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Danica Patrick has yet to win the Indianapolis 500.

But on Sunday, she grabbed the headlines.

Check out my latest video commentary or read below:

Admit it: you wanted to see Danica Patrick make it all the way to Ryan Briscoe’s pit.

If you were watching the Indianapolis 500 over the Memorial Day weekend, you know what I’m talking about. Heck, even if you weren’t watching, you’ve no doubt seen the footage.

Patrick’s run at Indy ended unceremoniously when she was trying to exit the pits. She was nearly clear of the chaos after a pitstop when Briscoe pulled out of his pit stall and clipped her back wheel. The wheel bent at an odd angle. The car went into the wall. And Danica’s day was done.

Briscoe’s car was in bad shape, too, so a few minutes later, both cars and their drivers were back in their pit stalls. When it became clear to Patrick that she was finished, she got out of her car. Rather than climb behind the wall and head to the garages, she started walking down pit row. It was a purposeful walk, and everyone knew where she was going.

Eventually, a security guard intercepted Danica. This was a man who looked about twice as tall as her.

I’ve got to admit — as I watched the two walking together, I really wanted Danica to break into a run. Sure, the guy could’ve stopped her, but he would’ve needed to catch her first.

But Danica didn’t run, and the security guard eventually diverted her from her mission.

Who among us didn’t want to see her get to Briscoe’s pit?

No one! Everyone wanted to see what would’ve happened if the 100-pound Patrick would’ve gotten to Briscoe. Would she have yelled? Thrown her helmet? Thrown a punch? Maybe she knows kickboxing.

It’s probably for the best that she didn’t reach Briscoe, but man, oh man, was I pulling for it. I couldn’t tell you much about Scott Dixon’s winning strategy, but I remember every detail of Dueling Danica’s walk down pit row.

Wasn’t there a room of IndyCar officials somewhere yelling for that security guard to let her go?

The IndyCar Series comes to our neck of the woods in a few weeks, by the way. Texas Motor Speedway will provide the backdrop on June 7. Track president Eddie Gossage is enough of a wheeler-dealer, he might just propose a Danica-Briscoe cage fight before the race. I can tell him this much — he’d have at least one excited viewer.

It’s difficult to say who’s more shocked right now — the college baseball world or Oklahoma baseball coach Sunny Golloway.

All indications were that the Sooners had to win the Big 12 Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament. They finished eighth in the conference, for goodness sakes. Hard to fathom that a team that needed a win on the last day of the regular season just to get into the conference tournament would ever make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team.

Golloway said as much.

Heck, I said as much.

Yep, after OU dropped a heart breaker to Texas on Saturday morning, I wrote that the season was over. The Sooners made a frantic, fantastic finish but fell just short.

But now, we find out that they’re playing on.

I was wrong. Golloway was wrong. All of college baseball was wrong, and frankly, it’s difficult to understand, seeing as how Baylor and Kansas State didn’t make the NCAA field. The Bears finished sixth in the conference, the Wildcats seventh and played for the conference crown Sunday. Their seasons are finished, but the Sooners’ season is not.

It’s bizarre.

You can’t blame the Sooners; all they did is play out the season. There is blame, though, and it falls squarely on the selection process. Shouldn’t the process be easy to understand? Shouldn’t the coaches and the players have a fairly good idea about their fate before the field is announced?

There will always be surprises. Bubble teams get left out. Seeded teams aren’t seeded as high as they think they deserve to be.

But word out of Norman is that Golloway and the Sooners were so sure of their fate that they turned in uniforms and did exit interviews on Sunday. The players have scattered, returning home or heading toward summer league destinations.

Doesn’t it say something about the selection process when that type of certainty meets with the opposite outcome?

The system is flawed, and that’s a shame.

OU is the beneficiary. College baseball is not.

Matt Garrett wins no awards for his performance during the Big 12 Baseball Tournament.

Something honoring longevity seems appropriate, though.

Garrett is the PA announcer at Bricktown Ballpark, and this past week, that meant he was one busy guy. He took time to answer some questions for “The Q&A” this week.  Here it is in its entirety:

Jenni Carlson: So, factoring in the RedHawks game Thursday, it’s 14 games in five days. How do you do it?

Matt Garrett: How do you do it? JC: Any different than one a day?

Think parents behaving badly is someone else’s problem?

Think those sorts of things only happen in other places?

Think again.

Watch my latest video commentary or read below:

Sometimes we have to look beyond our state’s borders for cautionary tales in sports.

And then sometimes, they come and smack us upside the head.

In the past month or so, Oklahoma has had its share of “Little League parents” behaving badly. First came the stun-gun attack on the cheerleading coach at Putnam North. Now this week comes the news of the choking of the baseball coach at Enid High.

What in the name of Latrell Sprewell is going on here?

You’ve no doubt heard the latest. Enid High baseball coach Scott Baugh told police that an off-duty Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper argued with him earlier this week because his son had been left off a summer league team. The trooper then grabbed the coach around the neck with both hands.

This comes only a month after Putnam North cheerleading sponsor Bethany Lorenz was approached by a woman in the school’s parking lot. At the direction of one of the cheerleader’s mothers, the woman zapped Lorenz on the neck with a stun gun.

Listen, I understand the importance of youth sports. Families invest a lot of time and energy and money into their children’s athletics. Having one kid on one team can cost hundreds of dollars, maybe more. Team fundraisers help defer some of the costs, but at the end of the day, parents are shelling out their hard-earned cash for their kids.

I get that.

But the adults can’t go around acting like children. They can’t choke and grab and taser and harm other adults. No amount of money invested, no amount of time given justifies that.

Whenever I hear stories like this, I’m reminded of the story of Andrew Thompson. He was a soccer standout at Northwest Classen High School a few years ago. I even covered one of his playoff games and interviewed him.

I also interviewed his father, Emmanuel Thompson.

Less than a year and a half later, Emmanuel was dead and Andrew was charged with his murder.

Earlier this month, Andrew Thompson’s first-degree murder trial was delayed because his attorney withdrew from the case. Before he did, though, he said that the younger Thompson had suffered years of abuse from his father. Others have said that much of the abuse stemmed from Emmanuel’s demands on Andrew as an athlete. He pushed too hard. He wanted too much. And ultimately, it caused his son to snap.

Parents must find a balance when it comes to their children in sports. Is it important? Sure. Is it worth choking someone or stun-gunning someone or pushing someone so hard that they commit the most horrible of crimes?

We all know the answer, but sometimes, it just hits a little closer to home.

The Memorial Day Weekend is almost upon us.

You know what that means — softball is soon to follow.

The Women’s College World Series starts its run in Oklahoma City in a little over a week. We won’t know who’s coming to town until after this week’s super regionals, but we have a better idea after regional action weeded out three-fourths of the field this past weekend.

So, how’s the WCWS field shaping up? Watch my latest video commentary or read below:

The countdown is on to the Women’s College World Series. The annual college softball extravaganza hits Oklahoma City in only a week and a half, but already, we have a clearer idea of who might be headed our way. And I gotta tell ya, it is setting up to be a grand field.

Twelve of the top 16 seeds survived regional play this past weekend.

That includes local favorite, Oklahoma. The Sooners must now go to Arizona and face the Wildcats in Tucson. No easy task. Thing is, the scenario is the same as it was four years ago. Wildcat coach Mike Candrea was on Olympic sabbatical then, same as he is now. Arizona had a stout squad, same as it does now.

And four years ago, the Sooners went into the desert and scored an upset.

Having the WCWS with the Sooners back in the fold would be tons of fun. The crowds, which are always good, are even livelier with the Sooners in the field.

OU isn’t the only surviving seed that would be fun to have in OKC. Florida, the top overall seed, is led by former Sooner Tim Walton. Texas A&M is an upcoming powerhouse. Northwestern and Alabama and Michigan have become regulars and local favorites.

But then there are some new faces that have a chance to come to the city next week. Houston is one of those seeded teams to advance, but the Cougars would be a new face in the WCWS. Missouri and Louisiana-Lafayette have been to the series before, but they haven’t been in several years and would be fun wrenches to throw into the bracket.

The best unseeded team to survive regional play, though, is Virginia Tech. The campus tragedy last spring has made every Hokie team a symbol of hope, but the difference with these Hokies is that they’re really good. They came to Oklahoma City earlier this spring and BEAT the U.S. Olympic team. They are the only team to do so since the Olympians began their Bound for Beijing tour.

By this time next week, we’ll know exactly which teams are bound for Oklahoma City. We can rest assured, though, that the field will be good and the week will be fun.

Bedlam baseball mania took over the state this weekend.

Ditto for “The Q&A.”

Oklahoma State standout Jordy Mercer had so much good stuff to say that we couldn’t fit it all in the newspaper. You can check him out on my Page 2 from Saturday or read “The Q&A” with the shortstop/pitcher in its entirety here: 

Jenni Carlson: You had a heck of a Bedlam series last year. Favorite memory?

Jordy Mercer: Just the excitement. I remember that every year. Playing in front of 13,000 fans, man, it’s unbelievable. A lot of people don’t realize it until you’re on the field. Being able to see that … is just exciting. The excitement of Bedlam is unbelievable.

JC: When do you start to sense that?

JM: Monday, Tuesday when the media starts talking about it, it gets you thinking about it. Then when you first step into Tulsa … just seeing those crazy fans yelling for their university, it’s unbelievable.

JC: College baseball is often an afterthought for folks in Oklahoma until Bedlam. Is that good or bad?

JM: It’s kind of disappointing to tell you the truth. College baseball is fun to watch. It’s a team game, and the higher you get … a lot of it’s individual stuff. In the college sport, you rally around your teammates and you come together. People get to see that in Bedlam, and that’s why they become attracted to Bedlam because it’s a grind. Everybody on the team has got to come through with something.

JC: You came through last year. Sunny Golloway dubbed you “The Sooner Killer.” Did that name stick?

JM: Well, my teammates joke around with me sometimes. When Bedlam starts up, my teammates call me that. It’s pretty fun, though.

JC: There are worse things to be called.

JM: No doubt about it.

JC: You grew up in state. What did you know of Bedlam as a kid?

JM: It’s the best in Oklahoma. Since I’ve been 8 years old, 10 years old, I’ve been coming to these games. I kept telling myself I wanted to be one of those players one day playing in front of these fans. It’s an honor I get to. There’s nothing that gets better than Bedlam baseball.

JC: So many guys on your team are Oklahomans. Does that add to the hype?

JM: I think so. Having so many guys from Oklahoma, they’re familiar with the Bedlam series. We’ve been telling guys who aren’t from Oklahoma how big a series this is and how much fun it is.

JC: End the debate — what sport is best in Bedlam?

JM: Oh, no doubt. Baseball.

JC: Dumb question, right?

JM: That was an easy question, for sure. It’s just two teams fighting for three games. I’ve been to basketball games, and those are tremendous, too, but playing in a baseball game and fighting for wins … by the time Sunday rolls around, everyone on our team is going to be worn out. You’ve just got to grind it for three days straight.

JC: Bonus Bedlam — thumbs up or thumbs down?

JM: I think it’s thumbs up. I think it would be a great idea to play one at Stillwater, then one at Norman. Flip flop each year. Just to have a little home-field advantage. It’d be great for Oklahoma baseball.

JC: True or false — Oklahoma State’s good enough to get to Omaha this year?

JM: Absolutely true. I think we’re more of a team this year. I don’t think we’re as talented as we were last year. I personally don’t think that — we were loaded last year — but there’s something about this team that we rally around each other.

JC: Have you ever been to Omaha?

JM: I never have. I want to.

JC: Maybe an all-expense paid trip?

JM: Yeah. I watched it every year on TV. It’s just something really special.

JC: What’s better — hitting a homer or getting that last out of a game?

JM: That’s a tough one. Hitting that home run to go ahead is a special feeling. But also in the ninth having the ball on the mound and getting the last out is something really special, too. People try to imagine how it’s like, but nobody can imagine. It’s just an amazing feeling when you get that last out or get that home run.

JC: You’re now the career saves leader at OSU. What does that mean to you?

JM: It’s a great honor for sure. Looking through the book the other day at all the saves leaders, and there’s a great group of names there. Just to be on it with those names and atop that list is amazing. When I first came here, I didn’t even know I was going to pitch. That’s a really amazing part of the story, too.

JC: Tell me that part of the story.

JM: He saw me in high school and summer leagues, and he knew I could pitch, but he wanted for sure for me to play shortstop. One day in the fall of my freshman year, he just said, “You wanna throw?” I said, “Sure.” I went out there and threw really well, I guess. Plus, we didn’t have a closer either. We had a lot of relievers and a lot of starters. We really never had a closer. He threw me out there, and I stuck at that position ever since.

JC: It’s a different mentality to be a closer.

JM: It’s more mental than anything. I definitely don’t have the best stuff on the team. Not even close. It’s just a different mental aspect of getting three outs and every pitch has got to count. It’s just one of those things that you have to turn the switch right when you get on the mound because it’s time to go to work. You’ve just got to get three outs and get your job done.

JC: So, are you a better pitcher or infielder?

JM: I think I’m a better field player. I don’t know if people would agree with me … but I’ve always had a passion for playing shortstop. I love playing every day and being in every play.

JC: You were named an academic All-American recently. True or false — you’re the smartest guy on the team?

JM: That’s false for sure.

JC: Really?

JM: Yes. We have two pre-med guys that they could probably cure cancer in a couple years they’re so smart.

JC: One more true-false. Jordy Mercer will be a Cowboy next season.

JM: Wow.

JC: Loaded question, right?

JM: That’s tough. You know, it just depends on what the draft is, how it works out. I really can’t answer that. I’m just in a wait-and-see mode. That’s been one of my dreams, to play pro baseball, and I do want to get started on that. But I also want to see what my fourth year can do for me. I’m just going to wait and see what happens.    

Looking for someone to cheer for in the NBA playoffs?

Look no further.

Watch my latest video commentary or read below:

It’s hard not to pull for the Hornets in the NBA Playoffs.

But I might’ve found someone else to pull for harder.

P.J. Brown became a fan favorite here in Oklahoma City during the Hornets temporary relocation. The veteran big man scored the very first basket in the very NBA game at the Ford Center. He was all class. He signed autographs. He posed for pictures. He was the consummate professional.

And he was even though his heart was hurting. Brown in a native of Louisiana. Born and raised and educated there. It is his home, and when Hurricane Katrina roared into New Orleans, he lost not only a house but also a home.

He moved to Oklahoma City, his family to Houston.

It was a mess.

Then after a season in OKC, the Hornets traded Brown to the Bulls. It was another blow. Brown, after all, had talked about retiring a Hornet.

He spent two not-so-happy seasons in Chicago, and when he became an unrestricted free agent at the end of last season, the Bulls didn’t re-sign him. Trouble was, no one else signed him either.

Brown spent the first half of the season out of basketball — no doubt a tough pill after 14 years in the NBA — but when the All-Star Game rolled into New Orleans, Brown threw his support behind it. And it just so happened that he ran into Ray Allen and Paul Pierce that weekend. The Celtic stars told Brown that they wanted him in Boston.

Not long after, Brown became a Celtic.

He is a reserve, of course, playing third or maybe even fourth fiddle to the Allen, Pierce and Kevin Garnett. And yet, Brown has a chance to fulfill a dream.

He has never won an NBA title — 15 seasons, 0 titles.

No one deserves to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy more than P.J. Brown. Sure, it’d be great to see the Hornets win the title, but no one would appreciate it more than Brown.

He’s long been a consummate professional. For once, he should be a world champion.

The high school sports year has ended as the final champions for 2007-08 have been crowned.

Were they crowned soon enough? 

Watch my latest video commentary or read below:

Monday night, three high school baseball champions were crowned.

Tuesday night, another two were.

Too bad. It’s not the teams — the winners or the losers — it’s the timing.

State title games on Monday and Tuesday? That’s like having prom on a Wednesday or staff meeting on a Saturday. Certain events belong at certain times of the week, and state championship events should be on the weekend, Friday or Saturday.

And the state baseball tournaments in Oklahoma are supposed to climax on Saturday. All of them were supposed to wrap up a few days ago. A couple did, but most were delayed until this week because of weather.

It happens every year.

OK, maybe not every year. I didn’t go back into our archives and try to figure out if at least one of the tournaments got delayed every year, but remember, these tournaments happen in late April and early May in Oklahoma. If you haven’t noticed, we have a lot of storms around here this time of year.

That isn’t going to change.

What should, though, is the format for the state baseball tournaments. There’s no need to have a double-elimination format. Make the tournaments a win-or-go-home format, and you would avoid those championships getting pushed into the middle of the next week.

And besides, few high school teams have the pitching for a double-elimination tourney. Coaches can stretch a roster, but really, the teams would be at their best and the games would be better if the pitching wasn’t so thin.

So, go ahead and make the state baseball tournaments single elimination. High school state championship events are always going to be grand, but these could be just a little better with one small tweak.

Greetings, friends. Just wanted to let you know that I’m back after a week’s vacation. Sorry some of your comments have been slow to be approved as I wasn’t checking that regularly. But now, I’m back and comments and blogs should be posted a little more regularly.

Or, at least, that’s the plan.

Sometimes in a sports world where madness is the standard and ugliness is the norm, you need a little ray of sunshine.

Watch my latest video commentary or read below:

This story is a remarkable one.

It is remarkable because it involves sportsmanship in sport. Those stories have become fewer and farther between these days. Too often, we see folks in sports posturing and pushing. This week, we even had an NBA player mocking another in the media.

Are these grown ups or third graders?

We don’t have to ask that question about a couple of Division II softball players from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Western Oregon was visiting Central Washington for a doubleheader last weekend, and early in the second game, Sara Tucholsky stepped to the plate. The diminutive senior had never hit a home run in her career, but on the second pitch, she smacked a pitch over the centerfield fence.

Everyone from Western Oregon went nuts, including Sara. In her excitement, she missed tagging first base. When she turned back to touch it, her right knee buckled.

She fell to the ground.

Her coach knew if anyone from their team touched Sara, she would’ve been unable to advance. Her first career homer would’ve gone down as only a single.

Then as everyone stood around trying to figure out what to do, Mallory Holtman spoke up. The Central Washington first baseman knows how great it is to hit a home run. She’s her school’s career leader.

Mallory said, “Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched each bag?”

And that’s exactly what Mallory and shortstop Liz Wallace did. They lifted Sara, their hands crossed under her and carried her to second, then third, then home.

I’d like to think that any athlete anywhere would do what Mallory and Liz did for little Sara, but I’m not sure they would.

Maybe that’s why this story from a small-school conference in a far-away corner of the country is being noticed by ESPN and The New York Times and so many others around the country. Even though you can find sports in sportsmanship, you can’t always find sportsmanship in sports. Maybe the story of the gals from Central Washington and Western Oregon shouldn’t seem so remarkable, but we know that in today’s sports world, it is.

Mallory and Liz carried Sara, but really, they gave all of us a lift.