Four former Ohio State men’s lacrosse players are on Major League Lacrosse rosters for the 2008 season. A trio of Buckeyes – Kevin Buchanan, Greg Bice and Anthony Kelly - play for the Los Angeles Riptide, while Shaun Lyons is a member of the Philadelphia Barrage.

Following his senior season this year, Buchanan was drafted by the Riptide fifth overall, the highest MLL draft pick in Buckeye history. The 2008 Great Western Lacrosse League Player of the Year and a second-team All-American, Buchanan has played in four games for the Riptide, scoring three goals and adding three assists for six points. He has five groundballs and 20 shots.

Kelly, a Buckeye from 2000-03, is in his third year with Los Angeles. He has seen action in all six games and has won 93-of-191 faceoffs (48.7 percent). He has 28 groundballs and has chipped in two goals.

Bice, a Buckeye from 2001-04, the 2004 GWLL Co-Player of the Year and a two-time All-American (second team 2004, honorable mention 2003), was named to the 2007 MLL Western Conference All-Star team. He has played for the Riptide in all six games this season and has 12 groundballs, along with one goal and four shots. He is in his third year with the Riptide and spent 2004 and ’05 on the Philadelphia roster, seeing action in just one game.

Lyons, a Buckeye from 2001-04 and an honorable mention All-American as a senior, is in his third season in the MLL. He has played in three games for the Barrage this year and has six shots. He played two games for Long Island in 2004 and saw action in three games for Philadelphia in 2007. He began 2008 with Long Island before joining the Barrage.

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Kosta Koufos, a 7-foot center, became the fourth Ohio State freshman to be selected in the opening round of the annual National Basketball Association Draft in the last two seasons when the Utah Jazz selected the Canton, Ohio, native with the 23rd pick Thursday.

The 2008 NBA Draft was held at Madison Square Garden in New York, site of Koufos’ last collegiate game as a Buckeye. He earned MVP honors in helping Ohio State win the 2008 National Invitation Tournament with a 92-85 win over Massachusetts April 3.

Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook, all freshmen from Ohio State’s 2007 NCAA runner up squad, were taken in the opening round of the 2007 NBA Draft.

Portland, with the first overall pick in 2007, selected Oden. He was the first Buckeye selected with the opening pick. Conley went to the Memphis Grizzlies with the No. 4 pick and Cook was selected by Philadelphia with the 21st pick of the opening round.

Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, said Koufos was focused on this day.

“Kosta Koufos meant a great deal to our program,” Matta said. “We are excited for him because he had a goal to play at the next level and he’ll now have a chance to do so.”

Since 1947, 45 Ohio State basketball players have been drafted by NBA teams, including 20 first round selections.

Koufos joins Oden, Conley, Cook and Michael Redd, now in his ninth year with the Milwaukee Bucks, as former Buckeyes currently active in the NBA. Redd recently was selected to represent the United States on the men’s senior national team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics later this summer.

“We tell our guys to take advantage of the opportunities and resources available in college to reach their goals,” Matta said. “Over the last two years we’ve had four freshmen realize their dreams by being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. I am proud of the players who have gone on to the next level and look forward to watching them compete for many years to come.”

Koufos topped Ohio State in rebounding (6.7 ppg.) and blocks (67) in 2007-08. He was second in scoring with 14.4 points a game.

Ohio State made its eighth appearance in the postseason NIT and won its second championship after a five-game win streak to end the season. The Buckeyes finished 24-13 overall, the fourth-consecutive season with 20 or more wins and Matta’s eighth-consecutive year with 20-plus wins as a head coach.

Ohio State’s NBA First Round Draft History Year Player At OSU NBA Team Round (pick)
1947 Jack Underman 1946-47 St. Louis 1 (7)
1947 Paul Huston 1945-47 Chicago 1 (8)
1950 Dick Schnittker 1948-50 Washington Capitols 1 (5)
1961 Larry Siegfried 1959-61 Boston Celtics 1 (3)
1962 Jerry Lucas 1960-62 Cincinnati Royals 1 (6)
1962 John Havlicek 1960-62 Boston Celtics 1 (9)
1964 Gary Bradds 1962-64 Baltimore Bullets 1 (3)
1968 Bill Hosket 1966-68 New York Knicks 1 (10)
1971 Jim Cleamons 1969-71 Los Angeles 1 (13)
1980 Kelvin Ransey 1977-80 Chicago Bulls 1 (4)
1981 Herb Williams 1978-81 Indiana Pacers 1 (14)
1982 Clark Kellogg 1980-82 Indiana Pacers 1 (8)
1984 Tony Campbell 1981-84 Detroit Pistons 1 (20)
1986 Brad Sellers 1985-86 Chicago Bulls 1 (9)
1987 Dennis Hopson 1984-87 New Jersey Nets 1 (3)
1992 Jim Jackson 1990-92 Atlanta Hawks 1 (4)
2007 Greg Oden 2007 Portland Trailblazers 1 (1)
2007 Mike Conley Jr. 2007 Memphis Grizzlies 1 (4)
2007 Daequan Cook 2007 Philadelphia 76ers 1 (21)
2008 Kosta Koufos 2008 Utah Jazz 1 (23)

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John Havlicek, a former Oho State basketball great, headlined an event at the TD Banknorth Garden Tuesday in Boston.

Havlicek was honored at the Tradition ceremony, the New England Sports Museum’s seventh annual Hall of Fame event.

Havlicek, the Hall of Fame guard-forward with the Celtics, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions on and off the court. The award was presented by legendary college coach Bobby Knight. Knight and Havlicek played college basketball together at Ohio State from 1960-62.

The Buckeyes advanced to the NCAA National Championship game each year Havlicek lettered with the Buckeyes. Ohio State won the NCAA title in 1960, Havlicek’s sophomore season, and then fell to Cincinnati each of the next two years. In three seasons playing for the legendary Fred Taylor, Havlicek led Ohio State to a record of 78-6.

He was a two time All-Big Ten selection and a first team All-American as a senior.

Havlicek’s No. 5 jersey is retired at Ohio State, one of just four Buckeye basketball players to be so honored.

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Led by second-round selection Zac Dalpe, three incoming Ohio State men’s hockey players were drafted in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft Saturday in Ottawa, Ontario. The Carolina Hurricanes drafted Dalpe, a forward from Paris, Ontario, with the 45th pick, making him the second second-round selection in Buckeye history. Forward Taylor Stefishen was chosen by Nashville in the fifth round (No. 136) and defenseman Matt Bartkowski was selected by Florida in the seventh round (No. 190). The trio all signed NCAA National Letters of Intent with Ohio State in November 2007.

In one of many trades during the first round Friday night, former Buckeye All-American R.J. Umberger was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Jackets’ 19th and 67th picks in the 2008 draft. Umberger, the 2001 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Rookie of the Year, was a three-year letterwinnner for the Buckeyes (2001-03) and was the fifth Buckeye to earn All-America honors when he was named to the second team in 2003, when he also was a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist. He is the highest NHL draft pick in Ohio State history, as he was selected in the first round, 16th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in 2001. Umberger has played for the Flyers in the NHL the last four years and has seen action in 228 regular-season games, posting 49 goals and 67 assists for 116 points. He had a career-best 37 assists and 50 points last season and during the Flyers’ run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Umberger had 10 goals and 15 points in 17 games.

Dalpe, 6-foot and 170-pounds, is the second player with Buckeye ties to be drafted in the second round, joining Tom Fritsche (2005-08), who was drafted 47th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2005. A member of the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Dalpe tied for fifth among league rookies with 63 points (27g, 36a) in 46 games during the regular season. He helped lead the Vees to the BCHL Championship and had 17 points in 15 playoff games. He scored a hat trick as Canada West won the gold medal at the 2007 World Junior “A” Challenge.

Stefishen, a native of North Vancouver, British Columbia, is a 5-11, 170-pound left wing. He spent 2007-08 with the Langley Chiefs in the BCHL, tallying 81 points, on 33 goals and 48 assists, in 57 games. He also played for the Chiefs in 2006-07, posting 56 points, including 25 goals and 31 assists, in 59 games.

Bartkowski, a 6-1, 203-pound left-shot defenseman from Pittsburgh, Pa., played for the Lincoln Stars in the USHL in 2007-08. In his second year with the team, he had 41 points, including a team-best 37 assists, in 60 regular-season games to rank fourth on his team in scoring.

The trio selected Saturday join four current Buckeye NHL draft picks - goalie Joseph Palmer (Chicago 2006), sophomore defenseman Shane Sims (New York Islanders 2006) and sophomore forwards John Albert (Atlanta 2007) and C.J. Severyn (Calgary 2007).

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Junior swimmer Niksa Roki has made the Croatian Olympic swimming team. The Zagreb, Croatia native swam a personal best time of 4:25.40 in the 400 individual medley at a meet in Zagreb Saturday (June 21) to earn his chance to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

“It is just an unbelievable accomplishment for Niksa and I am so happy for him,” Bill Wadley, Ohio State men’s swimming coach said. “He called me three times this morning. We were both in tears.”

Roki just missed qualifying for his country’s Olympic team when he swam a 4:28.1 time at the Toyota Grand Prix in April at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. He shattered the standard in Zagreb, finishing more than a second-and-a-half below the 4:27.00 time needed to make the Croatian team. His time is the fastest for a Croatian swimmer in the 400 IM.

“This is such a special moment in a young person’s life,” Wadley said. “Words cannot describe how happy I am for this young man.”

Roki is the 11th Ohio State Buckeye to earn a spot on a Summer Olympics team. The list of Buckeyes/former Buckeyes heading to Beijing includes:

Siobhan Byrne – Ireland (Fencing)
Itai Chammah – Israel (Swimming)
Kristi DeVries – Netherlands (Softball)
Gulsah Gunenc – Turkey (Swimming)
Kate Hooven – United States (Synchronized Swimming)
Becky Kim – United States (Synchronized Swimming)
Devin Mullings – Bahamas (Tennis)
Jason Rogers – United States (Fencing)
Niksa Roki – Croatia (Swimming)
Katie Smith – United States (Basketball)
Hannah Thompson – United States (Fencing)

The number of Buckeyes in Beijing could grow to 12 Monday. Published reports indicate that former basketball star Michael Redd, now an all-star guard with the Milwaukee Bucks, will be named to the U.S. Olympic basketball team at a news conference Monday in Chicago.

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The Ohio State women’s track and field team had two of its young hurdlers on display this weekend at the USA Junior Outdoor track and field championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.

Letecia Wright continued her excellent first season with the Buckeyes with a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.70 — a World Junior Championships qualifying time. Wright earns a provisional spot on the U.S. team that will compete at the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland in July. Wright was the only hurdler to qualify for the Big Ten and Mideast Regional final in the 100-meter hurdles. Wright was second among freshman at the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter hurdles and 18th overall. She was the top qualifier in this weekend’s event with a time of 13.67.

Christina Manning took 18th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.72. Manning is the Maryland state champion in the indoor 55-meter hurdles and will attend Ohio State starting this fall.

The Ohio State men’s track and field team had their young stars on display this weekend at the USA Junior Outdoor track and field championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

The event allowed many of the Ohio State track and field athletes redshirting this season to be a part of a meet in 2008 with out losing eligibility by competing unattached. Five Buckeyes that redshirted the 2008 season for Ohio State competed over the course of the weekend.

A trio of redshirt throwers made their Jesse Owens Stadium debut on the second day of the meet in the shot put. Matt DeChant, who was one the top high school throwers in 2007, finished sixth in the shot put a toss of 61 feet, 1 1/4 inches. The toss was a World Junior Championships qualifying distance and the best shot toss by a Buckeye this season. The toss is also the fifth-best toss in Ohio State history and the best by a first-year thrower in Buckeye history, topping the old freshman mark of former Buckeye and national champion Dan Taylor. Tyler Branch, the 2007 Division III Ohio High School state champion in the shot put, finished 10th with a toss of 57 feet, 3 3/4 inches. Aaron Crabtree, who was second-team all-state in football in Ohio in 2007, took 13th with a toss of 56 feet, 3 1/4 inches.

Daniel White, who finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships during the outdoor season in the 800-meter run and was a NCAA Mideast Regional qualifier, took 11th in the 800m with a time of 1:52.82. White was the only Buckeye freshman who competed for Ohio State during the 2008 season.

Brian Gallagher, who redshirted this season for the Buckeyes, took 13th in the 5,000-meter run with at time of 15:28.75. Taylor Williams posted a Top 5 finish in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 31:40.24.

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The Ohio State diving contingent has completed its competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Diving in Indianapolis and three of the seven divers will now move on to the U.S. Diving Selection Camp, July 2-6, in Knoxville, Tenn.

Sunday at the Olympic Team Trials, Kristen Asman, Wes Wieser and Sean Moore competed in the senior women’s and men’s 10-meter platform events, respectively. Asman finished 10th with 765.15 points. On the men’s side, Wieser was 10th with 1,213.70 points and Moore was 11th with 1,129.30 points.

Only the respective men’s and women’s winners on the 10-meter platform and 3-meter springboard earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Diving Team at the trials in Indianapolis. The second performer on each event, as well as the synchronized diving teams, will be selected at the selection camp in Knoxville.

Here is the current list of Buckeyes who will compete in Knoxville with the goal of making the U.S. Olympic Diving Team:

Burkley Showe, a junior from Worthington, Ohio, advanced to the team selection camp on the 3-meter by placing sixth in the 3-meter finals at the Olympic Trials with 1,267.25 points. Showe also will compete on the 3-meter synchronized event with Justin Wilcock.
Wieser, a senior from Chesterfield, Mo., and the sophomore Moore, from Englewood, Colo. will compete as teammates on the 10-meter synchronized event.
Other Buckeyes at the trials included senior Chelsea Davis, the 2008 NCAA 3-meter champion from Columbus, who was 10th on the women’s 3-meter event with 892.45 points. Kellen Harkness, who graduated from Ohio State in June, placed 10th on the 3-meter springboard with 1,176.20 points.

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Friday June 20th

Raj Bhavsar, who competed for the Scarlet and Gray from 2000-03, held third with a score of 90.5 in the all-around after day one of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Philadelphia Thursday June 19, 2008. Just 0.15 points separate first and third place with Alexander Artemev in first (90.65) and Jonathan Horton, the 2008 Nissen Emery Award winner, in second (90.55).

In 2004, Bhavsar was selected as the U.S. alternate for the Athens Games while training with Avery in Columbus.

Morgan Hamm, who trains at Ohio State with men’s gymnastics coach Miles Avery, completed the opening day of competition, nabbing Top 3 finishes on three events. The Waukesha, Wis., native’s best finish came on pommel horse with a score of 14.9 for second. Hamm also placed third on both vault and high bar (tied), scoring a 16.0 and 15.2, respectively.

The men’s competition concluded at 3 p.m. Saturday June 21, 2008 in the Wachovia Center.

Sunday June 22, 2008

The injured Paul Hamm, who trains at Ohio State with men’s gymnastics head coach Miles Avery, and Jonathan Horton, the 2008 Nissen-Emery Award winner, were selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Saturday in Philadelphia following the conclusion of the Olympic Trials. The Waukesha, Wis., native must prove he is ready at the team’s July training camp to keep his spot on the squad.

“If I am healthy, I feel like I deserve a spot on the team,” Paul said. “I feel like I deserve to compete in Beijing.”

Raj Bhavsar, who competed for the Scarlet and Gray from 2000-03, ended the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in third with a score of 90.2 in the all-around. Despite his Top 3 finish, Bhavsar, who served as the U.S. alternate for the Athens Games while training with Avery in Columbus, will await the decision of the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics Committee to learn if his performance at the trials was enough to garner a spot on the 2008 team.

Morgan Hamm, twin brother of Paul, made his case for a position on the squad with four Top 4 finishes. Morgan finished second on high bar with a 15.23 and fourth on floor (15.0), pommel horse (14.47) and vault (15.945).

“Morgan’s in a pretty good position, finishing four events in the Top 4,” Avery said. “It’s going to be hard to deny him a spot.”

The U.S. Men’s Gymnastics Committee will announce its decision at 1:30 p.m. Sunday June 22, 2008.

Morgan Hamm will be joining his twin brother Paul Hamm, both of whom train at Ohio State with men’s gymnastics head coach Miles Avery, at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing this August. Paul was named to the team following the conclusion of action at day two of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Saturday night while Morgan was named to the team by the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics selection committee Sunday afternoon. This will be the Waukesha, Wis., natives’ third Olympic Games.

Joining the Hamm twins on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team are Joseph Hagerty, Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring and Kevin Tan. Three of the six gymnasts to make the team are former college gymnasts. Horton finished at Oklahoma this spring while Spring competed at Illinois (2003-06) and Tan was a student-athlete for Penn State (2001-04).

“Certainly, I am ecstatic to see two three-time Olympians on this 2008 Olympic Team,” Avery said. “Paul and Morgan are tremendous assets, considering their experience. I’m tremendously proud of the work these two have put in over the year to get to this point.”

Morgan made his case for a position on the squad with four Top 4 finishes at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials this weekend. Morgan finished second on high bar with a 15.23 and fourth on floor (15.0), pommel horse (14.47) and vault (15.945). An injured Paul had his petition for a position on the team granted by the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics selection committee. In July, the athlete will have to show he is healthy enough to defend his spot on the squad.

Raj Bhavsar, who competed for the Scarlet and Gray from 2000-03, ended the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in third place in the all-around. Despite his Top 3 finish, Bhavsar, who served as the U.S. alternate for the Athens Games while training with Avery in Columbus, will again serve as an alternate for the Beijing Games. David Durante and Alexander Artemev were also named as alternates.

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When students from Ohio State graduate, they usually go into a career that is within their selected major, but one Buckeye took a different road.

Mike Sexton, who attended The Ohio State University in the 1960s on a scholarship for the school’s gymnastics team, is now a professional poker player and commentator years after leaving the campus.

“I’ve been fortunate both as a player and since I transcended over to the business side of poker now as a TV commentator on the World Poker Tour,” Sexton said. “Life has been good for this Buckeye.”

Sexton said he began playing cards at age 13 and continued to play a lot of cards while at Ohio State during his free time.

“After playing professionally in North Carolina for about eight years, I moved to Vegas to play,” Sexton said.

Sexton was then in the right city to do what he always wanted to do: create a special event in the poker world where you could not buy into, but earn your way into.

“I founded the original Tournament of Champions of Poker and to play in this prestigious event, you had to win a poker tournament somewhere in the world during the calendar year,” Sexton said.

The TOC was a great event that lasted three years (1999-2001) and was just ahead of its time when poker really started to become popular, Sexton said.

Sexton then won a prominent event against some of the best players in the world, the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions in 2006, which had a $1 million first place prize.

“It was an amazing heads-up battle between Daniel Negreanu and myself,” Sexton said. “On TV, it lasted about five minutes, but it actually lasted seven grueling hours. Ironically, I had two aces on the last hand and it felt great to win it.”

Sexton donated half of his winnings to five worthy charities, with $100,000 each going to the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Special Olympics, the Buoniconti Fund, Children Inc. and the Wounded Warrior Project, which gives money to the families of fallen and wounded soldiers in Iraq.

“PartyPoker was a sponsor of the WSOP that year and as their spokesperson, I got an exemption to play in the Tournament of Champions,” Sexton said. “Because of that, I felt that I should donate half of any winnings to charity.”

Sexton said he never knew what he wanted to do after college, so he served in the Armed Forces, and after serving in the 82nd Airborne Division, Sexton started playing in home poker games in North Carolina.

“I truly loved playing poker and was good at it, so I decided to quit my sales job and just play poker in those home games,” Sexton said. “I did that for eight years before moving to Las Vegas in 1985. For 20 years, I never had a pay check.”

Before his poker journey started, Sexton said he used to have a great time while at OSU as a student-athlete in gymnastics.

“I loved my days at Ohio State,” Sexton said. “I went there on a full four-year gymnastic scholarship. I spent a lot of spare time playing cards (poker and bridge) and a couple of my favorite activities were intramural softball and playing ping-pong.”

Sexton said he had so many great memories at Ohio State starting with the fun on the gymnastics team.

“Back in those days, we really weren’t that good, but we improved in the Big Ten standings in each of my years of competition,” Sexton said. “I won the high score award every year and was the Most Valuable Gymnast my senior, medaling in the Big Ten meet in trampoline.”

With any Buckeye fans, going to Ohio State football games is an exciting time and Sexton is no different.

“Going to OSU football games was and still is one of the true joys in life,” Sexton said.

“One of the greatest weeks of my life was going to the 1969 Rose Bowl my senior year.”

Sexton said there are some things that have changed about the OSU campus, but in other ways, it is the same.

“Certainly, High Street seems small and the frat houses and apartments seem very old,” Sexton said. “But Ohio Stadium and the Ohio State Marching Band still bring out goose bumps every time I go to a game.”

Back in college, Sexton said most days he went to a class or two in the morning, play bridge in the afternoon at the union, went to gymnastic practice from 4-6 p.m. and played bridge or poker at night. These days, Sexton’s life has changed dramatically, and has even made an appearance on the big screen recently.

“I spend most of my time now traveling with my job on the World Poker Tour,” Sexton said. “I made my big screen debut in the movie “Deal” starring Burt Reynolds. It’s a poker-themed movie that revolves around the World Poker Tour. I play myself in the movie.”

Today, Sexton’s life is busy in the poker world, but has had some exciting news in the family world.

“My wife Karen is pregnant and we’re going to have a baby boy in August,” Sexton said. “We were married a year ago and it’s the first child for either of us. We’re really excited about it.”

Article Written by Alex Morando and published originally in The Lantern.

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Article provided by Hollywood Reporter.com via Leonard Hartman

Universal acquires ‘Dragonology’ rights
Leonard Hartman to write and exec produce adaptation
By Borys Kit

June 13, 2008, 01:00 AM

Universal has acquired the film rights to the children’s book series “Dragonology,” setting Leonard Hartman to write and executive produce the adaptation.

The faux nonfiction books by Dugald A. Steer are based on the conceit that dragons actually exist as revealed by the Victorian dragonologist Ernest Drake. An underlying theme is that dragons should be studied and revered in the same way as any rare species.

Hartman’s fantasy adventure take revolves around a group of dragonologists who go on a globetrotting quest to keep a corrupt man from taking control of the world’s dragons and using them to wipe out humanity.

The first book, devised and published in the U.K. in 2003 by Templar and in the U.S. by Candlewick Press, has sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide in 32 languages. Subsequent titles, from books on tracking and taming dragons to a code-writing kit, have brought the total sales for all “Dragonology” titles to 5.7 million, according to its publisher.

Templar recently signed a licensing agreement with video game producer Codemasters, which will see “Dragonology” adapted into Nintendo Wii and DS games.

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