Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

Oklahoma State football: Would Danny O’Brien help? March 02, 2012 | Comment on this article

Some reports have linked Oklahoma State as a possible destination for transferring Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien, who is graduating this spring and would have two seasons of eligibility remaining if he enrolls in a graduate academic program unavailable at Maryland. The question on O’Brien is this: Was... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Why Serge Ibaka’s minutes are limited March 02, 2012 I got an email from a Thunder fan after the Magic game last night. I thought it was interesting. Starting with his salutation: “Dear Bernie.” Nobody ever called me Bernie before. But it’s sort of a cool name. Old-school. My St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist pal is named Bernie. Bernie Miklasz. One of my... Read More

Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game: We saw signs here in Oklahoma

March 02, 2012 Fifty years ago today, March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in an NBA game. There really is no superfluous way to say it. No better way to say it. The Big Dipper scored 100 points against the Knickerbockers in a shadowy Hershey, Pa., auditorium, a game that went unrecorded by video but did not go... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: The Sam Presti/Tony Parker history March 01, 2012 Sam Presti runs the Thunder. Mike Brown coaches the Lakers. Tony Parker quarterbacks the Spurs. Once, they were tied together in San Antonio. When Brown came through town last week with the Lakers, he told the story of how Parker came to the Spurs. We know that the San Antonio brass long as credited Presti with... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Charles Barkley isn’t all wrong March 01, 2012 Now you know what Charles Barkley is talking about when he trashes the Thunder’s halfcourt offense. The Thunder beat the 76ers 92-88 Wednesday night in Philadelphia, and the Thunder did it with defense and toughness. Not with any semblance of efficient offense. The 76ers, one of the NBA’s best defensive... Read More

Bedlam basketball: Historically bad season March 01, 2012 The historically bad basketball seasons at OSU and OU continue. The Cowboys, 14-16, face their first losing season since 1987-88. To avoid a losing season, the Cowboys have to win three games — at Kansas State on Saturday, vs. Texas Tech on Wednesday in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, then whatever... Read More

Oklahoma State football: Shades of 2010 Longhorns?

February 29, 2012 An OSU football fan sent me an email the other day, a little worried. He found a few too many similarities between the 2010 Texas Longhorns and what he expects from his 2012 Cowboys. * Both coming off 12-1 seasons in which Alabama won the national title at their expense — Texas by losing to Bama in the Big... Read More

Berry Tramel on Louisville’s WKRD February 29, 2012 Louisville radio station WKRD had me on one of their morning sports shows Wednesday. I’d been on before, and for some reason, those guys love me. Anyway, they wanted me back to talk about conference realignment. Louisville fans desperately want to join the Big 12, and you know me. I’m a big Louisville booster.... Read More

Power Lunch Chat with Berry Tramel: 11 a.m. February 29, 2012 Power Lunch Chat with Berry Tramel Read More

Oklahoma State basketball: Playing what-if on Eddie Sutton

February 28, 2012 Watching the OSU-Kansas game Monday night, my mind drifted to another OSU-Kansas game. The 2005 regular-season finale at Allen Fieldhouse, when the Jayhawks won an 81-79 game that was as rousing as any I’ve ever seen. The Cowboys had John Lucas (22 points) and Joey Graham (19) and Stevie Graham (10). Freshman... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell Westbrook’s UCLA history

February 28, 2012 Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love spent some time together on the court Sunday night for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It wasn’t the first time they were teammates. In 2007-08, Westbrook and Love were UCLA teammates. The Bruins reached the Final Four, where they lost to Memphis 78-63. That Memphis... Read More

Iowa football: Greg Davis has another job February 28, 2012 Greg Davis, who coached Texas quarterbacks to great heights but lost his job when the Longhorns misfired at the QB position, is back in college football. He’s the new offensive coordinator at Iowa. And this strikes me as the ultimate Big Ten move. Nothing against Davis, who I think is a pretty good football... Read More

College football: Ranking the head-coaching changes, 1-26

February 27, 2012 We’ve had 26 head-coaching changes in major college football from last season. That’s a lot. We had 21 last season, 23 the year before. Who did the best job of hiring? Who did the worst? Let’s rank the hires, one through 26. This isn’t based just on who is the best coach. It’s based on the best fit.... Read More

Big 12 football: Scheduling marathon finally over February 27, 2012 I visited Big 12 headquarters Monday in the trendy Los Colinas area of Irving, Texas. I had an hour-long interview with commissioner commissioner Chuck Neinas about a variety of subjects, which I’ll be writing about over the next few weeks. But I also got to chat with a few Big 12 staff members, including old pal... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: OKC clearly among NBA’s four elite teams February 27, 2012 The all-star break comes at an interesting time this condensed season. It is very close to the mid-point of the regular season; teams have either played exactly half their games (33) or just a tad more or less. So it’s a great time to study how this season shapes up. The teams are playing themselves into... Read More

OU football: Who was the Insight Bowl MVP? December 31, 2011 Bob Stoops sat at the Insight Bowl press conference and was informed that backup quarterback Blake Bell had been named the game’s offensive most valuable player. “I was shocked,” Stoops said. “I said, ‘What?’ Geez, the guy played nine plays.” Bell, playing in OU’s short-yardage package, played... Read More

OSU football: Stanford coaching legacy impressive December 30, 2011 Stanford is an interesting name in college football. The Cardinal is not a traditional powerhouse. But the Cardinal does have tradition. Stanford carries a magical name. For several reasons. Jim Plunkett and John Elway and now Andrew Luck. Stanford Stadium, which has hosted a Super Bowl. And for coaches.... Read More

OU football: Future looks bright December 30, 2011 I know it’s been a troublesome season for Oklahoma football. I also know this. The Sooners can get victory No. 10 Friday night against Iowa in the Insight Bowl, and the Sooners will take Sun Devil Stadium with just five senior starters. And four senior backups. That’s a remarkably low number. OU could still... Read More

OSU athletics: Myron Roderick served the Cowboys well December 29, 2011 Few Cowboys in OSU’s grand athletic history cast a longer shadow than Myron Roderick, who died Wednesday at the age of 77. Roderick was an elite wrestler, then a championship wrestling coach, then a landmark athletic director. Roderick, who came to OSU in 1953 from Winfield, Kan., won three NCAA... Read More

OSU football: Bill Young likes his defense December 29, 2011 Oklahoma State leads the nation in takeaways, with 42. OSU is ranked 107th in total defense. OK, defensive coordinator Bill Young. Your option. You can reverse those standings — be first in total defense and 107th in takeaways — or stay with what you’ve got. Which do you choose. At a Fiesta Bowl press... Read More