Not a great Holiday for the Big 12
Notes on a scorecard from Oklahoma State’s 42-31 loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl:
1. Suddenly, the Big 12’s reputation isn’t so great. Two bowl games, 1-1 record. An unimpressive victory and a discouraging loss. Kansas is up next, in the Insight Bowl against Minnesota.
In both games, the Big 12 got pushed around a little bit. Oregon obviously was more physical than OSU. The Ducks ran for 307 yards, OSU for 119. Missouri couldn’t run against Northwestern, either.
Is the spread-it-out Big 12 a little on the soft side? It’s worth considering.
2. In retrospect, the question might not be how did OSU lose, but how did OSU play so close? Oregon had plays of 76, 41, 40, 29, 50, 31 and 47 yards, plus TD runs of 20 and 17 yards, plus another 19-yard gain. That’s 370 yards on 10 snaps. That will get you beat every time.
OSU’s defense actually stood its ground much of the night, notably the goal-line stand in the fourth quarter that at least gave the Cowboys a chance. But you can’t give up cross-country plays.
3. Injuries hurt OSU big-time, but injuries had nothing to do with the Cowboys’ failures on two chances that would have tilted the game the other way.
In the first half, with a 17-7 lead, Zac Robinson underthrew Dez Bryant in the end zone. Dez came back and made a great try on the catch and had it, but the ball came loose as he hit the ground. Make a slightly better throw, or hold onto that catch, and OSU is up 24-7 early in the second quarter. Instead, Dan Bailey missed a field goal.
Then in the third quarter, OSU up 17-14, the Cowboys reach the Oregon 12-yard line. OSU runs a nice throwback play, with Brandon Pettigrew wide open, but Robinson misses him for what almost surely would have been a touchdown. The next snap, interception. Uh-oh. To me, that was the turning point of the game.
4. Does anyone else think Dez reminds them of Randy Moss? Big and fast and able to catch the ball in all kinds of traffic. I’m not saying anything about Dez’s behavior, just his ballplaying ability.
With that said, I thought all season the Cowboys zoned in on Dez too much. When he went down, the Cowboys seemed lost.
State already was short-handed at receiver, with the dismissal of Jeremy Broadway. But spreading the wealth wouldn’t be a bad plan next season. Damian Davis has shown he can be very effective, and frankly, wide receiver is the easiest position to find in college football.
5. Another game, another kick return switches all momentum. Missouri got to overtime against Northwestern thanks in large part to Jeremy Maclin’s punt return for a touchdown. Oregon wiped out a 17-7 halftime lead quickly thanks to Walter Thurmond’s 91-yard kickoff return to start the second half.
6. I know Robinson’s shoulder was hurt, and he gamely played on. And we’ve already talked up about misfires that could have changed the game.
But here was a huge sequence. OSU led 24-21 midway through the third quarter, which had to be the longest 15 minutes in college football history — each team had SIX possessions in the third period.
Anyway, Oregon reached midfield, then quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw a lateral that Jeff Maehl dropped, and Ricky Price recovered at the Oregon 49-yard line. Officials ruled it a fumble, and the Cowboys were half a field away from a 10-point lead.
But OSU’s ensuing possession was awful. A sideways pass to Dez that lost a yard. Kendall Hunter, who never got free all night, popped for a three-yard loss. Then Zac was sacked. And a punt.
Terrible offensive possession when the Cowboys were ready to commandeer the game.
7. Is there a Ray Guy Award jinx? Matt Fodge was not very good, averaging 35.6 yards on five punts, almost 10 yards below his season average.
Farewell to an impostor
The 2008 Missouri Tigers are in our rear-view mirror, and who will remember them fondly? The club is small.
Mizzou beat Northwestern 30-23 in overtime Monday night in the Alamo Bowl, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. With the reputation of the Big 12 on the line, Mizzou bumbled all night and flirted with defeat before a late rally.
It’s time to admit that Missouri ‘08 was nothing special. It was not a talented that just caught up in the Big 12 South whirlwind, losing to Texas, OU and OSU.
Missouri was the best, by a fraction, of a mediocre lot in the Big 12 North.
OSU’s road win at top-five Mizzou in October? Still a solid victory, but not as epic as we thought at the time. OU’s defensive shutdown of the Tigers in the Big 12 title game? Nice, but nothing special, since Northwestern did largely the same thing.
Truth is, when you go to figuring out how the Big 12 will fare in the rest of its bowls, starting with OSU tonight against Oregon and continuing with the Sooners in the Big Bowl against Florida, I wouldn’t put much stock in those victories over Missouri.
Chase Daniel threw three interceptions, and it’s time to say it clearly. Daniel is no better than sixth in the Big 12 quarterback pecking order. Maybe as low as eighth, if you want to bring Baylor’s Robert Griffin and K-State’s Josh Freeman into the discussion. And I haven’t even considered Nebraska’s Joe Ganz.
Either way, that’s a mighty fall for a guy who was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year. I don’t know; maybe Daniel is hurt. The Missouri offense looked short-handed. Lots of horizontal passing; lots of 25-yard passes that could pick up only 6-7 yards.
Even usually-stout Missouri coach Gary Pinkel was off his game. In a 23-23 tie, Mizzou crossed midfield in the final minute, and from just inside the Northwestern 30-yard line, Pinkel started playing for a field goal.
If you have a 44-yard field goal for victory, and you’ve got 30 seconds and a timeout or two to play with, you try to turn that 44-yarder into a 33-yarder. Sure enough, Missouri’s excellent kicker, Jeff Wolfert, missed, the ball barely floating right of the goal post. Put that kick five yards closer, and it’s in.
Anyway, good for Missouri. A loss would have embarrassed the Big 12. Northwestern is a nice, scrappy team that finished 9-4, but the Wildcats lost to Indiana. The Big Ten was awful this season, yet Missouri didn’t put away a middle-of-the-road Big Ten team until overtime.
Be kind to Shreveport
The Independence Bowl was played Sunday night in obscurity. The crowd was listed at 41,567, and maybe that’s accurate. I don’t know. I didn’t watch.
But has a college football bowl game ever had such little going for it in terms of national attention?
Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech, on a Sunday night, opposite the San Diego-Denver showdown for the AFC West.
This was a mighty fall for the Independence, which has scratched its way up the ladder of bowls. In recent years, Shreveport has hosted some of the biggest names in college football. Oklahoma. Alabama. Nebraska. LSU. Colorado. Notre Dame. South Carolina. Texas A&M. Mississippi.
The Independence has been very, very good to our state schools. Shreveport brought OU back to the bowl business in 1999, and though the 7-4 Sooners probably deserved a better slot, OU fans turned out en masse, perhaps 30,000 strong, for the game against Ole Miss.
Then in 2006, OSU returned to the bowl business after a one-year hiatus, playing Alabama in Mike Gundy’s second year as head coach. The Cowboys beat Bama in a thriller in front of a huge OSU turnout.
The game was a great stage for the Cowboys. How often does OSU get a fair shot at the likes of Alabama?
But the Independence got caught short this year. Neither the Big 12 nor the SEC produced enough bowl teams to fill the Independence berths, and ESPN negotiations put the Shreveport bowl against the NFL.
Truth is, there are some bad time slots for bowl games. Today is one. The Papajohns.com Bowl, matching Rutgers and North Carolina State, kicks off at 2 p.m. in Birmingham, Ala. What if OKC was hosting a bowl game at 2 p.m. today, maybe Northwestern vs. Kentucky? How much excitement would be zipping through town? Not much. Now you know how Birmingham feels.
A couple of years ago, OKC’s All Sports Association discussed bringing a bowl game to Norman. Considering the current economic climate and the bloated bowl schedule, it’s a good thing the All Sports didn’t enter those waters.
Bowl Week Starts in Earnest
I love bowl games, and I don’t understand college football fans who don’t. Largely-equitable teams, on neutral fields, during the holidays when we often have plenty of time to watch. What’s not to love?
Anyway, the weekend kicked off a string of 20something bowl games in a week’s time. Observations from the first wave:
Motor City Bowl:
1. Did Howard Schnellenberger really once coach at OU? I mean, how could that have happened?
The Colonel, of course, is one of my all-time favorites. More interesting than every OU or OSU coach since, combined. Now Schnellenberger is 6-0 in bowl games, after his victory over Central Michigan. None of those bowl wins came as a Sooner.
Schnellenberger’s Florida Atlantic Owls doused him with Gatorade after the game, ruining a very nice suit, and lifted him for a little shoulder ride. I was happy for him.
2. The Motor City MVP was the Central Michigan fans and the bowl organizers. Did they really draw 41,000 fans for this low-level bowl in a downtrodden city?
Meinke Car Care Bowl:
1. By far the worst name in bowldom. Not even close, really. Papajohns.com Bowl is a way better name, and it stinks.
2. But this Charlotte bowl had West Virginia’s Bill Stewart, everybody’s favorite coach. The man who charmed us all at the Fiesta Bowl last year got a 31-30 victory over North Carolina, then showed his humanity with his downhome, on-field ESPN interview after the game.
“We love ESPN,” Stewart said without a hint of bravado. “Call us anytime. We’ll play any day you want.”
Every coach in America should study Stewart’s simple openness and honesty. He ought to give seminars at the coaches’ convention in January.
Stewart was asked about his detractors at West Virginia, and while he admitted there was some critics, he said, “But I know most of them.”
3. UNC coach Butch Davis blew this one. Up 29-24 after late-third quarter touchdown, Davis ordered an extra point. He should have called for a 2-point conversion.
This isn’t the NFL, where two yards are hard-earned. In college, 2-point conversions are manageable for inventive offenses. Some day soon, some pioneer will start going for two after every touchdown and others will follow.
But Davis blinked. When you’re up five, a coach must ask himself this question. What’s more likely? That both teams keep scoring touchdowns? Or that the opponent starts kicking mutiple field goals? In the NFL, maybe the latter. In college, no way.
You’re up five, particularly as the game hits the home stretch, and you’ve got to try to get back ahead by seven. Davis didn’t, West Virginia scored and won 31-30.
4. Noticed John Blake on the Carolina sideline. You see the Tar Heels coming up on recruiting lists, even out here in Oklahoma. I think Blake is a valuable member of Davis’ staff, which has done a very good job reviving UNC football.
5. It’s not surprising that West Virginia’s Pat White is the first quarterback to go 4-0 in bowls as a starter.
Think about it. We’re only talking about since 1972. In those 36 years, how many quarterbacks started as freshmen? Not many. How many of those started four years? Fewer. How many of those made it to four bowls, especially in the days before the proliferation of all the bowls? How many won all four bowls?
See what I mean. OSU never has gone to bowls in four straight seasons. OU never has had a quarterback start four bowls, much less win all four.
6. West Virginia has the greatest auxiliary school song in the nation. John Denver’s “Country Roads” is superb. “Oklahoma” by Rodgers and Hammerstein is fantastic and ably used by both Sooners and Cowboys, but Country Roads is in a league of its own.
Champ Sports Bowl:
1. If they gave out an award for worst coaching job of the year, my vote goes to Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema. In the previous four years, the Badgers were 40-11.
But after a 42-13 loss to Florida State, Wisconsin finished 7-6. In its regular-season finale, the Badgers beat Cal Poly 36-35 in overtime. Before that, the Badgers survived hapless Minnesota 35-32.
2. Hard to get excited about a game in which the game MVP was a punter. Not that Florida State’s Graham Gano wasn’t deserving; three punts downed inside the 5-yard line, a 48.2-yard average.
3. Bobby Bowden, 79 years young, sure sounds like a coach who isn’t thinking retirement. Kept talking about all the young guys that will be back next season.
4. With that in mind, Florida State has turned into college football’s Brooklyn Dodgers. Wait ’til next year.
Emerald Bowl:
1. The configuration at Pac-Bell Park is ridiculous. It’s one thing to put both teams on one sideline. But the tiny space between the end zone and the wall is dangerous.
Just because you can play football in a baseball stadium doesn’t mean you should do it.
2. Don’t take the crop of Big 12 quarterbacks for granted. Cal-Miami was a matchup of two excellent quarterback schools of recent years.
Miami, you know all about. But California, too, notably Kyle Boller and Aaron Rodgers.
And yet, this was a game that cried out for a quarterback. Cal started veteran Nate Longshore, who was mostly terrible, going 10-of-21. Miami starting QB Robert Marve missed the game because of suspension. Backup Jacory Harris was better than Longshore but committed two turnovers, including the game-decider.
In the Big 12, we’ve become accustomed to quality quarterback play. It’s not widespread nationally.
3. Why doesn’t Cal’s Jeff Tedford get more respect? He’s an excellent coach and has done a superb job in Berkeley.
When Tedford was hired in 2002, California had a streak of eight straight non-winning seasons. Cal’s records under Tedford: 7-5, 8-6, 10-2, 8-4, 10-3, 7-6, 9-4.
Tedford’s 59-30 record is the most wins and best percentage at Cal since Pappy Waldorf went 67-32-4 from 1947-56. And Cal has employed some good coaches. Marv Levy, Mike White and Steve Mariucci all were NFL head coaches.
Tedford’s curse could be timing. He has turned Cal competitive during a period when Southern Cal has dominated the Pac-10. Before 2003, the Pac-10 was the epitome of balance. Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Washington State, Arizona State, Stanford, Oregon State, USC. Virtually every Pac-10 school was a contender. Now USC wins the league every year, leaving no glamor spot for the likes of Tedford and Cal.
Emails on Florida, Jimmy Harris & Pete Maravich
The new emails are in, and it’s a light week. No games, no Heisman, Christmas. But still, some interesting correspondence. Greg wrote, “Curious if you saw where Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong proclaimed that Big 12 teams don’t play defense. He went on to suggest that this was the reason for OU’s record-setting offense. First, it is Tebow saying he cannot wait to go up against a Big 12 defense. Now it is the d-coordinator saying their opponent cannot play defense. Have you ever seen a team sling out so much bulletin board material prior to such a hotly-anticipated game? They must be AWFULLY confident!”
Florida doesn’t seem to be as confident as Larry Birdine was before the USC Orange Bowl.
Randy wrote, “With the way the stars have lined up for OU the last 5-6 weeks with big wins and slipping past Texas for the Big 12 and No. 1 BCS ranking, I think the cherry for this storybook book season would be to beat Florida by the score of 45-35. Hells bells, we could even ask Texas for their sign to fly behind an airplane over Austin, 45-35, on a Neutral Field. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, would be a perfect ending.”
I think Bob Stoops would take 3-2.
Don wrote, “I agree that football playoffs are a dead letter. The Depression was a leverage for many universities to either drop football or drastically scale back. The economic downturn had been preceded by the Carnegie Commission Report of 1932, which recommended curtailing scholarships, travel and other expenditures. Consider that the Western Conference (Big 10) allowed no more than eight games per season until after World War II — and nine until 1967 and no bowls except for the Rose Bowl, and that restricted to once every two years. Money is indeed a factor against a playoff. But given the academic distractions (universities serving merely as platforms for their athletic programs), colleges are practically begging for intervention.”
I hope the test is multiple choice and not essay.
Craig wrote about me giving cheers to and the Sports Animal’s Jim Traber lauding LeBron James for giving away his shoes after the Cavs’ game at the Ford Center. “Why don’t we give equal time to our Thunder players? My 9-year-old grandson, Hayden, was sitting courtside with me during the Cleveland game. He was decked out head to toe in Thunder gear. He could not wear a numbered jersey because they hadn’t came out yet. Chris Wilcox and Earl Watson, both at different times, came over and gave Hayden their sweat bands. Hayden didn’t bug them or ask them for anything, Hayden wasn’t yelling or screaming at them. They just did it out of the goodness of their hearts. OK, how bout some love for the Thunder?”
Way to go Earl and Chris.
James wrote the Poinsettia Bowl, won 17-16 by TCU over Boise State. “Well, the TCU win should quiet the jabber about wanting to be in the BCS championship. Boise State couldn’t beat No. 11, so how could they beat the other at the top of the list. Also, I think OU is going to kick the (crap) out of Florida. I am thinking of 2000 when Heisman winner Chris Weinke-Dinky got his butt beat. OU is bigger and stronger, and Sam can hit a gnat at 50 yards. Also, OU is not unaware of the talk about their four bowl losses. Further, OU has a non-stop offensive machine and motivation.”
Who claims Boise State belonged in the title game? Some claim Boise State belonged in the BCS, and playing a 17-16 game against the No. 11 team in the country certainly doesn’t dispute that.
Danny wrote, “I am writing concerning your choice of the best OU quarterbacks. First of all I would definitely have Bradford ahead of Jason White and I’d sure have Jimmy Harris ahead of Jack Mitchell. He started 33 games and won all 33! Bud Wilkinson was once asked ‘who is the best player you ever coached?’ Bud replied, ‘His name is Jim Harris.’ You can find this on page 281 of The Undefeated.”
Well, by what criteria can you put Bradford ahead of White? White’s non-Heisman year (2004) clearly was better than Bradford’s non-Heisman year (2007) – White finished third in the Heisman. Plus White has the 2001 Texas game bonus. If Bradford wins the national title game, we can revisit the question, but right now, no way is Bradford above White. As for Harris, he was 25-0 as a starter. And the guy he replaced in 1954, the injured Gene Calame, was 15-0 as a starter. Anybody ready to put Calame ahead of Jack Mitchell, too? All of Wilkinson’s quarterbacks of the ’50s won big. I love Harris. I still love talking with him. But I can’t put him near the top. Harris was an excellent player. But in 1955, halfback Tommy McDonald, not Harris, was OU’s leading passer. Put Jack Mitchell on the 1955-56 Sooners, and the winning streak would not have been in jeopardy. In fact, OU might have been even better.
Ernie also supported Jim Harris, “While I know it’s difficult to compare players of different eras, when the list credited Jack Mildren as being the most important player to the Sooners’ long-term success, I just couldn’t let it pass that … Jimmy Harris was absent from the list. It wasn’t like you didn’t go back to the Wilkinson era. You listed Jack Mitchell, a quarterback from the ’40s. My question is, how could Jimmy Harris not be among the top five?”
Well, I’ve already made that case. And you can make the case that Mildren was not the most valuable Sooner ever. But if it’s not Mildren, it’s Josh Heupel.
Bill wrote, “It would seem to me that the problem with the Dallas Cowboys is not a lack of talent, but a lack of discipline, and the coaches should be able to coach that out of them. Teams that draw the yellow flag as much as the Cowboys do not have a chance of winning, plain and simple.”
I can’t disagree. I love Wade Phillips, but the Cowboys are not a well-drilled team.
Jim wrote, “All those Sutton lovers should be writing and thanking the OSU AD for having the courage to fire Sutton. This guy (Travis Ford) obviously has the team moving in the right direction, and given two more years and a few more big men, he will have OSU back in the top 10 or 12 in the country. Sutton was going in the wrong direction and did not know how to motivate his players.”
Maybe so. I don’t see a big difference, so far.
Jim wrote, “The Christmas season must be getting to you. Going nostalgic about Dallas’ open-roof stadium. Greater than Lambeau, greater than Notre Dame, greater than the Rose Bowl? No, no and Noll. The players giving a darn about tradition? You got to be kidding! Not this group of overpaid cry babies. OK, I will excuse it to a few glasses of eggnog when you wrote this article.”
I didn’t say Texas Stadium was the greatest football stadium in America. I said it was the most famous. Put up a photo of Texas Stadium next to a photo of Notre Dame Stadium, or the Rose Bowl, or Lambeau, and more Americans would recognize Texas Stadium.
Marc wrote, “Very nice writeup about Texas Stadium. Having grown up in Dallas, I have fond memories of the place. I was actually at that Billy Graham revival (my mom made us go). The parking lot wasn’t finished yet, so we walked in the mud after a rainstorm. We saw the first Cowboy game in Texas Stadium. My dad got four season tickets, and you had to buy a $1,000 bond for each one. Big money back then. Some folks still call it The House that Tom Built. Others, in reference to Tex Schramm, called it Tex’s Stadium. John Madden used to call it the Bermuda Triangle of the NFL. Over the years we saw concerts there (Stones, ZZ Top, Willie Nelson), motocross races, wrestling events (Fritz Von Erich packed the place), battle of the bands (Grambling always won). I played several high school games there (Carter, class of ‘77) and I probably saw over 50 high school games there over the years. The stadium originally had Tartan turf, and it was like playing on green asphalt. Had to be the worst turf ever. We were there when Tony Hill caught the incredible last-minute pass to beat the Redskins in the biggest comeback in Cowboys history. We saw the debuts of Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett and the farewells of Bob Lilly and Lee Roy Jordan. We saw Randy White play just hours after his father passed away. We saw the Leon Lett game in the snow on Thanksgiving day. We saw so many great games and events at Texas Stadium. It will be sad to see it go. Thanks for bringing back the memories.”
At the core, that’s what sports are about. Memories.
Finally, a couple more stories about Pete Maravich. Terry wrote, “Good story on Pete. I was a senior at Necastle High School in ‘68. Our basketball team as a treat over the Christmas break got to see Pete play in two games in OKC. Man o man. The picture in the paper was just like I still remember him, legs and arms in all directions, amazing passes, crazy dribbling, floppy hair, all over the court. It was an amazing display of basketball skill. He was 90 to nothing all the time.”
True story. I went to the Thunder game the other night and sat next to a reporter from Australia, who is traveling around the NBA. Pretty young guy. Probably not 30 yet. Anyway, he told me he enjoyed the Maravich piece and said Pistol Pete was the reason he took up basketball and got an American scholarship. I don’t know that we fully appreciate Maravich’s impact on basketball.
Earl wrote, “As one who was fortunate to see Pete play in those games, I certainly enjoyed your article. I went to those games as a disciple of Mr. Iba, as most kids who had played high school basketball in Oklahoma, but left as a HUGE Pete Maravich fan! I thought I’d share a story with you. At an All-College game several years ago, I was seated next to Abe Lemons and his son-in-law and had an opportunity to mention the game between OCU and LSU. Abe said that Pete’s game against OCU was the single greatest performance on a basketball court that he ever saw in person. I then recalled that it seemed the hometown crowd started to root for Pete as the game went on. Abe, in his usual style, said, ‘Yeah, my wife, too.’ That’s why I particularly enjoyed your lead paragraph. Thanks for an opportunity to relive some wonderful memories.
That’s the thing about Abe Lemons. He said a lot of funny stuff. But that doesn’t mean he was kidding around.
Ben-Hur: the greatest sports scene in Hollywood history
Late Christmas afternoon, I flipped some channels and stumbled upon “Ben-Hur,” about halfway through its three-hour run. So I watched the rest of it.
And this time, I studied the chariot race scene. It’s the greatest sports scene in Hollywood history, and frankly, nothing else is really close, with the possible exception of the fight scenes from “Raging Bull.”
The chariot race is eight minutes long, an eternity for a movie, and its preamble is about eight minutes. Cameras alternate from wide shots to close-ins, and the up-close takes are herky-jerky, making you feel like you’re riding in the race.
Best of all, there is no music. Hollywood relies on music to tell you how to feel about most scenes. Not this one. The only music comes from the thunder of the horse’s hooves. Two or three racers are trampled by the chariots, a remarkably graphic scene for 1959.
Spectators flood the track after Judah Ben-Hur wins the race, looking like Yankee Stadium circa 1977. It’s really something.
The scene took three months to complete and five weeks to film. It used 8,000 extras and was shot on the largest film set ever constructed, 18 acres. Eighteen chariots were used; half for practice.
No detail is too little for William Wyler’s masterpiece. The nine laps are counted down by golden dolphins, which are tipped over to signify a lap completed, same as was used in the Circus Maximus in Rome.
Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous movie scene, and it’s 100 percent sport, even if it was set 2,000 years ago.
ESPN put together a list several years ago of the best sports scenes since 1979. Here are the top five:
1. “The Natural”: Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) hits the pennant-winning home run into the lights. It’s a great movie scene. It’s not a great sports scene. Baseball players do not hit home runs off the lights, and if they did, it would break the bulb, not short-circuit the electrical system, causing a fireworks show.
2. “Raging Bull”: The third Jake LaMotta-Sugar Ray Robinson fight, with closeups capturing boxing’s savagery. Think the fight game’s version of “Saving Private Ryan.” But if it’s totally realistic, why did it need musical accompaniment? Great, great sports scene.
3. “Searching for Bobby Fischer”: Chess prodigy
Josh Waitzkin reaches the finals of the National Scholastic chess tournament, and realizing he has won, offers his opponent a draw. But chess is not a sport. A game. A wonderful game. A mentally taxing game. But not a sport.
4. “Hoosiers”: Great, great movie. ESPN picked the scene where coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) intentionally gets himself ejected to give his alcoholic assistant coach (Dennis Hopper) a chance to be the hero. Fine choice. You could have picked several scenes from this movie. Should rank third on this list, behind “Ben-Hur” and “Raging Bull.”
5. “Jerry Maguire”: ESPN used the “help me help you” scene, where player and agent negotiate. That’s not a sports scene. “Jerry Maguire” is a good movie, but the football scenes are nothing special. Even the celebration scene, with hotdog Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) gyrating up a storm, is way over the top.
None rival “Ben-Hur.” Nothing even close.
Here’s what I got for Christmas
As usual, I cleaned up at Christmas. Truth is, I clean up on most things in life. I’ve got to be the luckiest bloke in the world, with the family I’ve got, the friends I’ve got, the co-workers I’ve got, the job I’ve got.
Anyway, I received two gifts that will help immensely on the work side.
1. I’m typing this blog sitting in my new desk chair. For the past six months, my desk chair has been broken. I’d taken to working in the living room, at the coffee table, which wasn’t conducive to good organization, so I went back to my office and sat in the broken chair until two weeks ago, when I literally tipped over sideways, in slow motion, still in the chair. So I moved in an old wooden chair, with a Yankee seat cushion my nephew brought me from the Stadium earlier this year.
But my daughter and son-in-law gave me a lovely new desk chair, cushioned on bottom and back, so that I’m completely comfortable as I sit typing this at 3:30 a.m., unable to sleep because of a bad cold. I will use this chair literally thousands of hours a year.
2. From my wife, I got a DVR for my bedroom television.
DVR has changed my television viewing and my schedule in important ways. I no longer have to juggle my schedule around games I need to watch but not necessarily immediately.
The Thunder, for example. I try not to miss a Thunder game on television, if I’m not at the Ford Center. But there are 82 regular-season games. So I tape most games and watch them late night. Now I can watch the Late Show with Kevin Durant from Lady Americana mattress instead of my Mathis Brothers couch.
Same with college basketball. Once Big 12 play starts, there are so many important games, it’s difficult to catch them all. DVR allows me to stay up to date. Last year, either the OU or OSU men started at 2 p.m. one Saturday and the other started at 2:30 p.m. Both road games, so I wasn’t there, and both televised.
I hate watching taped games if I know the final score. So I taped both games, watched the 2 p.m. game for 30 minutes, then began flipping back and forth and was able to watch both games in their entirety without getting updates that would ruin the drama.
I know, sounds kooky. But that’s what DVR — does that stand for digital video recorder? — allows me to do.
So I’m set. I hope everyone had as good a Christmas as I did.
Fired up for Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days of the year. Even professionally.
Christmas Eve is the day I write my annual Christmas column, which always is a collection of Christmas stories from people in the sporting world. I talk to two or three locals, then I scour my books for two or three more. I also write it in mystery; I don’t tell you who the subject is until the very last line.
In the past, I’ve done Chris Paul, Bob Stoops, Harry Birdwell, Mick Cornett and a host of other Oklahomans. I’ve also went through biographies and done Lou Gehrig, Johnny Unitas, Wilt Chamberlain and a host of other legends.
It’s fun to do, and I hope you enjoy it.
Christmas Eve also gets me fired up because I’m usually just off some preliminary Christmas celebration. Last night, we met at my mom’s house because my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter have to leave for Waco, Texas, tonight for Christmas with J.J.’s family.
So we got together with my mom to give my granddaughter and my 1-year-old nephew their gifts. I got the best gift, though, and it didn’t come in a box.
My good friends, the Terrys and the Dunaways, stopped by to Christmas carol for us. I told you about them last year. John Terry plays rhythm guitar while his two daughters and one daughter-in-law sing a beautiful rendition of “O Holy Night.” It’s not Christmas without hearing it.
So no matter what I get in the next day or two, it won’t trump that. A wonderful night, followed by an exciting day in which I will read about a little more Christmas adventure.
So that’s who Tim Tebow plays like
I watched the Bears-Packers game Monday night, an interesting game played in the cold that again spotlighted Chicago’s quarterback futility. Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, Cade McNown. Really doesn’t matter, does it, who the Bears use at quarterback? Going back to Sid Luckman, seems like, Chicago stinks at quarterback.
And suddenly, I finally realized who Tim Tebow reminds me of.
Bobby Douglass. Tebow is Florida’s 2007 Heisman-winning quarterback who now has the Gators in the national title game against OU.
Tebow is big, left-handed and runs like a fullback.
Douglass was big, left-handed and ran like a fullback.
Douglass came out of Kansas; he took the Jayhawks to the Orange Bowl in 1968, which frankly might be as impressive as winning a Heisman at Florida in the 21st century. Douglass was taken in the second round of the ‘69 NFL draft.
Douglass was 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, which is standard size for an NFL quarterback — nowadays. Not back then. Roger Staubach was 6-3, 197. Fran Tarkenton was 6-foot, 190. Bart Starr was 6-1, 197.
Douglass was a monster-sized quarterback, and he ran like it. Douglass in 1972 rushed for 968 yards, an NFL quarterback record that stood for 34 years, until Michael Vick gained 1,039 in 16 games, two more than Douglass had in 1972.
Douglass was not an effective pro quarterback, just as scouts say Tebow won’t be. Douglass’ career record as a starter in the NFL was 16-36-1, mostly with the Bears. He was a 43 percent passer. Douglass threw 36 touchdowns and 64 interceptions.
Tebow is a wonderful college quarterback. But Douglass was, too. Douglass was a left-handed battering ram, just like Tebow.
Those ‘68 Jayhawks went 9-1 and played Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Kansas almost beat the Nittany Lions; that’s the famous game where KU stopped a Penn State 2-point conversion, but the Jayhawks had 12 players on the field, so Penn State got another chance and won 15-14.
KU’s only loss that season? 27-23, at home, to the Sooners.
A laboratory of overtimes
I covered the Thunder game Sunday night, then drove home while listening to Giants-Panthers on the radio. I got home just as regulation ended.
That means I got to watch the overtime, which was a doozy. Giants win the toss but punt. Carolina threatens but punts, and R.W. McQuarters drops the ball and almost gives the game to the Panthers but corrals the precious jewel. Finally, Derek Ward said enough is enough and rambles 51 yards into field-goal territory, then carried even more, 82 yards on the drive alone, to set up Brandon Jacobs’ winning touchdown.
Heck of a game. Then I thought, well, I’ll watch SportsCenter, which I like on Sundays but really not any other day. I flipped over, and lo and behold the New Orleans Bowl still was in progress.
Southern Miss-Troy. It was tied late in the game, Troy had the ball about midfield, so I said great. I watched Troy gak up its last possession, forcing my second overtime of the young night.
And I got a perfect picture contrasting the NFL and college OTs. The college system stinks. No field position. No kicking game. No strategy, really. It’s football’s version of hockey’s shoot-out.
Southern Miss didn’t do much and had to kick a field goal. Troy didn’t do much and had its field goal blocked. Southern Miss.
Good for the Golden Eagles. Good for old pal Larry Fedora, the Mad Hatter. Good for fans of college football who like bowl games, of which I am one, because this was an entertaining game.
But the overtime was not good. The overtime was unsatisfactory. It wasn’t real football.
For real football in overtime, you have to go to the NFL.
