Finally….

Give our Sooner softballers credit as they came from behind for a big win on Saturday…a win that legends are made of.  At the same time, not to be lost in the hullabaloo of that game is the fact that we were playing against a bunch of players who were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It took a while, but then it finally happened. How many times over the years in football have we seen this same thing transpire. Sooner footballers would simply hang around waiting for OSU players to remember who they were. The same thing happens in softball. As soon as the Sooners began to peck away at the Aggie lead, doubt began to creep into the minds of the OSU players.   

Once we took charge of the game, it was all over.  Credit our hitters, but also let’s give Patty Gasso and Kiersten Deal credit as well.  Here of late, Patty has been pitching Deal just enough to prepare her for such a moment.  Deal was up to the task.  Can you imagine opposing coaches realizing that Deal is OU’s fourth string pitcher. 

While that game’s outcome was far to close for comfort, storming back in Sooner fashion was way cool…

Boomer Sooner…

Grace Green…

When asked about Grace Green’s homerun on Saturday, Patty Gasso was full of pride when she reminded the OU press that “Grace Green was a freshman All-American for OU five years ago…she got recruited over and over, but decided to hang with the Sooners as her playing time dwindled down to pinch hitting every once in a while in games that were out of reach”.

In this it’s all about “me” world where team loyalty has become old fashioned, Grace Green’s story reminds us of the good old days. Today’s college sports world has become all about NIL and open transfer…having a player, especially one of Green’s caliber hang with a team for five years is unheard of. 

Last Saturday during the Kansas series her patience paid off as she hit a three run shot on senior weekend as the crowd went wild.  As Sooner fans, we all get caught up in winning in the pursuit of our next Natty, but taking a moment to appreciate Grace Green is in order. 

Some will suggest that winning another ring was part of her thinking, but I suspect that this was not even close to her thought process.  I would suggest that she simply bought into Patty Gasso’s team mindset and is living her dream as a Sooner.  Everything else is icing on the cake.

This girl is going to make something of herself off the softball field as she makes a difference in whatever career field she chooses. Grace Green is the real deal and we have been blessed to watch her mature on and off the field as a Sooner.

Boomer Sooner… 

The future is now…

Reports from Saturday’s spring game indicate that the future of this team appears to be extremely bright.  Our offense stumbled a bit early on, but much of this was attributed to a much-improved defense.  Of course, our defense has to be improved…it couldn’t be any worse. With fall drills still to follow, good things on this side of the ball can be expected. 

Dillon Gabriel struggled a bit at quarterback as did All-World recruit Jackson Arnold. Again, some of this may have to do with a stellar defense. I like an experienced Dillon Gabriel to start the season and do extremely well with our soft schedule.  Going 5-0 prior to the Texas game seems very possible.  I know, we have said this before, but in this case, it is true…Texas will be back this year and will pose a real test for the Sooners. 

The oddsmakers have Texas beating the Sooners for the second year in a row, but it won’t be by forty-nine points like it was last year.  Last year, we had no starting quarterback for that game…this year we will have two.  Who knows, Dillon Gabriel may struggle in the first half against Texas in a move that will give Jackson Arnold an opening in the second half to show his stuff.  That works for me, but…

I hope we don’t see a replay of two years ago when the student section called the shots and Caleb Williams became the starting quarterback over a more experienced Spencer Rattler.  Williams led the Sooners to the greatest comeback in OU-Texas history, but then floundered down the stretch.  I would love for Dillon Gabriel to shine in his senior year as Jackson Arnold hones his skills for his Heisman Trophy career. 

Given our improved talent level, spring practice results and the 2023 schedule, an 11-1/10-2 season appears to be a real possibility.  I know, we have all been guilty of getting ahead of ourselves, but eventually being an OU homer has to come to fruition. I believe that this will be one of those times.      

Boomer Sooner…

Keeping up with the Jones’s

OU Regents wanted Brent Venables in the worst way and they were willing to pay for his long-term contract and a massive recruiting budget to make success happen.  This is the world we live in and paying top dollar to get players on campus is a big part of today’s college football success. 

A few years back Kirby Smart figured this thing out and then some.  Georgia had tired of playing second fiddle to Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.  For the Class of ‘23, the Bulldogs led the nation with its $4.5 million dollar recruiting budget.  It’s appears to be working as Georgia and its football expenditures have rocketed the Bulldogs to the top of recruiting world and two National Championships.  

Additional information on this subject provided by USA Today tells the tale about the college football world.  The SEC leads the way with five teams in the top ten.  When OU and Texas are included, the SEC number goes up to seven of ten.  The highest Big 12 team comes in at #32 on this list.  In another comparison bullet, OU ranks fourth nationally while OSU comes in at #52. 

NIL is not part of this money list, but it makes perfect sense that a university would do whatever it takes financially to keep these players around once they visit the campus. The rich will get richer and the poor become OSU.

SEC…

Note: National rankings appear in parenthesis…

1…..(1) Georgia 4.5 m.

2…..(3) Texas A&M 3.0                                  

3…..(4) Tennessee 2.9

4…..(5) OU 2.6

5…..(6) Texas 2.4

6…..(7) Alabama 2.3

7…..(10) Florida 1.6

8…..(16) Auburn 1.3

9…..(19) Mississippi 1.3

10…(21) Arkansas 1.2

11…(22) Missouri 1.2

12…(26) South Carolina 1.1

13…(35) Kentucky .917

14…(46) LSU .742

15..(48) Mississippi State .633

16…Vanderbilt – due to private school status, Vanderbilt does not report financial information…

Big 12…

1…..(32) West Virginia .971 m.

2…..(34) Texas Tech .930

3…..(41) Kansas .846

4…..(42) Kansas State .841

5…..(44) Iowa State .804

6…..(52) Oklahoma State .455

The best there ever was…

As we know, Texas sucks so it’s hard to put too much stock on what happened this past weekend.  The Texas’ record looks better than it should due to the weakness of the Big 12. As for Saturday’s near call, the OU players were hungover from the Friday night game so don’t read too much into that.  The Big 12 has become and OU/OSU league.  It’s going to be fun to see what happens in Stillwater at the end of the regular season. 

Of course, we are loaded with power throughout the lineup and we have three solid pitchers to shut down the other teams and of course our all-world defense to set the tone.  The good news is that Jordy Bahl appears to be rounding into shape…more importantly, I love her as a closer.   Alex Storako, the Michigan standout has been as good as advertised and Nicole May has been like her old self at times this year.   The team ERA speaks for itself.   

I really like the way Patty Gasso has rotated her pitching staff this year, avoiding the arm issues we have had in the past.  This will come in handy against OSU at the end of the year.  In the post season, the approach will shift more to two starting pitchers and one closer.  Patty will have plenty of options to decide who does what. 

With our offense and defense clicking on all cylinders, we are destined for another Natty…hang onto your seats, this is going to be some kind of fun.  

Boomer Sooner…

The best there ever was…

As we know, Texas sucks so it’s hard to put too much stock in what happened this past weekend.  The Texas’ record looks better than it should due to the weakness of the Big 12. As for Saturday’s near call, the OU players were hungover from the Friday night game so don’t read too much into that.  The Big 12 has become and OU/OSU league.  It’s going to be fun to see what happens in Stillwater at the end of the regular season. 

Of course, we are loaded with power throughout the lineup and we have three solid pitchers to shut down the other teams assisted by an all-world defense.  The good news is that Jordy Bahl appears to be rounding into shape…more importantly, I love her as a closer.   Alex Storako, the Michigan standout has been as good as advertised and a Nicole May has been like her old self at times this year. The team ERA speaks for itself.   

I really like the way Patty Gasso has rotated her pitching staff this year, avoiding the arm issues we have had in the past.  This will come in handy against OSU at the end of the year.  In the post season, the approach will shift more to two starting pitchers and one closer.  Patty will have plenty of options to decide who does what. 

With our offense and defense clicking on all cylinders, it appears that we are destined for another Natty…hang onto your seats, this is going to be some kind of fun.  

Boomer Sooner…

Pathetic…

Admitting a mistake and learning from that mistake has become a lost art in today’s world. I was wrong about OU baseball, and I need to admit that mistake and learn from it.  That mess that the Sooner baseballers threw out there over the weekend in Manhattan was about as ugly as it gets, and yes, Skip Johnson should man up and own it.   

Making matters worse is that Skip Johnson, the current Sooner head coach was schooled by his former boss and current K-State head coach Pete Hughes.  Ironically, Pete Hughes was fired to make room for Clint Johnson.  Maybe, we need an apology for that move.  In any case, losing three in a row in Manhattan is bad enough, but to blow a four-run lead in the final two innings in the series finale is even worse. 

Can you imagine taking this bunch to the SEC in future years.  As Forest Gump once said, “stupid is as stupid does”. Here’s a thought…let’s allow certain sports (football, softball, and gymnastics) that can be competitive in any league move to the SEC.  Then in a few years, we can take the “not ready for prime-time” teams (men’s basketball and baseball) to make the move over as well…this will allow these coaches and teams to hone their skills.    

Otherwise, we will see even more embarrassing moments like we endured during the most recent men’s basketball season and over this past weekend in Manhattan…

Seriously, I am getting too old for this stuff…

Diamond excellence…

What a great weekend for our Sooners on the diamond.  First the baseballers took two of three from the #11 ranked TCU Horn frogs and then our softballers smoked the competition by going five for five at the Hall of Fame Classic in OKC.  In baseball the Big 12 can be tough league with numerous teams being Omaha material so getting ahead of the game with a series win in conference play is a huge deal.

Our softballers dominated and then some on their side of the bracket taking five in a row in OKC.  To say the Sooners were overwhelming would be an understatement. In five games the Sooners went 38-3 against their opponents.  More importantly, Patty Gasso threw all four pitchers during the weekend.  Those pitchers struck out 51 batters and combined for a team earned average of .072 era in five games.   Unbelievable…

Of course, on the softball side, the Sooners can be expected to host both a regional and super regional prior to the World Series.  In baseball, hosting a regional and/or super regional will be much tougher due to the level of competition in college baseball and the size of L. Dale Mitchell Park.  We can go ahead and book our tickets for OKC, but I would hold off a bit longer for that trip to Omaha. 

In any case, what a great weekend for the Sooners on the diamond…

Boomer Sooner…

Now what…

About the time we think that OU basketball can’t get any worse, it does…the Sooners lost their third game this season to little brother. When was the last time that happened.  How about never…this simply cannot happen again, ever…

Here’s the deal…we are stuck with Porter Moser as our coach for the foreseeable future as pulling the plug on the guy would cost between six and eight million dollars.  We have no choice, but to sit tight and hope that Moser has a Plan B. 

In Porter Moser’s defense, it took him some time to put together a winner at Loyola Chicago, so we must give him time to replicate that move in Norman.  Porter is now aggressively campaigning for a fan-friendly arena for his product.  This guy is pretty sharp as he is using a losing season and the competition to make his case.  He says look around and see what other arenas look like on game day.

As a result, expect the OU Regents to announce plans for a new arena Sooner rather than later.  Someone had to believe in this guy, and they want him to succeed.  Of course, winning in the short term will help his case as well.  Porter must hit the transfer portal circuit hard to bring in a boat load of talent, particularly ready-made big men that can play big boy basketball.  Basketball is not that much different than football…you have to have big guys in the middle to compete. 

Don’t give up the ship just yet…let’s give Porter Moser one more year to get ‘er done.

Boomer Sooner…

Here we go again…

This time last year, I was thinking that I had gotten sucked in once again by believing in the Sooner baseball program.  For some reason, I allowed myself to believe and that belief became a reality with a trip to Omaha.

College baseball is not for everyone as the games can click along at a painfully slow speed with its nine-inning game and various strategies.  In the end, it can be worth the wait. I have always enjoyed watching coaches try to outmaneuver the other guy…after all it’s the thinking man’s game. 

I also enjoy the fact that the competition level of college baseball allows a team to lose games early in the season only to rebound later in the year. The Sooners lost to a California Baptist college and a team (Rider) that sounded more like a moving company than a university, but the Sooners have bounced back. This past weekend the Sooners won 3 of 4 in the Frisco tournament against stout competition. 

Here’s the deal…this team lost a record eleven players to the Major League baseball draft last summer after finishing runner-up in Omaha.  Skip Johnson has used the Omaha trip to reload.  I believe that this guy is the real deal and this team has a chance to be pretty good again this year…another trip to Omaha may be a stretch, but then again so was last year’s trip. 

We’ll check back in June to see how it went…

Boomer Sooner…