CBI Spy

My lawn has morphed into Oklahoma's official Taraxacum officinale habitat, the common dandelion. Each year I battle the "pretty yellow flowers" as my kid affectionately refers to them. Each spring they come back in full force.

The crux of my column won't revolve around personal yard battles. You won't hear me complain about my neighbor's cat continually dumping in my garden. $#!@ happens.

Instead, we'll explore some of the ongoings that have launched us into our summer sports.

The University of Tulsa captured the inaugural College Basketball Invitational or CBI for short. This is a divisive topic.

On one hand you have the "blah blah" faction who asks what the hell is the CBI? The tourney crowned the Golden Hurricane as the 98th best team in the country.

TU paid $60,000 to host the contest. Extortion? We witnessed five additional home games thanks to the CBI. Excellent crowds to boot.

The glass-half-full says the trophy propelled TU back to relevance again. The home crowds were rockin' the Reynolds.

Tulsa loves a winner. The CBI provided Coach Doug Wojick the opportunity to inject the city with some meaningful wins. His team delivered with top-flight hoops action.

Can the program build off of the momentum for next season? Will the crowds return in full force when TU takes to the court against Marshall or UTEP?

Speaking of Tulsa basketball, how about the perennial C-USA bully Memphis Tigers? Not too bad eh?

UCLA, Texas, Michigan State and Tulsa.

Perhaps now the rest of the country will take C-USA serious. The Tigers ran amuck through the conference schedule. Experts chalk it up to C-USA being a weakling. Now that the Tigers have pummeled some of the nations powerhouses, will C-USA garner some dap?

Un-Stillwaters

How can I expound on college basketball without a little knowledge on the "Days of our Lives" drama down in Stillwater. Sean Sutton 'resigned' from his post at OSU.

At least T. Boone U is paying him a nice sum of money to lie about quitting. Bill Self, Bob Knight, Larry Brown, Billy Gillespie. You have to admire the names being bandied about for the head coaching vacancy. I hope it's a quick process for my man Jimmie T's sake. I hope Bill Self turns them down for my sake.

You know what scares me? Not the possibility that I'll one day set mouse traps in my garden to snap the paw of the annoying black cat. No. I fear for the day I am hoodwinked by a coach.

If you read or listen to the local media, they have a collective man-crush on Bill Self. They are afraid to give an honest critique when he failed to advance the Jayhawks in past years.

I love Doug Wojcik. He is friendly, smart, accommodating and treats his peers with respect. What's not to love?

Does this mean I'll be unable to evaluate a poor performance by his team? Will I join the snuggle fest and thank him for his time when he bolts TU after advancing the Hurricane to the 2nd round of the NCAA next year?

Flying Start

Ok, seriously--no more college hoopla. At least we have the best NBA playoff season on the horizon since 1993. Oral Roberts is college baseball in these parts.

Coach Rob Walton's crew is to Summit League baseball what Memphis Tigers basketball is to C-USA. They own it. Just like that nasty cat owns my whiskey barrels.

The Golden Eagles are in the midst of a 10-year regular season conference and tournament title championship run. This dates back to the Mid-Con Conference. I believe the Internet term is PNWND.

They are off to another flying start. Just fewer than 600 patrons watch each home contest.

The team's aggregate batting average is .298 while holding the opponent to a .266 average. The Eagles knocked 22 homeruns to date. Their record is 20-7(3-0) to start the season.

The Eagles slice up conference foes at the same rate a Jedi dispatches battle droids with a light saber. How can Coach Walton prepare his troops for the inevitable trip to the NCAA Regionals and step up in competition?

Play a pre-conference schedule with the likes of Baylor, Pepperdine, Wichita State and Texas. Can Oral Roberts burst into a Super Regional and then the College World Series?

Local non-major league teams. The Tulsa Oilers finished the season one spot out of the Northeast division's cellar. You can buy your seats for upcoming campaign in the BOK Center next season at www.tulsaoilers.com.

The Drillers were swept in their season opening series. We'd direct you to their Web site for ticket information but someone forgot to pay the bill. The www.tulsadrillers.com domain is currently up for sale according to Network Solutions. Nice. It may be up and operational by the time we go to print.

Our b-ballin' 66ers play two road games to close out the season. Unless the division leading Austin Toros are caught with vials of HGH, illegal immigrants working as ball boys or suitcases filled with dead hookers, the 66ers will miss the playoffs once again. Visit www.tulsa66ers.com for more information about the team.

The Talons continue to soar. They are on a 10-game winning streak dating back to last year.

The Talons have outscored their first two opponents by a combined score of 134-41. Business should pick up next week as they travel to Arkansas to face the pesky Twisters. The following week is a home clash with the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. Visit www.tulsatalons.com for ticketing information.

If you're all sported out, feel free to stop by my house. We can tame the dandelions or plot against the one cat given free roam throughout the neighborhood.