40 Acres Sports

Pete Schenkel was the key in keeping Texas-OU at Cotton Bowl. I was shocked at hearing the news.

Oklahoma has declared the watermelon their official state vegetable. In case you weren’t sure, the watermelon isn’t a vegetable. It’s a fruit and it has always been a fruit. Oklahoma lawmakers disagree with science:

Sen. Don Barrington, R-Lawton, sponsored the bill in the Senate. “The controversy on whether watermelon is a fruit or vegetable has been officially decided by the Oklahoma Legislature,” Barrington said. He said watermelon comes from the cucumber and gourd families, which are classified as vegetables.

I hate to break it to Senator Barrington but the cucumber is a fruit too.

Webster’s dictionary vaguely describes a vegetable as “anything made or obtained from plants.” Of course using that definition sugar, rubber, and marijuana could all be considered vegetables. Maybe they could have named a cotton t-shirt the state vegetable. People from [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] are stupid.

Next week: Oklahoma declares the dolphin the official state fish.

Oklahoma says NCAA infractions hearing was “fair”. Hopefully fair means the death penalty, but I doubt it.

This week the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association Board of Directors voted unanimously to move the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic out of Dallas. Beginning in 2009, the game won’t be played at the Cotton Bowl but instead at the brand new home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington.

The city of Dallas still claims they want to put the whopping $50 million into the aging stadium for renovations and modernization, but what’s the point now? They’re willing to put $50 million into the place just to keep one game (Prairie View A&M versus Grambling doesn’t count) there for maybe five or six more years but Mayor Laura Miller fought hard against $325 million of tax money it would’ve taken to get the new Cowboys’ stadium in downtown Dallas. What kind of sense does that make?

Now that the Cotton Bowl game is gone it won’t be long before the Red River Rivalry leaves the fairgrounds for a better facility and more money. The game will be in Dallas through 2010 but odds are good that both Texas and [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] will seriously discuss exploring other options after that point.

Will the possible renovations to the Cotton Bowl be enough? Will Texas and OU try to keep tradition intact and the game in Dallas? Or will the two schools turn the game into a home and home series? Make your vote on what should be done in the poll below.

One of the more remarkable games today as the Longhorns knock off the Sooners 68-58 in an ugly game in Norman. Texas played solid basketball to start the game and built a 13 point lead heading into halftime. The second half was a completely different story as Kevin Durant’s two baskets were the only two shots the team made in the entire second half. The Longhorns hit 22 of 30 free throws to hold onto the lead and never let Oklahoma closer than 8 points.

After a total team effort earlier in the week against Texas Tech, it was pretty much all Kevin Durant today. No one else on the team made more than four shots, and of course all of those came in the first half. Durant had 32 points on 9 of 14 shooting and was also 9 of 10 from the charity stripe. D.J. Augustin was the only other Longhorn in double digits as he played all 40 minutes and scored 18 points.

Anytime you can go on the road and get a big win over a rival you have to be happy. The Horns didn’t play a complete game, but they kept things together and played well enough on defense to get the win. Texas finishes Big 12 play against league leaders Kansas and Texas A&M this week with a chance to take the regular season crown.

The [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] athletic program has been having a few troubles with the NCAA lately so they’re looking for a new compliance officer. Check out the job posting:

The University of Oklahoma is seeking applicants for a full-time, 12-month position of Managerial Associate I-Compliance. This position will assist in the coordination and enforcement of all areas of NCAA, conference and institutional compliance issues. Responsible for day-to-day operations of the compliance department through assisting in the implementing a process of rules, education and monitoring procedures in conjunction with the executive director of compliance. Performs other related duties as assigned. Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education/job related experience. 48-months experience in NCAA Compliance without the degree. Excellent oral and written communication. A demonstrated record of dependability and high productivity. Ability to maintain confidentiality and a commitment to integrity.

Other necessary qualifications they somehow left out of the job posting:

• Complete lack of knowledge in national median salary of car wash attendants. (Ignorance of normal new car purchase policies also helpful.)
• Ability to look busy while not really doing anything.
• Needs to be able to take orders from people in visors.
• Excellent range of motion in neck to allow to frequently look the other direction.

If any of our readers feel they’re qualified for the position they should apply at http://jobs.ou.edu or contact the office of Human Resources.

The Dallas Morning News has uncovered information that former Oklahoma walk-on Jermaine Hardison could be the third player implicated by NCAA for being paid by Big Red Motors in Oklahoma City for work he didn’t do.

Citing student privacy regulations, OU officials blacked out the names of all players identified in hundreds of pages of investigation documents that it released to The News. It also blacked out some information pertaining to the players.

But Hardison’s name can be deciphered, along with the names of 14 other OU players, through close examination of some documents. The names include eight players on the 2006 roster.

As more and more information comes to light it’s looking more like Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma have a big problem on their hands. Rhett Bomar and J.D. Quinn were cut loose in an attempt to keep the NCAA off their backs, but it doesn’t look like that is going to be enough. The NCAA has been snooping around Norman and Oklahoma City and things don’t look good for the Sooners.

If they’re paying walk-ons to play for them what do you think they’re doing for stars like Adrian Peterson? The same Adrian Peterson who “test drove” a Lexus from Big Red for several weeks until someone caught him. If the NCAA discovers that OU dismissed Hardison because of his involvement with Big Red but tried to cover it up there’s sure to be additional penalties. And if any of those other 14 players were getting money they didn’t deserve they’re going to be in serious sh**.

Vote below for what you think will happen to the Sooners:

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[tag]Oklahoma[/tag] recruit Donald Stephenson signed on the dotted line Wednesday like most of the nation’s top prospects, but he didn’t sign with his teammates in front of the local paper’s lone reporter and photographer. And he didn’t fax it in from the coaches’ office or get the school secretary’s help in the front office.

Instead Stephenson faxed in his letter of intent from Office Depot because he’s currently suspended from school. Apparently some “bad luck” made him break into cars and steal an iPod, a purse, and some caramel bars with his friends. He never denies he committed the crime in the article.

To top things off he accepts a favor from the Office Depot clerk because he’s an athlete, a clear violation of NCAA rules:

An Office Depot employee named Jeanne lights up when told she’s faxing copies for Oklahoma’s latest recruit. She doesn’t question why Stephenson’s at her counter at 8:58 a.m. instead of at school.

“Voila! Five pages sent,” Jeanne exclaims, then shows Stephenson the confirmation page. “And the fax is on me. You don’t have to pay for it.”

Stephenson flashes his dimpled smile.

“That’s the least I can do,” Jeanne gushes. “We’ve got a celebrity here!”

Stephenson finishes his eventful day of signing with Oklahoma and NCAA violations by flying through a school zone while driving without a license or proof of insurance. I think there’s an opening at Big Red Sports/Imports in Oklahoma City, sounds like we’ve got a top candidate here.

Adrian Peterson is headed to the NFL. After his big freshman year, his career at OU was a big disappointment.

Hopefully last night most of you caught one of the better endings ever in a college football bowl game. Boise St had played it pretty straight laced throughout the whole game, until the last play of regulation and in overtime where they looked like they just emptied the playbook. In case you didn’t see the last play, here it is, the ole “Statue of Liberty” to win the game. Amazing.

All I can say is it couldn’t have happened to a more arrogant coach and team in Stoops and [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]. Poor Sooners. Have fun thinking about this one in the off-season.

Now the question will be, “Should Boise St get a shot at the National Championship?” Me personally, I would say no. Let them work their way into a BCS conference and see how they do then. I don’t think there is any way Boise St would have gone undefeated in any of the major conferences. Just my opinion.