So you're not a Division I caliber football player. You've always wondered what it might be like. No worries, check out this website with a bunch of samples of different offer letters from a few schools. Looks like the Gators were sticklers and made them take theirs down.
Speaking of football, the Spring Game is today! It won't be televised, unfortunately, but we'll try to get some kind of recap up later.
Right now the Sacramento Kings have the worst record in the NBA. But it's not cut and dry that they will get Blake Griffin. This thing called the NBA Lottery means that any team not in the playoffs will have a shot. It would be a major coup for the Thunder to be able to nab Griffin. They would have a lot more fan interest fast.
If you like way-early and jump-the-gun predictions, Andy Katz has his 2009-2010 Prseeason Top 25 up for men's basketball.
Here's a nice ESPN article on incoming recruit Tommy Mason-Griffin. By all accounts he seems to be a great kid with an excellent work ethic.
Big 12 Blogger Tim Griffin made OU DE Jeremy Beal the 23rd best player in the conference in his spring rankings.
According to the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, the offensive line has responded to Bob Stoops calling them out earlier in the spring. That's more than OK with me, but I'm torn between wanting to see the offense perform well during the spring game, and wanting to see the defense perform well. Thoughts?
Gerald McCoy makes a prediction for me, saying that the OU Sooners might have the top defensive unit in the country if everything comes together right. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but they'll be darn good.
Quotable
"I will tell you this, this is my fourth spring ball and I haven’t seen us break as many big plays in the spring as we have this one. I think it’s coming together well."
--Oklahoma Guard Brian Simmons
In The News
- The United States is going to be bidding to host the 2018 World Cup or 2022 World Cup. Apparently Owen Field is on the list of possible venues.
- The Paris Twins both got drafted. Both will be going to California. Courtney was drafted 7th overall by the Sacramento Monarchs. Ashley was drafted 22nd overall in the 2nd round by the Los Angeles Sparks.
- Blake Griffin basically made it a clean sweep by taking home the Wooden Award.
- The OU-Louisville Final Four game set a women's basketball ratings record here in Oklahoma City.
- Bob Stoops offered a succinct but good response to the whole asterisk debacle down in Austin.
Second Hand Reports & Rumors
- Looks like the highly touted defensive end prospects are working in a different order than you might suspect. Looks like right now David King is a bit higher on the depth chart than R.J. Washington.
- If you've been in on the "Daniel Orton come to OU" crowd after the big debacle with Kentucky happened, the hot rumors on the internet have him staying at Kentucky or picking Kansas.
- Willie Warren is rumored to be "testing the waters", as posted in this C&C Machine article. However, testing the waters basically means checking out the information on your draft status. Based on what he said after the UNC game, one has to assume he'll be back until he says otherwise.
Last Word
Here's a quick top 5 "who to watch" during the spring game, if you're going. Otherwise, I'll try to highlight these guys' performances in a recap:
- Landry Jones: One has to assume Sam will go to the NFL after this year. As such, it will be important to have a good performance from Landry.
- Sam Proctor: We've all seen that Quinton Carter can start at safety, but it will be important to see Sam Proctor be assertive.
- DeJuan Miller and Jameel Owens: I know this is two guys, but one of these two new receivers need to assert themselves. They have great size and athletic ability and it would be nice to have them able to contribute.
- The Offensive Line As A Unit: They'll be going up against one of the best defensive lines in the country. If they look competent that probably means good things.
- Jonathan Nelson: We know that Dom Franks and Brian Jackson are solid, but it would be nice to see someone step into the role of "nickel back". It's also good to have depth. Nelson was a shut down corner in high school, and it would be nice to see that translate.