More from The NFL Q&A: Tommie Harris
Tommie Harris is a funny dude.
No doubt opposing offenses don’t feel the same way about the Chicago Bears defensive tackle. Already a three-time selection to the Pro Bowl, Harris is a terror on the football field.
Off it, the former Oklahoma superstar is a hoot.
All right, I’ve got some quick-hitting questions. First of all, NFL throwback jerseys – thumbs up or thumbs down?
Thumbs up.
The Wildcat formation – a fad or a weapon?
A weapon.
Best thing about living in Chicago?
Food. (Laughs.)
That’s a good lead-in for this question – if you weren’t an NFL lineman who needed to be big and burly, what food would you have to give up?
What do you mean, food I would have to give up?
For example, if I could, I would sit around all day eating cheesecake, but I can’t because then I would weigh 700 pounds. Is there something that would make you super-sized Tommie?
See, I don’t really eat bad. I eat a lot of calories, but I don’t eat bread. I eat a lot of meat and greens.
Let’s say you’ve got a free afternoon to do anything you want. What would it be?
Sleep.
Do you have a pet peeve?
Yes.
OK, what is it?
Liars.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Hmm. (Laughs.)
Hey, now, something I can print, please.
My guilty pleasure, huh? I don’t know about that one.
Now, wait. Don’t you have a pretty extensive shoe collection? Any clothing item you buy as a treat to yourself?
Watches.
Is there a song or even an artist that you can’t get enough of?
Stevie Wonder.
If you were on “Dancing with the Stars,” would you win?
Definitely.
Really?
No question.
Athletes always do really well on that show.
I can follow directions, and I can move.
What is the worst vacation spot ever?
In the winter?
Sure.
Chicago.
Best movie ever?
“Coming to America.”
OK, final rapid-fire question, and it’s a Chicago-centric one — who do you most want to meet, Oprah or Obama?
Obama. I already met Oprah.
A couple serious questions to finish with. Gerald McCoy talks about his admiration of you. Are you able to keep up with him?
Gerald? I talked to him (two weeks) ago.
What do you talk with him about?
I just tell him to keep his head screwed on and stay focused. I know he’s got a lot of stuff that’s going on around him outside of football, people trying to call him, people trying to talk to him about the next level. Just handle what’s in front of him and don’t get caught up in all that other stuff.
How do you think he’ll do once he does get to that next level?
Great. I think he’ll do great. He anchors the best defensive line in college football. I think he’ll do great.
I have to ask about another defensive lineman, Dusty Dvoracek. You guys were teammates at OU, then in Chicago. He’s been sidelined by injury again. How tough has it been for you to watch him go through all this?
It’s extremely difficult seeing how hard the guy’s worked for that to happen to him. But … he’ll continue to keep coming back and coming back. I believe he’ll get healthy and turn things around. It’s just determination. He wants to be the best. He has a kid on the way now. That’s just how Dusty’s been since I’ve known him – he’s always worked hard, always been a hundred percent.
More from The Q&A: Rumble the Bison
Lots of fun questions for Rumble the Bison.
Lots of fun answers from the Thunder mascot.
Check out what the big fellow has to say about this year’s team and more:
Jenni Carlson: I’ve got to ask you about your team. Are these guys going to make the playoffs this year?
Rumble the Bison: I am keeping my fingers crossed. If there’s anything I can do to support the team to get there, I’m going to do it.
JC: Better dunker — you or K.D.?
RTB: Oh, K.D. No question.
JC: You guys trading any secrets?
RTB: He’s been helping me a little over the summer when he had some free time. He’s a league above me.
JC: Are you worried about any of these guys taking the title of fan favorite from you?
RTB: You know, there’s a lot of good characters on our team. Almost all of them could have that possibility to take over, but people just love an animal, so I don’t know.
JC: I’ve got to ask about your off-season. This time of year, everyone talks about what the team did to get ready for the season. What about you? What did you do to get ready for the season?
RTB: I stayed very busy this summer being out in the community. We’ve been to a number of schools, community events, parades, you name it. If you’ve seen me at these events, I’m basically doing aerobics for an hour, two hours, however long I’m at the event. On top of that, I’ve been in the gym working on my dunks and have been developing a new dunk team which will debut sometime early in the season.
JC: Someone wanted me to ask you if you’ve thought about naming your signature dunk “The Rumble Tumble.” Any chance that could happen?
RTB: That might be something fun for our announcer Jim to throw in there. I’ll leave that up to him. He’s the expert with the calls.
JC: This season opener next week will be your first. You obviously had your debut mid-season last season, but is there a different excitement for the season opener?
RTB: Absolutely. Last year when I was unveiled, it felt like opening night, but this being a true opening night, it’s just something special. Everything from top to bottom is fresh and exciting. I can’t wait.
JC: It’s opening week next week, but it’s also Halloween week. What does Rumble dress up like on Halloween?
RTB: I have a closet full of costumes. It’s hard to pick which one. I’ve got anything from a pumpkin to a giant dollar bill. I have a chicken costume. You name it, I’ve got it. Halloween makes it a little difficult to choose which one I want to wear.
JC: The Ford Center renovations, did that mean some new digs for you? Or would that be new stall?
RTB: They’re taking care of me well. After the lightning strike when I started walking on two feet, I got rid of the stall and all that. I moved up to the locker rooms now. They just did an amazing job, and I can’t be any more happy.
JC: I know you’re on Twitter. Are you a Twitter fanatic?
RTB: Borderline. It’s just been such a neat tool I can use when I’m out on appearances or traveling to an appearance or if I’m just sitting in the office. It’s a fun way to stay connected with our fans and to get feedback from fans.
JC: Ever any issues with your hooves using the computer keyboard?
RTB: Got that worked out. Again with the lightning strike, that changed more than the walking on two feet.
We interrupt this football season …
Apparently, this Blake Griffin guy is pretty good.
The Los Angeles Clipper rookie is making some serious noise this preseason. Last week, he scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in only 29 minutes against San Antonio. That prompted Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to say: “He’s a monster. He deserved to be picked where he was picked, that’s for sure.”
By the way, Popovich meant that he was a monster in a complementary way.
Check out what Griffin said about the coach’s quote.
You’ll also want to check out this dunk that happened Sunday night when the Clippers faced the in-town rival Lakers. Big Blake had his first big-time posterization since turning pro.
It has prompted his teammates to give him a new nickname: Amazin’.
I suspect DJ Mbenga would agree.
More from The Q&A: Lou Holtz
Lou Holtz was always a character throughout his coaching career.
Even though he’s now on ESPN, that hasn’t changed.
In fact, now Holtz gets into character from time to time for his pep talks and Dr. Lou segments. In talking with him about his work with the AllState American Football Coaches Association’s Good Works Team, I had a chance to ask him a little about his television work.
Jenni Carlson: It looks like you’re having so much fun doing all the spots you’re involved in, but how has all of that been for you?
Lou Holtz: This is the third year that we’ve done this stuff, and I keep saying, “We don’t want to do this. We want to make football entertaining, but I don’t want to be an entertainer!” But … before we did the first show two or three years ago, they said to me 20 minutes before we go on the air, “If you were giving the pep talk to Stanford — they had gone 0-11 the year before and they’re opening up with UCLA — what would you say to them?” The first thing I said is, “I’d rather play USC than UCLA because it’s easier to spell.” And we went from there.
JC: It’s become so talked about.
LH: I have no help on that whatsoever. Nobody gives me any suggestions or writes anything. It’s whatever I feel. I try to do three things on it – I try to make it interesting, I try to make it funny, I also try to make sure there’s a message in there somewhere.
Talkin’ OSU-Missouri
Joined the guys on 810 AM in Kansas City this morning to talk about Oklahoma State-Missouri.
By the way, it was so early, that I forgot my prediction for the game. In the interview, I said I thought it would be close, but in the paper, I said the Cowboys would win 27-12.
Does that qualify as close?
Talkin’ Red River Rivalry
Listen to a radio interview that I did earlier today with 95.5 The Game in Portland, Ore.
We’re talking Oklahoma-Texas, Sam Bradford and game predictions.
download full interview mp3 here
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Got an OU-Texas prediction right here
Oklahoma- Texas is a no-holds-barred, no-punches-pulled sort of rivalry.In keeping with that spirit, here’s a blunt prediction — Texas is a touchdown and a half better than OU.
Not exactly music to the ears of Sooner fans, but the Longhorns will be the superior squad Saturday at the Cotton Bowl. That’s not to say the Sooners are sorry or the Longhorns are world beaters, but the fact remains that Texas is better.
The crazy thing is, the Longhorns might not have the best player in the game. Even though he’s only been back for a week after that shoulder injury, Sam Bradford looks like he’s playing in a different league. He looks that much better, that much more refined than everyone else around him. Maybe that’s a reflection on the rest of his teammates, but frankly, I think it speaks volumes about just how special Bradford is.
It’s always good to head south of the Red River with the best player, and if he happens to be the best quarterback, all the better. But that advantage is not enough for the Sooners to overcome the ones the Longhorns have.
OU receivers vs. UT secondary: edge to Texas.
OU offensive line vs. UT defensive line: edge to Texas.
UT receivers vs. OU secondary: edge to Texas.
UT offensive line vs. OU defensive line: edge to Oklahoma.
The most glaring advantage for the Longhorns is the least sexy. Talk about offensive and defensive lines, and most people’s eyes glaze over. But the fact is, the Sooners have serious deficiencies on their offensive line. The loss of Brian Simmons only adds to their woes.
Listen, everyone knows that this rivalry breeds the unexpected. A couple years back, Jason White and Vince Young were the stars in a game that finished 12-0. So, yes, anything can happen. But here’s what I think will — Texas 34, OU 24.
More from The Q&A: Stanford White
Douglass High School named its football field after legendary coach Stanford White on Friday night.
The man spent almost three decades as the head coach of one of the state’s most revered programs. There were dozens of wins, a bunch of playoff appearances and even one state championship. But that isn’t what makes White proudest.
Jenni Carlson: I suspect you probably see many of your former players around town, but with homecoming and the field naming, there are even more around. When you think about those men, what makes you most proud?
Stanford White: What they’ve gone on to become many of them. But when you’re coaching those kids, you’re so focused on pushing them as players and getting them to be their best in that respect, you just don’t realize. You can’t see what’s ahead for those kids. Some of the ones that you thought would never go to anybody’s college or anything like that … have gone on to become successes.
JC: I suspect there are lot of good fathers and husbands in the bunch, too.
SW: Absolutely. There’s one guy in particular that was one of the best football players that we had. He was an aggressive kid in high school. A good kid, but just had a mean streak in him. Long story short, he spent a short time in prison, but now, he is the model father. He is at every parent-teacher conference. He is the strictest parent with his kids. But again, you would’ve never thought that when he was a kid.
JC: That is great. You never know what impact you’ll have on kids, do you?
SW: That’s why you have to treat every kid, every child who plays for it — it doesn’t matter what his athletic ability is, whether he’s a kid on the bench who doesn’t get to play a whole lot or whether he’s your superstar — they’re all equals. And one day, they’ll all be adults. You have to treat them that way, and they appreciate it.
Yes, Bradford will
News is out that Sam Bradford will start against Baylor.
That turns a potentially ho-hum day into an afternoon packed with intrigue. I suspected that Oklahoma would throttle Baylor and turn the second half into a second-stringer’s dream, and even though I think the Sooners are still the heavy favorite, this game has all sort of interesting questions.
What will Bradford look like? How will he play after more than a month off?
How will his arm look? Will there be signs of fatigue?
Will Kevin Wilson’s playcalling change? Does Bradford’s presence make that much of a difference?
For so long, the biggest question surrounding OU football was, “When will Sam Bradford play?” Now that we have the answer to that, we have plenty more questions that need answering.
Saturday can’t come fast enough.
Slingin’ Sam: Will he play or not?
