Remembering John Havlicek

source: Columbus Dispatch
L to R: Larry Siegfried, Mel Nowell, Joe Roberts, Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek

No blog post from last week as I was at the San Francisco USBC City Tournament all weekend.

On April 25, 2019, Boston Celtics legend John Havlicek passed away at the age of 79. While best known for his prolific 16-year NBA career entirely in Boston, he was also an integral part of the 1959-60 NCAA Championship team with my alma mater, The Ohio State University.

His number 5 jersey at Ohio State and 17 with the Boston Celtics are both retired.

He remains the all-time leading scorer in Celtics history with 26,395 points.

Joe Thomas Barrett IV - The Ohio State University

source: Eleven Warriors
J.T. Barrett IV

One of the most dramatic comebacks in Ohio State football history took place yesterday against the 2nd ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.

All led by 5th year senior quarterback J.T. Barrett IV.

Down 14 points within the first 5 minutes of the first quarter, the Buckeyes trailed as much as 18 points to mount an impressive comeback in the last 5 minutes of the game.

To give you an idea of how much Penn State dominated for 3 quarters, here is the scoring summary:

source: Ohio State Buckeyes

J.T.'s final stats:
Rushing: 17 times for 95 yards.
Passing: 33 completed passes of 39 attempts, 0 interceptions, 328 yards, 4 touchdowns.
He completed his last 16 passes, 13 of them in the 4th quarter.

Video highlights here:


Ohio State moves up to 3rd from 6th in the AP Top 25, week 10, 2017 season.

Woeful Weekend Without Wins

Oklahoma defeats Ohio State, 31-16
9-9-17

It was a big fat goose egg for all my sports teams this weekend.

NCAA - Ohio State, ranked #2 at gametime, lost to #5 Oklahoma, 31-16. The game was close (3-3 at the half) until the 4th quarter. Then Oklahoma took over.

PBA - US lost to Europe for the 5th consecutive year in Weber Cup, 18-12. As a big fan of Team Europe's captain Dom Barrett, the loss didn't sting so much. Of course, it helps to have the entire team return from last year (Martin Larsen, Jesper Svensson and Stu Williams).

There's a lot to be said about having bowled previously in Weber Cup. US newcomer/2017 PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett was manhandled in a singles match versus Stu Williams.

MLB - In what has been the worst season in 32 years, the San Francisco Giants lost to the Chicago White Sox 13-1, and today, 8-1.

NFL - Kyle Shanahan's coaching debut with the San Francisco 49ers results in a 23-3 loss.

It was an 0-for-4 weekend. Ugh.

Tomorrow's another day. And a new bowling season of Monday night league. You can't win if you haven't experience loss.

Season Enders - Ohio State Buckeyes and San Francisco 49ers

source: Forbes.com
L to R: Jed York, Chip Kelly, Trent Baalke

Happy New Year!

The much highly anticipated Fiesta Bowl (College Football playoffs) match between Ohio State and Clemson turned to be a lopsided disaster for Buckeye Nation. Clemson dominated the entire game and shutout Ohio State, 34-0.

North of Arizona, the San Francisco 49ers lost their last game of the season to the Seattle Seahawks, 25-23. As reported from numerous news sources, San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York fired General Manager Trent Baalke and Head Coach Chip Kelly.

Less than a month ago (see December 4, 2016 entry), it was in my humblest of opinions that new ownership and/or management of the team is sorely needed to rebuild effectively long-term.

Hopefully, next year there will be the photo of 3 different faces when the 2017 NFL season begins.

Ohio State vs. Michigan 2016

source: CBS Sports
AP Top 25 - week of November 20, 2016

Thanksgiving 2016 is quickly approaching. Short work week, gluttony and big gatherings with friends and family.

Then on Saturday, the long awaited college football showdown of the season: Ohio State versus Michigan.

Ohio State is currently ranked #2, Michigan, #3, something we haven't seen in many years.

Game will be played in Columbus. To get our Buckeye hearts racing and spirits fired up, l close with a video clip of The Ohio State University Marching Band's traditional entrance into Ohio Stadium. GO BUCKS!

Noah Brown's catch - Ohio State vs. Oklahoma

source: 247 sports

Big congratulations to Ohio State's win over Oklahoma 45-24.

Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Noah Brown had probably the biggest game of his career, scoring 4 touchdowns.

It was the third touchdown Noah made that'll be the talk of college football for the season and many years to come.

See for yourself.


O-H! I-O!

Nike's Championship Poster - Ohio State Buckeyes

source: SBNation, @Lynna_Lai, Twitter

They called you lucky.

They called you undeserving.

They called your conference weak and your team untested.

They called the other teams a dynasty, the favorite. Unbeatable.

They called your ranking disputable and surprising.

They called you a fourth seed, if that.

They called you an underdog.

But now they call you something else.

Aaron Craft - former Buckeye, future Warrior

image source: ESPN

As reported this past week, the Golden State Warriors signed former Ohio State Buckeye defensive standout/point guard Aaron Craft to a partially guaranteed contract.

Undrafted, Craft played in this year's NBA Summer League. His play impressed new Warriors head coach Steve Kerr enough to sign the Findlay, Ohio native.

Whether or not Aaron's career will go far in pro basketball, his 3-time first team Academic All-American selections tell me he'll do well in whatever he decides to do. This Ohio State alum and San Francisco Bay Area resident is very excited he's here. Best of luck to you this season, Aaron.

Courtesy of David Allin, here's a video highlighting Aaron's career at Ohio State: