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.
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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Nice story, keep it up..