Golden Nuggets for 9.30.08

So, yeah, I had some fun mocking Ohio State fans last week. It was in good fun, and when I made fun of Jim Tressel's wardobe choices, nothing about that could have been taken as anything other than jest.

The same can't be said for one OSU blog.

Now comes Buckeye Commentary in the latest example of why the sports blogosphere struggles for credibility. Quoting much more liberally than I should:

This just in: Minnesota and Ohio State are still who we thought they were.

Beanie Wells hurdling defenders and Terrelle Pryor knocking over grown men were the only 2 things that surprised me against Minnesota.

Well, add the final score to that. It felt like a 41-6 game and not 34-21 game. You have no one to thank for that besides Tim Brewster (a whiny, enthusiastic prick) who has guided the Gophers from good to awful to somewhere around bad.

Really? A whiny, enthusiastic prick? The writer here should know that it's completely within reason to tease Brewster's positivity. It's also within reason to take some shots at the talent differential between the two teams. Even mock commenters at this blog for thinking we might have a chance to pull an upset (though typically fans do root for their teams).

But to angrily rant and call a coach a whiny prick is below anything resembling appropriate discourse even on sports blogs. And this is a blog that tells people "Other blogs try to be funny, we try to offer unique analysis." Well, the item above was neither funny or unique in its analysis. It was crass.

• How can Tim Brewster and the Gophers put Iowa's Kirk Ferentz on the hot seat? The Coaches Hot Seat blog explains.
• CollegeHoopsNet previews Tubby Smith's second season in Minnesota and sees an NIT bid. The blog suggests that it will be the play of the fountcourt that could decide how successful the season is. I agree with that assessment.
• Bo Ryan apparently didn't get the memo that Tubby Smith has closed Minnesota's borders. Ryan came to visit Bloomington Jefferson's sophomore point guard Marcus Alipate--brother of Minnesota football recruit Moses Alipate--Monday. Smith will apparently visit with the younger Alipate later this week.
• Kent Youngblood of the STrib pretty much calls Saturday's Big Ten home opener against Indiana a must-win.
• A little has been made about Rodney Williams pllummeting a bit in Rivals' rankings. We discussed this a bit in the WIlliams thread below. So, it's good to read that Williams' father said the soon to be Gopher is working on his ball-control, consistency, strength, defense and shooting.
• Kelvin Sampson might be out as IU basketball head man, but the headache of his tenure remains.