The 2012-2013 season is finished...

[SoonerNorm]

Actually, Sherri posts here under the name "Oliver Hardy," SoonerNorm is Joe C. And Syb is Landry Jones' momma.

:ez-laugh:

 

[sybarite]

Actually, some are close.

Yes, some are close. We have had at least a couple of sets of parents, some aunts, uncles, and cousins. For the most part, they have been disregarded, sometimes insulted, and rarely shown respect.

The only parent that seems to have impacted the general impression of some was the supposed parent of Courtney Walker. But, that's probably because he was critical of Sherri's recruiting, something that fits within the model of quite a number.

We've been watching a rather unkind treatment of Cloman's parents on one thread, and we had one parent who was also a professional athlete leave the board in contempt. Now, we have a relative of Gioya Carter who has begun to post. I hope they meet with more courtesy than have the others.

I don't know that the parents have any inside information on the program. Somehow, most don't seem the type to pump Sherri for special information. From what we have seen of Sherri, she loves to communicate, whether in writing or in speech. I think she might have a tendency to communicate with those that she respects, whose children she has under her wings.

Yet, we sometimes seem quite willing to believe that Sherri or the program communicates with shadowy figures that can't wait to reveal information that is closely guarded. Somehow, sources close to the program seem more like the sources of supermarket tabloids than those who might have legitimate access to a program that attempts to maintain an image of integrity. It says more about us than the program.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

Of course, about 98 percent of your post, Syb, is personal opinion and supposition.

No problem, however. Right or wrong, I always enjoy 99 percent of what you have to say.

I envision you on your throne tossing out your pontifications to the rest of humanity, an undeserving herd of mammals far beneath your station and so woefully inadequate in its collective knowledge as to barely deserve even the slightest recognition from the potentate of the plains.

I wonder...has anyone ever pulled back your curtain?

 

[35TangoTango]

Of course, about 98 percent of your post, Syb, is personal opinion and supposition.

No problem, however. Right or wrong, I always enjoy 99 percent of what you have to say.

I envision you on your throne tossing out your pontifications to the rest of humanity, an undeserving herd of mammals far beneath your station and so woefully inadequate in its collective knowledge as to barely deserve even the slightest recognition from the potentate of the plains.

I wonder...has anyone ever pulled back your curtain?

My understanding was that personal attacks were not to be done on this board.

Syb's threads sometimes get a little out there, but in this last thread, I don't think there is much opinion or supposition. We have had a couple of posters who we knew to be player parents, and invariably they have eventually felt it necessary to take the Negative Nellies to task. That's fact.

 

[SoonerNorm]

My understanding was that personal attacks were not to be done on this board.

Syb's threads sometimes get a little out there, but in this last thread, I don't think there is much opinion or supposition. We have had a couple of posters who we knew to be player parents, and invariably they have eventually felt it necessary to take the Negative Nellies to task. That's fact.

I'm confused. When Mac posted his opinions that some didn't like, they weren't afraid to go after him. What's the difference now?

 

[Mac]

Yes, some are close. We have had at least a couple of sets of parents, some aunts, uncles, and cousins. For the most part, they have been disregarded, sometimes insulted, and rarely shown respect.

The only parent that seems to have impacted the general impression of some was the supposed parent of Courtney Walker. But, that's probably because he was critical of Sherri's recruiting, something that fits within the model of quite a number.

We've been watching a rather unkind treatment of Cloman's parents on one thread, and we had one parent who was also a professional athlete leave the board in contempt. Now, we have a relative of Gioya Carter who has begun to post. I hope they meet with more courtesy than have the others.

I don't know that the parents have any inside information on the program. Somehow, most don't seem the type to pump Sherri for special information. From what we have seen of Sherri, she loves to communicate, whether in writing or in speech. I think she might have a tendency to communicate with those that she respects, whose children she has under her wings.

Yet, we sometimes seem quite willing to believe that Sherri or the program communicates with shadowy figures that can't wait to reveal information that is closely guarded. Somehow, sources close to the program seem more like the sources of supermarket tabloids than those who might have legitimate access to a program that attempts to maintain an image of integrity. It says more about us than the program.

It's not uncommon for coaches to encourage there team players not to go on to message boards and things like that, Geno doesn't even let his players use twitter during the season.

 

[35TangoTango]

I'm confused. When Mac posted his opinions that some didn't like, they weren't afraid to go after him. What's the difference now?

Norm has carefully taught me the difference between disagreeing with a post, and making a personal attack on the poster himself. I don't think people made an attack on Mac as a person.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Norm has carefully taught me the difference between disagreeing with a post, and making a personal attack on the poster himself. I don't think people made an attack on Mac as a person.

Oliver said he enjoyed about 99% of what Syb has to say. When you put everything he said in context, I don't believe that crossed the line of a personal attack just as I didn't think you guys that went after Mac quite crossed the line. Both are very similar.

 

[35TangoTango]

Oliver said he enjoyed about 99% of what Syb has to say. When you put everything he said in context, I don't believe that crossed the line of a personal attack just as I didn't think you guys that went after Mac quite crossed the line. Both are very similar.

I envision you on your throne tossing out your pontifications to the rest of humanity, an undeserving herd of mammals far beneath your station and so woefully inadequate in its collective knowledge as to barely deserve even the slightest recognition from the potentate of the plains.

I wonder...has anyone ever pulled back your curtain?

 

[sybarite]

As the Olympics approach, we hear of the glory of the original games and the purity of sport. The NCAA has always claimed a role as the protector of the integrity of sport and the welfare of the combatants. Yet, we really don't see a great deal of that idealism in sports as owners and players struggle for money, and ego displaces honor.

Then, there is the rise of women's sports which have become the sheperds of the hopes of sport as the founders cooperated in order to build an identity within a hostile world. Most of the followers of women's sport do not follow it because it represents the best in athletic achievement, but rather the best of human endeavor.

It is the University of Oklahoma program that has risen above the mediocre to define what has always been supposedly true of sport. It is an attempt to stand for something more than just a gambit for wins and losses, but rather an aspiration of what sport and man should be. While some aspects of sport stuggle for money and ego, the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team has used its efforts to build homes for Habitat for Humanity, to minister and comfort the ill children in the area, and spent its summers helping to rebuild the ravages of Haiti. While others seek to rule what is, the University of Oklahoma program has sought to search for what the best within us can be.

While some have coaches which may embarass the program, the University of Oklahoma has a coach who paints word pictures of the human existence and the search for an excellence of spirit. The broad brush strokes upon the canvas that is her program are as identifiable as the forceful strokes of Van Gogh, leaving no doubt as to meaning or of intent. Whatever a student-athlete accomplishes during her journey, she will become a part of that portrait of the pride of human existence. Rather than a collector of points and rebounds, she will learn to leave her imprint on the canvases of life with brushstrokes that she learned while at the University of Oklahoma.

When we look behind the curtain of the program, we can only be proud. As the coach says, we will get those who we should get. Some have demonstrated that they don't fit well in the portrait, and they have moved on, usually not because of points and rebounds, but because they just didn't fit within the portrait. It is something worthy of a university, that defines what a university should be, the search for higher levels of existence.

The program is respected because it endeavors to be what we have always claimed that sport should be. The portrait may get us to the Sweet Sixteen or the Final Four. But, more important are those victories that are won after the season is over and life begins.

 

[Three toe]

As the Olympics approach, we hear of the glory of the original games and the purity of sport. The NCAA has always claimed a role as the protector of the integrity of sport and the welfare of the combatants. Yet, we really don't see a great deal of that idealism in sports as owners and players struggle for money, and ego displaces honor.

Then, there is the rise of women's sports which have become the sheperds of the hopes of sport as the founders cooperated in order to build an identity within a hostile world. Most of the followers of women's sport do not follow it because it represents the best in athletic achievement, but rather the best of human endeavor.

It is the University of Oklahoma program that has risen above the mediocre to define what has always been supposedly true of sport. It is an attempt to stand for something more than just a gambit for wins and losses, but rather an aspiration of what sport and man should be. While some aspects of sport stuggle for money and ego, the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team has used its efforts to build homes for Habitat for Humanity, to minister and comfort the ill children in the area, and spent its summers helping to rebuild the ravages of Haiti. While others seek to rule what is, the University of Oklahoma program has sought to search for what the best within us can be.

While some have coaches which may embarass the program, the University of Oklahoma has a coach who paints word pictures of the human existence and the search for an excellence of spirit. The broad brush strokes upon the canvas that is her program are as identifiable as the forceful strokes of Van Gogh, leaving no doubt as to meaning or of intent. Whatever a student-athlete accomplishes during her journey, she will become a part of that portrait of the pride of human existence. Rather than a collector of points and rebounds, she will learn to leave her imprint on the canvases of life with brushstrokes that she learned while at the University of Oklahoma.

When we look behind the curtain of the program, we can only be proud. As the coach says, we will get those who we should get. Some have demonstrated that they don't fit well in the portrait, and they have moved on, usually not because of points and rebounds, but because they just didn't fit within the portrait. It is something worthy of a university, that defines what a university should be, the search for higher levels of existence.

The program is respected because it endeavors to be what we have always claimed that sport should be. The portrait may get us to the Sweet Sixteen or the Final Four. But, more important are those victories that are won after the season is over and life begins.

What an excellent way to say what you did. The WBB progam is and should be much more than W/L record or whether there is a NC banner hanging in Lloyd Noble. Have wanted to approach this in a post but, had I done that, it would have been said woefully less effectively.

 

[gosooner2]

Very well written Syb, perhaps you should collaborate with Sherri on her next piece. My only though is perhaps this part does not belong here.

"Some have demonstrated that they don't fit well in the portrait, and they have moved on, usually not because of points and rebounds, but because they just didn't fit within the portrait."

Sounds very pretentious and discriminatory to me.

 

[SoonerNorm]

While I'm very proud of the program, I think you can have coaches, staff, and players who represent the university and state very well and win championships too. They are not mutually exclusive.

 

[soonerstar]

You are 100% correct, Norm. As for the statement Coale makes about getting only the players she is supposed to get, I have always looked at it as her making excuses for not closing the deal with the players she was recruiting and did not get.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Very well written Syb, perhaps you should collaborate with Sherri on her next piece. My only though is perhaps this part does not belong here.

"Some have demonstrated that they don't fit well in the portrait, and they have moved on, usually not because of points and rebounds, but because they just didn't fit within the portrait."

Sounds very pretentious and discriminatory to me.

My daughter started playing basketball in 3rd grade and played through her first year of high school. There were 2 middle schools that fed into the high school. When her older sister went to high school, we started hearing horror stories about the girls who were the same age as my younger daughter at the other middle school. Basically, it was a group of girls who weren't 'team players' - never had been taught to be - and all they cared about was how they played - how many points they scored and they bickered and fought constantly. Fast forward to her freshman year in high school. My daughter injured her knee early in the season and missed the rest of the year. After her knee was scoped and rehabbed she said she didn't want to play any more. She had watched the girls on the team bicker and fight through the whole season and playing with those girls just wouldn't be fun.

You could say that my daughter didn't fit within that group portrait. The rest of the team didn't see anything unusual about their behavior. It had been that way since they started playing ball and no one had ever tried to change it. You could say she didn't fit w/in their portrait or team culture but it wasn't discriminatory. It was just a decision she made.

 

[MsProudSooner]

You are 100% correct, Norm. As for the statement Coale makes about getting only the players she is supposed to get, I have always looked at it as her making excuses for not closing the deal with the players she was recruiting and did not get.

No coach can afford to waste time worrying about players they didn't get. At the end of the day, all they can do is give the player all the information about their program and the role they see that player filling. That's all you have control over as a coach. You have no control over whatever personal priorities the player and her family have made for themselves. You have no control over whatever negative recruiting other teams might engage in. If they don't choose you, you have to move on. It's kind of like falling in love. You can't make someone else love you, no matter how hard you try. You can't make some players want to come to your school, no matter how hard you try. That's what getting the players you are supposed to get means to me.

 

[SoonerNorm]

No coach can afford to waste time worrying about players they didn't get. At the end of the day, all they can do is give the player all the information about their program and the role they see that player filling. That's all you have control over as a coach. You have no control over whatever personal priorities the player and her family have made for themselves. You have no control over whatever negative recruiting other teams might engage in. If they don't choose you, you have to move on. It's kind of like falling in love. You can't make someone else love you, no matter how hard you try. You can't make some players want to come to your school, no matter how hard you try. That's what getting the players you are supposed to get means to me.

If Sherri intended her comments the way you have interpreted them, that is understandable but, it would seem that any coach in America could say the same thing. To me, it always sounded like Sherri meant that "destiny" somehow played a role and, like Soonerstar, I never understood that.

 

[MsProudSooner]

If Sherri intended her comments the way you have interpreted them, that is understandable but, it would seem that any coach in America could say the same thing. To me, it always sounded like Sherri meant that "destiny" somehow played a role and, like Soonerstar, I never understood that.

Since we don't follow every team in America, we can't be sure that other coaches don't say the same thing, can we?

 

[BanjoCharley]

If we win the games we're supposed to win is that destiny? No.

 

[SoonerNorm]

If we win the games we're supposed to win is that destiny? No.

For those who believe in destiny, I think that is exactly what they believe...you win the games you're supposed to win. You get the players you're supposed to get...you win the games you're supposed to win. It appears to be the same to me but, keep in mind, I don't believe in destiny so I can't be sure how they think.