Jenni Carlson

Opinions from The Oklahoman sports columnist

OSU or Georgia? Maybe I’m crazy … August 31, 2007 | Comment on this article

My buddy, Matt Clayton, is the man often responsible for designing the cover of the sports section of our newspaper. His opinions aren’t read in the newspaper, and yet, he is a highly opinionated, tell-it-like-it-is guy. So, when I asked him the other day if Oklahoma State would beat Georgia, his answer... Read More

Something to get you in the mood August 30, 2007 A cell phone rang in the office the other day. Happens all the time, right? Thing is, this ring was different. Not a chime. Not a bell. It was the Florida State “War Chant.” I know everyone is partial to their favorite school’s fight song. It’s the one that makes you stand up and clap, that stirs... Read More

Switzer: Vessels helped make job easy August 30, 2007 Seems no celebration of Sooners past would be complete without Barry Switzer. The former Oklahoma coach, of course, was on hand Thursday when the Billy Vessels statue was revealed in Cleveland, Okla. He had the crowd in Vessels’ hometown in the palm of his hand. Here’s a look at some of his remarks: “I... Read More

Sports sinking in New Orleans August 28, 2007 Exactly two years ago Wednesday, Hurricane Katrina roared across the Gulf Coast. If you think back, the images are not difficult to re-create. The people stranded on rooftops, holes cut in their shingles where they escaped their attics. The folks floating down flooded streets on mattresses. The concrete slabs,... Read More

Bet David Stern loves this August 27, 2007 Apparently owning an NBA team and running a cable television network just isn’t enough for Mark Cuban. He’s adding “Dancing with the Stars” to his to-do list. According to internet reports, the Dallas Mavericks’ owner is set to join the ABC show’s fifth season. The dancing competition pairs... Read More

Sign of the times August 23, 2007 My travels take me up and down the Broadway Extension almost every day, and for the past few months, I’ve been enthralled by the new digital billboard near NE 23rd. What most often catches my eye is the countdown to kickoff at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. When the scoreboard first went up, the countdown was... Read More

Bradford at his best August 22, 2007 Last we saw Sam Bradford playing in real, live football games, things didn’t go so well for Slingin’ Sam and his squad. His senior season at Putnam City North was his most woeful as a prepster. The Panthers finished 5-5 and missed the playoffs for the first time in several years. Truthfully, though,... Read More

Sammy B. gets the nod August 21, 2007 So, Oklahoma has chosen Sam Bradford as its starting quarterback. Shocker, right? OK, so it wasn’t exactly a bolt out of the blue Tuesday morning when OU issued a press release saying Bradford was the guy. The redshirt freshman has been the steadiest and surest of the three Sooner quarterbacks. He was... Read More

Moody: Little guy, big moves August 20, 2007 Emmanuel Moody is leaving Southern Cal. But is the running back coming to Oklahoma State? That remains to be seen. Moody was supposed to be in Stillwater on Monday, and there’s no doubt that we’ll hear more about his plans in the coming days. Until then, though, this talk of him becoming a Cowboy begs a... Read More

A pattern emerges August 10, 2007 Want to know how a guy is going to put himself in contention at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills? Survive the front nine. Score the back nine. A pattern has emerged in the first day and a half. The front side is playing extremely tough. There are birdies out there on the front nine, but most guys are... Read More

Wanna watch golf at your desk? August 10, 2007 The boss doesn’t need to know about this, but this week at the PGA Championship, the PGA and TNT are offering live streaming video of the action online. The Pipeline, as it’s dubbed, gives you a chance to watch what’s happening on the course. Go to the tournament’s official site, then click onto the... Read More

Tiger, T-Town and back sweat August 06, 2007 It’s official: the PGA Championship is here. The first round isn’t until Thursday, but Southern Hills in Tulsa is buzzing already. * Folks had to rise and shine early if they wanted to catch Tiger. The talented Mr. Woods teed off before 7 a.m. and finished his practice round around... Read More

College football rankings fun July 30, 2007 Our friends at ESPN.com decided to pass the final days before the start of football practice with a little ranking. They asked 15 of their college football experts to rank all 119 Division-I programs for what they’ve done in the past decade. An interesting idea. An even more interesting result. The top... Read More

Carlson: Artrell improving July 25, 2007 Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was asked about the progress of Artrell Woods. The wide receiver was injured a couple weeks ago in a freak weight room accident. He injured his back and needed emergency surgery. Gundy said that considering the nature of his injury, Woods is doing well. While the Cowboy coach... Read More

Carlson: Gundy on Collins July 25, 2007 Oklahoma State linebacker Chris Collins was brought up only once in Mike Gundy’s press conference. The Cowboy coach talked not about Collins’ pending legal situation but about his health after a season-ending knee injury a year ago. “Chris Collins is back full speed,” Gundy said. “When he was... Read More

Carlson: Favorite part of Media Days July 24, 2007 My favorite part of Big 12 Media Days has just begun. Mike Leach on the dais. The Texas Tech coach is a hoot. He’s opinionated. He’s thoughtful. And man, oh man, he’s funny. He opened with a laugh, sitting down and beating the press conference moderator to the punch. “Any questions?”... Read More

Carlson: Missouri surprise July 24, 2007 News about Missouri’s stop atop the Big 12 North in the preseason poll surprised some folks. That group included a few Tigers. Missouri defensive tackle and Midwest City product Lorenzo Williams remembers opening the morning paper not so long ago and seeing the headline. He admitted Tuesday during Big 12... Read More

Back from vacay July 17, 2007 Greetings, sports fans. Long time, no blog. Took some time off last week, and even though I ventured outside Oklahoma County only once, it was exactly the thing I needed to recharge. So, feeling energized, I offer you a smorgasbord of thoughts on the latest goings on in sports: 1. The New York Post is reporting... Read More

Don’t be like Mike July 06, 2007 Federal agents returned to Michael Vick’s home in Virginia on Friday morning. They brought a dozen cars, a U-Haul truck and a helicopter with them. Doesn’t look good for Mike. The accusations about the Atlanta Falcons quarterback’s involvement in dog fighting aren’t going away. In fact, they only... Read More

A true sports hero July 04, 2007 So often in sports we throw around the word “hero.” In reality, sports has few heroes. Legends, yes. Stars, for sure. But heroes in sports are rare. An e-mail earlier this week reminded me of that. Former Oklahoma football player and coach Leon Cross was nice enough to share with me an e-mail sent to him... Read More

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Jenni Carlson

Want a different take on sports? Jenni Carlson provides her unique insight on everything from the pros to the college ranks to the preps and everything in between.