Around The Block: BlockONation's Buckeye Bits, Volume 1 — May 11, 2012

Today I'm introducing a new series here on BlockONation, called Around The Block: BlockONation's Buckeye Bits.

It's a chance for me to share any pertinent Buckeye news and/or links with the fans and my followers without having to spend several hours researching, writing, editing, and posting a full article, as time spent at work and with my family have made that seem a daunting and nearly impossible task recently.

So, without further ado, let's kick this baby off!

— Defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs, has been busy this week on the recruiting trail as evidenced by this recent Twitter update.

— Ohio State wants one more RB in their 2013 recruiting class, and that spot appears to belong to either Derrick Green, or Dontre Wilson. Most believe the Buckeyes would prefer Green, but it could come down to who verbals first. Green just received an offer from Alabama and plans to visit there over the summer. Regardless of who Ohio State wants more, the bottom line is they believe they must land one of them.

— In a recent ranking of the best backup QBs in the Big Ten, Buckeye QB Kenny Guiton was ranked No. 5 out of 12 in the B1G by BTN's Tom Dienhart.

— Sporting News released their list of the top coaches in college football. Urban Meyer is listed at No. 3, behind Alabama's Nick Saban, and Boise State's Chris Petersen.

— Former Buckeye and current Oakland Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor opened up about selling awards at Ohio State to "help his Mom pay her rent and other bills" in a recent Sports Illustrated article. He even referred to that act as, "doing God's work." Maybe he should have sold the 350Z to help her out and driven a used car instead.

— Former Buckeye and Minnesota Viking Cris Carter admitted that he offered bounties against certain defensive players that he felt targeted him during his NFL career. Carter said he did it as a form of protection for himself from players who were targeting him. Carter specifically noted putting a bounty out on former-Bronco, Bill Romanowski.

— Lastly, pretty much everyone knows by now that there was a sexual deviant contacting Ohio State players, coaches, and recruits using Facebook and/or Twitter by messaging them with "inspirational quotes", and while he may have had innocent intentions, his past and status as a registered sex offender makes us all cringe just a bit — understandably so.

Former Ohio State verbal commit Alex Anzalone retracted his commitment to the Buckeyes after a picture of him with Eric Charles Waugh, aka @BDubsTriviaGuru on Twitter, went viral.

Joey Bosa, who was also in the same photograph with Anzalone and Waugh, reaffirmed his commitment to the Buckeyes, despite rumors that he might follow in Anzalone's footsteps.

Waugh has since been arrested for violation of his parole, his Twitter account has been suspended, and Anzalone's father, Sal — after initially lashing out at Ohio State for not, in essence, babysitting Alex duing his unofficial Spring game visit, has backed off of his negative comments and said Alex is still considering OSU.

Thankfully, the situation was monitored and resolved quickly, and without incident.

Nobody needs Internet creepers submitting hundreds of inspirational or motivational messages to them on Twitter or Facebook, or anywhere else for that matter.

Instead, I'd recommend listening to Reach by Eve To Adam, if you're seeking out motivation. It's about reaching your goals and dreams, and it's one of my favorites — check it out!



See you next time, around the Block — HD

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BlockONation.com EXCLUSIVE: A Different Take on Pay-For-Play at Ohio State

By HD Handshoe — BlockONation.com Founder

A very reliable source relayed some information directly to me today that I found very interesting given the current situation at Ohio State involving players and cars, memorabilia, autographs, tattoos, alleged money-handshakes, and the like.

The term pay-for-play has been mentioned this offseason -- not just in discussions pertaining to Ohio State -- but across the entire college football landscape more times than Tiger Woods lied to his ex-wife in the past 2 years about which hole his club was really in during his multiple Las Vegas "exploits".

Here's a twist none of us saw coming -- Reverse pay-for-play. What does that mean you might be asking yourself? It is just what it sounds like.

Cheryl Krueger, co-founder of Cheryl and Co. sold her company to 1-800-FLOWERS in 2005 for millions. In the words of one of the coaches (who remains anonymous), she has been a big-time donor and philanthropist to the University for well over 20 years. She is also a board member for Bob Evans restaurants.

Here's the meat of the story -- Her son Cavin Green, a redshirt freshmen from New Albany, Ohio is a member of the Ohio State football team. He is listed as a DL and wears #94.

So what's the problem?

Well, the problem is that there is no record of Cavin Green ever playing prep football, or any sport for that matter during his high school days at Columbus Academy -- so how and why is he on the 85-man roster at Ohio State, one of the nation's most elite DI football programs?

From Krueger's Wikipedia Profile

In January 2003, when The Ohio State University won the national football championship, Krueger teamed up with OSU coach Jim Tressel to raise money for cancer research through sales of a commemorative, autographed cookie jar. Tressel lost both of his parents to cancer.

"We’ve now donated over a quarter of a million dollars to the Tressel Family Fund," Krueger says. "For a company our size to donate that kind of money, that’s a big deal. It’s a very big deal. We’re really proud of it."

It's unlikely that Green is on scholarship (hopefully not), but it seems very clear as to why and how he "earned" a roster spot -- Thanks to his Mom.

Coincidentally, Krueger and Green were listed and invited guests of Ohio State for the 2008 BCS National Championship Game against LSU -- Thanks (again) to his Mom.

Also according to my source, how Green "made the team" ($$$) isn't exactly a secret around the program among those in the know behind closed doors, but apparently, he and his situation are not to be talked about.

Whoops...

I looked on Ozone, ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, and Google among other sites, yet couldn't find 1 lousy picture of him anywhere online, and although he is listed as a member of the roster on the Buckeyes official site, there's no picture or bio for him.

Looks like who you know (Tressel) and having a few million to spare can get your son a jersey and a position on the team at OSU -- and the clout and prestige that brings to you on campus and around Columbus -- even when you have never played a day of competitive football in your whole life.

Wonder if he will lose his bought-and-paid-for roster spot now that JT is gone and the story has been uncovered...


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