The Latest The-Ozone.net News and Note
August 21, 2008 1:10 AM
Football: The annual kick scrimmage didn't exactly showcase a devastating kicking game this fall. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
 August 21, 2008 1:00 AM
Football: The Buckeyes took part in the annual Kick Scrimmage on Wednesday in Ohio Stadium. Check out Jim Davidson and Dan Harker's photos from the event, now on Columns and Features.
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August 20, 2008 1;25 AM
Football: Would you mess with OSU linebacker James Laurinaitis and call him names like "Dumbo"? No? Well we know about somebody who messes with him like that all the time. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
 August 20, 2008 1:10 AM
Football: Head Coach Jim Tressel spoke with reporters before the open practice in Ohio Stadium on Monday. Check out the video, online now!
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Glory Years Have Arrived! |
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The first shipment of Glory Years has hit the door here at the-Ozone and I'm tellin' ya, they are everywhere.
There are so many of them laying around that poor ole' Mr. Ed can't even get to his desk.
Jack Park will be in here tomorrow morning to sign books, then we'll start shipping immediately.
We need to clear them out so Mr. Ed can get back to work, so help us out and get your order placed now.
Order Glory Years for Immediate Delivery.
If you have already reserved a book, you will receive a billing from us shortly.
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August 19, 2008 9:35 AM
Football: Tony "88" Gerdeman's preseason preview of the Big Ten continues today with his look at the No. 6 Northwestern Wildcats. It's now on Columns and Features.
 August 19, 2008 2:55 AM
Football: The Buckeyes held practice in Ohio Stadium Monday night and invited the public. Check out Jim Davidson and Dan Harker's photos from the event, now on Columns and Features.
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August 19, 2008 1:50 AM
Football: Terrelle Pryor.
It's your last chance. This is the last one of these we're doing, unless maybe we turn this into a four-part trilogy (thank you Douglas Adams).
Check out Terrelle Pryor Report Number Three now on Columns and Features.
August 18, 2008 10:10 PM
Football: OSU conducted an open practice tonight which was so nondescript that it made vanilla look sexy. We did pick up a few bullet points.
* All three quarterbacks wore black, no-contact jerseys. That took scrambling out of the equation. The passing drills focused primarily on the short game and goal line situations, so there was very little to see.
* No players wore yellow jerseys despite the fact that several were obviously not quite fully 100 percent. It appeared that the OSU coaching staff attempted to put up a bit of a smokescreen regarding player injuries.
* Terrelle Pryor played exactly the way Jim Tressel has been describing him. Pryor definitely stood strong in the pocket and looked downfield, not to run. He also delivered the ball with a distinct overhand throwing motion, not with the sidearm delivery he used in high school.
* Dane Sanzenbacher made an excellent TD catch during goal line drills of a pass thrown by Todd Boeckman. Tressel also talked about Sanzenbacher in his remarks to reporters before the practice.
* Lawrence Wilson's participation was very limited in apparent response to the minor injury Tressel reported he sustained in the jersey scrimmage.
* According to OSU officials there were 12,000 fans on hand for practice.
August 17, 2008 8:25 AM
Football: How fast can you read? Are you tough enough to read quickly through something that isn't pleasant to read? There may be an important parallel in college football. Tough it out and speed-read through our observations on the Speed Myth now on Columns and Features
August 17, 2008 10:15 PM
Football: Tony "88" Gerdeman has given us his number 11, 10 and nine picks in the Big Ten. Now he's giving us...number six? Who are we to argue with somebody people call "88". If Tony wants to go with number six, we're good with it. Check it out on Columns and Features.
August 17, 2008 12:30 PM
Football:
Terrelle Pryor.
Now that we have your undivided attention again, check out Report Number Two now on Columns and Features.
August 17, 2008 11:10 AM
Football: What a differnce a year makes. Last season the concern was whether the Buckeyes would be able to find some wide receivers. This year the concern is whether there will be enough balls to go around to keep all the wide receiver talent happy. Check out the-Ozone report on Columns and Features.
August 16, 2008 2:55 PM
Football: The annual Jersey Scrimmage was conducted in Ohio Stadium this morning and the offense earned the right to continue to wear the scarlet jerseys at practice with a 72-52 win over the defense.
* Both Joe Bauserman and Terrelle Pryor scored rushing touchdowns in the game. Bauserman and Pryor were "live" (subject to being hit) while Todd Boeckman wore a black "don't hit" jersey. Each quarterback got approximately one third of the snaps. All of Boeckman's came with the first team offense. Bauserman and Pryor split time with the second and third teams. Jim Tressel described Bauserman's TD run as a "Sports Center" type play. Boeckman had no TD passes and no interceptions.
* Tressel mentioned wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher as a player who made some exceptional plays in the scrimmage.
* Beanie Wells did not participate at the discretion of the head coach. "I've seen Beanie. He's pretty good," Tressel quipped when asked by Wells did not play. Boom Herron got a lot of work at tailback as did Maurice Wells.
* Tressel reported that there were no major injuries, though Lawrence Wilson did not participate in the last 15 plays or so due to a minor injury. According to Tressel, the Buckeyes ran around 165 plays.
* The defense produced "2 or 3" turnovers according to Tressel. There were two fumble recoveries and one interception on a tipped ball. The fumbles recovered wer fumbles by Joe Gantz and Terelle Pryor.
 August 16, 2008 2:40 AM
Ohio State: We were invited to take a tour of the main library at Ohio State on Friday. The building is undergoing a $105M restoration project, with upgrades in every possible way. Check out Jim Davidson's photos from the tour, now on Columns and Features.
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August 15, 2008 2:55 AM
Football: OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman likes his offensive linemen lean, but that doesn't necessarily mean small. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
 August 15, 2008 1:50 AM
Football: Crazy haircuts, nicknames, and a number of actually important topics; those are just some of the things that a group of offensive linemen along with Offensive Coordinator Jim Bollman talked about Thursday. Check out the video now..
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August 15, 2008 12:55 AM
Football:
Terrelle Pryor.
Now that we have your complete attention, go read about him on Columns and Features.
 August 14, 2008 2:45 AM
Football: Defensive linemen Lawrence Wilson, Nader Abdallah and Todd Denlinger answered questions from the press after practice on Tuesday. They talked about stand-out players in fall camp, how the incoming freshmen are doing and a lot of other things. Check out the video now.
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August 13, 2008 5:45 AM
Football: The conventional wisdom this fall is that the OSU defensive line may be the weakness of the team. Defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Jim Heacock thinks the conventional wisdom may not be so wise. Check out the complete story now on Columns and Features.
August 13, 2008 4:50 AM
Big Ten Network: Big Ten Network Chief Mark Silverman was in Columbus yesterday to speak to OSU officials and to do a little PR work. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
 August 13, 2008 4:45 AM
Football: Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock talked with reporters on Tuesday. He answered questions about defending the no-huddle offense, which player is standing out in fall camp, and the silver bullet that he wears around his neck, among other things. Check out the video now.
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August 12, 2008 10:55 AM
Coming soon: Defensive line coach Jim Heacock and several defensive linemen are available for interview today. Additionally, Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman is in town. We'll have a report on the defensive line and the latest on the Big Ten Network later today.
August 12, 2008 10:50 AM
Football: Our Big Ten preseason countdown continues with a preview of the number nine team by Tony "Page 88" Gerdeman. Check it out on Columns and Features.
(Before you send that email to ask, if we wanted to tell you what the "page 88" thing is about we would have.)
August 11, 2008 12:30 PM
Football: The Department of Athletics has announced the time for the open practice on Monday, August 18. Gates will open at 6:30 PM, the team will arrive at about 7:30 PM and practice will begin at 8:00 PM. There will be no autograph session.
August 10, 2008 10:45 PM
the-Ozone Announcement: We are proud to announce that Glory Years, featuring the photography of Jim Davidson and text by John Porentas, will soon be on bookstore shelves throughout Ohio.
Glory Years covers OSU football from 2001 through the 2007 seasons and features over 100 color photographs.
the-Ozone is offering Glory Years as an online purchase. Please consider purchasing Glory Years here for the following reasons:
1) For every book sold on the-Ozone.net, contributions will be made to the OSU General Fund, the James Cancer Research Center and the OSU Libraries renovation fund.
2) In addition, the profit made by the-Ozone.net on book sales will help keep the web site free to all Buckeye fans.
3) And finally, all copies ordered on the-Ozone.net will be signed by Jim Davidson and John Porentas. The first 250 reserved will also be signed by Jack Park who wrote the foreword for the book. If you prefer your copy unsigned or with just one signature, please note so in your reservation.
We expect to begin shipping Glory Years on about August 20. Reserve your signed copy here.
August 10, 2008 10:05 PM
Football: Tony Gerdeman's preseason Big Ten countdown continues today (yes, we're still humoring him) with his predicted 10th-place finisher. Check out who that is on Columns and Features.
August 10, 2008 2:50 PM
Football: If you've been visiting the-Ozone for a while you know that pontificating isn't really our style. Every now and then, however, a little treatise does appear.
The goals of our latest treatise are 1) make you chuckle a little 2) make you scratch your chin at the end and go "hmmmm?" and 3) raise the level of geekyness on the-Ozone to unparalleled heights.
If you have the courage and the stomach for it, check out Defending the Mobile Quarterback - Classical Physics Applied to Modern Football, now on Columns and Features.
 August 10, 2008 2:30 AM
Football: Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock talked with John Porentas about the defensive line and defending the spread offense. Check out the video now.
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 August 9, 2008 2:50 AM
Football: "They'll have it on YouTube," Tressel said with a smile.
As far as we're concerned, what the coach wants, the coach gets. .
The video is now online.
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August 9, 2008 2:45 AM
Football: If Rodney Dangerfield was a Buckeye football player he would be ________.
Check out Columns and Features to find out how we filled in that blank with the name of the Buckeye who just doesn't get much respect...except in the places where it counts.
 August 8, 2008 3:10 AM
Football: The entire team convened in the Horseshoe on Thursday for the annual Media Day. Check out Jim Davidson, Dan Harker and Chris Treisch's photos from the event, now on Columns and Features.
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August 7, 2008 11:15 AM
the-Ozone Reminder: If you haven't already done so please remember to cast your ballot in the Nickname Beanie Wells Stiffarm contest. The winning entry will be announced before the first game of the season.
Complete list of entries (You cannot vote at this link. You must use the link above to vote.)
August 6, 2008 10:20 AM
Football: At the-Ozone's annual preseason staff meeting we came to the overwhelming conclusion that only an idiot would do a preseason article on each of the Big Ten teams.
The-Ozone is proud to announce that Tony Gerdeman's 11-part series previewing each of the Big Ten teams begins today. It starts with Tony's predicted last place finisher. Find out who that is now on Columns and Features. (Aw, c'mon. Go ahead and read it and humor Tony. We did when we let him do these, so the least you can do is go read the thing. He put a lot of time into it.)
August 6, 2008 3:55 AM
the-Ozone Announcement: It's getting closer, and it's not too soon to start thinking about looking good for the season opener.
Check out the selection of Nike Sideline Gear, Jerseys and tees at the Buckeye Corner to make sure you look your best when the Buckeyes kick it off against Youngstown State.
August 6, 2008 3:50 AM
Football: Personnel Updates, Vendetta, Loving the Hate, The Wrath of Eric, Special Upgrades and Not Fun; they're all covered in the-Ozone Note and Quotebook now on Columns and Features.
 August 4, 2008 10:00 PM
Football: The Buckeye took part in their first practice of fall camp on Monday. Check out Jim Davidson and Dan Harker's photos from the event, now on Columns and Features.
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August 4, 2008 2:20 AM
Football: The old saw is that you never stand still, you are always either getting better or getting worse. A number of Buckeyes definitely appear to be in that getting better group this fall. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
August 4, 2008 12:35 AM
Football:
"I don't know if you could have had a tougher summer than us and been able to walk or live." ----OSU senior linebacker Marcus Freeman.
So, you think Michigan strength coach Mike Barwis is grinding it out with Wolverines this summer? According to the Buckeyes he's got nothing on OSU strength coach Eric Lichter. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
 August 3, 2008 6:20 PM
Football: The Buckeye reported for fall camp on Sunday, and Jim Davidson was on hand to catch them as they arrived. Check out Jim's photos from the event, now on Columns and Features.
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August 1, 2008 8:50 PM
Men's Hockey: Casey Jones, assistant coach with the OSU men's hockey team for the past 13 years, has been hired as the Associate Head Coach at Cornell University, his alma mater.
Jones captained the Big Red during the 1989-1990 season. For his career, he averaged exactly one point a game with 112 points in 112 games.
Jones was previously an assitant at Cornell from 1991-1993.
August 1, 2008 1:40 PM
Football:
It's - almost - here.
Football season is getting tantalizingly close. Tony Gerdeman has been thinking about the upcoming year and has come up with his Barwis-100 of top things to watch for in the upcoming season. (Sorry, you'll have to read almost to the end find out why it's a Barwis-100.)
Check it out on Columns and Features.
July 31, 2008 12:30 PM
Football: As promised, Jim Davidson has created an extended version of his Chris "Beanie" Wells slide show, using most of his pictures of Beanie from our photo gallery. Check out Jim's Beanie Wells photo montage, extended version.
July 31, 2006 11:35 PM
the-Ozone Announcement: Need football tickets? Read on.
The OSU School of Allied Medical Professions Alumni Society is hosting a raffle to purchase Ohio State 2008 season football tickets.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the SAMP Alumni Society and the SAMP Scholarship Fund. The winner of the raffle will be offered two season tickets to all seven home games at face value. Raffle tickets are $25 each or five for $100. The winning ticket will be drawn by Craig Krenzel on August 16th at the SAMP Scholarship Golf Outing.
Register online
Any questions can be forwarded to Brad Locke, SAMP Alumni Society Treasurer.
July 31, 2008 11:25 PM
Football: Has there been a void in your life since last January? Do you feel like something has been missing? There's relief for you on the horizon, because. the OSU football team reports for fall camp this Sunday and we'll be once again bringing you updates on the OSU football. Check out the early media schedule now on Columns and Features.
July 30, 2008 4:05 PM
OSUMB: The football season is a ways off yet but you have a chance to see the Ohio State University Marching Band before the season starts. Check out the details of an upcoming special concert performance now on the OSUMB report.
July 29, 2008 4;15 PM
Football: The polls are now open!
Cast your vote in the Nickname Beanie's Stiffarm contest.
One vote per person.
July 29, 2008 1:15 PM
Football: We'd like to thank all of you who submitted nominations for a nickname for Beanie's stiffarm. Your participation made it a very difficult task for our blue-ribbon panel of three judges (Tony Gerdeman, Anthony Gerdeman and Gerd) to whittle the list down to just 10 finalists, but after much arguing, haranguing and sometimes bitter debate late into the night, they have finally gotten it down to just 10. Check out the 10 finalists on Columns and Feature and start thinking about how you will cast your vote.
July 29, 2008 2:05 AM
Football: It was widely reported around Columbus yesterday that OSU defensive tackle Doug Worthington was arrested early Saturday morning for speeding and for driving while under the influence. Though he hasn't yet commented on Worthington's situation, OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel isn't likely to go easy on Worthington. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
July 27, 2008 10:10 PM
Football: Just a little reminder that Monday, July 28 is the deadline for nominations in the Name Beanie's Stiffarm Contest. To date we have 1,054 different nicknames that have been nominated.
Contest rules, current entries and entry instructions.
July 25, 2008 9:15 PM (Chicago, Ill)
Football: Head Coach Jim Tressel goes in-depth about the spread offense. Linebacker James Laurinaitis and quarterback Todd Boeckman also comment in Jim Davidson's last video from the Big Ten football media conference in Chicago. Check out the exclusive video by Jim Davidson.
Jim also created an outstanding time-lapse video of Cloud Gate (AKA "The Bean") at sunset. Cloud Gate is a unique piece of art work in Millennium Park in Chicago. Check it out now, and be sure to watch it in "High Quality" mode with the sound turn ON.
July 25, 2008 1:15 AM (Chicago, Ill)
Football: There weren't a whole lot of surprises yesterday at the first day of the annual Big Ten Football media event, but the depth chart listed in the OSU media guide did have some things in it that raised a few eyebrows. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
July 24, 2008 6:30 PM (Chicago, Ill)
Football: Head Coach Jim Tressel was asked a number of questions concerning incoming freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor on Thursday at the Big Ten media conference. Check out the exclusive video by Jim Davidson.
We will have additional coverage from Chicago later today, as well as addition video(s) late Friday or Saturday.
July 24, 2008 6:30 PM (Chicago, Ill)
the-Ozone Announcement : The Ozone staff traveled to Chicago on Wednesday and took a tour of the Big Ten Network. Check out Jim Davidson's video of the trip and the tour through the network offices.
Check back later today for a video of Jim Tressel comments on Terrelle Pryor.
July 24, 2008 8:45 AM Central (Chicago, Ill)
Football: The Big Ten Football Media Meeting gets under way today in Chicago, and that means the football season is right around the corner.
The Big Ten football coaches will begin talking to the media later this morning, but the Big Ten Conference office has already announced the results of their media poll about the upcoming season.
The media has selected Ohio State as the preseason favorite to win the conference race. Wisconsin was picked second and Illinois third.
Ohio State tailback Beanie Wells was picked the preseason offensive player of the year by the media, while Buckeye linebacker James Laurinaitis was tabbed as the preseason defensive player of the year.
July 22, 2008 12:15 PM
the-Ozone Announcement : the-Ozone photographer Jim Davidson has put together a few of his Beanie Wells photos into a short video for your entertainement, and to inspire your ideas for our "Nickname Beanie's Stiffarm" contest. Check out the video and send in your ideas!!! . Check out Jim's "Chris "Beanie" Wells photo montage".
July 22, 2008 9:45 AM
Football: Members of the OSU football team will be participating in a charity event this month to benefit the Kidney Cancer Association.
As part of their membership in a student organization called Uplifting Athletes, around 20 OSU football players will participate in a college football video game tournament on Wednesday, July 30, at Eddie George's Grill 27 in Columbus from 4-8 PM.
Players will compete head-to-head in the competition. Fans will have the opportunity to meet the players and collect autographs as well as win door prizes.
"The Uplifting Athletes organization allows OSU athletes to raise awareness of people to rare diseases," said safety Kurt Coleman. "As players, this is a great way to use college football to help a group of people who need help the most."
Uplifting Athletes at Ohio State was formed by former Buckeye Matt Daniels whose father is battling kidney cancer. Ohio State joins Penn State, Maryland and Colgate in the Uplifting Athletes program.
Admission is $65.00 with limited tickets available.
To purchase tickets, visit Uplifting Athletes.org
July 18, 2008 10:10 AM
Football: Nominations keep coming in for the "Nickname Beanie's Stiffarm" contest. We have a couple of notes for those of you who sent nominations but didn't see them appear on the list.
1) If your nomination (or something very similar to it) was already on the list, we didn't add it.
2) If your nomination was vulgar or contained ideas that would not normally appear on the-Ozone (i. e. vulgarity, racial slurs, etc.) it is not on the list
3) Your nomination must be a nickname, not a description. "The Terminator" is a nickname. "An android who talks like Arnold" is a description.
Contest rules and current entry list
July 17, 2008 5:20 AM
Zisis Sarikopoulos
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Men's Basketball: Ohio State's roster has grown.
Thad Matta announced today that center Zisis Sarikoupolis from Athens, Greece, will transfer from UAB to Ohio State. At 7-0, 265, Sarikoupolis will sit out one year to satisfy NCAA transfer rules and then have three years of eligibility.
"Zisis will give us a physical presence and some size," said Matta.
Sarikoupolis appeared in 20 games for UAB last season and started in four of them. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.1 rebounds for the Blazers.
Before enrolling at UAB Sarikoupolis led the under-18 Greek team national team to a second-place finish in the 2007 Euro Championships and helped club team Olympiakos to a second-place finsih in the country. He averaged 20 points and 16 rebounds per game, both team highs, for Olympiakos. He averaged 7.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.1 steals per contest for Greece in the under-18 European championships.
Prior to joining UAB Sarikoupolis was hand-selected by Michael Jordan as the MVP of Greece and invited him to compete in the Jordan Brand All-American Classic in New York City.
Yassou Zisis!
 July 17, 2008 1:05 AM
Football: OSU Head Football Coach Jim Tressel has begun his book signing tour and the coach is drawing large crowds wherever he goes. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
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July 16, 2008 1:40 AM
Football: A serious situation has arisen.
It has come to our attention that several preseason magazines have been published using writers who are out and out imposters and frauds. Lawsuits may follow. Check out the report now on Columns and Features.
(Psst. It's humor. Don't take it too seriously.)
July 15, 2008 3:30 AM
Football: OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel says his numbers are a little thinner than he would like at quarterback as fall camp approaches, but the coach has a plan. He also says the news is not so good for a senior offensive lineman but better for a highly touted freshman. Check out the complete story now on Columns and Features.
July 15, 2008 3:25 AM
Football: OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel makes his debut as an author today with the release of his book The Winner's Manual. Check out the-Ozone report now on Columns and Features.
July 14, 2008 4:00 PM
Football: Tony Gerdeman has done it again.
In his column today Tony suggested that it would be good thing for Beanie Wells' Heisman candidacy if his stiffarm had a nickname.
Since then, we've gotten a number of emails suggesting nicknames and there have been several threads on the subject on the-Ozone Forum.
We decided that since there seems to be interest in that idea, we'd run a little contest to come up with a name for Beanie's stiffarm.
For contest rules, results and to enter, just follow this link.
July 14, 2008 1:35 AM
Football: Big things are expected of the Buckeyes this year, and big things are expected of tailback Beanie Wells, like contending for the Heisman Trophy. Tony Gerdeman has come up with a little to-do list for Beanie that will help him along toward that Heisman. Check it out on Columns and Features.
Yesterday's News and Notes
