We're roughly a week from Christmas. The well-prepared amongst us have their shopping done. The procrastinators amongst us (that's me, at least) are just now considering starting their shopping. The non-Christians amongst us aren't especially concerned about getting their Christmas shopping done. But even if you aren't worried about doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, you could still use some gift advice, right? Sooner or later, you'll have to buy someone something, and what should you get them? That's where I come in. You see, various people have sent me free copies of stuff that Buckeye fans might find interesting, apparently based on the (almost certainly mistaken) assumption that I influence opinion in some way. I'm not turning the stuff down, though, because, hey, free stuff. Plus, some of it is pretty cool. Here's a look at two books and a DVD I was sent. A note: I'm not getting paid for any of this (beyond the free copies for review). The reviews are at least neutral because, if I thought the stuff sucked, I'd just throw it away. The following didn't suck:

Saturday Rules: A Season with Trojans and Domers (and Gators and Buckeyes and Wolverines) by Austin Murphy
You've probably read Murphy before in Sports Illustrated, where's he's worked for a couple decades. Here, he claims to be making an argument for the superiority of college football over the NFL, but really this is just a guided tour of the 2006 season. That's not to say it's bad; there's a lot of interesting stuff in here, from interviews with players that add a bit more personality to the players than I was accustomed to seeing, to descriptions of traditions at schools across the country. This is, as I said, a book about the 2006 season, which is why I held off reviewing it for so long (I received my copy near the start of the football season). I felt like I should only review a book I finished, and the end of this one, of course, covers the National Championship Game That Shall Not Be Named. I put the book down at that point, and never really picked it up again. That might be the biggest flaw of the book: not that it covers the national championship game, but that you can put it down pretty easily. There's no real reason to read this book. You aren't really much richer for the experience afterwards; if you're like me, you were there for the 2006 season, and you already believe that college football is better than the NFL. That said, it's not a bad book. Murphy likes the players, and he loves college football, and that comes across clearly in the book. If you've got someone on your list that is a big fan of college football, or someone that'll read anything college football-related, or a Gator fan that wants anything related to the 2006 season, this would be a book worth considering for them.

The Baby Buckeye DVD
I am completely unqualified to review this one. Completely. I am not a parent, I am not a baby. I am not a child psychologist, I know next to nothing about parenting or young children. But I'm not going to let that stop me. When the makers of this one offered me a free copy, I almost turned them down, due to the previously noted complete lack of knowledge about anything baby-related. But I took a copy anyway, because: A.) hey, free stuff, B.) it would be good for a joke, at least, and C.) there was the possibility of giving the DVD as a gift, and low-cost gifts are always nice. So my copy came in the mail and I popped it in my DVD player. And I sat through the entire thing. Lemme tell ya, it's not exactly compelling television, but then, I'm not the target audience. It's slow, simple, and repetitive. However, I do seem to recall hearing that all of those things are good for helping young children learn. As a pure learning device, there are probably better options out there. But this one has two reasons to recommend it over those other options: it features Lee Corso, and it features the Buckeyes. That's right, Corso does the narration, which usually consists of repeating the same word six times, then moving on to the next word. He's every bit as insightful here as he is on Gameday (and now I can scratch "take a cheap shot at Corso" off my to-do list). Corso's presence, and the fact that this revolves around the Buckeyes, probably does as much for you, the theoretical parent, as it does for your theoretical kid. After all, there are dozens of mind-numbing kids' DVDs out there; one that features Corso and our beloved university is more bearable than most of the alternatives. I could definitely see this being a good gift for some parents thinking about taking their young child to his or her first Buckeye game next season. I could also see this being a good gift for some newlyweds that were married during the season. I skipped the Illinois game for your wedding, it would say, and look what happened. If this marriage doesn't produce a new Buckeye fanatic, and quickly, I'm going to get angry. Go raise part of the next generation of Buckeye fans, or else. Here's a DVD to help. Merry Christmas.

Then Tress Said to Troy: The Best Ohio State Football Stories Ever Told by Jeff Snook
I had some reservations about recommending the above book and DVD: Saturday Rules isn't really written for the die-hard Buckeye fan, and Baby Buckeye might drive you crazy with repeated viewings (though you'd raise a hell of a Buckeye fan during your descent into madness). I have no such reservations about this book. You might recognize Snook's name from What It Means to Be a Buckeye, which he edited. I've called that book a must-read, and this one is as well. It's a collection of stories about Buckeye football. It's a pretty easy read, and it's a fun one, covering everything from practices to sudden trips to Mexico by players when in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. Some of the stories are pretty straightforward, some are touching, plenty are funny, but all are good. It's not all new material; if you're a fan of Buckeye history, you'll have heard a few of these before. But it's all so entertaining that it doesn't really matter. If you have a huge Buckeye fan on your list, get him or her tickets to the national championship game. If you can't swing that, this book is a good second choice. Heck, even if you have all your shopping done, buy it for yourself. You deserve a little something for your hard work, and this, a good, fun book about the team we love, is a great choice.