Marshall enters tonight's season opener as a bit of an unknown, which should prove a good test for the Buckeyes with Miami looming.

Randy Snyder / Associated PressWith former West Virginia assistant Doc Holliday now in charge of the Marshall football program, the Buckeyes aren't sure what they'll see from the Thundering Herd tonight.

OHIO STATE SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
Doug Lesmerises predicts all 12 Ohio State games this season, with a breakdown of the four toughest dates:
Today: Ohio State 27, Marshall 14

Sept. 11: Ohio State 24, Miami 17
The Hurricanes offer one of the best defensive lines in the country, led by Allen Bailey, who is viewed as a potential top-20 NFL draft pick. Miami is viewing this opportunity as a chance to leap back into the elite level of college football, and the side stories — from the 2002 national championship rematch to LeBron James’ defection to Miami — will add to the hype. It might come down to which quarterback, Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor or Miami’s Jacory Harris, commits the fewest turnovers. Last season, Harris threw 17 interceptions, while Pryor threw 11.

Sept. 18: Ohio State 34, Ohio 10
Sept. 25: Ohio State 45, Eastern Michigan 0
Oct. 2: Ohio State 41, Illinois 3
Oct. 9: Ohio State 28, Indiana 7

Oct. 16: Ohio State 17, Wisconsin 14
The Badgers have the best offensive line in the Big Ten and the best running back in John Clay, the conference’s offensive player of the year last season. Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema is 0-3 against Ohio State, and this is the kind of game the Badgers haven’t won in this era to take the next step. If Wisconsin can control the clock with its running game, the Badgers will have a chance to make up for their last-minute loss at home to Ohio State in 2008. Like that game, this one is at night, which will help make it the Buckeyes’ toughest test of the season.
Oct. 23: Ohio State 38, Purdue 13
Oct. 30: Ohio State 20, Minnesota 7

Nov. 13: Ohio State 21, Penn State 10
The Nittany Lions are breaking in a new quarterback, but they should have that accomplished by this late point in the season. Early on, there could be some major bumps. While running back Evan Royster is a star, this isn’t a season when this game will be for the Big Ten title, as it has been in three of the five previous years.

Nov. 20: Ohio State 24, Iowa 13
Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi (Lake Catholic) didn’t get his shot at the Buckeyes last season when he was sidelined with an injury and had to watch the Hawkeyes lose to Ohio State in overtime in Columbus. He gets his chance at home now, and many see this as the game in which the Buckeyes are most likely to fall. But Iowa’s strength is its defensive line, and no quarterback neutralizes a pass rush as well as Terrelle Pryor, who certainly will have to evade defensive end Adrian Clayborn, the Big Ten’s best player, at times. But the guess here is that this game won’t be as tight as expected.
Nov. 27: Ohio State 33, Michigan 9
-- Doug Lesmerises

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Buckeyes don't have much of an idea how the Thundering Herd will play today with a new coaching staff in place under first-year boss Doc Holliday.

Ohio State has been studying film from wherever the assistants used to work in the past, from Purdue to Illinois to Florida International. Tressel has to make sure the Buckeyes take that as an opportunity, not a worry. This is chance for Tressel and his staff to see how their players react on the fly, particularly quarterback Terrelle Pryor and defensive captain Brian Rolle.

"We have to make sure we're ready for anything and expect the unexpected," Tressel said.

The OSU coaches have talked about playing the second team in bunches, from the offensive line to the receivers. Expect Tressel to give the first team enough of a chance to learn from its discoveries, processing the looks offered by the Herd and finding answers.

In last year's opener, the Buckeyes struggled with Navy's option at times in a win that went down to the final minutes. But those lessons didn't translate -- no other team on the schedule ran the option.

Plenty of other teams this season should do things the Buckeyes aren't expecting. That's what underdogs do. This should serve as a great test case for how quickly the Buckeyes can adjust.

In different ways, Jordan Hall and Tyler Moeller provide two of the most interesting subplots when the Buckeyes and Thundering Herd meet.

Neal C. Lauron / Columbus DispatchWill Jordan Hall make a big impression on the Ohio State special teams?

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With kickoff fast approaching, some top questions on my mind:

1. One of the players I'm most curious to watch is OSU sophomore return man Jordan Hall, who is the No. 1 guy on both kick and punt returns. This is a great way to get Hall, part of a crowded backfield, into the game.

"He's got great shake," said OSU assistant Darrell Hazell. "He's strong enough to break a tackle, he has a low center of gravity, sees the field well. He'll make you some yards."

Jaamal Berry will join Hall on kick returns, giving fans a glimpse of the future of the OSU running game.

2. The other player to watch for Ohio State is nickel back Tyler Moeller, who will be playing in his first game since 2008 after sitting out all last season with a head injury.

"I feel like I'm more excited than anybody else," linebacker Brian Rolle said. "He and I are like brothers."

But the Moeller curiosity goes beyond emotion. A former linebacker, he'll line up as the star in Ohio State's nickel defense, and the Buckeyes should be in that look a lot. Both Moeller and safety Jermale Hines, a former star, are hitters before they are cover guys, and Ohio State needs to make sure they can play together.

It could be a great combo, but if not, the Buckeyes may need to think about getting another pure safety on the field on passing downs.

3. The Buckeyes should throw to their running backs more, with Jim Tressel saying senior Brandon Saine is as good a receiver as any running back in the country. Saine caught 17 passes a year ago, and the over-under for Marshall is three. If Saine is that good, the Buckeyes need to flaunt that more.

4. There's no reason to expect that starting defensive end Nathan Williams and his injured left knee won't be ready for the Miami game next week, but even when he returns, Solomon Thomas will play a role for Ohio State's defensive line this season. Thursday, Thomas starts in Williams' place, trying to turn a history of standout scrimmages into production when it matters.

In less than a decade, Jim Tressel is the face of everything the Buckeyes represent

Marvin Fong / The Plain DealerAs the revered leader of Ohio State football -- by definition, the one athletic team beloved from Cleveland to Cincinnati and all points in-between -- Jim Tressel is a living legend to Buckeyes fans. "Of all the coaches I've worked with, he is not only the best coach, he is also the best person, and that is saying a lot," says OSU president Dr. E. Gordon Gee.

• Thursday: No. 2 Ohio State vs. Marshall, TV: Big Ten Network; Radio: WKNR AM/850; Latest line: OSU by 28½.

THE BUCKEYES PREVIEW 2010
• Inside The Vest: How Tressel will deal with Marshall
• The top 10 players of the Tressel Era: Bill Livingston
• Four things Doug Lesmerises thinks of OSU-Marshall
• How the sweater vest reflects Jim Tressel's personality
• Big Ten listened to the fans in creating 2011 divisions

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jim Tressel had everything he wanted at Ohio State, or nearly everything.

The Buckeyes' coach possessed a national title and job security, a historic stadium filled with 105,000 fans on home fall Saturdays, a steady supply of the best high school football players in Ohio and a headlock on the rivalry with Michigan.

But Tressel didn't have lights. He wanted lights on the Buckeyes' practice field outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the football palace named for a coaching legend.

Last July, that request took Tressel to the Toledo living room of the Harmon family, Jole and her husband Jim. The coach was accompanied by Athletic Director Gene Smith and a glossy folder of photos and proposals.

But the Harmons didn't need all that. All they needed was Jim Tressel.

"Without Jim Tressel or a man like Jim Tressel at the helm, there would not have been a donation," Jole Harmon said. "We flat out would not have done it. There isn't a maybe about it. ... Jim Tressel is a man of integrity and high morals and all those things we feel are very important.

"We love football and we love Ohio State and we love tradition, but he is developing young men, and we think that is very powerful. ... I almost get chills up my spine when I think about what he does."

Now entering his 10th season at Ohio State, Tressel has his lights, thanks to the Harmons' $5 million gift.

And the university has a coach who, in less than a decade, has gone from an unknown to an icon.

Ohio State football has always meant wins and Woody Hayes stomping the sidelines. That image will never vanish. But now, if you say Ohio State, you think Hayes, and you think that guy on the sidelines in the sweater vest.

Subtly, yet dramatically, Tressel has shaped Ohio State football in his own image. He has done it in a way that goes beyond his 8-1 record against Michigan, his five straight Big Ten titles, his seven BCS bowls or the Buckeyes' 2002 national championship that ended a 34-year title drought.

In 2010, Ohio State football is Jim Tressel football. To lots of casual sports fans around the country, Jim Tressel is Ohio State University.

That's an image the school is happy to embrace.

"He really has managed to synergize the long, proud history of Ohio State, and mainly doing it right, with the Tressel lifestyle and the Tressel value system," said Dr. John Bruno, an OSU psychology professor and the faculty representative to the athletic department. "And he did it without ruffling feathers."

Whether the reality can match the perception he has created among his supporters isn't the point. His detractors may emphasize some big-game losses or grow exasperated with his play calling.

But from Cleveland to Florida to Pasadena, Calif., everyone knows Jim Tressel's style -- conservative, consistent, comprehensive. And they know neither the coach nor the program are changing anytime soon.

"Some people are all hat and no cowboy. Jim Tressel is all cowboy and no hat," said Ohio State President Dr. E. Gordon Gee, praising his highest-paid employee. "Of all the coaches I've worked with, he is not only the best coach, he is also the best person, and that is saying a lot."

Building a legacy

Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer"We talk among each other about how Tressel is like a mastermind," says senior cornerback Chimdi Chekwa. "He's like a mastermind for creating ways to help us without us even knowing."

JIM TRESSEL THROUGH THE YEARS
2001
Preseason AP rank: 23
Final AP rank: 29th
Record: 7-5
Big Ten record: 5-3 (third place)
Bowl: Outback, lost to South Carolina, 31-28
NFL Draft picks: Eight, no first-rounders
All-Big Ten players: Three
Academic All-Big Ten players: Nine (seventh in conference)
Gross revenue from Ohio State licensing: $2.440 million
Overall donations to Ohio State: $179.492 million
High moment: The Buckeyes snap a 14-year victory drought in Ann Arbor with a 26-20 upset of No. 11 Michigan on Nov. 24. The result denies the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten title and possible BCS bowl.
Low moment: One day after the arrest of starting quarterback Steve Bellisari on a drunk-driving charge leads to his suspension, the Buckeyes are ahead of Illinois, 22-21, entering the fourth quarter before losing, 34-22, in the season’s final home game on Nov. 17.

2002
Preseason AP rank: 13
Final AP rank: 1
Record: 14-0
Big Ten record: 8-0 (tied for first)
Bowl: Fiesta, beat Miami, 31-24, 2 OT
NFL Draft picks: Five, no first-rounders
All-Big Ten players: Seven
Academic All-Big Ten players: 27 (first in conference)
Gross revenue from OSU: $5.152 million
Overall donations to OSU: $195.759 million
High moment: The Buckeyes win their first national title since 1968 with a 31-24 double-overtime victory against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3, 2003.
Low moment: In an undefeated season, there are none on the field, but when freshman running back Maurice Clarett publicly accuses OSU officials of lying in the days before the Fiesta Bowl over a disagreement about Clarett’s desire to fly home for a friend’s funeral, it’s a sign of Clarett issues to come.

2003
Preseason AP rank: 2
Final AP rank: 4
Record: 11-2
Big Ten record: 6-2 (tied for second place)
Bowl: Fiesta, beat Kansas State, 35-28
NFL Draft picks: 14, three first-rounders
All-Big Ten players: Eight
Academic All-Big Ten players: 21 (First in conference)
Gross revenue from OSU licensing: $4.707 million
Overall donations to OSU: $203.273 million
High moment: Michael Jenkins’ falling 5-yard touchdown catch from Scott McMullen with 1:35 to play gives Ohio State a 21-20 win over Penn State on Nov. 1 and keeps alive hopes of a national title repeat, as the one-loss Buckeyes will climb to No. 2 in the BCS rankings two weeks later.
Low moment: Clarett is suspended for the season on Sept. 10, and on Nov. 22 the Buckeyes suffer their only Michigan loss of the Tressel era, 35-21 in Ann Arbor, to drop out of the national championship race.

2004
Preseason AP rank: 9
Final AP rank: 20
Record: 8-4
Big Ten record: 4-4 (tied for fifth place)
Bowl: Alamo, beat Oklahoma State, 33-7.
NFL Draft picks: Three, no first-rounders
All-Big Ten players: Two
Academic All-Big Ten players: 22 (first in conference)
Gross revenue from OSU licensing: $4.655 million
Overall donations to Ohio State: $204.598 million
High moment: After taking over as the starter against Indiana a month earlier, quarterback Troy Smith from Glenville accounts for 386 yards of total offense in a 37-21 win over favored No. 7 Michigan on Nov. 20 — a game that starts his reputation as a Wolverine killer.
Low moment: The Buckeyes are nearly shut out at Iowa in a 33-7 loss on Oct. 16 that runs their losing streak to three games and drops them out of the top 25 and to 0-3 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1988. Smith is suspended for the Alamo Bowl after taking $500 from a booster.

2005
Preseason AP rank: 6
Final AP rank: 4
Record: 10-2
Big Ten record: 7-1 (tied for first place)
Bowl: Fiesta, beat Notre Dame, 34-20
NFL Draft picks: Nine, five first-rounders
All-Big Ten players: 8
Academic All-Big Ten players: 18 (tied for first in conference)
Gross revenue from OSU licensing: $5.648 million
Overall donations to OSU: $210.012 million
High moment: Troy Smith’s 26-yard pass to a leaping Anthony Gonzalez in the final minutes sets up Antonio Pittman’s game-winning touchdown, as a 25-21 win at Michigan on Nov. 19 gives the Buckeyes a share of the Big Ten title. Smith throws for 300 yards.
Low moment: In Smith’s return to the team after being suspended for the opener, he and Justin Zwick share the quarterback duties against Texas, as Longhorns quarterback Vince Young throws a 24-yard touchdown pass with 2:37 remaining to send the Buckeyes to a 25-22 home defeat in the season’s second game on Sept. 10.

2006
Preseason AP rank: 1
Final AP rank: 2
Record: 12-1
Big Ten record: 8-0 (First place)
Bowl: BCS Championship in Glendale, Ariz., lost to Florida, 41-14.
NFL Draft picks: Eight, two first-rounders
All-Big Ten players: 10
Academic All-Big Ten players: 23 (first in conference)
Gross revenue from OSU licensing: $9.5 million
Overall donations to OSU: $225.455 million
High moment: On Dec. 9 in New York, Troy Smith is awarded the seventh Heisman Trophy in school history, a runaway winner after leading the Buckeyes to a 12-0 record. The Buckeyes began ranked No. 1 in the preseason and stayed there through the start of bowl season, the biggest win a 42-39 victory over Michigan in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in Columbus on Nov. 18.
Low moment: The favored Buckeyes collapse after receiver Ted Ginn Jr. is injured in the celebration after returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and No. 1 Ohio State is embarrassed in a 41-14 blowout loss to Florida in the national title game on Jan. 8, 2007.

2007
Preseason AP rank: 11
Final AP rank: 5
Record: 11-2
Big Ten record: 7-1 (first place)
Bowl: BCS Championship in New Orleans, lost to LSU, 38-24
NFL Draft picks: Three, one first-rounder
All-Big Ten players: Six
Academic All-Big Ten players: 24 (tied for first in conference)
Gross revenue from OSU licensing: $9.4 million
Overall donations to Ohio State: $237.280 million
High moment: On Dec. 1, their 11-1 regular season over, the Buckeyes watch No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 West Virginia lose, opening a place for Ohio State in the BCS National Championship for the second consecutive season. (The Buckeyes will go on to lose to LSU in New Orleans, 38-24.)
Low moment: Ohio State’s 20-game conference winning streak ends with a 28-21 home loss to Illinois on Nov. 10.

2008
Preseason AP rank: 2
Final AP rank: 9
Record: 10-3
Big Ten record: 7-1 (tied for first place)
Bowl: Fiesta, lost to Texas 24-21
NFL Draft picks: Seven, two first-rounders
All-Big Ten players: Three
Academic All-Big Ten players: 27 (first in conference)
Gross revenue from OSU licensing: $7.5 million
Overall donations to OSU: $237.052 million
High moment: Star running back Beanie Wells tells freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor that Pryor is “taking a step into manhood,” and the Buckeyes rally for a 20-17 night win at Wisconsin when Pryor runs in the game-winning touchdown with 1:08 to play.
Low moment: With a star group of seniors returning, the Buckeyes continue their struggles against top-five teams, as No. 5 Ohio State is blown off the field at No. 1 USC, 35-3, on Sept. 13. Wells sits out with an ankle injury. Pryor replaces senior Todd Boeckman as the starting quarterback against Troy the next week.

2009
Preseason AP rank: 6
Final AP rank: 5
Record: 11-2
Big Ten record: 7-1 (first place)
Bowl: Rose, beat Oregon 26-17
NFL Draft picks: Four, no first-rounders
All-Big Ten players: Two
Academic All-Big Ten players: 31 (first in conference)
Gross revenue from OSU licensing: $7.723 million
Overall donations to OSU: $286.937 million
High moment: Playing in its first Rose Bowl in 13 years, Ohio State ends a three-game bowl slide with a 26-17 victory over Oregon. Terrelle Pryor is named the game’s offensive MVP after throwing for 266 yards and rushing for 72 on Jan. 1, 2010.
Low moment: Pryor commits four turnovers in a shocking 26-18 upset at 1-5 Purdue on Oct. 17, as the Buckeyes have their 16-game Big Ten road winning streak snapped.

Totals
Average Preseason AP rank: 8.1
Average Final AP rank: 8.8
Overall record: 94-21
Big Ten record: 59-13
Bowl record: 5-4
Total NFL Draft picks: 61, 13-first rounders
All-Big Ten players: 49
Academic All-Big Ten players: 202
Total gross revenue from OSU licensing: $56,727,098
Overall donations to OSU: $1,693,024,258
— Doug Lesmerises

Like Hayes, winning has allowed Tressel to expand his sphere of influence. It is Tressel's integration into the university as a whole that has created his own legacy in just nine years.

Tressel sees himself as a teacher, and he has become a citizen of the university beyond the bounds of a football field -- from drastically improving the academic standing of the football team, to drawing in donors to numerous university projects, to reviving the culture of Hayes -- in his own style -- for so many people,

"When I look at the assets of Ohio State University, I think one of the major assets is the reputation we have from athletics. But it goes beyond winning," said Leslie H. Wexner, founder of Limited Brands, the Columbus-based apparel company that reported more than $9 billion in earnings last year, and chair of The Ohio State University Board of Trustees. "It goes to the Jim Tressel-Woody Hayes idea of how you win, and that fact that the coach is really interested in the community, interested in broader success, interested in the life success of the athletes, and is significantly more than a lion tamer.

"He beats Michigan and he helps the university win in a broader way."

Tressel projects that image beyond campus as well. Consider Cynthia Robiskie, mother of former OSU receiver Brian Robiskie, who was ready to end her son's recruitment as soon as she saw Tressel walking up her driveway in a suit with an American flag pin in his lapel.

"I know every coach in college football on a very friendly basis," said ESPN analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, "and I can tell you he has a very distinct, very unique personality that separates him from any other coach in the country.

"He may not be flashy ... but if I was a parent, and I have four boys, I want to know about the coach, and I want to know about his strengths and his weaknesses, what he's like when it's really stressful, how does he handle his players, and to me he scores off the charts in those areas."

Somehow, in this era, Tressel has managed to turn his lack of sizzle into a focus on his substance. He sells his vision of a program to mothers and fathers, while seemingly unconcerned about whether it's viewed as cool or not. That may cost him some recruits -- but entice others.

"Some of the [coaches], they're car salesmen," OSU senior All-American candidate Cameron Heyward said. "They're trying to sell you on something that's not even real. But my mom got sold on not just football, but coach Tressel tries to connect with you spiritually, with family, academically. There's so much that goes into it."

Once on campus, Tressel "plants seeds" and believes he reaches every one of his players in one way or another. His influence can be gauged, at least in part, by the "whatnot phenomenon." Twenty-year-old athletes don't use the term "whatnot" in conversation unless they're taking something from their coach, who drops it about five times per news conference. Many Buckeyes say it on a regular basis.

"When he talks, his words are powerful and whatnot," former OSU defensive end Thaddeus Gibson said when asked specifically about his "whatnot" usage last season. "Wow. I didn't even know I did it."

"We talk among each other about how Tressel is like a mastermind," senior cornerback Chimdi Chekwa said during preseason camp. "He's like a mastermind for creating ways to help us without us even knowing.

"I think most of the guys, even if they don't know it, they take it in. A lot of guys coming in maybe even want to rebel a little bit and want to say, 'I don't care about that, all I care about is football.'

"But then you hear the senior speeches and you hear guys say things and you'd never think a guy would think like that. In the end, he molds you without you ever even knowing it."

The changes are tangible as well. According to Dr. Bruno, the faculty rep, the football team's GPA has risen in Tressel's tenure from about a 2.5 his first year to around a 3.0. From the 2003-04 season, when the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate was first tabulated, to the 2008-09 season, Ohio State's APR for football has jumped from 892 to 975, out of a 1,000-point scale.

Bruno calls the 83-point increase "remarkable."

In 2001, the Buckeyes had nine players on the Big Ten's All-Academic football team, which ranked seventh in the conference. Since 2002, the Buckeyes have led the league or tied for the league lead each season. The total of 202 All-Academic Big Ten players in nine years under Tressel is 45 more than Minnesota, the team with the second-most players on the list.

And at Ohio State's own scholar-athlete banquet each spring, which honors all athletes with a 3.0 GPA or better, Bruno said the football team's representation has nearly doubled from when Tressel first arrived, with 45 players earning the honor last spring.

"We used to have about 20 to 24, and of those, not a lot of them would attend the banquet," Bruno said. "Football was not very well-represented. Now, if you're in town for the banquet, you're there. And it's considered a point of pride for the football players."

'They listen to him'

Marvin Fong / The Plain DealerMore than a coach: The football team's GPA has risen in Tressel's tenure from about a 2.5 his first year to around a 3.0.

It's not only academic. Studies show that athletics typically don't influence donations to a university as a whole, but Peter Weiler, Ohio State's vice president for development, said he has seen repeatedly what Tressel does to affect fundraising for the university overall. Stories like the Harmons' aren't unusual. The connection is often an emotional one.

"There's a big difference between a winning football program, and a winning football program that has a coach like Jim Tressel. And that does make difference," Weiler said. "People are attracted to him, they listen to him, he guides their thinking. People do give to people -- if they trust and like them and believe in what they do."

The athletic department keeps track of the community service hours each team logs, and over the past two years, the football team, obviously with a larger roster than other sports, has logged 1,442 hours of service, second only to the men's track and field team's 1,633 hours. Men's lacrosse was the only other sport with more than 1,000 hours.

"We'll see the impact of Jim Tressel 20 years from now through his football players," said Pat Chun, OSU's associate athletic director for external relations, "because he ingrained into them the wonderful things you get from giving."

The totality of The Tressel Way is why he's at Ohio State in the first place. The 15-year Youngstown State head coach was chosen to replace John Cooper in 2001 for more than his winning record and four national championships in a lower football division.

Wexner, then between stints on the OSU board of trustees, found the choice "curious," as many other fans did at the time.

David Brown, then an OSU associate athletic director who is now a regional vice president for IMG College, the company that handles Ohio State's multimedia rights, was among them.

"My first impression was, 'Couldn't we have gotten a bigger name? This is Ohio State.'" Brown said. "But after the first press conference it changed for me. I thought, 'This guy gets it.'"

That's what then-President Brit Kirwan and Athletic Director Andy Geiger saw when making the hire, said Akron's David Brennan, vice president of the board of trustees at the time. Off the field mattered as much as on it.

"I think it was the deciding factor," Brennan said. "We were very conscious of the academic stress, or lack thereof, previous to Jim. He was definitely a mark above anybody else we were looking at. And he has proven to be exactly that."

Charting a course

Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer"Ohio State still has some history we don't have our fingerprints on, and it has a lot of future that we don't," Tressel said. "But right now we are the caretakers and we're trying to take care of it the best we can."

To be more than a football coach at Ohio State is to conjure memories of Hayes, though Tressel is the first to quash them.

"I'm not going to be there 28 years," Tressel said, "so you can't get to that level until you've paid your dues that long."

What Tressel can do is remind fans and former players of what Ohio State football was at its best. Wexner isn't alone when he says Hayes and Tressel are "cut from the same cloth."

"Look at the loyalty, the tradition, the love of the game for the true sportsmanship of it, and Woody and Jim would be almost parallel until you get to Woody's personality," said OSU legend Rex Kern, Hayes' greatest quarterback and Tressel's favorite player growing up. "Jim doesn't have that explosiveness. I know he's got it inside, but it doesn't play out the way Woody's played out.

"He's charting his own course, and history will bear that out. But I couldn't be more proud of the program and what it stands for."

So for those who want wins, Tressel has delivered. Ohio State's 94-21 record in Tressel's nine years is the second-best record for a single coach still at his school, trailing only the 101-16 mark of Texas' Mack Brown.

If the Buckeyes start the season 6-0, Tressel will reach 100 wins as a Buckeye in 121 games. Hayes reached 100 wins in 144 games, Cooper in 138.

The ride hasn't always been smooth.

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Consecutive national title game losses in the 2006 and 2007 seasons are still fresh wounds in some ways. The Buckeyes have lost six straight games to teams ranked in the top five, and losses often bring calls for Tressel to hire an offensive coordinator. The 2003 accusations of impropriety leveled against the program by former star running back Maurice Clarett may never fully fade. An NCAA investigation found a $500 booster gift to quarterback Troy Smith, but no major violations.

Some criticized Tressel for not standing up more for the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry during the uncertainty of Big Ten expansion.

But Tressel isn't a rabble-rouser. In that way he isn't Woody. Ready to begin his 10th season, Tressel in many ways still sees himself as the temporary captain of the ship, along for the ride as much as steering it.

"Ohio State still has some history we don't have our fingerprints on, and it has a lot of future that we don't," Tressel said. "But right now we are the caretakers and we're trying to take care of it the best we can.

"I remember saying to my wife when we got here, 'This is going to be a lot of work, but don't worry because it would be a miracle if we'd be here 10 years.' So it's not going to be forever, but here we are 10 years, and I guess it's a miracle."

As the 22nd coach of a program playing its 121st season, Tressel can try to claim himself as a cog in the assembly line of Buckeye tradition, even if others see him as more.

He knows just where this program stands. When he referenced the Buckeyes' No. 1 ranking in the past 100 years of college football, with a .735 winning percentage that leads Notre Dame's .733, did the numbers even need to be double-checked?

"Go look back at the last 100 seasons of college football," Tressel implored. "The team with the highest winning percentage is Ohio State. I would say we're caretakers."

For nearly a decade, Tressel has taken that care in his own way -- a way that won't soon be forgotten.

Mascot has just jumped to the top of the list of most coveted jobs in Northeast Ohio, Bud Shaw writes in his Spin column.

OK, so this might not be the greatest look for someone universally considered one of the NFL's all-time greats. But if the Browns really do want someone as a "mascot", our intrepid columnist is willing to accept the bargain-basement rate of $100,000. As long as he gets a chance to diet a bit, of course.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's not work if you love what you do, or, these days, if there's dental coverage.

These are difficult economic times.

People in Northeast Ohio are losing jobs, taking pay cuts, assuming more of the cost of their health care.

So if the Browns are really offering $100,000 a year for a mascot job, as Jim Brown insinuated in turning down a position with the team, I think I speak for hundreds of thousands of people when I say to Mike Holmgren, "Big Show -- if that's your real name -- what do I have to wear and when can I start?"

Here are my terms: I'll do anything.

If the job requires dressing like a Brownie elf, I'd even be willing to buy the P90X extreme workout program. I need it to have any chance of fitting into a pair of tight pants. Right now I'd have to rely on a spatula and a full can of Crisco.

Brown, a prideful man, said in his letter he did not dance as a player and he would not dance for the Browns' president.

Conveniently, pride has never been as issue for me. For basically working from now until Christmas at a six-figure salary, I will do the Pee Wee Herman "Tequila" dance on the opponent's sidelines. I'll dance the Fandango, disco, ballet and the Twist. And that's just during the coin flip.

I'll dance like Kevin Bacon in "Footloose."

In the event the Browns do not have such a position open, I am ready to take my talents to any college looking for a mascot:

I have only ruled out five:

Courtesy UCSCConsidering that as a banana slug, your mascot uniform probably doesn't have any legs, Bud Shaw would like a little extra in the pay envelope.

• UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. I'm not dressing like a banana slug for less than $101,000.

• The Lock Haven Bald Eagles. Yes. I'm halfway there. But I'm in no hurry to speed the process.

• Cal State-Long Beach. The baseball team's nickname is the Dirtbags. That'll cost them $102,000.

• Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels. James Edward Oglethorpe was said to have lit a seafaring bird, the stormy petrel, on fire and followed it through the storm and fog to shore while he was lost at sea.

Bonfires. Drunk college kids. C'mon. I'm no idiot.

• Evergreen State College Geoducks. A geoduck, pronounced "gooey duck" is a large salt water clam.

Forget it. I'm not that desperate.

Unless 50 percent of the job description is lying on the beach.

What were the odds?

Because Pete Rose is on baseball's black list, the Cincinnati Reds had to get clearance from Major League Baseball to honor Rose on the 25th anniversary of breaking Ty Cobb's all-time record for hits. Rose got the record on Sept. 11, 1985.

The problem is that Rose has another commitment on Sept. 11. He will be at a memorial service for the victims of ... check that, I'm being told that is not the reason for his scheduling conflict.

Shockingly, the reason the Rose celebration will be delayed until Sept. 12 is he'll be making an appearance at a casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

What did he get in trouble for with baseball again?

Is this a good time to make the case to NFL owners that players cannot survive a pay cut in the next collective bargaining agreement?

Miami Dolphins defensive end Kendall Langford lost a 2.5-carat diamond earring during practice Tuesday. Practice was halted. His teammates helped scour the field for the jewel estimated to be worth $50,000, but couldn't find it.

Langford was touched by the effort.

"I've got a great group of guys out there helping me out -- family type guys," Langford told SI.com.

What he could really use in a search party is somebody from the Hilton, Gabor and Liberace families.

HE SAID IT

Chuck Crow / The Plain DealerManny Ramirez, ideal teammate? That's the truth, so help us Ozzie Guillen.

"I never heard any of Manny's teammates complain about Manny." -- Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen after the team claimed Manny Ramirez on waivers. Really? Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon called Ramirez a "cancer" in a 2008 Esquire magazine story.

As reader Wayne Kuznar says, "Is 'cancer' a code word for "great teammate?"

Yes. You know. Semantics.

SPINOFFS

I received an email offering me a "review copy of NFL-great and ESPN Analyst Merril Hoge's New Memoir "Find A Way: Three Words that Changed My Life" I've heard of Merrill Hoge but who's the NFL great?

Aroldis Chapman, the Cuban defector signed by the Reds, hit 102.7 miles an hour in his first appearance with Cincinnati. The tradeoff: a surgery to be named...

Gordon Gee told the Dayton Daily News he favored putting the Buckeyes and Michigan in separate divisions. "We want to beat [Michigan] twice," Gee said. No. I checked it out. He did not mean to say "tie"...

Manny Ramirez showed up speaking Spanish and with Joey Cora as a translator at his Progressive Field press conference. As odd behavior goes, that doesn't make Manny's Top 20 list. ... But it's worth noting he did so a day after arguing balls and strikes in passable enough English to get ejected in his last Dodgers' at-bat ...

YOU SAID IT

"Bud:

"Do other teams crank-call the Indians and ask if Travis Hafner is available?" -- Mike Gleason

Yes. In fact, one recent caller who identified himself only as Bart S. proposed a straight-up deal for Jacques Strappe.

"Bud:

"Now that Congress has resolved the most important issue facing our country (indicting Roger Clemens), do you think it will move on to try to solve the clapper caper?" -- Joe Putich, Valley View

Perjury is serious business on Capitol Hill. So the indictment of Clemens was a strong message sent. That message: Only Congress can get away with lying to Congress.

"Hey Bud:

"You couldn't have been surprised to see the Tribe scratch and claw their way to victory on Puppypalooza night. After all, the team has been going to the dogs for months now." -- Vince G.

Be nice. This team does not know the meaning of the word "quit." Just "play dead" and "down."

"Bud:

"Suppose the Tribe manager loses his patient, nice-guy personality. Then, while hitting fly balls for outfielders to shag, one strays from fair territory. Would that be a 'tough Acta foul?'" -- Chas Kikel

Disclaimer: In the event it takes you more than four hours to come up with "You Said It," seek immediate medical help.

"Hey Bud:

"Has anybody gotten the reaction from the Yankees on how they are dealing with the fact that two future cornerstones are out with serious injuries? Do they have any options on how to replace Carlos Santana and Stephen Strasburg for the 2015 season?" -- Josh, South Euclid.

First-time "You Said It" winners receive a T-shirt from the Mental Floss collection.

"Voice of Reason:

"In keeping with his decision to boycott the Ring of Honor ceremony, will 'The Greatest Brown of Them All' change the name of his foundation to Amer-I-Won't?" -- Dan O.

Repeat winners receive a donation to their favorite charity -- so long as their favorite charity is me.

No. 9 Roddick carries on a running argument with a lineswoman over a third-set foot fault, but can't find the fire to overcome 44th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic.

View full sizeCharles Krupa / Associated PressAndy Roddick argues with a line judge, seated left, on Wednesday after being called for a foot fault during his match against Janko Tipsarevic at the U.S. Open in New York.

Eddie Pells / Associated Press

NEW YORK -- One woman's exit from the U.S. Open was jarring and sudden. Another's came off as sad and not all that surprising.

Victoria Azarenka and Melanie Oudin said goodbye to Flushing Meadows in starkly different manners Wednesday -- Azarenka, a concussion victim collapsing on the overheated court and Oudin a straight-set loser to a player who cared little about the 18-year-old's dreams of a fairy tale repeat.

All part of an anticlimatic day that ended with the loss of the highest-ranked American man, No. 9 Andy Roddick, who carried on a running argument with a lineswoman over a third-set foot fault, but couldn't find the fire to overcome 44th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic.

Tipsarevic used his big groundstrokes and 66 winners to quiet the crowd of nearly 23,000 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4) win.

"He played very high-risk and executed for four sets," Roddick said. "I kept telling myself, 'You know, this has to have an expiration date on it.' Unfortunately, I needed another set for that."

The Roddick loss was the big news of the evening session.

To start the day, 10th-seeded Azarenka, an up-and-coming 21-year-old from Belarus, went down while trailing 5-1 to Gisela Dulko on the Grandstand court, where the temperature had reached 90 degrees by 11:30 a.m.

View full sizeAPMelanie Oudin argues a call during her match against Alona Bondarenko on Wednesday.

After stopping suddenly while chasing a ball on the baseline, Azarenka stopped and crumpled to the ground. "I was scared," Dulko said of her reaction to seeing her opponent hit the concrete.

Azarenka was treated like a victim of heat exhaustion -- covered by a towel, sheltered by an umbrella, rolled off in a wheelchair, ice pack on her neck and a doctor checking her pulse. Several hours later, she revealed that she had fallen and hit her head during pre-match warmups. She was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a mild concussion.

"I was checked by the medical team before I went on court and they were courtside for monitoring," Azarenka said in a statement. "I felt worse as the match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy. I also started having trouble seeing and felt weak before I fell."

Though she said her injury wasn't heat related, this was, nonetheless, another day when the weather was on almost everyone's mind. Temperatures on the courts reached into the 100s, and for the second straight day, tournament officials put their extreme-weather policy in effect, giving women the option of taking a 10-minute break if they split sets.

"It's tough to play out there," Dulko said, before she knew it was a concussion that forced Azarenka out of the match. "It's really hot, really humid. You sweat so much, sometimes it's impossible to hold the racket."

Heat didn't have as much of an impact on Oudin as did nerves during her late-afternoon match in Armstrong Stadium, which by that time was covered in shadows.

Last year, she took the city by storm, showing all that heart and grit en route to a surprising trip to the quarterfinals that made her as big a star at Times Square as she was on the stadium court.

View full sizeAPA medical worker helps Victoria Azarenka after she collapsed on the court while playing Gisela Dulko on Wednesday. Azarenka was taken off the court in a wheelchair.

Since then, she has endured a more even-keeled year of learning -- ranked 43rd in the world and with only one victory in the first three Grand Slam tournaments of 2010. She came back to New York wondering if something about this city and this tournament might inspire another run. She left with a disheartening 6-2, 7-5 loss to No. 29 Alona Bondarenko and the sinking realization that even in the Big Apple, encores can be hard to come by.

"I guess I'm a little tiny bit relieved now," Oudin said. "I can kind of start over from all the expectations from last year. And now I can just go out and hopefully do really well the rest of the year and keep working hard."

Her loss and Roddick's took out two of America's favorites. Another -- 18th-seeded John Isner of 70-68 fifth-set Wimbledon fame -- moved on with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Frederico Gil.

"For my second-round match," Isner said, "I should be a little bit fresher than I was at Wimbledon."

Other American winners included No. 20 Sam Querrey and 18-year-old qualifier Ryan Harrison, who beat No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4. And, of course, there was No. 3 Venus Williams, who dispatched Canada's Rebecca Marino 7-6 (3), 6-3 in a match that went practically unnoticed amid all the strangeness of Wednesday.

No. 7-seeded Tomas Berdych was the highest seed to lose, though Roddick's setback figured to generate more buzz in New York.

He got into it with a lineswoman in the third set after she called a foot fault and said it was his right foot that touched the line. Replays showed it was his left, something Roddick knew had to be true. He challenged her repeatedly and she stuck to her story, even though she was wrong.

"It was the fact that I couldn't get her to admit that it wasn't the right foot that just infuriated me," Roddick said. "The lack of common sense involved in that was unbelievable to me."

He conceded, though, that the foot fault had no real impact on the match and that, yes, he probably did let the situation get to him a bit.

Earlier in Ashe Stadium, a much nicer story.

No. 2 Kim Clijsters steamrolled 19-year-old Aussie qualifier Sally Peers 6-2, 6-1 -- though Peers left with a smile on her face.

When she was 10, she painted her face yellow and green, headed to the Davis Cup in Australia, found Clijsters and got her picture taken with her childhood tennis hero. A few months later, at the Australian Open, Peers got Clijsters to autograph the picture. Today, that picture still hangs in the lounge room at her house in Melbourne.

Quite a thrill, then, nine years later, to get a chance to play Clijsters at the U.S. Open, regardless of the result.

"This is probably a dream come true," Peers said. "When I was 10, if you'd told me I was going to play Kim Clijsters at Arthur Ashe Stadium, I'd have not believed you. To do that, it's really, like, 'Wow.'"

Who should start at tailback for the Cleveland Browns in the season opener? Should it be Jerome Harrison who rushed for 561 yards and 5 touchdowns in his last three regular season games? But Harrison has had fumbling issues during the preseason. Or should it be rookie Montario Hardesty, who many figured would start this season, but he has missed all...

John Kuntz, The PDBrowns running back Peyton Hillis

Who should start at tailback for the Cleveland Browns in the season opener?

Should it be Jerome Harrison who rushed for 561 yards and 5 touchdowns in his last three regular season games? But Harrison has had fumbling issues during the preseason. Or should it be rookie Montario Hardesty, who many figured would start this season, but he has missed all of training camp with a knee injury.

How about Peyton Hillis?

Hillis has taken advantage of his opportunities.  He  leads the Browns in rushing this preseason with 80 yards and a touchdown. He's also caught nine passes for 86 yards. His versatility has been impressive.

Interact live with our producer in the press box at Cleveland Browns Stadium as he describes the action on the field and posts scoring updates, plus get updates and analysis from The Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi and Mary Kay Cabot via Twitter starting at 8 p.m.

The Browns battle the Bears in the preseason finale tonight at 8 p.m.

How will Montario Hardesty do in his first and only action of the preseason? Will Colt McCoy be able to move the offense? Can the defense find a pass rush? Which bubble players will make a lasting impression to win a job?

Get answers to these questions and more during cleveland.com's live chat during the Browns vs. Bears game this Thursday at 8 p.m.  Interact with our producer in the press box at Cleveland Browns Stadium as he describes the action on the field and posts scoring updates, plus get updates and analysis from The Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi and Mary Kay Cabot via Twitter.

Click here to open the game box score in a new window.

Note: This is a moderated chat. All comments must be approved prior to appearing in the live chat. Approval is based on content of post, volume of incoming posts and other factors.

Stay tuned after the game for a complete recap, photos and post-game video.

After winning the boys 13-14 age division at the Milwaukee County Parks Tour Invitational, Zach Nash discovers he has an extra club in his golf bag. Although he easily could have let it slide, he reports it himself and surrenders his medal.

Carrie Antlfinger / Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — Zach Nash was shocked when he discovered he had one too many golf clubs in his bag a couple hours after winning a junior Wisconsin PGA tournament.

But rules are rules, and the 14-year-old from southern Wisconsin made a decision that might surprise some people: He disqualified himself and surrendered his medal.

"I knew right away I couldn't live with myself if I kept this medal, so it was pretty instantaneous," Nash said during a phone interview from his home in Waterford on Wednesday, his first day of high school.

Nash shot a 77 to win the boys 13-14 age division at the Milwaukee County Parks Tour Invitational, which is run by the Wisconsin PGA Section, on Aug. 11. He beat 31 other players in his division, all while his grandparents from Iowa were watching.

After his victory, Nash went to the Rivermoor Golf Club -- where he played 36 holes nearly every day this summer -- to practice more and talk to one of his mentors, Chris Wood, the club's head golf professional.

"I was showing everybody my medal and then Chris and I went and we were having a soda and he said 'Hey, whose club is this? And I said 'my friend's.' And he said 'This makes 15.' I was in shock after that," Nash said.

The penalty for breaking the rule, called rule 4-4, is two strokes for each hole played with more than 14 clubs, with a maximum of four penalty strokes. But since he didn't notice his extra club during the tournament, a penalty wasn't added. That meant he signed an incorrect scorecard, which he knew disqualified him.

Nash said golf prides itself on honesty and players calling penalties on themselves. While the decision was clear, he said he couldn't help but cry a bit in front of Wood. Wood had to call Nash's father, Bob, to pick him up.

Later that night, Nash called Andy Landenberger, junior tour director for the WPGA, to explain what happened. He sent back the medal, which Landenberger said he would present to runner-up Dane Reinhardt, who shot an 80.

Nash, who has been golfing for about three years, said a friend spent the night at his house before the tournament and left a 5-wood club, and he put it in his bag not realizing it made a total of 15.

Wood said Nash made him and the club proud.

"I think most people -- not just kids -- would have tried to justify in their mind having the extra clubs in their bag and not using them as an excuse to not call and disqualify themselves," Wood said.

Nash's father said his son is a regular teenager -- he talks back to his parents, picks on his brothers -- and was a bit surprised the teenager didn't consider, just for a moment, keeping the mistake to himself. But he said he did the right thing and he and his wife were proud.

"When I first heard it, when he told me the whole story, I thought, 'Wow, you are doing the right thing,'" Bob Nash said. "You have to keep doing what's right. But in the back of my mind, I'm thinking 'If you didn't say anything the standing wouldn't change.'"

The boy's honest deed was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Nash started his freshman year Wednesday at Waterford Union High School and plans to go out for the golf team.

He played in another tournament on Tuesday -- and counted his clubs three times. The faux pas has made him a better golfer, he said.

"It kind of got me to be more aware of all the rules, especially 4-4," he said.

That's what Browns fullback Lawrence Vickers tells Ohio.com's Nate Ulrich about rookie running back Montario Hardesty. ''Absolutely,'' Vickers said. ''I mean he works hard, he runs hard, he's got good eyes. He's fast, a big back, he's good in protection and he's smart. He knows his stuff. All that put together, plus he wants to go out there and [play]...

John Kuntz, The Plain DealerRookie running back Montario Hardesty will make his preseason debut tonight against the Chicago Bears.

That's what Browns fullback Lawrence Vickers tells Ohio.com's Nate Ulrich about rookie running back Montario Hardesty.

''Absolutely,'' Vickers said. ''I mean he works hard, he runs hard, he's got good eyes. He's fast, a big back, he's good in protection and he's smart. He knows his stuff. All that put together, plus he wants to go out there and [play] ball. He has a winning attitude. You can do a lot with a person that wants to win and wants to get better. So I'm excited to see all that.''

Hardesty will get his chance to display his skills tonight in the preseason finale against the Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Hardesty is playing for the first time due to a knee injury. Hardesty sustained a bone bruise to his right knee when he twisted it  on the final day of rookie training camp.

Injuries are not knew to Hardesty. Injuries took a toll on him in college. The most serious setback he endured was a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, the same one he recently hurt.

''I'm really not even worried about the knee or anything like that,'' said Hardesty, who returned to practice last week after being sidelined for most of August. ''I've been running around, and I've had a little contact here and there.''

Before missing time, Hardesty was expected to compete with Jerome Harrison to become the Browns' featured running back, writes Ulrich.

Now Hardesty has something to prove, and it starts tonight.

''I'm a fan of Montario,'' Jerome Harrison said. ''He was good in college, and we trained in the offseason together for a little bit. He's a great young man, a great athlete and I'm excited for him to be back out here.''

 

Top back

ESPN's James Walker writes since Jerome Harrison has fumbling issues, and rookie Montario Hardesty missed all of training camp with a knee injury, should Peyton Hillis be the starting tailback in Week 1 for the Cleveland Browns?

Hillis has taken advantage of his opportunities. Acquired this offseason from the Denver Broncos in the Brady Quinn trade, Hillis leads the Browns in rushing this preseason with 80 yards and a touchdown. He's also showed nice hands with nine receptions for 86 yards and is impressing Cleveland's coaching staff with his versatility.

The Browns are implementing ways to use Hillis, but should his role be expanded as their starter? It may depend on his competition's progress.

Walker writes that Harrison, who led Cleveland with 862 rushing yards last year, is the incumbent but looks listless so far.

He's averaging just 3.1 yards per carry in three exhibition games. In addition, Harrison's three fumbles the past two games are concerning. The Browns cannot afford to have their primary rusher displaying poor ball security.

Decision Day

General Manager Tom Heckert will get a final chance tonight to make a decision on cutting the roster from 75 to 53 by 6 p.m. Saturday.

Some players are safe, and some are on the bubble. Reporter Josh Weir of CantonRep.com writes which players have nothing to worry about, and which players need to wave Cleveland goodbye.

Quarterback

Safe  Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Colt McCoy.

Odd man out  Brett Ratliff is likely headed for the practice squad. Yes, he is eligible.

 Outside linebackers

Safe  Matt Roth, Scott Fujita, Marcus Benard.

Sweating it out  David Bowens, Jason Trusnik.

Bowens played well late last year but is 33 years old with a balky knee.

Inside linebackers

Safe  Chris Gocong, Eric Barton, D’Qwell Jackson, David Veikune.

Sweating it out  Kaluka Maiava, Blake Costanzo.

Veikune played little as a rookie round 2 pick but quietly had a strong camp. Maiava probably will stick. Another spot could come down to whether Trusnik has become as good a special teams player as Costanzo.

Browns receive a break

Ohio.com columnist Marla Ridenour writes how the Browns are fortunate Shaun Rogers didn't get suspended.

The league announced Rogers would forfeit one game check for his April 1 arrest at Cleveland Hopkins airport, which he is appealing. Ridenour writes that Rogers has been placed in a diversion program, which includes community service and a gun class, and can have the felony charge dismissed upon completion.

A possible suspension for arguably their best defensive player had hung over the Browns the entire off-season, especially since their first two games against Tampa Bay and Kansas City seem winnable.

Defensive end Robaire Smith, arrested at the Flint, Mich. airport last November, likely expects to receive the same penalty from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, although the league is examining the two incidents separately.

On the bubble

Not knowing if you will remain on the team after Saturday's cuts isn't just a concern for rookies. Veteran players also have to worry.

Reporter Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald writes how linebacker David Bowens is not concerned, but uncertain.

"A lot of things going on right now make me unsure of my position. The one thing I will do is play my tail off on Thursday and we'll see what happens."

Bowens, 33, missed the early part of training camp and the first two preseason games with an injured left knee. That doesn't help.

Schudel writes how in Bowens' first preseason game last Saturday in Detroit, he didn't look good. On one play, Bowens looked old.

"I've been called old ever since I started getting gray hair, but I tell them it's just hair. We'll see when I go out there on Thursday. I haven't had to (win a job in the final preseason game) since 2001, but sometimes you have to prove yourself to people, and that's the approach I take. Eric isn't the boss anymore. Decisions fall on new people. I don't have a problem with that. I have confidence in my ability."

 

Cleveland Browns safety Abram Elam talks to Branson Wright of Starting Blocks TV about the upcoming season, and about rookies T.J. Ward and Joe Haden. Elam also gives a perspective on coach Eric Mangini going into his second season as the coach of the Browns. On Friday, Elam will take 15 children on a back to school shopping spree...

Tracy Boulian | The Plain Dealer Abram Elam

Cleveland Browns safety Abram Elam talks to Branson Wright of Starting Blocks TV about the upcoming season, and about rookies T.J. Ward and Joe Haden.

Elam also gives a perspective on coach Eric Mangini going into his second season as the coach of the Browns.

On Friday, Elam will take 15 children on a back to school shopping spree at Tower City. Children Who Witness Violence (CWWV) will participate in the shopping spree. The organization mirrors Elam's childhood. Three of his siblings were murdered when he was a child.

Get your questions ready and talk Indians baseball with The Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes in a live chat today.

Hoynsie answers your Indians questions today at noon.

Jump in the chat room below and ask your Indians questions or just listen. Can't make the chat? An archive will be made available in mp3 format shortly after the chat's completion.

We're working on it! Honest!

View full sizeNow might be a good time to check your fantasy football draft. SBTV will be back in just a few minutes.

What did Hoynsie think of Carlos Carrasco's strong outing? How did Fausto Carmona end up on waivers? Find out Paul Hoynes' thoughts on the team's recent play and more as Hoynsie talked Indians baseball in his weekly chat.

• What will the starting rotation look like in 2011?

• After talking to Drew Pomeranz, what are your early impressions of him?

• Will Chris Antonetti have the freedom to run the team as he sees fit or will Mark Shapiro still have a hand in things?

• What did you think of Manny Ramirez holding his press conference the other day in Spanish?

• What are your thoughts on Bob Feller's battle with leukemia?

Click on the play button below to listen or download the MP3 podcast to listen on the go.

PD Browns writer says rookie RB is creating high expectations, but needs more time before he starts a regular-season game.

John Kuntz | The Plain DealerMontario Hardesty (31) will see his first game action tonight against Chicago, but he needs more time before he's ready to carry the load in a regular-season game, Mary Kay Cabot says.

• Today's guest, Plain Dealer Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot, says she expects Jerome Harrison to start, as Hardesty hasn't had enough game experience to be thrown into an NFL regular-season game so quickly. Mary Kay also talks about which running backs are on the bubble to make the roster, which linebackers are on the bubble, and what to expect out of Colt McCoy tonight.

SBTV will return Friday morning as Tony Grossi answers fan questions in his weekly "Hey, Tony!" feature.

Reporter John Kampf of The Morning Journal writes that if the Buckeyes get the type of performance every week that quarterback Terrelle Pryor had in the Rose Bowl,  Ohio State will go undefeated and win another national championship. For example, writes Kampf, if you look at Pryor’s Rose Bowl numbers over a season, it would translate to 3,192 yards passing, 24 touchdowns through the...

Jay LaPrete/Associated PressQuarterback Terrelle Pryor has a shot at the Heisman Trophy.

Reporter John Kampf of The Morning Journal writes that if the Buckeyes get the type of performance every week that quarterback Terrelle Pryor had in the Rose Bowl,  Ohio State will go undefeated and win another national championship.

For example, writes Kampf, if you look at Pryor’s Rose Bowl numbers over a season, it would translate to 3,192 yards passing, 24 touchdowns through the air and 864 yards rushing.

And although Pryor did not score a rushing touchdown in the Rose Bowl, it’s safe to assume he is going to sprinkle a few scores in that manner, too.

I can’t see him doing that. But I can see him being reasonably close to those numbers and being the leader both on and off the field they imagined him to be when they recruited him.

Kampf also asks what would it take for Pryor to win the Heisman this year? If Troy Smith's Heisman-winning season of 2006 is used as a benchmark, Smith threw for 2,542 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also ran for 233 yards and a score.

Pryor wasn’t that far off of those numbers last year as a sophomore when he threw for 2,094 yards and 18 touchdowns, and ran for 779 yards and seven touchdowns.

Tally up the totals and Pryor outgained Smith, 2,873-2,775, while Smith had more touchdowns, 31-25.

The big difference is that Smith did not lose until the national championship game against Florida. Pryor and the Buckeyes lost twice last year (to USC and Purdue) and Pryor was pretty bad in both of those games.

Statistics are nice, but the biggest thing Pryor could do to boost his Heisman hopes is to win.

Killer D's

Based on their Rose Bowl performance and 2009 stats as a barometer, writes reporter Jon Spencer of MansfieldNewsJournal.com, wide receivers DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher have a chance to be remembered as one of the great pass-catching duos in Ohio State history.

They combined for 17 catches for 165 yards in the Rose Bowl.

Forecast a bust-out season in 2010 for Posey and the junior from Cincinnati almost gets embarrassed.

"For me to feel like I want to have a breakout season would almost be selfish to my teammates," said Posey, whose eight catches against Oregon were good for 101 yards, including a clinching 17-yard TD. "I just want to do what I need to do for the team to win."

Last season, Posey and Sanzenbacher combined for 1,398 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on 96 catches.

Stone man

Dayton Daily News reporter Doug Harris writes his attention will be on tight end Jake Stoneburner tonight when Ohio State hosts Marshall.

Harris wants to know if Stoneburner is legitimate downfield threat, something the Buckeyes haven’t had at the position since, well, Jim Tressel became head coach in 2001.

In Tressel’s system, the tight end basically has been just another blocker. That may have paid off in the running game over the years, but having a big brute with good hands and sizzling 40-yard dash time in the passing attack could have made OSU much more potent.

You can’t argue with Tressel’s success. But I’ve never understood why the Buckeyes utilize the tight end about as often as they call a flea-flicker pass with a lateral thrown in.

Grant Taylor of The Herald-Dispatch writes about Ohio State's Scott Sika and Marshall's Chad Schofield.

The two players grew up in Strongsville. They are best friends. They will play against each other tonight.

"We've been best friends for a long time -- went to school together and played together," said Schofield, who is expected to be the Thundering Herd's starting center. "Now, we get to open our final years of college together on the same field. Even though it's against each other, it's pretty cool."

Schofield said Sika, a reserve offensive lineman for Ohio State, contacted him one week ago just to check up on how he was doing.

"When we talked, he had told me they just broke camp and how happy he was -- you know, he's a senior so it's a good feeling," Schofield said. "I told him that we were already back in class. He was floored. He couldn't believe we were back in (already)."

Cleveland bullpen remains a bastion of consistency: They give up late-inning runs to everyone.

View full sizeMark Duncan,
Associated PressManny Ramirez and his dreads can't move quickly enough to avoid a Justin Germano pitch.

Carlos Carrasco has to feel that way, for sure. The Tribe call-up from Class AAA Akron took a 4-1 lead over the White Sox into the eighth Wednesday night at Progressive Field. When the last person to leave the park turned off the lights, the scoreboard read 6-4 in favor of the Sox, courtesy of reliever Justin Germano.

It's kind of like the Tribe is a book with a great opening chapter (i.e. starting pitching) and a great final chapter (closer Chris Perez). Problem is, if the middle chapters stink, nobody's gonna go to the library -- Progressive Field, just to extend the metaphor -- to read it.

Apparently, this whole writing thing is catching on with sports reporters and bloggers. Steve Rosenbloom, who handles that chore for the Chicago Tribune, posted an account about Wednesday's game called "Whatever ending the Sox write, you have to love the script so far."

Honestly, if we were Sox fans, we might, just for the way Rosenbloom put it:

I still don't think the White Sox can overtake the Twins, mostly because of the way both teams have played against division foes. I'd like to be wrong about that, but one thing I'm sure of: The Sox would rout the AL Central if drama and resilience mattered.

Below .500 against AL Central teams, the Sox just completed a sweep of division-rival Cleveland on the road. And how did they finish it Wednesday? With a four-run rally in the eighth inning marked by drama and resilience, natch.

With one out, Alexei Ramirez stepped into the box. He was hitless in a game in which he hurt his glove hand trying to make a tag at second and later made a bad throw to first that could've gone for an error. Then, bang, a bomb to get the Sox within 4-2. Call him Alexei Resilience.

Three batters later, with two on and two out, Paul Konerko absolutely destroyed a pitch that almost took out a family of four. Just like that, 5-4, Sox. Comcast SportsNet broke down Konero's 33 homers to show that 12 have come in the eighth and ninth innings, 20 in the sixth or later. How did this guy not get an Emmy nomination for leading man in a drama?

Hmm. Guess that makes the insurance run Chicago added in the ninth the epilog.

Life in Mannyworld


How tough are things in Tribeland when some of the best stuff to write/blog bout involves a team that just left and the ex-Indian who plays for 'em? But we're gonna continue to do so, just because Chicago Sun-Times writer Rick Morrissey cites Manny Ramirez's joining the White Sox – and keeping his trademark dreads – proof that this is Guilty Pleasure Month.

So this is "Guilty Pleasure Month," which means that Ramirez is OK, as are Velveeta and anything on the CW network. None of it is particularly healthy, but a month isn't going to kill you.

At four games out of first place, the Sox are in desperation mode. So let's take our cue from them. Let's free September from the tyranny of rules and inhibitions, shall we? It will be like the Summer of Love, only without the communal living.

The state sales tax? Ignore it. Same with mortgage payments, rent, health-club dues, tuition bills, insurance premiums and the $5 your friend lent you at lunch. Do you see how liberating Manny and the Sox are?

Wow, almost makes us want to root for the Steelers. No, wait. That would be National Stupid Month.

There have been few pleasant surprises for the Indians this season, but two have emerged: the effectiveness of Jeanmar Gomez as a starter and Justin Germano as a reliever.

Germano suffered a setback Wednesday, when he issued a crucial walk in the eighth inning followed by Paul Konerko's three-run homer to give the Chicago White Sox a 6-4 win.

However, until that game, Germano had allowed only one earned run in 12 appearances, a span of 181/3 innings. Moreover, he didn't give up his first earned run until Monday night, after pitching 17 innings without allowing any.

That's all well and good. But in the interest of fairness, we'd like to put out that this is Sept. 2, more than five months into the season, and Starting Blocks has yet to surrender a single run. A few errors, sure, but no runs.

From The Plain Dealer


Dennis Manoloff handled game coverage for the paper and somehow managed to get manager Manny Acta to state the obvious:

"Tough series, emotionally," Tribe manager Manny Acta said. "We gave up basically a game-winning homer to the pull side each day. That's a no-no. Hopefully, these kids learn from it."

What is clear, all kidding aside, is that Acta knows his stuff. That's why he Germano and not closer Chris Perez was in the game in the eighth to serve up the game-winner to Konerko.

Asked if Perez was available for the potential four-out save, Acta said: "No. We're not going to do that with this kid twice in a week. We're in no position to put this kid in that type of jeopardy. If we had been fighting for a title, maybe we'd do that more often. But I can't put this kid in jeopardy just over a win in this division."

Rumor is the Indians are in last place, miles out of first.

To make sure he was perfectly clear on the Perez issue, Acta fielded one question on another topic before offering an unsolicited statement: "Hey, [Germano] has to get an out. I can't be relying on [Perez] to get a five-, four-out save every time we need a win. Some people need to step up. We were one out away from getting to him. We're in no position to get the closer of this franchise hurt over a win in September."

Makes sense to us.

In his Indians Insider column, Dman passed along news that first baseman Matt LaPorta rode the pine on Wednesday because he is still feeling pain in his left hip. LaPorta suffered the injury during an at-bat Sunday, missed Monday's game and felt that same pain after a pinch-hitting appearance on Tuesday.

At least LeBron James hasn't abandoned the Ohio State Buckeyes.

View full sizeRich Arden,
AP/ESPN"The Decision Part Deux": Will LeBron James make up his mind whether to attend the Ohio State-Miami game in Columbus on Saturday, Sept. 11?

Coral Gables, Fla. -- LeBron James didn't change all his teams this summer.

James posted on his Twitter feed Thursday that he's considering going to Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 11 to see the matchup between No. 2 Ohio State -- his longtime team of choice -- and No. 13 Miami.

And no, the former Cleveland Cavaliers star isn't rooting for the Hurricanes. The NBA's two-time reigning MVP tweeted, "I thinking bout going down to the Horseshoe next Sat for that battle. O-State will prevail for sure. Will be exciting! Good luck tonight Bucks."

James worked out with the Hurricanes' basketball team twice last week. He has an invitation to join Miami for any of its football games this season.

"It's too bad they don't have some kind of 'mercy rule' and just stop playing the rest of the season. This is just too painful. It's such a good thing Shapiro is a genius. I'd hate to see where they would be if he weren't." - joebatter

View full sizeChuck Crow | The Plain DealerMark Shapiro's teams have produced just one playoff appearance since he first tore the team down in 2002.

In response to the story Indians' bullpen victimized again as White Sox complete sweep, 6-4, cleveland.com reader joebatters just can't take anymore of the 2010 season. This reader writes,

"It's too bad they don't have some kind of 'mercy rule' and just stop playing the rest of the season. This is just too painful. It's such a good thing Shapiro is a genius. I'd hate to see where they would be if he weren't."