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.



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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.



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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.



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Slingin’ Sam: Will he play or not?

Perception is an interesting animal.
 
Earlier this week, Sam Bradford made his first public comments since injuring his shoulder in Oklahoma’s opening game. He talked about his rehab, his recovery and his possible return. Everyone heard the same answers from the Sooner quarterback, but not everyone came to the same conclusion about what he said.
 
One website headline: Bradford close to return.
 
Another one: Bradford eyeing return, but surgery still possible.
 
And another one: Bradford hopes to play vs. Baylor.
 
And one last one: Surgery remains possibility for Oklahoma QB Bradford’s shoulder.
 
Technically, every one of those headlines is correct. Bradford is close to returning, or at least he’s closer now than he was a few weeks ago. He is eyeing a return, but surgery is still possible. He does hope to play Saturday. It is interesting, though, how the same nine-minute question-and-answer session can be perceived so differently.
 
Some saw the good in what Bradford had to say. Some saw the bad. But the truth is, what he had to say was both good and bad and everything in between.
 
The guy is clearly frustrated and not healing the way he’d hoped, but he is also better now than he has been since he injured his AC joint against BYU. Then, there are also the things that you find reading between the lines, that his shoulder is better and his pain is minimal but that his arm isn’t as strong as it used to be. He is struggling to put the same zip on the ball and to do it for as long as he used to. But wait, that’s a perception, too, isn’t it? The truth is, everyone who heard what Bradford had to say earlier this week made a judgment about it.
When questions abound but answers are as scarce as they have been in Bradford’s case, everyone is left with only one thing — their perception.
 



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A.D. and Co. know how to have fun

I’m going to let you in on a little secret — being a sportswriter can take the fan right out of you.
 
At least, it has for me.
 
Cover teams long enough, deal with athletes and coaches long enough, and slowly but surely, the fandom drains right out of you. I don’t cheer for any teams. I don’t pull for any programs. I just don’t have it in me anymore.
 
But the Minnesota Vikings are doing their darnedest to change that.
 
You probably think this is all about Brett Favre, and while it’s true that the old guy is really something special, I’ve never been a big fan of his. He isn’t the reason why I’m on the verge of cheering for the purple and gold.
 
No, the reason I’m really coming around to the Vikings is because they play fun. Some teams play fast. Some play hard. The Vikings play fun.
 
They just seem to be out there having a great time. Now, I suspect that’s because they take what they do very seriously. They put in the time at practice. They put in the effort in film. They do all the grunt work behind the scenes so that when they hit the field, they can let it fly.
 
It’s like Olympic gymnasts. What they do looks effortless, like any of us could do it if we just try. But the truth is, most of us can’t even do a cartwheel.
 
Listen, I’m not saying the Vikings are the best team in the NFL. Heck, they might not be among the three or four best teams. But after watching the Vikings beat the Packers on Monday night, I realized how exciting they were. Watching Jared Allen and Percy Harvin, Adrian Peterson and Kevin Williams, Bernard Berrian and the rest of those guys is fun.
 
This is a fun and exciting bunch, fun enough to make a fan out of anyone, even yours truly.
 



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More from The Q&A: Daniel Cormier

Former Oklahoma State and Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier has turned his competitive juices to mixed martial arts.

He made his debut in the sport last week, more than a year after his wrestling career came to an unceremonious end. He suffered a severe kidney problem after his weight cut before the 2008 Olympics and was unable to compete in Beijing.

Now, Cormier is back in the fray.

Jenni Carlson: What was it like to be competing again? Obviously, a different sport, but still a competition.

Daniel Cormie: It was awesome. To have those competitive nerves before the fight. To have those butterflies walking to the cage. Then to actually get that feeling after a year of doing no competitive thing … as soon as that cage closed, I was OK. People say, “DC, how were you so composed in there?” It’s because I know that I’ve competed my whole entire life. The funny thing is, I’d never been in a cage before.

JC: Really?

DC: Not even in training. We trained in a ring.

JC: With the decision to go to MMA, did you give yourself any sort of out? Like, try it for a month or two and see what happens? Or were you all in from the beginning?

DC: You know, I kind of thought like that a little bit, but if I’m going to do something, I have to commit to it a hundred percent. And I did. I went out to California and trained hard. Training isn’t a problem. I did that my whole life. But getting hit initially was like, “Whoa.” But then after you get over that, the initial shock of that, it’s really not that hard.

JC: Those first few punches, you’re probably thinking, “Hey, ref, where’s the whistle?”

DC: As a wrestler, I’ve got that good ace in the hole; I just take them down. Guys start kicking my tail too much, I take ‘em down, and once they’re down, it’s harder for them to really compete with me because of my ability to hold guys down on the mat. But you’re got to be really careful with the submission holds. I really don’t feel those yet as well as I need to. As I progress in my career, I’m going to have to feel them better, but right now, I think I’m doing pretty good where I am.

JC: When you progress in your career? You mean, like, when you’re six months or a year in? You’re in the infancy of this.

DC: I’m a baby in this thing. I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback on my first fight. It was on national TV. I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback on my ability to stay composed. That goes back to wrestling with holding up under pressure, but I’m not stupid. I’m not a delusional person. I’m not going to sit here and say I’m a world beater because I’m not. I’m just really learning. In time, I think I will be pretty good at it. Like wrestling, I didn’t step onto a wrestling mat like I was a natural. It takes some time. That ended up working out pretty good for me. I’m committed to this sport, and with the commitment I’ve shown to wrestling, if I do the same thing, I’ll be OK.

JC: So, what’s next?

DC: I’m trying to fight again before the end of the year. It’s awesome because you train hard and your compensation is so over the top. When you were trying to go to wrestling competitions, you couldn’t find sponsors. Now, you’ve got people just throwing sponsorships at you. It’s just insane.



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Big Blake getting a taste of Clippers Curse

Wonder if Blake Griffin is starting to believe in this Clippers Curse idea.
 
The former Oklahoma standout has officially been a member of the Los Angeles Clippers for all of three months, and already he’s had not one but two injuries.
 
Perhaps you remember that Griffin was sidelined earlier this summer. He strained his right shoulder during a summer league game in July. He was on track to return to action when the Clippers opened training camp earlier this week.
 
That injury just seemed like a blip on the Clippers Curse radar. After all, the team best known for futility has had far worse incidents. Take Danny Manning, for example. The slam-dunk, No. 1 pick in the 1988 draft went to the Clippers, and 26 games into his pro career, he suffered a knee injury. He was never the same after that.
 
So, that shoulder could’ve been worse for Griffin.
 
But then last week, he was participating in an informal workout session at the team’s training facility. He had a knee-on-knee collision with teammate Craig Smith.
 
Smith was completely and totally unscathed.
 
Griffin injured his left knee, bruising his patella and leaving his patellar tendon sore.
 
That meant that when the Clippers opened camp Tuesday, Griffin could only watch from his elliptical machine.
 
Maybe we should’ve seen this coming. On draft night, after all, news about the biggest day of Griffin’s life was dwarfed in Los Angeles by the death of Michael Jackson. What should’ve been big sports news in Southern California became an afterthought.
 
Clippers Curse? Alive and well? Strong as ever? It sure seems that way.
 
There is no doubt that Blake Griffin is a strong, strapping young lad. He can carry a lot on those broad shoulders. Adjusting to the NBA and living up to expectations should be no problem for Big Blake.
 
This Clippers Curse might be a whole other story.
 



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Hurricane warning in South Florida

Consider this a warning, Sooner Nation.
 
A hurricane warning.
 
Oklahoma is heading to Miami on Saturday, but after the Hurricanes went to Virginia Tech last weekend and got throttled, 31-7, I get the feeling like a lot of folks in crimson and cream heaved a huge sigh of relief.
 
Yes, Virginia Tech took a team that had been rolling right along and cut it down to size. Sure, the Hokies exposed the Hurricanes’ weaknesses and made it seem like the Sooners’ defensive front will be able to get to Miami quarterback Jacory Harris. But make no mistake — Miami is still a formidable foe, this game still a losable contest for OU.
 
If anyone in the Sooner Nation is dropping their guard to those facts, then they do so at their own peril.
 
Remember, Miami didn’t lose to St. Mary’s Sisters of the Blind. Virginia Tech is a stout opponent, and at home in Blacksburg, the Hokies are even tougher. Throw in a steady downpour during the game Saturday, and Virginia Tech’s plodder tendencies benefited and Miami’s speed was negated. It was the perfect storm to produce a Virginia Tech romp.
 
Might the Sooners go to Miami and win in a rout, too? Sure, it could happen. But Miami is no slouch.
 
No doubt the Hurricanes’ loss took some shine off this game against the Sooners, a contest that would’ve been a top-10 showdown, but that doesn’t mean Miami is a gimme game. Think that it is, Sooner Nation, and you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt Saturday.
 
You know what they say about Hurricanes — be prepared. 


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More from The Q&A: Courtney Paris

Courtney Paris just finished her rookie season in the WNBA.

Even though she’s finished her season, she’s staying busy. The former Oklahoma Sooner superstar has made several appearances in Tulsa as the city works to land a WNBA team. She is also preparing to head overseas to play this fall and winter with a professional team in Israel.

All the while, though, she’s motivated by a rookie season that was a struggle. Sacramento finished 12-22, the worst record in the WNBA, and went through a coaching change mid-way through the year. Paris had her own struggles early, though she grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the Monarchs’ season finale.

Jenni Carlson: Let’s talk about your rookie season. I wrote about you right before Sacramento played Seattle on national TV. You were struggling to get off the bench, but that game seemed like a turning point.

Courtney Paris: For me, it was all about just being patient. That was the hardest thing, especially when you want to be out on the court. Your team’s not doing well. You’re struggling. It’s hard to wait for things to change. That was just a personal growth point for me. I went up to another level. The crazy thing is, a couple games after that, we changed coaches and now I had to learn a new system. That brought on its own stresses.

JC: With the coaching change being in your rookie year, did you almost get to the end and feel like, “Man, I’m just getting the hang of this”?

CP: I think everybody feels that way. We won our last game, and the second half of the season, we almost played well enough to make the playoffs. If we would’ve done that in the first half, we’d still be playing. But I’m just going to use the second half of the season into this overseas season. I’m just really excited about the opportunity to play basketball, see the world and make money doing it.

JC: Oh, yeah, the paychecks.

CP: It’s not a bad job.

JC: Did you make any fun purchases with that WNBA money?

CP: I have not. In college, (twin sister, Ashley, and I) scrapped together and were able to buy a home and a car. Now, you’re paying those mortgage payments and car notes, and it’s not as hard as it was in college. I’ve just been able to save, so that’s the cool part.

JC: Most people your age aren’t able to save much, so well done.

CP: You know, I’m not much of a shopper. The only time I ever buy anything is when I absolutely need it or I feel like I will never be able to get this again. Otherwise, I don’t buy it. Ashley’s kind of the exact opposite.

JC: I know you won one of the WNBA’s Community Assist Awards. What did that mean to you?

CP: A lot. I’m one of those people that even when everything isn’t going as well as it could be … there’s something you can do. Like in college, if you’re having a bad shooting night, at least you can rebound. This season was a struggle as far as the way our team finished. But I feel like you can always impact something or somebody. For me, being able to do work through my foundation … it was like, basketball’s not going the way I want, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a responsibility to the community.

JC: You mention your foundation. How did the Courtney Paris Pay It Forward Foundation come to be?

CP: It might even tie in a little with the whole guarantee thing back in college. (Laughs.) I just feel like I’ve had so many opportunities in my life, and I’ve been able to do so many great things, but I wouldn’t have been able to do them without help from other people. I just want to pay that back to the community. I want to help the community, help people the way I was helped. You can’t always go back and help the same people that helped you, but you can help the next little kid.



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Can good come from hazing incident?

I don’t know what’s going to happen next in Holdenville after a hazing incident was reported last week.
 
The details have become widely known — a freshman football player was the target of two junior football players. Investigators have said that the scrotum of one of the older players was rubbed on the younger players face. One of the older players was suspended from school for a year, the other for three days.
 
What happens now is anyone’s guess.
 
But here’s my hope — that everyone learns from this.
 
In the decade-plus that I’ve been in the state of Oklahoma, I can’t remember a case like this, an incident where an athlete was hazed in such a sexual manner. For that, I’m thankful. But I also think this is a great opportunity for coaches and players in Holdenville and elsewhere to talk about hazing.
 
I talked with a high school football coach Monday who said he planned to talk to his team that afternoon about hazing. It was their first practice since news of the Holdenville incident came to light, and he intended to address the issue with his team.
 
He said that hazing is a subject that is address periodically.
 
“That’s something that every coach worries about,” he said.
 
To have a story involving other athletes in the state of Oklahoma, though, made it hit a little closer to home, and he intended to use it as a teachable moment.
 
Here’s hoping that coach was not alone. Here’s hoping that hazing was a subject discussed by many other coaches and many other teams in many other places outside of Holdenville.
 
Our state has seen few cases like this. Perhaps this incident can be used to avoid others in the future.
 


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