Who's the Coach of the Year?

This guy!

"Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has been named the winner of the 2011 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. The award, presented by the Fiesta Bowl, is selected by the members of the 1,200-member strong Football Writers Association of America."

Link.

While we're talking about college football: suck it BCS...

I Need to Keep My Mouth Shut

Naturally after bragging about Oklahoma State's football team (see the post directly before this one) they traveled to Iowa State and laid an egg, losing in overtime 31-37. After about five minutes of pulling my hair out I got over it. In the grand scheme of things life is far too short to get really worked up over a college football game. After the dust settled Saturday it turns out the Pokes aren't in too bad of shape! They still have a solid chance to win the Big 12, to play in the a BCS bowl, and if a couple of more teams lose, play for a National Championship. Thank you Oklahoma and Oregon for the losses yesterday!

I caught the second half of the OSU game at a bar on Friday night. After the loss, a few Sooner fans began chanting "Boomer Sooner" in the bar. This chapped my ass worse than the game itself. I had the pleasure of explaining to my Sooner friends last night after their loss to Baylor that karma is a bitch...

Finally, one last word about college sports. My friend Amy sent me the following article on my phone Saturday morning:

The details of what happened in between are a blur of tears and anger, sorrow and disbelief.

It had been 355 days since the Cowboys last fell on the gridiron but it had been more than 10 years since this close-knit community has had to deal with a far greater loss.

The tragic deaths of Oklahoma State women’s basketball coaches Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna, as well as two other OSU alums, shook the OSU fan base to its core. Then a 37-31 loss to Iowa State at Jack Trice Stadium poured salt in a much deeper wound.

OSU has suffered more than any school should and Friday just didn’t seem fair.

I typically travel to road games but, for whatever reason, I skipped the trip to Iowa.

Instead I found myself in Gallagher-Iba at a press conference that can only be described as surreal. It felt like a bad case of déjà vu as it was announced, yet again, that OSU had lost members of its basketball family in a plane crash.

No matter how trivial it might seem it the wake of tragedy, I found solace in the notion that the football team could provide some sort of quick relief, a minor painkiller for an ache felt throughout Cowboy nation.

Then the unimaginable unfolded in the Iowa plains.

OSU’s offense faltered. The defense stumbled. The special teams failed. And for the first time in nearly a year, a loss was marked on the schedule on the most painful of days for it to occur.

As I sat at my computer struggling to find the words to describe the indescribable events, I decided I needed to see something first hand before it would be possible.

I got in my truck and headed down the road to Stillwater Regional Airport. I needed to see the team land. I needed to see something positive, something important.

What awaited me at the airport was a touching scene that reminded me just how special the people of Oklahoma State truly are.

At 2:45 Saturday morning, the cold wind aimlessly ripped through the gathering of nearly 150 orange-clad faithful who were already frozen from the events of the previous day.

But then in the distance, a noise grew louder. It was the sound of the jet carrying the Cowboys safely back home. It is something we all too often take for granted but will be challenged to overlook again.

As the team exited the plane and approached a gate ill-fitting of the gathering on hand, the singing began.

“Proud and immortal

Bright Shines Your Name

Oklahoma State

We Herald Your Fame

Ever You'll Find Us

Loyal and True

To Our Alma Mater

O-S-U.”

Coach Mike Gundy smiled as he appeared to fight back tears. Todd Monken doled out a few hugs. Several players gave high fives and, amid the overwhelming despair, signs of happiness could be found.

The sound that overtook the howling winds and the insufferable hum of desolation was the sound of cheering, providing a soundtrack to recovery from the loss of a team and the loss of lives before it.

The words of the alma mater took on an entirely new meaning. Loyal and true, indeed.

Sure, the national title hopes were lost amid the throngs of cardinal and gold who stormed the field to celebrate the biggest win in Iowa State football history. But the cold dose of reality from the morning helped to put things in perspective.

Monken described the loss as, “… a hard one to take for a long time.”

Brandon Weeden expressed his regret that they couldn’t deliver a win to assist in the healing process from the crash in the Arkansas hills and called it, “one of the hardest days in Oklahoma State history.”

Monken then added, “It’s one thing to lose early in the year, but it's another to get to this point and see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're 10-1, and I don't know if I've ever been 10-1 and felt so empty."

But that empty feeling preceded the warm arrival that awaited them in the early morning hours. That emptiness found some relief.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe it’s not a title this season, but it was a light nonetheless.

That light was provided by the Cowboy fans at the airport and by those who were there in spirit.

The football team might not have won Friday night but you, dear Cowboy fans, are already winners.

This university, this athletic department and this community will overcome tragedy once again and the reason is you. There was undeniable proof that Oklahoma State will again rise above.

I know I will remember Nov. 18, 2011.

I will remember the pain of losing cherished members of the Cowboy family. I will remember watching OSU’s football championship dreams fade away. But most of all, I will remember how lucky I am to be a Cowboy and to be associated with people like you.

One sign at the airport terminal struck me in particular.

“KB and MS would be proud.”

There is no doubt.

It's always good to keep things in perspective. The artice above can be found here.

Ride 'em Cowboys...

10-0!

I've been a little hesitant to write anything about Oklahoma State's football team this year as not to jinx them. With only two games left in the season I think I'm ready to do some bragging. With their win over Texas Tech Saturday, OSU moved to 10-0 on the season, the best start in school history, the previous best being 9-0 in 1945. They've also achieved their highest AP, Coaches, and BCS rankings at number 2. How did we get there? See below, the two games in bold is where I needed resuscitation:

Sep 3 Louisiana-Lafayette W 61-34
Sep 8 Arizona W 37-14
Sep 17 at Tulsa W 59-33
Sep 24 at (8) Texas A&M W 30-29
Oct 8 Kansas W 70-28
Oct 15 at (22) Texas W 38-26
Oct 22 at Missouri W 45-24
Oct 29 Baylor W 59-24
Nov 5 (17) Kansas State W 52-45
Nov 12 at Texas Tech W 66-6
Nov 18 at Iowa State 7:00 PM
Dec 3 (5) Oklahoma 7:00 PM

Obviously we should smoke Iowa State on Friday night which really leaves one competitive game left on the schedule, the dreaded Sooners in the annual Bedlam game. What's on the line in the last game of the season? Nothing much, just a chance to play for the National Championship in New Orleans! Also at stake is OSU's first Big 12 crown, a Heisman Trophy for Brandon Weeden, and another Biletnikoff Award for Justin Blackmon. No pressure.

What do the locals think of all this Oklahoma State success?


If it is the end of the world I could go out a happy man with a 12-0 regular season record... Go Pokes!!

Red River Shootout

Fall is in the air and that means it time for the annual Red River Shootout between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas! Being an Oklahoma State fan I really don't have a dog in this hunt but I do get so amused by the trash talking going on all week, especially on Facespace, between Sooner and Longhorn fans. I usually root for the Sooners since Texas is a vile, evil place and the home of George W. Bush. Here is an example of some of the things I've seen on Facespace this week, having predominately Oklahoma and Texas friends:




And my favorite courtesy of my friend Jason:

‎"And I shall de-horn the wicked." Psalm 75:10. BOOMER! SOONER!

Of course we all know who the best is...


Go Pokes!!

Football rivalries, one of the many small things that make life worth living!

Are the Planets Aligning?

What I've learned lately...

Republicans (as least those who want to be President) believe in three things:

1) If you don't have health insurance, for whatever reason, you should just die instead of being a burden on the tax payer. Or you could do what Ron Paul laughingly suggested, ask for help from your neighbors or the churches!

2) State sponsored executions in this country are an applause line.

3) Being a homosexual member of the armed services is worthy of being booed. I understand that most of the people on stage at the GOP debate probably don't believe this but then again not one of them had the balls to stand up to the terrible behavior displayed by the conservative crowd.

4) Oklahomans were buying this shit at the Fair:


Patti Stanger needs to know when to shut her mouth.

“'The Millionaire Matchmaker'” told a gay male caller he could maintain an open relationship because 'there is no curbing gay men,' she said."

To be honest, in my opinion, I don't think her remarks were too far off the mark but it's probably not something you would want to say on a television show promoting your own show. Again, in my experiences, I haven't known many gay men who have been able to carry on a long term relationship without some form of cheating entering into the equation, my own personal experiences included. Having said that, the influences of gay social life in Oklahoma City probably contribute more heavily to this phenomenon than gay men being unable to commit. I mean probably the biggest form of social interaction for gay men here is in a dank gay bar replete with alcoholics and drug users. Not a good place to hang out with the hubby.

I still, and will always, hate the Washington Redskins. They can't even beat a banged up Cowboys team that has an offensive line with an average age of 12 along with third sting wide outs! I love how Tony Romo went from the goat to the hero in a matter of a couple of weeks. Yes, it's cool to be a Romosexual again. How 'bout them Cowboys?!

Finally I learned that I just can't ride scary carnival rides anymore. I left my sphincter on the ride pictured below:

Boomer Sooner

Usually once or twice a season one of my Sooner friends will invite me along to an OU game in Norman. Inevitably at some point I'll complain about the band playing nothing but "Boomer Sooner," the fight song. They just roll their eyes and disparage me by saying I'm just an Aggie fan (by the way Oklahoma State hasn't been officially called Oklahoma A & M since 1957). Finally after some digging I found a blogger for The Phoenix New Times who gets exactly what I'm talking about. In an article listing the top 10 worst college fight songs, the author ranks the Oklahoma Sooners as second worst and goes on to say:

"On January 2, 2008, I had the misfortune of attending the Fiesta Bowl. Even though I was in a suite with free food and beer, what should have been an awesome evening was marred by this one horrible song. OU lost the game by 20 points, but as many times as we heard this song, you'd have thought they were winning by 50. Every score, every first down, every defensive stop, hell, every single break in the action seemed to inspire OU's band to fire this one up again. And again. And again. Not only do they play the shit out of it, but it's not even their song. They ripped it off from Yale. Finally, the lyrics are just fucking inane. 'Boomer sooner, boomer sooner, boomer sooner, boomer sooner.' Dear God, please make it stop."

To make this posting even better and timely the blogger goes on to anoint Florida State with the worst fight song in America:

"Aside from being vaguely racist, this is, quite simply, the most annoying college football marching band song of all time. It has no lyrics, consisting only of a stereotypical Native American war chant. FSU fans perform the 'tomahawk chop' motion with their arms while chanting, a tradition that was later co-opted by Atlanta Braves fans, much to the dismay of the sports-watching world. Other Indian-themed sports teams have mimicked it as well, but nobody does it as obnoxiously, or with such maddening frequency, as the FSU marching band. They might be the world's largest marching band, but they also have the world's shittiest fight song."

So tonight as everyone is watching the number one ranked Sooners take on the number five ranked Seminoles listen hard through those television sets to arguably a battle of the two worst college fight songs in the land.

"I'm a Sooner born and a Sooner bred. And when I die I'll be a Sooner dead.
Rah, Oklahoma! Rah, Oklahoma! Rah, Oklahoma! O-K-U!"

Lord.

Link.

Thursday Night Football

I'm not really a fan of Thursday night college football but I have no choice to watch Oklahoma State take on the Arizona Mildcats. It's actually a pretty nice game and a rematch of last year's bowl game between the two teams. We won the last meeting by the way...

I predict the Pokes win tonight by at least 14.

Any football fans out there?



Pictures from last weeks game in Stillwater. If you look really hard you can see me, I'm the one in orange...

City on Fire!

Happy September everyone! Cooler weather, football, and conflagrations.


The drought is certainly taking its toll on Oklahoma as fires rage around the city. The other night I could see big plumes of smoke to the north and the east from my front porch! Luckily living in the ghetto pretty much shelters me from out of control fires.

My friend Timmy made a good point on Facespace the other day about the fires. Why aren't conservatives blaming god's wrath on this latest round of natural disasters in Oklahoma? You know, like they did the earthquakes and hurricane back east. Maybe because Oklahoma bleeds red more than most states and is kooky Christian country. There are more churches in Oklahoma than in all of California. Wrap your head around that.

Besides burning up, here's what's on tap for me this month:

9/3 - Football!!! I'm so starved for sports I just about can't stand it. Sure there's the WNBA and Tennis. I may be gay but I'm still a man! I'm looking forward to good things from Oklahoma State and the Dallas Cowboys this season. (And death to the Sooners!)

9/4 - Arctic Cold Front! Supposedly the hottest summer on record in Oklahoma will come to an end early Sunday morning with a cold front moving through the state. The forecast for the week following the cold front has our highs only in the '80's! Break out the fur coats.

9/5 - Labor Day. Just an excuse to have two Sunday Fundays in a row.

9/9 - Visit Oklahoma City Weekend (TM). My friend Jason from Chicago is visiting me here in the city for the second year in a row. What could possess him to want to come here again is beyond me but I'm excited to see my friend. He'll also have a boyfriend in tow that I believe has never been to Oklahoma. Commence with culture shock.

9/15 - The Great State Fair of Oklahoma opens. Ten days of bad food, scary rides, and people watching like you wouldn't believe! Look for me in line at the fried turd on a stick vendor.

9/25 - OKC AIDS Walk and 5K Run. A great charity and event but why did they move it to September from October? I hope it's not too hot.

So what's everyone else doing of interest this month?

Orange Power!!

10. More. Days.

I know the video is a little cheesey but I'm so pumped about the 2011 college football season. I just found out I have tickets to the first game of the season! Commence foaming at the mouth...

Go Pokes!!

My Pilgrimage to Mecca

On my recent trip to Dallas last weekend I was able to take some time to visit Mecca, also know as Cowboys Stadium!


The tours of the stadium run every hour or so and the admission was $17.50. Though I enjoyed touring the facility, I found the guided tour to be a little too long, clocking in at about and hour and a half.


Highlights of the facility we were able to tour:

Press boxes and suites - areas I'm sure I'll never see during a game.

Locker rooms - I could have skipped the cheerleader locker room but the players locker room was awesome. Supposedly each "locker" was of some imported wood that costs ten thousand dollars a piece. We were cautioned not to sit or stand on the dressing areas.

Endzones - the endzones have giant doors on each side that open up several stories. The doors on each side have to be opened together otherwise the pressure of the enormous place would blow out the glass on the opposite side.

Stadium screen - the six story screen above the field in the first picture above is absolutely amazing. I've seen the thing in pictures and on TV during games but any image that I had previously viewed of the screen didn't do it justice. It is mind boggling. According to the tour guide the screen itself cost 40 million dollars, 5 million dollars more than the entire cost of the original Texas Stadium in Irvin.

Unfortunately we weren't able to go onto the field as there was some kind of Father's Day event going on. The tour was definitely worth the short drive from downtown Dallas to Arlington. How 'bout them Cowboys!

11 Win Season!

The Oklahoma State Cowboys achieved their first 11-win season with a thumping over the Arizona Wildcats last night in the Alamo Bowl! It's a good time to be a Poke!

Link

Congrats to a Couple of Pokes!

Biletnikoff Award winner (and All American) Justin Blackmon, top wideout in the country.

Lou Groza award winner Dan Bailey (the man with the golden shoes), top kicker in the country.

Congratulations Pokes! I'm so ready to kick some Arizona ass at the Alamo Bowl on the 29th!!

It's Beginning...

... to look a lot like December!

November flew by didn't it? My blog has been kind of a dud lately. I've been so active the last couple of weeks that work has been my time to recuperate. Obviously the biggest thing going on this month is a birthday on the 25th. Yep, my friend Cris turns the big 3-0! I can't wait to give her shit about it since she always has some snarly remark about my age. Actually December marks the start of birthday season for many of my friends. Everyone seems to have their birthdays consolidated into the winter months of the year, it's wretched. Here's some other things of note for December:

World AIDS Day is today, December 1st. It is estimated that over 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS around the world with over a million of those in the US alone. What can be done to help? First, if you're sexually active get tested. This can be done freely and confidentially almost anywhere. Secondly, if you're a book nerd like me, anything you buy today at Boarders will have a contribution of up to 25% of your purchase sent to Lifebeat.

Another great HIV/AIDS charity is GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis). Around this time of year it's common for me to get asked by family or friends what I want for Christmas. This year I've told anyone who asks to donate to this charity if they really feel it's necessary to buy me something.

College football bowl season starts this month! I'll probably be making bowl predictions like last year if I have the time, meaning if I don't get too lazy. I'm looking forward to Oklahoma State's bowl game, wherever it may be, and the prospect of having our first 11 game winning season. The Pokes came up just a bit short of winning the Big 12 this year but I'm still satisfied and proud of the team. 10-2 isn't too bad for a "rebuilding" year!

Obviously the biggest thing on everyone's mind this month will be Christmas. To be honest I'm kind of over this holiday. While I do enjoy the extra time and activities to spend with family and friends, I just get tired over the commercialism and religious aspects of it. Though I'm sure I'll be partaking in holiday activities this year, I've decided to forgo putting up a tree or doing any decorating this year.

The biggest party day of the year is New Year's Eve. It's a great time to let loose and also reflect on the year behind you and the year ahead. I'm going to try to visit my brother over the last weekend of the month if money and time permit.

So what is everyone else doing on the last month of the year?

Happy November

October came and went quickly didn't it? Did everyone have a good Halloween? I ended up spending "gay Christmas" at the OU/Colorado game, otherwise I really didn't do anything special for the holiday. No treats this year, only a trick early Sunday morning.

There's a lot going on in November this year, the war on Christmas kicks off soon, the most wonderful time of the year! I'm really ready for some "fall" weather still. We've had amazing weather in October but I'm definitely ready for a cool down. Upper 30's and lower 60's today, that's a start. I think I just want to wear some of the winter clothes I bought recently. On tap for this month:

November 2nd: Election day, finally. I'm so sick of hearing about this election I could just puke. I'll definitely be voting but I'm afraid progressives are about to take a bath this mid-term. What I'll be most displeased about is the loss of the House of Representatives to Republicans. Speaker Boehner? Oh lord. I'm less concerned about the Senate, it's an already broken institution and a slim majority by either party will make little difference.

November 7th: Daylight Savings. One of my favorite days of the year! Who doesn't love an extra hour of sleep? I know I do but I consider sleeping one of my most passionate hobbies and an art form.

November 25th: Thanksgiving! One of the better holidays around I think, primarily because I get two days off, Thursday and Friday. I also like going out to the clubs on Thanksgiving night, it's a good time to run in to people who aren't usually out or who are in town for the holiday.

November 27th: Bedlam! For those unfamiliar with the term, bedlam refers to the annual Oklahoma/Oklahoma State game. Yearly I get my hopes up for an OSU win and most years I'm disappointed. With the game at OSU this year I think a change for a Cowboys win is a little better than usual. Hopefully the game will determine who'll win the Big 12 South and move on to the Big 12 Championship game.

I'm sure I missed something in this post but those are the highlights for me in November. What does everyone else out there think of the month ahead? Any interesting plans or stories for November?

Happy Football Friday?

Why are college football games being played on Friday nights these days? My beloved Oklahoma State Cowboys (finally ranked at #22) go on the road to face the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns tonight on ESPN 2. So it's cool that I'll get to see a televised game that shouldn't normally be televised; this game will be over for the Cajuns as soon as the first kickoff is made. It isn't cool that I really won't have any games that I'm interested in on Saturday. OSU will have already played and the dreaded Swooners of Oklahoma have a bye week.

Oh well, at least the Dallas Cowboys will back from their bye week and playing on Sunday! Happy football weekend to all the fans out there. My Pokes improve to 5-0 tonight. Sweet.

Today's question: do you like the inclusion of Thursday night and Friday night games in college football?

October!

It's the most wonderful time of year and October is one of my favorite months on the calendar. On tap for this month:

October 2nd: The Red River Shootout! OU v. Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. So I'm a fan of either team since they always seem to beat my beloved Cowboys of Oklahoma State. I'm still not sure in this late hour who to root for in the game. I need to determine which team winning or losing will benefit OSU the most...

October 14th: Chicago! Headed back to the windy city to visit J. for what will probably be the last time this calendar year. I'm excited to see real fall weather, in Oklahoma we go seem to go from warm to cold weather most years.

October 19th: Oklahoma City AIDS walk and 5K run. A great event for a great cause in downtown Oklahoma City. Unfortunately I'll miss it since I don't get back to OKC until late Sunday night.

October 31st: Halloween aka Gay Christmas. Always a crazy time for me and I imagine that this weekend will be no different. I always struggle with wanting to wear a costume but I ultimately never do. Any suggestions?

That's about it other than more football goodness as Big 12 play goes into full swing. Go Pokes!!

Thanks again to all the readers and comments over the previous month. I had my highest hit total in any month ever! Thanks!

College Football Season is Here!

At least for me and the teams that I follow! It couldn't be a better day for it, high temperature today, 83 degrees.

Games of the day:

Utah State vs. (7) Oklahoma: Really Sooners? Nice opening game. Not. I expect this game to be out of hand for the Aggies about two minutes in. While I'm not a huge Sooners fan, I'm looking forward to being at the game, they're always a lot of fun, well when OU doesn't schedule a school for the blind. Sooners by 35.

Washington State vs. Oklahoma State: Since I'll be in Norman I won't get to catch my beloved Cowboys on television. Boo. Anyways, it will be interesting to see how OSU's offense performs with a new quarterback and revamped offensive line. Even being a young team, OSU shouldn't have too much of a problem with the lowly Cougars. Pokes win by 17.

Everyone enjoy the greatest time of year and have a great Saturday!

It's September!

Happy September readers, lurkers, and people who never comment (you know who you are)! I can tell that fall is right around the corner, the high temperature today is only supposed to be in the low 90's. Why I'm excited about September:

Labor Day this weekend! Not that I have any plans but any holiday with a day off from work is a good holiday.

J. is coming to visit for a long weekend mid-month. I'm really excited to show off Oklahoma City (yeah, I know, lame) and a little scared that he'll never want to come back! This will be his first trip to "The Sooner State."

The annual great State Fair of Oklahoma also kicks off on the 16th through the 26th. While I'm not a great fan of the fair, it's not a bad time to enjoy anything fried on a stick, roam the midway, and people (hillbilly) watch.

Last but certainly not least, football season kicks off this weekend! I expect the Dallas Cowboys to make a deeper run in the playoffs this year on the NFL side, while I expect the Oklahoma State Cowboys to struggle a bit but most likely make another bowl appearance in college football. The Sooners? They can drown...

Thanks again to all the readers out there, August was my biggest visited month since December of last year!

So what does everyone else have on tap this month?

How Many Weeks Until Football Season?

NFL Playoff Predictions (The Super Bowl)

So it's the weekend of America's biggest sporting event. Again, not being a fan of either team left I only hold mild interest in the game. Having said that, I'm sure I'll watch some if not all of the game.

#1 New Orleans Saints (15-3) vs. #1 Indianapolis Colts (16-2)
Sunday February 7th at 5:25 PM
Pick: New Orleans
Comments: Once again I'm going against the "experts" and predicting a win by the "underdog." I'm going to give a slight edge to The Saints on offense while both defenses seem to be evenly matched. I expect to see a lot of points scored in this game and I think that New Orleans will contain Manning just enough to walk away with a win.

Current record 5-5
Agree? Disagree? Let me know.