Brian and I discuss Ohio State’s position in the Big Ten and the NCAA, and ponder the real mysteries of life like, is David Lighty really only an honorable mention-worthy performer? Hmm.

Spring is getting ready to, well, spring, and I couldn’t be happier. Have a great week.

Send any thoughts or comments my way by clicking on the “Comments” section above.

Rosecrans is covering the Cincinnati Reds at spring training at Goodyear, AZ.

We talk about everything from the fifth starter spot, to left field to the bench, and even break down some of the best young players to break into the big leagues with the Reds in decades.

Joey Votto

Send feedback or questions by clicking the Comments section at the top of the page.

The Big Ten season is half over and while Michigan State has a three-game lead (going into the 2/2 contest at Wisconsin), OSU is still right in the thick of things.

We break down the play of late, including the remarkable season from junior Evan Turner, and talk about the 1960 national championship team’s reunion this past weekend.

Good things appear to be on the horizon for the basketball Bucks.

If you’d still like to check out the LOST podcast, you can do so by clicking here.

Jonathan Knight joins me to talk about the show LOST. We break down all five seasons that have already taken place to get you ready for the series’ final season, which begins on ABC Tuesday, Feb. 2.

What do the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 mean?

How do you keep everything straight? It’s tough, and we don’t even get to break down everything during our hour-long quest to figure it out.

Send any comments or suggestions about the podcast by clicking on the “Comments” section under the headline.

NFL Picks

Fulch has officially won the picks contest for 2009!

He picked both Indy and New Orleans in the conference championship games and has eliminated both Miles and Big Game from contention.

We’ll be setting up a meal on myself for the accomplishment and hopefully we’ll have as good a turnout next season.

Thanks for participating!

It’s been a great ride this year. I’m currently on the PUP list (Physically Unable to Perform) while recovering from shoulder surgery, so there isn’t much info on here this week.

Another good week from Fulch, as he stays ahead in the race for a free lunch:

Fulch 3
Big Game 3
Miles 2

tgm 4
The CPA 3
The Trashman 3
Seth 2
Grandpa 2
JMB 2
Adman 1

Overall Playoff Standings

Fulch 6
Big Game 4
Miles 3

tgm 7
The CPA 5
JMB 4
Seth 3
Adman 3
The Trashman 3
Grandpa 3
Jeremiah 3
Crazed Wolverine 2
Nora Peanut 2
Mary the Nurse 1
GatorBuckeye1
Jack Ten 0

League Championship Round

NY Jets (9-7) at Indianapolis (14-2)
Minnesota (12-4) at New Orleans (13-3)

Get those picks in before the games start and root for your favorite of the three who are left — Miles, Fulch and Big Game.

All joking aside, McGwire’s interview with Bob Costas was pretty touching. He was pretty convincing in his emotions and maintains he would’ve been able to hit the home runs without steroids.

That could be true, but the problem is this; he admits to doing the steroids to help his failing health. That’s fine, but if he didn’t do that, would he have gotten back to a place health-wise where he could’ve done it?

How many people, Barry Larkin included, didn’t do those things to help in recovery from injuries and could’ve gone on to do more in the game?

NFL Picks

The Wild Card weekend is over and so is this fan’s season as far as his favorite team goes.

The Bengals faded at the end, but it was still a memorable season following a 4-11-1 campaign. Here’s hoping they can reload and do better next year!

The following are the standings after the first round, with the three guys who tied in the regular season listed first. They’ll keep battling it out through the Super Bowl.

Fulch 3
Miles 1
Big Game 1

Jeremiah 3
tgm 3
The CPA 2
Crazed Wolverine 2
Nora Peanut 2
Adman 2
JMB 2
Seth 1
Grandpa 1
Mary the Nurse 1
GatorBuckeye 1
Jack Ten 0
The Trashman 0

NFL Division Round

Saturday
Arizona (10-6) at New Orleans (13-3)
Baltimore (9-7) at Indianapolis (14-2)

Sunday
Dallas (11-5) at Minnesota (12-4)
NY Jets (9-7) at San Diego (13-3)

Get those picks in before the games start and root for your favorite of the three who are left — Miles, Fulch and Big Game.

We talk about the game, and preview next season, because, you know, it’s never too early to preview next season — yes, we both realize it’s nine months away!

First off, congrats to the Buckeyes for getting the monkey off their back! Rose Bowl champs, and in the immortal words of all those who came before, “They can’t take it away from” them…because really, who would try, except the NCAA?

NFL Picks

We had quite a bit of activity in the final week of the regular season and the improbable result is a three-way tie for the overall championship.

Big Game made a furious charge with a 14-2 week — he won the week and the extra point by nailing the overall score exactly at 37, while Adman and JMB also had 14 and picked 35, so close!

Big Game’s run puts him in a flat-footed tie — I guess that’s even more of a tie than just a “tie” — with Miles and Fulch for the overall pick-em championship.

Because the CPA didn’t budget enough funds for a three-person free lunch, the trio will fight to the death in a playoffs pick-em. I invite all participants to take part, but only these three can win the overall title — we’ll pick every game in the postseason and they’ll pick an overall score for the Super Bowl. I’ll even make sure they’re different numbers and we’ll see who comes out on top!

I’m secretly rooting for Fulch because I haven’t seen him since college, but that won’t change the fact that, to the best of my ability, I’ll add up the scores correctly.

Week Seventeen Results

Big Game 14 (plus 1) = 15
JMB 14
Adman 14
The Trashman 13
Brian T. 13
MIKO 13
GatorBuckeye 13
The CPA 12
Crazed Wolverine 11
Nora Peanut 11
Fulch 10
Chjm70 10
Jack Ten 10
tgm 10
Jeremiah 10
Miles 9
Will Will 9
Brian I. 9
Seth 8
tgd 8
Grandpa 8
Mary the Nurse 7

Overall Standings

1. Miles 177
1. Fulch 177
1. Big Game 177*
4. The Trashman 176*
5. Will Will 175***
5. Brian T. 175*
7. Chjm70 174
7. Adman 174*
9. Crazed Wolverine 173**
10. MIKO 172
10. JMB 172
12. Seth 171
12. The CPA 171
12. GatorBuckeye 171
15. Brian I. 167*
16. Grandpa 165*
16. Jack Ten 165
18. tgm 160***
19. Jeff 159*
20. Another CPA 149
20. Mary the Nurse 149
22. Nora Peanut 147
23. Patrick F. 146
24. Jeremiah 143
25. tgd 142
26. Kara 131*
27. Jena 125
28. Jessica 114
29. Teddy 100
30. cliffwilt 73
31. Richard S. 65
32. B-Mac 61*
33. buckeye in pa 35
34. JeffMcC 20
34. Strikes 20
36. the oh, funk 14

Wild Card Playoffs Round

SATURDAY

NY Jets (9-7) at Cincinnati (10-6)
Philadelphia (11-5) at Dallas (11-5)

SUNDAY

Baltimore (9-7) at New England (10-6)
Green Bay (11-5) at Arizona (10-6)

Get those picks in before the games start and root for your favorite of the three who are left — Miles, Fulch and Big Game.

He showed his inability to play in cold weather, his ability to get hot when he absolutely needs to and his “take my ball and go home” childishness upon being sacked on back-to-back plays in overtime — no Brett, it’s not very mature of you to spike the ball into your O-lineman’s groin after he just caused you to get driven into the frozen ground.

Anyway, we had a big tie with 11 total wins in a pretty up and down week overall for picks. Crazed Wolverine picked a total score of 42, coming closest to the real overall score of 66, and became yet another multiple-week winner and keeps the possibility of sweeping his fellow Gagnons alive.

Go Chris!

Miles holds a lead as we head into the final week. Lunch is on the line, folks.

Oh, and WHO DEY!!!

Week Sixteen Results

Crazed Wolverine 11 (plus 1) = 12
The Trashman 11
MIKO 11
Jack Ten 11
Nora Peanut 11
Miles 10
Fulch 10
Will Will 10
Brian T. 10
Big Game 10
Adman 10
Jeff 10
The CPA 10
GatorBuckeye 10
JMB 10
Grandpa 10
Patrick F. 10
Jeremiah 10
Chjm70 9
Seth 9
tgd 9
Brian I. 8
tgm 8
Mary the Nurse 8
Jessica 7

Overall Standings

1. Miles 168
2. Fulch 167
3. Will Will 166
4. Chjm70 164
5. Seth 163
5. The Trashman 163
7. Brian T. 162
7. Big Game 162
7. Crazed Wolverine 162
10. Adman 160
11. Jeff 159
11. The CPA 159
11. MIKO 159
14. Brian I. 158
14. GatorBuckeye 158
14. JMB 158
17. Grandpa 157
18. Jack Ten 155
19. tgm 150
20. Another CPA 149
21. Patrick F. 146
22. Mary the Nurse 142
23. Nora Peanut 136
24. tgd 134
25. Jeremiah 133
26. Kara 131
27. Jena 125
28. Jessica 114
29. Teddy 100
30. cliffwilt 73
31. Richard S. 65
32. B-Mac 61
33. buckeye in pa 35
34. JeffMcC 20
34. Strikes 20
36. the oh, funk 14

NFL Week Seventeen

Indianapolis (14-1) at Buffalo (5-10)
Jacksonville (7-8) at Cleveland (4-11)
Chicago (6-9) at Detroit (2-13)
San Francisco (7-8) at St. Louis (1-14)
Pittsburgh (8-7) at Miami (7-8)
NY Giants (8-7) at Minnesota (11-4)
Atlanta (8-7) at Tampa Bay (3-12)
New Orleans (13-2) at Carolina (7-8)
New England (10-5) at Houston (8-7)
Philadelphia (11-4) at Dallas (10-5)
Kansas City (3-12) at Denver (8-7)
Baltimore (8-7) at Oakland (5-10)
Green Bay (10-5) at Arizona (10-5)
Washington (4-11) at San Diego (12-3)
Tennessee (7-8) at Seattle (5-10)
Cincinnati (10-5) at NY Jets (8-7) Pts. ______ SUNDAY NIGHT (Last Game)

Make your picks by using the “Comments” section under the headline.

We’re back after a hiatus that included a trip to The Bahamas, where I was eaten by bugs and had to go on steroids, but that’s a topic for another show…

Anyway, longtime friend Andy Loth joins the program. Andy and I called the 2000 Ohio State-Purdue game together at Purdue. That’s the one that included a great drive at the end of the game for what looked like an Ohio State win, only to be disrupted when some guy named Drew Brees threw a 65-yard TD pass to Seth Morales.

But today we’re talking Rose Bowl, and what OSU needs to do to get the job done. I’m on the record, in print, as saying Ohio State will win 27-24, but after talking to Andy I’m convinced the Ducks will fail to score over 20 points. Mark it down!

NFL Picks

We had another win from Will Will, not to mention that Teddy, who grew sick of losing to Nora Peanut every week, finally found a strategy he liked — Teddy picked the team whose city came first in the alphabet this week, with the exception of Cincinnati-San Diego, because he refuses to pick the Bengals.

Will Will 12 (plus 1) = 13
Teddy 11
Crazed Wolverine 11
Jena 11
Another CPA 11
Miles 10
Fulch 10
Seth 10
Big Game 10
The CPA 10
MIKO 10
Patrick F. 10
Chjm70 9
Adman 9
Jeff 9
JMB 9
Jeremiah 9
Brian T. 8
The Trashman 8
Brian I. 8
GatorBuckeye 8
Jack Ten 8
tgm 8
Mary the Nurse 8
tgd 8
Grandpa 7
Nora Peanut 7

Overall Standings

1. Miles 158
2. Fulch 157
3. Will Will 156***
4. Chjm70 155
5. Seth 154
6. Brian T. 152*
6. The Trashman 152*
6. Big Game 152
9. Brian I. 150*
9. Adman 150*
9. Crazed Wolverine 150*
12. Jeff 149*
12. The CPA 149
12. Another CPA 149
15. GatorBuckeye 148
15. JMB 148
15. MIKO 148
18. Grandpa 147*
19. Jack Ten 144
20. tgm 142***
21. Patrick F. 136
22. Mary the Nurse 134
23. Kara 131*
24. Nora Peanut 125
24. tgd 125
24. Jena 125
27. Jeremiah 123
28. Jessica 107
29. Teddy 100
30. cliffwilt 73
31. Richard S. 65
32. B-Mac 61*
33. buckeye in pa 35
34. JeffMcC 20
34. Strikes 20
36. the oh funk 14

NFL Week Sixteen

San Diego (11-3) at Tennessee (7-7) FRIDAY
Buffalo (5-9) at Atlanta (7-7)
Kansas City (3-11) at Cincinnati (9-5)
Oakland (5-9) at Cleveland (3-11)
Seattle (5-9) at Green Bay (9-5)
Houston (7-7) at Miami (7-7)
Jacksonville (7-7) at New England (9-5)
Tampa Bay (2-12) at New Orleans (13-1)
Carolina (6-8) at NY Giants (8-6)
Baltimore (8-6) at Pittsburgh (7-7)
St. Louis (1-13) at Arizona (9-5)
Detroit (2-12) at San Francisco (6-8)
NY Jets (7-7) at Indianapolis (14-0)
Denver (8-6) at Philadelphia (10-4)
Dallas (9-5) at Washington (4-10)
Minnesota (11-3) at Chicago (5-9) Pts. ____

Make your picks by using the “Comments” section under the headline.

Anyway, longtime friend Andy Loth joins the program. Andy and I called the 2000 Ohio State-Purdue game together at Purdue. That’s the one that included a great drive at the end of the game for what looked like an Ohio State win, only to be disrupted when some guy named Drew Brees threw a 65-yard TD pass to Seth Morales.

But today we’re talking Rose Bowl, and what OSU needs to do to get the job done. I’m on the record, in print, as saying Ohio State will win 27-24, but after talking to Andy I’m convinced the Ducks will fail to score over 20 points. Mark it down!

NFL Picks

Just a few weeks remain in the NFL picks and things are still up for grabs, although one guy has a decent enough lead.

Three pickers had 13 games correct, but The Trashman came closest to the overall score of 34, with 44 — Chjm70 had 45 and JMB 48.

Week Fourteen

The Trashman 13 (plus 1) = 14
Chjm70 13
JMB 13
Seth 12
Miles 12
Fulch 12
Jeff 12
MIKO 12
Brian T. 11
Will Will 11
Brian I. 11
Adman 11
Another CPA 11
Jack Ten 11
Big Game 10
GatorBuckeye 10
Grandpa 10
Crazed Wolverine 10
The CPA 10
Jeremiah 10
tgm 9
Mary the Nurse 9
Nora Peanut 7
tgd 7
Teddy 6
Kara 1 (picked Browns over Steelers and that was it)

Overall Standings

1. Miles 148
2. Fulch 147
3. Chjm70 146
4. Seth 144
4. Brian T. 144*
4. The Trashman 144*
7. Will Will 143**
8. Big Game 142
8. Brian I. 142*
10. Adman 141*
11. GatorBuckeye 140
11. Grandpa 140*
11. Jeff 140*
14. Crazed Wolverine 139*
14. The CPA 139
14. JMB 139
17. Another CPA 138
17. MIKO 138
19. Jack Ten 136
20. tgm 134***
21. Kara 131*
22. Patrick F. 126
23. Mary the Nurse 126
24. Nora Peanut 118
25. tgd 117
26. Jena 114
26. Jeremiah 114
28. Jessica 107
29. Teddy 89
30. cliffwilt 73
31. Richard S. 65
32. B-Mac 61*
33. buckeye in pa 35
34. JeffMcC 20
35. Strikes 20
36. the oh, funk 14

NFL Week Fifteen

Indianapolis (13-0) at Jacksonville (7-6) THURSDAY
Dallas (8-5) at New Orleans (13-0) SATURDAY
New England (8-5) at Buffalo (5-8)
Arizona (8-5) at Detroit (2-11)
Miami (7-6) at Tennessee (6-7)
Cleveland (2-11) at Kansas City (3-10)
Houston (6-7) at St. Louis (1-12)
Atlanta (6-7) at NY Jets (7-6)
San Francisco (6-7) at Philadelphia (9-4)
Chicago (5-8) at Baltimore (7-6)
Oakland (4-9) at Denver (8-5)
Cincinnati (9-4) at San Diego (10-3)
Green Bay (9-4) at Pittsburgh (6-7)
Tampa Bay (1-12) at Seattle (5-8)
Minnesota (11-2) at Carolina (5-8)
NY Giants (7-6) at Washington (4-9) Pts. ____

Make your picks by using the “Comments” section under the headline.