The Broncos lost (big), the Sooners lost (kinda big) and I'm really depressed today. Okay, I'm over it now!! LSU played great...Lavalais is incredible!! OU simply didn't show up on defense until the 2nd half and never did show up on offense. I think they miss Q, whataya think, Boomermom? Anyway, next year will be exciting and I'm noticing that my two favorite teams are #3 and #4 on Z's list. Can't complain there! Go Sooners and Hawkeyes!!

BOOMER!!!!

SOONER!!!!

Yes, Jeremy, I think maybe they were trying too hard. Thank goodness Everedge was yanked and Pool put in his place - OSKEY!!! (Oh, since you're a transplant, you may not know that we Sooners associate that word with an Interception - started back in the Switzer era or something.) Yes, my daughter even said last night that she wanted "Q" back. I bet it comes out now that Jason has a fracture or stress-fractured wrist. He wasn't even using the same throwing motion. How cool would it be to meet LSU again next year???? This time on REALLY neutral ground! It should be time for the Orange Bowl again to be the championship game.

Are you into basketball? So far we are undefeated! My son says he sees Jabari on campus a lot. He said he's hard to miss! Ha! Of course he also saw Tommie Harris a lot whizzing by on a bicycle when he was coming out of the Zoology building. He said that was a pretty comical sight - big Tommie on a bicycle!

As a wrestler, the word "basketball" was synonymous with sprints after practice. We weren't allowed to even say the word in front of the coach. Mostly because the b-ball coach and players were extremely arrogant and looked down on us. I enjoy playing the game but never really got into it at all (watched the Hawkeyes on occasion as a kid) until OU started really playing well a couple years ago. I've watched some, not religiously but I try to catch the conference games (Kansas, etc.). Kelvin Sampson seems to be a very good coach and a stand-up guy to boot. I'll be interested in seeing how this season plays out.

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Kelvin Sampson seems to be a very good coach and a stand-up guy to boot. I'll be interested in seeing how this season plays out.

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Just happened to find out about a series ESPN is doing on Sooner Basketball. The first hour was aired Saturday night at 8:30. They are following the coach and team through practices, locker room, games, preparation. Really interesting viewpoint that you get from the coaches and the players. Haven't checked to see when the second hour is on. They may even replay the first sometime. You might want to check.

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It wouldn't surprise me to learn that he was in pain. I know he got blasted a couple of times at least.

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Seems like I remember seeing an interview with one of the other players that said no one realizes how much pain Jason plays with every week. It takes a lot of guts and determination and love for the game to come back from his surgeries and continue.

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Saban didn't complain about the location of the sUGAr Bowl, but he sure griped about the SEC title game being in Atlanta!!

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I'm sure he didn't! It just seemed funny that there weren't enough tickets for Sooner fans to get their hands on them when they were being requested even before OU was chosen for the Sugar Bowl but there sure was a lot of purple and gold filling the stadium.

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"OSKEY"

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I remember reading somewhere (would have to go look it up in our book at home) that Switzer had a dog named "Oskey" that used to jump up to "intercept" the ball and that's how the term started. That would have been way before my day!

As I understand it, there is a certain block of tickects given to each school. If LSU and OU are like UGA, they sell the tickets based on the $$ you contribute to the school. I didn't go to Georgia, and I don't even send money to my alma mater, so I'd have to do the Ebay thing or find some other way. I would think that the rest are for public consumption, just please hand over an arm and a leg . So, I guess the reason for all the purple and gold is proximity, plus, they were guaranteed to fill up the stadium when the fans are blocks away, rather than miles. I'm not saying it's fair, just follow the $$.

Jason sure didn't seem like the same QB last night as I had seen earlier this year. Ya'll are probably right in that something was probably wrong with his hand. Although I'd like to think our defense had something to do with it! Maybe OU just peaked to early and we peaked right about the same time. I'd love a rematch next year but in the Orange Bowl!! (isn't that were the BCS championship is next year?) In any event, I just wish we could play USC because I'm really sick of hearing now how USC would kill us and they should really be #1 because they beat #4 Michigan. Hello? Didn't we beat #3 ranked OU? And the main reason USC was ranked #1 ahead of us was because they last a week or two earlier than we did! Well in event I'm proud to say we are National Champs this year and I'll enjoy it for about 6 months.
And yes Dawgfan I'm sure the rest of the SEC will be gunning for us but that's OK cause we got the ring!! And yeah Saban did moan a little about the SEC championship game being in Atlanta but that's because it's there every year!!!! At the leat the BCS championship game moves every year. We just lucked out that it was in New Orleans.

And with regards to so many LSU fans getting over the 16,000 allotment, it has to do with location and New Orleans is obviously a big LSU city. And many people in NOLA have had Sugar Bowl tickets for years. 2 years ago when we went to the Sugar Bowl and played Illinois we had every more LSU folks there but this year's ticket was a bit harder to come by!
'till next year, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!!

Well, each school was allotted 16,000 but no tickets were sold to the general public. That's why it's hard to figure out how LSU got all those tickets! We had 65,000 people apply for them. And if you've ever watched OU play in bowl games in the past - like last year in the Rose Bowl - we can fill a stadium. Washington State turned in some of their tickets and our fans took them immediately. We have fans that will travel from out of state for every home game and we haven't had a problem with filling a stadium of over 80,000. My son is an OU student and didn't have tickets to the home games this year.

And yes, I would love to meet you in the Orange Bowl. That would mean that we were playing for another Championship! We like the Orange Bowl - Big 12 played there for years!

OK, A RANT!!

I think that Oklahoma should send all of its individual defensive awards to LSU. These guys have not received the press they greatly deserved this year and surely would have won some of those neat little trophies if they had been going to school in Norman, Los Angeles, South Bend, Tuscaloosa, or Miami. Man for man they are every bit as good as, if not better than, the Oklahoma defense.

Another problem with college football is awarding the individual awards too early and mostly as a popularity contest. That is not to say that players receiving these awards are not great at their positions, but if you do not play at a media darling school, your chances of winning one of these little statues are greatly diminished!

Before the OU v. LSU game, I doubt I knew the name of a single player on the LSU team. RANT OVER!

OK...on to other things. Doesn't anybody want the Nebraska job??? Doesn't look that way! Maybe Pederson should be the next to go - a one person hunt for a coach????

I'll agree that LSU didn't get much publicity. In fact we flew under the radar most of the year. People didn't think we'd beat Auburn because they had their running game back....wrong. Then we weren't going to be Eli Manning at Ole Miss, wrong. Then we could beat Georgia again because they were a much better team, wrong. And then we weren't suppose to beat OU (I think the final line was OU by 6 1/2).
Our defense has been extremely solid all year and by far was our best unit. I think you'll see several of those guys on Sunday in the next few years.

Bommermom, on the ticket front. Because the Sugar Bowl has been played in New Orleans for 70 years you have a lot of locals with tickets each year, plus a lot of the annual sponsorship $$ comes from the locals also. When the game doesn't involve someone they want to see they sell them. If it involves LSU, they keep them. That's why we had so many more people.

See you in Miami in January '05??

Boy that Nebraska thing is a mess. I still never understood how they could recruit there before. I think he's going to regret firing Solich. I think this Pederson guy is way too arrongant.

OK, FURTHER RANT:

LSU should have had more first team All-Americans on defense. Their statistics proved this, but their publicity prevented it.

We'll just call them "The Sleeping Giant". Sometimes if no ones knows about you it works to your advantage.

Boy Steve I sure hope your right about the pro thing!
From what I've heard Saban is going to be at LSU for probably one more year. His son is a Junior in high school and has told his Dad he doesn't want to move so the word is he'll stay at least one more year and then go to pros if there is a job he likes/wants. But hey, making $2.5 million in Baton Rouge ain't bad! Plus we now know you can win a championship there!!

He could commute to the Saints. Oh, heck, they'd send a limo.

Boy Z that would be about the only NFL team I wouldn't mind seeing Saban go to!!! I believe Haslett only has one year left on his contract and unless they make some dramatic change I think he'll be gone.

I think I predicted earlier this year that Nebraska would never return to the dominance we saw in the 60s '70s, '80s and early 90s. I stick by my prediction. I may also happen to Bama the way they have self-destructed their program. Some of their more influential boosters are, excuse me, idiots.

Yeah, Jeremy and Z, I am with you on the awards, especially now since bowl games count towards regular season stats.

The thing I don't get about the Nebraska folks is why in the world did they go after Houston Nutt? He's a good coach and all, but his teams haven't exactly been dominant. I know they beat Texas this year, and Texas is among the elite of the Big 12, but Arkansas had a big drop off about midway through the season.

Click here to see one person's thoughts about the Nebraska coaching search (about halfway down the page), among other things.

Hey Tiger fans, according to the NY Times, the NY Giants have found a coach--Saban is safe for now.

Yes, but Saban has also not signed that contract he's supposed to get. Check out espn.com. I won't be surprised in the least if Saban leaves. There's just something about him that doesn't seem right. (No offense intended to LSU fans, just MHO).

Speaking of coaching hires, Joe Gibbs is reportedly returning to the Redskins. Of course, I think only part of the problems of that team stem from Steve Spurrier.