Appearantly the Oklahoma athletic department was as surprised as the rest of us when it was leaked yesterday that basketball coach Kelvin Sampson was leaving for Indiana. Some fans have met the news with glee, hoping AD Joe Castiglione will take this opportunity to find someone who is more offensive-minded than Sampson. Add to it an NCAA inquiry on improper phone calls to recruits, & it's needless to say their has been some grumbling.

But Sooners fans are probably most upset over underachieving. Expectations were high for the preseason top five team. In the end, OU struggled in February, lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament, then in the first round of the NCAA tourney.

Look, Sampson has been successful at OU. He's 279-109 in 12 seasons; Sampson has three Big 12 tourney titles & shared the conference regular-season championship in 2005; in 1999 he guided the Sooners to their first Sweet 16 appearance in a decade; OU then made an appearance in the Final Four in 2002, then the Elite Eight in 2003.

Time will tell if this is the right hire for Indiana. On the surface I don't see much wrong with it. A coach has a chance to turned a historical program around & the school he's departing can bring new blood to the head coach's office.

I guess most troubling in this is the NCAA inquiry still hanging over OU's head, which revealed Sampson & his coaches made 550 improper phone calls to recruits over a four-year span. The university issued self-imposed penalties, but that has not totally satisfied the NCAA & they will hold a hearing on the matter April 21.

What further price will Oklahoma be required to pay after the guilty coach has moved on to greener pastures?

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Outgoing UAB basketball coach Mike Anderson sat down with the Birmingham media Tuesday as he packed his office to make the move to Missouri.

Anderson insists money is not the issue on why he is heading to Mizzou. He says it has everything to do with the Tigers' conference affiliation in the Big 12 & the challenges it will present to him as a head coach.

While I don't doubt that, I am sure a contract worth $1.5 million after incentives didn't hurt when compared to the $600,000 he made with the Blazers.

It's ok to be greedy, Mike.

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Meanwhile, it's no surprise UAB has made contact with Middle Tennesse coach Kermit Davis. He joins former UAB assistant & current Tennessee assistant coach Scott Edgar, former Indiana head coach Mike Davis, Birmingham-Southern head coach Duane Reboul & current UAB assistants Chris Giles & Matt Zimmerman, as names being tossed about for the job.

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What has gotten into NASCAR pretty boy Jeff Gordon? I've always felt he was the clean driver that everyone painted him to be, but then again, who is? But off the track he was always a PR dream. Kurt Busch & Tony Stewart could have learned a thing or two. After Sunday, it seems Gordon is the one learning from Bush & Stewart.

Racing at Bristol can turn friend against friend. TV's postrace show is usually just as entertaining as the race as my wife & I make bets on how many of the seven no-no words will make it past the censors.

After some on-track contact between Gordon & Matt Kenseth in the final laps, Kenseth was coming over to talk to Jeff. Ah, but then ol' pretty boy bounces out of his car & shoves Matt before officials jump in & stop it from escalating.

I have to hand it to Gordon... he kept his helmet on. Pretty smart move, if you ask me... don't need anyone bruising up his face.

NASCAR gave Gordon a $10,000 fine Tuesday for the incident. It's the first time NASCAR has had to fine Gordon for such behavior... I wouldn't be surprised if there are some drivers who give this kinda dough to NASCAR every other week so they have a balance on hand when they decide to go after someone.

But even more surprising are some of Gordon's comments regarding the whole incident:

"I think that I kind of heard a lot last year that maybe I wasn't being aggressive enough on the race track and different things. My team has done an awful lot this year to make our race cars better, to put me in better positions ... and I'm giving them everything I possibly can out there on the race track because they deserve it. "If that means I've got to be more aggressive, then I'm going to be more aggressive. When you're more aggressive, sometimes it carries over off the race track, as well."

And then...

"Now that I've established myself, I'm older and I understand life a little more, really the way to enjoy life and enjoy racing more is to be me," he said. "I guess that's maybe the Jeff Gordon that has evolved over the years. In the past I've reserved a lot of my emotions. I'm not afraid to show them these days. I'm just being me."

Watch out NASCAR: Jeff Gordon is now talking in third person about himself.

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Mississippi has designated April 29 "Dale Earnhardt Day" in the state. The Associated Press writes, The resolution was sponsored by a diverse group of 55 House members -- Democrats and Republicans, blacks and whites, men and women. It now goes to the Senate.

No word if cities or towns will hold any special festivities to honor the Intimidator. There is no truth to the rumor that all speeding will be ignored that date.

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Spring football coverage:

Memphis wide receiver finally returning to form

USM's Manning makes most of second chance

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Get well soon to Memphis assistant coach Tim Keane after undergoing triple bypass surgery Tuesday. This comes almost two months after head coach Tommy West had the same procedure. Keane is expected to be back on the sidelines coaching the Tigers secondary this fall.

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If you are a Duke hater, you're going to love this video posted at MySpace.com.

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Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has reopened talks with Time Warner about his interest in the Braves. Negotiations were stalled earlier this year after the two sides could not come to an agreement on the value of the team.

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The NFL's spring meetings wrap up today. No surprise Tuesday as retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue made it clear he wants to see the league return to Los Angeles.

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Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News pulls no punches in column today regarding Barry Bonds, steroids & Major League Baseball: Barry Bonds is Bud Selig's Pete Rose. Selig has to go after Bonds, officially make him a suspect in the eyes of his sport, before another season begins, the way the late A.Bartlett Giamatti went after Rose, who denied and denied and denied his gambling the way Bonds has denied his use of steroids.

Click on the link & read the entire column. It is great & will make you think, no matter where you stand on Bonds.

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Since the New York media believes the world revolves around New York sports, you can imagine they are having a field day right now with the news Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson has a love child & is suing the mother of his now 16-year old daughter for $100,000 over how his child support money was used.

It's a feeding frenzy right now with reporters wondering if Johnson can concentrate on the Yanks' season opener next week. Johnson calls the situation a "family matter" & says he's focused & ready to go to work.

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