As the Truth sees it…

For the first time since 2007, the Oklahoma Sooners will defeat the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry according to a new NCAA Football 11 simulation released by EA SPORTS today, which shows Oklahoma beating the Texas Longhorns 34-23 on Saturday. 
According to the simulation, the Longhorns will take an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. But the Sooners took a 21-10 advantage into halftime.
It’s in the fourth quarter that Oklahoma take over, according to EA Sports. They shutout Texas 13-0 in the fourth quarter on their way to the 34-23 victory. This is obviously an outcome Sooner fans would love to see.

Highly anticipated game
The annual contest between Texas and Oklahoma ranks in as the No. 1 highest grossing college football game on StubHub.com this week. It’s also the No. 3 selling game of the season, so far. No. 1 is Penn State and Alabama Sept. 11.
Fans are paying an average of $455 per ticket on StubHub.com with get-ins starting in the $100’s. Fans have snagged tickets for a low of $170 and shelled out up to $1,429 for a ticket.
The Red-River Shootout easily outdistances the second ranked game this week between Florida at Alabama. That SEC tilt is $340 per ticket. Penn State at Iowa ($215), Notre Dame at Boston College ($210) and Tennessee at LSU ($177), are also way behind the Big 12 rivalry game.
Michael Kinney

The Red River Shootout is fast approaching. After three subpar games this season, Oklahoma will be under the spotlight at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Cotton Bowl.
I will be down in Dallas the entire weekend. Check back here throughout each day to check out what I am getting into and witnessing. It should be fun.

With Facebook down, how will I find out where Joe Smith decided to eat lunch?? Or what co-worker made Susan mad? I have to know. Or not.
Facebook went offline for at least 45 minutestoday. It’s the second day in a row the social networking site has has issues.
As of 2:50 p.m. Facebook was running for some users, but not everyone of its more than a billion users.
A “DNS Failure” message popped up when users tried to access the site.

Let’s get a grip people. I know many people don’t like Oklahoma fans yelling “and the home of the Sooners” at the end of National Anthem instead of “home of the brave.” But to make a federal crime out of it is absurd.
One of the greatest thing about this country is our freedom to say what we want. If that means a several thousand fans want to exchange one word at the end of the anthem, that is their business. Others don’t have to like, but we have to respect a person’s right to do it.
At today’s press conference with OU coach Bob Stoops, before he was even asked about the bubbling controversy, he decided to help put out any fires.
“I guess I’ll chime in, I know I’m going to be asked, to brief on the entire controversy about “home of the brave” and not the Sooners,” Stoops said. “I am totally in agreement with our administration and most everybody that hopefully the people that will be singing “home of the brave” can surely be louder and stronger than anybody that’s saying “the Sooners. So anyway, hopefully with our people being here and Air Force coming here we’ll surely be loud in singing home of the brave and nothing else. I would sure hope that would be the case.”
Someone even asked Stoops if he would get on the mic before the game to warn the fans.
“Well whatever our administration thinks is necessary,” Stoops said. “I’ll be honest, once it comes time to play, my mind is a little bit everywhere with things other than the football field so that probably wouldn’t be the best but I’ll do whatever they want me to do and, of course, whatever opportunity I get this week I’ll be sure to express my opinion.”
The people who actually think that would work must not know human nature. The more you tell person not to do something, the more determined they will be to do it. Even if they don’t necessarily care one way or the other, no one wants to be told what to do or how to act.
The only other option critics have is to try and get the University to pass laws or guidelines prohibiting saying home of the Sooners at the end of the National Anthem. Spotters with cameras will be scanning the crowds looking for individuals in Memorial Stadium who would dare be different. People might even start offering rewards to snitch on anyone not following the rules.
While I’m sure it would never get to that point, it feels like we’re headed that way. If you don’t like the alterations people make to the anthem, scream even louder the original version. Getting mad and pouting isn’t hurting anyone but yourself.
Regardless, it will make for some interesting drama during Saturday’s pre-game.
Michael Kinney

Former pro golfer Jack Nicklaus has always been known for his competitiveness and class around the golf course. However, the Golden Bear’s name took a sportsmanship hit last week, and he wasn’t even competing.
Nick O’Leary, a tight end for Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer in Florida, was suspended for two games for an “unsportsmanlike act. The act was him giving the middle finger to Cleveland Glenville High fans after a controversial 26-22 loss Sept. 6. O’Leary is the grandson of Nicklaus.
Dwyer coach Jack Daniels planned to have his team forfeit the two games instead of playing without O’Leary.
What caused this outburst of hand gestures?
On the final drive of the game, Dwyer went for the go-ahead touchdowns three straight plays from the one yard line. Each time the officials on the field ruled they were stopped short of the goalline each time.
However, television replays showed they had scored and should have won the game. This didn’t sit well with O’Leary and let his frustration be known with a universal sign language.
If O’Leary hadn’t been related to Nicklaus, this story would never have been mentioned outside of Ohio. It sure would not have been featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter for several days. And I doubt he would have gotten suspended.
I can’t remember the amount of times my hand accidentally slipped into that particular formation during a games during my career. It happens. I would bet there were a dozen more kids who used the same hand gesture or worse during the game, but were not caught on camera and were not the related to a sports icon.
Just like some colorful language, it’s not something you would want to use in polite circles. But on a football field, during the heat of competition, to believe a athlete should behave like they are at a tea party is amusing and bewildering.
Michael Kinney

The OU Athletics Department announced the “Gridiron and Goals” promotion for two home football and soccer weekends during the 2010 season.
Fans that present their OU football ticket stub vs. Florida State at the OU Soccer Complex this Sunday will receive a special $4 admission for the contest versus Rice at 1 p.m.
The promotion is also available for the weekend of Oct. 16-17 as football hosts Iowa State and soccer welcomes Colorado.

Today is a special day for thousands of high school football players around the country. It’s the first day that NCAA
Division I and II college football programs are able to start sending recruiting materials to high school juniors.
So for all of you parents who believe your son is the next Adrian Peterson or Tom Brady, if they didn’t get a letter or program in the mail today, your kid may need to get back in the gym and put in some more work.