T. Boone Pickens on Jay Leno
Some people believe that Boone Pickens runs Oklahoma State athletics. I always thought that was sort of silly. Billionaires have better things to do. Pickens proved it Wednesday.
He was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, promoting the Pickens Plan to solve America’s energy problem.
I was flipping channels in my Seattle hotel room — I came a couple of days earlier because my wife had business — and Barack Obama was on Letterman. So naturally, I watched. The new type of campaigning is interesting for those of us raised in the ’70s. The idea that Richard Nixon might sit down with Johnny Carson strikes us as funny. But today, it’s common for McCain or Obama to go pop culture.
Anyway, a commercial hit Letterman, so I flipped more channels. And I saw a familiar face. Pickens’. He was chatting with Leno, detailing his energy plan, promoting wind power and natural gas and trying to wean the U.S. from its reliance on foreign oil.
Wednesday, Leno in Hollywood. Saturday, Missouri State in Stillwater.
And I thought, here’s Pickens, spending $58 million to promote his plan, and some people want us to believe he’s telling Mike Gundy who to play at quarterback. Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous.
OSU athletics is Pickens’ diversion. He’s a fan, a fan who has great access and great influence, but still a fan. He’s trying to talk America into converting its Accords and Camrys into natural gas. He’s not going to take time out to micromanage OSU athletics.
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.
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Comments
Pickens energy plan makes a lot of sense but I never thought he was running the osu athletic dept. Paid for it, for sure. Running it no.
Mr. Pickens is about my age. His plan is for a future that neither of us will ever see. Just consider it your inheritance from a wise and caring man. I would love my University, too, except for the fact I dropped out of high school in 1941.
Oh, you’re just an OSU hater, Berry!
I just thought I’d say it before the OSU fans do!