The Morning Fade – 3.7.11

First of all, a special congratulations from us at PFB to the Oklahoma State wrestling squad for winning their 10th of 15 Big 12 wrestling tournaments.

What They’re Saying
1. Incredible piece by Jimmie Tramel on Markel Brown – I love hearing these back stories, they give substance to these athletes’ lives we think we understand because we watch them run and jump for four hours a week. (Tulsa World)

2. From the “least surprising news of the day” category – Ray Penn has decided to transfer. I think we were all pretty sure this was coming. It does open up the point guard race for next year a little more. You have the the contender in Fred Gulley, the quasi-incumbent in Reger Dowell, and (hopefully) the newcomer in Cezar Guerrero. (News OK)

3. Berry Tramel on the decline of the state’s presence in the Big 12 tournament – (News OK)

4. Ford still excited about postseason play – I know this is terrible but reading this kind of makes me excited about the NIT (News OK)

5. Chatmon breaks down some of the positional battles for spring ball – I think I’m most excited about the Justin Gilbert Devin Hedgepeth dual for Andrew McGee’s spot. Of course, Justin Gilbert could be involved in an Angry Birds competition and I’d probably be interested in it. (News OK)

6. Conference All-Big 12 teams announced – Moses makes the third team and JPO makes the all-rookie team. It’s a minor miracle OSU swung that many accolades… (Big 12 Sports)

7. OSU wins DQ baseball tournament in Tuscon – Outscoring your three opponents 42-5 will usually constitute a tournament title. The Cowboys ran through Washington State (who we own in all sports) 13-2, South Alabama 13-1, and Minnesota 16-2. (okstate.com)

8. John Klein with some good work on Sean Sutton – He’s back coaching with Scott at ORU and seems to be getting his life back together. I can’t help but think of how many people would like to rewind back to 2005 and run the last six years all over again. (Tulsa World)

9. LeBryan Nash’s dreams were dashed on Saturday – And now the next game he plays will be to open the season in GIA later this year. (Dallas Morning News)

Quote to Note
Travis Ford, when asked about playing in the NIT,

You want us to quit? You’re only a failure if you quit.

You Don’t Want to Miss
Interesting story on NBA players taking naps in the New York Times. Lastly, Ohio State set an NCAA record yesterday.