Random Thoughts: tournament, trade

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

This week’s edition of Random Thoughts centers solely around this past week’s state tournament and the DeShaun Watson to Cleveland Browns trade.

State tournament

Some thoughts and observations from the OHSAA State Boys Basketball Tournament.

UD Arena in Dayton is a great venue for the tournament. I know some people wish the tournament was held in Columbus but those days are gone for the foreseeable future. Ohio St. doesn’t appear to have an interest in hosting anymore. Where else is it going to be held in Columbus?

My only complaint about UD Arena? It’s minor, but some sort of traffic control after games might be a good idea. There’s gridlock, at least after the last game. Admittedly, once it starts flowing it’s not too bad and it helps when drivers are courteous to others trying to exit.

Two of the championship games were very entertaining – Divisions I and III. Pickerington Central upset defending state champion Centerville in the finals, while Cincinnati Taft held off Ottawa-Glandorf 48-45. The Titans had two three point attempts very late in the fourth quarter but they were off the mark. The game was a lot closer than some people thought it would be.

I felt bad for Antwerp in the Division IV semifinals. The Archers just couldn’t seem to get untracked offensively but Tri-Village had something to do with that. Still, Antwerp was in it to the very end, losing 44-41. I would have liked to have seen how the Archers matched up against Richmond Heights in the title game.

If you’re keeping track, 10 of the 16 schools in the tournament were public schools. Of the eight schools in the championship games, six were public schools. It’s true that some of the public schools fielded teams with transfers via open enrollment. I’m not sure what, if anything can be done about that.

The trade

As a Browns fan, I feel the need to comment on the DeShaun Watson/Browns trade. Of course, my opinion is no better than anyone else’s, but here goes.

This feels slimy to me and I’m sure a lot of other people feel the same way.

One could easily argue the Browns should never have pursued him at all. At the same time it’s easy to say once Watson told the Browns he wasn’t interested, that should have ended the dialogue right then and there, period.

An NFL quarterback is supposed to be the face of his franchise. With 22 civil suits tied to alleged sexual assault incidents, is that the face the organization wants?

It’ll be shocking if he’s not suspended for multiple games. When Ben Roethlisberger was embroiled in his controversy involving two women, he was suspended for six games. How long will Watson’s suspension be?

I haven’t even mentioned how much the Browns gave up to acquire Watson. That’s discussion for a different day.

As always, if you have thoughts on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.