Why is this news?: No plans for The Game at night, what rule change Matta wants, Rucinski excels

"Dave Brandon, the athletic director at Michigan, and I constantly have conversations that that should not be a night game, and it will not be a night game. It won't be (at night) this year, nor in the following years."

-Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith

While Ohio State already has five night games on the schedule for the upcoming college football season, don't expect "The Game" to be a sixth one. Urban Meyer may have lobbied the Big Ten for more primetime games to help recruiting, the rivalry game with Michigan is staying put during the day. This year marks a change from the tradition of the Big Ten of not holding any November night games when Ohio State hosts Illinois at night in Columbus on November 1st, and then travels to East Lansing to take on Michigan State on November 8th. While there hasn't been a time announced for kickoff for the Wolverines and Buckeyes yet, the usual time when they kick is at noon, with the last occurrence of it being a time other than that coming in 2006 when we saw kickoff at 3:30 as Ohio State was ranked number one in the country and Michigan was ranked number two.

Along with letting people know that "The Game" wouldn't be a night game, Smith also stated that renovations to Ohio Stadium were on schedule. FieldTurf is being installed in The Horseshoe along with 2,600 seats being added to the south stands. Along with those additions, a lighting syste is being added above the east and west sides of the stadium.

"The one that comes to mind for me is going to six fouls."

-Thad Matta

Recently ESPN's Jeff Goodman asked coaches around college basketball what rule change they'd most like to see, and the answer from Ohio State head coach Thad Matta is he would like to see the foul limit in games increased from five fouls to six. Currently the NBA uses the six foul limit, but they also play 48 minute games and not the 40 minute games that college basketball does. The idea of increasing the foul limit is interesting because there are plenty of college basketball games that are impacted by some of the best players on the court picking up a quick two fouls and then being forced to the bench for the rest of the first half.

A couple other Big Ten coaches had different ideas for rule changes, with Nebraska's Tim Miles wanting a greater emphasis in calls put on flopping. Illinois head coach John Groce would like to see the NBA charge circle adopted permanently after he had some experience with his team playing with it last year against Oregon, and the expanded circle resulting in fewer collisions. Another rule change that was favored among numerous coaches around college basketball was the shortening of the shot clock, which could help create more offense in games.

"I just keep working at it to get another chance. You keep your work ethic and try to stay sharp. I throw the same pitches I did at Ohio State - a fastball, slide, and curve. I mix in a cut fastball. I just think I'm throwing everything a little better."

-Former Ohio State pitcher Drew Rucinski

Major League Baseball just held their All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Minneapolis, but a pitcher that is looking to be involved in future editions of the "Mid-summer Classic" is former Ohio State pitcher Drew Rucinski. The road hasn't been easy for the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native but he seems to be finding his groove this season in Double-A for the Arkansas Travelers, which are a affiliate for the Los Angeles Angels.

Last week Rucinski was called up by the Angels and appeared in last Thursday's 15-6 blowout over the Texas Rangers, pitching one inning where he allowed two runs on four hits before being optioned back to Arkansas, where he has been one of the best pitchers in the Texas League this season. So far this season for Arkansas, Rucinski has posted an 8-4 record with a 2.37 ERA. The eight wins are tied for first in the Texas League, while the 2.37 ERA ranks second.

After graduating from Ohio State the road for Rucinski looked a lot less certain, as he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Indians, playing for their Class-A affiliates in Mahoning Valley and Lake County before being released. After that to try and attract the attention of other teams Rucinski played in the Frontier League before signing with the Angels. So far, so good for Rucinski in his time with the Angels organization, and hopefully his stellar start to this season leads to even bigger and better things.

"Your best source for quality Northwestern Wildcats news, rumors, stats, and scores."

-InsideNU.com

They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer. What better way to do that than by giving the new Northwestern SBNation site a look. While the Wildcats may not play the Buckeyes on the gridiron this year, you never know when Northwestern might spoiler the road to Indianapolis for another Big Ten team. Plus this site will come in handy when Northwestern and Ohio State square off on the hardwood this year. The site has a number of quality writers on staff so give the new and improved site a look.

STICK TO SPORTS

• Do you like ribs? Of course you do. Be sure to check out the Jazz & Rib Fest in downtown Columbus this weekend.
• If you live in Columbus and have been missing some expected mail over the last 18 months? Well it might have been found in the home of a postal worker.
• A road rage incident in Whitehall leads to one driver brandishing a samurai sword.
• Not only did Mesut Ozil help Germany win the World Cup, but he donate his bonus to help some Brazilian children.
• If you are of age, on Twitter, and love local brews it's definitely worth entering this contest. As someone that has been to North High Brewing, they have some tremendous brews, and the building incorporates a lot of artifacts from Ohio State.