Minor revelation

It’s March, and only just now have I finally figured out why OU freshman Tiny Gallon’s name bothers me.

A gallon is a unit of measurement. It is standard. There is no large or small gallon. There are only pints, quarts, cups, etc. If it were any size other than 128 ounces, it would be something else!

Whew. Glad I got that sorted out. I hate to go all “does not compute” on you, but something just kind of tickled the back of my brain whenever I heard or read his name. I swear I’m not a robot. Just logical.

A gallon is a gallon is a gallon.

Anyway, while looking up Gallon’s info on OU’s Web site (6-foot-9, 296, if you are interested), I noticed the headline for tonight’s Big Monday OU-Texas matchup that said “Sooners Go For Sweep of Texas Monday Night”. Wow. I’d forgotten about that, an 80-71 win over the then-No. 9 Longhorns in Norman three Saturdays ago.

I’m pretty sure a 13-15 OU team that has lost six straight and a spiraling Texas team that might not be ranked later today was not what ESPN had in mind when it planned its Big Monday schedule many months ago.

OSU-Kansas

Pretty impressive win for OSU over Kansas over the weekend. Not a whole lot to say, really. A decent team caught a really good team on an off day. Plus, the rowdiness of Gallagher-Iba was totally throwback. Hopefully the students there now will see how much better the atmosphere is when they care about the team. (It helps when your team is beating a top-ranked conference opponent into the ground, but hey. Whatever works.)

"The rowdiest arena in the country."

Despite the score, I had a hard time getting into the game. I kept thinking OSU would play them hard for a half, then come out after halftime shooting poorly or Kansas would wake up and realize they’re the No. 1 team in the country.

Also, I kept flipping back to CNN to make sure Hawaii hadn’t been destroyed by a tsunami. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to visit Hawaii, and I was legitimately concerned that a tidal wave was about to annihilate it. Thankfully, the whole tsunami thing seemed to have been a scare. I know I sound like a dork, but I was pretty relieved when nothing happened.

It’s awful to see and read about the devastation caused by the 8.8 earthquake in Chile though. (On an unrelated note, I think Texans should feel a special kinship with Chile because their flags are so similar.)

USA-Canada

I still am sort of in shock that the U.S. took silver today. Partly because I didn’t think they had much of a chance going into the Olympics, and partly because once they tied the game with seconds left, I thought they might steal the win.

I’m pretty proud of the Americans for fighting to the end. Canada looked strong all game. I didn’t get to watch all of it, but the parts I did see did not look promising. The Americans’ power play was pitiful. It’s really frustrating to watch a team with a man advantage stumble like that. They kept dumping the puck into the corner, then Canada would easily recover and clear. Finally they got one going when someone carried it in. Geez, about time.

I thought the U.S. looked tired for most of the game, except at the end of regulation and the beginning of overtime, when they were going on pure adrenaline. After about five minutes of OT, the Americans just looked a step behind and sluggish.

I’m a little happy for Canada. I guess I lack that killer instinct of a winner that says “step on their throats!” I would have absolutely loved to have seen my country win another gold, but clearly this game meant more to our northern neighbors. And how fitting that legend-in-the-making Sidney Crosby scored the game-winner.

I think a U.S. gold would have been good for the NHL, but the game got so much hype and press that I don’t think it makes a big difference that the Americans won silver. All I know is that it got people who don’t normally watch hockey watching it, which is a good thing.

Storybook endings don’t write themselves

For one paragraph, I’m shedding my neutral journalist hat and trading it for an OSU fan hat:

Worst. Game. Ever.

(OK, back to unbiased fairness now.)

Rivalry runaway

Oklahoma smacked Oklahoma State in Bedlam football today, 27-0.

At first, I didn’t think the Sooners would lose two straight, and their egg-laying in Lubbock the previous week seemed to be too perfect of timing.

Also, I’ve seen the Cowboys blow one too many games. There’s this thing called the “Poke Choke” that gets them into trouble.

And, as with all rivalry games, throw the rankings out the window. An unranked OU team can beat a No. 11-ranked OSU team any day, as it showed Saturday.

But my confidence grew a bit as the week went on until seemingly all I heard was “BCS this” and “Fiesta that.” With so much on the line, how could the Cowboys possibly let a game this important slip away?

Placing blame

I read a number of interesting stats today on OSU’s woeful offense. Here’s one: OSU put up just 4 yards of offense in the second half. You’ve got to be kidding.

Blame the play-calling. Blame the butterfingers. Blame the quarterbacks.

But credit OU’s defense. The win wasn’t entirely due to the mystique of “The Streak.” True, there’s a little something magical going on that has led to the Sooners winning 30 straight at home, but they did have to work for it.

Recall that OU already had two shutouts at home this year. Granted, Idaho State and Tulsa aren’t world-beaters, but the zeros still count. OSU makes three.

No destiny involved

Some co-workers were saying thank goodness OU had the injuries it did, or else the score could have been much more gruesome.

I interjected with this: If OU had been healthier, would OSU have come more prepared and motivated?

It seemed to me that part of the reason why the Cowboys lost was that they just didn’t show up. It almost seemed like they thought they were destined to win, so even with a BCS bowl on the line, the motivation wasn’t there.

I read a very telling quote from Zac Robinson in Bill Haisten’s story: “It just wasn’t our day. They always play well at home, but we didn’t expect it to be like this.”

Really? You didn’t expect to lose 27-0? You didn’t expect to be limited to 44 passing yards? I have the utmost respect for Zac Robinson, especially for playing while hurt, but I think it’s clear he and the rest of the Cowboys expected to win that game. Coaches included.

All in all, I have to say as a longtime sports fan (at least since the late ’90s, so longtime for me), that was the worst football game I’ve ever seen. No, worst sporting event I’ve ever seen. Worse than the Stars giving up eight goals or the Rangers allowing 19 runs.

Bo-ring… mute it, please

I admit if I were a Sooner supporter, I probably wouldn’t say “worst game ever,” but OSU punted 14 times and only once even dipped a toe into OU territory. The game was downright boring.

I wonder how many people fell asleep while noshing on turkey leftovers. Personally, I watched the wedding episode of “The Office” to build up a live cache on my DVR because I was so tired of the play reviews and the idiotic commentary from the Fox announcers.

Seriously, you don’t have to remind your audience every time a call is reviewed that it’s a bang-bang play on the field and that we have the advantage of looking at it from multiple angles in slo-mo.

And Antoine Lucien? Who’s that? And it’s the 104th Bedlam, not the 103rd. Geez. I’m sure there were more goof-ups, but I did a lot of fast-forwarding between plays.

Expect OSU to rebuild, OU to return to dominance in 2010

Let me be the first to proclaim OSU’s 2010 season will be tinted with shades of ’05. And I’m not just being pessimistic; I’ve been chewing on this for a while. Check out OSU’s roster yourself. I count 14 key players lost to the NFL or graduation. The Cowboys truly did blow their chances for a BCS bowl this year.

OU will only be hungrier and more dominant next year. With the sheer volume of injuries and defections the Sooners have endured, it’s highly impressive they are bowl eligible. I fully expect OU to return to a BCS-bowl season in 2010.

Well, that’s it for the regular season of college football. I can’t believe it’s already over. I’m ready to sink my teeth into basketball season though. It’s always a nice change of pace.

Soccer moms talk trash, too

I wish I’d had the energy to write this blog yesterday, but I was worn out from a jam-packed Thanksgiving weekend and Black Fridaying.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Jonathan’s family this year and got to know some people better. I watched more garage ping pong than football, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

Anyway, I experienced my first taste of Black Friday madness yesterday. I was up anyway, and though I was tired enough to sleep, the temptation of getting some good deals on Christmas presents was enough to keep me awake.

I prepared pretty well, I think. I tried to bring a buddy, but Jonathan chickened out and went to bed. Probably for the best, considering I was shopping for him too.

I dressed for comfort in fleece pants, tennis shoes, a T-shirt and an orange OSU hoodie. I ate before I left, and I considered bringing bottled water but decided it was unnecessary (wrong decision).

The best decision I made was to bring my own shopping bag  (a strong, large mesh-type green number with pink Hawaiian flowers I used to use as a beach bag) in case they ran out.

My first stop was Kohl’s, which opened at 4 a.m. I arrived at 4:05, just as the floodgates had opened. I parked far away and at the wrong door, but I didn’t care.

I strategically made a beeline for menswear and electronics, knowing those things would go quickly. I nabbed the last curling iron* with glee and stuffed it into my bag.  Next, I perused the socks*, repeatedly having to remind myself that this wasn’t an ordinary day at the store and that I needed to hurry.

Next up was supposed to be women’s accessories, but that area was a madhouse so I bypassed it altogether. I moved on to the automotive* department but came up empty.

I made a very slight detour to the bedding department for some luxury sheets that were seriously marked down. I had told myself “presents before personal,” but… I was right there. I had to take a moment to rearrange my already overflowing shopping bag and unsurprisingly found a quiet spot near the throw pillows, which I would imagine are not Christmas doorbuster items.

I grabbed the last coaster* and one of the last chainsaws* and made a U-turn to my final stop in the produce* department, the scene of my showdown.

I was standing at a display of a variety of toothbrushes*, trying to figure out if the one I wanted was there.

Then I heard a woman ask, “So, you think you’re going to win, don’t you?”

What?

I eyed the benign-looking woman curiously as I wondered if by “win” she meant we were going to have to do battle for the last toothbrush*.

She smiled and explained, “I’m wearing red under here (her coat).” I laughed and said I really didn’t know who would win, trying to sound as unconfident as I could to build some rapport in case we were actually going to have to throw down.

Oh yeah. I had forgotten – temporarily, of course – about Bedlam.

Turns out she apparently wasn’t looking for the same thing as me, or like me, she didn’t see the present she was looking for. Who knows.

I milled around for a little while longer, seeing if anything struck me as a good present. Finally, I gave up and joined the back of the line, which was all the way back to the towel department. I kid you not: It wrapped around menswear, shoes, electronics, kitchen and bath.

I’m not sure how long I stood in line. I estimate it was about 45 minutes. I realized I was getting the stink-eye from more than one crimson-clad woman. Isn’t 4:45 a.m. a little too early to be talking trash (verbally or with dirty looks)?

It wasn’t long before I became so overheated I shed my orange, wrapping my sweater around my waist. The long line snaked through displays in the middle of the aisle, so it was hard to see people from above the waist, which could have helped my cause.

It’s just funny though how I put zero thought into wearing orange the day before Bedlam. I guess Black Friday had gotten everyone’s competitive juices flowing a little early, and with adrenaline pumping through your veins, I guess it’s hard to resist a little smack talk.

*The names of the presents and departments have been changed to protect the recipients of said presents.

Prediction

As for a prediction, I’ll go with OSU 38, OU 31.

I think too much has been made of “The Streak.” OU may have the nation’s longest home winning streak at 29, and it may be perfect at home this year, but I think that’s been overblown.

As for the five teams OU has beaten in Norman this year? They have a combined record of 21-36. That’s a .368 record. Of course the Sooners won.

Also, according to the Tulsa World’s live chat, OU has lost another offensive lineman. That could be the straw that broke the camel’s back. And if Landry Jones goes down, OU’s only option is to use a walk-on QB (or burn a redshirt).

The crowd is not to be underestimated. I expect it to be 1,000 times more vicious than usual, as OU has nothing to lose and OSU has nothing to gain. I’m glad I’m going to be enjoying the game from the safety of my couch.

Quote of the day

I don’t know if Jon Stewart has trademarked his segment “Your moment of Zen,” but surely this quote in The Oklahoman about OU quarterback Landry Jones applies:

“We are inspired by Landry and appreciate everything that he’s doing. He is a shining beacon of freedom for all the young people out there who wear mustaches.”

– Aaron Perlut, American Mustache Institute chairman

Here’s the whole article. Wow.

An unlikely underdog?

Today’s thought: With Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford out for several weeks and All-American tight end Jermaine Gresham out for the season, does this make Oklahoma the new underdogs?

What constitutes an underdog? Lack of postseason success? Lack of wins? Lack of potential? Or something else?

Everyone loves an underdog…

Joy and pain

The inaugural college football Saturday of 2009 is over.

What a day it was.

A lot of Oklahoma State – and Texas – fans out there are very happy today.

In fact, I can’t think of a scenario in which Cowboy fans are more happy, save a national championship win.

First, No. 9 OSU shows resilience and rallies past a good team (No. 13 Georgia) from a great conference (the SEC). Furthermore, the game was won with defense – a traditional major weakness for OSU. The Cowboys also pulled it off in front of a record crowd (53,012) in their shiny, revamped stadium in front of a national audience.

Later that night, OSU’s rival No. 3 Oklahoma loses to No. 20 BYU. Granted, it was a one-point loss to a ranked opponent on a neutral field. That’s an unfortunately positive spin on an ugly game by OU that many picked to be a blowout. On top of that, said rival’s Heisman-winning quarterback is rocked in the waning seconds of the first half and is out indefinitely.

I’m happy for my friends and family who are so excited. But I know that when OU is good in the hunt for a national championship, that gets my employer money. As in readers, as in advertisements, as in us keeping our jobs. (Not to suggest that one Sooner loss is dire news or that my company is in bad shape at all, but these things tend to add up.)

People love a winner. Do you soak up every detail about your favorite team when they suck? Do you spend hours on the internet, googling for updates, checking the message boards or repeatedly refreshing the newspaper’s sports blogs or Twitter for another morsel of news after a ho-hum loss? Didn’t think so.

But this was no ho-hum loss for OU. And besides, we should know more about Sam in the next day or so. Personally, I hope he is OK to play soon, because it’s a huge blow to more than the team – the Big 12 Conference, too. And he seems like a nice, classy kid too.

I don’t think OU will fall too far in the Associated Press poll. I envision a slip from No. 3 to No. 13-15. I mean, BYU was ranked No. 20, after all. It’s not like the TCU loss or anything.

As for OSU, I see it creeping up a couple of spots – No. 6 or so. I hate that I’m going off of gut instinct, but if I were to do what my boss is doing right now (spending hours objectively analyzing what all the Top 25 teams did so he can vote fairly), I’d be up for a while.

But, I had at least a liter of Diet Dr Pepper today at our Sports department potluck, so I don’t know what makes me think I’m going to sleep anytime soon. (P.S. Mexican potluck = awesomeness)

So, what else… Oh, here’s something fun. I was about to leave for work when I checked the front porch as I always do (for packages, flyers, phone books, etc.). The OSU flag I ordered Wednesday was there! So I spent a good 10 minutes assembling it and jamming it into the flag holder mounted by the garage.

When my hubby and I bought a home in June, buying a flag to put out on gameday was a priority. I mean, not just for me as an objective journalist, but for my OSU grad husband to enjoy too. And it arrived the same day OSU beat Georgia. Good omen?

P.S. If you haven’t already, please check out tulsaworld.com/sportsextra. It has been re-awesomed, and I think you’ll like what you see. It’s the most comprehensive coverage of what our readers want to see: OU, OSU, TU and more.

Remembering Wayman

Growing up in Texas, and being as relatively young as I am, I admit I didn’t know much about Tulsa legend Wayman Tisdale until I moved here.

I can see that people here are hurting, having lost such a wonderful ambassador for this city at age 44. He lived here from his early years until he went to OU and became a star.

Not to forget that many argue he’s the best Oklahoma high school player of all time, having starred at Booker T. Washington.

He was athletically gifted, and no musical slouch either. Tisdale, an accomplished jazz musician, was to go on a national tour this summer. The son of a minister, he was a man of great faith who lived by example. And you can’t talk about Wayman without mentioning that incredible, joyful smile.

By all accounts, Wayman always claimed Tulsa as his home, and Tulsa gladly claimed him back.

I hope somewhere he’s looking down on his hometown paper and approving of the coverage of his death. It’s a weird thought, I know. But I think we have really done a great job so far, gathering quotes from people who knew him, collecting all his facts and stats and arranging many photos of him, all the while being respectful.

We at the paper know he is well-loved in these parts, so we readily bumped everything off the sports front page, even on high school championship weekend (those sports got a small, subtle, respectful strip at the bottom). He truly deserves every inch of coverage.

But (notice the big quote at the bottom of B1), former OU coach Billy Tubbs put it best: “You don’t have enough space in the paper for all of the great memories.”

Here are a few links to see how the World covered the passing of one of Tulsa’s favorite sons.

May 16

A1: Front page

B1: Sports front

May 17

B8-B9: Very cool-looking vignettes from Karl Malone, Billy Tubbs and others. Designed by James Royal.

And if you click on nothing else, here is Bruce Plante’s cartoon: Wayman

More at tulsaworld.com/wayman

A little bit about a lot*

First things first, since I’m old-school, I need to issue a correction for yesterday’s post. I had the Rangers’ record incorrect. It should have been 7-9. Had I known that, there might have been quite a bit less belly-aching, especially considering they won Saturday night and are second in the AL West.

Second, I’ve been playing with the photo at the top of the page. I thought the night snow was pretty for a while, but it’s almost May.

Moving on, I really wish I could have watched the whole Penguins-Flyers playoff game today. I saw Philly score two quick goals at the end of the first and the orange crowd went berserk. When I read later that Pittsburgh came back to win 5-3, I was stunned. Hope that game is replayed later.

I guess if I have to root for someone, it’s Pittsburgh. I like Sid the Kid, and I hate the Flyers. So it’s a no-brainer.

I saw the first half of Mavericks-Spurs Game 4 today. I think it’s kind of hilarious that Tony Parker scores 43 and they still lose.

Also, I should note: I have this strange mental block where I often get Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich confused. I think I have some kind of old-white-guy dyslexia. Obviously I know who is who, but it’s the darndest thing.

Most of my day was spent in football mode thanks to the NFL draft. The most memorable part was Chris Berman’s fugly outfit (pinkish pinstriped shirt with orange, yellow, green and blue striped tie. Ew.). Did he get dressed in the dark??

Today will be the really fun day. (And I use the term “fun” loosely.) Dallas has 12 picks after trading their second-rounder on Saturday. Due to intense reader interest, we basically consider the Cowboys a local team.

Also contributing to the fun is that the majority of OU, OSU and TU guys that we are watching will probably go today as Brandon Pettigrew and Phil Loadholt went Saturday.

Speaking of the Pokes, attention all O-State (or Big 12) fans: World columnist Dave Sittler has a bold (some might say “crazy”) prediction for next football season.

Pick up the Sunday World to find out what he thinks. (Or check out the RSS feed on the right side of the screen: “Call me crazy, but OSU could start 11-0″. If it’s not in the feed, it’s on the site.) If you’re not intrigued, you should be.

*Best headline ever!

Adios, Blake

So Blake Griffin announced he’s leaving OU for the NBA today. Shocker, right?

Well, at least all the teams scheduled to play the Sooners for the next two years are probably glad.

I’m just glad we are finally able to get rid of some “expected to”s in our copy, like “expected to declare for the NBA draft,” “expected to sweep player of the year awards,” etc.

It’s a smart move for him, obviously. There’s not much he could have done next season to improve his draft ranking as he has already shown he’s a man among boys on the court.

It’s good he didn’t go the way of Sam Bradford, who is staying for his junior year at OU. They both had astronomical seasons stats-wise, but Sam would benefit from another year.

The WNBA draft is Thursday, and Courtney and Ashley Paris are expected to be lottery picks. Good for them. It’ll be weird next season without any Parises or Griffins at OU.

I hope Courtney doesn’t stay too long in the WNBA. Maybe just a few years or so, then she can start making the big bucks at ESPN. I’ve heard a lot of people say Ashley will be the better player in the long run.

Courtney is a journalism major and seemed to usually be a good interview, maybe because she is learning the other side of it. I think she would do well as an analyst.

Anyway, as an OSU alum, I’m just glad Blake Griffin is gone. He is an exciting player to watch, but not if you are on the other side.

Well, got to get to work on a rare Tuesday. Springsteen is in town and I guess a lot of people have tickets, meaning I need to work. Hooray.

A very good Friday: OSU beats Tennessee

Just watched my alma mater, Oklahoma State, beat Tennessee 77-75 in the most evenly matched basketball game I have seen in a long time.

The teams were like mirror images of each other. Tennessee can hit 3s, but the Vols also went ice cold on shooting late in the first half, continuing into the second half. Bad Tennessee looks a lot like bad OSU.

But enough about bad OSU. When Byron Eaton drove to make it 76-75 OSU, I about lost it. Nice way to end the first NCAA tournament game of the senior’s career.

I really thought the Cowboys would dig themselves too far into a hole with foul trouble, but somehow they pulled it off. I began mentally preparing myself for a loss when James Anderson picked up his fourth.

Really, the only thing that kept me thinking OSU could win were two very interesting stats that our OSU beat writer, Jimmie Tramel, dug up.

1. Tennessee usually wins when it turns the ball over MORE than its opponent.
2. Tennessee nearly always wins when it outshoots its opponent, and it nearly always loses when it doesn’t.

The final stats? Vols 11 turnovers, Cowboys 12. FG percentages: Vols 42.9, Cowboys 56.6.

So Pitt is next (assuming). I picked Pitt to win it all in at least a couple of brackets. Don’t know much about them, but I am looking forward to the game anyway.

Speaking of brackets, mine are all blown up. I filled out about six because I kept getting invitations, and I thought, why not?

My brackets are like snowflakes this year: Each is unique.

I got way too cute with upsets, even I though I myself said there wouldn’t be too many this year.

One good one I did get away with was Western Kentucky over Illinois. I almost got away with Utah State over Marquette, and I picked North Dakota State over Kansas in five of my brackets. I saw virtually nothing of that game, but the score atop the screen indicated it was pretty close most of the game.

But enough about brackets. They are kind of like fantasy teams; no one cares about yours, just their own.

And while it’s fresh on our minds, let’s talk about the flippin’ sweet OU game last night. If you haven’t heard or seen the flip yet, watch any game today. I guarantee it is mentioned at some point.

For the record, a Morgan State player flipped Blake Griffin over his back, WWE style. Griffin just popped up and smirked after coming dangerously close to having his neck broken.

Obviously, that kind of thuggy behavior and lack of self-discipline has no place in the game. But I have to admit as cheap and dirty as the foul was, it looked kind of cool. (Obviously I can only say that because Griffin appeared OK, for the most part.)

I know a lot of people are tired of Blake coverage and were secretly glad to see a cheap foul like that, but 1) it only gives him more air time (literally) and 2) makes him look like a saint for not retaliating. So there.

Well, I have to run some errands before I go to work today. I am slotting, but the only real late thing we’ll be waiting on is the Tulsa-Auburn NIT game. I really wish it was on TV.