Sooner Recruiting Update

Well, looks like we lost Jeffcoat to the shorthorns. But we may have stolen 5-star DB Corey Nelson right out from under the Aggies.


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Corporate Politics

The supreme court overturned a 100 year old ruling which will allow corporations to contribute to political campaigns on an unlimited basis. There is an extensive list of questions to be considered in such a ruling, at the the top of which is: are corporations citizens? We all know that money can win elections. The foundation of every campaign, even at the local level, is fundraising. Our politicians serve those who will get them re-elected, which is those that will contribute money again and again. No longer will congressmen serve the interests of their constituents, but the interests of the next campaign's pocketbook. Politics just got even dirtier and at a time when Washington is extremely disconnected with the people, it will now be even more disconnected.

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Link to Neil Tomba's most recent blog post. I can relate.

http://neiltomba.blogspot.com/2010/01/faith-believing-without-figuring-things.html

Clutch Shots

So, just how clutch is Dirk Nowitzki? Here is a great website that has kept stats on game-winning shots since the '03-'04 season.



http://www.82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm



By the way - Kobe, is not so clutch! He's made alot of game-winning shots, but he's also missed more than any other player in the league. And, while he's taken 50 game-winning shot attempts, he's only tallied-up 1 assist during those clutch situations. I'm not a Kobe hater, but he's not as clutch as his reputation would lead us to believe.

Diamonds in the Rough

Here are a few of the Diamonds in the Rough from the 2006 and 2007 recruiting classes.

2006
Sam Bradford #16QB
Quinton Carter #39 S
Trent Williams #22 OG
Dominique Franks #53 CB

2007
Ryan Broyles #58 WR
Travis Lewis #86 RB

DeJuan Miller (#26 WR) seems to be the rising star of the 2008 class so far; although, I think Jermie Calhoun will go down as a Top 10 RB in OU history once he's given the chance. The 2009 class is still quiet, with no one really stepping out quite yet. Who will be the unexpected stars from this year's class?

What do you think?

Over the holidays I read Steve Berry's newest novel, The Paris Vendetta. Without ruining the book for those of you that plan to read it - one of the central themes of the storyline is the notion that "a feared external menace is essential for any central authority to preservere". It goes on to say:

"Such a menace must be believable and of a significant magnitude to instill absolute fear, and must affect society as a whole. Without such fear, central authority could well collapse. A societal transition from war to peace will fail if a ruler does not fill the sociological and political void created by the lack of war. Substitutions for the channeling of collective aggression must be found, but these surrogates must be both realistic and compelling."

What do you think? Can central authority (i.e. government in some form or fashion) exist in a society of complete peace? Does government create adequate "menaces" in order to preservere? The book suggests that war (or at least the threat of war) is the ultimate menace to society that maintains central authority and that an adequate substitute must exist in its absence - what are adequate substitutes? Could global warming, the threat of running out of oil, economic collapse, radical Islam and terrorism be adequate substitutes? Are any of these artificially contrived by government in an effort of self preservation?

Please share your thoughts. Click the comment link below!

Sooner Football Recruiting

Oklahoma Football has another stellar incoming class this year, with a current team ranking tied for 3rd on Rivals.com with Florida and behind Texas and Alabama. The sooners currently have 28 verbal commitments, 14 of which carry 4-star ratings by Rivals. This year's class is unique in several aspects. For one, the top 5 rated recruits from this year's class are from highschools outstide of Texas and Oklahoma, with 2 from Kansas, 2 from California and 1 from Florida. Also, of the top 5 rated recruits, 4 will play on the offensive side of the ball at play-maker positions including the #4-rated pro-style QB and 2 RB's and a 6-3, 193 lb ATH.

Top 10-rated OU Recruits - Committed

Name / Position / Ht / Wt / 40 Time / Home Town
Justin McCay / ATH / 6-3 / 197 / 4.5 / Shawnee, KS
Blake Bell / QB / 6-6 / 210 / 4.75 / Wichita, KS
Brennan Clay / RB / 6-0 / 190 / 4.46 / San Diego, CA
Roy Finch / RB / 5-8 / 170 / 4.45 / Niceville, FL
Tony Jefferson / DB / 6-0 / 196 / 4.5 / Chula Vista, CA
James Haynes / DB / 6-0 / 181 / 4.36 / Orange, TX
Austin Haywood / TE / 6-4 / 245 / 4.8 / Moore, OK
Eric Humphrey / DT / 6-4 / 273 / - / Dallas, TX
Bronson Irwin / OL / 6-4 / 322 / - / Mustang, OK
Trey Millard / TE / 6-2 / 245 / 4.5 / Columbia, MO

Uncommitted Rivals100 Recruits Considering Oklahoma

There are several Rivals100 recruits that have yet to give a commitment, the following have interest in Oklahoma (Overall Rivals Ranking Listed to the left).

#1 Seantrel Henderson / Saint Paul (MN) /OL / 6-8 / 301 - FL, Miami, ND, Oh St, OU and USC

#6 Jackson Jeffcoat* / Plano (TX) / DE / 6-5 / 230 - ASU, FL, UH, OU, Tex and USC

#19 J.R. Ferguson / Chatham (VA) / DE / 6-3 / 272 - Cal, FSU, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Ned, UNC, NC, OU, S. Car and UCLA

#89 Ricky Heimuli / Salt Lake City (UT) / DT 6-4 / 280 - MSU, Neb, OU, Oregon, Ore St., UCLA, USC, Utah, Wash and WV

*Yes, that's former Dallas Cowboys star, Jim Jeffcoat's son - he has the pedigree!

Auburn's Surprise Recruiting Class
The most surprising recruiting class this year is Auburn's. Currently ranked #5 by Rivals.com, Auburn has 27 total commitments to date, 2 of which are 5-stars , including the #1 juco transfer, dual-threat QB Cameron Newton, and 10 if which are 4-stars. Auburn is listed as a consideration for many of the uncommitted Rivals100 recruits, and very easily could end up having a Top-3 class with Texas and Alabama, if not the #1 class of 2010.

Top 10 Moments of 2009

In chronological order, my Top 10 moments of 2009. Drum roll please!


1) Ski Trip with the Boys - me, John Carpenter, Aaron Lee, JP Ossenfort and Brandon Bains! We left at 7pm on Friday night, drove to Santa Fe, arrived at 4am, started skiing/snowboarding at 9am, skied all day saturday and sunday, and literally skied off the mountain at 3pm on Sunday into our rented minivan and started our trek back to Dallas. Oh yeah - and on Sunday I busted my tail bone trying to pull-off a jump on my snow board - not a fun ride home! Thankfully John had some hydrocodone!





2) Found out that Kathryn was pregnant. I came home from work and Kathryn showed me her pregnancy test and said "So, do you want a boy or a girl?" Aubrey - in case you read this one day - I answered "GIRL!", of course.


3) Trip to Santa Barbara, CA - on the Bank! I was a top sales performer at work and won a trip with some of my co-workers and bosses to an awesome resort in Santa Barbara. Great food, wine, and relaxing!




4) It's a girl!

5) Scott's bachelor party in Kansas City. Golf, gambling, other bachelor party stuff... Scott, the bachelor, hit a hole in one!


6) Scott and Whitney's Wedding in Iowa City. I gotta admit - I wasn't that excited about going to Iowa City - but wow, what a cool college town. And what a great wedding! Watch this video as evidence.



7) Chicago Baby! Kathryn and I decided to rent a car from Iowa City and drive to Chicago for a little summer vacation before the baby arrives. Shopping, dining, and most importantly a day game at Wrigley Field against cross-town rivals White Sox.




8) OU vs BYU Weekend in Dallas. With the exception of the sooners laying an egg in Jerry World against the Mighty BYU Cougars - we had a great weekend! Old highschool and college buddies, Doug and Garrett, and their wives came into town and stayed with us.




9) I'm a dad! Aubrey arrived on October 3rd! Everything went smoothly, everyone is healthy, and Aubrey is already growing up so fast!





10) Watching Aubrey grow up - 3 months already!

Top News Stories (in case you missed them!)

GOLF: Tiger Poses Bare-chested for the Cover of Vanity Fair - Really? Perfect timing!

WINE: Is wine giving you a Bigger Buzz? - wooo hooo!

ECONOMY: Manufacturing Data is Up! - careful people...we're not out of this thing yet, this is just a re-stocking of inventory after wholesalers and retailers reduced inventories to all-time lows. I'm watching the labor markets - when we start adding jobs, then we've turned the corner!

POLITICS: Obama Shares his Plan for 2010 - this is a great article on Obama's agenda for this year.

2010 New Year's Resolution

1Tim 4:6-10 http://read.ly/1Tim4.6.MSG 6 You’ve been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you’ll be a good servant of Jesus.7 Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please!8 Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.9 You can count on this. Take it to heart.10 This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.

Resolutions from 1Tim 4:6-10:
#1 I've been blessed with an upbringing of sound teaching, but I've been so selfish with it. I resolve to share this with others around me in 2010.
#2 I need to excercise daily in God and get rid of my spiritual flabbiness. Northwest Bible will be reading the NT together, one chapter at a time and one day at a time. My hope is for this exercise to not be just for looks (i.e. 6 minute abs) but for true spiritual health.
#3 I need to excercise daily at the gym to get rid of my physical flabbiness. Enough said here.
#4 I love verse 10 - because I can translate it so personally to my life. I know this wasn't the intended transalation - but to me, since I'm a banker - "throwing myself into this venture so totally" means taking it to the bank. So often, I compartmentalize work from everything else - especially Jesus. So 2010 will be about decompartmentalizing my life - Jesus will be at work and work will be at the feet of Jesus.