Replay helps Sooners this time
Replay has not been kind to the Oklahoma football Sooners. Lubbock, Texas. Eugene, Ore. Replay had a chance to right wrongs each of the past two seasons and both times failed. But what goes around comes around, and Thursday night, in far-off Soprano Land, replay paid one back to OU.
Rutgers beat South Florida 30-27, a huge decision in OU’s hopes for making New Orleans’ Big Bowl in January. South Florida was unbeaten, and this was by far its toughest remaining test. But South Florida would have won this game, maybe going away, if not for an overturned call. South Florida, leading 17-10, blocked a field goal in the second quarter, and Trae Williams eventually recovered the bounding ball and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano asked for a review, and replay officials ruled USF’s Tyrone McKenzie lateraled the football forward on the return. That sent the Bulls back around midfield, and
South Florida ended up not scoring. Was it a good call? Tough. Very tough. On the play, a
Rutgers player knocked the ball out of McKenzie’s left arm, and his right hand swatted it forward. It certainly could be seen as intentional, but the ball was free, and forever we’ve seen the ball do crazy things when it’s floating free.
A huge reversal. No way does Rutgers recover from a 24-10 hole. And maybe no way OU otherwise gets past South Florida in the BCS rankings.
On the road again — in Nebraska
Another whirlwind football weekend. A flight to Kansas City on Friday with Mike Baldwin and Miss Saigon, followed by a drive to Omaha. Saturday morning, a drive to Lincoln for a morning kickoff and Oklahoma State’s historic rout of Nebraska, then a night drive back to KC. Sunday morning, a quick flight home, a mad-dash drive to east Norman for church, then back to the interstate, where I met boss Mike Sherman for the drive to Dallas and the game of the season in the NFL, Patriots-Cowboys. Finally, a late night drive home.
AMERICAN HEARTLAND
Omaha is a charming city. Nice downtown. Lovely parks. Easy to get around. It’s sort of a small Kansas City, another Midwestern city I just love. And Lincoln is a quality place, too. Sort of a small Austin — university and state capitol all nestled together downtown — without the pretensiousness. Nebraska has got to be one of my 10 favorite states. That’s a ranking I need to do. My favorite states, in order.
Going to a game at Nebraska is extra special. The fans really are classy and take great pride in their status as the nice folks of college football. The Husker fans were hard-pressed to even boo their team’s own sorry performance; down 38-0 at halftime to Oklahoma State, then a 45-14 loser. OSU academic guru Marilyn Middlebrook told the story in pregame that on their 1999 trip to Lincoln, a cold front blew in, and the Cowboy contingent wasn’t dressed properly. So Nebraska fans outfitted them in blankets to help keep warm. The story doesn’t surprise me one bit.
NU’s Memorial Stadium is one of my favorite ballparks in college football. Very strangely built. The east side is not as high as the end zone seats; the west side is a huge structure, with several stories of luxury suites. But somehow, it all works and makes for one of the great settings for the sport.
SATELLITE RADIO
I’m no big fan of satellite radio; I think it has the potential to harm local radio, and I don’t want to harm anything local. But Thrifty outfitted us with satellite radio in the Dodge Nitro we rented, and it came in handy driving home Saturday night. We listened to OU-Missouri, the Tigers’ crew, and it was a very professional production. But Arkansas-Auburn and Louisville-Cincinnati were on the radio, too, and both were great games that went to the wire. If you’re a sports fan, and you’re driving a lot on the weekends, I have to say, satellite radio is the way to go.
GOOD EATS
I don’t patronize ala carte joints. But sometimes you get caught. Friday night, we went to Omaha Prime, an old-money steakhouse in downtown. Great, great beef streak. I had a New York strip, medium rare, that was just unbelievable. But throw in a scrumptious salad, a potato and asparagus (don’t ask), and the bill climbed into the $50 range. Omaha Prime was good, but it wasn’t that good.
A few other food adventures on the trip:
1. In St. Joseph, Mo., we stopped at a McDonald’s for Miss Saigon to get a salad. They made us pull up and said they would bring it out to us. We sat for 10 minutes, then she went in and retrieved it. My wife figured out this problem years ago. When at a drive-through and asked to pull up or pull around, she says no thanks. Usually, this stuns the drive-through controller. But my wife says, no, that’s OK, I’ll just sit here. They never forget about you when you’re blocking the drive-through.
2. Here’s the best way to get a thick milk shake. Don’t ask for one. Years ago in Creede, Colo., I went into an old-fashioned ice cream shop and asked how thick they could make their shakes. “As thick as you want it,” I was told. Make it as thick as possible, I said. Moments later, I got a shake that I swear was pure liquid. Saturday night, we stopped at some gas station in northwest Missouri that included a Baskin-Robbins. I told the gal I wanted something thick, with sprinkles. We settled on a shake. Same thing. Pure milk. I give up.
3. Arby’s is the best fast-food buy in the business. We stopped on the way to Omaha, and me and
Baldwin shared the 5 for $5.95; a splendid deal. Coming home from Dallas on Sunday night, me and
Sherman did the same. Except in Gainesville, the deal was 5 for $6.95. Huh? Roast beefs with melted cheese and potato cakes cost more in Cooke County, Texas, than anywhere else in America?
10 BIG LOSERS FROM WEEK 7
10. Miami: The Hurricanes had a chance to stay in the ACC race but gave up a fourth-quarter field goal and lost 17-14 at home to Georgia Tech. Now Miami is 1-2 in the Coastal Division, with little chance of making Randy Shannon’s first year special.
9. Rice: The 1-4 Owls had a chance to go 2-0 in Conference USA. They led crosstown foe Houston 48-35 after three quarters. But the Cougs rallied for a 56-48 victory.
8. Vanderbilt: The Commodores get few chances to beat Tennessee, Georgia or Florida, the upper crust of the SEC East. But Vandy led Georgia 17-7 in the third quarter. Then the Bulldogs rallied to tie, a Vanderbilt fumble wiped out a sure field goal try and Georgia won 20-17.
7. Missouri: The Tigers hadn’t won in Norman since 1966 but led OU 24-23 in the fourth quarter. Then the Sooners rallied for a 41-31 lead that delays Mizzou’s ascension into the national spotlight.
6. Connecticut: The Huskies were 5-0 and had a chance to be one of the few undefeated teams left halfway through the season. But UConn gave up a fourth-quarter field goal and lost at
Virginia 17-16.
5. Charlie Weatherbie: The Louisiana-Monroe coach — and ex-OSU quarterback — coached the Indians to a loss to hapless North Texas, and ULM fell to 1-5. Weatherbie’s team looked competitive in a opening-week loss to Tulsa, but his program is going nowhere, at 16-36 under Weatherbie.
4. Cincinnati: The Bearcats were ranked 15th and had a chance to be 7-0 with a home victory over
Louisville. But the Cardinals rallied for a 28-24 victory, and Cincy’s November showdowns against South Florida and West Virginia lost some luster.
3. UTEP: The Miners seemed the likely West Division winner in Conference USA, but after an overtime loss to East Carolina, UTEP has no margin for error. Tulsa, UTEP and Houston all are tied at 2-1.
2. Kevin Riley: The backup California quarterback played well in relief of Nate Longshore but tried to be the hero in the waning seconds. Rather than throwing the ball out of bounds to allow Cal to try a tying field goal, Riley tried to run the ball in for a touchdown. He was tackled at the Oregon State 10-yard line, and the Beavers kept Cal from ascending to the No. 1 ranking with a 31-28 upset.
1. Les Miles: Miles is one heck of a coach, but he became predictable in the third overtime, and Kentucky emerged a 43-37 upset winner over LSU. Facing 4th-and-2 from the UK 17-yard line, Miles called timeout. Baldwin, the OSU beat writer who covered Miles when he coached the Cowboys, said Miles wouldn’t throw, that he would stay conservative. Sure enough, Miles sent LSU up the middle, and Kentucky stuffed the run for the big upset.
TWO SIDES OF THE RIVER
Entering Oklahoma, you are greeted by WinStar casino. Entering Texas, you are greeted by DW’s adult video store. I don’t know which is worse. Well, yes I do. Texas’ side of the river is more embarrassing. And I would assume less lucrative.
TRAVEL GRIPE OF THE WEEK
Will Rogers has got to be the world’s most convenient airport. I sometimes can leave my house an hour before takeoff, drive the 25 minutes there and be at the gate on time. I don’t recommend it, but I’ve done it. But the parking at Will Rogers has gone south. Way south. A few years ago, trying to add more spaces to the big lot north of the terminal, the airport wiped out the center lane where the tram could patrol for pedestrians. You could walk to the center, stroll down the middle and a tram was sure to spot you. Now, it’s just pure luck if a tram picks you up in a reasonable time. So I started parking in the garage, which is a dollar more a day but far more reliable, since you walk yourself to the terminal.
Trouble is, last Friday, the garage was closed. Said it was full. Which is nonsense. Cars leave the garage as often as they go in; nobody lives at the airport. They are expanding the garage, which will be nice. But parking at Will Rogers will remain a crapshoot.
10 BIG WINNERS FROM WEEK 7
10. Kirk Ferentz: A train wreck of an Iowa season found a little substance when the Hawkeyes stunned upstart Illinois 10-6.
9. Boston College: Usually, it’s BC ruining a special Notre Dame season. When the Irish had the chance to turn the tables, Boston College wouldn’t give in, holding off Notre Dame 27-14.
8. Navy: Midshipmen beat Pitt in overtime to reach 4-2 and soon will be bowl-bound.
7. Penn State: The Nittanys routed Wisconsin 38-7 and now have only one tough game left,Ohio
State on Oct. 27. At 5-2, Joe Paterno is headed for a solid year.
6. Pat Fitzgerald: The young Northwestern coach had shown nothing to excite in his 1 1/2 years as head coach. The Wildcats were 6-11 in Fitzgerald’s first 17 games. But now in consecutive weeks, he’s beaten
Michigan State 48-41 and Minnesota 49-48, the latter in overtime after trailing by 21.
5. Jim Grobe: The best coach in college football took out Florida State for the second straight year. His
Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who can’t have five players worthy of a Florida State scholarship, beat the Seminoles 24-21.
4. Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors remain in the hunt for a BCS bowl, but only after surviving cagey Dick Tomey and San Jose State in overtime.
3. Arizona State: Sun Devils trailed Washington at halftime but spurted to a 44-20 victory that keeps Arizona State among the unbeatens going into the roughest stretch any team will face this season. Cal,
Oregon, UCLA and USC.
2. Thursday Night Football: A great game, Wake Forest 24-21 over Florida State, and a fabulous setup for the next two weeks. South Florida, No. 2 in the BCS, at Rutgers this Thursday. Then Boston College, No. 3 in the BCS, at Virginia Tech the next Thursday.
1. Tom Osborne: Let’s see. Old pal Frank Solich gets a victory, Ohio U. over Eastern Michigan. Old quarterback Turner Gill gets his third Mid-American Conference win of the year, 43-33 over Toledo. Old foe Steve Pederson is axed as Nebraska athletic director after Oklahoma State’s rout of the Cornhuskers. And old school Nebraska asks Osborne to be interim AD and decide the fate of the football program.
FRIENDLY SKIES
I love flying Southwest. Sometimes you get a really witty flight attendant, which we did on Friday. He told us to be careful getting our bags after landing, because “shift happens,” and he suggested any complaints be directed to the airlines’ northern office, “Northwest.com.”
CAPITOL TIMES
State capitols are sort of a travel hobby of mine. I like to drive past as many as I can. Check out the architecture, the setting. I rarely get out and go inside, although I’ll bet they are fascinating. I still get a charge any time I go inside the Oklahoma capitol; it just feels like freedom at work. Let’s do a quick count. Earlier in the year, I went through Montgomery, Ala., which means now I’ve been to 30 of the state-capital cities. Here are top 10 capitol buildings:
10. Indianapolis: Unique green dome sets this capitol apart.
9. Lincoln: Skyscraper capitol. Three-story building has a 400-foot domed tower, adorned with “The Sower” at the top.
8. Montgomery: Traditional Southern look.
7. Austin: Big and classic, with the Goddess of Liberty atop the pink granite structure.
6. Denver: A glinting golden dome.
5. Oklahoma City: Used to be domeless, and I thought the dome project was a big waste of money. But after The Guardian, the Indian sculpture, was placed atop the capitol, I love it. Simply love it and marvel at it every day I drive past on the Broadway Extension.
4. Albany: Massive building, inspired by Paris’ Hotel de Ville, that sits on a hill in downtown, with a look straight out of a Tim Burton film. Think the original “Batman.”
3. Hartford: Topped by a gold leaf dome, looks almost like a castle.
2. Jefferson City: Setting makes it special, sitting high on the bluffs above the Missouri River.
1. Des Moines: Golden dome, with a belvedere and a golden lantern on top. Plus a bonus — four smaller golden lanterns are attached to copper-covered domes at every corner of the building. Those domes are decorated with vertical lines of intermittent gold.
Savage Big 12′s best
We asked the question the other day, is Dantrell Savage the best running back in the Big 12? And the answer seems a clear yes. For any number of reasons. Foremost of which is this, if not Savage, who is?Nebraska’s Marlon Lucky is the No. 2 rusher in the league, behind Savage, but Lucky isn’t even the Huskers’ best tailback. Quentin Castille is. The Charles Duo — Texas’ Jamaal and Colorado’s Hugh — are excellent players but not as productive as Savage. Kansas State’s James Johnson, Kansas’ Jake Sharp, Missouri’s Tony Temple? All nice tailbacks, but not in Savage’s class. Oklahoma has Allen Patrick and DeMarco Murray but sometimes gives the ball more to Chris Brown.
Savage is averaging 150.7 yards per game in conference play. Hugh Charles is the only other Big 12 runner in triple digits. Savage’s 6.4 yards per carry in conference play is the best in the league, other than teammate Kendall Hunter (7.7).
If Savage hadn’t missed games against Florida Atlantic and Troy, he would be running away with all the statistical honors in Big 12 rushing. Savage clearly is the league’s best tailback.
Rome takes on Gundy
Driving to Stillwater on Monday for Mike Gundy’s press conference, we flipped around on radio stations and caught Jim Rome still talking about Gundy’s rant from several weeks ago. Most references to Gundy’s rant have become parodies, like the Fowler commercial. But Rome was critiquing Gundy’s comments. Not in a favorable way.I’m told Rome supported Gundy initially; I didn’t hear it myself. But Monday, some picked out pieces of Gundy’s tirade, aimed at Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson, and was not complimentary. Gundy’s reference to a “fat kid” did not go over well with Rome.Which is silly, of course. Gundy was talking out of his head by then and admits it. But this is what I was talking about when I said Gundy committed a PR blunder; his message is long since forgotten by many, but the image of Gundy’s tirade remains.
Gundy had popular opinion on his side immediately, but some of that disappeared with a messed-up loss at Texas A&M.As time goes on, Gundy will become less and less the coach who defends his players, and more and more the comic foil, the coach who forever will remain 40.
Winning thus becomes even more important to Gundy. Winning big might be the only thing that can change Gundy’s newfound national image.
Callahan’s fate sealed
The water boils below Bill Callahan, and losing to Oklahoma State on Saturday was not his greatest crime, though that’s no small thing in Nebraska. The Huskers hadn’t lost at home to OSU in 47 years; they are losing remnants of past glory seemingly by the week, and the end of such a streak can’t play well on the Platte River.
But here’s Callahan’s biggest faux pas: how bad he lost; 38-0 at halftime, with OSU taking a knee to end the half, and 45-14 final.That’s the kind of blowout that sends every last supporter scurrying.That kind of blowout got Gary Gibbs fired — 45-7 at Colorado in 1994. Got John Blake fired — 51-7 at home against Texas A&M in 1997 and 34-3 to Texas in 1998. Got John Mackovic fired at Texas — 66-3 in 1997.
Losing is one thing. Being non-competitive is another. Nebraska might stand for the former, for awhile. It will not stand for the latter.
Classy Nebraska fans
Strangest thing I’ve ever seen in college football: Nebraska fans, en masse, standing and clapping for their football team as it trotted off the field at halftime, trailing 38-0 at halftime to an Oklahoma State team that one month ago was in Troy, Ala., falling behind 41-10.
OSU has a 357-101 total yards advantage, has scored every time it has the ball except when running out the clock to end the half and has not allowed the Huskers to do much of anything on offense. The Cowboys are blowing away the Cornhuskers, and even the classy Nebraska fans have to be sobered by what they see. In the last 11/2 games, Nebraska has been outscored 79-6. Look at it this way; Husker coach Bill Callahan has to win 32 of his next 33 games just to equal the record of FRANK SOLICH, the coach fired to make way for Callahan.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are soaring, and while it’s never good to look back, take just a moment to lament the game that got away last Saturday at Texas A&M. OSU blew a 17-point lead and lost 24-23. Win that game, and the Cowboys take a one-game lead in the Big 12 South into a three-game home stand.
Dominating line of scrimmage
OSU just went 40 yards for a touchdown after Donovan Woods’ sack of Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller forced a fumble. The Cowboys used eight plays and didn’t pass; Zac Robinson scrambled on a called throw. The Pokes just gashed Nebraska’s defensive front. State now has 174 yards rushing, and the total yardage advantage is 303-87. Amazing. Simply amazing.
Runaway in Lincoln
Nebraska fans have gone from angry to amused to stunned. OSU leads 24-0 early in the second quarter, and the total yardage discrepancy is 263-89. Dantrell Savage has run for 77 yards and Kendall Hunter 57; Zac Robinson has thrown for 125 yards.
OSU’s first three possessions, NU at least put up a fight. But in going 90 yards in six easy plays, the Cowboys looked like they were going against a scout team. Bill Callahan might get fired at halftime. And OSU is back in the Big 12 race.
Big 12 North uprising
We’ve been asking the North Division to hold up its end of the Big 12 football bargain, and now it’s happening. We’ve seen only one October Saturday so far, and the North is 3-1 vs. the South. Back in 2004, three was the sum total of the North’s interdivision victories, and all came against Baylor.
But now Kansas State has defeated Texas and Colorado has upset OU, and with Missouri and Kansas also playing well, more North victories seem certain. Of course, the Big 12 needs more than just the North beating the South teams in a sub-par year. The Big 12 needs the North to rise up on a national level. Needs Nebraska to be Nebraska, Colorado to be the Buffs of the Bill McCartney era and Kansas
State to be the Wildcats of Bill Snyder.
Oklahoma and Texas have been propping up the conference in football, and when they lost Big 12 openers on Sept. 29, it didn’t register as a seminal moment in college football. It registered as bad games or down seasons for the programs that have defined Big 12 football this decade. Maybe that will change. Maybe it’s starting to.
Adventures in Dallas
OU-Texas is different from any other college football game, but it’s more than that. The entire week is different from anything else we experience all year. Part family reunion, part pilgrimage, part wild weekend, all wrapped in a crusade of a football game.And as far as I’m concerned, the Texas State Fair makes it what it is. Move this atmosphere to Jerry Jones’ parking lot in Arlington, and zip goes the feeling. Great game, still. Great in-stadium environment. But the rest of this goes bye-bye.
10 THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FAIR
1. Turkey legs over corn dogs. I did the pregame radio show on KREF there on the main drag, just southeast of the Cotton Bowl, and someone brought me a turkey leg. Great taste, more filling. Those monsters fill you up. I don’t know how they get them to taste so good; I’m not that big on turkey. But one turkey leg is a full meal. They are messy, no doubt, but so are the corn dogs (why are they called corny dogs?). You have to put on the mustard at the stand, which means uneven distribution, which is not good.
2. Strange sights abound. Like the women walking the miniature donkeys through the fair. They really weren’t any bigger than huge dogs. The Schooner ponies could swallow those donkeys whole.
3. The car show is the best thing going. For one, it gets you out of the elements. Usually that means the heat. Saturday, that meant the rain. But either way, looking at new cars is great entertainment.
4. I don’t know how families afford the fair. The rides cost all kinds of money; the log flume ride was $4 a head. The corn dogs $3.50. Take two kids and your wife to the fair, try to have reasonable time, and no way do you get out of there for less than $200. No wonder the fair needs OU-Texas; football brings a crowd.
5. I’ve always wanted to go through the train museum but never have taken the time. The fair also sported a traveling exhibit from the Baseball Hall of Fame. Both cost extra; not much, I assume. A dollar or two. But the way the fair already gouges you, you’re loathe to start shelling out more for non-commodities.
6. The free concert series is a great deal. OU-Texas Saturday night featured Jason Aldean, a country singer I’ve never heard of, but that doesn’t mean anything. I would rather listen to windshield wipers than country music.
7. I’ve only walked through the livestock barns once; my nephew went with us to the game and was big into FFA. My theory: You’ve smelled one pig, you’ve smelled them all.
8. The best thing about Fair Park is the art deco architecture. The buildings themselves are an exhibit.
9. The best thing about the Midway is the lights and the sound. That’s what I would miss most about OU-Texas leaving the Cotton Bowl, the serenity beyond the stadium gates.
10. Big Tex gives me the creeps.
CONFERENCE ROLL CALLS
In this crazy year of college football, let’s check in on the conference races, in order of clarity.
1. Big East: South Florida, Cincinnati and UConn all unbeaten in league and overall play. Nutty. Who knew South Florida at Connecticut would be a big game? But South Florida clearly is Big East’s best.
2. Sun Belt: Troy and Florida Atlantic likely to play for the title on Dec. 1.
3. Mountain West: BYU could be the class of the league, but a Nov. 17 game at Wyoming could be for the title. BYU already has beaten 3-1 Air Force.
4. WAC: Boise State-Hawaii on Nov. 23 the likely title game, but Fresno State could be a spoiler, and San Jose State has the league’s best coach, Dick Tomey.
5. Big Ten: Michigan-Ohio State could determine the Rose Bowl bid, but Illinois is 3-0 and still gets to play Iowa, Minnesota and Northwestern. So the Illini could crash Pasadena with an upset of either Michigan or Ohio State.
6. Conference USA: UTEP’s victory over Tulsa gives the Miners the upper hand in the West. In the East, who knows? East Carolina, Central Florida, Memphis and even staggered Southern Miss could win it.
7. Big 12: Oklahoma’s only threat in the South is Texas Tech, which gets OU in Lubbock. In the North, Missouri seems to be the best team but it could get jumbled with Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Kansas State.
8. SEC: If Florida had held on against LSU, every team would have had a conference loss. As is, LSU seems certain to win the West. The East is wide open; Florida and Georgia both are 2-2.
9. Mid-American: Crazy stat of the week. We’re virtually halfway through the season, and only one MAC team (3-2 Bowling Green) has a winning record overall. Central Michigan (3-0) seems the class of the West; Miami-Ohio, Akron and Bowling Green still unbeaten in the East.
10. Pac-10: With USC much more flawed than we ever thought, this league becomes a weekly slate of showdowns. Oregon, Cal, USC and Arizona State all are ranked in the top 13, and the only common matchup so far was that Oregon-Cal classic.
11. ACC: I’m not sold on Boston College. The Eagles (Atlantic) and Virginia (Coastal) each are 3-0 in their divisions, but five other schools (Wake Forest 2-1, Florida State 1-1 & Maryland 1-1 in the Atlantic; Virginia Tech 2-0 & Miami 1-1 in the Coastal) remain contenders. Heck, I wouldn’t rule out 2-2 Clemson.
GOOD EATS
It’s an OU-Texas tradition that we eat dinner on Friday night at Maggiano’s in Plano with my wife’s cousin and her husband, who are great friends as well as family. A lot of people have OU-Texas traditions that go back decades. I ran into David Donchin, an Oklahoma City lawyer who I’ve known for years. He saw us last year at Maggiano’s and was back again with his family.
I owe my career to David. In autumn 1978, I was a senior at Norman High School and walked into the Norman Transcript and asked sports editor Jim Weeks how I could get into the business. He gave me some good advice: go to college. But two weeks later, Weeks called me and offered me a part-time job, answering phones and covering a few events. I worked my way up from there.
This was during the oil boom, when guys could make pretty good money in the oil field, and it was hard to find someone to work for minimum wage. The Transcript job came open because a guy had quit. David Donchin.
Maggiano’s is a national Italian chain, but we don’t have them in Oklahoma. My wife and I discovered Maggiano’s in Chicago; we were walking the downtown streets, looking for a place to eat, and stumbled upon it. Great, great place. We had the full-course dinner. Two kinds of salad, fried zucchini, stuffed mushrooms, lasagna, ravioli and two kinds of chicken. It’s a wonder I’m ever in shape to cover the game the next day.
Wednesday night, we ate at one of my favorites, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. I had the mixed grill, two skewers of grilled fish and vegetables, over dirty rice. The dirty rice could be cleaned up as far as I’m concerned, but the skewers were outstanding. Shrimp, scallops, salmon. I don’t understand the fascination with fried fish. I mean, I like fried fish and could eat it by the boatload, but grilled is far better. Good and good for you.
TRAVEL TIP OF THE WEEK
Always check your credit cards when they’re returned. For the second time in my career, I went home with someone else’s Visa. In Boulder, Colo., I had dinner with our photographers at some Italian joint, and we usually just all toss in our credit cards, since the office likes to keep expense accounts separate.
I was sitting next to photog Bryan Terry, and I was given his card and he was given mine. And we didn’t check. I discovered it the next Wednesday, the day I left for Dallas. I stopped by a bakery to pick up a birthday cake for Barry Switzer, for a photo shoot at noon. Part of my duties include courier service. I pulled out the card to pay for the cake, and I noticed the number was different. That’s because the name was different.
The gal already had run the card so I signed — my name, I’m no forger — and went on about my business. I switched out cards with Bryan in Dallas on Friday. But what a mess. This happened with me and John Helsley one time in Dallas for the Big 12 basketball tournament — at Pappedeaux’s — but we were together a day or two later when we discovered the switch.
10 BIG WINNERS FROM WEEK 6
10. Adarius Bowman & Malcolm Kelly: Our state’s two big passcatchers had big games, plus
Texas’ Limas Sweed was lost for the season to injury. Sweed kept Kelly off the all-Big 12 team in 2006. Now if Bowman and Kelly can stave off Texas Tech phenom Michael Crabtree.
9. South Carolina: The Gamecocks waxed Kentucky and find themselves a full game atop the SEC East. And they get Florida at home, on Nov. 10.
8. Central Michigan: Routed Ball State 58-38 in Muncie, Ind. What would the Chippewas do with
Nebraska?
7. Turner Gill: Buffalo came into this season with 18 wins total the previous 10 years and just eight Mid-American Conference wins since joining the league in 1999. But after a 31-10 rout of Ohio, the former Nebraska quarterback great has Buffalo 2-1 in the MAC.
6. Phil Fulmer: Tennessee seemed staggered after blowout losses to California and Florida. But the Vols routed Georgia and are back in the hunt for the SEC East; 1-1 Tennessee gets 3-0 South Carolina at home on Oct. 27.
5. Chuck Long: The OU-ex coordinator needed a victory with San Diego State, and got one with a touchdown in the final minute that beat Colorado State 24-20.
4. Tavita Pritchard: The Stanford backup quarterback had thrown three passes in his career. But starter T.C. Ostrander suffered a seizure last week, so Pritchard got the call against Southern Cal, a 40-point favorite. Pritchard struggled — 11 of 30, 149 yards — but threw a fourth-and-goal, 10-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left to give Stanford a 24-23 upset.
3. Mike Price: The old guy still can coach. His UTEP Miners beat Tulsa 48-47 to take command of Conference USA.
2. Butch Davis: The only Miami coach of the last 29 seasons not to win a national title but the man who helped restore the program after the scandal of the ‘90s, Davis popped his old school. North Carolina stunned Miami 33-27 to signal hope for a beleaguered program.
1. Mark Mangino: Kansas still is a basketball school, but the Jayhawks won at Kansas State (30-24) for the first time since 1989, and KU is ranked and a contender in the Big 12 North.
NO-SERVICE HOTEL
High-dollar hotels always have been a pet peeve of mine. I don’t understand what you’re paying for. I’ve always said, the more you pay for your hotel room, the fewer channels you’ll have on your hotel cable. But shoddy cable was the least of my problems at the Hilton Anatole. We stayed there Wednesday and Thursday nights because my wife coordinated a dinner function there. The rate: $184 a night. The service: pathetic.
The Internet is the new cable. At your smaller hotels — Courtyard, Fairfield, Holiday Inn Express — high-speed Internet is provided free, either wireless or Ethernet. The high-end hotels charge for the Internet, which of course is all backwards. But OK. I can accept that. I bought the Internet and worked much of Wednesday evening. Then my wife tried to hook up her laptop, and no dice. Turns out your Internet purchase, $10 a day, is good for only one computer. You want to use two computers, it’s two charges.
But the problems didn’t stop there. The Anatole turned into the Amityville. For one thing, parking. You pay to park, either valet or self-park. Sometimes, I understand that. If you’re in New York or Chicago or San Francisco, where a little slab of concrete indeed is worth $20 a day, where real estate, even as small as parking spaces, has tangible value, where they build parking garages straight up because that’s cheaper than the land. Or if you’re downtown, where people and buildings are bunched. I understand paying to park in downtown Dallas or downtown Kansas City or downtown Oklahoma City.
But the Anatole is not in downtown Dallas. It’s a few miles north of downtown, sitting on a huge acreage because it’s a huge hotel, and it’s surrounded by land. Yet I’m charged to park to stay there. That’s no different than a movie theater charging me to park. And yes, it is different than a major-league franchise charging me to park, because they’ve got a monopoly. You want to see the NFL, you can’t go to Frisco or Arlington or Duncanville. You have to go to Irving. If I want to stay at an upscale hotel, I don’t have to stay at the Anatole. I’ve got dozens of other options. If I want to stay at a nice hotel, I’ve got hundreds of options. Only a fool pays to park on the Texas prairie. Call me a fool.
But it gets worse. The first morning we were there, 6:52 a.m., I hear a knock at the door. I sort of rouse up, then I hear someone coming in. I’m fumbling at the drawer, trying to grab some clothes to put on, and I yell out, who’s there. “Security,” the guy says. “You didn’t answer your wakeup call.” That’s very good service, that the hotel would send someone to manually wake us. Very good service IF WE HAD REQUESTED A WAKEUP CALL. But we didn’t. And we never got a good answer as to why they decided room 787 needed a wakeup call.
Friday morning, we moved over to Las Colinas, the Courtyard by Marriott, a far superior establishment, and Friday night I discovered I had left a few clothing items in my Anatole room. My stupid goof. I called the Anatole and asked if they had found the clothes. I was told there was no way to know. I was told that any recovered items go to a lost-and-found, and those items are placed in a dropbox that can’t be opened until the next day, when they will be itemized. Are you kidding me? This full-service hotel, with more staff than the White House, and they can’t tell me if something was found in my room?
Again, my bad for leaving the stuff there. And my bad for checking into the Anatole in the first place.
10 BIG LOSERS FROM WEEK 6
10. Sunday Night Football: ESPN offered a college game to go against the Packers-Bears on NBC. Unfortunately, Boise State 58, New Mexico State 0 chased whatever viewers it started with.
9. Tommy Bowden: Clemson started 4-0, but a 41-23 home loss to Virginia Tech dropped the Tigers to 4-2, and Bowden remains a coach who can’t seem to get it done at Clemson.
8. Purdue: The Boilermakers weren’t taken serious despite their unbeaten status, and for good reason. Purdue was blanked until the final 10 seconds of a 23-7 loss to fellow unbeaten Ohio State.
7. Southern Miss: I called Southern Miss one of the best candidates to be the best next Boise
State. But after a 31-29 loss to Rice, the Golden Eagles are a long way from a Fiesta Bowl.
6. Wisconsin: Bret Bielema was 17-1 as a head coach, but skated by on a bunch of close calls. Not so Saturday, when Illinois pulled off a 31-26 victory.
5. TCU: On Sept. 8, the Frogs led Texas 10-0 at halftime and had to be thinking BCS bowl. But after a 24-21 loss at Wyoming, TCU is 3-3, and now any bowl seems shaky.
4. Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights’ status as the Big East upstarts lasted all of one year. After a 28-23 home loss to Cincinnati, that mantle passes to the Bearcats, with Connecticut waiting in the wings.
3. UCLA: Who ever knew a loss to Notre Dame could bring such embarrassment? But UCLA’s 20-6 loss to the Fighting Irish did just that.
2. Florida: Not only did the Gators lose a chance to upset LSU and stay in the national title hunt, but a series of off-field incidents continues. And the fans came off no better. The owner of a towing company involved in safety Tony Joiner’s burglary case said he received over 200 threatening phone calls.
1. Bill Callahan: Nebraska’s previous two trips to Columbia, Mo., resulted in 41-24 losses. So Callahan did something about that. He coached the Huskers to a 41-6 loss and gave Nebraskans one more reason to think they’ll never be back among the national elite.
OU-TEXAS THOUGHTS
1. I did my radio show from the Ten Sports Grill in downtown Dallas and discovered what the “Cheers” theme song means when it says, “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.” Ten is an urban bar where people come to unwind after work. Several times I saw some group come in, take a seat at a table and the waitress got them beers without taking their order. She knew exactly what they wanted.
2. Las Colinas is the place to stay. Anything close to downtown, and you’re headed for trouble with noisemakers. I need a good night’s sleep the day before the game.
3. My secret route for avoiding traffic, which I’m sharing only because I generally don’t have to use it: Take I-635 East off I-35 (Stemmons Freeway). Circle all the way around, down by Mesquite, and come into the fairgrounds on I-30 going West. All the traffic is the other direction. It will save you a ton of time.
4. When are they going to widen I-35 through Denton? You’re 35 miles north of Dallas, yet that’s the worst traffic, only because the interstate squeezes into a little tube.
5. I’d never seen so much confidence on the OU side. My wife coordinated a dinner on Thursday night for donors to the OU College of Engineering. The dean asked me to take a few questions after dinner, so I fielded questions for 20-25 minutes. Not one person asked me about the game the next day. They asked about OU-Colorado, about Bob Stoops, about Josh Heupel, about how OU plays its defensive backs. But not one person asked about Texas.
6. I’ve taken some flack for picking Texas, but I’ll stand by it. I always pick who won the year before. OU’s victory was historic. It was the first time ever — and ever is a long time in OU-Texas — a team lost with a two-game series winning streak.
7. Downtown Fort Worth is really cool. I’d never driven around down there but had to run an errand over there Friday. Big time nice.
8. The Dallas skyline is fantastic at night. Really underrated. Truth is, the whole danged city of
Dallas is underrated. Great, great city.
9. Sports radio in Dallas is not as good as sports radio in Oklahoma City. We’ve got our hijinks, too, but sometimes you can listen to the Ticket, Dallas’ version of the Sports Animal, for 15 minutes and not get sports. The Animal will do that in the mornings sometime, but this was mid-afternoon.
10. Listening to football on the radio still can be charming. I left the Cotton Bowl about 10 p.m. Saturday with co-worker Scott Wright, and we listened to OSU-A&M and Florida-LSU deep into the night. Great games, good entertainment. That, and a Wendy’s stop in Gainesville, got us through the night.
