Grow up already
Our government reporter Bryan Dean is a sports junkie.
A friend of mine, too.
He loves Oklahoma football and grew fond of the Hornets, but the sport Deaner grew up playing was tennis. So, when he shot me an e-mail earlier this week titled “random sports rant” about the U.S. Open, I made sure to sit up and pay attention.
(After, of course, I remembered that the U.S. Open was actually going on.)
Bryan was miffed about Serena Williams’ sullen, snippy reaction to her loss to Justine Henin. Here’s what he said: “I’ve never liked the Williams sisters, and this is why. They have an utter lack of sportsmanship in a game that is all about sportsmanship. You grow up in tennis calling your own lines and shaking hands with your opponent after every match, win or lose.”
Remember, this is a guy who knows of what he speaks.
“Nothing in the game is worse than a poor sport. I hated playing kids like this when I played in high school and in the USTA junior tournaments.
“Serena and Venus have been doing this kind of thing since they broke onto the pro tour, and they’ve never stopped. They are adults. It’s time to grow up and learn sportsmanship, ladies.”
Couldn’t have said it any better myself.
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Conspiracy
There are all kinds of conspiracy theories around, JFK, 9-11, the Moon Landing, global warming, and the list goes on and on. People actually sit around and spend valuable time on such stuff like, “fire can’t melt steel.” Rosie O’Donnell.
Armed with a classical education, I’m usually immune to such junk however recently I have noticed the seeds of a real conspiracy. Before my own eyes, in the sports page of the DO, it appears to me an attempt is being made to lower the bar on OU’s team and new found quarterback by saddling them and him with needless comparisons.
If we must compare, why can’t we compare Bradford with Josh Heupel? Heupel was an intelligent quarterback that made his one and only shot for a national championship count as number 7 at OU. Heupel was at OU two years when he quarterbacked the Sooners to their first 13-0 season and capped it with a win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Heupel was the first quarterback to lead the worst defeat Mack Brown’s Texas (64-13) in the Cotton bowl that set off a five game OU over Texas winning streak. Heupel led the Sooners to its first Big Twelve title in football. Heupel quarterbacked a team with much less reserve talent in yet managed to out scored three top ten teams in October 2000, Texas (at Dallas), Kansas State (at Manhattan) and Nebraska.(at Home).
I’m not putting Jason White down. White accomplished a great deal of personal acclaim for himself. He won a Heisman Trophy, threw 5 touchdown passes in one game against Texas and also won one Big Twelve championship during his six years at OU. He also helped put OU’s abundantly talented teams in the position to win Big XII championship number 4 and two national championships. The fact that OU lost all three of those games is not White’s fault – it is after all – a team sport. My point is, if we must compare, why can’t we compare Bradford and this OU team with the quarterback and the team that got it done?
I smell conspiracy at the DO. Bradford is actually in his second year at OU as a red shirt freshman. The same amount of time Heupel was on campus when he took the Sooners to 14-0. Heupel did it as an excellent passer, something then that was new to OU. Bradford is making his passing look “new” or at least consistent by getting it to the receivers after last season when OU was much better when it could just run the ball. Heupel is Sam’s coach, not White. Sam is a bright student athlete (3.5) and Josh is a bright quarterbacks coach. Let’s just leave it at that.
So, to the DO sports page and Jenni Carlson in particular, stop trying to hex OU. I suspect you’re secretly an OSU fan – the underground kind with the Eskimo Joe’s shirt. Leave our team and quarterback alone. Stop trying to draw useless comparisons!
All that one needs to do is watch their parents in the stands to see what kind of role models those two set for their children.
Bravo!