General News, Evan Turner, Thoughts on Troy Smith

General News

The Cavs were the first team to clinch a playoff spot this year. They were also victorious over the 76ers tonight.

The Browns signed tight end Ben Watson to a three-year deal, worth $12M (6.35M guaranteed).

The Bengals signed Antonio Bryant to a four-year, $28M deal. Pretty big deal, but he should be a very nice addition if he stays healthy. Should be interesting to see where Terrell Owens plays next year.

I made a prediction a couple days ago, that the Jackets would lose 4-3. They decided to get blown out 6-0. I'm never predicting a Blue Jackets game again. They need help in the offseason, and they need it badly.

Evan Turner

Evan Turner did what great Ohio State players do best today - make Michigan feel like they deserve to be around, then do something amazing and show them why Ohio State has dominated them for such a long stretch of time. It was like many of the epic OSU/Michigan football games. Not so much recent ones, though.

Down by 2 points with 2.2 seconds left on the clock, Turner received an in-bound pass from David Lighty and crossed half-court. Turner reached about halfway between the three-point line and half-court and took a shot. Actually, I take that back. That wasn't a shot. That was a dagger. It was a sword. It was yet another fantastic moment of greatness against our rivals from the north. These moments will never be forgotten. No matter what Evan Turner does in the NBA, he'll be considered an all-time great at Ohio State. He's been excellent on and off the court. Sounds cliche', but he's everything you want your athletes to be. Helps that he did things that few other Buckeyes have ever done.



Beauty.

Best of luck in the rest of the tournament, Evan and the rest of the Buckeyes. Today's game was well-earned. Michigan played one of their best games of the season and it wasn't enough.

Thoughts on Troy Smith and the Browns

I've been reading on the internet a lot lately, as I usually do during the NFL offseason. It's always an intriguing time. Whether your favorite team sucks or not, you can't help but be interested in what they do in the offseason. It's also interesting to see who the Raiders and Redskins overpay for, too. Anyways, I've been reading a lot of chatter (mostly from Buckeye fans who happen to root for the Browns) about Troy Smith and how he should be a Cleveland Browns QB. Smith himself has fueled this fire.

What do we know about Troy Smith? He's a fantastically gifted player with the ability to throw and run. He's a great leader. He's had his issues off the field, but it seems that those are behind him. He's shown flashes of ability in the NFL, but hasn't had enough of an opportunity to really prove his worth on the field. I'd certainly like to see him get a shot to start somewhere, especially given the fact that the Ravens placed a lowly 5th-round tender on him.

With the trade of Seneca Wallace to the Browns, it appears that Smith's hopes of going to the Browns may be crushed. There's still a chance - it's been written that Wallace will be the backup and a starter will be traded for, drafted or signed in free agency (please not Jake Delhomme). But the lack of interest in Troy Smith tells us one, very important thing about Smith - he's viewed as a backup QB in the NFL by NFL teams. Buckeye fans, no matter how much we want to see Smith get a shot, it might have to wait. Teams probably feel like they can draft a better fit for their system with a 5th round pick, and this player will be younger. If teams thought that Smith could be a starter, Smith would not be a Baltimore Raven right now. A 5th round pick for a starting QB? What a deal! As much as I think Troy Smith can be an effective, not elite, NFL QB, it's likely not going to happen in Cleveland. Probably best to just move on and stop questioning Holmgren. He just got here and he's being second-guessed because he didn't trade for the right backup QB.

Best of luck Troy, I hope you get a shot. Maybe it's for the best that it's not in Cleveland.

Weather keeps getting better. Had to have reached 70 today. It's raining, but the windows are open and there are only small piles of snow in mall parking lots now. Get that stuff out of here.