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
Western Basketball Stinks
Published: 2/28/2011 6:03 PM
Last Modified: 2/28/2011 6:03 PM

BYU is the toast of ESPN. No matter, it is wildly overrated and couldn't finish in the top four in the Big 12, or in the top 6 of the Big East. Lock down gunner Jiminy Cricket and somebody with athleticism beats BYU 80-60.

Gonzaga is way down.

The Pac Ten is unheard of. UCLA is probably the best. One bracket had UCLA coming to Tulsa.

The quality of the field will determine whether or not this regional site suceeds or becomes a national hooting stock. Bums won't draw here. Get us some players, and we'll turn out in force. KU should sell out 75 percent of the house.

The nasty one-and-done college hoop provision, where guys play video games all year without once going to class, actually helps this NCAA tournament, diluting the field and making most games competititve. Upsets will rule the brackets. Only Duke has a great senior playing now and again.

This reader question: What does a hoop coach in this state have to do to get fired?

Answer: It's impossible to be fired.

Thunder update. The Boston player had better be good. The Thunder is absurdly short. When will Ibaka make a play or two? Potential is for practice. Game up.


Reader Comments 19 Total
Ignatz (last year)
Re getting fired. I can only surmise that whoever once called the shots as far as being a big-time TU donor who cared about basketball and could influence such things has to be dead and no one else really cares. Bubba Joe Bob certainly doesn't.
Big K (last year)
I think the correct answer is: Drugs.

See: Sean Sutton.
D.Wade (last year)
Western Basketball stinks? So does eastern, mid western, southern, it is all cuhrap. But since it will be only show in town for next month, I guess I will tune in...maybe.
Dirk Benedict (last year)
I'm still looking forward to the tourney, too bad the state hoops teams are so bad.
MexiMike (last year)
Stay classy, Big K.
bruinsooner (last year)
BYU is the toast of ESPN? Why? Because they give their score and tell us how many points Jimmer scored? Big East, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 games are on ESPN all the time. BYU was televised nationally for first time I know about last Saturday and it was on CBS.
anm1135 (last year)
I haven't followed NCAA basketball very close this season, but I could tell BYU was the college version of the ESPN Heat. Or are they still called the Miami Heat?
anm1135 (last year)
I think the answer is: cheating.

See: Sampson, Kelvin
wgspost (last year)
What does a hoops coach have to do in the part of the country to get fired? Didn't "Good Time" Eddie Sutton's wrapping an SUV around a telephone poll while doing a Boris Yeltsin imitation earn him a dismissal? Little fuzzy on the actual timing, but the incident certainly led to it. Answer to your question...it takes a felony...conviction.
BobSmith007 (last year)
Drugs? Cheating? Nope. It's outright public humiliation. There's was a lot of drugs and cheating before anyone got fired. Local hacks are enablers.
MexiMike (last year)
Wow, this went downhill fast.
The Picker (last year)
One prospective Tulsa bracket had: Milwaukee and Illinois coming here! Ouch.

Another prospective Tulsa bracket had: UCLA and West Virginia coming here. Sold.

Tubby from Minnie would be a great draw.

Beyond a certain point of civic-pride ticket sales, the draw is going to be everything.

It seems like coach firing has a lot to do with the ADs who hired the characters. It's hard to admit a bad hire. ADs and coaches are package-type deals.

About the tournament tickets: The pecking order seems to be season tickets, who whole tournament tickets, starting at just under $300, then single-session tickets. A single- session ticket would be two games, morning or afternoon. So if you wanted to see Kansas play one game, you could buy the appropriate two-game session. Somebody said those session tickets would go on sale the week of the tournament. And, once a team is bounced, you could score a seat from somebody hitting the road.
The Picker (last year)
Here's something else great about this tournament: ESPN is out! CBS and Turner will combine talent to do all the games FOR MORE THAN A DECADE! No more Dugout Phelps, and his failed crew of know-nothings.

Beyond terrific announcers, Barkley's studio team from Turner will participate. Nance, Kellogg and Kerr will handle the Final Four. Gus Johnson and Len Elmore and Bill Raftery and terrific announcers galore will be on hand.

Talk about a big deal, this is it.

The City of Tulsa needs to go all-out, let's have some free concerts outside, something going on all the time.

No ESPN hacks, sports don't get any better.
justanotherokie (last year)
To get fired mmmm...

What is pass out in your car in the parking lot?

Do I win????
WillyJ (last year)
I can't afford the "all-session" tickets but I will make a point to buy at least one session ticket if they don't sell out.

Why?

One, because I love college hoops and the first two rounds of the NCAA tourney are usually the best two days in sports. . you never know when you might might witness a epic game/upset.

And..

Despite the fact the local teams are pathetic this year, history tells us that in the future at least one or two will get back to tourney worthy status and if we (Tulsa) do a good job with this chance we will get another shot with one of our own in the mix.
dcood (last year)
As usual, great job by the TW reporting on the Thunder: not a word about the fact that they signed Perkins to a 4 year deal...this was a headline on ESPN but doesnt make the 2nd biggest paper in the state where the guy will play??
The Picker (last year)
Dcood, if you already knew about the trade, why would you need to see it repeated?

Just joshing. You will admit we're covering more games. Haisten is all over it, saying the other day that the Boston player had better work out big time or it's hello middle of the pack.

How about this for a new weekly feature: OVERRATED.

This week's OVERRATED candidate: Missouri coach Mike Anderson.

His full-out style of pressing play is fine in your own digs when the home cooking is on the menu. But on the road, that hyper stuff results in way too many fouls. Missour is one of the worst road teams around. Why? Coaching tactics?
dcood (last year)
Man, Big 12 hoops has really gone down the tubes...just 7-8 years ago, it made an argument as the best conference in the country and the Big 12 tourneys were glorious. Does anyone besides KU even know when or where that is this year??
Glenn616 (last year)
Pick, I'll agree with you on the ESPN hacks. Whenever they come on, I'm obligated to mute the TV. I think that BYU gets bounced in the first or second round, especially considering their best post player has been suspended for the rest of the season.

dccod, Texas knew where that was for a while, but have forgotten recently.
19 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.