Gundy burned by booth official's call
College replay: Know the rules

By Berry Tramel

Published: September 28, 2006

The Conference USA botching of the Oklahoma State-Houston replay is worse than you think.

When the league announced that replay official Banks Williams not only erred in overturning the Houston fumble but went against the rules of replay to do so, I immediately placed some blame on Cowboy coach Mike Gundy.

Gundy should know the rules. Turns out, he does.

Williams ruled that the forward progress of Houston's Jeron Harvey had been stopped before the fumble. But forward progress is not reviewable in regards to a fumble. Williams usurped his authority and drew a suspension.

But the on-field officials — who called the play correctly in the first place — did not heed the pleas of Gundy and his staff, who were claiming the play was not reviewable.

"We're on the field reminding them that this is something that's not reviewable," Gundy said. "The response is, ‘The guy in the booth has the last say.' So what are you going to do?"

Gundy doesn't claim to know the ins and outs of all the review rules. Says he never complains much "except when there's five guys behind me saying, ‘You can't review that play,' " Gundy said.

"So I tell them, ‘You can't review that play.' They chose to review it. Then they chose to overturn it. What was I going to do? I told them, ‘I think this is the wrong call.'

"I said before the season that this was going to happen because how does a guy up in the booth know his forward progress has been stopped?"

When not even the officials know the rules, it's time to scrap the system.

Cheers and jeers

• To Gary Gibbs' New Orleans defense. The Saints are a shocking 3-0, and Gibbs, in his maiden NFL season as a coordinator, is a big reason why. The Saints are fifth in the NFL in total defense, seventh in scoring defense.

• To Sue Enquist, the UCLA softball coach who this week announced her retirement. Enquist played on or coached 11 UCLA NCAA title teams. She brought attitude to the Women's College World Series, but she also always brought high praise for Oklahoma City, not to mention a heck of a team.

• To Ada lightning-rod Jeremy Shockey, who said "I'm a team person, I'm very team-oriented," after ripping the New York football Giant coaches for a 42-30 loss to Seattle. Hey, Jeremy, get behind 42-3, and everybody is to blame.

• To the criticism of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman. Europe won the Cup for the same reason teams have been winning athletic titles since the 19th century: better players.

Now or later: Bedlam football
Sept. 30, 2006, was the originally scheduled date for Bedlam football. Fox Sports Net moved the game to Thanksgiving Saturday.

Competitively, who benefits most from making OSU-OU a late-season, rather than an early season, affair?

Well, the Sooners get an off week before Texas, which might not be ideal but is better than having a snakepit game, which Stillwater is for Bedlam.

The Cowboys get two extra months to patch their obvious defensive holes. Houston senior Jackie Battle gained 108 yards, his second-best game ever, against OSU. Adrian Peterson's second-best Bedlam game is 237 yards.

Play this game Saturday, and it would be an offensive show, with Peterson the difference. I'd pick OU 44-24.

Play this game two months from now, and who knows how the teams will look?

The list: Big 12 North
The five most impressive performances by Big 12 North teams this season:

1. Colorado's 14-13 loss at Georgia: Don't count out the winless Buffs. They've reached four of the last five Big 12 title games. Somebody's got to win the North.

2. Nebraska's 56-0 rout of Troy: Troy led Florida State in the fourth quarter at Tallahassee.

3. Iowa State's 27-17 loss at Iowa: The gritty Cyclones were tied in the fourth quarter.

4. Missouri's 34-7 rout of Mississippi: The Rebels stink, but at least Mizzou rolled.

5. Kansas' 13-7 home victory over South Florida: I guess I should have stopped at four.

Owens soap opera: Many questions, few answers
You've got questions about Terrell Owens, I've got answers. Well, not answers, but opinions.

Was Owens trying to commit suicide? Is he depressed? No idea, but don't dismiss it. Owens has displayed classic signs of insecurity.

Was this an orchestrated ruse? Was Owens trying to get attention? Sounds far-fetched, but don't dismiss it. Owens craves the spotlight.

Who should we believe, the Dallas police who answered the call or Owens' publicist? Let's see. One is sworn to uphold the law, the other is paid to spin Owens' antics. You figure it out.

Did Bill Parcells come clean with us? Heck no. You think he learned about Owens mid-morning? Don't be silly. Parcells probably doesn't know what to believe, just like us, but he knows far more than he let on.

Is Parcells fed up with Owens? No way he couldn't be. Coaches go ballistic if someone is late to practice. But this, bringing the national media to Cowboy headquarters and turning Valley Ranch into a circus? Give Parcells the power, and he'd sail the rest of this season without Owens.

Will Owens be back in 2007? Not if Parcells is. Dallas could cut Owens without major penalty; the $5 million bonus he received is not a payroll-cap killer if the Cowboys have to eat it. One of these Dallas careers is going to the boneyard.

Home-field advantage: NFL road teams off to a fast start
The NFL traditionally has had a moderate home-field advantage. Not as pronounced as the NBA's; more reliable than baseball's.

Over the previous five years, NFL home-team winning percentages have ranged from .613 (2003) to .548 (2001).

But through three weeks of the NFL season, home teams are gasping. Road teams are 25-21. Are we seeing NFL teams adapt better on the road?

Probably not. What we're seeing is a bunch of bad teams that already have played two home games. Cleveland, Houston, Detroit and Green Bay all are 0-2 at home after three weeks. Tampa Bay is, too, but the Bucs figure to win some home games. Those others, don't count on too many.

By the way, the NFL home teams last season were 150-106, a winning percentage of .586. That was behind the NBA's .603 but ahead of baseball's .551.