Sooner's WR Recruits

   I want to take a minute to talk about OU's Wide Receiver recruits of 2012. Oklahoma has 3 wide receiver commits that rank in ESPNU top 150. These wide reciever are Durron Neal, Sterling Shepard, and Derrick Woods. Also OU has a 5 star commit that had to spend one year in prep school to get his grades in order. His name is Trey Metoyer. Trey Metoyer is was raked number 12 nationally in the 2011 recruiting class. He is 6'2, 198 pounds and runs a 4.42 40 yard dash. With the loss of Ryan Broyes and Dejuan Miller there are holes in the Sooners wide receiving core that these recruits will battle to fill. So with these recruits and the return of Kenny Stills, Jaz Reynolds, and Kameel Jackson the Sooners quarterback Landry Jones will have plenty of targets to throw too.
    Things are really looking up for the Sooners offense for the 2012 season. Maybe a national championship run is a good possibility this coming season. Time will only tell what is in store for the Sooners next season. Many people, including myself, are very optimistic about Mike Stoops turning this talent filled OU defense into a defensive powerhouse. Signing day is February 1st on ESPNU. I will be watching and I will give a full list of OU's 2012 signed commits. But for now check out this video of Trey Metoyer. I believe he will be a star.

This Weekend in Sports

   It has been a few days since I have written a new post on here so I am going to weigh in on everything that happened this weekend in the sports world.
   So lets first talk about what has happened in college football this weekend. The legendary Penn State ex-football coach Joe Paterno passed away this weekend after a 2 month battle with lung cancer. This news sent shock waves through not only people at Penn State but all over the country. A lot of people disagree with the celebration of Joe Paterno's life due to the rape scandal that has seemed to tarnish his legacy in a lot of peoples eyes. All I will say on this subject is that I feel bad for the victims and Joe Paterno was a really good football coach with a lifetime record of 409-139-3 with 2 national championships in his 46 season as head coach at Penn State. In other college football news, Chip Kelly the head coach of Oregon was all set to take the job as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head football coach but he rejected the offer at the last minute claiming his heart was in Oregon. This is a big sigh of relief for the Oregon football program because who knows what this could have done to their recruiting class.
   Lets talk about the NFL conference championships that were played this weekend. Well the first game was New England Patriots vs the Baltimore Ravens. This was a very close game that went down to the wire. It all came down to a potentially game tying 32 yard field goal in which the Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff shanked it to the left and after that all the Patriots had to do was take a knee and run out the clock. The Patriots advance to the Super Bowl for the 7th time in franchise history.

   The game after that was the San Francisco 49ers vs the New York Giants. This game was also a very close game that couldn't be decided in 4 quarters. At the end of regulation the score was 17 to 17. In overtime both teams went 3 and out on a couple of drives. The Giants had not converted on 3rd down once again so they had to punt the ball for the 3rd time in overtime. They punted the ball and it was Fielded by Kyle Williams and he started to return the punt when it was knocked out of his grasp and the Giants recovered it and they made the short field goal and the game ended with a score of 20-17.
   As for the Super Bowl we now get a rematch of Super Bowl 42 between the Patriots and The Giants. Some people are excited and some people not so excited about it. I for one am curious to see if Tom Brady can further his and Bill Belichick's legacy. Or is Eli Manning going to get another Super Bowl ring to add to his legacy. Either way this sets up a great match up between two very good teams.
   This weekend has been a crazy weekend for sports fans and although I didn't even come close to covering it all I covered the biggest stories. If there is anything I left out that you would like to add feel free to comment and make your statements.

Westbrook Gets Extension

   Big news in Oklahoma City today. All-Star point guard Russel Westbrook got a 5 year, 80 Million dollar contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder went all the way to the western conference finals last season and have the best record in the west so far this season. Westbrook being a big part of their success last season averaging 22.2 points a game and 7.9 assists which led him to being in the NBA all-star game. This is great news for the Thunder because Kevin Durant already signed a contract extension last season so that means their two biggest players are going to be in OKC for years to come.
   A lot of people seem to suggest that Westbrook and Durant don't mesh well together claiming Kevin Durant doesn't get the ball enough. Look people you don't win the NBA scoring title from not "getting the ball enough". I think with this contact extension the Thunder are really looking at a bright future with what I think are some NBA championships on the horizon. If they don't win it all this season I think they will within these next couple of years.

   I believe Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook are one of the best dynamic duos in the current NBA and depending on how things develop they could be one of the best duos ever. Yes, Westbrook might take more shots than he should but you have to remember that this guy played most of his career as a shooting guard and most people completely fail at that transition from shooting guard to point guard. This extension is a big win for the Thunder and will pay off. Oklahoma City is in for years a great basketball and I believe they will make this state who is already proud of the Thunder even more proud.

Goodbye Venables

   After a day of what could only be described as being chaotic and confusing the official announcement came late last night that Brent Venables the Co defensive coordinator of Oklahoma has taken the defensive coordinator job at Clemson University. What does this mean for the Sooners? Well just last week Oklahoma picked up Mike Stoops to be a Co defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. The question in the air after that was which one of them (Venables or Stoops) would be calling the plays on defense. Well now with Venables taking the Clemson job that makes the choice obviously Stoops and Oklahoma will now be in search of a new linebackers coach.

   Now the big problem with this loss isn't Venables coaching. Although he ran a good defense and is a great coach Mike Stoops is also a great play caller and coach. The big problem is that Brent Venables was possibly the best recruiter on the Sooners staff. Venables also had really good ties to Texas which is where most of the Sooners recruiting comes from. A lot of the Sooners 2012 commits are quite shocked by Venables departure and might be seeking to attend other schools. Mike and Bob Stoops have been hitting the road hard this past week trying to keep whatever commits that they can.                    

   With all of this being said I believe that Mike Stoops is more than capable of being the main defensive coordinator and play caller. I also believe maybe next year he will bring in a decent defensive recruiting class. Oklahoma will move on and find a good linebackers coach to replace Venables and I believe will go on to have a winning season. The things Oklahoma will miss from Venables is his enthusiasm, his great relationships with his players, and his amazing recruiting skills. Good luck at Clemson Brent, you will make a great head coach some day. 

Best Sports Movies of All Time

Today I want to do something a little bit different. I am going to rank my top 10 favorite sports movies of all time so tell me what you think and tell me what I'm missing. 

            

                      10. Field of Dreams

                        9. Water Boy 

                        8. Happy Gilmore

                        7. Friday Night Lights

                        6. Varsity Blues

                        5. Jerry Maguire

                        4. Raging Bull 

                        3. Major League

                        2. Remember The Titans

                        1. The Sandlot

 Yes I know there are a lot I am missing but these are some of my favorites. Feel free to comment and name some more movies!

NBA Update

   I want to take a minute to talk about the NBA season that is in progress. So far there hasn't been to much to talk about but there are a few thing I would like to mention right now. First off lets talk about the team that I think is the hottest team in the NBA at the moment and that is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are 11-2 and are on a 6 game winning streak. Some standout performers are of course Kevin Durant who is averaging 25.8 points a game and how about Russell Westbrook who is averaging 18.9 points a game. Serge Ibaka has been big as well averaging 2.2 blocks a game. The Thunder are going to try to extend their winning streak to 7 tonight against the Boston Celtics.
   Another big story going around is the return of the "Black Mamba" (Kobe Bryant). Kobe has really kicked off this season the right way averaging 32.0 points a game and he has had 4 40+ point games in a row. Kobe's Lakers are only 9-5 but they seem to be really fighting to show they are going to be force in the west this season.

   Last story I have been hearing is the ever popular Lebron James choking in the 4th quarter stories. Now Lebron is having a good season statistically averaging 29.5 points a game but once again he is coming up short in 4th quarter situations. The biggest thing I have seen is his failure to make his free throws. Now the Heat are struggling right now with a record of 8-4 and they are currently on a 3 game losing streak. With Wade out with an injury a lot more is falling on Lebron and so far it hasn't gone well.
  With all of that being said I am going to give my NBA finals prediction right now. My prediction is going to be The Oklahoma City Thunder vs The Chicago Bulls. If I had to pick a winner I would pick the Thunder winning in a close 7 game series. There you go that's my prediction and I am sticking to it. We will see how the rest of the season unfolds but for now that's my NBA update.

Willie Martinez Resigns

   Secondary Coach Willie Martinez announced today that he is resigning from the University of Oklahoma. This resignation coming right after Mike Stoops announcing his return to be Co Defensive coordinator and in his press conference mentioned he would be couching the secondary which was Martinez's job. This seemed to make things a little awkward and rumors spread fast about Willie leaving. Now the big story is if Brent Venables who is the other defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Rumors are spreading like a wildfire that he might be leaving but in the most recent press conference in which Martinez resigned the way the staff talked about the future it seemed to me that the plans have Brent in them. 

   If Brent were to leave it would be a huge loss for Oklahoma. No he hasn't done the best coaching job but he is an ace recruiter.Stoops said "Mike and Brent have a long history and comfort level working together, and have led some great defenses." So I don't think Venables is going anywhere. So as I said before with Mike Stoops and Brent Venables leading that OU defense they are bound for great success.

College Football Playoffs?

     Commissioners from the 11 FBS conferences met at a hotel in New Orleans this Tuesday to brainstorm some new ideas for crowning the national champion in coming years. The current BCS model is going to be in effect until 2014 when its 4 year deal is finished. Reports say that at least 50 to 60 possibilities for different changes were presented. One of the ideas presented is a four-team playoff system called the plus-one model. The idea consists of two national semi-final games and then a national championship game played a week later. Each commissioner seems to have different feelings about any sort of playoff model because some fear the 4 team system would inevitably grow to more and more teams. some of the other of the commissioners are on board with the idea claiming it will give us a clear cut national champion.
       BCS executive director Bill Hancock says this process will probably take place over 5-7 meetings before coming to a final decision. He also said a final decision should be made by July 4th 2012. Pac12 commissioner Larry Scott says that none of the ideas on the table right now outrank any of the others and none have been ruled out yet. So after 2014 the people that lobby for a playoff system might finally get what they want. Things also might stay relatively the same. Either way there is going to be an interesting topic to debate this spring and believe me people will strongly debate this whether they are for or against a playoff system.

     

Mike Stoops Joins Oklahoma

       Sources close to the University of Oklahoma say that Mike Stoops is to be joining the Oklahoma staff as a Co Defensive coordinator. The official announcement of this is supposed to come sometime Wednesday. With this addition Oklahoma is set for big things next season. While this year their offense was one of the elite offenses in the country averaging 39.5 points a game and also averaging  512.3 yards per game. With the return of Landry Jones and the hopeful recovery of Dominique Whaley who played in only 7 games in 2011 before suffering a season ending injury but averaged 89.6 yards a game and also ran in 9 TDs.

       Oklahoma's offense is set for success and with the addition of Mike Stoops to the defensive staff I believe the defense is set for success as well. In 2011 OU ranked 79th in passing defense and gave up a lot of huge plays in their 3 losses. When Mike Stoops was the DC at OU his passing defense was ranked 2nd in the country. The talent is most certainly  there on defense.With Brent Venables' energy and Mike Stoops play calling and discipline I think OU has a really good shot of winning the Big12, and possibly making a run for a National championship. The pieces are all coming together in Norman now it's time for them to capitalize on it.

BCS Championship

So after watching the national championship game last night I have to agree with coach Mike Gundy who said that his OSU cowboys would have put up some points if they would have played last night. Not only does OSU have one of the best scoring offenses in the country but they also have an amazing kicker so even if they were kept out of the endzone I am almost 100 percent positive that OSU could have at the very least put up a couple of field goals on that suffocating Alabama defense. This game was a disaster for LSU with the worst QB play I have ever seen in a Championship game. Less than 100 offensive yards is simply pathetic for any elite college football team.

Welcome

My name is Brantley Clark. I am an aspiring sports journalist that is here to talk about sports. I love almost every sport and can talk about them all. I am a huge fan of college football and baseball. My other favorites are basketball, college and pro, NFL, boxing, UFC, Hockey, and soccer. I am new to Blogging so I need a while to get the hang of it but I am ready to type all my feelings about any topic I want to talk about. Sometimes I may rant a little so bare with me. So sit back and please enjoy.