Whether or not Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford returns to the Sooners this season, or if he has indeed played his last college game, seems to be anybody's guess.
Sam Bradford at times looked a little rusty, and he and his receivers seemed out of synch, but the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback returned after a nearly one-month layoff to lead the 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 33-7 win over Baylor on Saturday in Norman, Okla.
Bradford, who had missed three games after spraining the AC joint in his (right) throwing shoulder in the first half of the season opener, passed for 389 yards and a touchdown in a relatively easy Big 12 opener. The real test comes next Saturday when the Sooners take on No. 2 Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry in Dallas.
"It's extremely gratifying just to get back out on the field," Bradford said. "Just to be out there with the guys that I have put in so much work with in the offseason and just the simple things like handoffs. Everything out there, it's just exciting to be back."
AUSTIN, Texas -- Considering what was at stake and what was likely lost that, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy has tried to erase the ending of last year's Texas Tech from his memory.
On the game's final play last November, Tech quarterback Graham Harrell fired the football to star receiver Michael Crabtree in double coverage near the right sideline. It appeared Crabtree's momentum or a push from one of the Texas defenders would take him out of bounds, and game over, Texas prevails. But instead Crabtree spun away and high-stepped the remaining yards into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown reception to give the Red Raiders a 39-33 upset win over No.1 Texas in Lubbock.
A defining moment in the 2008 college football season had been made. And then shown over and over.
Shocking, right? Blake Griffin has been the dominant player in college basketball this year and he's won just about every individual award given. Now he can add the Naismith Award to the list.
Really, it never was any question. No player in college has been better this season than Griffin, the likely No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft. Even when he lost, he was spectacular. In the Sooners' final game of the season against North Carolina in the Elite Eight, Griffin scored 23 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, thoroughly outplaying Tyler Hansbrough in a matchup of player of the year winners.
Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel has been with the school for three years. For the third straight year, Capel will get a raise and extension after another successful season and plenty of interest from other programs -- again. Looks like Arizona fans can cross one more name off the list.
Capel disclosed that he has agreed to another raise and extension while in Detroit for the Final Four. He did not give any details on the money or length. The only reason why he decided to make it known was to stop the reports that he had considered the Virginia job, then Georgia and finally that he had been in negotiations with Arizona. This despite no program actually contacting Oklahoma for permission to speak with Capel.
Everyone keeps tuned to sports sites and ESPNews for the latest plumes of smoke from Memphis and/or Lexington regarding John Calipari and whether he stays at Memphis or goes to Kentucky. The flip side is that the move has paralyzed nearly every other coaching search as programs and coaches in-demand wait to see what happens.
The Tar Heels really did not contain Oklahoma's player of the year, despite a flurry of double teams. But they didn't have to, since the rest of the Sooner squad was never a factor. The game was effectively Blake Griffin versus North Carolina. As great a player as Griffin is, he could not beat all of North Carolina.
There was not going to be an answer for Blake Griffin. Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku did everything they could. Jackson in particular player a very tough first half, but Griffin was just too much, as he has been for everybody all year, and Jim Boeheim doubtless knew he would be before the game ever began.
Thing is, Syracuse could have survived an unstoppable Griffin if it had been able to do something else exceptionally well. Something they'd done all year. Something that takes place far away from the spot on the court where Griffin spends most of his time. Yeah, that's right. We're talking about 3-point shooting.
Last night's action had one tight game, a blowout that tightened near the end, a walloping, and a game that never became a blowout though the outcome was never in doubt.
Tonight, Louisville takes on that, uh, Cinderella team from the desert in Arizona. Syracuse and Oklahoma should be a lot of fun in the early games. Later tonight Kansas and Michigan State looks like it should be gem. Also North Carolina gets Gonzaga, the original West Coast Cinderella that has not been that for some time.
Stop on by around 6:30 PM ET to talk about the action from yesterday and the games tonight. Plus, there is always the coaching carousel and what happens next at Kentucky.
Morgan State forward Ameer Ali apparently watched too many replays of Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair grabbing a rebound and taking Hasheem Thabeet right over his back. Ali, however, did not have the ball; Oklahoma was off and running with it. Ali did, however, have Blake Griffin in the vicinity, so he decided to make a name for himself by showing he could flip Griffin in a bush-league move that got him ejected. (Video after the jump.)