Softball tidbits. Sooners sweep Texas, go to 6-0 in the conference.

[Plainosooner]

Sooners are missing catcher Lea Wodach due to an arm/wrist injury. She didn't play last week and the Sooners seem to be getting until stud freshman Alissa Dalton ready for some long term behind the plate. She started her second game at catcher in game one in Austin. Her passed ball gave Texas a 2-1 lead in B3 Friday.

Dalton is fast and talented, but like several of the Sooner players, has fattened her average up on mediocre pitching this season, but hasn't been a big factor against the best teams on the schedule. It's been an up and down year for her. She started game one and batted leadoff, but hasn't done that much since the earliest games. She played at short effectively when the Sooners' captain had to miss a couple of games several weeks ago. She also hit better, when playing her high school position. The Sooners seem mum about Wodach's injury. But after the PB gave Texas the lead, Dalton batted in T4, then was replaced behind the plate by Sooner backup catcher, Hannah Sparks.

Against Texas, Paige Parker was wild high a good big with her rise ball, and Dalton was challenged to get to some of those pitches. Sparks, at 6'1 had a lot easier task getting to those pitches, six inches taller than Dalton.

In game one, Parker retired the side in order in six of seven innings. Texas had a walk and two hits, all in the third inning. Part of the Longhorn rally was trigger when their lead off hitter in the inning, stole second base, clearly leaving first base early, but not being caught. After Sparks entered the game, Parker faced a dozen batters and retired all 12.

All three softball games this weekend are on LHN. Game two begins simultaneously with the kickoff of the OU football spring game. 1 p.m. For six innings yesterday, Paige Parker looked like a decent version of 2016. It will be interesting to see who starts game two.

In game one six of OU's first seven in the batting order were freshmen or sophomores.

 

[Plainosooner]

Oh, and I forgot the big news, which is pretty negative. OU is now 16th in the RPI, with little chance of moving into the top eight, most likely.

In game two, OU's bats are still anemic. They scored only three runs, all on Longhorn misplays, mostly the result of missing their second baseman and right fielder due to injury. The replacement right fielder misplayed a fly ball into a double that scored OU's first run.

And a one out double play ball that should have been 5-4-3 inning ending double play was just botched and rolled into the outfield, which led to first and third, when led to second an third and Knighten knocked them both in with the help of the right fielder's failure to field the hop.

And the game was delayed when Knighten twisted an ankle chasing a popup down the right field line from first. Took several minutes to walk it off, but she finished the game. Clifton got on three times and scored twice.

One interesting thing that happened on Pendley's last at bat, she got a hit and run base hit, turning slapper, which was the way she used to do it, but has gone to a more traditional stance. And hasn't hit much against decent pitching.

Among the good news, I guess, of the day, Ole Miss, whom OU has beaten, is leading Auburn, who beat OU in the second opener 10-4 in the sixth. Auburn is 31-5 and ranked 3rd in the RPI. Not likely to drop far enough for OU to catch them, but it should give Ole Miss a small boost which would help OU a little.

 

[iasooner1]

We'll be pulling for extra Sooner Magic for the girls then.
Medic assures me that the Men & Women gymnasts are sure Nattys so the new award building will continue adding hardware SOONER !

 

[Plainosooner]

My response to Medic is that OUr gymnastics teams are less certain champions than UConn was.

 

[Sunburnt Indian]

Plaino, Was today's 6-0 win over Texas number 10 in a row over Texas or 11? Nice weekend sweep.

 

[Plainosooner]

Not sure, but they haven't beaten OU since 2014 once in Norman, and 2013 at home. Pretty sure that the loss to the Horns in 14 was in game two, so that would be ten in a row.

We're still not hitting it very well. Texas' starter today couldn't find the strike zone, but five of the six runs she surrendered were unearned. Texas entered the series without their second baseman, and her backup missed two throws in crucial situations in the series that even a decent defender would have caught. They replaced her defensively in the last two innings. She was also late trying to cover on a force out chance, that helped set up the Sooner's five run second.

On Saturday she cost them an inning ending double play, where OU took the lead. They lost their right fielder in the third inning of the series and her backup misplayed a fly ball into a double that scored a run. Not crying over a sweep in Austin, but we aren't hitting at all.

There is good news. Knighten is coming around at the plate. She drove in most of our key runs in the three games, mostly on well hit ball. But despite the wind blowing out strongly to left center in all three games, Knighten hit the only homer of the weekend, which had the good fortune of hitting the foul pole.

Texas got most of the strike zone breaks on Friday and Saturday, including seemingly every marginal call when we took 2-0 pitches out of the one and most of them called strikes. But it was fairly called Sunday, perhaps leading to the wider margin. Caleigh Clifton was on base seven times in ten trips.

Both Pendley and Mendes made sterling, diving catches that were special plays during the weekend. The pitchers gave up two earned runs in three games, with the help of mostly great defense.

On the flip side, Romero went brain dead in B7 of game two. She made a really bad throw which was too far to Knighten's back hand at first, resulting in a runner at second with no outs and OU up two. Then after the runner got to third with one out, she let the runner at third goad her into an attempted tag on a routine grounder, letting go of the second runner, after she couldn't make the tag, getting the tying run on, a stolen base away from being in scoring position.

Clifton and Arnold fixed that, with a perfect feed and turn on a tough to turn double play grounder that ended the inning, and then the game. It was less urgent in the sixth inning of game three with OU up six, when Clifton misplayed a routine three hopper, that went right through her. I don't think it had happened more than once before, but it gave the Longhorns a one out running in the sixth and was Lowary's final batter. Paige had started to show a little tiring in the previous inning, and Coach Gasso went to Paige Parker for the last five outs, which she got in succession. She looked great the whole series, closest to last season's form as I've seen her.

Perhaps part of the reason that Gasso pulled Paige number 2 was that Kelli Hanzel was coming to at bat for the horns, and she'd ripped a triple to left field in her previous at bat, which since she's right handed batter, had no one within 40 yards of where to the fence, under the foul pole. When Lowary is facing a righty, there is no left fielder, and the center fielder is nearly ten yards toward right. Left happens to be more than a little vacant.

One question I'd like to ask Coach Gasso, is when in the shift, why she moves Clifton to the 3-4 hole,. and Arnold to the routine second baseman position, and Hatfield to short, instead of playing Hatfield in that unusual gap to cover the 3-4 hole. It makes it much more likely that a DP can be turned with the regular ss and second baseman, than with Hatfield at short and Arnold at 2B.

And Arnold is faster than Hatfield by more than a little, which would make the retrieval of the occasional hit to left, happen more quickly.

BTW, each pitch in the game was on radar. Lowary was consistently hitting 72 mph.

 

[iasooner1]

One of these days it will be 'doppler radar' so they can catch all the action of the ball...

 

[Plainosooner]

Team ........ Conf Record . Pct . Home . Away . Neu . Streak . Rec . Pct Hm . Aw . Neut . Strk

Oklahoma ............6-0 . 1.000 . 3-0 . 3-0 . 0-1 .................W6 . 35-7 . .833 . 16-0 . 8-0 . 11-7 . W12
Oklahoma State . 6-0 . 1.000 . 6-0 . 0-0 . 0-0 . ..............W6 . 25-15 . .625 . 12-4 . 2-. 11-6 L4
Baylor .................. 8-1 . .889 . 6-0 . 2-1 , 0-0....................W7 . 35-6 . .854 . 21-1 . 7-4 . 7-1 . W8
Texas Tech ......... 4-5 , .444 . 1-2 . 3-3 , 0-0 ................. W1 . 17-20 . .459 . 4-8 . 4-7 . 9-5 . W1
Kansas ................ 3-6 . .333 . 1-2 . 2-4 . 0-0 ................... L1 . 21-18 . .538 , 8-4 . 3-6 . 10-8 . L1
Texas ................... 0-6 . .000 . 0-3 . 0-3 . 0-0 ................... L6 . 20-18 . .526 . 11-7 . 5-9 . 4-2 . L4
Iowa State ........... 0-9 . .000 . 0-3 . 0-6 . 0-0 ................... L9 . 15-27 . .357 . 1-3 . 4-14 . 10-10 L11

 

[mcbrider]

Not sure, but they haven't beaten OU since 2014 once in Norman, and 2013 at home. Pretty sure that the loss to the Horns in 14 was in game two, so that would be ten in a row.

We're still not hitting it very well. Texas' starter today couldn't find the strike zone, but five of the six runs she surrendered were unearned. Texas entered the series without their second baseman, and her backup missed two throws in crucial situations in the series that even a decent defender would have caught. They replaced her defensively in the last two innings. She was also late trying to cover on a force out chance, that helped set up the Sooner's five run second.

On Saturday she cost them an inning ending double play, where OU took the lead. They lost their right fielder in the third inning of the series and her backup misplayed a fly ball into a double that scored a run. Not crying over a sweep in Austin, but we aren't hitting at all.

There is good news. Knighten is coming around at the plate. She drove in most of our key runs in the three games, mostly on well hit ball. But despite the wind blowing out strongly to left center in all three games, Knighten hit the only homer of the weekend, which had the good fortune of hitting the foul pole.

Texas got most of the strike zone breaks on Friday and Saturday, including seemingly every marginal call when we took 2-0 pitches out of the one and most of them called strikes. But it was fairly called Sunday, perhaps leading to the wider margin. Caleigh Clifton was on base seven times in ten trips.

Both Pendley and Mendes made sterling, diving catches that were special plays during the weekend. The pitchers gave up two earned runs in three games, with the help of mostly great defense.

On the flip side, Romero went brain dead in B7 of game two. She made a really bad throw which was too far to Knighten's back hand at first, resulting in a runner at second with no outs and OU up two. Then after the runner got to third with one out, she let the runner at third goad her into an attempted tag on a routine grounder, letting go of the second runner, after she couldn't make the tag, getting the tying run on, a stolen base away from being in scoring position.

Clifton and Arnold fixed that, with a perfect feed and turn on a tough to turn double play grounder that ended the inning, and then the game. It was less urgent in the sixth inning of game three with OU up six, when Clifton misplayed a routine three hopper, that went right through her. I don't think it had happened more than once before, but it gave the Longhorns a one out running in the sixth and was Lowary's final batter. Paige had started to show a little tiring in the previous inning, and Coach Gasso went to Paige Parker for the last five outs, which she got in succession. She looked great the whole series, closest to last season's form as I've seen her.

Perhaps part of the reason that Gasso pulled Paige number 2 was that Kelli Hanzel was coming to at bat for the horns, and she'd ripped a triple to left field in her previous at bat, which since she's right handed batter, had no one within 40 yards of where to the fence, under the foul pole. When Lowary is facing a righty, there is no left fielder, and the center fielder is nearly ten yards toward right. Left happens to be more than a little vacant.

One question I'd like to ask Coach Gasso, is when in the shift, why she moves Clifton to the 3-4 hole,. and Arnold to the routine second baseman position, and Hatfield to short, instead of playing Hatfield in that unusual gap to cover the 3-4 hole. It makes it much more likely that a DP can be turned with the regular ss and second baseman, than with Hatfield at short and Arnold at 2B.

And Arnold is faster than Hatfield by more than a little, which would make the retrieval of the occasional hit to left, happen more quickly.

BTW, each pitch in the game was on radar. Lowary was consistently hitting 72 mph.

Not sure, but they haven't beaten OU since 2014 once in Norman, and 2013 at home. Pretty sure that the loss to the Horns in 14 was in game two, so that would be ten in a row.

We're still not hitting it very well. Texas' starter today couldn't find the strike zone, but five of the six runs she surrendered were unearned. Texas entered the series without their second baseman, and her backup missed two throws in crucial situations in the series that even a decent defender would have caught. They replaced her defensively in the last two innings. She was also late trying to cover on a force out chance, that helped set up the Sooner's five run second.

On Saturday she cost them an inning ending double play, where OU took the lead. They lost their right fielder in the third inning of the series and her backup misplayed a fly ball into a double that scored a run. Not crying over a sweep in Austin, but we aren't hitting at all.

There is good news. Knighten is coming around at the plate. She drove in most of our key runs in the three games, mostly on well hit ball. But despite the wind blowing out strongly to left center in all three games, Knighten hit the only homer of the weekend, which had the good fortune of hitting the foul pole.

Texas got most of the strike zone breaks on Friday and Saturday, including seemingly every marginal call when we took 2-0 pitches out of the one and most of them called strikes. But it was fairly called Sunday, perhaps leading to the wider margin. Caleigh Clifton was on base seven times in ten trips.

Both Pendley and Mendes made sterling, diving catches that were special plays during the weekend. The pitchers gave up two earned runs in three games, with the help of mostly great defense.

On the flip side, Romero went brain dead in B7 of game two. She made a really bad throw which was too far to Knighten's back hand at first, resulting in a runner at second with no outs and OU up two. Then after the runner got to third with one out, she let the runner at third goad her into an attempted tag on a routine grounder, letting go of the second runner, after she couldn't make the tag, getting the tying run on, a stolen base away from being in scoring position.

Clifton and Arnold fixed that, with a perfect feed and turn on a tough to turn double play grounder that ended the inning, and then the game. It was less urgent in the sixth inning of game three with OU up six, when Clifton misplayed a routine three hopper, that went right through her. I don't think it had happened more than once before, but it gave the Longhorns a one out running in the sixth and was Lowary's final batter. Paige had started to show a little tiring in the previous inning, and Coach Gasso went to Paige Parker for the last five outs, which she got in succession. She looked great the whole series, closest to last season's form as I've seen her.

Perhaps part of the reason that Gasso pulled Paige number 2 was that Kelli Hanzel was coming to at bat for the horns, and she'd ripped a triple to left field in her previous at bat, which since she's right handed batter, had no one within 40 yards of where to the fence, under the foul pole. When Lowary is facing a righty, there is no left fielder, and the center fielder is nearly ten yards toward right. Left happens to be more than a little vacant.

One question I'd like to ask Coach Gasso, is when in the shift, why she moves Clifton to the 3-4 hole,. and Arnold to the routine second baseman position, and Hatfield to short, instead of playing Hatfield in that unusual gap to cover the 3-4 hole. It makes it much more likely that a DP can be turned with the regular ss and second baseman, than with Hatfield at short and Arnold at 2B.

And Arnold is faster than Hatfield by more than a little, which would make the retrieval of the occasional hit to left, happen more quickly.

BTW, each pitch in the game was on radar. Lowary was consistently hitting 72 mph.

Regarding the question that you would like to ask Coach Gasso. What she is doing makes perfect sense to me. When Lowary is pitching right handed hitters hit the majority of balls to the right side second base. So put your two best fielders on that side of the infield. We want a wall there- nothing gets through. Knowing Coach Gasso's attention to details I would say that they have spent considerable practice time on double play execution with Macey covering second. The fact is she has a better arm than Arnold, which is certainly important in making double plays. If a ball is hit hard to dead center or left center, Pendley will be the one chasing it down. A ball hit to straight away left field or down the line could be anything from a double to an inside the park park home run. Macey would certainly be slower than Arnold in retrieving the ball. Although she has the stronger arm to get it back in. Perhaps Coach Gasso is just playing the percentages. Why should he set up her defense to be stronger vs. the lesser possibility that a ball will be hit to a spot in left field that requires whoever is at shortstop to chase it down. Most balls are hit to the right side so I want our two best fielders, Arnold and Clifton, on that side. To me it is that simple. Anyway just my opinion.

 

[mcbrider]

Regarding the question that you would like to ask Coach Gasso. What she is doing makes perfect sense to me. When Lowary is pitching right handed hitters hit the majority of balls to the right side second base. So put your two best fielders on that side of the infield. We want a wall there- nothing gets through. Knowing Coach Gasso's attention to details I would say that they have spent considerable practice time on double play execution with Macey covering second. The fact is she has a better arm than Arnold, which is certainly important in making double plays. If a ball is hit hard to dead center or left center, Pendley will be the one chasing it down. A ball hit to straight away left field or down the line could be anything from a double to an inside the park park home run. Macey would certainly be slower than Arnold in retrieving the ball. Although she has the stronger arm to get it back in. Perhaps Coach Gasso is just playing the percentages. Why should he set up her defense to be stronger vs. the lesser possibility that a ball will be hit to a spot in left field that requires whoever is at shortstop to chase it down. Most balls are hit to the right side so I want our two best fielders, Arnold and Clifton, on that side. To me it is that simple. Anyway just my opinion.

Correction, it would be Mendez chasing balls hit to center or left center since she and Pendleton switch on the shift

 

[Plainosooner]

Macey got to Hanzel's triple before Mendes did. (no z)

The switch from short to second is not a small one. I've played a lot of 2nd base. Virtually every ball hit by a right hand batter to 2nd, moves to your left. There were two balls hit to Arnold's left that got through in the weekend series, that I believe Clifton would have fielded, had she been at her normal position.

And it's absurd to think that Arnold at second and Macey would be a better double play combination than Clifton at second and Arnold would be, better arm or not. It's more about footwork and quickness on that turn, than arm strength. Arnold hasn't played on the right side of the infield in her Sooner career, except for this shift.

Having said that, I'd reaffirm, that Patty has earned the right to play like Satchell Paige did occasionally, with NO fielders behind him, because he just wanted to prove that he could. And you're right. I'm sure it's been carefully researched, and there have been lots of reps for all involved. I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm just saying it's the question I'd like to ask, though I admit, I'm not a great fan of the shift, because I think the best rh hitters we'll face on the best teams will be able to pull her, and I believe it takes the change up away from her in some cases.

Patty Gasso is as good a coach as there is in college softball. She's earned the right to do things however she thinks is best. I just think that at short and second, leaving them where they normally play would be more productive. I've been wrong before.

 

[mcbrider]

Macey got to Hanzel's triple before Mendes did. (no z)

The switch from short to second is not a small one. I've played a lot of 2nd base. Virtually every ball hit by a right hand batter to 2nd, moves to your left. There were two balls hit to Arnold's left that got through in the weekend series, that I believe Clifton would have fielded, had she been at her normal position.

And it's absurd to think that Arnold at second and Macey would be a better double play combination than Clifton at second and Arnold would be, better arm or not. It's more about footwork and quickness on that turn, than arm strength. Arnold hasn't played on the right side of the infield in her Sooner career, except fo this shift.

Having said that, I'd reaffirm, that Patty has earned the right to play like Satchell Paige did occasionally, with NO fielders behind him occasionally, because he just wanted to prove that he could. And you're right. I'm sure it's been carefully researched, and there have been lots of reps for all involved. I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm just saying it's the question I'd like to ask, though I admit, I'm not a great fan of the shift, because I think the best fh hitters we'll face on the best teams will be able to pull her, and I believe it takes the change away from her in some cases.

Patty Gasso is as good a coach as their is in college softball. She's earned the right to do things however she thinks is best. I just think that at short and second, leaving them where they normally play would be more productive. I've been wrong before.

Don't call my opinion absurd. Of course the double play combination of Arnold and Clifton is better. I was just trying speculate as to why she is willing to forego that combo when using the shift. I played baseball from little league through college. I have played every position in the infield including catcher. So I am not interested in your self serving, condescending, know it all lecture about infield play. Read my post again. I never said the double play combination using Hatfield to cover second was better than Arnold and Clifton. My thought was that apparently Coach Gasso.
really wants Arnold on the right side and to her it more important than the double play consideration. That is not absurd! Who do you think you are? Thank God you are not making the decision on where to place the fielders. You know Plaino, I never said your thinking was wrong or absurd! Just giving a
simple explanation why they were using the players the way they are.

 

[Medic007]

My response to Medic is that OUr gymnastics teams are less certain champions than UConn was.

I would give you a similarly snarky reply, but since you appear to be new to this gymnastics thing, I'll let it slide. Less certain than UConn is a terrible comparison though.

I think you'll find that any gymnastics talking head would pick both OU gymnastics teams over any of their competition in the semis and finals. The reason is a fact of superior talent and depth. Maggie is back full speed for the gals, and Yul isn't focused on the National Team on the men's side. Having two of the best gymnasts in the country and world anchor your teams is a luxury itself, but backed with the deepest scoring lineups in the NCAA, I'll bet the house on the Sooners.

 

[Plainosooner]

I would give you a similarly snarky reply, but since you appear to be new to this gymnastics thing, I'll let it slide. Less certain than UConn is a terrible comparison though.

I think you'll find that any gymnastics talking head would pick both OU gymnastics teams over any of their competition in the semis and finals. The reason is a fact of superior talent and depth. Maggie is back full speed for the gals, and Yul isn't focused on the National Team on the men's side. Having two of the best gymnasts in the country and world anchor your teams is a luxury itself, but backed with the deepest scoring lineups in the NCAA, I'll bet the house on the Sooners.

There is a difference in betting on them, and guaranteeing a win. Yul finished second in the All Around to Stanford's stud in what was essentially the conference meet. Consider that in the meet at Stanford when both Yul and Stanford's star were missing, the OU margin over Stanford was less, than the individual star difference last weekend, the is a route to victory for the Cardinal.

And since all scores count on the men's side, one bad score can change places inthe standings.

On the women's side, there are probably only three real contestants for the national title. But I fear judging politics on that side. OU should win. But it's not close to a certainty.

Ask Geno.

 

[iasooner1]

Geno's East for me... Plaino never question a medic; its a great way to end up with the wrong end of the stick, as it were

 

[Medic007]

There is a difference in betting on them, and guaranteeing a win. Yul finished second in the All Around to Stanford's stud in what was essentially the conference meet. Consider that in the meet at Stanford when both Yul and Stanford's star were missing, the OU margin over Stanford was less, than the individual star difference last weekend, the is a route to victory for the Cardinal.

And since all scores count on the men's side, one bad score can change places inthe standings.

On the women's side, there are probably only three real contestants for the national title. But I fear judging politics on that side. OU should win. But it's not close to a certainty.

Ask Geno.

Politics in judging isn't a factor in the NCAA like it is in other brands of gymnastics competition.

Yul had an off meet at the MPSF by Yul standards. Even with him coming up short to Modi, the Sooners had a very comfortable victory. The Cardinal rely more on Modi than OU does on Yul. The men dominated the season and it isn't even close. Only two teams topped the 425-point mark this season. The Sooners have bested that score in each of their nine meets this season while the Cardinal has done so only twice. OU has topped 430 six time to Stanford's one. OU's four score average bests the Cardinal by more than 10 points. Dominance with depth and consistency.

OU ladies have bested the best efforts of all of their competition this season, including their only real competition in LSU. The ladies are phenomenal away from home, something the other programs haven't shown. Coming into the semis with an RQS above 198 speaks volumes to the consistency of the program this season. Nichols will be the scoring anchor in a comfortable victory at the Nationals.

 

[Medic007]

There is a difference in betting on them, and guaranteeing a win.

I was guaranteed a win by members of the men's and women's teams. They know my disappointment is not something to cherish.

 

[Plainosooner]

Medic, I'm not disagreeing that OU isn't a solid favorite. Maybe close to a prohibitive favorite. I'm just saying that it's less than a certainty. I would strongly disagree that the judging isn't political. Otherwise, these teams wouldn't mostly have much better scores at home, than on the road. It's pretty close to across the board in the non revenue sports, and occasionally in the others, too.

 

[Plainosooner]

I was guaranteed a win by members of the men's and women's teams. They know my disappointment is not something to cherish.

I knew you had pull.

 

[Plainosooner]

Don't call my opinion absurd. Of course the double play combination of Arnold and Clifton is better. I was just trying speculate as to why she is willing to forego that combo when using the shift. I played baseball from little league through college. I have played every position in the infield including catcher. So I am not interested in your self serving, condescending, know it all lecture about infield play. Read my post again. I never said the double play combination using Hatfield to cover second was better than Arnold and Clifton. My thought was that apparently Coach Gasso.
really wants Arnold on the right side and to her it more important than the double play consideration. That is not absurd! Who do you think you are? Thank God you are not making the decision on where to place the fielders. You know Plaino, I never said your thinking was wrong or absurd! Just giving a
simple explanation why they were using the players the way they are.

I honestly don't believe that I called your opinion absurd. If you took it for that, my apology.

You're post was a reasonable explanation. It's just my preference that as few players as possible be moved defensively. The thing about playing the odds, is what you're getting, and risking. In the games that really count, one routine hit to left could be the difference when it's really close. I believe that the combination of the risk as opposing competence improves with better teams, and displacement of players' routine position, makes it a bad bet for the post season.

But again, Patty has earned the right to do whatever she wants. And I don't consider this a second guess. Just a difference of opinion.

I'm sure your baseball acumen is superior to mine. But I've coached 25 seasons or more of softball and baseball combined, so I'm not clueless. In fact, like Patty, my passion is coaching defensive fundamentals, base running and strategy. She lets her staff mostly handle the pitchers and hitters. I was the same way. It's one reason why I love her teams. This team is so solid in it's defensive fundamentals, especially in the infield. She's obviously a whole lot better than I am.

I wasn't nearly talented enough to play past high school was was at best, an ordinary high school player. But some of us with that background, make pretty good coaches. The only way we could compete at all, was to compete mentally.

My senior year, UIL in Texas had what I thought was a stupid rule. Only one coach could be a base coach. The other base coach had to be a player. That was mostly me.

Forgive me if you felt insulted. It was unintended.

 

[Medic007]

Medic, I'm not disagreeing that OU isn't a solid favorite. Maybe close to a prohibitive favorite. I'm just saying that it's less than a certainty. I would strongly disagree that the judging isn't political. Otherwise, these teams wouldn't mostly have much better scores at home, than on the road. It's pretty close to across the board in the non revenue sports, and occasionally in the others, too.

You know I love you Plaino, and my snarky post was in jest. The "political" judging in NCAA gymnastics has everything to do with comparative competition, and this favors both OU teams. Judges do base scores on relative quality, no doubt, and this is where OU shines. The Nationals won't be any different.

 

[Medic007]

I knew you had pull.

If you even knew. Pull isn't a strong enough word.

 

[Medic007]

I knew you had pull.

If it helps, my daughter placed #6 nationally among her peers, and #89 nationally among all USAG competitors this season. She just turned 13. My "foster" kids include a member of the OU ladies team and a member of the OU men's team. I didn't choose gymnastics. It chose me.

As a bonus, my cousin trained with Shannon Miller back in the day. She had to quit gymnastics due to Crohn's disease. She had a great shot at the Olympic team but saw that dream cut short. She died from complications of Crohn's at the age of 29.

http://m.legacy.com/obituaries/okla...erryman&pid=17296772&referrer=0&preview=false

 

[Plainosooner]

I'm sorry for your painful loss. You're a great poster, and I'm really hoping that two weeks from tonight, that we'll be celebrating two OU national titles in gymnastics, and an OU softball team who is 12-0 in the conference.

And sober quarterbacks.

 

[Medic007]

I'm sorry for your painful loss. You're a great poster, and I'm really hoping that two weeks from tonight, that we'll be celebrating two OU national titles in gymnastics, and an OU softball team who is 12-0 in the conference.

And sober quarterbacks.

I don't know anything about softball so I'm counting on you to provide the scoop. Re: sober quarterbacks, I think we're at 50%.

 

[iasooner1]

Liquid courage is too much fun for college kids

 

[Plainosooner]

We're hoping that this off season, the qb percentage tops out at 50%.

 

[Plainosooner]

I don't know anything about softball so I'm counting on you to provide the scoop.

Read the softball info in this thread, and the article I posted in the thread about Sooner softball origins, and you'll be in the top 80 percentile of posters on this site. Ask any questions that come to you, and you can be caught up quickly, though I'm pretty sure that only the Sunday game in Lawrence this weekend is televised. I'll see what's on the KU site and get back to you if they have anything on a private broadcast.

Basically, softball shares the same paradigm as gymnastics. The only games that show up on the school's official sites are for home broadcasts. Even LHN doesn't show Longhorn road games, except when ESPN uses it for expanded coverage, which is seldom.

Se when we're playing neutral sites or on the road, the only way to watch is if FOX or ESPN has one of their sites broadcasting, or if the school hosting the event has it for free. Or if you want to pay premium prices for the independent national site for the specific sport. And they're carrying it.

I think that OU softball maybe have showed up on Flosoftball.com in four or five tournament games, and the women's gymnastics maybe showed up Flo Gymnastics three times. Not sure about men's gymnastics. I don't know if there is a separate charge on FLO for different sports.

OU at KU is on FSN this Sunday at noon, weather permitting. LHN gritted their teeth and showed cut for time replays of the Sooners softball sweep in Austin over the weekend. They couldn't pick a winning Longhorn game, because there weren't any.

 

[Plainosooner]

Kansas does no broadcasting of non revenue sports that I can find on their site. But looking through the tv listings, which could very well be wrong, the Sunday broadcast on FSN is a replay of Saturday's game. We'll see how that works out.