THE CRIMSON PIGSKIN e-LETTER
COUNTER SHINE
"It might be neat if strawberries, banana , blueberries, milk and ice were added to the blender. That could make a good smoothie!" A few minutes later, the eleven year-old had indeed made a vessel of fine looking smoothie.
"Here's a sample" she said with pride. The concoction tasted very good. It's tough to beat the flavors nature intended, fresh fruit, milk and crushed ice hurtled into each other at speeds which crush each ingredient into unrecognizable fragments and creates uniform smooth mixture. This stuff should be called a smoothie.
The only truly recognizable elements were a few strawberry seeds and a lovely purple tint, obviously a result of diffused blueberry juice. "Do you like it?" she beamed. "Yes! This is the perfect smoothie."
How exactly the samples had been obtained was not certain but upon return to the blender, the plastic pitcher was twisted off its stand and lifted above the machine, displacing it from contact with the seal which is to contain mixtures such as smoothies inside. This quick movement created a trapdoor effect and ALL of the liberated contents began to expand over the entire surface of the blender, the counter top beneath and like a little purple volcano, the delicious substance oozed all around into ever cranny on the counter.
Some of the oozing stuff (Couldn't really call it a smoothie at this stage of the game.) crept under the edge of the sink and dropped into a cleverly placed bucket. The cleaning people had obviously had this happen before. A scramble for paper towels began.
Once the lava was under control, it couldn't help but be noticed the countertop hadn't been shinier! And, home improvement types, the substance effectively stained the "stainless" steel sink with a nice dark bluish purple coloration, like an acid washed concrete floor. Scrubbing that sink with a pot-scrubber wouldn't remove it.
The smoothie looked great but in the end, shiny counters, spill-free operation of a blender and sink staining a stainless material were the valuable rewards of sacrificing the ingredients and the time to return the area to some semblance of order. The smoothie incident wouldn't slow our heroes one bit. There was too much fun to be had. Next year, maybe the other sink gets it!
SAM THE MAN
Who could blame Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford if he foregoes not only his senior year but also his junior year at OU and leaps at the chance to be the number one pick in this year's National Football League draft? If everything pans out as it appears, Bradford could be the next quarterback of the Detroit Lions. The Lions were 0-16 this season so there they're terrible but there will also be a new coach for Detroit this fall which means he could get a shot at rebuilding a franchise which has been decent a number of times over the years, mostly thanks to Oklahoma State's retired Barry Sanders. Yeah, fall is cold in Michigan but all the ball is played indoors.
What else does Bradford have to prove at the collegiate level? Nothing. He has already won a Heisman Trophy as a sophomore and passed Oklahoma's way into the national title game behind an offensive line NFL scouts are salivating over. Win or lose a week from Thursday, Bradford has done everything he can for OU and his own prospects for that matter. Staying to attempt to win a national title could be a rough proposition since an offensive line like the one he currently hides behind won't be recurring during his stay in Norman.
Now if somewhere in that heart of his, Bradford can justify turning down being the top pick in the draft, millions of guaranteed dollars and what Indiana Jones calls "fortune and glory" then fans at Oklahoma will be able to see him one more year. After that he's outtey!
This raises a question about fans' willingness to watch a great NFL prospect quarterback play not to get hurt (The name Adrian Peterson comes to mind.) just so he can get a "better deal" at the end of his junior season? Repeating: Heisman, national title game, 1st pick in the draft. There is no better deal. Not next year, not the year after, not ever.
A few short years ago, college football fans had the privilege of seeing players develop and the comfort of knowing who would be on the roster the next season. The fun of watching a Billy Sims win a Heisman and return for a senior campaign, full strength and as breathtaking as ever on the field, is a pleasant and distant memory in the current age of early exit to the pros.
CPEL has stated before, this is one of the things wrong with college football, a sport which is becoming more and more like college hoops, with sophomores going out early. This fall, Sooner fans will pay ever increasing ticket prices and show up in droves to support their team and its quarterback after two years of seeing one of the greatest qb's OU's ever had. Now this is not to say OU quarterback's coach Josh Heupel couldn't help shape up another candidate by late August but Sam's the man of the year and as much as fans would love to see at least one more year of excellence, if the quarterback's jersey has Bradford on the back of it next season,…he needs to prepare for early entry into the Heisman Trophy winner's autograph tour.
MALZAHN MOVES,…AGAIN
Tulsa co-offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn, has decided to become offensive coordinator at Auburn. Earlier there had been some talk of TU's head coach Todd Graham bolting for Auburn but when that did not materialize, Auburn hired Gene Chizik from Iowa State. Chizik in turn had plucked Malzahn from the artistry which has become the Hurricane's GMAC Bowl season finale. Graham doesn't anticipate missing a beat on offense headed into Tuesday's game against Ball State in Mobile, Alabama.
OKLAHOMA STATE
This leads us to tonight's unpleasantries. Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti compared Oklahoma State to USC on the news last night. He said "USC has a great defense. They have a great offense". Notice any coach-speak in there? This game is against a PAC-10 opponent an the San Diego, California venue is right up their alley. In addition to the program's penchant for controversy in recent years, the Holiday Bowl is the Ducks' home away from home.
Oklahoma State may be the better team. Certainly on offense, they are as good as anyone. "The better team," as Barry Switzer always maintained in big games "doesn't always win." The Cowboys need to make sure they don't become deflated by some good ol' hometown West coast officiating or other distractions. Is there a Sooner fan out there who isn't whispering, "It could happen."?
Reportedly, Oregon enters the game reasonably healthy with something to prove. Since they were dismantled by Southern Cal and didn't get to jump on the PAC-10 title like it was a Junebug, they have a little chip on their feathers entering this particular contest. To them the opponent is not relevant. They will see USC out there. They are a good team or they wouldn't have been sent to the Holiday Bowl to begin with, especially to face the Pokes from the Big 12, a conference the PAC-10 has strong feelings for. And they're not all good ones.
Donald, Daffy et al have a history of being prepared for their San Diego appearances and also have the ability to put up a lot of points in a hurry so they can never be counted out until the game is over. It will be much easier not to change channels if Oregon trainers packed the blue-green-blue again color shifting helmets. They're one of the most aesthetic trademarks in college football.
In any event, tonight is a night of firsts. These programs have never met on the gridiron. OSU's arena league uniforms meet NFL Europe's Oregon Duck garb. The good guys in the white hats ride out to meet up with a band of notorious quacking waterfowl. ORANGE POWER meets YELL-OW. Lets just hope the game is decided by players and coaches and the guys with the little YELL-OW hankies keep their noses out of it. Probably not. One of the classic bowl match-ups of this post-season. Oregon 31, Oklahoma State 28.
More later,…
Thanks for reading. Enjoy tonight's game and have a very Happy New Year!!!
Carlos
www.crimsonpigskin.com
THE CRIMSON PIGSKIN e-LETTER
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