Larry Brown Sports

You know how we know Michigan and Ohio State have arguably the greatest rivalry in North American sports? The schools never seem to run out of creative ways to take shots at one another. The Buckeyes and Wolverines have brought us countless epic battles on the field over the years, but the way the schools express their hatred for one another off the football field and basketball court is equally entertaining.

Take the ball you see above, for example. Michigan wide receiver Bo Dever showed us the team’s new footballs on Tuesday, which as you can see feature an inscription that reads “Made in USA, not in Ohio”

The Wolverines have gone to great lengths to renew their hatred for their fiercest rival since the end of the season. Between their new pigskins and that jersey quarterback Devin Gardner wore during the spring game, they have already fired several offseason shots. Your move, Buckeyes.

H/T Facebook/Yardbarker

The average sports fan does not need a history lesson to inform them of the hatred that exists between Michigan and Ohio State. On the football field, the rivalry is one of the greatest in sports. That explains why Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner will be wearing an Oregon State jersey during Michigan’s spring game on Saturday.

Because of an ACL injury to backup quarterback Russell Bellomy, Gardner is currently the only quarterback on the Michigan roster that is under scholarship. That has inspired the team to dress him in a non-contact jersey for Saturday’s game, which would typically be red. However, red is the color of the Buckeyes, so that’s not happening.

“As we’ve stated, we don’t wear red jerseys, so these were a temporary fix until we could get some custom jerseys made, which we hope will be in this week,” A Michigan spokesman told MLive.com in an email.

An Oregon State spokesman explained that the Wolverines were in need of a contrasting color and that the equipment guys from both schools know one another, so that’s how the Beavers ended up lending a helping hand. An equipment manager from Oregon State also told Inside Unis on Twitter that Michigan needed help in a hurry, so they came to their aid.

And once again, we hear another perfect example of why this Michigan recruit may not fit in all that well when he gets to Ann Arbor. The hatred between the Wolverines and Buckeyes is not exaggerated.

H/T Dr. Saturday
Photo via Facebook/Michigan Football

The Ohio State Buckeyes may have been banned from postseason play in 2012, but each member of the team still received a custom piece of hardware. As Doug Lesmerises of the The Plain Dealer reminded us, head coach Urban Meyer promised the team they would receive rings for an undefeated season — despite the fact that they were ineligible for a Big Ten title or a bowl game. He came through.

On Thursday, receivers coach Zach Smith posted the photo that you see above on Twitter, which shows the ring alongside the gold pants pendant the Buckeyes receive for beating Michigan. Football sports information director Jerry Emig shared a closer view of the ring:

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It may feel like Alabama just finished mopping the floor with Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship game, but spring football has already arrived. That means players are shaking off the dust from the short offseason and getting back to conditioning, and coaches are already pissed off.

Earlier this week, Ohio State fan site Eleven Warriors shared a priceless video of a man who they have identified as Buckeyes special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs lambasting a kicker during stretching drills. The unidentified kicker had apparently stopped for a water break, which infuriated Coombs because, well, he’s a kicker.

“What do you need water for, Sunshine?” Coombs screamed at the player. “We’re stretching! And you’re a kicker! Are you tired from stretching?!”

If you feel bad for the kicker after watching the video, you have probably never played competitive sports. These are the reasons video cameras are rarely allowed inside a team’s practice facility. Coombs’ outburst was hilarious and probably a lot more mellow than most coaches. Now that the video is going viral, the Buckeyes players have a duty to make sure that kicker is referred to as “Sunshine” for the remainder of the season.

H/T Lost Lettermen

Coaches are only as good as their motivational tactics, which may be one of the reasons former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes enjoyed so much success with the Buckeyes in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The five-time national champion helped mold Ohio State into the powerhouse that it is today, and you know what they say — you can’t build a contender without letting a turtle bite you in the private parts.

Alright, so no one says that. But according to Urban Meyer, Hayes once did it. When Meyer was an assistant coach at OSU from 1986-87, he said then-head coach Earle Bruce brought in a 73-year-old Hayes to speak with the coaching staff about the current state of the program. At the annual coaches convention at Ohio State earlier this week, Meyer told a story about that day. CoachingSearch.com shared the fantastic details with us:

“So I guess Ohio State had lost the bowl game, so Earl Bruce brings in Woody Hayes,” Meyer recalled. “I had been there just a week and I’m thinking, ‘Holy, this is Coach Hayes.’ I’m sitting in the back. Coach Hayes was not healthy at the time, but stands up and starts laying into the coaching staff about toughness. That we have no toughness in the program. That’s why we lost the game. On and on and screaming, this old guy pounding the table. He says, ‘We have no toughness, and the reason is because you’re not tough. No one on this staff is tough enough, and that’s a problem.’

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Urban Meyer had another strong recruiting class at Ohio State, but he wants to see the rest of his competitors in the Big Ten get on a similar level.

Meyer made his comments during an appearance with “Bishop & Rothman” on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus Thursday.

“We do need to as a conference need to keep pushing that envelope to be better,” said Meyer.

“Our whole conversation [at the Big Ten coaches meeting] needs to be about ‘how do we recruit?’ When you see 11 of the SEC teams are in the top 25 that’s something that we need to improve.”

Meyer coached in the SEC at Florida for six seasons and won two national championship there. He knows what it’s like to compete at that level, and he’s already brought success to Ohio State — he led the Buckeyes to a 12-0 season last year.

The reality is that the SEC is the top college football conference in the country. The coaches and staffs are generally the highest paid, their games are generally rated highest on TV, and the conference has produced the last seven national champions.

I’m not sure why Meyer is trying to rally the other coaches in the conference. Is he trying to bring the Big Ten up to the SEC’s level? It seems like the competition would only make his job more difficult.

You can listen to his comments below:

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Reon Dawson is a three-star cornerback from Trotwood, Ohio, who is headed to Michigan to play for Brady Hoke next season. However, the Wolverines were hardly his first choice.

Growing up in Ohio, Dawson never envisioned himself in maize and blue. Most Ohio State fans don’t.

“Until I die, I’m gonna be a Buckeye fan even though I’m going (to Michigan),” Dawson told the Dayton Daily News on Wednesday. “When we play (OSU) I’m gonna still bring my ‘A’ game. But, I love Ohio State.”

Dawson was originally committed to Illinois but he decided to commit to Michigan at the last second. He wanted to go to Ohio State, but he never got an offer from them. Unless he changes his stance drastically from now until the time team practices start, he could be in for a freshman beatdown.

In case you have forgotten how much these two schools despise one another, perhaps these words from Urban Meyer will remind you. Not enough? How about the gash Mike Vrabel gave himself on his forehead because he got so pumped up before OSU played Michigan that he head-butted a player when he had no helmet on? There is no in-between. Dawson will likely learn that in a hurry.

Chest bump to Dr. Saturday
Photo via Scout.com