Jenni Carlson

Opinions from The Oklahoman sports columnist

Next big rivalry: OSU-Missouri? December 22, 2009 | Comment on this article

Jay Nixon is no household name to folks in Oklahoma, but he’s doing his darnedest to become public enemy No. 1 to Oklahoma State fans. The Missouri governor talked recently to the Associated Press about the possibility of the Missouri Tigers leaving the Big 12 and joining the Big Ten. The powers that be... Read More

Speedway closing = history lost December 16, 2009 An Oklahoma City sports institution is closing. We learned Monday that State Fair Speedway’s days are numbered. Oklahoma City officials say major electrical repairs are forcing the track’s closing. Speedway officials say the whole thing is a smokescreen concocted to close the... Read More

More from The Q&A: Phillip Dillard December 05, 2009 Phillip Dillard and his Nebraska teammates face a tall task today — slowing down Colt McCoy and the Texas offense in the Big 12 championship game. But it’s hardly the first challenge the former Jenks High School standout has faced. The linebacker has endured high-profile coaching changes and... Read More

A nice read on a hated rival December 04, 2009 Just when you think you’ve read everything there is to know about a high-profile athlete, a story comes along with all sorts of new information. This one about Texas quarterback Colt McCoy came across my desk today. It was sent in an e-mail by the Texas sports information office, which is really promoting the... Read More

Basketball starts early this year December 03, 2009 Basketball season is upon us, and it’s arrived earlier than normal in Oklahoma. Oh, sure, the games start around the same time every year, the NBA tipping off in late October, the colleges in mid-November. But really, no one in our fair state usually pays roundball much attention until early January.... Read More

More from the NFL Q&A: Jacob Lacey November 22, 2009 Jacob Lacey is making quite a splash in the NFL. Undrafted last spring, the former Oklahoma State cornerback has started the last two games for the Indianapolis Colts. He even had seven tackles a week ago against New England. He still keeps a close eye, though, on his alma mater. Jenni Carlson: Bedlam’s... Read More

Forget Bedlam for a moment November 19, 2009 Over the past year or so, I’ve had the honor of sharing several times about Caleb Spady. The Hinton boy had a passion for baseball. He had a love for the Texas Rangers and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He also had an inoperable, incurable form of brain cancer. Sadly, Caleb died in July, but his... Read More

A new OKC Thanksgiving tradition? November 18, 2009 No holiday is more tradition-rich than Thanksgiving. Another activity is trying to work its way into the traditions of folks in Oklahoma City. Even though the Oklahoma City Turkey Trot is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, it has largely been a forgotten about event. But now the 5K race is moving... Read More

Predictions for the New Year December 31, 2008 Just a quick post to say best wishes to everyone in 2009. My bold prediction for 2009 — made earlier this week on The Press Row — is that the Thunder are going to make a significant off-season move. Not sure who it will be, but I believe that either by trade or by free-agent acquisition, the franchise is... Read More

Cowboys make quite a statement December 29, 2008 Let’s take a little trip back in time. It’s not a long journey. Just a few months. Perhaps you’ll remember the talk before this football season about Oklahoma State. The Cowboys looked like they were going to be better with an experienced offense and an improving defense. But where were the wins going to... Read More

Sidekick to Slingin’ Sam December 25, 2008 You might have seen his face or heard his name a week or so ago when Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy. Kelsey Cline was part of the Oklahoma quarterback’s traveling party. Some of you may have wondered who he is. Others may have wondered where you’d heard that name before. Cline is currently the golf... Read More

Naughty or nice in the sports world? December 24, 2008 He’s makin’ a list and checkin’ it twice. Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice. Yep, Santa Claus is comin’ to town, and if he’s makin’ a list of the good and the bad in the world of sports, well, those could be some interesting lists. There has been some very good and some appallingly bad this... Read More

More fun with Oklahoma, Florida fans December 23, 2008 The column that I wrote today about Florida fans has stirred a good number of folks. I’ll be sure to share some of those sentiments here on my blog later this week, but first, I wanted to share something fun that was run across in recent days. The Oklahoma fan site Crimson and Cream Machine and the... Read More

More from The Q&A: Lou Holtz December 20, 2008 Lou Holtz is never shy with his opinions. He dished in The Q&A about his choices for player and coach of the year as well as his thoughts on the national championship game match-up. But he had plenty more to say. Jenni Carlson: I’m sure you get asked this all the time, but is it time for a playoff in... Read More

New Heisman Park statue revealed?

December 19, 2008 A fun photo is making the electronic rounds. Oklahoma football fans should get a kick out of photo-shopped spoof. I suspect this won’t end up being the design for the Sam Bradford statue that will one day be dedicated outside the stadium in Norman, but no moment was more dramatic in this Heisman-winning season.... Read More

Blake Griffin Hype Machine Rolling December 17, 2008 Just ran across something fun. Oklahoma basketball star Blake Griffin is doing a video diary for ESPN.com, and his first installment is up. It’s a little bit dated; the footage is from the first days of practice. But you definitely get some fun insight. The locker room. The apartment. The practice gym. My... Read More

Not to toot our own horn, but … December 16, 2008 So, The Oklahoman sports staff did an exit poll of Heisman Trophy voters last week. We solicited the ballots of 100 voters and determined that Sam Bradford would win the award, Colt McCoy would finish second and Tim Tebow would finish third. Nailed it. Yes, our exit poll was right on the money with how the... Read More

Heisman greatness foretold? December 15, 2008 Let’s rewind for a minute to the summer of 2003. There was a quarterback battle brewing at an Oklahoma City high school. The football team had become known for producing good quarterbacks but for not starting them until they were seniors. At one point, they had the guy who set the state’s single-season... Read More

Thoughts on the Heisman December 08, 2008 HeismanPundit.com asked me to answer a few questions for a Heisman Trophy voter round table that will be posted on that website later this week. You can check out all the answers from around the country there, but because the questions were so good and so thought-provoking, I thought I’d share what I submitted... Read More

More from The Q&A: Tarrion Adams December 06, 2008 Tulsa tailback Tarrion Adams hopes to cap an already stellar senior season with a Conference USA championship today. Thing is, he knows that a conference title could’ve meant a whole lot more if college football had a different way of crowning its national championship. Here’s what Adams had to say about... 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.