Mailbox: Readers unhappy with Ohio State football, officiating, newspaper deadlines

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com. Letters are lightly edited for clarity.

On Ohio State football

Dear Mr. White: Regarding last season’s Big Ten championship game, if it’s true that Ohio State provided Purdue with Michigan’s offensive signals and Rutgers provided the Boilermakers with the Wolverines’ defensive signals, is that a textbook case of what the talking heads call “complementary football?” As an avid Big Ten fan, I confess I have no recollection of Purdue appearing in that game and, given the final score (43-22), Purdue might not, either. Lastly, I asked a friend, an OSU fan, why Buckeye Nation was not screaming bloody murder about the sign-stealing kerfuffle. He replied: “Hmmm, something about glass houses, perhaps?”

Jon Armstrong, Columbus

To Jon: If you think Ohio State fans have been quiet about Michigan's troubles, then you have not come within a mile of any social media. And you are likely better off for it.

To the editor: What is 35 minus 16? The spread on OSU vs Rutgers was 18, but in his Sunday column, the best that Rob Oller could say was that OSU was lucky to escape SHI Stadium remaining unbeaten. The team beat the spread, Rob, and yes, most games come down to a couple of plays here and there. And wouldn’t it have been nice to compliment Rutgers for the turnaround in their program and their competitive play this season?

Sorry to say, it doesn’t seem that Rob ever has anything complimentary to say.

Tom Davis

To the editor: Why are they keeping Dallan Hayden on the bench? Hayden and Henderson could be the best one-two punch at helping us to win a natty. Kyle McCord is not consistent. Running the ball seems a better option for scoring. I just don’t get it.

Tom Selvaggio

To Tom: The coaches' goal is to redshirt Hayden, but with Miyan Williams out for the season they are one injury away from needing Hayden to play again and lose the redshirt option.

On referees, newspaper deadlines

To the editor: Once again, in watching NCAA football it is clear that refs should be fined or fired for really bad calls, one-sided calls or completely missed calls. If the players or coaches (can) be disciplined, why aren't the refs?

Also, with the news and sports world completely digital, why is it that The Dispatch considers a "late game" one that ends at 6:30 and is not in the newspaper? Before, if a Buckeye game ended at 10 p.m. there were full articles in The Dispatch. Even now, other than the Bengals or Browns, there is nothing about other games. Shame, shame, shame.

Gerald Milner

To Gerald: OK, a two-topic letter. That's fine.

On refs: It's such a difficult job to officiate top-level athletes in real-time, and the quality is hurt some by this not being their full-time jobs. I don't believe for a minute that officials are in it to stick it to teams they don't like. And as for discipline? All officials, high school-level included, are indeed evaluated every game. If their scores aren't good, they don't receive the better assignments.

On deadlines: As I've said in this space before, we all wish deadlines were what they used to be, and that newspapers were what they used to be. Unfortunately, our new world is such that no games that end in late in the afternoon meet our printing press deadlines. But our coverage on Dispatch.com is more robust than ever and is available before, during and after games. For each OSU football game, we'll have online a minimum of eight stories, plus photos and video.

On sportsmanship

To the editor: A while back, you printed a letter from Al Summers, a former coach in Pataskala, concerning sportsmanship. When I read it, I thought every coach should start the season upfront with the ideas that coach Summers instilled in his players. We’ve come so far down the road with the trash talk and taunts culture. Wish his message could be issued to every middle and high school coaching staff in Ohio.

Susan B. West, Athens

To Susan: How's this for sportsmanship: While weighing in on the Michigan cheating scandal, calling it "sickening" and "disgusting," Illinois football coach Bret Bielema told a story about when he was coaching at Wisconsin. The Badgers' signals were mistakenly being heard on the Northwestern headsets, and Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald immediately told his coaches to stop listening. "He told his people to put them down, change the channel and compete in the game," Bielema said. "I thought (it was) the highest moment of integrity."

On Lindsay Nelson

To Brian: I enjoy the letters column very much. As you point out, there’s never enough space for all those great letters you receive. Hopefully next week you’ll find a few that deal with OSU sports instead of devoting nearly 60% of your column space this week to a mini bio of announcer Lindsey Nelson. I grew up listening/watching The Wide World of Sports, Shenkel, etc. but if we’re going to walk down memory lane (trust me, I need all the help I can get ) let’s keep it about our Ohio teams.

John Essig

To John: I'd guess that more than 90% of the letters we run are about Ohio State sports, so it's nice to get variety. Plus, if we hadn't run Larry's letter, we wouldn't have gotten responses such as ...

To the editor: I enjoyed the letter from Larry Cheek of Dublin regarding Lindsay Nelson and his career as a broadcaster. Having grown up in Queens and a lifelong Mets fan since their first years in the Polo Grounds, it was a revelation when Shea Stadium first opened in 1964 within walking distance.

Besides Lindsay Nelson, the broadcast team consisted of Bob Murphy and one of the greatest home run hitters the National League has seen, Ralph Kiner. But for Mr. Cheek to describe Tennessean Lindsay Nelson as having "an almost unnoticeable drawl in his distinct voice" reminds this transplanted New Yorker that an accent is in the ear of the beholder.

Syd Lifshin, Columbus

To the editor: Larry Cheek's letter about Lindsey Nelson reminded me of another Hall of Fame announcer, Jack Buck, who began his professional career while a student at Ohio State. Buck served in the European Theater during World War II with the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division. He entered OSU under the G.I. Bill and took classes in Quonset huts hastily built to handle the overload of veterans.

Columbus radio station WCOL hired Buck to call Ohio State basketball games, and in 1950 he announced all the OSU football games for WCOL.

After graduating, he announced for the Columbus Redbirds, a Cardinals farm club, until moving to St Louis and a 50-year career as voice of the St. Louis Cardinals. Jack Buck is in 11 halls of fame, according to his autobiography, "That's a Winner," his signature phrase.

Robert B. Stevenson, Columbus

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mailbox: Readers unhappy with Ohio State football and poor officiating