Elle Grace Brannick

Cori and I felt a human's most joyous emotion on Monday, May 6, 2013. The arrival of our daughter, Elle Grace, brought on an immediate love we hadn't thought possible.





 

 

 

There are a thousand more pictures, I just cannot put every one of them on my blog.







 



Bedlam Continues

A cover vote for the newest edition of EA Sports' Madden video game has been ongoing over at ESPN for sometime now. Finally, they've reached the finals. The final vote for who is going to grace the cover of Madden '14, due out in August.

Who wants to? Probably every sports fan. Who doesn't want to? Probably most active professional athletes. It is an honor, there's no doubt. But the curse of the cover is too real to ignore for current athletes. Since John Madden removed himself from the cover and began adding players in 2001, the following season has been less than admirable for the stars, some of whom have even suffered injuries that caused time off or even season ending trips to the doctor.

More importantly is who are the finalist's for this year's cover vote. Barry Sanders, who retired from the NFL in 1999 after ten years with the Detroit Lions is up against Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. Arguably the greatest running back of all time is going up against one who could be the greatest running back of all time after his time is up. Fascinating.

What makes this even more interesting is the matchup for who graces the cover of Madden is now the newest, and unintentional, bedlam battle. Oklahoma versus Oklahoma State. The matchup we all love to throw ourselves into.

Sanders did things at Oklahoma State nobody had seen before and has seen since. Some call what Sanders did in 1988 the greatest season in college football history. 2,850 yards rushing and 42 touchdowns, the yards a record. He won the Heisman that year and ranked number two in the Greatest College Football Players of All-time by ESPN.

Peterson, well, what he did at Oklahoma most of you know about. AP Freshman of the year, stunning runs, powerful runs. Peterson was well on his way to breaking the Oklahoma record for rushing yards and could have challenged Sanders in his senior year but "AD" went to the NFL after an injury shortened junior season.

Both Sanders and Peterson enjoyed stellar NFL careers, Peterson still doing incredible things for the Minnesota Vikings. Whoever wins the cover of Madden is no doubt a deserving winner. I don't care who wins, I vote for Barry. I'm just glad to see a little Bedlam continuing post-university.

OklaSports Perspective

In 2010, I ran. I ran a lot. All because on Sunday, May 1, 2010, I ran the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. Half-marathon to be exact. My only goal was to finish and that I did. I was elated to know that I finished a mere 15 minutes ahead of the first place full-marathoner.

(AP Photo/The Boston Globe, David L Ryan) 

On Monday, at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, two separate bombs went off killing three people and injuring many more. The immediate reactions were fascinating. My thoughts were how strange it was that in Oklahoma City we run to remember the bombing victims and it serves as a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.

Also interesting were the reactions of the students at the University of Central Oklahoma, where I work in student media. Some began racing to change how we would present the news at 5:00 and others were scrambling to redesign our newspaper. The debates never got too serious but the comments poured in throughout the remainder of the day about what had taken place.

Now a day later, the images forever burned in our memories, the tragic events of yesterday serve as an unfriendly reminder of the reality of life. What can happen in an instant, when no one is expecting it and changes our lives forever. I've heard people mention someone they knew that either ran in Boston yesterday or stood their cheering ultimately to scramble to a social media site to assure to their families of their safety.

These events are real and these events are sad. OklaSports just wants to tell the people involved, the people from across the world, they are being thought of.

The Master's

"A tradition like no other," coined by Jim Nance, one of CBS's most famed sports broadcasters. You know what it means, what it's talking about. You know the music that plays over the sights of one of the most beautiful golf courses in America. It's The Master's.

What I love about The Master's is the same thing I love about every other golf tournament; sitting in my recliner on Sunday afternoon watching the final round matches nothing else. There is nothing like getting home from church and eating a sandwich and plopping down to begin following the magic.

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

There is always magic. Whether it be a miraculous shot or well, mostly it's just miraculous shots. Some guy bending his iron around a tree and dropping the ball feet from the cup. The improbable shot from the rough that doesn't look pretty but also drops the ball in the perfect spot on the green.

My favorite Master's moment still remains Tiger Woods in 2005. One of the most incredible chip shots I've ever seen, the ball just wouldn't quit rolling until it found itself in the bottom of the cup.

Moment number two would be Phil Mickelson finally winning his first major and how high the guy jumped on the 18th green. Magical.

This year's installment has begun and it won't be long before we have our "magical moment." My pick is Tiger Woods as this year's winner. He is playing with more comfort now than he has in a while. Enjoy the tournament and comment with your picks.

Like, For Real Baseball Season

Basketball season is over in the NCAA and this means we are one step closer to it being baseball season. 

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

I know baseball season has started. It is in full swing in the college ranks. The pros are getting their feet underneath themselves and baseball season is in complete, full force. But, for real baseball season is a different thing.

For real baseball season is after the NBA Finals are over and when we really aren't talking about the NFL very much and when there isn't a huge friggin' golf tournament quickly approaching.

For real baseball season is almost here and it's almost time to hear all the other sports fans talk about how much they can't stand this time of the year. The time of the year I love. Think about the perfect summer day.

You wake up (every morning is beautiful in the summer), then you knock out a few chores, maybe mow the lawn. Next up is the lake. Do a little fishing in that spot that only you know about, or so you'd like to think. Drift off to a quiet spot and relieve yourself from the scorching sun by taking a dip. Finally before your day can be complete, you head back into town, stop by the closest 7-Eleven and pick up some sunflower seeds and peanuts and head to the ball park.

For real baseball season is almost here, get ready.

Keynotes: 

-Make a playlist for mowing the lawn, my picks are country.

-Never get mad while fishing.

-Don't jump in the lake with your cell phone, they haven't made that a feature yet.

-Only buy enough snacks to fit inside your girlfriends purse, if she has a small purse, buy her a bigger
one.

-Finally. Think of fun games to play during the baseball game.

Football In March

Football in March doesn't get the recognition it deserves. From September to the first weekend in February, football is the sport the makes the world go 'round. But, in March it doesn't get the mention that it deserves. Maybe that could be due to the fact the biggest tournament in sports is being played at the same time. But that doesn't mean we should shove our favorite football team's foam fingers to the back of the closet until the leaves turn.

(AP Photo/Paul Connors, File)

For starters, the rule change. Runningbacks being charged with a penalty for lowering their helmets before running into a defender. That is the clear  and dry version of the rule. Let's put it this way. The 200 pound guy running with the ball, sees the 270 pound guy coming for his life. The defender lowers his head and leads with the shoulder, it's okay (he can't lead with his head either). But if the runningback lowers his head as he braces for impact that is an offensive penalty. All I can say is wow. I understand the reasoning behind it. Roger Goodell, the NFL's Commissioner, wants a safer league. He should, all the old veterans are suing him because of past head injuries.

I just don't believe this is going to solve any issues. Playing in a game that demands instant reaction doesn't allow for players to think about whether or not they should duck their head. A single play can last just a few seconds and it is human nature to brace yourself before contact. Especially when the contact you are bracing for could put you in the hospital.

Let's Talk About Sports

Talking about sports is something that occurs in my life as often as blinking. I don't mean I talk about sports as much as I blink, what I mean is that everyday there is an absolute zero chance that I don't talk about sports. Even in the moment of my day I think I'm getting away from the madness, sports comes up. Talking about sports is just like talking about anything that you talk about.

So let's talk about sports. Last weekend I watched an enormous amount of college basketball. We all did and we all will next weekend. The thing about last weekend was that I haven't really watched that much college basketball during the entire season. Probably since last March when we did this same thing. The difference in this year's madness is my bracket being entered amongst a group of peers. This made everything so much more interesting, the constant checking of our rankings thrilled each of us. Even those of us, myself included, near the bottom of the standings.


Twitter also made a difference. Last year I enjoyed each of my 30 or so followers. Yup. I know, this was big time. (so..... follow @chrisbrannick85). Now, with a substantial difference in that number and an equal difference in my involvement on the social media site, following the games became so much more.


I like to talk about sports and irrelevant are my successes in a game between friends. What is more important to me is to talk about sports more. Yes. More. We want more, we want more. My postings on here just aren't enough. Similar to my early days as a user of Twitter or even more fascinating, my early days as a Facebook user, as in I didn't own a computer and cell phones didn't offer such a unique app. The hope is that like my use in any social media app, my presence on this blog will be so much more in the future. Preferably in the near future. It's not like sports ever take a break anyway.