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      Houston stuns No. 5 Oklahoma State 45-35

      September 12, 2009 /

      There’s always an interesting dynamic that happens in sports when a team has high expectations entering a season after overachieving the year before.

      Oklahoma State surprised a lot of people last year on its way to compiling a 9-3 record and making a trip to the Holiday Bowl (a 42-31 loss to Oregon). Entering this season, many pundits thought the Cowboys would contend in the Big 12 and those thoughts were confirmed after they waxed Georgia 24-10 last week.

      But the Cowboys learned a huge lesson today: They’re not going to sneak up on opponents like they did last year.

      Led by incredible junior quarterback Case Keenum, unranked Houston went into Stillwater on Saturday and knocked off No. 5 Oklahoma State 45-35. Keenum was 32 of 47 passing for 367 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed five times for 16 yards and a score.

      While they still racked up 35 points and 436 total yards, Oklahoma State’s offense struggled at times today and couldn’t overcome costly penalties and four turnovers. Signal caller Zac Robinson was 18 of 31 for 240 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted by Jamal Robinson, who took the gift 26 yards for a score with only 3:14 remaining in the game.

      OK State obviously still has a chance to win the Big 12 considering neither Georgia nor Houston were conference opponents. (Sam Bradford’s injury makes things a little more interesting in the conference as well.) But the Cowboys have issues on both sides of the ball, including being able to generate a consistent pass rush on defense and converting in the red zone offensively. OK State also lacked overall fundamentals today, which is why the Cowboys had so many dumb penalties and turned the ball over four times.

      The Cowboys certainly aren’t as bad as they played today against Houston. But considering the Cougars flat out took it to them, maybe Oklahoma State isn’t as good as everyone thought either.

      College Football

      Rafael Nadal gets smooched, advances

      September 12, 2009 /

      I didn’t say it was from a woman! How scary would it be to see some rambunctious fan storming at you, knowing what’s previously happened to Monica Seles? Still, once Nadal sensed the fan’s innocent yet homoerotic intentions, the talented Spaniard welcomed him with open arms. I heard these guys on the radio the other day — I forget which program — comparing Rafael Nadal to Alex Rodriguez, saying each is the most hated player in their respective sport. Are you kidding me? What’s not to like about Nadal? I think fans just don’t want to accept that, when 100 percent, he can beat Roger Federer on any surface.

      He’s played well thus far, recently defeating Fernando Gonzalez after two days of rain postponed the match.

      “I can’t tell you, because I don’t have the answer,” Gonzalez said when asked to explain his quick disintegration.

      Though Nadal’s sore abdominals are still a concern, he certainly wasn’t overtaxed in this match, as he headed into what could be a very long weekend.

      A match that had been a taut, well-played affair got postponed Thursday night with Nadal leading 3-2 in the second-set tiebreaker. They had to wait out an entire day of rain before coming back to the court to resume under overcast skies and temperatures in the 60s.

      Final numbers: 59 unforced errors for Gonzalez to 13 for Nadal; Nadal won 31 of the 43 points played after the restart. The whole affair took 34 minutes to wrap up.

      As of right now, the men’s semifinals are scheduled to take place on Sunday. Roger Federer will take on Novak Djokavic and Juan Martin del Potro will try his luck against Nadal. That is, of course, if the rain doesn’t push everything back to next year.

      Tennis

      Melanie Oudin’s success amidst her parents’ divorce

      September 12, 2009 /

      Oudin

      By now, most sports fans know about Melanie Oudin’s remarkable run at the U.S. Open. At just 17 years of age, the no. 70-ranked American defeated both Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva. Though she lost in the quarterfinals to Caroline Wozniacki, she’s been the most captivating athlete at the U.S. Open. Unfortunately, her success has been tainted by her parents’ pending divorce, driven by the mother’s affair with Oudin’s coach. Yikes.

      All the nice things about her remain accurate and worth saying.

      But once again, the adults have apparently found a way to wreck things for the kids.

      Before this became public, there would be no asterisks next to what Oudin achieved. No slants, few downsides. Just praise for hard work and a job well done, under great pressure on a very public stage.

      Parents going through a divorce is one thing. Tennis has that, just as in all walks of life. Rafael Nadal’s parents are going through that, and he is pretty much left alone to deal with it as he wants, despite the public nature of what he does.

      But when the charge is adultery and those charged are the mother and the coach, it’s just too juicy for the public to shrug and remember only backhands and forehands.

      To be honest, I don’t think either Oudin story has legs. The U.S. Open is the last Grand Slam on the tennis calendar. Obviously, Grand Slams receive the most coverage, so Oudin won’t garner our interest until the Australian Open in January. Every tennis fan loves a newfound success story, but Oudin will have to perform well in consecutive Grand Slams to really make her mark. With the tennis year coming to a close and Oudin keeping a low profile, this tripe about her parents’ divorce will naturally go away.

      Oudin’s story was great while it lasted — I just wished it was an unfamiliar American male showing up the big names instead. We already have the Williams sisters.

      Tennis

      LeFevour sets MAC record as Central Michigan shocks Michigan State

      September 12, 2009 /

      What’s a Saturday in college football without a great upset?

      Central Michigan, a 14.5-point underdog entering the game, went into East Lansing on Saturday and shocked Michigan State 29-27 in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

      After quarterback Dan LeFevour (who passed Byron Leftwich for the most yards of total offense in MAC history during the game) found teammate Paris Cotton on an 11-yard touchdown pass (in which Cotton made a great catch while keeping one foot in bounds along one of the sides of the end zone) to cut MSU’s lead to 27-26 with under a minute left to play, CMU head coach Butch Davis decided to go for the lead instead of kicking the extra point to attempt to push the game into overtime.

      If you’re a football fan, it’s hard not to love Davis’ decision. His MAC team was playing a Big Ten opponent in a tough environment and they had just seized all the momentum after the touchdown. Why not try to steal a victory on the road?

      But LeFevour’s two-point pass attempt failed as Antonio Brown caught the ball out of bounds and it appeared that Davis’ decision to go for two would cost the Chips an attempt at the win.

      But on the ensuing kickoff, CMU’s Andrew Aguila bounced a perfect onsides kick attempt over a Spartan player and Chippewa receiver Bryan Anderson recovered the ball. After LeFevour led CMU into field goal range, Aguila missed a 47-yarder but one of the MSU defenders had jumped offsides. Agulia didn’t miss his next attempt as he booted a 42-yarder to give the Chippewas a win.

      For a CMU team trying to prove that they belong in the top 25, this was a huge win. Granted, they lost last week 19-6 on the road at Arizona, but beating Michigan State in East Lansing will definitely turn some heads. It’ll be interesting to see if the Chippewas can break into the rankings at some point this season.

      LeFevour, who is incredibly fun to watch, and the Chippewas could wind up being a nice story by the end of the year.

      College Football

      Mikey’s MLB Power Rankings

      September 12, 2009 /

      As far as the Yankees and Cardinals are concerned, they are on a collision course for the World Series, as they are putting large amounts of distance between themselves and their closest competitors. The Braves, Cubs, Marlins and Giants are losing hope in the NL, while the Rays, Mariners and Twins are losing it in the AL. Time is just running out and is on the side of those out in front. We also had some changes in this week’s rankings, with the Phillies dropping and the Rockies and some other teams climbing.

      1. New York Yankees (91-51)—Seriously, does this team have an off-switch lately? Their fans had better hope it doesn’t get flicked on in October. And Derek Jeter now leads a pretty awesome list of company for the team hits lead.

      2. St. Louis Cardinals (84-58)—On freaking fire, and Albert Pujols is closing in on 50 homers.

      3. Los Angeles Angels (85-55)—With a 5.5-game lead, the Angels are breathing just a bit easier, but they can’t feel good about a likely match up with the Red Sox again.

      4. Los Angeles Dodgers (84-58)—Barely hanging on to the NL West lead, but still in front by 2 games. The question is, do they want to face the Phillies or red-hot Cards in the first round?

      5. Boston Red Sox (81-58)—They are not able to keep the pesky Rangers away, and Red Sox nation is a few weeks away from breathing easy, if they even hang on at all.

      6. Colorado Rockies (82-60)—Nine out of ten wins and the Rockies are no longer thinking just wild card. But would they keep it up in October?

      7. Texas Rangers (79-60)—The way they are chasing the Red Sox puts them just a notch above struggling Philly.

      8. Philadelphia Phillies (80-59)—A 6-game lead over Florida is fairly comfortable, but the Phils are not playing good baseball. Can they find their stroke in October?

      9. Detroit Tigers (75-65)—Only a total collapse would keep the Tigers from a postseason berth now, but just ask the Mets if that can’t happen.

      10. San Francisco Giants (76-65)—Mediocre ball in September will not help this team catch the Rockies and Dodgers.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, MLB

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