Georgia-Arizona State: Historic game tonight
Georgia plays an historic football game tonight. The Bulldogs play at Arizona State, and here’s what’s monumental about it. Georgia got on an airplane to reach the desert.
What’s so special about that? Georgia hasn’t played a non-conference road game more than 80 miles from home since 1970.
Reader Bo Wright supplied some of this information in an email, and it’s fascinating stuff. In 1970, Georgia played at Tulane in New Orleans; every Georgia non-conference game since then has been at either Georgia Tech in Atlanta, 70 miles away, or Clemson in neighboring South Carolina, 78 miles from Athens.
This is of interest to Oklahoma State fans, since the Cowboys open the 2009 season by hosting Georgia, a return of the 2007 season opener in Athens, won 35-14 by Georgia.
Georgia, one of the magic names of college football, apparently is coming out of its provincialism, and OSU is the beneficiary.
This is not a knock on Georgia’s scheduling philosophy or prowess. Georgia annually plays Georgia Tech and Clemson, a 1-2 punch few schools these days are willing to tackle. Not that the Yellowjackets and Tigers are national powers, but both are respected, solid football programs and no pushover. Most schools these days aren’t willing to play two non-pushovers in non-conference, much less three, which is what Georgia would have to do to continue those long-time series plus get out of the South.
But still, Georgia’s provincialism is remarkable.
As stated, the Bulldogs haven’t played a non-conference road game more than 80 miles from home since Tulane in 1970. Georgia hasn’t played a regular-season game outside SEC territory since playing VMI in Roanoke, Va., in 1966. Georgia hasn’t played a non-conference road game west of the Mississippi River since going to Southern Cal in 1960.
Georgia once was a world traveler with the best of programs. Between World War II and 1967, Georgia played at Houston, Michigan, North Carolina, Southern Cal, Texas, Navy (in Norfolk, Va.), Maryland, Texas A&M (in Dallas), Villanova, Penn, Boston College, St. Mary’s (in San Francisco) and Temple.
And oh yes, the 1947 Bulldogs played in Stillwater, America, against the Oklahoma A&M Aggies.
For comparison, here’s a list of cities in which OSU has played non-conference games since 1970, outside the Midlands/Southwest region:
Seattle (Washington State & Washington); Troy, Ala. (Troy); Athens, Ga. (Georgia); Miami (Florida Atlantic & Miami);
Pasadena, Calif. (UCLA); Shreveport, La. (Louisiana Tech); Hattiesburg, Miss. (Southern Miss); Starkville, Miss. (Mississippi State); Lafayette, La. (Louisiana-Lafayette); Knoxville, Tenn. (Tennessee); Laramie, Wyo. (Wyoming);
DeKalb, Ill. (Northern Illinois); Tempe, Ariz. (Arizona State); Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan); Gainesville, Fla. (Florida);
Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State); Tokyo (Texas Tech); Cincinnati (Cincinnati); Louisville, Ky. (Louisville); San Diego (San Diego State); Columbia, S.C. (South Carolina);
Tallahassee, Fla. (Florida State); Blacksburg, Va. (Virginia Tech); and Jackson, Miss. (Jackson State).
Wow. Since Georgia last left the South in the regular season, OSU has played in 24 cities outside the Big 12 region. Yes, there are other factors.
For most of those years, Georgia played more home games than did OSU, though the Cowboys played a bunch of road games at Tulsa and Little Rock, Ark. (against the Razorbacks), and for purposes of this discussion, Little Rock was counted in the Big 12 region.
And there are more Division I schools in the South, giving Georgia more options in scheduling, though no state has more D-I schools than does Texas; OSU has played a bushel of non-conference games in Texas, and again, those weren’t included on the list.
And here’s what’s even more strange. When Georgia got around a little bit, its bowl games were all over the place. Georgia played 13 bowl games before 1970; six were outside the SEC area, including the Rose, Cotton and Sun.
But since 1970, Georgia has played 30 bowl games. Only five have been outside the SEC: the 2000 Oahu, 1985 Sun, 1984 Cotton, 1978 Bluebonnet and 1976 Cotton.
Think about that. In the last 23 years, Georgia has played one football game outside the South, that 2000 Oahu Bowl.
Welcome to the rest of America, Georgia.
Colorado wins Bradford Bowl
The ESPN Thursday night game was of peculiar interest to OU fans. Colorado-West Virginia. Two of the three teams that beat the Sooners in 2007 and the two teams that made life miserable for Sam Bradford.
Colorado won 17-14 in overtime, and it was an interesting game. CU scored on its first two possessions, West Virginia scored on its second. The rest of the game and overtime, there was only one touchdown scored.
Colorado seems better. Its defense was solid. CU last season held OU to 24 points, Florida State to 16, Kansas to 19 and Texas Tech to 26.
The Buffs wore down later in the season and became a sieve, but against West Virginia, you saw CU rise up again.
Sophomore quarterback Cody Hawkins isn’t bad, though he’s not in that crowded tier of great Big 12 quarterbacks, and Colorado can run the ball. The Buffs will be a force in the Big 12 North, and while I don’t expect them to win the division (they have to play at Missouri), keep an eye on Oct. 4. Colorado hosts Texas the week before the Trinity River Shootout. Last year, it was OU that had to play in Boulder the week before Dallas. This year, it’s Texas.
As for West Virginia, I felt a twinge of sadness for the Mountaineers. WVU is staging a great experiment, trying to win with a nice guy. I don’t mean a guy who can put on a nice facade.
I think I’m safe in saying that Bill Stewart is a down-home, old-fashioned nice guy. He’s got no operator in him. No slickness. No knife-you-in-the-kidneys-for-a-first-down mentality. That’s what ex-West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez had, witness his actions and attitude since leaving his alma mater and going to Michigan. That’s what most big-time college football coaches have.
Alas, maybe that’s what you have to have. Stewart, who engineered a 48-28 thrashing of OU as interim coach and then the next morning was given the job permanently, is 1-2, with only a victory over I-AA Villanova.
Nice guys can win Fiesta Bowls. That we know for sure. But can nice guys win in the cutthroat world of college football? Bill Stewart is a superb experiment.
No sizzle on Thunder announcers
So Brian Davis and Grant Long are going to be the Thunder television announcers. Doesn’t excite me. Of course, neither did Bob Licht and Gil McGregor when the Hornets came to town, and I quickly came to enjoy their banter and telecasts.
So I’ve got an open mind.
Davis has a solid resume’. And Long played 15 years in the NBA, averaging 9.5 points and 6.1 rebounds a game for — take a breath — the Heat, Hawks (twice), Pistons, Grizzlies and Celtics. We’ll see if OKC takes to him.
I think this does mean the Thunder needs to hire a local guy to be the third member of the broadcast team, for sideline reports and interviews. A Toby Rowland or Myron Patton or somebody.
Anyone for Wednesday Night Football?
One of the strangest weeks in Big 12 football history begins tonight. That’s right, tonight.
Kansas State plays at Louisville tonight, courtesy of ESPN. Then it’s West Virginia at Colorado on Thursday, then Baylor at Connecticut on Friday night. All before Saturday, the traditional day of college football.
We can thank primarily ESPN and schools’ desire to reach the spotlight. And I do mean thank. It’s great for football fans, to have games spread out so you can see more.
But it’s a little like that old Al Bundy joke; car-pooling should be mandatory, except for me. As long as some other school is playing on Wednesday night, it’s great.
But OU and OSU wouldn’t want to do it. The Sooners haven’t given in to television requests to move days of the week, other than those old Nebraska games on Thanksgiving Friday. The Cowboys played Nebraska on a Thursday night season opener in 1995 but have rejected other chances.
Non-Saturday football is bad for the paying customer, the fans who come to the games and pay the freight. It’s good for the rest of us.
Week 3: Chowder, flowers & Mountain West uprising
I spent three full days in Seattle during Week 3 of the college football season and came away with several thoughts.
1. This is one of the best cities in America. Great weather. Great scenery. Apparently great economy. Seemingly safe. Fun downtown. Lots to do.
2. How did the NBA ever get away from this city? Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad the Sonics of Seattle became the Thunder of OKC, but with all this city has going for it, how did Seattle lose its NBA franchise and how did the NBA let it happen? Someone should have done something long before Clay Bennett bought the franchise.
3. How could Washington football ever fall this far?
Watch a game at Husky Stadium, and you can see how Don James built a great program that in 1991 won a national championship.
Unmatched setting, with Husky Stadium sitting beside Lake Washington. Beautiful campus, hidden in hills in the middle of Seattle. Fertile recruiting ground, with access to California, too.
For UW to have not been bowling since 2002 is ridiculous.
I don’t know what the problem is. I don’t know if it’s facilities or bad coaching hires or bad luck.
But I know that no way should Washington be bad in football. And that’s exactly what the Huskies are.
PIKE PLACE THANKS YOU
In Oklahoma, we have Pike Pass. In Seattle, they have Pike Place. Sorry Space Needle, the Pike Place Market is the coolest spot in Seattle.
Built on a bluff in downtown Seattle, the market is several blocks long and several stories deep, with the top floor open air and on street level.
The Market is home to the famous flying fish, where the workers in the fresh fish markets will toss your purchases to each other and almost always catch them.
But the Market is much more than just fish. Unbelievable flower stands. Huge, beautiful bouquets priced at $15, $10 even $5. My wife, Trish the Dish, said some of those $10 bundles would run you $80 back home.
Fantastic produce stands. You know me; I love the Farmer’s Market at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds. This is the Farmer’s Market times 10. The most gorgeous fruits and vegetables you’ve ever seen, and at great prices. A flat of blueberries was $14; the Dish, who can bake a mean blueberry pie, said it would be $25 in Oklahoma.
The great thing about the Market is that it’s not just a tourist trap. Locals flood the Market, for the food items. In addition to the fish markets, it’s got a big-time meat market. If you live in downtown Seattle, nothing better than stopping by the Market, buying totally fresh stuff for dinner, maybe pick up some flowers to take home to the spouse, and you’re set.
The Market is home to all kinds of trinket shops, too, which don’t mean anything to me. But it’s got newsstands and a few restaurants, sit-down and short-order, and frankly just all kinds of interesting places.
It’s got a card shop, and I saw a 1968 Al Kaline card. 1968 was my favorite year for baseball cards, and seeing the Kaline card brought back all kinds of great memories.
A day at the Pike Place Market will produce great memories, too.
REALITY RANKINGS
Our records based not on what anyone thinks teams might do, but based on what team have done.
1. Southern Cal: When you play no dogs, every win is a good win.
2. East Carolina: Every win quality, including at Tulane.
3. Missouri: Will neutral-field win over Illinois keep packing a punch?
4. BYU: Rout of UCLA has Cougars thinking BCS.
5. Oklahoma: Win over TCU would move Sooners very high.
6. Alabama: Living off win over Clemson.
7. Wisconsin: Winning at Fresno State impressive.
8. Utah: Win at Michigan meaning less and less.
9. Florida: Win at Tennessee, and the Gators will be near the top.
10. Oregon: Road win at Purdue showed grit.
11. Auburn: It says something about lack of decent schedules when a victory a 3-2 victory at Mississippi State can get a team ranked this high.
12. Kentucky: Win at Louisville was impressive.
13. South Florida: Home win over Kansas the pride of the Big East.
14. Georgia: Winning at South Carolina no small thing.
15. Penn State: After Temple, Nittanys face an interesting stretch.
STREET CRED
Huge cities foster a cottage industry to street performers. We have a little of that in Oklahoma City, and you see some in college towns, but it’s usually Gothams where you see it constantly.
And Seattle is one of the best. I saw all kinds of acts. On every street corner. In outdoor breezeways that lead to elevators that will take you down to the waterfront.
My three favorites:
1. A guy, both Thursday and Friday, sat playing a piano that was on wheels. I know, pianos have wheels. But I’m not talking about the kinds of wheels that let you push a piano from one wall to another. Think a piano attached to a furniture dolly. The guy just pushes his piano to that same street corner, then plays a mean rendition of whatever song strikes his fancy.
2. Some guy played a guitar while hula hoping. Think about that one for awhile. I don’t know how long he can last, but I watched him for 60 seconds and he showed no signs of slowing down.
3. But the runaway winner, the act that drew crowds instead of just looks from people walking by, was a four-man quartet, singing Negro spirituals in perfect harmony. They stood in front of the original Starbucks, which is across the street from the Market but is really part of it. The quartet sang “This Little Light of Mine” and “I’m Going Up” and drew 50 people at a time standing around, listening to the impromptu concert.
RUSH HOUR RUSH
I’d heard that Seattle traffic is awful, and I suppose it is. I left downtown about 7 p.m. Thursday, headed back toward my airport hotel, and I hit some pretty good backup trying to get on Interstate 5.
So Friday, when I got in the rental car at 4:45 p.m., I figured I was doomed. I decided to try Highway 99 south.
It was tough reaching 99 from bumper-to-bumper downtown congestion. But my theory is, never sit in traffic if there’s an option. Get the heck off. I’ll take Sunnylane or Sooner Road home. I’ll go down Portland when I leave WWLS after doing radio, if the Hefner Parkway is backed up. I just don’t sit in traffic, in Oklahoma or Seattle.
So I went down the Alaskan Way for several miles, hit some traffic but not bad, and linked back up to Highway 99.
Let me say this. It’s a lot easier to navigate when you’ve got the Pacific Ocean to work with. You can’t get too lost knowing the roads can’t veer much west. Hug the water, keep going south and I figured I wouldn’t get too far from Tukwila, the suburb by the airport where I was staying.
Amazingly, the traffic wasn’t bad. If someone can explain to me why all those Seattle residents inching along on I-5 weren’t on 99, I’m open. Anyway, I made it to my hotel in 35 minutes. Driving into downtown, it took me about 25 minutes. Driving from downtown back to the hotel, AT RUSH HOUR, it took me 35 minutes.
Maybe that kind of pioneer spirit will get you in trouble in Houston or Chicago, and the Lord knows I’ve wasted a bunch of time in my life trying to save time on roadways.
But in Seattle, I felt like the king of the road.
TEN BIGGEST WINNERS FROM WEEK 3
10. East Carolina: Remember 2005 TCU? The Horned Frogs beat OU, then lost to SMU. They finished 11-1 but could have been in a BCS bowl with a little focus. The Pirates, coming off wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia, rallied to beat Tulane 28-24. That could be the difference between a good year and a great year.
9. Ralph Fridgen: The shine was off the Maryland coach, after opening with a narrow win over Delaware and a loss to Middle Tennessee. But the Terrapins waxed California 35-27 Saturday to right the ship.
8. Ball State: The Cardinals beat Akron 41-24 and now, just two weeks into September, are the only Mid-American team with an unbeaten record.
7. Butch Davis: North Carolina hasn’t had a winning season since 2001, but after a 44-12 rout at Rutgers, the Tar Heels are 2-0 and thinking big again.
6. SEC: Check the AP top 10. No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Florida, No. 6 LSU, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Auburn. That’s five Southeastern Conference teams in the top
5. David Cutcliffe: Ole Miss never should have fired Cutcliffe, but Duke is glad the Rebels did. The Blue Devils hired Cutcliffe last off-season, after going 22-125 since its last winning year, 1994. Now Duke is 2-1 after a 41-31 victory over Navy, and the loss was narrow, 24-20 to Northwestern.
4. Hail Marys: Buffalo beat Temple 30-28 on a last-play, 35-yard touchdown pass, and Middle Tennessee’s 61-yard Hail Mary on the last play of the game came up one yard short, allowing Kentucky to win 20-14. The lesson is clear. Never give up.
3. Southern Cal: 35-3 over Ohio State. I’d say that’s a good week’s work.
2. Charlie Weis: Notre Dame football seemed on the brink of Never-Again Land. Then the Irish whacked another staggering power, Michigan, 35-17, and suddenly, an Irish run doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
1. Mountain West: College football’s oft-forgotten conference went 4-0 against the Pac-10 Saturday. TCU routed Stanford. New Mexico popped Arizona. BYU humiliated UCLA. And Nevada-Las Vegas stunned Arizona State.
STADIUM CRITIQUE
Seattle’s new stadiums – the Mariners’ Safeco Park and the Seahawks’ Qwest Field – sit side by side, where the Kingdome used to stand, just south of downtown.
By all accounts, both are splendid coliseums.
But aesthetically and architecturally, both are very unattractive. You know how the Ballpark in Arlington looks so regal? How even Houston’s mammoth Reliant Stadium is awesome in appearance?
Not so with Qwest or Safeco. I think it’s because of the retractable roofs on both. It’s hard to gussy up a retractable roof. They look like something out of Terminator.
GOOD EATS
You have to work at it to have a bad meal in Seattle. And I didn’t.
Saturday before the game, we went to Fisherman’s Terminal, where some of the boats headed for Lake Washington were docked.
The Terminal is a picturesque setting, with a marina full of fishing boats and the smell of sea air. In the Terminal is a fish market and other shops, but the flagship enterprise is Chinook’s seafood restaurant.
I had halibut with fantastic garlic bread and the best chowder I’ve ever tasted. Thick and chunky. I don’t go for thin chowder. Chinook’s was excellent and not that expensive. Most every entree was between $10 and $17.
I also ate at Ivar’s Fish Bar on the Seattle waterfront, where the prawns and the chowder were excellent; at a Dungeness crab place in a hopping alley off the Market, where the crab roll sandwich was OK; and at Mizu, a Japanese steakhouse that was the same as most every Japanese steakhouse. Which is to stay wonderful.
TEN BIGGEST LOSERS FROM WEEK 3
10. Mississippi State defense: How would you feel? Play a top-10 team, give up three points and lose, 3-2? The Miss State locker room can’t be a pleasant place.
9. Ohio State: No one expected the Buckeyes to beat USC, and no one with a clue expected the Buckeyes to keep it close. But another nationally-televised humiliation has got to be getting old for this proud program.
8. Utah State: 58-10 loss to Utah was the Aggies’ 11th straight in the series. Utah State hasn’t recorded a winning season since 1996 and isn’t likely to end the drought.
7. Kansas: The Jayhawks had a 20-3 lead at South Florida and seemed on the verge of joining four other Big 12 schools in the AP top 12. Then KU squandered the lead, and after a comeback, quarterback Todd Reesing threw a late interception that allowed South Florida to pull out the win.
6. Greg Siano: Rutgers is 0-2 after a 44-12 loss to North Carolina. Siano might should have jumped at one of those job offers when the Scarlet Knights were riding high.
5. State of Washington: Washington State is 0-3 and Washington is 0-3. They combined to lose 100-31 Saturday, WSU at Baylor and UW at home against OU.
4. Fresno State: The Bulldogs blinked on their way to a possible BCS bowl. Their 13-10 loss to Wisconsin means no Orange Bowl for Fresno State.
3. Fans. Hurricane Ike caused games to be postponed, moved to other cities and started earlier. People make their schedules around football games. t should always be remembered.
2. State of Arizona: Mike Stoops’ bowl hopes took a hit with a 36-28 loss at New Mexico. But Arizona losing has become standard. Arizona State’s 23-20 overtime loss to UNLV is a different matter. The Sun Devils had high hopes, with Georgia coming to the desert this week.
1. Syracuse: From 1944 through 1990, the Orange played Penn State every year. Then the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten and ended the series. The rivalry resumed Saturday in Syracuse – and Penn State won 55-13, extending the misery of a program that is 7-31 under coach Greg Robinson.
TICKET EXCHANGE
On the plane ride out to Seattle, we chatted with two men at different times.
Joe Hamra is in the oil business; I met him coming back from the 2005 Holiday Bowl. He was interesting then, fired up about the Sooners and the Hornets, and he was interesting now, fired up about the Sooners and the Thunder.
Hamra was upset, though, about the Thunder’s ticket policies, how Hornet season-ticket holders got no standing in the Thunder lottery. Still, Hamra told me how he bought four season tickets down low, spending $21,000 for the tickets that cost him $11,000 when it was the Hornets.
Later, we talked with Michael Dean, an OU fund-raiser who recently returned from the Beijing Olympics. Dean talked of how uplifting it was to be around the Chinese people, who treated American visitors like virtual gods from Olympus. Dean was there five days and attended six events: track, men’s basketball, baseball, team handball and I can’t remember what else.
Here’s what’s interesting. Total cost for Dean’s Olympic tickets: $76.
Think about that. One guy spends $21,000 for tickets to the NBA, another $76 to watch, among other things, Yao Ming play basketball FOR China IN China.
New emails: Pitfalls for OU, ideas for Thunder
The new emails are in, and the subjects are college football and the NBA.
Todd sees a potential pitfall for the Sooners. “I do think the Sooners had some mental lapses during the game, especially with the personal fouls on defense. Grainger needs to learn from his mistakes and these can be costly in more than one way. Still the early part of the season, but I would like to see the mental aspect of the game improve. Maybe the showboating before the game could be eliminated. It is embarrassing to Midwest Sooner Fans that believe in humility. As much as I hate to admit it, but USC is the best team in country right now. Georgia is second, and then OU. At least that is how I see it.”
Showboating before the game? I haven’t seen that. Either haven’t seen it or have become desensitized to it, which is possible.
Jim, an OSU fan, wrote, “In my estimation, Bradford is as good or better than White in his Heisman year! This looks like a team that will go all the way.”
I don’t know about all the way, but I’ll say this about Bradford. OU has an unbelievably good quarterback or an unbelievably good offensive scheme. And if it’s both, they will go all the way.
Patty took exception to our Saturday cover photo of Jason White. “Well, there he is again, gracing the front page of sports. When is your love affair with Jason White going to be over? He is so old news.”
Interesting. I wonder if Archie Griffin is old news in Columbus or Bo Jackson old news at Auburn? Heisman Trophies tend to have a little staying power.
Slim wrote about the excessive celebration rule. “I just don’t get the unanimous and unmitigated flame of the refs in the Jake Locker affair. The kid threw the ball at least 30 feet in the air. Look at the video, the ball stays in the air for three full seconds from a ‘casual flip’ and hits Locker on the back as it lands. That gets a penalty on the first play of the game or on the last play of the game, no matter what. What did the BYU player do with the ball who scored the go-ahead TD with 3:23 left in the game? He left the ball on the ground. What did the BYU player who scored the tying TD in the third quarter do? He left the ball on the ground. Now, they each did a pose after the score which I’d rather not see, but they had the discipline or the coaching to not throw the ball 30 feet in the air. I’m all for flaming refs whenever they deserve it, but this time it looks a lot like piling on an easy target.”
I don’t know what the answer is, but this I believe. If it’s a bad rule, don’t ignore the rule, get rid of it. And if Locker broke the rule, he’s got no gripe.
Gary took exception to my “cheer” for OSU drawing 45,002 for its home opener, which I labeled a good start. “A good start? That 45,002 mark ranks OSU next to last in attendance last weekend in the Big 12; only Baylor had fewer fans show up. That included horrible games at mediocre programs, like Montana State at KSU and Kent State at ISU. You had a brand new stadium, a team coming off of a rare road win against a name opponent, absolutely perfect weather for a night football game, and one of the most high-powered offenses in the country, and only 45,000 show up? It’s time to start putting pressure on the OSU crowd for their lack of support, just as tons of pressure and criticism — deserved, I might add — are thrown towards OU basketball fans.”
This is classic preaching to the choir. Pressure the OSU “crowd” for their lack of support? The OSU crowd is at the game. There are not thousands and thousands of Cowboy fans slacking off, not coming to the game. OSU’s problem is not apathetic fans. It’s a lack of fans. The Cowboys have to build a bigger fan base. Which they are trying to do.
Barb is fired up about the NBA. She wrote, “The paper has already coined thunderwear and thunderball. It seems the name Thunder lends itself well to new words, play on words and some rhyming words, creating a language called simply Thunderspeak. It’s kind of fun. Here are examples. Thunderpass: season ticket. Thunderroad: P.J.’s game plan. Thunderdolls: dance team. Thunderbolt: field goal. Thunderclap: slam dunk. Thunderman: Coach Carlesimo…”
Well, you get the point. But a couple of Barb’s ideas, I really like. ThunderWonder: Kevin Durant. Thunderblunder: turnover. They won’t catch on in conversation, but they will make great headlines.
Walter, who apparently lives in New Orleans, wrote about the Thunder ticket sales, questioning some of our match, and wrote, “Congratulations on your venture into the NBA. At least it will get you and your friends off of our backs in New Orleans. Also, if it’s not too much trouble, please tell your ‘fan base’ to stop lurking our board and posting at our newspaper’s website about how excited they are to see New Orleans get destroyed in a hurricane.”
It would appear OKC fans are not the only ones who go to another city’s newspaper website.
Ray wrote about my idea to occasionally use Boomers in referring to the Thunder “”I like it! Thunder Boomers is good stuff. However, I think some folks might go one step further calling them the Thunder Boomer Sooners. This might ruffle some feathers.”
I never said call them Thunder Boomers. That doesn’t make any sense. And we’re putting the schooner ahead of the horse. Let’s just call them Boomers on occasion and see where it goes from there.
Robert was upset by the Thunder ticket process, that people went with friends who had an earlier appointment. “If this represents how this organization will run things, I feel they will alienate a lot of potential fans, It appears they did not care one iota about appointments, only getting as many tickets sold as fast as they could. I don’t begrudge them that, only that they told us there was a fair system to work the season ticket sales, I would rather have taken my chances sitting in line at the Ford Center for hours than waiting for an appointment that I feel was tainted. I wish the Thunder good luck this season and I know they will be good for OKC, but I am sticking with college sports from now on. At least everyone has the same chance to get a ticket.”
Well, Robert, I think that depends on which college sport you’re talking about. If you think everyone has the same chance to buy OU football tickets, you’re living in a world with a different colored sky. This is the way the world works. Aggressive people get the jump on non-aggressive people. People who know people of status have the inside track in all walks of life. When you have more ticket demand than ticket supply, someone is going to get left out. The people I feel sorry for are Hornet season-ticket holders, who made this thing possible in the first place. Why the Thunder couldn’t get the Hornet list, I still don’t understand. If George Shinn wouldn’t give it up, why did David Stern not get involved?
Chris liked my “Mad Max” idea, which was to chant “Two men enter, one man leaves” before Thunder games. But Chris had a better idea. “I just read your Thunderdome article and I’m glad I did, because I’ve been preaching the same thing about the Thunderdome chant; it would be creepy and pretty much freak people out. The only difference is I’ve been saying, ‘Two teams enter…’ Don’t you think that would be more appropriate or is it better to just leave the line as is? We need to get on the same page with this because it’s too cool to pass up.”
I like your line, Chris. Let’s get it going. TWO TEAMS ENTER! ONE TEAM LEAVES!
Dan wrote, “A couple weeks ago you were on the great team nickname train. Here’s one for you: the St Louis Cards’ Class A franchise is the Batavia (NY) Muckdogs.”
Thanks, Dan I think it falls well short of the Lansing Lugnuts and the Montgomery Biscuits.
And Joe totally confused me with this: “Just wanted to drop you a note to say that today I think you are one of the best sports writers on the planet. What’s important about that statement is that until I took off my blinders, I thought you were a jerk. But now I can see and hear – blinders are off – and as a result look forward to reading your articles and watching your comments. Please accept my apology for what I once believed.”
Folks, I swear I have no idea what I did to get on Joe’s bad side, and I have no idea what I did to get on his good.
Iglesias: OU’s most underrated player
On OU’s first possession Saturday night at Husky Stadium, the Sooners faced 3rd-and-goal from the Washington 13-yard line. Tough assignment.
The Sooners had reached the shadow of Lake Washington by churning the ball on the ground. Six straight runs, followed by a Sam Bradford incompletion.
And the rest of the first quarter would not go all that smoothly. OU’s second and third possessions would end in punts. Only later would come the offensive avalanche of seven straight touchdowns and a 55-14 victory.
Anyway, on 3rd-and-goal, Bradford threw a little slant to Juaquin Iglesias, who caught the ball just barely inside the 10-yard line. Not the best way to convert 3rd-and-goal.
Unless you’re throwing to Iglesias. The savvy senior cut inside, dashing away from a UW defender, then darted straight for the goal line, which he reached. It was an important play, but a play that soon was forgotten in the cavalcade of touchdowns.
Typical afternoon for Iglesias. He is OU’s most underrated player. Through three games, Manny Johnson leads the team in catches (16). Jermaine Gresham leads OU in touchdown catches (four). Freshman phenom Ryan Broyles leads the Sooners in receiving yards (226). Iglesias is close in all categories, 13 catches, 205 yards and three TDs.
Typical of Iglesias’ career. He spent his first three seasons in Malcolm Kelly’s shadow. Yet Iglesias doesn’t belong there.
Iglesias’ 2007 season was one of the greatest by a receiver in OU history. His 68 catches and 907 yards rank second on the all-time single-season list, trailing only Mark Clayton’s epic 2003 season.
Iglesias’ career numbers: 141 catches, sixth-best in OU history; 1,916 yards (fourth-best); and 12 touchdowns.
Last week, someone was questioning Bob Stoops about Broyles, who the freshman seems to have stepped in for the departed Kelly, giving OU a deep threat.
Stoops got a puzzled look on his face. “Juaquin’s faster than Malcolm,” Stoops said. Iglesias got deep more than did Kelly.
Iglesias also ranks No. 2 on OU’s all-time kickoff return list. Yes, he’s playing in an era where kickoffs occur from the 30-yard line, so that makes it easier, but still. He’s a shifty, fast, good-hands receiver. The Sooners have a lot of weapons on this. But don’t forget Iglesias. He’s OU’s most underrated player.
Seattle welcomes Oklahomans so far
It’s Saturday morning, and I’ve been in Seattle now about 60 hours, and I’ve been around all kinds of OU fans, and I’ve heard no animosity directed at Oklahomans, for NBA reasons or otherwise.
Some thought this might be an unpleasant trip for Sooner fans, in the wake of the NBA SuperSonics moving to Oklahoma City.
But this city is too big, too cosmopolitan, to be focused on the link between OU and the NBA’s departure. Truth is, most Seattle residents, particularly in the downtown area where most Sooner fans spent the last day or two, are only marginally aware that Seattle once had, and then lost, an NBA franchise, much less where it went.
That could be different at Husky Stadium today, since that by definition will be a sports-oriented crowd. But even then, I expect little in the way of unpleasantries.
The Seattle weather has turned a little more typical. The last two days, there literally was not a cloud in the sky. You come to Seattle expecting to get a little wet. Instead, you got San Diego.
That has changed a little this morning. It’s overcast. OU fans — and its ballteam — could get a little wet.
Eyes of nation won’t be on Sooners
The OU-Washington game will be televised on ESPN, which is a rare treat for the Big 12. The league’s television contract is not good from an exposure standpoint, and while the addition of ESPN last year for a handful of games that can be purchased from Fox Sports will help, it’s not the kind of ESPN platform available to the SEC or Big Ten.
Even worse for OU on Saturday, only Oklahomans and hard-core Washingtonians will be watching. OU-UW goes head to head with Southern Cal-Ohio State, one of the best September matchups in years.
Oh well, if a USC blowout ensues — and I think it will — maybe fans will flip over to ESPN, although the Sooners certainly hope a blowout is coming in Seattle, too.
It’s Friday morning, and I got to Seattle around midnight Wednesday night. Pike Place Market, the hub of downtown Seattle and a place for tourists and locals alike to congregate and shop, was full of crimson on Thursday. I don’t mean every other shirt was OU. But you’d see a group of Sooner fans every two or three minutes, which for a metropolis like Seattle is huge. I think this will be a huge OU turnout. Which means fewer people back in Oklahoma to watch on ESPN.
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.
