COLUMBUS - Taking a break from Hofstra basketball to cover this college football game in the midwest that seems to be getting a little attention: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan.
Last week's Rutgers/Louisville game brought big-time college football to the New York area. There was some hype, a sellout crowd, major media coverage. And totally amateur hour compared to what's happening here.
Forget the 1,100 media credentials - seriously - that have been distributed for this game; turn on the television or open up a newspaper. I watched a local newscast Thursday night and the first 13 minutes were Ohio State/Michigan related stories. They broke for weather and the weathergirl did three minutes...on the forecast for Saturday's game. One anchor said "we" when refering to Ohio State and at one point the crew seemed poised for an impromptu "Script Ohio" formation.
The newscast ended 12 minutes early for, of course, a special expanded sports segment on...well, you know. On the front page of the Columbus Dispatch, a very reputable newspaper, an important story from Washington [something about the United States' top Iraq military commander testifying in front of Congress] was shoved to the right-hand column.
Smack in the center of the front page was a story with this banner headline: "Know one's place. Michigan sending police to watch over fans." Apparently Ohio's finest cannot be trusted to keep rowdy Ohio Staters from harassing maize-and-blue clad fans from Michigan, so Wolverines' fans will have cards with a number they can call for, according to the Dispatch, "police support."
Not only will Michigan have some of its own fans, it will have some its own police as well. You can't make this stuff up.
And there's still one day to go.