OU football: Chris Plank new sideline reporter
Chris Plank has joined the OU football broadcast crew as sideline reporter, and it sounds like a solid move. I like that Plank comes from radio — he’s the program director at Tulsa stations 1430-AM and 1300-AM, the Buzz, and long has hosted sports shows.
When the Sooners went to a former player, tight end Trent Smith, as the sideline guy, I thought it was disastrous. Nothing against Smith, who is one of my all-time favorite Sooners to deal with, but it’s a job that requires some broadcast training.
Toby Rowland took the sideline job to new levels, not just with his radio reporting but his work on the video screens during games. From what I’ve seen of Plank, he can do the same.
OU touted the fact that Plank is from the Tulsa area, and I second the motion. I think it’s a good PR move to hire someone from the Tulsa market, and I think it will reap benefits for the Sooners during the week. The whole political OKC/Tulsa waltz in terms of state status is not imaginary. Tulsans do feel slighted in a variety of areas, with the state capitol in Oklahoma City, and that can extend to sports, with Sooner football and now even with the Thunder. Oklahoma State, equidistance from Tulsa and OKC, is sort of neutral ground.
I remember more than 30 years ago, when Tulsa sportscaster Chris Lincoln became host of the Barry Switzer playback shows. It seemed sort of odd for us over on this side of the state. Who was this guy we didn’t know and why was he interviewing Switzer? It seemed wrong. Well, Tulsans probably had some of the same feelings when Oklahoma City media dominated OU or OSU broadcasts, be it Bob Barry, Bill Teegins, Jack Ogle, Dean Blevins or Toby Rowland.
So hiring Plank works on that level.
Truth is, in many ways, the sideline reporting is just as important as the guys in the booth, Rowland and Merv Johnson. Many fans listen to the game while at Owen Field. They do so not necessarily to keep up with the game, but to keep up with developments — injuries, tendencies, stats, those kinds of things. The kind of things people sitting at home get automatic access to via television. So Plank’s job is comparatively important.
Power Lunch Chat Recap: Berry Tramel
Bedlam football: New coaches await
Twenty-three major-college football programs changed coaches since last season. None are in the Big 12, or at least won’t be in 2011. Colorado fired Dan Hawkins and hired Jon Embree, but Embree is now the Pac-10′s problem.
And yet, both the Sooners and Cowboys will face two new head coaches each.
Both teams play Tulsa, where Bill Blankenship takes over from Todd Graham, who went to Pitt. OU also plays Ball State, where Pete Lembo replaces the fired Stan Parrish. OSU also plays Louisiana-Lafayette, where Mark Hudspeth replaces the fired Ricky Bustle.
West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck, left, and head football coach Dana Holgorsen, right, answer questions during a news conference in Morgantown, W.Va. on Friday, June 10, 2011. Holgorsen was appointed head football coach and Bill Stewart resigned. (AP Photo/David Smith)
It’s too bad Parrish got fired at Ball State. He went 6-19 in two seasons, so it’s not surprising. But Parrish is a coaching lifer. He was head coach at Kansas State 1986-88. He was KSU’s coach just before Bill Snyder; Parrish went 2-30-1 in three years at K-State and lost to OU 56-10, 59-10 and 70-24.
It’s rare for a league to make no coaching changes — and the Big 12 wouldn’t be on the list had Colorado not jumped league.
The last two years, the Big East has taken coaching changes to an extreme. This season, Dana Holgorsen has replaced Bill Stewart at West Virginia; Graham has replaced Dave Wannstedt at Pitt, unless you count Michael Haywood, who held the job for two weeks before a domestic abuse allegation cost him his new job; and Paul Pasqualoni has replaced Randy Edsall at Connecticut. The Big East also had three coaching changes a year ago (Skip Holtz in at South Florida, Butch Jones in at Cincinnati and Charlie Strong in at Louisville). That makes Syracuse’s Doug Marrone, with two years on the job, the No. 2-ranking Big East coach, behind only Rutgers’ Greg Schiano.
The Big Ten has four new head coaches (not counting Nebraska’s Bo Pelini, who is not new but is new to the league). Luke Fickell replaces Jim Tressel at Ohio State, Brady Hoke replaces Rich Rodriguez at Michigan, Kevin Wilson replaces Bill Lynch at Indiana and Jerry Kill replaces Tim Brewster at Minnesota.
In the SEC, Will Muschamp replaces Urban Meyer at Florida and James Franklin replaces Robbie Caldwell at Vanderbilt.
In the ACC, Al Golden replaces Randy Shannon at Miami and Edsall replaces Ralph Fridgen at Maryland.
In the Pac-10, Embree joins David Shaw (replacing Jim Harbaugh at Stanford) as new coaches.
The Mid-American Conference is always a coaching carousel, since it’s a haven for big schools’ hiring. The MAC has five new coaches this year: Lembo at Ball State, Darrell Hazell at Kent State, Don Treadwell at Miami-Ohio, Dave Doeron at Northern Illinois and Steve Addazio at Temple.
Conference USA has Tulsa’s Blankenship.
The Mountain West has Rocky Long at San Diego State.
The Sun Belt has Hudspeth at Louisiana-Lafayette, Dan McCarney at North Texas and Hugh Freeze at Arkansas State.
That’s 23. Which leaves the Western Athletic Conference with no coaching changes. The WAC was too busy with member changes. Boise State left the league, and Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada are headed out, to be replaced by Texas-San Antonio, Texas State, Seattle and Denver, though the latter two don’t play football.
OSU football: Jim Click honored
Jim Click, the former OSU center who I wrote about for my Wednesday column, (http://newsok.com/how-jim-click-brought-oklahoma-state-arizona-together/article/3581162?custom_click=lead_story_title ) is in the OSU Hall of Fame. Not the athletic hall of fame. The university hall of fame.
Click was OSU’s tri-captain in 1965, then entered the car business and since 1971 has been an auto dealer in Tucson, Ariz., where he’s a civic icon.
Jim Click, former Oklahoma State University college football player PHOTO PROVIDED BY OSU SPORTS INFORMATION
There’s a display of Click in the Cowboy football complex. This is the text:
“Jim Click, Jr. was born April 28, 1944, in Altus, Okla. In 1962, he was voted to the Oklahoma all-state football team for his play at Altus High School. During his days at Oklahoma State University, Jim was voted a Scholastic All-American, received the Big 8 Medallion Award and was captain of OSU’s football team.
“‘During my freshman year at OSU in 1963, I wanted to quit and I didn’t. As it turns out, because I didn’t quit, I received four of the greatest years in my life by being at OSU and being able to participate on the OSU football team,’ Click said. ‘I made some of the best friendships, including Walt Garrison and Hugh McCrabb, and I also received a good education…which is priceless.
“After graduating from OSU in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in business, Jim ventured into the automobile business by selling automobiles for his great uncle, Holmes Tuttle, at a Ford dealership in Los Angeles.
“‘Within the first month or two on the job, I wanted to quit, but didn’t. I always think back…what if I had quit in football and what if I’d quit my first job selling cars, where would I be today?’ Click asked. “One thing I learned from my dad, was that there is no substitute for hard work, there are no short cuts to success and remember to treat every customer so fair that they automatically will want to go to work for you.’”
“As a result of that continuing work ethic and dedication, at the age of 27, Jim became one of the country’s youngest automotive dealers with the purchase of his own Ford dealership in Tucson, Ariz., in 1971.
“Today, the Tucson-based Jim Click Automotive Team includes 13 dealerships in Tucson, five dealerships in Orange County, California and is consistently ranked in the Top 50 automotive dealership groups in the United States.
“Despite Jim’s enormous success, he is always the first to give back to the community that has treated him so well.
“‘My father taught me that you should never forget your roots and where you came from – I will never forget that. It gives me great joy to help the community,’ Click said. His charitable nature has made him one of Tucson’s most heralded philanthropists, holding numerous Chairman and Board of Director positions within various volunteer organizations throughout southern Arizona.
“Even with all those accomplishments, OSU is never far from Click’s heart.
”‘It was honor for me to endow my position, the center position, and also to endow the defensive tackle position in honor of my roommate, Hugh McCrabb, as well as contribute to the University for the Alumni Hall. There is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t be where I am today without OSU and the four years I spent in the athletic department,’ Click said.
“In 1995, Jim was honored as one of the University’s most outstanding graduates and was inducted into OSU’s Hall of Fame – an honor that Click will never forget.”
Dodgers: A brand gone bad
The Los Angeles Dodgers — the franchise of Koufax and Drysdale; the franchise of Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella; the franchise of Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey; the franchise of the O’Malleys; the franchise of Vin Scully; the franchise of Duke Snider and Pee Wee Resse; the franchise of Orel Hershiser and Kirk Gibson; the franchise of Alston and Lasorda — have turned soap opera. The 21st-century Dodgers are the franchise of Frank McCourt, who is mounting an impressive campaign to become the worst owner in baseball history.
McCourt has dragged the Dodgers through an absurd divorce case and now has the Dodgers in bankruptcy court. The result no doubt will be McCourt losing the Dodgers, probably after a protracted legal battle that damages baseball and damages the Dodgers, but won’t further damage McCourt, since that’s not possible.
Anyway, the biggest loser here is the Dodger brand. There aren’t many franchises in American sport that carry a brand as powerful as the Dodgers once had.
FILE - In this June 17, 2011 file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt speaks to the media outside court in Los Angeles. On Monday, June 27, 2011, the Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court. McCourt cites Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig's interference with club operations and refusal to approve a Dodgers TV deal with Fox Sports as the cause for Monday's bankruptcy filing. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
We’re not talking about a franchise that hit a golden age of success, like the Chicago Bulls in the ’90s and the New England Patriots in the ’00s. Great brands go beyond distinct eras of success. Great brands stand for something almost regal.
Here is my list of the 10 top brands in American sport:
1. New York Yankees. The third dictionary definition of Yankee is a native or inhabitant of a northern U.S. state, especially of one of the northeastern states that sided with the Union in the American civil war. The second dictionary definition of Yankee is a native or inhabitant of New England. The first dictionary definition of Yankee is a native or inhabitant of the United States. The Pinstripers? The Bronx Bombers? How about the New York Americans? That’s what the Yanks are. America’s team.
2. Dallas Cowboys. You know, I don’t know how to explain it, and I’ve certainly never read an adequate explanation. But it’s true. The Cowboys, love them or hate them, really do have a hold on America.
3. Los Angeles Lakers. Star-crossed in the ’60s. Showtime in the ’80s. Behemoths in the ’00s. Doesn’t matter the plot. The Lakers are the NBA’s rock stars.
4. Green Bay Packers. The romance of little Green Bay, with a metro population less than metro Fort Smith, Ark., has not withered. The story is riveting, no matter the decade, no matter the Packers’ record. Green Bay has an NFL franchise. Los Angeles, California, does not.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (pre-McCourt): It’s much quicker to destroy tradition than to build it. But time was, the Dodgers were a majestic franchise. Classy. Competitive. Truth is, between 1958 and 2000, the Dodgers, not the Yankees, were baseball’s standard.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers’ excellence — on the field, in ownership — is a relatively new thing, compared to many of these franchises. The Steelers pre-1970 were just a woebegone franchise. Sort of like the Lions of modern times. But over the last 40 years, the Steelers have done a lot of catching up. It’s not crazy to think that the Steelers one day will be No. 1 on this list.
7. Boston Celtics. The simple green uniforms say it all. The Celtics stand for excellence, even in down years.
8. Chicago Bears. History and tradition too often is discounted in the NFL. It’s all we talk about in college football, but we never bring it up in pro football. Except tradition and history means tons in the NFL. It means tons to the Halas family, which has owned the Bears for almost a century.
9. St. Louis Cardinals. Sometimes, franchises are elevated by their city. St. Louis’ love affair for its baseball team, going back to the 1920s, has helped make the Redbirds a regal franchise.
10. Boston Red Sox. Frankly, the Red Sox are Johnny(Pesky, Damon, take your pick)-come-latelies to this list. The Red Sox’s profile has skyrocketed in the last decade or so, with first their curse and now their two World Series titles after 86 years without one. I guess it’s easier to build a brand in this ESPN world.
College football: Ranking Frank Beamer No. 3
We had a good discussion Monday on the Sports Animal about who would rank No. 3 in the current list of college football coaches, behind the obvious top two of Nick Saban and Bob Stoops.
Both Mack Brown and Les Miles drew support, and both are solid candidates, since they have national championships on their resumes. But I voted for Frank Beamer. Here are a few reasons why:
Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, right, shouts to Antoine Hopkins (56) in the first half against Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
1. He built his own program. Lots of guys do that — Stoops, Brown, even Saban, who took over a Crimson Tide program with just one winning record in its previous four seasons. But Beamer’s building job is different. He took over a program with little tradition. Virginia Tech was not in a slump. Virginia Tech was the Appalachian version of Kansas State. Bad facilities. No tradition. No reason whatsoever to believe. And Beamer turned the Hokies into a national power.
2. Longevity. Beamer has stood the test of time. 2011 will be Beamer’s 25th season coaching Virginia Tech. That’s second in the nation, behind only Joe Paterno. But while Paterno seems somehow immune from modern tendencies, Beamer does not. He was hired in 1987; he’s a contemporary figure who has stayed well ahead of the wolves that can end even the most promising of careers.
3. Success. Beamer has the ACC’s flagship program. I know, everyone wants to anoint Florida State as soon to return to prominence. But Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004. Since then, the Hokies have won four conference titles. No other school has won more than one. Before Virginia Tech’s arrival, Florida State had won 11 of the previous 12 ACC championships.
4. Consistency. Virginia Tech does not have down years. The last time the Hokies failed to post double-digit victories was 2003, when VPI was 8-5. Beamer’s last losing season was 1992. Since then, Virginia Tech has won at least 10 games in 12 of 16 seasons. In the 2000s, V-Tech’s average record is 10-3.
Beamer is a coaching marvel and, at the age of 64, shows no signs of slowing down.
Thunder: In search of a two-specialty guard
The Thunder drafted Boston College’s Reggie Jackson, and we can’t really talk about upside. When the Thunder drafted Russell Westbrook three years ago, no one’s wildest dream had Westbrook as an all-star and second-team all-NBA by 2011. So tread lightly on upside.
But here’s what the Thunder would love for Jackson to be. A combination of Daequan Cook and Thabo Sefolosha.
I know, Jackson is billed as a point guard of sorts, which he might be. But what the Thunder could use is a player with specialty skills of Thabo and Cook. Sefolosha is a defensive whiz, a guy who excellently guards most any perimeter player. Cook is a 3-point specialist, a defense-stretching shooter who is asked to enter the game and start firing.
What if the Thunder had a player who could do both? What if the Thunder had a defensive stopper who also had a singular offensive specialty, in this case shooting? Wouldn’t that be a valuable player? Wouldn’t that be one heck of a player?
Who knows how Jackson will pan out. Or if he’ll pan out. Who knows if his skill sets will be what they’re billed to be. Westbrook was touted as a potential defensive stopper; instead, he’s a whirling dervish of a point guard. So be careful of projections.
But the scouting on Jackson shows a 6-foot-3 guard with quickness and a 7-foot wing span. The defensive possibilities abound, though don’t forget, Thabo is 6-6. Big difference. Jackson was a 42-percent 3-point shooter in his final season at Boston College, so that’s good. And he’s a slasher. If Jackson doesn’t develop into a quality NBA 3-point shooter, that doesn’t mean he will be ineffective in the league.
Could Jackson become a contributor both offensively and defensively? That would make him a valuable roster hand. Two-dimensional players are nice to have around.
C.C. Sabathia: Indicting himself
I heard C.C. Sabathia on the Dan Patrick Show this morning, and Sabathia said something that made me think about free agency in a way I’d never thought about before. Sabathia said he signed with the Yankees, instead of his hometown Dodgers, because the Yanks provided him with a better chance to win.
Which is nothing new. We’ve seen that for decades with the Yankees (and now Red Sox). We saw it with LeBron James and Chris Bosh last summer. We’ve seen it for a long time with all kinds of athletes.
Which is fine. That’s their right. That’s their decision. But when athletes make that decision, there are repercussions.
The idea that championships are the prime criteria for determining athletic greatness? Isn’t that rendered weak when players migrate to teams that have been winning anyway? Isn’t an athlete who makes that decision admitting that the organization made him a champion, not the other way around?
We’ve talked around this with LeBron for a year. His basic admission that he needs help. Which is not revelation. All great players need help. But Sabathia said it more clearly. He jumped aboard a championship express. He became a Yankee because the Yankees win. That decision displays the Yankees’ greatness. It does not display Sabathia’s greatness.
Now, in baseball, championships are not as paramount to a player’s status. In baseball, we can adequately and distinctly measure a player’s quality. You can’t really fool anybody. We knew C.C. Sabathia was an excellent pitcher, long before he joined the Yankees. We don’t really judge baseball players like we do basketball players.
But Sabathia’s clarity on his motivation was interesting. Didn’t go to New York just for the money. Didn’t go just for the fame. Went to New York because he wanted to win. Same thing happens in the NBA, in which championships are a massive part of a player’s resume.
It’s something we most definitely need to take into account when judging a player’s value. If championships can be had just by changing addresses — and sometimes they can be — then championships should not be valued so highly in determining a player’s worth.
OU football: Morning kickoff not kind to Sooners
Fans generally dislike the 11 a.m. kickoff for OU-Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Here’s another reason for Sooner fans to dislike it. It hasn’t been kind to them.
Under Bob Stoops, the Sooners are 7-5 against Texas. But they are 2-3 in the early time slot, 5-2 in the afternoon time slot.
OU-Texas will be another 11 a.m. kickoff this season. Here are the 11 a.m. kicks in the Stoops era:
2000: OU 63-14
2004: OU 12-0
2008: Texas 45-35
2009: Texas 16-13
Plus, there was Texas’ 45-12 rout in 2005, which kicked off at noon.
The Sooners have fared much better in the 2:30 p.m. time slot.
1999: Texas 38-28
2001: OU 14-3
2002: OU 35-24
2003: OU 65-13
2006: Texas 28-10
2007: OU 28-21
2010: OU 28-20
NBA Draft: Winners & losers
Winners and losers in the NBA Draft.
Winner: Dallas. The Mavericks got 26-year-old Spaniard Rudy Fernandez in a trade from Portland. It cost Dallas its two draft picks, including Texas’ Jordan Hamilton, but Fernandez is a ready-made shooting guard who has averaged 9.1 points over three NBA seasons.
Loser: Cleveland. How can you have the first and fourth picks and screw it up? The Cavaliers did. ESPN’s Tim Legler explained it well. The Cavs picked Duke point guard Kyrie Irving first and Texas power forward Tristan Thompson fourth. Is that a better combo than if the Cavs had taken Arizona’s Derrick Williams No. 1, then whichever point guard Cleveland liked the most at No. 4. Kentucky’s Brandon Knight, UConn’s Kemba Walker, whoever, supposing that Irving was gone. Clearly, the second scenario is better. Williams figures to be a star. Thompson is an intriguing defensive prospect, but he’s just 6-foot-8 and has limited offense.
Winner: Portland. The Blazers went from an old point guard, Andre Miller, to a young point guard, Raymond Felton. And really all it cost them was Fernandez, who was disgruntled in Portland anyway. Felton is an excellent player, even if he has now been with four franchises in 14 months.
Loser: Sacramento. The Kings traded down to get Jimmer Fredette, who might sell tickets but won’t guard anyone, plus they had to take on John Salmons, who is in his 30s and has three years left on a contract that pays him more than $8 million a year. Sacramento is a woebegone franchise.
Winner: Charlotte. Rich Cho wasted little time remaking the Bobcat franchise. He traded up to get Serge Ibaka Jr., the Congo’s Bismack Biyambo, at No. 7, then drafted Walker at No. 9. And shed some cap space. Cho, fired in Portland after the Blazers’ playoff demise, was hired on as Charlotte general manager and did a masterful job. We’ve got another Sam Presti on our hands.
Loser: Phoenix. I didn’t mind the drafting of Markieff Morris over his twin brother, Marcus, even though Big 12 people clearly saw that Marcus was a better player than Markieff. The Suns need some defense, and Markieff is the better defender. But the Suns are an old team built around a 37-year-old superstar (Steve Nash) and did nothing to address their impending implosion. Bad times loom for the Suns.
Winner: Utah. Wow. Talk about remaking your franchise. The Jazz had two lottery picks and got Turkish center Enes Kanter at No. 3 and Colorado shooting guard Alec Burks at No. 12. Kanter could prove to be the best player in the draft. Since January, the Jazz has added Kanter, Burks and the No. 3 pick in the 2010 draft, Derrick Favors, to go with some young building blocks like Paul Millsap, C.J. Miles and Devin Harris. If Utah keeps its veteran core of Andrei Kirilenko, Al Jefferson and Mehmet Okur, that’s not a bad rebuilding job for a franchise wrecked by all-star point guard Deron Williams.
Loser: Minnesota. The Timberwolves have an all-star power forward in Kevin Love and a power forward/small forward hybrid in Michael Beasley. So naturally, the T-Wolves drafted Derrick Williams, a power forward who could become a power forward/small forward hybrid. I love Williams, but Minnesota’s habit of stacking its roster at one particular position — first, point guard, now, power forward — is getting old.
