ColumbusSports.com : Your place to stay informed and talk about the sports scene and sports teams in and around Columbus.

The comments below were posted on the ColumbusSports.com home page from October 17 through October 27, 2009.

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Nov. 18, 2009

Ohio State vs. Michigan 2009 Fact Sheet from the legendary Jack Park.  Download your copy here (PDF).

Ohio State vs. Michigan game predictions from our fearless Featured Writers.

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Nov. 15, 2009

Ohio State Buckeyes (football) - Jim Tressel may be ultra-conservative when it comes to play calling, but ironically the result of his strong philosophical leaning toward "playing it safe" is exactly the opposite. Year after year, game after game, Buckeye fans are forced to sweat through close games and nail biting endings because The Vested One deems it better to reign in his talent rather than let it loose. Yet other than expressing some frustration and exasperation at his penchant for conservative football, it's impossible to look at his overall record and criticize the results. Jim Tressel the coach may be frustrating and at times maddening to Buckeye Nation now, but I guarantee that when he's gone there'll be no greater coach in Ohio State football history (sorry Woody), and only the most cold hearted or forgetful fan won't look back on these years as part of the greatest stretch of college football in any program's history.

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Nov. 12, 2009

Ohio State Buckeyes (football) - It almost feels like old times are here again with Saturday's game deciding a Rose Bowl appearance (even though the opponent is Iowa instead of Michigan). One of the oddities of all the success the Buckeyes have enjoyed in Jim Tressel's 9 years as head coach is that they've never appeared in the Rose Bowl under him. In fact, their last appearance in Pasadena was way back in 1997, when Ohio State defeated Arizona State 20-17 (remember the David Boston touchdown catch late in the game?).

Ohio State catches a huge break with the Hawkeyes coming to Columbus with a few major injuries impacting their ability on offense, but their defense is excellent and could keep Iowa in this game. My main concern is a couple of Ohio State turnovers that Iowa is able to convert into points and the game is still close in the 4th quarter, especially with the likelihood that the Buckeyes will also be playing it close to "the vest" anyway. Anything could happen at that point and come 6pm Saturday, a few million Buckeye fans around the world may be holding their collective breath.

Columbus Blue Jackets - I'm not even that much of a hockey fan, but I do need to say one thing about the CBJ losing to the Red Wings last night 9-1 at Nationwide Arena. 9-1? Are you kidding me? WTF Blue Jackets?! How do you get embarrased that bad in your own building when you supposedly are a better team this year, Detroit came in wounded, and you wanted revenge for the embarrassing beat downs they gave you in the playoffs last year? Seriously, 9-1? What's that equivalent to in the NFL, losing 88-3? Even the Browns aren't that bad.

Cleveland Browns - Who knows what it will mean long term for the Browns, but I'm really glad to see Brady Quinn get another shot as the starting QB. I never could quite get on the Derek Anderson bandwagon, even in his one and only good year (2007) for the Browns, so it's great to see that Quinn will get the rest of the season (baring injury like last year) to see if he can actually put the ball in the end zone for that rarest of Cleveland happenings, an offensive touchdown. Besides, the fans had to have something, even the tiniest piece of hope, to look forward to the rest of the season, and what point was there in keeping Anderson at QB? Of course as with all young QB's, including many eventual great ones, it's hard to draw too many conclusions when they're forced to play with less than a full deck on offense. But as a life long football fan who sometimes is right with my gut feeling about the NFL worthiness of a player, I've always felt that Quinn had "it" and just needs more experience and a stronger supporting cast to flourish. We shall see, starting Monday night against the Ravens.

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Tags: brady quinn, cleveland browns, columbus blue jackets, jack park, jim tressel, michigan football, ohio state football