Mailbox: What's wrong with keeping the Ohio State-Michigan football game at season's end?
Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com.
On Ohio State vs. Michigan in football
Mr. White: Once again, I agree with one of Rob Oller's second thoughts. The Ohio State-Michigan game should not be moved from its traditional position as the final regular game of the season.
The logic of those who support the idea of moving The Game to earlier in the year − however many there are − is so that Ohio State and Michigan can avoid the scenario of playing each other in back-to-back games, including the conference title game, should both finish with the two best conference records. With USC and UCLA entering the Big Ten next year, and with the usual conference powers of Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa and any others quite possibly making it to the top two in any given year, it is unlikely that Ohio State and Michigan would finish the regular season in those spots with any regularity. It is bound to happen at some point, but, really, how often?
Time will tell, of course. Meantime, keep The Game where it belongs. Let's keep some traditions in college football alive for as long as possible. They are what keep me interested in it.
Keith Robinson, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee
To Keith: I agree. And I don't remember hearing a public outcry with people saying playing two weeks in a row would be so awful. It's not like either team would treat the final regular-season game the way NFL teams treat preseason games and fill the field with backups.
On the Columbus Crew, Lucas Zelarayan and Saudi Arabia
To the editor: Full marks to Rob Oller for calling out the Saudis and their sudsy shenanigans. The LIV Golf tour was bad enough (and the spectacle of the PGA caving in to the economics of a merger was even worse). The Saudis have deep pockets and their continued efforts to purchase respectability through sports, particularly golf and soccer, is shameful. For the Columbus Crew to engage in any sort of deal with them, given their truly horrific humanitarian track record (as Mr. Oller pointed out, if there were an elephant in the room, it was doubtless missing a trunk … ) is an affront to ethical principles. I wish I could say I’m shocked, but I’m not. Show Me the Money. It could no doubt fit into a suitcase big enough to contain the dismembered bits of Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, who dared questioned certain actions taken by the repressive regime. Why are team owners, league commissioners, etc., helping them create a different image through sports? Thanks to Rob Oller for taking the Crew to task. Bad enough to trade Zelarayán, but to the Saudis?
Candy Canzoneri, Westerville
To Candy: Thanks for taking an unpopular stand here in Crewland. Also, this marks the first time I've gotten two emails complimentary of Oller in the same week. Maybe even in the same month. You don't happen to be related to him, do you? Or neighbors? Or owe him money?
On the National Women's Soccer League
To the editor: The excellent play and worldwide interest in the FIFA Women's World Cup highlights how Columbus missed the boat when the spent millions of dollars to “Save the Crew” rather then use the opportunity to bring to Columbus a team from the National Women’s Soccer League. Could Columbus have brought a NWSL team to the old Crew stadium, saving the city, county and state $140 million, at least, of public money? The promised city soccer park around the old Crew stadium was always a fantasy, and the city never even contacted the Ohio Expositions Commission board before making the announcement. The owners of the Crew may purchase Lower.com Field from the public for 30% of its fair market value, after which they can immediately resell the facility at market, possibly keeping 70% of the net profits. Columbus succeeded in keeping the Crew, but at the cost of a massive betrayal of public trust.
How much less costly in public dollars and how much more in keeping with a forward-looking city would it have been to seek a NWSL team instead?
Nikki Spretnak, Columbus
To Nikki: Why not have both NWSL and MLS? Big city, big soccer following.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mailbox: What's wrong with keeping the Ohio State-Michigan football game at season's end?
