Ohio State’s Bosa leaves to prep for NFL NHL ROUNDUP
Columbus, Ohio — Injured defensive end Nick Bosa has decided to leave school to focus on getting ready for the NFL draft in the spring, Ohio State said Tuesday.
The junior All-American from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, already had four sacks this season when he suffered a core muscle injury on Sept. 15 in the third game of the season. He had surgery five days later, and no timetable was set for his return to the team.
Considered one of the best players in college football, Bosa had left no doubt that he would leave school after this season to enter the draft. He planned to follow the same path as his older brother, Joey, who left Ohio State a year early and now plays for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Nick Bosa had tied his career high of five tackles twice in the first three games this season, and he was leading the team in tackles with 14, including six for losses.
That came to an abrupt halt when he went down early in the third quarter against TCU in Arlington, Texas, and had to be helped to the locker room.
Coach Urban Meyer said the conversation with Bosa was emotional, but “I can’t say I was surprised.”
“I was hopeful that Nick would be able to return to play again for us,” Meyer said. “I know this was an extremely difficult and emotional decision for Nick and his family, and I wish him well as he moves on to get himself 100 percent healthy and ready for his next chapter.”
Ohio State’s defense hasn’t been the same since Bosa’s departure. The unit has dealt with other injuries, including to Bosa’s replacement, Jonathan Cooper, and has shown a weakness for surrendering big plays.
Bosa was dominating from the start of his Ohio State career.
The 6-foot-4, 263-pounder, who wore the same No. 97 his brother did for the Buckeyes, played in 30 games, with 29 tackles, 17½ sacks and two fumble recoveries, one of them for a touchdown.
Both Bosa brothers earned Big Ten defensive lineman-ofthe-year honors.
“I want to thank Nick for the remarkable efforts he gave for this program,” Meyer said. “He is a first-class young man who we have been honored to coach.”
Past and present teammates were supportive on social media.
“One of the best teammates and competitors I’ve been around,” tweeted former Ohio State and current Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard. “Know this was a tough decision, but made the right one.”
Rangers 3, Avalanche 2 (SO)
Kevin Shattenkirk scored the deciding goal in a shootout to lift New York over Colorado on Tuesday night. Mats Zuccarello scored for the Rangers in the first round of the tiebreaker, and Mikko Rantanen tied it in the second. Shattenkirk then beat Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov in the third round, and Henrik Lundqvist denied Gabriel Landeskog to secure New York’s second win in six games this season (2-4-0). Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider scored in regulation for the Rangers, and Lundqvist stopped 31 shots through overtime. Zuccarello and Shattenkirk each had two assists. Nathan MacKinnon, who also had an assist, scored for Colorado to set the franchise record with a goal in each of the first six games to open a season. Tyson Jost also had a goal for the Avalanche. Varlamov, who came in 3-0-1 with a 1.75 goalsagainst average, made 41 saves. MacKinnon was whistled for holding Brady Skjei on a Rangers rush 20 seconds into overtime, putting the Rangers on a 4-on-3 power play. Varlamov gloved a shot by Mika Zibanejad from the left circle about halfway through the advantage and then smothered a hard shot by Jesper Fast in the waning seconds. Landeskog and MacKinnon each hit a post in the final minute of the extra period. Both teams had chances in the third, but Lundqvist made 10 saves and Varlamov eight to keep the score tied at 2. Trailing 1-0 after being outshot 19-7 by the Rangers in the first period, the Avalanche picked up their intensity in the second. Colorado tied the score on a power play at 8:13 of the middle period. With Hayes off for tripping, Jost tipped a shot by Tyson Barrie from center point past Lundqvist for his second of the season. Hayes then regained the lead for the Rangers just 2:40 later as he took a pass from Zuccarello in the right circle and beat Varlamov for his first. Lundqvist made a pair of stellar saves with about 30 seconds left in the second, first on a tip by Matt Calvert and then a sprawling pad save of Matt Nieto’s follow on the rebound. However, the Avalanche tied it 2-all with 12.6 seconds left as MacKinnon tipped Rantanen’s shot from between the circles that first deflected off Landeskog for MacKinnon’s seventh. That broke Mats Sundin’s franchise record set for Quebec in 1992-93. It also extended Rantanen’s streak to at least one assist in Colorado’s first six games. Rangers coach David Quinn has been urging his players to shoot more, and they followed his directions from the start. MacKinnon had a wrist shot stopped by Lundqvist 1:02 in for the game’s first shot on goal. The Rangers had the next eight shots until Nieto’s attempt in close was denied by Lundqvist 5:04 later. With Colorado’s Patrik Nemeth off for hooking Vinni Lettieri, Kreider got New York on the scoreboard as he deflected a shot by Shattenkirk past Varlamov for his third with 7:53 left. The Rangers had a 14-3 advantage on shots at that point. The goal was New York’s second on the power play in 13 chances this season. It was also the second allowed by Colorado, which was 22 for 23 on the penalty-kill in its first five games.
Devils 3, Stars 0
Kyle Palmieri scored his seventh goal in four games, Keith Kinkaid stopped 24 shots for his second shutout and New Jersey continued its perfect start, beating Dallas. Late pickup Jean-Sebastien Dea tallied for the third straight game and Blake Coleman added a goal as the Devils (4-0) remained the NHL’s only unbeaten team. The 4-0 start is their best since 1995-96. Palmieri also became the first player in NHL history to score his team’s opening goal in four consecutive games to begin a season, the league said. Anton Khudobin made 31 saves as Dallas lost for the second time in as many nights. It marked the first time it had been shut out.