Goodbye Tulsa Sports Forum!

I had a great run, over 10 years, on whatever the "official" message board for TU has been. Going all the way back to the old AZ boards, I made some great friends. The highlight for me was between the Rivals board and the AZ board on the old InsideTulsaSports boards. Lots of good times, not too much negativity and thanks to a private, invite only board, we always had the scoop. Back then, I was one of the insiders, ahh the glory days! We would meet up before games and sometimes just to hang and have fun. Then, rivals happened. It was bound to and Chris and the others did a good job but I am just not a fan of paying for information, I understand it though. The timing could not have been worse though because we still stunk in football and the wheels were coming off in hoops. It got ugly. I was first accused of being a hater, then a homer. I am a nerd, I like to bring balance to the force, it was nothing personal, just my cyber alter-ego.

The roller coaster ride went on for years, we got good in football but this last year, we lost the head of the TU fan nation and it hurt us all. I knew him first as QTBill, when he worked at QT across from TU, then as Catbird and finally as Bill Babb. We became fast friends in real life even though our cyber egos butted heads numerous times. We went to several concerts together and often would catch lunch at Ricardo's, a place he turned me on to. Bill exhibited the spirit I wish we all had. I feel the need to temper over-reaction (poop in the punch bowl) but Bill just loved TU and no matter what, he thought glory was just around the corner. You see, Bill saw these sports programs for what they were, the wonderful, hard-working, upstanding young men, that made them up. To him, there were no losses, because in any loss he could find a young man who had broke a career record in tackles or a kid who had exhibited immense character. The world would be a better place if we all were like Bill, myself included. In addition to being a terrific person, Bill was, without question, the best moderator of any forum I have been a part of and I am a super nerd, forum lover.

Bill never told me how sick he was, just that he didnt want to continue moderating the ITS Rivals board. Its tough because no one person could do what he did, so he came up with a plan for a new "super moderator" if you will, The Big Kielbasa. TBK is made up of several posters, who shall remain nameless, I only know 4 of them but there may be more. I wont go into any more detail other than Bill told me that the board, "needs you to be you." A couple members of TBK just dont like me, we have had it out in emails and some on the board. When it became clear that I knew what was up, that just made it worse. Again, I am not a popular poster but I dont break the rules. Unfortunately, TBK clan has made this personal, it certainly isnt to me and was never to Catbird. So, it is not really possible for "me to be me" anymore. It is not really fun having to bite my tongue or think about how things are worded, especially when I see horrible, personal and offensive things go unedited and unpunished.

Just to be clear, I was suspended for being "overly negative", comparing TU fans behavior in the TU/ORU thread to the behavior of Rice fans and ultimately for a post in the Brandon Jackson thread. In the last thread I did bring up a question about the coach's staff. It was probably better left unposted but a legit question, I was just frustrated about the turnaround in the program. If you have read the boards lately, you know the avalanche of negativity, swearing and personal attacks that has gone completely unmoderated.

So, for the three or four people who may care, (ok, so this is really for me) I will post what I think right here, in this here blog. I will lurk on ITS and comment over here when I feel like it. Best of luck to all, you know where to find me.