Bully OU-Tulsa & OSU-Tulsa
OU-Tulsa and OSU-Tulsa are football series that should be played regularly. And finally, they are being played regularly. OU’s announcement Friday that it will play the Golden Hurricane in 2013, 2014 and 2015, along with the already-scheduled games in 2009 and 2011, is excellent news on the college football scheduling front.
The OU-TU announcement comes after the 2007 game at Tulsa, and the resumption of OSU-Tulsa, which was an annual series through most of the ’80s and ’90s and resumes with games in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The in-state rivalries are good on every front. First, it’s good for state PR. Why should OSU be playing Houston but not Tulsa? Why OU be playing TCU but not Tulsa? It’s also good for scheduling; the 2-for-1 format — Tulsa gets one home game; OU and OSU each gets two — helps the madcap nature of college football scheduling, in which schools scramble for weak non-conference opponents and pay huge amounts for lesser foes.
Tulsa’s program has improved dramatically over this decade and is a legit foe for OU and OSU. Such scheduling also keeps expenses down for every state team and keeps money in the state.
It’s win, win, win. OU and OSU should play Tulsa every season. But this is a very good start.
Going to war with Jim Traber
Lots of folks by now have heard or heard about my spirited exchange with Gentleman Jim Traber on the Sports Animal’s Total Dominance Hour. I called Jim a chauvinist and four seconds later the world was on fire.
I received a couple of inquiries and saw a couple of Internet postings that I want to clear up. The show was not an act. The show was not planned. Not scripted. Not discussed beforehand. This was not some ruse to create another Sports Animal buzz. Jim and I go at it every once in awhile, but it’s always spontaneous.
I assume a lot of radio shows plant controversy, but I can tell you that with Traber and Eschbach, we never even talk before the show about which subject we’re going to discuss. On rare occasions, one of us might, during a commercial break, say something like, hey, let’s talk about the Hornets, or OU baseball, or Travis Ford. But never do we plan out a show, much less plan out a forest fire to get everyone talking.
Let me clear up another item. Jim and I are friends. We’re not go-out-to-dinner once a week friends. We’re not play-golf-regularly-together friends. I can’t find the time to go to dinner with anyone but my family; don’t play golf with anyone, much less a seven-handicapper like Jim.
I bust him on the radio because he’s fun to bust, and we most definitely disagree on a variety of subjects, and Jim is more combustible than gasoline. But there are no hard feelings. And whatever happens, it most definitely was not scripted.
Lakers in five
In the NBA Finals, I was going to pick the Lakers in six games, then I really decided to analyze the situation and changed my mind. Lakers in five.
The Lakers clearly are the better team, and Boston’s 66-win season, in which the Celtics went a spiffy 25-5 against the Western Conference, only masks the superiority of Los Angeles.
Forget the regular season. In the playoffs, the Lakers have been superb. The Celtics, not so much. The Lakers’ playoff record: 12-3. The Celtics’ playoff record: 12-8. But there’s more. The Celtics’ playoff record was achieved against three teams that combined to go 141-105. The Lakers’ playoff record was achieved against three team that combined to go 160-86.
The Lakers came out of the West, which had nine 50-win teams, with the best record. Now the Lakers have dominated in the playoffs. Great, great teams, playing against competition inferior to what the Lakers have faced this post-season, have not won 80 percent of their games to reach the finals.
The Celtics have homecourt advantage. But the Lakers have the superior team. Lakers in five.
OKC is Omaha South
In 1997, I wrote a story comparing the early development with Omaha’s College World Series with Oklahoma City’s Women’s College World Series. Eleven years later, the similarities hold true.
In 1961, Omaha averaged less than 3,000 fans per session for the NCAA baseball championships. By the ’90s, of course, Rosenblatt Stadium had undergone several expansions, and crowds averaged more than 20,000 per session.
In 1990, Oklahoma City averaged barely 1,500 fans per session. By 1993, that average was up to 2,700. The numbers kept going up and up, even after a move off Memorial Day weekend, and the Series ended this weekend with a record average of 6,600 fans per session.
Comparisons with Omaha not only are accurate, they are perhaps prescient. Oklahoma City, the Amateur Softball Association and the All Sports Association keep working together to upgrade and expand Hall of Fame Stadium, and the fans keep coming. Bigger and bigger crowds, bigger and bigger atmosphere. ESPN plays a big part, no doubt, enticing viewers who eventually decide to make the pilgrimage.
I don’t know what the limit is. Omaha might have topped out. It is building a new stadium, but I don’t think the new stadium can hold 30,000 or 40,000. Eventually, OKC will top out, too, although there is plenty of room and all kinds of options to make Hall of Fame Stadium even bigger. But it is not crazy to believe that in the very near future, sessions of the WCWS will draw 10,000 on average.
Hail to John MacLeod
Did you see our story in today’s paper on Clifford Ray, the old Oklahoma center who played in the NBA in the 1970s and now is an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics? Very interesting update on big Cliff.
And think about this. In the 1976 Western Conference Finals, Golden State played Phoenix in a great seven-game series. The Suns won, then went on to play the Celtics in a classic six-game series won by Boston. But in that Warrior-Sun series, three former Sooners played huge roles. Ray for Golden State, Garfield Heard and Alvan Adams for Phoenix.
That’s a wonderful collection of talent recruited by John MacLeod, who rarely gets the credit he deserves. MacLeod never made an NCAA Tournament in his six years as OU’s coach, but those were the days when only one team from a conference qualified. Put those MacLeod teams in today’s environment, and not only would the Sooners have qualified, they would have made a deep run or two in the tournament.
Think also about this. Kelvin Sampson coached 12 years for the Sooners and did an excellent job. But he placed just ONE player in the NBA, Eduardo Najera. Billy Tubbs coached 14 years at OU and put eight players in the NBA, including some stars. Mookie Blaylock and Wayman Tisdale.
But the shining moment of OU basketball’s contribution to the NBA were those 1976 Western Conference Finals.
Readers respond on quarterbacks
The emails are quarterbackcentric this week. Fans weighing in on Jack Mildren’s place in history and my listing of the top 10 wishbone quarterbacks of all time. Plus other assorted topics, including the weekly appearance from a Seattle psycho. Let the correspondence commence.
Jeff writes about the Mildren/Jason White/Josh Heupel debate. “After some thought, if OU’s D was better, Jack would win this category hands down. If only freshmen were eligible. Shoate and Hughes would have been difference makers on a mediocre OU defense in ’71. I guess that shows how great Jack was. Never even won a conference title (titles seem to be the way people measure how great pro QBs are) but possibly the best ever at OU, where they have won 41 conference championships. I can’t argue with the list. Especially the omission of Holieway. Pretty good grouping of honorable mentions (Davis, Warmack, Calame and Holieway). Interesting, to me at least, that the greatest quarterback to ever play at OU would not be in OU’s top 20. Aikman.”
Actually, I think OU’s 1971 defense gets a bad rap. It shut out SMU and held Missouri to three points. OU held Colorado to 17 points, and the Buffs finished No. 3 in the polls. OU led USC 33-13 until the last minute and got up 40-6 on Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. The Sooners gave up 35 to Nebraska, but one touchdown was Johnny Rodgers’ punt return. That’s not bad defense.
Don wanted to debate my selection of Nolan Cromwell over Jack Mildren as the greatest wishbone quarterback ever. “Your selection of Cromwell was courageous; especially in the light of Jack’s recent demise. Perhaps it is motivated by Nolan’s finest hour, the 23-3 win over Oklahoma in 1975. That was a game that may have resulted more from KU’s defense and OU’s offensive ineptitude. But chalk one up for Cromwell. However, Nolan was actually a defensive back as a sophomore and didn’t play offense until Bear Bryant protege’ Bud Moore came from Alabama and took the reins in ‘75. Nolan’s 1975 season was his only productive year. He gained 1,128 yards rushing and was named Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Eight. KU then lost to Pitt in the Sun Bowl, 33-19. He was injured most of the 1976 season, the Jayhawks finished 1-9, and Moore was gone shortly thereafter. Dave Topiker of the Lawrence Journal World recently listed John Hadl and Gayle Sayers contemporary Bobby Douglas as the best QBs in Jayhawk history. Could Cromwell have quarterbacked OU’s ’71 team to the heights it achieved? Probably yes. Could Mildren have quarterback KU as well as Cromwell? Yes again. So, it comes down to multi-year performance and physical toughness, both of which were Mildren attributes.”
Nobody’s a bigger fan of Jack than I am. But
Joe also wanted to comment on wishbone quarterbacks. “A couple of comments. Some I never heard of, but that is OK. Didn’t
The deal on Alabama is that no one from Bama can figure out who is its best wishbone QB. Shealy? Jeff Rutledge? Terry Davis? I asked two people from
Jasen argues that “Thomas Lott was better than any of the OU quarterbacks you mentioned other than Mildren, who I was to young to see play. Had Lott’s teams won a national championship he would have been lauded as the best. If J.C. Watts was better, how come J.C. had to sit behind Lott for so long? I remember they redshirted him for what would have been his junior year. If he was better why not play him and give themselves a better chance to win.”
Thomas Lott is one of my all-time favorite players, but
Marc is a Texas fan who was intrigued by the debate. “Regarding wishbone QBs, we all feel the emotion about Jack Mildren. Great guy, fine athlete, etc. And I know this is just an opinion, but he was not a better ‘bone QB than James Street. Matter of fact, Street was far superior. James Street WAS the wishbone. Incredible athlete (an all-SWC baseball player as well) and even better leader. Street was the perfect guy for this new offense. And with Street there was no learning curve. He grabbed it by the horns and won with it right from the start. In my somewhat biased opinion, I think discussions of wishbone QBs should begin and end with James Street.”
Marc is a cordial UT fan, but he’s not to be taken too seriously. Street was an excellent quarterback but wasn’t the caliber of Mildren. OU’s offense under Mildren set NCAA records that still stand. The biggest argument for Street over Mildren is that both quarterbacks played in epic showdowns that rank among the greatest games in college football history, but Street won his and Mildren lost. That’s right. Street beat Arkansas 15-14 in 1969. Mildren lost to Nebraska 35-31 in 1971. In the biggest games of their lives, Mildren took his team to 31; Street less than half that.
Larry, a Texas Tech fan, wrote, “Much as it pains me to say it, Marty Akins was one of the best. I think he started for the Longhorns eight or nine years back in the 70’s.”
The only thing I remember about Marty Akins, other than his country-music name, is that he always seemed to be on the sidelines in the OU-Texas game with blood streaming down his face.
James wrote simply, “One question: Why did you not rank Jamelle Holieway among the top 10 OU QBs? They won a national title with him at the helm.”
Excellent question that deserves an answer. I actually ranked Jamelle No. 8 among wishbone QBs overall. But here’s why I omitted him from OU’s top 10. He was trouble. We didn’t know it at the time, but if you read Charles Thompson’s book, and even Switzer’s book, you know Holieway was trouble. Big-time trouble. Noted baseball author Bill James once wrote about Hal Chase, a marvelous first baseman from the early 1900s. Prince Hal, they called him. He was a rogue, a scoundrel, at best. A cheating, unethical bastard at worst. It was known by, oh, 1908 that Chase was fixing baseball games. No one did anything. He threw his own games. No one did anything. He consorted with known gamblers and organized crime figures, and no one said a word. Bill James said that it’s not hard to make the connection that Hal Chase set in motion the events that led to the Black Sox in 1919. That the throwing of a World Series was a natural evolution from the shenanigans of Hal Chase. What if the same is true of Holieway? What if a culture in which the quarterback sells drugs on a big-time level, and players rape a girl in the dorm, and one teammate shoots another, comes down to the culture created by Holieway? Buster Rhymes came to OU in 1980 and was an obvious thug. He got run off. Five years later, Holieway came to OU, was an obvious thug, won a national championship and the team was his. Who would you rather have quarterbacking your team, J.C. Watts or Jamelle Holieway? Nobody sober would pick Holieway. Thomas Lott or Holieway? Everyone would pick Lott. Danny Bradley or Holieway? Bradley in a landslide. Holieway was the better quarterback on the field. But the price is too high.
OK, enough quarterback talk. Thomas writes about the proposed Mickey Mantle Museum. “As much as I liked to watch the Mick play, I’d like to see a museum built for all
Yes, and it wouldn’t draw flies. You want people to come, it’s got to have Mickey Mantle’s name.
Joe is not thrilled that OU is accepting Josh Jarboe, the
Cut him, keep him, I really don’t care. Just no more comments like we heard from Georgia, about how Jarboe is a “good kid” who made a mistake. Good kids don’t tuck loaded firearms in their pants on school grounds.
David defended the inclusion of OU in the NCAA baseball tournament. “I dug up the NCAA’s RPI listing for D-I baseball and discovered how the Sooners made it. Oklahoma’s RPI was No. 41. For comparison, Mizzou was close by at No. 39, and Oregon State was back at 59. How did they end up that way? I would say it had to do with non-conference schedules and results. Missouri played five games against top-100 RPI opposition, going 3-2. Oregon State went 6-7 against the top 100, 6-9 if you throw in two games with 101 Gonzaga, since 100 is kinda arbitrary anyway.
Interesting. But since we’re analyzing top-100 RPI’s, let’s include them all. Every Big 12 team was in the top-100 except Kansas, which was 103rd. So let’s include
Ben wrote about the Women’s College World Series. “I am watching the softball games and just saw the Ragin’ Cajuns whip the Florida women. However, the two ‘voices’ doing the game are driving me nuts! The woman has told us everything she knows and she did it by the third inning. From then on she repeated herself over and over. And the guy keeps asking her ‘What would they like to do here?,’ or ‘What are they thinking right here?’ The woman does not have the courage to say, ‘I have no friggin’ idea’ but tries anyway, many times never answering his question, which has no sensible answer anyway.”
I think in broadcast booths generally, there is far too little personality and far too much analytical Armageddon. Monday Night Football, of course, excluded.
And naturally, we’ve got to hear from a Seattle precinct. Michael writes, “I hope you guys get a team and great owners. But to try and get the Sonics this way with that ownership group is a lousy deal for both cities. Please have the courage to report both sides of the story in a way that is fair to your readers. John Milton wrote in his Areopagitica almost 400 years ago, arguing for a free press: Though all the winds of doctrine were loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; whoever knew Truth put to the worse in free and open encounter?”
Wasn’t it also Milton who wrote, “Paradise Lost”? Read into that what you will. How’s this for truth. Clay Bennett’s efforts to get an arena in
OSU, Nebraska let down Big 12
Oklahoma State’s home loss to Wichita State, and Nebraska’s home loss to Cal-Irvine, does not bode well for the Big 12′s baseball reputation. Through two days of NCAA regionals, the best record among conferences is the ACC, with a glittering 10-2, and that includes a loss to Bucknell by nationally fourth-seeded Florida State. Meanwhile, the Big 12 has only one team — Texas A&M — so far unscathed. The Big 12 is 7-5 overall.
Meanwhile, the ACC has four unbeaten teams, and the 7-3 Pac-10 has three. The SEC, which was given a ridiculous ninth berths in the 64-team field, is 8-10 and has only LSU still unbeaten.
Teams can come back through the losers bracket to win regionals, but only a few per year do. Here are the conference standings after two games:
1. ACC 10-2
2. Pac-10 7-3
2. Conference USA 7-3
4. Big 12 8-4
5. Big West 5-3
6. SEC 8-10
