Four years at Ohio, three at The Post ... there are bound to be some comments, concerns, criticisms and critiques. Here is just a smattering:
Sex columns: Don't like them, never did. There's a difference between advice columns with genuine redeeming value and columns that blindside you more than George W. Bush's "shock and awe" campaign. Sadly, every Thursday for the past two quarters, The Post's sex column has been anything but a column. What started as a mature way to discuss topics that have been labeled taboo, quickly degenerated into a weekly test of a newspaper's standards.
Ohio athletics: My apologies to Ohio coaches Tim O'Shea, Brian Knorr and Roanna Brazier. After initial success as a beat writer covering the Ohio wrestling team's Mid-American Conference Championship in 2001, the next two seasons as a beat writer were, for the most part, anything but successful. The Ohio basketball, football and softball combined for a 75-100-1 record under my byline. For every time O'Shea faulted himself for his tough early-season scheduling, Knorr lamented about key injuries or Brazier said the team couldn't put together a complete game, I felt semi-responsible. I apologize.
Brandon Hunter: Cadillac Escalade or not, the NBA might prove to be more of a pipe dream than one come true. Dunks from underneath the basket aren't going to wow NBA scouts. His development of a mid-range jump shot and sound ball-handling skills - absent last season - will be the difference between playing in the NBA or in the NBDL with former teammate Anthony Jones.
Chad Brinker: From one prospect to another, Brinker is Ohio's best bet to get some professional sports love. With kick returner Chad Morton now in Washington, the New York Jets are as about as high on Brinker as, well ... a jet. New York special teams coach Mike Westhoff raved about Brinker following the team's first mini-camp, and if the perseverance he showed bouncing back from brain surgery followed him to New York, watching Brinker on Sunday's is a sure bet.
The Detroit Tigers: They're consistent; I'll give them that. While Cleveland and Cincinnati have received their fair share of ink in this paper throughout the past three years, those kittens to the north consistently have been left out. At 15-40 and a 5-22 mark in what could be the easiest division in baseball, it's hard to blame my fellow reporters for omitting the Motown Mistakes. There's always 2006.
The Collegiate Athletes Coalition: After listening to representatives from the student-athlete advocacy group and the Ohio athletic department exchange more verbal jabs than Bobby Knight and the media, it is quite apparent that the coalition is going nowhere. Ohio's anemic athletic budget simply won't allow it. In my book, free tuition and a guaranteed job within the athletic department beats the $15 a week this reporter rakes in. Remind me again, where's the problem?
17 Archives
Joe Arnold
200306052372midsize.jpg
Joe Arnold
