Second-rate Sooners?
Published: 6/10/2007 1:13 PM
Last Modified: 6/10/2007 1:13 PM
Mad props to Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News, who served up a mountain of mind candy in a recent Big 12 column. Take a few bites...
• For as much as Oklahoma fans brag on Bob Stoops' mastery of Texas, the Longhorns own the best records, overall and in conference, in the 11-year history of the Big 12. In fact, the Sooners are tied for second in league victories with Nebraska (both Big Reds own 62, compared to Texas' 68).
Right about now, it helps to remember that Stoops started a lap behind in the league race thanks to John Blake.
Anyway, a scroll down the list finds Oklahoma State in ninth place with 34 conference wins. Only Iowa State, Kansas and Baylor have fared worse, which helps to understand T. Boone Pickens' ongoing power play to bring his program up to snuff.
• Baylor and Notre Dame may play in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2012. Which means the West End could finally be flooded with a more arrogant fan base than the Orangebloods.
• Speaking of Texas' superiority complex, check out Griffin's jab to Mack Brown's chin: "It's refreshing to see Colorado willing to step up in a four-season home-and-home contract agreement with Hawaii ... a marked contrast from UT, which backed away from a game against Hawaii several seasons ago when June Jones started turning his program around."
• Griffin was a bit warmer to the topic of the 2007 Big 12 basketball tournament in Oklahoma City, calling it "the most memorable and best run of any championship the conference has staged."
• Tulsa, Dallas and Omaha lost their recent bids to host near-future Big 12 basketball tourneys because the only women's venues they could propose were home courts of local college teams. Big 12 coaches balked at on-campus sites like the Reynolds Center and SMU's Moody Coliseum.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
