Ohio State football: Players say Urban Meyer has changed approach
Tim May | Dispatch
Players and the head coach disagree on how much Urban Meyer has changed his approach since he took over the Ohio State program.
CHICAGO — Urban Meyer said he is the same coach he was when he took over the Ohio State football program 2 1/2 years ago. Yes, he is much more attentive to his health than he was in his final years at Florida. Beyond that, he hasn’t changed much, Meyer said yesterday during Big Ten media days. As Meyer gets set to lead the Buckeyes into his third season, the three players representing Ohio State — Braxton Miller, Michael Bennett and Jeff Heuerman — disagreed.
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Ohio State notebook | Urban Meyer, Mark Dantonio: Fund playoff travel for players’ families
CHICAGO — If Ohio State has a dream season, it could be a nightmare scenario — financially — for many players’ families, coach Urban Meyer said, and he wants that addressed.
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Bob Hunter commentary: Scott Hartnell is perfect fit with young Jackets
MICHAEL PEREZ | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Scott Hartnell, left, spent the past seven years in Philadelphia before being traded to the Blue Jackets.
The Columbus news media got its first extended interview session with Scott Hartnell yesterday, and it scrutinized him the way a prospective customer might go over a used car. Scratches and dents are obvious. Sometimes problems that lurk beneath the hood aren’t easily detected. This qualified as a friendly interrogation, but questions about his impressions of his new NHL team, teammates and city showed that reporters still haven’t forgotten that the team’s front office didn’t ask the right questions in 2011 before acquiring a disgruntled Jeff Carter from those same Philadelphia Flyers.
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Around the NFL: Browns’ Josh Gordon hires attorney for appeal of suspension
Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon has a new, high-profile teammate to help him fight the NFL.
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Browns: Defense flexes muscle during training camp drill
MARK DUNCAN | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former OSU defensive back Donte Whitner, autographing items after practice, wants the Browns’ defense “to be nasty.” “No one wants a nice defense,” he said.
BEREA, Ohio — As he dropped back to pass during practice yesterday, Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer looked like a sailor lost at sea, desperately seeking land. He turned right and saw cornerback Joe Haden blanketing receiver Anthony Armstrong. He turned left and saw that Miles Austin had only a slight step on rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert 30 yards down the sideline. With pressure coming, he had to throw the ball.
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Reds 3, Diamondbacks 0: Reds’ offense contributes; Mike Leake does rest
AL BEHRMAN | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Billy Hamilton slides home to score the Reds’ first run, on a single by Todd Frazier in the first inning.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Mike Leake pitched into the eighth inning and singled home a run — a rare commodity for the Reds these days — leading Cincinnati to a 3-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday night.
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Mariners 5, Indians 2: Trevor Bauer exits early after rough start
TONY DEJAK | ASSOCIATED PRESS
An RBI double by the Mariners’ Chris Taylor falls out of the reach of Chris Dickerson in the fourth inning.
CLEVELAND (AP) — With the trade deadline looming, the Indians aren’t sure if they’re buyers or sellers. Winners or losers. In an uneven season, they’re not sure which way to go. Trevor Bauer didn’t get through the fifth inning and the Indians failed to get back to .500 yesterday night with a 5-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
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Legal fire: Man to be charged for urinating on Art Modell’s grave
Art Modell spent 43 years in the NFL as an owner.
Maryland authorities said yesterday they will charge a man with disorderly conduct in a cemetery for allegedly urinating on the grave of Art Modell, the former owner of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.
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Steelers: Workhorse Le’Veon Bell’s goal is to get faster on his feet
LATROBE, Pa. — Le’Veon Bell watched the tape over and over, equally pleased and puzzled by what he saw. There were times during his rookie season when the Pittsburgh Steelers running back would place his hand on an offensive lineman’s back and wait patiently for the hole to open.
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College football: Bearcats QB Munchie Legaux keeps positive focus
AL BEHRMAN | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Munchie Legaux of Cincinnati is returning from a serious knee injury.
NEWPORT, R.I. — Less than a year after a gruesome knee injury made Cincinnati quarterback Munchie Legaux face the possibility of never playing football again, he’s talking about starting the first game of the season for the Bearcats.
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Sports report: NBA players association elects first female union chief
MIKE MEADOWS | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Water of Westwood: A worker attempts to clean up water covering the court at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in the Westwood section of Los Angeles. A broken water main under nearby Sunset Boulevard caused flooding in several areas of the UCLA campus. Crews used squeegees and water vacuums to clear water and silt from Pauley Pavilion, which underwent a $136 million renovation in 2012.
The National Basketball Players Association elected Michele Roberts as executive director, making her the first woman to lead a North American pro sports union.
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The Locker Room
Urban Meyer at Big Ten Media Day (Transcript)
(Note: Transcript comes courtesy of the Big Ten and ASAP Sports.)
THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening statement.
COACH MEYER: It’s an honor to represent Ohio State as we start our 2014 journey. It was a very good summer because we were able to spend time with our players.
It’s the first time we’ve been allowed to — I think we had six or eight sessions with our players, and they were also helped in the transition of our high school guys when they showed up in June.
So it’s been a very good summer. Our quarterback — I know we’ll get asked that question — is ready to go. He’s full speed, in the best shape of his life. We have a bunch of good, young players that we’re anxious to see what they can do.
The two areas that concern the offensive line is, number one, a little disappointed what happened in spring. We just didn’t see the growth that we would like to see. However, I really admire our coach, Coach Warinner, and I know we have good players. So they’ve had a very good summer.
The second area is pass defense. We completely have blown up and started from scratch, an area that we were not very strong in, pass defense. And Chris Ash has done an admirable job of installing a brand-new pass defense that we’re going to test and see how it goes during training camp. Went very well during spring.
Very good group of young people that I’m looking forward to work with. They come in on Sunday for good and we start practice on Monday.
Q. Can you talk more about the offensive line? You mentioned it’s a concern. Do you think Chad Lindsay will be your starting center? And just talk about the offensive line as a whole, if you would.
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