ESPN takes numerous shots at OU star Courtney Paris

Courtney Paris had barely walked off the court Sunday night following the Sooners’ 61-59 loss to Louisville in the Women’s Final Four when an ESPN reporter asked her the $64,000 question — did she intended to fulfill her it pledge to repay her OU athletic scholarship since the Sooners didn’t win the national championship? Courtney  replied she didn’t have $64,000 at the moment, but planned to do so. Moments after such a painful loss, this didn’t seem a good time to hit her up with the $64,000 question.

It fit ESPN’s tone for the night of beating up on Paris, the first four-time All-American in women’s basketball who had broke several NCAA scoring and rebounding records. On several occasions, commentator Doris Burke criticized her for being out of shape, noting she appeared winded and had difficulty getting up and down the court. She said if the Sooners were to win, the winner of the Connecticut-Stanford game would be wise to get her in a transition game. Burke has a right to her opinion, but constantly harping on it is another story. Paris, obviously is not in as good of shape as twin sister, Ashley, but she has played that way for years with  —  and with much success.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, appeared on the ESPN pregame show to talk about his sister Carlee, a reserve for the Sooners. Ben said, “My hands are sweating more now than they were in the Super Bowl.”

ESPN’s telecast said an Oklahoma City record for a women’s basketball game with a 19.4 rating. The previous high was a 19.3 for the Oklahoma-Duke game on March 29, 2002.

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