Daily Bullets (March 17)

Merry Sports Christmas day. Also, shout out to my dude Bryan Jackson on his new baby. 

Travis Ford news

Some theories about why Travis Ford hasn’t been fired yet. [NewsOK]

Lon Kruger vs. Travis Ford is not pretty. [PFB]

The Ford-OSU marriage doesn’t have to end. [Stillwater NewsPress]

Hoops News

Jim Littell on OSU’s tourney appearance this year: “To go to our fourth-straight NCAA Tournament, it’s a proud moment for our program.” [NewsOK]

Not sure why this made me laugh.

Durant on Marcus Smart guarding him: "I had a mini on me and I just had to try and take advantage of it."

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 17, 2016

Wrestling News

John Smith: “If [Alex Dieringer] finishes out his career on top he’s going to be one of the top five wrestlers ever to wrestle here. Period. Some guys don’t like to hear that stuff. Well, guys that don’t like to hear that stuff are not going to be considered one of the five best. He embraces it.” Wow. [NewsOK]

Everything you need to know about the NCAAs. [okstate]

Absent from the throne room for 10 years, the second-ranked Cowboys hope to climb past No. 1 Penn State and take a record 35th title back to Stillwater. But the Nittany Lions have won four of the past five team championships and are 20-point favorites, according to points projections from seedings. [Tulsa World]

Photos from NYC. [okstate]

NCAA Tourney

Last chance to get in our PFB bracket challenge. Password: BringDougHome. [CBS]

All seven Big 12 teams in the tournament will be wearing white — all are seeded at least eighth or better. The average seed of Big 12 teams is 4.1, a league record. With all that said, question marks abound for the Big 12. The league has not performed well in the NCAA Tournament. [NewsOK]

Mascot madness. We seeded all the live animal mascots at CBS. War Eagle as a No. 3 seed is an abomination. [CBS]

Obama has KU over Carolina. [Yahoo]

Better days … and no better song in sports.

Football News

During the past two seasons, Oklahoma State running backs have averaged 1.76 yards per carry after contact according to ESPN Stats and Information. By comparison, the average for a Power 5 running back was 1.98 yards per carry after contact. Quite simply, Oklahoma State’s running backs haven’t been the big play, tackle-breaking playmakers that the Cowboys offense has been craving. [ESPN]

Mike Gundy, Urban Meyer and the crootin process. [PFB]

Ed O’Bannon is trying to take his case to the Supreme Court? [CBS]

Kirby Hocutt on his new role in the CFB Playoff. [CBS]

Jakeem Grant ran a 4.1! [Big Lead]

Robert Horry’s son is interested in Oklahoma State? How old am I?! [PFB]