Why the venom over ‘The’ trademark? UM …
Ray Stein
Ray: It’s nice to see that The Ohio State University is upping its game on stupid ideas. Urban Meyer teaching a class on leadership and character? Not only is that laughable, it’s just sick.
Now I see that OSU wants to trademark the word “The.” Really? Where does OSU come up with such stupid ideas? Is OSU so desperate for attention with Michigan picked to win the conference championship that to keep the school in the news they are pursuing more and more silly ideas?
How about this for a novel idea: Put together football teams that can compete with Alabama and Clemson and not get blown out by teams like Purdue?
Mickey Geslak, Lewis Center Mickey: Far be it from me to defend Prof. Urban or The Ridiculous Trademark Kerfuffle, but to suggest that OSU is guided by Michigan’s status as league favorite is ludicrous. We’re talking about a team that goes to France and Italy and South Africa but can’t find its way to Indianapolis? Come on.
Ray: That Oregon provides its players with rare Italian marble and hand-woven rugs doesn’t mean that OSU’S football palace/spa/ country club doesn’t reflect similarly misplaced priorities (“Ohio State players love new digs,” last Sunday).
If donors want to give their millions on a pampered privileged few instead of the university’s mission, so be it. But associate AD Brian Voltolini brushing off a question about “many students (who) face financial pressure just to attend college” with a “let them eat cake” insouciance is repugnant. At least he admits to the hypocrisy when he said “this is their job.”
One word was noticeably missing from the article: education.
Brent D. Rosenthal, Westerville
Brent: As I understand it, academics are not part of the Buckeyes’ playtime palace, perhaps like how they don’t sell toothbrushes at ice-cream parlors. Fear not: Academic assistance is available for players just across the street.
Editor: Chad Iacovetta (Mailbox, last Sunday) commented that a previous writer “is obviously full of irrational fear about the great game of football.”
A few pages later, Ohio State associate athletic director/football operations manager Brian Voltolini stated, “The players need and deserve such a place because of the demands put on them in such a high-profile and dangerous sport. … We care about everybody, but they play a violent sport.”
It doesn’t sound like irrational fear to me.
Charles Muller, Newark Charles: I don’t think anyone in this argument disagrees that football is dangerous. The question, as originally suggested, is whether it’s criminally negligent to let children play the game.
Editor: On Sunday and Monday, Indians closer Brad Hand had two blown saves in a row and was the winning pitcher in both games.
It would seem to me that the rules should be changed to rule out a win for any pitcher with a blown save. It just doesn’t make sense to be rewarded with a win for letting the opponent draw even or go ahead.
Sheldon Switkin, Bexley Sheldon: I’m not sure anyone in baseball judges pitchers solely by wins anymore. It’s all WAR and WHIP and, in Hand’s case, WHOOPS.
rstein@dispatch.com