CLAREMORE — If there is anything you want to know about Rogers State University, just ask Ryan Bradley.
The RSU sports information director is the hardest working individual I’ve ever been around.
With a passion for sports, especially baseball, Bradley is a plethora of knowledge and a good guy to know. Claremore residents will not find a better man who eats, sleeps and breathes RSU athletics than the former Zebras shortstop who also is the son of Hillcats skipper Ron Bradley.
Being new to town and two weeks on the job here at the Claremore Daily Progress, Bradley has definitely made my job a lot easier.
Not only is he a diehard Arkansas Razorback fan like myself, but Bradley epitomizes the lifestyle that I dream of . . . being able to watch college sports year round.
Blessed with a wonderful wife, Heather and a great daughter, Madison, Bradley has welcomed me to Claremore with open arms and made me a part of the RSU family.
His sports information staff is top-notch and the best I’ve ever been around in my 13 years of being a sports editor.
It’s often said that you can tell a lot about someone by the way he leads his life. From what I can see in just the short time that I’ve known Bradley, he is a man of integrity that loves his family, his job and serves the Lord with all his heart.
A lot of people punch the clock at 8 a.m. and by 9 they are already wondering when 5 p.m. will come around.
That’s not the case for Bradley and his staff.
Eight-hour days don’t exist in the world of media relations. If he is like other SIDs around the country, the office becomes his home away from home. And, family time often gets spent at gymnasiums, baseball diamonds or soccer fields.
Those occasional Sundays and Wednesdays when the sports world enjoys a day of rest, Bradley can probably be found playing catch in the backyard with Madison or enjoying ‘The Bachelor’ with his lovely wife.
RSU athletic director Wren Baker inherited a proven leader in Bradley, who has definitely gone beyond the limits to keeping the Hillcats recognized on the national scene in the NAIA.
Bradley may not get the credit he deserves, but through the eyes of this native Texan, he is the right man for the job.
Thanks, Ryan for keeping the people of Claremore and myself informed on the success of Hillcat athletics.
You definitely have all your bases covered.
(Tim Ritter is the sports editor of the Claremore Daily Progress. He can be reached at tritter@claremoreprogress.com)
Sports Columnists
Bradley covers all bases, takes pride in Hillcat athletics
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COLUMN: 'Cardiac Cats' chasing history
Seven years in the making...
On a grass sandlot behind Atwoods, the dream of reaching the NAIA World Series was just getting started for the Rogers State University Hillcat baseball team.
Head coach Ron Bradley, who had won state championships at West Fork (Ark.), Claremore and Jenks, was the perfect fit for breathing life into a soon-to-be baseball powerhouse on the Hill.
What may have been a dream back then when the Hillcats were practicing in T-shirts, worn-out baseball pants and cleats, is not so anymore as RSU is among the nation's elite competing this week for their first-ever NAIA National Championship.
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LITKE: Bobby V. doesn't do peace and quiet
Nobody hires Bobby Valentine expecting peace and quiet.
That's not the way he did business in the past, and as his latest run-in with struggling slugger Kevin Youkilis demonstrated, Bobby V. is not about to turn over a new leaf now. -
WEINER: Steroids shouldn't keep players from Hall
Steroid use shouldn't keep baseball's best sluggers and pitchers out of the Hall of Fame, the head of the players' union said Wednesday.
Michael Weiner told the National Press Club he thinks the Hall "is for the best baseball players that have ever played.'' The executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association also said he thinks Pete Rose should be in the Hall despite Rose's history of gambling - just as team executives aren't barred for engaging in collusion against the players in the 1980s. -
LITKE: 'Student-athletes' in name only
It's time to bury the term "student-athlete.'' It died at 11:42 p.m. Monday, just about the time the confetti falling from the roof of the Superdome landed on coach John Calipari's hair and the players from Kentucky's NBA development academy gathered at a far corner of the court to collect a trophy many of them will need a campus map just to find next year.
The real joke is on college basketball, or at least the college part of it. The Kansas team the Wildcats beat handily 67-59 never had more than a puncher's chance. -
HORNING: Something special is going on here
Keilani Ricketts sounded casual about it.
She was signing her autographs for well wishers and fans beyond Hall of Fame Stadium’s left-field fence with her teammates.
She had just collected her 15th win of the season, a 4-0 one-hit shutout of Bedlam rival Oklahoma State; a game in which she saved her best for last, striking out the Cowgirl side in the seventh inning to lift her strikeout total to 10 for the game and 196 for the season over 1211⁄3 innings; and a game in which she shaved another 0.04 off her earned-run average, lowering it to the unheard of depth of 0.69. -
JOHNSON: NSU's new Fieldhouse a welcome addition
Northeastern State’s basketball programs are about to get a huge boost. As a matter of fact, so is all of Tahlequah and Cherokee County.
After drawn-out discussions and lengthy deliberating, Northeastern State is set to begin construction on a new event center. The new arena will not only give the local and area athletic communities a shot in the arm, but it will also be a welcome addition to those who are fans of everything from fairs to forums. -
HORNING: Sooners saved their best game for very last
St. John’s is a No. 3 seed. It closed the regular season and Big East tournament winning nine of 10 games before finding its way to Norman.
Along the way, prior to Tuesday night at Lloyd Noble Center, the last three times it played on its opponent’s home court, it beat No. 23 Rutgers by nine points, No. 3 Connecticut by a point and No. 17 Georgetown by 10 points. -
DAHLBERG: Tebow cast aside much like Manning
The images were indelible for Denver fans or anyone watching on TV as Tebowmania swept the nation.
On the sidelines, Tim Tebow was Tebowing after scoring yet another late touchdown. In his box upstairs, John Elway was trying his best to look excited about a quarterback he could barely stand to watch. -
DAHLBERG: No real losers in Peyton Manning chase
The slightest clue that he is in town draws curious onlookers to airports and practice fields. Reporters stake him out, and television helicopters hover overhead to capture his every move.
There's never been a free agent frenzy like this in the NFL. Then again, there's never been a free agent like Peyton Manning. -
DAHLBERG: Academics still second at many schools
Filling out a bracket for the NCAA tournament is pretty much a crapshoot, no matter how much you study or how good you guess. That was especially true last year, when no No. 1 seed made the Final Four yet Butler somehow found its way there for the second straight year.
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