Sports

There’s always something new in a trip to Kannapolis, N.C.

July 25, 2019 Jeff Brucculeri

KANNAPOLIS, NC – Over the past 20 years, my family and I have been traveling to this little town northeast of Charlotte to visit my wife’s parents. We’ve probably made this trip over a dozen times, and each time, I find something new to write about. This trip was a little different than most. I…

Riley seeks to maintain offensive success, elevate the defense

July 25, 2019 Charles Biggs

After fielding arguably the best offense in college football for several years, the Oklahoma Sooners need the defense to do better in 2019 in case of a potential dropoff in offensive production. Because of graduations and the NFL Draft, OU lost their starting quarterback, their best wide receiver and four of the five starting offensive…

Gundy is waiting for a quarterback to earn the starting job

July 25, 2019 Charles Biggs

Oklahoma State hasn’t named a starting quarterback for 2019 but you can bet that Coach Mike Gundy will have one that will do well running his high-powered offense. After a disappointing 7-6 season in 2018, OSU lost offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich to Ohio State and Gundy hired Princeton’s Sean Gleeson. They will pick between redshirt…

Montgomery undaunted by low expectations

July 25, 2019

Expectations for the Tulsa University football team are low. TU was picked to finish last in the West Division in the preseason poll of the American Athletic Conference. Last season, TU opened with a win and then lost nine out of 11 to finish 3-9. Will the low expectations make Tulsa players play with a…

Driller pine tar incident is swept aside?

July 18, 2019 Jeff Brucculeri

Call me naïve, but until recently I had no idea that pitchers in minor league and Major League Baseball were still doctoring the baseball to try to gain an advantage. I thought that practice went out a long time ago. However, there is some unspoken acceptance of using a small amount of pine tar to…

Six Sooners, three Cowboys named to All-Big 12 team

July 18, 2019

Hurts, Murray rate individual recognitions If the media pundits are correct, Oklahoma should be in great shape for a run at a fifth consecutive Big 12 Conference football title. Six Sooners were picked on the Preseason All-Big 12 team and OU linebacker Kenneth Murray was chosen as the “defensive player of the year” in the…

NCAA’s transfer portal greases the skids for college athletes

July 11, 2019

When Baker Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma from Texas Tech, former OU football coach Bob Stoops didn’t meet him until he was already on campus and enrolled in classes. That transfer was disastrous for the Red Raiders but a boon for OU. At first, Texas Tech wanted Mayfield to lose a year of eligibility as punishment…

Thole likes continuing his baseball career with the Drillers

July 11, 2019 Jeff Brucculeri

Last week, I wrote about just a portion of my interview with Tulsa Drillers catcher Josh Thole and the early years of his career. This week we look at where he is now on his baseball journey. Thole is a native of Breese, Illinois, and has played in 478 Major League games, split between the…

Brock Vandagriff, No. 1 QB in the nation, commits to OU

July 4, 2019

The best player in America will play football for the Oklahoma Sooners. But quarterback Brock Vandagriff first has to finish high school and he won’t sign with the Sooners until sometime perhaps in 2020. His high school class graduates in 2021. Rivals.com has already named the record-setting quarterback as not only the best pro-style quarterback…

Catching a knuckleball was a key for Drillers’ Josh Thole

July 4, 2019 Jeff Brucculeri

Josh Thole is currently laboring in minor league baseball, as a catcher with the Tulsa Drillers, but his experiences in baseball reach a lot further than the Texas League. I spoke with Thole recently and asked him about his career thus far. Thole was drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round of…