Jenni Carlson NewsOK.com Blogging Community

There has been an excessive amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth since the BCS standings were announced Sunday afternoon.

As everyone knows, Oklahoma finished ahead of Texas, and that broke the three-way tie in the Big 12 South.

Since then, college football has been in a tizzy. Fans are up in arms. Regional and national pundits have almost unanimously decried what happened. Some argued that the Big 12 tiebreaker system is flawed. Others asserted that the Longhorns got jobbed.

But what if it went the other way?

What if Texas had stayed ahead of OU? What if the Longhorns were the ones getting ready for this weekend’s Big 12 title game in Kansas City?

My guess — college football would still be in a twist over what happened.

Think about it. Mack Brown and Texas spent more than a week politicking. They told anyone who would listen that they beat OU, that that should be the only criteria that matter and that they should be going to Kansas City.

Listen, I’m not saying what the Longhorns did is right or wrong.

What I am saying is that if Texas would’ve managed to sway enough pollsters to switch their vote thereby swinging the BCS number in their favor, would that have made all of college football feel better? The politicking of one powerful program would’ve swayed the outcome of the season.

Would that have been an outcome everyone could’ve lived with?

Something tells me that would’ve caused its own wailing and gnashing of teeth.

So, let me get this straight — a team routing a bottom-of-the-barrel opponent at home is more impressive than a team beating down a top-15 team on the road. 

Doesn’t make sense, right? Neither do a couple of the latest human polls in college football.  

Voters in both the Harris Interactive and the Associated Press polls moved Texas ahead of Oklahoma this week. The Harris is used in the BCS formula, and even though the AP poll no longer is used in determining who plays for the national championship, it often influences what happens in the other polls. 

Last week, both the Harris and the AP had OU ahead of Texas but swapped them around this week.  

The reason? It can’t have anything to do with what happened this weekend. Texas scored a dominating home victory against Texas A&M while OU went to Oklahoma State and scored a dominating road victory. 

The only major difference between what OU and Texas did this weekend is the quality of opponent they beat. Texas A&M stinks. OSU is a potential 10-win team. If anything, what happened this weekend should’ve strengthened the pollsters’ convictions about ranking OU ahead of Texas. 

Now, for voters who had Texas ahead of OU in last week’s poll, I would’ve had no problem with them leaving that as is. But clearly, the majority of Harris and AP voters liked the Sooners more than the Longhorns a week ago. 

They changed their minds over what? 

I suppose the easy answer would be that Mack Brown did enough politicking to make Barack Obama proud. The Longhorns went on an all-out assault for more than a week. It started with text messages to several national pundits before the OU-Texas Tech game was even finished, and it didn’t stop until the final tallies were in Sunday. 

But the answer to the question is much more disturbing than Texas’ political machine having sway. The truth is, the voters who switched aren’t really paying attention. They moved OU ahead of Texas a week ago without really thinking about what they were doing. They didn’t sit back and ponder the question of who they really thought was better. They let the emotion of OU’s beat down of Tech sway them.

I wish I was wrong about this. I wish voters were showing themselves as rational, well-thought-out representatives. Instead, they have showed again just how ridiculous they can be. OU above Texas. Texas above OU. There are arguments for both. But what is indisputable is how ridiculous the pollsters can be.  

Just one more flaw in an already broken system.

When I went to talk to Desmond Mason for my Q&A before a game the other night, he was toting a Starbucks cup.

Had to ask.

Here’s more from my chat with the Thunder forward: 

Jenni Carlson: So, what’s in the Starbuck’s cup? Do you do coffee, or are you fancy pants?

Desmond Mason: I’m fancy. I go with the seasons, so I’ll probably be drinking a gingerbread latte into January or February. Ginger snap, since they changed the name on it.

JC: And you’ve got to order it by their name.

DM: I have to go in and say ginger snap. It’s like Morton’s Steakhouse. They used to have the Godiva Chocolate Cake. They had problems with Godiva, so now it’s just the chocolate cake. I say Godiva, and they say, “It’s not named that anymore.”

JC: I do coffee with a little cream and Sweet N Low.

DM: I like that. I gotta have something sweet. Halloween is Pumpkin Spice.

JC: I go peppermint.

DM: Peppermint Mocha is good. And besides that, I’m four pumps, light whip, one shot single, extra hot.

JC: You have got the lingo. You have to.

DM: They know me now, so, it’s done.

JC: So, every morning they know.

DM: I want it 185 degrees exactly … no, I’m just playing. (Laughs.) But I’ve seen people walk in and say they want their latte at 175 degrees. I’m thinking, “What if it’s 180? Can you tell the difference?”

Thanksgiving is in the air.

Even with all the madness going on in the sports world this week, it’s impossible to avoid that holiday spirit. Besides, there’s so much to give thanks for in sports.

I’m thankful for college football. It might be maddening. It might be unpredictable. But it never fails to deliver excitement and drama.

I’m thankful for Courtney Paris and her double-double streak, for Blake Griffin and the way he rebounds the basketball, smacking it with authority, for Nic Harris and his hard-hitting mentality.

I’m thankful for Dez Bryant and his circus catches, for Andrea Riley and her get-after-it-now, apologize-later mentality, for James Anderson and his smooth style and his star potential.

I’m thankful for NBA basketball. Sure, the Thunder isn’t very good right now. Heck, I might even go so far as to say that this team stinks most of the time. But this is Oklahoma City’s team.

Oklahoma City has an NBA team. How cool is it to say that?

I’m thankful we’re able to say it.

I’m also thankful for Adrian Peterson running over defenders and Matt Holliday smashing home runs and Wes Welker catching a ton of passes no matter who’s quarterbacking his team.

I’m thankful for Bobby Murcer. The Oklahoma City native spent his life in baseball, first as a player, then as an announcer. No matter what he was doing, though, he represented his home state with class and dignity.

We will miss you, Bobby.

And finally, this Thanksgiving I’m thankful for Robert Swift’s tattoos and Doug Sauter’s mustache. For Sam Bradford’s savvy and Trooper Taylor’s passion. For David Oku and Gabe Lynn, Xavier Henry and Daniel Orton, Wayman Tisdale and Brent Parker. For summer evenings at The Brick and winter nights at the Ford Center. For “Who’s ball is it?” and “Here comes Bullet!” For a Kevin Durant jumper and a Willie Warren dunk and a Shaunte Smith rebound.

For all that makes sports in Oklahoma so grand and so wonderful, I am thankful. This is the week to say it, but the truth is, I’m thankful for it every single day.

Scott Brooks has only been on the job a few days, but I’ve got some advice for the new Thunder coach.

Play faster.

The Thunder has gotten off to an abysmal start, winning just once in its first 13 games. What’s worse, this team has looked like it was playing in sludge much of the time. It’s slow. It’s painful. Frankly, it’s got to stop.

This is a team that has neither a great big man nor a reliable outside shooter. Playing a half-court game is not its strength. In fact, getting in a half-court game is perhaps the last thing the Thunder want to do. And yet, this team has seemed hesitant to run. Granted, it’s a lot easier to be a running team when your defense gets stops. It’s difficult to run when you’re taking the ball out of the basket all the time.

But still, there have been times when it looked like the Thunder could run and pulled back instead. It’s been baffling, especially considering that one of the main things that this team has going for it is youth. The Thunder have a bunch of young guys who can run and jump.

Why not play to that strength?

Why not play a more up-tempo style?

I’m hopeful that Brooks will hit the accelerator. He was a point guard during his playing days, and there are stories of him sprinting up court, his blond hair flying every which way. He liked to push the tempo. He liked to play fast.

Here’s hoping that’s still the case now that he’s the Thunder coach.

Brooks has been handed a team with many faults, but one of the things that these players seem to be able to do is get out and run.

A bit of advice to the new coach: run them until their legs fall off.

That quickly became obvious when I sat down to chat with her earlier this week in Norman. She was in town for the Delta Gamma Foundation Lectureship in Values and Ethics, and she answered all sorts of questions. Here are a few that didn’t make it into The Q&A on my Page 2:

Talk about a busy week in our sports world.

The best game of the young college basketball season took place Tuesday in Norman when Davidson and Stephen Curry squared off against Oklahoma and Blake Griffin. The biggest game of the college football season is Saturday in Norman when OU and Texas Tech lock it up. The NBA team is playing three home games this week, culminating with the Hornets and ESPN coming to town Friday. And there also happen to be all sorts of college basketball and high school football playoff games.

And yet, there is one thing that has made me stop in my tracks all week — Caleb Spady.

Perhaps you remember a couple of columns that I wrote earlier this fall about the Hinton boy. The 10-year-old is battle inoperable brain cancer, and he had a Make-A-Wish trip to Arlington and a Texas Rangers game. He was also befriended by fellow Caddo County native and Angels outfielder Reggie Willits.

While working on that first column about Caleb, I logged onto his website at www.carepages.com. To see the page, though, I had to register. Ever since, I’ve received an e-mail notice every time Caleb’s mother, Kim, posts something on the website.

Last week, I clicked on one of the notices to see that the Spadys had received some terrible news from their specialist in Maryland — Caleb’s tumor is growing.

Ever since receiving that news, I have been quick to click every update that has come about Caleb. His mom wrote a few days later that she had explained to him that he could wait a few weeks to start his new round of chemotherapy. That way he could play in a few basketball games.

“He looked me straight in the face, his eyes so bright and his features and hands so animated, and said ‘You know, I just play these other sports — football and basketball — to fill the time between baseball seasons. I want to get started now so that maybe I’ll be through by baseball season,’” Caleb’s mom wrote. “And my heart broke into a thousand pieces — again.”

This 10-year-old boy and his family have become an inspiration to me, even though I’ve only chatted with Caleb and his mom on the telephone.

All of them have hearts of champions.

So, in this busy sports week, take a moment say a prayer for Caleb and his family. Even with all of these big games, none of them is more important than this.

Being inside Lloyd Noble Center on Tuesday night was a treat.

Blake Griffin and Stephen Curry put on a show as promised. The Oklahoma big man and the Davidson sharp shooter are pre-season All-American, and both delivered on the hype in the Sooners’ narrow victory.

But as I watched the stars battle it out, I couldn’t help but think, “Which of these guys would look best in Thunder blue?”

Even though Curry is only a junior and Griffin is just a sophomore, both of these guys seem likely early-entry candidates for next year’s NBA Draft. And after almost a month of the NBA season, the Thunder seem a likely lottery candidate for that same draft. If it came down to Griffin or Curry, who should the Thunder take?

I say Griffin.

And it’s not because he’s a local guy either. That would just be a side benefit. No, I think Griffin’s the guy for a couple other reasons.

First of all,  it’s difficult to know if the skills of a college shooter are going to translate into the pro game. J.J. Redick is one of the greatest shooters that the college game has ever known, but now that he’s in the NBA, he can hardly get off the bench.

Shooters have to be able to create their own shots in the NBA, and while I think Curry will be able to do that — the 44 points he scored Tuesday are evidence of that – we’ll never know until he’s trying to do it in the league. Getting your shot off against Tony Crocker and Austin Johnson is a little different than Chris Paul and Steve Nash.

Secondly, it seems like the Thunder’s money would be much more well spent on a reliable shooter. Go out and get a guy who is a proven commodity, who you know is going to be able to deliver.

And lastly, I think the Thunder would be better off picking Griffin instead of Curry because Griffin has all the ear-markings of being the next Carlos Boozer. All that guy does is score and rebound and defend and bring it every night. The Thunder could benefit from a guy like that.

Listen, if either Griffin or Curry were dropped in the Thunder’s lap, I suspect both would help this franchise. I just suspect Griffin could help them a little more.

Just in case you think the only thing on the line Saturday night in Norman is a leg up on the Big 12 South title, the Big 12 championship game and the national championship game, think again. 

The Heisman Trophy is on the line, too. 

Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell is the current front-runner for the little bronze statue, but Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is one of his closest challengers.

But do both of these guys have a serious shot at the Heisman? 

Chris Huston doesn’t think so. He runs the website www.HeismanPundit.com, and he believes that the Heisman will either go to Harrell or Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. Huston made an appearance last week on my radio show, and he said doesn’t think Bradford has a good chance to win the trophy. 

While I respect the heck out of Huston, this is one time I disagree with him. I still think Bradford has a great shot at winning the Heisman. 

For starters, he needs to leave the field Saturday night as the superior quarterback. He needs to clearly establish himself as better than Harrell. He needs to have better stats. He needs to lead the Sooners to victory. This game will be watched by a huge national television audience, and if Bradford leads the Sooners to victory, his stock will soar. His exposure will, too. An OU victory would make Bedlam an even bigger game, a game that much of the nation would see. And if the Sooners win in Stillwater — no easy task — they would play in the Big 12 title game. 

And we all know that whatever Big 12 South team gets to that game is going to run over Missouri. The Tigers have teeth in the North, but lose their bite against the South. 

If Bradford plays in all three of those high-profile games and plays well in them, I think he’s got an inside track on the Heisman. If Texas Tech loses Saturday, Harrell is probably out of the running. If Colt McCoy is the other challenger, he will have nowhere near the potential exposure that Bradford will. The Longhorns are off this week, and their Thanksgiving week game against a horrible Texas A&M team promises to be a snoozer. McCoy would benefit a ton by

But first things first. Oklahoma and Texas Tech kick off Saturday evening around 7. By about 11, we should have a much clearer picture of many things, including the Heisman Trophy race.

For years, Vince Carter anchored the Oklahoma offensive line.

Now, the former Sooner center hopes to provide stability to an entirely different group.

Carter has turned his attention to Christian rap and urban music in recent years. Known by his stage name His Son, he is set to release his debut album, “Man After God’s Own Heart.” While the album is already available at local Hastings locations, it will be more widely distributed starting Wednesday.

To celebrate, Carter will have a release party at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Westmoore Community Church.

The event is open to the public.

Can’t wait until Wednesday? Carter will be on KTLV AM-1220 at 6:30 p.m. today.