---Check out ESPN's flattering piece on OSU defensive end Vernon Gholston as he impresses scouts at the NFL combine. I don't think he'll get past the Jets or the Patriots in the first seven picks of the draft.
---Thad Matta's OSU basketball team may have seen their NCAA Tournament hopes go down the drain today, when they collapsed down the stretch and fell to Wisconsin 58-52.
---The upside of the basketball game story was that prized football recruit, QB Terrelle Pryor was in attendance. He was seen sitting with J.B. Shugarts and Mike Brewster, two of the offensive linemen who are already a part of the Buckeyes 2008 recruiting class, and who have established friendships with Pryor during the recruiting process. Pryor was along for the ride with his Jeanette H.S. teammate who was in Columbus for Junior Day. Pryor who delayed his decision on national signing day Feb. 6, is all but delivered to the Bucks, as sources say his father is now "100% on board" with the situation at Ohio State. A promised official visit to Penn State will probably take place this weekend, and shortly thereafter Pryor will announce for OSU.
---One of the posters at BuckeyeSports.com linked to the YouTube video of the ugly 1972 mugging in the Ohio State-Minnesota basketball game. It had been years since I had seen this, and it doesn't get any less ugly with the passage of time. It has been called a brawl, but that usually implies fighting by both sides. As you'll see, there isn't much of any swinging by OSU players.
For those who don't remember, or have never seen it, the action began with 36 seconds to go in the game and the Buckeyes wrapping up a huge upset victory over the Gophers, when Corky Taylor fouled Buckeye center Luke Witte hard as he went for a dunk, knocking him to the floor. A referee sensing Taylor might not be finished stands between Taylor and Witte for a moment, until Taylor goes to help Witte up. What follows is perhaps the dirtiest scene ever in college basketball.
A Buckeye player confronts Taylor after he puts Witte back down with a knee to the groin, and he is cold-cocked by Gopher (and longtime Cav) Jim Brewer and another Minnesota player, while Ron Behagen proceeds to stomp on the writhing Witte's head while he's lying in pain. Hall of Famer Dave Winfield is on that Gophers team, and gets his licks in, reportedly smashing OSU's Mark Wagar's head on the floor while several Minnesota fans held him down. Here's a look at Luke Witte's face after the beating. Three Buckeye players were hospitalized. Minnesota won the conference in spite of losing Behagen and Taylor for the season to suspensions.
Gopher Coach Bill Musselman has been blamed for the incident by many observers over the years for having his players and the fans whipped into a frenzy for the big game. His reported motto, ""Defeat is worse than death because you have to live with defeat", seems to have helped fuel the outburst. And as bad as it is, the video doesn't even show much of what went on, including Minnesota fans storming the court to join the beating that was in progress. It took Ohio State basketball years to recover. This rivals Kermit Washington's roundhouse right to the face of Rudy Tomjanovich as the worst thing I've ever seen happen on a basketball court.
I guess you could say the story has kind of a happy ending.
Posted by dan at February 25, 2008 12:01 AM