Ohio State Running Back Chip Trayanum Finds New Home at Kentucky

Chip Trayanum

Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum has transferred to the University of Kentucky. Trayanum entered the transfer portal on December 5th, 2023, after serving as a backup to Ohio State star TreVeyon Henderson for the season. He announced his commitment to Kentucky on December 12th, 2023, after a weekend visit to Lexington.

Chip Trayanum

Why Kentucky?

Trayanum’s decision to transfer to Kentucky was likely influenced by several factors, including:

Opportunity for playing time: With the departure of Chris Rodriguez Jr., Kentucky has a clear need at the running back position. Trayanum will have a chance to compete for the starting job and receive significant carries next season.
Familiarity with the coaching staff: Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops was an assistant coach at Ohio State from 2012 to 2014, and he recruited Trayanum to Ohio State. While Stoops was recruiting Trayanum, he built a strong relationship with him and his family. Trayanum is familiar with his style and his offense, which could have made Kentucky a comfortable place to transfer to.
A chance to play in the SEC: Being able to play against the best teams and the best players in the country in the SEC, was something that appealed to Trayanum.
The … Read more at FryingPanSports

Cornhole: It’s a Serious Outdoor Sport

When many people hear about the game cornhole for the first time, the first reaction is often snickering or laughter. While this might seem like just another bean bag toss game with a silly name from the Midwest, cornhole is actually gaining strong momentum as a very serious game. The history of cornhole is a little muddled as no one is quite sure when exactly it started for the first time. Some stories say the original version of this game came from German immigrants in the 1400s, while others have the game as being created in the Midwest around Indiana and Kentucky about a century ago. Whatever the true nature of this game’s history, it doesn’t change the momentum that cornhole has created for itself as a serious pastime.

You might be surprised to know that there is even an additional governing body for the sport. The ACA, American Cornhole Association, is the official governing body of cornhole and creates the standard regulations for the game as well as sets up official tournaments for professional corn toss players. That’s right, there is an official set of rules for informal games as well as an official set of cornhole rules … Read more at FryingPanSports

What did we learn from this weekends games?

football

College football

I didn’t do quite as well this past week in predicting winners in college football. This past week I went 5-3 so now have a total of 10-4.

#1 Alabama went down hard to #19 South Carolina. SC beat a top 3 team for the first time in the history of the school. They key was shutting down 2009 Heisman winner RB Ingram. The win by SC went against everything we have seen from the team for several years.

#2 Ohio State got some shocking news this week. Yesterday ESPN “BCS guru” Edwards projects that the BCS computer system shows OSU is the 10th highest rated team which is at the bottom of the undefeated group. According to him, the BCS formula would put Boise St., Oregon, TCU and Oklahoma ahead of the Buckeyes at this point in the season despite OSU being #1 in the human poll.

#3 Oregon didn’t quite put up the 50 points I predicted but did score 43 in the win over Washington St. The Oregon D showed some vulnerability to the pass and the Duck O lost WR James Rogers for the season. With all the weapons the Ducks have that should … Read more at FryingPanSports

Previewing the NBA Draft

NBA Draft

This preview will deal with the top 20 picks. Anyone that has watched the NBA draft over the last few years realizes that the last 10 picks in the first round are a crap shoot at best. The analysis here is a combination of what I think the teams will do and what they should do based on their needs.

This year’s draft is deeper than any in the last few years but there is a significant drop off after the 20th player. Look for the bottom 10 to take a lot of foreign players. The top teams in the league are often looking to draft a future player that can develop overseas for a couple of years without costing the team a roster spot or big money. That is particularly true this season because of the potential labor issue coming up in the near future.

  1. Washington

Without doubt, John Wall PG Kentucky will be the choice. Some are saying he is the best player to come out since Kevin Durant. I don’t think so. Durant is a well rounded player that gets rebounds, assists and points. Wall will help a weak O develop some consistency.

  1. Philadelphia

The 76ers … Read more at FryingPanSports

The DOE complains about graduation rates in College Basketball

DOEX

This week US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan suggested that the NCAA should ban teams from the NCAA Tournament that do not maintain a minimum graduation rate for their players. WHAT?????

Don’t forget that this pinhead is the guy that was so effective as the CEO of the Chicago Public School System he was named to his current post by Obama. Forget the fact that the Chicago public schools are at the very bottom of the heap nationwide in graduation rates and standardized test scores. What it does rank at the top of the nation in is in-school violence, teen age pregnancy and dropouts. I guess he is just another “do as I say not as I do” guy in Washington.

But beyond the fact that the speaker is totally incompetent to say anything about graduation rates, there are other factors over which the NCAA and individual colleges have little or no control.

Prior to the NBA requiring that a player be 1 year out of school before applying for the NBA draft, those players (often between 20 and 40 a year) would go from high school directly into the pros. Now, those players go to college for 1 … Read more at FryingPanSports

What to look for this weekend in College Football.

football

Arkansas @ 1 Florida

The Gator D shut the LSU O down last week to 3 points and less than 100 yards passing. This week Arkansas brings in another very hot offense led by former Michigan QB Mallett. The Hogs beat Auburn last week but this team plays much better at home. Look for Gator QB Tebow to look more comfortable and do more passing. The Hog D is playing better but is no match for Tebow et. al. The Gators win comfortably.

22 So. Carolina @ 2 Alabama

Alabama went to Mississippi and pummeled the Rebs 22-3. The score should have been a lot worse except for the inefficient passing game. Bama QB McElroy was only 15-35. But next to the over hyped Reb QB Snead he looked great. Snead was 11-34 with 4 interceptions. The Bama D is outstanding.

SC is much better at home where it beat then #4 Mississippi 16-10. They do not play well on the road but have a solid O led by QB Garcia (134 qb rating) and 3 good RBs. They are going to have a tough time moving against the Bama D. SC squeaked out a win last week at home … Read more at FryingPanSports