NCAA must act on coach hirings
Suggesting that the NCAA add another rule to college athletics makes me want to wash my mouth out with soap.
Add a rule? The NCAA? The good folks there come up with rules as often as most of us breathe. But the truth is, the NCAA needs to legislate one more thing — the hiring of head football coaches.
With the dismissals of Tyrone Willingham at Washington and Ron Prince at Kansas State, the number of head football coaches in Division I-A football is four. Four. With 119 programs, that comes out to 3.36 percent. That’s appalling. More, that’s unacceptable.
Sad thing is, it’s been that way for decades. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports released a study this week that said there have been 199 available head coaching jobs since 1996. Only 12 of those spots have been filled by black men.
I used to think it was just a matter of time before the numbers improved, before they better mirrored the percentage of minority players and assistants in college football.
Now, I’m not so sure.
Something needs to be done, and while I hate to think diversity needs to be legislated in college football, apparently, it does. College football needs to implement a Rooney Rule-like statute. The NFL uses the Rooney Rule, requiring its teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching jobs. It fines teams who don’t do so. The NCAA could do the same thing. The pocketbook, after all, seems to be the place that big-time college programs feel the most pain.
Listen, even though I’m suggesting this, I’m still not comfortable with the idea. The thing is, I’m even less comfortable with college football having only 3.36 percent of its head coaches be black.
Heisman fun for everyone
For the most part, Heisman Trophy campaigns are a thing of the past.
Too bad, too.
It was always fun to see the goofy campaigns that schools came up with. A couple years ago, Memphis did a miniature race car to tout DeAngelo Williams. Earlier this year, Missouri sent out one of those old-school view finders with pictures of Chase Daniel.
Fun stuff.
This morning, though, my mail contained one of my favorite campaigns of all time. It’s a campaign built around a campaign. Texas Tech has not one, but two Heisman candidates in Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree. In an effort to promote both, the school is doing a political-campaign-themed campaign.
Crabtree-Harrell: Pass or Catch 2008.
Tech sent out a magnet, a bumper sticker and even a campaign button.
Too bad that more schools don’t have this kind of fun with their Heisman campaigns. Any more, most places send out updates on awards candidates via e-mail or postcards. Listen, I’m not any more likely to vote for Harrell or Crabtree because their school did a goofy campaign, but still, it’s nice to see the fun is not completely dead in college football.
One thing, though — I think it’s interesting that it’s Crabtree-Harrell instead of Harrell-Crabtree. I suspect when the campaign was hatched before the season, the folks at Tech suspected that Crabtree, the talented receiver, had a much better shot at the Heisman than Harrell. But with only two games remaining, the Tech quarterback is the frontrunner in most Heisman polls.
You can check out Tech’s Heimsan campaign for yourself at www.passorcatch2008.com.
Former Sooner builds on young legend
Little more than one season into his NFL career, Adrian Peterson has built himself quite a reputation.
Sunday, he built on his legend.
The former Oklahoma star turned Minnesota Vikings star had a fairytale afternoon. He went from goat to glory in mere moments.
Facing fourth and short with nine and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter against Green Bay, Viking coach Brad Childress wanted to punt. Peterson wanted something else. He stormed toward his coach, imploring him to go for it. Childress relented, and Peterson got the call. Peterson took the handoff, took a hit and tried to sidestep the tackler. When he did, the ball popped out of his grasp.
It was the ultimate egg-on-your-face moment. It was hard to blame Peterson for wanting his team to go for it — he was running all over the Packers, for goodness sakes – but the cold, hard truth is that he failed to deliver in the clutch.
Then came redemption.
After the Packers kicked a field goal, the Vikings gave Peterson the ball five of the next six times that they snapped it. And on that sixth tote, Peterson carried the Vikings to victory. He cut right toward the sideline, then outran the Packer defense to the goal line.
Peterson outgained the entire Packer offense, racking up 225 all-purpose yards, but the touchdown dive he made carrying a Packer defender on his back will be replayed for years to come. It’s one of those career-defining, legacy-building moments.
Barring some dramatic change of fortunes, Peterson will make the Pro Football Hall of Fame some day. When he does, they might want to cue up Sunday’s touchdown run. It’s one more piece in the building of a legend.
Formula for OSU upset
In the pages of The Oklahoman today, I went on the record saying Texas Tech will win Saturday.
It’s a big game in Lubbock, as everyone knows. Both Tech and Oklahoma State are going after a conference crown and perhaps even a national title, and frankly, the teams are pretty evenly matched.
Why do I give Tech the edge?
Location, location, location. Playing this game in Lubbock will put the Red Raiders over the top.
But still, I think there’s a way for the Cowboys to win. I even believe there’s a tell-tale stat that could spell victory — Kendall Hunter’s rushing yards.
The Cowboy running back has been spectacular this season. He’s already run for over 1,200 yards, and he averages 6.7 yards per touch. Even more impressive is the fact that he went over 150 yards in OSU’s two biggest games of the season. Hunter had 154 yards at Missouri and 161 yards at Texas.
If Hunter runs for 150 yards or more against Tech, I think OSU will win.
The Red Raiders, after all, have one of the stingiest rush defenses in the country. They’re allowing less than a 100 yards rushing a game. That hurts opponents not only offensively but also defensively. Them not being able to rush the ball much means that Tech’s high-powered offense gets back on the field a lot more.
A big day from Hunter would change that and give the Cowboys a great chance of proving yours truly absolutely wrong.
Sooner stalwart enjoying retirement
Had a chance to chat with Marita Hynes earlier today.
She was Oklahoma’s longtime associate athletic director who recommended the hiring of Sherri Coale and Patty Gasso. Both coaches turned their programs — Coale in women’s basketball and Gasso in softball — into national powers.
Hynes was also instrumental in the growth of the Women’s College World Series, now one of the biggest events on Oklahoma’s sports calendar.
Hynes retired in 2003, but I try to keep touch with her regularly. I called on her this week for a piece about Coale that will run Sunday — be sure to check it out! — but we got to chatting about retired life.
Hynes lives now in Ruidoso, N.M., a picturesque resort town where she plays lots of golf. But she told me that she’s doing more than playing. She is the president of her country club and oversees a ladies golf league. She also gets all the volunteers needed for the New Mexico amateur tournament.
She still manages to get in about four rounds of golf a week, and she also travels to play in tournaments. Last week, she was in El Paso for a tournament.
Hearing everything that Hynes is doing made me wonder if it really is retirement.
“It’s wonderful,” she assured me.
I joked that the only difference between her workload now and her workload when she was at OU is the pay.
“Unless the economy improves,” she said, “I might have to go back to getting paid for it.”
Here’s hoping Hynes stays happily retired. For all she did for women’s athletics not only at OU but also in this state, she deserves the chance to do what she wants and to do it on her terms.
ESPN anchor coming to Norman
Linda Cohn isn’t just on your television anymore.
Later this month in Norman, you can see the SportsCenter anchor in person. Cohn will be speaking Nov. 20 as part of the Delta Gamma Lectureship in Values and Ethics.
Cohn recently finished a book, “Cohn-Head: A No-Holds-Barred Account of Breaking Into the Boy’s Club.” It goes inside her career, which began with her covering a team she hated but continues to this day as one of ESPN’s most recognizable faces. I have yet to read it, but it’s on my to-buy list the next time I’m at the bookstore.
Here are the details about Cohn’s appearance:
When: Nov. 20
What time: 7 p.m.
Where: Oklahoma Memorial Union Ballroom, 900 Asp Ave., Norman
Cost: None
Know what this team needs? More Westbrook
Exiting the Ford Center amid the masses Sunday night, the buzz was obvious.
Sure, folks were reveling in the first Thunder victory. But there was a name that seemed to be on everyone’s lips — Russell Westbrook.
Watch my latest video commentary or continue reading below:
The rookie point guard was electrifying against the Timberwolves. He drove to the basket. He commanded the offense. He played with the confidence of a veteran.
Most of the time. There were a couple moments when Westbrook played like, well, a rookie, but that’s going to happen. He’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to have his blunders. But with Westbrook, you take the bad with the very, very good.
The guy needs to be out there more.
More than that, though, he needs to play more with Kevin Durant. The two young stars weren’t on the floor together all that much Sunday. Not until the fourth quarter did Westbrook and Durant play extended time together. Is it any shock that the Thunder played perhaps its best basketball then?
Listen, I’m not suggesting that they play every minute together, but I’d sure like to see more of what this duo can do together. The chemistry that they have is crucial not just now but for years to come. Durant and Westbrook will provide the foundation as the Thunder build. What they do together will go a long ways toward determining what the Thunder does.
Why not start figuring out now what this duo can do?
Imagine the buzz that we might hear then.
