You’d love to talk about your team and how well they are playing.  You’d relish chatting about their residence atop their division, about how they crushed their divisional rivals, and about their ability to withstand the pressure and win close games.  You’d like to do some trash-talking and razz the fans of opposing teams.

You’d enjoy a chance to brag a little, knowing that sports success can be fleeting and you need to strike while the iron is hot.  But you can’t — you absolutely can’t! — because you understand, to the deepest fiber of your being, that if you even mention the team by name and boast to anyone — even overbearing fans of other teams — about how well the team is playing, you have ensured their ultimate failure just as surely as if you sabotaged their equipment.

That doesn’t mean you can’t silently support your team by, say, wearing a hat that demonstrates your allegiance.  But beyond that, you must maintain the strict jinx-avoiding vow of silence.  And if anyone asks you about it, or wants to talk about it, you must assume the most humble disposition imaginable and change the subject as quickly as possible.

Nothing to see here.  Move along.

Every Browns fan knows the team is cursed and can expect only miserable failure come draft day.  Against that backdrop of complete and utter pessimism, I have to say that . . . I think Richardson is a good pick.

Richardson was a mainstay in the Alabama attack last year.  He gained 1679 yards on the ground in 2011, averaging 5.9 yards a carry, and caught 29 passes for another 338 yards.  He scored 24 touchdowns and showed the ability to make big plays with long runs and pass plays.  Equally important, he played well in the big games, including running the ball effectively against the tough LSU defense in the BCS championship game.

The Browns need offensive punch — their offense somehow managed to both suck and blow last year — and Richardson looks like someone who can make the defensive coordinators on opposing teams sweat a little.  Now, if only the Browns can find another playmaker (a speedy wide receiver would be nice) and somebody to block, they’ll have taken their first, tentative steps toward respectability.

In the meantime, I suggest that Richardson promptly identify and buy the largest insurance policy he can get his hands on, and keep his eye out for falling anvils.

When Jim Tressel became the coach at OSU, Bebe was ecstatic.  Bebe thought he was great – in part, no doubt, because in his inaugural introduction to the fans, players and students he promised a victory over the dreaded team up north (Michigan- to the uninitiated).  She wrote Tressel encouraging him and raving about the prospects for the team.  She continued to write him. She wrote him when OSU lost (not often) and she wrote him when they won (a lot).  She was his most ardent supporter.

A few years ago, she wrote Tressel before theMichigangame and warned him that they might try a statue of liberty play.  He turned the tables and put the play into his game plan and used it.  In a post game interview with Sports Illustrated,  Tressel mentioned the fact that Bebe, an elderly lady inAkron, had sent him the play and he used it.  The team had gained significant yardage and the story was great p.r.  Needless to say, Bebe was flabbergasted and thrilled.  The local newspaper picked it up and Bebe was a minor celebrity.

When Tressel came under fire for covering up his players misdeeds, Bebe stuck with him and continued to send him supportive letters. One can debate whether Tressel was right or wrong in his actions, but one cannot debate the value of having a friend who understands mistakes, forgives them and continues to be supportive of the errant person.  That’s Bebe.  She understands that to err is human.  She may not accept that she is divine  in her forgiveness, but she is.

Yesterday Bebe was invited, by some folks who also hold her in high regard, to a fund raiser at which Jim Tressel spoke.  Before the speech, the gentleman who was in charge, and who had brought Bebe to the affair, while speaking to Tressel, noticed Bebe standing across the room and said to Tressel: “Do you know this lady?”  Tressel immediately said “Of course, It’s Bebe” (or words to that effect) and he then went over to her and gave her a hug.

Talk about being thrilled.  But the story does not end there.  At the beginning of his speech,  Tressel introduced Bebe to the audience, had her stand up and made some nice comments about her and their years of correspondence.  But wait, that’s not all.  As it was a fund raiser event there was a door prize.  Tressel drew a number for the winner, but the person wasn’t there.  He drew again and – yep, it was Bebe’s number.  And for icing on the cake, Tressel spent a few more moments with her after the affair was over.  Oh, did I mention that Bebe is 85 years old?  .  Bebe probably won’t sleep for a week.

Nice people don’t always finish last.  Sometimes they win.  Maybe not often enough, but sometimes.  No one is nicer than Bebe.  She deserved all that happened to her yesterday.  But it is also clear that Tressel is a nice man.  Maybe his trouble arose because he was just looking out for his players.  I don’t know.  I do know that in my book, Jim Tressel will always be a great coach and a good man just for how he has treated Bebe.

Obviously, I’m more excited about Deshaun Thomas’ decision to return to Ohio State for his junior year.  This past season he went from a one-dimensional, shot-launching part-time player to a crucial part of the team that made it all the way to the Final Four.  He brought so much to the table — a scorer’s mentality and creative shot-making, an inside-outside offensive game, tremendous rebounding abilities, and significantly improved defense and interior passing — and was just a lot of fun to watch.  If his improvement from his sophomore to junior year is comparable his development this year, Thomas could compete for leading scorer and rebounder honors in the Big Ten next year.

Thomas, Aaron Craft, and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. give Ohio State a solid core of tested players for coach Thad Matta to build around.  He’ll work to fit Shannon Scott, Amir Williams, LaQuinton Ross, Evan Ravenel, and others into the mix, and the result likely will be a team that looks different from this year’s post-oriented squad.  With the athletes on the team, might the Buckeyes go up-tempo on offense and press on defense, and look for Williams to use his shot-blocking skills to erase mistakes if the press is broken?  The potential options are intriguing.

I imagine that another year working in the weight room and sharpening all facets of his game would help Thomas’ NBA prospects — but I don’t know enough about the NBA to say for sure.  What I do know is that Thomas’ election to come back is very welcome news for Ohio State basketball fans.

The Masters is an exception, however.  Every spring I tune in to watch CBS report, in whispered, measured tones, on the unfolding drama at Augusta National Golf Club.

Everything about the tournament reeks of tradition.  Every hole has a special name, like “Golden Bell” (number 12, for those who don’t have the names memorized).  The broadcast features lots of old black and white photographs.  The winner doesn’t just get a trophy, he gets a green jacket that means he will forever be invited back every spring to wear his coat and eat with his fellow champions.  And the Masters is one of those signs of the season — when the best golfers in the world are gagging in the vicinity of Raes Creek, you know spring is here.

Of course, the best thing about the Masters is that the golf usually is spectacular, because Augusta National is perfectly set up for a major championship.  It doesn’t attempt to overwhelm the golfers, as the U.S. Open courses often do.  Instead, it offers opportunities for birdies and eagles — but always with an accompanying risk that a bad shot will produce bogeys, double bogeys, and other scores that can knock you out of contention.  The course lets the pressure have its effect on the golfers and invites viewers to watch who can best control his nerves.

Yesterday’s round was no exception.  Some golfers hit tremendous shots and posted great rounds that have put them high up on the leaderboard; others faltered and dropped out of contention.  It’s just wonderful TV, whether you like golf or not.  When today’s round starts, and the leaders start sweating over those tricky six-foot putts on Augusta National’s lightning-fast greens, I’ll be watching.

Last year the Tribe surprised the baseball world with its fine play early in the season.  With excellent pitching and timely hitting, the Indians eked out a series of wins and stood atop the AL Central into the summer.  As the season wore on, however, the Tribe faded, then crashed and burned, and ended the year with a record below .500.

The only thing that is predictable about this baseball season in the AL Central is that the Detroit Tigers will win.  They won last year, and they’ve added Prince Fielder to an already potent mix.  The rest of the division, including the Tribe, will be fighting for second place and hoping to keep the mighty Tigers from winning by a record margin.

We’ll hope that spring training results don’t mean anything (and they often don’t) because the Tribe was awful this spring.  I think the team has some good young pitchers, but the bullpen is iffy and they likely will struggle to score runs.  The rules of baseball don’t permit games to end in 0-0 ties, so the latter problem is going to hurt.  Unless the Indians come up with someone who can hit consistently, and with power, I think they’ll be hard pressed to end up with a record as good as last year’s team  .

Obviously, I’m sorry that the Buckeyes could not hold their lead and could not make their goal of the national championship game.  Their loss, however, does not take away from what has been a wonderful season for the team and its fans.  This is a group that battled through adversity and tough stretches and came back to play extremely well down the stretch and in the NCAA Tournament.  Much as I would like to have seen the Buckeyes win and get the chance to knock off Kentucky, there is no shame in losing by two points in a hard-fought game to a basketball powerhouse like Kansas.

I’d like to thank William Buford and Jared Sullinger for coming back to play another year, when they could have gone to the NBA and made a lot of money this year instead.  I’ve relished watching Aaron Craft play, and Deshaun Thomas develop into a much more well-rounded player, and Lenzelle Smith Jr. make crucial shots when the team needed them most.  I’ve enjoyed watching Shannon Scott and Amir Williams and Sam Thompson and catching glimpses of their bright futures.  And, I’ve appreciated the hard work of Thad Matta and his coaching staff as they have gotten the team ready to play, game after game.

An evenly matched contest like the one played tonight is a game of inches; the fact that things didn’t bounce the Buckeyes’ way at the end doesn’t detract from a great year.  I know it’s tough for the players and coaches, who were hoping for something even more; it will be some time before the sting eases.  In the meantime, I just want to say thanks for lots of great basketball, Buckeyes!

A lot has been written about the match-ups in the game.  How will Jared Sullinger, who missed the first game between the Buckeyes and Jayhawks in December, fare against shot-blocking center Jeff Withey?  Will cat-quick Jayhawk Tyshawn Taylor be able to play his game notwithstanding the suffocating defensive efforts of Aaron Craft?  Who will guard the Buckeyes’ versatile Deshaun Thomas, and who will try to stop Jayhawk Elijah Johnson?

One match-up that hasn’t been talked about much is the match-up of coaches.  Kansas is led by Bill Self, one of the best coaches in the game.  He has won a national championship at Kansas and has done a great job of getting this team — generally viewed as having less pure talent than prior Jayhawk juggernauts — into the Final Four.  I thought Self outmaneuvered North Carolina’s Roy Williams last weekend as both coaches dealt with the loss of UNC’s point guard.  In the second half Kansas went to a triangle-and-two defense that seemed to knock the Tar Heels off kilter and left them flummoxed for the rest of the game.

Ohio State’s Thad Matta, on the other hand, seems to be under-appreciated by many people.  They acknowledge that he is a great recruiter, and they applaud his courageous way of dealing with the challenges posed by his physical condition, but they downplay his “Xs and Os” skills, criticize him for not using his bench, and say he doesn’t use his timeouts effectively.

I don’t get this criticism, and think this year’s NCAA Tournament demonstrates that Coach Matta can match up with anybody.  He has this year’s team motivated and ready to perform, also also has shown a lot of flexibility in how Ohio State has played its opponents.  Against Gonzaga, which had a strong 7-footer in the middle, he moved Sullinger around and away from the basket for some uncontested jumpers.  Against the fabled Syracuse zone, he changed the positions of Thomas and Sullinger and Ohio State made interior passes that led to some easy baskets; he also recognized that Lenzelle Smith, Jr. was not the focus of Syracuse defensive plans, and in the second half Smith helped to lead the Buckeyes to victory.  In every game, Coach Matta and his staff have put the Buckeyes in the position to win — and that is what you want from a coach.

When the ball tips tonight, we’ll see how Coach Matta has decided to deal with the match-up issues posed by the fine Jayhawk squad.  Before the game begins, however, Ohio State fans should take a moment to thank Coach Matta and his assistants for a job well done — and then hope that they have done a similarly good job in preparing for tonight’s tilt with the Jayhawks.

How else to explain the bizarre story of Jesse Joe Hernandez, who was moments away from being executed in Texas for the murder of a 10-month-old boy he had been babysitting?  As Hernandez was being prepared for his lethal injection, was he reflecting on his life or his crime, or contemplating what lies beyond?  Nope.  Instead, he laughed and smiled looked at the audience of witnesses to the execution and said:  “Go Cowboys!”  Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys are his favorite team.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone would be focused on professional football at such a moment.  Much as I enjoy sports, I don’t think I’m going to be pondering the next football season when I’m at death’s door.

The basketball Buckeyes left Columbus today for New Orleans and their Final Four matchup on Saturday with the Kansas Jayhawks.  Although there wasn’t a formal pep rally, the team buses drove through campus on their way to the airport and got an enthusiastic sendoff from the Buckeye faithful.

Go Buckeyes!

There’s a lot of buzz in Columbus about the Urban Era.  In many ways, he has been very different from Coach Tressel.  He seems to be more open to media appearances than Coach Tressel was, he’s a lot more direct in his communications, and he’s not afraid to upset the apple cart and change how things are being done.  His overarching focus seems to be on competition, competition, and competition, whether it is in winter conditioning or anything else related to football success, and he’s always thinking of ways he can motivate his players to be more competitive, more focused, and more dedicated to winning.  That might mean making players who underperform in conditioning wear a special colored shirt that reflects that status, or it might mean dictating that the underperformers must drink water from a garden hose rather than quaffing chilled Gatorade.  For every publicly disclosed motivational tool, there are probably dozens known only to OSU football insiders.

I don’t want to focus too much on football right now, because I want to enjoy the Final Four ride with the Buckeye basketball team.  It’s worth noting, however, that a different tone has been set, and the members of Buckeye Nation welcome it.  We’re glad that Coach Meyer sets high standards; now we’ll begin to see whether his players can meet them.  Even though Ohio State had a disappointing season last year and is barred from going to any bowl games this year, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this year’s spring game sets an all-time attendance record. We want to see Coach Meyer on the sideline at the Horseshoe for the first time, ready to lead the Buckeyes back to their rightful place atop the Big Ten.

As you would expect, there was discussion of last night’s NCAA Tournament games and also of today’s games, but to my surprise there was at least an equal amount of spirited discussion of . . . the NFL.  This, even though the Super Bowl was played more than a month ago, the draft isn’t for weeks yet, and even “pre-season” games won’t occur for months.  Although we are into the off-season for the NFL — to the extent there is an NFL off-season anymore — the talking heads wanted to yak about the trade of Tim Tebow to the New York Jets, the punishment meted out for “bounty-gate,” and the move of Peyton Manning to the Denver Broncos, among other topics.

In contrast, there was no discussion of Major League Baseball, even though spring training is winding down and the start of the season is right around the corner.  What does it tell you about the popularity and financial health of a sport if even a 24-hour sports channel doesn’t talk about it on the eve of a new season?

Baseball used to be the most popular sport in the land, but it has long since been passed by college and professional football — and now the NFL is pushing Major League Baseball ever farther into the back of the bus.  If I were the owner of a pro baseball franchise, saddled with huge player contracts and long-term leases and looking at declining TV ratings, I’d be very concerned, indeed.

What a fine, if foul-plagued, game this was!  Ohio State took the game to Syracuse from the first tip.  They played a smart game against the Syracuse zone, and once they figured out how the officials were going to call the game, they tailored their approach accordingly.  The Buckeyes attacked, they rebounded, and they hounded Syracuse into a series of turnovers when the game was on the line.

Virtually every Buckeye made a significant contribution in this game.  Jared Sullinger overcame first half foul trouble and dominated the game in the second half every time he touched the ball.  Aaron Craft was a hustling hurricane, Deshaun Thomas made some great passes and clutch shots, and the Buckeye bench — Sam Thompson, Evan Ravenel, Shannon Scott, and particularly Amir Williams — made the win possible.  But I particularly want to commend William Buford and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. — Buford, because he kept fighting and just wouldn’t quit, and Smith, who was fearless in putting the ball up and taking the ball to the rack.

It’s so rare for a team to make it to the Final Four.  So much depends on match-ups, and who is hot and who is not, and how the ball bounces.  It’s time to enjoy this great accomplishment, and revel in the cool of the evening.

The Ohio State Buckeyes will hope to carry the Big Ten flag forward when they play tonight against the Big East’s best team, the Syracuse Orange.  It will be a battle of two seasoned, highly regarded teams that spent the entire season ranked in the top ten.

Syracuse beat another Big Ten team, Wisconsin, to get to this point.  The Badgers almost pulled that game out because they canned 14 three-pointers shooting over the fabled Syracuse zone that Coach Jim Boeheim has perfected.  That’s not likely to happen tonight, because Ohio State simply doesn’t have the three-point shooters to take that approach unless William Buford gets hot.

The Buckeyes will be looking to break down the zone in other ways, by trying to get the ball to Deshaun Thomas at the elbow of the lane and have him shoot mid-range jumpers before Syracuse players can rotate over or dish to Jared Sullinger and others if holes in the zone open up.  Thomas has been a stud in the Tournament, and the Buckeyes hope his strong showing will continue.

The other key on offense will be rebounding.  The Buckeyes have been a good rebounding team, and teams that play zone — Syracuse included — often get outrebounded because they can’t get a body on every offensive player when the ball comes off the glass.  Syracuse’s rebounding challenges were compounded when they lost their big man, Fab Melo, for the tournament.  Ohio State will need to crash the boards, and that means Sullinger, Thomas, and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. will need to hustle and scrap for put-back buckets on the offensive end.

Syracuse has a lot of long and talented players who can run, shoot, and finish near the rim. They like to play up-tempo and score fast-break points off turnovers.  They are led in scoring by forward Kris Joseph and guard Dion Waiters, but the match-up I’ll have my eye on will be Ohio State’s Aaron Craft against Syracus guard Scoop Jardine.  Jardine is terrific, and Syracuse counts on him to get the ball to the players who can finish.  Craft will be trying to disrupt that and will be playing his tremendous pressure on the ball style to do so.  If Craft can get Jardine out of his rhythm and out of his game without getting himself into foul trouble, the Buckeyes will have a chance to move forward.

In the Elite Eight you expect to see tough games between great teams.  We’ll see one tonight.

Here’s a partial answer to that question. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat and the assistant majority leader in the Senate, has announced he’s going to hold hearings on the “bounty” issue in the NFL in order to decide whether bribery laws should be expanded to include professional sports bounties.  For those of you whose attention was distracted from that topic of crucial national importance by minor issues like skyrocketing gas prices, crushing federal debt, and the continued crappy economy, the NFL recently disciplined members of the New Orleans Saints for running a “bounty” pool in which players were paid if they put a hit on key players for the opposing team and knocked them out of the game.

Such bounties are cheap and dirty stuff, of course, and aren’t consistent with time-honored concepts of sportsmanship, but it’s silly to think they should command even one instant of Congress’ time.  This isn’t a federal issue, it’s an effort by another of our political leaders to grab some headlines and on-camera time with grandstanding about an issue that isn’t of any material significance.  No doubt some staffer in Senator Durbin’s office, whose salary is paid by tax dollars, decided that hearings about NFL bounties would be a way to get the Senator some face time with big stars and boost his recognition ratings — and I’m sure other Senators will be perfectly happy to join in.

As a country, we’ve got a lot of problems that our politicians should be addressing.  Sports bounties aren’t one of them.  Instead, they’re just a distraction that politicians invent to keep people from focusing on the fact that they aren’t doing their jobs.  The problem for Congress is that people aren’t distracted — they’re paying attention, and they are sick and tired of these stupid political games that continue to be played while the frightening, fundamental problems go unaddressed.