Flagstaffsooner
7/8/2007, 10:12 AM
damn, happens every Sunday morning
Sorry my elec keeps going off.
The Collected Wisdom of Mike Treps
Interviewed by Bob Hersom
The Oklahoman
Mike Treps, 73, retired from the University of Oklahoma in 1998. The 1956 OU grad served the university for 27 years as director of media information, sports information director and assistant athletic director. He also spent many years as one of the voices of Sooners football on their radio broadcasts. The long-time Chicago Cubs fan still resides in Norman and is the RedHawks' official scorer.
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Baseball is my favorite sport because it's not in a hurry, there's no clock. You can take your time watching it. You can decipher it. You can cut it to pieces. You can inspect it. You can have fun with it, whereas in football and basketball, as much as I love those sports, it's hurry, hurry, hurry. You've got a clock to beat and there's really no time to visit.
When I was a small boy in Chicago, my dad took me to a Cubs game. This was in 1947, believe it or not, and I got hooked. The Cubs won 10-8 on a two-run homer in the ninth inning and I just was stunned... Since 1954, I think I've only missed five years of not seeing them play (live) somewhere.
To my way of thinking, the greatest OU football player was Lee Roy Selmon by far. He was so dominant at what he did that he was a presence just by himself.
I think Bud Wilkinson was not only the greatest coach in our history but has to be among the top five in all-time coaches in college football.
John Brooks and I made a great team. The fact that he and I worked together for so long, I think we were a popular team, too. We just fit. And more than that, we were friends off the field. We went to various social functions together and we just meshed. There was a great chemistry between John and I.
I certainly respect Bob Barry Sr. in every way. Our relationship off the field was very, very good, but the way he put it once is something agree with, and that is that we didn't make as good a team as John Brooks and I did.
John Blake was a disappointment, a terrible disappointment. I know that he wanted to be, as an OU alum, to come back and be the kind of guy that puts together national championships. But he just wasn't a very good fit for our program and as a result we went through some very hard times. You kind of feel sorry for him because I had no problem with John off the field. He was a fine person, but he probably wasn't ready to be a head coach.
Howard *************** was really a misfit. He came in here with an ego far beyond what most people have as far as what he was going to do with the university. It just never worked out, and he just didn't get a feel for what OU tradition was, never did. And as a result, when they started losing, people just didn't want to have any part of him. It was just a bad fit.
Barry Switzer is one of those kinds of people that you can't help but like. He is so gregarious off the field, and on the field, too. Our relationship was very, very good. We didn't run around together under any circumstances, but I can't remember any time that Barry and I had a disagreement to the point where it affected our relationship.
B elieve it or not, I've only met Bob Stoops twice. I was retiring just about the time he was coming in. The only two times I met him, I was very, very impressed. Now, as a fan and as an alum, you have to really appreciate what he has done. I think he's the closest to Bud Wilkinson since Bud was here.
Gary Gibbs came into a situation where he just didn't win enough. And I think Gary's personality mitigated against him to some extent. He just was kind of aloof. He had a great mind and was a great coach, but he was one of those people like Gomer Jones years ago who just probably wasn't meant to be a head coach. Merv Johnson is the top of the line. I think people, when they see Merv Johnson, have to feel a little bit sorry for him because he deserved to be a head coach. He was a great assistant here and he was a great assistant everywhere he went. He deserved to be a head coach, but somehow that just passed him by for whatever reason. But he's one of the top, most respected people that I've ever met and certainly a great friend. But he never got the shot that he deserved.
Sorry my elec keeps going off.
The Collected Wisdom of Mike Treps
Interviewed by Bob Hersom
The Oklahoman
Mike Treps, 73, retired from the University of Oklahoma in 1998. The 1956 OU grad served the university for 27 years as director of media information, sports information director and assistant athletic director. He also spent many years as one of the voices of Sooners football on their radio broadcasts. The long-time Chicago Cubs fan still resides in Norman and is the RedHawks' official scorer.
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Baseball is my favorite sport because it's not in a hurry, there's no clock. You can take your time watching it. You can decipher it. You can cut it to pieces. You can inspect it. You can have fun with it, whereas in football and basketball, as much as I love those sports, it's hurry, hurry, hurry. You've got a clock to beat and there's really no time to visit.
When I was a small boy in Chicago, my dad took me to a Cubs game. This was in 1947, believe it or not, and I got hooked. The Cubs won 10-8 on a two-run homer in the ninth inning and I just was stunned... Since 1954, I think I've only missed five years of not seeing them play (live) somewhere.
To my way of thinking, the greatest OU football player was Lee Roy Selmon by far. He was so dominant at what he did that he was a presence just by himself.
I think Bud Wilkinson was not only the greatest coach in our history but has to be among the top five in all-time coaches in college football.
John Brooks and I made a great team. The fact that he and I worked together for so long, I think we were a popular team, too. We just fit. And more than that, we were friends off the field. We went to various social functions together and we just meshed. There was a great chemistry between John and I.
I certainly respect Bob Barry Sr. in every way. Our relationship off the field was very, very good, but the way he put it once is something agree with, and that is that we didn't make as good a team as John Brooks and I did.
John Blake was a disappointment, a terrible disappointment. I know that he wanted to be, as an OU alum, to come back and be the kind of guy that puts together national championships. But he just wasn't a very good fit for our program and as a result we went through some very hard times. You kind of feel sorry for him because I had no problem with John off the field. He was a fine person, but he probably wasn't ready to be a head coach.
Howard *************** was really a misfit. He came in here with an ego far beyond what most people have as far as what he was going to do with the university. It just never worked out, and he just didn't get a feel for what OU tradition was, never did. And as a result, when they started losing, people just didn't want to have any part of him. It was just a bad fit.
Barry Switzer is one of those kinds of people that you can't help but like. He is so gregarious off the field, and on the field, too. Our relationship was very, very good. We didn't run around together under any circumstances, but I can't remember any time that Barry and I had a disagreement to the point where it affected our relationship.
B elieve it or not, I've only met Bob Stoops twice. I was retiring just about the time he was coming in. The only two times I met him, I was very, very impressed. Now, as a fan and as an alum, you have to really appreciate what he has done. I think he's the closest to Bud Wilkinson since Bud was here.
Gary Gibbs came into a situation where he just didn't win enough. And I think Gary's personality mitigated against him to some extent. He just was kind of aloof. He had a great mind and was a great coach, but he was one of those people like Gomer Jones years ago who just probably wasn't meant to be a head coach. Merv Johnson is the top of the line. I think people, when they see Merv Johnson, have to feel a little bit sorry for him because he deserved to be a head coach. He was a great assistant here and he was a great assistant everywhere he went. He deserved to be a head coach, but somehow that just passed him by for whatever reason. But he's one of the top, most respected people that I've ever met and certainly a great friend. But he never got the shot that he deserved.