The sky outside is crystal clear, and at this moment painted fire engine red as the sun once again slips a wee bit quicker below the western horizon. The air is crisp, and even hints at a touch of chill after the searing heat we have endured. The calendar has flipped to the page marked August and our Buckeyes are back on the practice field. Fall is in the air, and I actually thought we could finally turn the discussion to what is happening on the field and the season ahead.

Silly me.

Nearly every article I read now about fall season, first starts out with the complete history of the elephant in the room for the last 6 months. As if no one knows. Well, I suppose maybe there is some native in the jungles of the Amazon that hasn't heard. but probably not. And that media monster - whose name is a four letter word, with something akin to a dollar sign for the second letter - is running new allegations of old allegations. Is that about as redundant as day old leftovers? If you go to the NY Times sports website, the still have the same articles front and center about us, and Coach T, that were written and posted two months ago. The only difference between then and now with those is that the garbage written reeks even more putrid given the time the untruths have sat their spoiling.

As I sat on the lawn of the Thurber House the other night with my buddy Bill, awaiting Bob Hunter's reading of Chic, the talk turned to the media coverage of the Buckeye's. "Well, you know, you have to call a spade a spade," Bill said. To which I agreed. But then the wise old soothsayer continued with one of his many nuggets of wisdom, "But you don't have to paint it blacker than it really is."

I guess that pretty much says it all for me about this whole affair. I don't have any problem with those who are calling a spade a spade. As someone we all know said, you get as your works deserve. But for those in the media piling on to paint it "blacker than it is", don't expect me to ever come back and read you.

Man I can't wait to walk into the 'Shoe and see them kick it off against Akron. I wouldn't want to be in the Zips shoes.