Bucknotes says goodbye to gravity and says goodbye to death

Hello to an ankle sprain and Cards fans' bated breath

The Associated Press: Cardinals rookie RB Wells sprains right ankle
Well, I wish I could say that was surprising. The severity of the injury is unknown, but it "doesn't appear serious" and most seem to think he'll be fine for the season. It did, however, take place in a harmless drill, so the worries of Cardinals fans are well-placed. When I was asked to do an evaluation of Wells for the SBN Cards blog, I told them that he'll give you the world - as long if he stays healthy. Fortunately, before going down with the injury, he reportedly impressed the staff. Revenge of the Birds is, understandably, a bit concerned.

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Positive signs
Apparently, Terrelle Pryor is a bit more humble, and a lot more coachable, this offseason. Good to hear.

Preseason predictions: Ohio State - Big Ten - ESPN
Rittenberg, who Ohio State makes the Rose Bowl; Pryor will kinda improve, and Gibson will again be beastly. He has Gibson returning for his senior year in 2010 after 2009, which to me implies a year of not-quite consistency. If that means he's a QB-killa for what I'm hoping is a title run in 2010, I'm alright with that.

Scout.com: 2009 CFN All-Redshirt Freshman Team
Stoneburner's the TE here; CFN has this to say:

Stoneburner thinks he’s a wide receiver. The scales beg to differ. As he’s grown to 6-5 and 243 pounds, he’s left no doubts where he’ll be lining up, though catching a bunch of passes remains firmly on the to-do list. Although the position has been somewhat marginalized in recent years, he has the athletic ability, speed, and soft hands to force a subtle change in philosophy, especially once starter Jake Ballard graduates this year.

... there's actually nothing incredibly stupid there. Good job, CFN.

Yes, We Know That Most of You Don't Want UConn. | mgoblog
Okay, UConn may not be that bad of an opponent, and by the time this game happens, they'll probably be a better game than Michigan - and at least their equal, but it's hardly the sexiest name the AD could schedule, if Brian's opinion of the likelies was to be believed. Michigan fans are, however, OUTRAGED - their only real mood lately - as the return trip goes to 40,000-seat Rentschler field. Boo-hoo.

The Associated Press: Jets' Gholston hopes to put dismal year behind him
Sorta-fluffy take on the Gun Show (credit for the nick to ElevenWarriors) Redemption Tour '09; Rex Ryan is really high on Gholston's attitude, but he's holding off on any evaluations until he actually sees him on the field for an extended period of time.

Slur will cost Hawaii coach $169,000 - College Football - Rivals.com
Whatever your politics, no place for hate-speech in sports.

Brian Robiskie is signed, excited to be a Cleveland Brown - cleveland.com
Robo is officially a Cleveland Brown, and he may be benefited by Braylon Edwards' mysterious injury, which kept the star receiver out of practice last week. Oh, and he's competing with an SEC boy, too - Mohamed Massaquoi.

Camp preview: Offensive line (Blogging the Buckeyes)
With camp coming up in less than a week, BTB gives a short overview of the OL situation. Two positions are "locked up" - Boren at LG and Brewster at C - with every other spot supposedly up for grabs. Either Cordle or Browning will end up being crowded out, and Adams is still having a hard time putting away Miller at the LT spot - which is a bit worrisome but, hey, play the best players, even if the one you're benching already had talk of retiring his jersey number when he hit campus as a freshman. Oh, and I guess Shugarts as an "edge" too. Lovely.

BuckeyeXtra - Rob Oller commentary: Oden knows this season could be boom or bust
Tough times ahead for Greggers; if he doesn't impress, the bust label is almost guaranteed. Shame, too, because he could go on, have a respectable career elsewhere, and still have that label following him until his retirement. That's how big the year is for him.

Time to Step Up: Five Buckeyes Expected To Be Strong in 2009 | Bleacher Report
Not a whole lot new here; just odd placement of Brian Rolle. I know the guy hits like a ton of bricks, but I just think he has been crowded out. The only way I see him getting the starting nod is through injuries, or if Moeller struggles mightily in the opening a few weeks (very possible against the likes of Navy and USC). Maybe I'm wrong; I'd like to see the kid do well, but I think people may be putting too much stock into those special teams hits (and they were nasty).

Recruit Marcus Rush Flies by Night to Michigan State for 11th Commit - The Only Colors
Dantonio is cleaning up at MSU this year; 11 commits is pretty commendable when you're typically a Big Ten also-ran. So much for him getting fired and rejoining the Ohio State staff, I guess. Damn you, Sparty!

toledoblade.com -- Time to change? Big Ten debates playing games in December

Okay, look, here's the deal: I am going to smack the next person who tells me Ohio State lost two straight championship games due to an "extended" layoff. I will find you, and I will smack you. And then I will mail you CDs comprised entirely of recordings of me laughing at you. This is the worst excuse in the history of excuses. As Coach Tressel has himself said; Ohio State had a similar 50+ day layoff before the Miami game in '02 (technically '03, but whatev), and damn it, if that wasn't the most fired up Ohio State team you've ever seen, I'd like some photographic evidence of it.

But, I am still of the opinion that division and a conference championship game will help make the conference "stronger"; it won't totally make up for the staid coaching philosophies, the talent differentials between the upper tier and the lower tier, or the poor OOC scheduling by a majority of Big Ten teams. But it'll help. Of course, I only want this should a round-robin setup somehow not work out.