Ohio State roster not best ever, Caitlin Clark flops and other unpopular takes | Oller
Hot weather saps energy, so let’s lead things off with a witty line from the brilliant Steven Wright, among the lowest-energy comedians ever to mumble into a microphone.
“If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?”
I wouldn’t. These 90-degree temperatures don’t deserve acknowledgement, much less happy greetings. I don’t know about you, but living in an oven irritates my overall mood, so much that I have landed on five unpopular opinions – or incredibly hot takes, given the temps – that fall somewhere between “well thought out” and “knee-jerk reaction.”
Applaud if you want. Disagree if you must. Either way, I’m too overbaked to care.
1. Ohio State’s football roster is not one of its best ever.
I don’t care what Urban Meyer thinks – the former OSU coach told WBNS TV “this is one of the most talented rosters of the last decade, maybe ever.” You can’t claim to be No. 1 when the quarterback position and offensive line remain question marks. Probable starting QB Will Howard is capable, having started 27 of 34 games at Kansas State before transferring to OSU. But is he elite? Is he better than Kyle McCord, who went 11-1 as a starter before leaving for Syracuse? Howard is a better runner than McCord, but there is too much uncertainty with his arm.
If Howard somehow loses the starting job to Brown, who could not beat out McCord for the job last season, well, roster confidence can’t be higher than ever when the most important position is clouded in uncertainty,
Let us continue. I would take tailbacks Eddie George or Zeke Elliott over TreVeyon Henderson, who may not even be starting by season’s end, either because of injury or the emergence of Mississippi transfer Quinshon Judkins. Or perhaps freshman safety Caleb Downs comes over to offense like a modern-day Chris Gamble.
The receiver room is filled with talent, but are any of those WRs better than Cris Carter? Terry Glenn? David Boston? Chris Olave? Marvin Harrison Jr.? No. Don’t talk to me about potential greatness. Show me returning greatness. When healthy, Emeka Egbuka has proved excellent, but it’s a stretch to predict that the trio of Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate already are better than Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who all started in 2021.
As for the offensive line, are we to believe the line that turned in a “B” performance last season has upgraded to an “A?” Harrumph. How does that joke go? The good news is the line returns most of its starters. That’s also the bad news.
Turning to defense, sure, it’s the strength of the team – expect to finally see that elusive shutout – but are defensive ends J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer better than the bookends of Nick Bosa and Sam Hubbard, who played together in 2017? Or Bosa and Chase Young in 2018? Nope. The secondary is superb, but OSU has had a handful just as good, including the 2015 group that included Eli Apple, Marshon Lattimore, Vonn Bell, Gareon Conley, Malik Hooker and Denzel Ward. Finally, this year’s linebackers are nothing extraordinary.
I’m not saying Ohio State can’t win a national championship with this bunch. I expect the Buckeyes to advance at least to the semifinals of the 12-team playoff, but hold off on placing this roster at or near the top of the all-time list.
2. Caitlin Clark flops for effect.
Settle down, people. I’m not suggesting Clark fakes injury or that she didn’t nearly get her head taken off on a flagrant foul by Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese. I’m not saying Clark should have remained standing when Sky guard Chennedy Carter shoved her before an inbounds play last month. I’m not putting out that Clark was in any way responsible for collapsing after colliding with an Ohio State fan during a court storming after the Buckeyes upset Iowa last season.
All I’m saying is Clark does a bit of play-acting when contact comes her way. You can call her smart for doing so, or you can mock her for acting like one of Tony Soprano’s victims, but don’t try to deny she has overreacted at times to getting bumped around. To her credit, she doesn’t often whine about getting targeted for hard fouls, but her diving deserves an Oscar.
3. While on the subject of Clark ...
I’m bored by all the bickering about the Indiana Fever guard being left off the USA Basketball Women’s National Team that is headed to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Certainly, including Clark on the roster would have brought more eyeballs to women’s basketball internationally – just as the current controversy over Clark’s treatment by opposing players has made people aware of the WNBA for the first time – but I’m just not big on the Olympics anymore. The Games have become just another reality TV show, another series to binge-watch, so it’s hard to get worked up over who does or doesn’t get picked for a particular team. Someone got voted off the island? Who cares?
4. The Blue Jackets are no closer to finding the path to success after hiring veteran president/general manager Don Waddell.
At some point, I guess every moribund franchise has to stumble into winning. Even broken clocks show the right time twice a day. But Columbus suffers from systemic issues that go beyond the players, coach and GM. Think higher. Think easy market to disappear into. Columbus is a nice place to raise a family when the career is winding down. But no matter the reason, the Union Blue are well past the point of being given benefit of the doubt. Until they prove they can win, it must be assumed they are losers. Good for Waddell and the faithful fans if it happens, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve passed out enough waiting for the worm to turn. The CBJ have the worst points percentage (.483) of any NHL team this century.
5. PGA and LIV
Golf does not need the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to shake hands and become one big happy family just so golf-centric fans can watch their favorite players compete every week on the same courses at the same time. Because that already is happening, at least in the major championships, which are the only times most fans care about golf, now that Tiger Woods is washed up. I love golf, but the game needs to remember it is a niche sport, and as with any niche sport the biggest events are all that matter. How many non-tennis fans pay an ounce of attention to any event outside Wimbledon and the U.S. Open? The same goes for golf. Casual fans do not care that LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau shows up on their viewing screens only when the majors are televised. Four times is more than enough.
Do I like LIV? Absolutely not. Barely watch it. But I could not turn away as DeChambeau escaped peril time and again – and Rory McIlroy choked on his putter – during Sunday’s final round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. I did not boycott my golf viewing because DeChambeau topped the leaderboard. He is an entertainer, and we love to be entertained. Professional golf bifurcated between the PGA Tour and LIV is just fine for most.
There you have it, five hot takes to further fire you up. Otherwise stay cool out there.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Caitlin Clark, Ohio state football, Olympics, CBJ: bring out the grump
