everything new is of my personal recommendations and personal touches. Don't think any of this is paid advertising or anything (not like I would like to make some money). I added this content for you to enjoy, so go for it. I'll have more on the way too. Also, I made sure that all of the content is viewable for Mozilla FireFox users. Firefox is my weapon of choice for web browsing, and I strongly encourage it to all of you, especially if you're fed up with the slowness and susceptibility of Internet Explorer and its use of Active X; for those of you who don't know what Active X is, simply put it was a good idea for browsing, but it allows for easy entry of spyware, adware, malware, all kinds of "ware" that you don't want that slows your computer and is a pain to remove. Firefox doesn't use Active X, so it is more secure in that sense, and is more reliable, and it allows for you to pick what special add-ins to include. Internet Explorer floods your browser with a bunch of stuff you'll never use. I get to choose all of the special tools I want for Firefox. Firefox is totally free, and you can download it from Mozilla's website: www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
So check it out. Take a look at my links, too. Again, these aren't advertisements, they're my personal favorites. And if you happen to have a link of your own that you want others to see, e-mail it to me at mauer.4@osu.edu and I'll start another list.
I guess that's it... Let me know what you think!

2005-02-19T02:42:00.000-05:00

"Eliminate the mistakes and you'll never lose a game. To eliminate mistakes, you have to pick the right QB. And the pass is a weapon of surprise -- don't overuse it."You don't get hurt running straight ahead... three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense. "I will pound you and pound you until you quit.""

"I'm not trying to win popularity contests". I'm trying to win football games.

What a sad day

2005-02-19T02:13:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what to think about this newest revelation: Our defensive backs coach Mel Tucker is leaving the Buckeyes to take up a similar coaching job with the Cleveland Browns. All I have to say is that Romeo Crennel better be worth it after this. Coach Tucker made our secondary shine, especially this year, drastically molding Nate Salley, Ashton Youboty and Donte Whitner into great DBs. Now I'm really worried aboutwho will be coming to fill in the hole in Coach Tressel's staff. This hurts just as bad as losing Coach Mark D'Antonio to the University of Cincinatti last year. I really hope losing two great coaches in two years doesn't mean we lose games next season. This is the first time I have gotten worried about not making it to the Rose Bowl. Coach Tressel has a big gap to fit now. Coach Tucker was a great recruiter, too... He owned the Cleveland area. The Browns had better show promise in their pass defense next season, or I just may become a Bengals fan. Or maybe I'll get a liking for the Steelers.

2005-02-18T02:00:00.000-05:00

Damn Right! This is from one of my favorite ESPN commercials. I have this picture on my wall.

2005-02-18T01:58:00.001-05:00

"Touchdown! Touchdown! Michael Jenkins! On fourth and one! Would you believe it! Craig Krenzel strikes! With a minute and a half left! HOLY BUCKEYE!!!" -Brent Musberger

2005-02-18T01:58:00.000-05:00

The famous TD catch by Michael Jenkins in 2002 versus Purdue, continuing our unbeaten record.

The Bigman Cometh

2005-02-18T00:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, I need to get to posting more often... these long absences I bet are getting people restless and anxious... YA, OK NOT REALLY. But I still gotta get the word out, right? It wouldn't have made any difference over the last few nights, because since monday night I've been feeling like shit, exhausted, sick. Maybe the high of 66 DEGREES on tuesday got me out of my rhythm. Ya, we were feeling HOT on tuesday down here. No jacket required. It was just too bad that my buddy Grable and I couldn't get out and toss a baseball around. But anyway, I was feeling not so great anyway. At night I felt it was a sinus infection from all of the pressure in my face, and in the morning I thought it was mono because I felt so tired. I'm finally breaking out of it, but I still can't figure it out. It was ironic, two nights ago I took two NyQuil, got nine hours of sleep, almost missed waking up for my physics class, and still felt exhausted all day in class. I get home in the late afternoon, and I finally feel energetic, and it became hard to fall asleep. (No, this time I wasn't thinking of my lady back home. Actually, I wonder if she got the letter I sent her...) So last night, I get only six hours of sleep (if that) and wake up ready to go. Only now late at night I feel tuckered out, like a normal person.

So things have not slowed down here at all. Damn Right! I was privileged to attend a lecture by the famous Dr. Ruth Westheimer a while ago. She had plenty to say, including her position on many sexual issues. I wish more people had as open of a mind as she does. Also at that lecture some people had some really dumb questions to ask Dr. Ruth, too stupid to type in this blog. You'll have to ask me sometime. Still, it seemed funny that an old lady who is four foot seven has all of this knowledge in her brain.

I also had the opportunity to listen to some great stories from Henry Rollins, the well-known rock entity from the 80s. The best part about it was that half of the time he used the stories as ways to bash the hell out of the Bush Administration. If you see me sometime, you gotta ask me about what he said of Condy Rice. Unbelieveable. But his stories had variety, some with comedy, most with drama and emotion though. Rollins talked about being with Johnny Ramone a few days before his death, about visiting troops overseas with the USO and staying in Saddam's guest house and Uday's party mansion, and especially about his visit to army hospitals to visit many of the injured soldiers. He had some sad stories to tell from the hospital trips. I really expected to hear Rollins get into our faces with some kind of hard rock image, but he gave us the opposite, and was it breathtaking!

Last week on Thursday I got to rock out to Shinedown at Newport Music Hall for FREE courtesy of the Ohio Union Activities Board and 99.7 The Blitz. I suddenly remembered during that show that they have four hits, not just the two big ones, "45" and a cover of Lynyrd Skynard's "Simple Man" (Which they played in dedication to the beloved and late "Dimebag" Darrell from Pantera). They really knew how to get the crowd into it (not like it took much), they had all of the energy. Actually, one of the opening bands, Theory of a Deadman, had a lot of energy too. I liked their sound. At the end of Shinedown's set, The Blitz 99.7 DJ Blazor came around by me with two hot ladies (still kinda too old for my taste... and isn't Blazor married?), and as everyone walked out, Blazor and I rocked out, trading off shots on the air guitar to Pantera's "Walk" over the speakers. Some Jagermeister chicks handed out shot glasses on the way out, so I made sure to snag a couple (c'mon, not like I would really use them............................. I'd use someone else's!). I have had a good record with concerts here in Columbus. None of them have sucked and I come out of each one with a new band I like. Continuing with the trend, Mike and I are looking to buy tickets to a Green Day concert coming in May. Presale is Friday, so I'm hoping floor seats will still be available when I can get them at 1:30.

Now we go to sports. Tuesday night brought another victory for the men's basketball team, this time over Indiana. I have a feeling that we just cost Mike Davis his head coaching job at Indiana with that one. Right now everyone is anticipating the season finale, WHEN WE PUT ILLINOIS DOWN AND END THEIR UNBEATEN SEASON! We have a game at home against Wisconsin, but no one really cares about that one honestly. We want to beat Illinois on March 6, on CBS. (check your local listings) Last year the season finale was against Illinois, and the second half was full of passion, an amazing comeback. I hope we top that this year. And if that holds true, you better be looking for me rushing the court! ON CBS! Maybe Dick Vitale will be commentating, and I'll get to rub his bald head after the game. We'll get on ESPN, ESPNEWS, ESPN2, ESPNU (the new ESPN college station coming March 4), ESPN DEPORTES (Spanish ESPN station) the local news, all of the Ohio newspapers, FOX SPORTS NET, maybe even the golf channel it will be so big. So don't miss it!!

I'm gonna go to bed and dream of that moment....

The Sports Edition

2005-02-07T01:31:00.000-05:00

Well, since there has been a recent flux of sports news and happenings, I have decided to make a dedicated post about the subject. First off, how about that Super Bowl? I personally wanted to take over the playcalling for the Eagles in the fourth quarter, but I bet many of you out there are Patriot fans, so I won't go into it much... Although it still remains that the only players I really don't like from that team are Tom Brady and Ty Law, because they're both scUM... But I gotta give love to Mike Vrabel, a linebacker playing tight end on the goal line, catching a poorly thrown TD pass from Brady; the Buckeye alums are versatile! It's sad, though, because I still dream of seeing my hometown Cleveland Browns making it to the big dance one day... Hell, I already know the reason why the Browns are so horrible... Not one of the players is an alum of The OSU. Especially after 14 Buckeyes were drafted on the 2004 Draft, a record, and not one was taken by Butch Davis, I knew the season was tanked. This coming April, new head coach Romeo Crennel better look at Bam Childress, Simon Fraser, Dustin Fox, Kyle Turano and maybe even Mike Nugent (if we want to upgrade from Phil Dawson). Especially with looming rumors of Anthony Henry not being re-signed, Dustin Fow would be a great fill, with or without Henry. Plus, adding Fraser would end a lot of the questions about the D-Line. But really, not having a Buckeye, much less a player from all of Ohio on the Browns is really laughable. I might decide to be a Bengals fan if things don't change playerwise.

In other Cleveland sports... The Indians are gonna get some serious heat in the Central division, because now Detroit is buying players off the free agent market. They've acquired Troy Percival, Troy Glaus, and now Magglio Ordonez. Not to mention the current talent, Carlos Guillen. The only good thing for the Tribe to bank on is that that's all that the Tigers have. Kansas City is sliding now, as is Chicago, even though they added names... The Twins are likely not going to get Johan Santana to sign a long-term deal, because the Twins can't afford it... Maybe the Tribe can trade a big prospect or two for him. Likely not. The Tribe signed my boy Kevin Millwood, and since he's my boy, many of my friends already think we're doomed... whatever. Also picked up were Jose Hernandez and Alex Cora, two decent infielders to add depth to the bench, but I'd rather have kept Lou Merloni. Plus, many are saying that these pickups mean that GM Mark Shapiro will have the flexibility to trade away Ronnie Belliard... I hope not, unless Shapiro wants to lower our scoring. Hey, a familiar face is back too! Juan Gonzalez signed a minor league deal, and if he makes the 25 man roster I'd love it because I hate to see Casey Blake in right field. He's an infielder, a 3B... Speaking of 3B men, Aaron Boone is in town! Gotta love it! AB, or as the Red Sox fans call him, Aaron "Bleeping" Boone. What a HUGE grab last year. I just thought of another familiar face coming back to the Tribe - Paul Shuey has a minor league deal. Seeing him in the bullpen again would bring me a sense of security... If Juan Gone and Shuey make the squad, look out - we're playoff bound.

Also... The Cavs are rolling, although slowly, to the playoffs. So we lost "Wild Thing" Anderson Varejao for a few weeks. And Ira Newble is still out. Thank God for 10 day contracts to fill the void. Thank God for LeBron too. He needs to be signed to a max extension ASAP. It isn't mentioned much, but he will be a free agent after next season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas needs to be re-upped too. LeBron has put in his words on wanting Z to return, and Z wants to stay here. A part of me believes he deserves it too, even though he has missed most of his early career from injury. The Cavs need one more link in the chain to be title contenders... and hopefully that link will come in the postseason free agency. Gary Payton could be a great option if Jeff McInnis isn't re-signed, and many have speculated that Michael Redd is a very possible pickup as well. Wouldn't it be great to see Redd, a Buckeye alum, also a 4 time all star, in a lineup with LeBron, Z, McInnis (or Payton), and Drew Gooden? We'd be right up there with Miami, Detroit and Indiana in the East. Plus, we can secure more depth by trading guys like DeSagana Diop, Dajuan Wagner, and Luscious Harris (even though I like having him for depth already). Diop has had no success with the team at all, but he's a big body that someone can like to have. And Wagner hasn't played much with all of the injuries he's had, but teams know he can still shoot.

Now, for the Buckeye news... We whipped the scUM on Saturday, 72-46 at home. Just WHIPPED THEM. They scored only 6 points in the first ten minutes. They had only 4 assists and 28 turnovers. Their coach Tommy Amaker couldn't even get a technical foul when he was asking for one, arguing so much with the referees. At the game were a bunch of high school junior football players here for the football coaches' Junior Day. And, a benefit from Junior Day, and I bet the game, too, was getting Running Back Chris Wells' verbal commitment to play at THE OSU! For those of you who don't know, Wells is projected to be a top 3 RB in the country for the 2006 recruiting class, and is likely a top 10 overall prospect in the nation. He's 6-1, 210, and is like Maurice Clarett without the parole officer... and probably more speed. He's the big bruiser back, the thunder we need to complement the lightning quick offense we're going to have for a few years.

Speaking of recruiting, 18 players made it official for next season by inking their names on paper on signing day earlier in the week. 18 players is somewhat a small number, but coach Tressel had to be selective since he didn't have many scholarships available to offer after going heavy last season. That doesn't mean our list is weak. Our class is ranked #7 in the nation. Highlighting the list are:
Jamario O'Neal - National Top 100 prospect, 6-1, 205, Cornerback, played alongside Ted Ginn Jr at Glenville HS in Cleveland. 4.45 sec 40 yard dash
Alex Boone - National top 100 prospect, St. Edward HS, O-Lineman, 6-8, 300, I keep claiming to be the white Orlando Pace.
Doug Worthington - National top 100 prospect, 6-7 257, D-End, St. Francis HS in Athol Springs, NY. Can be an immediate impact on the D-line

All three of these guys should see immediate playing time. There are other great players that I can list but don;t want to type so much about. DT Todd Denlinger, LB Freddie Lenix, OL Jim Cordle, QB Rob Schoencroft, WR Andre Amos, RB Maurice Wells, DE Lawrence Wilson, and WR Brian Hartline are all guys who will have a definite big impact in the future. Hell, all of them will. In this class I really see few players who will not have a big role for this team. Our defense is going to be ridiculous in the coming year. We'll have all three starting LBs back for senior seasons, and we'll get back Mike D'Andrea, who was injured early in the season. With Worthington, Denlinger and Wilson coming in, I bet two out of the three will start this season. Worthington is almost a definite to me, but I bet either Denlinger or Wilson, or maybe both of them will put up a huge effort and beat out someone for a starting job. The secondary is losing only Dustin Fox (still a big loss), and with Jamario coming in, there will be a minimal time needed to adjust. Tyler Everett, Nate Salley, Ashton Youboty, and Donte Whitner are good to go as it is. I can't wait for next season, especially the game against Texas. That's before the school year, so I hope I can score a ticket and drive down for that one. We're Rose Bowl bound this year. There are only three tough games on our schedule, and I bet Ted Ginn could win them all by himself. The season can't come faster for me.

Well, that's all for now... I think I just set a personal best for a long post, and it was all about sports... hmmmm.... maybe I have an alternate career in hand if the whole engineering thing goes awry... Anyway, I'll hit it up again later.

2005-02-05T18:15:00.000-05:00

2005-01-26T20:56:00.000-05:00

2005-01-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

Guess Who's Back, Back Again....

2005-01-16T21:54:00.000-05:00

The Bigman's Back! Tell Your Friends! Yep... After a long hiatus, I'm FINALLY back to blogging. I must apologize to all of my loyal 10 or 20 readers, I haven't touched this thing in quite some time. My computer ASPLODED (ok not really asploded) the weekend going into finals week for the first quarter, and I never actually had it repaired until just before Christmas... And of course I was back home in Northeast Ohio, in a house without high speed internet, so you can understand why I didn't bother even trying to post over Christmas Break. I can already hear my mother complaining now: "CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIG get off the damn phone!" (I can do a good impression of it in person, it's too bad if you haven't heard it)...

Well, one quarter is in the books, and we're gonna be diving into week three of the Winter Quarter this week. And already there have been many opportunities for excursions and learning experiences lined up for us Buckeye students. The creator of the hit FOX cartoon Family Guy came for a lecture, and to promote the comeback of the series... I made my first trip to COSI (Columbus' Science Center) in a looooooooooooooong time a little over a week ago. There's a lot coming up, too... Including another free concert! Last quarter we got to see Dashboard Confessional for free, and this quarter it's gonna be Shinedown, another newly rising band, already out with two hits since the summer. Also, everyone's favorite sexologist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, is gonna appear next month (I have to pick up tickets for that one tomorrow!). Other appearances in the future include Henry Rollins, comedian Wanda Sykes, and a show by local rising band Red Wanting Blue.

But that's what's UPCOMING... I know you want to hear what happened since I last posted, right? Well, Finals week can be described in one way: Hard and stressful. But winter break came quickly enough, as well as the opportunity to go back to work. OK, it does suck to have to work right after you finished class, but I made a good share of cash for three weeks of work, and made it easier to buy Christmas gifts and still have the money for books. I got to see some of the family, including my Uncle Bobby, whom I got to see back home, instead of seeing him down here at THE OSU... A visit to the friends was also in order, but not as much as I hoped...

I spent plenty of time with a certain lady, one whom I can't believe I already miss...

If I were to come home during the quarter, it would likely be just for her.

What was the obvious highlight? The 33-7 Buckeye Beatdown served to Oklahoma State in the AlamoBowl back on Dec. 29! OK, so Troy Smith got in trouble... It's not the greatest thing to happen to our athletics gien the circumstances, but we got an improved Justin Zwick, and a versatile Teddy Ginn who had no problems running the offensive show. And our BIG D showed up liked they needed to in our losses, this time clobbering the Ok. St. offense. And our beloved kicker, Mike Nugent, got his inking in the record books. Nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge now is our all-time leading scorer, and we're gonna miss him... The new guy next season has GIGANTIC shoes to fill. I'm already looking forward to next season, as we're gonna have 18 returning starters, including our BIGTIME LB AJ HAWK and our HANDS MAN SANTONIO HOLMES. It's gonna be a run at the national title at the Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes, I am already anticipating it. The last time we had a big name player announce that he was foregoing the NFL Draft and coming back for his Senior season, it was Safety Mike Doss back in 2002, and he came back to lead THE OSU to the National Championship at the Fiesta Bowl. Also, the last time Coach Tressel lost more than two games in a season with the Buckeyes, it was in 2001, and he led THE OSU the next year to the National Title. It is all adding up, and we're going to make a run again... I feel sorry for Southern Cal, they're not going to get their unprecedented 3rd straight championship, and if they play against the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, it will be a replay of the same game back in January of 1969, when the Buckeyes stuck OJ Simpson and USC into the dirt and won the championship. I can't wait for January 4, 2006...

Our Basketball teams aren't that bad either. Even with a self-imposed postseason ban, our men's team is not letting this season be for nothing, currently posting a 12-5 record. I'll be sitting in the Buckeye Nuthouse on Wed. Night, cheering our fellas on as they host Minnesota. The Women's team is even more impressive. They are No. 5 in the nation, 14-2. I gotta go see those girls play!

Well, that's all for now... There is still plenty to speak of, but I've already given you a bunch for one post, and also because the Cavaliers are currently playing Seattle in the 4th quarter... so I'll sign off... Post ya later...

2004-11-23T01:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I tried to submit this one last night, but it wouldn't go through...

What a sweet weekend!

This was by far the most exciting last five days I have had on campus. There is so much to talk about, and you know the big thing about this weekend, so I'm going to start actually from wednesday.
Well, the week's activities began back on sunday the 14th really, but the festivities for the first three days weren't much to talk about, especially since I didn't go to any of them... There was a flag football tournament on sunday, but I never registered, and if I'm not mistaken a full team was required to register. For me, the fun began on wednesday. That night had a scheduled pillow fight over on the South Oval, which is practically across the street from Siebert Hall. The aim was to break the world record for the largest pillow fight, which is held by Duke University. We needed about 1100 or 1200 to do it, but during the day it rained. That cut the turnout way down, probably to about 400. The pillow fight still went on as planned, though, but with many people playing in the mud. I was intelligent and didn't get dirty, especially since I had to head to a math midterm right after, which I won't talk about because I want to forget it already. The fight didn't last long, surprisingly; the aim was for only two minutes. Still, our stunt got on ESPN at no. 6 on the Sportscenter Top 10 for the night. That was sweet. We beat out a Kobe Bryant slam dunk and a Snoop Dogg appearance at USC in the countdown, amongst others.

As per Ohio State tradition (and you do know that we embrace tradition), on thursday night thousands of people were on hand to jump into Mirror Lake. And I was one of those people. You don't even need to ask or think about it... it was cold! It was also only four feet deep, too. Or at least as far as I went with my roommate Robbie and a bunch of his friends. Amusingly, we jumped in twice. The first time we got in and then got out pretty fast... and when I got out, I felt like I was in 60 degree weather. Sadly, no one was able to get pictures of our first trip, so we went in again. One of Robbie's friends got a few shots in, and then we walked along in the lake for a short while. It was adrenaline keeping my legs intact while I was in there. The worst part of it was that I lost a sandal in the lake! Ya, I lost it while landing into the water. The funny thing was that it seemed that everyone was losing footwear! I found two matching sandals scattered around the area, and used those to walk back to the dorm. (Don't worry, Mirror Lake is also very close to the dorm) Hey, I still have a pair of flip-flops now! There were so many other animated things going on at Mirror Lake. Really, there were probably just as many people at the lake who took the plunge as there were who were just there to watch. I saw one guy in the lake lathering himself up with soap. It was a good thing that he was a fat guy, or else he might not have been able to stay in the water for as long as he did. Another group of guys were paddling around in a canoe! I think one of them had viking headgear on too... Some people ventured out towards the fountain in the lake, jumping on it, trying to act like they were king. (The fountain was off, if you're thinking otherwise) I heard also that Troy Smith was down there, but I didn't see him, there were so many people. Many people were playing in the mud again that night, as many ladies and gentlemen engaged in slipping, sliding, and wrestling in the mess. Again, I didn't take part in that, but that's only because I had a bad feeling of the temptations I would have had if I were wrestling around in the mud with some females... especially since there was a lot of female mud wrestling action going on down there! And I kid you not! The festivities didn't end at the lake. Afterwards, many of the participants from my floor of Siebert Hall were having a shower get-together (ya, I am already feeling the homosexual implications you all have in reading that, you sick people!), but we still had our shorts on, thank you very much... We were just trying to warm up and get the mud off of our feet. And for the record, I will forever call Dr. Mahoney a wuss for not jumping in the lake with me... naw, just kidding... since he snapped me some good photos with my digital camera! But for my roommate Alan.........
Also on thursday, before Mirror Lake, was the weekly Block O meeting. It was pretty mild, not too big, even though it was the last meeting before the big game, but we watched the fourth quarter of the 2002 OSU-scUM game for inspiration, and got news on other buckeye sports. Also, I learned that Block O "does not endorse nor acknowledge the tradition of jumping into Mirror Lake". That's weird, especially since the Public Relations director Kyle mentioned something about waiting 45 minutes after you eat... and we had wings there...
Friday was mostly a day of gearing up and getting rested for the game. After class, I went over by the Ohio Union, where people from SBC Yahoo were there to endorse their DSL and phone services. They had a trailer where they set up about a dozen Xbox and Playstation 2 consoles, each with a copy of NCAA Football 2005 (which I also own) ready to be played. Many people chose to play the OSU-scUM game, as I did, but many others picked random teams. Also, there were Dell Laptops set up with the DSL internet hookup, so I took some time to surf the web while I was there, even though I could do the same thing in my own dorm room. Lastly, there were some phones set up with free long distance phone service, but I didn't have anyone far away to call, and I don't think any random person in China waould like a random phone call from me, so I didn't go there.

Hey, I didn't mention that all week we were singing a popular Buckeye tune, We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan. I didn't have to go far to hear that tune somewhere.

We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan,
the whole state of Michigan,
the whole state of Michigan,
We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan,
'cause we're from O-HI-O!
We're from O-HI-O, O - H!
We're from O-HI-O, I - O!
We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan,
the whole state of Michigan,
the whole state of Michigan,
We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan,
'cause we're from O-HI-O!

Everything came to a halt on saturday, except for one big game. THE BIG GAME. I felt privileged to be able to watch this game at home during my first year as a Buckeye. I didn't go to the skull session, nor did I take part in the spirit tunnel. My main concern was being one of the first people through the gate at The Horseshoe. And I was. Mike and I arrived five minutes prior to the gates being open, as per the audioblog I posted at the time. We got the best seats we've had all year on Saturday. When the team crossed the field from the north tunnel to the locker room, us Blockies gave Coach Tressel an O-H, and got his hearty I-O in reply. The countdown of the 50 Greatest Buckeye Football Classics was being shown on the videoboard to pass the time. Later on, Mike Nugent came out to warm up, and he put on another show, again. He nailed one from 60+ yards again thie week. I can't wait to see how high he goes in the NFL draft. He might be harder to replace than Craig Krenzel was. I felt bad for the scUM fans that were in attendance. I don't know why they all came to see their team lose. Especially when their sections are near Block O. We drowned out all of their chants with our own. When game time came near, the festivities began to shout. First, the scUM players took the field, and their band came out to perform their traditional "M" pattern and fight song and alma mater. And again, afterwards, The Best Damn Band In The Land schooled the scUM. It is so amazing to see that band play. It has been more than once that I have seen The Incomparable Script Ohio, but each time I have not failed to get chills to watch that one lucky Sousaphone player dot the i. It is the best college football tradition, period. After that sweet performance, out came the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University, down a path lined with TBDBITL and football alumnae and their families. The line went all the way downfield, from endzone to endzone. The seniors were introduced, with Mike Nugent being announced last, to the biggest cheer of nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge that I have ever heard. We all appreciate him immensely. Watching these players go makes me sad, since another link to the 2002 championship team will be moving on. So much more happened in between all of these pregame events, but the next item up for bid was the kickoff. The Buckeyes recieved the opening kick, and were going in the direction of the south endzone, right into Block O. The first drive, a TD pass from Troy Smith to Anthony Gonzalez. The scUM came right back, and scored twice to take a 14-7 lead after one quarter. But the scUM didn't realize the power of Block O, as the scUM didn't score at all in our endzone in the second quarter, while the Bucks rolled in 13 more points to go up 20-14 at the midway point. Michigan continued to suck as Ted Ginn Jr, MY BOY, hit for another TD punt return, but this time it was ridiculously unbelieveable. If anyone has the game taped, just stare at that one play. I still don't know how he eluded the first defender. Our passing game kept rolling, as did our running game, surprisingly. Another TD pass put us up 34-14 going into the final quarter. The entire stadium (minus the scUM fans) was able to purely enjoy singing Hang On Sloopy while enjoying a 20 point lead. And During the entire game, Block O never shut up. We were loud for 60 minutes. But so were the rest of the 105,456 fans (minus the scUM fans) in attendance. Whenever the scUM fans tried to start anything, Block O took the upper hand. If the scUM fans wanted to start their Go Blue chant, we just got to yelling Let's Go Buckeyes. If the scUM fans tried to use their damn cowbell, we started a Stadium OHIO cheer. In the biggest game of the year, we never faltered. I got really angry when Braylon Edwards scored in Block O's end zone in the final quarter, but I couldn't complain when Nuge put up his 3rd FG of the day to put us up by 16.

And then it was all defense, baby.

No more points were scored, but I can't remember it being any louder in the Shoe than when we stopped Michigan on fourth down of their last possession. It was sealed up. All I had in mind was a postgame trip onto the field. When the clock hit :00, I was one of thousands to rush onto the field in a frenzy. It was such a feeling! First of all, it was a struggle to stay on your feet from all of the pushing and shoving. I ran right into the middle of the pack that I saw, and I found myself face-to-face with none other than Ted Ginn Jr! He was smiling through his facemask and visor. As I patted him on his helmet, I noticed that the Buckeye stickers are bigger than I thought. Two guys ended up lifting Teddy onto their shoulders. Then, I saw Troy Smith doing a TV interview. I'm thinking, how did the camera guy force his way into the crowd? But that wasn't the point. I was there, alongside Troy, telling him, "That was your game, Troy!" as I patted him on the helmet. He was smiling, too, and he was carrying the game ball! I saw the OSU logo on it. Ted and Troy didn't even make it to sing Carmen Ohio with the team since there were fans all around them. Once they got out of the crowd, I got into some camera shots, which I didn't know from what station. Everything then became a social event right on the field. It was a leisurely event at that time. Many people, including myself, were gathering up some turf to take home as a keepsake. Really, I probably came out with one of the smallest samples of turf. Many people were tearing out entire sheets of sod from the ground. I didn't think that was very cool. Some groundskeepers finally came out after some people were trying to tear out the entire "O" from midfield. I called my mom, because I was dying to say, "Ya, I'm on the 40-yard line right now. No, not in the seats, on the line." What a rush it was! The goalposts were guarded by several policemen, though. I also heard later that the goalposts were greased up in case someone really did try to tear it down! I still can't believe the memories of walking over the painted lettering in the endzones, of walking across the field like it was a stroll in the park! I wish I had a football at the time. I would have sprinted all the way downfield and made a dive into the endzone. And seeing a fat guy doing that must be some kind of accomplishment, so you know I'm serious. But what an awesome game!

Wow, it is really late now, and I have school at 10:30... And I haven't even finished the weekend yet! Stay tuned, I'll get finish the story as soon as I can get the time too. Read on, and GO BUCKS!

2004-11-20T17:18:00.000-05:00

2004-11-20T14:52:00.000-05:00

2004-11-20T14:47:00.000-05:00

2004-11-18T01:30:00.000-05:00

This is me before the first OSU men's basketball regular season game... No doubt I'm geared up! I mean, check out my shades! If you look closely, I'm crazy enough to wear shades with red lenses! I was seeing scarlet all night!

2004-11-13T03:01:00.000-05:00

The Happenings

2004-11-08T01:03:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I waited this long to post, because I'll probably not remember everything that happened this weekend while I'm typing now. Well, where to start... Right now, Friday in my mind is a wash... I know that we didn't do much here in the dorm, but I can't remember exactly what we watched or what we played. I guess I just played SOCOM for the most part... Anyway, Saturday was another good day, because of another Buckeye football victory, this time over Michigan State. Somebody is going to have a lot more stickers on his helmet after this week. My boy Ted Ginn Jr had his biggest game yet - 3 TDs, one run on a reverse, one on a punt return (again), and the last one, a catch on a slant route over the middle of the field, and he sprinted away from everybody to give the Buckeyes the lead for good. He was FAST. The commentators on TV even said that Coach Tressel needs to find ways to get Teddy the ball more often. If Ted could have broken out games earlier, he could contend for All-American Honors. But he is still a freshman. His best years are still ahead of him. Now the Buckeyes have momentum going into next week's game at Purdue, whose team is struggling, since their star QB Kyle Orton is hurt.

Also on Saturday, Mike and I watched Pleasantville on TV, a great movie actually. I'm thinking of buying the DVD, if there is one. Speaking of DVDs, we watched a Metallica concert on DVD... Again. Too bad it's just too good of music to pass up. I sometimes wonder why no one complains when we pump up the volume while watching it... But then I understand that it is Metallica, and they all must like the music, because it's Metallica. So then I feel inclined to turn it all the way up so that they all can enjoy it more. It reminds me of the Metallica concert Mike and I went to weeks ago (I haven't mentioned that yet, have I?), which was f***ing awesome, need I say anything else.

Another surprising event happened Saturday night. Remember when I mentioned my run-in last week with my good friend Dave? Well, history repeated itself on Saturday night, when I became reunited with another friend, Alex, whom I haven't seen since eighth grade. First, I could never imagine that he was going to the same school as I. And second, I couldn't believe that he is living in the same residence hall, four floors above me! He was setting up his laptop for the LAN party that was assembling in the lobby of Siebert Hall. And for all of you who think that I was drinking and going crazy at this LAN party, you don't understand. LAN parties are consisted of a bunch of people (many times nerds, or geeks, or whatever this generation calls it... But not always) who connect their computers to each other through a close network, and play video games together through the network. We were playing Battlefield 1942. I wish I had CounterStrike or Unreal Tournament, so then I could get involved in some other LAN parties... Anyway, that was some fun, seeing what other people in Siebert Hall had setup with their computers. A couple of people even had AlienWare PCs, which are tuned out to be ultimate gaming machines, but those machines are HUGE. They're big units, but they pump out big numbers and polygons, so it pays off for gamers. Playing some games with others + meeting up again with an old friend = A legitimate, fun night. (And you probably thought that all we do down here is find a party with a keg, huh?)

Sunday shaped up to be swell, because another Big Ten championship came to The Ohio State University. Our women's soccer team pulled up an upset over Penn State 2-0. And again, like Thursday's game, some of us members of Block O went top support our fellow Buckeyes. Those girls played good defense, not great, but they were able to get the ball cleared when needed. Things got a little dirty in the second half, though. First was an altercation causing a Penn State player to throw down one of our Buckeyes, obviously to the dismay of all of us Blockies. One of our girls must have done something to provoke that, though, because the ref didn't card the offending player. After that, everything became more physical, and later, another Penn State player made a blatant sliding tackle on a Buckeye attacker, trying to prevent a goal. It was obvious, and the ref sent her off, red card, and so we had an advantage for the rest of the match. One more goal put it away later on, and the clock ticked to zero, and it was trophy time. This was a great moment for the team, but I bet that tomorrow will start with aspirations of something bigger... a national championship. Currently, the schedule is not available, but when it is, you can visit ncaasports.com for updates on who, when and where the Buckeye women will play in the big tournament.

Well, my parents are coming down here on Saturday, which kind of bums me out because I can go to the football game against Purdue for only 42 bucks, but I already put my parents off of an earlier visit, so I gotta stick with the plan at hand.

Hopefully soon I will have a digital camera on hand so I can throw some pics on this blog, so hopefully someone brings me a digital camera (maybe my parents, hint hint?) so I can get to snapping. That's all for now, believe it or not (since this is my longest post yet)... Blog ya later.

Hello folks....

2004-11-06T03:42:00.000-05:00

I would first like to recommend that everyone watch a little bit of European football. It's good for your health.

Next I must address the issue of President Bush winning the election. He may not be the smartest man, he may not have the greatest policies, and may be a little greedy, but he......he.....where was I? Well out of love for the U.S., I shall support our president and hope for the best.

Here at OSU, we are blessed with many good things. Food, good profs, an abundance of cool fellow students, and great teams. What a school.

Today's bad idea:

Touching a hot stove.

Hello folks

2004-11-04T22:02:00.000-05:00

More about me eventually.

For now......

Something New

2004-11-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I hope everyone that could did go out and vote on Tuesday, or sent in the good old absentee ballot like me. So Bush got re-upped... he wasn't my first choice, but I'm ready to stand behind him. Anyways... I went to the Buckeye Women's soccer game today, where our talented ladies got a 2-0 victory over Purdue. That moves our team to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, where they will either play Wisconsin or Michigan (hmmm... the two teams we hate the most). I went to the game with several members of Block O, the big Ohio State football extreme fan organization (obviously we cover more than just football), and we all got the first glimpse of cold November weather. It was chilly and windy, and a mist of rain was falling. That didn't deter the Blockies from continually chanting and cheering for all 90 minutes of action. Some Purdue fans were there (we're talking only 5 or 6) and they couldn't raise anything against us, but who can? Plus, they were in no position to talk since they were down 2-nil.

Well, I wonder how many of you saw the post that wasn't by me... but it unexpectedly disappeared. Mike apparently wants to call himself Dr. Mahoney, and he posted a couple of days ago. But it isn't here anymore... Mike thinks he may have mistakenly deleted it. I think he wants to call himself Dr. Mahoney out of jealousy, since people like to call me Dr. Love.

It is now 16 days until the Buckeyes whip some scUM on the football field. I just got the schedule today on Beat Michigan Week. On the 17th there is a pillow fight on the south oval. I'm already thinking of inviting some of the girls there to a private pillow fight in my dorm, if you get my drift...

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost last night in double overtime to the Indiana Pacers. Its frustrating to think that one more shot would have won it on numerous chances. One game doesn't matter... I'm hoping that the cavs sign LeBron to a max contract extension and keep him here for a while. Most people don't realize that his contract is up after next season. And I'm hoping that the Cavs sign Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a new deal; his contract is up after this season, and he's the second best center in the eastern conference (behind Shaq, of course).

Some bad news has transpired recently... OSU men's basketball player Brandon Fuss-Cheatham is feeling the loss of his mother, who died in a car crash on Wednesday. Please keep Brandon's family in your prayers.

Thats all for now... Tune in next time...

Look Who's Still Here...

2004-11-02T01:01:00.000-05:00

Hello again all... I got back not long ago from doing Physics homework with my buddy Matt, and I'm feeling much relieved after all of that trouble. That stuff is HARD. We spent an entire hour on one problem, and at 11:30 we decided to just write down some intelligent bullshit on paper. It turned out that this intelligent bullshit led us to the answer. We hugged each other we were so happy. The other people in the study room were wondering what was going on between us. Thankfull that is over... Now I'll fill you in on the weekend's festivities. There were many original Hallowen costumes out there the entire weekend. My buddies Matt, Mike and I hit a Halloween party on friday night, but we are coming to realize that not leaving the dorm until midnight isn't a good plan. Still, we caught some okay business. Costumes there were okay, for the most part... Actually, my two buddies and myself were some of the few people not wearing anything festive. I liked some of the original ideas though. One guy was a genius. He fashioned a cardboard box to look like one of those cheap boxes of wine, but he actually had a real box of wine inside, with the tap sticking out in the most obvious of places... But it worked! There were several girls who got on their knees to get a drink from the tap. Several photo ops for that guy. I should have thought of that. But of course, I didn't think about a costume until saturday, when I decided to wear some gift ribbons and go as God's Gift To Women. Mike put a big "E" on his shirt and went as "E-Male", and Matt just made something up, because he was wearing his Buckeye Football jersey. That saturday night was much better, if you get my drift. But why am I talking about saturday night when I should be talking about the bigger event of saturday?
The Buckeyes Got Another Victory!
Yep, another win in the books at home. My boy Ted Ginn Jr had a punt return for a TD, and Tyler Everett returned an INT for a TD. I can't believe Mike Nugent got blocked though... Well, we have Michigan State coming up, and I feel horrible for the Spartans because they had a victory in the bag against M*ch*g*n, but lost it in a heartbreaker. It's alright... It's now only 18 more days until we beat that scUM.

I hope you've enjoyed the previous audio blogs, especially since I find that option quite convenient to use. I bet you're wondering why this is The Bigman's Rolling Buckeye Blog... Well, I'm not sure myself. The best thing to say is that I will be posting in audioblogs when I'm away from my laptop or on location. Anyway, on to more about the weekend.

Sunday was mostly about getting rest. I mean, not just because of friday and saturday, but that I need to sleep in once per week at least. I've been wearing myself down with so much activity in and out of class.

I got a nice phone call on sunday, though...

I was on the phone with a sort of "long lost friend". It has been a while since this friend and I have kept in regular contact, and I'm glad I shook off the butterflies I had... I dunno why I can become nervous for certain people, because I know that no matter what that there's nothing to get nervous over. I hope she reads this, because there are some people whom I've been missing, and hopefully she'll dial me up after reading this, so I at least know that there is one more person reading my blog!

I'll probably be calling her first.

But sunday night consisted of a very LOUD Yellowcard concert. The opening bands were not bad. The Matches opened... It looked like they were trying too hard or trying too much to get into the music. They were jumping and running all over the stage, but too crazily. The Starting Line followed, and I was impressed. It was a good sound, and a good performance. They reminded me of Yellowcard last year, when they opened for Jane's Addiction at the Gravity Games in Cleveland. When Yellowcard came on, the shit got LOUD in there. I became more of a fan after the concert. They play better live than on their albums. Shit, they play their music heavier live. The only downside to the show was the fact that the average fan's age there was probably 16. There were so many girls there screaming... At least they were screaming for a punk band, and not some cheesy boy band. But really, it was a concert where you saw fathers taking their daughters and their friends to the rock show. Really Weird.

After the concert was a shocking scene. Mike and I went to 7-Eleven after leaving the Schottenstein Center, and I saw none other than my good friend from back home Dave Jack. He apparently was at Miami of Ohio over the weekend with some friends, and they all came up to see the concert. It was a really pleasant surprise, especially since he now looks like Grizzly Adams, or maybe Al Borlan from Home Improvement. But wow. I told him to dial me up the next time he comes down here. He's at Kent State, and that isn't too far away if he really wanted to get out and go.

I think that may be the bulk of it for the weekend. Oh, by the way, I'd like to formally introduce the previously mentioned Mike to the Blog, if he will accept my invite already. Mike will be your source for all the news, stats, scores and rumors around the sports world... no, I'm kidding. Mike will hopefully be popping in from time to time with some of his take, and hopefully I can get others to follow. But, that's all for now. It is late, and I still have some homework to do for my Engineering class, so so long for now...

2004-10-31T01:46:00.000-04:00

2004-10-28T23:31:00.000-04:00

First and Worst

2004-10-28T23:13:00.000-04:00

Howdy all... Welcome to The Bigman's Rolling Buckeye Blog!I'm Craig Mauer, also known as the Bigman. I'm down here at the south side of campus at The Ohio State University. This is my freshman year, and it's already several weeks in, so I have so much to catch up on. I'm going to try and gradually catch up on the early weeks as my current posts progress, so check back here often. I cannot say exactly how often I will post and update ths blog, but I plan to keep everything up to date, and I don't intend to fall behind.

In the future I hope to have other people post on this blob as my guests, so that my thoughts aren't the only ones that you read. Hopefully this blog will show experiences from several directions, and not just something that is mundane, redundant and one-sided. This is my first post, and likely my worst post, as I will get better as I get used to blogging.

Well, sit back, and read on! Enjoy!

2004-10-28T22:23:00.000-04:00

Yep, I'm a Buckeye...

2004-10-28T16:09:00.000-04:00