READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Spinning With the Sooners in Tornado Alley
Published: 7/12/2007 12:46 PM
Last Modified: 7/12/2007 12:46 PM

It's appropriate that so much spinning takes place in the home of the twisters, isn't it.

About OU:

Could have been worse?

Yeah, it could have been worse. They could have done away with the program.

Slap on the wrist?

Yeah, with a rattlesnake fang.

For those who give a hoot, here is the reality of the situation:

Stoops hired somebody who let him down. If you were paid a nice salary to see if the quarterback was working, I bet you could manage to accomplish the task.

Stoops recruited some guys who let him down.

The story was embarrassing nationally -- huge headline
in USA Today, etc.

It is a negative recruiter's treasure trove: Listen, Mom and Dad and the best quarterback in Texas, do you want your son to go to a place that is one mistake away from being off television?

End of the world? Nah.

But it's not nothing, either.



Reader Comments 13 Total
WG (6 years ago)
I agree...basically with your comment. The recruiting angle is powerful stuff and when used by a guy like Shoeless Mack Brown - who doesn't need any help from Stoops to recruit in the first place - it could prove devastating. But the more important point is that somebody Stoops hired let him down. Ditto, many times over. And not just with the NCAA infractions. The thought here is that Stoops is loyal to a fault...Venables has been kept aboard long past his nap time because of his long association with the Stoops brothers ranging back to Manhattan, Ks. And Chuck Long...Iowa pal...and deadly ineffective in the offensive coordinators position. Uncle Bob needs to get jiggy with the coaching staff and shake 'em up a bit. Bottom line...incompetence should be rewarded with a one-way bus ticket to Ames. If he fails to do so, his position could be either in jeopardy in a few years if the team continues to fail, or eliminated altogether if the NCAA catches another flaw and send Stoops et al to the gas chamber.
worldpicker (6 years ago)
The reality is about halfway between what the national media and in-state cheerleaders say.



Simply can't understand why it's so hard for a fan to say: This is unpleasant.
WG (6 years ago)
What? When you taste salt to you have to always say 'this is salty?' Of course it's unpleasant...and it could have been totally avoided.
Chris (6 years ago)
Yes...it's news for USA Today...which is read by half of the hotel visitors in this country, if Gannett is lucky! My guess is most people think nothing of this story. It's not slight against OU from a national sense. I think locals make much ado about it then anyone else.


It vacates a bit of the past. Well, guess what...it's in the past! OU still got the revenue from those wins. And eight wins don't really amount to a hill of beans in terms of all-time records. Had major future restrictions (and I don't think anyone considers two scholarships lost major restrictions) happened, it might be news. But this is nothing.


And I say this not as an OU fan at all, but a TU and LSU fan no longer living in Oklahoma.

TAB (6 years ago)
An idea to make local sports radio (including the OKC Sports Hyena) much more interesting: borrow an idea from European leagues and kick out the worst of the lot on each show and find a replacement. They could do it once a year. Let the fans vote. It would be hilarious to listen to Blevins, Esback, and Traber stab each other in the back. Haxton would move away from Tulsa, knowing where he sits. They could replace the entire OKC early morning show with a group of mimes and produce infinitely more entertainment.
Steven (6 years ago)
I am a huge fan and to say this is unpleasant is understatement. I hate that the rest of the country thinks the "cheating boomers and cheating sooners" prior to statehood are no different in the modern era. It is a blackeye on the football program (and others) and the university. Objectively, with that many kids working there...someone should probably be looking over these teenagers' shoulders and making sure their math adds up (they are football players right?)...


I do see OU's perspective in this though. If you have wanton and willful conduct...it is pretty difficult, regardless of what precautions or monitoring takes place, to insulate a program from bad actions when the bad actors' are set on doing wrong.


To that end...I am mixed as to whether the appeal is a good idea. One would rather the country not be handed headlines again in 6 months about "OU CHEATING DENOUNCED AGAIN BY NCAA IN FAILED APPEAL."


Oddly enough, the recruiting taking place by Bob and staff for the 2008 class (admittedly only verbal commits to this point and not signed) has the potential, if it isnt already, to be the most talented bunch to come to Norman under his tenure. I say oddly because other coaches and programs havent waited until today to use these sanctions and probation issues against OU.

TAB (6 years ago)
OU's problem may have something to do with recruiting too many primadonna type players like Bomar. That '05 team stunk (TCU loss=stink)in large part because they recruited so many guys who had been told they were football royalty most of their life. That team had an abnormal number of guys leave or get run out of town. Stoops slightly changed his recruiting methods after that, going after more local guys -- at least that's what he publicly stated the plan was.

It seems like the early Stoops success, at least at the QB position, had a lot to do with getting guys who were more focused on the team's agenda. Heupel in particular was a guy who wasn't going to blow his opportunity, unlike Brent Rawls, Tommy Grady, and Bomar. That, and they had a great staff when Stoops first got there.

I'm sure recruiters will attempt to use this against OU and I'm OU will develop a load of BS to try and minimize this. "It's on appeal." Hey, at least Stoops probably won't go anywhere for a couple of years.

Bill (6 years ago)
Let any non-BCS school get caught doing this crap and they'd land on them like a ton of bricks to make the point that the NCAA is "serious about infractions of this magnitude!"

This cost the Sooners exactly nothing. It's business as usual in Norman.

This is the first time in recently recorded history that I think the Picker is all wet.
WG (6 years ago)
TAB makes a valid point about the primadonnas. You'd think the Sooners would have learned their lesson in the eighties when Switzer went after brawn and speed rather than character and it cost him his job in the end. Ditto with Bomar, et al. No one north of the Red River likes the "vacation of wins" (what an idiotic expression) but perhaps...just perhaps...it'll make an impression on Stoops forcing him to install competent human beings in positions to monitor these kids' income (which isn't rocket science, it just requires some coordination and, as stated, basic oversight). For Stoops to lose the wins off of his personal record which will drop his overall winning percentage as a coach will hurt far more than any imaginary forfeiture of games which won't be reflected in record books except possible with an asterisk, anyway.
WG (6 years ago)
Bill...this is the first time you've disagreed with the Picker. I'm stifling my laughter....
worldpicker (6 years ago)
The truth of it is that there should be nothing easier than determining if somebody is working, particularly the most important player on your team!



Here's the way it's done:



1. Get in car.



2. Start car.



3. Go to job.



4. Look around.



Has anybody noticed how our ideas frequently wind up elsewhere about a week later?



Such as the fact that a major at Southern Hills is the number one sports attraction in Oklahoma? Oh well, glad to help, even without a thank you.



Coming soon: Why the Big 12 is so overrated (and lousy overall?) at football.
worldpicker (6 years ago)
Since checking in here, Bill's social life has undoubtedly improved markedly.
WG (6 years ago)
You want a 'thank you', Picker?
Thank you.
13 comments displayed


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


Out Pick The Picker

The Picker began entertaining – and infuriating – sports fans in 1993. Each week during football season, he writes about his picks of college and NFL games in his Thursday Sports column. He's never afraid of sharing his opinions about the game and the personalities who play it. Readers have a chance to go against him each season in the Outpick the Picker contest. He welcomes the competition.

Follow The Picker on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog


Archive

Past Articles By The Picker

1/31/2013
      The Picker: Super Bowl merely a distraction from OU woes
 
The Picker's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.