All quiet on the Sooner front
Published: 8/27/2007 9:43 AM
Last Modified: 8/27/2007 9:43 AM
Here we are, game week, and the Oklahoma Sooners are sailing along nice and easy.
They have a starting quarterback, unlike other storied programs (Notre Dame). They have just one nagging injury, and Allen Patrick's tender ankle might actually help force the ball to freshman dynamo DeMarco Murray. Coaches are gleeful about the toughness and attitude the players showed during August camp. ESPN commentators are picking them for the BCS championship game.
And, above all, they finally seem out to have come through the Big Red/Bomar muck.
This time last year, the Sooners were still trying to gather themselves post-storm. Now, the gumshoes have left town, the NCAA has passed judgment, OU hasn't suffered any, and the only thing keeping the story alive is an appeal which no one talks about anymore.
Yahoo! Sports, the outfit that sniffed around Southern California and uncovered the Reggie Bush controversy, sent columnist Dan Wetzel to Norman a couple weeks ago. Not much damage there -- Wetzel's piece was entitled "Oklahoma's swift justice."
He wrote: "(OU's) investigation stands in stark contrast with the way many schools deal with potential NCAA trouble. For years schools have ignored, denied and covered up original charges and then resisted when NCAA investigators tried to do their job."
Consider it the latest gust of wind in the Sooners' sails as opening night approaches.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
