The basketball preseason is over, and now the real season — that is, the Big Ten season — is beginning. Ohio State plays its first conference game tonight, traveling to Bloomington to play the Indiana Hoosiers.
The Buckeyes are undefeated, 13-0, and are ranked second in national polls. The team clearly has a lot of talent and a lot of promise. The core of the team is four experienced players — David Lighty, Jon Diebler, William Buford, and Dallas Lauderdale — and they have played well so far. Those four players give the Buckeyes firepower from the perimeter, a player who can take the ball to the rack, tough defenders, and a shot blocker. And Ohio State’s freshman class — particularly Jared Sullinger — has made a huge contribution, too. Sullinger appears to be a complete package post player who knows all the post moves, rebounds well, and can dish when he is double-teamed. His classmates Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas also have made their mark and have given Ohio State both depth and a spark off the bench. Coach Thad Matta and his assistants have worked hard to experiment with lineups, spread playing time among the talent, and get the team to play tough defense, which will be crucial during Big Ten crunch time.
The big question for this team, right now, is “how good are they”? The Buckeyes really haven’t been tested yet, and while they have played some quality teams — Florida, Florida State, and South Carolina among them — they have not played a down-to-the-wire game yet. That will happen in the Big Ten, and the jury is still out on how the team will handle the pressure. In the meantime, the Buckeyes will need to take it one game at a time. They cannot afford to stumble on the road against a team like Indiana, which has struggled and should have difficulty matching up against the Buckeyes.
On the national scene, there is a lot of uncertainty, which should make 2011 very interesting indeed. President Obama had a tough 2010, with falling public approval ratings, a bad economy, and mounting public concern about spending and debt, and the Democratic Party took a shellacking in the 2010 election as a result. But the President nevertheless managed to accomplish some of his initiatives in the lame duck session of Congress, leading some people to talk about a comeback. In 2011, will we in fact see a comeback by the President and a resurgence of some of the passionate support he received in the 2008 election?
This game should be a mismatch. The Steelers are one of the best teams in the NFL. Their defense is terrific — the best in the NFL against the run — and their offense is balanced and productive. They are a seasoned team that routinely makes the playoffs, and this game is important to their Super Bowl prospects. The Browns, on the other hand, seem to have hit the wall both offensively and defensively. Offensively, the Browns struggle to score points; they have not reached 20 points in the last four games. Last week, the Ravens shut down Peyton Hillis and the Browns’ running game and picked off rookie quarterback Colt McCoy three times. The Steelers can also be expected to focus on stuffing the run and harassing McCoy. Defensively, the Browns seem to be getting worn down. The Ravens and the Bengals both moved the ball on the ground against the Browns, and the Steelers will try to do the same with Rashard Mendenhall, one of the best backs in the league. The Steelers, moreover, will bring Ben Roethlisberger and a better passing game, too.
Only a few minutes in, I thought to myself, “I’ve seen this movie already,” even though I hadn’t. And that is because the ugly future, post-apocalyptic, lone hero movie has been done to death. How is The Book of Eli different, for example, from The Road Warrior? Something horrible has happened, civilization has crumbled, and the animal nature of the remaining humans is being acted out in the most gruesome fashion. A lone guy appears, fights and beats and kills dozens of subhuman survivors, and then helps to set humanity back on the road to civilization. They even share religious themes. The only difference is the explicit Biblical aspect of The Book of Eli.
In America, being a mayor or a governor is a lot harder than being a Senator or Representative. Mayors and governors actually have to manage state or local agencies, make significant personnel decisions, and provide timely services like snow removal. Unlike members of Congress and state legislators, they can’t simply pat themselves on the back for coming up with some abstract compromise to move legislation forward or employing some arcane procedural maneuver to block a bill they oppose.
There are several crucial considerations at play. How much work is likely to have piled up in your absence, and how much is due after you return? When will your boss or most important client be on vacation? Can you return mid-week? And should your travel plans contemplate an aggressive schedule, like returning on a flight arriving at midnight the night before a 9 a.m. meeting with the boss or an important client and a day chock-full of immovable deadlines?
I was reflecting on this the other day when I was lying flat on my back and some perfect stranger wearing a white suit, rubber gloves, and a surgical mask had her hands in my mouth. She was scraping away at my teeth with a collection of sharp implements that could have come from 
I don’t think the book’s success means that people like Bush better than Clinton, or that people think Bush was a better President or is a better writer. Instead, the reality is that — whether you love Bush or think he is just this side of Satan — the story of Bush’s presidency is much more compelling than the story of Clinton’s life.
The Browns look to be heading toward their second straight 5-11 season. Last year, they closed with a rush, winning their last four games. This year, they have played many close games and won against two of the best teams in the NFL. Unfortunately, however, they have lost a lot of winnable games, and they will miss the playoffs — again. Mangini seems to have brought some order out of chaos and has made some progress, but the Browns still have not gotten over the hump. Can they do so with Mangini at the helm?
The players apparently accepted discounts on tattoos and sold items they had received from the University, including uniforms, Big Ten championships rings, and the tiny “gold pants” that Ohio State players receive when the teams beats Michigan. The incidents occurred two years ago, when the players were freshmen. Pryor, Herron, Posey, and Adams will be suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season, but will be permitted to play in the upcoming Sugar Bowl. In the meantime, Ohio State is appealing the penalties as being overly harsh.
