Horses, nicknames and heartwarming stories
Another round of reader emails, and I guess I’m going soft. I’ve had a run of heartwarming columns this week — the interesting relationship between people and their horses in the wake of the Kentucky Derby tragedy, Sam Aubrey’s death and the story of Hartshorne baseball coach Justin James, whose 4-year-old son, Caden, is fighting cancer. But some people still want to talk about the NBA.
Tyler wrote, “I just finished a semester at OU and got home. I don’t read the paper while at school, but I read it this morning and saw the ‘name the Sonics’ contest. I think we should focus on names that don’t have a negative connotation from a national perspective. This would eliminate any twister/tornado or oil related names. Energy is a terrible idea; it sounds like a WNBA team. I think we would better off naming them something generic and that no other professional team is called (Foxes, herd, rattlers).”
Don’t read the paper while at school? And they dare to call it higher education? Anyway, what’s wrong with oil-related names? The way I see it, we need more oil production in the U.S., not less. But all in all, it sounds like my beloved Thunderbirds meets your criteria.
Mark wrote, “My son came up with this idea for a NBA name a couple of months ago: NightHawks. It is in the state song. ‘Every night we sit alone and talk, and watch our hawk making lazy circles in the sky.”
Well, not to be picky, but it’s not actually “our” hawk. It’s “a” hawk. NightHawks? Not my favorite, but it beats Energy. And I don’t know what this has to do with anything, but I’m pretty sure that in two seasons in
On the Hartshorne column, Jan wrote, “Sending you my appreciation for a WONDERFUL article about our Justin, his family and our baseball team! I have read it twice and have now lost all my makeup from the tears. The pictures were great, the headline was great and the space was perfect. The administrators and staff have all voiced their excitement over the article; the school was all abuzz this morning when the papers arrived! Again, thanks so much for the positive recognition for our little part of the state.”
You don’t get too many higher compliments than messing up a woman’s makeup, and she’s happy about it.
Dale from Okmulgee wrote, “The story you wrote on Justin James and his family was a wonderful piece. Justin was one year younger than I (at Hartshorne) and quarterbacked our state semifinalist team as a junior and was a leader even then. The James family, and this includes his parents, grandparents, siblings, and probably others I don’t know, are some of the finest people you could ever possibly get the privilege to know. So just know, this article touched a lot of people who have been thinking and praying and hoping for good news about Caden. Thank you so much for writing it. So, from one Hartshorne boy to, who I would probably say is now an ‘honorary Hartshorne boy,’ thank you.”
You know, I’ve been called worse than honorary Hartshorne boy.
Joe, from Pete’s Place in Krebs, also weighed in: “Nice column today. That guy (James) is a good guy. As I am sure you are aware, a lot of the coaches we entrust children with are not of the greatest character. This guy is solid from what I have been told.”
Let me tell you what gets my attention. Pete’s Place. One of my two favorite restaurants in the world. I’ve got to blog about that place soon. I haven’t been in a year or two; it’s been far too long.
Now, on the death of former OSU basketball coach Sam Aubrey, Kristin wrote, “I just read your article about Mr. Aubrey and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it. My dad also is a member of the greatest generation, and he and Mr. Aubrey were in the same ROTC class at OSU in 1943. They have had reunions almost very year, and this year was their 65th. I have taken my dad to several, and Mr. Aubrey was able to make most of them. He was a wonderful gentleman. My dad lost his right leg in the
It’s always good to remember that giants still walk among us.
On the death of Eight Belles, Ed wrote, “I want to say thanks for the way you have reported on the filly that had to be euthanized. While some media have treated the story in what I would consider a rather callous manner, you and The Oklahoman have treated it as the tragedy it is and reported on it in a very professional manner. One local TV station immediately after the Derby in reporting on the race referred to the filly as being ‘destroyed.’ I realize that this term used to be popular but is seldom used any longer in most areas.”
Well, I learned a lesson. I wouldn’t have thought that “destroyed” would be considered a poor choice of word.
A different Ed wrote, “I’m still a dog guy, but I enjoyed your column about horses. My cowboy cousin who lives near Dumas, Texas, once said to me, ‘A horse ain’t very smart, but he knows where them oats are.’ I’ve never had a horse. Had lots of dogs, though, and they’ll lick my face and love me if I had a bad day at the office or OU just lost to
I’m a dog guy myself. When it comes to horses, I’m like B.J. on M*A*S*H. I stepped in some manure once, which puts me in charge.
Danny wrote, “I have four horses and my wife loves them all. I think you did a great job on this story. The relationship between animals and humans never ceases to amaze me.”
Actually, the relationship between humans and humans never ceases to amaze me.
Well, I’m going to have to takeShannon’s word for it. I don’t know anything about horse breeding.
And as promised, some NBA talk. Jack from Seattle wrote, “Good article on why we should keep fighting to save our team. As a teenager living in
Let me get this straight. You never go to the Sonics, and when you do you certainly don’t pay. But it’s an injustice that they’re going to leave? You know what I’m starting to think? The Sonics are going to go ga-ga over the way they’ll be treated in
I do feel sorry for true Sonic fans who are losing their team. And Oklahomans, we need to watch the smacktalk.
R.J. chimed in on the NBA: “You and I are the same age and I like how you think and write (a lot like I do and would). I’ll be shocked if this shows up in print but here goes. I think the NBA is rigged in favor of the Lakers. I am so sick of hearing and reading about them. Had to suffer through all the years of Kareem and Earvin, etc. Then it was Shaq and Kobe. How did Jerry West just happen to pull off all those deals? He was a genius, right? Did he get dumb real fast when he went to
Well, not to be picky, but Jerry West did an unbelievable job at Memphis. Got the Grizzlies to the playoffs a couple of times. I don’t really believe in conspiracies. If I did, I wouldn’t follow the NBA. I’d treat it the way I treat boxing. Who cares?
Finally, some good old-fashioned football talk. Joe, a frequent critic of Bob Stoops, asks, “Surely I misheard, or misunderstood, that ANOTHER quarterback is leaving the Bob Stoops administration. Poor Bob has never understood that you can’t backstock quarterbacks like linemen. Surely, after going on 10 years and $5 million, he would have figured it out. His track record with quarterbacks only exceeds his running back record — Felix Jones, Tashard Choice, etc., to name a few. Will Stoops go down in the history of OU football annals as being the greatest coach that never had a clue, or what.
I would say what.
-------------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.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
In regards to the teenager from Seattle who hardly ever goes to a Sonic game and didn’t pay for many of the games. HE’S A TEENAGER!!!! Of course he can’t pay to see an NBA game. How could he afford a ticket!? Try to use a better example if you are going to try to make a point of Seattle apethy.