I planned to just keep writing basketball, but you know what they say about plans. Stick with me.
1.Joshua Cribbs is mad, and he should be. The NFL technically isn't playing football or doing business with its players right now, but it is changing the rules. And word out of the league meetings in New Orleans is that the league has voted to move kickoffs from the 30 up the 35-yard line and keep kickoff touchbacks coming out to the 20. What's that mean? Lots of teams are going to kick the ball to the back of the end zone, every time. And guys like Cribbs are going to see their chances at quality returns diminish greatly. What this change does, initially, is up the value of crafty, accurate and not necessarily booming kickers like Phil Dawson. Cribbs might still get chances to get plenty of returns since the Browns have about six real NFL defensive players on their roster, but quality returns figure to be even tougher to come by. Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff led the league last year with an impressive 50-percent touchback rate, and a strong defensive team like the Ravens could now ask the kicker to boot it deep even more often and force the opposing offense to go 80 yards. Especially late in the season as the weather turns, that's a big deal. And a big disadvantage for offensively-challenged teams.
2. Chad Ochocinco's tryout with an MLS team in Kansas City has begun. Or maybe it begins Wednesday. I can't keep up with his stunts. No one can really keep up with the Bengals as reports continue to circulate that Carson Palmer REALLY means he's not coming back to the team and would rather retire. He's put the word out, and people are spreading it. The Bengals are (and need to be) looking for a young quarterback anyway, and they know Palmer isn't really going to retire and walk away from the bunches (and bunches) of money they still owe him through 2014. Mike Brown does business Mike Brown's way, and he doesn't often back down. Marvin Lewis might be losing what's left of his mind after years of overseeing this asylum, but he's moving forward. He may or may not be hoping one of those screaming corner kicks knocks some sense into Chad, and he may or may not be hoping Brown at least explores trading Palmer. It's a strange offseason in the NFL, but it's strange business as usual for the Bengals. Stay tuned.
3. You may have seen Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft's name associated with the Bruce Pearl firing stuff this week at Tennessee. Craft was verbally committed to Tennessee early in his high school career, and a former Tennessee player came out in the wake of Pearl's firing and sort of directly/indirectly blamed Craft for the violation that got Pearl in trouble in the first place. It's an emotional time at Tennessee because Pearl was loved by many and pushed a once-horrid program to new heights, but the fact is Pearl is to blame for Pearl's problems. And there were lots of off-the-court issues with the program both before Pearl and certainly during his tenure. Craft is a 4.0 student with zero rap sheet. He would have been a misfit for that program anyway.
4. Thad Matta said Tuesday that the stuff at Tennessee would "absolutely not" be a distraction to Craft as he comes off a 15-assist performance and prepares for his biggest challenge(s) yet this weekend in Newark. Kentucky's Brandon Knight was a McDonald's All-American, a can't-miss, 100-star recruit and all that jazz -- everything Craft was not -- and has lived up to the expectations. About all Craft and Knight have in common is both are excellent students. Knight had better than a 4.0 GPA in high school and writes poetry; Matta said Craft might someday be a doctor. For now he's taking care of the ball and slicing up defenses, and though Knight's size (6'3, 185) and athleticism might give him fits, Craft has given Matta, his teammates and Buckeye Nation no reason to think he'll be anything but ready for the challenge. I'd expect David Lighty and William Buford to take their turns on Knight, too, as he's clearly the guy that's made Kentucky go of late. Much more on Friday's big game as the week goes on as Wednesday afternoon I'll be at Ohio State's pre-departure press conference and Wednesday night I'll be on a plane to Newark.
5. VCU's magical run through the tournament started last week in the First Four in Dayton. It's rooted in Ohio, too, as head coach Shaka Smart played college ball here at Div. III Kenyon and served as an assistant at Dayton and Akron earlier in his career. VCU has gotten big shots all year long from freshman Rob Brandenberg of Gahanna Lincoln High School just outside Columbus. In two different spots in VCU's postseason media guide it's pointed out that Brandenberg's high school team eliminated Jared Sullinger's team in the regional finals last March. Two different spots. It's kind of a big deal, as is VCU's remarkable and magical run through the tournament. VCU director of basketball operations Kyle Getter is also from Ohio -- Miamisburg, to be exact -- and served as an assistant at Walsh University, Dayton and Wright State earlier in his career. VCU plays at the same time Ohio State does Friday night, but lots of folks here and elsewhere will be rooting for the Rams to keep this run going.
A nod to Kent State and the lone senior on the team, Rod Sherman, for a great NIT run that came up just short at Colorado Wednesday night. The Flashes will be back.
