Posted on Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 09:13:44 AM EST in College
More on: Chip Heuser, Oklahoma, pole vault, injury, ouch (all tags)

Who said pole vaulters were weenies? Obviously, they haven't heard about Chip Heuser from the Oklahoma Sooners. Don't let the fact that he wears a dorky helmet nowadays fool ya, this guy is an animal, cheating death on numerous occasions after taking a 16-foot plunge and landing head first following an errant vault six months ago. We'll let him explain.

Chip Heuser: Funny thing about it, it was actually Halloween.

Jenni Carlson: No trick, no treat.

CH: Definitely not. I tricked myself into this one. We were doing a drill. It was a drill simulating the vault in the air called rope vaulting. The set-up we have requires an extra mat behind the pit itself just in case you carry too much momentum and overshoot the pit.

So, of course, you probably know what I did. Forgot the mat. Overshot the pit. Landed from about 16 feet in the air directly on my skull. Fractured my occipital bone, had a contrecoup injury, damage to my poles. Was in the ICU about seven days, was released, then had a seizure and was put back in the ICU for another three days.

JC: Oh, geez.

CH: I had some hemorrhaging ... but luckily, they didn't have to operate. If they would've operated, I would not be vaulting. I'm forced to wear a helmet now when I jump, but it doesn't keep me from wanting to jump again. ...

JC: After you were released from the hospital, you had a seizure?

CH: I was in the ICU seven days, released, then the next morning after the release, I suffered the seizure and went right back in the hospital. It was bad.

JC: It's a miracle you're here.

CH: They lost me once right after the initial impact. Then they lost me twice after the seizure in the ambulance.

JC: You essentially died three times. How do you even process something like that?

CH: The funny thing about it is I don't recall much.

You should be proud of yourself Chip, not only are you alive, but you made it onto our blog. That's quite an accomplishment. We haven't even looked in the general direction of another pole vaulter since we discovered Miss Stokke.

Links:
[NewsOK.com]: The Q&A: Chip Heuser: Oklahoma pole vaulter back after 16-foot fall

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Posted on Mon Oct 15, 2007 at 12:27:37 PM EST in College
More on: ESPN, College GameDay, video, Oklahoma, signs, funny (all tags)

The College GameDay crew made their way to Norman on Saturday to take in the Oklahoma/Missouri game first hand. Needless to say, the signs were aplenty and not all of `em were all that nice.

Considering that GameDay comes to our living rooms live every Saturday morning, ESPN has to be careful to monitor the sea of poster board behind the set to make sure that nothing too wild goes beaming out to the throngs. Thanks to Blake Jackson of NewsOK.com, we now have a better idea of exactly what we can and can't get away with.

Apparently, when you're in Oklahoma, life-size cutout of Bob Stoops and Sherri Coale are cool. So are the multitudes of "We (heart) Herbie" signs. You know, the only member of ESPN your girlfriend can name besides Jesse Palmer.

But, then you've got the stuff that Jackson found behind the stage. These are the types of signs that ESPN hired guns plucked from the crowd, never to be seen on-air.

Chase Daniel eats boogers."

"Missouri loves company."

"Chase Daniel. Hungry? Why wait?"

Several signs parodied Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's recent tirade toward Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson:

One read, "Lee Corso is twice the man Mike Gundy is. He's 80!" Another, "Curtis Lofton, he's a man. He's No. 40.

But our absolute unseen favorite has to be the one that had a giant picture of Lou Holtz with the phrase "Thoonerth" printed over his head. (Think about it for a second.)

Don't fret though, we learned from Lou himself that even if the GameDay thugs rip that sign into a million little pieces, belief in ourselves can put it back together.

Links:
[NewsOK.com]: Fans unveil a bevy of posters

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Posted on Wed Feb 07, 2007 at 10:43:43 AM EST in College
More on: college football, Oregon, Oklahoma, Pac-10, referees (all tags)

The Pac-10 replay official who blew one of the most obvious calls in college history has been relieved of his duties. Gordon Reise ruled that the Ducks had recovered an onside kick even though the replay clearly shows #23 of the Sooners walking away with the ball. We can understand how an official on the field would miss it but how can a replay official be so stupid? Well, finally some accountability for a ref as Reise gets the axe. This doesn't help the Sooners get back that 34-33 loss but at least the NCAA is willing to admit a mistake.

On another note, the Super Bowl this year was controversy free. (Well, except for the ridiculous controversy about Prince's guitar. Gee.. the guitar is like a huge penis? really?) The refs did their job and we aren't debating days afterward on whether a correct call was made. As far as we know, every single call in the Super Bowl was correct.

Links:
[Fox 23]: Official in booth for Oregon-Oklahoma loses replay booth job

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