Category Archives: Uncategorized

Winning Streaks…

It was like Shock City on Sunday as the OU girls absorbed a loss for the first time in 42 games.  No one saw it coming as OU fans had already booked flights to OKC for the World Series.   That’s the problem with winning streaks; they have to end sometime…you just hope that the damage can be minimized in short order.   Thankfully, that was the case here as the OU women came back to win the night cap and in doing so started their next winning streak.

I could not help but be reminded of the other OU winning streak that was snapped back in ’57.   The Sooner football team had won 47 in a row and fans thought that that streak would last forever as well.   Fans in attendance on that November day were equally shocked by the outcome.  According to news reports, OU fans sat in their seats after the game stunned that the streak had been snapped.

Thankfully, softball could bounce back within the hour to make amends.  It took the Sooner football team over fifty years to avenge that loss to Notre Dame.  The good news for the softball team is by getting that winning streak out of the way the Sooner women can now focus on the task at hand, winning another National Championship…

Speaking of streaks, after the ’57 loss, Notre Dame strung together six more wins against the Sooners before OU won at South Bend in 2013.  Notre Dame owes us a game and OU has an opening in 2023.  2023 will be the 100 year anniversary for Memorial Stadium and Joe C. is promising a big non-conference game that year.

This may be a stretch, but it would be cool for Notre Dame to visit Norman that year.  This game would serve a dual purpose.  The Sooners could extend their winning streak over the Irish while also allowing fans who were forced to endure the ’57 game to be present.  Hopefully, David Boren will be one of those fans.  I happen to know that Boren was there with his dad on that day.

Boomer Sooner…

 

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OU baseball…

I know we have gymnastics and softball, not to mention football to fall back on, but it would be nice to see a little improvement in baseball as well.   You would think that an Athletic Department that generated $138 million dollars in revenue last year could produce a decent baseball team.   OSU has now beaten OU 22 of the last 27 games.  This is beginning sound like OU’s domination of OSU in football.

At this point, I would love to blame the coach, but in reality the current guy inherited a total train wreck. After Larry Cochel reinvented OU baseball at the turn of this century and carried OU to a National Championship, he gets fired by Joe Castiglione.   Joe then hires Gene Stephenson who quits the next day.   Joe then commits the ultimate knee jerk sin and hires Sunny Galloway.  Under Galloway, the Sooners suffered through a five year reign of terror.  Even his nephew couldn’t stand the guy.

After five years, Joe fires Galloway and hires a no-name coach from Virginia Tech.  The Sooners spent the next four years treading water.  Joe then fires Pete Hughes and replaces him with current coach Clint Johnson.  You get the message; it has been 15 years of revolving coaches and limited success for OU baseball.

Given the ineptitude of this year’s Sooner team, it would appear that this program is stuck in quicksand.  Unless the Sooners can pull off a miracle and win the Big 12 Conference Tournament, OU will be absent from this year’s post season.

The good news is that this OU team appears to be young and the pitching staff should return in tact.  Additionally, Clint Johnson has a reputation for being a pitching guru which should help.  For additional good news, things can only get better from here.

Stayed tuned…

Boomer Sooner…

 

 

Twenty three and counting…

I waited a week for this blog in order to avoid jinxing the Sooners in the Big 12 tournament.  To be honest, I was not overly concerned about the streak being snapped, but still, why take a chance.  OU has had some great teams in various sports over the years, but I have to tell you that this Sooner softball team has to be in that mix.

Last weekend only served to make this point.  OSU came into the Bedlam series on a hot streak…They had won eleven games in a row…the Lady Ags also would host OU in two of the three games.  Making matters worse, due to the weather the Sooners were forced to play a double header in Stillwater on Sunday.  OU’s decade long winning streak over OSU appeared to be in real jeopardy.

Responding like great teams do, this OU team limited OSU to six hits for the three game set.  That may be the greatest statistic that I have ever seen by any team played on a diamond.   Adding to the stature of this team is that Patty Gasso started a different pitcher in each of the three games.

On offense the Sooners looked like the Bronx Bombers.  There was never a doubt in each of the three games of who was going to win.  Psychologically, OSU came into each game realizing that the outcome was not a matter of if, but when.  Twenty three (23) straight wins over the Ags…Not since 2011 has OU lost to these guys in softball.

Moving forward, this OU team is simply loaded in every phase of the game.  Patty coaches up a team better than any person I have ever seen.  This OU teams resembles a group on a mission from God as they deliver Sooner Nation another National Championship.

One last thing, I have coached baseball and softball and I would love to see a computer geek play out a game between the OU baseball and softball teams.  Never mind, let’s not go there.  That would not be fair to the boys.

As OU fans, we need to soak up this moment…just like the football teams of old, this is what legends are made of.  Teams like this one don’t come along every day.   We had better enjoy the moment…

Boomer Sooner…

Sunday night football…

I can remember the time when OU refused to play night games to protect the older fan base.  Now the OU brand is trumping both the older fan base and church leaders.   As Keith Jackson used to say…Whoa Nelly…

Some will suggest that this move was made as a result of conference and network bigwigs flexing their muscles.   To that I would suggest that we look at previous history.   OU officials have said no to the football power brokers for years about playing Thursday night home games, much less a Sunday night affair.  I am not sure what is in the OU water these days, but I for one like the new look.  I will trade a Sunday night game any day for an August Saturday morning sauna bath.

For history students, consider the nature of this seismic move.  There was a time, not that long ago, when Baptist preachers would have eaten OU football for lunch over this issue.  In those days, the Mormons had nothing on the Baptist crowd.  Sundays were off limits…

As we know OU football is a religion too many of us, so we should have seen this war of religions coming.  For better or for worse, the Lincoln Riley/James Gallogly eras may have prompted this move.   Mix in a dose of Jalen Hurts and a hot August Saturday afternoon game and you have a trifecta.

Sunday night football should be fun…

Boomer Sooner…

Bedlam alert…

No, this is not football or basketball season, but this year, there will be a Bedlam week in softball.  The Cowgirls will have their best chance in almost a decade to beat the Sooners in softball.   Aggie butt cheeks will be as tight as a drum as they envision a win over the top ranked Sooners.

While I hate to admit this, it could actually happen this year.  There are several reasons for my concern.   First the Cowgirls are on a hot streak having won eleven (11) games in a row.  This past weekend, they swept a pretty decent Texas Tech team.  Finally, OSU will have the last at bats in two of the three games.  And finally, seven inning games give the underdog an extra advantage.   I know we are the better team, but I also remember that it took a botched two point conversion try in last year’s Bedlam football game for us  to come out on top.

Finally, let’s be extra good this week as we may need Karma’s help to beat these guys twice in Stillwater.   Not only are we talking about a ten year/twenty game winning streak over the Cow Patties, we are also talking about a 35 game winning streak this year and a possible #1 National seed for the Sooners.

The first pitch in the three game series will be Friday night at 6:05 so prepare for smash mouth softball next weekend.  Buckle up, this should be fun…

Boomer Sooner…

 

Big 12 update…

  • Thankfully, OU fans have OU softball…the Sooners swept Texas over the weekend, extending their winning streak to 31 games. It should also keep the Sooners at #1 in the country.   Can you imagine what Patti Gasso’s bunch can do with the #1 seed in the national tournament.
  • Additional kudos to the women’s gymnastics team for winning their 4th National Championship. By the way, Maggie Nichols is only a junior so a fifth National Championship next year seems possible.
  • Texas sucks…OSU swept the Shorthorns in baseball over the weekend. Seriously, OSU loses two of three to Kansas and then they sweep Texas by scoring 36 runs in three games.  This may be the worst Texas team in baseball history…
  • For the record, the OU and Texas baseball programs have something in common. The current UT coach beat out the current OU coach for the Texas job a few years back.  Makes one wonder who came in third…
  • OU had to go to Minnesota to beat the Big Ten’s worst team in a weekend series. Possibly, OU should ask the Gophers to join the league next year. .

Boomer Sooner…

 

 

 

Spring game…

We witnessed a couple of great moves this spring.   First Lincoln convinces Jalen Hurts to spend his senior year in Norman and then he moves the spring game to Friday night.   First things first…only Lincoln and OU football could add a perfect piece to OU’s offensive puzzle in Hurts.  Granted the offensive line will be a work in progress, but this team’s skill set is off the chart.  By the end of the season, OU’s offense could be unstoppable.   This year’s defense has to be better than last year so I am optimistic about 2019.

Now back to the spring game setting.   In addition to giving credit to Lincoln for the spring game move I also want to give credit to Mother Time, the Federal Court System, ESPN, and Musco Lighting.  Because of these entities the Friday night spring game happened and appears to have been a smashing success.

First, let’s talk about Musco Lighting.   There was a time not that long ago when 80% of college stadiums were not equipped with lights.  That worked just fine because ABC Sports had a stranglehold on the college game.  In those days, college football telecasts were limited to one game a week and for the most part appeared on a Saturday afternoon.  Today, we have games every day of the week and 90% of those games are aired at night.

How did this happen?  First, the Courts ruled that ABC Sports with its limit of one game per week was in violation of anti-trust laws.   In 1984 the Supreme ruled in favor of OU and Georgia and against ABC.  This ruling opened the flood gates to college football broadcasts.   ESPN and other networks wanted to jump all over this.  All they needed was portable lighting.

A small Iowa company stepped in to fill the void by creating a system for transporting field lights from stadium to stadium throughout America.  Once at the stadium, the lights were lifted by cranes to the four corners of the stadium and for the first time all of America had access to night football. I remember the day that Musco Lighting provided us with the first night game at OU.  It was pretty cool.

Once Musco did their part, the fad and more importantly the money caught on and universities including OU installed permanent lights.  Without these historical events, a Friday night spring game would not have been possible.  We would have been stuck with a spring game attended by a few hundred fans on a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon.  I love progress…

Speaking of progress…let’s hope that the same guy that moved the spring game can do the something about early morning, August kickoffs.   Those games are a recipe for heat strokes and should be replaced with night games.

Okay, I get it…one step at a time.  Then again, someone had to take that first step back in the 80’s, not to mention early last week.

Boomer Sooner…