Things to Watch

What's In a Name?
Evidently I have been mispronouncing Joe Bauserman's last name for quite a while. I had always pronounced  it as BOW-zerman for the first four years of his career at OSU. The correct way to say it is BAH-zerman.Will the TV guys get it right? Maybe Spielman, but I am not sure of Urban Meyer or Dave Pasch with the ESPN crew.

End of an Era, Start of a New
As you know, Jim Tressel has retired and the dust won't completely settle until the NCAA makes a ruling in the coming months. It is my belief the NCAA will agree with OSU's self-imposed punishment and perhaps take away a couple scholarships for 2012. Tressel will receive a show cause, keeping him out of college coaching for two or three years. I still think Tressel did speak to someone at OSU, and he is taking the fall. I find it hard to believe that Tressel didn't speak to the athletic department. However the players and Tressel did violate the NCAA rules. The players' violations were for selling their own stuff, a topic that would require it's own article. Tressel broke the rules when he didn't report the players' violations, and when he lied on the NCAA compliance form. I understand punishment is required, but it is hard to believe that this future hall of fame coach has lost his job at OSU. I wish Luke Fickell the best of luck, and I think he will do well this season. I enjoyed watching him when he was a player, and I have been impressed with his work as an assistant coach.

Media Outlets "Reporting" on Sports
I have lost a lot of respect for ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and Yahoo Sports. Ohio State, as a public school, was and still is subject to an enormous number of public records requests by media outlets. Miami (FL) and USC, and other private schools do not have to respond to the constant fishing expedition public record requests, for what it is worth. ESPN was constantly playing catch-up to SI and Yahoo, who appeared to have the edge in reporting stories relating to OSU. ESPN must prove that you the subscriber are getting your money worth with your monthly cable/satellite bill, considering that over $5 of your monthly TV bill goes to ESPN (most channels are under $0.30/month). I doubt you are paying Yahoo Sports outside of your clicks and web traffic. I also doubt that you are a subscriber to SI, as I only see the magazine in my doctor's waiting room. ESPN is under pressure to produce stories and attract a national audience, and sometimes this can result in poor results. We have since learned that much of the reports, especially the ones from SI were not well researched, did not have reliable sources, and had false information. I am not boycotting any of the sports media outlets, but I am even more skeptical of their reliability and their integrity.