Late Grambling great was tempted to play OU

By Berry Tramel

Published: April 12, 2007

Eddie Robinson brought his Grambling Tigers to Taft Stadium in 1997. But he once considered coming to Owen Field.

Grambling's legend, who died last week at age 88, coached at the small Louisiana school from 1941-97. And by the late '80s, Robinson's status intrigued even the most elite of college football.

In 1989, Bill Farley, now athletic director at Central Oklahoma, was director of football operations for Mike Shanahan and the Oakland Raiders. Robinson and his Grambling staff came to the Raiders' camp in Oxnard, Calif., to observe for several days.

Farley picked up Robinson at LAX and shadowed him. "It was quite a time, something I will certainly never forget,” Farley said.

Farley had worked at OU in 1987-88 as an athletic fundraiser and broached the idea of Grambling playing the Sooners.

"He was really infatuated,” Farley said. "I told him he could bring the Grambling band and could probably realize a payday of $300,000.

"But I also told him that Grambling would get a butt-kicking like they had never seen before, that OU would come at them so big and so fast they wouldn't know what to think.

"Anyway, he got the biggest kick out of that. He laughed and laughed as I explained what a long day it would be for the Tigers.”

Farley returned to OU in 1990 and remembered his conversation with Robinson.

"I called Eddie one day and asked him if he were still interested in putting the deal together,” Farley said. "He laughed again and said he had given it some thought but decided it might not be such a good idea.”

Actually, Farley had oversold the Sooners. The OU teams of the early '90s were not the juggernauts of the late '80s. Grambling would have been outclassed but not annihilated.

Our loss.

"He was pure hard work with deep, deep moral values,” said Farley, who still laughs at how the Grambling assistants in Oxnard kept their beer hidden from their boss.

"Every bit the Bud and Bear that other great players and fans respected so very much. His record and legacy really does speak for all he was.”

The December trade of Allen Iverson from the 76ers to the Nuggets was designed to transform a team. And darned if it didn't.

The Sixers are a brand new squad.

When the deal was made on Dec. 19, Philadelphia was the Eastern Conference's worst team, 5-18. Denver was 14-9.

Since the deal that gave Denver two superstars and Philadelphia none, the 76ers have the same record as the Nuggets; both are 27-27. Yes, Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony missed 15 games for fighting. But still.

The trade was a classic reminder that all kinds of parts make up a team. Denver got an aging superstar who needs the ball in his hands much of the game.

Philadelphia got two 2007 first-round draft picks and an aging point guard in Andre Miller who still plays at a high level (13.2 points, 7.5 assists for Philly).

Iverson, who will play at the Ford Center on Friday against the Hornets, is fun to watch, his spirit admirable. A sub-6-footer who hurls himself into ruffians every night. Iverson's scoring has gone down in Denver (from 31.2 to 25.1) but his shooting percentage has gone up (.413 to .452).

But he's not that much better of a player than Miller. Not so much to give up two first-round draft picks, too.

Trading superstars rarely works in the NBA. But looks like it could work out for the 76ers.

Baseball in general and the Cleveland Indians in particular missed a great marketing chance this week. The Indians moved a series against the Angels from Cleveland to Milwaukee, because of snow in Ohio.

The Indians should have gone to a minor-league market.

The turnout in Milwaukee was solid: 19,031 Tuesday, lured by $10 tickets. But Milwaukee has a big-league ballteam.

Oklahoma City does not. New Orleans does not. Both cities fulfill the requirement: new stadiums that presumably could accommodate major-leaguers for three days, decent April weather and open dates.

RedHawks general manager John Allgood said Wednesday his franchise could have pulled off the quickly-scheduled series. OKC would have filled The Brick, which seats 13,066, and the Indians and Angels would have played in quality digs with a great atmosphere. The same could have happened in suburban New Orleans, where the Zephyrs play. And the Cleveland Indians would have created thousands of new fans.

Allgood said the RedHawks will be on alert the next time this happens. Which it will. This isn't the last April in which snow will hit the northern U.S.

This is not the most historic basketball season in Oklahoma history. Go with 1945 or 1946, when Henry Iba's Aggies won the NCAA title. Or 1988, when Billy Tubbs' Sooners were the best team in America. Or 2002, when both OU men and women made the Final Four. Or 2005-06, when the Hornets came to town.

But this clearly is the most exciting season in Oklahoma history.

The Hornets have played seven overtime games and won them all, including a double-overtimer against Milwaukee on Feb. 8. Six of those seven were at the Ford Center, including three in the last two weeks.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys played four overtime games and won them all, including a triple-OT classic against Texas and a double-overtimer against Texas Tech, both at Gallagher-Iba Arena, and a double-overtimer against Pitt at the Ford Center.

The Oklahoma women played a double-overtime game at Lloyd Noble Center against Texas Tech, and of course won.

So let's review. Our big five — OSU men and women, OU men and women, and the Hornets — are a combined 12-0 in overtimes, including five multi-OT games, all of which were played in the state.

We could stage a trillion basketball seasons and never again see the likes of this.