The new emails are here!
Another round of emails, covering everything from the Sonics to Bill Self.
John weighs in on OSU’s search: “I won’t say Mike Holder isn’t smart, but he certainly made Pickens U’s bid for a replacement basketball coach more difficult. While speculation about Bill Self or any other coach would have occurred in any event, Holder should have made every effort to play it down, not even admitting to a list of possibilities – he didn’t. The problem is that he made overtures to Self. Now, a new coach, whomever, will know he’s second choice, less desirable so to speak…not good for the ego.”
Here’s the problem with that, John. In the coaching fraternity, everyone knows everything. So if Holder had gone stone-cold silent, all the coaches would have known about it and the public would not have known, so he’d have the same problem and more — his fan base wondering why he didn’t go harder after Self.
Pat, too, is puzzled by the search: “Obviously, going after Bill Self was the right thing to do and it appears Holder went about it in professional manner and gave it a good try. But most of us OSU fans were not really surprised we couldn’t get him. You had written that you didn’t think OSU could land Self and I don’t think most in the national media were surprised we didn’t get him, either. If his quotes in Andrea’s story this morning are to be believed, it seems Holder was the only one that was surprised. Is it really plausible that he doesn’t even have a B list of candidates? I understand having to wait for Self to become available, but in the intervening 10 days or so since Sean was let go, you would think Holder, Dave Martin and the rest of the staff would be doing some background work and compiling a list of back-ups. If not, it appears a lot of time was wasted with the coaching carousel turning as it is. I agree I think Holder is going to go for a big splash with this hire. As for the list in your blog, all would probably be solid coaches, but there are a few I can’t personally get excited about. I keep seeing Tubby Smith’s name come up. You hear great things about him and he’s obviously a solid coach. But he’s just kind of one of the old guard guys that have been around and I think we need a fresher breath of air. Same thing for Lon Kruger. And maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always felt Tim Floyd is a little overrated. Calipari is a good coach and can recruit, but something about his personality to me just makes him a strange fit for OSU. Any of the other guys on your list would probably be fine. Jamie Dixon was my second choice well before you guys picked him as the winner on your bracket.”
I am certain Holder has a list and a Plan B. Some things he goes public with, some things not.
Larry, a Texas Tech fan, took exception to my line about Bobby Knight being hired at OSU. “I appreciate that he’s Satan in the flesh, but does anybody really believe Bob Knight would go to all the trouble of installing his son at Tech only to take a job at another Big 12 South school, where he would only succeed in direct opposition to his own son’s career interests? If he got the itch to coach again, don’t you suppose he could get a job, and a pretty good one, outside of our conference? Surely you’re just amusing yourselves, or maybe just hard up for something to blather about. And as to him being consulted on the subject of the job opening, well, he does know a thing or two, even if he is Beelzebub.”
Actually, I was hoping to flush out one of the three Tech basketball fans on Planet Earth.
Mission accomplished.
Mel chimed in on Roy Williams supporting KU in the title game: “To you and all the other press coverers of Roy Williams’ gesture of KU appreciation, you seem never to catch on to how clever Roy Williams is — that is what you should be crediting him for! The man clearly knows how to get press coverage and up his constant exposure for better recruiting! Have you never watched how this man always takes his glasses off for timeouts and news conferences? He is totally about upping his image and his edge in the battle of recruiting — impressing parents and recruits. And I cannot stand to hear reporters accommodate his tears. Please — the guy is a master con artist and nothing more.”
Mel, you really need to get over this. Williams is five years gone and KU has an NCAA title. Enough is enough.
Brad wrote, “It was nice to see a championship without Joakim Noah jumping around like a moron.”No kidding.Now, some football. Woody took exception to me saying that early picks in the first round of the NFL draft are a curse. “Next time you see Jerry Jones, ask him if he thinks
Troy Aikman was a curse. Maybe if Jerry wasn’t such a ego maniac, he would have gotten out of the way and let Jimmy Johnson make the call on draft picks. It took him a decade to overcome that mistake by hiring Parcells, so give him credit for that. A curse? If you’re afraid to pull the trigger on a player, you can always find somebody who will give you more to trade down for your high draft pick. The only curse is on your fans, because they have to live with your inability to pick the right guys to make a winning team.”
Troy Aikman was drafted in 1989. That was 19 years ago, which was prehistoric times compared to today’s economic situation. The best draft picks are somewhere in the 20s of the first round. You get a decent player for a good price. Draft early, and you pay a king’s ransom for a rookie. That’s a curse.
Craig defended Malcolm Kelly: “Don’t blame the kid. Kevin Wilson vastly under utilized him last season. I am sure he is frustrated.”
Maybe
Wilson wasn’t all that fired up to throw to a slow receiver. Everyone acts like Malcolm Kelly is the second coming of Jerry Rice or something. He’s a good ballplayer who somehow thinks he’s supposed to be given a jet ride to the pros. OU has multiple good receivers, and the difference in their talent level apparently isn’t nearly as wide as we believed.
Some readers still chime in about the Sonics’ name change.
Duane writes, “The
Oklahoma City Eagles. Sounds good, doesn’t it? We have the Eagle colony at nearby
Lake
Arcadia, and Eagles are nesting elsewhere in
Oklahoma. A raptor show in the
Ford
Center would be great entertainment during the halftime break and before the game. I believe the Eagle personifies the Spirit of Oklahoma as we soar on toward major league status with our new NBA team in
Oklahoma City. It would also tie in nicely with our pioneer history and modern civilian and military aviation activity this city is well known for, and would honor a revered symbol for many Native Americans who live in
Oklahoma. And the Eaglettes, cheerleaders in feathers, imagine.”
You had me until Eaglettes. Actually, you never had me at all. I love Eagles; when we opened a new middle school back in 1973 and got to vote for
Irving’s new nickname, I supported Eagles. But
Philadelphia’s got the corner on Eagles. I say no duplication with another major-league franchise.
Mike writes, “I have a concern when it comes to re-naming the Sonics. I don’t think they should be named the Oklahoma anything, as in the Oklahoma RedHawks and the
Oklahoma
River. The baseball team should be named the Oklahoma City RedHawks and the river should be named the
Oklahoma City
River. In my view, those names are not fair to the taxpayers of
Oklahoma City, who have willingly paid for all the MAPS projects. Some of the names I’ve come-up with are: Oilers, Riders, Plainsmen, Gushers, Mustangs, Coyotes, Falcons, Roughnecks and Gassers.”
Hey, I like Mustangs. Same thing applies to them that applies to my Thunderbirds nomination. Ford would eat it up; stick a sporty Mustang or two in the
Ford
Center lobby. One downer: as Boomer and Sooner have shown us, horses make lousy costumed mascots.
Terry nominates the Oklahoma City Barons. “By definition, a baron is an important financier or industrialist, one with great power in a particular area. Note these examples that highlight
Oklahoma: oil baron, cattle baron, land baron, red baron (aviation). It is short, two-syllable, unique, andmulti-applicable to a number of Oklahomans.”
I wouldn’t go around promoting that Red Baron thing too much.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Berry:
you’ve rec’d some really good suggestions toward a name for OKC’s new NBA team.
I missed newspaper and TV announcements about the official or unofficial name/T-shirt contest.
Please include my suggestion(s) along with names already submitted.
What about a name like WIND, as in OklahomaCityWIND, OKCWIND, or OKLAHOMAWIND.
When used as a noun, the word WIND applies to any air in natural motion such as: strong wind, calm wind, wind power, wind machine, winds of change,” [...where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain"]. The word also applies to an influentiral force or trend, as in “the winds of public opinion” or, “catch wind of a stock split”. In many ways Wind reflects who we are as a people, and certainly describes typical weather characteristics in our state.
Other NBA team names carry similar themes such as the Miami HEAT, Los Angles LAKERS, and Phoenix SUNS.
Let me know your thoughts.
Until then…Go WIND!