Jenni Carlson

Opinions from The Oklahoman sports columnist

What’s the better job? October 31, 2007 | Comment on this article

Sounds more and more like three big-time college football jobs could be open after this season. If not sooner. Bill Callahan at Nebraska and Dennis Franchione at Texas A&M are almost certainly gone. Houston Nutt and Arkansas could be parting ways, too. That would leave the Cornhuskers, Aggies and Razorbacks... Read More

Missing the league October 30, 2007 The NBA season starts tonight. Sigh. It wasn’t so long ago that the start of the NBA season came and went without so much as a blip in Oklahoma City. Now, after two years as the home of the Hornets, it feels weird that the season is starting and the city has no squad. The Ford Center will sit idle tonight,... Read More

All-Big 12 team needs a shakeup October 29, 2007 sharedVideo(1276249739) The Big 12 needs a makeover. Of its all-conference team, that is. Less than a month remains on the conference slate. That means the announcement of the all-Big 12 teams is just around the corner. Which brings me to the area that needs a facelift — the skill positions on offense.... Read More

Sometimes, inspiration comes in the mail October 28, 2007 Justin Chappell wasn’t so sure he wanted to tell his story. The Guthrie High School linebacker has myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease that has attacked his eyes and affected his vision. Unless he takes eight pills a day, he sees double in crazy, wacky ways. But when Guthrie coach Rafe Watkins let him... Read More

Video on the RUF/NEKS October 26, 2007 sharedVideo(1260595656) 1 Show / Hide Archive Comments The following comments are archived from the original publication of this post Drew Sisemore on Feb 25, 2008 @ 4:01 pm Read More

Rough on the RUF/NEKS October 25, 2007 Should the Sooner Schooner ride again? Listen to my video commentary or read here: The RUF/NEKS as we’ve long known them are gone. I say, “Hoorah.” But I’m also happy that the Oklahoma spirit group that has been around since 1915 isn’t going away entirely. No doubt you’ve heard... Read More

Finally, some good news October 24, 2007 Sports has been plagued by all sorts of bad news. Scandals. Steroids. Scoundrels. Feel like you need some good news, sports fans? Steve Kime is your guy. On Saturday, the Oklahoma City resident will run the Tulsa Run for the ninth consecutive year to raise funds for Special Olympics. And he doesn’t just run.... Read More

OU: Third nationally in what? October 23, 2007 Oklahoma has added another top-three finish to its storied sports history. In bass fishing. Bass fishing? You read right. Last weekend, two-man teams from 36 colleges competed in the Under Armour College Bass National Championship on the Arkansas River near Little Rock. Who knows what’s more amazing, that... Read More

Is Les Miles the new Bob Stoops? October 22, 2007 sharedVideo(1263958127) Les Miles has become Bob Stoops. Oh, OK. Not exactly Bob Stoops. Miles still wears the ball cap, not the visor. Then, there’s the difference of team colors, Miles being partial to LSU’s purple and gold instead of OU’s crimson and cream. But other than that, Miles has become... Read More

Homecoming opponent? October 20, 2007 It’s homecoming at Iowa State. And Oklahoma’s in town? Didn’t it used to be that teams scheduled someone they could actually beat on homecoming? The day you have alumni come back and a full house for your game is a day you’d like to have a win. Or at the very least a competitive game.... Read More

A little Brody love October 20, 2007 Got an e-mail from a reader this week who said Brody Eldridge isn’t getting near enough love. Here’s some — the Oklahoma tight end is turning into a heck of a blocker. At fullback. Eldridge has been lining up in the backfield more and more. A week ago, he led the way on three consecutive Chris... Read More

Kudos to ‘Clones October 20, 2007 Iowa State just missed a 35-yard field goal attempt that would’ve given it a 10-point lead at half. The Cyclones managed no points, but they took some precious time off the clock. They’ve been managing the clock well against the Sooners. Their last drive lasted almost seven minutes to go with at least... Read More

Talk of upsets October 20, 2007 The Oklahoma coaches issued a reminder to their players this week. A sheet of all the big upsets in college football this season. It was meant to make the Sooners aware that crazy things have happened this season, that big-time favorites have been upended by the likes of Appalachian State and Stanford.... Read More

Sooners in trouble? October 20, 2007 Oklahoma is down 7-0 to Iowa State at halftime. That’s not an insurmountable deficit by any means. The Sooners could score two or three times in a couple minutes, so a one-touchdown lead is nothing to this team. But still, there’s reason to think the Sooners might be in trouble. The offense has mounted... Read More

Something sour in the Big Apple October 18, 2007 Things in New York have me scratching my head. You can watch my video commentary or read here: Someone needs to explain this one — Isiah Thomas still has a job with the Knicks but the Yankees might ax Joe Torre. What’s up with that? Isiah has done nothing but destroy everything he’s been involved... Read More

Ghosts of Cornhuskers past October 17, 2007 A couple years back, I interviewed Trev Alberts for a story about Nebraska football. For whatever reason, the story never ran, but I found myself thinking about that conversation this week. Nebraska fired athletic director Steve Pederson, then brought back Tom Osborne to be its interim AD. No doubt the... Read More

Cowboy carnage October 16, 2007 When Oklahoma State notches a big victory, it does more than just win. It costs someone their job. OSU has scored its biggest wins of the season against Texas Tech and Nebraska. The Cowboys outlasted the Red Raiders, 49-45, in Stillwater about a month ago. Then last weekend, they throttled the Cornhuskers,... Read More

Coaches in hot water? October 15, 2007 A couple of college coaches have made waves these past two weeks. Will it doom them? You can listen to my latest video commentary or read here: Kelvin Sampson is at it again. The former Oklahoma men’s basketball coach left Norman amid dark clouds of recruiting misconduct. Too many... Read More

No Headline October 11, 2007 Looking ahead to the weekend. Watch here on my video commentary, or read here on my blog: All signs point to Oklahoma-Missouri being a big game. The Sooners are ranked sixth, the Tigers 11th. The Sooners have one loss but are still in the national title hunt. The Tigers are undefeated but are still trying to... Read More

And you think Bedlam gets ugly October 10, 2007 Word out of Lubbock is that a fraternity at Texas Tech has been banned from selling T-shirts bearing the likeness of Michael Vick hanging Reveille, Texas A&M’s canine mascot. The slogan on the shirt: VICK ‘EM. It’s just another ugly chapter in the Texas A&M-Texas Tech rivalry. Back in 2001 after... Read More

2 3 Next

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.