More from The Q&A: Brooke Burleson
The Oklahoma Victory Dolls are doing a benefit roller derby bout tonight to help out Tahirah Johnson, who was injured during a bout a couple years ago.
It’s also a great opportunity to ask Brooke Burleson all sorts of crazy roller-derby-related questions. Known on the track as Sally Strych9, she is one of the original members of the Victory Dolls and helped to form the league in which they play. Even though she is now one of the league’s top players, she didn’t start out so well.
She needed a donut after her first practice, in fact.
Jenni Carlson: Tell me how you got involved in this.
Brooke Burleson: My husband. He went to Austin and saw a roller derby bout. I was on vacation with my girl friends, and he went on vacation with his guy friends. I was in Puerto Vallarta, and he went to Austin. And they got drunk and went to a roller derby bout. He came back and was like, “I saw these girls on roller skates, and they were awesome, and you have to do this.” I was like, “OK, I’ll check into it.” Then, I became obsessed with the idea of playing roller derby. I didn’t know how to roller skate. I haven’t roller skated since I was a kid, and then, I was awful. And I’m a klutz. But I was talking to my friends, “Let’s start a roller derby league.” And I was not athletic at all. Never had been to a gym. I was trying to find somebody to start a league with me. Then … I found the Green Country Girls in Tulsa and they told me about a league starting here. One thing led to another, and I started skating, and I was awful. I was the worst one at practice. Our coach found me and was like, “I’m going to teach you how to roller skate.”
JC: It’s like you’re back in elementary school learning how to skate for the first time.
BB: I was terrified. There’s all these big, mean, scary looking girls. I had these skates that I bought at Academy for like $30, these white, Roller Derby brand skates, and they were these fake artistic skates. I was so embarrassed, and I was terrified. They all looked so mean. And I came out here and I broke my tailbone first practice.
JC: You did?
BB: First practice. I was so embarrassed. I was so scared of every single one of them, but they wound up being the nicest girls ever. I was like, “I can’t believe I was scared of you guys. Why was I scared of you?” I realized size has nothing to do with it. Looks have nothing to do with it. It doesn’t matter. That’s the great thing about roller derby. Everybody’s accepted no matter your size, your race, your sexual preference. We’ll take anybody. Old. Young. It doesn’t matter.
JC: I hope you haven’t had any more broken tailbones.
BB: No, but that took awhile to heal. I had the donut for awhile. They don’t make those in a non-obvious color. It’s like bright blue, carrying it around with me.
JC: So, your skate name is Sally Strych9, but what’s your favorite name on your team?
BB: I like Mount Crushmore. It’s all about her personality, too. She comes up with the best names. We’ve just decided that she should just name everybody coming in. She has come up with some of the best names. She named one girl Party Pants, which is pretty funny.
JC: Do you feel like certain names bring out certain personalities? Like with yours, did you feel like you had to play a certain way as Sally Strych9?
BB: Maybe in the beginning, but not really. I would be fine using my real name. Some people are going to that now. We’re trying to get taken seriously as a sport. In the beginning when roller derby was kind of coming back, it was kind of about the show of it, the fun and the campiness. But now the focus is really back on the sport. A lot of people are going back to their real names. I could go either way, so for me, I’m pretty much the same on the track as I am off the track. I could be Brooke Burleson. I would be fine. I would like to see it go that way eventually because I think we’d get taken a little more seriously.
JC: Do you think that respectability has gone up?
BB: For sure. A lot of leagues nationwide are finally starting to get coverage in the sport section. We’re finally starting to get coverage on ESPN. MavTV is starting to cover nationals. We’re a member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, which is a national governing body. It took a lot of work for us to get accepted. There’s 400 leagues worldwide. There’s 78 leagues that are part of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. It’s a pretty elite group of women. We’re the only league in Oklahoma City that competes on a national level. We’re the only nationally ranked team in Oklahoma City. We traveled all over the country to play. So, yes, I do think we’re getting taken seriously as a sport, not just nationwide but worldwide.
JC: What does it take to play with you guys?
BB: A lot of work.
JC: I’m thinking practice, cardio, weights.
BB: It’s a time commitment. It’s more than fun to us. It’s a lifestyle. We practice in our offseason now two to three times a week. We have to do on our own the other days a week training on our own. During on season, we are constantly training. We have to travel. We have an all-star team and a recreational team with a little less time commitment. That’s just for people that wanna have fun.
Talkin’ OU-Nebraska football
The Husker Sports Network’s “Sports Nightly” radio show invited me on for a few minutes Tuesday.
No surprise, host Lane Grindle wanted to talk about this Saturday’s Oklahoma-Nebraska game. We dissected everything from Landry Jones’ improvement to the Oklahoma defense’s strengths.
Check it out.
Another take on CP3, Hornets
I know lots of folks are quick to point a finger at Chris Paul for what he did Sunday night, going after Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo after a game, having to be restrained from what could’ve been an ugly incident.
Hey, the Hornet point guard isn’t a saint.
Never said he was.
But if you’re looking for a good take on why CP3 might be a bit on edge, check out this Yahoo! column from Adrian Wojnarowski. He isn’t apologizing for what Paul did, but he’s attempting to explain his frustration. And in the process, he pulls no punches, especially when it comes to Hornets owner George Shinn.
A sample:
Shinn is a farce, forever insisting that his moral compass brought the franchise back from exile in Oklahoma City, but truth be told he never wanted to return. The NBA pushed him into New Orleans, understanding it would’ve been a PR nightmare to abandon the post-Katrina city. That’s Shinn, the ultimate front-runner. He now takes bows for the Hornets’ popularity, but it’s laughable.
Paul connected with Oklahoma City fans for many reasons. One of the main ones was his fiery competitiveness.
It goes a long way toward explaining why Paul may not be as warm and fuzzy as he used to be.
Trying to sell Iowa? Start with the coach
Most of the time, press releases sent to us media types are boring. They might contain important info such as game times being set and whatnot, but for the most part, they hit on the basics and not much else.
That isn’t the case with an e-mail that I received earlier this afternoon.
It had no subject line, but in the e-mail, it said it was addressed to “College Football Media” from Phil Haddy. Never having met Mr. Haddy, I did some checking and discovered he is the sports information director at the University of Iowa.
The headline on his e-mail: GET THE CORRECT FACTS ON IOWA FOOTBALL
I don’t know about you, but that seems pretty demanding to me. Haddy writes, “It seems popular for national pundits to criticize the University of Iowa football team these days. Many have said Iowa doesn’t belong on the same board with Florida, Texas, Alabama, Cincinnati, TCU, Oregon or Boise State.”
I have to admit — I stopped reading right there.
It wasn’t because the e-mail was whiny, although it was. It wasn’t because I’m not interested in Iowa, because I am. (I can’t for the life of me figure out how they’re still undefeated.) No, I quit reading because the person who should’ve received that e-mail instead of me was Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.
Just last week he said, “Realistically, I still have a hard time picturing us in the top 10.”
If I was guessing, I doubt a fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victory against Indiana — Indiana??? — on Saturday did little to change the coach’s mind.
Listen, if the coach of the team has a hard time believing that it belongs in the top 10, much less the national championship conversation, it’s going to be difficult for an e-mail from the PR office to sway me.
Mr. Haddy might want to get Coach Ferentz on board before he worries any more about the college football media.
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?
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.
