I don’t know how much more plainly I can put it. Mike Leach got jobbed.
At least that’s the way it looks from here.
Leach was fired Wednesday as head football coach at Texas Tech University, three days before its bowl game appearance and one day before an $800,000 bonus would have kicked in if Leach still was the school’s head coach.
At issue is his treatment of Adam James, a sophomore wide receiver on the team, and his recovery from what the player said was a concussion.
Before we go further, let’s be clear. Concussions are not to be taken lightly. Right in the pages of this newspaper I devoted a whole column to the topic several weeks ago. So I know it’s not fun and games, yet the injury isn’t taken seriously enough by too many players and coaches.
James and his family, including his father,  former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Craig James, say Leach locked James in a shed and made him stand during one of the practices and spend a second indoors in a small room riding a stationary bike. Since, varying reports have questioned how severe the conditions were.
The investigation hopefully will figure out whether Leach did things he shouldn’t have in the wake of James’ concussion, as well as whether James actually was diagnosed with the concussion in the first place.
James was not playing much, and reports all week claim friction between the player, his family and Leach for that fact.
When Kansas coach Mark Mangino was investigated and later dismissed earlier this month, numerous players came out and agreed with some of the suggestions of poor treatment.
In this case, though, here is a smattering of the response from former players:
Former Tech receiver Eric Morris told the Associated Press James was never known as a hard worker” and “seemed to have a negative attitude toward the football program the majority of the time.”
From an e-mail obtained by cbssports.com is this from Graham Harrell, Tech’s quarterback the last few seasons: “During the offseason,” Harrell wrote, “(James) often would be skipping lifts in the weight room or finding ways to cut corners …”
Another former Tech receiver, Mickey Peters, described having to ride a bike, as James said he did, while he was sitting out a practice with a concussion in 2002.
“It’s what we call muscle beach,” Peters told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “If you’re injured, you’re there doing it. Well, I’m riding the bike. Am I riding it hard? No. Am I defying what I’m supposed to be doing, and is the concussion hurting me? No. It’s just a rule we have to do. It keeps everybody accountable.”
And then some teams have players that would rather not be held accountable and if held to the standard of others, they throw a fit. Sometimes the fit leads to people outside of the team making rash decisions.
Is that what happened here?
Perhaps it doesn’t matter now, because what’s done is done.
Texas Tech’s loss is the gain of every other team in the Big 12 South. You aren’t likely to see the Red Raiders be anywhere near as good on the field for a long time.
It’s a big mess, and it’s a shame.

What a difference a year has made for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Last fall many local sports fans were excited to be gearing up for our state’s first major professional sports team.

(Unless you count the one season of the Oklahoma Outlaws in the USFL, who played down the street from my house in Tulsa. Not sure ‘major’ is the right word for that football league.)

Well, last year’s season started about as badly as anyone could imagine for the Thunder. At this time last year they still only had 3 wins, eventually winding up with 3-29 start to the season.

Things turned quite a bit from there. OKC went 20-30 the rest of the season, making good strides with its young nucleus.

So far, this year is another stride. The Thunder is right at .500, 13-13, after a close loss at Houston Saturday night. Kevin Durant, despite a recent slump, is playing at an All-Star starting caliber, and Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook continue getting better.

What impresses me about this team is its overall youth and an improved bench. The nine-man rotation they play features seven players age 25 or younger and no player older than 28.

The Thunder also is getting much improved bench play this year. Nick Collison, forced to start out of position at center a lot the last few years is now an energy guy off the bench. Youngster Serge Ibaka gives them an athletic presence inside, and Shaun Livingston has given solid minutes as the backup to Westbrook.

But the hit of the season may be rookie James Harden, the third pick of last summer’s NBA Draft. A few eyebrows were raised when OKC passed on several good-looking point guards to take Harden, but he’s been a find. His all-around game is ahead of his years, and he has had stretches of games where he, not one of the big three in the starting lineup, has taken over to hit the big shot. Not to mention he’s thrown down a handful of highlight reel dunks this season.

This team is going in a good direction. It might be tough to secure a playoff berth this year, but the fact it’s even realistically in the conversation says how far they’ve come in just a year’s time.

From the latest edition of The Sporting News comes a surprising list compiled from a conversation with a college scouting director for an NFL team.
He rated his top five prospects at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end.
Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham, despite missing the whole season due to injury, is still the No. 1 tight end. Not too tough to figure that one.
And Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant, suspended for two-thirds of the season, still is the top receiver. Interestingly, Cincinnati’s Marty Gilyard, who seems to make big plays every week, was only fourth.
Clemson’s C.J. Spiller leads the running backs, with Heisman candidate and future Sooner opponent Toby Gerhart just fourth.
But here’s where it gets weird — quarterback. No. 1 is Washington’s Jake Locker, who seems to be sort of the hip guy to talk about. I always have liked Locker but more as a good college QB than an NFL guy.
But it gets weirder still. Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen is second. Texas’ Colt McCoy third and Florida’s Tim Tebow fourth. You get all the way to fifth before you find OU’s Sam Bradford.

Two young men who recently called the signals in Crosstown Clash football games will go head-to-head in one of college football’s early bowl games.

Press Taylor, Norman High graduate, and Tyler Tettleton, Norman North grad, are backup quarterbacks for Marshall and Ohio, respectively. Their teams collide in the Saturday, Dec. 26 Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit. The game formerly was called the Motor City Bowl.

Tettleton, a true freshman at Ohio, has played in nine games, completing nine passes and rushing for a touchdown. He’s primarily been used in the Bobcats’ version of the Wildcat offense.

Taylor, a junior, has played in six games backing up Marshall starter Brian Anderson. He is a transfer to the school after starting his career at Butler County Community College.

So we’re only about 10 days away from the naming of the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner.
And like it often seems to be, it’s totally up in the air who will win it.
Going into the season it didn’t seem like it would be that way. We had a returning champion in Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and the two guys who finished right behind him in the voting, 2007 winner Tim Tebow and Bradford’s buddy Colt McCoy, the Texas quarterback.
Bradford’s shoulder injury took him out of the running. And despite guiding their teams to unbeaten seasons heading into this weekend, it doesn’t seem like anybody is looking at Tebow or McCoy as a runaway choice.
McCoy made a heck of a case on Thanksgiving night though, as his Longhorns needed all of his 300-plus passing yards and 175 rushing yards in a wild victory against rival Texas A&M.
Tebow’s stats aren’t as good as in past years, but he just keeps on leading his team to wins, which ultimately is a huge barometer for the nation’s top quarterback.
Some like Alabama running back Mark Ingram, but he struggled against rival Auburn last week. Stanford running back Toby Gerhart has been impressive but may not get the national publicity. And Houston’s Case Keenum has been on a roll all year since outplaying Zac Robinson in his team’s win in Stillwater in September.
And while these guys won’t win it, as a true football fan you have to love watching Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh do their work on the defensive line. Even if the casual observer doesn’t realize their value, teammates, coaches and opponents trying to make an offensive gameplan sure do.
So who knows?