A Look at the News

First, basketball. Jim O'Brien's gonna get paid $2.2 million for being fired for NCAA rules violations. This sends a positive message to the kids: write up contracts that don't reward cheating. The university plans to appeal, but I don't like their odds. The judge said that the contract sorta screwed OSU over:

"It is clear that this seemingly unfair result arises from the extremely favorable provisions of the contract," Ohio Court of Claims Judge Joseph T. Clark wrote in his decision.

"The contract is extremely favorable to the plaintiff but it is not unreasonable," Clark said in his decision. "The parties in this case negotiated a contract virtually guaranteeing [O'Brien] that he could not be terminated for an NCAA infraction."

It's not all bad news in Buckeye roundball. Well, I guess as far as actual news goes, it is, but still, Andy Katz thinks That Matta's pretty sweet, and that has to count for something.

As far as that sport with the funny-shaped ball and all the awesomeness, the Big Ten Kickoff's going on in Chi-town. The media picked OSU to win the Big Ten, and Troy Smith was picked preseason offensive player of the year. I think both are good picks (of course), but I think Drew Stanton deserves more love. That guy's good.

Ohio State Online says Jim Tressel told the media that Alex Boone is penciled in at starting left tackle. I hadn't seen that anywhere else, but there's a lotta places I haven't looked, and there's no good reason for OSO to lie to me, so I gotta say I'm disappointed in Tressel. I still think Boone (who was convicted of DUI earlier in the summer, if you've forgotten) should at least not start the Northern Illinois game, and I wouldn't object to a suspension. I'm not exactly in the loop on the whole situation, so I'm basically running my mouth about something I know very little about (your standard blogger, in other words), but it seems to me like the guy's getting off light.

Oh yeah, a note for Sooners fans: Sucks to be you. The Troy Smith situation wasn't much fun, and that was just $500. With Bomar's payments for a job not done being reported in the thousands of dollars, it'll be that much worse. Just think back to the glory days of the late 80's. Ok, forget those days, too. Instead, just avoid the forums for the next couple weeks. Go fishing or something.