Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson gave an interview with a Toronto station today and said, “We finished 30th in the league, but we don’t think we’re that far away.”
(Interestingly, after saying the organization needed to raise the bar, there’s no indication in anything I’ve read whether Howson meant “far away from the Cup” as opposed to being “that far away from being competitive.”)
Either way, the comment has naturally attracted some attention.
So what’s your take?
Before he teed off his first round in the 2012 Memorial Tournament, golfer Bubba Watson held a charity event in Columbus, Ohio.
In that spirit, we will be charitable when evaluating the rapping abilities of Watson and his playing partners: “The Golf Boys.”
So when Ben Crane, Rickie Fowler, and Hunter Mahan joined Watson on stage to wander aimlessly about and waive their hands in the air, they basically looked like what you’d expect from golfers who were attempting to get in touch with their hip hop roots.
As for their skillz dropping rhymes? Again…did we mention they are golfers?
All in all, their performance could best be described as below par.
Hat tip to Sports Crackle Pop!
They say a bad apple spoils the bunch, but that’s not always true.
There have been horrific stories of nurses who doubled as angels of death, yet nurses are still held in high regard and nursing is rightly considered a noble profession.
Ever seen a movie or read the tale of a firefighter who was also a fire bug? Probably. Think a large number of firefighters are also arsonists? Probably not.
Canadians are largely considered a nice and thoughtful lot, but when Alex Trebek says, “Oooooh, I’m sorry wrong answer,” he sure sounds like he’s saying, “Your continued existence is an assault on reason.”
The key in all these cases is that the good vastly, vastly outweighs the bad.
It’s unfair that a handful of Ohio State fans have garnered headlines this week by sending Michigan verbal commitment Logan Tuley-Tillman death threats, but there is a solution: More visible examples of what polite, considerate Buckeye fans are capable of.
Fact-check…
I wonder how many journalists actually searched through the hundreds of tweets being sent to Tuley-Tillman before weighing in on the death threats. It’s an enlightening exercise.
For instance, I was struck by a few things.
Playing With Fire
Michigan’s recruits have actually poked OSU fans a number of times this year. It started with Kyle Kalis saying that when the two teams meet, “There will be blood on the field and it won’t be mine.”
Tuley-Tillman then sent out his now infamous inflammatory tweet. While there were obviously some who did not react well to the photo of burning Ohio State recruiting materials (see above), there also seemed to be a number of Buckeyes who were willing to regard this as more of an act of support for UM than a slap in the face of Ohio State.
Most definitely directed at OSU fans, though, was this post from this afternoon by Michigan’s Kyle Bosch:
Bosch has since apologized and tried to explain that he simply means to get to his teammate, you’ll have to go through him first, so you better “bring a gun.” (I’m not sure that this also explains, “I’ll show you what a death threat is,” but okay.)
At this point, one thing I think both sides can agree on, whether it’s by an out of touch fan or an immature recruit, the flames don’t need to be fanned any more at present.
It was one year ago today that Jim Tressel and Ohio State football parted ways. A lot has happened since then, and any number of columnists, talk show hosts and television analysts have weighed in with their opinions. (After all, that’s their job.)
But here’s your chance to share how you feel about Tressel and the Buckeye program as a result of the changes that have taken place.
What would your life be like without the freedoms you enjoy? What if you had to live in fear that you would be hauled off to jail for something you said, tortured for your religion, or killed for disagreeing with your government?
In other words, what your life be like without the individuals listed below?
These are patriots who have protected our liberties by serving in the armed forces. Many of them are Buckeye fans, or Blue Jackets fans, or Indians fans… Whatever team they root for, we should all be fans of them, and we owe them our thanks.
I thought it would be cool to make it easy for Fear The Hat readers to share their gratitude with a veteran today. So all you have to do is click a link below and send a tweet! If everyone picks just one name at random, I’m thinking we should be able to give all these veterans a Memorial Day note of appreciation.
You could also consider a donation to the USO, Wounded Warrior Project, or a similar charity in the name of one of these soldiers, sailors, aviators, or Marines.
And if you don’t see your name below and you’d like it to be included, just leave your information in the comments section or hit me up via Twitter.
@OHIOinME: Marines
@cbj4sc: Army (23 years)
@texbucki: Navy and stationed in San Diego
@buckmarko: SFC Mark Scheidegger, Ohio Army National Guard. Still serving.
@boosbearmom: Kirstin is the granddaughter of a Silver Star recipient from World War II, a brave Army veteran who passed away this past October.
@enviousDan: Ohio Air National Guard
@BrianKKnowsBest: Army 1997-2004
@MShellhaas: Air Force 2002-2012
@GabeWatt: Army, 82nd Abn Div, 2001-04
@Stern_Chase: Navy, Aviation Ordnanceman
@philly1622: Philip’s wife is a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Force
@mattmosbacher: Air Force and served in the Korean War
@KingColeUSAF: Air Force, 1st lieutenant
@browns92fan: Army, 4 years in Germany Bosnia and Macedonia
@insul8or: Navy
@bucks_jackets: Army
@ChatsworthBuck: Marines
@whitetaz98: Army reserves, 8 years and one year of that was spent in Iraq
@Cello1964: Navy aboard the USS White Plains
@Cliff_Notez: Navy officer stationed at Camp Lejeune
@roar067: Army
@MikeMarksberry: Air Force, 14 years and counting
@kylecedwards713: Navy, on active duty since 2002
@areseaoh44: Army, Vietnam vet
@BobbyZ91: Navy
@psbarney Navy 1970-1975
@djdestroya: Navy
@cbj4sc: In addition to Steve’s service, he has just sent me a message that his wife Theresa also spent 8 years in the army, including time spent in the Persian Gulf.
@kanyou57: Navy 1976-1985 (added at 4:16 today)
@GQCOP45: Air Force, retired 22 years (added at 9:16 today)
Harvard baseball really started something when they used a road trip as a chance to get their groove on.
Following that performance, a number of other college teams gave their take on the Carly Rae Jepsen song “Call Me Maybe” including (of local interest) Ohio Wesleyan Women’s Lacrosse.
There were also parodies, some sports themed, such as one Patriots fan’s “Call Me Brady,” which has over 90,000 views on YouTube.
In fact, a Google search for Call Me Maybe cover turns up 626,000,000 results.
But we may have reached a tipping point.
After all, when the Staples Center staff takes time out from hosting 6 playoff games in 4 days, you know this has become a national addiction.
Even though this video includes a cameo from TNT’s Craig Sager, a hat tip to D Wizzle’s World for finding it.
And if instead of checking out all the links in this post, you just want one summary of the “Call Me Maybe” phenomenon in all its Justin Bieber and accordion-playing glory, click here.
After having named my All-Ohio team position players, here’s the club’s pitching rotation.
