Cleveland, OH

If Ryan Day turns his anger inward, Ohio State can truly answer its critics: Nathan Baird’s observations

Published

10 months ago

September 24, 2023

If Ryan Day turns his anger inward, Ohio State can truly answer its critics: Nathan Baird’s observations

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Three observations from Ohio State football’s 17-14 victory at Notre Dame on Saturday night.

1. Would Ryan Day really have been that livid about the comments of an octogenarian with a Notre Dame allegiance if he didn’t feel there was some truth to the criticism?

Day apparently spent Friday and Saturday getting pretty worked up over Lou Holtz’s assertion that OSU loses big games because it isn’t tough enough. Day is correct to call those and similar comments uninformed. How do you draw a line from the 2019 Clemson loss to the 2020 Alabama loss to the Georgia loss last season?

Problem is, Day and his team spent much of the Notre Dame game reinforcing some of those inaccurate or downright lazy characterizations. It escaped with the win thanks to tremendous defense, Kyle McCord becoming Kyle McCool and execution when it mattered most. It didn’t hurt that Notre Dame’s defensive staff couldn’t count to 11 and didn’t know the rules that would have allowed them to correct the mistake.

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If Marcus Freeman had sent out an 11th defender for the final play, and if that lineman had impeded Chip Trayanum enough to keep the nose of the football off the plane of the goal line, Day wouldn’t have had much to say about Holtz after the game. It would have made OSU 0-for-6 for the night on third or fourth-and-1 or goal line plays from the 1.

Toughness manifests in many ways. Marvin Harrison Jr. was tough Saturday night, missing no snaps after spraining his right ankle. With the injury heavily wrapped, he caught a pass on his first play back and played the rest of the night — even if mostly as a decoy.

Lathan Ransom is tough. He and Sonny Styles combined for a fourth-down stop of Sam Hartman in the third quarter that echoed across Michiana. He racked up 13 tackles with his right hand still needing extra protection. This is the same guy who broke a hand last season and blocked a punt with it later in the same game.

Kyle McCord is tough, as exhibited by his mental poise on the game-winning drive. He also got knocked around a bit in the process and bounced right back up.

You are welcome to tell Tommy “No Thumbs” Eichenberg that he’s soft. I hear they’ve made remarkable breakthroughs in bone knitting.

So the insinuation that a softness streak runs through the roster is, at best, ignorant.

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But the insinuation that Day’s staff has not prepared the offense to win short-yardage situations — physically and mentally — is indisputable. The issue stretches back to the first series of the second half of the Michigan loss. The one in 2021. It was happening when the line was overpopulated with future NFL Draft picks and it’s definitely happening now.

Day should spend the bye week forgetting about the partisan boasts of fading icons and focus on what any idiot can see.

2. When was the last time an Ohio State quarterback successfully led a go-ahead scoring drive when trailing at the end of the game?

C.J. Stroud had the ball in his hands against Georgia in last season’s Peach Bowl playoff semifinal but couldn’t quite finish the job. Couldn’t do it against Oregon the year before. Justin Fields’ lone opportunity, against Clemson in he Fiesta Bowl playoff semifinal in 2019, also came up short.

Back in 2018, Dwayne Haskins had to hit Binjamin Victor for a 3-yard touchdown catch with 40 seconds left to force overtime at Maryland in 2018. You have to go back to earlier that season, when Haskins to K.J. Hill with 2:03 to play gave OSU a 27-26 victory over Penn State.

Opportunities like the one Kyle McCord had at Notre Dame are rare, and the stakes are always massive. To step into that scenario for the first time and come through cannot be dismissed as routine.

Similarly, if OSU makes those scenarios routine, the variance will catch up eventually. No quarterback wins 100% of those do-or-die scenarios.

3. Ohio State’s streak of 20-plus point scoring performances was going to end eventually. Notre Dame stopped the run at 77 games.

Not a bad night for Jim Knowles’ defense to summon its best performance in two years. The unit did not sack Hartman, or victimize him for any takeaways. But it did bother and contain him. Notre Dame managed four plays of 20-plus yards, none longer than 28.

Right now this defense has become as good as any at keeping the ball in front of it. That is a crucial step forward from last season. The preseason assumption was that would be enough defensive progress to supoort the Buckeyes’ potentially elite offense.

Yet with questions lingering about that explosiveness and efficiency, this defense must keep evolving and improving. The next step would be a more direct link between a dormant pass rush and a burgeoning secondary.

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Cleveland, OH

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Published

56 mins ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Get Your Golf On!
Golfers of all abilities are invited to play in GCSC’s Summer Golf Classic presented by First National Bank on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Cleveland Metroparks Sleepy Hollow.
Join us for a day of 18 holes with cart featuring beverages, contests & prizes, lunch and a buffet dinner.
FORMAT:…

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Cleveland, OH

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

Published

8 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – One man is dead after a shooting following reports of a large fight on the east side, according to Cleveland Police.

Police got reports of a large fight around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday in the 1000 block of East 71st Street.

While officers were en route, they learned that two people were shot.

Police located a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old man who were both shot, according to a release.

Both of the men were taken to the hospital by EMS.

The 22-year-old man later died at the hospital.

The condition of the 24-year-old is unknown.

Cleveland Police homicide unit is investigating, according to police.

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Cleveland, OH

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Results: Winners And Grades On August 3, 2024

Published

16 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

WWE SummerSlam 2024 results

Credit: WWE.com

WWE SummerSlam 2024 from Cleveland, Ohio advertised six championship matches. Among them was Solo Sikoa challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship, LA Knight challenging Logan Paul for the WWE United States Championship, Sami Zayn defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker and GUNTHER challenging Damian Priest for the WWE World Championship.

This week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.412 million viewers on SyFy after being preempted by the Olympics.

WWE SummerSlam Results | August 3, 2024

Liv Morgan def. Rhea Ripley | WWE Women’s World Championship
Bron Breakker def. Sami Zayn | WWE Intercontinental Championship
LA Knight def. Logan Paul | WWE United States Championship
Nia Jax def. Bayley | WWE Women’s Championship
Drew McIntyre def. CM Punk
GUNTHER def. Damian Priest | WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Cody Rhodes def. Solo Sikoa | WWE Undisputed Championship

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Ticket Sales

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium (Cleveland, OH)
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Distributed: 55,858
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Available: 807

WWE Money In The Bank 2024 Winners And Grades

Liv Morgan Def. Rhea Ripley

Despite all the talk of The Judgment Day competing by themselves, Dominik Mysterio accompanied Rhea Ripley to the ring.

Michael Cole noted the last time Rhea Ripley lost a singles match was 26 months ago. To Liv Morgan.

This match started as a cat-and-mouse as Liv ran away from Ripley. Fans became frustrated and booed Liv loudly.

Rhea dominated this match until Liv Morgan dodged a charging Ripley and followed up by throwing her, shoulder-first, into the turnbuckle. Ripley could be heard (kayfabe) saying “it’s out, it’s out!”

Fans were split as they made dueling chants of “let’s go Rhea/let’s go Liv!”

Liv Morgan (kayfabe) popped her shoulder back into place by running herself into the announce table and fans went crazy.

Ripley hit the riptide, but did not pin Morgan. Instead, she grabbed a steel chair that Morgan brought into the ring. Mysterio grabbed the chair from her, which was the wise decision because she would have gotten herself disqualified. This led to an Oblivion for a nearfall and “holy s—t” chants.

Dom distracted the ref, leading to an Oblivion on the steel chair for the win. After the match, Dominik Mysterio kissed Liv Morgan and they left together.

Backstage, Damian Priest was furious with Dominik Mysterio for his actions. Finn and the rest of the Judgment Day vowed to go find him. I don’t trust them.

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan Grade: A-

Bron Breakker Def. Sami Zayn

Bron Breakker hit his always impressive Breakkensteiner early on, then he proceeded to scream “quit!” at Sami Zayn.

Bron Breakker cut Sami Zayn off with a Spear, then he hit ayn with another Spear for the win. This wasn’t necessarily a squash match, but it was definitely a dominant win for Breakker.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn Grade: B

LA Knight Def. Logan Paul

Logan Paul wore a Cleveland-inspired American Flag vest and greeted two security guards on his way to the ring. One of hte security guards turned out to be Cleveland’s own MGK.

LA Knight shattered the glass on Logan Paul’s Prime vehicle before making his way to the ring.

Paul cleared the table, but LA Knight got the better of him with a modified TKO, though the table didn’t break.

Paul won these people over with a springboard moonsault on LA Knight. Though they cheered the spot, they eventually came to their senses and chanted “you still suck!”

After jumping up on the top rope, LA Knight hit a scary looking superplex. Fans chanted “this is awesome” after a nearfall.

Logan Paul borrowed brass knuckles from MGK. After a shot to LA Knight, Knight countered with a BFT.

Logan Paul vs. LA Knight Grade: A-

Nia Jax Def. Bayley

Bayley relentlessly knocked Nia Jax off her feet early in the match.

Nia Jax took control of the match, to the point where she hit the Annihilator, but Bayley kicked out.

Jax called herself “reckless” and “clumsy” while trash-talking Bayley on offense.

Bayley hit an awesome power bomb on Nia Jax from the top rope. The fans were fervently into a match that struggled to follow Logan Paul vs. LA Knight.

A Tiffany Stratton cash-in was thwarted by Bayley, but the distraction led to two power bombs and two Annihilators for the win.

Nia Jax vs. Bayley Grade: A-

Drew McIntyre Def. CM Punk

Seth Rollins walked out in a long cloak, and what was under the jacket was certain to be even wilder.

WWE used ref cameras on the referee’s ear, and there were never more ref cam shots than during Seth Rollins’ entrance.

Rollins’ referee outfit were baggy, bedazzled pants and a cutoff shirt similar to Shawn Michaels.

Fans chanted “CM Punk” to start the match as punk donned pink gear in homage to Bret Hart.

Rollins did a great job working the fans into a frenzy before ringing the bell. When the bell rang, Punk and McIntyre brawled like crazy.

Instead of counting to 10 while Punk and McIntyre were outside of the ring, Rollins instead chose to tie his shoes. Rollins also took immense pleasure in seeing Punk and Rollins beat the hell out of one another.

During an Anaconda Vice on McIntyre, Punk secured his friendship bracelet and the entire stadium celebrated.

Punk stopped his GTS on McIntyre dead in its tracks and confronted Rollins about wearing his bracelet, which Rollins picked up off the ground did wear, but out of no malice.

After a ref bump and a nearfall (followed by a second visual pinfall), Punk and Rollins got into a heated argument. Punk hit a Go To Sleep on Rollins and took his bracelet back, but it cost him the match.

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk Grade: B+

GUNTHER Def. Damian Priest

Finn Balor wished Damian Priest luck before the match. Famous last words.

GUNTHER already had chop marks on his chest before the match even started.

GUNTHER and Priest chopped the hell out of one another to the point where GUNTHER was bleeding from the chest.

Finn Balor hit the ring, presumably to save Priest, but he ended up costing Priest the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by putting GUNTHER’s leg on the bottom rope.

After this match, Jelly Roll, The Miz and R-Truth took out A-Town Down Under.

GUNTHER vs. Damian Priest Grade: B+

Cody Rhodes Def. Solo Sikoa

Cody Rhodes ran into Arn Anderson backstage, and Anderson said he called in a few favors to a few allies of Cody Rhodes. Some of whom he knows, some he doesn’t.

For a full recap of Cody vs. Solo Sikoa in Bloodline Rules, click here.

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