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.

How Exciting

The most recent weekend in sports in the great state of Oklahoma competed with all of the other weekends as the best of the year. Why? Most of the state's basketball championships were played in either Oklahoma City or Tulsa. Wherever they were played, the excitement followed the ball around like a nagging fly.

On Thursday, day one, in Oklahoma City, we got our first taste of real basketball-in-March excitement. In a matchup between southeastern success story Hugo and the traditionally dominant Millwood High School (from Oklahoma City) the game came down to the final play. The officials put three seconds on the clock and Hugo inbounded the ball. A successful inbounds play would mean the elimination of Millwood and that Hugo fans could exhale and schedule at least one more night in their hotel rooms.

The inbounds play was successful. What happened after the player caught the ball shall go down as the strangest ending to a basketball game of any kind maybe all time. The Hugo player caught the ball, took a couple of dribbles and shot a lay up in the goal as time expired. The bucket counted too. However, the bucket counted for Millwood because the Hugo player shot the ball in the wrong goal. To make matters worse, this basket wasn't a slap in the face shot in the wrong goal basket. It won the game for Millwood and Hugo had to check out of their hotel room.

--On a side note, maybe high school basketball would be better if there was a reality t.v. moment after the game and the losing team literally had to check out of their hotel room--



This might be the most memorable moment of this years tournament but that depends on where you are from. Edmond Memorial High School has a different memory. They went to Tulsa for their tournament and appeared on a collision course with Midwest City for the championship. The teams met twice this season with each team winning one. The championship game would see these two and would see the excitement of an entire year of basketball work itself down to one final play.


I can't narrate a play that I didn't see happen so just now that Oklahoma Sooner to be Jordan Woodard didn't score a field goal the entire game until the one he scored as time expired. So I leave you with a famous sports quote that applies to this situation.


"Big time players make big time plays in big time situations." 

Oh Seattle

"With all due respect to Seattle I do hope they get a team someday. But let me be perfectly clear: It is not going to be this team." Sacramento Mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson.

Oh Seattle. All of those years without a franchise. The pains of sitting at home watching the greatest athletes in the world play basketball knowing you can't go to the game yourself and scream your lungs out while stars like Kevin Durant and LeBron James battle it out. Just when you think basketball is coming back to Seattle you see a quote like this on the television. Wait! We're not getting a new team! That's what I imagine coming from the couches of those ever so loyal Seattle fans. Those ever so loyal Seattle fans who travel to games, sitting behind the bench of Oklahoma City and mocking the players and coaches and the rest of the oraganization for leaving your city behind. The ever so loyal Seattle fans who never thought it to be a little weird that even though somebody "stole," your team, stealing another team is perfectly acceptable.
 
Seattle fans do have an interesting argument in the matter: The deserve a team. Because no one else doesn't deserve a team. Sure there are some bad teams with even worse attendance records but to think that you get a team because you deserve one is far-fetched. Why do you deserve a team? Those bad teams with bad attendance counts was Seattle. In 2007, Seattle had their chance to save their team and it dropped the ball. It appears Seattle has dropped the ball again. Which only means the city that chastizes Marshawn Lynch for fumbling the ball might ought to look in the mirror.

Deserving a team doesn't go to anyone. Appreciate the fact that you have one, or had one. Because just like your favorite player could get traded on any given day of the year, your team might be gone one day too. You don't deserve a team, unless the NBA is willing to establish a new league with 93,000 teams. Hey, those playoffs would be exciting though!