Morning Playbook – Pizza delivery driver jokes with Fickell’s wife, gets fired

An college student and longtime Ohio State Buckeyes fan says he was fired from his job as a pizza delivery driver for making a joke to Luke Fickell's wife over the phone. The offending joke, the student says, was about how Ohio State needs to improve on defense.

The best part of all of this is the student asked not to be identified by name but he seemed perfectly fine showing his face on TV in a news report. Supposedly Fickell's wife had called the pizza shop to explain she was upset by the comment and threatened never to buy pizza from the shop again.

Rough times.

Yesterday we shared the latest on the drama going on at Kansas between head coach Charlie Weis and the student newspaper. Things have gotten so bad the student newspaper is being encouraged not to ask questions at press conferences.

Who are some of the top freshmen playing college football this season? Tom Perry looks at five names you should know.

We have some good games to look forward to this weekend. Texas A&M visits Louisiana Tech. Stanford visits Notre Dame. South Carolina visits LSU.

Who is on top of the Bloguin Heisman Poll? Kevin Causey from College Football Zealots provides the update.

Georgia Tech fired defensive coordinator Al Groh earlier this week, becoming the third assistant coaching change made during the 2012 season in college football. Is this a disturbing trend? Dan Wolken thinks so. [USA Today]

The NCAA has approved an eligibility appeal for former Fresno State wide receiver Jalen Saunders, allowing him to play for Oklahoma this season, just in time for the Red River Shootout this weekend. As our co-managing editor Allen Kenny says, the NCAA works in mysterious ways. [Blatant Homerism]

Dennis Dodd says Ohio State made a great mistake in not accepting a postseason band last season, because the Buckeyes have a team worthy of big bowl games now. [CBSSports.com] Stewart Mandel suggests the Buckeyes could create some controversy in the rankings as well. [SI.com]

Remember Larry Coker, the former Miami head coach who took over Butch Davis's team and guided them to a BCS title? Don't look now, but Coker's UTSA program is 5-0 and inching closer to a potential bowl eligibility exemption. [CBSSports.com]

The NCAA has ruled that the use of Instagram for recruiting purposes is prohibited. Good to know they are worried about such issues. [Athnet]

The SEC and Big 12 had a meeting yesterday in Nashville, but no new updates on the structure for the Champions Bowl were released. [AP, via Yahoo! Sports]

Comcast recently launched a new sports network in Houston, Comcast Sportsnet Houston. The new sports network has already signed deals with Houston and Rice, including a coach's shows and press conference coverage, various football games and spring games. Overall, great news for these two programs.

Oregon State will be without starting quarterback Sean Mannion this weekend against BYU, but he is not expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a meniscus injury. Also, former Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas is taking his game north of the border after signing with the Calgary Stampeders. [Gazette Times]

Oregon has received a $250,000 donation specifically for the running backs meeting room by former Ducks running back Jonathan Stewart. [Register Guard]

Georgia State will visit Alabama in 2013 and Oregon in 2015. Ohio State and Texas will begin a home-and-home series in 2022 in Austin. [FBSchedules.com]

Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin has banned cameras from the locker room. [Football Scoop]

Former Michigan Wolverine captain Tom Coyle has passed at the age of 62. [AP, via FOX Sports]

Video fo the Day

Texas Tech has a bog job this weekend. That job is finding a way to slow down West Virginia a week after having solid-looking defensive numbers exposed by Oklahoma. Can they find a formula that works against the Mountaineers?

 

Follow Crystal Ball Run on Twitter and Facebook.

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.

Quantcast