Kent State's baseball team among the NCAA's best on the field and in the classroom, Terry Pluto writes.

Photo courtesy of Kent StateKent State's Andrew Chafin is projected as a first-round pick in next month's MLB amateur draft.

For the second year in a row, the Kent State baseball team had to win two games on the final day of the Mid-American Conference Tournament to earn an NCAA bid.

And for the second year in a row, the Golden Flashes were honored by the NCAA as one of the top 30 academic programs.

"We're right on the alphabetical list between Harvard and Lafayette," said Kent State coach Scott Stricklin.

He meant on the academic honor roll, not the baseball rankings.

The team has a 3.15 grade-point average, an ideal 1,000 on the NCAA's Academic Progress Report. That's up from a 2.35 GPA in the spring of 2004 when Stricklin became coach.

In the past two years, KSU has been only one of seven public universities in the academic top 30.

On the field, it is at No. 25 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, and listed among the others receiving votes beyond the first 25 in other polls.

"We were 21-5 [in the MAC] and won the regular season by four games," said Stricklin. "But if we didn't win the tournament, I doubt we'd have been picked [by the NCAA]. No MAC team has received an at-large bid since 1994. Even worse, there's no NIT for us. We had to win the MAC Tournament."

And win they did.

When it meant the most, the Flashes were at their best -- they didn't allow a run in the final two games.

They knocked off Eastern Michigan, 8-0, behind the arm of projected first-round draft choice Andrew Chafin early Saturday. Then came the championship game, an 11-0 victory over Miami of Ohio as Walsh Jesuit product David Starn threw seven scoreless innings on only two days of rest.

"It was an amazing feat, the 18 scoreless innings," said Stricklin.

Stricklin said pitching coach Mike Birkbeck challenged his hurlers to make history.

"Mike never wants to take any credit," said Stricklin. "But he has been a great pitching coach here for years."

The Flashes are in the nation's top 10 with a 2.56 earned-run average. Three KSU pitchers are expected to be drafted next month.

Birkbeck, an Orrville native, pitched six seasons in the majors. He has been KSU's pitching coach for the past 14 years and 19 of his pitchers have been selected in the major-league draft.

Tampa Bay's Andy Sonnanstine and the Dodgers' Matt Guerrier are two of his KSU pitchers in the big leagues. At Class AAA are Chris Carpenter (Cubs) and Dirk Hayhurst (Rays).

The Flashes have a dozen players in pro ball, including infielder Emmanuel Burriss with the San Francisco Giants.

Stricklin expects as many as six of his players to be drafted this year. Chafin, a lefty with a 95-mph fastball, is the highest-rated prospect.

Next comes Kyle McMillen, a product of Archbishop Hoban whose fastball is in the middle 90s as he leads the NCAA with 17 saves. He could be selected as high as the third round.

Kyle Hallock was picked in the 49th round by the Phillies last season. After being the MAC Pitcher of the Year, the lefty from Sandusky is expected to be picked much higher in 2011.

Medina Highland's Ben Klafczynski leads the team with a .368 average and 54 RBI in 58 games.

"He is like Anthony Gallas was last year," said Stricklin. "I told everyone to draft him. No one did. But the Indians signed him as an undrafted free agent, and he's been tearing it up."

A Strongsville product, Gallas is batting .354 (.990 OPS) at Class A Lake County. He set a KSU record for career home runs.

Of the 34 players on the roster, 28 are from Ohio. There are five from Pennsylvania, one from Florida.

That's another part of what makes Kent State's story so remarkable. It's a locally made powerhouse. This is not a program that imports talent from the baseball-rich southern states.

"No reason for that," said Stricklin. "There are more than enough players from right around here."

He makes it sound easy, but it's not.

Consider that Cleveland State recently dropped its Division I baseball program because of a lack of success.

University of Akron baseball coach -- and former Kent State pitcher -- Pat Bangtson recently resigned after a 16-37 record. His six-year record was 119-188.

This is not to knock the other schools, but to demonstrate the way the Flashes have become a dominant program. They have either won the MAC regular-season title or postseason tournament in 11 of the past 12 years.

It's not like they have recruited elite prospects.

Stricklin said the only player drafted out of high school is Travis Shaw (32nd round, Boston, 2008). He is the son of Jeff Shaw, a former Tribe pitcher. The family lives in Washington Court House, and the third baseman is expected to be drafted this season as he leads KSU with 14 homers.

The MAC Tournament MVP was Starn, a junior lefty who "is our Jamie Moyer," said Stricklin, referring to the longtime big-leaguer who made a living with his change-up. "He throws in the low-to- middle-80s, but has great control."

Stricklin said Starn's lack of velocity meant that he was lightly recruited. He's not impressive at first glance but was a great high school pitcher with a 10-1 record as a senior and pitched for two state championship teams.

He may not throw hard, but Starn found a way to strike out 114 in 101 innings this season.

Stricklin mentioned Nick Hamilton, the son of Tribe broadcaster Tom Hamilton.

The sophomore from Avon Lake was only 5-for-21 (.238) this season when summoned off the bench to pinch hit in the seventh inning of what was a scoreless championship game. It was mostly a hunch, because Hamilton had played so little.

"He got behind in the count, 1-2," said Stricklin. "Then he got hit by a pitch. It's like that took the pressure off. We scored five runs that inning to break it open."

West Branch product Evan Campbell delivered the key hit, a grand slam. It was his first homer in 229 at-bats this season. Canton South's Justin Gill pitched the final two scoreless innings of the championship game. Tallmadge product Ryan Mace was 5-2 with a 2.45 ERA as the team's fourth starter.

The team is loaded with local players, most of them good students.

Stricklin said regulars Joe Koch (OF), Jimmy Rider (SS), David Lyon (C) and Shaw (3B) made the Dean's list, along with star pitchers Hallock and McMillen.

"You win with guys like that," said Stricklin. "And we've been able to do it year after year."

The 6-5, 254-pound Cameron is short on experience but has a wealth of athleticism for a tight end prospect...Also, Josh Cribbs, Pat Shurmur, Dick Jauron, Aaron Shea...

Associated PressJordan Cameron at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 26.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If experience and production were the lone considerations in the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns would never have picked USC tight end Jordan Cameron in the fourth round last month.

Basketball was Cameron's entry into big-time college sports. His switch to football landed him at wide receiver, but he was later moved to tight end.

Cameron, then, hasn't had much opportunity to establish himself as a football player. It's his athleticism, combined with his 6-5, 254-pound frame, that makes him an intriguing prospect.

Don Delco writes about Cameron and his potential for Scout.com's Orange and Brown Report:

Cameron’s lack of on-field production was overshadowed by his performance at the NFL Combine.

In Indianapolis, Cameron had the second-fastest time in the 40-yard dash among all tight ends (4.59 seconds), the second-highest vertical leap (37.5 inches) and led all tight ends in the three-cone drill, the 20-yard shuttle and the 60-yard shuttle. He also ranked third in the broad jump and fifth in the bench press, making him the only tight end prospect to finish in the top five of every drill.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Browns coverage includes PD Browns beat writer Tony Grossi's "Hey, Tony!;" Terry Pluto's "Terry's Talkin.' "

Fourth and goal

Browns' receiver-kick returner Josh Cribbs pitches at a youth baseball game in a community rocked by a tragedy. By Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository.

Fans recently touring the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton are becoming turned-off by the price of NFL football.

Browns' coach Pat Shurmur is happy with the team's draft. By The Sports XChange on FoxSportsOhio.com.

Browns observations by Chris Pokorny on the Dawgs By Nature blog.

Dick Jauron is excited about his opportunity as the Browns' defensive coordinator, by Matt Florjancic for ClevelandBrowns.com.

Catching up with former Browns and Michigan tight end Aaron Shea, who again is working for the Browns. By Michael Rothstein of the Ann Arbor News.  

Fickell was the interim coach for Tressel's five-game suspension at the start of the season, but now has a full year to show he can lead a program.

View full sizeMarvin Fong / The Plain Dealer"This place is not about one person," Luke Fickell said when he was first announced as Ohio State's interim coach during Jim Tressel's original suspension. "It's not about Coach Tress, it's not about whoever is going to be wearing the headsets on Saturday afternoon. It's much bigger than that."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Luke Fickell has long been viewed a future head coach, though there has always been the question of whether Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator would take a head job at another school to prepare himself for the chance to lead the Buckeyes some day.

"I'm still young and I'm learning a lot," Fickell told The Plain Dealer three years ago. "People always say to be a head coach [at Ohio State], you've got to be a head coach someplace else, that you've got to leave. If that's the case, maybe it's not the right thing for me."

Since then, Fickell, 37, has thrown his name into the ring for some head jobs at other schools, and Ohio State gave him a raise when Notre Dame talked about his joining its staff. But he wasn't in a hurry to leave his alma mater or the Columbus area, where his family was settled, for just any job.

And now he has The Job, named the Buckeyes' interim coach for a full year in the wake of Jim Tressel's resignation Monday. Fickell was the interim coach for Tressel's five-game suspension at the start of the season, but now has a full year to show he can lead a program.

As the linebackers coach, he was praised by players for his ability to play the bad cop in practice and maintain great relationships off the field. At the very least, he should serve as a stabilizing force between the chaos of today and the unknown future.

"Luke Fickell is going to be a great head coach," said OSU legend and College Football Hall of Fame member John Hicks. "Unfortunately, I wish he wouldn't have gotten it under these circumstances, but he will shine and he'll be a great leader for the program."

The 2011 season should serve as his audition, though OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith has always said he's a proponent of wide-open national searches. At this stage, no reasonable national search could have been conducted now, so it was delayed until after the season. So expect Fickell to be a contender for the full-time job, though the Buckeyes should have some proven head coaches to choose from. Of course, if the program is hit with major NCAA sanctions, some potential hires may no longer be interested.

Fickell should always be interested.

"I'm excited for Coach Fickell, for Luke," former OSU receiver Anthony Gonzalez said Monday after expressing his sadness over Tressel's departure. "As all Buckeye fans should, I'm fully supportive of him and wish him the best. He's worked hard and he deserves the opportunity he's getting."

At the start of spring practice, when Fickell was announced as the interim coach, he made it clear that the team still belonged to Tressel. He's in the process of realizing now that, at least for this season, it belongs to him.

"This place is not about one person. It's not about Coach Tress, it's not about whoever is going to be wearing the headsets on Saturday afternoon. It's much bigger than that," Fickell said on that day in late March.

"And we always know that Ohio State never has been and never will be about just one person in particular. It's about Ohio State football and most importantly it's going to be about these 2011 Buckeyes."

Questions and answers in the aftermath of Jim Tressel's resignation on Monday.

View full sizeChris Russell / Columbus DispatchWhether or not freshman Braxton Miller is the starter, the performance of the Ohio State quarterback throughout the 2011 season will likely determine the Buckeyes' fate.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Questions and answers in the aftermath of Jim Tressel's resignation on Monday.

Q: How will this affect Ohio State's 2011 season?

A: Before Tressel's resignation, the Buckeyes were generally viewed as a top-10 or top-15 team in the preseason and the probable favorite in the Big Ten's new Leaders Division. In some ways, the uncertainty around the program has lessened with Tressel's departure, and assuming the rest of the staff stays in place, this team should be able to settle into some familiarity. So the Buckeyes' chances at success this season may actually be higher now than they were last week.

However, it still comes down to players. Ohio State still must replace seven defensive starters, three offensive starters and four starters suspended for the first four games. Ohio State's 2011 season will very much come down to what kind of play the Buckeyes get from their quarterback, whoever it is.

Q: What are the futures of Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and Ohio State president Gordon Gee?

A: Some will hold the Ohio State administration responsible for how this played out, starting with the uncomfortable news conference to announce Tressel's sanctions on March 8. Smith and Gee didn't have to show Tressel such unwavering support on that night, and with their comments, they certainly tied themselves to their coach in some ways.

Several sources said pressure from the Board of Trustees helped lead to Tressel's resignation, which would have taken it out of the hands of Gee and Smith to some degree. But depending on what other NCAA violations may be discovered, and what sanctions may be handed down, it is possible that Tressel may not be the last person to lose his job.

Q: What NCAA sanctions does Ohio State face?

A: The Buckeyes were almost certainly facing vacating the wins from the 2010 season, but more serious sanctions like scholarship reductions and bowl bans become more likely if a lack of institutional control is found.

So far, Ohio State hasn't been charged with that, but the NCAA continues to investigate and a story in Sports Illustrated released on Monday night increased the scope of players trading memorabilia for cash or tattoos. Ohio State also continues to investigate charges that players received discounted cars. At this point, it's those type of violations that would land the school in the most trouble, not Tressel covering up his previous knowledge.

Ohio State will be helped by self-reporting its violations, but only to a point.

Q: What does this mean for Ohio State's recruiting?

A: With an interim head coach in place, it should be more difficult to recruit anyone other than in-state players who grew up following the Buckeyes. Any bowl ban could scare more potential recruits away, and Michigan and other schools will use the uncertainty around the Buckeyes to increase their presence in Ohio. But once a new coach is hired for the 2012 season, he'll face the same challenges as Tressel did, locking up the border and spreading the OSU name in the south.

Q: Why now? Why did Jim Tressel resign on Monday and not another time in the last three months?

A: Several sources confirmed the idea that Tressel's departure was a resignation in name only. The accumulation of accusations, potential violations and generally negative coverage of Ohio State apparently became too much for at least some members of the OSU Board of Trustees. Sports Illustrated's story Monday night alleged that as many as 28 players over eight years were involved with trading memorabilia for tattoos. That may have affected the timetable, though Tressel was also on vacation and returned only Sunday night. He immediately met with AD Gene Smith, and then told his team of his resignation Monday morning.

Q: Will Tressel show up at the NCAA hearing in Indianapolis on Aug. 12?

A: At this point, the NCAA can't make him do anything. He'll be requested to attend, while the OSU administrators and interim coach Luke Fickell must attend. If he ever wants to coach again, or if he just wants to state his case, Tressel will show up. But he also may want to put everything in the rearview mirror.

Hypocrisy proves to be the downfall for Buckeyes' greatest coach since Woody Hayes.

Terry Gilliam l Associated PressJim Tressel has resigned after 10 seasons at Ohio State.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The greatest football coach at Ohio State since Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel leaves under the cloud of scandal, just as Hayes did in 1978.

The difference between the two is that Hayes was fired after he lost his temper and threw a punch in the Gator Bowl on national television at a Clemson player named Charlie Bauman. Tressel's wrongdoing was private until Ohio State officials unearthed incriminating emails and phone records in the coach's cover-up of the memorabilia sale scandal. It was deliberate. It was a calculated attempt to evade the rules by playing ineligible players.

Woody Hayes was a genuine educator who was brought down by his emotions. His fall was almost preordained by highly public tantrums in the past.

Tressel's downfall surprised true believers who felt his sins of omission in the monitoring of first Maurice Clarett, then Troy Smith and finally Terrelle Pryor and the rest of the memorabilia hawkers were aberrations, not the norm. Those who knew Tressel were skeptical of this.

His every hair was always in place. His American flag pin was always skewered to a stylish lapel. His organizational skills were formidable. His planning was impeccable. Negligence was not an option in his lifestyle.

But hypocrisy proved to be.

Tressel, too, was an educator. The academic record of the football team improved dramatically after the shambles of his predecessor, John Cooper.

Tressel also wrote books, teaching life lessons. His latest is "The Winner's Manual: For the Game of Life." Released by a Christian publisher, it includes inspirational stories and the "Block O of Life," a Buckeye take on the late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden's "Pyramid of Success." Nowhere in it does Tressel suggest that withholding information on player wrongdoing from superiors, lying to the NCAA in writing, and knowingly playing ineligible players are behaviors worthy to be emulated.

From the start, Tressel promised strict accountability for wrongdoers. "The only excuse for missing a class is a death in the family -- your own," he said in his role as the new sheriff in town on the day he was hired.

The accountability was always overstated for the players, though.

Tressel was in the business of winning football games. The inattention that verged on willful ignorance of Clarett's lavish lifestyle was followed by "Minimum Jim's" absurdly lenient one-game suspension of linebacker Robert Reynolds in 2003 for choking Wisconsin quarterback Jim Sorgi on the bottom of a pile of tacklers. It was a mean, nasty game on both sides of the ball, with players spitting at each other, but that is no excuse for such a dirty play nor is it justification for such a ridiculously light penalty. OSU was still in the hunt to defend its national championship then, and expediency trumped severity in punishment.

For nine months in 2010 and early 2011, Tressel covered up the particulars of the memorabilia sale scandal. He signed a preseason NCAA form, averring that he knew of no rules violations. He emailed and telephoned star quarterback Terrelle Pryor's hometown mentor, as well as the Columbus whistle-blower who alerted him to the scandal. He said he was uncertain whom to contact at Ohio State with the same information, although the compliance office and that of his boss, Athletic Director Gene Smith, were only steps away in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Tressel's alleged motives for the cover-up -- the players' safety, confidentiality for the tipster, chain-of-command uncertainty -- seemed to shift and change with every telling, like the earth above a growling, buckling fault line.

It is hard to ascribe lofty motives to his duplicity. Tressel thought last season that the Buckeyes were going back to the BCS Championship Game, the "little hump" over which Pryor promised to get him. The hump would have looked like the Himalayas without the five players involved in the memorabilia scandal.

Arrogance, not good intentions, finally undid Tressel. He thought he could get away with the cover-up because he had gotten away, untainted, in the other scandals that involved his elite players, both at Ohio State and Youngstown State before that. Powerful men have been tripping over that little hump since the ancient Greek playwrights made "hubris," or pride, the tragic flaw of great men.

Now it has all crumbled. The "death in the family" was the exile of the man who was the face of the flagship program in an iconic conference's flagship sport.

Ohio State's reputation is damaged, after only grudgingly increasing a series of wrist-slap measures to him. The chance is gone for the second national championship that would have put Tressel in a tie with Joe Paterno and other elite coaches, and in far less time than the almost geological scale of the Penn State coach's career.

In flames is Tressel's legacy as a winner with a moral compass and the Big Ten's view of its own exceptionalism in ethical conduct.

On the field, Tressel was indisputably a great coach. He was 9-1 against Michigan. It was a Christmas present record, only to be dreamed of before him, a vision dancing like sugar plums in Ohio State fans' heads.

The Michigan program went through convulsive changes when it committed to the doctrinaire game plan of a spread offense guru named Rich Rodriguez. But Tressel arrived at OSU in the noon-time of coach Lloyd Carr's ascension, on the heels of John Cooper's atrocious 2-10-1 record against Michigan. Tressel soon eclipsed Carr and drove him into retirement.

A conservative man, often criticized for buttoning down his players' flair when he got the lead, Tressel in fact used surprise plays to win some of his biggest games.

In 2002, the only option play Ohio State used all season, originating in a formation inviting Michigan to overshift the wrong way, resulted in Maurice Hall's 2-yard game-winning run with Craig Krenzel's pitchout.

In the epic 2006 Michigan game, pitting No. 1 OSU vs. No. 2 Michigan, on second-and-inches at the Michigan 39 -- from a formation heavy with tight ends, power blockers and thundering running back Beanie Wells -- Troy Smith faked to Wells and threw to a wide-open Ted Ginn Jr., hiding as a tight end, for a critical touchdown. All season, OSU had run Wells up the middle from that formation in short yardage, but this time, on a quick count, Ginn went unobserved by the Wolverines' defense. A season of patiently setting up Michigan for one moment and one play had been rewarded.

A breakneck, hurry-up offense for the entire first half staked the Buckeyes to a halftime lead that barely held up in Tressel's last game, a thrilling Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas.

After Tressel's fall, a lot of northeast Ohioans are hurting. Tressel was one of our own. The son of a coaching father, Lee Tressel, who himself won a Division III national championship at Baldwin-Wallace, Jim Tressel was connected to the fans by shared loyalties to Cleveland teams and a lifelong fascination with Cleveland sports legends. As a boy, Tressel held the ball when no less than Lou "The Toe" Groza, his neighbor in Berea, practiced kicking field goals.

In Ohio, the birthplace of the NFL, the forum for the Buckeyes' 60 years of Big Ten dominance, football is hard-wired into the populace. Jim Tressel was practically part of the game's DNA. He was an underdog, hauled from the old Division I-AA ranks at Youngstown State, in an unheard-of promotion for a school as prominent as Ohio State. His best team, in 2002, won half its 14 games by a touchdown or less, coming from behind time and again, and won the national championship in double overtime over the Miami Hurricanes, the era's dynasty.

It was Tressel who puffed Cleveland fans' chests with pride after all the years of downtrodden teams and disappointed sports hopes. The Impossible Dream had become the art of the possible.

The only evidence in Tressel's defense was not to exculpate, but to mitigate. Tressel has done good work out of the limelight for good causes for years. He has touched many players' lives and made a positive difference to many people outside the white lines as well.

Fiercely patriotic, he has visited the troops in the Middle East. He could summon many character witnesses to his substantial acts of generosity, thoughtfulness and kindness. Tressel took Ohio State to heights unscaled since Hayes was the coach. Of course Tressel, like Hayes, was not without flaws. Neither angel nor demon, Tressel is only a human being. Still, on the question of his active involvement in a major ethics scandal, he is really, most sincerely guilty.

Many coaches in the past probably handled player violations in the same way. But the times have changed, and the mania to say "Gotcha!" in the media has intensified. The time for Tressel's own accountability arrived today.

That such grubby, small violations by his players led to Tressel's resignation saddens those of us who liked and admired him. A good man in many ways, Tressel had to pay with the things he valued most, outside his family and his faith -- his job and his reputation.

On Twitter: @LivyPD

A capsule look at likely candidates when Ohio State searches for a new full-time coach after the 2011 season. .

View full sizeJohn Raoux / Associated PressUrban Meyer released a statement Monday afternoon that he was not interested in pursuing a coaching position for 2011 -- but left open the possibility of being interested when the Buckeyes begin their "official" search after the upcoming season.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A capsule look at likely candidates when Ohio State searches for a new full-time coach after the 2011 season.

Urban Meyer

Age: 46.

Current job: ESPN analyst after stepping down as head coach at Florida following last season.

Coaching resume: Owns a 104-23 overall record, including a 7-1 mark in bowl games and two national championships at Florida (2006, 2008). Was 17-6 in two seasons at Bowling Green, 22-2 in two seasons at Utah, then was 65-15 in six seasons at Florida. Recognized for his spread offense.

Connections: Born in Toledo, grew up in Ashtabula, where he starred at St. John High School. Played defensive back at University of Cincinnati. Was a graduate assistant at Ohio State 1986-87.

Bo Pellini

Age: 43

Current job: Head coach at Nebraska.

Coaching resume: Has a 30-12 record, including a 3-1 bowl record in three seasons at Nebraska, his first head coaching job. Spent 16 seasons at an assistant coach, including nine in the NFL. Most of his background is on the defensive side of the ball.

Connections: Youngstown native as a safety and team captain at Ohio State. Was nicknamed "Bo" after former Browns running back Bo Scott.

Mark Dantonio

Age: 55

Current job: Head coach Michigan State.

Coaching resume: Has a 51-16 record as a head coach, including 18-17 in three seasons at Cincinnati and 33-19 in four seasons at Michigan State, including a share of the Big Ten championship last season. Spent 23 years as an assistant coach, most on the defensive side, including three defensive coordinator jobs.

Connections: Native of Zanesville, started his coaching career as a grad assistant at Ohio University. Also had coaching jobs at Akron and Youngstown State (under Jim Tressel). Served two stints as an assistant at Ohio State, including three years as Tressel's defensive coordinator.

Luke Fickell

Age: 37

Current job: Interim head coach at Ohio State.

Coaching resume: Has been an assistant on the OSU staff since 2002, when Tressel named him special teams coordinator. Later became linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator. Also coached defensive line at Akron for two years.

Connections: Besides being on staff, he was a standout nose tackle for OSU from 1993-96. Was born in Columbus and attended DeSales High School.

Dan Mullen

Age: 39

Current job: Head coach at Mississippi State.

Coaching resume: Has a 14-11 record, including a 1-0 bowl mark, in two seasons at Mississippi State. Spent 15 seasons as an assistant, several as QB coach for Urban Meyer at Bowling Green, Utah, then Florida.

Connections: None, other than the Meyer connections.

Gary Patterson

Age: 51

Current job: Head coach at Texas Christian.

Coaching resume: Has a 98-28 record in 10 seasons at TCU, with a 6-4 mark in bowl games and four conference champions. Spent 20 seasons as an assistant coach, including three as defensive coordinator at TCU.

Connections: None.

Darrell Hazell

Age: 47

Current job: Head coach at Kent State.

Coaching resume: Was named head coach of the Golden Flashes in December, after seven years as an assistant at Ohio State. He was assistant head coach/wide receivers coach for the past six years. His first job as an assistant was at Oberlin and other coaching stops were at Eastern Illinois, Penn, Western Michigan, Army, West Virginia and Rutgers.

Connections: Had often been mentioned, along with Fickell, as possible successor to Tressel. Played college football at Muskingum.

Tony Dungy

Age: 55

Current job: NFL analyst for NBC.

Coaching resume: Compiled a 139-69 record in 13 seasons as a head coach in the NFL, six with Tampa Bay and seven with the Indianapolis Colts. Won two Super Bowls and three AFC championships. Started his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Minnesota, before taking assistant positions in the NFL with Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Minnesota. Known for his defensive prowess, especially the Cover 2.

Connections: Strong Midwest ties. Born in Michigan and went to college at Minnesota. Played for Steelers, 49ers and Giants in NFL.

Bob Stoops

Age: 50

Current job: Head coach at Oklahoma.

Coaching resume: Has a 129-31 record in 12 years with the Sooners and a 6-6 bowl record. Won the national championship in 2000 and has won seven Big 12 championships. Was an assistant at Kent State, Kansas State and Florida before getting the job at Oklahoma.

Connections: Born in Youngstown, the son of longtime Cardinal Mooney High School coach Ron Stoops. Three brothers are coaching in college: younger brother Mike is head coach at Arizona, older brother Ron is an assistant at Youngstown State, and youngest brother Mark is defensive coordinator at Florida State.

Jon Gruden

Age: 47

Current job: Analyst for ESPN.

Coaching resume: Had a 100-85 record as an NFL head coach, including 38-26 in four seasons with Oakland and 57-55 in seven seasons with Tampa Bay. His playoff record was 5-4 and included winning Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2002. Spent seven years as an assistant college coach and five more as an assistant in the NFL.

Connections: A Sandusky native, he grew up a fan of the Browns and was rumored to have been a candidate for the Browns job before Pat Shurmur was hired.

Chris Petersen

Age: 46

Current job: Head coach at Boise State.

Coaching resume: Has a 61-5 record in five seasons at Boise State and a 3-2 record in bowl games. Only two-time winner of the Bear Bryant Award as National Coach of the Year and also won Bobby Dodd coach of the year award. Spent 18 seasons as a college assistant, including five as offensive coordinator at Boise State.

Connections: The California native has spent most of his career out west, except for one season as quarterback coach at Pitt.

How the rest of the summer develops -- in terms of future stories and NCAA investigations -- is out of the university's hands.

View full sizeMarvin Fong / The Plain DealerOhio State clearly moved during the weekend to have Jim Tressel submit his resignation. But that's about the last thing the university is going to be able to control as its summer of NCAA investigation continues.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jim Tressel's future was the one part of the story that Ohio State could control at this point, and that part was decided Monday when Tressel resigned.

How the rest of the summer develops -- in terms of future stories and NCAA investigations -- is out of the university's hands. Ohio State still faces a hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions on Aug. 12, but what the school is dealing with may have changed by then.

Sports Illustrated released a story on Monday night that said as many as 28 players over eight years were involved with trading memorabilia for tattoos or money. Nine are players on the current roster not previously named, but the NCAA would have to investigate and find proof of that before adding sanctions.

According to a report in the Columbus Dispatch, quarterback Terrelle Pryor is already under further investigation by both the NCAA and Ohio State for receiving extra benefits, a investigation separate from Tressel's failure to disclose Pryor's previous violations. Pryor, and four other players, already have been suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season.

Unknown third parties, the outsiders who may provide players with money or other benefits in violation of NCAA rules, have been what always scared Ohio State, and most major programs, more than anything else. Ohio State's failure to monitor or control those situations is what could cause the program its greatest problems.

When the Ohio State remodeled the Woody Hayes Athletic Center in 2007, it did the $21.5 million project with money that Tressel chiefly raised first-hand. One of his goals was to provide players a place to hang out and get away from everything else. One of his dreams was a system of cameras and security guards that would allow players to come and go 24 hours a day, one way he thought he could keep an eye on them.

Whatever the number of athletes involved, it's clear that Tressel and Ohio State didn't have a handle on what some of their football players were doing. Right now, Ohio State still can't have a handle on whatever it doesn't know.

How did Terrelle Pryor impact Jim Tressel's resignation?

Chuck Crow/The Plain DealerFormer Ohio State Buckeyes' coach Jim Tressel.

Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel figured quarterback Terrelle Pryor would impact the program, writes News-Herald reporter Jim Ingraham.

 Unfortunately, Pryor has had a negative impact on Buckeye Nation.

Like Watergate, Tattoogate brought down a powerful man not through the original crime, but through the incredibly poor judgment by the powerful man to attempt to cover it up.

Woody Hayes was fired because he punched a player. Jim Tressel was fired because he punched his university. In the nose. A sucker punch. He blind-sided his institution and his bosses. Tressel also threw a haymaker at himself, his career and his legacy.

What's especially disappointing is that Tressel knowingly used ineligible players for an entire season, and then lied to his university and the NCAA about it. Think about that, writes Ingraham. If Ohio State doesn't lose to Wisconsin, it conceivably would have won the national championship using a quarterback and a handful of other players who were ineligible. Only the coach knew about it. And he wasn't talking.

One way or another, Tressel was gone.

There was too much evidence, mounting weekly, that pointed to this eventual conclusion. It's one thing to have kids in your program making kid mistakes. It's quite another to have the grown adult in charge of the program know about it, and not only not do anything about it, but to lie about it when asked about it.

No more lies 

Jim Tressel finally did the right thing, writes Ohio.com's Marla Ridenour. Did he resign because the potential NCAA penalties are on the way? Or was it because of SI.com's article that hit the web?

Tressel had planned to go down fighting, hiring a former NCAA committee on infractions chairman as his lawyer for an Aug. 12 hearing in Indianapolis. When Tressel returned from a Florida vacation Sunday night, he met with director of athletics Gene Smith. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Tressel was encouraged to resign.

To the DMV!

No Ohio State fan may be more disappointed in Jim Tressel than Bart Mandell of Montclair, New Jersey. You see, Mandell's vanity license plates on his Mercedes spell out "TRESSEL." Steve Politi of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports,

There is a lesson in the downfall of Tressel, who had been one of the most powerful figures in college football the past 10 years. Actually, if you're Bart Mandell, there are two:

1. When getting a vanity license plate, don't choose one that might some day embarrass you and your family.

2. No college football coach, no matter how many titles on his résumé, can become bigger than the institution paying his salary.

More on Jim Tressel

ESPN: What everyone is saying about Jim Tressel.

The News-Herald: It had to be done.

CantonRep.com: Recruit shock by the news.

Columbus Dispatch: Jim Tressel's letter.

Columbus Dispatch: Beyond football.

Cleveland.com: Jim Tressel resigns.

Who do you want to coach the Buckeyes in 2012?

Associated PressJon Gruden

Now that Jim Tressel is out as coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and that Luke Fickell is the coach at least for this coming season, who do you want to coach the Buckeyes starting in 2012?

Many candidates will receive consideration to coach one of the elite programs in the country. Will someone like Ohio native and former Florida coach Urban Meyer come out of retirement to coach the Buckeyes? Or how about Ohio native Jon Gruden?

Who do you want?

Describe Jim Tressel's legacy.

APJim Tressel holds up the national championship trophy.

Jim Tressel ends his career at Ohio State with a national title, a .828 winning percentage, and most importantly, he beat Michigan nine out of 10 times.

Tressel had the reputation as a good coach and a man with integrity. Now that he has resigned under a cloud of potential violations and accusations, how would you describe Tressel's legacy?

LeBron James is back in the NBA Finals for the second time in his career and hungry for an NBA ring

Miami Heat's LeBron James waits to shoot during an NBA Finals basketball practice Monday, May 30, 2011, in Miami. The Dallas Mavericks will play the Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

MIAMI — LeBron James walked through the tunnel leading from the Miami Heat locker room Monday, stepped onto the court and gave a yell. He looked down at the NBA finals logo newly affixed on the floor, smiled and nodded.

With that, it became real.

His championship chance — the biggest reason he came to Miami — has finally arrived.

Swept out of his only other finals appearance four years ago, James will get his long-awaited second opportunity starting Tuesday night when the Heat play host to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA's title series. After a year like no other in his life, starting with the much-criticized "Decision," his jerseys being torched in Cleveland and never-ending, intense scrutiny of his every move, the last challenge will likely prove to be the toughest of them all.

"I'm honored to be here once again," said James, who led the Cavaliers to the 2007 finals and lost in four games to San Antonio. "Now with this franchise, it's an honor. As players, we worked hard. I worked hard individually to get to this point. And I had a lot of visions of being in this moment and now it's hit me, being on that floor, seeing the championship logos and everything, the finals logos. I'm very excited."

It showed Monday.

He chatted with teammates, taking part in a long shooting contest with Dwyane Wade, Eddie House and others, looking perfectly comfortable as dozens of photographers clicked away for 30 straight minutes. By now, being in the microscope is an accepted part of the deal for James, who has been dealing with this since his high school days.

Away from the court, though, those who are around the two-time NBA MVP say his focus is even sharper than usual. Winning a title likely won't change perceptions about James. His fans will surely remain fans, his critics will surely remain critics, no matter what happens. But to him, a championship would mean everything that took place since 9:27 p.m. on July 8, 2010 — the moment he publicly said he would join the Heat — was all worthwhile.

"He's focused," Wade said. "Obviously, we all want it. But in a different sense, he wants this, he wants to seize this moment. And you can tell by the way he's been playing, especially in late games. He hasn't left anything to chance, whether it's guarding the other team's best player, whether it's taking big shots, doing anything it takes. That's a player that I see hungry for a championship."

He's been that way since July.

When the Heat threw that much-maligned signing party for Wade, James and Chris Bosh — an idea that was born from the team hoping to simply welcome Wade back to Miami, those organizing the event never knowing it would be James and Bosh sharing the stage with him until less than 24 hours before the bash began — James talked about winning title after title after title.

With that, the bar was set.

"He's been zoned in and he has that killer instinct that is warranted for the playoffs," Heat center Jamaal Magloire said. "You can see that he's willing to do whatever it takes to win."

Even his detractors likely couldn't argue that this season.

Despite sharing the ball with Wade and Bosh, James finished the season averaging 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists, numbers very comparable to what he was accustomed to posting when he was starring for the Cavaliers. To prepare for facing Miami in this series, the Mavericks have used Dominique Jones and Corey Brewer in practice, asking them to do the impossible: play like LeBron.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle lauded their efforts.

"You are trying to simulate a guy," Carlisle said, "that many would argue is unsimulatable."

The Heat have brought out their 2006 championship trophy at times this season for motivation — James was among the players and coaches that posed with this year's trophy at ABC's request, part of the promotional photos and videos that will be used on finals broadcasts, joking that he held it and was asked to do everything with it "besides take it home."

No extra motivation is required now, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"Both teams know what we're playing for," Spoelstra said. "Right now, I think it's more important to stay in the moment, stay in the process."

From the very beginning, this was Miami's plan. Everything before the finals would seem like a warmup act. Wade, James and Bosh made no secret of that, all the way back to that first night they donned Heat uniforms together and rode a forklift to the top of a stage to greet 13,000 screaming fans.

Here's a reminder of what Wade said that night:

— "We're not here to sell jerseys," he said.

Except they did that, with James having the No. 1-selling jersey this year, Wade at No. 6 on that list, and the Heat ranking third in overall sales.

— "We're not here to pump up ratings," he said.

Except they did that, too, with the Eastern Conference finals being the most-watched series ever shown on cable.

— "Our goal is to win championships," he said.

Here comes that chance, and for as desperate as they all are, no one likely fits that bill more than James.

He's spoken often in recent days of how getting swept by the Spurs was humbling, a driving force for him to get better over the past four years.

"I go back and look at some of those games, I look at myself and say, 'You are a much better player than you were then,'" James said. "That comes from playing games, playing postseason games, losing, winning.

"There's a lot of guys that have been in the finals, and lost and never got back. ... I'm humbled. I'm blessed that I'm able to get back to this point and be able to redeem myself for that time when I was in the finals against the Spurs."

So it's not just redemption he seeks for what's happened over the past year.

It's for what happened in 2007, too, and much more than that as well. He's long been considered one of the game's greats, but without a title, he knows that label would ring hollow.

"To be here is very humbling. It's very satisfying at this point," James said. "We want more."

Cinesport video: Huffington Post's Jordan Schultz previews the NBA Finals

For more Cinesport video on cleveland.com, go here.

"Better to bring up some almost-MLB-ready players from the minors than buy expensive veterans of doubtful value from other teams. Should not lose sight of the original objective of making this a rebuild-and-develop season. If we do much better than last year, that should be enough, but we have to do something to reverse this losing streak." - PhiFan

View full sizeIs it time for the Indians to turn to the likes of Lonnie Chisenhall for help?

In response to the story Blue Jays pound Fausto Carmona on way to 11-1 victory over Cleveland Indians, cleveland.com reader PhiFan thinks the kids on the farm is the way to turn this team around. This reader writes,

"Better to bring up some almost-MLB-ready players from the minors than buy expensive veterans of doubtful value from other teams. Should not lose sight of the original objective of making this a rebuild-and-develop season. If we do much better than last year, that should be enough, but we have to do something to reverse this losing streak."

One month after beating out Michael Vick in an online vote, we're seeing the first reported image of Browns running back Peyton Hillis on the cover of the Madden '12 video game.

View full sizeChris Littmann/The Sporting News

One month after beating out Michael Vick in an online vote, we're seeing the first reported image of Browns running back Peyton Hillis on the cover of the Madden '12 video game.

Sporting News senior editor Chris Littmann Tweeted the photo, which features two images of Hillis as well as depictions of Cleveland Browns Stadium and the city skyline.

Tell us what you think of the cover in the comments section below.

Plain Dealer Ohio State writer also talks about Jim Tressel's legacy; and what lies ahead for the Buckeye football program. Watch video

Welcome to today's edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Branson Wright.

Now that Jim Tressel has resigned as Ohio State's football coach, what will be his legacy? That's the question in today's Starting Blocks poll.

Today's guest, Plain Dealer Ohio State writer Doug Lesmerises, says he can see a day years from now when people will be driving cars on a Jim Tressel Drive in Columbus. Doug also talks about what sanctions might be in store for the Buckeye program; what to expect from interim head coach Luke Fickell; and makes a guess on whether Terrelle Pryor has played his last college football game..

SBTV will return on Wednesday.

Where does Ohio State go from here after Jim Tressel's resignation? Is it time to be concerned about the Indians? Plain Dealer sports columnist Terry Pluto answered those questions and more in his weekly podcast.

View full sizeAP Photo | Marcio Jose SanchezOrlando Cabrera has provided leadership for the Indians, but how would he handle a move to the bench?

Where does Ohio State go from here after Jim Tressel's resignation? Is it time to be concerned about the Indians? 

Plain Dealer sports columnist Terry Pluto answered those questions and more in his weekly podcast.

Among other topics discussed:

• Who do you think ends up getting the Ohio State job following this season?

• Is it time for the Indians to turn to the likes of Lonnie Chisenhall, Cord Phelps and Jason Kipnis?

• What should this team do if Fausto Carmona continues to struggle?

• Is there any chance the rumored deal that had the Cavaliers landing the No. 2 pick from Minnesota happens eventually?

You can download the mp3 or listen with the player to the right.

Be sure to also like Terry Pluto on Facebook.

Don't worry, the Dallas Mavericks will defeat the Heat, writes SI.com reporter.

LM Otero / Associated PressDirk Nowitzki leads the Mavs against the Heat in the Finals.

Many predict the Miami Heat to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. The trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh has got to be too much for the Mavericks.

Well it looks like the Heat could get some heat from the Mavericks, writes SI.com reporter Phil Taylor. In fact, Taylor has the nerve to pick the Mavs over the Heat.

I have a feeling about the Mavs and it's not because I don't much care for the way the Heat put this all together, although it's true, I don't. I think the Mavericks will win the NBA title not because of anything the Heat have done or not done, and not even because of Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, who is having a postseason for the ages, averaging 28.4 points in the first three rounds while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and an amazing 51.6 percent on three-pointers. 

A championship trophy is coming to the Metroplex because of the contributions Dallas gets from all the other pieces -- including Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, J.J. Barea, Peja Stojakovic and DeShawn Stevenson -- of an offense that has been a finely tuned perpetual motion machine for most of the postseason.

It's not only the scoring but how the Mavs have scored. The Mavs' offense is generated by the team's great passing. No team has better ball movement than the Mavericks.

But we all know it takes more than a great offense to win in the finals. It's also about defense, but the Mavs' offense could be enough.

But sometimes offense can take the heart out of an opponent, too, and the Mavericks' free-flowing, deep-shooting attack has been doing exactly that. It's easy to dismiss it as solely a product of German engineering -- all Nowitzki all the time -- but the Mavs are much more diversified than that.

"They don't just shoot it," said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, whose team lost to the Mavericks in the Western Conference finals. "They share it, then they shoot it."

 

 

 

The King is close to a ring 

Yahoo.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, one of the best NBA reporters, writes how an NBA title will erase all of the negatives things that happened to LeBron James over the past year.

 This delivered LeBron James the villain act, but that’ll change soon because winning changes everything. The narrative will change because it always evolves. However James acted, however he rubbed people, a fistful of rings forever validates and vindicates. Everyone says the pressure’s on Nowitzki to win his title at an advancing age of 32, but this is James’ second trip to the Finals and this is the burden he thrust upon himself with the formation of the NBA’s super team in South Beach.

Caught you looking

No matter how you feel about LeBron James, writes ESPN's Michael Wilbon, you'll watch the NBA Finals.

According to Nielsen.com, the Eastern Conference finals enjoyed ratings and viewership records for cable TV. Wilbon writes not only was regular-season viewership of NBA games up 45 percent over the previous season, it was up 30 percent over 1995-96, when folks were obsessed over Michael Jordan leading the Chicago Bulls to a 72-win season.

And television isn't the only place where increased interest in the NBA is reflected. NBA.com reports that page views are up 40 percent over last season, video streams are up 130 percent and NBA mobile downloads are up 75 percent. Traffic to NBA content on ESPN.com has increased dramatically as well, with some categories approaching triple-digit increases. If it's too soon to say the NBA is in the middle of a full-fledged renaissance, at the very least the league has seen a resurgence, probably even an explosion.

And it's entirely because of LeBron James.

  

The resignation of Jim Tressel wasn't enough, writes reporter.

APJim Tressel

Jim Tressel resigned as coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday, but CBSSports.com reporter Gregg Doyel writes how that was a good move but Ohio State needs to do more.

 So, no -- what happened Monday wasn't enough to save Ohio State from the wrath of the NCAA. Nor should it be. Jim Tressel, and Tressel alone, was the guy who knew since April 2010 of violations involving some of his best players. That's true. But neither of the two people above him on the school hierarchy -- not his direct boss, not his school president -- thought what he'd done was bad enough to warrant his removal.

Which means Ohio State still doesn't get it.

Which means the NCAA will have to explain it to the Buckeyes. In graphic detail. And without remorse.

What happened in Columbus reminds Doyel of what happened at Tennessee when it didn't fire Bruce Pearl for lying to the NCAA about violations until the backlash became so large.

Maybe Ray Small was the straw that broke this stupid, stubborn camel's back. Or maybe, and more likely, it was the threat of a Sports Illustrated investigative report coming out soon. Whatever it was, shame on Ohio State for taking so long, for condoning Tressel's actions by employing him all these months.

What happened Monday won't be enough for the NCAA.   

Mitch Talbot makes his second start since coming off the DL as the Indians look to get back on winning track.

View full sizeAP Photo | Al BehrmanMitch Talbot will attempt to play the role of stopper tonight for the Indians.

(AP) -- Barely above .500, the Toronto Blue Jays, not the first-place Cleveland Indians, are currently playing like the team with the AL's best record.

The hot-hitting Blue Jays try for a fifth consecutive victory Tuesday night against an Indians club looking to avoid its second three-game skid in a week.

After totaling 22 runs and 33 hits in the final two wins of its weekend series with the Chicago White Sox, Toronto (28-26) kept the offense coming Monday with an 11-1 victory over the AL Central-leading Indians. Jo-Jo Reyes tossed a complete game for his first win in 29 starts while Jose Bautista, Corey Patterson, Rajai Davis and Jayson Nix each had two RBIs as the Blue Jays won for the 13th time in 19 games.

"(To give Reyes the win) in this fashion is superb," said Davis, who had three hits and is batting .351 in his last nine games. "It's awesome."

Bautista is batting. 450 with six RBIs in his last six contests overall, and .412 with seven RBIs in his last five against the Indians.

The Blue Jays have recorded 58 hits while outscoring the White Sox and Indians 37-15 during their four-game winning streak.

Cleveland (31-20), meanwhile, has been outscored 44-12 while losing five of six.

"We're scuffling this week," said manager Manny Acta, who has watched his club total one run in its last three losses.

The high-scoring Blue Jays might be the last team Cleveland's Mitch Talbot (1-1, 5.87 ERA) wants to face as he tries to bounce back from his roughest outing of the season. The right-hander allowed eight runs - seven in the first inning - and 12 hits over three innings of a 14-2 loss to Boston on Wednesday in his first appearance since missing more than a month with an elbow strain.

Acta, however, wouldn't use the injury and long layoff as an excuse for Talbot's poor performance.

"It's 60 feet, 6 inches wherever you go. We don't make excuses for anybody," Acta said. "We've never done it and we're not going to start now."

In his only appearance against the Blue Jays on May 3, 2010, Talbot gave up five runs - four off three homers - and four walks in eight innings of a 5-1 loss.

The Blue Jays counter with Brandon Morrow (2-2, 4.38), who has not factored in the decision of his last two starts. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits in seven innings of a 3-1 loss to the White Sox on Thursday.

Morrow is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in two career starts against the Indians - both last season in Cleveland.

Cleveland's Shelley Duncan had a homer among his two hits Monday, improving to 6 for 13 with five RBIs in his last four games.

Grady Sizemore is 0 for 12 in three games as the designated hitter since coming off the disabled list with a knee injury. After getting Monday off, Sizemore is expected to return to the outfield for this contest.

St. Edward junior offensive lineman Kyle Kalis called Luke Fickell on Tuesday afternoon to de-commit, but by the end of the 45-minute call was still a Buckeyes recruit.

View full sizeSpecial to The Plain DealerSt. Edward junior and Ohio State recruit Kyle Kalis also spoke with Jim Tressel on Monday for about 15 minutes. "His spirits were pretty high," Kalis said. "He didn't want me to worry about him. He said, 'Now that I'm gone, I'm just one of those old guys.' He said that he only lives 12 miles away and I should stop and see him any time."

LAKEWOOD, Ohio - St. Edward junior offensive lineman Kyle Kalis was sweating and his heart was racing at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon as he dialed his cell phone to tell Ohio State interim football coach Luke Fickell goodbye.

"This phone call is for my de-commitment," he told Fickell.

By the end of the 45-minute phone call, Kalis was back in the Buckeye fold, a member of the 2012 recruiting class, for now.

Kalis said he is so impressed with Fickell that he will play for Ohio State as long as it makes Fickell the permanent coach. If it hires someone else, Kalis said he will look elsewhere.

"The only way I'd go to Ohio State is if Coach Fick is the coach," said Kalis, a Westlake resident. "I know him pretty well. He knows the way I'm a fighter and I don't give up on things. He said he went through the same thing in college and ended up going to Ohio State, and he said if I go to Ohio State, it will be the best decision of my life.

"He knew what I knew, that I wanted to be a Buckeye."

Kalis (6-5, 305), regarded as one of the top junior linemen in the country, also wanted to play for Jim Tressel, who resigned Monday. That's why Kalis' first reaction was to pull back his oral, non-binding commitment with Ohio State, which he announced last September.

"I see myself as a very loyal guy. The person I committed to was coach Tressel, and with coach Tressel gone, I felt like I had no other option than to de-commit," Kalis said.

The news of Tressel's departure hit Kalis hard Monday morning.

"My first thought was shock. My heart sank and my stomach started hurting," he said. "I turned my phone off and went back to bed. I had 87 missed calls from all over, the New York Times, ESPN. I didn't return one of them. I thought it would be disrespectful, like I was talking behind coach Tressel's back.

"I'm not sure how this happened, but it happened."

Kalis did make one call Monday. He called Tressel.

"We talked for about 15 minutes," Kalis said. "His spirits were pretty high. He didn't want me to worry about him. He said, 'Now that I'm gone, I'm just one of those old guys.' He said that he only lives 12 miles away and I should stop and see him any time."

Also Tuesday, OSU incoming freshman signee Chris Carter, a senior lineman at John F. Kennedy, and his family declined to comment on his future. But JFK coach Scott Wodtly talked to Carter minutes after the news broke of Tressel's resignation.

"Chris and I were kind of taken aback because we love coach Tressel, not just as a coach but also a person," said Wodtly, "but Chris told me he's committed to Ohio State and plans on playing there."

Plain Dealer reporter Bob Fortuna contributed to this report. 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: twarsinskey@plaind.com, 216-999-4661

This week, PGA/LPGA professional Kathy Cassese of Airport Greens in Willoughby Hills demonstrates how to hit out of the tall, wet rough the spring weather has produced across the region. Watch video

Local pros solve your golf problems in a weekly instruction video at cleveland.com/golf with Plain Dealer columnist Bud Shaw and videographer David I. Andersen.

This week, PGA/LPGA professional Kathy Cassese of Airport Greens in Willoughby Hills demonstrates how to hit out of the tall, wet rough the spring weather has produced across the region.

Need help with your game? Explain your problem to golf@plaind.com in an email. We will select one each week. All the videos dating back to 2010 are archived.