Oller: Columbus sports experienced little bit of everything in 2023, led by Crew MLS title
Looking back to the opening seconds of 2023, the year began with a whimper. And ends with bang.
As the clock ticked down on the closing moments of 2022, Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles lined up for the potential game-winning 50-yard field goal against Georgia in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, only to have the ball hook left just as the ball dropped in New York’s Times Square. Talk about being a party pooper.
But if 2023 began in Buckeye Nation dejection, it closes in Crew Nation elation. The Black and Gold won their second MLS Cup in four years on Dec. 9 by defeating LAFC 2-1 at Lower.com Field. Boom!
Between the Crew’s championship and the Ohio State letdown, which we’re officially placing in 2022, there were big stories happening in Columbus that rippled beyond its borders, putting the Arch City on the national map.
Let the countdown begin.
10. Bob Knight dies at age 83 on Nov. 1 in Bloomington, Indiana.
The General was a complicated coaching savant whose tantrums are a part of his legacy as much as his three NCAA national titles at Indiana. Born in Orrville, Ohio, Knight was the sixth man on Ohio State’s 1960 national title team, and while nationally he is more associated with the Hoosiers than the Buckeyes, his connection to Ohio State was the main reason OSU and IU became a rivalry from the early 1970s through Knight’s final season in 2000.
9. No. 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson shocks No. 1 Purdue
Fairleigh Dickinson won 63-58 in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament March. 17 at Nationwide Arena.
Only once before in the history of men’s March Madness had a No. 16 seed (Maryland Baltimore County) upset a No. 1 (Virginia), but Fairleigh Dickinson, led by Reynoldsburg graduate Sean Moore’s career-high 19 points, became the first First Four team to knock off a No. 1-seed. The Knights also set a tournament record by overcoming a 23½-point spread.
“It feels remarkable. Sensational. I didn’t think I would be here right now,” Moore said after stunning the Boilermakers.
8. Ohio State men’s basketball suffers through the season from hell
The Buckeyes were 9-3 through December 2022, then lost 14 of their next 16 to miss the NCAA Tournament. A nine-game losing streak was the longest since OSU lost 17 in a row in 1997-98.
7. Ohio State women’s basketball reaches the Elite Eight
The Buckeyes made the Elite Eight for the first time since 1993, when they advanced to the NCAA Tournament championship game. Led by Taylor Mikesell, No. 3-seed OSU finished 28-8 after falling to Virginia Tech 84-74 to come one step short of the Final Four.
Mikesell scored 25 points in the loss and set a school tournament record with seven 3-pointers.
“She's been such a great kid in our program,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said of Mikesell. “She’s leaving the way you should leave, knowing that you poured every ounce of heart and soul, effort, energy into a program.”
6. Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord enters the transfer portal
The junior went 11-1 as a first-year starter this season, yet still opted to exit the program, reportedly in part because he was not promised the starting job in 2024. McCord, who has committed to Syracuse, put up good numbers, throwing for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns, with six interceptions, but he faced the burden of following Heisman finalists in C.J. Stroud, Justin Fields and Dwayne Haskins. And he failed to beat Michigan.
5. Blue Jackets hire coach Mike Babcock in July, then part ways
The Jackets cut ties with the controversial coach 78 days after his hire when allegations surfaced accusing the 2008 Stanley Cup winner (Detroit Red Wings) of violating players’ privacy during offseason meetings. Babcock, 60, resigned Sept. 17 after never coaching a single game for the CBJ. Assistant coach Pascal Vincent replaced him.
4. Ryan Day calls out former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz
The Ohio State coach called out Holtz after the Buckeyes pull off a last-second 20-14 win against the Fighting Irish Sept. 23 in South Bend, Indiana. During an on-field postgame interview, a fired-up Day said, “I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now,” pushing back Holtz’s comments a day earlier in the media suggesting Ohio State lacked toughness.
“I don’t know where that narrative comes from. But it ends tonight,” Day said, practically yelling during his postgame press conference. “This team showed toughness. Showed grit. And they didn’t give up. And they found a way to get that last yard.”
Ohio State scored the go-ahead touchdown on tailback Chip Trayanum’s 1-yard run with one second left, against an ND defense that had only 10 players on the field.
3. Ohio State loses to Michigan for a third season in a row
The Wolverines were without coach Jim Harbaugh, suspended by the Big Ten in the wake of a sign-stealing scheme involving a Michigan staffer, but UM won anyway, 30-24, on Nov. 25 in Ann Arbor. The loss cost 11-1 OSU a berth in the Big Ten championship game and seriously damaged the Buckeyes’ shot at making the College Football Playoff. It also dropped Day to 1-3 against OSU’s biggest rival, giving disgruntled fans more ammunition against the embattled coach.
“We know what this game means to so many people, and so to come up short is certainly crushing, not only just because you invest your whole year in it,” Day said. “We know at Ohio State what this game means, and so there’s a locker room in there that’s devastated.”
2. Michigan cheating scandal
Connor Stalions’ name will go down in Ohio State lore more than most of the players on Michigan's 2023 roster. Stalions, a Michigan staffer until resigning last month, is the central figure in the sign-stealing scandal that involved in-person “spying” on opponents, including Ohio State, to gather intel on sideline signals. The alleged violation of NCAA rules resulted in the Big Ten suspending Harbaugh three games, including against Ohio State. Many Buckeyes fans contend the signal-stealing skullduggery helps explain why OSU lost to Michigan in 2021 and 2022. The controversy continues as Michigan awaits word from the NCAA on potential punishment.
1. Crew win MLS Cup
It’s not often the rest of the country celebrates a Columbus championship, but it’s less rare now that the Crew have won two MLS Cups in the past four seasons. You know you’ve arrived as a legitimate title holder when New Yorkers tip their cap your way, which is what happened when the Empire State Building lit up in Crew Black and Gold following the 2-1 win against defending champion LAFC.
“It’s so good for our city,” said Crew minority owner Dr. Pete Edwards. “We weren’t able to celebrate in ’20 because of COVID. To see the Nordecke filled after the game, with nobody leaving until there was nothing more to see … it was unreal.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew MLS Cup title, Ohio State football lead 2023 sports
