No. 1 Oklahoma State (12-0) pounded Oregon State and Oregon with a combined five falls to outscore the competition this weekend, 62-14. The Cowboys defeated Oregon State on Saturday 29-9 and Oregon on Sunday 33-5 in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys ended Saturday’s dual against the Beavers in a hurry with two falls in the final two matches. No. 4 Shane Roller (18-3) put the Beavers’ Brian Duhrkoop on his back in 3:27. Roller would later earn his second pin of the weekend against Oregon’s Chet McBee in 2:15. No. 2 Tyrone Lewis (16-0) dominated his opponents with a combined nine takedowns and ended Saturday’s dual with a pin in 4:06.

Muhammed Lawal (19-1) displayed to his opponents how he has earned a No. 1 ranking by punishing them with a combined 15 takedowns.

Lawal said he feels confident when he steps unto the mat, and he has the attitude that nobody can stop him.

Lawal fired away six first period takedowns on Sunday before finishing off Oregon’s Elias Soto with a fall in the final six seconds of the first period. Before Saturday’s match against Oregon State’s Jason Lovell, Lawal was rounding the mat motivating himself to his introduction music and Lawal said Lovell was standing in his path.

“I thought that was disrespectful,” Lawal said. “I gave him a little stare down, and I saw him kind of buckle and he looked scared. I was like, ‘It’s over — it’s going to be a long day for him.’”

Lawal then battered Lovell with nine takedowns and earned a 19-7 major decision.

The Cowboys had a rough start against Oregon State by dropping three of the four opening matches. The Cowboy’s Chad Reid, wrestling for No. 2 Chris Pendleton at 174 pounds, was defeated 11-5 by the Beaver’s Jake Huffman in the opening match. Reid was also defeated by the Duck’s Shane Webster 7-3.

Redshirt freshman No. 9 Jake Rosholt suffered a 12-11 setback to Jed Pennell and injured his shoulder in the second match on Saturday. Sophomore Brett Munson, a natural 165 pounder, replaced Rosholt at 184 pounds on Sunday and made his first dual start for the Cowboys count. Munson battled Tony Rolen for the narrow 3-0 victory.

“The opportunity came, and he wrestled well for us. It was fun to watch those matches — it shows a lot of spirit,” Cowboy coach John Smith said.

Michael Christian, replacing Willie Gruenwald, was also victorious on Sunday in his first dual start. Christian earned an 8-3 win at 285 pounds.

“It opened our eyes; he wants to compete,” Smith said.

After suffering his first defeat of the season at the National Duals against Oklahoma’s Teyon Ware, No. 1 Zack Esposito (18-1) major decisioned Oregon State’s Mike Unger 14-9. On Sunday, Esposito was fighting for survival in the first period when Oregon’s Casey Hunt built an early 9-2 advantage. In the second period, Esposito earned an escape, slammed Hunt near the edge of the mat and then managed to pin Hunt with 1:24 left in the second period.

“(Esposito) got in a little trouble and got a little over aggressive in a couple of positions," Smith said. "The good thing was he kept his head and got the escape. He went back to the same move that got him in trouble the first time, but that just shows his confidence.”

Oregon’s Martin Mitchell ended the weekend duals by upsetting No. 7 Skyler Holman (14-6) in overtime. Mitchell was down 5-2 — due to a Holman second period reverse — going into the third period and then earned two takedowns to even up the score and send the match into overtime.

“I was a little disappointed in the last match,” Smith said. “You don’t deserve to win when you give up two takedowns in the third and one in overtime.”

The Cowboys will be on the road next weekend as they face No. 16 Northern Iowa on Saturday, Feb. 2 and No. 11 Iowa State on Sunday, Feb. 3.

Drew Hill can be reached

via e-mail at

dhill@ocolly.com

Oklahoma State’s women’s basketball team lost its third consecutive game on Saturday afternoon, falling 87-65 to Missouri in front of 2,017 fans at the Hearnes Center.

Oklahoma State University students should prepare for a tuition and fees increase, according to a letter from David Schmidly posted recently on the OSU Web site.

Schmidly said he posted the letter and information about the possible tuition and fee increase for students to be informed.

“We will be discussing the increase to the Board (of Regents for Oklahoma A&M Colleges) this Friday,” Schmidly said. “I do not want this to come as a surprise for the students.”

Schmidly said the university has suffered an estimated $10 million budget cut and the lost allocation could possibly total $17 million by the fall 2003 semester.

The letter addresses the worst-case scenario of a 20 percent increase and also offers graphs and comparisons among Oklahoma universities and the surrounding states.

The increase in fees will include the addition of a student technology fee, student academic services fee, classroom renovation fee, career services fee and library electronic resource fee. Schmidly discussed these fees with the Student Government Association last week.

Joseph Weaver, assistant vice president for planning budget and institutional research, said the SGA was hesitant about two of the fees that will now not be considered for the increase. These eliminated fees are security and library renovations. The fees will be discussed and might be added at a later date.

Schmidly said he is working with various people and groups on the tuition and fee increase.

Natalea Watkins, assistant vice president of the OSU news bureau, said Schmidly has had many conversations with David Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma, and with Paul Risser, chancellor of the State Regents for Higher Education.

“Schmidly and Boren are working with Rep. Bill Nations on passing legislation for the state regents to allow increased tuition,” Watkins said.

Currently, the university could only increase tuition by 7 percent, a rate set by the state Legislature. The proposed legislation would allow the tuition rate increase to be approved by the state regents rather than the Legislature.

Weaver said schools in Oklahoma will not be the only schools in the Big 12 to increase tuition and OSU tuition would still be lower than the average even after the proposed increases.

The letter and information about the proposed increases in tuition and fees can be found at http://osu.okstate.edu/president.

Mary Henderson can be reached via email at

mhenderson@ocolly.com

Students in the College of Hotel and Restaurant Administration are opening a new restaurant Monday called the State Room Grille, said Andrew McGee, instructor in the college.

Typically, students have used Taylor’s Dining Room as a place to practice their skills. “We ran out of room in Taylor’s for all the students,” McGee said.

Taylor’s is open Tuesday through Friday, and the State Room Grille will be open Monday evenings from 5 to 7, McGee said.

At each meal, the State Room Grille will offer a three-course dinner that includes a drink for $12.

“The State Room Grille will offer family style dining in the relaxed, but somewhat formal, atmosphere of the State Room,” McGee said.

Every week the menus will be different and are available for viewing on the Hotel and Restaurant Administration’s Web site at www.osuhrad.com, McGee said.

“The State Room holds 80 people, but for the first couple of weeks, the Grille is holding reservations a little lower than that to make sure that the students can adequately accommodate all the guests,” McGee said. Reservations can be made by calling 744-6719.

Students can also work at other restaurants in Stillwater to gain an understanding of what managing or owning a restaurant would be like.

Mark Jackson, manager at Red Lobster Restaurant, 102 E. Hall of Fame Ave., said, “I would say that working here gives students a good idea of what goes into managing a restaurant.”

Dustin Lester, assistant manager at El Chico, 611 N. Perkins Road, agreed and said, “I started out as a college student here waiting on tables and then went into management. Being a waiter gave me a good idea of what managing a restaurant would be like.”

McGee emphasized that “the State Room Grille is a teaching laboratory. The students are responsible for every aspect of the restaurant from the marketing and menus to the actual cooking and serving. We really want the students to see what owning or managing a restaurant is like.”

Marissa Crawford can be reached via

e-mail at news@ocolly.com

Close your eyes for a minute. Block out all the noise around you. If you are in a coffee shop, forget the whir of the espresso machine. If you are on the library lawn try to block out the dull hum of everyone going to class. If you are in the Student Union, try to forego that Crazy Bob is wandering around trying to get your attention.

Try for a moment to imagine our nation without war.

You can’t. Why? Because the history of our great nation is built on war. A war was fought for independence; our founding fathers were commanders of a military. Our most adored historical hero fought in the bitter cold so that you could read this newspaper. A war was fought to maintain the integrity of the Union. Men fought against their cousins so that the blood shed in the revolutionary war, might not be shed in vain. Two wars were fought to protect our national safety. Men of conviction graduated from high school and volunteered to leave the continent to not only protect the security of their families at home, but also the security of a people they had never seen. Another war was fought (though greatly opposed) to prevent the spread of a political disease, that left untreated, could have oppressed millions. And still yet another war was fought to free a nation from the oppression of a foreign dictator.

So we are presented with the possibility of another war. While it may not be obvious to me, it is unclear to most, that this war has meaning. It would be fought to protect our economic and political interests abroad. The Iraqi regime has, on many occasions, duped, fooled and deceived the world and most of you into thinking that they are a peace loving government who wishes nothing but to mind their own business and live in harmony with the rest of the world.

We’ve tried to handle this diplomatically. Iraq’s relations with the rest of the world have been artificial at best. They have denied the United Nations the access to their military facilities on multiple occasions, and when they did allow the famed inspectors to enter their country, they swiftly kicked them out. There is conclusive evidence that Saddam and his regime have paid large sums of money to the families of terrorists. This is not the mark of a peace loving nation.

If Iraq continues to think that they can fool the world, then we have no other option but to lead a multilateral force, in military action with the specific purpose of bringing down Saddam Hussein.

Why us? Because we are the most powerful nation in the world. We have the greatest technology, the largest tanks, the biggest guns and the best-trained troops, and we must not be afraid to use them in order to protect our interests. If we fail to act, we will jeopardize our safety, and some of our economic security.

If Saddam and the Iraqi regime are continually allowed to produce weapons of mass destruction, then we run the risk of allowing another terrorist attack, or yet another outburst of chaos in the Middle East.

You can look at it any way you like. You can tell yourself that this can be solved peacefully and that we can diplomatically persuade Saddam to put down his guns. You can tell yourself that war is not the answer, and you might be right. War is not, generally, the answer — but it is this answer. You can tell yourself that the president and his advisers are wrong, but when all is said and done, you’ll realize that I’m right, and you’re wrong.

The next J.D. Salinger or Walt Whitman may be roaming the Oklahoma State University campus, but few may know it because their work is featured in a selective, but little read, literary magazine.

Papyrus is the only creative writing magazine published at OSU.

Edye Taylor, creative writing and public relations junior, is the assistant editor of Papyrus.

Taylor said the magazine is a great opportunity for undergraduates.

“Only undergraduates write in it, and only undergraduates run it,” she said.

Taylor said this is the 8th year for the annual publication but this year’s edition almost didn’t happen.

She said normally Papyrus is funded by filing for school sponsored funds, but this year the paperwork wasn’t done in time.

“We had to go to different places to raise money,” Taylor said.

She said she went to organizations on campus and businesses, such as BancFirst and the Stillwater News Press to raise the funds to publish the magazine.

“My job was to raise awareness,” Taylor said.

Taylor said her job is a hard one because Papyrus isn’t publicized enough.

“I was an English major, and I had never heard of it,” she said.

Roberto Planos, English senior, has had poetry published in Papyrus and said the campus literary magazine doesn’t get enough recognition.

“Papyrus doesn’t get the exposure it deserves, but I don’t think literature in general gets in the exposure it deserves,” Planos said.

Taylor said she hopes to change that.

“We’re trying to set up readings,” she said. “There people can buy the older publications.”

Taylor said this year’s edition will cost $5, will have between 15 to 20 poems, 3 to 4 fictional stories and art throughout.

“We have about 40 to 50 submissions to chose from,” Taylor said.

Brandon Isaak, English senior, has also been published in Papyrus and is now the poetry editor of the magazine.

“It’s been fun selecting what we feel is the best,” Isaak said. “It’s a pretty fun process.”

He said the group that selects the poems being published doesn’t have any set criteria.

“We judge in creativity and originality,” Isaak said. “There is no good or bad poetry.”

Taylor said she wants Papyrus to be a selective magazine.

“I think being able to say you’ve been published, especially when this is the only creative outlet on a campus with 20,000 to 30,000 students, is prestigious,” she said.

Planos said being selected was an honor.

“It’s a good feeling being selected,” he said. “It’s always good to have something published.”

Natasha Tinsley, English senior, is getting a poem published in this year’s edition.

“Even though it’s a college publication, I feel privileged to have been selected,” Tinsley said.

Isaak agrees.

“For anyone to take your work seriously is a privilege,” he said.

Isaak said getting published is something every writer wants.

“I want to get my stuff heard,” he said. “When you write you want to be read by an audience.”

Planos said getting published can open doors to graduate schools or magazines.

“You can always put it on resumes,” he said.

Tinsley said getting her poems put in print is just a first step.

“It’s a stepping stone,” she said.

Sara Plummer can be reached via e-mail at splummer@ocolly.com

Seinfeld may have the soup nazi, but here at O-State, we have something so much better, the Door Swipe Nazi.

This highly placed individual is pedastalled before us, determining if each person is allowed to use the facilities. This is a human of such high magnitude that the university even agrees to pay them a handsome sum of $5.15 per hour.

The Door Swipe Nazis, a group of whose details are sketchy at best, perch themselves at the entrance of the Annex, and carefully pick their prey.

As each person enters, the door nazi carefully eyes the victim of the day, who will fall to our cruel tricks. All you want to do is watch. Oh, I am so sorry, I cannot let you in, so goodbye.

I once saw one of my fellow door Nazis, Scotti, jump over the counter to attack a patron that was a tad bit rude. She was so fast that we were unable to stop her attack (hit him square in the elbow, did the three stooges double eye poke, and kicked him in the big toe). We could only sit back in total awe.

The only fault of the patron besides being rude was improper footwear.

Most denied patrons do no have their student ID, or their ID does not want to work for some reason unbeknownst to us. As sad as we are, and as bad as we feel, if this is you, you are screwed. I know many of you have hate in your heart for us, and that is okay.

In fact, we thrive on the disgruntled and brokenhearted individuals that we will send away.

Even over their harsh words that are muttered under their breath, we find it comforting to know that we have caused such an inconvenience in your life.

As much as I want this to be true, it is not. I am just a guy, who works for the Annex, and sometimes I get stuck working the front door, and in turn I receive all sorts of rude comments each time I don’t allow someone through the door without a student ID. 

I am sure my fellow “door nazis” are with me when I say that it does get old hearing those rude remarks, and they aren’t going to help your cause.

Each and everyone knows that you cannot get in without a student ID, so why be an ass to us about it when you’re the lazy one who can’t find the time to mind the rules that everyone else has to?

The funny thing is, I remember a time when a guy proceeded to say the rudest things to me because I wouldn’t let him in without an ID, and he tried the “you always see me in here” routine.

With so many people coming and going in the place, how am I supposed to remember one face? After denying him yet again, he continued to use trash talk to insult me on his way out. Honestly, do you think calling me all those names is going to change my mind and let you in? I guess his theory was, if all else fails, curse at the person who is working the front desk.

The only things that is close to being as funny as this, are the people that try to be your best friend and suck up to you. They slide up next to you, drop a few smooth lines of crap, and do their best to weasel their way out of showing their student ID.

The look on their face is golden when you still refuse to let them in. The most annoying excuse is the old’ “its in my car” line. Well dang you lazy bum, walk your happy rear out there and get it. I realize it’s a little over 100 yards to your car, but really man, you’re here to exercise anyway, right?

Like many of you who work, we have to abide by the rules set before us by our superiors. You wouldn’t let someone just have a pair of jeans from Wal-Mart would you?

Remember, we are students just like you who are working, like many of you, to pay our bills.

So, in retrospect, just bring your student ID with you when you come to the Annex, and your hassles will be minimal and you can get in there a little quicker and flex your muscles for all to see.

Monday marks the two-year anniversary of the plane crash that killed 10 Oklahoma State University students and employees.

In respect of the families’ wishes, there will be no formal public ceremony to remember the victims of the Jan. 27, 2001, plane crash, according to a press release from the OSU Athletic Department.

The crash claimed the lives of eight OSU employees and students and the two pilots.

Until recently, the cause of the plane crash was not determined, but as reported by The Daily O’Collegian on Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board sited pilot spatial disorientation and A.C. electrical failure as the cause of the accident.

OSU officials announced Jan. 20 that the southwest lobby of the Athletic Center will be open from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday for visitors to pay their respects to the victims of the crash.

The lobby houses a memorial to the victims, and memory books will be set up in the lobby for visitors to pen remembrances or personal notes to the victims’ families, according to the press release.

Mary Noyes, mother of the late Pat Noyes, said, “It has just been very difficult, and I think only time will heal.”

“We will never get over it; it leaves an empty void in our lives not having him here,” she said. “When it’s a close game we pray to him to become the sixth man on the team to help them win.

“Pat would be so proud and excited if he were here today with how the team is playing and all the wins this season.”

Family members of all the victims have chosen to remember their loved ones in different ways.

Shynika Lawson, sister of the late Dan Lawson, said, “We are going to get together and pray as a family. We will spend time together to try and ease our minds, but nothing will be able to take our minds off Dan.”

“We will try to talk about all the good times we had, try to always remember the good things and times we had with Dan,” Lawson said.

Noyes and Lawson said there is love in their hearts for every family who lost someone in the crash. 

Lawson asked for the students of OSU to remember the victims of the crash in a positive way.

“Remember the good times you could have had with him; remember how great of a person Dan was and that he loved people,” she said.

“Remember everyone on the plane and the people that they were and for the good, not for the bad, in each one of them. Try to live each day remembering the love that each person gave to the school and everyone around them.”

Andrew Williams can be reached via email at awilliams@ocolly.com

So it’s Super Bowl Sunday and I don’t really care who wins (my pick was Tampa Bay, but seriously, an East Coast team and a West Coast team, why would anyone in flyover country really care?). It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon, the game will be on in a couple of hours, I was at the library earlier today working on my thesis proposal in utter futility, yet that most-male of holidays — though seriously, aren’t they all — was howling at me.

Indeed, it’s Super Bowl Sunday.

While I try to stray from this as a rule, let’s talk about the partying in my favorite of party seasons (although Halloween is my favorite party day, the Super Bowl/Groundhog Day week is the keynote in my entertaining inaugural address).

To preface, I’ve never been much of a beer drinker, and I certainly haven’t been one since I was 18 or 19, at least to the extent that SBS requires. Matt and I were watching the pre-pregame activities, trying to figure out what to do.

“Hour of Power?” I offered.

Matt nodded his head, and so agreed, we went and bought a 30-pack of some domestic travesty which shall, at this point, remain nameless.

About an hour and some later, Matt and I finished our Hour of Power as some kind of sad, sick pregame warm-up, our execution of the age-old custom of college custom, which pits man against beer. Needless to say, things quickly turned odd and groovy. I haven’t had a beer since Christmas, yet I somehow managed to gut-up and drink 60 shots of the stuff in the past hour. To the point, I don’t think I’ll ever drink beer again.

So there we were, about halfway through the hour – originally scheduled for two, just enough for the 30-pack of slime – when I quickly realized that neither my stomach nor Matt’s tolerance could endure a Century and then some. So at some point we agreed to cut off the excess at an hour, which was a chore in itself. My stomach grew visibly and Matt’s eyes grew cloudy, and thus the cycle of stupidity was complete. Wait, who’s playing?

On the other end, my fifth annual Groundhog Day party (this year’s is appropriately titled GHD2K2 to make it entirely too confusing) will take place on Saturday, which I’m pretty stoked about. It’s sort of a mix between Mardi Gras and the new year for me, and this year I limited my invitations and, ergo, my liability. I think GHD started out as something campy, but it has since turned into something that I do, sort of like Anne Rice hosting the Playboy Party anytime anything big is going on in New Orleans. After GHD, it’s all downhill from there. Food, drink, merriment, boobs – you can’t beat such a combination.

Finally, to hopefully end this subject, I should note that there was yet another error to be found in the tale, which I hope would end with Friday’s mea culpa. Though the alteration of one word – not by yours truly, of course – one could have had the impression that Dr. Earl Mitchell was upset by last week’s happenings. That was, in fact, me, for Dr. Mitchell said nothing of the sort. The error is regretted.

Ciao.

Coping with the news of a brain disorder of a family member can be devastating, but one can get help when dealing with the reality of the situation. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill provides free educational classes to those seeking information and help.

“The Family To Family Education Program teaches family members how to help the ill relative,” said Sandrel A. Jones-Webster, instructor for the program and residence area coordinator for Bennett, Parker and Wentz. “We teach them about things like medication, how the brain works and what they can expect while taking care of their family member.”

Classes are held once every week for 10 weeks. For the spring 2003 semester, the program will be conducted in Stillwater at the Oklahoma State University Wellness Center each week, beginning Tuesday, and in Morrison at the United Methodist Church.

“The classes are free,” said Jones-Webster. “To register, one must contact the state NAMI headquarters; in our case, the headquarters at Oklahoma City.”

The program was written by Dr. Joyce Burland, a member of the NAMI. The classes are taught by people who have a mentally ill family member. Jones-Webster said the long-term goal of the program is to banish the social stigma that is associated with the mentally ill.

Dr. Robert Helm, retired OSU associate professor of psychology, said, “There’s a greater regard in the NAMI course for utility and helpfulness and a lesser regard for theoretical or academic concerns. Materials presented in the course are intentionally practical, and the course does indeed appear to be quite useful for those whose loved one is a consumer of mental health services.”

Helm, who has been a member of the Board of Directors of NAMI-Oklahoma for about a year, took the course as part of the membership requirement for the board, and he said he found the program to be very well-designed and presented in a low-key, helpful manner.

Katrina Nguyen, elementary education junior and administrative assistant to Jones-Webster, said, “People who attend these classes basically offer each other emotional support. They talk about how mental illnesses affect an individual, and at the end, they get to take home a package that contains information about all they discussed in class.”

To register for the Family To Family Education Program, interested individuals can contact the NAMI headquarters at Oklahoma City at 1-800-583-1264 or visit their Web site at http://www.nami.org. For more information, contact Jones-Webster at 744-5019.

Khadija Ejaz can be reached via email at kejaz@ocolly.com

The famous saying goes “Defense wins championships.” The Tampa Bay Buccaneers followed this motto to the “T,” as their No. 1 ranked defense    equaled the Oakland Raiders’ No. 1 ranked offense with 21 points in Super Bowl XXXVII.

With little-known Bucs defensive players like defensive back Dwight Smith (2 interceptions for touchdowns), free safety Dexter Jackson (2 interceptions and Super Bowl MVP), and defensive end Simeon Rice (2 sacks and 5 tackles) taking over the game, the Bucs “D” stifled a Raider offense consisting of Jerry Rice – arguably (well, there’s not much to dispute) the best receiver of all time – and future Hall-of-Famer’s Tim Brown and Rich Gannon. 

Critics throughout the season claimed the Bucs were a great defense with a sub-par offense, and they couldn’t win without putting points on the scoreboard.

Ironically, the game-breaker in the Super Bowl was the play of the Tampa offense.

With the accurate arm of quarterback Brad Johnson connecting for two touchdowns to wide receiver Keenan McCardell and the emergence of running back Michael Pittman, the Bucs offense showed the world they had arrived.

Just as he had done two weeks prior against the San Francisco 49ers, Johnson threw an interception on the first drive of the game.

But the Tampa defense stepped up, as they had the entire season, and controlled the line of scrimmage and contained Raider QB and NFL MVP Rich Gannon.

As the game entered the second quarter, the game seemed to be going as many had expected — at a stalemate, tied at three-a-piece.

But in the second quarter, the Bucs showed they just wanted the title more.

The Bucs scored their first TD with fullback Mike Alstott.

Many people before the game said Alstott couldn’t play as a pure fullback but instead had to run the ball to be effective for the offense.

But as the Raiders were to soon find out, Alstott would make his impact as a true fullback.

Tailback Michael Pittman, who was signed this past off-season to replace Warrick Dunn — which letting him go was arguably one of the worst off-season moves in my opinion, at least at the time and up until last night — finally made his place with the Bucs offense.

With the lead blocking of Alstott, Pittman hauled off run after run on his way to a 124-yard performance.

With the establishment of a running game and the accuracy of Johnson leading to first down after first down, the Bucs offense scored 27 points — six more than the NFL’s best offense could accumulate.

But the Super Bowl’s heading was determined by key interceptions that would break the backs of the “Black Hole” — Oakland’s gang of released convicts who dress up in spiked shoulder pads and paint their faces so that they would intimidate the devil himself.

Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson, who had two of the Bucs five interceptions of the game, turned the tide of the game by ending two of the Raiders’ offensive drives.

Throughout Super Bowl week, the limelight shined on the importance of Bucs coach John Gruden — also the former Raider coach who was “bought” by the Bucs from the Raiders for basically an entire draft and a small country — to the success of the Bucs this year.

Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.

As Gruden said in the postgame ceremonies, he attributes most of this team’s success to the players, the city of Tampa, and most importantly to former Bucs coach Tony Dungy — who got the former “Yucs” from laughing stock of the NFL to the best the league has to offer.

As the Bucs premier players — strong safety John Lynch, defensive tackle Warren Sapp, linebacker Derrick Brooks, wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, and defensive end Simeon Rice (just to name a few) — said during media days throughout Super Bowl week, they couldn’t be considered great players without having the label of world champions linked to their names.

They will now have the asterisk by their name in the record books — “Super Bowl Champions.”

The idea of leading a double life is one that every idealistic youth has dreamed about and has been used since the inception of culture. Being a mild-mannered reporter by day, super hero by night. Construction worker from 9 to 5, crime boss on weekends and during coffee breaks. None of these are new ideas in Hollywood.

But what happens when both sides of a double life are to be envied by all?

“Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” tries to answer this question through the thoughts and words of infamous television producer Chuck Barris, who claims to have lived both lives.

The film begins with Barris (Sam Rockwell) standing naked and disheveled, staring at the television for days on end. Barris, after an awkward meeting with his girlfriend, Penny (Drew Barrymore), begins recounting his life, trying to find his salvation in his retelling. He begins with his constant obsession with getting laid in youth, to becoming a network executive, to being recruited by the CIA, to the “Gong Show” and finally to his own fear-filled seclusion.

Mixed in with the flashbacks and narration is a string of interviews with people who know and knew Barris, including television god Dick Clark. But the influx of star power doesn’t end there, there are also cameos from Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Rutger Hauer.

But enough about that, how was the movie?

The acting across the board is great. Rockwell does a good job reliving and retelling Barris’ debated double life in his own words. There’s inner turmoil; there’s death; there’s sex; there’s male nudity (sorry guys), and there’s a lot of humor too.

Barrymore is cute and charming as Barris’ free-spirited girlfriend.

Julia Roberts is cold and calculatingly alluring as a female secret agent.

George Clooney is decent as the cold, distant CIA recruiter and contact.

But Clooney shows he’s better behind the camera than in front for this movie, calling on a long list of Hollywood friends and intriguing camera and editing tricks.

The movie reflects Clooney’s slightly off-beat, smooth style that has filtered into all of his roles.

Let’s get one thing clear: this movie falls into no single category.

It’s a dark comedy with dramatic roots or a sad story of a man with a few laughs to keep viewers sane.

It’s a reflection of life, which starts out sweet with a bitter tingling, and ends up simply bittersweet.

Also, remember the source of all this information: Barris’ own unauthorized autobiography of the same name.

Did Barris really work for the CIA as a hired gun, the perfect cover being his fame? Who knows? It could be mere fantasy as the result of an inflated ego.

But it doesn’t matter. It’s still a great movie and every potential fib just adds to a picture of the man’s mind. Barris is better understood through his delusions than his actions, if they’re not the same.

To sum up, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” is a great movie, worthy of any viewer looking for a bit of pop culture myth or fact. Because sometimes the truth is better than the fantasy, and the fantasy can mean more than the truth.

Gig Grade: 8.5 out of 10

Eric Bost can be reached via e-mail at ebost@ocolly.com

It’s no big mystery about what college students do on the weekends. Drinking, sleeping, studying (but only Sunday), staring at the television for hours on end and getting out pent-up rage through video games.

It’s not that these are bad things, in fact they’re fun. It’s just an observation.

But there is a different type of diversion that is available to every college student, but is widely ignored due to an association with bad studying memories.

Yep, that other distraction is reading.

I know all the arguments. Modern students have been forced since elementary school to read literary classics and answer quick questions on these readings. This saps the fun out of reading, leading more and more of America’s youth to look at recreational reading as a chore rather than a pleasure.

This is a generalization, but honestly, it’s the truth.

I still have emotional scars from laboring through “The Scarlet Letter” in high school, and it was hard to look at a book and not sneer for weeks afterward. This forced appreciation of literature does not work, and at best diverts some from reading truly great novels on a regular basis. These books should be a requirement of the mind, not the syllabus.

Now, college reading of great books is different. The classes are taken voluntarily for an interest in the subject and a yearning for knowledge, so that shows it works in our current setting.

But the reading of a good book doesn’t have to be just for a class; the only true appreciation and message from a good book is found outside the classroom.

My new-found appreciation came from reading George Orwell’s “1984” over a 28-hour period this winter break.

A reader can’t choose this book. The book chooses the reader when he or she is ready, and, apparently, I was ready.

It was a bit different sort of thing than my usual casual reading fare of Ann Rice vampire books, my guilty pleasure and obsession over mythical creatures of the night.

“1984” renewed a kindred passion for reading, leading to a two-week-long marathon of the first four “Dune” books by Frank Herbert while I tried to study for classes.

I got many messages from “1984”, the most of which is “reading is still fun, and can change your life if you let it.”

So now, there is usually a book in my bag and a passage on my mind. That’s the way it should be for everyone that can read.

Sure, that video game system is fun, and television is great for passing the hours. But the oldest means of entertainment is still the best, no matter how many bad experiences pre-college schools have put in.

And at the very least, there are bragging rights in just finishing a book. Sounding smart is always en vogue.

It has been two years since a plane carrying 10 members of the OSU family fell to the ground in Strasburg, Colo.

Although the loss is still felt by many, steps have been taken to look forward and find answers to many of the questions we all had.

One thing that could help the healing process even more, is the recent release of the National Transportation and Safety Board’s report about the crash. For family members and friends alike, just knowing exactly what happened that winter night is a comfort that was two years in the waiting.

While those that were lost shall never be forgotten, looking back on the past and the mistakes that were made will only bring more pain and a greater sense of loss to those still hurting.

The 10 members of our OSU family will always be remembered for their commitment to this university and the accomplishments they made. They will always be remembered — not for the loss of their lives, but for the fondness we had for them.

Hopefully, this tragedy has taught us to take more caution, changing policies and arrangements to prevent something like this from happening again.

Although no amount of caution, planning or preparation can ever eliminate the possibility of losing a life, from this tragedy we can hopefully increase the chance that this doesn’t happen again.

We’ve learned a lesson: to cherish life. For that, we should be thankful.

LUBBOCK, Texas — As it does time and time again, a Big 12 matchup became a dog fight.

With nearly 14:30 left in the second half of play, No. 13 Oklahoma State led Texas Tech by 14 points. With 3:14 remaining, the Red Raiders fought back to within one. Collectively, there were 37 turnovers, 18 steals and 1,515 wins between two legendary coaches who learned from Mr. Henry Iba.

And, when it got almost too close to call, Tony (Allen) was once again the tiger for Oklahoma State (16-1, 5-0 Big 12), as he scored three clutch field goals in the last three minutes to help secure a 79-70 win over Texas Tech (11-4, 3-1).

Allen, a transfer from Wabash Community College, has been making a name for himself in Division I ranks — and quickly.

“I’ve had a lot of junior college players through the years everywhere I’ve been,” OSU head coach Eddie Sutton said. “I’m not sure I’ve seen a junior college player, in the short time he’s been with us, that plays as well as he does. Now, I think Mo Baker played very well as a junior, but I think Tony can do a lot of things maybe even Mo couldn’t do.”

Allen was able to penetrate to the goal all night, giving the Cowboys the extra surge they needed. Allen scored six points from the field and two free throws in the final three minutes.

“It is somethin’,” OSU guard Victor Williams said. “It is incredible how he does it sometimes because he gets to the basket and if the guy rotates down, he squeezes himself through the little gap that there is in the defense.”

Williams led the Cowboys in scoring, but he also headed up another statistical category he wasn’t too proud of.

Despite racking up 24 points for OSU, Williams turned the ball over eight times, creating more scoring opportunities for the Red Raiders.

“That was just a lack of concentration on my part,” Williams said. “As a senior, I’ve got to do a better job down the stretch and take care of the ball. I’m looking at my stat sheet, and I thought I played an OK game, but eight turnovers is not a good job for a point guard.”

The Cowboys were able to control the transition game, outscoring the Red Raiders 18-4 in fast break points.

“When you go into a game, the two most important parts of the game are always the first five minutes of the game and the first five minutes of the second half,” Tech coach Bob Knight said. “They just beat us badly in both situations — we just couldn’t come back from that.”

The Cowboys led 37-35 at halftime thanks to a last second 3-pointer by Williams, providing OSU with the momentum it needed to carry over into the second half of play.

True to Knight’s theory, OSU jumped out to a quick 13-point lead to begin the second half, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

“Everybody steps up,” OSU forward Andre Williams said. “On any given night, anybody can score a bunch of points. We need to keep that rolling and keep (the wins) rolling.”

Foul trouble plagued the Cowboys interior defense throughout the game, a concern for Sutton and the players.

“From a critical standpoint, we turned the ball over too many times and maybe fouled too much,” Sutton said. “But you are going to do that the way Tech plays because they attack the glass and their defense is very good and they are going to force you into some mistakes.”

Jason Miller, part of the trio of Cowboys who patrol the paint, fouled out in the second half.

Andre Williams said, “I don’t know what the deal was. Me, Ivan (McFarlin) and Jason (Miller) having 14 fouls when 15 would have fouled us all three out. It was one of those nights, the referees were calling it real close inside.”

OSU prolonged Knight’s search for his 800th win, if only for a few more days. A win over OSU would have given the former Army and Indiana University coach 799 career wins.

“I think Bob — if he stays in good health — he in time will be the winningest coach to ever coach the game of basketball,” Sutton said. “He is one of the great, great coaches we’ve had in the college game.

With its fifth conference win, the Cowboys not only lead the Big 12 in winning percentage but also still carry the longest winning-streak in the NCAA (15).

“What you have to be careful about in the league is that you win all the games you should win and then slip up on somebody like maybe we did today,” Sutton said. “Because I’m not sure we could come in here and beat Tech as many times as they are gonna beat us.”

Brandi Ball can be reached via email at bball@ocolly.com