http://www.sportsultra.com Berry Tramel - Blog at The Oklahoman at SportsUltra.com en-us Sat Jul 04 08:10:30 PDT 2009 Sat Jul 04 08:10:30 PDT 2009 news@sportsultra.com 5 http://www.sportsultra.com/images/sports/logo.gif http://www.sportsultra.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/AHL-no-hockey-upgrade-for-OKC-in-term-of-cities/9597cdad-4e1a-4b6c-b460-7eb5dedddd1d/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">The Oklahoma City Blazers have suspended operations and say they won&#8217;t field a franchise in the Central Hockey League next season, with an eye towards getting an American Hockey League franchise for 2010-11. Sounds fishy to me, how the AHL will be financially feasible if you can&#8217;t make a <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/AHL-no-hockey-upgrade-for-OKC-in-term-of-cities/9597cdad-4e1a-4b6c-b460-7eb5dedddd1d/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/AHL-no-hockey-upgrade-for-OKC-in-term-of-cities/9597cdad-4e1a-4b6c-b460-7eb5dedddd1d/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Fri Jul 03 09:23:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/AHL-no-hockey-upgrade-for-OKC-in-term-of-cities/9597cdad-4e1a-4b6c-b460-7eb5dedddd1d/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/The-better-sire--Richard-Williams-or-Earl-Woods-/f2ed3f93-fd91-4d50-bc6d-721a332de66e/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">Richard Williams and Earl Woods&Acirc; are two of the most interesting people on the American sports scene in the&Acirc; last half century, though neither played sports&Acirc; at a high professional level. Both black men raised children in country-club&Acirc; sports but outside the country-club envi <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/The-better-sire--Richard-Williams-or-Earl-Woods-/f2ed3f93-fd91-4d50-bc6d-721a332de66e/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/The-better-sire--Richard-Williams-or-Earl-Woods-/f2ed3f93-fd91-4d50-bc6d-721a332de66e/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Thu Jul 02 06:40:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/The-better-sire--Richard-Williams-or-Earl-Woods-/f2ed3f93-fd91-4d50-bc6d-721a332de66e/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Gortat---Powe-intriguing-free-agents-for-Thunder/91bccde2-5426-4e86-9b35-55abc47f3e33/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">The NBA&#8217;s free agency signing period has begun, and I don&#8217;t expect Oklahoma City to be in the market for big-name players. Some of the names mentioned don&#8217;t fit. Chicago sharpshooter Ben Gordon doesn&#8217;t fit at all, culturally or financially. He would cost too much and require <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Gortat---Powe-intriguing-free-agents-for-Thunder/91bccde2-5426-4e86-9b35-55abc47f3e33/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Gortat---Powe-intriguing-free-agents-for-Thunder/91bccde2-5426-4e86-9b35-55abc47f3e33/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Wed Jul 01 05:47:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Gortat---Powe-intriguing-free-agents-for-Thunder/91bccde2-5426-4e86-9b35-55abc47f3e33/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Maravich-s-record-the-greatest/3154d28e-749f-40b8-b394-0d83ed652c84/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">A couple of weeks ago, I filled in for a two-hour radio shift on the Sports Animal radio. I decided to put democracy in action. We voted on the greatest record in sports. Not necessarily the most unbreakable record, which definitely is a part of it, but the greatest. I used a New York Times article <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Maravich-s-record-the-greatest/3154d28e-749f-40b8-b394-0d83ed652c84/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Maravich-s-record-the-greatest/3154d28e-749f-40b8-b394-0d83ed652c84/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Tue Jun 30 05:49:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Maravich-s-record-the-greatest/3154d28e-749f-40b8-b394-0d83ed652c84/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Tebow-the-favorite--Naturally/4aab937b-4536-4439-ac76-928838f4e00d/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">Florida quarterback Tim Tebow seems to be the Heisman Trophy favorite in what shapes up to be the most-competitive race ever, with two Heisman winners among the contenders. And it&#8217;s only natural that Tebow is the favorite over OU&#8217;s Sam Bradford. Tebow&#8217;s team won the ballgame. When <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Tebow-the-favorite--Naturally/4aab937b-4536-4439-ac76-928838f4e00d/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Tebow-the-favorite--Naturally/4aab937b-4536-4439-ac76-928838f4e00d/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Mon Jun 29 06:08:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Tebow-the-favorite--Naturally/4aab937b-4536-4439-ac76-928838f4e00d/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Emails-in-on-NBA-Draft---wishbone/f363558f-0579-44df-9740-176a368b2777/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">The new emails are in, and lots of talk about the NBA Draft, plus some discussion about the late, great wishbone. Lew: &#8220;In my opinion, the Thunder did well in the draft. They need a center most, and a shooting guard second. Trading for, or acquiring, Blake Griffin would not fill either require <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Emails-in-on-NBA-Draft---wishbone/f363558f-0579-44df-9740-176a368b2777/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Emails-in-on-NBA-Draft---wishbone/f363558f-0579-44df-9740-176a368b2777/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Sat Jun 27 19:45:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Emails-in-on-NBA-Draft---wishbone/f363558f-0579-44df-9740-176a368b2777/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Bedlam-basketball-debate/5b0b6a00-1a3d-44ab-ad66-fb2daf10ee73/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">I got an interesting email this week from OU fan named Geoff. I thought it was very interesting, so I&#8217;m posting it separate from my usual email bag, which will come later. &#8220;I am going to submit to you what I think is one of the biggest misconceptions in the Oklahoma sports world. It is t <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Bedlam-basketball-debate/5b0b6a00-1a3d-44ab-ad66-fb2daf10ee73/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Bedlam-basketball-debate/5b0b6a00-1a3d-44ab-ad66-fb2daf10ee73/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Sat Jun 27 08:29:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Bedlam-basketball-debate/5b0b6a00-1a3d-44ab-ad66-fb2daf10ee73/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/25-years-later--David-Overstreet-remembered/2b787ac2-b202-4d75-a52f-06f149f17105/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">Twenty-five years ago today, June 25, 1984, David Overstreet died. Drank, then drove and crashed his Mercedes into a gas pumps in a small East Texas town, creating an explosion that took the life of the Miami Dolphin halfback. Ethan Skolnick of the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel wrote an excell <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/25-years-later--David-Overstreet-remembered/2b787ac2-b202-4d75-a52f-06f149f17105/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/25-years-later--David-Overstreet-remembered/2b787ac2-b202-4d75-a52f-06f149f17105/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Thu Jun 25 12:50:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/25-years-later--David-Overstreet-remembered/2b787ac2-b202-4d75-a52f-06f149f17105/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Ideal-Thunder-draft--Thabeet---DeRozan/a4b2d553-ae3f-4adc-b95d-55e300e78bab/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">The headline to this blog is misleading. The ideal draft is a trade with the Clippers for Blake Griffin, but let&#8217;s assume that longshot won&#8217;t happen. Then what? How about another longshot? This one more likely, courtesy of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves traded with Washington o <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Ideal-Thunder-draft--Thabeet---DeRozan/a4b2d553-ae3f-4adc-b95d-55e300e78bab/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Ideal-Thunder-draft--Thabeet---DeRozan/a4b2d553-ae3f-4adc-b95d-55e300e78bab/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Wed Jun 24 20:41:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Ideal-Thunder-draft--Thabeet---DeRozan/a4b2d553-ae3f-4adc-b95d-55e300e78bab/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Most-coaches-will-avoid-reality-TV/228f22ec-663a-4462-83d2-d43fe41c69d6/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">Remember EDtv? It was a 1999 movie directed by Ron Howard and&Acirc; starring Matthew McConaughey in which a guy agrees to let his life be filmed 24/7 for a reality television show. Seemed like a good idea, but of course it becomes a mess, because loss of privacy will derail a life. Anyway, I though <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Most-coaches-will-avoid-reality-TV/228f22ec-663a-4462-83d2-d43fe41c69d6/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Most-coaches-will-avoid-reality-TV/228f22ec-663a-4462-83d2-d43fe41c69d6/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Wed Jun 24 05:51:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Most-coaches-will-avoid-reality-TV/228f22ec-663a-4462-83d2-d43fe41c69d6/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Who-will-Thunder-take--Not-even-Bennett-knows/8de2d9ec-7e90-4fe3-b837-2c5435ffa9cd/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">I chatted with Thunder chairman Clay Bennett on Monday. And yes, I asked him the big question. Who will the Thunder draft Thursday? Bennett said he doesn&#8217;t know. And he did say he knew last year that Russell Westbrook would be the choice. No one figured Westbrook would go early in 2008, so gen <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Who-will-Thunder-take--Not-even-Bennett-knows/8de2d9ec-7e90-4fe3-b837-2c5435ffa9cd/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Who-will-Thunder-take--Not-even-Bennett-knows/8de2d9ec-7e90-4fe3-b837-2c5435ffa9cd/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Tue Jun 23 05:45:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Who-will-Thunder-take--Not-even-Bennett-knows/8de2d9ec-7e90-4fe3-b837-2c5435ffa9cd/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Something-ails-the-U-S--Open/1fdf4893-c061-41c9-b290-10b00c4cb222/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">The U.S. Open is my favorite golf tournament, and Father&#8217;s Day annually is one of my favorite sports days of the year. The final round always seems to be filled with drama. But something is wrong with the Open, and I&#8217;m not talking about the rain, which has stretched out this Open like th <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Something-ails-the-U-S--Open/1fdf4893-c061-41c9-b290-10b00c4cb222/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Something-ails-the-U-S--Open/1fdf4893-c061-41c9-b290-10b00c4cb222/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Mon Jun 22 06:09:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Something-ails-the-U-S--Open/1fdf4893-c061-41c9-b290-10b00c4cb222/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Mike-Berger--a-practical-joke-remembered/2e433278-92c2-4a1c-ad42-26ed524c7d39/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">Earlier this month, the Arizona Diamondbacks hired Mike Berger to replace A.J. Hinch as the organization&#8217;s director of player development. Berger was a scout for Toronto the last four seasons and has worked for Montreal, Houston, Colorado and Texas. Oklahoma City baseball fans will remember Be <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Mike-Berger--a-practical-joke-remembered/2e433278-92c2-4a1c-ad42-26ed524c7d39/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Mike-Berger--a-practical-joke-remembered/2e433278-92c2-4a1c-ad42-26ed524c7d39/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Sun Jun 21 19:57:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Mike-Berger--a-practical-joke-remembered/2e433278-92c2-4a1c-ad42-26ed524c7d39/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Emails-in-on-Maravich---Bradford/599ff50d-84d4-4f60-9541-b672095cb6e1/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">The new emails are in, and it&#8217;s a light week, since I&#8217;ve been on vacation and haven&#8217;t written a column since last Monday. But some interesting stuff came in anyway. Eddie wrote about my radio bit in which a variety of votes and nominations settled on Pete Maravich&#8217;s 44.2 coll <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Emails-in-on-Maravich---Bradford/599ff50d-84d4-4f60-9541-b672095cb6e1/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Emails-in-on-Maravich---Bradford/599ff50d-84d4-4f60-9541-b672095cb6e1/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Sat Jun 20 15:27:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Emails-in-on-Maravich---Bradford/599ff50d-84d4-4f60-9541-b672095cb6e1/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Would-wishbone-have-survived-with-Switzer-/b809fc24-4c2c-4889-9dcf-d9a53fa871be/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">OU fired Barry Switzer 20 years ago today, and we could stage a rousing debate over whether the Sooners are better off or worse for wear over that decision. Here&#8217;s an even better debate: Did the departure of Switzer spell the doom of the wishbone in big-time college football? Few teams have ru <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Would-wishbone-have-survived-with-Switzer-/b809fc24-4c2c-4889-9dcf-d9a53fa871be/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Would-wishbone-have-survived-with-Switzer-/b809fc24-4c2c-4889-9dcf-d9a53fa871be/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Fri Jun 19 07:24:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Would-wishbone-have-survived-with-Switzer-/b809fc24-4c2c-4889-9dcf-d9a53fa871be/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Tiger-s-competition-vs--Jack-s-competition/ac669091-ff28-41de-b9a5-cde60785041c/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">The U.S. Open starts today &#8212; it&#8217;s already started; Tiger Woods is even through four holes as I type this &#8212; and a major always is a good time to renew the Tiger vs. Jack Nicklaus debate. Nicklaus had 18 major titles; Tiger has 14 and counting, at the age of 33. A common belief is th <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Tiger-s-competition-vs--Jack-s-competition/ac669091-ff28-41de-b9a5-cde60785041c/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Tiger-s-competition-vs--Jack-s-competition/ac669091-ff28-41de-b9a5-cde60785041c/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Thu Jun 18 06:48:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Tiger-s-competition-vs--Jack-s-competition/ac669091-ff28-41de-b9a5-cde60785041c/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Salute-to-college-baseball-s-mid-majors/336e06c4-2257-44ac-8ecf-7fc9c3b383da/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">The College World Series has become one of the most fun events in NCAA sports, because of who has been winning it. The last six years, the champions have been Cal State-Fullerton, Rice, Texas, Oregon State twice in a row and Fresno State. That&#8217;s three mid-major champs out of six years, plus a <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Salute-to-college-baseball-s-mid-majors/336e06c4-2257-44ac-8ecf-7fc9c3b383da/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Salute-to-college-baseball-s-mid-majors/336e06c4-2257-44ac-8ecf-7fc9c3b383da/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Tue Jun 16 19:15:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Salute-to-college-baseball-s-mid-majors/336e06c4-2257-44ac-8ecf-7fc9c3b383da/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Nine-days-and-counting-to-the-NBA-draft/e99a6c6b-6176-42eb-b53c-b849fd203187/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">This is the most anticipated NBA draft in Oklahoma history, for two reasons: 1. For the first time, a permanent Oklahoma team will take part in the draft; and 2. For the first time, an Oklahoman will be the No. 1 pick. We have been following all the draft talk extensively, and I&#8217;m about draft- <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Nine-days-and-counting-to-the-NBA-draft/e99a6c6b-6176-42eb-b53c-b849fd203187/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Nine-days-and-counting-to-the-NBA-draft/e99a6c6b-6176-42eb-b53c-b849fd203187/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Tue Jun 16 19:09:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Nine-days-and-counting-to-the-NBA-draft/e99a6c6b-6176-42eb-b53c-b849fd203187/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/NBA-Finals-not-living-up-to-standard/0322bd7e-ee04-4678-80a2-06904d6c688d/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">Another NBA Finals is history, and here are my thoughts: 1. The Finals, as an event,&Acirc; has an identity problem. The Finals are too much about the individual. It&#8217;s always, can Kobe win without Shaq. Or can Kevin Garnett get the ring. It&#8217;s never&Acirc; focused on the team or franchise <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/NBA-Finals-not-living-up-to-standard/0322bd7e-ee04-4678-80a2-06904d6c688d/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/NBA-Finals-not-living-up-to-standard/0322bd7e-ee04-4678-80a2-06904d6c688d/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Mon Jun 15 10:14:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/NBA-Finals-not-living-up-to-standard/0322bd7e-ee04-4678-80a2-06904d6c688d/ blog.newsok.com http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Vacation-comes--but-check-the-blog/3ef1fb45-ffe2-45b7-8e3b-819288b92d53/?redir=1 <table width="100%"><tr><td style="color:#7c7c7c">I went on vacation about 3 p.m. Sunday. Finished up a column on Sam Bradford that will run in the morning, and after that, I&#8217;m not scheduled to appear in The Oklahoman until June 24. This is one of those do-nothing vacations. I&#8217;m not going anywhere this week. Just get caught up on some t <b><a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Vacation-comes--but-check-the-blog/3ef1fb45-ffe2-45b7-8e3b-819288b92d53/">Read More &raquo;</a></b><br />Also See: <a href="http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Vacation-comes--but-check-the-blog/3ef1fb45-ffe2-45b7-8e3b-819288b92d53/#related">Discussions + Related Articles &raquo;</a><br /><br /></td></tr></table> Sun Jun 14 13:28:00 PDT 2009 http://www.sportsultra.com/article/Vacation-comes--but-check-the-blog/3ef1fb45-ffe2-45b7-8e3b-819288b92d53/ blog.newsok.com