The Way I See it

Can We Make Illinois A 10?

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 05:13:00 +0000

We had a great turnout for the hosting of the Buckeyes for the Penn State game October 27 at our home. The pictures below depict the event. I brought all types of my Buckeye collection out on display, which I gathered over many years. It was so much fun and we really enjoyed everyone, the more Buckeyes the Better! Click on any of the pictures below to enlarge them for easier viewing.

If the Buckeyes can pull off a victory over Illinois, it would be a Perfect 10 for this year! While this should be a very easy task to pull off, it would be a mistake to overlook a talent laden Illinois team, that has fallen on terrible times. OSU is favored by 27.5 points, but if we can win by two TD's that would be more than enough for me.

This will be the 99th meeting between the two teams. OSU is 63-30-4. However, Illinois has won 7 of the last 11 times they have been to Columbus.

Because this group of Buckeye players were not expected to be undefeated, Urban is calling this football season as one of the most rewarding of his career! He says he loves coming to work! Meyer goes on to say that he feels that Braxton Miller is worthy of Heisman mention....and if the team does go undefeated and all the other teams loose at least one game, who knows what may happen.

Of course, Braxton will have to keep up his pace of brilliance and must improve his passing game and be free from injury. Miller leads the Big Ten in total offense 291.1 yards per game and became the 3rd QB in Big Ten history to surpass 1,000 yards rushing for the year with 1093 yards so far. Denard Robinson in (2010, 2011) and Antwaan Randle El (2000). Overall Miller leads the conference in rushing with 121.4 yards per game and his 12 TD's are only one short of the Big Ten lead.

From the victory over the Nittany Lions Linebacker Ryan Shazier was named the Big Ten's Co-Defensive player of the week. The Sophomore had a team leading 8 tackles, two sacks and returned an interception for the go-ahead TD.

Three Buckeyes are named in the semifinalists for National Awards. Miller is one of 16 for Maxwell Award (top player). Junior DT Johnathan Hankins one of 16 for Bednarik Award (top defensive player). Sophomore Bradley Roby one of 15 for the Thorpe Award (top cornerback).

ILLINOIS:

They are rushing for 132.5 yards per game. Sophomore Donovonn Young leads the team with 400 yards and averages 4.2 yds. per rush. Illinois will have a spread offense using the screen mostly, which Ohio State defended poorly against the close game with Purdue. The only player that has given Illinois a big pass play is Ryan Lankford (29-413-5). Illinois is averaging 184.9 yds per game on the ground. QB Nathan Scheelhasse gets very little protection, having been sacked 30 times (3.75 per game) which is 121st in College football.

Illinois leading tackler is linebacker Jonathan Brown with 55 tackles and also leads the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Illinois 3rd down conversion (30%) leads the Big Ten. However, Illinois is dead last in the Big Ten in pass efficiency defense. Illinois does have a good punter.

OHIO STATE:

Hopefully Ohio State will not get stuck deep in their own territory on a regular basis. This could give cause for the Illini Defense to play better than normal and make it a long afternoon.

Expect this to be Miller's biggest passing game, even though rain is forecast for the game. It is time for him to do well on the short pass and long pass.

With a good passing game, the running game will be strong as well.

Ohio State may disappoint a bit in their passing defense, but be strong on run defense. If they get the average of almost 4 sacks a game against Illinois, it should prove to be a lop-sided Ohio State victory.

However, like all teams, Illinois will be doing their best for a victory, which would be like winning a bowl game for them.

DREAM;

It would be good to see our Maui Ohio State fans get their own Ohio State Alumni Association going here. The Oahu group had 75 fans show up Saturday at Giovanni Pastrami in Wakiki. Lets keep our hopes alive by supporting Katie and Brett in the upcoming seasons that we can have that success in the future.

GO BUCKS!! Buckeye Bob

NOTHING GAME FOR BEST TEAM IN BIG TEN

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 06:40:00 +0000

This Saturday for the Ohio State vs. Penn State game, we will be hosting the game for our Buckeye faithful here on Maui. Our address is 182 Halona Street. If your coming from North Kihei down Piilani highway going South towards Wailea, you go to the next traffic light after Lipoa Street (Lipoa is where the Elleair golf course and high tech park is located). The next traffic light is Kanani Street. You turn right there. At the telephone exchange building, about one block, you turn right on Halona Street. We are the second house on the left (Green house with two stories over the carport). You may park in the driveway and come upstairs.

If your coming South on Kihei road, you turn left on Auhana Street at the Island Surf Building. You drive up the hill until you pass the Mormon church driveway on your left, we are the next street after that. Turn left on Halona Street and we are the 5th house on your right. We will provide the food and drinks. The game begins at 11:30am Maui time. Ashleea will make fresh Nachos for half-time. We are looking for a great game, lots of fun and cheering our Buckeyes on to victory.

As the title of this blog states, this game means nothing, since Penn State and Ohio State are only playing exhibition games this year. However, not so fast my friend....the game will still be for the best team in The Big Ten!

Since Jordan Hall will be redshirted, Carlos Hyde is our man at running back and we expect him to pound out another 100 yard game against a stiff Penn State defense.

Who would believe, that after Penn State lost 10 players to other teams....fall out from the Sandusky scandal...they would win more than one or two games all season. It seems that the players who stepped forward decided to show their talents and seem to be over excelling and showing everyone they are pretty darn good.

Penn State is last in the Nation in it's punting game. The Buckeye secondary has been picked apart all year.

Matt McGloin is getting great protection and he should be able to pick his way down field. Michael Mauti is the Nittany Lions leading tackler with 45 tackles, 2 picks and 2.5 sacks! With inspiration from a team effort, it could be enough to give Penn State the victory.

A 12-0 season for Ohio State would be good for the fan base. It would also gear up expectations and pressure for 2013 and give Meyer a great recruiting pitch.

Wisconsin will no doubt end up representing the Leaders in the Big Ten Championship and they could still end up beating both Ohio State and Penn State to earn the title without anyone mentally applying an asterisk!

The experts are calling this game a close one, some saying Penn State will win and a few are saying Ohio State will win. It is a toss-up. Since they are playing at Penn State, that may give them a slight edge. Also, there is a 20% chance of rain for the game, so that may play a factor as well.

The two pictures below are Buckeye Katie and Buckeye Bob on the roof at Craig and Kim's house in Maui Meadows after last Saturday's victory over Purdue. The two little Munchkins are little Buckeyes that Katie and Justin brought with them. The second photo down is of our group of Buckeyes at Katie and Justin's house the week before. On the right of the photo is Jack and Patty who were visiting from Denver. The rest of the gang in that photo is Buckeye Bob, Katie, Richard Long behind Katie, Brett and Leah. In front and center is Craig.

I for one am not alarmed if Braxton Miller does not play this Saturday. I have every confidence that Kenny Guiton can lead us to a solid victory.

Braxton is saying the only discomfort he feels from last Saturday's injury, is a sore shoulder. Since Braxton is up for the Heisman, I'm sure that Urban Meyer will make every attempt to give him the start and hopefully have him build up some statistics. While that is all good, there has to be caution used, because we certainly do not want to do that at the expense of a loss. But who knows, Braxton may perform brilliantly!

Ashleea and I had a grand time at Katie and Justin's wedding Monday of this week....it was a great event and we wish the very best to both of them for a long, happy and healthy marriage.

GO BUCKS!!!

OHIO STATE MAINTAIN OFFENSE AND IMPROVE ON DEFENSE TO BEAT PURDUE

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 07:53:00 +0000

This Saturday Craig is hosting the Buckeye group at his home in Maui Meadows. His address is 3288 Keha Drive. The way to get there is go South from Kihei on Piilani Highway towards Wailea. The first exit for Maui Meadows is Mapu Place, turn left there. Drive about half mile to the first Stop Sign you come to, which is Kupulau Drive and turn left. You drive .4 miles to the 4th street on your right on the winding road all the way to the top. Turn Right on Keha Drive and pass about 5 driveways on your right, when you come to the second Hedge park alongside it. At the end of the hedge you will see the mail box with 3288 on it. Walk to your right down the driveway to the stairs at the end that take you upstairs and your there. Do Not go into down stairs unit.

Katie and Justin are getting married this coming Monday, so they may not make it. Lets wish them the very best in handling all the stress with getting themselves prepared and dealing with family and friends and who knows when Justin may get called out for a photo Op job! Hope you all support them by being at their wedding....I will be there for sure!

Now our Buckeyes, can they maintain the offensive fire power and improve on Defense?

We know Braxton Miller is now on everyone's radar for the Heisman Award. Other high candidates are LB Manti Te'o of Notre Dame and Collin Klein of Kansas State. CNN has picked Braxton as the mid season Offensive player of the year. No other Buckeyes are getting any mention at all. Hope all this hype and news media attention does not give Braxton a Big Head or cause him to lose his focus.

Carlos Hyde with 156 yards this past week is starting to show consistency at running back. And of course the Offensive Line continues to shine making it all possible for Braxton and Carlos to do what they do best.
While coach Meyer is content with the offensive rushing game, I feel we still need a kick in the butt at getting better and more production in the passing game. It has been very weak and even almost at the bottom of the Big Ten!

Now Defense has been a disgrace!! What else can we say. Urban is so upset, he said he will coach the defense in practice this week. He is going to move in on Fickell's dire defense. Luke Fickell is making NO excuses for the Defense...what can he say? Well here is what he said "Don't Whine, Don't Complain, Don't make excuses. We know it is about Big Plays, and if we can limit big plays we'll be in a lot better situation." In other words, if the defense does not improve, he will be packing his bags to go else where next year if not before. This Defense is Not Acceptable. Can Urban motivate and improve the Defense and ease the pain and suffering he is experiencing in the close game against Indiana? If so, it may help to save Fickell's job. One game does not make a season and Purdue is sliding downwards fast, so even an improvement in Defense against Purdue does not mean much. It has to improve in every game the rest of this season!

Zach Boren has been moved to middle linebacker until Etienne Sabino can return from a broken right fibula.
Urban Meyer has been very impressed with 86 Heuerman and Nick Vannett as Lead Blockers and Tight Ends. While Stoneburner is beginning to get better again and was a good blocker in the Indiana game.

Purdue and Ohio State have split the last six games between them. But we are 37-14-2 all-time against them. The two games they won at The Shoe was in 1988 and 1968.

Purdue has been terrible against the rush this year, so figure on Ohio State pounding the ball on the ground again.

If the Buckeyes win against Purdue we will be the only college football team in the nation at 8 - 0.

Tid Bits: There was a strange poll done by the Ozone, where they asked the question: Outside of Braxton Miller, which young player gives you the most excitement for the future? The player that got the most votes was number 8 Noah Spence a DE. The other choices were Ryan Shazier who came in second, Rod Smith third, Devin Smith, Michael Thomas and Doran Grant.

Vanderbilt just cancelled the 2013 August 31st game with Ohio State. West Virgina would be the most intriguing choice but of course no one thinks Gene Smith will do that (what give Ohio State a competitive non-conference game?). The other choices are BYU, Washington State, Tulane, Kansas, UTEP or Southern Miss..

Buckeye Basketball is right around the corner and our mens team is ranked fourth pre-season and some are ranking Indiana first. Our womens team will have Aaron Craft's sister Cait Craft on the team. She is said to be a good defender and 3-point shooter.

Lets Go BUCKEYES and get the job done against Purdue both offense and defense. We are picked by 19 points.

Until next time, Buckeye Bob

BUCKEYES IMPROVING...CAN THEY KEEP IT UP?

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 05:46:00 +0000

I have just returned from a long vacation to Ohio where I attended three victories by our Ohio State team. I watched the Michigan State win on TV, while in Atlantic City that weekend. I also had a great visit with my family, staying with my sister Ann and her husband Herb in Pickerington, Ohio most of the time, a visit to my Sister Sue's for a couple days in Coshocton, Ohio and a one night visit in Stockport, Ohio with my golfing buddy cousin Dan Woerner from North Carolina and four nights in Atlantic City, where I actually hit several jackpots and left a winner..

What can we glean from those four victories? We know Braxton Miller is the Shining Star, but seems to be getting more help on Offense from Carlos Hyde and The Offensive Line. Only three of the six teams we have played so far have a winning record at this point in the season. We know the Big Ten is having a bad year, with Michigan being clobbered by Alabama and Notre Dame, Michigan State being beat by Notre Dame and Nebraska being beat by a UCLA team that was just beat last Saturday by California, whom we had a struggle with.

So one might say "It is great to be undefeated, but we really did not beat any good ranked teams". A perfect season would still be highly appreciated from the Ohio State football nation, and would show our dominance in the Big Ten, since we play all the best teams in the league, Purdue, at Penn State, at Wisconsin and Michigan still on our schedule.

I am one fan who could do without all the Personal foul penalties. I do not know if the rest of you Buckeye fans have noticed that we have 16 personal fouls in 6 games, 5 in the Nebraska game. Urban Meyer should do something about this? OSU is currently the most penalized team in the conference with 46 flags totaling 401 yards. On the flip side is unbeaten Kansas State with 9 penalties for only 71 yards.

INJURIES: Jordan Hall missed the contest with a knee injury and safety CJ Barnett sat out a third consecutive game with an ankle injury.

Senior linebacker Etienne Sabino went down in the first half with a lower leg injury and missed all the second half and will miss the Indiana game. True freshman Joshua Perry replaced him in the base defense against Nebraska, while Senior Storm Klein took his position in the nickel defense. Klein was already playing linebacker in the base defense. Sabino entered the game second on the team with 36 tackles and played his best game against Michigan State.

Sophomore linebacker Ryan Shazier briefly left the game after hitting his knee on the Ohio Stadium turf, but was able to return and finished as the top tackler with 11 stops, 2 for a loss and a sack. He is the team's leader with 59 stops.

Junior Carlos Hyde made his 3rd start of the season taking Hall's place and ran 28 times for 140 yards and 4 touchdowns all career single-game highs.

Sophomore Rod Smith backed up Hyde and rushed twice for 38 yards and a TD.

Jordan Hall's replacement as punt returner was Junior receiver Corey "Philly" Brown, who had a 76-yard jaunt for a score, which helped blow the game open.

NOTES; Bradley Roby is beginning to live up to his hype after blocking the first punt of the year against the Spartans and making 2 interceptions against Nebraska.

Despite Ohio State surrendering more than 400 yards for the 3rd time in 6 games, John Simon had a great game with 5 tackles for loss among his 7 total stops. That tied a single-game OSU record held by 3 previous players including Andy Katzenmoyer in the 1997 Rose Bowl victory over Jake the Snake's Arizona State team 20-17.

The Stat of the game was the 101 points the two teams put up, which is the most points scored in Ohio Stadium since we rolled up an 83-21 victory over Iowa in 1950.

THIS WEEKS INDIANA GAME: The Hoosiers and their hurry-up offense have topped 24 points in each contest this year. They lead the Big Ten in passing with 304.8 yds. per game and are second with 472.4 total yards. They have done this mainly without QB Tre Roberson who suffered a serious leg injury during a blowout win over Massachusetts on Sept. 8.

The Hoosiers continue to move the ball thanks to QB's Coffman and Nate Sudfeld who have split time. Coffman played the entire Michigan State game and the pocket passer has gone 86 for 126 (67.2%) for 801 yards 6 TD's and 1 Interception.

Sudfield is a 6-5 218 lb. true freshman going 25 of 40 (62.5%) for 357 yards, 3 TD's and NO picks.

Indiana has a one-back offense with Stephen Houston, D'Angelo Roberts and Tevin Coleman splitting time. Each is sure handed, having lost just one fumble in 418 attempts.

Wynn a small speedster from Cleveland Glenville ran a 4.37 40 yard dash in the offseason. He is a constant target on screen passes and other ball-control plays for 213 yards and a team-best four touchdowns.

Their Big Play targets are Cody Latimer with an 18.1 yard average and 2 TD's and Kofi Hughes with 16 grabs for 248 yards and 2 TD's.

Indiana has dangerous returners leading the Big Ten in Kickoff returns both Wynn and Coleman have returns for touchdowns. This year the two combine for a 31.7 yard average on 9 returns.

On defense the leader is Adam Replogle one of the Senior leaders from Centerville, Ohio who has 149 career tackles, 12 1/2 sacks and 20 tackles for loss.

Thus, our Buckeyes cannot take Indiana for granted. Let us hope and expect that we will improve on our game against Nebraska. And of course get a quicker start, not wasting the first quarter for naught!

Below picture was taken at The Stockport Mill. Dan, my cousin, who lives in North Carolina, has a second house on the Muskinggum River, where he invited my sister Ann, her husband Herb and myself for a Brunch at the Ohio Historical landmark, which was built in 1906 and did both milling and generated electric for the town. It operated as a feed mill until 1997. Thanks Dan for the good Brunch!

URBAN TO DEFENSIVE COACHES MUST IMPROVE PASS DEFENSE

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 03:22:00 +0000

We Buckeye faithful watched the football game at Howard and Sue's house. Howard and wife Sue are on right in photo. This photo was taken on their lanai by award winning Maui photographer, Justin Orr, bottom center of photo.

Sue put out a mouth-watering delectable breakfast with starters of fresh fruits, yogurts, parfaits and fresh coffee and juices. This was followed by an award winning recipe of a casserole consisting of eggs, spinach and many other ingredient's complimented by bacon, sausage and French Toast. What a feast!

Thanks Howard and Sue. After the game The Maui Buckeyes hung out at the pool basking in the sun. As some would say, why not make it a day?!

Ohio State won over University of Central Florida by 31 to 16, but they did not look good in the process. One could easily see they have a long way to go to be a good football team. They have the talent, but they seem to lack the chemistry or good coaching to get them to the next level.

Speaking of coaching--three strikes and you may be out? If the Buckeyes do not make remarkable improvements during the rest of this year and particularly starting with the California game this Saturday, September 15th, they may not be coming back next year. That is Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel for sure and possibly Everett Withers.

Fickell took over last year amidst the chaos of Tressell and 6 starters getting suspended for the Tattoo fiasco among other miss deeds. During that period of being an interim Head Coach, although not much was expected of him, Fickell made many mental errors like important time outs and poor decision making during critical times of football games--that could have made the difference between winning and loosing a game.

Now for two games the pass rush has not existed and that part of Ohio States team is supposed to be their strongest assets? Mike Vrabel has no coaching experience to speak of, being in only his second year at Ohio State. Although, he broke records for Ohio State as a player in 1995 and 1996 as Big Ten Lineman of the Year (only player in Big Ten history to hold that honor) and also 1st team All-American those same two years. Also he has obtained and earned 3 Super Bowl rings playing for New England between 2001 and 2007. However, he just does not seem to have what it takes to mold young players to excel on the field!

Everett Withers has been a coach for 25 years and his five years at North Carolina, his defensive credentials were very impressive. However, something drastically has to change on the Defensive side of the football or all three of the above mentioned coaches will not be part of the Ohio State coaching staff in 2013.

It boils down to this: if Urban Meyer wants to have a Legacy and be a Legendary coach at Ohio State and have the possibility of having more National Championship teams at Ohio State, regardless of the great college football athletics he is able to recruit to OSU, and if his COACHES can not deliver the goods via suburb play, excellent performances and playing up to their expected potential, his tenure at Ohio State will be short lived and so will his great reputation.

I do not see Meyer allowing this to happen. And just what is wrong with Hankins and Simon not making a dent in Pass Defense? They have been hyped as Super Defensive players?

And what happened to the "Hurry Up Offense"? Only 75 offensive plays in week two to compared to 86 week One-- that is more than a 10% drop in production. And again about 33% passing versus 67% running. While some college teams are getting over 100 offensive plays or more in, LA Monroe averages 106, Marshall 102, Indiana 94, Oregon 93 and Arizona 92.

As a matter of fact, Ohio State is ranked only 31st in number of offensive plays per game so far in 2012. While this is an improvement of their average offensive plays per game in 2011 of 66, it is by NO means a good showing compared with the rest of College football in 2012, to date. And especially since Urban broadcast to the nation this was going to be to be one of the most obvious improvements in his offense of 2012....come on Urban...start walking your talk!!

As everyone is saying, Braxton Miller seems to be a one-dimensional offense, and cannot be expected to carry the ball 27 times a game. With Carlos Hyde injured, it appears that four players will have to step up to the plate and be impressive. Zach Boren will be used more. Bri'onte Dunn will get the bulk of the calls. Rod Smith (if he can be fumble free) will get more calls. And Philly Brown will be more involved; he was over a 3,000 yard rusher in high school and has good speed. Jordan Hall may return and get some action, but they will need these other 4 guys to step up, if we are to have an improved offense and football team.

Also, speaking of Braxton Miller where in the world is the down field pass? It has to be 1, 2 and 3 pass--there should be receivers open. Again, what happened to all the preseason Hype about the Big Improvement between Miller and his receivers having chemistry by spending hour upon long summer hour throwing and catching the ball....was all this for naught? Braxton waits what seems like an eternity in the pocket and about half the time gets sacked (not good and not acceptable). His longest pass on Saturday was only 15 yards and he did throw for one interception--still a athletic trying to be a QB, instead of a QB that is athletic (a long way to go to be a mature, smooth and dependable QB).

In my heart and mind, I believe Kenny Guiton is the better all around QB and a better leader to get the job done, but he can by no means match Miller at running.

While the Big Ten conference looked the worst I have ever seen it Saturday (and especially since it is striving to make an impression against the SEC...Ha...what a joke), six teams won and six teams lost We look to be about the worst conference out of the top six recognized conferences in Big Time college football. The worst and most disappointing loss was Wisconsin at the hands of Oregon State. They looked as hapless as Michigan disgraced us all with their performance against Alabama last Saturday!

And by the way Michigan did not look much better this past Saturday, with Denard Robinson getting 100% of the Offense (when and how many times has that happened?) in a struggling victory over a weak opponent. And what a big disappointment in Nebraska (I know they were without leading rusher Burkhead), but is UCLA that good and that improved? I do like the new coach Mora, his players seem to love him and are giving their best efforts, which they certainly expressed Saturday. Teams we expected to struggle, Northwestern, Indiana and Minnesota brought home the bacon in a big way....except Indiana lost there star QB for the season in their victory...Ouch!!

Looking ahead to this Saturday's game against an improving California team, what can we expect? California is primarily a running team about 67% of the time against 33% passing. Their main running back is Isi Sofele who had 19 carries for 104 yards last week and one touchdown. Last year he had 1322 yards rushing, so he definitely has experience and is a threat.

The best receiver from last year is Keenan Allen, who had 5 catches for 69 yards and one TD last week. Last year he caught 98 passes for 1343 yards, so he is another legitimate proven threat. And also watch out for Chris Harper who had 7 catches last week for 94 yards. The QB is Zach Maynard (the half brother of receiver Keenan Allen!) also experienced with about 3,000 yards passing last year with 17 TD's and 11 interceptions. Last week he threw for 229 yards on 17/23 passing with 1 TD and 1 Interception.

Last week California had 1 TD on a punt return and one TD on an interception to go along with their balanced offensive attack of 229 yards in the air and 289 yards rushing. They did all this while Southern Utah had almost 36 minutes of possession compared to California's 24 minutes? By the way Southern Utah had 292 yards of passing offense. However, they only had 79 yards of rushing offense.

So Braxton Miller had better learn how to throw the ball down field, because it may be tough sledding for the rushing game.....but lets hope Ohio State surprises us all by excelling in both running and passing in the game against California.

As a side note, I enjoyed playing golf a couple times with Howard Robboy during his visit to Maui from Seattle. Sunday we played the Emerald course at Wailea, and James Worthy the noted basketball star for North Carolina and LA Lakers was in a two-some right behind us.

I'm leaving Maui for Ohio this Wednesday September 12, 2012 and will attend the California game this Saturday--the UAB game the next week and the Nebraska game on October 6th. I return to Maui October 9th.

GO BUCKS, BUCKEYE BOB

Until my next blog. This is "The Way I See It"!

URBAN AGAINST CENTRAL FLORIDA WANTS IMPROVEMENT

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:10:00 +0000

This Saturday September 8, 2012, the game will be hosted by Howard Robboy and his wife Sue from Seattle. That is Howard on the right in the above picture and his wife Sue next to him. Sue is a graduate of Duke, but she is tolerable of us Buckeyes.....otherwise, who does she have to root for during football season? Game time is 6 AM. Their address is 3100 Wailea Alanui #17. Their complex is called Papali Wailea. Directions: Take Kilohana towards the ocean. Turn left at Wailea Alanui. Turn into the 2nd gate on the right. Papali Wailea units are before The Palms. You will need to call their unit to get in which you can do by dialing their last name - Robboy (762269).

I was not happy with Ohio States performance last week for two reasons, we did nothing in the first quarter and let Miami pass for 313 yards. Where was the great pass rush...pretty much non-existent. I'm sorry but that is not acceptable! I know coach Meyer feels the same way and even though it seems he is practicing more to score touchdowns than to rush the opposing teams quarterback....none the less they had a grueling, intense and exhausting practice this Tuesday. I did like the fact that we threw the ball to seven different receivers and seven different players also carried the ball....Urban is giving many players a chance to see if they can sparkle. We did have 27 first downs and a total of 538 yards of total offense. We had more yards rushing with 294 yds. on 53 carries, while we had 244 yds. through the air on 33 attempts. 86 total plays was a lot for an Ohio State team, so the hurry up offense is working. Time of possession was Ohio State 31:26 and Miami 28:34, not a big margin, considering we were running the ball almost 70% of the time. On third down conversions we were only 9 of 17 (I do not consider that good). While Devin Smith made the highlight reel with his one-handed catch, my two favorite players on Offense are Kenny Guiton and Evan Spencer. Evan made a great catch of his own, while Kenny got into the game because of cramps in Braxton's leg in the third quarter. On his first play Kenny was faced with 4th and 3 yards to go. I applaud Meyer for giving Kenny the chance to make that play and he did well running for a first down. His first pass was not caught, going through the hands of a receiver. Another pass attempt was missed by Stoneburner when he never looked back for the ball. Also, Kenny had the misfortune of having a bad snap thrown over his head for a big loss. Kenny still hit 5 out of 9 passes for 37 yards. Good job Kenny for your first exposure of 2012.

Now for the game against University of Central Florida. Meyer said he considers UCF to be a Big Ten caliber team and said they are better than OSU at some spots. They have 5 or 6 guys with NFL talent including two DT's and their 4-year starter at Safety. RB Latavious Murray is on that list but may not play Saturday because of a slight shoulder injury, but they have two good backups for him. UCF also has an All-American kick returner. While all this is true, Meyer is beginning to sound like coach Saban of Alabama, who is always praising the opposing team, while the point spread is Ohio State by 18 points! I feel if we do not win by at least 30 points I will be disappointed. UCF does have speed and a pretty good defense to try to slow down our offense with FS Kemal Ishmael, LB Jonathan Davis and ends Victor Gray and Troy Davis all play with terrific range. Their QB Blake Bortles is solid also with 3 TD passes last week. This game should prove to be more physical than last week against Miami of Ohio!

The first week for the Big Ten was OK but Wisconsin struggled and Michigan looked miserable. I do not believe Alabama is that good, so that makes Michigan even worse....we should know better than to root for that damn team up North! The Big Ten plays on the ROAD at 4 different PAC 12 teams this Saturday and three of those games should be fairly good, with the best game between Nebraska and UCLA. Burkhead will probably miss the game with a slight injury but QB Taylor Martinez threw for over 300 yards, the best showing of his career and the best performance in the Big Ten last week. Nebraska is favored by 5.5 points, but UCLA looked awesome last week with Brent Hundley QB shining and RB Johnathan Franklin scrambling for 214 yards on the ground....it could be a close game. Another good match will be Vanderbilt favored by 3.5 points against Northwestern and Illinois against a favored Arizona State team. The QB Scheelhaase may be out, but I still think Illinois defense can hold off ASU for a victory. Other good match-ups for the Big Ten will be Purdue against Notre Dame favored by 14.5 points (but I expect this to be a very close game). And one other game between Iowa favored by 5.5 points over Iowa State (this will also be a very close game). Now please do not tell me that Wisconsin will go to Oregon State and lose....is that possible?

Other interesting games this weekend will be Georgia 4.5 favorite at Missouri, Texas A&M at home favored by 1 point over Florida and Kansas State favored over Miami.

So....GO BUCKS.....keep the good times rolling!!

BUCKEYE BOB

OSU WITH MEYER AND PRESEASON HYPE

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 07:46:00 +0000

Note of Attention for Maui Ohio State University football fans: Some of our local fans have been upset at the Sports Page Bar and Grill for not getting new HD service for their TV's. Richard Long bad cold and all may volunteer to let the Sports Page know what is going on, so they will not have to open early on Saturday mornings for our group. Thus, if they are not opening early 6am for any other college football fans, they can resume opening at their regular scheduled time of 8am. on Saturday morning. My hat goes off to Richard Long for his respect, courtesy and good manners in doing this good deed on behalf of all the local Buckeyes...   Thank You Richard. (Richard is second from right in above picture, on end is his wife Barbara)

Therefore, our local core group of Buckeyes will be meeting at Katie Cook (that is Katie with me in top photo) and Justin's house to watch the games on their Big Screen High Definition TV set. Katy always has a huge Ohio State banner in front of her house and the address is 79 Noulu Street. Their house is near the Safeway Shopping Center. Go to the Round-A-Bout and head North. Go straight until it dead ends, Turn Right and next street Noulu Street Turn Left. There house is second house from the end of the street on the left side. See all the core group and hopefully other Buckeyes there. I let Howard Raboy from Seattle know and he will be there.

Now, the football Hype of who will be Number One. Well that is a good question and as my brother-in-law Herb said, anyone's guess is as good as the Experts. Some of the best teams from last year have lost key players, so there is No One Clear Choice this year. Some say Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, USC or Florida State. Kirk Herbstreit goes as far as saying it will be USC and Florida State in the National Championship game, with Florida State winning with their Defense. In the past sometimes neither team he predicted even made it to the Championship game. Herbstreit goes on to say the Heisman winner will be Matt Barkley from USC, Now there are one or two spoilers in each conference waiting to upset the favorite teams and gain fame like Oregon, Arkansas, Texas, etc.. So the bottom line for all of us football fans, it looks like a great forthcoming football seasons with many surprises!!

The Big Ten Conference is much like the National spot light, with No Clear cut favorites, and many teams that seem to have the potential to go all the way. The first choice is usually Wisconsin, with their great Offensive line and Defense and the Return of Heisman candidate Montee Ball running the ball. Michigan with their Quarterback Denard Robinson.   Michigan State with their Superior Defense, which includes William Gholston, number two, whom they hope has matured a bit this year. Purdue cannot be overlooked because they return more starters than anyone from last years team. 19 return, 8 on Offense and 8 on Defense and 2 on Special Teams. And of course Nebraska has thrown their hat in the mix, with a pretty solid team returning, including running back Burkhead . And for some reason the new coach at Illinois Tim Beckman is so highly thought of by many football experts, that Illinois also is said to have a chance at fame this year. They do have a great returning QB Nathan Scheelhusse and traditionally usually have a solid defense.

Now what about the New Urban Meyer Era at The Ohio State University? He grew up in Ashtabula, got his under graduate degree at Cincinnati and Master degree from Ohio State. First his accomplishments are astonishing!! His record is 104-23 and the 6th youngest coach to reach 100 wins. Against top ten teams he is 11-4. In Bowl games he is 7-1. And in BCS games and overtime games he is 4-0. His four tenets to winning are 1. Great Defense, 2. Score in Red Zone, 3. Dominate Turnovers and 4. Win the kicking game. The trainer for the Buckeyes had the players in good shape before they were turned over to Meyer and after an almost Brutal Training camp, they look mean and angry and ready to play beyond their best abilities. Urban says he will play the best players and if players are careless with the football on offense he will replace them. I know Braxton Miller is a tremendous runner but he has to be at his best, otherwise he will get a rest and Kenny Guiton will have a chance. I have always liked Guiton a lot and would love to see him play some. Of course if the team is clicking on all cylinders, they will be so far ahead at half-time that Kenny will get some playing time anyhow.

Urban said the players that have improved the most since Spring practice until the present are running back Carlos Hyde and Garrett Goebel Nose Tackle. He said Braxton Miller has improved tremendously but is still an Athletic being a QB and he wants him to be a QB that is athletic.

It looks like a few stupid mistakes by three of the players Jake Stoneburner, Jack Mewhart and Storm Klein will be back in the line up. Also Jordan Hall will be back by at least the third game. And possibly the injured Nathan Williams may be returning to full speed. So with one of the most talented laden football teams in the USA on the gridiron in 2012, Ohio State could possibly be one of the Big Spoilers in the Big Ten, as we play all the contenders for the Big Ten Championship. And as always, Ohio State has a generally speaking weak non-conference schedule, so it is very possible that we may go 12 and 0. Many Buckeye fans expect nothing less than a 10 - 2 season.

Just for the fun of it, it would really be a feather in The Big Ten Conference cap, if Michigan can beat Alabama this Saturday. While it is possible, the Vegas odds makers have Alabama as a 12 point favorite. We do not often cheer for the team up North, but this Saturday I for one will be rooting for them.

Our first week of football Ohio State will be facing the third active quarter back with the most yards passing in college football in Miami's Dysert and that QB has his favorite receiver back Harwell. Barkley of USC and Landry Jones QB of Oklahoma are the only two active QB's with more passing yardage.   However, Dysert was sacked 46 times last year and Miami had only a 4-8 season.

That is all for now....GO BUCKS!!! Buckeye Bob

PERILS OF PARADISE

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 02:56:00 +0000

Hyacinth's in Bloom. Where there is darkness there is always Brightness

16 stitches in top of my Head. Six stitches underneath this.

Could not get wound wet, so put brown towel under ice pack (frozen vegetables).

On Tuesday morning July 24, I had MOHS Micrographic Surgery on my head for Squamous Cell Carcinoma Skin Cancer. Thus the title above. The sun is so intense here on Maui, that one has to be careful in their quest to get out into the fresh air. Of course the same can be said of many places as my brother-in-law Herb just had the same operation this week back in Columbus, Ohio. The only thing I did wrong was laugh, first with this man David (Kawika) Chenoweth in the waiting room, where he replaced every string on his guitar and was going to play me a tune, when he got called by the DR.. And laughing with my best friend Tom on the telephone when I got home from the surgery. They tell one to be very still after this surgery. I'm surprised I did not cause complications. For many patients they do not get stitches, but in my case, my skin cancer had broad borders and a root system. The surgeon does one layer of skin at a time and the patient waits for about one and half hours until the Dr. can check under a microscope and determine if he got all the Cancer. If he did not get it all, this procedure can go on all day. When I got home, I was to do no activities so I sit in one spot (did not know that was possible) for about 4 hours yesterday and read one book, while Ice was on my head, while the numbness wore off. The Dr. put I believe he said 16, (he may have said 6) stitches in my head (Squamous Cell Carcinoma has a root system and that may be why), I believe he must have given me a FACE LIFT because if I blink or move my face from my eyes to my forward it feels like I'm pulling the stitches, seems to me he did me too tight, I feel tighter than a drum up there, that is the worst feeling I have and of course putting ice there to keep the swelling down. It feels like I'm trying to balance something on my head and if I tilt my head forward the pressure hurts, head straight up seems best. And of course, they tell you to do nothing for 3 days. I have a funeral I have to attend on Wednesday and you can not have a hat on and I cannot take the Big Bandage (about 6 inches long and two inches wide and a inch high) off until after 4pm today, so I have a dillema of sorts. Also, I cannot get the area wet for 24 hours, so NO shower. Hope I can drive OK. On Wednesday it must have been my lucky day. After the funeral about 11:30am I thought I would drop by the VA and see if I could get an appointment with Dr. Sorteberg, my Primary Care doctor at VA, to check my back out and also look at my eye I ran a stick into at the golf course, while looking for golf balls about 10 days ago. They were so nice to me, Ipo, the clerk told me he had seen all his patients for the morning and there is a chance I could see him before he goes to lunch. He saw me looked at my back and said everything looked OK. I said in conversation I have something under my left ear also. He looked at it and said yes, that is a Basil Cell Carcinoma Cancer. He gave me a shot and numbed the area and took a biopsy, actually tried to get all the cancer. Said he will call me and let me know if he got it all. If he did not get it all he has me scheduled for an appointment week after this Friday. This new Dr. is an Healing Angel for myself .....and for many other Veterans. My eyes were OK. On the way home I Stopped by the Surgeons office (Dr. Malott) just to ask a couple questions about my surgery and how I'm supposed to clean it. The receptionist said "I have to stop you right there, I have to call a nurse to help answer your questions." The nurse came out and said I remember you from yesterday, she said come on back and I will check you out and remove the huge bandage and clean your wound. She did it all and said it looked good, no swelling and told me what to do for the next few days. What a sweetheart. Not only that but I told her about Dr. Sorteberg removing the Basil Cancer and she looked at that and said Oh, he did not bandage it properly, she checked out what he did and said he did a great job and probably got all the Cancer and explained it all to me, cleaned up what Dr. Sorteberg did and sent me on my way, with plenty of Gauze and everything I would need to take care of my wounds, all free of charge. So I would say I have had an A+ day. By the way, I did not want to exagerate about the stitches when I told people 16, that sounded too many, so I thought it might be 6, perhaps I misunderstood them. I asked the nurse how many stitches did I have in my head. She said you had 22 stitches (6 underneath, which will go away on there own and 16 on top). She took a picture of it and showed it to me. Ashleea took a picture when I got home. Stay healthy everyone. Even though Medical science can save many lives, especially if one catches a problem early, it is still not a fun experience to go through any surgery, unless your name is Buckeye Bob.

Sister Sue, Niece Sherry &Tim visit May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Thu, 31 May 2012 06:30:00 +0000

Our niece Sherry and Tim outside Mama's Fish House

Bobby and Sue on Tom and Nancy's side deck.

Bobby and Sue at Haleakala

Sherry, Bobby and Sue at Charly's (where Willy Nelson hangs out)

Sue, Bobby, Sherry & Tim on Road to Hana

Bobby and Sue Haleakala

Bobby, Sue, Tim and Sherry Before going to Luau at Grand Wailea

Sue and Bobby Inside Cabin on Catamaran Paragon during Sunset Cruise

Bobby, Tim, Sherry and Sue Waiting to Board vessel Paragon for Sunset Cruise

Sue and Sherry at Bobby's house before going to Luau at Grand Wailea

This is my sister Sue's story of her visit to Maui May 8th to May 17th, 2012

DAY ONE TUESDAY MAY 8th, 2012

Our trip to Hawaii got started with a slight delay, actually huge delay if Sherry and my brother Bobby were not on top of the situation. Delta notified us late Monday night about 2am that our flight out of Columbus was going to be delayed by several hours to Detroit. Bobby saw it first and notified Sherry. Sherry got on top of it immediately, because that first delay was going to get us into Detroit after our flight to LA was departed. After several talks to Delta and finally an understanding supervisor, who could understand that Detroit was not our final destination but just a step towards our Maui destination, Sherry was able to get our group rerouted from Columbus to Minneapolis and than to LA to catch our flight to Maui. Even after all the work of making the many changes on flights, would you believe we still got a delay out of LA to Maui? The plane was supposed to depart at 6 pm. but did not depart until after 7pm, so instead of arriving in Maui at 8:30pm, we arrived about 10:15pm. After we got to my Brother Bobby's house in Kihei, we unpacked the car, put our belongings in our designated bedrooms and all went outside on the deck, watched the moon come up over Haleakala mountain at 10:45 pm and talked for about an hour. We went to bed at midnight Maui time or 6 am Wednesday morning Ohio time.

DAY TWO WEDNESDAY MAY 9th, 2012

Wednesday morning Maui time, everyone was up bright and early about 6:30am. We went to The Five Palms restaurant for breakfast on Keavakapu Beach. After breakfast, we toured the hotels in Wailea and McKenna, Wailea Marriot, Grand Wailea, Four Seasons, Fairmont Kea Lani and the Maui Prince and Golf Resort. We drove on past the hotels out into the Lava fields to La Perouse Bay, passing Big Beach and Little Beach on the way. On the way back to my brothers house, we stopped at Gannon's restaurant (formerly The Seawatch) across from the club house of the Emerald and Gold golf courses in Wailea. After some refreshing drinks and some Pupus we headed back to the house at about 12:30pm.

We left the house at about 4pm for our drive to Lahaina to board our Sunset Cruise on the Catamaran boat the Paragon. You board the boat behind the ancient Pioneer Inn, one of the oldest hotels on Maui, which was famous for the old Whalers days, when drunken sailors raised havoc in Lahaina mostly in pursuit of the local Wahines. There were about 16 other tourists on the boat and all of them were looking for good spots to sit in the sun on the decks of the boat. However, I chose to sit inside the small enclosed cabin and Bobby sit with me to keep me company, and we sit pretty quietly. I only had a small glass of ice water. Bobby was telling me a story about when Mom and Toby went on a Whale watching trip in the ocean with him outside of San Francisco in 1981. All of a sudden Mom got sick and upchucked right over board the boat. Soon after that I was heading for the head (toilet) down below deck, for the same reason. After that I began to talk a little but was never feeling that great during the cruise. After the cruise, which everyone loved, EXCEPT ME? Sherry wanted to begin shopping in Lahaina, but I wanted to get on home, so we all decided to call it a night and head for Kihei. I was feeling better when we arrived at home and we began our nightly Yuker card game, where Tim and Bobby were partners and Sherry and I were partners. Every night, no matter what time we got home from our daily and evening activities we had these card games.

DAY THREE THURSDAY MAY 10th, 2012

On Thursday morning Bobby got back into his daily routine of taking a 3.6 mile beach walk, with a swim at Kam three beach. He left the house about 6am, Tim wanted to go with him and left the house about 5 minutes after Bobby, but could never find him and stopped after going to Charley Young Beach and Kam One beach. We all had breakfast at home and at about 10:00am we all went to the Advantage Car Rental place in Kahului, so Tim and Sherry could rent their car.

After we left Tim and Sherry with their rental car, we drove to Hilo Hatties and went shopping. I bought a dress for the Luau Friday night and bought a Hulu outfit for Serenity (my great grand daughter) and a little Hulu Teddy Bear. Thursday evening at 5pm Ashleea, Sherry and I went to Ashleea and Bobby's next door neighbor Norma's for a small get together, while Tim prepared an Italian dinner. Tim proved to be quite a good chef, as Bobby exclaimed that the Spagetti dinner would rival my best Italian friend Tom's (both Tim and Tom are 100% Italian). After dinner we had our nightly Uker card game, Sherry and I against Bobby and Tim.

DAY FOUR FRIDAY MAY 11th, 2012

Friday at 6am Tim went with Bobby on his Beach walk and swim. After breakfast Sherry and Tim went out with the rental car exploring the island. Ashleea, Bobby and I went to the matinee movie "Dark Shadow". That evening we all got dressed in our Luau clothes and arrived at the Grand Wailea Hotel about 5pm. We were greeted with leis and had our pictures taken and were shown to our seats, which were in front and center of the stage (the best seats in the house). Tim bought Sherry and I another Plumeria Lei as well. We were served drinks of any kind we wanted Mai Tais, etc. and as many as we wanted. We could also have tea, coffee or water. About 5:30pm they took the pig out of the Imu (a dirt pit, which has the pig wrapped in Banana leaves and covered with red hot rocks), a special way that the Hawaiians cook pork which they call Kalua pork, which is shredded and very tender. The food lines began and we had all the traditional Hawaiian foods. After we ate the entertainment began and lasted until 8pm. We had a great time.

DAY FIVE SATURDAY MAY 12th, 2012

On Saturday morning Sherry and Tim went snorkeling at Kam Three beach and saw Bobby just as he was coming out of the ocean after his daily swim. Bobby took Ashleea and I on a drive up country to see the Jackaranda trees, with their beautiful purple flowers. We stopped at the historic Kula Lodge for lunch. There were several veterans around and Bobby spoke to them, one an 89 year old World War 2 veteran sitting at the next table with his wife and one a Vietnam veteran from Chicago sitting with a group of people at the end of the room. Saturday afternoon we drove to Mama's Fish House for dinner, the most expensive restaurant on the island and the best food. A Mai Tai is $16.00, same for a glass of wine. Some entries are $58. Tim and Sherry treated us to dinner, which we all will be forever grateful. After we got home about 9pm we had our nightly Uker game.

DAY SIX SUNDAY MAY 13th, 2012 "MOTHERS DAY"

On Sunday "Mothers Day", we had breakfast at home. Followed by many incoming and outgoing calls, with good wishes of Happy Mothers Day. Sherry called Barbara, Jim's Mother and we all had a good talk with her and she sounded great. The next day Barbara was in the hospital with bronchitus, but was only there a few days it turned out and is once again in fine health and spirits. It demonstrates that we all of us must be in the now, as life is fragile and to enjoy and have as much fun as we can with life. In the afternoon about 12:30pm we all went to visit Tom and Nancy at their house in Wailuku. They live in this lush jungle setting, which reminds one of Africa, you would think no one lived within miles, as there is nothing for as far as one can see into the nearby mountains, where there exists an abundance of Monkey Pod trees and beautiful mountain growth and waterfalls in the distance (No houses visible anywhere). And looking the other direction towards the ocean one can see the Kahului Harbor. Tom and Nancy have lived in their new house for over 8 years now. We all had a great visit with Tom and Nancy sitting on their veranda on the back side of the house talking story, what a quiet, tranquil and inspiring place to visit. We got home about 3pm and prepared for our Mothers Day dinner at the Sea House on the other side of the island from Bobby's at Napilli near Kapalua (the north west side of Maui). The beach in front of the restaurant is where Bobby took Ashleea for their first date 21 years ago. While the South West shores of Kihei, Wailea and Mckenna get a little choppy with winds in the afternoon, Napili Bay Beach is so calm and great for an afternoon swim. We all had a great Mothers Day dinner (nine of us were there, Tom and Nancy, Ashleea and Bobby, Tim and Sherry, Jeremy and Genvieve and myself), as a beautiful and perfect sunset was taking place. We got home at about 9:30pm and were exhausted from a full Mothers Day. That night we did not play Uker, as Sherry and Tim had to get up early Monday morning.

DAY SEVEN MONDAY MAY 14th, 2012

On Monday May 14th, Bobby took Sherry and Tim to the airport at 6:30am for their flight to Oahu, Honolulu to see Pearl Harbor, Tim's one request Must See for him while in Hawaii. They both enjoyed their historical visit. While they were there, Bobby, Ashleea and me went upcountry, stopping at a Park, which had a super view of the two sides of Maui and the Ocean on the East and West sides of the Island were clearly visible. After the park we drove on up to the top of Haleakala, a 10,000 foot high extent volcano, where the temperature was a bit cold. We got out and took in the 360 degree Vistas, over looking the beautiful clouds. The Island of Hawaii stood out clearly. Also, we observed the Science City, with some of the largest and most powerful Telescopes and Observatories in the world, which look into inner and outer space. On our way back down the mountain we stopped at the famous Lavendar farm. We toured the farm, ate fresh scones with Lavendar Coffee and of course Ashleea and I did our usual shopping, buying Lavendar gifts of all kinds and descriptions. We had to get home by 3pm, so Bobby could go to the Kahului Maui airport and pick up Sherry and Tim from their return trip from Honolulu at 3:30pm. After Bobby picked up Sherry and Tim from the airport he showed them several restaurants before they got home, as Tim had requested a good local place and nothing too fancy. They went by Stella Blues, The Wave, Mulligans on The Blue, etc.. After they got home Ashleea suggested they go to Three's for dinner, which they did. They sit outside on a veranda under a big tree, which had glimpses of the ocean and the shopping near by. After a great dinner, we girls did our usual hour or so of shopping, while Bobby and Tim sit casually and relaxed in the restaurant drinking some local beers. No rush on Maui, it is laid back with the Aloha Spirit!.

DAY EIGHT TUESDAY MAY 15th, 2012

Tuesday, we all got up early around 5:30am and was out of the house and stopped at Charlie's in Paia for breakfast (the place Willy Nelson hangs out and performs many small surprise concerts on Maui). We were in route to Hana, passing over the 53 narrow bridges on the road that winds around the mountain to what is referred to as Heavenly Hana. Five of us in the small rental car of Tim's, with Bobby in the back between Sherry and Sue which buffered him from the many turns. Ashleea drove and Tim was the co-pilot. Many tourists turn around about half way, because of motion sickness and the many close calls of almost hitting other vehicles on the narrow roads. It takes about 2 hours to drive 35 miles. We drove through Hana onto the Seven Sacred Pools, where we dropped Tim and Bobby off for their 4 mile hike through the bamboo forest, water falls and on to a giant water fall coming down from over a cliff some 400 feet high above, one of the highest water falls on Maui, that one can walk to. While they were hiking we did a lot of shopping from the road side local vendors selling many different sorts of handicraft art and crafts, including many exotic fruits, fresh coconut water (drinking directly from coconuts), flower leis etc.. We went back to the head of the trail and arrived at precisely the time Bobby and Tim were coming out of the jungle, a little after 2 pm. We than proceed to begin our trip back, with a short stop at a nest of Vendors selling food along the road. We got a snack and traveled on to Makawao (cowboy town on Maui, where the cowboys were still hitching their ponies to Hitching posts as late as the 1990's) and the hitching posts are still there today. We wanted to get there before the shops closed at 6pm, because Sherry wanted to purchase chimes at one of the shops. We got there safely due in large part to Ashleea's supreme driving skills, nerves of steel and knowing all the short cuts across the island. After shopping for about 45 minutes in several of the many quaint little old shops we ate dinner at Casanova's an old Italian restaurant in Makawao. We got home around 9pm and still had our nightly Uker game, although we were all exhausted.

DAY NINE WEDNESDAY MAY 16th, 2012

Wednesday was the big day that Sherry and Tim were going to get their Tattoos from "Spikes West Side Ink", where Ashleea's daughter Genvieve's husband Jeremy works as a Tattoo artist. Since they were going there, Bobby decided to play golf with his regular four-some again, the first time he played golf while we were visiting. He had missed his Wednesday and Sunday golfing outings to honor the presence of his guests. It gave me a chance to catch my breath and just hang around the house and relax. When Bobby got home from golf, about 5pm, he took a quick shower and we all headed to Lahaina to meet Sherry and Tim and have dinner at the Lahaina Cooler, close to the Tattoo shop. It turns out that the owner of Spikes gave Sherry her Tattoo on the front of her shoulder and it was a Beautiful Hibiscus flower with a Dragon Fly (Sherry's Totem). After Sherry had her tattoo, Jeremy did a tattoo on Tim, Tim's first tattoo, which was a heart with a dagger through it and Ohio State written in. That means Tim is more than a fan of Ohio State. He is willing to bleed for Ohio State. Wow! And my brother Bobby thought he was a fan!! After dinner and much discussion about the day, we returned home about 9 pm for our nightly Uker game.

LAST DAY, DAY TEN THURSDAY MAY 17th, 2012

Thursday morning, was our departure day. We all got packed and went to a late breakfast at Three's. After a wonderful breakfast, we went to the Airport for our Return to the Mainland of the USA, from these remote islands some 4,000 miles from any land masses (most remote islands in the world). I did not get any rock fever or even realize I was on these isolated islands. I felt very relaxed and pleased to visit my brother Bobby and his lady Ashleea and had such a most awesome time taking in the many sights, smells of sugar cane harvest, fresh pineapples, fresh flowers of every kind and the most beautiful and exotic sights of the mountains and the ocean. What a fun and delightful trip, I wish I could have stayed for at least a couple more months. Tim returned his rental car and we departed Maui at 1pm. First flight was to LA. Second flight was from LA to Columbus, Ohio arriving at 7am on Friday morning. Ann and Herb were at the airport in Columbus to greet me and pick me up. I stayed at their house until about 2:30 pm before my daughter Bobbie picked me up and drove me back to my home in Wills Creek.

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COUSIN DEBI & HUSBAND TIM ANNUAL VISIT FROM CT.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:28:00 +0000

Above two pictures taken inside and outside of Mama's Fish House.

Another fantastic but short annual visit from Debi and Tim from Ct. This was the 27th year in a row that Debi has made her annual pilgrimage to Hawaii. What a fantastic time we had once again. They arrived in good health and full of energy. So off we went after picking them up at Noon from the Airport, we made our way to Mama's Fish House for lunch. On the way there we noticed the traffic backed all the way up from Kahului. This was about 12:15pm. When we left Mama's at 3pm the traffic was backed up even further, so Ashleea my lady said turn left towards Twin Falls. I almost brought our guests to visit our friends Will and Kalima at Twin Falls, but Ashleea said you cannot impose without notifying them in advance. I replied to her that she is correct. These people have visited us two years in a row, so I said next year, we will see if it is OK for us to visit Will and Kalima with our guests. We turned at Haiku, drove through there and up to Makawao, down to Halimaile General store and back down the mountain.

We then took them to visit our friend Dr. Tom Vendetti, who just got home from work at 4pm. He lives about a mile from Swinging Bridges hike (which he informed us is no longer available to anyone), how sad. I wanted them to see the view from his veranda, which looks like a view one might see in Africa, you see no houses just the natural beauty of the West Maui mountains. Also wanted them to visit and meet Tom. We stayed there for about one hour and than headed back to Kihei.

Before they left on January 5, 2012, we all went to a long breakfast at Gannon's (former Seawatch restaurant) in Wailea . They were on Oahu since Dec 27th and only diverted over to Maui to spend a few days with us January 4 & 5th.

We were sad to see them leave, but were happy with the thought that they will return next year, just like our annual visit from the Whales in Maui waters.

VIETNAM FRIENDS SAN RAMON & FRESNO

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:59:00 +0000

In 1981 I sponsored a Vietnam brother and sister into the US An and his sister Thuan. Even though I was financially responsible for them for four years, I did not do very much to help them, only a few hundred dollars each a few times and of course some meals and showing them around. An, worked his way through college with a Computer Science degree. An now owns his own computer company in Fairfax, Virginia, and employs about 150 workers. Thuan, now living in San Ramon, attended an electrical training school along with her future husband Richard and they both have worked in that industry for many years since. They, along with about 30 other Vietnam people I sponsored into the US are all doing better in business and their professions, than I ever did in my working career.

I visited An in July of 2011 for five days. We had a fabulous time with him,Kim his wife and Chris and Mai his son and daughter-in-law, both at his home and a house on the river with 5 acres about 3 hours south of Fairfax, still in Virginia.

From November 19 until Thanksgiving Day I visited with Thuan (American name Julia) and her husband Richard and their son Henry (Henry is a graduate of Cal Poly and is currently employed by Apple). Another son Louis could not make the visit with me as he was very busy with his studies at UCLA Computer Sciences. To say the boys are taking their educations serious, is putting it mildly, they are both honors students and working for Apple speaks for itself.

My trip to San Ramon, California was fabulous. My friends Julia and Richard were waiting for me at the airport when I arrived at Oakland. My Vietnam friends, both took off work to spend time with me. They had a beautiful home in a new neighborhood. The town of San Ramon was only created in 1983. There was a lottery for lots to build on. My friends wanted to move from Fremont CA. to San Ramon, because San Ramon had one of the very best public school system in the state of CA.. They missed getting a lot for the 1st and 2nd lotteries, but got lucky on the third and last lottery and their number was called. Richard and Julia's house is like a Mexican or Spanish style Stucco (top picture above from street view), very nice modern design. The ceiling in the main living room is 30 ft. high. They have lived there 8 years and have put both boys through high school there. First day we all went to a Car Show in San Francisco at the huge Mosconi Center. The second day we checked out the gorgeous landscaping in their back yard, the local park a block from their house, with full court basketball, tennis courts, softball field, picnic area, bathrooms etc., first class, with a beautiful golf course connected to it. We spent the afternoon driving up to the top of Mt. Diablo, where one has 360 degree views. On a clear day one can see 200 miles. We could see the Golden Gate bridge 45 miles away and San Francisco and other bridges in the Bay area. On top of the Observatory was an old oil very large lantern (last picture above), that was turned off during the Pearl Harbor attack because they thought the bright light would make a target for the Japanese and now they light it only on the eve of that date each year. The third day we drove the 3 hours one way to Fresno and ate at Mimi's Inn, a nice casual restaurant, where we met Linda, a former ex-sister-in-law of mine and her two daughters, Cathy and Kim. Cathy and Linda both have jobs in Fresno. Kim has graduated from college at UCLA and is now working as Manager of Admissions Operations for the UCLA School of Law. A really nice young lady with a great personality.

The whole time I was visiting my friends a TV and Radio was never turned on, Also I never got on their computer, we just visited, talked story and ate. That is what a vacation is supposed to be like!!

Buckeye Bob

TTUP GOT THEIR XMAS WISH

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:55:00 +0000

First of all, I wish to thank my partner for taking her valuable time to upload these photos to my blog!

We had a big turnout for the game Saturday, although the results was not what we wanted we did do some passing.

The guests in the above pictures were Tom and Sandy Troxell from Bend, Oregon, Rick and Lori from Atlanta, Ga., Doug Farmer and Erin Berhman from Kailua, Hawaii on Oahu plus many of our regulars.

Were beaten in 1st downs 23 to 18. Total yards 444 to 372. Possession 35:10 to 24:50. The good news is we now have Urban Meyer if he can repeat what he has done at other schools. That remains to be seen.

Our Basketball team is on fire, winning over Duke. If they can keep this up we may be in the Final Four this year.

Happy Holidays to you all

Buckeye Bob

sample from tmobile

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:04:00 +0000

BITTEN BY PURDUE MENTALLY DISTURBED BY PENN STATE

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:46:00 +0000

Picture above courtesy of Brett. Top row in back is Justin, Katie, Buckeye Bob, Cat and Leah. Middle row is Craig, Jacalyn, Barbara, Richard, Doreen, (in black shirt wife of Rick with Red shirt and hat they are from Georgia) and gray shirt Mick. Front row kneeling Howard, Zing and Zac Purdue fans and Brett.

Well our Buckeye team seemed to Psych themselves out and allowed Purdue to walk all over us. Teams have been running all over them, but our mighty buckeyes turned to cheese cake trying to run the ball. Ha! And our Defense did not play well either, disappointing everyone. In fact in almost every statistic Purdue was better than Ohio State. No one could ever believe Drew Basil could kick an extra point too low which enabled Purdue to block the kick and allowed Purdue to go on in OT and beat us. Purdue played two quarterbacks Celeb Terbash and Robert Marve and our Defense could not even muster up any type pressure on either one of them. While Braxton Miller had his best passing game 8 of 18 for 132 yards and the super pass to Jordan Hall to tie the game. The QB I liked from the get go was Kenny Guiton, but again regardless of the condition of the game, he was at best an after thought. Besides Guiton my other Great player who I believe should be starting every game is freshman Evan Spencer, whom I consider the best receiver on the team.

Purdue's best athletic on the field Silas Reed only got 15 carries for 53 yards. They mainly used Stephon Green who had 71 yards on 17 carries.

As a result of Drew Basil not having the capacity under pressure to either kick the long field goal or the GIVEN extra point, either one which would have given Ohio State the victory in regulation time, there are Three Big Losers. It dashed my hopes and The Buckeyes of going to The Big Ten Championship game. It dashed any hopes Luke Fickell had of being retained as the Ohio State head coach. While I almost liked Fickell, he definitely is not an innovative coach who could install an offense around Braxton Miller but instead he continued to be a Coach who attempted to emulate Tressel. Too bad Luke it cost you your career at Ohio State. And all of this after I believed with all my heart that we had a TEAM after our defeat of Illinois and Wisconsin. Some fans and observers say Fickell was looking over his shoulder during the Purdue game and looked sick at times. Whew, you can say that for me and a lot of other Buckeye fans as well.

Next up Penn State a distraught team in psychological turmoil concerning the allegations against Sandusky. Now Sandusky is saying he is innocent and the Penn State campus police say they have NO record of McQueary filing a report with them concerning the incident he said he witnessed in 2002. Either the Police Chief, who has since retired was corrupt and disposed of the report or McQueary is lying and never made a report or the file was just miss placed. In any case confusion is being put forth. Also, I wonder about Ray Gricar the DA who did nothing with the initial report on Sandusky in 1998. No one knows his reason and he was the only one who had the info on Sandusky and he disappeared in 2005, while taking a drive from home. His car was found and his hard drive (which is the only place the info on Sandusky was kept) and computer were found in separate locations in a river nearby. His body has never been found. To say the least this is indeed a peculiar case and makes one wonder if foul play occurred that may be linked to Sandusky. Of course this is only speculation on many people's minds. I did watch an old TV show "Disappeared" which ran an episode on Ray Gricar and I also watched a TV show on Fox last Saturday "Justice with Judge Jeanine" where she recapped the story about Mr. Gricar and also put in her own speculation that him missing and Sandusky may be linked.

Back to football, we are looking at two badly dismantled teams in Ohio State and Penn State and many fans have little hope that our Buckeyes can win another game this year. On top of many other excuses, we have more Key players injured. Hankins says he will play, in case he cannot another True Freshman Michael Bennett will take his place and he has 14 tackles in 10 games. Out for sure is Andrew Sweat and he will also be replaced by a true freshman Ryan Shazier who has seen a lot of action as a reserve so far this year. In the Purdue game he had 7 tackles and a sack. Ohio State is 10th in the nation at playing the most True Freshman this year. We have had 6 start in games and 14 who have at least played in one game so far.

Penn State has not given up 200 yards yet on the ground this year. And I doubt if any of our backs can get 100 yards in this game. Our passing attack is the worst in Big Ten and 118th in the Nation. Also I doubt if Miller can get over 100 yards passing unless our Offensive Line comes up with their Best game of the Year. Penn States Defense is not planning on giving up anything to Ohio State. Probably the first team to score will win the game. Both of our offenses are ANEMIC. While Penn States Defense is better than Ohio States. It will be a very close game and I can not understand for the life of me how Ohio State could be a 7 point favorite. Ohio State has lost their 3 Big Ten games by a total of 13 points!!! And it seems funny that out of the last 25 matches between Ohio State and Penn State, the Buckeyes have won 13 and the Nittany Lions have won 12.

As Buckeye fans we must all remember and pay our respect to the 24 Seniors who will play their last game at Ohio Stadium this Saturday. Nine of them have started games this year. They are Mike Brewster, J. B. Shugarts, Devier Posey, Mike Adams, Boon Herron, Andrew Sweat, Tyler Moeller, Joe Bauserman and Solomon Thomas.

Miracles do happen and it will take several for The Buckeyes to make it yet to The Big Ten Conference championship game. The biggest one this week will be Illinois beating Wisconsin. If that does not happen, regardless of what Ohio State does in their final two games, we will not play in the Championship game.

Good Luck Buckeye Nation.

Buckeye Bob signing off until my next post.

OSU 2011 WIN OVER INDIANA & PENN STATE SANDUSKY SCANDAL

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:58:00 +0000

We had a good turn out at The Sports Page Bar and Grill on Saturday to watch our Buckeyes claw and scratch their way to a close victory over Indiana, especially when the spread was OSU giving 30 points. The above pictures are courtesy of Doreen Needham, Katie Cook and Ashie.

The top picture taken with Doreen's cell phone shows front row: Craig Haveisen (welcome back), Barbara, Joann Freberg (Katie's local friend), Cat and Doreen. Second row: Doreen's sister Jacalyn, Buckeye Bob, Buckeye Katie behind Bob, Justin, Richard, Brett and Leah. A note, Doreen and Jacalyn were visiting Maui from Worthington, Ohio.

The second picture down from top is Buckeye Bob showing off his new collectible Ohio State Stein given to him by his loving sister Sue as a Birthday gift. Bob is accompanied by model Genvieve.

Third picture down from top is Buckeye Bob again with new Stein and other Buckeye collectibles including OSU Aloha shirt, Buckeye Socks, glass from 1970 Rose Bowl, another stein from 1971 Rose Bowl and of course a small towel from this year depicting the 75th year of Script Ohio. On that note, a girl dotted the eye when I was at the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game and I believe again for the Indiana game.

Last picture down from top is Buckeye Katie our official cheer leader and Public Relations person for our local group of Buckeye fans toasting her friend Joann Freberg with a Bloody Mary for our victory over Indiana. Note about Katie, she and Justin plan to marry next fall 2012.

As Ohio State was expected to win by a large margin in this game, that did not happen. I personally did not expect a lopsided victory. I know and believe Ohio State has enough energy and talent on the team to squeak by their next three opponents and go to the Big Ten Championship game, but I do not expect to win any game by more than two touchdowns. They are a 7 point favorite this week at Purdue. And we have lost the last two out of four games at Purdue, more about that game review in a couple days, on my next blog.

The freshman QB Tre Roberson for Indiana played a great game. He was 11 for 21 passing for 127 yards passing and one TD vs. Miller 5 for 11 and 55 yards passing and NO TD. Tre also ran for 70 yards. The Indiana Defense played much better than expected making it tough for OSU to move the chains.

They had 19 first downs compared to our 17. They had 10 first downs passing compared to our 2. On Third Down conversions they were 10 of 17 compared to our 3 of 9. Time of possession they also lead with 30:54 to our 29:06. We did have three (3) hundred yard rushers with Herron having 141, Miller and Hyde with 105 yards each. Our one Big injury loss of the game was J. B. Shugarts and the Buckeyes will have to scramble a bit on the Offensive Line to replace him.

Dan from North Carolina gave me a heads up on how bad the situation is at Penn State during a phone conversation on Monday. After talking to him, I spent an hour and a half reading articles about the situation and the fact that Paterno will be OUT at Penn State. He knew about this situation in 2002, or perhaps even before. He said he did the right thing by reporting to the University. Also, he said he did not know the details of what the coach reported to him. I'm sorry but in my opinion I believe he is simply lying (that coach told him the direct details of what occurred). And as Dan said, if you care about the well being of young folks or even if you do not "You report this type behavior directly to the Police" Paterno is like a lot of the Good Ole Boy clicks, who will overlook such behavior and laugh about it if one of their own is doing it. In other words I now believe Paterno is a farce and a hypocrite!! If the University did nothing, after a short wait, Joe should have turned the Jerk Sandusky over to the authorities (how else would he protect other young man?) He also said if what is reported is true, we have all been fooled (what a joke)!! I think the whole group should be put in prison and throw away the key. They were all accomplices to very serious crimes. Anyone would say it was a BIG crime if it was their kid who was molested or worse yet, if they were ANY of the victims. And Sandusky had been conducting these heinous crimes way before 2002. How many kids he destroyed we do not know yet, but more will be stepping forward and there will probably remain many who will not step forward, so we will never really know how many kids he molested. I can not believe Joe Pa was at Penn State football practice today (how can he believe he is innocent?). How could he possibly have the nerve to be anywhere close to campus? And of course the same goes for the coach who reported this matter to Joe in 2002, who witnessed Sandusky sodomising a child in the locker room. How could that coach not approach Sandusky at that time and knock the crap out of him, what was he running to Paterno for? Please forgive me if you believe I am going overboard concerning this matter, but I'm infuriated by this situation!!!

I'm upset that this situation happened at Penn State. I wanted them to be at their best and full potential as a football team when OSU plays them and beats them. Now a victory unfortunatelly will mean much less.

I Congratulation Dan from North Carolina on his WIN at golf with Danny and I at the prestigious Longaburger Golf Course near Newark, Ohio when I was back for the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game. He was the only one who had any consistency in the 36% weather, cart path only and on top of that we had a FROST delay for an hour and a half.

On that note I just received the latest e-mail from Dan in North Carolina today bearing gifts, which follows: Thanks Dan.

"It looks more and more like OSU may get a chance at the Big Ten Championship Game. And while I in no way acknowledge the lame ass bet you have laid at my feet, I will buy you(and me as well) a ticket to that game should they make it. You'll have to worry about your own airfare. We could go to dinner everyday at 4:30 if that would make you feel more comfortable."

Also, Dan told me about a website he likes about college football www.bleacherreport.com I will add this to my Blog site later as a link. It includes in depth info concerning Ohio State.

News just came in that Paterno has been officially retired by the Penn State University effective immediately. That is very GOOD news and is the only way it could be. They say they have 5 potential candidates for the replacement coaching job and none of those are on the present coaching staff.

During my trip home to witness the Buckeyes upset of Wisconsin, I had a marathon trip. I left Maui on October 25th at 6:30am on Pacific Wings airlines, 9 passenger small plane to the island of Molokai. Molokai to Honolulu on Pacific Wings, arriving at 8:30am. Since I did not leave Honolulu on United airlines until 8:45pm, I decided to take a taxi from the airport to one of the closest golf courses Pearl Country Club, which is owned by Honda. The taxi turned out to be a Limousine. I played 36 holes (two rounds) with a great lunch in between rounds. During the first round I was astounded when the Marshall came out to greet me on the 4th hole, with a cup of fresh coffee!! That was a first for me and I have been playing golf for over 40 years. The golf course and staff were fabulous!! I also took a shower and shaved before I left Pearl Country Club. I left for San Francisco at 8:45pm and arrived there at 4:50am on October 26th. I left San Francisco for Denver at 8:30am arriving at Denver at 11:59am. Left Denver at 2:22pm and finally arrived at Columbus, Ohio at 7pm.

Buckeye Bob until review of upcoming blog on Purdue game. GO BUCKS!!!

OHIO STATE DEFEATS ILLINOIS WE HAVE A TEAM

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 23:40:00 +0000

Wow! A victory over Illinois!! Above picture taken of our small group of Buckeye faithful at the Sports Page Bar and Grill on Saturday October 15th, 2011, compliments of Buckeye Katies Cell Telephone. While the picture is not the clearest, it is a picture of our happy group toasting Champagne. From left to right, Cat, Barbara in back, Richard, Katie in back, Joe visiting from Las Vegas, Justin behind Joe, Melissa, Buckeye Bob, Leah in back and Brett.

Joe in the center of the picture was visiting Maui with his wife Amy for their 7th Wedding Anniversary from Las Vegas. Joe is a fantastic Buckeye and great supporter of our football team. He also has a great personality and vast knowledge of The Ohio State football team. Thanks for you input Joe.

Now the Buckeyes victory, the Defense was the Star and came through Big Time. The Offense mustered only a field goal off any of their drives down the field. And we could have been beat 7 to 3, but because the Defense got three turnovers and we scored off two of them, we prevailed with the 17-7 Victory. Bradley Roby, thanks to the wind carrying a pass 10 yards over its target made an interception and returned it to the Illinois 12 yard line where returning running back Herron ran his first touchdown into the end zone this year. Also A. J. Jenkins fumbled the ball at the Illinois 37 yard line and we also scored off that Illinois turnover.

The first half the score was Ohio State 3 Illinois 0. On one drive in fourth quarter Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhasse finally got the only score of the game for Illinois on a 3 yard pass. Coach Zook said the difference in the game was the 3 Illinois turnovers and I agree 100%.

Coach Fickell had a game plan of run, run and run, which Woody Hayes would have been proud of. Also, Richard of our small group of fans, said the same thing. Richard was upset when they tried to make any pass, saying the pass attempts usually ending in Miller getting sacked just stopped potential touchdown drives. Richard is probably right.

Now completing only One pass out of Four attempts is not good, but two of the passes were dropped. Our receivers have to catch the ball when it hits them on the numbers. The last time Ohio State only completed one pass in a game was in 1976 when Rod Gerald was quarterback and Ohio State was ranked 2nd in the country. Missouri beat us in that game 22 to 21. We did not even attempt a pass until 7:22 of second quarter in this game. The first pass we completed was very good, at least it was for a touchdown of 17 yards to Jake Stoneburner, who was wide open in the end zone and happened at 13:06 in the game.

Illinois came into the game 6 and 0 and averaging 450 yards and 34.7 points per game. We held them to 285 yards and their only touchdown came with 6:22 left in game. Nathan Scheelhasse was 20-34 with 169 yards passing. He was also the leading rusher for Illinois with 49 yards. Jason Ford their Senior running back and leading rusher this year got hurt in 3rd quarter and left game with only 30 yards in 6 carries. Their leading receiver A. J. Jenkins who came into game averaging 135 yards per game, was held to 8 catches for 80 yards. Illinois had a total of 285 yards for the game. Ohio State only had 228 yards total Offense with 211 on ground and 17 in air.

Herron did the bulk of the rushing work with 114 yards and one touchdown in his first game of the season. The Buckeyes only had 14 first downs compared to 18 for Illinois. We had only 3 out of 12 on third down conversions, a 25% ratio while Illinois got 5 of 12 for 42% on third down conversions. Ohio State did not have any turnovers and their Defense was swarming to the ball all game long and got three turnovers.

We have two weeks to prepare for the Wisconsin game and perhaps we can make a good showing in that game, if not a victory perhaps a very close and good game. I believe it is great that Wisconsin plays Michigan State this coming Saturday October 22. The Michigan State Defense appears like it is for real, but Wisconsin will be their Best test of the year. My wishes is for Michigan State to have the upset of the year and defeat Wisconsin some way. And for Ohio State to follow up with another victory over Wisconsin. Now would that make our season suddenly smelling like roses instead of smelling of skunks?

Talking about Michigan State they have now beat Michigan four games in a row. The last time that happened was 1959-62. Michigan tried to get a first down four times on Fourth down and only pulled it off twice. The worst try was Fourth and One on Michigan States nine yard line with 6:16 left in the game. Cousins only had 120 yards passing and Edwin Baker ran for 167 yards in the victory for Michigan State and enabled them to walk away with the Paul Bunyan trophy. Robinson was ineffective against a stiff Michigan State Defense that had 7 sacks. Michigan had 0 sacks Back up quarterback for Michigan Devin Gardner came in for Robinson and was also ineffective.

Buckeye Bob will do a blog on the upcoming Michigan State vs. Wisconsin game this week and another blog after that game.

With hope finally that we may win 4 of our last 5 games, the only possible loss being Wisconsin.
Buckeye Bob positive and Alive on Maui. GO BUCKS THE COMEBACK IN ON FOR 2011. We finally have a TEAM, especially a DEFENSE.

OHIO STATE TURNING POINT OR SCRIMMAGE

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 07:54:00 +0000

So far it has been a dismal football season for The Ohio State University football team. Will the addition of Mike Adams really make a difference? Will Braxton Miller continue to improve? Can Boom Herron show up and will he be ready to play and be an influence on Offense? Can the Defense play well when they are needed most?

Actually my Quarterback of choice from the get Go was Kenny Guiton, will he get a chance to be a leader? Well the experts feel if Ohio State plays their best game, they will still only have a 33% chance of winning. Thus, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that our Buckeyes will loose their third game in a row. If that is the case, then we may as well consider we are playing the opponents the balance of the season with a Scrimmage team. It can no longer be considered a legitimate college football team

On the bright side, everyone on the team is holding their heads high as though they were an undefeated team. There may be some credibility to their positive attitudes, since Ohio State probably has as many four and five Star players on the field as any team in the nation (the only problem is many of them lack experience and are young). The Offensive Line has the most experience and could be one of the most talented in the Big Ten.

On the Negative side, Whitney Mercilus leads the nation with 8.5 sacks and the Illinois team leads the nation with 22 sacks. As it did not seem that Nebraska tried to rush the quarterback much last week, this week we can expect that Illinois will be relentless in trying to get to the quarterback. Michigan State destroyed us with 9 sacks. However, all our Offensive lineman are available, can they pull it together to save the day for our Buckeyes?

Talking about Michigan State, if their Defense is for real, will they be able to beat Michigan, some experts are picking Michigan State. It was Michigan State that sealed the fate of Michigan the last few years.

We all know what quarterback Scheelhasse can do. And there are few receivers in the nation as hot as A. J. Jenkins who caught 18 passes for 450 yards and five touchdowns in the past two games.

In conclusion, if we bring our A game, we may prevent a rout. Otherwise, it will be a long day.

As everyone knows who watched last weeks game against Nebraska, anything is possible in college football, and we Buckeyes fans will be holding our heads high Win or Lose.

Buckeye Bob

MILLER STRIPPED AND DEFENSE DISAPEARS

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 05:20:00 +0000

I had a winning trip to Nebraska, even though The Ohio State football team lost.

I got home at 3am Monday morning. The plane out of LA had a mechanical problem. They finally bussed us to another terminal for a back-up plane but to find out they did not have a crew. At 10pm had a crew, missing two stewardesses, the management said they did not know where the other two were. They got there by 11pm, which made a 5 hour delay for our flight. Other than that I had a smooth trip to Omaha and over to Lincoln for the loss.

While I had a great time touring the campus, the Capital and all their best restaurants (the only Cajun restaurant in Town Buzzard Billy's and the only two health food restaurants in town The Grateful Greens and Maggies), of course I was not surprised we lost. However, like everyone else I had surrendered any expectations of any Offense and was in shock to be ahead by 27-6 in the 3rd quarter. Then I was in TOTAL SHOCK when our Defense could not hold them, and seemingly left the field to allow Nebraska an uncontested practice session, where there was NO defense on the field, which allowed Nebraska's greatest come back in the history of Nebraska football, scoring four touchdowns in the last quarter and a half!!!

I also played golf Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 18 holes each day. I toured Omaha some, since I flew in and out of there and rented a car there. My golfing buddy Shanti could not make it. I told him I had the room, car and would pay for all his golf and food. He tried for two days but could not find any seats on planes coming into Lincoln or Omaha. The best he could find was a rate of $580, but to get that he would have to stay in Phoenix one night and he lives in Sedona, Arizona. So unfortunately, he did not make it. The reason is of course because of the Nebraska football game, they have the longest record of sold out crowds in the history of college football, sold out since 1965. It is the only big thing going on in the State of Nebraska!! I played golf by myself, started about 3pm each day. Even on the golf course they were very nice. On Maui they are very strict and tell you to be back at the club house by 6:30pm. There they said enjoy yourself, someone will be in the club house after dark, play as long as you want. I would get in at dark every night.

The people I met were unsurpassed in their kindness, consideration and they went out of their way to make sure I was welcome in their neck of the woods so to speak, even all the Nebraska fans I sat with in the stadium were great!!

My favorite lady I met was staying at our hotel. She was 92 and drove 150 miles from her house where she lives alone to pick her son up at the Lincoln airport. I saw her at breakfast Saturday and Sunday mornings. I asked her if she stopped often when she drove the 150 miles? And she replied "why would I stop it is such a short trip and my car holds plenty of gas". This lady lives alone, her husband passed away 7 years ago. She has no hip or knee replacements and does not need any aids when she gets around. On Sunday morning she got up at 4:30am took her son and dropped him back at the Lincoln airport by 5:30am. I asked her if she stayed for the whole football game Saturday?. She replied that she certainly did, she always stays until the end of the game. She has been a season ticket holder for over 50 years. I said did you get cold and wet and she said heck No, that little bit of rain and cold weather felt good. She got to the game early with her son and they toured a couple museums on campus, so she was probably walking for an hour or so, plus climbing all the steps to her seat. I asked her what was the success for a long healthy life. She said keep busy. She is involved with her church and she belongs to several Bridge groups and a garden club and she is the Secretary of a couple of the groups. What an amazing lady, God bless her!!!

The Ohio State University is due for a major face over, from the President down to and including every coach known to have associated with this current mess.

Also, the NCAA could make some changes as well. Unless a student commits a crime, let the University themselves deal with the petty stuff. And of course have a University and Coaching staff capable of doing such.

Buckeye Bob GO BUCKS

OHIO STATE COACH BOLLMAN HAS TO GO

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 23:34:00 +0000

I have TWO positive things to say after today's game and neither one has anything to do with The Ohio State football team. And I have to put the positive out first before I lay a verbal licking on The Ohio State football team, Yes Verbal ABUSE, arrest me if you wish.

The positive news of the day. When I arrived at the Sports Page, I noticed Misha the owner and Melissa our waitress were wearing Ohio State t-shirts, but not the ones I gave them last week, instead they went shopping this past week and bought everyone on the staff at the Sports Page Bar and Grill new Ohio State t-shirts. Now I have to go out and buy another Ohio State T-shirt to be just like theirs, so the next time we are not crying so hard and it is possible to take a picture, we will all have matching T-shirts on.

The other positive of the day, the first person I met at the Sports Page Bar and Grill today was Tyler Hanson, who is on the Fiesta Bowl committee. He lives in Phoenix and has been on the committee that hosted Ohio State twice. He said one committee member spends the week with one of the two teams represented in the Fiesta Bowl. He had the privilege of spending ONE week with our Buckeye team and being the host to Jim and Ellen Tressel. He said he can honestly say that Coach Tressel is the best coach he has ever had the privilege of meeting as a coach and as a person. He said Ellen, Tressel's wife, is equally as nice. He only had compliments for both. That was good to hear, although, I know a lot of people do not agree.

Brett said he forgot his camera today, but I believe it was because all us looser Buckeyes were crying so much, he did not want to embarrass us or himself. It would not be good to show the Nation that a few fans DO CARE about our Beloved Ohio State team, but it is tough to see them slaughtered.

This is not me saying this but the announcers of the game. They said a Scout Team or Scrimmage Team could muster up more Offense than Ohio State today. Let us put it this way, if you are DEAD last in passing Offense in the Nation and not far behind in your Running game, I do not care if you have ALL freshman on the field, this is Ohio State, supposed to be a Big Ten Team???.....you have to be better than what we saw today!!!!! Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, a high school coach could call a better game offensively than BOLLMAN. I do not believe in hanging anyone, but please Ohio State get rid of this Jerk of a Coach.

Also, the announcers said in the fourth quarter, if this were a boxing match, they would have stopped it. That is 100% correct. And that was demonstrated by the coaches NOT calling a time out at the end of the first half, to even DARE try an offensive play, instead, LIKE THE COWARDS they are they GLADLY let the Clock expire. That is it boys, run off the field with your tail between your legs!!

This team is not as bad as Dan suggested, they are TWICE as bad. Let me put it this way if Ohio State looses three games in a row, I deserve to pay Dan $100 instead of the $60 we have bet. Here is the situation, the FOUR CROOKS that come back next week. Boooooo!!! We do not need you bums, good bye!!!! I would rather loose with what we have NOTHING. How do they think they will improve the game??? They were not allowed to practice with the team, they have not played a game all year, they are probably out of shape just like Jordan Hall was when he came back. They are not that good to begin with!!! They are not going to help this team one bit, only make it worse if that is possible!!! The only TWO peple who I feel can make a POSITIVE contribution to this helpless team (A LARGE PART OF THEIR INEPTNESS IS THE PLAY CALLING OF OUR STUPID OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BOLLMAN, have I mentioned that he should be fired immediateley?) is Defensive End Nathan Williams if he returns from an injury next week and the best receiver we have had all year EVAN SPENCER, who caught the touchdown today and who made the spectacular catch against Akron in game one. After the Akron game, the genius that Bollman is put him on the shelf for awhile, until it seemed hopeless today, they then stick him in the game and guess what happens he makes a catch and scores a touchdown. Have I told anyone Bollman is not qualified to be a high school coach!!! He could not see talent if it slapped him in the face!!!

I will be gone next week, Yes I will be at the Nebraska game. I will check out the hot spots around campus and on campus. I look at it this way, after I have had a good couple days checking the place out, it will be the same as a victory to me, so if the team looses so what, I already have a personal victory. If they WIN, heaven forbid, I have a Victory of The Ohio State football team to celebrate as well. Anyway one looks at my situation, I cannot loose. Do not fill sorry for me. Do not send me flowers!!

Unless I can get a blog out before I leave for Nebraska this Tuesday, I will put my next blog out after our LOSS to Nebraska.

I guess the experts are correct. The Buckeye Nation and The Ohio State University has given up completely on the 2011 version of The Ohio State football team and are looking ahead to greener pastures in the future.

I do appreciate all the fans that showed up at the Sports Page today. Of course Brett, Leaha and Cat. Also, welcome back to Justin (Katie could not make it because of work). And thanks to our extended family and host for the games on Maui, The Sports Page Bar and Grill and Misha, Melissa, Steve and Giselle.

Buckeye Bob GO BUCKS!! Never give up, miracles do happen, but perhaps none are in store for us this year.

OHIO STATE vs. MICHIGAN STATE

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:27:00 +0000

It is a mixed bag as to who will win this game. Neither team has yet to get their game where they would like it. Some experts like Las Vegas odds makers are picking Ohio State by three point, while College Football News is picking Michigan State by three. It seems to be a toss up according to the experts.

When one reflects on the statistics compiled so far by each team, that favors MSU in almost every statistic both on Offense and Defense. In Total Defense and Pass Defense the Spartans are number one in the nation. While conversely, Ohio State is worst in the nation or close to it in Passing Offense. There is only one category where our Buckeyes have the edge and that is Rushing Offense and before anyone gets excited, we are only 7th in the Big Ten, While MSU is 9th.

We both lost our only road game by exactly 18 points.

Kirk Cousins is the big gun for MSU, completing 69.2% of his passes for 947 yards and 5 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. his favorite target is B. J. Cunningham with 29 catches for 428 yards, almost half of Cousins passing yards. Running Back Leveon Bell has 217 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Ohio State only has two starting Seniors on defense Andrew Sweat and Tyler Moeller. We are missing receiver Philly Brown and Defensive End Nathan Williams for this game, but both may be back for the Nebraska game. Devin Smith will be the fastest receiver on the field for the Buckeyes.

The Spartans are allowing only 101 yards passing per game and have intercepted 6 passes. Opposing QB's are only completing 49.5% of their passes. Michigan State has one of the best secondaries in the conference in Safeties Trenton Robinson and Isaiah Lewis.

I expect Braxton Miller to continue to improve in both his running and passing. If he continues to improve and the Defense can improve, we will prevail in this contest. All we can ask for as fans is improvement overall each week coupled with a Win.

I am anxious to see how the Big Ten season begins. Hopefully on a high note for us Buckeyes, GO BUCKS!!!

Richard and Barbara Long part of our core group of Buckeye supporters on Maui will be attending the game.

Also, I would like to give credit to Brett for supplying all the pictures for us at the Sports Page Bar and Grill.

BUCKEYE BOB

OSU VICTORY vs. COLORADO & CHAMPAGNE FLOWS

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:21:00 +0000

Sports Page Bar and Grill is becoming a family affair. Top picture of Buckeye Bob, Cat and Brett toasting our champagne in front of NEW large screen TV, compliments of new owner Misha. Middle picture is Buckeye Bob accepting gift from visiting President of Las Vegas alumni club Christopher Burke, a small silver flask. Above picture is of our new family of Buckeyes, thanks to Misha new owner of the Sports Page Bar and Grill. Those pictured are Giselle left with all the beautiful hair, Melissa our waitress (she is great), behind her is Brett, next is Cat and Buckeye Bob behind her, Misha the new owner of The Sports Page Bar and Grill and Steve on right. Steve has been the TV man, who knows what team is on what satellite or channel for the past 10 years. Steve also let our group in early at 5am for our 6am games many times even though the Sports Page has never officially opened until 8am. Steve also helps with the cooking when needed. Thanks to all of you for making our Saturdays very SPECIAL during the football season.

The first person I met this past Saturday at the Sports Page was Larry Baber who is on the Holiday Bowl committee and responsible for the Team Selections. I told him the way Ohio State is playing we may be back in that bowl this year. He said that cannot happen because Ohio State no longer has a contract with that bowl.

Ohio State performed the way I expected them to against Colorado. With the new QB Braxton Miller they played well enough for an easy victory. Yes they got some big breaks, the defense did not look stellar and Braxton's arm throwing the ball was below average. However on a few tosses he did show that he had the potential to be average or above somewhere down the road.

What we are looking for is a steady improvement each week in all factors of The Ohio State football team and I believe that will happen. Just a little better each week. Michigan State is only an average football team with an above average QB in Cousins a senior. However, I believe Ohio State can squeak by them. Next is Nebraska?

My hope is, that Nebraska will beat Wisconsin this Saturday night. I know the chances of that happening are very slim, since the game is at Camp Randall and the Badgers do appear so far to be the standout team in the Big Ten. Strange things do happen occasionally!! So if Nebraska beats Wisconsin and we beat MSU this week and beat Nebraska at home the week after, it will be Ohio State looking the best in the Big Ten or at least in the Leaders Division. It could all happen. However, if Ohio State does not beat Wisconsin on October 29, we will be out of the Big Ten Championship game, since both Wisconsin and Ohio State are in the Leaders Division, unless Wisconsin looses two games and Ohio State only looses one. So even if Wisconsin does beat Nebraska this Saturday, if we beat Wisconsin and do not loose another Big Ten game, we will define our own destiny. This conversation has too many if's, so lets put it on hold for the time being.

After the game against Colorado and after the Champagne my good friend Dan called me from Ohio, where he attended the game. He went to the game with his Uncle Herb and my sister Ann. During our phone conversation, we somehow made a bet. I said Ohio State would win the next three games and he said No, so we have a $20 bet on for each of the next three games. Below is what Dan said about our game against Colorado:

"The game Saturday was not a good one and I think they would have been better off scrimmaging with themselves. Jordan Hall should have been kicked off the team just because of his association with TP. He should be benched when the TAT5 returns. What I did see that was good was the O-Line sustaining their blocks. But the whole offense looked like a version of the single wing. And that decision to go for a Field Goal from the one yard line was vintage Tressel. I'm figuring how to spend that $60."

Dan is from Laurinsburg, North Carolina and this is what he said next:

"Laurinburg is in Scotland County and they are having the annual Scottish Games on Saturday. It might be better to watch a bunch of guys in skirts compete than watching MSU/OSU. I actually don't think MSU is anything better than mediocre so you may have a chance. "

Next Dan was trying to give me a chance to get out of the bet we made for the next three weeks.

"Because I like you and you're sorta family, I'm gonna offer you a buyout. Agree to paying me $40 now and I'll let you out of the bet. My advice is just write the check and blame it on the Champagne you drank on Saturday. You sounded sloshed. Hell, you must have been to make the bet you made. Don't hesitate on this. I might change my mind I've gotta go; Las Vegas is calling, they want to get my input for setting the lines for next week."

Dan did not care for my e-mail reply to him where I was doing my best job of building the Buckeyes up. I also told him if the Buckeyes go to the Big Ten Championship game at Indianapolis I expect him to pay for my ticket to attend that game. Here is his reply:

"Try to keep up. You are delusional about the Suckeyes. Just show this ranting email to your psychiatrist and they will agree that you have a problem. But be careful, you may end up in a straight jacket. As far as the so called bet for a ticket to the Big Ten Championship, it is an invalid bet. There is nothing offered to me if I win the bet. In Business Law it's called a "lack of consideration". You should know this. Oh, I forgot where you went to school. Besides that, OSU and Wisconsin are in the same division and you've acknowledged that OSU will likely lose to Wisconsin. Ergo, even if Wisconsin loses a game, they will still represent the division because of the head-to-head win against OSU. Again, try to keep up. Your statement about your QB being "the best on the field" only would be valid if Braxton Miller were throwing footballs in one of Joanne's pastures (referring to his wife's horse farm). Bob, it's becoming clear that Assisted Living is in your near future. Dan"

Dan was telling me about his son and the possibility that he may apply for Med school soon and if that happens the possibility of his son helping me. Also, a comment about his Bull dogs and a slur against our beloved Buckeyes. Lucky we Buckeyes have thick skin. Ha!

"My son got his MCAT scores yesterday and he did quite well. He scored a 30(80th percentile). He will wait till June to apply to Med School because that's when the new classes start to be filled. Otherwise, he's competing for fewer slots. If he decides to study gerontology, he could possibly help you. Oh, no, wait-by then you'll be strapped to a Nursing Home bed, drooling and yelling Bring Back Tressel. One of my Bulldogs is having a real flatulence problem. To an OSU alum, that means he's farting. Speaking of OSU alums, I need to go to Walmart to do some grocery shopping."

Correction from my last blog: My friend Bob Garner from Indiana, I said only held jobs for the railroads his entire life. That is incorrect, sorry Bob. He did work for the Indiana Department of Transportation as Deputy Director-Division of Railroads from 1984 to 1988. Even though he did not work directly for a railroad, he was working with the railroad operations connected to the Indiana Department of Transportation. When we met last Tuesday Bob and I hit it off just like we had when we first met 39 years ago. We must have been put on Earth to be friends.

Buckeye Bob until preview of Michigan State game.

OHIO STATE BRAXTON MILLER MOVE FORWARD

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 01:13:00 +0000

Above picture of Buckeye Bob and Bob Garner. Got a call Monday from my long time friend Bob Garner, whom I had not seen in person since 1972. My mate Ashleea and I had lunch with him at the Westin on Tuesday September 20, 2011. Bob took my place at Sterling yard, Michigan in 1972, where I was a Yard Master for the Penn Central railroad. Bob also took over my apartment at Mt. Clemons, Michigan including all my belongings, silverware, the whole shebang!!
I was promoted to Train Master and moved on to Lansing Michigan, where I was in charge of the railroad territory from Lansing South to Jackson, Michigan. Bob is now retired, last job as President of a small railroad line in Indiana. Bob with his wife Sherry and two daughters resides in Brownsburg, Indiana. One of his daughters graduated from Miami, Ohio and his other daughter is attending Penn State. Bob is a graduate of Purdue. Bob had a unique career, beginning with the Penn Central railroad as a Management Trainee, while in High School and continued to work for different Railroads for the rest of his career until retirement.

Now for my two cents for the Colorado vs. Ohio State game tomorrow and Braxton Miller and Ohio State football for the balance of 2011.

Brace yourself, The Buckeyes are back!!! It may not be pretty the rest of the season, but our team will begin to eek out victory after victory. Braxton Miller may make his share of Freshman mistakes but in the long run, I believe he will be better than Pryor. Also, have you noticed that there are very few Seniors on this team. Thus I believe we have a bright future (barring NO more scandals).

Last week I was so ashamed of Jordan Hall whom I really think is a great player. He let himself get out of shape during his time away from the team and that is inexcusable!! He kept getting leg cramps, which kept him out of a lot of plays last week. If he was serious about the game of football and would have kept himself in shape the offense may have scored a couple touchdowns. But none the less we would still no doubt have lost that game

The right choice was made on QB,and now I believe the team will begin to gel into a legitimate contender. Look out, hopefully my intuition is not out of whack and I'm not just delirious with Buckeye fever. Let us see what happens, and hopefully our mouths will begin to drop open with surprise and Awe at our teams success!! Yes, I feel it coming and it is all good for Ohio State.

A lot of teams are going to lose games this year and I do not believe any team will go undefeated, perhaps with the exception of Boise State.

Colorado is 1 win and 2 losses so far, winning their first game against Colorado State last week 28-14. Now like Toledo and Miami last week, they will be coming in thinking they can beat Ohio State. Their main running back is Rodney Stewart from Westerville 25 miles from the Ohio State campus, so he will be trying especially hard to impress his friends and family. Colorado is led by first year coach Jon Embree who is trying to resurrect his alma mater and his Buff Defense ranks 12th in the nation in sacks with 12. The guys putting pressure on our QB will be DE Chidera Uzo-Diribe and Linebackers John Hartigan and Douglas Rippey. They have a good WR Paul Richardson with 7 TD receptions from QB Tyler Hansen.

Look for John Simon and Jonathan Hankins to put pressure on the Colorado QB, with help from Linebackers Andrew Sweat and Etienne Sabino.

If I were a betting man, I believe I would take Colorado and the 14.5 points, but Ohio State will win. Also, I believe I would take San Diego State and the 10.5 points against Michigan. As inept as they are, I would even take Florida Atlanta and the 33.5 points against Auburn. There are going to many good college football games again this weekend.

I saw a strange thing this week. I noticed a Big Ten preview of this week's games in The USA Today. However, they previewed every game except The Ohio State game, how strange is that?

GO BUCKS!!! Buckeye Bob until next blog

OHIO STATE ABSENT COACH PLAYERS OR BOTH

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:49:00 +0000

Melissa our waitress did a fantastic job on Saturday making sure everyone in our group of Buckeyes were well taken care of. Thank you Melissa. Since Brett is the only one who brought a camera, he did not get it out of his car until the game was over. Unfortunately, some of our OSU group had to leave early because of other obligations. I was shocked when I walked into the Sports Page at 10:30am to save the table in front of the only Big TV for our group for the 1:30pm game. There was another Buckeye fan dressed almost exactly as I was. He had the same Eddie George shirt and same red cap as I was wearing. So the above picture is of Ryan and Buckeye Bob. The top picture is Richard, Brett in back, Barbara, Ryan in back of his wife Kelly (from Cincinatti on Maui for their honeymoon), Chris Burke (President of Las Vegas OSU alumni club), Lena his friend, Buckeye Bob in back and Red (Chris Garinger) from Las Vegas.

Some of group not in picture were: Leah, Bob Kendall from Seattle, Cat, Karen & John Amos from Seattle. A visiting alumni on Maui Adam Hoy, with a group of 8 other Buckeyes was going to attend the game at the Sports Page with us, but he e-mailed me the morning of the game that his group had to catch a shuttle at 2:45pm for the wedding they were here to attend and they would not make it to the Sports Page. After the game this was my reply to Adam:

"Adam

Sorry you could not make it but you saved yourself a lot of pain. Offense nonexistent (not even an effort). Look for Braxton Miller to start the next game and for Ohio State to move forward from there. Sorry but coach Fickell has to go also, he is too fickel, unable to even call a time out. Time to clean out all the coaching staff, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, Fickell and so forth and so on. Also need to get rid of Gene Smith Athletic director and The President of the University Gordon Gee. We Buckeye fans have had enough of this CHAINING the players up and not allowing them to play. The defense did play but was on the field way too much, they should have had 4 interceptions instead of 2 and scored a couple touchdowns, only chance we had of winning today as pityful as it sounds."

At least one Buckeye, who did attend the game at the Sports Page Bar and Grill on Saturday had a good time. Red (Chris Garinger) from Las Vegas as he joined a table of seven young women who had NO interest in football and partied the whole time, he did glance at the game late in the third quarter and said "We need a rally shot, to get our Buckeyes going", that was the highlight of the game, us all chugging down a shot of Whiskey to drown out our pain, those sober knew we did not have a chance nor did the coaches seem to care. Last time I saw Red was outside the Sports Page Bar and Grill and Chris the driver of the convertible trying to convince him to get into the car for the ride back to Kaanapali on North West side of Maui. He was refusing to get in, saying he would not ride with anyone to go anywhere if they did not drive over 20 mph. Finally I saw him collapse over into the back seat never to be seen or heard from again and away the car went. Lucky Red!! Anyhow, I did have two Guiness beers at The Sports Page Saturday because I was there for so long. They even had a big sign on the ONE new big screen TV, saying "This TV reserved for the Ohio State group and Ohiio State vs. Miami game will be shown on this TV at 1:30pm."

Before the game on Saturday I received the comments below from Dan:

"I'll guarantee you'll only have one Guinness today and by the fourth quarter, you'll probably be ready to puke it up. This is the beginning of the end. Within a few weeks people won't have such a benevolent feeling toward Mr. Integrity-Jim Tressel. They'll be ready to tar and feather him and run him out of town."

Dan was going to go on a low carb diet because he had too much sugar show up in his latest blood work, so he told me he would probably begin to get grumpy. And I replied to him that I thought he was born grumpy. Ha!! Here was his surprise answer to me, which I thought was very funny.

"Yes, I was born mean. In fact, one of my New Year's resolutions was "to be mean". The next year it was "to be even meaner". No doubt I succeeded in both.

Oh well, go enjoy YOUR Buckeyes. I predict that they will smell as bad as the cat pee on Joanne (they were taking their cat to the vet and it peed on his wife Joanne and the smell was terrible). Go Pioneers(Marietta College who is still undefeated with a victory over Thiel College in Pennsylvania.) I bet you didn't know that Marietta College played Ohio State six times and actually beat them once. Note-we have always beat OSU in the quality of our Alums. Have you ever seen the typical Buckeye fan- 75 pounds overweight, beer guzzling and the furthest they've been away from home is that one year when they went to the game in Iowa. Buckeye fans are what made WalMart great. And Buckeye fans better get ready for No Bowl or some insignificant bowl like the ones they play in Hawaii where they have seven fans in the stands.

I grow weary of this conversation. I must go and consume some raw meat.

Dan"

Dan's e-mail to me after the Ohio State loss on Saturday:

"I'm trying to believe the old adage-things are never as bad or as good as they may seem. Things surely looked bad last night. That was the most futile offensive effort I've ever seen by a Buckeye team. I haven't seen this bad of quarterback play since Kirk Herbstreet; and it ain't gonna get better, chump. I hereby withdraw my $50 offer for your Nebraska ticket; it's worthless. Actually, it's now a liability. No matter what the line on the OSU/Nebraska game, even if it's Nebraska by 40, you should take Nebraska and bet heavily. It will pay for your trip and it will make you feel better. The biggest outcome of the Mess in Miami is that Luke Fickell sealed his fate. How can you not use your timeouts in that situation? What he basically said was- "It's impossible. Let's get out of here." Good riddance. I told you he wasn't experienced enough for the job. I predict that next year he'll be the defensive coordinator for Oberlin.

Here are my thoughts:

*A five loss season is guaranteed and the carnage could be much worse.

*If they go with Braxton Miller, he'll produce more turnovers than Sara Lee.

*If they stay with Bauserman, he'll go down in history as the worst qb in OSU history.

*They should bench both and have open tryouts from the intramural leagues.

*The defense will eventually get tired and pissed off that the offense is so inept and they will quit.

*The locker room will implode.

*There are no remaining games on the schedule which can be considered a "sure thing". Indiana is licking their chops.

I told you that last night was the beginning of the end. The blame should all fall on Mr. Integrity-Jim Tressel, the Anti-Christ. Woody is spinning in his grave.

Did you puke up your Guinness?

I think Tressel will go down in history as the worst thing that ever happened to Ohio State. After all, you can't think about Nixon without thinking about Watergate. He should be disgraced and never allowed to coach again. And I certainly don't want to hear him as a commentator."

My comment to Dan about Marietta playing Ohio State six times and winning one.

"I know Ohio State began football in 1890. They never beat Michigan until 1919. I know they played Marietta in 1898, when they loaned Marietta a player and Marietta won that game. I'm going to continue answering your e-mail after I let Ashleea have the computer. Her and her daughter do a light puppet show about once a week on Sundays. Genvieve is the talker and Ashleea is the producer. Check it out www.youtube.com/user/kuanyinfree33 That is just one step better use of one's time than being an Ohio State fan. And the site is Dumb by Design and meant to be Smile Bites"

My last comment about the loss to Miami. Slap me in the face to wake me up, but how did Bauserman look so good in that first game and then collapse in the next two games. That does not make sense? What is the explanation?

Buckeye Bob until next blog

OHIO STATE at MIAMI BAD BOY BOWL

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 06:32:00 +0000

Well Buckeye fans it is always a Big game when OSU duels it out with Miami. Even though both teams are going through some troubled times, it will be monumental to see which team can begin pulling it together for the balance of the 2011 football season. This game is a pivotal point for one of the storied teams to emerge from the troubled waters.

It will be Jacory Harris's first game of the year as QB for Miami. he is a senior and he has been hyped a lot, but he has never lived up to his potential or his billing. Keep in mind during his career he has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. Last year against our Buckeyes was one of his worst performances. During his first drive he was intercepted by Nathan Williams and overall he threw 4 interceptions. Cameron Heyward returned one of the interceptions 80 yards

So Miami will likely do plenty of running to take the pressure off Jacory. Now keep in mind, Miami's strongest part of their team this year was supposed to be their offensive line and Ohio State's strong point so far is stopping the running game in the first two games against Akron and Toledo. Miami is certainly a long way from the times they ruled college football with the massive talent pool they once possessed.

If Miami can beat Ohio State, it might be enough that the fans may believe new coach Al Golden can lead the team back to the good times again. To get a victory Miami will have to make big improvements over their ten penalties and four turnovers they displayed against Maryland. Also, the Miami defense did not touch Danny O'Brien the Maryland QB and he threw for 348 yards. If Ohio State dominates on both lines, Miami does not have a chance.

Miami is far more athletic than Toledo and has the receivers to stretch the field and make big things happen on the move. Miami should be able to find ways to to get its speedsters to crank out yards in chunks. Miami thinks they have the defensive line to shut down the Buckeye middling running game. We will all find out soon enough.

Our Buckeyes need help from the receiving corps on the outside to help Jake Stoneburner (I love to see the Tight ends get action, but not all the action). Jake had 4 catches for 50 yards and 3 touchdowns in game one and 4 catches for 45 yds and 1 TD in the second game.

Helping the Buckeyes this week should be Jordan Hall. He can be a triple threat with his running, pass catching and kick returning abilities. Also corner Travis Howard and backup safety Corey Brown should add more pop to key areas. Also, I can guarantee that Braxton Miller will see action this week, how soon and how long he will play are unknowns. But it may be possible he could start, although unlikely.

One downer for Ohio State is that DE Nathan Williams will miss the next few games after hurting his knee in the Akron game. Taking his place will be red shirt freshman J. T. Moore and his back up will be true freshman Steve Miller.

There are a lot of exciting college football games this weekend. In the early games LSU proved they have a good defense, but not so much offense. Boise shows they are very good, but Toledo self destructed again, otherwise that could have been a tight game. Lou Holtz picks Florida State to beat Oklahoma. The experts are picking Arizona State over Illinois and Nebraska over Washington. I will pick Tennessee over Florida. Last year Michigan State managed to beat Notre Dame with a fake field goal and the excitement and stress almost killed coach Mark Dantonio with his heart scare. If Notre Dame can cut out the mistakes I believe they may win this contest tomorrow along with coach Kelly getting control of his emotions and taking it a little easier on his players. With his tantrums coach Kelly makes me nervous and I am only watching the game. I do not believe Notre Dame University Directors will tolerate his actions for long, so expect him to calm down a bit.

Buckeye Bob expecting to see a lot of Ohio state fans at the Sports Page Bar and Grill tomorrow.
GO BUCKS!!

Buckeye Bob Mourns The Loss of Friend Brian O'Leary

noreply@blogger.com (Bobby) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Another one of my long time good friends has passed. Brian O'Leary passed away July 29, 2011.

Brian sent the following e-mail to us July 24th, 2011:
"I was just diagnosed with cancer in the duodenum, just below the stomach. The tumor has almost completely plugged the duodenum, and according to the surgeons, would have to be removed within a week and the operation itself would be extremely highly risky, both because of its unfortunate location. We've chosen nevertheless to go the natural path with two basic approaches, the first using a potent herbal tonic ( stuff that cured my skin cancer of three years ago) and the protocols of an Ecuadorian medicine man--as well as asking for your prayers. There is much pain and sleepless involved. I'll need to stay away from the computer. I get lots of treatment ideas, many thanks, but we really need to focus now on the current protocols and be quiet, for the next few days to weeks. Please send your prayers, I'm optimistic in spite of the physical odds and loved ones are around us."

I first met Brian in 1989 at the Unity Church on Maui. He had talked about a group taking a trip to Russia in 1990. Since I had not been to Russia, I told him to put me on the list. The next year, the USA was having some problems with Russian and that trip was put on hold. So the alternative trip was to go to England and see the Crop Circles which were a fascinating topic at the time. We had a great time on that trip and Brian stopped by Maui and stayed at my house for a week before returning to his home in Ashland, Oregon.

In 1991, Ashleea my new mate, joined Brian, Kevin and others for another trip to see the Crop Circles in England. We also, went to Stone Henge and Glastonbury for the second time as well. Brian had found the love of his life Meredith, a visionary artist, who was in Brian's arms when he passed. Funny thing is, that Ashleea and Meredith were friends in Del Mar, California before Ashleea moved to Maui in 1991.

In 1992, we went on a third trip with Brian, Kevin and the gang on a "Holy Man and Saints trip" to India. This was also the high school graduation gift from me to Ashleea's daughter Genvieve. That trip started in Southern India at Mysore. We spent time at Puttaparti, the Sai Baba ashram, where 13 of us had a private audience with Sai Baba. It was Brians fourth time visiting Sai Baba who referred to Brian as "Moon Man", because Brian had been one of the early Astronauts who specialized in Mars. When the Mars trip was cancelled, Brian ended his Astronaut employment. There were over 10,000 Sai Baba devotees at the Ashram, man and women segregated and there is NO way we could have seen Sai Baba in private without Brian. Funny transformation occurred for Ashleea there.

Other highlights of that trip was a visit to see Mother Theresa at Calcutta. Also, in Calcutta we visited with Yogananda's nephew, who was in his late 60's. He lived at the same house where Yogananda had his first visions of the Divine Mother and Lord Krishna in his meditation attic. We were allowed to meditate in the same attic.

We went to New Delhi and North to Rishikesh and futher North yet into the jungles where tigers were still stalking and killing people. That is where we went river rafting down a jungle river.

Over the years Brian and Meredith made their home in Maui for about seven years. They stayed with us for about a month when they first began to look for a home to rent. When they moved to Washington, California, we visited them for a week. Meredith & Ashleea were best friends.

And when Brian & Meredith built their Art home in Vilcabamba, Ecuador Ashleea, Genvieve and I went to visit them for a couple weeks in 2008 (I did a blog of that trip and our experiences there with a slide show of pictures in October 2008). Their home there was named Montesuenos and they had many energy conferences there. Genvieve and I helped Brian choose the name for his last book finished while we were there visiting "The Energy Solution Revolution". Brian was very good at the piano and always played us a medley of improvised songs when we visited him. The pictures below were taken during that trip of Brian and Brian and myself.

Here is a link to my earlier posting of October 2008 where I wrote about our visit to Vilcabamba, Ecuador at the home of Brian & Meredith. Just scroll down past the post about Pryor.

Here is a link which highlights a musical improvisation with Brian & Sue Terry in 2009.

Brian leaves behind his wife (and our very good friend) Meredith of twenty years, his son Brian and daughter Erin. We will all miss you Brian but think of you often. Brian was on a path for free energy for years and wrote many books on the subject and in his own words I will leave everyone with Brian's message: "We're all on a Spiritual path that is all the more urgent for us to observe as we each pick our way through the great darkness of our times, that we do have the solutions that can be ethically implemented through grace, synchronicity, intelligence and kindred fellowship".

Buckeye Bob