A Belated Year End Note From Pencilstorm "Founder" Colin Gawel

I would like to personally thank the 24,000 different people who visited Pencilstorm last year, but that would take too long. Truth be told, I have exactly ZERO idea if 24,000 is a number of which to be proud or to be embarrassed by. To a life-long musician and coffee shop owner like myself, any number north of say, 45, seems like plenty, so imagining an arena full of people reading Pencilstorm is beyond flattering. 

However, I do have time to thank the individual contributors who have enriched my life during 2014 and hopefully yours.  

- Ricki C is my older brother in rock & roll and without him Pencilstorm might as well be fifty monkeys clanking out a Nickelback review for the Drudge report. In addition to writing great stories, Ricki edits and corrects all kinds of shoddy grammar, giving Pencilstorm just the faintest hint of professionalism. In gratitude to his work, I promise to google "How to Write a Headline" sometime in 2015. Thanks Ricki.

- It took me two years to finally finish Doris "I Wrote Team of Rivals" Goodwin's Teddy Roosevelt bio but it wasn't all for naught. Though I had heard the term "muckrakers" once or twice during 10th grade history class, I had no idea how important McClure's magazine was to shaping American life as we know it. That aside, editor S.S. McClure identified talented writers and gave them a platform to showcase their efforts and I knew I had to do a better job of reaching out in a similar way. There are just so many talented writers floating around in cyberspace. We may not have added an Ida Tarbell or Lincoln Steffens, but in my opinion we took a huge step up in 2014.

 Thanks to these new Pencilstorm contributors:

Brent Baver for covering OSU Football

Scott Carr for covering rock n roll history

The North Coast Posse for covering Browns football

Ryan Haye and Kevin J Elliot for covering Reds baseball

Jim Brazytis for covering Tribe baseball

Greg Bartrum for covering World Cup Soccer

Nick Jezierny for covering Watershed.

I'm sure I'm forgetting people but it's late and my brain just isn't what it used to be. As for our regular writers, surely you must be used to being taken for granted by now or you would have already quit. As always, I sincerely appreciate all your efforts in keeping this labor of love afloat. Love will keep us together. Unless you have already quit. Then love isn't keeping us together, but it's still an open relationship. No hard feelings. Sneak out for a fling whenever the mood strikes. I am usually working in the toolshed out back most nights after 9 pm…. and, if you know somebody who is over-achieving with their Facebook posts, have them send us something through our submissions page. We are always looking for new contributors.

Anyway, in closing, let me add: Pencilstorm rules, Grantland drools. Please tell a friend about us if you can. Not verbally of course, but that social media Facetwitter thing all the kids are into nowadays. Thanks again and Happy 2015.  - Colin G.

 

 

 

Dead Schembechlers "I'm So Bored With the SEC" is Your Song For the Day. Watch Here!

I'm So Bored With The SEC      (Live clip below)   Listen on I-Tunes Here

THE SOUTH IS OH SO PRETTY
THE WAY THE COTTON GROWS
BUT YOU WOULD TAKE A BEATING
HERE IN MIDWESTERN SNOW
OUR TEAMS LOVE THE WINTER
WE ARE REAL MEN
PLAYING SMASHMOUTH FOOTBALL
WE CALL IT THE BIG TEN

I'M SO BORED WITH THE SEC
I'M SO BORED WITH THE SEC
I SPIT IN YOUR GRITS WHEN I'M IN DIXIE
THE SEC
THE SEC
THE SEC

YOUR STUDENTS ARE ILLITERATE
CHEERLEADERS ARE HAGS
REFEREES SO CROOKED
THEIR STRIPES SHOULD BE ZIG ZAGS

YOU'RE ALWAYS TALKIN' RUBBISH
BUT ONE THING YOU CAN'T IGNORE
YOU MIGHT WIN THE BCS
BUT YOU LOST THE CIVIL WAR

I'M SO BORED WITH THE SEC
I'M SO BORED WITH THE SEC
WE SENT GENERAL SHERMAN 
ATLANTA'S STILL BURNIN' 


Keep The Hope of New Year's Alive All Year by Wal Ozello

What are you demanding for yourself this year?

A new relationship?  Making an old one new? Ending one that’s on a road to nowhere?

A change in habit? A healthier lifestyle? A commitment to losing weight? Handling stress better?

Fiscal improvement? Investing money? A new job? Less work?

Why do we place such pressures on ourselves over the tick tock of a clock?

If you really think about it, January 1, 2015, is just another day. But most people on this earth treat it as catalyst for a personal makeover. With a simple move of the second hand on our watches, we wash away the pain and anguish of the previous three hundred and sixty-five days and embrace the brand new year with hope for awesome opportunities ahead.

All because Pope Gregory XIII said the year would end one second and then start the New Year a second later. Think about that. We’re basing our emotional attitudes on what some guy declared almost five hundred years ago.

Instead of counting seconds, why not make each day count?  Imagine waking up every day and having that same hopeful feeling you do on January 1st?  That feeling you’ve wiped your slate clean and can achieve anything you want to?

Why do we wait three hundred and sixty-five days to have that euphoric feeling?

There’s a lot we need to accomplish in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Lots of things we still need to fix from 2014. As a nation, we need to figure out how we can correct pockets of excessive force used by law enforcement AND at the same time improve the appreciation we have of those that gracefully serve.

We need to figure out how to battle world-wide diseases without being isolationists AND protect American lives.

We need to establish a better, easier path for those that want to share in the American Dream AND protect the foundational laws that make this nation strong.

We need to help defeat oppressiveness in remote parts of the world as the Middle East AND set them up for success to pave their own path to freedom.

We can’t let these issues disappear with the New Year.

At the same time, January 1 can’t be our only day of hope. More challenges will arise in 2015. Let’s commit to tackling them head on as they appear, instead of hoping they fade away when the clock changes from 2015 to 2016.

One day isn’t enough to change the world.  We need a lifetime.

Wal Ozello is  a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars  and Revolution 1990. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffe

Baver’s Buckeye Bag 12/31/14

Baver’s Buckeye Bag 12/31/14

Sugar Bowl (Playoff Semi-Final) Preview

Game on - it's here - the first College Football Playoff.  It seemed highly improbable at several points this season, but the Buckeyes earned the playoff berth and this is exactly why they hired Urban Meyer.  Big underdog?  Urban has thrived on the underdog roll throughout his coaching career.  He’s 4-0 as an underdog at Ohio State and one would have to think his team will be ready tomorrow night in New Orleans.  

That’s the good news.  The bad news is, for the first time in his Ohio State coaching career, Meyer is facing a team that has more talent than his.  I think most Buckeye fans will tell you that this Bama team is not on par with any of Nick Saban’s three recent national championship teams.  While I would tend to agree, I still think Saban has the best team in the country.  No one in Big Ten country wants to hear this, but the SEC West is better than any other division in any other conference, and it’s not close.  And Bama is class of the division and the conference, period.

But favorites lose all the time….just ask former Wisconsin coach Gary Anderson.  There is a reason you play the games, and like any other game Ohio State has played during my lifetime, tomorrow’s game against Alabama is a winnable one.

The Matchup:

The Bama Offense vs. the Buckeye Defense

The biggest task for Ohio State will be containing Amari Cooper.  Cooper has the entire package and can beat you in a variety of different ways.  The only real way to contain him is to put pressure on Bama QB Blake Sims.  If Sims consistently finds time to throw, he is going to find Amari Cooper, and Cooper is likely going to walk away with game-MVP honors, while Alabama advances to the title game.  But to protect Sims, Bama stud freshman LT Cameron Robinson and veteran RT Austin Shepherd are going to have to deal with Joey Bosa.  The Alabama O-line was tops in the SEC giving up only 13 sacks on the year, so you have a strength vs. strength matchup here.  The Buckeyes D-line will simply have to get to Sims if the Buckeyes are going to pull the upset, and I think this is the #1 key to the game.

Although new OC Lane Kiffin has made the Alabama offense much more diverse with their expanded air game, the Tide can obviously still run the football.  The Bucks did a great job holding Melvin Gordon in check, but the Badgers had no passing game to take pressure off Gordon.  With the Buckeye D having to focus on Amari Cooper, the Bama running back combo of TJ Yeldon and Derrick Henry are going to be tough to handle.  The Buckeye tackling was strong early in the year, but not as much in the latter half of the season.  The OSU defenders will have to do a good job wrapping up tomorrow or it will be a long night.

The Buckeye Offense vs. the Bama Defense

You have to feel better about Cardale Jones after seeing his effort against the Badgers.  The kid was much more prepared than anyone thought he would be and now appears to have his head where it needs to be.  The best chance of success for the Buckeye offense is going to be through the air.  Devin Smith emerged big time late in the year, and the Jones-to-Smith hookup was of course deadly against Wisconsin.  I guess you can argue that the Bucks would have beaten the Badgers handedly without Smith, but Ohio State will not beat Alabama without a strong effort from Devin Smith.  Also, I wouldn’t be surprised to see OSU utilize TE Jeff Heuerman more as a pass catcher tomorrow night.  And it goes without saying that Buckeye OT's Taylor Decker and Daryl Baldwin need to protect Jones, who will be starting only his 2nd game in college football. 

It will be interesting to see how much Ohio State tries to establish the run with Ezekiel Elliott, who has now hit the big time.  The Bama rush defense is as good as it gets, giving up only 2.8 yards per carry and 3 rushing TD's all season, tops in the nation in both categories.  The Bucks may not need Zeke to hit the century mark in rushing yards, but they have to at least find some success on the ground to take some pressure off Cardale.  I don't see Jones having much success running with the ball against Alabama, as the Tide defense is too talented and disciplined to let Jones beat them in that manner.

The Call

Like I said in the beginning of the piece, I expect Ohio State to be ready to play.  Jumping out to an early 10-point lead, a la the 2007 title game, would not surprise me.  But an early deficit won’t faze Alabama and I think the Tide offense eventually puts 30+ points on the board.  Will Ohio State be able to score that many?  Probably not without some breaks in special teams and/or getting a defensive score.  Hope I am wrong, but the call here is Alabama 35 Ohio State 27.

Baver's Bowl Picks

Real quickly, where do your picks stand on the year and who do you like in the some of the big upcoming bowl games?   --Colin

26-21-1 overall on the year (against the spread), with a component of that being Ohio State games where I am 7-5-1 (ATS).  

I am going to say, stay away from the Sugar Bowl line if you are a bettor – I think that line looks about right to me.  If you have to pick against the spread for a pool, I’d say take the Bucks and the points – just too much history backing Urban the underdog.  More on the game in my Buckeye Bag tomorrow.  

I will say take Auburn laying the 6 ½ against Wisconsin.  I can’t believe Wisconsin will be in the right frame of mind for this one, after the B1G title game debacle and losing their head coach.   

I have to think Florida State raises their level of play and is able to take Oregon’s offense out of their rhythm.  My gut tells me Florida State’s luck runs out and they lose a tight one, but this one stays close – take Florida State and the 8 ½.  You can hate Jameis all you want, but the kid brings it when it counts.

Finally, I don’t see Georgia Tech hanging with Mississippi State.  A well coached Messy State team should be able to contain the option after spending three weeks preparing for it.  Take Messy State and lay the 6 ½.

--Baver