Emails in on Bedlam tickets, NFL draft and Blake Griffin
The new emails are in, on Bedlam basketball attendance and OU basketball hopes and my theories on the NFL draft. Let’s get to it.
Ben, an OSU fan, wrote, “OSU can’t get the ticket situation right. They wouldn’t sell me an individual ticket to the football game, and then, when they do sell me a ticket to a basketball game months in advance, they let everyone else in for free when we paid $55 per seat. I would’ve been OK with it if they had offered some sort of compensation for the deal. Once in a decade type situation, I know. Give me a free hotdog or coke on the way in, my gosh. They didn’t want historic GIA to be empty, I know, but it’s pretty obvious they’ve got a wrestler and a golfer running the department and neither one knows what they’re doing.
This is a classic ethics question. If you treat a man justly, and another man gets different treatment for the same actions, has justice prevailed. It’s a great capital-punishment debate. Since we don’t execute all murderers, should we execute any murderers? But if you really want your blood to boil, take a survey on an airplane of what each passenger paid for their seat.
Janet, another OSU fan, wrote about our project that Bedlam has lost its luster. “I agree with most of your points. However, I think you missed a major point. Overall, the basketball ticket sales at the wonderful Gallagher-Iba Arena have declined the past three years. The arena is paid for yet the ticket sales have increased yearly. The student price for a basketball ticket increased this year and the arena wasn’t sold for all home games last season. A season ticket holder not only faces the price of the ticket, there is also the voluntary donation one must make to the Posse Club to be able to purchase your tickets. I’m a third-generation basketball season-ticket holder and a second-generation OSU alum who had to give up two of our eight tickets this year as we were no longer able to keep up with the increase of both the per seat donation, the increase of ticket price and the increase of tuition to keep our son in school for his final year. For our seats in Section 204, across from the opposing team’s bench, the ticket price per seat is $2,075 per season. (Ticket price $575 / per seat donation $1,500). I applaud our new coach’s efforts to pack the arena offering free admission. I would hope your article would cause our athletic directors to look a little deeper into the cause of the decline of attendees as we loyal fans try to hang on and realize now is not the time to jab us with continued increases. Basketball should go back to being included with students’ all sports pass. We loyal fans should see a freeze on our tickets for at least three years while we build a new foundation.”
Janet offers wise words. Every sports endeavor needs to take a hard look at finances. Sports are not immune to the recession.
Larry, a Tech fan, liked my column about allowing players retain their eligibility even if they are picked in the NFL draft. “Let the money boys show their cards and let the players make an informed decision. A team taking a chance drafting an underclassman assumes the risk that he’ll decide to stay and play, and they waste the pick. I like it. As to your column about the Mountain West, if the MWC were a BCS member, I’d favor Texas Tech bolting the oligarchy and joining up today. I honestly believe we’d be better off. Unlikely, since I understand it would require approval of the legislature, a veritable nest of UT lawyers. They like things just the way they are, with Tech permanently stationed right under Bevo’s raised tail.”
Tech in the Mountain West would be historically full circle. The Red Raiders once were in the Border Conference with the likes of New Mexico, Arizona State, New Mexico State and Arizona.
Hung, an OU fan from Pennsylvania, wrote about the draft, “This most recent article was outstanding, one based on logic and a sense of fair play for all involved. I especially liked the way to point out the fallacies in the current system which is not obvious to the casual observer. I agree with you wholeheartedly that this proposal would benefit all involved, agents not withstanding. These agents mostly have only their best interest in mind although they’ll convince countless young and vulnerable players otherwise. From my perspective, these agents are parasites that suck their victims dry and then move on to their next prey. I am sure that for every Adrian Peterson, there are hundreds of busts who were lured away by unfulfilled promises of grandeur but their plights are not well-documented.”
That’s the one reason why my plan might get some looks. The chance to disarm agents.
Luke wrote, “How could you expect NFL teams to waste a draft selection on a player who might or might not sign with them? It makes no sense. If you are in need of something to write about the weather would make a better story than this.”
I don’t expect the NFL teams to waste a draft pick. I expect nothing from the NFL teams. Here’s what you do, Luke. Think about changing schools. Or girlfriends. Or houses. Or cars. Doesn’t really matter. The only thing is, you don’t get to know what the new choice is. You’re playing Let’s Make a Deal. You’re picking what’s behind Door No. 1, or Door No. 2, or Door No. 3. That’s what we ask college players to do concerning the draft.
Ryan wrote, “Your suggestion would open loopholes and have unintended consequences just like the current system, or any other system. It’s extremely tricky for colleges to get the right balance in dealing with the pros, especially since each pro sport is unique. And I think the current NCAA rules are mostly the product of a good-faith effort by the NCAA to do the right thing. Not the product of ‘collusion with the NFL, to the detriment of the players it is supposed to protect.’ Under your idea, players will face a lot of pressure to get agents and advisers on the side. And let’s face it, BCS teams have a lot of money at stake on these players coming back. There will be intense pressure to make it worth his while to come back for one more year. In the end, I don’t believe the bidding game would benefit players – it would just lead to them getting a lot more dirty money under the table.”
If there is dirty money under the table, it’s already there. You don’t think it was to OU’s benefit to have Sam Bradford return for another season? If Sammy B. was due some dirty money under my system, why wouldn’t he be getting dirty under the only system? The current system disenfranchises players. My system would liberate them.
Bob wrote, “OU has a better chance than not to have both the men and the women in the Final Four. I think if Johnson keeps playing like he is now, they could win it all, but the women have no chance to win it all. UConn cannot lose a game that matters to them. It’s all of women basketball against the Boston Celtics.”
Your math is off. OU’s men – as with most teams – are a longshot to reach the Final Four. Most regional finals are 50-50 tossups. So that means any team’s chances of reaching the Final Four are a good deal shy of 50 percent. I’d rate OU’s chances about 20-25 percent. Which still is good. OU’s women, probably 40 percent.
Drew wrote, “Do you think people from Oklahoma want Blake Griffin as the top pick for the Thunder just because he plays for OU or because he’s an incredible player? For instance, if he played for Texas or the University of Florida, would we be so hard up to get him as our top pick next year? In my personal opinion, I think we’d be looking at a lot of different options. Am I wrong?”
Not necessarily. If Griffin was at Florida, OKC NBA fans certainly would have a wider view of the draft. But the fact that Griffin is clearly the best player available – who disagrees? – and is from Oklahoma City and OU makes this an all-or-nothing lottery for the Thunder.
John wrote about my comparison of Griffin to Wayman Tisdale and Alvan Adams, “Stacey King did more than all three of your guys. He took OU to the national championship game. I know Blake’s time is not over with yet. And the other two did not stay around long. Stacy had more help?”
Stacey King was a wonderful player, but he wasn’t in the same league with Alvan Adams or Wayman Tisdale or Blake Griffin. King was in the perfect system and scored a bunch of points on teams that scored a bunch of points. Alvan Adams playing for Billy Tubbs would have averaged a triple double, and Blake Griffin might average 25 points and 20 rebounds a game.
Roadrunner wrote about Blake Griffin, “A couple days ago you wrote about previous OU centers and put Blake Griffin in the mix of superstars. I can’t disagree, but one you left out was Gerald Tucker. He was 6-foot-4, but in 1946 that was big. He was key in OU getting to the finals of the NCAA Tournament. They lost to Holy Cross, who had a young fellow on the team named Bob Cousy. I certainly enjoy watching Blake play, but to me, he is not as pleasing to watch as were Hollis Price, Mookie Blaylock, Wayman, Aaron McGhee.”
Well, I will grant you that Griffin is not the skilled player that Tisdale or Alvan Adams were, and I will grant you that great guards are more fun to watch, but McGhee more pleasing than Griffin? Griffin’s athletic ability means you better not take your eyes off him. And as for Gerald Tucker, no game has changed more than basketball. Including football. I would no more know how to compare Gerald Tucker to Blake Griffin than I would know how to compare spaceship to a chainsaw.
Greg wrote about Bedlam, “Much has been speculated as to the rejuvenation of Austin Johnson. I am one of few who has always thought Kelvin Sampson (who I never have thought was a great coach) was dead on that this kid could play big time college basketball. He started with ankle injuries which would have sent him home for good early in his career. Instead, he played through them. He showed occasional flashes of offensive power, especially beyond the arc, but in my opinion, first Sampson, then to a lesser degree, Capel, tried to over control this kid with shot selection and trying to put him a very strict corner as to what he could do on the court. Otherwise, he got a quick hook, perhaps a la Brandon Daniels rotisserie at OU quarterback a few years prior. It wiped out his confidence. Austin is not the most outgoing person to begin with, but he is a polite, quiet, unassuming kid who generally tries to please his leaders. For whatever reason, Capel somewhere down the line, probably knowing OU was not going to advance past the Sweet 16 with the old Austin at the helm, just said, Austin, I trust you, shoot the ball when you think appropriate, and oh, you can drive and shoot that little runner also. The rest has been history. I don’t think the story is what is he doing now, but why he wasn’t doing it prior to this? Fortunately, Capel is superior to Sampson in this regard. He knew he had to take a chance and let Austin play. In Sampson’s Spartan-like isolation, let-me-go-to-sleep offense, this team would be about 15-4 and going nowhere in the big picture.”
I think you’re a little tough on Sampson. Sampson is the one who played Johnson as a freshman, which means he had to suffer through the mistakes. I don’t remember either Sampson or Capel having a no-shoot policy with Johnson. He’s just better now.
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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In your article you metioned that Gerald Tucker was 6′4. He was 6′6. I know this because he was my father-in-law.
Thanks