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Welcome back to Land-Grant Holy Land’s Group Chat, where we discuss all kinds of things like The Masked Singer, our other favorite sports teams, something weird our dog did yesterday, etc. In other words, if it’s something we’re talking about in our staff Slack channel, you’ll probably find it here.
Now, that doesn’t mean this series will be void of all things Buckeye football, especially now that we have a season on the horizon. It just won’t be all Ohio State, all the time. Because contrary to popular belief, we have many other interests outside of college football, and we assume you do as well! So without further ado, here’s what we’re chatting about at LGHL.
Brett Ludwiczak
As we head towards October, there is plenty to be excited about. Week 3 of the NFL has some entertaining action with Cowboys/Seahawks, Packers/Saints on Sunday, followed by Chiefs/Ravens on Monday night football.
College football’s schedule is starting to look a little more normal, as the SEC jumps back into action. Really though, anything has to be better than the first few weeks of the season. At least we are now under a month until the Big Ten takes the field again.
Baseball’s short regular season is wrapping up, and while the American League has determined what teams they’ll be sending to the expanded playoffs, the same can’t be said for the National League. Right now the Cincinnati Reds are holding on to a playoff spot, but they still have plenty of work to do, especially with the Cardinals and Giants both playing doubleheaders today. It’s possible the Reds could jump the Cardinals for second place in the NL Central, or it is possible they could get left out of the playoffs altogether.
But what I’m really excited for this weekend is the premiere of the fourth season of Fargo on Sunday night on FX. While I wasn’t high on the third season, I loved the first two seasons. My expectations are high for this season, since Chris Rock headlines a cast which also includes Jason Schwartzman, Timothy Olyphant, Jack Huston, and many more. Between the accents and some of the crazy character names, it should be a fun season.
Gene Ross
I am currently in the midst of a rough time of the year in my sports fandom. These next four weeks leading up to Ohio State football are going to be incredibly boring, as all of the teams I root for outside the Buckeyes stink.
The MLB only has a few games remaining before it begins the postseason, and as usual the New York Mets are probably not going to make it. Even if they miraculously do, they do not have the starting pitching — outside of Jacob Degrom — to compete with any of the top-tier teams in the league. Personally, I will be rooting for a White Sox-Padres World Series, as I think they have been two of the most fun and entertaining teams in the MLB this season.
The NFL season has only just begun, but it looks like another lost year for my New York Giants. This may surprise you, but the Giants have actually had the worst record of any team in the league over the last three years — which is stunning considering that includes a stretch where the Cleveland Browns went 0-16. Daniel Jones looks like a solid QB, but the offensive line is atrocious and the defense is mediocre at best. Add in the season-ending injury to Saquon Barkley, and it looks like they’ll be lucky to win three games.
The New York Islanders have had the greatest success of any of my local teams as of late, but they came up short in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They look to be heading down the right path, with an excellent head coach in Barry Trotz, a legitimate star in Mat Barzal, and a solid young and gritty core around him. However, even with that being the case, their season is also over.
That leaves me in sports limbo for the greater part of the next month. I’ll definitely still be watching the MLB playoffs since I love the sport. I'll watch the Giants lose try to compete each week, and I’ll spend a good chunk of my Saturday’s watching other miscellaneous college football games that I have no rooting interest in, but all of this is to say: I really need Ohio State football back in my life.
Connor Lemons
When I was in middle school, I really wanted to be a meteorologist. Storms and weather patterns fascinate me, and I was pretty sure that’s the career path I wanted to follow until my senior year of high school, when I joined the school’s newspaper.
Even though it seemed insignificant at the time, interviewing coaches, teachers, and students about different issues, writing about them, and then delivering the papers to each classroom was one of the coolest experiences I had growing up. That is how I fell in love with writing, and the reason I’ve carried that passion with me for years since then. I don’t write full-time, but I’ll never dismiss the possibility of making a career out of it, if someone gives me the chance.
This Sunday marks one year since I joined Land-Grant Holy Land, which was my first ever paid position as a writer. I’ve published 52 articles over the past year, and I hope you’ve enjoyed at least a few of them. The thing I love the most about this website is that we have the freedom to write pretty much whatever we want as long as we stay on-brand (Go Bucks). I’ve written traditional “game recaps”, but I’ve also compared Marvel comic heroes to basketball coaches. I’ve written about horrific injuries, transfers, and our coach’s wardrobe.
To honor such a stupendous occasion, I thought I’d plug my four favorite articles I’ve written since I joined LGHL. Thanks for following along for the past year, y’all!
Here are my four favorites, in no particular order:
Andre Wesson is gone now, but I tried my best to encapsulate all that he meant to the program during his four years.
The first few weeks of last season were just kind of goofy. I wrote this right after Duke lost to Stephen F. Austin at home.
Self-brag, but two of the three things I listed here actually happened shortly after. Turns out I know a thing or two.
This took far more effort than I thought it would but looking back it might be my favorite thing I’ve written over the past year.
Tia Johnston
SpongeBob content and SpongeBob content ONLY
This is what we've all been waiting for pic.twitter.com/GZHcUnD46K
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 24, 2020
Matt Tamanini
Earlier this week, an Ohio State football commit tweeted his desire for the NCAA to #LiftTheDeadPeriod, in relation to the recent news that coaches would not be able to meet with prospects face-to-face for at least the rest of the calendar year.
Now, I’m not interested in putting this kid on blast, so I’m not linking to his tweets on the subject, but I did feel like it was worth addressing. While I am sure that part of the NCAA’s rationale in extending the dead period was out of an abundance of caution for the health of the high school recruits and their family members, I think at this point, it would be foolish to assume that there wasn’t something more financially-motivated behind the decision. This decision has a direct and dramatic impact on the players and coaches playing this fall, and that is why fans should 100 percent be in favor of this dead period extending until all games are finished.
Think about in terms of the Buckeyes: with the incredibly strict Big Ten testing policies in place, I want Ryan Day and his players and coaches living in hermetically sealed bubbles until they get their hands on that national championship trophy. What I don’t want is people coming from all different parts of the country, from places where public health restrictions and COVID positivity levels vary tremendously, and potentially spreading the coronavirus to coaches and/or players that they come in contact with.
In this very fragile college football world that we are living in, the last thing that teams need is the introduction of people (and germs) that they don’t have complete control over. #DontLiftTheDeadPeriod