Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

OU football: Sleeping with the ESPNemy July 31, 2011 | Comment on this article

I saw Bob Stoops on Thursday morning, a few hours before he took off for Bristol, Conn., along with Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles. They all were headed for a full day at ESPN, doing a variety of interviews. I saw a few of the stops by Jones and Broyles, and it was mostly great PR for Sooner football. Jones... Read More

OSU football: New uniforms add gray to the school color list July 30, 2011 I’ve learned a lot about OSU’s school colors this week. I did a video in which I talked about State’s new football uniforms, adding gray to the mix of orange and black. My take: I like the concept of new-age uniforms and getting Nike all fired up about the Cowboys, but I don’t like adopting new colors.... Read More

Texas football: Mack Brown to North Carolina? July 29, 2011 The Mack Brown-back-to-North Carolina-as-athletic director theory has bubbled up over the years, but there always were two problems. 1) Mack had a dang good job at which he was very successful; and 2) the Tar Heels had an athletic director. The problems are lessening. Mack has a dang good job (best in American... Read More

Big 12 football: Coaches who fit at OU, OSU July 29, 2011 It’s time to come clean. I came away from the Big 12 Football Media Days completely impressed by Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads. He’s got an incredibly tough job. He also might be just the man who can get the job done. He’s sharp. Confident yet realistic. Passionate. I like him. I like him a lot. “He’s... Read More

Power Lunch Chat Recap: Berry Tramel July 28, 2011 Chat with sports columnist Berry Tramel at 11 a.m. Read More

OU football: Schedule not unexciting

July 28, 2011 I’ve received a couple of emails the last day or so from people comparing OU’s 2011 football schedule to Nebraska’s 2011 football schedule, complaining about how much more exciting of a slate the Huskers are playing. And I agree. Nebraska’s schedule is more exciting. Because it’s new. Nebraska is... Read More

Big 12 football: Answering college football realignment questions

July 27, 2011 I love my readers. Even when we disagree. Most are sharp, even witty, and passionate. They ask great questions. The following email is a great example. Bryan emails every once in awhile, and he sent me an outstanding dispatch Wednesday about conference realignment. Bryan made nine points, either asking a... Read More

Big 12 football: More conference realignment talk

July 27, 2011 Anytime I mis-use the word “ironic,” I hear from some pals who point out that I should have said “coincidental.” One thing about me, I’m coachable. So here goes. It’s quite a coincidence that on the day I wrote a column mentioning Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and how his presidential aspirations could help... Read More

Big 12 football: Iowa State’s schedule one of toughest in nation July 26, 2011 Paul Rhoads’ wife likes her husband’s job. He likes it, too. So expect Iowa State football to start scheduling down. “My wife likes our job, and I sort of do , too,” Rhoads said Tuesday during Big 12 media days. “That’s not a direction I’d like to move. A change is in place in 2012 and beyond to get... Read More

Big 12 football: Kansas, Turner Gill face long season

July 26, 2011 Kansas football coach Turner Gill faces a massive job. His Jayhawks went 3-9 last season and now jump into a tougher (for KU) Big 12, with six games against the South Division schools. Gill said 2010 was a chance for him to learn how his Jayhawks handle adversity. In that regard, KU wasn’t a total... Read More

Big 12 football: Texas Tech switching defense July 26, 2011 Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville has been in the Big 12 one year. Long enough to make him switch his defense. The Red Raiders are switching to a four-man front after basing out of a three-man front in 2010. Tuberville said Tuesday during Big 12 football media days that after facing Big 12 offenses, “two things... Read More

Big 12 football: K-State’s Bill Snyder talks celebration

July 26, 2011 College football’s excessive celebration penalty has been relaxed, primarily courtesy of Kansas State and Adrian Hilburn. Hilburn was the unfortunate KSU receiver who momentarily saluted the crowd and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after scoring a late touchdown in the Pinstripe Bowl. The penalty forced... Read More

Big 12 football: Bob Stoops lauds Landry Jones’ leadership

July 26, 2011 Mack Brown talked on Monday about seeking leadership from his quarterback at Texas. Bob Stoops talked on Tuesday about how leadership has to come from performance. During Big 12 media days, Stoops talked about the progression of Sooner quarterback Landry Jones, who made major strides last season, to now where... Read More

Big 12 football: Missouri building QB tradition July 25, 2011 Gary Pinkel coached 12 years on the University of Washington staff. The Huskies produced five NFL quarterbacks during that time. In his decade-plus as head coach at Missouri, that same QB lineage is developing. Brad Smith, Chase Daniel, Blaine Gabbert. Missouri’s quarterback tradition has blossomed under... Read More

Big 12 football: Gundy confident in Monken’s play-calling

July 25, 2011 Todd Monken has very little play-calling experience. He called plays in the 1990s at Eastern Michigan but not since. Mike Gundy, who hired Monken to be Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator, is not worried. “He doesn’t have a lot of play-calling experience,” Gundy said Monday during Big 12 football... Read More

Big 12 football: Beware Robert Griffin’s high-stepping at Baylor

July 25, 2011 Baylor coach Art Briles worries a little about the new celebration rule, which will negate a touchdown if the unsportsmanlike conduct occurs before the TD is scored. You would, too, if Robert Griffin was your quarterback. Briles trotted out the name of Edwin Moses, the epic Olympic hurdler from the 1970s and... Read More

Big 12 football: Texas quarterback job is open

July 25, 2011 Mack Brown says the quarterback job is open at Texas. And he expects the decision to be made not by coaches, but by players. Incumbent Garrett Gilbert had an awful season in 2010, as the Longhorns went 5-7 and Gilbert threw 17 interceptions to just 10 touchdown passes. Now he’s battling Case McCoy and Connor... Read More

British Open: It’s Allgood July 24, 2011 My favorite golf major once was the U.S. Open. Not so now. I’ve come to love the British Open. The seaside courses are and the weather and the accents and the quaint towns and the history that goes back before even Major League Baseball. I’ve never watched a U.S. golf tournament and said, boy, I’d love to... Read More

OU football: Bud Wilkinson, riverboat gambler July 24, 2011 I blogged the other day about Clendon Thomas and Jay Wilkinson’s recollection of his father turning to Thomas in a crucial situation in 1956, at Colorado. The story: In what would become game No. 36 of OU football’s 47-game winning streak, the Sooners trailed 19-6 at halftime. Bud Wilkinson gave a “brief... Read More

Thunder: New arena name so-so July 23, 2011 Chesapeake Energy Arena. That’s the new name of the Thunder’s home. It’s a little disappointing. Full disclosure: I tend to think a lot about venue names. I love the old names (the Polo Grounds, Madison Square Garden, Soldier Field) and I love the new-age names from the ’70s (Spectrum, Myriad, Summit,... Read More