Ripping the Sooners a New One

We have yet to hear from Rhett Bomar, the former Oklahoma quarterback whose "job" at Big Red Sports/Imports, helped get the Sooners into their latest trouble with the NCAA. But during a segment in April on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" Bomar appears genuinely sorry for his involvement, unlike his former teammate and partner in crime, J.D. Quinn.

As for what's left at Oklahoma, Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Gil Lebreton rips the Sooners a new one and says officials in Norman should simply accept the penalty rather than appeal. Lebreton says Oklahoma has yet to learn its lesson, despite this being the Sooners' seventh major infractions case, and writes that the problems in Norman go all the way to the top:

"OU President David Boren should have spared us the rhetoric Wednesday about erasing the Sooners’ eight 2005 victories. Boren said it wasn’t fair to 'the over 100 student-athletes and coaches who played by the rules.'

"This is the same administration, remember, that wanted Oklahoma’s loss at Oregon last season erased because somebody saw the fumble recovered on YouTube."

Lebreton also said Oklahoma was trying to cloud the facts of the case.

"Let’s clear up one misconception, however, popularly being dispensed by Oklahoma. The Sooners did not blow the whistle on themselves when they learned last year that two players, including quarterback Rhett Bomar, had been receiving payments for work they did not perform at a Norman, Okla., car dealer.

"As the NCAA’s own report said Wednesday, an anonymous e-mail simultaneously tipped off both the university and the NCAA infractions committee."

An anonymous email might have been cited as the reason the NCAA got involved at Oklahoma, but the mess involving the Sooners and Big Red was first "reported" on the site TexAgs.com. A user named aggiegrant06 posted a message detailing how his girlfriend handed out payroll checks for a car dealer in Norman. "She didn't recognize several of the names," aggiegrant06 wrote. "She thought it was fishy and asked me."

As Selena Roberts of the New York Times wrote, "The boyfriend knew the names in the blink of an instant message: They were football players at Oklahoma." (subscription).

Two hours later, the posting was pulled by an administrator at TexAgs.com because the information lacked sufficient evidence. But on Sunday, Texas A&M fans were thanking aggiegrant06 for erasing a 36-30 loss to Oklahoma from the record books.

Thanks to Greg for his help.