Friday, March 20th, 2026

Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Pennant. To listen to this newsletter, click the “Listen Online” link in the top right corner of this email.

On this date in 1891, the first computing scale company was incorporated in Dayton, Ohio.

A meteorite search is now underway across Northeast Ohio, and at least one family has already recovered a fragment. Full details are available in today's Top of the Fold.

In an exclusive report, Tom Orr of The Buckeye Weekly Podcast examines how a standout freshman is making his presence felt at Ohio State. Read about it in our Sports Section.

Les Wexner, chair of Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center board, may be legally required to forfeit his seat after attending just 37.5% of board meetings since 2024 — well below the 60% threshold required by Ohio law.

The billionaire has faced renewed scrutiny over his past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, prompting advocates to call for his removal and for his name to be stripped from university buildings.

Legal experts say the board likely qualifies as a public body under Ohio law, meaning Wexner's absences could not only cost him his seat but potentially invalidate votes he participated in after crossing the threshold.

Read more here.

Grammy-nominated rapper Afroman prevailed in a defamation lawsuit brought by seven Ohio sheriff's deputies who sued him for using home security footage of their raid in his music videos.

The case, which tested the limits of parody and free speech, ended with the deputies receiving nothing of the nearly $4 million in damages they sought.

For more on this story, go here.

A car-sized asteroid traveling 45,000 mph fragmented over Northeast Ohio on Tuesday, scattering an estimated seven to ten tons of debris across a narrow band through Medina County — and at least one family believes they may have already found a walnut-sized piece in their driveway.

Scientists have mapped the likely strewn field from Hinckley south to Rittman, and experts say hunters should look for out-of-place rocks with a burned exterior, noting that a magnet can help identify the most common meteorite type.

You can read more about the meteorite here.

I asked my doctor last week if stress could kill you. He looked up from his clipboard, paused just long enough to make it uncomfortable, and said: "Yes, especially you."

Stress is touching most of us these days, and for good reason. The world isn't just a little on edge. It's a lot on edge.

Let's review. Wars are grinding across the Middle East with no end in sight. Bird flu is making the jump to humans. Measles, a disease we essentially beat into submission, is making a comeback. Washington is operating like a reality show that lost its writers and two-thirds of the hair and makeup team. And somewhere in a dark cave, an unhinged human who sees flying kangaroos in his sleep is working on something worse.

Then Tuesday happened.

A seven-ton asteroid entered the atmosphere and broke apart over Medina County, Ohio. NASA confirmed it. A fireball lit up the sky over Northeast Ohio at breakfast time like God was flicking a cigarette out of a car window. Seven tons. Before coffee.

For those keeping score at home, the Book of Revelation mentions wars, pestilence, fire from the sky, and general chaos as signs of the end times. We are currently batting about .800. John of Patmos wrote that thing in exile, probably stressed out of his mind, and even he might look at 2026 and say, "I didn't see the asteroid coming."

Here's the thing. Some of this is simply not ours to fix. Wars, pestilence, space rocks — it's all above our pay grade. The chaos will keep churning whether we lose sleep over it or not. So maybe the better move is to worry less, be better, and leave the apocalypse to the people who genuinely enjoy that sort of thing.

They know who they are. Most of them work in the news media or live on Instagram.

As we head into the weekend, let's remember the asteroid missed. That's enough for today. Tomorrow will have its own problems.

Guy Film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (Netflix). Cillian Murphy is back as Tommy Shelby, and Barry Keoghan plays a grown-up Duke Shelby. Variety calls it stylish, brutal, and impossible to stop watching. Really!

Chick Flick A Royal Setting (Hallmark Channel, Saturday 8/7c). Jen Lilley plays Ruby, a world-renowned gemologist hired by Prince Luca to restore the crown jewels, which ends up complicating royal tradition and matters of the heart. Hallmark Channel Streaming next day on Hallmark+.

Ohio State true freshman running back Legend Bey has been a Buckeye for barely three months — but he's already starting to become the stuff of, well, legend.

Bey's path to Columbus was anything but straightforward. A quarterback in high school at Forney, Texas, he had verbally committed to play running back for Ohio State. But on early signing day in December, he changed course at the last minute and signed with the Tennessee Volunteers instead.

The reversal didn't last long. Within hours, word leaked that family pressure had driven the decision and that Bey himself was unhappy with it. Less than two weeks later, Tennessee released him from his commitment. He signed with Ohio State shortly after, and the recruiting drama was over almost as quickly as it began.

Since arriving in Columbus, Bey has wasted little time making an impression. He's still developing at the running back position after playing quarterback throughout his high school career, but his athleticism and big-play instincts have been evident from the start. Coach Ryan Day recently compared his versatility and explosiveness to former Buckeye standout Curtis Samuel — high praise by any measure.

Urban Meyer used to say that "potential" just means you haven't done it yet. Fair enough. Spring practice is only two sessions in, and the Buckeyes haven't even strapped on full pads. But if early signs mean anything, the kid wearing No. 2 may be worth watching very closely when the spring game arrives.

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