Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

Baseball playoffs: The cursed sport continues September 30, 2011 | Comment on this article

I’m sitting here trying to watch a little playoff baseball — the Tiger-Yankee game is postponed by rain — knowing that the post-season can’t hope to match the final night of the regular season, when four playoff-deciding games were staged with various stages of fabulous drama. But even the fantastic... Read More

Big 12 football: Big East merger would mean what? September 30, 2011 If Missouri leaves the Big 12, the latest theory is that four Big East schools would replenish the league that won’t die: TCU, Cincinnati, West Virginia and Louisville. TCU to the South, the others to the North. I don’t know if it has any legs or not. Seems to me that you could add TCU and then get three West... Read More

Lunch chat: More questions on OU football, Big 12 realignment September 29, 2011 I didn’t get to all the questions on my lunch chat yesterday, so I saved them, and here they are. Leroy: “What is the latest on the realignment stuff? Is the Big 12 going to drag its feet about extending invitations, or are they going to keep it under wraps who they invite to our conference?” I think the... Read More

Power Lunch recap: Columnist Berry Tramel September 29, 2011 Power Lunch Live with Berry Tramel from Byford Buick GMC Read More

OSU football: 1962 Army game a big win September 29, 2011 Reader Braniff Surtees studied our list of the four biggest wins in Oklahoma State football history, then offered another for consideration: the Cowboys’ 12-7 upset of Army on Nov. 10, 1962. “Maybe I’m too old, but … I’ll vote that game into the mix,” Surtees wrote. “I was covering the team’s... Read More

College football predictions: Can Upset Specials continue? September 29, 2011 Not a bad week for me last week. Both of my Upset Specials came through — Kansas State over Miami and Temple over Maryland. Actually, not a bad season. I count an upset special as anything with at least a five-point spread. The only exception to that was I picked UCLA to beat Texas, when the ‘Horns were... Read More

OU football: MAC attack comes to Owen Field

September 28, 2011 For the second time in history, a Mid-American Conference school comes to Owen Field. Ball State plays at OU on Saturday, and I love the MAC. Bunch of hard-edged football teams short on talent and short on money but long on grit. Bowling Green came to Owen Field in 2004 and played the Sooners tough, losing... Read More

Dallas Cowboys: Rob Ryan’s defense saves the day

September 27, 2011 Monday night was Ex-Cowboy Night at JerryWorld. Dan Bailey kicked six field goals to account for all the Cowboy points in an 18-16 victory over Washington. Dez Bryant’s 30-yard reception from Tony Romo set up the final field goal, in the final two minutes. But don’t forget yet another guy who is part... Read More

Road trip: One final visit to College Station

September 27, 2011 Who knows what the future will bring, but it’s possible I’ve made my final trip to College Station, Texas. When I was a kid in the ’70s, the Southwest Conference seemed awfully exotic. SMU playing in the Cotton Bowl. Baylor games in Waco and Texas Tech games in Lubbock, places that seemed as much a part of... Read More

NFL: Chan Gailey coaching up the Buffalo Bills September 27, 2011 The Buffalo Bills, void of a winning record since 2004 and void of a playoff berth since the victimized Music City Miracle team of 1999, are 3-0 after their stirring 34-31 victory over the Patriots on Sunday. Chan Gailey is Buffalo’s coach. It’s not a coincidence. Gailey can coach pro football. College, I... Read More

OSU football: Biggest wins in history September 26, 2011 I called the OSU comeback against Texas A&M the biggest win in O-State history. I had quite a bit in that arsenal. * Just the ninth top-10 matchup in Cowboy history, and just the second win. Those ninth-ranked Cowboys beat No. 7 South Carolina 21-14 in the 1984 Gator Bowl; that was the Barry Hanna game, the... Read More

OU football: Sooners drop from No. 1 legit September 25, 2011 The AP poll dropped Oklahoma from the No. 1 ranking. I hope that’s because voters are so impressed with LSU. The Sooners have done nothing to deserve being knocked down to No. 2, but LSU has done enough to warrant being No. 1. Les Miles’ Tigers have beaten Oregon on a neutral field, won at Mississippi State... Read More

College football predictions: Week 4 September 24, 2011 Crazy week. I didn’t get around to my college football predictions on Thursday, which is when you need to post to get the Thursday night games accounted for. But we’ve got a wild Saturday ahead of us, so here you go: Missouri at Oklahoma: Sooners 42-21. Wow. So Mizzou QB James Franklin is Willie... Read More

Road trip: Five days in Florida September 24, 2011 Back by popular demands are my travel blogs. Sharing adventures on the open road. I got away from it last year, and I plan to resurrect it this season. This installment is a little late, but realignment demanded other duties. Anyway, the Dish and I flew to Tampa on Wednesday and spent three nights on Clearwater... Read More

Big 12 football: Missouri plays the maverick

September 23, 2011 At the same time David Boren and OU were proclaiming the stability of the Big 12, Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton was saying he hopes the conference can stabilize. The vaunted granting of rights? Which theoretically “handcuffs” schools to their league? Deaton made no mention of it. So something’s up and... Read More

Big 12 football: What happened with the Pac-12? September 23, 2011 The revelry displayed by OU officials on Thursday night about the salvation of the Big 12 was a little disingenuous. If Texas had signed on to the Pac-12, all those travel concerns, all those lost rivalries, would have come to pass. There is little doubt that everybody involved — OU, the Pac-12, Texas —... Read More

Big 12 football: Britton Banowsky for commissioner? September 23, 2011 During his kickoff teleconference Friday, interim Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas dropped the name of Britton Banowsky, using the Conference USA commissioner as an example of quality leadership. Sudden thought: Is Banowsky the next permanent commissioner of the embattled Big 12? Some around the league... Read More

OU football: More red-zone problems September 22, 2011 One of the few downsides to OU’s performance against Florida State was the lack of success near the goal line. The Sooners had first-and-goal on three drives: * First-and-goal at the 1-yard line, in the first quarter. Landry Jones scored on a first-down sneak. * First-and-goal at the 7-yard line, in the... Read More

OSU football: A&M’s band at Lewis Field September 22, 2011 If you’ve followed me for awhile, you know I love the Texas A&M band. I don’t know what kind of football contender you’re getting, SEC, but you’re getting one heck of a band. Hey, Aggies, how about taking the A&M football squad and leaving the mighty marchers of Aggieland here in Middle... Read More

OU football: Missouri series will survive, apparently September 21, 2011 OU and Missouri first played football in 1902. That was two years before the St. Louis World’s Fair. Five years before Oklahoma statehood. Missouri won that game 22-5 in Columbia. The Sooners and Tigers played every year from 1919 through 1995. The Big 12 scheduling format interrupted the series, but the new... Read More