Tulsa World: Heisman needs political analysts

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Heisman needs political analysts

By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist
Published: 12/12/2008 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 12/12/2008 2:28 AM

Where are Chuck Todd and John King when we really need them?

If you watched any television coverage during the recent presidential election and two years of primaries leading up to it, you should be familiar with either Todd (NBC) or King (CNN) or both.

Todd has the rare ability to break down mountains of facts, figures and charts gathered from various polls and surveys in a way so interesting and educational that it even makes sense to politically challenged sportswriters.

King can make John Madden look like a novice when it comes to operating a telestrator. While Madden's skill is limited to drawing some X's and O's with the device (and shouting Wham! Bam!) during an NFL telecast, King wields the pen across the screen with the magical wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The latest electronic toy King used the last several months of the marathon campaigns was a touch map of the United States. With the touch of a finger, he could take us along with him as he zoomed in on states, cities, towns and areas relevant to the facts his network's reporters had gathered.

Politics may be the second religion in a lot of states. But not in Oklahoma, where we care more about a punter's hang time than hanging chads on a ballot.

Faith, family and football are the favorite F-words around these parts. And, for a lot of Sooners right now, not necessarily in that order.

Oh, church will faithfully be attended with family this Sunday. But for many Oklahomans, the religion of football will be seriously practiced over the next two days.

That's especially true for University of Oklahoma fans. They are nervously counting down the hours until the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner is announced at 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

True football fanatics follow the Heisman voting every season. But the interest skyrockets when a player from one of the state's three Division I-A teams is involved in the race for the college game's most prestigious individual honor.

OU supporters learned Wednesday that Sooner sophomore Sam Bradford was one of three quarterbacks who are Heisman finalists. Bradford will be joined in New York City on Saturday by Texas' Colt McCoy and Florida's Tim Tebow, who won the 2007 Heisman.

Most everyone knew for several weeks that Bradford was a lock to make it this far on the Heisman campaign trail. But now that the field has narrowed, the white-knuckled worrying and waiting has kicked into high gear.

That's why we could really use the talents of Todd and King about now.

We have been bombarded with polls and surveys from various media organizations and Web sites attempting to predict the winner before the votes are tabulated and released at Saturday's 74th Heisman announcement.

Todd might consider politics child's play once he attempts to analyze the data collected from those voters who defied the Heisman committee members' request to keep their selections secret until the winner is revealed.

King's telestrator and touch map could prove extremely helpful in this particular Heisman election because of where the three finalists attend college.

King could touch that map and point out that there are 145 media members in six regions with Heisman ballots.

The six regions include Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, Southwest and Far West.

The CNN reporter could use the telestrator to draw a huge question mark over the Midwest and Southwest regions. With Bradford and McCoy both coming from that part of the country, it's almost a certainty they will split the vote in those two areas.

But will one of the two surprise us and gain an edge in the Midwest and Southwest that is significant enough to put him over the top?

Tebow is a lock to carry the South region by a landslide.

He should also fare well in Mid-Atlantic states, where the Gators are often seen on television and sometimes play.

Bradford and McCoy could spoil each other's chances of winning, much like the 2004 Heisman election results. Two OU teammates, running back Adrian Peterson (997 points) and quarterback Jason White (957), split the vote in the Midwest and Southwest, which allowed Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart to win with 1,325 points.

Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell is another potential problem for Bradford and McCoy. Even though Harrell wasn't invited to the Heisman ceremonies, he is guaranteed to receive solid support throughout the Midwest and Southwest after a strong senior season with the Red Raiders.

A three-way split in the Midwest and Southwest means Bradford and McCoy must definitely finish ahead of Tebow in the Northeast and Far West to have any shot at stopping his bid to join Ohio State running back Archie Griffin as the only two-time Heisman winners.

Tebow captured the 2007 election by carrying five of the six regions and winning by 954 points. He finished second in the Southwest voting behind Arkansas running back Darren McFadden by only 25 points.

So, will Northeast and Far West voters come through for Tebow in a big way like last season?

Or will they switch teams and throw their support behind either Bradford or McCoy? And is that enough support?

I repeat: Where the heck are Todd and King when we really need them? By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist

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