Jody Victor: One hundred eighteen years ago, the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University met in their first football matchup on Ohio Wesleyan's campus in Deleware, Ohio. Fans of the two teams will meet again at 1:30 p.m. May 3 just east of Ohio Wesleyan's Phillips Hall at the site of the original 1890 game to dedicate a historic marker and celebrate the teams' respective legacies.

Presenters at the event will include Archie Griffin, two-time Heisman Trophy winner and current president and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association; Jim Tressel, head coach of the Buckeyes football team; Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University; and Gene Smith, assistant vice president and director of athletics at Ohio State. Pep bands and cheerleaders from both universities will be in attendance, as well as famed mascots Brutus and the Battling Bishop.

The site of the matchup was discovered last year in a letter from Ohio Wesleyan alumnus C. Rollins Jones, class of 1892, who played in the first game against Ohio State in 1890. Written in the 1940s and filed in the university's archives, the letter described the site near the legendary sulphur spring and a small creek called Delaware Run. Ohio Wesleyan has faced Ohio State a total of 29 times - more than any other Ohio school in history - winning two and tying one of the battles. The Bishops lost the 1890 matchup to Ohio State by a score of 20-14.

The commemorative event is free and open to the public and also will be broadcast live at http://stream.owu.edu/. Parking will be provided free of charge at various spots on Ohio Wesleyan's campus. Attendees should plan to bring chairs and/or blankets.

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Rain did not deter fans from setting an Ohio State spring game attendance record for the third season in a row. A crowd of 76,346 braved the soggy conditions in Ohio Stadium to watch the Scarlet team defeat the Gray, 20-7, in the 2008 Spring Game.

Brian Hartline caught six passes for 82 yards to lead the Scarlet offensivley. Taurian Washington had 71 yards receiving on four catches for the Gray's top offensive performance. Todd Boeckman completed 12-for-18 pass attempts for the Scarlet in the first half. He totaled a game-high 145 yars through the air despite throwing two interceptions.

Scarlet took an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Boeckman finished a four-play, 53-yard drive with a quarterback sneak into the endzone. The highlight of the series was a 48-yard pass from Boeckman to Hartline, who made the diving catch on the 2-yard line.

The Gray squad capitalized on a Ross Homan interception off Boeckman at the Gray 19. On the ensuing drive, Gray evened the score with 2:49 remaining in the second quarter on Washington's 51-yard TD reception from Joe Bauserman, making it 7-7.

The score remained the same until the last three seconds of the half. Scarlet kicker Aaron Pettrey connected on a 48-yard attempt to give his squad a 10-7 advantage going into the locker rooms.

The Scarlet added to its lead with 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter two plays after quarterback Antonio Henton connected with Ray Small for a 30-yard completion to the Gray 3-yard line. Dan Herron crossed the goal line to extend the score to 17-7.

In the final minute, Scarlet tacked on a Mike Mattimoe 24-yard field goal (:41) to set the final score at 20-7.

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced April 9th, the members of the 2008 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a 3.2 GPA or better. A total of 433 players from 225 schools qualified for membership in the society's second year, an increase of more than 25 percent from the inaugural class in 2007.

Four Ohio State seniors were recognized : Brett Daly, Dan Dye, David Lisko and Dimitrios Makridis.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's current National Scholar-Athlete program, greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year and further strengthening its leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes who play football at the more than 700 college and universities with football programs.

Qualifications for membership in the inaugural NFF National Honor Society include: Being a starter or a significant substitute in one's last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or an NAIA college or university; Achieving a 3.2 cumulative GPA throughout entire course of undergraduate study; and Meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements. The National Honor Society becomes the latest component of the organization's efforts to promote combined athletic and academic success. Launched in 1959, the NFF's National Scholar-Athlete Awards program became the first initiative in history to credit a player for his combined academic success, football performance and community leadership.

Congrats to all!

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: A year removed from a loss in the national title game, Ohio State has a championship trophy to carry home. Never mind that it's from the NIT, Jamar Butler and his buddies couldn't care less.

Butler had 19 points and eight assists in his final college game, leading the Buckeyes to a 92-85 win over Massachusetts on Thursday night and prompting the victory celebration inside Madison Square Garden that they couldn't have last year in Atlanta.

The Buckeyes lost to Florida in the Final Four, but never dwelled on a snub by the NCAA selection committee that kept them from playing for another trip there. They dominated each of their four opponents on the way to New York, then had enough at the end to withstand every run the Minutemen could muster.

Kosta Koufos added 22 points and earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award. Evan Turner finished with 20 for the Buckeyes (24-13), who reached the preseason NIT title game but were run out of the Garden by Texas A&M.

The last of them made it 77-75 with 3:13 left, but Othello Hunter scored moments later and after Harris missed another 3 try at the other end, Butler drained a 3-pointer from the wing to give Ohio State some breathing room.

Turner took care of things from the free throw line over the final minute and a half, helping the Buckeyes wrap up the title.

"I've seen this team go through a lot," Matta said, moments before cutting down the net. "I'm happy for them."

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Ohio State enters the semifinal round of the 2008 MasterCard NIT with a 22-13 overall record after wins vs. UNC Asheville (84-66) March 18, California (73-56) March 24 and Dayton (74-63) March 26. Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, will lead Ohio State against semifinal opponent Mississippi (24-10). Ohio State is the No. 1 seed and the Rebels are a No. 2 seed. The winner of the game between the Buckeyes and Mississippi will take on the winner of the contest between No. 2-seeds Florida and Massachusetts April 3 (7pm/ESPN).

The game with the Rebels will be the first meeting for the Buckeyes against Ole Miss. Ohio State is 28-25 in games vs. Southeastern Conference members. The Buckeyes defeated Florida earlier this year in Columbus 62-49 and fell to Tennessee 74-69 Jan. 19 in Knoxville. Ohio State faced the Gators in the NCAA championship game last season in Atlanta (L 84-75). The Buckeyes are 6-4 all-time in the Florida series and would meet Massachusetts for the first time.

Tonight's game takes place in New York City's Madison Square Garden at 9 pm -televised on ESPN2.

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor