The Press Buffet: Ohio State in the Final Four

Saturday, March 31, 2007


I've looked at the two biggest media markets in L.A. and D.C., so now it's time to turn to the lesser-known writers of the college towns. For Ohio State University, coverage is handled by the Columbus Dispatch.

The Dispatch went wild with coverage in the first couple of days after the Buckeyes clinched a Final Four trip, reeling off twice as many features as any of the other newspapers. Something tells me they're letting the BCS championship won by Florida over Ohio State stick in their craws a bit. Someone remind them they have to get by Georgetown, first, OK?

Rob Oller gets most of the Buckeye Basketball columns for the Dispatch.

His first filing, immediately after the win over Memphis, gave us the surprising news that OSU's most recent appearance in the Final Four never happened. "The Buckeyes are making their ninth trip to the Final Four and first since 1999, when they lost to Connecticut in a national semifinal. That appearance is not recognized by either the school or the NCAA because of penalties incurred during the Jim O'Brien era."

He also makes it sound like the Buckeye diaper dandies are bored by their success. "We just won our way to Atlanta? So what’s for dinner?"

Bob Hunter, on the other hand, feels they've done enough, so why not relax?

But Rob Comes back with "*F* that ish! We're beating Georgetown and THEN smacking some Gators' bitch up!"

So Bob decides to back off and write about David Lighty, for those of you who are tired of hearing about Oden and Conley. Quote: "'Versatile' is a nice way of saying we don't have a position for you."

Bonus: Mike Conley, Sr. is in no hurry for his son and Mr. Oden to jump to the NBA. If you read OMDQ's wonderful exploration of the educational paths being followed by Final Four athletes, you'll note that Conley has not picked a major but Oden has.

I think Oden wants to stay in school. Heck, he might even like learning! If you wonder why he is stone-faced all of the time, imagine the pressure he's feeling to go pro, when he probably just wants to go to class, drink keg beer, and sleep with coeds.

Posted by Eric (Extra P.) at 11:03 AM

0 Comments:

Post a Comment