Habitual Habits

Habits are formed early in life. Some are good and some... not so much. They can define you as a person while other rituals are more whimsical in nature. In fact, you may not even realize you're following a predetermined routine.

Here is an example. Do you immediately turn to a favorite writer when you pick up a magazine or surf a Web site?

I toss out the daily paper unless it says Sports at the top. If I stumble upon a Playboy, I'm flipping directly to the centerfold. Golf Magazine, I'm hunting for David Feherty's column. ESPN the Magazine? The Sports Guy. You get the idea.

UTW? Cory Cheney's movie reviews. My spare time is rarely spent at the theaters. I find delight in his dismantling of current films. It pleasures me to know I am missing zilch. I also wonder what new words he'll use to describe a film that sucks. The "sucktitude factor," if you will.

I thought about mailing in this week's column. Then I remembered his lambasting of Semi-Pro, the latest Will Ferrell atrocity. He hammered the movie but I rented it anyway. I like Ferrell.

His movies are usually good for a belly laugh or three. Not this one.

Instead of offering little to no sports this week, I'll offer some. Let's be honest, this is the ABoT edition. In the meantime, here are a few sporty nuggets to chew on.

Bookin' the BOK

The BOK Center's booking committee is on fire. The acts are shaping up. The Eagles are coming. Not my cup of tea, but I heard from a friend that pot smoking is popular at their shows. Breakin' in the BOK in style.

Last week, the city held a presser to announce that the 2010 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship will take place at the BOK Center. Here is what it sounded like:

"We are very proud that C-USA has chosen the BOK Center in 2010. Securing the agreement early shows that our state-of-the-art arena will be the region's leading sports venue and that we will book other exciting national-scale athletic tournaments," said Mayor Kathy Taylor.

Love the passion. Hope she's right.

"The Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship will provide the Tulsa region with an estimated $4 million economic impact," said Mike Dodson, executive director, Tulsa Sports Commission. Let the games begin... in two years.

How about this year's highly anticipated college basketball showdown? The Big 12 and C-USA championship football games versus OU and TU pre-conference basketball game. No Mas.

The University of Tulsa and Oklahoma wised up and pushed the men's basketball contest back a day. The December 7 date takes place a day after the conference football championship games.

Need more B-ball? Don't forget the powers-that-be are bringing us the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic in a preseason tilt on October 13.

I say we kick these outsiders to the Expo Square Pavilion curb and bring the Oklahoma City To-Be-Named-At-A-Later-Date team to the Center. Makes sense, so it probably won't happen.

Visit www.BOKCenter.com for the latest in sports action heading to Tulsa. Of course you can keep picking up the paper your reading now for updates. We're good like that.

Chew on This

You know I'm addicted to MMA. Did you read about the fiasco in Arkansas last month?

The promise of cheap beer and hot chicks lured fight fans into Fort Smith's Convention Center. Instead of fist-pounding action, they witnessed two men strip and kiss in the middle of the action.

Sasha Baron Cohen, aka Borat, bamboozled the patrons for an upcoming film. I'm just throwing out the warning to my fellow Oklahomans. Don't be the butt of anyone's joke. If you buy a ticket to any event, make sure you know what you are in for.

Unknown promoters put on fight cards throughout northeastern Oklahoma. Some are up-and-coming promoters looking for a quick buck. Many of the established events developed name value. You know what you're getting. You've been warned.

Arena Update

The Talons signed veteran quarterback John Fitzgerald to replace the injured Justin Allgood. Fitzgerald played seven seasons in the AFL, af2's big brother. He also quarterbacked the Golden Hurricane in the collegiate career.

Replacing Allgood's stats is one thing; replacing his leadership is proving to be more difficult.

The Talons are on a two-game slide and look to finish strong with two remaining games on the regular season schedule. Both are on the road.

A word of advice to the team (because you know they care what I think): If you meet the Arkansas Twisters in the postseason, watch for the crossing route. Visit www.tulsatalons.com for upcoming playoff information.

This Week in the Minor League

Are the Drillers exhaling? Just a bit. However, it's still a tad early to say everything is smooth sailing from here.

At least the team is playing solid ball. A five-game win streak came to an end last week. They are sitting atop the Texas League North division.

The team is playing loose. The season is basically a wash for Tulsa fans. The master topic revolved around the downtown location of the proposed ballpark this season. Any postseason run by the Drillers is lagniappe. Check out www.tulsadrillers.com for more information.

Now, go check out the ABoT rundown. I'm guessing you didn't need my reminder.