You’re Nuts: What’s on your sports wish list this year?

Merry Christmas Eve! On this night before Christmas, we will remind everyone that Ohio State hoops have not played since Dec. 11. But not too fear, they should be back on the court shortly. Connor and Justin talked about that on the podcast this week below.

But since the Buckeyes haven’t played in almost two weeks, we here at LGHL and Bucketheads decided to take “You’re Nuts” a different route this week and lean into the Christmas of it all.

Before that, I will remind everyone of last week and we asked should Ohio State pursue 2023 guard Bronny James, son of LeBron James in regards to him naming some college options he has.

In what was our most voted on poll by about a million, Justin won with his answer of “Yes” getting 81% of the votes. Connor said “No” and that received the other 19% . The poll was voted on 384 times — and some of you wonder why all ESPN talks about LeBron James all the time. He moves the needle folks; even his kid does!

After 31 weeks:

Connor- 15
Justin- 10
Other- 4

(There have been two ties)

So let’s jump right into this one and see if Justin can close the gap once more. Here is the question this week.

Today’s Question/Prompt: What’s on your sports wish list this year?

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Connor: Ohio State men’s basketball to get healthy and start playing again

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

This one is pretty simple, right? I’m not sure if it’s a COVID “outbreak” as much as it’s 3-4 people in the program who are sick, but I just want all the folks involved to rest up, feel better, and be ready to go on December 28. There’s absolutely nothing for me to write about right now, and more than that I just love watching college basketball in the winter.

On top of that, your the Buckeyes are pretty good this season! They’re up to No. 14 in the nation, are 2-0 in conference play, and have a possible national player of the year in E.J. Liddell. Hopefully everyone is at home resting up so that next week we get to see some Buckeye basketball for the first time in over two weeks.

The St. Louis Cardinals to sign Albert Pujols

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

While I do cover basketball for Land-Grant Holy Land — and love it — I have and will always be a baseball fan first and foremost. I really got interested in college basketball in high school, so I started learning as much as I could and watching as much as I could. But I was raised on baseball, and played it from when I could swing a bat until I realized I was not good enough to play in college.

And since I was old enough to sit down and watch a full baseball game, I’ve been a St. Louis Cardinals fan. I was probably eight or nine when I started studying MLB rosters like an absolute addict. I grew up watching Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen dazzle on the field and at the plate. Adam Wainwright’s full count curveball to Carlos Beltran in game 7 of the 2006 NLCS is seared into my brain. I’ve always been — and always will be — a Cardinals fan.

Which is why signing Pujols for one final season would mean so much to me. Wainwright and Yadier Molina are in their final season, and the DH is (probably) coming to the National League this season. He pretty much sucks now, but it doesn’t matter. Give me Albert for one final season, purely for nostalgia. Bring the band back together for one last hurrah, please.

An Ohio State Sweet Sixteen run

Listen, I’m not too demanding or unreasonable. Ohio State hasn’t been to the Sweet Sixteen in nine seasons. There was a three-year stretch under Thad Matta at the end there where this program was absolutely awful, and now Holtmann’s teams have been great in the regular season but simply can’t get it done during the tournament.

I know this team probably isn’t a national championship contender, but they’re definitely a Sweet Sixteen/second weekend type of team. After nearly a decade of NCAA tournament failures and/or absences, all I’m asking for is for this team to win two games and make it to the second weekend. That would be enough to make me feel like the past decade of frustrations have been worth it.

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Justin: Ohio State men’s basketball to get healthy and start playing again

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

I am stealing this one because let’s face it, we all want it. And I think that this team has earned the right to be healthy and truly get a chance to take a run at this thing full go. We all know they weren't healthy during the final stretch of last season and into the tournament against Oral Roberts, and they have yet to field a full team this season.

I truly believe that IF this team can get FULLY healthy, they can be a top two seed in the tournament like last season, and as long as they can enter the tournament healthy, they have the skill, experience and depth to be a serious player into April.

However, that window is closing, and if it is going to happen, it has to be this season for at least this particular group. So getting healthy in January has to be the main goal for the Buckeyes.

I also agree with a Sweet Sixteen run but I won’t steal two.

Rory McIlroy wins the Masters

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Some transparency: Outside of basketball, my actual second favorite sport is golf, then football, and there a few athletes that I have enjoyed watching more in life than Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy.

There are very few things in sports that I think anyone “deserves;” you earn things in sports. However, I think that McIlroy has done everything in golf that you can do except walk off the 18th green at Augusta and slip on a green jacket.

McIlroy is already one of the top-20 golfers to ever do it; he has won 20 PGA tour events, 32 worldwide events, maybe is the greatest driver of the ball ever, is a Ryder Cup legend, and is just a Masters win away from a Grand Slam (and not the kind from Denny’s)

Not to mention, he has actually been really great at the Masters. In 14 appearances, he has six top 10s, 10 top 25s, and only two missed cuts — one coming in his first ever appearance and the other one last year when he wasn’t healthy.

In my opinion, it is not if he will win one, it is when. So why not this year? (As an alternate option, I will except Spieth winning).

Cavaliers become a real contender

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

I have been a Cleveland Cavs and Browns fan for my entire life (I am a Reds’ fan in baseball). I have never seen a Cavs team make the playoffs that did not have LeBron James in my lifetime (and some of you actually wonder why we always accept him back with open arms).

But this feels different. The Cavs have a great young core, solid coaching, and still some money to spend. Let’s just hope they don’t screw it up this time, and that's all I have on that subject.

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