Rangers Win!

The 2010 ALCS goes to the Texas Rangers in six games!

Texas 6, New York 1.

Josh Hamilton is most deserving as the series MVP and all he wants to talk about is his teammates and his Savior!

Hello Win Column!

Hello World Series

Rangers Win!

Rangers win! Rangers win! Rangers win!

Game Five: Texas 5, Tampa Bay 1

Oh Vancouver

March Madness is my favorite sporting event to watch annually. However, there is an event that trumps it. It's just that this event happens every two or fours years (depending on your perspective).

The Olympics are still the most captivating sports event out there. Yes, there are politics involved. Yes, there are "sports" in which the outcome is based on judges. Yes, there are more human interest stories broadcast in 16 days than you might see in 9 months of other sports viewing.

And still, the Olympics has always and will probably always have first place in my heart. I look forward to talking about them.

Allow Me A Moment To Be A Dad

Did you happen to have a chance to see the Durant 7th Grade girls' team this season? If you didn't, you've already missed your chance.
They finished the season tonight with a 29-9 victory over McAlester to take the Durant Tournament Championship. The Lady Lions finished the season with a 13-4 record. The future for this squad looks especially bright.
I was also very proud of my own daughter, who managed to have her best game of the year in the final contest. I got to attend each game this season. It took a sacrifice or two, but being with her during this season was very special and I would do it again.
Go Lady Lions! And watch these kids as they grow!

One and Done

Forgan 46, Victory Life 0.

The trip to the playoffs this season turned out to be long in driving time, but short in duration.

But still - it was a trip to the playoffs.

Latest on Alves

It's been an interesting season for the Durant Lions, but the last couple of weeks have been even more so.
Beau Simmons has the latest on Daryn Alves in his article in yesterday's Durant Democrat.

Playoffs?! You want to talk about playoffs??!!

The Victory Life Eagles have been in the OSSAA for 3 years now, but due to the structuring of the districts, the Eagles' football program is enjoying membership for just the second year. And it's taken only 2 seasons to make the playoffs.

The Eagles 55-7 victory at Grandfield on Friday, coupled with the Corn Bible Academy loss to Temple, thrust VLA into the postseason. And with Thackerville's 22-point loss at Tipton, the Eagles slipped ahead of the Wildcats and into third place in District C2. One slot up in the district standings also means that, though the Eagles will have to make a journey almost out of our time zone, they will avoid a first-round matchup with Shattuck and its (current) 92-game winning streak.

A Brief Glance at Four Years

If you’ve listened to a Southeastern football broadcast over the past 4 years, then you know that I’ve been riding on the “Daniel Nichols Bandwagon” for almost that entire span. I was really sad to see Nichols’ collegiate career come to an end tonight – especially since he came so close to tying the receiving TD record and receiving yardage record. But his time at SOSU will be long remembered.
Here’s a very small glance at some of what Daniel Nichols has accomplished at Southeastern:

1st place All-time receptions – 192
1st place All-time points scored – 196
2nd place All-time receiving – 3036 yards
2nd place All-time receiving TDs – 32
4th best single season receiving – 971 yards, 2009
8th best single season receiving – 818 yards, 2007
11th best single season receiving – 797 yards, 2008
2nd most receiving TD in a season – 12, 2009
7th best single game receiving – 185 yards, Oct. 24, 2009, at NSU
8th best single game receiving – 183 yards, Nov. 10, 2007, vs. ECU
*Tied (with others) for most receiving TD’s in a game – 3, Nov. 10, 2007, vs. ECU and Aug. 27, 2009 vs. Henderson State

More on Daniel Nichols later...

How's everyone been?

Hey, everyone. Long time, no blog.
Let's start with a quick update.

SOSU 27, ECU 26
This one was a blowout early, and then the Savage Storm had to hang on at the end. Southeastern scored 27 points in the first quarter and didn't score in the final 46:24. But the Storm finishes at 7-4.

Victory Life 55, Grandfield 7
VLA not only makes the playoffs for the first time ever in the OSSAA, but snags the 3rd spot in District C2.

More about all of this later, but I needed to get back in the proverbial saddle.
See you.

Henderson State vs. Southeastern

Dallas McCutcheon started at quarterback for the first time in college and tossed 5 touchdown passes in Southeastern's 54-38 victory on Thursday night. The sophomore QB's record-tying performance helped the Storm to their 4th season opening win in the last five years.
Senior wide receiver Daniel Nichols also had a record-tying night as he hauled in three of those five touchdowns. He also had 131 yards on seven receptions, which brought him to within 139 yards of catching Pete Spratt for 2nd place all-time receiving at the school.
Baylen Laury also made his presence known on the field. The running back picked up 114 yards and rushed for two touchdowns as well. Southeastern's 54 points was the most for the Storm since xxxx
There was a huge turnout for the home opener and almost all of them stayed through the 35 minute weather delay, which temporarily stopped the contest with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter. And it was worth it for those who stayed as they witnessed a big offensive display.
Henderson State got on the board first with a 51 yard touchdown pass, but SOSU answered immediately with a 54 yarder of their own, McCutcheon to senior TE Jerrod Temple. Laury's two TD runs followed and the Storm went up 19-7.
Offensive miscues, a.k.a. two fumbles run back for HSU scores, kept the Reddies in the game and led 28-26 in the second quarter. But a Nichols TD reception right before the half put the Storm up for good.
Southeastern's defense dug in during the second half. They held HSU to 317 yards of total offense for the game. Newcomer Steven Harris led the way for the Storm with 8 tackles and Brandon Ford and Lionel Gillespie each had a sack. Both Bernard Daniel and Johnny Seals snagged interceptions.
The Storm's all-time leader in kickoff returns and kickoff return yardage, Jerome Hewitt, started off the year well, also. He return 6 kickoffs for 187 yards, only ten yards shy of the single game record.
The four TDs in the first half were matched by four more in the second and SOSU outscored Henderson State 28-10 after the break and went on to win, 54-38.
Though the Storm wound up winning going away, there is much work still to be done. The offense, defense, and special teams all showed that each can shine in 2009. But each squad also had significant breakdowns at times. Midwestern State will provide tougher opposition on Saturday.
All in all, a 1-0 open to the season is a good way to start.

Well, it was still a good series...

I had said on the air this morning that I thought that the Cleveland/Orlando series was the best that I could remember since Dallas/San Antonio in 2006. How short is my memory?
The Boston/Chicago first round series this very postseason was similar in many ways to the Mavs vs. Spurs in '06. And on top of that, Orlando just took down Cleveland in six games, so it didn't even go the distance, like the other two series did.
But the first five games were definitely good.

On the Air

Well, we're back on the air one more time and today's show is the season finale. It's amazing to me to think that Texoma Sports Weekly has been broadcasting for six seasons.
And I'm a little sad also, because this will be J.B.'s final show as a regular member of the crew. The guy is getting married in July and he's moving to St. Louis. Sports fans in the area, please note that you're going to miss him, his calls of Savage Storm and Lion sports and is general sports knowledge. He's also got a great sense of humor that shows in the way he calls the game.

Now, on today's show, the theme (as it is every season finale) will be reviewing sports in the area over the past 9-10 months. We'll hit some current sports news as well. So tune in at 10 am.

On the Air

Three hosts are in studio again today as April moves forward.
Lots of rain and wind yesterday shouldn't deter Southeastern softball and baseball fans from coming out on this pleasant Saturday to watch their teams jockey for position in the Lone Star Postseason. There are the lead stories for the show today; here are some more:
► Bryan County baseball, softball, and track news
► The NBA Playoffs, including the Dallas/San Antonio series
► The Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals
► Around the weird corners of the sports world with J.B.
See you at 10.

On the Air

I think I held down the fort well enough last week. But everyone is back in studio again today as the sixth season of Texoma Sports Weekly is slowly starting to wind down.
Today on the show:
► Some Bryan County baseball and other H.S. news
► Southeastern baseball and softball
► The Championships – Men (and a little bit about the Women)
► The Dallas Mavericks are now tied for sixth place in the West! Seriously!
► The Texas Rangers on Friday not only led the A.L. West, but were the only team in the American League to be undefeated. Of course, that changed after Friday’s beatdown by Detroit, but still…
► And off-the-wall topics with J.B.

On the Air

Hey folks, it's going to be just me in the studio on Saturday. J.B. and Jim are going to be on the road to Edmond to cover the SOSU/Central baseball game.
So here is what's on tap for the show:
► Some Bryan County baseball and other H.S. news
► Southeastern baseball and softball
► The Final Four – Men’s and Women’s
► Jeff Capel, Tim Floyd, and Mike Anderson
► The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder
► And, since J.B. won’t be in studio, we’ll see if we can skirt the Tennesee trash talk for a week.…But I doubt it…

More Sweet Sixteen, Big XII

The conference went 1-2 on Friday. Oklahoma defeated Syracuse to avenge a Tournament loss in 2003, while Kansas had its 9-game NCAA winning streak stopped by Michigan State.
With deference to Kansas, this little blog is about OU. Man, they looked good. The Syracuse zone was totally ineffective against the Sooners' outside game, Tony Crocker in particular, and didn't fare much better against Blake Griffin on the inside. Griffin had yet another 30 point outing and Crocker's 28 kept Oklahoma in control throughout the night. As a matter of fact, the only thing that even slowed Griffin down was the underside of the backboard on a ferocious dunk late in the contest.
For as much hype as Syracuse had been getting late in the season, they looked completely outmatched in this one.
And so, two Big XII teams remain. We'll see if the conference can get one or maybe two entries in the Final Four.

On the Air

This weekend, it is possible that all three of us will be back in studio for the show. And hopefully, the tower won’t be down again. Although, word is that there’s a chance of snow. (On March 28? In southern Oklahoma?!)
Anyway, here are some of the topics we’ll likely talk about:
► Southeastern softball, specifically the Lone Star Crossover Tournament here in the Durant area
► Southeastern baseball
► The NCAA Tournament, especially the Missouri win over Memphis and Oklahoma’s takedown of Syracuse
► Billy Gillespie
► The Mavs playoff chances and likelihood of playing the Lakers in the first round
► And, since the state of Tennessee, and city of Knoxville in particular, has not been beaten down by J.B. in at least three weeks, expect that to happen on this show.

Sweet Sixteen, Big XII

Last year's NCAA Championship game was a thrill to watch. And it was also a dream for high school coaches to point out exactly how important free throws really are.
The Memphis Tigers missed four out of five free throws in the final 2 minutes that would have put the game away and Kansas, down NINE POINTS with 2:12 left, came back to send the game into overtime and win the title 75-68.
There was no need for an incredible comeback by a Big XII team in the final minutes on Thursday night. In fact, at one point in the second half, the Missouri Tigers led Memphis by 24. Mizzou flat out went off on suddenly defense-less Memphis and won 102-91. Missouri looked unstoppable on offense, but that seemed to be partly due to an inability by the Memphis defense to stay with the ball. For as athletic a team as Memphis has been portrayed to be (and truthfully is), the boys in gold put on an athletic display that left Memphis far behind.
Leo Lyons looks better with each game as the Big XII and NCAA Tournaments go on. He had 15 point and 12 rebounds in the win.
The Big XII is now 10-3 in the past eight days.

No Joy in Knoxville

You knew it would happen someday. As a Lady Vols fan, I always hoped that it wouldn't, but inside I think we all knew it would happen.
There would come a year, when Tennessee wouldn't get to the Sweet Sixteen. In all of the years that there has been a Women's NCAA Tournament, the Lady Vols had advanced to at least the Sweet Sixteen in each and every one of them. Until 2009. Coming off of back-to-back National Championships, the reloading just proved to be too much for Pat Summitt's young squad this year.
But still, the Lady Vols were a #5 seed, and figured to at least get past the first round. Apparently, Ball State didn't get the memo, and in what will be one of that school's athletics program's greatest moments, defeated Tennessee 71-55.
In the Lady Cardinals' NCAA Tournament debut, they put on the show of their lives and capped the worst UT season ever under Coach Summitt. Granted, Tennessee is young and played, as Summitt said, "tentative, maybe uptight". But give credit to Ball State, who used an up tempo game and did not back down.
Porchia Green had 23 point for the Lady Cardinals in the biggest win in team history.

Enjoying the Ride

You know, it's not every season that you get to see a player the caliber of Blake Griffin wearing the uniform of the team you cheer for. Watching #23 on Thursday and Saturday has been special.
Blake has brought the level of play at Oklahoma up two or three notches. He has maintained his composure in the face of very difficult situations. And he makes the incredible (The Dunk) and great shots seem like they are just a walk in the park.
61 points, accompanied by 30 boards, in two games in the NCAA's is not something done by just anyone. And Blake does it with class.
And for all of the fans who are tired of seeing Blake's parents in the crowd and hearing all of the talk about what B. Griffin is doing every second of the contest, I'm really not sorry for you. Now you might have a sliver of an idea of what it was like to watch the National Championship game with the continual commentary revolving around TimTebow (one word).
But I'm not bitter. Really.
I'm just enjoying the ride this year as long as it will go.