40 Acres Sports

Normally, I would be one of the last people on the planet to stick up for OU, but what happened to them on Saturday should go down as some of the worst calls in the history of college football. And not only was it just one call, there were 3 horrible calls in the span of 1 minute, and two of them were held up by instant replay!

1. On the onside kick, an Oregon player clearly touches the ball before it crosses the 10 yard line.
2. Oklahoma recovers the onside kick when the ball squirts out of the pile.
3. Two plays later an OU defensive lineman tipped a pass, but an OU defensive back was still somehow called for pass interference.

The first two were reviewed by instant replay, and what was their decision? Oregon ball. Seriously, I have no idea what these refs could be thinking. And unlike OU’s game against Texas Tech last year, OU really got screwed on this one.

Read more to check out video evidence.

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The University of [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] issued a statement today that two players had been kicked off the football team for receiving “extra compensation above that to which they were entitled, related to their employment at a private business.” No names were cited in the release but numerous outlets are reporting that one of the two players was starting quarterback Rhett Bomar. The other player is reportedly Bomar’s roommate, starting right guard J.D. Quinn.

Bomar was working at an Oklahoma City car dealership, the same one that made news by letting Adrian Peterson “borrow” a Lexus for several weeks, and reported $18,000 of income for the year despite only working about five hours per week. That would work out to about $70 per hour (if he was working 52 weeks a year) for whatever he was supposedly doing for the dealership. Like Al Capone and possibly Barry Bonds, I guess it was the IRS that finally did Bomar in.

This obviously has big Big 12 and national implications as the Sooners were being touted by many experts as national title contenders going into the season. They were also voted as Big 12 favorites by the media. Now they’ll head into next week’s practices without their starting quarterback and no clear answer as to who will take over the position. We’ll likely see QB-turned-WR Paul Thompson moved back to quarterback where he’ll battle with JUCO transfer Joey Halzle and a true freshman for the starting nod. The Sooners’ QB situation just became as murky as the Longhorns’.

I guess this brings new meaning to the term “Bomar’d.”

Update

Rumors are flying that this is just the beginning and that more suspensions will be coming soon. Adrian Peterson’s name has of course been mentioned due to his relationship with Big Red Sports/Imports. The other names are D.J. Wolfe, projected starting cornerback, and Garrett Hartley their starting placekicker. Now these are definitely just rumors, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more of this in the next couple of days. It is hard to believe that just two players were involved when we know that other OU players had relationships with this car dealership. (5:30 pm)

[tag]Oklahoma[/tag] Sooners fans were furious with the officiating at the end of their matchup with [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] back in November. Several questionable calls in the final minute went against the Sooners, including the final play where Tech’s Taurean Henderson barely did/didn’t cross the goal line.

Well the Red Raiders aren’t going to let the opportunity to rub it in the Sooners’ faces one more time pass them by, and they’ll happily sell a few extra season tickets in the process. They’ve put a great billboard up in Lubbock with a photo of Henderson stretching the football across the goal line that says, “He’s in. Are you?” Of course they used a photo from his second effort that came after he was down, but it’s still amusing.

That billboard sure would look good here in Dallas or maybe smack in the middle of Norman.

Good news for both Longhorns and Sooners today as the two universities have reached an agreement that will keep the Red River Shootout in Dallas through 2010. The lack of improvements to the Cotton Bowl had caused both UT and OU to threaten to change the matchup into a home-and-home series.

While the agreement is only through 2010, Dallas officials are poised to announce renovations to the stadium totaling $50 million next week. That money would be a big step to keeping the game in Dallas and would likely result in a long-term deal. The game brings in big time money and it was definitely in Dallas’ best interests to keep the game in the city. For the two schools, the low capacity and lack of luxury boxes in the Cotton Bowl limit the revenue brought in by the game. Hopefully the proposed renovations will create a stadium and a situation that causes all parties to want to keep the game in Dallas.

One last note, contrary to what Mayor Laura Miller (the reason we’re in this mess and the Cowboys are in Arlington) and the Dallas TV media are trying to claim, this is not a five year extension. The previous agreement would not have ended until 2008, so while this is a new five year deal it only guarantees an additional two years at the State Fair for the historic series. The city of Dallas has avoided complete disaster (for now) but they must get the $50 million bond approved or we’ll be having these same discussions in another year or so.

Kudos to Texas’ DeLoss Dodds and OU’s Joe Castiglione for getting a deal done, and to Mayor Miller for miraculously not screwing things up.

It looks like the [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] Sooner basketball program is about to be hit with some serious NCAA sanctions for their many infractions dealing with various recruiting violations. The NCAA isn’t exactly an observant organization, but 550 illegal phone calls is sure to draw some interest:

OU broke rules recruiting James

By Berry Tramel
The Oklahoman

We don’t know what the NCAA’s infractions committee asked the Oklahoma basketball brigade Friday. The door to the principal’s office was closed.

But here’s what the NCAA jurists should have asked everyone wearing Sooner lapels: Explain why Damion James should be eligible to play for your school.

OU was in Park City, Utah, on Friday not because of a misunderstanding. Not because of a gray area in the rules. Not because they kept missing recruits on the phone and piled up too many calls.

OU was in Park City, Utah, because it cheated. Kelvin Sampson and his staff broke the rules.

Not a few times. Many times.

Not by accident. Purposely and unquestionably.

Not insignificantly. Significantly.

OU basketball broke the rules and profited, most recently in the form of James, the 6-foot-8 schoolboy star from Nacogdoches, Texas. Transcripts of the NCAA’s investigation show that Sooner coaches began calling James during his junior season.

You can’t call juniors. Not from a box and not with a fox. Not in a house and not with a mouse. You cannot call them here or there, you cannot call them anywhere.

If you call a junior, it had better be to tell him his house is on fire. Otherwise, it’s cheating. Flagrant, blatant cheating. No less cheating than if you handed him $20,000 in cash.

The NCAA found OU guilty of more than 550 impermissible phone calls, including 98 to juniors, over the last several years.

We don’t know who all the recipients were, but we know James was among them.

So how can the NCAA’s enforcement wing possibly allow James to play for the Sooners? Is James not ill-gotten gain?

Every coach in America will tell you that recruiting is about relationships. Building relationships. Nurturing relationships.

How could it possibly not have been a major advantage for OU to be quick on the draw with James? The Sooners jumped the gun and, just like their namesakes in 1889, reaped the bounty.

How can the NCAA pretend to be serious about rules when it asks Texas and Kansas and OSU to compete the next few years against a Sooner team that has James on the roster?

And Sampson’s departure for Indiana should cut OU no slack, for the same reasoning that holds recruits to their letters of intent (ala Scottie Reynolds) even when a coach leaves. Sometimes it’s hard to remember, with the crazy system college basketball has constructed, but the program and the school are bigger than the coach.

In the NCAA transcripts, OU coaches talk of how they thought the phone calls were just a way to outwork opponents. Sampson talks about who turned OU in.

That doesn’t sound like a lesson learned.

None of this is fair to new Sooner coach Jeff Capel. But no one in crimson is in position to talk about fair. And Capel took this job with eyes wide open.

It’s also not fair to James. He was just a kid – a junior, remember – answering the phone. But if the NCAA ruled James ineligible at OU, he would have options and plenty of them (see Reynolds).

And cheating will have gone unrewarded.

I can’t imagine that Kelvin Sampson will escape this without some sort of penalty. He was the one directly responsible for the cheating, he doesn’t deserve to escape punishment just because he skipped town for Indiana. He and his new team should receive equal punishment and Indiana should immediately show him the door. The Hoosiers had to know this was going down, what a terrible hire.

The interesting part of all this for Longhorn fans is that [tag]Damion James[/tag] is an elite small forward who will probably looking for a new school attend soon. The 5-star out of Nacogdoches had Texas on his list of schools before he committed to OU last year and would certainly get a good look from James if he does in fact decide to ask out of his letter of intent. He and Kevin Durant both are best suited for the 3 but could split time at that position and the power forward slot and give the Horns a ridiculously long and athletic team. With LaMarcus Aldridge off to the NBA, PJ Tucker possibly following him, and Craig Winder a transfer possibility, Texas probably would have a scholarship available for Jones if he’s interested.

I can’t tell you how good recapping a Texas victory over OU feels. The last time we beat OU, I was a freshman in college, which seems ages ago. I was lucky enough to be at the game, which made the victory even more special. But even with this win, we still have a lot left to do this season if we want any hopes of returning back to the Rose Bowl. I really hope Texas doesn’t fall into their own hype and focuses on Colorado this weekend. Back to the game though, here is how I graded the performances.

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A
Vince led Texas all the way through this win, and while I wouldn’t really say he played spectular, it was definitely a special performance. He controlled the tempo very well and made touch passes like I have never seen him make before. There were a few instances where he missed some wide open receivers, but that is expected over the course of a game. He made the big throws when he had to, and started off the opening drive with a nice touchdown pass to Taylor. His deep touchdown pass to Pittman right before the end of the first half really felt like it sealed the deal in the game. I will take 3 touchdown passes and 45 rushing yards almost any weekend out of the year.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: A-
Jamaal Charles was just nuts. He did exactly what Brian had predicted, and broke a long touchdown over 50 yards. He ended up with 116 yards on just 9 carries and added a score before he was taken out with a minor injury. Selvin did most of the relief, and I must say that it scares me every time he runs the ball. Is it just me, or has he fumbled in every game he has played? Melton wasn’t really that big of a factor, but he wasn’t really needed.

Wide Receivers – Overall Grade: A+
Very Impressive performance out of this group. They seemed to run great routes and were wide open several times. Taylor seemed to run by everyone like they were standing still. Pittman has been Vince’s goto man, and he proved that yet again grabbing 4 catches for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. And again, that touchdown before the half basically sealed the deal.

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