What would be your final words before you died? Seems like a simple question until you start thinking about it. What would be my final words before I died? Would you ask God for forgiveness? Would you say I love you to your family? Would you say "Boomer Sooner!"?
That's what happened with Jeffrey Landrigan, but with a twist. Landrigan was on death row and was about to be executed. Mr. Landrigan had already been in jail for second-degree murder in Oklahoma, when he escaped. Landrigan turned up in Arizona, strangled a man in a robbery, arrested, and given the death penalty. His execution was held up in courts, until the supreme court by a 5-4 decision, vacated the other decisions. Mr. Landrigan had his final meal and then was asked what his final words were going to be. Here's what he said, via CNN.
"I'd like to say 'thank you' to my family for being here and all of my friends," were Landrigan's final words, according to Marson. He concluded with "Boomer Sooner," a cheer often used by University of Oklahoma fans.
Now that is something to be proud of if your a Oklahoma fan. A death row inmate being executed for murder shouts out "Boomer Sooner!" as his final words. Funny thing is, that's not the first time someone has been executed and his final words had to do with his favorite sports team.
Ah, football has finally returned. Specifically college football. So let's get the day started with college football specific links, to start the day. Throughout the day I will update you on the action, across the nation.
Today is indeed a sad day in Northern California and Oklahoma. Former Oklahoma Sooner and Sacramento Kings great Wayman Tisdale has passed away. He was 44.
Tisdale was fighting bone cancer since 2007 and even had to have his right leg amputated.
Tisdale is a Oklahoma legend. He was a thee-time all-American averaging 25.6 points and 10.1 rebounds in his career at Oklahoma. Tisdale was once again remembered, when Blake Griffin asked him if it was o.k. if he could wear his number 23. Of course Tisdale said it was fine and his legend as a good guy lived on.
I personally remember Tisdale as the first Kings player I loved. I remember the teams he was on were terrible, but he would always go out on the floor every night and try his hardest. His finest season in the NBA occurred in 89-90 with the Kings when he averaged 22.3 points and 10.1 rebounds a game.
Oh by the way, Tisdale was also an accomplished musician.
Wow! There was some great action in last nights games. The Villanova, Pittsburgh game video is at the bottom. That's all you need to see. The Missouri, UConn game too was exciting. UConn won, but they needed everything they had to beat Missouri. Let's hope today's games are just as exciting.
Megan Fox is a great way to start another college basketball mourning....
Well we have already seen a coach fired today. Last night saw Duke get destroyed, and Pitt's tubby point guard Levance Fields become a hero. But we move on to the next 4 Sweet 16 games, to see who advances to the Elite 8. It should be a fun set of games. As always feel free to leave your comments.
Here is tonight's schedule and announcers, courtesy of Awful Announcing: Louisville vs. Arizona (Indianapolis, 7pm)- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore Oklahoma vs. Syracuse (Memphis, 7:30pm)- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg Kansas vs. Michigan State (Indianapolis, 9:30pm)- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore North Carolina vs. Gonzaga (Memphis, 10pm)- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg
My local affiliate is showing the Arizona, Louisivlle game and the UNC, Gonzaga game. But I am sure I will be flexed sometime during the night. Enjoy the games:
Last night was an eventful one. Villanova made the whole country proud by giving Duke an ass-kicking. UConn ran away from Purdue. Levance Fields looks like he should be playing at the local YMCA, but he was clutch last night for Pitt. And Missouri's "40 minutes of hell" ran Memphis out of the gym. Today's games should also be as great.
Louisville vs. Arizona Where/Time: Indianapolis, IN/7PM EST Announcers: GUJO and Elmore Cinderella?: I still refuse to call Arizona an Cinderella team. Yes, they are a 12 seed, but they play in a big-time conference in the Pac-10. They underachieved all season long, and they were given a favorable seed in the Midwest. The Zone is Key: Louisville has to run their zone presser defense perfectly. They rotate four guards in-and-out of the game to keep their players fresh. They will have to keep the presser on Arizona to get the win. My pick: If Louisville can keep the presser on Arizona guard Nic Wise all game long, they will beat Arizona. The Wildcats offense revolves around Wise and his ability to make plays. If the Cardinals stop Wise they will win.
Oklahoma vs. Syracuse Where/Time: Memphis, TN/ 7:30PM EST Announcers: Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg Can the 2-3 zone stop Griffin?: Syracuse and Jim Boeheim have perfected the 2-3 zone. And it will be key to stop Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. They will have to double-team Griffin and force the other Oklahoma players to make plays. Warren could be the key: Oklahoma's Willie Warren has to have a major role for the Sooners tonight. He is their best outside threat with the way he can penetrate to the hoop and his outside shot. He will have to keep the presser off of Griffin. My pick: I like Syracuse in this game. Oklahoma doesn't have a real threat at point. While Syracuse has one of the best point guards in Johnnie Flynn. Syracuse's offense revolves around him and he is the best right now at penetrating to the hoop and kicking the ball out to their great shooters in Andy Ruatins and Eric Devendorf.
Kansas vs. Michigan St. Where/Time: Indianapolis, IN/9:30PM EST Announcers: GUJO and Elmore Sutton vs. Aldrich: We have a classic match up between big men in this game. Kansas' Cole Aldrich versus Michigan St.'s Goran Sutton. Whoever wins the match up between these two, their team will win. Collins is key: Sherron Collins has to play under control for Kansas. There are times when he plays out of control and Kansas will lose. Their offense revolves around him playing in control and distributing the ball. My pick: I like Michigan St. in this game. They have more depth that can slow down both Collins and Aldrich. Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton are big time players that will be too much for the Jayhawks to guard.
Gonzaga vs. North Carolina Where/Time: Memphis, TN/ 10PM EST Announcers: Nantz and Kellogg Lawson's big toe?: The health of Ty Lawson is still a huge concern for North Carolina. He was huge for them against LSU, but they will need a healthy Lawson to beat Gonzaga. He will have to defend Jeremy Pargo, who likes to drive down the lane for the basket. Heytvelt vs. UNC: Whoever is guarding Josh Heytvelt will have a huge challenge. Heytvelt is athletic and strong in the middle for Gonzaga. My pick: This was the hardest game to choose. Gonzaga has great scorers and UNC has depth. I have to go with UNC because they can bring Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller, and Larry Drew off the bench. UNC's depth will be a huge factor in this game.
All these games have the potential to be great. I expect all these games, except the Arizona, Louisville game, to be close.
It should be a fun night, and once again we will be live blogging the games.
Round 2 finally gave us some excitement. Sure there was really no upsets, and no I won't call Arizona a Cinderella, but there were some edge of your seat finishes.
Like the ending of the Marquette, Missouri game. In the final seconds of the game a Missouri player was fouled which lead to an injury. Missouri used a "pinch" free throw shooter to take the lead.
Then Lazar Hayward became infamous. Down by two with 5.5 seconds left Hayward was in charge of inbounding the ball. Missouri went with their usual full-court press and Hayward hesitated and stepped on the line. He turned the ball over to Missouri erasing Marquette's shot at a last-second shot.
Hayward I am sure is taking a beating from the entire state of Wisconsin right now. But it wasn't all his fault. Missouri was using a stingy full-court defense that wasn't going to allow anything by. Also making a shot in 5.5 seconds is tougher than it looks. For every Christian Laettner and Bryce Drew there is one guy who takes a last-second shot and either airball's it or the ball clanks off the rim. Just ask VCU's Eric Maynor about it.
Hayward did make a crucial mistake, but the odd were against Marquette from even tieing that game.
Here are some more observations:
- Here's an interesting fact. Xavier, who is coached by Sean Miller, will face Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16. Why is this important? Because Miller was the person who passed the ball to Jerome Lane who promptly slammed the ball and broke the backboard. Bill Raftery then unleashed the famous "Send it in, Jerome!"
- The referee's screwed up by not recognizing Western Kentucky coach trying to call a timeout during their game with Gonzaga. The Zags took the lead with 0.9 seconds left, giving the Hilltoppers a chance. W. Kentucky coach Ken McDonald was calling for the timeout but the refs didn't recognize it, and W. Kentucky lost the game. Granted they probably wouldn't have scored 0.9 seconds you have to give them a chance.
- Siena probably put up the toughest fight of the weekend. After beating Ohio St. in two overtimes, they took Louisville down to the wire. If it wasn't for Terrance Williams, Louisville would have lost that game.
- Ty Lawson wins the toughest player of the NCAA tournament so far. Lawson, who is fighting a painful toe injury, was the key reason why the Tar Heels beat LSU on Saturday.
- Why does Oklahoma allow their star player Blake Griffin to get beat up in their games? They allowed Texas to knock him out silly. They allowed a Morgan St. player to give him an armbar. They allowed Michigan players to play Hack-a-Shaq on him. They do nothing about it. I am not saying Griffin needs to respond, because he doesn't. But someone else on that team needs to get some payback for all the cheap shots Griffin has had to take.
- It took almost two games, but Eric Devendorf of Syracuse finally profiled a shot. After Arizona St. was getting closer to Syracuse in the game, Devendorf hit a three to extend the lead. Then Devendorf hit another three to basically put the game out of reach. For his last three Devendorf went all douche with it, and profiled the shot. He can't go the entire tournament without profiling a shot. Wait until he has to face Blake Griffin in the Sweet 16.
- Have to love Duke going crazy after their win over Texas. They realize they play for Duke right? They have been to the Sweet 16 before. But I'd guess I would go crazy too if I haven't been to the Sweet 16 since 2006.
While there really isn't any Cinderella teams in the Sweet 16, and no Arizona doesn't count, there are some great match ups. We should have another fun weekend, with the action kicking off on Thursday.
That game between UConn and Syracuse was kind of crazy... West Virginia beat Pittsburgh in the Big East Tourney... Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend, and doctors were charged for giving Smith so many prescription drugs... Teen finds drug money and then proceeds to give it away... Joaquin Phoenix is at it again... And Rose McGowan
- Henrik Stenson did a striptease for everyone at the gold course yesterday (Fanhouse)
- Tennessee gets their rematch against Alabama (AL.com)
- Kansas St. QB Josh Freeman is moving up on people's draft boards (PFT)
- PR women says Bernie Williams smashed her face, camera (Deadspin)
College basketball just has one week remaining in the regular season before conference championships begin. The contenders and pretenders are starting to show up in the biggest games.
The final week always provides us a glimpse at what team will make the strongest tournament run. Remember Florida two years ago? They struggled for most of the season and then turned on the afterburners with only a few games remaining. They won the SEC tournament and cruised right to the national championship. This final week is huge to see what team rises and which team falls.
Lets take a look at some of the other highlights for the past weekend.
Kansas is better than predicted: Kansas wasn't expected to be this good this season. They lost their starters from a National Championship team. But Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich have picked up where that team left off. Kansas has only lost one game in the Big 12 and yesterday they avenged that lost by blowing out Missouri. Granted they did play against an Oklahoma team that was playing with Blake Griffin, but they have proved that they have what it takes to compete in the tournament.
Oklahoma missed Blake Griffin: Without Giffin, OU went lost two games to their rivals(Texas and Kansas). OU needs Griffin's energy. His hustle and guts is what powers this team. Without him they are a middle of the pack type of team. I expect an epic showdown between Oklahoma and Kansas in the Big 12 title game.
The Big East has come down to Lousiville and UConn: Both Villanova and Marquette blew their chance to claim a piece of the Big East title. Lousiville and UConn is all what stands at the top right now. Both teams will most likely get a bye in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Clemson basketball is starting to resemble Clemson football: Clemson was on the verge of being the top team in the ACC. Then they lost to both Virginia Tech and Florida St. Clemson football has been known to not to live up to the expectations. Now the basketball team is feeling the same pressure. When they have had their chances they have blown them to teams of a lesser quality.
Duke gets all the calls: During their game against Virginia Tech, Duke player Jon Scheyer was allowed to take three steps then finally call a timeout. The refs didn't call any fouls and shockingly it came during a key stretch of the game. Virginia Tech lost the game and their tournament bubble most likely popped. Just another reason to hate Duke. During the Duke-North Carolina documentary on HBO, Coach K complained that UNC was getting all the calls by the refs. I guess things have turned the other way.
Bubble Watch:
In
Florida St: They punched their ticket for the dance by sweeping their series against Clemson. They are playing with house money right now.
Tennessee: They scored huge by beating Florida yesterday. They have only South Carolina and Alabama next. Unless they play careless, they should be fine.
Dayton: They got their much needed win against Temple. They have already beat Xavier and Marquette this season. If they could beat Xavier again this week, then they should be fine.
St. Mary's: Everyone expected them to struggle without point guard Patty Mils. And they did losing two straight. They though have righted the ship and have won the past five games. And with Mils returning for the WCC tournament, this team will get huge consideration for the tournament.
California: Even though they lost to UCLA at home on Saturday, they did split their series by getting a win over USC.
On the verge:
Texas A&M: The Aggies have won four straight and they do have key wins over LSU, Texas, and Arizona. They still need a win against Missouri.
Providence: A key win against Pittsburgh helped their case. They will need a win though against Villanova to secure a spot in the tournament.
Davidson: Davidson will need to win their league title to get an at-large bid. Their only key win came against West Virginia earlier this year.
Out:
Arizona: While they have played admirably this season, their lost to Washington did them in. They will need to get a win against the Bay Area teams to get in.
Florida: The Gators have struggled down the stretch. They dropped a tough one against Tennessee yesterday and their match up with Kentucky will most likely be a play-in game.
Michigan: Their early season wins against UCLA and Duke will help them. They will need to beat Minnesota to get in.
Virgina Tech: Their heartbreaking loss to Duke heart their case. They will need to make a nice run in the ACC tournament to get considered for a at-large bid.
This should be a fun last week of college basketball. A lot of fates will be on the line this week and it will also set up an epic Championship week.
Well I am back from my binger this weekend. Really looks like I didn't miss anything except Oklahoma losing to Texas in college basketball along with their stud Blake Griffin going down with an injury.
Also I missed Jim Calhoun going off on some reporter. I always heard Calhoun could be an old grouch, I guess this proves it.
While I did party this weekend, I didn't take it this far.
I hope all of you had a great weekend, and be thankful you were not this guy.
Oklahoma beat a struggling Texas Tech team 95-74. Griffin poured in 40 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in one of the most dominating performances of all-time. And Texas Tech coach Pat Knight agreed.
''Have you guys ever seen the movie, 'The Terminator?' That's what that kid is like,'' Knight said. ''That kid has no facial expressions. He just plays and it's like every kid out there on him is like Sarah Connor, and he's just going to take his time and kill him.
Oklahoma is undefeated in conference play and has not lost a game since the beginning of the year. Griffin was the star though, who brought the crowd to their feat with a couple of great dunks.
Griffin has quickly established himself as the best player in the nation. Oklahoma will be a tough team to beat during the tournament.
With both Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy returning to their schools, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford didn't want to be outdone. Bradford announced today that he will be returning to Oklahoma next year.
The third-year sophomore passed on the money and decided to stay in school and try and pursuit a national championship and another Heisman trophy.
Bradford lead the nation with 50 touchdown passes and would have been likely a high round draft choice.
Bradford also let it slip at his press conference that Tight End Jermaine Gresham and offensive lineman Trent Williams are also returning. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy already announced he was going to return.
As for Bradford though this decision makes more sense than Tebow staying in college. Unlike Tebow who is fully mature, Bradford does have some growing left to do. Next year will be only his third season as the starting quarterback and he still has to work on his skills.
He needs to prove to everyone that he is not the next Tim Couch. A quarterback who only stands in the pocket and makes throws to wide-open receivers. He needs to prove that he can stand in the pocket and be cool when the pressure is coming.
In Oklahoma's only two losses this season, defensive line and blitz's pressured Bradford to make some poor decisions. Bradford will need this time to improve his skills.
Florida has came out of the heap that is known as the SEC, to reach the National Championship.
They were not even favored in their own division, Georgia was. They were not favored in the SEC championship game, Alabama was. And not only did Florida win their division, they won the SEC championship.
Like Oklahoma, Florida experienced an early season loss. The Gators lost at home to Ole Miss in on September 27. Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow then gave one of the best speeches of all time. He apologized for the loss and said Florida will work hard every week to accomplish their goals.
Now they get to play against Oklahoma in the BCS national championship game in Miami. This will be the classic match up of a great offensive team(Oklahoma) versus a great defensive team(Florida).
Oklahoma is the number one ranked offensive team in the nation. The Sooners average 54 points per game. Florida is the Fourth ranked defensive team in the nation only allowing about 12 points per game.
As seen in previous bowl games, Big 12 teams have been stopped on offense. Ole Miss stopped the great Texas Tech offense in the Cotton bowl. This could be a pre -cursor to the national championship game.
Player to watch: Chris Rainey, RB The Florida running game has been one of the few weak links of the Florida team. Rainey ran for 655 yards and 4 touchdowns. Florida will have to establish a running game if they want to eat up a clock and keep Oklahoma off the field. Rainey, Tebow, and Jeffery Demps will have step their games up on the ground to keep the Sooners in check.
Impact player: Percey Harvin, WR Harvin, who didn't play in the SEC championship game, has been sidelined with an ankle sprain. He says he can go on Thursday, but he is only about 90 percent ready and making cuts is a little awkward. Harvin is what makes the Florida offense goes. His speed and versatility makes him one of the most dangerous players, a player the Oklahoma defense has to keep in check. He is a threat by taking hand offs and the patent bubble screen passes.
Can the Florida defense stop Oklahoma? While we all know Florida can also score a lot of points to, but can the Florida defense keep Oklahoma off the field. Oklahoma can go down the length of the field and score a touchdown no problem. The Florida defense though must stop Oklahoma from sustaining long-quick scoring drives.
A lot of experts have picked Florida because of their defense and the schedule they have to play in the SEC. Oklahoma on the other hand has looked like a fraud because of the poor play by the rest of the Big 12 teams.
I personally like Oklahoma. They can score quickly and their defense can pick up enough stops to keep their offense on the field. Also Florida's running game has been average, while the Oklahoma running game produced two 1,000 yard rushers. DeMarco Murray, a 1,000 yard rusher, won't be playing, but he didn't even lead the team in rushing(Chris Brown).
Oklahoma didn't get to the national championship game easily.
First they were blown out in last years Fiesta Bowl by West Virginia. Eventually this year they eventually rose up to the number one ranking only to lose to Texas. And thankfully for them a lose to Texas Tech by Texas secured their spot as once again the number one ranked team in the nation. Which came with controversy.
It doesn't matter now, who should be in the game or not. Oklahoma meets Florida in Miami on Thursday for the national championship.
After the loss to Texas, Oklahoma's offense really started to pick up steam. They scored 60 points in their last 5 games and was only held twice to under 40 points. The only teams to hold them to under 40 points was Texas and TCU.
Sam Bradford won the Heisman because he threw for over 4,000 yards and 48 touchdowns. He was only picked off 6 times and sacked 9 times. But there where other players that contributed to his success.
Player to watch: Chris Brown, RB With DeMarco Murray sitting out of the game because of an injury, Brown will have to step up. No problem. Brown rushed for 1,100 yards and 20 touchdowns. While the Sooners will miss Murray, Brown is enough to keep the Gators on their heels.
Impact Player: Jermaine Gresham, TE Gresham is a big tight end who has created miss match's because of his size and speed. He knows how to get open and break tackles. He caught the most touchdowns (12) and was always Bradford's emergency target when no one else was available.
Can the Oklahoma Defense Stop Florida? This is the million dollar question. Right now, I would have to say no. The Oklahoma defense allowed 14 points to one of the worst teams in the country in Washington. They routinely gave up more than 20 points in games and even allowed two 40 point games. Their defense was ravaged by injuries, many players they could use to stop Tim Tebow.
Key for Oklahoma to win the National Championship: Getting pressure on Tim Tebow. Tebow was sacked 15 times all year long. Gerald McCoy needs to pressure Tebow all game long, for the linebackers don't have to rush the quarterback and sit back in coverage.
Some creative marketing by "Versus".... Why Texas should split the national championship... Ohio St. lost because John Cooper was in the stands... Oklahoma is laughing at Mack Brown and Texas... Roland W. Burris showed up in Washington to claim his seat in the senate
