nowayman

March 20th, 2014 at 2:22 PM ^

he sure isn't afraid of having the ball in his hands with the clock ticking down.  

 

/now whether that is a good thing is another story.  

//it's not a good thing.

///unless you're a Michigan fan.  

uofmdds96

March 20th, 2014 at 3:48 PM ^

If I win every other game and Craft cost me a BILLION dollars, I will be visiting him and taking some teeth back with me.  And I will not be leaving Mr. Craft a quarter under his pillow!

Of course my alumni assoc. bracket I picked Dayton.  I think the payout is slightly less.

 

LordGrantham

March 20th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^

After listening to the slobbering over him all game long, it's hard not to agree with Brian's conclusion that there is a significant racial element to the praise.  Rafferty said he "respected him more than any other player I've ever seen."  Why, exactly?  Is he the first ever guard to play tough defense and get good grades?

lilpenny1316

March 20th, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^

The announcers spend a lot of time with these guys leading up to games.  Due to OSU's success and Craft's starting for OSU the past seven years, Raftery and other announcers have had plenty of time to build up their man crush.

jballen4eva

March 20th, 2014 at 5:18 PM ^

I'm fine with the man crush, except that I don't recall the same love ever given to Jordan Morgan, a great student-athlete and character guy who gets the most out of his talent.  

Well, except for here.  And that's because you all are brilliant.  

EDIT: And Chait.  Whoops.  Good for him!

DavidP814

March 20th, 2014 at 2:35 PM ^

I was thinking the same thing listening to Verne and Bill, but then Barkley said the same thing on the post-game.  The kid must just have the kind of Tebow-like personality that makes grown men love the guy,

Blueroller

March 20th, 2014 at 4:21 PM ^

Terrific article. He uses Novak and Morgan to make the case of white bias towards the gritty player. My only quibble would be that Novak has such an extroverted personality (Aneurysm of Leadership!), while Morgan is less demonstrative and doesn't stand out as much. But the two are very similar otherwise, and Morgan only gets a little of the credit Novak got for TRUE GRIT.

m1jjb00

March 20th, 2014 at 3:43 PM ^

I thought that was Lunquist who said that.  

Comparisons to Tebow are completely apt.  The only difference is that with Tebow, the blowback from guys like from Pro Football Weekly that went crazy anytime someone sung his praises was hilarious.  No such comparable in Craft's case.  

jballen4eva

March 20th, 2014 at 5:12 PM ^

Totally agree.  This reminds of a long time ago, when I once heard an announcer say of Paul Molitor "he's the kind of guy you want your daughter to bring home."  I don't recall if that was after he stopped using cocaine, but I'm pretty sure the announcer didn't feel that way about Mookie Wilson.  

Mr. Yost

March 20th, 2014 at 2:39 PM ^

If that's the man's opinion...can't knock it.

I'm not going to slob over him (and not saying he was)...but I'm also not afraid to recognize a great career. 

There are certain times when you can "tip your cap" or somewhat even "cheer" for your rival.

I think this is one of those times.

It's not the first Boston Red Sox game in Yankee Stadium after the bombings, it's not the Jordan farewell ovation in MSG. But it's in the same respect for your rival. I hate your fucking guts...but I understand that you make this rivalry just as much as we do and I respect what "rivalry" stands for. So in this single moment, I will stand, clap or cheer for you. In the next moment, I will got back to hating you with every piece of my being.

Perkis-Size Me

March 20th, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^

If you hate being that guy, then do us all a favor and don't be that guy.

Sure it's not the most newsworthy thread, but what's the point of a rivalry if we can't heckle the guys on the other team? It's all meant in good jest, or at least it should be. No one is forcing you to open threads that you don't like.