Berry Tramel NewsOK.com Blogging Community

Another round of emails, ranging from college football to the NBA.

Greg wrote about Mike Gundy’s new job of ticket-seller: “I really hope OSU can find 25,000 more butts in the seats. Those 25,000 are likely student parents who have not participated in the past, recent graduates who get out of the habit of going like they did as students and, finally, college football fans who cannot always get tickets or lack the confidence to go to Norman and just stick their fingers in the air. 60K fans filling the stadium, OSU winning at least eight games a season is good for OU. It makes for more interest and makes the Bedlam game always deserving of a lot of attention. I just disagree with how Coach Holder is going about it. I honestly don’t think it will work, and frankly, even if there is an increase, it is something which only works every other year. It all comes down to winning.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. The success of OU or OSU in most any sport elevates the other program. A rising tide lifts all boats. You are defined by your opponent.

Sam, quite the erudite reader, read my home run column and wrote, “I think the trouble in general is the lack of fight. Specifically, we could say steroids replaces commitment with nervous anger. But to the general case, I can find no more appropriate summation than to recall a speech given by Allen Dulles of Duke University in November 1962. One of the remarks I specifically recall was his trademark, “You may think me an old fool now, young men, but I’m telling you it is better to have a committed man as an enemy than to have a dozen weaklings as allies. It is essential to know where you stand.” Custer and Crazy Horse both believed that. But our enemies are not men of commitment. Our allies are weakling.”

Which again goes back to scheduling. If you want all your rivals to go splat, join Conference USA.

Chris wrote about Tiger Woods. “Great article (once again) on Tiger. Yes, he is great at this time, but the jury is still out on him breaking all the records. This is a stupid statement if not looked at properly. He wins but he is not dominate like Ruth, Aaron etc. He doesn’t win by much; take a stroke her and there and he loses. Weird way to look at this but in my eyes he isn’t dominate like the athletes I mentioned above.”

Not to be disrespectful, Chris, but what in the heck are you talking about? Tiger has won the Masters by 12, the U.S. Open by 15, the British by eight, and the PGA and another British by five shots. That’s five of 14 majors that were absolute routs. Only three of his titles came in playoffs, and another was by one stroke, so that’s four of 14 that were very tight. Only three were by two strokes. So half his titles came by at least three shots, which in golf is a runaway.

Mike wrote about the Shaq-Kobe feud, which won’t seem to die. “Glad you gave a jeer to Shaq. He sounds to me like a guy who knows he’s no longer relevant as a player, knows his old team is better off without him and thus feels compelled to draw attention to himself. And I liken Kobe’s struggles against Boston to those of MJ (yeah…hate to keep making that comparison) against the great team defense of the Pistons in the late ’80s. But when MJ’s supporting cast got strong enough, he broke through. With a healthy Andrew Bynum and a Boston team that’s a year older, so too will Kobe and the Lakers, who in my opinion overachieved to begin with by knocking off the Spurs, winning the West and even reaching the Finals.”

All the Kobe fans who “hate to keep making that comparison” with Jordan had better cut it out, or Kobe’s stock’s going to keep dropping.

Craig wrote, “I get the sense some things are changing regarding OU fans support of traveling to BCS games, especially Glendale. I have been to all the last four BCS losses. We have a party of about 8 or 10 of us who travel together for these things. While we really liked San Antonio, we don’t really care to go to KC. But if OU plays for the Big 12 Championship, we may go. We have all decided not to travel and spend our money on a BCS game unless OU is playing for the national championship. All the other BCS games are meaningless. My wife said she would rather go “somewhere else” like Hawaii or something. Then, the other day, I met with a friend who is an extreme traveling OU diehard. He surprised the heck out of me when he announced he wouldn’t be traveling to any bowl games this next season either. I think many of the fans support the team, but have no desire to attend another meaningless BCS game. Do you get that vibe from others?”

I get the vibe that anyone who has to drive to a bowl game isn’t getting past the first gas station. Here’s what I think. OU fans accustomed to going to Miami or Phoenix for a bowl game, who instead go to Honolulu or someplace, will enjoy their vacation paradise. Then about the third day, someone will say, when’s the game? And everyone will look at each other and admit, “I wish the Sooners were here.”

Joe wrote about the possibility of OSU removing the Eddie Sutton signature, but not the name, from the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena. “I completely agree with you that it is too early for Holder and Pickens to run all the Suttons out of Stillwater. We both debated the pros and cons of Sean being fired, but Eddie is a different story. He put OSU back on the map in basketball. The new renovation and attention drawn to the program was a big plus. They really hadn’t done squat since Mr. Iba left. To say that you reverse all Eddie did is going a little too far and way too fast for OSU fans. However, they have taken that money and now they have a one-man show calling the shots. It is kind of like we take the government’s money on grants and stuff. You can sure bet there are strings and they are going to tell you how it can be used.”

If OSU has a one-man show calling the shots, his name is Mike Holder. I don’t know how many times I have to explain it, but Boone Pickens is not running Cowboy athletics. He’s an owner, in the major-league sense of the word, but he’s an absentee owner. He’s not Mark Cuban or Jerry Jones. Boone has other things to worry about.

Brad questioned my description of Ana Ivanovic as a no-name. “Ana Ivanovic is a megastar on and off the court. A knockout (a 10 in some eyes). She won the French Open three weeks ago and I believe reached two major finals last year, and I think the semis in another major. She is by no means a no-name. And yes, when Henin retired, Sharapova went to No. 1 then was jumped by Ana following the French. She may not be household to the general public (will soon), but she is a giant giant name in tennis circles. I saw a feature on her yesterday that paralleled her popularity to soccer stars in Europe. Just jump on the Internet and google her, you will see how big she is. Again, on and off the court, exactly what tennis needed.”

Well, I googled Ivanovic. She is indeed a looker, and she indeed finished second at the ‘07 French and the ‘08 Australian. She’s an up-and-comer, but giant-giant? I don’t buy that. She’s the next great hope, and part of that hope is she stops losing in the third round at Wimbledon, which she did last week.

John wrote about the Sonics. “Your column today hits the nail right on the head. While I don’t care for or about basketball, my interest is piqued by current Sonic litigation. The city [administration] has validated its desire ‘not’ to fund a new basketball facility. Seattle has little to defend its position in court. Win or lose, the city will wear a forever black-eye and illustrate ‘incompetence.’ Poison Well and all other things aside, the intelligent thing for Seattle to do is negotiate a buy-out. Then again, intelligence demonstrated to date by the city seems wanting. The judge has but one consideration in arriving at a decision, can the Sonics buy out the lease? I may be qualified to comment; study of contract law earned me my best grades in law school, if long ago.) If Sonic owners fail to prevail in court, I have suggestions that might garner further headlines and comment.”

Wow. I like that last part. We’ve been looking for a law consultant who works cheap.

Mike wrote about the Sonics. “In Seattle, the Sonics’ attorneys (through their expert) have been quoted as taking the position that ’sports teams do not have a net economic impact since the consumer dollars spent would be spent elsewhere in the area.’ Clay Bennett is sitting there while someone makes this argument for his benefit. Oklahoma City and its residents did not benefit from this position when it was asked to approve a tax to support the team’s move to Oklahoma City. It seems to me that you should take issue with this. The whole manner in which this was sold to the residents should be examined. I am a avid sports fan and not against sports in anyway. I am not a supporter of the concept of helping sport team owners so they can pay additional millions in payroll to those who are paid plenty. No city has ever offered me facilities support for manufacturing in companies I owned.”

Well, the city never rallied at Mike’s plant and cheered, so it’s not a direct comparison. I don’t think Clay Bennett ever said getting an NBA team means more direct money value, but becoming major league would lead to enhanced status for the city in a variety of ways. Now, the ad campaign sort of milked it — more jobs, more whatever — and those were silly when they aired, long before this trial. The difference, as I see Clay seeing it and I would tend to agree, is that the value of the NBA in Seattle is not great, since Seattle has other major-league franchises, while the value of the NBA in OKC is much greater, since it would elevate us to major-league status. That has inherent value.