Sometimes, the best blogging material just happens out of casual conversation. Happens to me all the time.
A friend of mine mentioned something on his Facebook about how the current Cleveland Browns shouldn't have been allowed to maintain the former records of the team that was allowed to move to Baltimore following the 1995 season. And he has a very good point because that team bears no resemblance to the team currently know as the Cleveland Browns and probably won't for quite some time, if current trends persist.
The rest of this post is the response to my friend (edited here for clarity):
When the Washington Senators moved, both times, the records went to Minneapolis and Arlington with them.
But, the NFL, in its infinite wisdom, decided that the Browns were too sacrosanct for the records to follow them to Baltimore. Really? If they were that sacrosanct, why would the NFL allow Cleveland to hang in limbo for 3 years while Baltimore got what amounted to an expansion, yet fully established, team?
If the NFL ever had any actual brains, they would have told Art that he was going to suspend his operations and that he was guaranteed an expansion team in Baltimore for the 1999 season. And they would have told Cleveland that the Browns were theirs, but that a new stadium was going to be built or the city would forfeit the team if construction hadn't commenced before the team in Baltimore started playing. This would have been beneficial to all parties involved because it would have:
1) Lit a fire under the City of Cleveland to build the stadium that Art Modell should have built or arranged to have been built in conjunction with the city.
2) It would have kept Art Modell in as the owner in Baltimore. He went belly up because he ended up having to defend his actions in court and he had to maintain all the overhead of running a team right after moving to Baltimore, instead of not having to pay player salaries and operating expenses for three years while he got his new team up and running. Modell would still be the Ravens owner had he been forced to do this by the league.
3) It also would have forced the City of Cleveland to build their stadium somewhere other than where it is right now. The city has been complaining for years about lakefront development. Well? One of the largest single pieces of real estate in Cleveland that could have been used for lakefront development happens to have a very huge monolith on it that gets used only about a dozen times a year. The rest of the time, it sits there... empty and useless.
4) If the city had been pig headed enough to insist that the new stadium be built on the same site, it would have forced the team to move temporarily. The only logical place to have done that would have been to Columbus. That would have been a boon to the market share of that club in that town. That would have been particularly true if the same front office that went to Baltimore had stayed in Cleveland. What was it that the Ravens won in 2000. Now I remember... they won a Super Bowl. That team, quite frankly, should have been the Cleveland Browns.
Bottom line is that there was more than enough stupidity in the Browns move to go around.
Art didn't want to lose his team. Very well. He got his team and his Super Bowl ring... and lost everything eventually anyway. And there are some who think this moron should be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. Holy crap, would that be a mistake.
The City of Cleveland should have insisted that that Browns team be legally enjoined from playing anywhere other than Cleveland or in any other uniform other than the Browns uniform. Instead, they allowed Art to leave and take his toys with him and took the chances at starting new, but with the old colors and records in tact. The reality is that the product that is parading around as the Cleveland Browns in 2010 has no actual connection to any team that was the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1995 when the real Cleveland Browns were allowed to die by the NFL. The ones out there now are impostors, plain and simple.
And the NFL should have forced Art Modell and the City of Cleveland to play by its rules. In the end, it is their team, their property and they allow those who want to be involved in their league to play by their rules ultimately. Don't think so? Ask Jerry Jones or Al Davis.
They should have forced Art to accept an expansion franchise if he wanted to own a team in Baltimore. The reality with that is that the league would have ended up doing Art a favor in that he'd probably still be the owner of the team he was forced to sell after he got his Super Bowl ring.
And the league should have forced the City of Cleveland to build a new stadium as a condition of keeping their football team, as I had mentioned before. In return, the league could have taken over operation of the club until a suitable owner could be found (Major League Baseball later set the precedent for this when they took over the operations of the Montreal Expos until a new owner was found, who then moved the team to Washington, DC under much different circumstances that the move that involved the Browns). If the team had to temporarily relocate while the new stadium was being built, it would have saved the real Cleveland Browns while it would have allowed the team to take over the Columbus market at a time when the team was in a ascendant period.
Alas, none of this happened.
Cleveland got the colors and name and records. Is it really the same team?
Paul Brown's Browns are long since deceased and have been since his firing in 1962. Sure, his players managed to remain competitive through the '60s as proof that a Doppler Effect exists in sports when one coach is replaced by another. But my own father's allegiance to the Browns faded away after Paul Brown was no longer there and no team after that recaptured his interest.
And the "Dawg Pound" teams of the '80s, the last consistently good Browns team? That team failed three times to bring Cleveland the prize of a Super Bowl and it was the best they could do. And the "Dawg Pound", as the physical structure of the old Cleveland Stadium bleachers was so dubbed at the time, is now a reef in the middle of Lake Erie where the fish population happily go to spawn.
Instead, the Browns today are a laughing stock. The team hasn't come close to earning the fan base they have and they appear to be in a state of perpetually arrested development.
Browns fans are throwing out their hearts and souls, but for what? It's a team they love that isn't loving them back and doesn't appear to have any inclination to doing that any time soon.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
George Steinbrenner... a Tough Act to Follow
Thanks to all of you for weighing in on my Facebook over the last day on my views on the passing of George Steinbrenner. It has allowed me to take a long view of his life and how, if certain things would have worked out differently, how thing might have been different in my home here in Cleveland.
My view of George is positive despite the warts. What he did in Lorain was largely unacceptable. Lorain is still trying to figure out what to do for recovery to this day. But, if we blame George and AmShip for the start of the slide there, we can also blame USX and Ford for completing his work. Today, Lorain is ripe to rise from the ashes. They are looking for the person or people who will take the risk and develop something that will allow Lorain to become a viable center of commerce again. If anyone wants to put a bee in Alan Spitzer's bonnet, a good time to do that might be sooner than later.
George set a high bar for all baseball teams and, yes, he did exploit the system for the benefit of his team. So be it. That's the way the system works. It didn't seem like Dick Jacobs had much trouble keeping up when he owned the middle-market Indians, although it would be interesting to see whether he'd be doing things the same way now. One thing's for sure, the Dolan family simply lacks in comparison in their carnival act ownership of the club
It also would have been interesting to see if George had become the owner of the Indians. I'm not completely sure that George would have had the same success. But, I am sure that he would have seen to it that the team was equipped for success in Cleveland the same way that he set up the Yankees for success. I believe that he would have set up the Indians for an unparalleled level of success that they had not seen before.
I also believe that he would have been a champion for Cleveland and that, working with political and community leaders, he would have been a go to guy for improving his hometown. I suspect that he would have been instrumental in developing what became the Gateway Project much sooner and would have done so under the big tent including the Cavaliers and Browns. I also suspect that Art Modell would have been convinced by George to be part of the project and that chances would have been that the project would have been the early catalyst for much of the new stadium development we have seen in pro sports over the last 20 years. It might have saved Cleveland the pain of the embarrassing loss and hiatus of the Browns.
I know that much of what I've said here is much ado about speculative history. So be it. If you think of it, the great things George did to return the Yankees to glory had the cloudiness of a heaping helping of suspicion toward others over those years. No doubt that drama would have played out here in Cleveland. But the great mountains of interpersonal drama play out often in the world of successful professional athletics. If Cleveland would have been the locale of that drama in return for a few World Series trophies, I surely would have dealt with it. And, if you are a Cleveland sports fan, you would have, too. I can assure you of that.
At the end of the day, for all his personal and professional gaffes, George was a success and leaves a standard that will be difficult for others to top.
My view of George is positive despite the warts. What he did in Lorain was largely unacceptable. Lorain is still trying to figure out what to do for recovery to this day. But, if we blame George and AmShip for the start of the slide there, we can also blame USX and Ford for completing his work. Today, Lorain is ripe to rise from the ashes. They are looking for the person or people who will take the risk and develop something that will allow Lorain to become a viable center of commerce again. If anyone wants to put a bee in Alan Spitzer's bonnet, a good time to do that might be sooner than later.
George set a high bar for all baseball teams and, yes, he did exploit the system for the benefit of his team. So be it. That's the way the system works. It didn't seem like Dick Jacobs had much trouble keeping up when he owned the middle-market Indians, although it would be interesting to see whether he'd be doing things the same way now. One thing's for sure, the Dolan family simply lacks in comparison in their carnival act ownership of the club
It also would have been interesting to see if George had become the owner of the Indians. I'm not completely sure that George would have had the same success. But, I am sure that he would have seen to it that the team was equipped for success in Cleveland the same way that he set up the Yankees for success. I believe that he would have set up the Indians for an unparalleled level of success that they had not seen before.
I also believe that he would have been a champion for Cleveland and that, working with political and community leaders, he would have been a go to guy for improving his hometown. I suspect that he would have been instrumental in developing what became the Gateway Project much sooner and would have done so under the big tent including the Cavaliers and Browns. I also suspect that Art Modell would have been convinced by George to be part of the project and that chances would have been that the project would have been the early catalyst for much of the new stadium development we have seen in pro sports over the last 20 years. It might have saved Cleveland the pain of the embarrassing loss and hiatus of the Browns.
I know that much of what I've said here is much ado about speculative history. So be it. If you think of it, the great things George did to return the Yankees to glory had the cloudiness of a heaping helping of suspicion toward others over those years. No doubt that drama would have played out here in Cleveland. But the great mountains of interpersonal drama play out often in the world of successful professional athletics. If Cleveland would have been the locale of that drama in return for a few World Series trophies, I surely would have dealt with it. And, if you are a Cleveland sports fan, you would have, too. I can assure you of that.
At the end of the day, for all his personal and professional gaffes, George was a success and leaves a standard that will be difficult for others to top.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Celebrate Hockey Day In Canada on Saturday
One of the best ways to celebrate the greatness of a sport is by profiling it at the grass roots level and showcasing those who are the strongest representatives of the sport...everyday men and women and boys and girls for whom the game will always be just that...a game.
On Saturday, the CBC will train their cameras on the small town of Campbellton, New Brunswick on an inlet of Tracadish Bay to celebrate the simplicity of an event which amounts to be nothing more than child's play...the game of hockey.
For one day a year in Canada, a small town is featured to be shown in the context of a sport that is more than sport. It is an agent of community unity. A focal point of local pride. Campbellton will be putting its best foot forward this Saturday to display its love for an activity well-ensconced in the toy box of life.
And that is what will make the 13 1/2 hour celebration of the game on frozen pond such great television. It will feature ordinary folks doing their best to extend the legacy of hockey, a game of universal appeal that only has the strength it has from the thousands of communities across the globe like Campbellton, New Brunswick.
For those who have had enough of the drama of sports...the steroid scandals in baseball...will Brett Favre ever retire?...where will T.O. play next?...Hockey Day In Canada puts the game of hockey on stage for all to see in its simplest form of the community ice rink that is ubiquitous in villages, towns and cities all over the world. It's a program enveloped in the trio of games played by those who have made the simple sport a way to make a living at its highest offered level.
For those who have access to NHL Network, the programming from the CBC will begin at noon on Saturday. The first three hours will focus on Campbellton and there will be more features in between the play of the NHL games being shown that day.
Give Hockey Day In Canada a look on Saturday. It's one of the best showcases on all of television of the basic goodness and goodwill of sports.
On Saturday, the CBC will train their cameras on the small town of Campbellton, New Brunswick on an inlet of Tracadish Bay to celebrate the simplicity of an event which amounts to be nothing more than child's play...the game of hockey.
For one day a year in Canada, a small town is featured to be shown in the context of a sport that is more than sport. It is an agent of community unity. A focal point of local pride. Campbellton will be putting its best foot forward this Saturday to display its love for an activity well-ensconced in the toy box of life.
And that is what will make the 13 1/2 hour celebration of the game on frozen pond such great television. It will feature ordinary folks doing their best to extend the legacy of hockey, a game of universal appeal that only has the strength it has from the thousands of communities across the globe like Campbellton, New Brunswick.
For those who have had enough of the drama of sports...the steroid scandals in baseball...will Brett Favre ever retire?...where will T.O. play next?...Hockey Day In Canada puts the game of hockey on stage for all to see in its simplest form of the community ice rink that is ubiquitous in villages, towns and cities all over the world. It's a program enveloped in the trio of games played by those who have made the simple sport a way to make a living at its highest offered level.
For those who have access to NHL Network, the programming from the CBC will begin at noon on Saturday. The first three hours will focus on Campbellton and there will be more features in between the play of the NHL games being shown that day.
Give Hockey Day In Canada a look on Saturday. It's one of the best showcases on all of television of the basic goodness and goodwill of sports.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Herb Score, R.I.P.
When you're a sports fan, you remember the voices that gave a team character. For the Cleveland Indians, that voice belonged to Herb Score.
Herb Score passed away this morning at the age of 75 after being in declining health for several years.
But, for me, Herb wasn't only a great Indians pitcher and even greater broadcaster and play-by-play announcer, he was a good a decent man.
I had the privilege to get to know Herb, his wife Nancy and the rest of his family when I worked for his daughter, Susan, at Our Lady of the Wayside, an agency which provides services to the mentally and physically challenged in Northeast Ohio. Susan had her share of problems. She was born with Down's Syndrome and had the full array of incumbent physical issues that went with that particular diagnosis. Nevertheless, she had an angelic spirit and was a truly beautiful human being.
Many families would allow the circumstance of having a disabled family member tear them apart. This never happened with the Score family and Susan's spirit was evident and transcended her family. But, I'll bet that spirit was a two way street all along. Even after Susan passed in 1994, the Score family was still very involved in the Our Lady of the Wayside community.
But the Herb Score that I knew best was obviously the one that many Clevelanders knew as the voice of the Indians. He was masterful and was a voice of reason in the frenzy commonly known as sports fandom. He was all about the home team, but was never a "homer" and always took great pains to avoid provincialism in his calling of a game. In the Terry Pluto book "The Curse of Rocky Colavito", he discussed his method of calling a game. Calling the home team "we" was verboten. So was second guessing the action on the field or the description of the action from the play-by-play booth. Herb believed in brevity and not adding too much description to the action, allowing the imagination of the scenario of the play on the field to be subject to the listener's discretion.(You can read a more detailed explanation of Herb Score's broadcast career in "The Curse of Rocky Colavito" by Terry Pluto, pages 176 to 188.)
Nevertheless, his description of the game was always engaging and many of Cleveland's finest sportcasters: Bob Neal, Joe Tait, Nev Chandler and Tom Hamilton had the opportunity to work with Herb. For Herb, he was gracious and thankful to work with these talented professionals while they endured his absence of graceful speech.
Herb was a great ambassador for the Indians. Just as the Tigers had Ernie Harwell. Or the Pirates Bob Prince. Or the Reds Joe Nuxhall. Or the Brewers Bob Uecker. The Indians had Herb Score and he was blessed to have the chance to serve in that role.
As we all get older, the distance from our youth grows longer. Today, mine got that much longer with the passing of Herb Score. He was a Cleveland original, a Legend, and a man to whom it will be hard to say goodbye.
Rest In Peace, Herb Score.
Herb Score passed away this morning at the age of 75 after being in declining health for several years.
But, for me, Herb wasn't only a great Indians pitcher and even greater broadcaster and play-by-play announcer, he was a good a decent man.
I had the privilege to get to know Herb, his wife Nancy and the rest of his family when I worked for his daughter, Susan, at Our Lady of the Wayside, an agency which provides services to the mentally and physically challenged in Northeast Ohio. Susan had her share of problems. She was born with Down's Syndrome and had the full array of incumbent physical issues that went with that particular diagnosis. Nevertheless, she had an angelic spirit and was a truly beautiful human being.
Many families would allow the circumstance of having a disabled family member tear them apart. This never happened with the Score family and Susan's spirit was evident and transcended her family. But, I'll bet that spirit was a two way street all along. Even after Susan passed in 1994, the Score family was still very involved in the Our Lady of the Wayside community.
But the Herb Score that I knew best was obviously the one that many Clevelanders knew as the voice of the Indians. He was masterful and was a voice of reason in the frenzy commonly known as sports fandom. He was all about the home team, but was never a "homer" and always took great pains to avoid provincialism in his calling of a game. In the Terry Pluto book "The Curse of Rocky Colavito", he discussed his method of calling a game. Calling the home team "we" was verboten. So was second guessing the action on the field or the description of the action from the play-by-play booth. Herb believed in brevity and not adding too much description to the action, allowing the imagination of the scenario of the play on the field to be subject to the listener's discretion.(You can read a more detailed explanation of Herb Score's broadcast career in "The Curse of Rocky Colavito" by Terry Pluto, pages 176 to 188.)
Nevertheless, his description of the game was always engaging and many of Cleveland's finest sportcasters: Bob Neal, Joe Tait, Nev Chandler and Tom Hamilton had the opportunity to work with Herb. For Herb, he was gracious and thankful to work with these talented professionals while they endured his absence of graceful speech.
Herb was a great ambassador for the Indians. Just as the Tigers had Ernie Harwell. Or the Pirates Bob Prince. Or the Reds Joe Nuxhall. Or the Brewers Bob Uecker. The Indians had Herb Score and he was blessed to have the chance to serve in that role.
As we all get older, the distance from our youth grows longer. Today, mine got that much longer with the passing of Herb Score. He was a Cleveland original, a Legend, and a man to whom it will be hard to say goodbye.
Rest In Peace, Herb Score.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The NFL Fining Players For, Well...Playing? Bad Idea
I was sitting with a friend of mine last night at my high school alma mater's football game (Bay High School in Bay Village, Ohio) where his son is a sophomore offensive lineman who gets some varsity playing time at guard and tackle. He had his daughter sitting in his lap and she couldn't quite understand the violent nature of the sport. Her dad said something to the effect of "football is just a very rough sport".
And in that short exchange, my friend and his daughter pretty much summed up the nature of football: it is a violent sport filled with collisions. Sometimes those collisions are so violent that it causes permanent injury, careers to end suddenly and a lifetime of pain that just doesn't go away.
The comments of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu this week regarding the fines levied against teammate Hines Ward over "unnecessary roughness" spoke volumes and elicited a typically buttoned down response from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The comments were a clarion call coming from the relatively soft-spoken Polamalu, who looks like he just just stepped of the beach from a day of surfing.
The guys who play in the NFL have to know that...and most do. They accept the fact that their next hit could very well be their last. And they accept that after year upon year of repeated violent contact. And they still suit up and go in...they aren't willing to be pussies about the situation.
Goodell doesn't seem to understand this concept. Now, with all these fines being levied against NFL players for "excessive contact"...or whatever the new buzz words are...you'd think that players would tone it down to avoid further financial "hardship", right? Maybe some would. But that is not the nature of the game.
And the fines are coming on relatively routine plays, many of which cause no injury to any of the players involved. It's the place from where Polamalu's concern rises.
Maybe the commish is on a money grab. Maybe Good Ol' Rog is losing at the track and needs to make good on covering his sloppy betting habits.
But whatever it is, the entire matter of fining players for just playing the game is just plain stupid.
Somewhere, Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert is getting a chuckle out of this...but he still knows that quarterbacks should wear dresses. Most players in the NFL share Lambert's sentiment. It's too bad that sentiment disconnects before it reaches the commissioner's office.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Why Am I Watching This Game On Monday?
As a fan, I have grown accustomed to watching college football on Saturdays. Call me silly for saying that. On the other hand, most college football is still played on Saturdays. Saturdays = College Football. Yeah, that’s how it works.
The grand finale of the college football year happens on Monday night when The Ohio State Buckeyes play the Louisiana State Tigers for the BCS National Championship.
Wait a minute! Monday night?! Am I reading this right? No, no, no!!! College football is to be played on Saturdays. I just mentioned that, did I not? Or at least on a weekend, right?
The NCAA and the BCS, in their blood lust for money and ratings, have pushed this game back to a Monday night start. Never mind that after the usual 5,000 commercials and interruptions that accompany an event like the BCS National Championship (for future reference in this article, please note that this is an event, not a game), the event will probably end at some point around 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning!
Pardon me for being cynical, but couldn't the powers-that-be governing this event have seen to it that it be scheduled on a Saturday night or, short of that, Friday night. Call me unfamiliar with how the logistics work for an event like this, but wouldn't it make more sense to put it on a Saturday or Friday night when they have a greater chance to boost ratings and get casual viewers?
It is also important to note that all fans should want what's best for the NCAA and the BCS. It is the providence of those who pay the bills to always have their way. It makes no difference that they stand to lose money on a Monday night when they would probably make more money on Saturday or Friday night.
Gee, if Monday night works so well for the BCS Championship, let’s move the Super Bowl to Monday night. They play pro football on Mondays, right? Never mind that pro football is played on Sundays, mostly. So is the Super Bowl. Ironically, the Super Bowl actually works on the day when most of their activity happens.
It will never work for college football, or so the NCAA and the BCS will have you believe
The event already has Ohio State and LSU fans in the fold, but why would I care about this game after 10 or 11 p.m. on Monday night if my team weren’t playing? That sound you’ll hear is the pitter-patter of footsteps to the bedroom and that sight you’ll see is lights and televisions being turned off in places other than Ohio and Louisiana.
It could be a much greater event on a weekend. People can sleep in the next day. Fans can celebrate or commiserate without the worry of waking up for work the next day and feeling the after effects.
The event is on Monday night, just to let everyone know. It is not on Saturday or Friday night when it would actually make sense.
Then again, when was the last time the NCAA or college football made sense when scheduling anything?
(Pause)
I thought that would be my answer. Thanks for playing!
The grand finale of the college football year happens on Monday night when The Ohio State Buckeyes play the Louisiana State Tigers for the BCS National Championship.
Wait a minute! Monday night?! Am I reading this right? No, no, no!!! College football is to be played on Saturdays. I just mentioned that, did I not? Or at least on a weekend, right?
The NCAA and the BCS, in their blood lust for money and ratings, have pushed this game back to a Monday night start. Never mind that after the usual 5,000 commercials and interruptions that accompany an event like the BCS National Championship (for future reference in this article, please note that this is an event, not a game), the event will probably end at some point around 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning!
Pardon me for being cynical, but couldn't the powers-that-be governing this event have seen to it that it be scheduled on a Saturday night or, short of that, Friday night. Call me unfamiliar with how the logistics work for an event like this, but wouldn't it make more sense to put it on a Saturday or Friday night when they have a greater chance to boost ratings and get casual viewers?
It is also important to note that all fans should want what's best for the NCAA and the BCS. It is the providence of those who pay the bills to always have their way. It makes no difference that they stand to lose money on a Monday night when they would probably make more money on Saturday or Friday night.
Gee, if Monday night works so well for the BCS Championship, let’s move the Super Bowl to Monday night. They play pro football on Mondays, right? Never mind that pro football is played on Sundays, mostly. So is the Super Bowl. Ironically, the Super Bowl actually works on the day when most of their activity happens.
It will never work for college football, or so the NCAA and the BCS will have you believe
The event already has Ohio State and LSU fans in the fold, but why would I care about this game after 10 or 11 p.m. on Monday night if my team weren’t playing? That sound you’ll hear is the pitter-patter of footsteps to the bedroom and that sight you’ll see is lights and televisions being turned off in places other than Ohio and Louisiana.
It could be a much greater event on a weekend. People can sleep in the next day. Fans can celebrate or commiserate without the worry of waking up for work the next day and feeling the after effects.
The event is on Monday night, just to let everyone know. It is not on Saturday or Friday night when it would actually make sense.
Then again, when was the last time the NCAA or college football made sense when scheduling anything?
(Pause)
I thought that would be my answer. Thanks for playing!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Ohio State...Why Be Jealous?
To those who will be jealous just because Ohio State is beautiful, There are three words to keep in mind.
Get over it.
Don't like that, here's five more.
You ain't seen nothin' yet.
If Coach Jim Tressel's tenure at The Ohio State University is anything like his tenure at Youngstown State, then he is just warming up. Even if the Buckeyes win on January 7 and have a mass exodus of juniors, they will still be loaded for next season. Surely they will be considered a top 5 team to start 2008.
Tressel actually got off to a faster start at tOSU, winning the BCS National Championship in just his second year. That win validated a theory about former tOSU head coach John Cooper: he recruited great athletes and didn't know what to do with them once he got them to Columbus. Tressel knew how to use the talent he inherited and led them to an improbable win over the University of Miami.
We'll see what Les Miles has to bring with Louisiana State. It should be a formidable challenge for Tressel, perhaps the biggest of his coaching career after the pasting tOSU received at the hands of the University of Florida just one year ago.
The irony is that Tressel has a pretty similar track record at tOSU as he had at YSU. He won the first time he had a team in the D-IAA National Championship at YSU and lost the second time.
After the loss he proceeded to qualify for and win two National Championships in succession to win three in a four year span.
Overall, he would win four titles total at YSU in six games and qualified for the playoffs in 10 out of 15 seasons. All four of his D-IAA titles came in a nine-year span.
Impressive, indeed.
Tressel has been at tOSU now for seven seasons. This is his third BCS title game appearance.
There is no reason to believe that he couldn't duplicate his Youngstown success in Columbus as well. He is rarely without a well-stocked and well-balanced roster of players and he addresses his needs from a recruiting standpoint very systematically. In other words, it isn't just about accumulating "talent" for Tressel; it's about getting the right talent.
If you must be jealous of anything outside of the Buckeye Nation, it is that Tressel has poured his heart and soul into tOSU at a time when coaches are mercenaries, looking, perhaps mistakenly, at their "next challenge".
For Tressel, his coaching values are very much the same as his father, the late Dr. Lee Tressel. He never aspired to a much higher level than his father had attained at Baldwin-Wallace. However, he was destined to go farther and he had enough recognition of his own talent as a coach to understand that he was capable of much greater things.
That is what the rest of the college football world is up against. Coach Jim Tressel may not run an immaculate program, which is hard to do in this day and age. But he does come close and he already has an impressive set of credentials that other college football "nations" would be well advised to emulate and not be jealous of.
Get over it.
Don't like that, here's five more.
You ain't seen nothin' yet.
If Coach Jim Tressel's tenure at The Ohio State University is anything like his tenure at Youngstown State, then he is just warming up. Even if the Buckeyes win on January 7 and have a mass exodus of juniors, they will still be loaded for next season. Surely they will be considered a top 5 team to start 2008.
Tressel actually got off to a faster start at tOSU, winning the BCS National Championship in just his second year. That win validated a theory about former tOSU head coach John Cooper: he recruited great athletes and didn't know what to do with them once he got them to Columbus. Tressel knew how to use the talent he inherited and led them to an improbable win over the University of Miami.
We'll see what Les Miles has to bring with Louisiana State. It should be a formidable challenge for Tressel, perhaps the biggest of his coaching career after the pasting tOSU received at the hands of the University of Florida just one year ago.
The irony is that Tressel has a pretty similar track record at tOSU as he had at YSU. He won the first time he had a team in the D-IAA National Championship at YSU and lost the second time.
After the loss he proceeded to qualify for and win two National Championships in succession to win three in a four year span.
Overall, he would win four titles total at YSU in six games and qualified for the playoffs in 10 out of 15 seasons. All four of his D-IAA titles came in a nine-year span.
Impressive, indeed.
Tressel has been at tOSU now for seven seasons. This is his third BCS title game appearance.
There is no reason to believe that he couldn't duplicate his Youngstown success in Columbus as well. He is rarely without a well-stocked and well-balanced roster of players and he addresses his needs from a recruiting standpoint very systematically. In other words, it isn't just about accumulating "talent" for Tressel; it's about getting the right talent.
If you must be jealous of anything outside of the Buckeye Nation, it is that Tressel has poured his heart and soul into tOSU at a time when coaches are mercenaries, looking, perhaps mistakenly, at their "next challenge".
For Tressel, his coaching values are very much the same as his father, the late Dr. Lee Tressel. He never aspired to a much higher level than his father had attained at Baldwin-Wallace. However, he was destined to go farther and he had enough recognition of his own talent as a coach to understand that he was capable of much greater things.
That is what the rest of the college football world is up against. Coach Jim Tressel may not run an immaculate program, which is hard to do in this day and age. But he does come close and he already has an impressive set of credentials that other college football "nations" would be well advised to emulate and not be jealous of.
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