Cotton Bowl Quarterback Competition

Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy met Saturday at the Cotton Bowl for an interview segment with ESPN's Wendy Nix. The footage will be part of ESPN's coverage leading up to this year's OU-Texas game.

Sooner Have Eight Preseason All-Big 12 Picks

Dominique Franks was one of 8 Sooners selected
to the Preseason All-Big 12



Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford was selected as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback. Jermaine Gresham, DeMarco Murray, and Trent Williams were also selected on offense. Gerald McCoy, Jeremy Beal, Travis Lewis, and Dominique Franks represent on defense.

42 Days to Kickoff!

Football season is almost here! The Sooners will kick off the season against the Brigham Young Cougars at 6 pm Central time on September 5. The game will be held at Arlington, Texas. Oklahoma is #5 on the AP Top 25, behind Texas, USC, Utah and Florida.

Five of last season's Sooners have moved on to the NFL. OT Phil Loadholt went to Minnesota in the 2^nd round. Juaquin Iglesias was drafted by Chicago in the 3^rd round. Nic Harris and Duke Robinson both went in the 5^th round: Harris to Buffalo and Robinson to Carolina. Finally, in the 7^th round Manual Johnson went to the Dallas Cowboys.

Only five of last season's offensive starters are returning for another season with the Sooners, but among them are Jermaine Gresham, DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown, Trent Williams and last year's Heisman winner, Sam Bradford. Eight defenders are returning to OU: Jeremy Beal, Gerald McCoy, Travis Lewis, Keenan Clayton, Dominique Franks, Brian Jackson, Auston English and Adrian Taylor.

We have an exciting season to look forward to! Boomer Sooner!

Willie Warren: OU's next superstar

Sharp-shooting freshman Steve Pledger participates in a summer Q&A.

- Oklahoma men's basketball fans know that you don't have to be a McDonald's High School All-American to excel on the collegiate level. Sooner standouts such as Tim McCalister, Darryl "Choo" Kennedy, Stacey King, Ryan Minor, Hollis Price and Eduardo Najera all rank among OU's career scoring leaders, but none of them played in the most prestigious of the annual high school All-America games.

Steve Pledger could be the next player to join that group of Sooner stars. An incoming freshman from Chesapeake, Va., Pledger was regarded as a borderline top-100 national prospect last year at Atlantic Shores Christian School and has flown under the recruiting radar for much of his life. The 6-4, 220-pound guard hopes he's a pleasant surprise this year to OU fans who don't know much about him.

Pledger, who earned first-team National Christian School Athletic Association All-American honors last year when he averaged 22.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game for his 32-2 Seahawks, is a noted 3-point shooter. But he says he's recently added other elements to his game that have made him a more complete player and ready to contribute from the get go in 2009-10.

The does-a-little-bit-of-everything guard talked with SoonerSports.com this week about a variety of topics, including summer school, music, his hoops ability and why he picked Oklahoma.

---

Q: How are you adapting to Norman and OU?
A: "The adaptation process is getting better. I'm getting used to waking up early and lifting weights and things like that. It's a cool place, a little quiet right now. I'm adapting fine."

Q: What do you like the most about Oklahoma so far?
A: "The players. We're all tight. Everybody's cool and nobody goes and does their own thing. Everybody stays together. I really like the camaraderie."

Q: What summer school classes are you taking?
A: "I took History of Jazz and right now am taking Leadership, which is a military class in the Armory."

Q: Wayman Tisdale is regarded as the best basketball player in OU history and he was also a noted jazz musician. Did you learn about him?
A: "No, we learned more about the history of it -- going back, nothing really recent. But we did have listening assignments every day where we had to listen to at least four songs by an artist and one day I did Wayman Tisdale. It was good. I already knew about him a little. My dad listens to jazz back home and a couple times I was listening to XM and Wayman came on. I had to listen because I was going to OU."

Q: Have you picked a major yet?
A: "Either criminal justice or human relations."

Q: Have you mapped out any plans for life after basketball or is it too early for that?
A: "When basketball is over for me -- and I know that time will come -- if I'm not doing something within my major I'll probably become a coach somewhere. Start out and work my way up."

Q: What do you like to do away from the classroom and the gym?
A: "Listen to music, talk on the phone to my girlfriend, just chill and hang out -- regular things like that."

Q: What music do you listen to?
A: "Rap and R&B. A lot of R&B. (On game days) I'll listen to rap almost all the way up to the game, and then right before we go out it'll be some R&B to cool me down."

Q: How would you describe yourself as a basketball player?
A: "Most of the time when you hear my name, it goes with 'shooter.' That's what I started out doing and I'll always do that. But now I can also take people off the dribble, dribble up court, get the team started. I'm a scorer, that's what I do. But I can also rebound and play D. If I'm going to compare my game to anyone it would be to Brandon Roy (Portland Trail Blazers) or Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks) -- calm, cool, score when you have to."

Q: What's your favorite aspect of the game of basketball? Is it shooting?
A: "No, it's not shooting. It's getting teammates in the game and making everybody around me better. If that means assists, it means assists. If that means rebounding and defending, it means rebounding and defending. Just getting everybody in the game -- that's what I like to do."

Q: Have you always been a good shooter or is it something that started to develop the past few years?
A: "I used to be a short, chubby shooter and that's it. As I got older I started to get to the basket a little bit. When I started playing AAU, though, it was shoot, shoot, shoot. I got on Boo Williams' younger (AAU) team and I was the shooter. I started at the two and we had a play called 'Wet Bird,' because 'Bird' was my nickname. I used to stand in the middle of the lane and there'd be a screen on one side and two screens on the other. I'd pick a side and just run off screens and shoot. I think it was when I was playing 12-and-under that I led the (AAU) national tournament in scoring with 31.5 points a game."

Q: How'd you get the nickname "Bird?"
A: "It started off as a joke when I was playing 12-and-under. We were on our way to Memphis for nationals and a teammate and I were joking in the back of the bus. He said I looked like a bird and everybody started laughing. It was one of those things that just stuck."

Q: What's your career high for 3-pointers in a game?
A: "During my last two years of high school, I probably only shot two or three 3's a game. I was 6-foot-4 and at a Christian school so I had to play down low. My coach was smart enough to know, though, that when it counted to give me the ball and let me bring it up the floor. But most 3's in a game? I think I might have hit seven 3's in the state playoffs my junior year when I scored 40 against Roanoke Catholic. That was the most points I ever scored in high school."

Q: Besides your shooting, in what do you pride yourself?
A: "I pride myself in trying to be a stronger defender. When I was in ninth and 10th grade, I didn't really play much defense -- I just tried to stay in front of my man. My thought process was mostly about how I was going to shoot it (on the other end of the floor). When I got to 11th grade at Atlantic Shores I tried to switch it up a little bit. I wanted to guard the best player on the other team. My father and I started working out and doing lateral footwork (drills). The season came, I told my coach to put me on the best player and I'd try to lock him down. I did that. I pride myself in my defense."

Q: What attracted you to OU?
A: "Coach Capel. He used to be at VCU. He and (assistant) coach (Mark) Cline were recruiting me back then. We started from there. They ended up going to Oklahoma and they kept talking to me. That was really the only big school that was talking to me at the time. Then I did really well in an AAU tournament and everybody started offering. But Oklahoma was the consistent one. They were there when I wasn't anybody. That's why I made my choice."

Q: What do you like about Coach Capel?
A: "He's down to earth. He could be sitting around you and you wouldn't even know it was (the head coach). He'll talk to you about rap, he'll talk to you about basketball or whatever. He's a cool guy, a cool coach -- a players' coach."

Q: What are your impressions of some of the other players from workouts and playing pickup games?
A: "I love the makeup of the team. Last September when I came on my official visit, Ray Willis was different from what he is now. Now's he's really laid back, cool, more confident -- does his own thing on the court. Tony Crocker's real cool, too. Everybody is."

From http://soonersports.com

Here's another Sooners Football Video for Your to Enjoy!

Sooner Football Schedule!

Date	Game	Location	Time / Result
09/05/09	vs. BYU	Arlington, Texas	6:00 PM CT
09/12/09	vs. Idaho State	Norman	TBA
09/19/09	vs. Tulsa	Norman	2:30 PM CT
10/03/09	at Miami	Miami, Fla.	TBA
10/10/09	vs. Baylor	Norman	TBA
10/17/09	vs. Texas	Dallas, Texas	11:00 AM CT
10/24/09	at Kansas	Lawrence, Kan.	TBA
10/31/09	vs. Kansas State	Norman	TBA
11/07/09	at Nebraska	Lincoln, Neb.	TBA
11/14/09	vs. Texas A&M	Norman	TBA
11/21/09	at Texas Tech	Lubbock, Texas	TBA
11/28/09	vs. Oklahoma State	Norman	TBA
12/05/09	Big 12 Championship	Arlington, Texas	7:00 PM CT

Nic Harris and Duke Robinson Sign Contracts

Former Sooner linebacker Nic Harris signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills. Lineman Duke Robinson also recently signed with the Carolina Panthers.

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin sports his new Clippers uniform

Men's Basketball Conference Schedule Released

Oklahoma's 2010 Big 12 Men's Basketball Schedule
Date Opponent Location
Jan. 9 at Baylor (Big 12 Network) Waco, Texas
Jan. 11 Oklahoma State (ESPN) Norman
Jan. 16 Missouri (ESPN or ESPN2) Norman
Jan. 19 at Texas A&M (Big 12 Network) College Station, Texas
Jan. 23 at Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas
Jan. 27 Iowa State (Big 12 Network) Norman
Jan. 30 at Nebraska (Big 12 Network) Lincoln, Neb.
Feb. 6 Texas (ESPN) Norman
Feb. 9 Texas Tech (Big 12 Network) Norman
Feb. 13 at Oklahoma State (ESPN) Stillwater, Okla.
Feb. 17 at Colorado (ESPNU)
Boulder, Colo.
Feb. 20 Kansas State (ESPNU) Norman
Feb. 22 at Kansas (ESPN) Lawrence, Kan.
Feb. 27 Baylor (Big 12 Network) Norman
March 1 at Texas (ESPN) Austin, Texas
March 6 Texas A&M (ESPN or ESPN2) Norman

Sooners sign tight end

Lane Johnson, quarterback at Kilgore College in Texas, signed to the University of Oklahoma. He will play tight end and has three years of eligibility. Johnson is 6-foot-7 and 252 pounds. He will likely redshirt this season

46 days until kickoff!

Women's Basketball Releases Schedule

2009-10 Oklahoma Women's Basketball Schedule
Nov. 4	Rogers State (Exhibition)	Norman
Nov. 10	Oklahoma Christian (Exhibition)	Norman
Nov. 13	Mercer	Norman
Nov. 15	Georgia	Athens, Ga.
Nov. 21	TCU	Norman
Nov. 26	South Carolina	U.S. Virgin Islands
Nov. 27	San Diego State	U.S. Virgin Islands
Nov. 28	Notre Dame	U.S. Virgin Islands
Dec. 2	Texas-Arlington	Norman
Dec. 5	Arkansas	Norman
Dec. 9	Marist	Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Dec. 10	Army	West Point, N.Y.
Dec. 20	Creighton	Omaha, Neb.
Dec. 30	Cal State Fullerton	Norman
Jan. 3	Tennessee	Knoxville, Tenn.
Jan. 9	Texas Tech	Norman
Jan. 13	Baylor	Waco, Texas
Jan. 17	Texas A&M	Norman
Jan. 20	Missouri	Columbia, Mo.
Jan. 23	Kansas	Norman
Jan. 27	Iowa State	Ames, Iowa
Jan. 30	Texas Tech	Lubbock, Texas
Feb. 3	Texas	Norman
Feb. 6	Oklahoma State	Stillwater, Okla.
Feb. 10	Baylor	Norman
Feb. 13	Colorado	Norman
Feb. 15	Connecticut	Norman
Feb. 20	Kansas State	Manhattan, Kan.
Feb. 24	Nebraska	Norman
Feb. 27	Texas	Austin, Texas
March 2	Texas A&M	College Station, Texas
March 7	Oklahoma State	Norman

Blake Griffin gets best of Taylor in Vegas summer league
Rivalry lacking as pair takes care of business

Buzz up

LAS VEGAS — Phoenix Suns forward Taylor Griffin walked to the free-throw line Sunday night during an NBA Summer League game against the Los Angeles Clippers and was greeted with some spirited trash talk from a group of nearby Clippers fans.

Los Angeles Clipper Blake Griffin, left, and his brother, Phoenix’s Taylor Griffin, line up on the free-throw line during their NBA Summer League basketball game at Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday.

His younger brother, Clippers’ top pick Blake Griffin, stood a few feet away on the rebounding block and cracked a smile.

The brothers, teammates the past two years at Oklahoma and for most of their childhood growing up in Oklahoma City, got their first taste of competing against each other professionally in Phoenix’s 87-70 victory.

"For me, it was just another game,” Blake Griffin said. "Of course I wanted him to do well, but this is a business and I’m more concerned with winning.”

Just two minutes into their initial game as opponents and with the assistance to the help of a group of about 20 vocal Clippers’ fans, it was obvious the Griffins are no longer teammates.

Taylor Griffin made both foul shots, then Blake Griffin, as he did at Oklahoma and during the weeklong summer league, did the job on the court.

"I didn’t pay much attention to that,” Blake Griffin said of friendly trash talk toward his brother. "And it didn’t bother him. He made both the foul shots.”

Blake Griffin, who before the game was announced as the event’s Most Outstanding Player, got the best of his brother with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Taylor Griffin, a second-round selection of the Suns, had four points and six rebounds.

They rarely guarded each other with Phoenix converting Taylor Griffin into a small forward and Blake Griffin playing inside at power forward. Blake Griffin averaged 20 points and 10 points in five summer games.

The brothers exchanged hugs on the court after the game. Blake Griffin is hoping to enjoy a long NBA career, while Taylor Griffin is fighting for a spot on the Suns’ roster.

"It was fun getting to play against him,” Blake Griffin said.

By the Associated Press

Sooners Video

Enjoy this video!