Ohio State has had a fantastic first half of 2011, from the firing of Jim Tressel to the forfeiting of an entire, Sugar Bowl-winning 12-1 season. The second half of the year is all about penance and proving their sincere adherence to Ohio and its culture, so it should come as no surprise that the school is one of three to have signed a deal making them an official part of the LeBron James Brand™. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel first reported Saturday that Ohio State would join Kentucky and Miami as the first three teams to specifically represent LeBron lebranded Nike gear, which should end up looking a lot like Michael Jordan’s, only without any rings. As accessories, I mean. Miami makes sense, Kentucky makes sense because of John Calipari, and Ohio State makes sense because they have no f**king clue what they’re doing anymore.

Of course, OSU has been supporting LeBron and sporting a LeBron logo since before that was a hangable offense, and Ohio State wins a lot so they’re the one Ohio-area sports team LeBron didn’t completely insult and abandon. And yeah, you can leave me a comment to tell me I’m a “hater” or whatever, but I don’t care about the Cavs or The Decision, I’m still pissed about him wearing a Yankees hat to an Indians game.

Anyway, Cleveland is of course already writing newspaper editorials about how Ohio State is tone-deaf to the state’s dislike of this guy, but honestly is there anything more “Ohioan” right now than not being able to shut up about LeBron James? It’s right there next to Jojo potatoes and flammable bodies of water. Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer is impassioned in his response to the announcement, but he’s missing one important point:

But THE Ohio State University? Are they kidding?

Actually, OSU basketball players have worn “L23″ insignia since 2007 on their uniforms. During much of that time, James was a Cavalier and a non-quitter.

I don’t know if Bill watched those years when LeBron lead the Cavaliers into the playoffs, but they didn’t exactly end with LeBron valiantly battling the flu and pulling out a victory in the clutch. LeBron is the same guy, he’s just wearing a shirt we hate. If the LeBron Brand overtakes college sports, Cleveland isn’t going to have anyone to root for.

Man, I wish they had a baseball team.

[h/t The Dagger]

Remember that 12-1 season that the Buckeyes just enjoyed, including their Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas? No you don’t, because Ohio State just said that it never happened. THE university announced earlier today that the football program is vacating its 2010 season as part of a self-imposed punishment. The program will also start a two-year probationary period today.

The powers that be in Columbus is hoping that firing Jim Tressel and forfeiting an entire season would be enough to dodge the NCAA’s wrath. While that remains to be seen, the glaring oddities of Ohio State’s self-flagellation included (a) no deduction in scholarships, and (b) no ban on postseason appearances. What gives, yo?

The university argues that Tressel’s “integrity and proven history of promoting rules compliance,” combined with his team’s improving academic performance and other factors, should mitigate the severity of any NCAA sanctions.[..]

The fallout from the scandal has included the resignation of Tressel, the partial-season suspension of six players, and quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s decision to skip his senior season and turn pro.

–THE Columbus Dispatch.

We’ve mentioned before that this makes Ohio State a repeat violator and eligible for the NCAA’s death penalty, a measure that Gene Smith and the athletic department are obviously desperate to avoid. The more of “Tat-Gate” that can be pinned on Tressel, the less culpability the school has for lack of institutional control, which would figure to be a key ingredient if the NCAA were to deem Ohio State’s probation insufficient.

Which they probably will.

It’s worth pointing out again that Ohio State is being punished because their players decided to sell and trade stuff that was legally theirs. NCAA violation or no, college football’s governing body is running out of time to drop the guise of “amateurism” on its own terms. Schools can’t sign billion-dollar TV deals and then cry about how money shouldn’t be an issue with compensating student-athletes. Letting players cash in on their own likenesses would be a start to that. Usually when someone cites “the greater good,” it’s just another way of saying that some guy’s about to get screwed. Again.

Terrelle Pryor days before he committed to Ohio State. Seriously.

THE Ohio State University has found itself as THE center of college football scandals lately, and it got a whole lot bigger yesterday. With Jim Tressel out as coach after his failure to acknowledge (read: allowance) of players receiving improper benefits, quarterback Terrelle Pryor announced that he would be forgoing his senior year to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft, which is a terrifying thought as a fan of the Miami Dolphins.

But Pryor’s announcement came as little shock to anyone with an IQ above 6 because he was already suspended for 5 games next season for selling memorabilia, he is currently under investigation for improper use of “loaner” vehicles from car dealers, and he has been driving around in a brand new Nissan 350z that he claims his mom is paying for while she’s driving an Oldsmobile Alero. So it is the least shocking revelation in the history of college athletics that a friend of Pryor’s has stepped up to say that Pryor has been receiving money for autographs for the past three years.

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Jim Tressel was not a great football coach, but a good football coach with great resources. Your dad could roll out of bed on game day and get seven wins a year coaching the Buckeyes. The resources of the crown jewel of Ohio State’s athletic program are that rich and that vast, and Tressel did as much with those resources as anyone. During his ten years in Columbus, Tressel won a national title, seven Big Ten titles, and beat Michigan every year, save one. That alone will keep the memories of the sweater vest parading the sidelines in a positive hue for generations to come, despite his ominous resignation yesterday. But don’t expect to see The Senator take up another term elsewhere; he won’t be coming back. Ever.

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Former OSU wide receiver Ray Small told the school’s student newspaper that he got special car deals and sold Big Ten championship rings during his playing days. Why? Because everyone else was doing it. You’re killin’ me, Small. If Michigan jumped off a bridge, would … wait, don’t answer that.

Small said, ‘We had four Big Ten rings. There was enough to go around.’

He added that, despite Ohio State’s large and proactive NCAA compliance department, most of student-athletes ‘don’t even think about [NCAA] rules’ … ‘We have apartments, car notes. So you got things like that and you look around and you’re like, ‘Well I got [four] of them, I can sell one or two and get some money to pay this rent.’

Ohio State is investigating more than 50 transactions between Ohio State athletes and their families and two Columbus auto dealerships.

‘They have a lot [of dirt] on everybody,’ Small said, ’cause everybody was doing it.’

The entire Ohio State issue deserves a big press conference from the President of the United States where he throws up his hands, says “welp” and does his “now run and tell THAT” Osama Bin Laden death announcement walk down the hallway.

This interview is another in a string of weird situations where athletes don’t seem to realize how much money or opportunity they have. Football players are going broke and resorting to crime and celebrity boxing before we’ve even gotten to a locked out season, and now guys with college football scholarships have to sell championship rings to “make rent?” How does this work? Why are college sports turning into Dead Man on Campus?

[via CBS Sports]

Urban Meyer’s foxy volleyball daughter Nicki has lashed out at her own smart phone over talk that her famous father is headed to Columbus take over as head football coach at Ohio State. Nicki, who is pretty famous for platonically hugging Tim Tebow all the time, posted the following message on her Twitter.

That’s what I’m tlking abt. Rumors and conspiracy theories have been running rampant all month, and college football commentator and flatulence-free food advocate Beano Cook exasperated the speculation with a prediction of the move during an interview on ESPN radio on Thursday. Neon Deion Sanders, who is in that header picture for some reason, could not be reached for comment.

For more information about Nicki Meyer, you can check out her Twitter, her Georgia Tech volleyball bio, or you can just turn around and talk to Chris Hansen, who is standing like four feet behind you.