"His name is #LamarOdom and we knew him long before he got married on a TV show we don't watch."

Hey y'all it's your favorite SportsGal89 Innnnnnnnnn the Buildin'! I come to you with a post that is incredibly tragic, but needs to be shared.

If you are an avid sports fan, or basketball fan of the last 15 years, you will know the name Lamar Odom. This week sports fans were rocked with sad news that Lamar is fighting for his life after what could be presumed as a drug overdose.

I love the number 7, it is my lucky number and not very often do I get to represent the number 7 with pride when it comes to the athletes who I love watching. My favorite football team for example has a well-known quarterback who wears my beloved number 7, but his off the field character has tarnished my ability to represent for a key player in our offense who I have with no doubt will be the reason the number retires in Hienz Field and Pittsburgh in my lifetime :(

But Lamar Odom is different- when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers (my pro NBA Team) I was excited. He seemed like a lovable, carefree guy. Who was always stepping up and supporting the team where they needed him. Sure he had his off games here and there but who didn't. My love and respect for him deepened when he started dating Reality TV Star and Entrepreneur, Khloe Kardashian- say what you will about the Kardashian family, but I have much respect for their hustle and their family. The reality is there are glimpses of all of us when you strip away the fame and fortune and that's what I appreciate. But I digress, the reason I was intrigued, is largely the point of reality tv, I was able to see more of the person that is Lamar Odom, beyond his basketball skills.

When Khloe and Lamar had their own show it allowed the rest of the world to see the love expressed by so many of his friends in the league. You could see his serious side, how he jelled with his new family. Golfing with Bruce, enjoying a laugh with Kris, being an older brother to Kim, Kourt, Rob, Kylie and Kendall. It was really how he interacted with Rob that sold me, especially when Rob started his spiral, you could tell how much he cared.

I was saddened like many others when Khloe announced their split. It saddened me even more to see Lamar captured by his troubled past and splashed across the headlines the way he was. It saddened me that with an example like his father, that he would himself slip and be captured by the same disease that his father was struggling with. Not to get off topic or take away from the purpose of this post, it will always be a sticking point for me to see people lose their battles with drugs- having my own stints with it when I was younger and watching people around me struggle and continue to struggle with getting some semblance of normalcy, it's not an easy road, it's not a laughing matter, and it is incredibly sad to see someone who has so much going for them lose it all based on one interaction with something that can change the course and direction of their lives for good. (But that will be another blog)

 It saddened and continues to sadden me even more that we weren't talking about him as a basketball player, that unfortunately his story had nothing to do anymore with his successes. I kept hoping as we heard of his return to rehab, that I would see him picked up by some team and back at it the way I knew he could be. This is the premise of ESPN Anchor Scott Van Pelt's recent statement and what I will close with (mind you I don't agree with the title, SVP was taking down the media's very narrow identification of Lamar Odom, not the Kardashians)

To Lamar, I pray that you make it out of this circumstance and I pray that when you do, you finally get the healing that you need. To God, take care of him.

That's all she wrote folks....

#1 are we worthy of it?

Hey Y'all It's your Favorite Sportsgal89 Innnnnnn the Building!!

I have been relatively mum on the subject I am about to speak about because like a certain gymnast, I am NOT impressed.

The AP polls are out again for the College Football Rankings and for another week the Ohio State Buckeyes are sitting in the number 1 spot. If it was a team that you loved, one that just won the championships for the new direction of college football playoffs and championship games, wouldn't you be ecstatic about these standings?

Ohio State is currently 6-0 and of their 6 wins, I only feel like one was deserved, one showed the true makings of this Ohio State Championship team- their first game against Virginia Tech. Now it's not in me to downplay a win column, but I have to call a spade a spade, even when it it my beloved team in the hot seat. Let's be honest for a minute, the Buckeyes have been winning by the skin of their teeth. In their last game against the Maryland Terps, they should have dominated, instead they allowed the game to be tied going into the half. The Terps, not usually a contender, could have easily sideswiped us and to be honest I think we need it. We need a reality check, because the way we are playing, sneaking by isn't going to last us forever and I would rather us be down a game now then be down a game when it actually matters and there is no return.

I don't know what is happening in Columbus, but mediocrity is not our style and something needs to change.

Our remaining schedule looks like this:

I don't want us waiting until the Michigan State or Michigan game before we get our stuff together. I just can't. So we better figure something out and make it stick, otherwise it's going to be a boring fall and a weird way for Buckeyes fans to hold some legitimacy when talking about our team.

That's all she wrote folks!