Oklahoma Sooners
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• Matt Hayes of the Sporting News: "We're pretty sure you don't mind, so we're going to celebrate the holiday a little early with -- what else? -- a little college football. We love it, you love it. And just think: Four weeks until fall camp begins; less than eight weeks until the first upset." • This site provides comprehensive analysis of college football with more data than you care to sift through. The recent study on non-conference schedules produced this on OU: "The Sooners' rankings are varied - they like to play at home against non-BCS teams, but their opponents are usually more challenging than the average. To their credit, they've been adding more BCS teams to their schedule, and in the last five years their opponents' average wins has been just at or well above 6." • The Dallas Morning News: "Longar Longar, Oklahoma's starting center last season, didn't get selected in last week's NBA draft, but he did get picked by the Harlem Globetrotters on Wednesday in the team's second annual player draft." • From Athlon Sports: "Bradford's demeanor and confidence and quest for perfection suggest that a sophomore slump won't be an issue. His biggest struggles as a freshman came on the road, where the Sooners were upset at Colorado and Texas Tech. Needed for more of a leadership role, Bradford will need to show more consistency in his play outside of Norman." • It's that time of the summer when college football preseason magazines fill the shelves. Don't know which to buy? This site has an exhaustive study on the accuracy of each magazine since 1993.
• Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated lists his season-defining games: "While it's no guarantee the two Red River rivals will make it to their Shootout unscathed -- Oklahoma faces early challenges from Cincinnati, Washington and TCU; Texas faces old nemesis Arkansas -- they're still likely to be vying for no less than a Big 12 championship. Between them, the two schools have won five of the past six crowns (though the Sooners claimed all but one of those)." • Bruce Feldman of ESPN ranks Washington's non-conference schedule most-daunting in the nation: "On the bright side, all three opponents have to visit U-Dub. The down side: I predict all three of those teams (BYU, Oklahoma and Notre Dame) will be ranked and two of the three (OU and BYU) will be top-15 teams this year." • The OU Athletics Department launched a new portal for OU students at SoonerSports.com. The yOUr Sooners section will highlight coverage of Sooner athletics from a student perspective in addition to providing specific campus promotions and ticket information.
• Jimmie Tramel of the Tulsa World on Uwe von Schamann: "Why is that game any different than any of the other million games decided by a late field goal? Because von Schamann did something before the kick that seemed just plain crazy." • Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World: "The date of the Oklahoma-Tulsa basketball game has been moved back one day to Dec. 7. The 3 p.m. nonconference contest will be played on a Sunday, and will be the first college basketball game played in the new 18,000-seat BOK Center." Check out the progress on Tulsa's BOK center here. • Watch Sooner football beat writer Jake Trotter, Big 12 insider John Helsley, sports editor Mike Sherman and the Oklahoman staff discuss OU, Big 12 and college football in their football preview show. • SoonerSports.com continues its Greatest Wins of the 2000s countdown with the 2004 OU-Texas game coming in at No. 8. Check out the latest photos and video of the new scoreboard going in at Owen Field here. Finally, watch the Blake Griffin "Back for More" video first released in the Boomerblast. • Just a note to remember that the Sooner Nation is everywhere. From the Arizona Republic: "So of course this was the perfect place to take my refined 80-something parents, visiting from Norman, Okla., home of the University of Oklahoma Sooners. I mention the latter only because as we walked up to the front door, we were greeted by a huge OU sign. Their faces lit up. Maybe they'd give this place a chance."
• Chad Ford of ESPN ranks Oklahoma sophomore Blake Griffin as the No. 1 prospect in the 2009 NBA Draft: "Griffin has the size, strength and athleticism that NBA teams covet in power players." Scott Wright of the Oklahoman: "This season's schedule is looking like it will be challenging for the team and entertaining for the fans. With the eventual relocation of the NBA's SuperSonics to Oklahoma City, such scheduling practices should be continued in Norman." • Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World: "It is a phenomenon unique to college football. Three coaches with three distinct backgrounds winning national championships, not to mention more than 80 percent of their games, for the same program in three different eras, while making their mark at that program and only that program." • John Helsley of the Oklahoman: "The Sooners look to DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, and there's highly touted youngsters on the rise. No league team is deeper with perceived talent. Still, Murray's battled injury issues and Brown seems best suited for a complimentary role." • Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World: "Adrian Peterson carried a football on the Oklahoma campus again Friday. He tucked it in his arm, crouched and juked with a sudden stutter-step to avoid a swarm of pursuers just like he did so many Saturdays at Owen Field from 2004-06." • Ryan Aber of the Oklahoman and a Q&A with Tress Way: "It's tough but I love it because I wake up every day a Sooner. I've truly been blessed to be able to be a part of this football team and in the spot I'm in." • Michael Felder of the Bleacher Report: "In the run game, Gresham is a surprisingly aggressive blocker who is capable of stoning defensive ends, washing down defensive tackles, and engaging linebackers and defensive backs in space. He shows a propensity for blocking down field on long gains, something lacking in a large number of college and professional players." • Dave Matter of the Columbia (Mo.) Tribune: "One of these days, a college team is going to make Stoops' top assistant its head coach because all he does is produce All-America linebackers, from Torrance Marshal to Curtis Lofton, and perennially put out one of the nation's elite defenses. Until the right offer comes around - he was most recently a candidate for the Arkansas job - Venables can afford to wait." • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: "Anyway, when we talk about predicting the Big 12 South, we're really talking about second place. First place again appears decided before the first kickoff. Until Bob Stoops leaves, it's going to be that way. His Sooners are going to win for the seventh time in the last nine years and almost certainly will win their sixth conference championship and play in another BCS game."
• Mike Jeffries of the Oklahoman: "When Adrian Peterson tells you to be tough, you better do it. The boy stood up, dusted the grass from his shorts and jogged to the field." • John Shinn of the Norman Transcript: "It will be whirlwind month for Horton. The former Sooner will train in Norman before a 10-day session at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs July 13. The team will depart for Beijing July 29." • Latest on YouTube: Watch highlights of Billy Sims and a compilation of highlights of the Sooners from the 1980s. OU's YouTube channel features original content plus a selection of our favorite videos submitted by Sooner fans. • There are still a few days for you to enter to win a couple of game-used OU helmets from the 1980s. If you already receive the Boomerblast, the weekly newsletter on OU Athletics, simply click "Send to a Friend" and sign up another Sooner fan. If you aren't already a subscriber, sign up between now and July 1 to be entered into the drawing. • Finally, did you know that volleyball senior Lacy Barnes enjoys boat rides, football junior Brian Simmons laughs at teammate Trent Williams, soccer junior Ashley Farrand might be working on a craft project at this very moment and strength coach Rodney Rideau dodges poles? Now you do.
• Scott Wright of the Oklahoman: "Boren praised Castiglione for his work over the past decade and said OU is among only six universities nationally that have self-sustaining athletic programs that don't rely on public funding. Some athletic revenue even gets used academically for the OU library." • Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World: "The faith that the University of Oklahoma showed men's basketball coach Jeff Capel at the end of the 2007-08 season came to fruition Wednesday when the OU Board of Regents officially made him a millionaire," and Dave Sittler of the World: "If the draft was based solely on heart and toughness, Capel figures Longar would be a lottery pick." • Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated: "For instance, while I thought LSU was plenty deserving of both its preseason and end-of-regular-season No. 2 rankings, there's no doubt in my mind that had the roles been reversed and Oklahoma had started the year No. 2 instead of No. 8, and LSU vice versa, the 11-2 Sooners would have played in the BCS title game instead of the 11-2 Tigers." • Mike Jeffries of the Oklahoman: "Sure, he knew that Adrian Peterson was good -- really good. He watched him run through tackles in training camp and heard about all the big things he did at Oklahoma. But this was ridiculous." • Mark Schlabach of ESPN: "Oklahoma's players are reminded of their 48-28 loss to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl each time they walk into the school's football complex. A banner displays a quote from Mountaineers quarterback Patrick White, who said his team "wanted it more." • Dontay Allen of the Oklahoman: "A trip to the U.S. Olympic Trials might be in the distant future, but University of Oklahoma runner Kevin Schwab is so close to being one of the best young runners in the world." • The Bleacher Report: "Bosworth almost transcended football itself and made his play and antics more sports entertainment than anything else. But despite his colorful off-the-field actions, his talent on the field could not be denied."
• Bruce Campbell of the Enid News and Eagle: "Wilkinson developed OU's recruiting base in Texas getting All-Americans Jim Weatherall, J.D. Roberts, Ed Gray, Jerry Tubbs, Bob Harrison and Jim Grisham to come north to play for the Sooners. Not to mention Jimmy Harris, who was undefeated as the Sooners' starting quarterback..." • Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World: "Jonathan Horton's dream came true Saturday when he became the first Oklahoma gymnast since Bart Conner in 1984 to make the U.S. Olympic team." Jim Meyers of the World: "As he ran down the achievements of individual teams, Bush noted the OU team upset the top seed to win its fifth national title in the past seven years." • Mark Schlabach of ESPN: "The Sooners are capable of winning it all in 2008 -- if they can win a bowl game. Quarterback Sam Bradford returns as a Heisman Trophy contender, and OU's offensive and defensive lines are as good as any units in the country." • From the Norman Transcript: "A long time ago it looked like Longar Longar might have a future at Lloyd Noble Center as a defensive specialist. But when new coach Jeff Capel lost the majority of what was supposed to be Kelvin Sampson's recruiting class prior to the 2006-07 season, Longar was forced into action." |
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