I told you so
This really isn’t my nature, but I’ve been doing radio with Jim Traber for three months, so some of this can’t be helped. But I told you so.
When it comes to Eli Manning, I told you so. I told you eight days ago, in previewing the Giants-Cowboys playoff game, that New York had a big-time quarterback, but his name and his office address — Peyton’s little brother, playing in the Big Apple — kept that news on the Q.T.
But Eli is only 27 — just turned 27 — and already is an accomplished quarterback. The only knock on Eli was lack of playoff success, and when I wrote the column two weeks ago, Eli had just won in Tampa Bay. Now he’s won in Dallas and Green Bay.
The Giants knew all along they had their franchise quarterback. Now they know their franchise quarterback is a big-time franchise quarterback. He’s not Tom Brady. Not Peyton. But Eli Manning ranks with any other quarterback in the league.
Analyzing the Big 12 race
Wild day in Big 12 men’s basketball. Six games, and only one blowout, and that blowout came in what figured to be the game of the day, Texas A&M at Kansas State. The Wildcats rolled 75-54. Three games were decided by two points: Texas 69-67 over Colorado, Baylor 72-70 over Nebraska and OU 63-61 over Texas Tech. The other two games were superbly competitive, too: Kansas 76-70 over Missouri and Iowa State 73-66 over OSU.
It’s time to start analyzing the conference race, and the best way to do so is with a plus/minus system. Home wins and road losses are a wash. No points given or taken away. But lose at home, and it’s a minus. Win on the road, and it’s a plus. Using that system, here are the standings:
1. Kansas +2: Road wins at Missouri and Nebraska. The Jayhawks will be a threat to run the table.
2. Baylor & Kansas State +2: Don’t look now, but the Bears are for real. Their win at Nebraska makes Baylor 3-0 in the league. And Kansas State’s win at Oklahoma came with Blake Griffin healthy, so K-State clearly has separated itself into the upper echelon.
4. Texas A&M, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Colorado, Texas Tech: all even. In regular standings, it’s good to get road games behind you. In this form of standings, the stronger teams tend to have more road games ahead of them, giving them a chance to burst ahead. A&M, OSU, Colorado and Tech all have lost two road games already, Iowa State and Texas only one.
10. Missouri & OU -1: Mizzou lost at home to Kansas, OU lost at home to K-State, so give the edge to Missouri.
12. Nebraska -2: Huskers have lost at home to Kansas and Baylor. It’s going to be a long winter in Lincoln.
What to make of Big 12 basketball using this system? The Big 12 has four conference road wins so far, and Kansas has half of them. That had better change, else the Big 12 won’t like what it sees when the NCAA Tournament pairings come out. Because right now, there’s a whole bunch of teams in the middle.
Scheduling idea for OSU football
OSU football is contemplating moving its Oct. 4 home game against Texas A&M to a Thursday night, Oct. 2, for ESPN. Personally, I hope the Cowboys do it, because that means I could get to both games that week, OSU-A&M and OU-Baylor. Not that I’m in any hurry to see Baylor, but I like to see both teams as often as possible. That’s what was cool about 2007: OSU played Troy on a Friday night, and I made it back to Norman to see the OU-Utah State classic; then OU played Tulsa on a Friday night, so I also could go over to Stillwater for the OSU-Texas Tech thriller.
Much more important is this question: Should the Cowboys move the game? I can go either way. Whatever Mike Gundy decides is best, I have no problem with it.
A Thursday night game against a foe like A&M is great exposure for the Cowboys and the Big 12. Thursday night games are the college equivalent of Monday Night Football. Everyone in America who cares about college football watches. The game would be in Stillwater, with the stadium complete, and lots of positive talk about all the good things going on at O-State. That’s a winning move.
But it’s not great for fans. Saturday college football is an all-day experience for many fans. Strolling campus. Tailgating. Meeting old friends. Eating at the Hideaway. Be it a 2 p.m. or a 6 p.m. kickoff, game day in Stillwater (and most every other major college) is an event itself. That would be dramatically changed for Thursday night. The game atmosphere would be the same and maybe better, but fans would not be coming into Stillwater all day long. There would be mad dashes from OKC and Tulsa in the afternoon. It would be in and out of town quickly for thousands and thousands of fans. Merchants would not be pleased.
On the other hand, it’s probably a great thing for students. OSU has a big portion of students who do not live close to Stillwater. Those students have a tough choice on home games; go home for the weekend or stay on campus for football. A Thursday game would let students do both and would create quite a buzz on campus that day.
From a competitive standpoint, athletic director Mike Holder was absolutely correct when he said he wanted to make sure A&M didn’t have an open date on Sept. 27, the Saturday before the OSU-Aggie game. OSU is scheduled to host Troy; A&M is scheduled to host Army. So long as both are playing, then it’s a level playing field.
But while we’re on this subject, here’s another idea for OSU, and this is a good one. Why not approach ESPN about moving the OSU-Baylor game to Fridaynight, Oct. 17, and televising the game from Boone Pickens Stadium? I know, all schools in the Friday Night Lights culture of high school football are loathe to play on Friday night. OSU and OU both did it reluctantly for road games last season but never have tried it for home games and probably wouldn’t consider it.
But they should in this case. Oct. 17 is during the state fall break. More than 90 percent of the high school games that week are played on Thursday night. Friday night is virtually dark for high school football in Oklahoma. A game in Stillwater on that Friday night would not conflict with many high school games at all. OSU-Baylor is not a marquee matchup; Baylor-anybody is not a marquee matchup. ESPN wouldn’t consider it for a Saturday telecast. But Friday night? ESPN’s Friday night series is not strong. Conference USA, the Sun Belt, the Mid-American Conference. Those kinds of games. A chance to show a Big 12 game, especially what figures to be a high-scoring game (at least on OSU’s end), would appeal to ESPN. It would give OSU great exposure again, would not conflict with high school football and could be promoted as a kickoff event for a campus weekend.
The Iowa connection
Jay Norvell’s return to the OU staff reinstates the Iowa connection that once was so prevalent among Bob Stoops’ coaches. For a month in 2002, Stoops’ staff was awash in ex-Hawkeyes. The Stoops brothers, ex-Iowa safeties. Chuck Long, the Hawkeyes’ great quarterback from the 1980s. Jonathan Hayes, a tight end teammate on those squads. And Norvell.
One by one, all the Hawkeyes left. Hayes went to the Cincinnati Bengals, Norvell to the Oakland Raiders. Then Mike Stoops went to Arizona and Long to San Diego State. Suddenly, the Iowa connection was gone.
Stoops has been criticized for surrounding himself with cronies. People from his past. Two things: 1. many coaches do that; it’s standard procedure. 2. It’s not true in Stoops’ case.
Look at Stoops’ hires in recent years. Kevin Wilson? No connection to Stoops. James Patton? Connected to Wilson, but not to Stoops. Chris Wilson? An OU grad, but long before the Stoops days. Kevin Sumlin? No connection.
In the last five years, Stoops’ only hires who had a history with Stoops were Bo Pelini and Josh Heupel. Pelini grew up with Stoops in Youngstown, and Heupel I assume you know about. Now Norvell again. Seems to me a wide range of coaching backgrounds. And only a very small connection to Iowa.
Starting to build in Stillwater
Four days after Gallagher-Iba Arena filled to the brim for Bedlam women’s basketball, and Oklahoma State celebrated the historic night with an 82-63 thrashing of the Sooners, here were the attendance figures:
OU drew 5,400 fans for a game against Nebraska. OSU women drew less than 3,000 for a game against Missouri. The big lesson is clear. It takes time to build up a fan base. And you better keep winning.
Women’s basketball is a brave new world for attendance. There are sports fans who are unaccounted for. They don’t go to football or men’s basketball games at either school, but still might be enticed to campus. They are turned off by high prices or big egos or even big crowds. They haven’t been snared by one of the allures of sport; feeling a part of something.
Women’s basketball can snare them. Sherri Coale has snared them. OU’s attendance is consistently strong, between 5,000 and 10,000 for most games. The 5,400 for Nebraska was on the short side of what the Sooners usually draw and a sign that some fans have some doubts about this squad, after the Bedlam blowout.
Missouri coach Cindy Stein was charmingly criticial of OSU fans for not turning out Wednesday. Said the Cowgirls were the best show in town. Wondered what gives, was it movie night? Said if it was church night, she should have been in church with all the OSU fans, praying that Andrea Riley wouldn’t suit up for the Cowgirls.
But the truth is, booming attendance does not happen overnight. When Coale took over OU, she drew crowds in triple digits, and I swear, there were some games when it was less than 100. And even after the Sooners got good, the big crowds were spikes. OU drew some massive crowds to NCAA Tournament games at Lloyd Noble Center, but not everyone returned when the next season started.
Coale slowly built it up, to a good solid base of probably 5,000, then Courtney Paris arrived and it’s gotten even better.
The same holds true for Kurt Budke’s program in Stillwater. Keep winning, and the fan base will grow. Keep winning, and Cindy Stein won’t have to stump for larger crowds at Gallagher-Iba. But it takes time.
Stoops can’t hide his feelings
We in the media have not talked to Bob Stoops since his three juniors have turned pro. Instead, OU has released a statement from Stoops about each player. And Stoops could not be more transparent on his feelings concerning each decision.
First, Malcolm Kelly. “We’re excited for Malcolm and his family,” Stoops said. “He was an oustanding player in our program and we appreciate all of his efforts. We look forward to watching him in the NFL. He is well-suited to professional football in many ways and we are sure that the attributes that made him such a success for us will serve him equally well on that level.”
Next, Curtis Lofton. “Curtis made a lot of big plays during his time here,” said Stoops. “We wish him all the best in the NFL.”
Finally, Reggie Smith. “Reggie was a good player for us and we wish him the best,” Stoops said.
Again, this was not media-edited quotes. These were not snippets from a press conference that were selected to prove a point. These were the totality of what Stoops had to say, provided by the professionals that work for him.
And his meter went from proud to you’ve-got-to-be-kidding. Went from “excitement” for Kelly and “looking forward” to his pro career and “well-suited” for the NFL and “sure” of a success, to Lofton “made a lot of big plays during his time here” and “we wish him all the best in the NFL,” to finally Smith, “Reggie was a good player for us and we wish him the best.”
Maybe Stoops just grew tired of losing ballplayers. But I don’t think so. It sure seems like Kelly has Stoops’ blessing to turn pro, while Lofton and Smith, not so much. Stoops’ theory is well-known: if you’re not going to be a high first-round draft pick, you should stay in school. Stoops believes players can make more money by moving up the draft the next year. No doubt Stoops is right on some players, but wrong on others.
On Smith, Stoops probably is right. Smith has the potential to move up from the second or third round for which he’s probably headed. On Lofton, probably not. Lofton’s negatives are size and speed; he isn’t going to get bigger or faster, I don’t think, so how is the NFL going to be view him as a better linebacker prospect? Smith’s techniques need to improve, and they could with another year of college.
Meanwhile, if you listen to Stoops on Kelly, he’s another Mark Clayton in the making.
Maybe Stoops is right. We’ll see. But give him this. He didn’t sugarcoat it. Without saying so, Stoops told us how he sees it.
Pulling for Reed
The loss of Curtis Lofton to the NFL draft puts OU in a bad way for linebacking. But maybe it opens a spot for Mike Reed. The junior-college hotshot was supposed to be OU’s linebacker savior a year ago. But he never made much progress, due to personal problems and unfamiliarity with the defense. Reed ended up virtually suspended from the team, because of academic issues. He cut back to six hours of classes, making him ineligible, because of his wife’s illness.
I wrote about Reed on Christmas Eve, about his family’s financial hardships and his wife’s medical problems. I didn’t really go into it in the story, but Reed is a personable fellow. Engaging, friendly. Nothing at all like the killer linebacker you’d think. On the field, he’s a beast; everyone says so, even when he wasn’t performing the way he had hoped. But off the field, Reed seems to be a swell fellow.
I’m pulling for him to make it in football and in life. If that’s at OU, fine. If that’s somewhere else, fine.
A Saturday of hoops
I wrote an NFL column for Sunday’s paper, so I didn’t have a basketball assignment. I could have gone to any of the three interesting games: Texas Tech at OSU men, with Bobby Knight going for his 900th win; Kansas State at OU men, in the matchup of great freshmen; or Bedlam women, with the Cowgirls trying to beat the Sooners for the first time this century. You also had the NFL games, Green Bay-Seattle and Patriots-Jacksonville, the winners of both providing potential foes for Dallas.
I decided to stay home and watch them all. Interesting day of basketball. My thoughts:
1. OSU-Tech: When Obi Muonelo scores 21 points and make five of six 3-pointers, the Cowboys aren’t half bad. Remember last season; OSU’s swoon began when Muonelo was injured. He hasn’t played as well as a sophomore as he did as a freshman, but if can produce, then the Cowboys have James Anderson, Terrell Harris, Marcus Dove. That’s a pretty strong set of wing players. The Cowboys will still get butchered by teams good inside, but that’s not a lot of teams in the Big 12. Muonelo is key to this team.
2. OU-Kansas State: Michael Beasley is the real deal. Reminds me a little of Byron Houston as an OSU senior. A bruiser with good touch. Maybe not quite as good around the basket, but with a better mid-range shot. KSU is an absolute load with Beasley, who unlike Houston, will not be around the college game for four years. The loss for the Sooners was severe; if OU can win out at home, no sure thing considering Texas and Texas A&M still come to town, the Sooners still would have to win at least two road games to finish 9-7 in the Big 12. Thanks to the wins over Arkansas, Gonzaga and West Virginia, 9-7 should get OU in the NCAA Tournament.
3. Bedlam women: Kurt Budke called Andrea Riley the Big 12’s best player, and I’m in no mood to argue after her 45-point performance. Courtney Paris is an epic player, but good coaching and a good team can take her out of the game, though she still hit the Cowgirls for 15 points and 19 rebounds. But you can’t scheme against a point guard on fire. Riley’s performance was one of the best I’ve ever seen at Gallagher-Iba, ranking right there with Big Country against Kansas (33 points, 20 rebounds) and Donnie Boyce, who went off for 40something points for Colorado back in the 1990s.
Barry Sanders’ special year
ESPN.com has tried to put Tom Brady’s spectacular season in perspective. The Patriots quarterback threw an NFL-record 50 touchdown passes this season. How epic of a year is that? ESPN.com ranked the 25 greatest individual single-seasons in sports history.
Barry Sanders’ 1988 season at Oklahoma State ranked No. 6. In 12 games that year, Sanders rushed for 2,850 yards and 42 touchdowns. Let those numbers sink in. That’s 237.5 yards and 3.5 touchdowns a game. Sanders scored at least two touchdowns in every game and scored three or more 10 times.
Amazing. Simply amazing. In ESPN.com’s top 25, only one other college football season is listed — USC’s Marcus Allen in 1981 ranks 25th. Allen’s season was monumental, unless you compare it to Sanders’. Allen rushed for 2,427 yards in 12 games and carried an NCAA record 435 times, counting his Fiesta Bowl results. Allen had an NCAA-record eight 200-yard games. A monster, monster year. But 19 slots away from Sanders’.
The only argument about Sanders’ season is how high on this list it should go, and I say it could go even higher. Here is the list, with my comments:
25. Allen 1981: Just like now, USC faced all comers. USC’s non-conference schedule that year included Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.
24. Ted Williams 1941: The last .400 season (.406), Williams missed the Triple Crown by five RBIs. Joe DiMaggio won the RBI title and the MVP, thanks to that 56-game hitting streak, which come to think of it is quite the season itself. DiMaggio didn’t make this list, which might be an oversight.
23. LaDainian Tomlinson 2006: 31 total touchdowns and 28 rushing TDs set NFL records. I have no problem with this ranking. Think about that — 28 rushing TDs in a 16-game schedule. That’s almost two per game, in a league where it’s a mighty feat to rush for a touchdown.
22. Michael Jordan 1987-88: A bogus ranking. Jordan averaged 35.0 points a game and was named defensive player of the year, averaging 3.2 steals per game. But steals always has been an overrated stat. This was a great year, no doubt, but not one of the best 25 in sports history.
21. Martina Navratilova 1984: Martina’s 74-match win streak included 13 straight tournament titles and three majors. She went 78-2. And she teamed with Pam Shriver to win all four majors doubles. But I have a problem with any tennis player on this list. The sport never has been deep enough to provide great competition.
20. Mario Lemieux 1992-93: Mario scored goals in the Penguins’ first 12 games and was on pace to break Wayne Gretzky’s single-season scoring record. But on Jan. 12, Lemieux announced he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease; he missed two months. He returned to the ice March 2 and scored a goal and an assist in his first game, and won the scoring title anyway. A great year, a heartwarming year, but one of the 25 best ever? Doubtful.
19. Pedro Martinez 1999: I love this season — 23-4 record, 2.07 ERA in a league that averaged 4.86, 313 strikeouts in 213.3 innings. Then a great playoff, too. I love seasons that counter trends. Great pitchers in a hitter’s era. Great runners in a passing era. Pedro’s season is too low.
18. Richard Petty 1967: Won 27 of 49 races, including 10 straight. This season earned him the nickname, The King. But I don’t know enough about NASCAR history to rate this season. Sure sounds like the competition wasn’t great.
17. Lew Alcindor 1966-67: His sophomore season at UCLA, averaged 29.0 points a game and shot 66.7 percent from the field. In the days before network coverage of the NCAA Tournament, much less ESPN, the future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a mythical figure. If he came along today he would stop the sports world dead cold. Probably a season ranked too low.
16. Bobby Jones 1930: Invented the Grand Slam, not by name but by accomplishment, winning the U.S. and British opens and amateurs. Then he retired. Give him a gold star for going out on top, but not to be taken seriously as an epic season. Considering competition, Phil Mickelson has had 10 seasons better.
15. O.J. Simpson 1973: Rushed for 2,003 yards in 14 games, an average of 143.1 yards a game, a feat that hasn’t been approached and might not be unless Adrian Peterson gets even better than he already is. O.J. rushed for 219 and 200 yards his final two games; he beat runnerup John Brockington for the rushing title by 859 yards. Chew on that for awhile. Clearly an underrated season. Should rank ahead of all other NFL seasons.
14. Steffi Graf 1988: Big-time year, winning all four majors as well as Olympic gold. She also ended Martina Navratilova’s run of six straight Wimbledon titles. But again, tennis is not a deep sport. This is too high.
13. Oscar Robertson, 1961-62: Before the invention of the term “triple-double,” the Big O achieved it — for a season, averaging 30.8 points, 11.4 assists and 12.5 rebounds. But 1962 was an offensively explosive year, as you will see. I love Oscar Robertson. I’m not convinced Michael Jordan was better than the Big O. But this season is ranked too high.
12. Dan Marino, 1984: In his second NFL season, Marino threw for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns, both league records. He also took the Dolphins to the Super Bowl. Probably ranked about right.
11. Jerry Rice, 1987: Caught a record 22 touchdowns, in only 12 games, due to the players’ strike. Give Rice 16 games, and that equates to 29 TD catches. Randy Moss finally broke Rice’s record this season, with 23. But you can’t cut Rice too much slack for the strike. That was a man-made absence.
10. Bobby Orr, 1969-70: Revolutionized hockey, becoming the only defenseman to lead the NHL in goals plus assists. His 87 assists set a league record, and his 120 points missed by only six of the record. He won all four major awards: MVP, scoring, defenseman and playoff MVP. An epic season. Probably too low.
9. Bob Gibson, 1968: The best pitcher in the year of the pitcher. Don Drysdale pitched 582/3 consecutive scoreless innings and Denny McLain won 31 games, but Gibson was the best. ERA: 1.12. Shutouts: 13. During a 90-inning stretch, Gibson allowed two runs. His record was 22-9; in those nine losses, Gibson’s ERA was 2.14. After the season, the mound was lowered to give the hitters a chance. Gibson is an old favorite of mine, but the circumstances of the sport helped, and the other great pitching feats lessen Gibson’s impact. Probably ranked too high.
8. Pete Maravich, 1969-70: A season not fathomable in today’s sports. 44.5 points a game. Ten games with at least 50 points. Without a shot clock. Without a 3-point line. College basketball never had seen anything like Pistol Pete and isn’t likely to see it again. This season is ranked too low.
7. Barry Bonds, 2001: Superhuman statistics; 73 home runs, .863 slugging percentage (breaking Babe Ruth’s record .849), 177 walks (breaking Ruth’s record 1923 record) and .515 on-base percentage (best in baseball since Ted Williams 1957). Turns out, of course, superhuman is an accurate description. The steroid scandal makes this a season of shame, not a season of glory.
6. Barry Sanders, 1988: This really doesn’t have anything to do with this season, but does anyone else think that Sanders actually was a more entertaining runner in the NFL? With OSU, Sanders actually found running room from time to time. With Detroit, rarely. He was unbelievable in Stillwater, but he didn’t always have to be Houdini. In the Silverdome, he did.
5. Tom Brady, 2007: A record 50 TD passes. Stats you might not know — 10 straight games of at least three touchdown passes; 20 TD passes in the second quarter alone, a figure surpassed by only three other QBs; just eight interceptions. Peyton Manning threw six picks against San Diego alone.
4. Tiger Woods, 2000: Underrated at No. 4. Tiger won three majors, nine tournaments overall, but it’s HOW he won them. Won the U.S. Open by a major-championship record 15 shots at Pebble Beach. Won the British Open by eight strokes and shot 19-under, a major championship record in relation to par. Won the PGA Championship in a three-hole playoff, after finishing at 18-under, tying the PGA record. Dominance we’ve seen from only one athlete ever. Babe Ruth.
3. Wayne Gretzky, 1981-82: Blew up the NHL record book, with 92 goals and 120 assists. Reached 50 goals in 39 games, breaking Maurice Richard’s record. Had 10 hat tricks. Became the only hockey player ever named the AP male athlete of the year. An wondrous, wondrous season.
2. Babe Ruth, 1921: Babe is best-known for his 60 home runs in 1927, but make no mistake, 1921 was his Everest. In 1927, baseball was full of Babe Ruth replicas. In 1927, Ruth won the home run title by 13. In 1921, he hit 59 homers and won the title by 35. His totals for runs (177), extra-base hits (119) and total bases (457) still stand as records. Think about that one. Expansion, steroids, juiced balls, bandbox stadiums all have come to baseball, and yet 87 years later, the Babe’s records still reign.
1. Wilt Chamberlain, 1961-62: Sometimes, some things are so unbelievable, that instead of marvelling at them, we just dismiss them. Like it never happened, or it happened in another universe. But 46 years ago, Wilt Chamberlain really did average 50.4 and 25.7 rebounds a game. He really did reach 50 points 45 times. He really did score 100 points in a game. He really did play 48.5 minutes a game, all but eight minutes all season. Yes, 1962 was a wrinkle in time; stats went through the NBA roof. But still. An amazing season.
So here’s how I would rank the top 10:
1. Babe Ruth 1921
2. Tiger Woods 2000
3. Wilt Chamberlain 1961-62
4. Pete Maravich 1969-70
5. Wayne Gretzky 1981-82
6. Tom Brady 2007
7. Barry Sanders 1988
8. Bobby Orr 1969-70
9. O.J. Simpson 1973
10. Pedro Martinez 1999
A Heisman for Vince?
Some people are speculating that Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy will be vacated. I don’t know if the Downtown Athletic Club can force Bush to give back the hardware, but it certainly can remove him from the rolls and annual honors. That’s the thing about the Heisman; it’s an ongoing award.
Steve Owens has talked extensively about the prestige and thrill of going back to New York every year and mingling with the other Heisman winners. It’s an exclusive club. Losing that Heisman perk is no small thing.
Which is why I say give the 2005 Heisman to Vince Young. The Texas quarterback deserved it anyway; he clearly was the best football player in America that season. Bush was a wonderful player, too, but in Young’s class. Young wouldn’t have the thrill of walking up to the podium and receiving all that attention from ESPN, as Bush did, but he would get to enjoy all the Heisman fruits past winners still enjoy.
