Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

Reverend Bill Greason: A memorable night at the ballpark August 31, 2012 | Comment on this article

The Rev. Bill Greason, the pioneer who 60 years ago this summer broke the color barrier in Oklahoma City professional baseball, was honored Thursday night at the Brick. He threw out the first pitch at the RedHawks game, was presented a $500 check by Hertz (to make up for the final installment he never received from... Read More

Oklahoma City Thunder: Is Harden secured? August 31, 2012 I got an interesting email from a reader, Mark Aisenberg, who offered up a really interesting theory concerning the Thunder retaining James Harden. Here it is: “There is a lot of speculation on whether or not the Thunder will sign James Harden or not … but if we examine it closely and use some logic, we can... Read More

Oklahoma football: No offense, Mr. President, but stay away August 31, 2012 We’re headed to El Paso today for the OU-UTEP season opener, and I’ve received some unsettling news. President Obama is flying to El Paso on Friday, also. No offense, Mr. President, but I hope you keep your distance. The El Paso Times says Air Force One will fly into Fort Bliss and address troops stationed... Read More

Oklahoma basketball: A return to the Field House August 30, 2012 Lon Kruger played in the OU Field House as a Kansas State Wildcat and was introduced there as the Sooner basketball coach 16 months ago. Now Kruger will coach in the Field House. OU announced Thursday that the Sooners will play Central Oklahoma in a Nov. 7 exhibition game and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a... Read More

Oklahoma football: Bob Stoops not down on his defense August 30, 2012 OU’s defense was a little shaky in 2011 and now is missing some of its best players from a year: Frank Alexander, Ronnell Lewis, Jamell Fleming, Travis Lewis. Plus, defensive tackle Stacy McGee is suspended. But that doesn’s strike Bob Stoops as all that big of an exodus. “I don’t see so many”... Read More

College football predictions: Week 1 August 30, 2012 College football has arrived. I feel like Steve Martin in “The Jerk.” The new college football season is here! The new college football season is here!It will be even better when batches of good games arrive, but that’s a few weeks out. For now, we have to settle for a few good games. Which will still be... Read More

Oklahoma State football: Will Cowboys spread the ball? August 29, 2012 Justin Blackmon is gone, and the Cowboy offense figures to go from a top-heavy receiving corps to a spread-the-wealth system. But here’s what’s funny. In the Dana Holgorsen Air Raid offense of the last two seasons, OSU did not focus more heavily on just one receiver (Blackmon) than in previous years. In fact,... Read More

Bill Greason: Owner Jimmie Humphries paved the way August 29, 2012 Sixty years ago this summer, Bill Greason broke the color barrier in Oklahoma City baseball. Pitching for the Oklahoma City Indians, he became just the second black player in the history of the Texas League. Greason this week has returned to OKC for the first time since 1953 and will throw out the first pitch at... Read More

Big 12 football: More from Bob Bowlsby August 29, 2012 Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was in Norman on Monday and staged a press conference. I’ve written some about it already but thought I would give you the rest of the highlights. On enhancing the reputation of the Big 12: Bowlsby: “I don’t consider us to be down in the middle tier. I think the top of our... Read More

Oklahoma football: Would Landry have been an NFL starter? August 28, 2012 Landry Jones is back for his fifth and final (hopefully; otherwise we’re talking major injury) OU season. I asked Landry on Monday if he regretted not turning pro, since the NFL seems to be starting any rookie quarterback it can get its hands on. Landry smiled, which I consider a moral victory. “Not yet,”... Read More

Power Lunch: Chat with Berry Tramel August 28, 2012 Power Lunch: Chat with columnist Berry Tramel Read More

Big 12 football: Bob Bowlsby visits OU August 28, 2012 Bob Bowlsby visited the OU campus Monday. We ran part of his press conference in a Q&A in the Tuesday Oklahoman, which you can read here. But Bowlsby had some other interesting things to say. And his opening remarks were as interesting as the questions. There aren’t a lot of juicy news to delve into.... Read More

Oklahoma football: UTEP faces tough schedule August 27, 2012 My Dallas pal Joshua Bostic has nominated Texas-El Paso for his annual “Impossible Out-of-Conference Schedule For Million Dollar Payday” award. The Miners host the Sooners, then go to Ole Miss and Wisconsin. Read More

Oklahoma football: Expect Damien Williams to play August 27, 2012 You haven’t heard much about OU tailback Damien Williams. But expect to see No. 26 Saturday night at Sun Bowl Stadium, when the Sooners open the 2012 season against Texas-El Paso. Bob Stoops said Monday that “Williams has really been impressive and will definitely get a bunch of snaps.” Williams is listed... Read More

Oklahoma football: monitoring wayward helmets August 27, 2012 The new helmet rule in college football is sure to have some effect on games. It’s now a 15-yard penalty against any team whose player loses his helmet and continues in the flow of the game. In other words, lose your helmet, remove yourself from the action. The rule is in response to two factors: 1) the... Read More

OU basketball: Memories of the golden days August 25, 2012 I went out Friday to the OU basketball reunion and chatted with Mookie Blaylock, Ricky Grace and Billy Tubbs about the golden days of 1988, when the Sooners had the nation’s best team. You can read my column for the Saturday Oklahoman here. But I had plenty left over and thought I would share with you some of... Read More

Oklahoma State football: OSU gets TCU at home two straight years August 24, 2012 OSU is considering a neutral-site game against Mississippi State in Houston to open the 2013 season. Our man John Helsley reported the story, which you can read here. The stumbling block is that OSU already has a game scheduled at Texas-San Antonio in 2013; the Cowboys don’t want to play two non-conference... Read More

Big 12 football: More on TCU success story July 16, 2012 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

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

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