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Well, that OSU-Navy game was simply painful.  Yes, I know Navy has led the nation in rushing the past four years, etc.  No disrespect to the Naval Academy or its football team, but any other team ranked anywhere around Ohio State (except maybe Oklahoma without Bradford) in the Top 10 would have crushed Navy.  So, we know that OSU is potentially very overrated.  Whether or not we have to erase “potentially” from that phrase will be determined on Saturday.  If the Buckeyes blow it again, they’ll have to keep their cruise through the Big Ten until hopefully beating Penn State in Happy Valley, then settle for the Rose Bowl, where (hopefully) they won’t have it handed to them again by USC.

"OSU is potentially very overrated. Whether or not we have to erase 'potentially' from that phrase will be determined on Saturday."

I noticed the Buckeyes dropped in the poll.  Rightfully so.  That game was horrible.  However… come on… not a single vote for Navy for nearly pulling off the upset?  Does that say more about what sports writers think of Navy, or Ohio State?

Really, Terrell? I was saddened to realize that Terrelle Pryor was indeed paying tribute to Michael Vick by putting “VICK” on one of his eye patches.  Yes, Michael Vick was a great football player, and possesses a lot of talents that any aspiring quarterback would want.  However, the fact remains that Vick served time for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring.
I’ll be the first to admit: yes, I am a dog person.  However, I don’t think you have to be one to come to the conclusion that what happened to those dogs was cruel and inhumane, and that Vick got off easy.
I’m not sure I can say Michael Vick should never play in the NFL again, but he certainly should not have been back this soon.  Commissioner Roger Goodell made the situation worse by conditionally reinstating him, and then making him completely eligible just a few weeks into the season.
Then it got even worse:  How about that hero’s welcome he got from the NFL Network for his Preseason debut?  That ticker mentioned the exact time Vick entered the game.  That’s a bit much, guys.
Then again, it is the NFL.  If there was any kind of code of conduct in the league, the Dallas Cowboys would have been shut down years ago.

"I would love to come out and say the coaching staff should try to put a stop to this 'I love Michael Vick' crap... [but] Terrelle Pryor can say whatever stupid thing he wants to."

Back to Pryor:  I would love to come out and say the coaching staff should try to put a stop to this “I love Michael Vick” crap immediately, but the question is how.  It’s not so simple.  Free speech has always been kind of a “backbone concept” for me as an old journalism guy, so I'm afraid – no matter what I, you or  anyone else thinks – Terrelle Pryor can say whatever stupid thing he wants to.
Obviously, Pryor’s actions are potentially an embarrassment to the program.  One would think that when he’s wearing the uniform, and OSU (and therefore, the state, and therefore the taxpayer) is paying his way through college, and if the coaches tell him not to do it, he needs to comply or sit… right? Well, a lawyer may not see it that way, so we’ll have to just accept that.
I personally think if Pryor wants to support Michael Vick in public, he should do it on his own time, when he’s not wearing the uniform.  But if that’s the message he wants to put out there, oh well.  He’s a kid.  Apparently not a particularly wise one, but who is in his/her sophomore year of college?  Yes, it sucks that he admires one of the least-admirable people in (or out of) sports.  It’s his call, and frankly – with USC in town – he probably has other things on his mind.

Did Michigan seriously get four votes in the Coaches’ Poll?  I mean, I guess Rich-Rod gets a vote by now, but did three other people really take that pasting of Western Michigan seriously?  If Michigan can get past a pretty evenly-matched Notre Dame team this week, then its road trip to East Lansing is probably the only realistic obstacle to being unbeaten (and maybe even *gasp* ranked) going to that sure-to-be-a-barnburner matchup against I-AA Delaware State.  What a joke… and I thought OSU’s schedule was soft.

Staying Favre, Favre Away  A few months ago, I was thinking about weighing in about Brett Favre’s on-again, off-again affair with football.  Then I figured, “Eh… even he can override his ego and wise up.  Save the venom for some other jerk in sports.”  Then he hinted at unretiring again… then decided to stay retired….  Then he was a Minnesota Viking.
Now, apparently, he’s saying he may no longer be the “Iron Man,” and he may not necessarily even finish the season.  He told a reporter, “I’m not physically or emotionally 100 percent.”
Well, gee, Brett… that’s a great way to motivate your team and get them behind you.  You’ve had surgery on your arm, whined about a torn rotator cuff, and mentioned that you might be playing with a cracked rib before the game a couple weeks ago.
Yet, you didn’t seem too worried about your ribs when you took out Eugene Wilson’s knee, Brett.  Make up your freakin’ mind.

"It’s time to find out if [Brady Quinn] can really play football outside of South Bend."

Finally!!!  The Brady Quinn Era will begin in Cleveland this weekend.  It’s about time.  The guy’s on the cover of Muscle & Fitness this month… again.  Of course, he’s also holding a football… and sadly, the time he held that ball for that cover shoot is almost as much time as he has held a football in a Browns uniform.
I’m sure the dude can flatten a beer can with his bare hands, but that’s not why the Browns have been writing his checks.  It’s time to find out if he can really play football outside of South Bend, or if he’s going to have a shortened NFL career and make a living as a fitness model.
I understand that seems cynical to some readers (and for many readers in Dublin, it seems sacrilegious), but I really, really do want to see Brady Quinn succeed in Beleiveland.  If he can outplay Brett Favre on Sunday, that will just make my week.

Showing Class  Major kudos go to The Ohio State University in the area of sportsmanship.  OSU’s media relations director had posted a comment on Twitter after Saturday’s game, conveying Navy’s coach’s praise of the honor and sportsmanship displayed by OSU fans toward his team and, of course, visiting servicemen and women.  The NCAA may be concentrating more effort on sportsmanship campaigns in the last year or so (obviously, a couple guys missed the memo in Boise last Thursday), but OSU has been at it for a few years now, with the “Best Fans In The Land” campaign.  I’ve seen good sportsmanship among fans tailgating near Ohio Stadium, and I’ve seen bad sportsmanship there, but I have seen a lot less of the latter in the past few years, and OSU deserves a lot of credit for that.
I’m sure it will continue this weekend against USC, although I’m also sure it will be a struggle for a few individuals.  You’ll know those people by the creative USC-themed T-shirts that they’ve bought from sidewalk vendors on campus since last season.  I could (but shouldn’t) repeat them here, but I’m sure you’ve seen them.

Almost there   Hockey season gets underway three weeks from Saturday.  I don’t know why, but this offseason seemed longer than any other one I remember.

Tags: brady quinn, brett favre, cleveland browns, michael vick, navy football, ohio state buckeyes, terrelle pryor, usc football