Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

Big 12 football: More on TCU success story July 16, 2012 | Comment on this article

When Chris Del Conte interviewed in 2009 to be TCU’s athletic director, he was asked if he could accomplish two things: 1. Raise money. Enough money to refurbish Amon G. Carter Stadium. 2. Get the Frogs in a BCS conference. Sure, Del Conte answered. He wanted the job. What else was he going to... Read More

Power Lunch Chat with Berry Tramel July 13, 2012 Power Lunch Chat with Berry Tramel Read More

Penn State: Barry Switzer knew, and so did we

July 13, 2012 The Freeh Report is out, and Penn State leadership — including the late Joe Paterno — has been damned for failing to act against Jerry Sandusky, who since has been convicted of child molestation. In other words, no big news there. From the first stories back in November, it seemed clear what had happened.... Read More

West Virginia: Where will the Mountaineers recruit? July 13, 2012 West Virginia is joining the Big 12, and the Mountaineers will have to assess how being in a conference basically headquartered 1,000 miles away affects recruiting. A good conference, a better conference, but far, far removed from West Virginia. I’ve been writing about West Virginia the last couple of days. You... Read More

Big 12 football: West Virginia’s new road July 12, 2012 Last Oct. 8, West Virginia hosted Connecticut in a Big East football game. UConn was a mediocre football team, 2-4 en route to a 5-7 finish. West Virginia eventually would end up in the Orange Bowl and beat Clemson 70-33. But at halftime of the West Virginia-UConn game, the Mountaineers clung to a 10-9... Read More

Power Lunch Chat with Berry Tramel — 11 a.m. July 12, 2012 Power Lunch Chat with Berry Tramel 2 Show / Hide Archive Comments The following comments are archived from the original publication of this post Galileo, Houston on Jul 13, 2012 @ 6:05 am "11:18 Comment From Alum in AZ I had the same top OU players come to mind immediately (Larry's question). But there are plenty... Read More

Sam Bradford: Camp at OU shows leadership qualities

July 12, 2012 The St. Louis Rams have put their trust in Sam Bradford. Rams as in organization. Rams as in players. Bradford was in Norman this week to host a football camp at OU, and he wasn’t the only Ram. Several St. Louis receivers worked the camp, too, which allowed Bradford to work with his passcatchers in the... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: What does shot-blocking cost? July 11, 2012 The Thunder would like to keep Serge Ibaka for more than just next season. But tons of speculation exists on what it costs. Ryan Weisert, a Phoenix Suns blogger (valleyofthesuns.com), went past that question. He looked at what shot-blocking costs. And we know that Ibaka is the NBA’s premier shot-blocker.... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant talks at Olympic practice

July 11, 2012 Kevin Durant has watched all the NBA player movement in these first two weeks of July, almost all of it unrelated to the Thunder, and he has a description: crazy. That’s the word Durant used Wednesday when interviewed by NBATV prior to an Olympic team practice in Las Vegas. And Durant even offered up the move... Read More

All-Star Game: Salute to Kansas City Royals fans

July 11, 2012 Kansas City Royals fans stole the show at the All-Star Game. Good for them. They might have done what all fans would like to do but rarely accomplish: effect change. The Royal fans unmercifully booed the Yankees’ Robinson Cano, who was captain of the AL Home Run Derby team and picked the squad for his... Read More

Big 12 football: A trip to Fort Worth

July 10, 2012 I spent Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, home of the TCU Horned Frogs. I’m planning a series on TCU’s entrance into the Big 12, so I thought I’d motor down and check out the excitement. There’s plenty of it in Fort Worth. Construction continues on Amon G. Carter Stadium, a $165 million project that upon... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Overlooking Russell Westbrook

July 10, 2012 We’ve often talked about the fuel that drives Russell Westbrook, who seems to play basketball not with a chip, but a boulder, on his shoulder. The idea that he’s long been overlooked and underappreciated. It’s not imaginary fuel, not made up. Russell Westbrook really was disrespected much of his career.... Read More

All-Star Game: Who are these guys?

July 10, 2012 Luke Bryan sang the national anthem Tuesday night in the All-Star Game. I had never heard of him, though Wikipedia tells me he’s a country singer. But it’s OK. I didn’t know half the players, either. What a difference. Once, I knew every major league starter and virtually every player. Now, I don’t know... Read More

Oklahoma football: Jamelle Holieway never went back

July 09, 2012 Jamelle Holieway is one interesting person. Twenty-seven years after quarterbacking OU to the national championship, 24 years after quarterbacking his final Sooner game, Holieway remains relevant. This time, for trying to restore his respectable name. I wrote about Holieway’s quest in the Sunday Oklahoman. You... Read More

Serena Williams: Venus costs her sister more status?

July 09, 2012 Serena Williams is not considered the greatest women’s tennis player of all time — that’s a status reserved for Steffi Graf or Martina Navratilova, probably. But Serena would have an argument, if not for her sister, Venus. And if it’s your sister that’s kept you back, doesn’t that count for something?... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Don’t sweat “Oklahoma Thunder” June 12, 2012 You’re going to hear it during these NBA Finals. You’re going to hear it a bunch. “Oklahoma Thunder.” Magic Johnson, the weak link of ESPN’s studio analysis crew, is going to say it over and over. Don’t let it bother you. It’s no big deal. Dropping a word from the “Oklahoma City Thunder” is no... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Why the 2-3-2 format? June 11, 2012 The home/road format for the NBA Finals is 2-3-2. Two games in Oklahoma City, then three in Miami and finally two back in OKC. That’s different than the previous playoff rounds, which use a 2-2-1-1-1 format. Why the change for the Finals? Travel concerns for such a big contingent. The Finals bring a lot more... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Welcome to the state’s biggest sporting event June 11, 2012 Some debate going on this week concerning the NBA Finals’ status in state sports history. Is this the biggest sporting ever in Oklahoma? Does it trump the 1971 Game of the Century, OU vs. Nebraska? The answer is yes, for a variety of reasons. OU-Nebraska was a game for the ages, and the buildup was... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Heat is the heavy & the underdog June 11, 2012 The Miami Heat is the heavy in the NBA Finals. But also the underdog. Funny how that works. It’s like ESPN analyst (and Basketball Hall of Famer) Chris Mullin said: “Who would ever think when they got this team together two years ago, that they would be an underdog?” But it’s true. The Thunder is both... Read More

Mickey Mantle: Yankees add new exhibit June 09, 2012 Steve Katz is an old friend of this blog and my column. I found Steve years ago, somewhere on the Internet, when I needed a big Mickey Mantle fan. I can think of no one bigger. I think I last wrote about Steve in October, on the occasion of Mantle’s 80th birthday. You can read that blog here. I also wrote about... Read More