As the Truth sees it…

The Sooners didn’t wait long. Less than a week since the end of the season, Oklahoma mens’ basketball coach Jeff Capel was fired Monday morning. According to reports, he met with University officials and the decision was made shortly afterward.
Capel had a record of 96-69 in his time at Oklahoma. But it was his last two seasons that may have cost him his job. After finishing 13-18 last year and overseeing a depletion of almost his entire roster, the Sooners could only muster a 14-18 record this year. They were bounced from the Big 12 tournament by Texas in the second round last week. It was their first consecutive losing seasons in his tenure.

DeMarco Murray’s college career may be over, but the former Oklahoma runningback still has a chance to have an impact on the NCAA next season.
Murray, is in the running to be selected as the next cover athlete for EA SPORTS NCAA Football 12. For the first time ever, EA SPORTS is putting the power into the hands of the fans to choose the cover athlete for the franchise. Voting started last week and will continue through April 4. Fans can log on to facebook.com/easportsncaafootball and cast their vote for who they want to be featured on the cover of the video game as part of the “You Want Me” NCAA Football 12 voting campaign.
Murray quickly took the Big12 by storm in 2007, scoring 15 touchdowns in his freshman season, four of which came in his Sooner debut. The 15-touchdown performance tied Adrian Peterson for a school record with most touchdowns in a season by a freshman.  In his final collegiate game, Murray rushed for 93 yards on 23 carries and scored a touchdown in the Sooners 48-20 victory over Connecticut in the 2011 BCS Fiesta Bowl. Murray leaves Oklahoma holding its all-time touchdown record with 58 in four seasons.
Along with Murray, other contenders include Nick Fairley, former defensive tackle, Auburn University; Jake Locker, former quarterback, University of Washington; and Mark Ingram, former running back, University of Alabama.
 Fans can vote once a day and the athlete who receives the most votes at the conclusion of the campaign will appear on the cover of NCAA Football 12.  EA SPORTS will announce the winning cover athlete on April 19.

Top 10 Charlie Sheen quotes to date. They could all be replaced by tomorrow if he does another interview.

10. “The nights I don’t sleep it’s because there’s a higher calling telling me to stand guard.”
9. “I have to right this unconscionable wrong. Many people are suffering. And I’m the only guy who can affect the change.”
8. On living with Porn stars.
“Wow. Well, listen to that statement. Look at what they do. Look what I do. It’s like, ‘Duh.’ […] They’re the best at what they do. I’m the best at what I do. It’s like, ‘Duh.’ Sorry, Middle America. I said it.”
7. What tiger blood means:
“It’s a metaphor for having absolute rocket fuel in my veins. When it comes to getting focused and delivering things in a way…”
6. “I’m entertained as hell. I’m not saying that it’s not true, but I’m saying I’m laughing. And I’m laughing with the goddesses; I’m laughing with my friends.”
5. On being with the porn stars:
“I’m gonna say this. It’s a polygamy story. All my guy friends are gonna like throw tomatoes at me. It’s like an organic union of the hearts.”
4. “You’ve read about the goddesses, come on. They’re an international sensation. These are my girlfriends. These are the women that I love that have completed the three parts of my heart.”
3. What’s not to love? Especially when you see how I party, it was epic. The run I was on made Sinatra, Flynn, Jagger, Richards and all of them look like droopy-eyed armless children.”
2. “The last time I took drugs I probably took more that anyone could survive. I was banging seven gram rocks because that’s how I roll, I have one speed, go. I have a different constitution, a different brain, a different heart. I got tiger blood man.”
1. “I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it once your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.”

When I first heard about Joel Northup, I thought it was a fake story. With a chance to win a state championship, the Iowa teen threw it all away for chivalry, I guess. Or some antiquated notion of it.
For those who have not heard about Northup, let me give you a brief synopsis. In the first round of the Iowa state wrestling tournament, Northup (35-4) was scheduled to face Cassy Herkelman, a freshman from Cedar Falls. She was one of two girls who qualified for the first time in the tournament’s 86 year history.
However, when the two teens were set to take to the mat Thursday, Northup disqualified himself. He wasn’t injured, sick or anything of that nature. The 112-pound sophomore didn’t believe it was right to wrestle a girl. His family backs his decision.
“He’s poured his heart and soul into wrestling and into being the best in the state,” Jamie Northup said. “He’s never won a state championship, so he’s certainly looking forward to that day. So it’s agonizing, from all the work and the effort and the hope. But it’s easy in that, he, a long time ago, drew a line and said ‘I don’t believe it’s right for a boy to wrestle a girl.”‘
With Northup’s disqualification, Herkelman goes into the record books as the first girl every to win a state match in the tournament’s history. Megan Black, the other female qualifier, was pinned in her opening round match in 53 seconds.
Conversely, Northup could finish no higher than third after dropping into the consolation round. Northup is home-schooled but wrestles for Linn-Mar.
Even though it ruined any chance of winning his first state title, Northup stated there were more important than winning.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan [Black] and their accomplishments,” Northup said in a statement. “However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times. As a matter of conscience and faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa.”
While the statement sounds condescending to female athletes, Herkelman’s parents do not agree.
“My understanding is that they’ve got strict convictions [as a family], and I respect them,” Bill Herkelman told the Register. “I don’t have any ill will toward them and I don’t think it’s any kind of boycott about [Cassy Herkelman] being a girl.”
Northup claims that he was placed in a situation not seen in other prep sports in the state. Yet, obviously he is not the first boy Herkelman would have faced. With a 20-13 record, she has bested several young men in Iowa. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations more than 6,000 girls wrestled last year. So he was not first young man to face this dilemma.
While many people have been coming to Northup’s defense, calling his disqualification a gallant and courageous act. I don’t see it that way.
If he was truly someone who believed that men and women are equal in all aspects, he would have went out and wrestled Herkelman as hard and as fierce as he would any male opponent. That means putting her in unimaginable wrestling maneuvers that would cause her pain.
Yes, it sounds brutal and goes against everything men have been taught about laying hands on women. I understand that.
But one of the great things about athletics is that it’s the great equalizer. Regardless of race, color, creed, religion and sex, if you are willing to step onto the field of play, you are supposed to get a fair shot.
Northup seems to have felt wrestling Herkelman wouldn’t be fair to her. In reality, he sounds more scared than chivalrous.
Michael Kinney

National Signing Day always has it’s share of interesting and unique stories. Any time you are dealing with 17 and 18 year old boys, anything can happen. From the kid who lied about getting a scholarship offer in front of his entire school to the stupid hat game kids play before signing their letters, signing day is like a full moon rising. It brings out the craziness.
Here are a few of the 2011 signing day stories that caught my eye.
Mom doesn’t know best.
When Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt got a a signed National Letter of Intent from Floyd Raven, the long time coach was happy. Nutt couldn’t wait to tell the media about the great pickup.
Raven, a defensive back out of Reserve, LA., had committed to the Rebels months ago. But lately he had been considering Texas A&M also. So when he got the letter of intent Wednesday, Nutt thought the Rebels had won out.
However, later in the day, after Nutt had announced that Raven would be part of his 2011 freshman class, he got some surprising news. It wasn’t Raven’s signature on the letter he had been faxed. Raven’s mother forged her son’s signature cause she really, really, wanted her son to go to Ole Miss and he had supposedly chosen A&M.
“Mom really wanted him here,” Nutt said. “Bottom line is, hey, we did get a signature, we did get a letter, but I want people that want to be here.”
Raven officially signed with the Aggies later in the day.
Are you serious?
The day before he was set to make the biggest decision of his life, Ohio State recruit Chris Carter found himself in trouble. He was arrested Tuesday or sexual imposition.
According to published reports, a complaint was filed against Carter, who is accused of fondling a 15-year old girl while pretending to measure her for an ROTC uniform at John F. Kennedy High School in Cleveland.
“Once inside the room, (Carter) asked the victim to take off her sweatshirt and shirt so he could take her measurements,” the police report said. “He cut off the lights. . . and stated ‘I need you to take your bra off.’ The arrested male than put his arms under her arms from behind and attempted to pull her bra up.”
According to police, Carter admitted to them that he had fondled other girls under the pretext of measuring them. The victim had said he had a book in which he wrote down measurements. Police asked Carter to provide the book and he did. It revealed as many as eight victims.
Another victim told police that Carter stopped her in the hallway and asked her to come into a room where he “asked her to take her clothes off. The victim took off everything except her panties” and then he measured her, police said in the report.
Carter was scheduled to sign his National Letter of Intent Wednesday. However, he was being released from the Cleveland City Jail at the time.
Straight craziness.
Michael Kinney

For much of the day I had my doubts about how serious this winter storm would get. Oklahoma is known for overstating the weather.
However, when I got an e-mail at work from FEMA, I knew I had better start paying attention just a little bit.
-People who live in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas are encouraged to get ready now for approaching winter weather. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region 6 office is working with emergency managers in those same states to prepare for the on-coming storm. At the request of officials in Oklahoma and Arkansas, FEMA has pre-positioned industrial-sized generators to power some public facilities. FEMA has also delivered water, meals, blankets and cots to Oklahoma.
 ”We will support our state partners in any way possible to help them weather this storm,” said FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Russell. “We also encourage individuals and families to be prepared by staying informed; stocking an emergency kit with items such as a flashlight, extra batteries, non-perishable food, plenty of water and extra blankets; and having a plan, be ready in case the worst does happen.”
Tools and resources are available online to help you prepare for, respond to and recover from any type of disaster. Visit www.Ready.gov or the Spanish language site www.Listo.gov.  - I don’t know how serious snowmageden will become. But we all better make sure we don’t just ignore it and think it will go away.
Michael Kinney

The Thunder lose a heartbreaker to Miami 108-103. After holding a one-point lead with less than a minute on the clock, the Heat came up with several big plays down the stretch to snatch the win.
Despite that, The Thunder’s Kevin Durant let it be known he his not taking any trash talk from any player in his own house. That means Chris Bosh especially.
After the two got into it in the first quarter Sunday, Durant had these comments about the Heat forward.
“I was talking to my teammate and he decided he wanted to put his two cents into it,” Durant said. “I am quiet guy, laid back guy, but I’m not going to let nobody talk trash to me. He’s on a good team now so he thinks he can talk a little bit. There are a lot of fake tough guys in this league and he’s one of them.”
Durant wasn’t finished.
“I’m no punk. I wasn’t even talking to him first off. He decided to butt in and I’m not going to just let that slide. Especially in our house. Like I said, he’s not one of those guys I look at and say he has a rap for talking back to guys or getting into it. He’s a nice guy. I’m not going to let that type of person say something to me like that.”
Bosh will get a chance to show he’s not a fake tough guy when OKC and Miami play again March 16 in South Beach.
Michael Kinney

When the Oklahoma City Thunder take the court this afternoon, it will be in the biggest game the Ford Center has seen since Game 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
That may sound like hyperbole considers the teams that have already paid visit. Boston, San Antonio, Dallas, New York and Orlando have faced the Thunder on their home court this season. As formidable and high profile as they are, none of them carry the circus like atmosphere to today’s opponent, the Miami Heat. That includes playing an afternoon game on ABC.
“It is unique,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “We don’t do it often. It’s a great opportunity for us to go out and play good basketball against one of the best teams in the league on national TV. Our guys embrace all the challenges that they have in front of them. I don’t anticipate that changing.”
Led by Dwayne Wade and LeBron James, the Heat have been the center of the NBA’s attention since the Decision was made. On that date James announced to the world he was taking his talents to South Beach to join his good buddies Wade and Chris Bosh.
The three all-stars came together in order to rule the league. Many analyst predicted the Heat would not only win the NBA title this year, but for several seasons to come. Maybe even matching a Boston Celtic type run from the 60s.
“Their a powerful team,” Brooks said. “It starts with LeBron. He can do so many things on the court. Their transition game, they score quickly. They get up and down the court. They’re athletic.”
However, it hasn’t worked out that way just yet. They were without Bosh, who is still nursing a high ankle sprain. He is a game-time decision. They lost Hudanis Haslem for the entire season. Wade is battling severe migraines and missed the team’s last game Friday.
Carrying a 32-14 record, Miami has only the third best record in the East . It’s not the pace the Heat had hoped to be on at this time of the year.
But the Thunder (30-16) know Miami can explode at any point and they have to be ready.
“We are going to have e to play better,” Brooks said. “We have to do a better job of helping each other out and getting back in transition with their transition game. LeBron and Wade and if Bosh plays they got so many options that they can go to. They are all some of the best players at their positions. We have to play a good game to beat this team. It’s very possible. We are a good team also.”
Michael Kinney

I wasn’t sure I was going to watch the State of The Union Address. There were college basketball games on and it had been a long day. But as it got closer, I knew I would have to watch it.
President Obama said many things during his address that I hope come to fruition. His remarks on education, immigration and health care are hot topics that need to be addressed. I especially liked him saying “This is our Sputnik.” Sadly, I doubt that 25 percent of current high school students know what Sputnik is.
But, my favorite part of the State of The Union was his closing. “We do BIG things.” It sounds like it should be a lyric in Jay-Z song. But that was the line of the night and the attitude our country must continue to have.
When he said it, I nearly jumped off my couch. Hopefully, it will get others to do the same and start doing Big Things.
Michael Kinney

If a poll was taken right now, the most despised person in the NFL would be Jay Cutler. The 27-year old Chicago Bear quarterback didn’t earn this distinction for spousal abuse, taking steroids or dog fighting.
In many respect’s Cutler’s sin was even greater. He has been accused by fans, current and former players and the media of quitting on his team Sunday during the Bears 21-14 loss to Green Bay in the NFC Championship. If it’s true, that’s something that will dog him the rest of his career.
Michael Kinney