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If you are a fellow Sooner fan, you still feel awful after Saturday’s loss to BYU in Dallas. All the high hopes of the 2009 season have greatly been tainted by the result, even though all is not lost for experiencing success this year.

The biggest flaw in OU’s performance was obvious to anybody who watched the game. The offensive line was the culprit, committing multiple penalties from start to finish, on key drives and at critical moments. The lack of coverage led to quarterback Sam Bradford’s injury and prevented plays from developing.

Listening to Todd Blackledge’s commentary, I agree with his assessment of the Sooners’ formation schemes. Linemen, especially inexperienced ones, don’t like being down in the stance that long. It affects their psyche. They want to go to the line, snap the ball and execute.

I respect Bob Stoops, Kevin Wilson and the OU coaching staff. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the teams. I don’t have the familiarity of the personnel.

I was impressed with how well last year’s offensive squad performed in the no-huddle, hurry-up offense. I even remember the very first play last year against Chattanooga, sitting up in the north endzone stands and thinking aloud “Hey, they’re in a no-back formation. This is interesting.” And I continued to be impressed with how well Sam Bradford and his crew performed throughout the season.

I say this because I know the coaches are very capable of designing success. No way will I ever say I know more than Coach Stoops and staff. Blaming coaches and calling for their heads after a loss is pretty shallow.

I would like to offer a suggestion of revamping. Utilize huddles and quicker snaps once in formation. I do understand the desire to read defenses and prevent substitutions, but it appears the personnel lacks the experience to do this effectively, at least on every play.

Huddles would benefit both Landry Jones and the linemen, especially if Jones were to take snaps on the road. As I already said, linemen want to block and don’t want to be held at point. Since opponents are familiar with OU’s fast-break approach, I wonder if it would throw them off in reverse if the Sooners did huddle and hike the ball quicker than expected?

That is what I’m doing today. Will try and muster up some blogs worth reading soon…

My criteria include:

a) focus on the Christ Child and all His coming means;

b) whether it has stood the test of time (i.e. newer songs have the burden of proof; and

c) musical quality (though I realize many older hymns were later put to other tunes).

But first, honorable mentions include: Hallelujah! Chorus (I was recently told this was actually part of the Easter, not Christmas, portion of Handel’s Messiah); O Come All Ye Faithful, and Mary Did You Know?

The top five are:

5. What Child Is This? (I love the composer’s answer to his own question)

4. Away in a Manger (Children love this song and for good reason)

3. Silent Night (Is there any more serene song that this?)

2. O Holy Night (enough said)

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10. A Christmas Story (so many classic lines)

9. Frosty the Snowman (brings happiness even thinking about it)

8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (lovin’ the song)

7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the cartoon, not the Jim Carey)

6. Miracle on 34th Street (the black and white version, of course)

5. Ernest Saves Christmas (admit it, you like this one too)

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Having just finished the work, I estimate otherwise, and believe The Shack could more appropriately be called a pilgrims regression. Why do I say that?

First, while the work paints itself as fiction, it is clearly designed to contain teachings about the nature of God. And it is the author’s (mis)understanding about God—especially the Trinity—that presents the most problems. I do not think it spoils the plot to tell you that, amid a great tragedy, the protagonist meets the Father, Son and Holy Ghost in a remote shack, each of whom is a separate person. The Father (or “Papa” as He is called) manifests Himself as a large, African-American woman with somewhat lacking grammar. The Son, meanwhile, is presented as a sort of fuzzy teddy bear, and the Holy Ghost (also a woman) is nebulous and even apologizes at one point to “Mack,” the main character. There is also a dialogue in which the Holy Spirit is approvingly equated to the legendary American Indian’s Great Spirit.

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Here are the foremost social conservative politician’s thoughts are the current financial storm.

“Frankly, I’m disappointed and disgusted with my own Republican party as I watch them attempt to strong-arm a bailout of some of America’s biggest corporations by asking the taxpayers to suck up the staggering results of the hubris, greed, and arrogance of those who sought to make a quick buck by throwing the dice. They lost, but want the rest of us to cover their bets so they won’t be effected in their lavish lifestyles as they figure out how to spend their tens of millions and in some cases, hundreds of millions in bonuses and compensation which was their reward for not only sinking their companies, but basically doing the same to the entire American economy.”

Read the rest here.

John McCain and Barack Obama will be on stage for the first time in a live forum moderated by Pastor Rick Warren.

Tune in to CNN on Saturday night 7 p.m. (CST).

Any predictions on what questions Warren will ask?

Update: Well, did you get to watch the debate? If not, here are some hightlihghts. Rick Warren came through, as he brought up the most seminal policy debate in Amercia: the pro-life question. From all I can tell, McCain won over the audience and, in this blogger’s opinion, the forum.