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Commentary: Bucks get chance to quiet critics

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By Brian Kollars, Staff Writer 7:48 PM Saturday, September 5, 2009

Oregon’s LaGarrette Blount got the college football season started with a bang. His Roberto Duran imitation following the Ducks’ loss at Boise State sure put a damper on the whole sportsmanship push. Blount deserves his season-long suspension, but the trash-talking kid who lit the fuse brought no honor to Boise. Maybe we should just subscribe to the LeBron rule and totally ignore your opponent after the game.

Panic time: I watched THE OSU-Navy barnburner with a bunch of Buckeye fans, who looked on in horror as the home team nearly turned a blowout victory into a loss that would’ve been more shocking than the return of Antioch College.

Maybe the Buckeyes were trying to make USC overconfident. Maybe Navy really is a top-10 program. Ricky Dobbs for the Heisman, anyone? Or maybe Jim Tressel didn’t get past Page 2 of the playbook.

Whatever the reason for this close call, I expect OSU will look better next week when the Trojans and their freshman quarterback puff up their chests in the Horseshoe. The Buckeyes and the Big Ten need a signature win, and this is the one.

And should Ohio State lose, I do know this: You can’t blame Todd Boeckman.

Crying in football: Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez was accused last week of making his Wolverines practice too much. In fact, his own players blew the whistle. Rich-Rod also was named in a lawsuit because he had a shady partner in a real estate deal. And when he tried to defend himself, be cried.

Somewhere, Bo Schembechler is throwing things, and the Alabama boosters who wanted to hire Rodriguez are toasting the day he turned them down.

Bad break: Wouldn’t you have liked to have seen Mike Brown’s face when he found out rookie tackle Andre Smith had a broken foot? You pretty much can write off Smith’s debut season.

Smith is a large man. The question now is how much bigger will he get? Guys who can’t run have a tough time staying in shape.

Quick hits: Have you seen those Papa John’s commercials? I didn’t know Paul Biancardi was hawking pizza. That is the former Wright State coach, right? ... I’m pleased ESPN didn’t mess with the College GameDay theme song. ... Brett Favre’s crackback block wasn’t pretty, but what sane coaching staff even puts the brittle QB in that position?

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2163 or bkollars@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Knucklehead of the Week

I know what I’m getting Brandon Phillips for Christmas: a dictionary. Phillips, the talented Reds second baseman who applies a layer of ketchup and mustard daily, said last week that he’s playing with a fractured wrist. After writers reported that he had a broken wrist, Phillips explained that he didn’t know “broken” and “fractured” mean the same thing. Then he said his wrist still feels like it’s fractured. Glad he cleared that up.

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