Tressel Holds Court at Ohio St.

Ohio State defeated Michigan, 78-61, Thursday at Columbus, Ohio, but that’s not what the buzz was all about at Value City Arena.

New Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel was introduced at halftime and received a standing ovation. He then told the crowd, “I can assure you that you’ll be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community--and especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Mich.”

Former Buckeye football John Cooper was 2-10-1 against Michigan--one factor that led to his Jan. 2 firing.

The basketball team, under Coach Jim O’Brien, has won its last four games against Michigan. Ohio State, 12-5 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten, used an early 18-0 run to take control of the latest game with Michigan (7-8, 1-3). The Wolverines have lost 10 consecutive road games.

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The NCAA is making contingency plans to move the 2002 Final Four from Atlanta because of the use of the Confederate battle symbol in the Georgia state flag.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the NCAA said it will probably decide in April, after the Georgia legislative session ends in March, whether to move the tournament and possibly the 2003 women’s Final Four.

Changing the flag to eliminate the Confederate emblem is expected to be a heated issue in the Legislature. Georgia lawmakers changed the flag in 1956 to include the Confederate symbol in response to court-ordered integration in the South.

NCAA spokesman Wally Renfro said officials in several cities have been contacted about staging the 2002 Final Four, but declined to identify them. Officials in St. Louis say they are prepared to make a bid.