November 13th, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^
I don't get the whole polyanna/Chicken Little business where M fans get concerned that media might motivate tOSU and their players. Michigan (with an operable Patterson a wrecking crew on defense) is the better team, officials be damned. It is encouraging that tOSU fans are nervous; they should be. Outside of a bunch of "little man Tate" 11/11 packages not much Urban is going to do to scare in that game and even then the M defense has handled spread to run effectively this year (Tate gonna get injured in such a scenario, IMO).
As to Meyer, just keep him away from my Browns and hire John Harbaugh.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:00 PM ^
I don't think it is "chicken little" business to look at the possible impact that different angles could have on a game. It is possible that OSU is not performing well because they don't have much chemistry or are not that tight knit of a bunch. It is also possible that being attacked from the outside could provide an opportunity for them to get on the same page and develop better team chemistry going forward. Such things can impact on-field results. They obviously have the talent already.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
They've had a whole season to rally around their "unfairly treated" coach and it hasn't happened. I understand your basic concern, but I think it's more likely that well-timed McMurphy bombs would make the chemistry *worse*.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:17 PM ^
Twitter reaction thus far would indicate otherwise.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:41 PM ^
I think that if Michigan draws blood first, OSU will fold like a newspaper.
November 14th, 2018 at 6:25 AM ^
You mean like they did the last 2 years?
November 13th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
For the last few weeks when he's shown on TV he looks like he hasn't slept in days.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:04 PM ^
November 13th, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
Sadly this changes nothing.
They sold their souls in Columbus when they decided not to fire him. At this point, everything else is just background noise.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:24 AM ^
I completely agree with you. Even if UM smashes OSU this year (I don't think it will be like that, as I believe it will be another close, stressful game), OSU does not want to get rid of the second best coach in football. That athletic department has shown yet again that they care about nothing but wins.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
Ok cool. Hook 'em
November 13th, 2018 at 10:01 AM ^
Welp, If this was his only issue...we know MSU would’ve welcomed him to the sidelines with no problem.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:06 AM ^
No Urban legend here. Dude needs to slink away. Preferably after we beat them in columbus.
GO BLUE!!
November 13th, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^
Consider this reply a +10 upvote!
November 13th, 2018 at 10:09 AM ^
Urb and OSU is a scumbag shit show. And water is wet.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:09 AM ^
McMurphy is contacting every player who has transferred from osu in the past 5 years..... bet on it.
i'm starting to believe urban is done after this year, Harrison and Santa Claus are going BLUE and we aren't going to choke in the next three games.....
fighting back tears of joy
November 13th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
I would contact Joe Burrow.......I'm sure has something to say
November 13th, 2018 at 11:03 AM ^
That is literally what Michael Rosenberg and Mark Snyder did, in their reporting debacle on Michigan in the summer of 2009. Literally; they were contacting disgruntled former players who had left the program, many of them transfers. Rosenberg and Snyder wouldn't tell us who they were, but in at least one case -- Toney Clemons who had transferred to Colorado -- it was just a clusterfuck of misinformation wherein we got a window as to how the reporters got it wrong. Clemons outed himself, and then the more he answered questions, the more weird the original story got. (Clemons said that yeah sure he was in Schembechler hall all day on Sundays after games. And that was seen as some sort of confirmation of the original story. Except that there is absolutely nothing wrong with players hanging out in Schembechler Hall all day on Sundays. And when it was investigated, the NCAA confirmed that.)
I have many issues with the message boards associated with the important college football blogs. (MGoBlog, ElevenWarriors, etc.) But MGoBlog's exposure of the recklessness of Rosenberg remains one of the best moments in the history of the blog and in the history of reporting on Michigan athletics. One of Brian Cook's finest hours, ever.
The blogs are good at Fisking stories like this. It is one of the better things that the college football blogs can do.
And now, I will watch ElevenWarriors for its counter-reporting on McMurphy and his ongoing story. They have caught him in some reporting errors and excesses in the recent past, and I will watch closely to see if they do some more of that.
In the meantime, current Buckeye Johnnie Dixon says that he witnessed the altercation and McMurphy has it wrong. Johnnie Dixon is going public and on the record; McMurphy is still relying on anonymous sources.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
And Austin Mack, who says he was an eyewitness, also is denouncing McMurphy's reporting as well.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:28 AM ^
Those are some pretty significant rebukes and should be considered in the calculus of this story.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
I think we can now add Parris Campbell to this list of people who were witnesses, and who deny any truth to McMurphy's reporting. And 11W's Twitter account adds video of Grimes' father stating earlier this month that Urban Meyer and Ohio State had been nothing but honorable to Trevon and the family.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^
If some kind of cover-up is alleged, the video would not necessarily be that relevant to the discussion of whether the incident happened or not. Grimes' father's denial could be viewed as evidence that OSU acted honorable or that the Grimes were abiding by the hypothetical "don't go public and we will help you out" agreement insinuated in the article.
I think all of the players coming out is significant. Zach Smith is no longer relevant to them and if Meyer did condone or allow the type of language depicted in the article I don't see why the players would be so quick to defend him in that regard.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
In all honesty, practically every member of the Grimes family has credibility issues. Which is why a good journalist would employ extreme caution in reporting anything about it.
But of course Courtney Smith had credibility problems, and that didn't stop McMurphy.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
I would stop short of that. There had been enough smoke around Zach Smith for him to have been terminated from that coaching staff or at least strongly disciplined two or three times over. And Urban Meyer did not have to lie as BIG medias while essentially calling McMurphy a hack for bringing up the issue that Meyer was lying about in the same response. I am not in favor of irresponsible reporting, if that is what this is, but the reality is that Meyer doesn't have anybody to blame but himself critical coverage or his action or inaction.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:04 PM ^
For the sake of argument let's assume the player made up the use of the N word being used at practice.
That player's parents contacted Meyer about that and other concerns. Meyer told them he was too busy, would call them back later and then never did.
No matter what that looks bad on Meyer. A parent calls you (Meyer) and says an assistant is getting physical with my son and called him the N word and you just blow it off and ignore it?!
Perhaps Meyer's memory excuse comes back into play...you get such an egregious accusation against your program and you don't write it down to handle later?
Meyer looks like an A-hole here, period.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
Keep the news coming Brett - at least thru next week.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
So good it rivals this headline
Scranton Area Paper Company Dunder Mifflin Apologizes to Valued Client: Some Companies Still Know How Business is Done
November 13th, 2018 at 10:37 AM ^
I'm calling the ungrateful bi-otch hotline as we speak to complain.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
I love that Eleven Warriors has banned Mcmurphy the same way we have banned James Yoder. Lol
November 13th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
We banned Yoder for being a full-on liar with no sources or credibility.
They banned McMurphy cause they dont like his message and then news he's reporting. Big difference IMO.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:25 AM ^
Exactly.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^
Maybe they should ban Urban Meyer as well? /s You know, the guy who boldly lied when asked about the situation pertaining to shielding a alcoholic domestic abuser. Same guy who disgraced that entire fan base and had to be reprimanded through suspension and made a half-assed apology that made him look even less contrite. But who wants facts when you get your ass kicked by Purdue and slog your way through the rest of the B1G.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
The whole point here is that they don't ban liars, they ban the truth tellers. No way they'll ban him.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^
And now, The Ohio State University goes into official counter-attack mode. From the Athletic Director, to communications, to practically every player who was in a position to be a witness. All unequivocal denials of McMurphy's story, from the people -- maybe ALL of the people -- who were actual witnesses.
Now, if McMurphy has actual sources who are credible, the pressure on him to be more public about the sourcing for his story increases exponentially.
November 13th, 2018 at 2:50 PM ^
He will never give up his sources, but the more OSU pushes back the more dirt he can uncover. So the Buckeyes better tread lightly.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
Urban said he doesn't remember this incident.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
Wow. The story is just plain sad.
- Trevon Grimes and Zach Smith have a confrontation in practice in 2017. Grimes claims ZS called him a "bitch ass n--r" and said "I never should have recruited you." OSU at first denies the incident occurred at all, then later admits there was an "altercation" but denies ZS used the racist language.
- Grimes withdraws from school and goes back to Florida. He wants to try and transfer to UF. Meyer has the ability to block the transfer.
- Suddenly, Meyer and some other OSU folks take a mid-week trip to Ft. Lauderdale (Grimes' hometown) in October 2017 for unexplained purposes. This interrupts OSU's game prep and forces Meyer to cancel his press-conference, which evidently had never happened before. The implication is that Grimes has threatened to go public with his allegations.
- The OSU staff return and claim they visited Grimes because of a "family health situation." In fact, Grimes' mother does have cancer and it appears to be terminal, as an attempt at surgical removal was unsuccessful.
- Grimes, with OSU's cooperation, is then able to get a waiver to transfer to UF and play immediately due to his mother's cancer. Grimes and his mother are no longer talking to the media.
- Grimes' father is still talking, but Mrs. Grimes claims he's not credible. McMurphy finds out that Mr. Grimes has a history of DV and abuse, while Mrs. Grimes is a former nurse whose license was revoked for theft and financial exploitation of elderly patients.
- The overall implication is that Meyer, wanting to keep the story of ZS' racist remark quiet, agreed that OSU would cooperate in helping Grimes transfer to UF and obtain the NCAA waiver, provided they keep their mouths shut.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:03 AM ^
Hold up. Does Zach Smith think he’s black? How many bigots preface the n word with “bitch ass”?
Edit: Maybe really white trash ones do. ZS does reek of trashy...
November 13th, 2018 at 10:25 AM ^
I didn't finish the article. Way too long and doesn't seem like much of a story to me.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
Not much of a story?
Trevon Grimes' parents obviously both have serious issues. His mother was a nurse and had her license revoked for stealing from elderly patients, while his father has a string of DV crimes with different women. Yet Trevon overcomes all that, works his ass off and earns a college scholarship to play football. He goes to Ohio State, and once he gets there, his trusted position coach gets in his face and tells him he's nothing but a "bitch ass nigger" who ZS never should have recruited. Trevon is so (quite understandably) upset by this he leaves school and returns to Fort Fucking Lauderdale. Then he needs help from OSU to enroll in a different local program. He doesn't get that help, so he threatens to reveal publicly what happened at OSU. That's when Meyer and his entourage fly down in a private jet during game week and, instead of doing anything about ZS or taking any other steps to make things right, they offer to help Trevon go to UF provided he and his mother keep their mouths shut about what happened--and Meyer still keeps ZS on staff.
That's a fuckin' story, man.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:42 AM ^
It is a story. I am not entirely sure it is that story in the manner you have told it, as there are a few different variables in there that could be explained in several different ways that shed the involved parties in different lights. However, it is above else, shady, which makes it a story as far as OSU is concerned right now.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:54 AM ^
Well, that's just my summary of the story McMurphy told. Certainly his sources have some major credibility issues, but so does OSU--so who knows what parts of this are true, false or exaggerated? I have no idea. But to suggest this isn't even a story--I just found that astonishing.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
It would be cool if they had other multiple players confirm this happening. From what i read the only one who said it happen was his roommate.
November 13th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
Yep. I forgot how open sports culture is about abuse and rule breaking.
Remember Louisville recruits telling people how much they were getting paid?
Remember Maryland players telling us about Durkin (while he was head coach and in charge of PT, not after)?
Remember Rutger basketball players talking about that coach 3 coaching staffs ago who WAS CAUGHT ON TAPE abusing players?
November 13th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
Oh you mean student-athletes putting themselves first instead of doing the right thing. I forgot there are no morals or integrity when it comes to college athletics.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
Doesn't this seem like McMurphy is trying to tell a story, when the facts tell a different one? Like, a kid and coach got into an argument (where the kid mentions coach trying to get with OSU coeds, which, lol). But everything after that points to one thing: A son transferring to be closer to his mom and 8 year old brother.
I'm not seeing the nefarious cover-up you guys are.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:50 AM ^
FWIW multiple OSU players who were there that day are defending Smith on the twitters and claiming that the event never happened.
So there's that.