On this hot July 1st, the Big XII would like to officially welcome it’s newest members, West Virginia and Texas Christian University. The Big XII officially added them to their website at midnight.

From Big12Sports.com

Texas A&M and Missouri are also now officially members of the SEC, which they seem to be very excited about entering into a lifetime of being mediocre in football: Not that much is changing for them, though. Texas A&M has even claimed a new cross-division rival in South Carolina, where the Gamecocks just smiled and laughed (probably).

It will take some getting used to seeing the WVU and TCU logo along side the Sooners and the Longhorns, but for me, it is a welcome change.

Bust out the moonshine because it’s time for a Big XII house party! Out with the old, in with the new!

Ricketts

Keilani Ricketts and the Sooners had a great day yesterday at the Sportco Kick-Off Classic in Las Vegas. The Sooners has Cal State Bakersfield up first and shut them out, 6-0. The No. 5 Sooners then took on UNLV, just to shut them out as well, 5-0.

Ricketts, the Sooner junior pitcher, had 16 strikeouts yesterday, now with 814 on her career. She only gave up 3 hits total yesterday.

Head coach Patty Gasso:

“Our pitching was outstanding. When our pitchers first came in, they were a little tight but they began to settle down. I thought our defense played well and that Jessica Shults was fantastic. This team has been waiting to play for so long I think they got here and got stuck a little and didn’t play up to the potential they are capable up. We want them to swing the bat where the whole ball park can feel it. They have to trust their swing and go with it.”

In the first game against Cal State Bakersfield, which is the second straight season the Sooners have opened against the Roadrunners, the Sooners jumped off to an early start. Pitcher Michelle Gascoigne only gave up on hit through the 5th and struck out eight batters, walking three. They dominated the entire game.

The second game against UNLV took a little longer to get on the board. The Sooners finally scored in the 5th and the bats woke up after that. The ended the game with a total of 9 hits and 1 error.

Oklahoma returns to the field Saturday for back-to-back games against Weber State and Kent State.

     

Oklahoma Head Coach Barry Switzer and the Selmon Brothers, Lee Roy and Dewey at the Orange Bowl in 1976 Photo Credit:Bettmann/CORBIS

College Football and the NFL lost a great one yesterday with the passing of Hall of Fame Star Lee Roy Selmon. Lee Roy is considered by some to be the best player to ever wear a Sooner uniform. He definitely is a player who left one of the longest running impressions of any Sooner in history.

Selmon suffered a stroke on Friday and passed early Sunday morning. He was 56. Selmon was a two-time All-American for the Sooners and the 1975 Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy winner. He was drafted No. one by the Tampa Bay Bucs  and was a six time consecutive Pro Bowl Selection. He played in the NFL for 9 years.

His former Sooner Coach, Barry Switzer spoke on his passing:

The Sooner family is saddened by the loss of one it’s greatest champions both on and off the field, Lee Roy Selmon. No Sooner player cast a longer shadow over its rich tradition than Lee Roy. He was the winner of both the Outland and Lombardi Award, a two-time consensus 1st Team All-American with a record of 43-2-1, two consecutive national championships, and the #1 draft pick in 1976. In addition to his accomplishments in football, Lee Roy was an honor student and is in the NCAA Academic Hall of Fame exemplifying what every student athlete should aspire to be. Beyond his many and great accomplishments, I believe the true legacy of Lee Roy Selmon lies within the kind of man he was. Lee Roy possessed a combination of grace, humility, and dignity that is rare. His engaging smile and gentleness left you feeling blessed to be in his presence. Best of all, he was all genuine. One would be blessed to have a father, son, uncle, brother, or friend like Lee Roy Selmon.”

Current Coach Bob Stoops:

There was a sense of awe every time you were in Lee Roy’s presence, and yet that was the last thing he would have wanted. He accomplished so many things in life, but remained a humble, unassuming champion. I hold up many of our previous greats as examples for our current players and Lee Roy is among the very best. All of our players would do well to follow in Lee Roy’s footsteps.

It was a Selmon family tradition for their sons to attend and play football at the University of Oklahoma. One difference about this family was that they were all good. Damn good. Lee Roy followed his brothers, Lucious and Dewey to OU in 1972 and later was the main piece on one of the best defenses to ever play on a field. His former coach, Switzer has said the Lee Roy was the best player he has ever coached.

His brothers Lucious and Dewey also were All-American defensive linemen for Oklahoma, and played on the same defensive line together in 1973. The trio is still regarded as the most famous set of brothers in OU history.

My grandmother, a HUGE Texas Longhorn fan, used to hate the Selmon Brothers. And unhappily refers to it as the “Selmon Brothers Years”. Why? Texas couldn’t get past those boys.

Selmon’s impressive career achievements:

• 6× Pro Bowl selection (1979, 1980, 1981,1982, 1983, 1984)
• 3× First-team All-Pro selection (1979, 1980,1982)
• 2× Second-team All-Pro selection (1978, 1984)
• 6× First-team All-NFC selection (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984)
• 1× Second-team All-NFC selection (1983)
• NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
• 1979 NFL Defensive Player of the Year
• 1982 Co-Pro Bowl MVP
• 1979 NFL Defensive Lineman of the Year
• 1975 Outland Trophy
• 1975 Lombardi Award
• 1975 UPI Lineman of the Year
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers #63 retired

After his football career, Selmon decided to stay in the Tampa area and became the atheltic director for South Florida. Selmon launched the football program, was in charge of  the construction of a new athletic facility and led the university’s move into Conference USA and currently into the Big East Conference. Selmon resigned as the USF Athletic Director in 2004. He took on the roll as president of the USF Foundation Partnership for Athletics, an athletics fund-raising organization.

Many got to experience what a great person Lee Roy Selmon was, and his impact on this world will live on. He will forever be in the memories of Sooners, Bucs and Bulls fans.

RIP Lee Roy. And a forever Boomer.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops held his first press conference of the 2011 season on Tuesday. Stoops was asked several of the obvious questions… News on Ronnell (which he got a little upset with)… Conference realignment questions… and the rumor that his coaching show will be shown on the Longhorn Network (Stoops the jokester).

Other highlights-Very high on Broyles, says he is the best receiver he has ever been around. Austin Box family going to stay involved with the program, keeping their season tickets. Stoops looking forward to the new statue going in a Heisman Park..

Watch the presser in it’s entirety HERE.

Four days till Sooner Football, which means tailgating preparation is in full swing.

With that said, Resident Beer Snob, Tyler Prater gives us his tailgate beer of the week. Tyler is also one of the fantastic co-hosts of our show: 2 Guys, 1 Girl and A Sports Show.

Sooner Beer Snob’s Beer of the Week:

My beer of the week is Left Hand Brewing Co. Good Juju. It is a ginger beer with a smooth malt body. This beer is a bit hard to get a hold of, but well worth it. It is a rare brew in that it is probably the only beer that can quench you thirst.

It is very crisp and refreshing. The ginger gives it that clean taste that is not overwhelming. Once you take a drink you will want to just keep drinking it, provided that you like the taste of course. For these hot days, with no end for about a month or so, Good Juju is definitely worth tracking down.

Check out all of Left Handed Brewing Company’s brews HERE.

You can follow throughout the season to get all of Tyler’s beer picks for the year. Make sure to tune into to our show 2 guys, 1 Girl and a Sports Show every Wednesday at 10:00 PM CST featuring Tyler, LandThieves, and myself. You can follow Tyler on Twitter @SoonerBeerSnob to hear more of his Sooner talk and beer love. Did I mention he likes beer? And the Sooners?

If you haven’t heard, we got football this week Sooners. Actual football. And that means that Stoops and Company have released the depth chart. Take note of some of the names listed here…

Notice DE Ronnell Lewis is as the starter. He has had some eligibility questions swirling around him, which still has not been addressed publicly by Stoops other than he was attending to personal matters. Obviously we will have an answer this week.

A big shocker in the depth chart was the listing of walk-on Dom Whaley as possible No. 1 in the RB position. He has been very impressive during Spring Sessions for the last couple of years, but has never been put to test on the field. Definitely interested in seeing how he stacks up in game situations.

Five Days….

Well, what seems to be like a never ending soap opera has just started approaching it’s final season.

Texas A&M officially told the Big XII today that they are preparing to leave, and would like to explore other conference options. Most likely, they want to take their talents to the SEC. We have all heard that rumor lately, no?

If the Aggies will be added to the SEC as the thirteenth team is yet to be seen, but I have a feeling this is going to happen rather quickly now. The Aggies have not be formally invited yet.

Here is the letter that Texas A&M President Loftin submitted to Big XII commish Dan Beebe:

Dear Commissioner Beebe:

As you know, the Texas A&M Board of Regents has authorized me to take action relating to Texas A&M University’s (“Texas A&M”) conference alignment. While this letter is not a notice of Texas A&M’s withdrawal from the Big 12 Conference (the “Conference”), we are exploring our options. There has been a great deal of speculation and comment in the media about Texas A&M leaving the Conference, including discussions of other institutions joining the Conference.

If Texas A&M withdraws from the Conference, we want to do so in a way that complies with the Bylaws and is supportive of your efforts to seek a new member of the Conference. We would appreciate your conferring with the other member institutions and outlining for us the process to be followed by Texas A&M should it withdraw from the Conference.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

R. Bowen Loftin
President

 

Your move SEC…

Finally got a chance to watch episode 3 of the ESPNU Sooner All-Access.

Good look at the coaches this episode. Lots of good stuff from defensive backs coach Willie Martinez and as always, head coach Bob Stoops.

If you missed it, check it out below.

http://youtu.be/HQfNSB6oKO0

And last but not least, day 4. Which had to be the best episode. What a great look at the players interacting with the kids and families on fan appreciation day. And a picture of Stoops in his playing days trying to tackle the great Billy Sims? Yup.

http://youtu.be/npA2lCONFQc

The question of the off-season for Sooner football has been mainly focused around the eligibility of Ronnell Lewis and Trey Metoyer.

Defensive End Ronnell Lewis

Head coach Bob Stoops did say Thursday after the scrimmage, that Defensive End Lewis, has not been practicing with the team.

Lewis did say before camp that it wasnt up to him anymore, he has to wait to see what the outcome would be. He also admitted to academic troubles.

Stoops on Lewis:

He just has some personal matters he’s tending to, which we’re in support of. Once those are taken care of, we’ll see.

Metoyer on the other hand, has been taking classes at Tyler Community College to get his grades squared away. Reports on Wednesday from the Tyler Morning Telegraph stated that Trey had NOT passed his required classes and would not be attending Oklahoma in the fall. Metoyer is a highly antcipated incoming Freshman wide reciever.

News is that Metoyer passed 9 out of 12 hours, and failed to even qualify to play JUCO football at the moment.

But Stoops says he still isnt discouraged about the situation:

As far as I understand, it’s still not totally resolved.

So hang tight Sooner Nation. As soon as more news is released we will all know what the situation is. A lot of people have been very upset/mad/irritated with the academic situation of both players and the lack of info coming out of Norman. When Stoops knows, we will know.  Until then, lets relax and get ready for some football.