Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

Verdict on El Paso: Not a good bowl destination December 31, 2009 | Comment on this article

One more day in El Paso, and it’s an interesting city. It is not a good bowl city. There’s no crime in that. Oklahoma City wouldn’t be a good bowl city, even though it’s a wonderful place to live. The people of El Paso claim their city is a great place to live. OK. I can believe it. But that doesn’t... Read More

Huskers rout Arizona: Pac-10 continues to struggle December 30, 2009 I picked Stanford to win the Sun Bowl. I think I’m in trouble. The Pac-10 continues to struggle. Nebraska’s 33-0 rout of Arizona in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night is another flare that the Pac-10 is not the conference we thought it was. The Pac-10 now is 2-3 in bowl games, and its defenses are... Read More

Brut lives! Just check out the Sun Bowl December 30, 2009 I walked into the Sun Bowl media room Monday and grabbed the usual assortment of materials. Press guides. Interview schedules. OU season CD. Sun Bowl notebook with no lines, which is spiffy for drawing but not so great for writing. And a small paper packet of Brut after shave, in the shape of a Brut bottle.... Read More

Sun Bowl plea: Snow, snow stay away December 29, 2009 I woke up this morning, threw open the drapes at the El Paso Fairfield Inn and received some good news. There was not 3-5 inches of snow on the ground. Some in the weather prediction business had suggested that was the overnight gift for Sun Bowl fans, but no. Something’s falling; looks like a little rain, a... Read More

El Paso: Here comes the snow December 29, 2009 I spoke too soon about the El Paso weather. The snow hit about 8 a.m. mountain time, and it’s coming down. Already accumulating on palm trees, which is a totally wild scene. Snow at the Sun Bowl is nothing new. OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson played in the 1982 Sun Bowl for North Carolina, when the... Read More

Snow, snow has gone away in El Paso December 29, 2009 The snow is going, going and soon will be gone from El Paso. It’s stopped snowing , and whatever fell is melting. It’s about 35 degrees and the temperatures are rising. It’s expected to reach 42 degrees by 5 p.m. Not that Stanford is affected either way. The Cardinal doesn’t know what an indoor practice... Read More

A big mess at Florida December 28, 2009 If there’s anything to learn from the Urban Meyer saga over the weekend, it’s this. You don’t want to be the coach who replaces Urban Meyer. And it’s not the Bear Bryant factor, as in, you don’t want to follow a legend. It’s the Frank Broyles factor, as in, you don’t want to follow a legend who is... Read More

Stoops to Florida: Much more plausible than Notre Dame December 27, 2009 Urban Meyer’s stunning resignation from Florida on Saturday set the Bob Stoops conjecture spinning again. Would Stoops go to Florida? Here’s my quick reaction. It’s much more plausible than Stoops going to Notre Dame, but I still think it’s unlikely. Florida is a much better job than Notre Dame and... Read More

Emails in on Sun Bowl, OSU schedule & Oklahoma Bowl December 25, 2009 The new emails are in, and there’s a healthy dose, even for a holiday week. Let’s get to it. Frank wrote about my column that stated Bob Stoops is in a no-win situation in the Sun Bowl: “Why did you write this very negative article? Do you want to destroy Stoops? He’s had to play the very best teams in... Read More

Elway not Stanford’s greatest quarterback? December 25, 2009 How good is Stanford’s quarterback legacy? John Elway, who some consider the greatest quarterback in NFL history, isn’t the best in Stanford history. In 1994, the San Francisco Chronicle produced a list of the 10 best Stanford QBs ever. Elway wasn’t No. 1. Or No. 2. Wow. For more than a decade, I’ve... Read More

Good Sun Bowl news for OU: Pac-10 struggles December 24, 2009 The early bowl returns signal good news for Oklahoma. The Pac-10 has struggled in bowl games. Brigham Young routed Oregon State 44-20 in the Las Vegas Bowl and Utah bounced California 37-27 in the Poinsettia Bowl. With OU playing Stanford next week in the Sun Bowl, what to make of such results? Well, I put a lot... Read More

So long, Shaun Livingston December 23, 2009 The Thunder waived backup point guard Shaun Livingston on Tuesday to make way for rookie Eric Maynor, acquired in a trade with the Jazz. I was pulling for Livingston to make it big with the Thunder. He would have made a great story. The catastrophic knee injury he suffered three years ago while a Clipper seemed... Read More

Sooner basketball in trouble for March Madness

December 22, 2009 OU’s men’s basketball team fell to 8-4 Monday night with an 89-74 loss to Texas-El Paso in the All-College Classic, and suddenly, a berth in the NCAA Tournament seems a mighty tall order for the Sooners. OU likely will take a 9-5 record into Big 12 play. The Sooners play at Gonzaga and host Maryland-Eastern... Read More

Cowboys have a defensive keeper in Phillips December 20, 2009 If Jerry Jones makes a change after this season and decides to hire a new head coach, be it anyone from Mike Shanahan to Bob Stoops, I’ve got a great defensive coordinator candidate for the Cowboys. Wade Phillips. Phillips is a heck of a defensive coordinator, and his defense certainly shined Saturday night... Read More

Missouri governor does Mizzou no favors

December 20, 2009 Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon made no friends in the Big 12 a couple of days ago when he weighed in on the University of Missouri considering a move to the Big Ten. Nixon supports the move, for academic reasons. Which is fine. If the Big Ten calls with an invitation, Missouri would accept so fast, it would make heads... Read More

Emails in on Tiger, realignment & coaches’ lack of honor December 19, 2009 The new emails are in, and what a good week. Lots of interesting stuff on Tiger Woods, conference realignment, coaches jumping contracts and the 1981 Sun Bowl. Let’s go. Al: “Good piece today on stealing coaches. You mention the colleges are subject to anti-trust laws and the NFL is not. Why has one of the... Read More

Joining the dark side: Adding the NFL Network

December 18, 2009 I gave in this week. I capitulated. I called Cox Cable and added the NFL Network. For years, I’ve avoided putting Cox’s sports tier on my cable. And it wasn’t the money. Heck, it was only $4.50 a month for the NFL Network, ESPNU, ESPNClassic, ESPNNews, Versus, NBATV, MLBTV and a whole bunch of other stuff... Read More

Big 10 expansion could trigger more

December 17, 2009 All the talk about Big Ten expansion the last few days has led to some interesting theories on the ripple effect from leagues like the Big 12, Big East and ACC. But here’s a league that could be impacted by Big Ten expansion — the Pac-10. A friend of mine with Pac-10 ties pointed out yesterday that the Pac-10... Read More

Thunder-Mavs: An early-season big game

December 16, 2009 One thing the NBA will teach you early is that there are very few big games. Come April, OK. Games are huge as playoff seedings and berths hang in the balance. But for five months, the schedule ebbs and flows and eventually balances out. The beauty of the NBA is that schedule toughness doesn’t really become a... Read More

If Mizzou bolts, where does Big 12 turn? December 15, 2009 The Big Ten has announced that it will take another look at expansion, with an eye toward a 12th team that would enable the conference to split into divisions and stage a conference championship football game. Among the teams labeled as possibilities: Notre Dame (as always, but unlikely), Syracuse, Pitt, West... Read More