Rockhound

Rockhound's Comments

Posted Wednesday December 03, 2008, About: Carroll has NFL options
Carroll won't (and shouldn't) leave. The college thing is a great gig; the atmosphere is really engaging and he's got it made out there, plus he seems to be really enjoying it...and enjoying life is pretty important. As an OSU fan I'd LOVE to see him go to the NFL :) but as a college football fan I'm hoping he stays put. All bitching at each other aside, we ALL benefit when there are great coaches out there that care about their players and help them turn into men. Carroll and coaches like him are what makes college football great.
Posted Sunday November 30, 2008, About: Who will Bellotti vote for?
By the way, Kingfortis, Florida would take USC apart, piece by piece, and it would be painful to watch. Much as I am NOT a Gator fan (although I respect them), they are simply a much better team than USC, and on a neutral field (yes, I know...a relatively unknown concept) they would simply prove themselves to be the better team.
Posted Sunday November 30, 2008, About: Who will Bellotti vote for?
To "Kingfortis", who wrote: I DONT EVEN TAKE PENN ST SERIOUS THERE NOT EVEN SERIOUS CONTENDERS FOR THE NATIONAL TITLE PEOPLE WERE SECRETLY HOPING FOR A PENN ST. LOSS CAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS PENN ST. CANNOT PLAY WITH THE BIG BOYS.

Stop taking the idiot pills. Penn State beat a very good OSU team that you unfortunately didn't see (obviously) playing like wild men on defense...it was a great game. You're buying into the outdated "OSU and Big 10 sucks" kool aid, only you're completely unoriginal and about a year too late. Penn State CAN play in the big game, and Big 10 teams do just fine in bowl games (excluding, unfortunately, in the past when OSU has played SEC teams). You need to drink less kool-aid and pay attention to more than just the past year. BTW, OSU has done just fine playing SEC teams in regular season.

As for Penn State/USC, people like Sandy are going to be very surprised when they see Penn State play. I know some of them, and frankly they don't get intimidated at ALL by USC, or SEC, or Big 12. They play ball...hard. The ONE thing I wish is that we could, just once, just one time, play USC on a field OTHER than at home for them. If you don't think the home field advantage/familiarity with the weather, field, etc. is a big deal, you're crazy. And YES, I know teams have to get up and be able to play away. But when you USC boys constantly harp on how good they are based on Rose Bowl performance, it has less credibility than if you did it in Glendale, Miami or Texas.

By the way, Sandy and you other guys who are so sure Penn State is going to get killed...I'd DEFINITELY take a lot of your money--money you absolutely can't afford to lose--and bet it against Penn State. Sounds like easy money, and you should put your money where your (very large) mouth is. Me? I'm going to look forward to one hell of a game.
Posted Sunday November 23, 2008, About: Paterno talking trash?
"The person who said he is a figurehead is correct. When you start going into the booth and aren't on the sidelines, then it is time to hang up your cleats."

As stated several times above, Joe's in the booth because of his injury. And I doubt he's a figurehead although hell, some T&R bloggers think he is so he MUST be (sarcasm). I think the folks there at PSU know whether he's appropriately involved or not, and if you listen to his press conferences he's still plenty engaged and engaging.

And Gatorsmack, yeah, Florida looks good this year, but I wouldn't get too cocky. It hasn't been that long ago that UF was tossed around by Miami and FSU, and if you don't believe things are cyclical, look past the last 5 years and look for patterns. But I'd agree that Florida is likely at a peak right now...although there's one bad thing about being at a peak...

As for Tebow, I like him a ton as a person and he seems like a really good guy (and of course he's a heck of a player) but unless things change drastically I think the only way he gets the Heisman this year is a popularity/sentimentality vote. There are several other QBs in the B12 in particular with more impressive stats, and likely one of THEM will be leading their team to the NC game as well (assuming of course that you win the SEC).

Good luck to you and your teams...and pre-Thanksgiving I'm going to say one of the things I'm thankful for is that it's been a really interesting and compelling season!
Posted Saturday November 15, 2008, About: Weis alienates Irish supporters, recruits
Okay, once more for the record, The Warden was being SARCASTIC. He does NOT truly believe ND is in line for an upcoming NC.
Posted Wednesday October 29, 2008, About: Why Penn State benched Clark
Right on, Objective. It's very safe to say that Mandel is a better judge of, and knows more about, college football and the relative quality of teams and players than the vast vast vast majority of posters on this blog. He makes a very compelling, logical point about Penn State, and actually WATCHED the OSU/PSU game.

Unfortunately, compelling, logical comments made by a very knowledgeable person who saw the game in PERSON will never be seen as persuasive by some on these blogs...don't even bother trying to reason with them. And anyone saying Penn State is a "fraud" is laughably and sadly (yes, both at the same time) ignorant...but that's been shown MANY times over the past several months. Don't even bother responding to these kind of "posts"--it's a complete waste of time.
Posted Friday October 17, 2008, About: Not every Buckeye believes in Pryor
I wasn't one of those booing Boeckman, and I happen to think he's got maturity that we shouldn't be dismissing as much as we are. As for Pryor, give us a break with the "he sucks" comments. He's learning that he can't make the same plays with his feet that he did in high school, but that's probably so deeply ingrained in him it's going to take some time to iron out. And he needs to know when to just throw the ball away. AND he needs to improve his ability to see who's open. All these things will improve with time. But he's NOT an egomaniac and I think will only continue to get more impressive. I'd also like to see him really throw the deep ball more. I've seen him throw a couple of times and he's definitely got the arm for it.

As for Penn State, well....we'll get an indication as to what THAT game will look like this weekend. If we can get the offense going, great. If not, I think PSU will take us. But I'll be there (19C by the way, pretty happy about that), cheering all the way!

Take care all. And of course Go Bucks!
Posted Friday October 10, 2008, About: Mangino to address obscene KU chant
Sorry..."yeah, kids HEAR this all the time"... sheesh...long day.

Take care all.
Posted Friday October 10, 2008, About: Mangino to address obscene KU chant
Yeah, kids here this all the time. Yeah, it's on the tube, etc. And yeah, this isn't the worst thing going on in the world right now, for sure. My last point on it is this...there are lots of "slippery slopes" in life...points in time where we decide we're either going to make an explicit decision to make things better (even if it's a small thing) or we continue to "let them go". The frog in the pan with the slowly increasing water temperature always thinks things are "fine", and one more degree is "no big deal"...

Good luck to everybody and their teams tomorrow.
Posted Friday October 10, 2008, About: Mangino to address obscene KU chant
"I am sick and tired of having this politically correct BS infiltrate every single aspect of my life. "

This isn't about political correctness, it's about class. There's a difference. I hate political correctness as well, AND I recognize that people are going to shout out cuss words at football games, but this is more or less institutionalized now and like it or not this language is considered obscene, and THAT reflects negatively on the institution. As an earlier poster noted, this is NOT only the current students' program but also the faculty, staff, alumni and all other fans. And where do you stop? There's a fine line between this and other behaviors that are worse, or would THOSE also be considered under the "well, that's what you get at an NCAA football game" category?

In any case, the easiest and best solution will be (if it doesn't stop) for the university to stop selling student tickets at a discount until it gets better. They have EVERY right to do that and I hope they do, because if there's anything I'M sick of, it's idiots that think they can do whatever they want with no repercussions.
Posted Thursday October 09, 2008, About: LSU promises 'car wreck' hit on Tebow
Everybody in each conference thinks THEIR rivalries are THE rivalries. Yeah, we in the Big 10 don't understand SEC rivalries...you don't understand ours either, but our OWN rivalries (yours and ours) are what make the game that great for each of us.

In any case, this seems like just simple trash talking...the way I read it is "take Tebow out of the equation" vs. "permanently hurt the man". You see it out of very conference.
Posted Thursday October 09, 2008, About: Mangino to address obscene KU chant
There's a difference between people yelling profanities and institutionalizing them. There's a difference between an organized, very physical sport (that still has sportsmanship as one of its core values) and gladiatorial games in the arena. This chant takes us from each of the former to each of the latter, and in so continues to destroy the game just that little bit more, not to mention SHOULD embarrass those making the chant.

While my 14-year old son certainly can understand that this kind of chant is the result of a) alcohol and/or b) idiocy and lack of class, my biggest concern is that we're on a slippery slope with this. Pretty soon this kind of chant "isn't so bad" and is seen all over the place, and something else provocative is in its place. We're better than that and the game deserves better.

I'll contrast this with what you see at a BYU home game...an invocation/benediction before the game starts that basically says "let these young men play with courage, sportsmanship and talent", etc. While I know we have separation of church and state, I think you'd be amazed at how much of a difference that simple act makes to how the game "feels"...and while there's every bit the hard hitting you'll see as with KU or any other team, it also keeps sportsmanship and the REASONS we play the game at the heart of the game. I'll take the BYU vs. KU approach any time.
Posted Tuesday October 07, 2008, About: Purdue stands behind Painter
Thee, there are lots of us Purdue fans out there, so the answer to your question is "lots of us".
Posted Sunday October 05, 2008, About: Inside Wisconsin band probe
I don't know much about the Wisconsin band, but I WILL tell you that when the OSU Marching Band makes its entrance into the Shoe, the place goes wild. Like WolverinesFan said, yeah, they go for the game first and foremost but the band (at least at OSU and sounds like at UM) are a big part of the experience.

That said, there needs to be accountability for atrocious behavior, particularly if there were warnings before. What makes the OSU band special to OSU fans (besides tradition) is its class.
Posted Sunday September 28, 2008, About: Tressel gets O-line's attention
I agree with Sportsfan...I think a major issue here is coaching. We clearly have the talent; now what we need is a way to maximize it. Put another way, do you think the way we play would be different if we had Carroll or Miles as the coach? NOT THAT I WOULD EVER WANT THAT (SERIOUSLY) but think about it...at the very least I think we'd have less predictability, more emotion, less conservative play callling, etc.

I have nothing but respect for Coach Tressel, but I do believe we need to do something different if we're going to realize the full potential of the talent that we have.
Posted Friday September 26, 2008, About: Tressel gets O-line's attention
50Year, I don't disagree with you. So far, OSU has shown itself to NOT be a Top 5 team, and they are not playing to what many think their potential is. I think a more important question is "why?". I think there's definite room for improvement, so we'll see how things go but I feel pretty good about what's been happening recently. The next few weeks will be VERY telling.
Posted Friday September 26, 2008, About: Tressel gets O-line's attention
What part of this story is bad news? Did anybody think that the O-line DIDN'T need some special attention? We had a pretty big reality check with USC, and I think that'll help. We get some improvement in the O-line, get Pryor and Wells and the rest of the offense in sync (they're starting) and maybe even get some more creative play calling from Tressel, and I think we're significantly improved over what we saw with USC. I think it was LA_Boy or somebody who said sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can improve, and I think that's what we did. As for how good OSU and the Big 10 is, we'll see that at the end of the season with the bowls. I think we're going to do quite well this year.

And as noted about a grillion times already, the whole rankings thing is pretty inaccurate, between media darlings (both individual teams and conferences) and a lack of substantive interconference play, the only real way to tell who's better than who is bowl time. The SEC is great this year and yeah, they're knocking themselves around...just like everybody said about the Big 10 in the late 90s. We'll see how things shake out around bowl time, but OSU will be MUCH improved by that time, and I hope we get paired up with a really good SEC team. This year is the year to break the curse and get the monkey off our back (something other B10 teams haven't had a problem with).
Posted Friday September 26, 2008, About: Lalich linked to Oregon State move
Congratulations Beavers! Great game!
Posted Monday September 22, 2008, About: Buckeyes to stick with Pryor
Regarding the Robiskie miss, it seemed to me that he was a half step or so back, and Pryor led him just a bit too much, so he could only get his lead hand on the ball. I could be mistaken but I think the only way he was going to get it was diving (certainly doable) but it probably had more zip on it than he expected. I'll bet both he and Hartline up the energy level a bit with Pryor.

Also, what do you guys think about Pryor's arm? So far he looks plenty strong to me.
Posted Sunday September 21, 2008, About: Buckeyes to stick with Pryor
BMathi, I agree with you. I think Tressel is a great coach and builder of character, but he's also relatively formal in a sport where I think you need emotion, especially if you're not in a really dominant position talent-wise. I'm not going to pretend I know what his locker room speeches are like, but I do believe that when the chips are down and you're behind, a coach with an emotional, inspirational personality can really help provide the spark(s) needed to get them back into the game, above and beyond what the team captains, etc. can do.

And, like some others have noted, I really think Tressel needs to be more nonconventional and unpredictable, and do a better job of in-game adjustments. I don't think it's just me that is failing to see these, not only in the USC game but the LSU game as well. Do that, and get a coach specifically for the offense, and get Beanie healthy...then watch out.

Good luck to all and to your teams!
Posted Sunday September 21, 2008, About: Buckeyes to stick with Pryor
Sportscenter, the $$ aside it's clear from Pryor's comments that he respects Tressel as a coach, and personal chemistry between a coach and top talent is always a huge issue. That, in addition to the returning seniors, other talent at OSU and probably how he felt during his visits would likely account for his decision.
Last Page
Next Page
Send us feedback about the new site here Send us feedback about the new site here

Stub Hub

The 2008 schedule has been released. Search for tickets!

Truth & Rumors

MOST POPULAR

  1. 1
    Carson: Giants should bring Plaxico back
    Views
    8423
    Comments
    2471
  2. 2
    Giants open to Plaxico return
    Views
    4674
    Comments
    1606
  3. 3
    What is Sabathia waiting for?
    Views
    14998
    Comments
    1185
  4. 4
    Pedroia could have held out for more
    Views
    3129
    Comments
    930
  5. 5
    How Horns can still win national championship
    Views
    4571
    Comments
    119

Throwdowns

Winner-flag
Who will be the #1 pick in fantasy drafts next year?
Winner-flag
Soxrock24 Vote TD Ninja
Winner-flag
Is Army vs. Navy still a marquee rivalry game in the NCAA…
Winner-flag
sgtallen Vote Joe Dew

Most Active Users

Comments + Blog Posts + Throwdowns

  1. 1
    _ _ _ _ _
  2. 2
    bcoltrinari
  3. 3
    Epoch1
  4. 4
    Dyhard: Big 10/ACC Challenge
  5. 5
    Vice President Corky

Message Boards

  1. NCAAF > General NCAAF

    Number 1 Florida favored by 10…
    Views
    371
    Replies
    44

  2. MMA > Fight Club

    Where does Torres stack up?
    Views
    343
    Replies
    6

  3. NCAAF > General NCAAF

    Tommy Tuberville Fired from…
    Views
    248
    Replies
    30

Blogs

SI.com

Swimsuit

Melissa BakerMelissa Baker
Daniella SarahybaDaniella Sarahyba

SI Photos

Cheerleader of the WeekCheerleader of the Week
O.J. Simpson's Fall from GraceO.J. Simpson's Fall from Grace