Wow, Berry Tramel barbecues Gundy here. Wow. (NewsOK)

Ubben’s top 10 Big 12 players who didn’t go to Texas or OU list. (ESPN)

Norv Turner on Weeden: Brandon’s got the physical skills to do what we want to do. Then they go and sign Brian Hoyer, whom Mike Lombardi is in love with. What a circus. (ESPN Cleveland)

Heh, the 2013 version of The Rant. (Yahoo)

Just a reminder that this is really happening. (ESPN)

Is anyone not on Lunt’s side? (Tulsa World)

I have a lot of money saying Monken is not being truthful about this. (NewsOK)

Baseball

Cowboys are the No. 2 seed in OKC this week. (Big 12 Sports)

OSU lost its last game, but had a heck of a regular season. (okstate)

Other

OSU gets into NCAA golf finals for 66th time in 67 years. (okstate)

Ben McLemore will talk to the NCAA about his AAU coach taking money. (Yahoo)

New Sun Belt logo is weird. (CBS Sports)

Tumblr bro gets $1 billion. (Daily Mail)

Yup, January Jones is crazy. (New York Times)

Hah!

Guy at the airport just saw my #okstate shirt and asked, “Isn’t that the place the man who is 40 comes from?” @coachgundy #represent

— Kaitlyn Nelson (@Kait_N) May 20, 2013

Strong:

Today @peteruihlein became the 28th #okstate golfer to win on one of the four major (PGA, Champions, Web.com, European) tours

— Ryan Cameron (@ryancameron24) May 19, 2013

In the NCAA baseball tournament, that is…

#OKState as well. RT @blacksoxnews: @kendallrogerspg @jaxeersfan: Which 3 from Big 12 get in? KState, OU & ?

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogersPG) May 19, 2013

Wow.

Tyler Lyons will start Wednesday for #cardinals

— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 19, 2013

Yes.

Photo Attribution: Getty Images

Non-PGA Tour events might not be a big deal to some but Peter Uihlein has been cutting his professional golfing teeth across the pond for the last two years. He’s been playing the Challenge Tour (Europe’s version of the Web.com Tour) as well as the European Tour.

He has received criticism for the move — starting in Europe — and as Doug Ferguson points out, he’s probably the first to try it right of college since Coery Pavin:

@grantboone out of college? Go back to Pavin probably.

— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) May 19, 2013

Before today you could say it was working out pretty well. He was ranked 246th in the world and his best finish was a 4th place finish at the European Tour’s Tshwane Open.

But today, the move looks great.

That’s because Uihlein took home the Madeira Islands Open with a 32 on the closing nine holes for the two stroke win.

And is this good company?

Peter Uihlein joins Matt Kuchar (Match Play) and Tiger Woods (Doral) as American winners of European Tour events this year.

— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) May 19, 2013

It’s a difficult thing in this profession (that is, sportswriting) to be unbiased¹. A thing I don’t really pretend to hide from.

I’m often accused of hating OSU and wanting to burn the athletic department to the ground and other times accused of being so deep in the throes of my OSU fandom that I can’t even see straight.

Neither is really the truth.

I love OSU sports, but not to the detriment of bringing you a (hopefully ) professional and smart product on this blog. That’s the spot where I live.

And I say all that to say this: there’s nobody I root for harder than Peter Uhilein. Ever since I read this story about a conceded 4-foot putt to Patrick Cantlay, I’ve held him and his craft in pretty high regard.

He’s done things his own way, on his own terms. He eschewed Q-School, the Web.com Tour, and what would have been many sponsors exemptions in the U.S. for a chance to truly develop his game in Europe.

A move that, as I mentioned earlier was scoffed at and criticized by many.

It was something he believed in though. Something he wanted. And today it paid off.

He will have his European Tour card through the end of the 2014 season² and will get to play in the BMW Championship later this year on the PGA Tour.

He also took home 100,000 Euros.

He is officially one of the 150 best golfers on planet earth.

Not a bad day for the kid in orange.

Congrats, Pete.

#Cowboys RB Joseph Randle (@jran_1) talks trading cards with @paniniamerica at #RookiePremiere. twitter.com/NFLPLAYERS/sta…

— NFL PLAYERS (@NFLPLAYERS) May 18, 2013

And here’s a look at a few other rooks:

Yeah, that’s Landry.

Marcus Lattimore (whom everyone is rooting for, literally everyone).

Matt Barkley.

I mean, I know his Grizz just thumped the Thunder, but this is awesome.

And so is this:

Poster via Jason Wexler:

Western Conference Finals Poster for @memgrizz — Everybody Do the Tony Flex @aa000g9 twitter.com/MainStMemphis/…

— Jason Wexler (@MainStMemphis) May 17, 2013

Best players in Big 12 history list. No OSU. (ESPN)

Justin Gilbert is a top six CB prospect. (ESPN Insider)

Josh Stewart is the second-best WR in the conference? (Lost Lettermen)

Cool list here: all the OSU football players on Twitter. (Tulsa World)

Baseball

If you played Big 12 baseball this year, you made the all-academic team. (Big 12 Sports)

Cowboys beat WVU last night. A sweep would be monstrous. (okstate)

OSU tied for second in new baseball standings. (Big 12 Sports)

Other

Good work by OSU golf on day one of regionals. (okstate)

OKC Dave plots the Pac-12. That ’08 SC team was dece. (Football Study Hall)

Meh, I don’t really want to play Bama again. (ESPN)

Teams with best value of winning it all in 2014. OSU not one of them. (Sports Illustrated)

Well, this is just incredible. (EDSBS)

So we still have a chance…

@pistolsguy So we sweep, OU takes Friday & Saturday, rainout Sunday.. #big12champs

— Davis Duren (@DavisDuren) May 17, 2013

This tweet was amazing:

@davidubben your joking right? Johnny manziel didn’t take a snap in the big twelve. If its not Barry Sanders then I might go crazy.

— blake carter (@stllr_gng) May 17, 2013

Oh.

RT @andy_staples: Past 5 NFL drafts by conference. 1. SEC 229 2. ACC 160 3. Big Ten 151 4. Pac-12 147 5. Big 12 136

— Smart Football (@smartfootball) May 17, 2013

This is awesome — sights and sounds of Bedlam.

Photo Attribution: USATSI

Andy Katz wrote a piece on Andrew Wiggins on Wednesday where he asked various Big 12 coaches what they thought about Wiggins coming to KU.

There was the usual “it’s great for the league” even though what I really mean is “oh —-” stuff. Scott Drew weighed in with: Big 12 fans will get a special year next season.

Fred Hoiberg said: he’s the best high school player who has come around in a long time.

Then Katz posted this text message from Ford:

Andrew Wiggins immediately makes any team and league better! Wiggins is an exciting player that all [Big] 12 fans will enjoy watching! Also, this definitely makes Kansas a top 5 team in the country! Loaded with enormous incoming talent and many talented returners!

I love the immediate deferral of KU as a top five team. Self and Ford are going to escalate their compliments of each other to the point both will be calling the other school’s team “one of of the best college basketball teams of all time” by November.

I also love the exclamation points. Oh, those exclamation points¹.

What if I texted Travis Ford about what he did today?

I ate a turkey sandwich from Red Rock for lunch! Then I watched some film of Iowa State! They really shoot well! Fred Hoiberg! Hilton!

Can you imagine Ford’s texts when he’s actually excited?

After the KU game in Lawrence last year, how do you feel, Travis?

I CANNOT BELIEVE WE WON IN PHOG ALLEN!!!!! MARKEL BROWN MIGHT BE THE BEST SHOOTER IN THE HISTORY OF THE BIG 12!!!!! MARCUS’ ATHLETICISM WHEN HE DID THAT BACKFLIP BLEW ME AWAY!!!! WHY DO I HAVE SUCH TALENTED PLAYERS?!?!?!

Travis Ford texts is definitely going to become a thing.

Football

Interesting story on how Jeannine Edwards and Glenn Spencer fell in love. (CBS Sports)

So now we all like Herbie, is that how this works? (NewsOK)

Pokes get three games in ultimate Big 12 road trip. (ESPN)

On the middle class of college football, including OSU. (Sports on Earth)

No more Big 12 in the Holiday Bowl? (Big 12 Sports)

Wish we were playing TCU in the first two games. (ESPN)

Joe Randle says Dallas is “perfect fit.” (Tulsa World)

Torrance Carr, gone. (Rivals)

Good point here by Brendon Morris. Everybody is excited about Daxx Garman but he hasn’t played since his junior year……of high school. (Rivals)

Tennessee and Vandy could use Lunt. (ESPN)

Baseball

This is awesome if you have Fox College Sports. (Big 12 Sports)

Big 12 baseball stock report. Good place to catch up if you’ve been away. (NewsOK)

Other

The Travis Ford note here on Andrew Wiggins is amazing. (ESPN)

Goodness, the upfronts look horrendous. (The Deadline)

I stand by my submission:

Not bad, not great. I voted for “GRISLY” – twitter.com/pistolsguy/sta…

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguy) May 16, 2013

Here we go!

Wes Lunt news: Source says OSU could be blocking QB from transferring to Big 12 schools, SEC schools and Southern Miss. Stay tuned…

— Jimmie Tramel (@JimmieTramel) May 16, 2013

Indeed:

Love him or hate him, Tony Allen is a flat out winner. #Grizzlies #Thunder

— Carson Cunningham (@CarsonC5) May 16, 2013

Nice:

“@caudle_megan: My dad wants me to check out Oklahoma State for college, any thoughts? @huntermahan”I had the best experience at OSU.

— Hunter Mahan (@HunterMahan) May 16, 2013

Tony Allen talks about Marcus Smart:

Jimmie Tramel with some good thoughts here on the QB situation in Stillwater. (Tulsa World)

Ranking the Big 12 QBs. Chelf No. 2. (Lost Lettermen)

Great stuff here on how Weeden is adjusting to, basically, a new squad. (Cleveland Browns)

Gundy says he wasn’t fast enough to play WR in college. (okstate)

Baseball

Cowboys are now 37-13 after beating Wichita State — remarkable. (okstate)

Pokes up to No. 16 in one poll. Josh Holliday is a wizard. (Big 12 Sports)

OSU has a big hand to play in the Big 12 title race this weekend. (NewsOK)

Other

Lon Kruger is not excited about the big three coming back to Stillwater. (NewsOK)

I’m with Eisenberg: give Marshall Henderson a chance to shoot down the Cowboys. (Yahoo)

Oklahoma State has a problem. Yes, we do. (Sports Illustrated)

JamesOn Curry goes off on Travis Ford via Twitter. (NewsOK)

Outstanding.

In this episode of Full House, DJ is wearing a Shippensburg University sweatshirt. I’m ready for some #OKState football. #GoPokes

— Brenna Hensley (@brennh09) May 15, 2013

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves:

KD couldn’t win in GIA, Wiggins will not be able to either! #lobstilly #okstate

— Taylor Venus (@taylorvenus) May 14, 2013

I don’t know how this only has 1 RT:

Good news for KU boosters – The exchange rate for the American Dollar to the Canadian Dollar is right at 1:1.

— Nolan (@nolancox) May 14, 2013

I am scared:

TIMEOUT, DAMNIT, TIMEOUT!

Yesterday Joe Schad informed us it’s down to Tennessee, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Southern Miss, and Illinois. I’m not sure where he’s getting this info — what if @WesLunt is just DMing every reporter in the country (how funny would that be?) — but I believe him.

So let’s get to the schools:

Southern Miss (2-1)

It was always going to be Hattiesburg, wasn’t it? Monken tweeted — potentially after a couple of late-afternoon Bud heavies — last Friday and it was just over from there:

Oh boy….. RT @coachtoddmonken: Really, REALLY EXCITED right now!!!

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguy) May 10, 2013

I’m not sure what the Monken-Lunt love is all about (maybe Lunt has an uncle who’s a beer or cigarette distributor?) but it’s definitely strong. Lunt is probably throwing darts at a Brett Favre throwback poster as we speak.

Illinois (5-1)

It’s home. Their offense sucks so he’ll play right away — I didn’t actually look up their offense but I’m assuming that since they’re in the Big 10 and didn’t play in the Rose Bowl last year that their offense sucks. Plus he’s a a borderline cult hero up there — my Google Analytics page for last football season looked like this:

Top cities visiting PFB

1. Stillwater
2. OKC
3. Rochester, Ill
4. Tulsa

Louisville (10-1)

My gosh he would throw 45 TDs a year in this offense. I honestly think this would be the best fit for him. You’re going to have one more year of Teddy Bridgewater Teddy Bridgewatering while Lunt redshirts, and then three years of Lunt slinging it around against God-knows-which teams for the three years after that.

Be afraid, Tulsa¹

Tennessee (20-1)

No, what? I don’t see this at all. Although somebody on Twitter tried to tell me that Tennessee is a step down from OSU as a football program. Come on, guys — let’s be realistic. Tennessee wins since 2000 = 99, OSU wins since 2000 = 98. It’s not a monster step up like it used to be, but it’s not by any stretch of the imagination a step down.

Vanderbilt (25-1)

For all we know Lunt is a Mensa member and majoring in biomechanical engineering with a minor in advanced statistics. I say “for all we know” because he talked to the media like twice in his 15 months at OSU. This would be a strange move (I know OSU is the Princeton of the Midwest but…well…yeah) for him both academically and athletically. I don’t see it happening so 25-1 feels right.

Happy *not gambling.

I have a problem with making a poor decision. Yes, you do. (NewsOK)

John Maxwell, eh? (okstate)

Wes Lunt: Louisville, Illinois, Southern Miss (duh), Tennessee, and Vandy. (ESPN)

You cannot escape, Bob, you cannot escape. (okstate)

Joe Randle signs for $2.5 mil. (Star-Telegram)

Look at that number from last year — the only thing that kept OSU from being great. (Coaching Search)

Interesting look back at old Big 12 QB transfers. OSU has a few. (ESPN)

Baseball

I didn’t realize Hursh threw 134 (!) pitches on Friday. (Baseball America)

Gage Green gets Big 12 POW. (Big 12 Sports)

Other

Former OSU wrestlers wrestling internationally. (Tulsa World)

This is cool, I want to do this on PFB at some point this summer. (Scout)

Hmm..

Both 5’10″ ~185lbs. Fr./Soph:Ryan Broyles 27 gms 135 rec. 1,801 yds 13.3 YPR Josh Stewart 24 gms 120 rec. 1,501 yds 12.5 YPR #okstate

— Big D (@OSUMaverick) May 14, 2013

Looks good:

Joseph Randle not wearing orange & black anymore but still a Cowboy. #Okstate twitter.com/TriplePlayOSU/…

— Triple Play Sports(@TriplePlayOSU) May 13, 2013

I laughed:

I chant it while wearing an old bathrobe. RT @steve_wojo: Do you SAY, “Whatever it takes!” or do you DO “Whatever it takes”?

— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) May 14, 2013

Desmond, doing work:

Looking forward to working with our newest Governor-appointed board member, @desmondtmason. Thanks for all you do for the arts in Oklahoma!

— Okla Arts Council (@OKArtsCouncil) May 13, 2013

Mmmmmm..yes (I have lupus!):

Photo Attribution: trmb1d

How else do you explain the transformation going on with OSU baseball this year with a stripped-down roster and a first-year head coach?

The Cowboys are 36-13 and coming off a near-sweep of OU in one of the biggest series’ of the season. It’s the first time they’ve won 36 games in a season since 2008 and there’s still a home series with West Virginia to be played as well as the Big 12 tournament and possible sub-regional.

Holliday was taking over a squad that returned two All-Big 12 second team players…and that’s basically it.

I’m a big believer in college he coaches (whether football, basketball, or baseball) being managers of humans over instructors of sport. What I mean by that is there is far too much importance placed on strategy and teaching by a head coach and far too little on how good that coach is at putting his finger on the pulse of a squad.

Mike Gundy has become really good at this — from where I sit. Travis Ford, I think, is a pretty good basketball mind from an individual perspective (again, I think) but not that great a maneuvering a Big 12 season (though I think he’s getting better).

Holliday, it’s clear, is already superb. After losing on Sunday to take two of three over the weekend from OU, here’s what he told the Oklahoman:

I’m disappointed we didn’t win today, but I’m certainly not disappointed with the way we’re playing. I’m not disappointed with their effort. (Oklahoma) would be the type of ballclub and the type of ace pitchers you’re going to have to beat if you really believe you can extend your season.

He’s basically taken one elite pitching prospect (who’s only 5-4, mind you) and melded together a team of veteran hitters and a good-enough-for-now staff to lead OSU to the precipice of its first 40-win season in quite some time.

Gary Ward won 40 games in his first season as head coach back in 1978 (they also played 62 that year). Tom Holliday won 46 in his first season (they played 65!). And Frank Anderson won 38 in his first season (they played 62).

But Josh has a chance to win 40+ in just over 50 outings, something none of these men can claim — and in doing so, set the winning percentage record for a first-year coach in the modern era.

And while the non-conference schedule hasn’t been elite, it’s been pretty good for a first-year skipper. If you need evidence that OSU can compete outside the Big 12, just look at the recent four-game sweep in Omaha over Rutgers, Nebraska (twice), and Creighton.

There’s still work to be done too. Oklahoma State can’t win the Big 12 regular season title (they sit at 11-9 right now) but if they sweep West Virginia this weekend in Stillwater they can still nab second (if OU sweeps Kansas State).

Something tells me Holliday doesn’t do regular season titles though. Which is why I think this team has a legit shot at at least getting to a a super regional with a chance to play for the College World Series.

And if not, it’s still been a successful first-year for the OSU lifer. He noted in that same Oklahoman interview that he was excited about how Bedlam went down, and really this is the highest compliment you can give a squad:

I’m really proud of my kids. Those guys are bringing it.

Some dude compares Geno Smith and Justin Blackmon, gets rightfully chastised. (ESPN)

I know it’s a function of the offense, but it seems crazy to me that Josh Stewart could finish with more catches than Hart Lee Dykes…as a junior. (NewsOK)

Athlon sports has OSU #16 in the country. (Athlon)

Ubben says OSU is missing elite players from Texas. (ESPN)

Gundy back to boring answers in #AskGundy. Pretty good questions though. (okstate)

He did answer the always-elusive “which freshmen will play” question here. (okstate)

Riiiiiiiiight. (Scout)

For all of you worried about what happens when Chelf graduates. (NewsOK)

Lunt leaving really does make Gundy’s job easy. (ESPN)

Baseball (why not?!)

The picture of Josh Holliday here is amazing and his explanation for getting tossed is even better. (NewsOK)

Cool story on the mom of Josh and Matt Holliday (via Daniel Roach). (MLB)

Interesting column here: Tulsa should get to host two Bedlam baseball games because, you know, Thunder… (Tulsa World)

Good photo gallery of Bedlam last weekend. (NewsOK)

Another one here. (NewsOK)

Long, good writeup of Bedlam in detail here. (Scout)

Also, Josh Holliday might be a wizard. (NewsOK)

Other

[Pre-purchases]…hopefully OKC Dave will get a few paragraphs. (Football Study Hall)

OSU girls tennis ended its season this weekend. Good run though. (okstate)

I want to do this. Maybe to my wife. (Big Lead)

Sports, man, sports. (Deadspin)

Sergio always gonna Sergio. (CBS Sports)

Speaking of golf, Casey Wittenberg finished T8 and Hunter Mahan finished T19 at the Players. (CBS Sports)

It really was:

Pretty impressive weekend for Josh Holliday in #Bedlam debut as OSU head coach. Take series & goes down in close one today. #OKState

— Nate Feken (@TheGreat_Nate) May 13, 2013

I would be terrified:

How cool would it be for #OKState‘s unmanned vehicle program to fly a drone around BPS dropping t-shirts and stuff. #Random

— Phillip Blochowiak (@PCPokefan) May 13, 2013

This is pretty funny (I can’t get over how great Vine is):

Cowboys go for the sweep tomorrow.

1. First things first — and I know everyone has an opinion on this — I think Lunt is going to be (was always going to be) a star. I know some of you disagree (“he’s fragile!” “he’s not mentally there!”² “he’s all show!”) but it’s all there. Go back and watch the Arizona game, I mean my gosh that was his second college football game and he was rolling like he’d been studying OSU’s offense since kindergarten.

I could be wrong, I often am, but I think OSU fans are going to look back at this transfer as basically the opposite of Joey Graham or John Lucas transferring in to Stillwater — there’s going to be lots of “crap, I wish we still had that dude” going on.

2. Some people on Twitter were complaining that Gundy misplayed this and that’s why Lunt is leaving but I don’t really think that’s the case. Obviously nobody knows what went on behind the scenes but I’ll never be convinced that Gundy shutting down media coverage of his QBs affected Lunt’s decision at all.

There was definitely an “am I going to be the starter?” conversation at some point (probably recently) and whatever Gundy’s answer was to that (obviously “no”) wouldn’t have changed even if there wasn’t a restraining order on all members of the Oklahoman and Tulsa World. Now, I do think Gundy got burned long-term by his decision to start Chelf next year, but we’ll talk about that in a minute.

3. This means Clint Chelf was always going to start. It has to. Gundy’s not rolling out there with J.W. against 10 Mississippi State defenders in the box. He’s just not. And why does it mean Chelf was always going to start? Because you don’t leave a conference favorite if you were going to be the starting QB. Gundy basically said as much today:

.@osupoke2007 He felt that was in his best interest for the future, so we have to adjust. He left on good terms and we want the best for him

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) May 10, 2013

4. Based on what was in the Oklahoma this morning and this tweet from Gundy, nobody really saw this coming. That’s not surprising I guess, as Lunt is a notoriously quiet, reserved guy, but still it’s rather shocking. If you say you weren’t shocked by the news then you are much more clairvoyant than I am.

5. 244 days ago Wes Lunt was the starting quarterback of 18th-ranked highest scoring team in the nation and Jenni Carlson had just basically a “he’s the next Warren Moon” column about him. At least he doesn’t have to deal with Jenni Carlson anymore?

6. From his perspective I just….I don’t….get it. There had to be something going on other than Chelf being the starter because it’s not like Lunt thought he wasn’t going to beat out Walsh over the next two/three years. Even if Chelf started you still have to sit out a year if you transfer. Are there that many better places for a QB, who presumably wants to play in the NFL, to be than OSU?

As is usually the case with stuff like this it was probably a combination of reasons but I’d put my money on him being homesick. I just don’t see his relationship with Monken being as important to him as everyone thinks. Go back and read this story by Kelly Hines from last year — he’s always been kind of a homebody (understandably so as an 18-year-old!) and maybe he just never got over that.

7. Ok back to Gundy’s decision to start Chelf (or Walsh if you prefer that narrative…just somebody other than Lunt). I think Gundy though he could get Lunt to redshirt for a year and I think if he didn’t think that he might have started Lunt just out of obligation this year so we could have him for the next three.

I think Gundy likes the way Chelf handles the team — his teammates seem to get more hyped for him than they do Lunt³ and I think Gundy knows that. But I also think he knows that three years of Lunt > one year of Chelf + two years of J.W.

Dare somebody to ask him on Twitter.

8. I got killed on Twitter last night for my “Smart for one more year or Lunt for three?” question but I don’t really think it’s all that absurd. You guys have been so spoiled the last few years that you don’t know remember what it’s like to have an average QB like Walsh running the show. I don’t hate Walsh, I think he’s a gamer, but J.W. Walsh isn’t going to be winning you Big 12 Championships (and if he is, then I’ll gladly eat these words).

Smart is great but one year is one year. I agree with the narrative that Smart is more important to hoops than Lunt was to football, but two years worth? Maybe, but I think you’re selling Lunt short.

9. If a QB from Illinois plays football at OSU and never talks to the media during the football season, did he actually play football at OSU?

10. Here’s another theory: from the second Monken got the job at Southern Miss, Lunt was always going to transfer there. The hole in this theory is that OSU’s season was over before the spring semester started so he could have transferred then but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway as he still would have had to sit out the 2013 season.

I don’t 100% believe something like this would happen but if the rumors are true and Yurcich really does want to run the ball more with his QB (Berry said so here) then maybe there’s something to it.

Whatever the case, like I said yesterday, I’m super bummed out about Lunt leaving. I really felt like he had a chance to be an all-timer as a Cowboy. The leap you make from your freshman to sophomore year is usually ridiculous and I think his would have been no different. Plus he had the perfect backup in Walsh.

OSU was set at the QB depth chart for the next three years.

Now? Akron in 2017 in Tempe. You heard it here first.

On Friday Gundy, prompted by friend of the blog Jamie Wheat, started tweeting about his love of Duck Dynasty and eventually ended up offering a social media invitation to Si, Willie, and the gang to come to Stillwater for a game.

.@jamiedonwheat Our family watches @duckdynastyae every morning & night. Uncle SI is our favorite. They’re welcome at #okstate. #AskGundy

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) May 10, 2013

Extend an open invitation to the @duckdynastyae crew for sideline passes & carte blanche to @cowboyfb. Love to have them in Stillwater

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) May 10, 2013

Every morning and night, eh? I don’t watch a ton of DD (I’ve seen it) but it wouldn’t seem like there are enough episodes to watch it every morning and night. Maybe I’m crazy though.

If I had to rank Gundy’s favorite TV shows before today I would have said:

1. Duck Dynasty – not even close
2. Law & Order – he said so
3. Swamp People – it seems like Gundy would totally get a kick out of this madness
4. Justified – of course
5. Franklin & Bash – because…Gundy…and plus, he can’t believe somebody has better hair than him.

For those who have watched, can you imagine Si interacting on the sidelines with Justin Gilbert or Daytawion Lowe?

Video of this would certainly break my site.

Even Lunt’s HS coach didn’t know he was going to transfer. (NewsOK)

A football or basketball coach is likely your state’s highest paid employee. (Deadspin)

Lunt’s departure clears the way for Kyle Allen? (Tulsa World)

Ranking the Big 12 and SEC from top to bottom. OSU takes 5th. Wow. (ESPN)

If even Robert Allen is surprised… (Scout)

A Texas writer wants to trade for Blake Jackson. (ESPN)

OSU’s D has led the country in snaps over the last four years. Just remember that when you’re complaining about giving up 30 to Tech in October. (Tulsa World)

I laughed out loud at this headline…than I remembered 2011. Sigh. (Big 12 Sports)

Ubben says OSU has the most complete roster in the Big 12. (ESPN)

We’re still in good hands this year, yeah, but after that… (CRFF)

Justin Gilbert, where art thou? (ESPN)

Hoops

Orlando bummed Smart is staying in school. (via @okstatekd) (SB Nation)

Tony Allen spewin’ gold here on Mike Conley (via Brian Jones). (NewsOK)

How much training will Big 12 refs need for this? (Sports Illustrated)

Other

Hunter Mahan and Casey Wittenberg did work at the Players Championship yesterday. (PGA Tour)

There’s nothing like Bedlam. On ESPNU tonight. (NewsOK)

Another good Bedlam preview here. (Scout)

Haha.

So Lunt leaves #okstate weeks after Bobby Reid is hired. Interesting.

— Gunter Sharp (@TheOSUCowboy) May 9, 2013

Canned goods, buy them.

Yesterday on ESPN radio @kirkherbstreit said #okstate “has become a legitimate program…& could be a very dangerous team again this yr”.

— Big D (@OSUMaverick) May 10, 2013

Music is weird, video is great.

Some more spring highlights.

An ode. Goodbye, Wes.

“We appreciate Wes and we thank him for everything he has done. He’s leaving on good terms and is making this decision based on what he thinks is best for his future.”

And from Lunt:

“This was not a decision I took lightly, but it is a decision that I felt was right for me. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the entire Oklahoma State University community. Specifically, I would like to thank the coaches, players, and the whole OSU football family. I wish the Cowboys the best of luck in the future.”

I don’t know about you guys but I’m pretty bummed. I was in love with Lunt’s arm from day one and even though we were Choo-Chooin’ for the second half of last season Lunt (and his cannon) were always the future.

How many f-bombs of joy has Todd Monken dropped in the last five minutes in hopes that the crown jewel of his recruiting time at OSU will meander south to Hattiesburg? I’ll set the over/under at 99.5.

So I guess this means Clint Chelf will be the starter when OSU opens with Mississippi State in September which I’m fine with, but I have a feeling OSU fans are going to be looking back on this day with remorse for years to come.

Could Gundy have handled things differently? Was there a faction between Walsh/Chelf/Lunt (there didn’t seem to be)? Does he just not like Legos?

Whatever the reason, OSU is worse off (both for this season) and (mostly) the future without Wes Lunt.

Farewell, 1s, every deep ball made us gasp — enjoy your success elsewhere, there will be much of it.

She may only be five foot but she’s still got the strength to take me down.

That’s for sure.

Jerry Palm has OSU in the BWW Bowl against Northwestern. It’s May. (CBS Sports)

Joe Randle could start for Dallas. (ESPN)

Cowboys are 5-2 to win the Big 12. (Kegs N Eggs)

Want to vote on Big 12 vs. SEC teams? Here you go… (ESPN)

Hoops

This would be too much — a college basketball Champions League. OMG. (Sports Illustrated)

Other

OSU has one of the best college athletes of all time. via @ryancameron24. (Sports Illustrated)

Bedlam is on ESPNU tomorrow night. (okstate)

Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, BVP, and CHIII playing the Players Championship today. (PGA Tour)

If you like blogging, this looks great. (Kickstarter)

Agreed, one of my favorite parts of summers in Stillwater:

Great time of year at #okstate with @specialolympics in town. Over 4,500 Special Olympians competing this year. #GoodLuck

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) May 8, 2013

Yes.

Is Tony Allen the best NBA player ever to come out of #okstate?

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) May 8, 2013

My mind went first to…Richard Dumas (what?!) because, I have no idea.

So I decided to look it up today. Here are the five best career stat lines for NBA players to come out of OSU (stats are per game and win shares are career totals).

	Games	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	FG/3P/FT	Win shares
Player 1	866	12.5	2.5	3.6	1.1	41/34/77	49.9
Player 2	643	12.1	4.5	1.6	0.4	44/26/74	23.0
Player 3	545	8.0	3.0	1.3	1.3	48/27/74	26.3
Player 4	395	12.5	6.9	1.6	.5	48/8/70	13.0
Player 5	102	10.6	3.4	1.1	1.2	51/23/69	4.5

I can’t take your 102 games seriously, Player 5, even though you were ridiculously talented. You’re out. Player 4 is also struggling in the games department and that 3-point shooting percentage, egads! I think it’s probably between Player 1 and Player 2 even though Player 3 seems like a really great defensive player.

Player 1 was an all-star, an NBA all-defender, and a sixth man of the year winner. Player 2 was all-rookie. Player 3 has a ring and was NBA all-defense twice.

I’ll begrudgingly go Player 1 even though I want to go 2 or 3. Mostly because I know Player 1 played in some monster playoff games, and affected some monster playoff games while Players 2/3 really haven’t yet (7.8 playoff win shares for Player 1 against 2.3 playoff win shares for Players 2/3 combined).

Yep, it’s no contest: John Starks is the best NBA player to ever come out of Oklahoma State.

Here they are:

Player 1 – John Starks
Player 2 – Desmond Mason
Player 3 – Tony Allen
Player 4 – Big Country
Player 5 – Richard Dumas

Andy Staples ranks OU, Texas, Baylor, and TCU…but not Oklahoma State. (Sports Illustrated)

OSU’s athletic department makes a lot of money. (USA Today)

Gundy back to being vanilla. (okstate)

Three potential weaknesses for OSU football this year. Don’t know that I agree with OL — K/P should have been on there twice probably. (Rivals)

Hoops

…

Other

Cool story about brothers playing baseball together (and those uniforms, omg!) (NewsOK)

Really interesting look at 3rd down conversions here. (Football Study Hall)

OSU is No. 19 in baseball. (Big 12 Sports)

TBS gets the Final Four. (Sports Illustrated)

Mahan and Fowler playing together at The Players. (PGA Tour)

Thought this was great last night:

@pistolsguy stressed #okstate bro is stressed Thunder bro tonight. @matt34martin twitter.com/b_brownlee/sta…

— Ben Brownlee (@b_brownlee) May 8, 2013

Nice:

#okstate CB Brodrick Brown has been invited to mini camp with the San Francisco 49ers.

— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) May 8, 2013

There you go:

First #OkState kickoff time for 2013 has been announced — 11 a.m. at UTSA on Sept. 7. (FSN)

— James Poling (@James_Poling) May 7, 2013

Tony Allen, ballin’!

Tony Allen, ballin’. RT @twroten_loe: Yea he ready for gm 2 vine.co/v/b2XQtIjOHUl

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguy) May 8, 2013

Mmmm…

Football

Glen Spencer talks about OSU’s defense, some interesting stuf fin here. (ESPN)

Mike Gundy basically says “you’re welcome, college football” about the new college football playoff. (NewsOK)

Cool all-time NCAA quarterbacks list (OSU has a few). via @bryanmj. (Athlon)

Hoops

Other

OSU golf heads to Arkansas as the No. 3 seed. Top five advance. (okstate)

How Charles Howell got his nickname. (ESPN)

Do we like this shirt? (okstate)

OSU pitcher Mark Robinette gets Big 12 pitcher of the week. (Big 12 Sports)

Cool OSU posters. The one with the Christmas lights around Theta Pond does things to me. (okstate)

Remember when it was kind of funny to joke about how old Otis Nixon looked? Not so much anymore. (Big Lead)

Rickie Fowler’s Players Championship outfits are…something:

Score 1 of @rickiefowlerpga ‘s looks from @theplayerschamp by entering here (US Only) on.fb.me/13nC8r8 twitter.com/PUMAGolf/statu…

— PUMA GOLF (@PUMAGolf) May 6, 2013

I think this is true as long as he keeps the content fresh:

The @coachgundy #AskGundy conversation is smart.It keeps #okstate in the news & gives the media new talking points.

— Big D (@OSUMaverick) May 7, 2013

Re: golf. Is this good?

Since 1989, #okstate has won nine regional titles, including 3 of the last 4 and has nine regional medalists, including 4 of the last 5

— Ryan Cameron (@ryancameron24) May 7, 2013

Steph Curry made me weep last night.

Wow.

Photo Attribution: USATSI

OSU is loaded in basketball, you already know this. And I’m mentally preparing myself to hear the term “loaded” 292,000 times in the next seven months when describing this OSU basketball team. In fact, I might eschew that word in favor of something less traditional. How does “this team is drunk on talent” sound? How about “this team is full of highly skilled American basketball players”?

OK, “loaded” it is.

On Wednesday, Kentucky (perennially ”loaded”) released its non-conference schedule. It includes Michigan State, Baylor, Carolina, and Louisville.

Salty.

That got me thinking about five matchups I’d love to see OSU pursue for the non-con portion of their schedule  this season. I get tired of the SE Louisianas and Tennessee Technicals of the world. There’s really no point in playing those teams, especially with the squad you have coming back. Let’s fill the beginning of December – middle of January entertainment void with these five games.

OSU – Creighton – Give me that Douggy McD-Marcus Smart matchup and give it to me in Oklahoma City. It’s not a neutral site but it’s not bad. Bring down Wichita State too and let them play OU and then let the winners play and losers play the next day. You can call it the All-College or the All-Pistolsguy or whatever you want, let’s just do it.

OSU – OSU – Heck, throw Oregon State in too and we can have a little round robin weekend for the battle of best OSU in the country. Winner gets to be called THE _____________ State University for the entire season. Losers must take on Greg Paulus as an assistant for life.

OSU-Michigan – Selfishly I’d like this game just so I’d have an excuse to post the entire Fab 5 documentary video on PFB. OSU lost to the Fab 5 in the ’92 Tournament then lost to Michigan again in the ’97 NIT. OSU is 1-2 all-time against the Wolverines and with Mitch McGary and Big Dog III coming back (plus the incomparable Nik Stauskus (see below) and heat-checking Spike Albrecht) they’re going to be great next year.

OSU-Duke – I’m not sure why but I’ve always wanted a home-and-home with Duke. Preferably home next year when we can take them then a sacrificial appearance at Cameron Indoor in 2014.

OSU-UCLA – A matchup of coaches who can’t win an NCAA Tournament game! Seriously though, how much fun would a home-and-home be with UCLA at Pauley and GIA? ‘Bazz is gone but Marcus Smart vs. Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson vs. Markel and Le’Bryan would be just divine.

I can’t get excited about this because, well, Herschel Sims. (NewsOK)

Chuck Carlton picks OSU 5th in the Big 12. (Dallas Morning News)

This is great fun: college football coaches by number of Twitter followers. (Tulsa World)

Gina Mizell tells us kind of not that much about where the new guys will fit in. (NewsOK)

Hoops

Other

OSU moves to 9-8 in the Big 12 Conference. (okstate)

Ben McLemore’s AAU coach took money on his behalf? I’m shocked. (USA Today)

Men’s track, killing the 5K. (okstate)

Bill Self does not care. (Sports Illustrated)

Blake Bellol. (Hesiman Pundit)

BVP and CHIII finished in the top 10 at Quail Hollow. (PGA Tour)

Great read on Orb here. (Sports on Earth)

College basketball season moved up. That’s a good thing. (Sports Illustrated)

New OSU site in town. 247 is usually a good source of recruiting so you should follow if you’re into that.

Follow @okstate247

Hilarious photo:

FeltGood Catching Up with Suttons, / they helPed me Get that #GnG mentality!!! twitter.com/aa000G9/status…

— Tony Allen (@aa000G9) May 5, 2013

Nice:

Here are the 5K runners showing a little school spirit on the medal stand! #okstate twitter.com/BlakeZ1908/sta…

— Blake Zimmerman (@BlakeZ1908) May 6, 2013

Save Olympic wrestling.

Nice.

Cold.

Photo Attribution: USATSI

Thanks for getting your questions in today on Twitter. I’ll try to start doing this more often if you guys promise to ask good questions (“talk about” will get you blocked). I feel inspired by the #AskGundy shenanigans. I won’t make you start an #AskPistols hashtag but let’s start having some fun with this…

Who is your favorite PFB contributor? – @mattquade12

OKC Dave.

Which would you rather experience in person again: ’04 Regional Final, Durant 3OT game, 2011 Bedlam, Ventura breaks hit streak? – @mattquade12

First of all, aren’t you working on your PhD? Do you really have time to be interacting with a blogger multiple times on Twitter during the school day? If I had to pick one of those though it would probably be the 3OT game. You guys know my feelings on GIA and despite that game being kind of the last great moment (other than beating KU in Sean’s last season) it was as pure and as unhinged as I’ve ever seen the place. Plus the fact that we knew with 100% certainty that KD was going to be a future killer in the NBA made it that much more special.

Better chance… #okstate football making a BCS game or #okstate football making the final four? – @mttruelove

Pretty good (fair) question that I’ve been debating for 15 minutes. I told you guys earlier this year that our basketball team was definitely better than our football team and got laughed off the Internet. It’s going to be much of the same next year but (and I can’t believe I’m saying this about a dude who tucks hoodies into his pants) I trust Gundy a lot more than I trust Ford.

Plus there’s a blueprint for getting to a BCS bowl. You know pretty much exactly what you have to do (win the conference) and exactly how you’re going to do it before the season starts. Making the Final Four is much more volatile. You could get a wildly mis-seeded team in the first round (hi, Oregon) or a Steph Curry reincarnate in the second. The NCAA Tournament is such a wild card so even though our basketball team will again be better than our football team, I’ll go BCS bowl.

What’s your favorite mythical creature? – @aboedeker

Dana Holgorsen.

Single greatest O-State sports moment for you? – @jamiedonwheat

Fantastic question. My real answer is probably Christmas 2004 when I gave my pops the baseball I pitched with to make the OSU baseball team for a semester in Stillwater¹ but that’s more of a personal deal nobody can really relate to.

You know the first thing that popped in my head? The punt return Dez had against Houston in ’09. Here’s what I wrote about that three years ago on this site:

The combination of the weather (misty and overcast), the score (down 24-7 at half), the ranking (#5), Dez (my favorite OSU football player ever),  and that I was sitting with my parents and one of my best friends was like the perfect storm of  an “I can’t believe this is happening I wish somebody was video taping my reaction right now” moment. I’m not even real sure what I did but my buddy, Nolo, started dropping 5 and 4 letter words right after Dez’s first juke towards the sideline and we both just freaked out. It was like that though, Dez standing on his own 30 staring at Gallagher-Iba ready to return a punt made me feel like I could do anything. I don’t even know why, I just loved the scene: 50,000 suspenseful OSU fans, one terrified punter, an opposing special teams coach who couldn’t look, Dez in all his justified swagger ready to house anything kicked his way. It was perfect.

How many mint juleps should me and Sheets have bought you to see you run across the port-o-pottys at the ’08 Kentucky Derby? – @nolancox

If you haven’t been to the Kentucky Derby, this is a thing. Everybody on the infield gets drunk and starts basically slip-n-sliding atop the port-o-pottys while bros in Bama croakies and Columbia fishing shirts drunkenly chant their names. A tradition unlike any other.

The answer, by the way, is probably three. Mint Juleps at the Derby are sneaky crazy. One and you’re like “what the heck was in that?” Two and Amanda Bynes’ Twitter account starts to make a lot more sense. Three and you do the port-o-potty thing. Four and you might be dead.

Oh, and if you’re in college and you haven’t gone to the Derby, tickets to the infield are $40. Stop reading this, get in your car, and start driving. You’re done with finals, what do you have to do that’s going to be more entertaining than a weekend in Louisville? That frisbee golf game at Boomer will be there when you get back.

Favorite bar in STW? Do you know how to two step? Would you two step w/Gundy if it meant he and Holder would get along? – @benallenkosu

Murphy’s, easily, it’s not even close. This is like asking an OU fan where his favorite place to shop is. You’re going to get the random outlier who says Target or the Dollar Tree but if you don’t hear Wal-Mart then some reevaluation probably needs to take place. Yes and yes to your last two questions. I’d do a lot worse than two-step with Gundy.

All time favorite GIF? – @tyketch

Honestly, this one is pretty tough to top. I’m biased because I made it and it’s OSU-related, but it has everything.

Any suggestions on how to get Ford in a scandal?  - @nickkyger

Phenomenal question. I don’t see Ford pulling a Larry Eustachy or Mike Price or anything like that, he just doesn’t seem like that kind of dude. So we’re probably going to be looking at more of a Mike Rice incident. I mean, look at the GIF above. It’s not that difficult to see Ford picking up a rack of balls and slinging it at Le’Bryan after Christien Sager snags a rebound over him for the 29th straight time in practice, is it?

My suggestion, if you want it badly enough, go back to school for another degree and apply to become a student manger or grad assistant or whatever. The key here is to emphasize how much you appreciate player development (Ford loves this) and you’ll probably get the gig. From there all you have to do is strap a GoPro to your person somewhere and let Nash and Sager take over.

It seems like somebody close to Boone could get him to turn on Ford too. “Hey Boone, Ford gave $10 to the Obama campaign last year.” Gone.

Other than your current one, dream job? – @cwknoxosu

I’m not going to lie, my job(s) right now are pretty phenomenal. I wake up early, get my work done, sometimes work in the afternoon but usually just play with my kid or go play golf or work in the yard or whatever. My ultimate goal is to not have an employer. I don’t want somebody to be able to tell me when to work. Granted, complaining about “having” to write about golf is like Tom Brady complaining about Gisele gaining 1 lb. after having three kids, but still. I would love to be financially independent as an entrepreneur by running this blog, maybe writing some books, owning some businesses etc. So to answer your question, my dream job isn’t with one employer, but in being my own boss which I feel like I’m trending towards right now.

If you could choose any #okstate athlete/coach/administrator be on any reality TV show, who/what show would you pick? – @allisonmbrown

Candidates: Byron Eaton on the Biggest Loser, Billy Bajema on the Apprentice, Prentiss Elliot on Survivor (omg), Clint Chelf on America’s Next Top Model, Marcus Smart and Phil Forte on Amazing Race, Gundy on Dancing With the Stars (!), but the winner has to be…

Zac Robinson on the Bachelor. He would be perfect, no? Semi-famous, great athlete, proficient with the ladies, shy enough to piss off all the girls, talented and good-looking enough to piss off all the guys, funny enough to roll with Chris Harrison. What OSU fan wouldn’t watch this?

How did Bubba’s support of Broussard resonate in the gold community? – @idpokefan

I don’t think it stirred anybody up too much except for a few wonky bloggers and writers such as myself. My bigger issue with the whole Broussard/Bubba/whoever else said something thing was this:

Why are people who call themselves “tolerant of all types of people” suddenly as intolerant as Nick Saban at an officials convention when Christians or peoples of [fill in a faith or religion here] express opinions they hold to be truth. I find that irony to be thick and that attitude to be insufferable. If you’re “tolerant” you don’t get to pick and choose what you’re tolerant of. It’s like being pregnant. Either you are or you aren’t.

Non-OSU golfing foursome? – @kevindavis31

We’re playing Augusta (duh). I’ll say Andy Roddick (stories for days and if he brings his wife, no complaints), Bill Clinton (stories for days but he can’t bring his wife), and Steve Spurrier (there has to be very few experiences on earth more unique than playing a round at Augusta National with Steve Spurrier).

All-NBA Thug team…top 3 guys you’re bringing to a bar fight…or a back alley? – @ryanduffie

Great one to end on. I’ll start with my OSU guy Tony Allen who has just enough crazy in him to be potentially the most effective dude in the fight. I want to go Z-Bo but that might be too much crazy on onne side, they might turn on me. I can’t go Metta, Matt Barnes, Boogie Cousins, or KG for similar reasons. So I’ll say Perk (he’s as slow as a Molina brother but you aren’t getting up if he connects) and Kenneth Faried. This gives me strength (Faried), size (Perk), and quickness (TA). I have no idea what I’m going to be doing (filming?) but at least I’d feel good about my safety.

Also, the three NBA guys I’d least like to have on my side in a fight are Vince Carter, Steph Curry, and Melo. And probably Steve Blake.

Interesting to see OSU not only posting Gundy’s responses but also reaction from bloggers and tweeters (not me, of course, but people you know). (okstate)

Everybody picking OSU = scary. (Athlon)

Thumbs up from me on nine game schedules. (ESPN)

Good next question for Gundy to answer. (Sports Illustrated)

Hoops

McIntyre has OSU at No. 3. [barfs into office trash can]. (Big Lead)

Other

[tries to not look]. (NewsOK)

Lengthy piece about social media and how it’s affected by the first amendment. (O’Colly)

Jason Hursh named to Golden Spikes watch list. (Big 12 Sports)

Bedlam next week. (NewsOK)

But first Tech this weekend. (okstate)

O RLY? (KJRH)

Do we like the new OSU YouTube layout? (YouTube)

Toni Young Q&A. (NY Liberty)

Listened to the Gatsby soundtrack while I did the Bullets today. Solid. (NPR)

This is pretty great (h/t Orange Power):

Would you rather have a coordinator leave to take a head coaching job or drive a car w/ a radio that only plays Nickelback? #AskGundy

— Valero Alamo Bowl (@valeroalamobowl) April 30, 2013

Troop waving the towel for some high schoolers this year:

Former AU coach Trooper Taylor will help coach Auburn High school football next year.

— Christina Chambers (@chambc1) April 30, 2013

Yes:

Direct message to Travis Ford: Hire Steph Curry’s dad to be the shooting coach for #okstate next season.

— Kevin Davis (@kevindavis31) May 3, 2013

Well this #AskGundy thing got real in a hurry:

.@stevemc123 I’m married to the perfect lady but if I had to pick someone else, I’d take Mariska Hargitay. #AskGundy

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) May 2, 2013

Want:

OK, I want one of these. RT @jphanned: Spotted at Oracle: “Keep Calm, Curry On” shirt: twitpic.com/cnqobj”

— tommy tomlinson (@tommytomlinson) May 3, 2013

Barry Sanders in high school (LOL). h/t Barking Carnival

So awesome.

Cool documentary that will feature Rickie Fowler.

Photo Attribution: Instagram

And we really wonder why these kids are so drunk on themselves when they get to college?

Here’s the original tweet:

This takes the cake as far as recruiting mail goes haha #extramile #okstate instagram.com/p/YynGDuQwpg/

— Jimmie Swain IV (@jimmieswain) May 2, 2013

A few days ago Spencer Hall (you know him as EDSBS) tweeted this to Gundy:

Dear @coachgundy: please verify your current age and gender. (i.e., male, 40)

— edsbs (@edsbs) April 30, 2013

It got a good laugh from me (and probably others).

Today Gundy responded to it! Now, I don’t know if Gundy actually knows who Spencer Hall is or that he’s the de facto leader of this college football online universe many people contribute to on a daily basis. For all I know, he thinks @EDSBS is some dude in Ada who doesn’t have access to YouTube for some reason.

I do know that this tweet is going down in the annals of social media. It’s going to be tough for anybody to top:

.@edsbs Gender: Male. Current Age: 45 #AskGundy

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) May 2, 2013

Also, EDSBS responded:

Thank you, sir. RT @coachgundy: .@edsbs Gender: Male. Current Age: 45 #AskGundy

— edsbs (@edsbs) May 2, 2013

Football Outsiders has OSU finishing second in the Big 12, gives them a 30% of winning the conference. Texas is 39%, OU 16%, TCU 14%. (ESPN Insider)

Ubbs says they’re No. 1. (ESPN)

Interesting: Nico Ornelas leaves the team and Jeremiah Tshimanga gets moved to DE. (NewsOK)

Are OSU fans ready for OSU to be picked No. 1? (CRFF)

Mike Gundy gets biggest flip-flopper of the spring season. (ESPN)

Helsley with some early-season football thoughts. (NewsOK)

Really in-depth recruiting stuff if you’re into that. (ESPN Insider)

Hoops

Super-early All-American teams. (CBS Sports)

Other

OSU golfers named All-Big 12. (Big 12 Sports)

Least surprising headline ever? (Big Lead)

Wow.

Nice! “@jimmieswain: This takes the cake as far as recruiting mail goes haha #extramile #okstate Instagram.com/p/YynGDuQwpg/”

— Big D (@OSUMaverick) May 2, 2013

Batter up, get it?

Batter up! Students come get pancakes at #okstate student union starting at 10 pm twitter.com/gshutt/status/…

— Gary Shutt (@gshutt) May 2, 2013

Yes. (h/t @adam_wk)

Does this dude sleep? New video every day…

We were rewarded with two non-answer responses, some common sense and information anyone can find online.

So what did we learn yesterday?

.@theeroach Thx for the question. How much time & effort we put into helping our young men develop outside of football. #AskGundy

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) April 30, 2013

Did anyone else notice that Gundy answered the question without answering the question?  If he wants people to know how much time and effort you put into developing men outside of football…tell us!  That’s like answering the question with “I wish people knew what kind of hair gel I used” without telling us about that mystical product.

@ashleywingender it has been set.Friday, July 26 at the stadium.We are still working out details but registration will be that morning.

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) April 30, 2013

I Googled “Oklahoma State Football 101” and found the information in under 30 seconds.

*Update:  This was a direct reply to her question, so he was only being helpful here.

@tyames93 Certainly the athletes are bigger, stronger & faster. Speed of the game is much different. Offenses are no huddle. #AskGundy

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) April 30, 2013

Gundy really picked the tough questions. I don’t mean to criticize the questioner, because I’m sure he didn’t realize he was setting Gundy up for a simple, straight-out-of-the-book response. He could have provided a more in-depth answer, but he went chalk.  Surprise, surprise.

.@bsargentokc Time with my teammates in the locker room, dorms & outside of FB. Not fair to pick one, we won a lot of games. #AskGundy

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) April 30, 2013

This whole thing is a joke if Gundy is going to select questions and respond to them by not answering what was asked. If you’re not going to pick a memory, don’t answer the question.

Please, next time they do this, everyone join me in asking Gundy why he tucks his jacket into his khakis.

I want to make Bo in the banana suit my new Twitter profile.

There’s money in the banana stand.

Here’s the full Blackmon story out of Jacksonville. If I set the over/under at 12.5 more games in a Jags uni, which side of that do you want? (Florida Times-Union)

Is Oklahoma State the Big 12′s new power? (ESPN)

Calvin Barnett could go in the first round next year. h/t @colindjohnston (NFL)

OSU-Texas should be a jewel. (ESPN)

I knew the answers would be boring, but man. (okstate)

Berry says Blackmon put his football career in jeopardy. I concur. (NewsOK)

Lol at Texas in the top 15. (ESPN)

Brendon Morris looks at where Joe Randle fits in on the Cowboys. (Rivals)

Hoops

Luke Winn has OSU at No. 10 (still not graphic-worthy!) (Sports Illustrated)

Other

Good read on Rickie Fowler here. (News Observer)

OSU baseball ranked 19th. (Big 12 Sports)

O RLY?

Interesting game/line here: Oklahoma State listed as a 11.5-point favorite over Miss St. in the opener on 5Dimes.

— Adam Kramer (@KegsnEggs) April 30, 2013

Thanks to @nolancox for grabbing this Justin Timberlake shout out to Tony Allen:

#GritnGrind

— Justin Timberlake(@jtimberlake) May 1, 2013

Dez > Blackmon.

To all those saying what an innocent kid Justin Blackmon is: He has now fallen off the wagon 3 times in 18 months. He knew precisely—–

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) May 1, 2013

—what was at stake when the Jags spent the 6th pick in the draft on him. I just think it’s inexcusable. Good night all.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) May 1, 2013

It’s OK to cry.

This dude is all in on OSU highlight videos..

Photo Attribution: USATSI

Since Gundy is now taking three questions a day on Twitter “every day for the foreseeable future” I thought I should list the 10 I’d most like to see his answers to¹…

1. What do I have to give you to get one minute of footage of you and Monk at a craps table in Vegas?

2. Will you take a pay cut if the words “Bill Self” are involved?

3. Alex Cate’s father: does he have photos of you or Kristen? Or both?

4. How many times have you wished you had a mulligan on naming your kid “Gunner Gundy”?

5. Have you considered eschewing the porcupine look and reverting to the mop-top of the early 1990s? Why or why not?

6. Over/under three sentences spoken to Brent Parker since 1988?

7. Texas or SC?

8. One word to describe Travis Ford, go.

9. One word to describe Mike Holder, go.

10. Finish this sentence: Dana Holgerson is ___% human and ___% werewolf.

Photo Attribution: USATSI

UPDATED: 6:30 p.m.

According to Adam Schefter, Justin Blackmon has been suspended by the NFL:

Jaguars former first-round pick WR Justin Blackmon is being suspended four games by the NFL, per league sources. More on NFL Live now.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 30, 2013

I double (triple) checked to make sure I wasn’t being fooled by the “a darn Schefter” fake Twitter account but Trey Wingo confirmed on NFL Live today.

The story was later updated to say that he has been suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. This doesn’t stem from his DUI last summer either.

Because of his two previous DUIs the Jaguars wrote into his contract that they would not be on the hook for $10 million in signing bonuses if he was to get suspended. This means they could cut him pretty easily and not owe much money for it¹.

So, not a good day in the Blackmon home.

Here’s what he had to say (not copy/pasted from last year):

Blackmon: “I’ve made a mistake and I have no excuse.I am truly sorry and disappointed in myself for putting the Jaguars in this situation”

— Ryan O’Halloran (@ryanohalloran) April 30, 2013

Blackmon: “I have chosen to be accountable for my poor decision, and I sincerely apologize …” #jaguars

— Ryan O’Halloran (@ryanohalloran) April 30, 2013

OSU is preseason No. 15 in Mark Schlabach’s poll. (ESPN)

Please, somebody ask him if he reads PFB. Gosh, this has a chance to be an all-time event. (NewsOK)

Strong post here on how people on Twitter shouldn’t try to recruit high schoolers. (O’Colly)

Really good wrap up of what the Big 12 looked like at the NFL Draft. (ESPN)

Agree with Slater here, Joe Randle is in a good spot. (NewsOK)

So is everyone still going to be upset when OSU gives up 30 in the first game and wins by two touchdowns? (O’Colly)

Hoops

Agreed, college hoops is going to be fantastic next year. (ESPN)

James Anderson says he was “shocked” about Marcus Smart’s decision. (NewsOK)

OSU (obviously) a big winner in the draft decisions. (Sports Illustrated)

Preseason No. 10 in Jason King’s poll. (ESPN)

Same at CBS. (CBS Sports)

I’m going to need as few “OSU is going to unseat KU” articles to be written as possible over the next eight months. (Yahoo)

Other

It was a little unnerving to see “California State Fullerton.” Also, if WVU wins the Big 12 in baseball…I mean. (O’Colly)

Tyler Nurdin, Big 12 newcomer of the week. (Big 12 Sports)

The most Tony response ever:

On Jason Collins, @aa000g9 (Grizz guard Tony Allen) said: “God loves us all.”

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 29, 2013

Yikes.

Photo Attribution: USATSI

You may have heard of this event that happened at the end of last week. It was covered lightly by some major media outlets though, frankly, I’m worried didn’t get enough attention by most.

Anyway, OSU had one player taken — one of my favorite players in recent memory, Joe Randle want to the Dallas Cowboys in the 5th Round. His tweet celebrating the moment was pretty outstanding too:

Extremely blessed to be a Cowboy again!

— Joseph Randle (@JRAN_1) April 27, 2013

And the audio of Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones welcoming him to the team, as genuine a celebration as you’ll hear from an athlete in 2013.

You don’t know how big a fans my family is of the Cowboys.

All of this is great, he’s going to back up DeMarco Murray who, as one of my friends put it over the weekend, is made of glass — so Randle should see plenty of time. He’s reunited with Dez Bryant and Dan Bailey, Boone may have gotten him drafted, and well, you don’t know how big a fans my family is of the Cowboys.

My question though: why would you leave the Big 12 title favorite to be a 5th round pick? And more importantly, why was the best RB in the Big 12 the last two years a 5th round pick?

Last year the 151st pick in the draft made $437,900. That’s around what Randle will get.

When he first came out in January I wrote that it was a good idea. He’d hit his ceiling as a college player and you have to cash those checks as a running back before you pile up too many miles on the odometer.

I read that he would probably go between rounds two and four and though four probably wouldn’t be justification (three and two would) it would still be the right choice. But then he started sliding and…and…

Andrew McGee, a teammate of Randle’s in 2010, had a theory:

Hmmm…I don’t follow Randle but I would assume that if he said anything insane I would have heard of it. It’s a curious notion for sure, one I don’t totally understand, but maybe there’s more to this story that hasn’t surfaced yet. McGee certainly knows him better than I do.

Randle has always struck me as a thoughtful, if not a bit arrogant guy. He majored in engineering at OSU and always seemed like he understood the game (of college/pro sports) and how to play it.

I think he’ll be a good pro (not a great one), make some good coin, and hope he goes on to have a successful life.

I’ll always wonder why he slid so far in the 2013 draft though.

Good post on what Joe Randle’s role will be in Dallas. (ESPN)

Home-and-home with Boise in case you missed it Friday. (PFB)

Roundup of where everybody signed. Sharp can have Zac introduce him to some nice young women in Cincy. (NewsOK)

Pretty stunned Sharp didn’t get drafted. (Tulsa World)

Let’s not go overboard on the “I’ll remember teams who passed on me” thing. He knew going in at least every team was definitely going to pass him up twice. (ESPN)

“Had a fumbling problem early in his career”? Did he? He had a few bad games but I wouldn’t call it a “problem.” (ESPN)

The NFL is a two-back system now so guys need other guys to come in and you don’t want to drop the tempo off much. I think (Murray and I will) work well together. Very true. (NewsOK)

The people have spoken, Chelf it is. (ESPN)

Good story on Gundy and Calvin Barnett. (Tulsa World)

Hoops

…

Other

OSU baseball sweeps in Omaha. Hope I get to type that sentence again this year. (okstate)

Wow, Trent Dilfer all in against OU. (NewsOK)

One of my friends started this company, and it’s pretty awesome. (TechCrunch)

Wow, Pitino tattoo. (Yahoo)

Weirdest Randle photo or weirdest photo ever?

From Cowboy to Cowboy… #OKState‘s Joseph Randle (@jran_1) is heading to Dallas! #NFLDraft twitter.com/OSUAthletics/s…

— OSU Athletics (@OSUAthletics) April 27, 2013

Oh.

The Houston Texans signed an undrafted free agent from Langston

— Matt Amilian (@mattamilian) April 29, 2013

I’m in love again, this is just a joke:

Photo Attribution: USATSI

Not who you think should start or who you want to start, but who you would start at QB if your name was Mike Gundy and you were getting $250,000 checks every month.

OKC Dave

Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Chelf is a senior who has proven himself very capable to give us a great season. You insert Walsh in the same package we used last year, and you redshirt Lunt and tell him he’s got three years ahead of him at starting QB if he keeps up the hard work.

Pistolsboy

If I was Gundy I guess that would mean I have Alex Cate > Brandon Weeden on my resume so I’m not sure how seriously everybody should take me.

That being said, I think if I was Gundy I would probably start Clint Chelf. Our $3+ million man needs a solid campaign after that 8-5 train wreck last season and Chelf is the safest choice. Last year I said Gundy should start Lunt, and he did, because last year didn’t matter — OSU wasn’t going to win the Big 12 even if Brandon Weeden somehow got another year of eligibility.

This is not the year to take a chance like that again — and nobody can convince me that Lunt isn’t at least a little bit of a chance, a wild card if you will.

This year, Gundy seems to think OSU has a defense that can deliver Big 12 title No. 2 in three years. And if he genuinely thinks that (which…who knows?) then roll Chelf out there. You know what you’re getting with him, you know who you’re getting from him, and with a little bit of luck you can steer the ship to the promise land once again.

I honestly don’t think J.W. is really in the mix for the starting job, what’s weird is that Lunt could either win a Big 12 title this year or not be allowed to play (because of a redshirt) based on whatever Gundy feels like doing over the next few months. I could not handle those emotional swings — this is why I write and don’t play (among many, many reasons).

All of this probably means…”welcome to Houston, folks. Your starting quarterback for the Oklahoma State Cowboys — Daxx Garman!!”

Amilian

*Disclaimer:  I didn’t watch the scrimmage nor did I read anything about it except for a couple headlines that claimed defense won.

Photo Attribution: USATSI

Oklahoma State and Boise State have agreed to a home-and-home matchup in 2018 and 2021.

Boise will come to Stillwater in Septermber of ’18 and OSU will go up to the northwest in ’21.

Here’s what Mike Gundy had to say on okstate.com:

“It’s a good non-conference matchup for both of us. It gives us each a quality opponent out of conference play, which is ultimately going to factor in when we get to the four-team playoff.”

Translation: “I hear Southern Cal and Texas will have job openings after this season ends.”

The never ending power struggle between Holder and Gundy rages on. Gundy hates good non-conference games (though I’m not sure how he feels about them with the impending College Football Playoff) and Holder likes lining his pockets with the cash they bring.

But this is why this one is so…odd. Boise is great, yes, but I have to think there’s a financial disparity between playing FSU in Jerryworld and playing Boise in Stillwater/Boise.

It seems like Holder is just lording his rubber stamp from Boone over Gundy at this point. “You hate playing good teams out of conference?” “Fine, I’ll go find the least beneficial ‘we-have-the-most-to-lose’ opponent I can possibly find and we’ll strap it up with them.”

Maybe not though, maybe Gundy’s attitude is changing now that four teams (and eventually more) will get in the playoff.

As for me? I love it. I get tired of the Louisiana Lafayettes and Savannah States of the world. Let’s have some entertainment. OSU isn’t going to have a chance to win it all in most years anyway so we might as well take a swipe at playing an instant classic in September.

Oh, and think these two fan bases will have anything to talk about?

I do not understand this. (NewsOK)

People lost their freaking minds when Barry Sanders beat AD for the Madden ’14 cover. This isn’t a parody, is it? (Sports Grid)

Good look at where Quinn Sharp and Joe Randle could go. (NewsOK)

OSU predicted win total around 8 for 2013. (Football Study Hall)

Good spring review stuff here from Robert Allen. I give him a lot of crap but he’s as close to this team as anybody. (Scout)

Eight OSU football mini-helmets. via @mattquade12 (Schutt)

Hoops

…

Other

OSU is going to Omaha! Oh…wait. (okstate)

Very cool feature on Tavon Austin with OSU getting a little shout. (Grantland)

This is unreal. (Big Lead)

Yeoman’s work here on the NFL Draft. Has some Big 12/Oklahoma stuff too. (Deadspin)

I thoroughly enjoyed all of this. (Lost Ogle)

[weeps]

The IPF is looking pretty slick:

We recruit great athletes and we’re able to align them faster than the defense can align.

Photo Attribution: USATSI

I’m pretty sure @johnwsnyder said it best yesterday about Barry Sanders being voted onto the cover of the new Madden ’14 video game:

I feel like Barry Sanders is more excited to win the cover of Madden than he was to win the Heisman. #okstate

— John W Snyder (@johnwsnyder) April 25, 2013

Sanders was famously reserved about his 1988 Heisman trophy celebration. OSU was playing Texas Tech in Japan at the time of the announcement (can you imagine the things Johnny Football would do in Japan?) and Pat Jones had to coerce him into accepting the trophy via teleconference.

Here’s an excerpt from Sports Illustrated:

Like everyone else, Jones is mystified by Sanders’s rare combination of talent and humility. “I don’t think he’d mind getting named the best football player in college; he’d just prefer not to go through the things associated with it,” says the coach.

Unfortunately for Sanders, that includes the Heisman ritual, but as late as Saturday morning in Tokyo, Sanders was insisting that he wouldn’t appear on the TV broadcast. He wasn’t a shoo-in to win the award, though the two other leading candidates, both quarterbacks, had stumbled. UCLA’s Troy Aikman was hurt by the Bruins’ losses to Washington State and Southern Cal in nationally televised games. USC’s Rodney Peete had a rough outing in a showdown for No. 1 against Notre Dame two weeks ago on national TV.

“It’s just not that big a deal for me,” said Sanders of the Heisman. “And it’s not really fair to so many other people.

And the conclusion:

At any rate, being the thoughtful guy he is, Sanders wilted under the pressure applied by CBS and Oklahoma State officials, and he finally agreed to do the Heisman show. Sanders walked into the TV studio on Sunday morning looking as though he were about to be publicly flogged. Sitting beside Jones, he stared straight ahead at the cameras. A technician tried to position a monitor next to Sanders so that he could watch the same highlights of himself that viewers back in the States were seeing, but he told the man to turn off the monitor. Sanders, who can fall asleep whenever he feels the need, often naps through team film meetings rather than have to watch himself perform.

So who was that man I saw doing First Take a few weeks ago talking about the Madden cover¹? And who was that man last night tweeting (I mean, Barry Sanders…tweeting?!?) people to vote him over Adrian Peterson in the finale of voting?

Even Tiger Woods weighed in:

I’m voting for @barrysanders for the Madden 25 cover #Madden25Barry es.pn/13jszbX

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 24, 2013

Here’s a sampling of Barry’s tweets:

Still a few more hours of two for Tuesday tweets… if you want to see me on the cover of Madden 25. I’m almost there. Tweet #Madden25Barry

— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) April 17, 2013

Getting ready for the live show. twitter.com/BarrySanders/s…

— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) April 24, 2013

At the ESPN party with @rayrice27 twitter.com/BarrySanders/s…

— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) April 25, 2013

I’m not hating on Barry, all of this is fine, just quite the juxtaposition from his formative years.

Two last thoughts: 1.) I think he’s probably wearing the same suit he wore in 1988 for the Heisman presentation. 2.) If you would have told 1988 Pat Jones “in 25 years there will be this thing you do on your phone where people all over the world can read the thoughts of famous athletes and people and Barry Sanders will be heavily involved” would he have laughed at you or had you committed?

Or both?

Here they are…

…with a few comments.

First of all, am I listening to Chariots of Fire music or what’s going on here?

Tracy Moore at 0:25, good heavens, if that’s what we’re getting out of our No. 3 receiving option, many defensive coordinators will be fired after playing OSU this fall.

At 0:47 I see Dave Hunzicker is still in default 2012 Blake Jackson mode where you just assume he dropped the ball.

At 0:53 — Carson was right, Kye = Haloti. That is absurd.

Jimmy Bean looks easy (1:18).

At 2:00 — that’s the Justin Gilbert we all know and love.

Start it at 2:30 and watch the difference in J.W.’s arm and Lunt’s arm. I know this isn’t breaking news or anything but the contrast caught me off guard as I was watching.

You can vote for who you think should be OSU’s QB here. CC running away with it. (ESPN)

Pretty good point here about Gundy hiding his QBs. Somebody’s gonna find out who the starter is. (O’Colly)

Great line from OKC Dave here: Something tells me Bill Snyder doesn’t really care what the trends are in college football. Also, cool look at the fastest teams in college football — something we looked at for OSU last year. (Football Study Hall)

Agree with this on Joe Randle. (Tulsa World)

Good post on where OSU stands with recruiting. (SB Nation)

Roundup of OSU players in tonight’s draft. (Tulsa World)

Enjoying the social media stuff from the O’Colly. Also, Wes Lunt doesn’t have the password to his own Twitter account, hah. (O’Colly)

Is Justin Gilbert back?! (Rivals)

Hoops

Nothing.

Other

Hopefully it burns in their gut that they didn’t win. (O’Colly)

Good post on OSU’s (kind of) ace. (NewsOK)

Great quote from Mike Leach here: we’ll put mirrors in front of their lockers if that’s necessary, but they don’t have to Twitter. (O’Colly)

Take some time and go read this. (Grantland)

Pretty cool:

.@barrysanders congrats on winning the #Madden25Barry challenge. Well deserved #okstate #GoPokes twitter.com/CoachGundy/sta…

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) April 25, 2013

Also, this is true:

I feel like Barry Sanders is more excited to win the cover of Madden than he was to win the Heisman. #okstate

— John W Snyder (@johnwsnyder) April 25, 2013

I am shocked, excited, humbled, elated. I am also proud to be the Madden 25 Cover athlete.

— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) April 25, 2013

Yup:

Learning that Eddie Sutton and Barry Switzer are good friends has to be similar to walking in on your parents getting down. Right? #okstate

— Pokelahoma (@Pokelahoma) April 25, 2013

This is the guy who did the Joe Randle highlights, these aren’t bad either (music needs some work):

Yeah, no kidding. (NewsOK)

OSU is currently in the middle of the pack in Big 12 recruiting, which is where we always are. (ESPN)

It honestly feels like the College Football Playoff website is a parody. Especially the video. (CFP)

I really think the Big 12 is going to be not that great next year in football. (AP)

Gina breaks down the depth chart. (NewsOK)

Oklahoma State at Tech….really? (ESPN)

Slater’s Big 12 power poll has OSU on top. (NewsOK)

On Glenn Spencer’s new D. (Tulsa World)

Hoops

Nothing.

Other

Here’s friend of the blog, Kevin DeShazo, on how social media affects student athletes. (O’Colly)

Mel Kiper said OU’s talent was overrated. OK then. (NewsOK)

Cool story on an OSU baseball player with Chron’s. (O’Colly)

Golf starts back up today after a delay because of weather. (Big 12 Sports)

OSU beat Wichita State yesterday. (O’Colly)

Amazing, also the only two 500-point scorers:

The Big 12 returns five quarterbacks who threw for more than 1,000 yards last season. #OKstate has three of them.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 23, 2013

Haha, this is good:

6:15 mark is cool, dude with the camera is a lunatic!

Jags unis…

Photo Attribution: USATSI

As always spring football was a series of “but really, you have to see this year’s defense” statements, great Gundy quotes, and a monster smokescreen to end the festivities, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Lost went off the air for the last time.

So what did we learn from it all? How about these 10 things…

1. We haven’t had a QB everybody could agree on in a looooong time. Weeden’s reign feels like it was a decade ago. All silliness aside, I’ve had totally rational people explain to me why each of the three QBs should be the starter and honestly, they all make sense.

So why was this such an easy decision a year ago and such a difficult one now after 12 months of watching these guys? Too much information to process? We’re digressing. My point is, no matter who QB1 is or isn’t, some fans are going to be angry.

2. Joe Randle can’t be replaced. Well, he can, but his production will be filled in by two different guys. I never worry about OSU running backs (look at our 10 year history) but I do think people took Randle for granted. There were multiple articles this spring about what Jeremy Smith and Des Roland do well and what they struggle with.

That was the thing about Joe, he had no weaknesses. He could block, catch balls out of the backfield, throw (!), and shimmy like nobody at OSU has ever shimmied. There won’t be a noticeable drop off in RB production, but you’re going to see a lot less of just one guy out there.

3. The kicking game is, uh, not good. There’s gotta be a Gramatica brother running around the backwoods of Northwest Oklahoma, no? Maybe a cousin? At this point I’ll say if you’ve shaken hands with a Gramatica brother, you get a tryout. This is bad:

Post-Quinn Sharp era doesn’t start off well. Bobby Stonebreaker shanks a 25-yard FG left. Not a good sign…

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 20, 2013

4. The return game, however, is (finally) in good hands. I’m not sure how Josh Stewart as the punt returner didn’t happen before now but I’m glad it did. And I don’t have to sit through anymore Charlie Moore/David Glidden alcohol-inducing moments with the game on the line. Actually to be fair, Glidden wasn’t bad, but he was hurt more often than Fred Taylor.

5. Forget the U.S., Mike Yurcich wants to be Jamaica.

OSU is planning on going even faster this year, which if you’ve read OKC Dave at all you know is an absurd thought.

6. The defense at least appears to have gotten better. I’ve said it for the last few years, OSU’s D hasn’t been as bad as everyone thinks it is but with the way Gundy has been talking you’d think he stole some of Bama’s backups to forge this year’s version. I don’t care about how they did in the cotillion, I care about whether or not they can give up a TD fewer per game this year. If so, double digit wins is is play.

7. Kye Staley has shed the F-250 model of himself and altogether upgraded to the F-350 version. This is what six years of college will do for you. Also should be noted that I have no photographic proof of this, but I trust Carson’s assessment:

Third observation: Kye Staley is the size of Haloti Ngata. #okstate

— Carson Cunningham (@CarsonC5) April 20, 2013

8. Gundy sleeps during practice.

9. The Lyndell Johnson experiment is still TBD. I thought there was no way he’d miss out on a starting gig, no way he’d not be on the field, no way he’d not be the next Markelle Martin! Then there he was on Tuesday, a second teamer on the depth chart, tied with Zack Craig (official chart says Johnson or Craig backing up Shamiel Gary). I still think Johnson is going to be a monster on D this year, but his spring has me confused.

10. The Big 12 isn’t going to be that great. OSU is being talked about as the Big 12 favorite and they, obviously, have some pretty serious holes [looks at special teams depth chart again, logs in to Grey Goose website, purchases frequent buyers card]. TCU, Texas, OU, KSU, and Baylor will all be feisty as well but there’s really not an elite team among the bunch. Maybe that Big East-Big 12 Fiesta matchup will finally be formidable.

The Big East is still playing football this year, yes?

Oklahoma State released its post-cotillion depth chart on Tuesday

Here’s a look:

No surprises here but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jhajuan Seales overtake Injury-Prone Tracy Moore (his new full name) by the time conference starts.

Also not sure why the running backs never get the QB treatment of “Jeremy Smith or Desmond Roland.”

Also, how hard is Orange Power going to overanalyze the order of Lunt, Walsh, and Chelf on this?

Am I crazy or is the front four, like, pretty good? I mean I’d like to think when Sam Wren and Trace Clark are your backups that’s a good thing, but maybe I’ve been jaded by too many mid-90s OSU defenses.

Also, how is Lyndell Johnson not the clear-cut second team safety, or heck, first team safety? No offense to Zack Craig but I think you have to have Lyndell on the field. I don’t care how, just get him out there.

I feel like Shaun Lewis has been at OSU for 29 years.

Kip Smith, he was in Napoleon Dynamite, yes?

Good to see Josh Stewart at punt returner. He was made for that role and he proved it in the Purdue game.

Is this where I remind you Justin Gilbert only needs two kick returns for the NCAA record?

Whatever. (NewsOK)

Really good roundup of the cotillion from Ubben. He thinks if it’s anyone but Chelf it would be a surprise. I concur. (ESPN)

Good roundup of cotillion quotes here. (Scout)

OSU has caught OU. (Tulsa World)

Hoops

Some pretty intense Marcus Smart quotes in here. Great read. (O’Colly)

Other

OSU is getting it done at the Big 12 golf championships. (Big 12 Sports)

Angel, gone. (CBS Sports)

Robbie Rea, Big 12 POW. (Big 12 Sports)

Meh, does Louisville do anything for y’all? Doesn’t for me really. (ESPN)

….. (Big Lead)

OSU-Wichita State on Tuesday. (okstate)

AD (not that one) getting it done. (Rochester News)

Also, you can watch that game here. (OState TV)

I interviewed Charles Howell for CBS. Gotta say, OSU loyalties aside, he’s pretty awesome. (CBS Sports)

Nice:

RT @codystavenhagen: #OKState baseball back at No. 25 in this week’s USA Today Coaches Poll.

— The Orange Juice (@OrangeFactor) April 22, 2013

Very underrated tweet here:

Now a proud owner of 2 #okstate season basketball tickets.I’m bringin .014694% of the rowdy back next season

— Matt Amilian (@mattamilian) April 23, 2013

Anybody break 65?

https://twitter.com/tlaud6/status/326388335859867649

This series of OSU videos is pretty strong:

There’s a lot going on here, this video really deserves it’s own post. Btw, how unfair is that Weeden/Zac group?

Also, here’s Weeden, Nate Peterson, and Andrew Mitchell describing what happened…

@pistolsguy No @andrewmitch holed out from the fairway. No tellin how many mulligans he took! Haha

— Brandon Weeden (@bweeden3) April 23, 2013

.@bweeden3 @pistolsguy idk why y’all have to taint one of my few great moments on the golf course?! #ComeAtMe

— andrew mitchell (@andrewmitch) April 23, 2013

@bweeden3 @pistolsguy @andrewmitch I was there. It was real and beautiful. OL with the touch of a QB

— Nathan Peterson (@NatePeterson13) April 23, 2013

This is just a joke:

I think in 20 years Randle might be the OSU running back I miss the most.

Dude was great, so is the video.