Monthly Archives: July 2016

Enough Already…

I made the mistake recently of picking up the Saturday and Sunday versions of the Oklahoman.  I know, dumb move on my part…

The Friday headline screamed out “Stillwater Rising” and the early bird Sunday edition front page exclaimed “She’s No Quitter”. Unfortunately, the articles were not about recent rains in Stillwater or a special needs student overcoming great odds to accomplish wonderful things…

Instead, the first story was about the phenomenal athletic program at OSU that had left OU in its dust and the second was a replay of OU’s Joe Mixon episode from two years ago. Berry Tramel who must think he is still writing for his high school newspaper was the author of both articles.

Let me get this straight…OU just finished a year when its football and basketball teams played in the final four, a feat unheard of in today’s competitive world.   OU also had teams win National Championships in softball and men’s and women’s gymnastics.  OSU on the other hand won no National Championships in 2016.  Now I am really confused…

The second article was a rehash of the Joe Mixon story that we have been told numerous times by Tramel since it happened two years ago. Apparently, Berry thinks we all have dementia and can’t remember the original slam job he sent out back in 2014.  OMG, enough already…Can we not move on…

Basically, both articles are part of Berry Tramel’s attempt at saving his paper from extinction and at the same time trying to help little sister keep up with the Sooners. There are a lot of things I like about Oklahoma, but this is not one of them.   As they say, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig…

Taking liberties with the truth and/or impugning OU’s character will never change the fact that OU will always be the state’s premier comprehensive university. OSU on the other hand serves a purpose as the state’s only land grant college that does a nice job of serving a specific student clientele. Comparing one school to the other academically or athletically serves no purpose except to malign the truth.

As for the Oklahoman, we must remember that this paper has fallen on hard times and is now dependent upon National Inquirer tactics for survival.

In the meantime, OU fans will have to take the advice of the late Paul Harvey’s and look elsewhere for the “rest of the story.”

Boomer Sooner…

 

 

 

The rich get richer Part II…

In spite Charlie Strong’s good luck this offseason, Mack left him with lousy recruits and no quarterbacks.   Texas will be forced to rely on a true freshman (Shane Buechelle) this year.   With Baker at quarterback and the lingering memory of last year’s meltdown, OU should be able to handle an improving Texas team this year.  With Texas finding its feet later in the year and with the latest infusion of talent from Baylor, the Horns will a much improved team by season’s end and will be a much tougher team in 2017. (more about this later)

The encouraging news for Sooner fans is that OU stole a recruit from Baylor, as well. Four-star cornerback Parish Cobb will join the Sooners this fall.  Cobb will become a part of what was already an excellent OU recruiting class, not to mention a top ten class in 2017.

All of this reinforces that 2017’s OU/Texas game’s will be huge. Based on current depth charts, in 2017 Texas will have 20 starters to go alone with 17 for OU.   Both teams will likely return their starting quarterbacks.   Most importantly both staff’s  have figured out the evaluation process and 90% of these players will be the real deal.

With OU playing at Ohio State and Texas playing at USC in 2017, the “strength of schedule” numbers for both teams will be off the charts. The Cotton Bowl game early in the season will likely not hurt either team regardless of the winner or loser.  The early season game will only add to the mystique of the rematch in December.  The second game, the conference championship game will be for all the conference marbles and a shot at a National Championship.

I suspect that conference officials convinced David Boren to back off his conference expansion plans due these facts. In 2017, conference officials will have what they have craved, a double dose of a OU/Texas with the second game being for a top seed in the championship series.

Texas would be foolish to turn its back on a conference championship game that could return the Horns to national prominence to go alone with its $15 million dollar yearly bonus check from ESPN.

While never a fan of the current Big 12 set up and a championship game with two teams facing off against each other twice in a season, this game intrigues me. A chance to beat Texas twice in the same year on the way to chance for #8 may change my tune.

Boomer Sooner…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rich get richer…Part I…

Like it or not, it is time to put Texas back on our radar. Even with last year’s loss to the Horns, Sooner fans have been living the good life over the past few years when it came to Texas.    With recent events coming out of Austin last week, I suspect that Texas may be back earlier than we thought.

Cutting to the chase, a successful coaching change takes three to four years to make good.     Charlie Strong got off to a rocky start, but may be on the verge of making up for lost time.

Mack Brown left Charlie with a bunch of soft, undisciplined players. Charlie spent the first season running off the riff-raff.  Of Mack’s last 45 recruits only 12 remain.  More importantly by running off these players room underneath the 85-player cap was freed up.

For two years Charlie has had room to maneuver with the 25 yearly limit on signing day and he has done so masterfully.   This year, the Baylor fire sale could not have come at a more perfect time for the Horns as Charlie has added four incredible recruits at the last minute.

Last week, Texas picked up four stud players by convincing four players previously signed by Baylor to move down the street a few miles to Austin. Three of the newly recruited players are four star and ESPN top 100 players.

How can this happen…Baylor under immense pressure due to the rape allegations within its program was forced to free all new players from previously signed letters of intent.   Texas with fewer than 85 players on it roster was waiting in the wings to snatch them up.  Here’s the list…

Texas’ Baylor recruits this week…

Patrick Hudson – Four star offensive lineman – Texas

J.P. Urquidez – Four star offensive lineman – Texas

Devin Duvarney – Four star wide receiver – Texas

Donavon Duvarney – Three star cornerback -Texas

These new players have moved the needle for the 2016 Texas recruiting class up from #9 to #3 according to Scout.  Couple this group with the 2015 top ten class and you have the foundation for a major comeback by Texas.

In the next blog, I will present what I believe this will mean for Texas and OU moving forward.