NASH SCORES 'GOAL OF THE YEAR,' JACKETS IN THE HUNT



I had heard that hockey was "the greatest sport to watch live." I saw more than 30 games last year while writing for bluejackets.com, and I didn't believe it until Thursday night.

Sitting in the first row of the upper deck of Jobing.com Arena, I witnessed forward Rick Nash score perhaps the best goal in Columbus Blue Jackets history. With 24 seconds left, Nash received the puck across the blue line and deked two Phoenix Coyotes defenders four times--four!--before popping a backhanded wrister past a totally helpless goaltender. (Click above for the highlight if you haven't seen it.) After the game, the all-star Nash told reporters that he felt like "the puck was on a string," and if so, he yo-yoed it more deftly than anyone in the NHL has so far this year. Sportscenter put the play at No. 1 on its "Top Plays" and showed it constantly on Friday. Barry Melrose called it the 'goal of the year.' With the goal, Columbus took a 4-3 lead in the back-and-forth contest and won by that score when the final horn sounded 24 seconds later. Nash's highlight-reel score made me erupt to my feet, shouting and jumping around like an exuberant six year old.

Wait a second, was I really getting this excited about the Blue Jackets? About hockey?

I spent an entire season last year watching and covering an underachieving, often dismal Blue Jackets team. Because they were terrible and because I had never really warmed up to hockey, it was easy to stay unbiased. Never once did I feel like a Blue Jackets "fan," which was crucial to staying professional. Now it's official: I am a Blue Jackets fan.

When I moved to Arizona, my allegiance to all things Ohio grew stronger. I have now seen two home state teams play in the desert (1-1), and I plan to get tickets for teams' upcoming trips, as well. As far as the Blue Jackets are concerned, I realized organization gave me a huge opportunity to write for them and that I wouldn't be where I am now without that experience and their kind references. When the season started, I decided that I might as well root for them and follow them, if for no other reason than to show support for my former co-workers.

On my holiday trip home to Ohio, though, I saw two solid Jackets wins, including a very exciting near hat trick from Nikolai Zherdev. It was obvious that this Columbus team is the not butt of hockey jokes it has been for the past seven seasons. Then, the game in the desert proved that the CBJ are laden with playmakers and hard-working defensemen. The mix they have is working quite well, and hence, they are incredibly fun to watch, even for me. They certainly were Thursday.

Their "keys" to making the playoffs are the same as any team in any sport trying to get over the hump: stay healthy, continue to win most of your home games and try to break even on the road. Though they dropped a game at Dallas last night, they are 1-1 on the trip. They have been dominant at home as of late.

Following a hometown hockey team in a playoff race? Yeah, I think I'm up for it.

BUCKEYES, PRO TEAMS REVERSE ROLES

Still numb from the Indians' collapse last week, I have made myself scarce on this blog. A week removed, though, the wounds were starting to scab over, and I thought I was ready to post again.

And then the Buckeyes played last night...and lost.

Coming into the season, a lot of experts labeled the away night game at Penn State as the "trap game" on OSU's schedule (a trap game is one in which an upset is very possible because of an expected emotional letdown, challenging playing conditions, etc.) Coming into this week, though, the game could not have been labeled as a trap game but instead a just a tough game. Penn State was undefeated, playing at night, at home, in front of some starving maniacally fans (they certainly give Buckeye fans a run for the rowdiness money) and against an interconference rival. The stage was set for upset, and anyone expecting the Buckeyes to walk in there and dominate was kidding him/herself. It was going to take a near-perfect performance to win on the road at Happy Valley, and it just didn't happen.

Did OSU make some mistakes? Certainly. What can't be overlooked, though, is that Penn State is back. You can't keep a good program down for long, and the geriatric Joe Pa appears to have one more loaded cupboard of talent. The PSU defense was phenomenal, which was just a little better than the Buckeye defense, which was terrific. OSU's defense kept them in the game, but the offense stagnated. It's not that Troy Smith played terribly. His interception in the second quarter was a poor decision, but other than that, he did all he could do against a ferocious Nittany Lion pass rush and constantly was looking for receivers who just couldn't get open. If anyone won that game for Penn State, it was the guy who covered Teddy Ginn. Ginn hasn't been able to get any running room for most of the season, which is a credit to the teams we have faced. Those blaming Troy Smith for coughing up the ball in the fourth obviously weren't watching; he was completely cracked from his blind side by the Penn State defender. Whoever let him in was responsible, or perhaps....just maybe....that Penn State defender just stepped up and made a big play, and the Buckeyes couldn't do much about it.

Say what you want about the loss to Texas, but OSU was legitimately beaten last night. They were the better team and deserved to win. Both of Ohio State's two losses have come against top-notch competition, and the win for Penn State is the biggest for their program in years. They just tossed their name into the national title hat. I will continue to root for the Buckeyes, though, and though it would take some help from other teams, they are still in the hunt for a Big Ten title, even if it is a co-championship. If you are so incredibly disgusted with the Buckeyes, though, and you're looking to get rid of some tickets, give me a call; there are still three home games left.

Watching the Browns game on Sunday with Cleveland trailing 10-6 in the fourth quarter, I was already composing this post in my head, thinking the headline would read something like "Ohio football disappoints save the Bengals." But the Chicago Bears fumbled twice in the fourth quarter, gift-wrapping a victory for the Browns. After Dilfer and Bryant capitalized twice on good field position to score touchdowns, the Browns won 20-10, and first-year head coach Romeo Crennel is 2-2. Though deep down I have been expecting dismal performance Dilfer and an eventual start for Charlie Frye, I have to say that Dilfer is no Ty Detmer. He's definitely an improvement on Jeff Garcia, too. Though the Browns' defense is a far cry from what they fielded in the 80s and mid-90s, it's not as terrible as I thought. In the past two games, they have allowed 23 total points. All of sudden, the Browns are weekend saviors. Usually, the mantra among most Ohio sports fans is, "Well, we at least have the Buckeyes." With an undefeated Bengals team and an improving Browns squad, maybe things are changing?

Smile, Cleveland. Your baseball club may not be playing right now, but your football team just won, and LeBron takes the court for games that count in less than a month. Smile, Cincinnati. The Bengals are the talk of the town again, and regardless of what happens in tonight's game with Jacksonville, four wins in the first five weeks is a great start. Columbus, well, you should probably go to a mall or a movie or something. The Blue Jackets and Buckeyes haven't given you much to smile about this weekend.