Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

Weekend in New Orleans March 30, 2008 | Comment on this article

I just got back from two days in New Orleans, and this was my third trip to the Big Easy since Katrina. The first two trips were Hornets-related. This was NCAA women’s basketball. I was in New Orleans in March 2006, then again in November 2006. I didn’t see much difference in the city between those two... Read More

What’s wrong with the men? March 29, 2008 Here was my schedule Friday night in New Orleans for the NCAA women’s regional. We wrote in our hotel rooms until about 7:20 p.m. That means I got to catch the first half of Wisconsin-Davidson and Texas-Stanford, which down here they kept swapping back and forth on the CBS affiliate. Decent games at... Read More

Where are the fans? March 29, 2008 The crowd at the New Orleans Regional in the NCAA women’s tournament were dismal: 4,181 fans for the Oklahoma State-LSU game Saturday. That’s right. Barely 4,000 fans for a virtual LSU home game. Think about that. There will be more fans in the Ford Center tonight for Tennessee-Notre Dame and Texas... Read More

Sonics & Sherri dominate emails March 27, 2008 The demise of Sherri Coale’s Sooners and the nickname of the Sonics when they relocated to Oklahoma City were the big items on my email the past week. Let’s start with the NBA. Jo trotted out a familiar name: “How about OKC 89ers? A great name from the past. Serves the state and city well. A tribute... Read More

Is this Heaven? March 27, 2008 Remember the line from “Field of Dreams?” Is this Heaven? No, said Kevin Costner. It’s Iowa. Well, after five days is Des Moines, I’m not ready to go that far. But I’ve always liked my trips to Iowa, and even though I barely ventured outside downtown Des Moines, I enjoyed my stay in Iowa. Interesting... Read More

Biggest loser: women’s tournament March 26, 2008 Well, now seems as good a time as any to point out that most of us were right after all. The NCAA women’s committee should have placed Oklahoma State in the Oklahoma City Regional. The Cowgirls won, albeit close, in Des Moines, while the Sooners lost, albeit close, in West Lafayette, and now the Ford... Read More

Don’t blame the Sooners March 24, 2008 I agree with the assessments that OU’s 30-point loss to Louisville was embarrassing. But I don’t know what Jeff Capel and the Sooners were supposed to do to avoid it. OU was no match for Louisville. It was a horrible matchup. Maybe the only worse matchup would be Tennessee. The ‘Ville and the Vols play... Read More

Wells Fargo Arena March 23, 2008 Some people would be surprised to know that Des Moines has a new downtown coliseum. Wells Fargo Arena, opened in 2005, seats some 16,000 fans and sits adjacent to Des Moines’ old Municipal Auditorium, along with a small convention center that connects the two buildings. Wells Fargo Arena, in the bowl where the... Read More

Big 12 looking good March 22, 2008 Excellent, excellent performance by the Sooners against Saint Joseph’s on Friday in the NCAA Tournament. A few shaky moments after taking the 19-point lead, but very few NCAA victors go without some shaky moments. And the Big 12 owes the Sooners a big thank you. Here’s what OU did for the conference: kept the... Read More

The new emails are here! The new emails are here! March 21, 2008 Some yahoo who didn’t sign his name — the definition of a yahoo — wrote, “I saw the poll for Sean Sutton. Where is the poll for Capel?” Oh brother. Capel’s job is not in jeopardy. The OU fan base is not split on Capel. Joe Castiglione is not pondering Capel’s fate. The Poor Aggie syndrome is... Read More

Here’s your turn March 20, 2008 OK, friends. Here’s your turn to say what you’d like to see in the paper. We’ve been given an assignment by our sports editor: 50 major story ideas we should do in the next six months and 10 things to improve our sports section. Mike Baldwin and myself leave today driving to Des Moines, Iowa, for... Read More

Now the Sean watch begins March 19, 2008 Rumors flew all weekend over Sean Sutton’s future and they will fly again now that OSU’s basketball season is over, and when people asked me what will happen, I truthfully say: I have no idea. Here’s what I do know and believe. I know that Mike Holder said he would talk with Sean Sutton after the season is... Read More

Possible danger for OKC March 18, 2008 The NCAA women’s basketball committee seeded OU fourth and OSU third, and it’s the Cowgirls who got shafted. In women’s hoops, it’s not where you’re seeded that’s nearly as important as who might play and where. OSU Kurt Budke said it best Saturday night when he told me he would rather be a six-seed,... Read More

Picking the NCAA field March 17, 2008 I know no one is going to believe me, and my evidence bin is a little on the lean side, but I aced the 65-team field Sunday when the NCAA bracket was announced. Let me explain. My colleague, Scott Wright, and I drove home — well, he drove, I rode — from Kansas City on Sunday morning, and we passed the time by... Read More

Sooners get a good draw March 16, 2008 OU’s No. 6 seed is a very good draw for the Sooners. Look at it this way. At the end of the day, there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference in the Big 12 standings between Kansas State, OU, Baylor and Texas A&M, which were seeded 3-4-5-6 in the Big 12 Tournament. KSU finished 10-6 in conference, but the... Read More

Huge mistake March 15, 2008 A&M just took a 58-54 lead on Putnam West grad Danielle Gant’s 3-point play with 1:38 left, and OSU’s Maria Cordero made a huge mistake. Cordero gingerly fouled Gant as she went up for the layup. The mistake was not in fouling. The mistake was in not fouling Gant hard. You can’t give up a free basket with... Read More

Hello, Miss Riley March 15, 2008 If you’re watching at home, yes, Andrea Riley in person is taking over this game just like your television set is showing she is. Four straight baskets on four straight possessions. Two straight steals on the A&M perimeter. She’s about to go to the foul line with a chance to erase OSU’s 53-52 deficit,... Read More

Cowgirls look better March 15, 2008 The aggressive Cowgirls are back. They still trail, 39-32, but their offense is much more alive this half. Drives to the basket, by Shaunte’ Smith and Andrea Riley. Cuts — Taylor Hardeman hit Smith with a nifty alley-oop pass for a layup. It won’t be easy. A&M is shooting lights out and still playing... Read More

Big swing March 15, 2008 Games can turn in just a few seconds. We might have seen just such a swing in the OSU-A&M game. The Cowgirls had crawled back to within 43-41, and OSU’s Taylor Hardeman blocked an inside shot by Patrice Reado. With a chance to tie, OSU’s Andrea Riley tossed up a pullup jumper. It was a good shot. It just... Read More

Foul Micheaux March 15, 2008 Andrea Riley just committed a turnover, so OSU is down two, A&M has the ball and 42.8 seconds remain. Here’s my plan for OSU: foul Aggie center La Toya Micheaux. She’s 0-for-2 from the line and has terrible form. Read More