Dispatch
OHIO STATE NOTEBOOK
Datish commended for keeping his cool
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Doug Datish, 50, had his helmet ripped off and absorbed four punches from a Hawkeyes player, teammate Anthony Gonzalez said.
The officials kept their flags in their pockets for the most part Saturday night during Ohio State?s 38-17 win at Iowa. But
OSU receiver Anthony Gonzalez said yesterday that it was far from a clean game.
"There were a few plays throughout the game, in particular (
OSU center) Doug Datish getting his helmet ripped off and getting punched in the face four times right in front of a ref. That was interesting," Gonzalez said. "I probably shouldn?t have said that."
But such incidents are in the news. On Sunday, Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was caught stomping on the head of Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode, who needed 30 stitches to close the wounds. Haynesworth was suspended for five games by the NFL.
Datish was not available for comment yesterday, but Gonzalez said the incident was "similar to but not nearly as blatant as the guy from the Titans stepping on the other guy?s head."
What stood out was the way Datish kept his cool, tight end Rory Nicol said.
"Doug, first of all, luckily wasn?t hurt, and probably reacted about the best possible way he could because he didn?t retaliate," Nicol said. "You saw what happened at Tennessee this weekend, that thing ? it?s just not called for. It?s not part of the game."
No one could recall the number of the Iowa player involved. But what was needed at the time, Gonzalez said, was a penalty flag.
"You?re hoping that if somebody rips your helmet off and starts throwing punches, that maybe a flag will be thrown," Gonzalez said. "But in that particular case it wasn?t, and it was frustrating."