Oklahoma Sooners

The University of Oklahoma Sooners (often referred to as Oklahoma or OU) features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the "Sooners", a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Rush of 1889, which initially opened the Unassigned Lands in the future state of Oklahoma to non-native settlement. The university's athletic teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I, in the Big 12 Conference. The university's current athletic director is Joe Castiglione.

In 2002, the University of Oklahoma was ranked as the third best college sports program in America by Sports Illustrated. When combined with Blake Griffin's John Wooden Award and Sam Bradford's Heisman Trophy, Oklahoma became the second school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year (Gary Beban won the Heisman Trophy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the USBWA "Player of the Year" award in 1968 for UCLA).

Varsity sports

The University of Oklahoma was a charter member of the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWC) during its formation in 1914. Five years later, in 1919, OU left the SWC and joined the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In 1928, this conference split, and OU remained aligned with the teams that formed the Big Six Conference. Over the next 31 years, more schools were added and the conference underwent several name changes, incrementing the number each time up to the Big Eight Conference where it remained until 1996. Four more universities were added then and the name was changed one more time to its current form: the Big 12 Conference.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma ⁱ/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ (Cherokee: Asgaya gigageyi / ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᎩᎦᎨᏱ; or translated ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ (òɡàlàhoma), Pawnee: Uukuhuúwa,Cayuga: Gahnawiyoˀgeh) is a state located in the South Central United States. Oklahoma is the 20th most extensive and the 28th most populous of the 50 United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, The Sooner State, in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on the choicest pieces of land prior to the official opening date, and the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which opened the door for white settlement in America's Indian Territory. The name was settled upon statehood, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged and Indian was dropped from the name. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, or informally "Okies", and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.

The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943. It was a box-office smash and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances, later enjoying award-winning revivals, national tours, foreign productions and an Academy Award-winning 1955 film adaptation. It has long been a popular choice for school and community productions. Rodgers and Hammerstein won a special Pulitzer Prize for Oklahoma! in 1944.

This musical, building on the innovations of the earlier Show Boat, epitomized the development of the "book musical", a musical play where the songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals that are able to evoke genuine emotions other than laughter. In addition, Oklahoma! features musical themes, or motifs, that recur throughout the work to connect the music and story. A fifteen-minute "dream ballet" reflects Laurey's struggle with her feelings about two men, Curley and Jud.

Ed Ferrara

Edward "Ed" Ferrara (born November 22, 1966) is a former professional wrestling booker and agent for the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, often alongside Vince Russo. In WCW, he portrayed the character "Oklahoma", a mockery of WWF's commentator Jim Ross, and was the heaviest WCW Cruiserweight Champion, although he was forced to vacate the title for exceeding the 220 lb weight limit. Ed Ferrara began his work in television production and writing, contributing to shows such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show and Weird Science on the USA Network. Ferrara was also a wrestler in Slammers Wrestling Federation known as Bruce Beaudine. He was most recently working on the creative team for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Biography

Education

Ferrara graduated from Drew University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in theater arts and English.

Between 1994 to 1996, Ferrara was trained and wrestled in the California based independent promotion - Slammers Wrestling Federation. Ferrara worked under the ring name of Bruce Beaudine and on April 11 1996 he won the SWF heavyweight championship.