Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

Love that Dooley accent August 29, 2007 | Comment on this article

I talked to Vince Dooley, the grand old Georgia coach, on Tuesday for an upcoming story — he almost took the OU job in 1965 — and it was a treat. For one thing, Dooley’s accent is intoxicating. Many a red-blooded American has mentioned how sexy are the Dixie accents on the Southern belles that come our... Read More

Opening Day August 29, 2007 Remember the scene from “The Jerk,” where Steve Martin’s character gets giddy when the phone books are delivered. “The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!” That’s how I feel today. “The new football games are here! The new football games are here!” This is a great day. Opening... Read More

Picking the top 100 August 26, 2007 My big assignment for our annual football preview was picking the top 100 players historically at both OU and OSU. Picking No. 1 at OU was easy and not really debated by much of anybody: Lee Roy Selmon. Picking No. 1 at OSU has caused a ruckus with an expert. I picked Thurman Thomas No. 1, over Barry Sanders. Pat... Read More

No Headline August 24, 2007 In the Friday Oklahoman, I wrote about my dad, who died this week four days shy of his 79th birthday. I didn’t do him justice. He was a far better man than I am a writer. But it helped me deal with the sorrow of losing the man who provided me with everything I needed to be where I am today. A good... Read More

Remembering the ’56 Frederick Bombers August 21, 2007 I felt good about my profession Monday night. I felt good about my standing in my profession. The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame held its annual induction ceremony Monday night at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and the 1956 Frederick Bombers were lauded as a team of legend. That’s the... Read More

No Headline August 21, 2007 Sam Bradford is Oklahoma’s quarterback. For now. Bob Stoops’ record is clear. When he has an all-American quarterback (2000, 2003, 2004), he doesn’t change QBs. Which stands to reason. When Stoops has absolutely no legit backup (1999, 2006), he doesn’t change QBs. Otherwise, all bets are off. Stoops... Read More

Bradford’s numbers impressive August 19, 2007 You can’t always tell a quarterback by his numbers. I came away from the OU scrimmage Saturday still convinced that Sam Bradford would be the starter. I thought Bradford played reasonably well in the scrimmage; about as well as did Kid Nichol, and I’ve always thought Bradford started out ahead. Then I got... Read More

Fighting the radio wars August 17, 2007 We’re No. 3! We’re No. 3! That’s my rally cry this morning, after radio cohort Rusty Olson and myself were ranked third in Oklahoma City’s crowded drive-time sports talk scene. Five afternoon drive-time shows air, so third is hugging the middle. What’s most interesting is that another colleague, Mel... Read More

War is on in Seattle August 16, 2007 The war is on in Seattle. It’s even moving to the media. One of Seattle’s sports-talk radio hosts, Mike Gastineau, has engaged me in emails the last 24 hours, trying to convince me that Clay Bennett is a liar. Here is a sampling: “Trust me, Seattle gets the whole ’arena or we’ll leave thing.’... Read More

Demonization of Longar continues August 15, 2007 The demonization of OU’s Longar Longar continues. The NCAA, in a self-admitted unprecedented move, granted an extra half year of eligibility to Texas Tech basketball center Esmir Rizvic, whose eye socket was fractured by a Longar elbow last January. Rizvic gets the extra half year in the 2008-09 season.... Read More

Coaches have harebrained idea August 14, 2007 Mike Gundy said he would like to have a preseason scrimmage against another school. Bob Stoops endorsed the idea, too. Here’s the problem guys. You’ve already got one. Or two. Or sometimes three. Of all the harebrained ideas, this has to rank near the top. Coaches want quality competition, just not... Read More

Scrimmages: Open or closed? August 13, 2007 OU scrimmaged Saturday in front of 7,000 fans. OSU scrimmaged Saturday in front of classified personnel only. Two ways to conduct business. Each has costs, each has benefits. I side with Bob Stoops, naturally, because I’d rather watch a scrimmage than be told about it. But I understand both... Read More

Bradford the man August 11, 2007 It’s 9 a.m. Saturday, the OU scrimmage is two hours away and the broiler hasn’t’ been turned on yet. It will be, of course. I’m amazed every August that we don’t have more serious health situations arising from football in 100-degree heat. It’s brutal out there. My advice for fans: wear something on... Read More

Victims of closed practices August 09, 2007 Bob Stoops was asked yesterday why he closes practice, what’s the benefit, and Stoops gave what I thought was a very good answer. He said he wasn’t sure there was a benefit, also said he wasn’t sure that was benefit to keeping practices open, but just feels like it’s better for a young player to not get... Read More

Baseball history? Forget about it August 07, 2007 Last night, at least I remembered the game was on. I flipped over somewhere around 10 p.m., after “The Wonder Years,” to get an update on Barry Bonds and the Giants, checking to see if Home Run 756 might be upcoming. In previous days, I hadn’t even remembered the game was on. Bonds hit No. 755 Saturday... Read More

Skipping the PGA August 07, 2007 I’m not going to the PGA this week, and I hope that’s OK with you readers. I know it’s OK with the golf world. Anyone who golfs in his Converses and who thinks the funnest part of golf is driving the cart and putting out, well, that person doesn’t exactly fit in on America’s most hallowed golf clubs.... Read More

Looking ahead to 2008 August 06, 2007 Kevin Wilson pointed out a scary little fact the other day. His OU offense on occasion will have NO seniors on the field. Tailback Allen Patrick and tight end Joe Jon Finley are the only seniors who figure to play extensively, and both have superb backups, DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, plus Brody Eldredge and... Read More

Let’s talk access August 02, 2007 There’s a word you’re going to hear often in the next few weeks. Access. The media often complains about limited access, particularly when it comes to football, and the public can misconstrue what we mean. The public thinks we mean letting us in on stuff. Practices, gameplans, who’s in trouble. That... Read More

Centennial lists draw criticism August 01, 2007 Sorry for the delay in blogging. I had vacation, the trip to San Antonio, some family issues and trying to finish up the Centennial series, which ate my lunch. And angered some of the masses. I heard from many an Oklahoman who offered up ideas on how I could have improved my Centennial lists, but most of them... Read More

Life in the John Wayne Suite July 24, 2007 Sometimes living right pays off. Sometimes it takes time. I arrived in San Antonio at 9:30 a.m. Monday, got downtown to our hotel at 10:30 a.m. and got online fully about 1 p.m. Tuesday. I spent 27-plus hours wrestling with the staff at the St. Anthony Wyndham Hotel to get the Internet activated. But I was... Read More