The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson, OSU's Dave Hunziker named state's best in National Sports Media Association vote

The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson, OSU's Dave Hunziker named state's best in National Sports Media Association vote

For the first time, The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson was voted Oklahoma sportswriter of the year, the National Sports Media Association announced on Monday.

Oklahoma State Radio Network/Learfield broadcaster Dave Hunziker was voted Oklahoma sportscaster of the year for the second time.

ESPN College GameDay mainstay Lee Corso and Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke were among four elected to the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame, NSMA executive director Dave Goren announced. Corso and Plaschke are joined by two posthumous electees, legendary hockey announcer Dan Kelly and essayist Roger Angell.

CBS Sports’ Ian Eagle was voted as the 2022 national sportscaster of the year. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Pete Thamel of ESPN.com shared the 2022 national sportswriter of the year.

More:Five things to know about Alan Bowman, Oklahoma State football's new transfer quarterback

USC's Reggie Bush, Florida's Tim Tebow make College Football Hall of Fame

Reggie Bush, whose Heisman Trophy victory for Southern California in 2005 was vacated because of NCAA violations, was among 18 players in the latest College Football Hall of Fame class announced Monday.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman in 2007, was also elected to the hall by the National Football Foundation, along with Dwight Freeney of Syracuse; Luke Kuechly of Boston College; LaMichael James of Oregon; and Michael Bishop of Kansas State.

Bush played on two national championship teams with USC in 2003 and '04, and led the Trojans to another title game in 2005, a season in which he won the Heisman with a spectacular season. He ran for 1,740 yards, averaged 8.7 yards per carry and scored 19 touchdowns.

He went to become the second overall pick in the NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints after a college career that saw him run for 3,169 yards in three seasons, averaging 7.3 yards per carry, and score 42 touchdowns.

The rest of the latest class of college Hall of Famers includes: Eric Berry of Tennessee; Robert Gallery of Iowa; Derrick Johnson of Texas; Bill Kollar of Montana State; Jeremy Maclin of Missouri; Terrance Mathis of New Mexico; Bryant McKinnie of Miami; Corey Moore of Virginia Tech; Michael Stonebreaker of Notre Dame; Troy Vincent of Wisconsin; Brian Westbrook of Villanova; and DeAngelo Williams of Memphis.

The four coaches to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in December will be Monte Cater of Shepherd; Roy Kramer, the Central Michigan coach who became Southeastern Conference commissioner; Mark Richt, who coached Georgia and Miami; and triple-option guru Paul Johnson, who had stints at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech.

KENTUCKY: Head coach Mark Stoops has re-hired former Los Angeles Rams assistant Liam Coen as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, returning him to the program he built into one of the SEC’s top attacks in 2021. Coen, 37, returned to the Rams as OC last season after a highly successful 2021 with the Wildcats, who went 10-3 and won the Citrus Bowl with a pro-style scheme led by quarterback Will Levis.

Doctors: Bills' Damar Hamlin in good spirits, undergoing testing

An upbeat Damar Hamlin said Tuesday he is “not home quite just yet,” as the Bills safety spent his second day in a Buffalo hospital undergoing a series of tests to determine why he went into cardiac arrest on the field last week and when he can be discharged.

“Special thank-you to Buffalo General it’s been nothing but love since arrival!” Hamlin added in his Twitter post, while asking his followers to keep him in their prayers.

Buffalo General Medical Center issued a news release saying Hamlin was in good spirits and was joined by his parents, Mario and Nina Hamlin, as well as his younger brother, Damir.

The hospital said its team of doctors was “tasked with identifying any possible causes of the event, potentially treat any pathology that may be found, as well as plan for his recovery, discharge and rehabilitation.”

Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated after being struck in the chest by Bengals receiver Tee Higgins while making what appeared to be a routine tackle during the first quarter of Buffalo’s since-canceled game at Cincinnati on Jan. 2. The 24-year-old from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh exurb, spent a week at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he experienced what doctors are calling “a remarkable recovery."

Able to breathe on his own as well as walk and talk, Hamlin was transferred to Buffalo on Monday for the next step of his treatment and recovery, while also being closer to home and his teammates. He is listed in stable condition.

CARDINALS: Arizona fired coach Kliff Kingsbury and parted ways with general manager Steve Keim on Monday after a dreadful season that saw constant unwanted headlines, a serious knee injury to star quarterback Kyler Murray and lots of losing. The 43-year-old Kingsbury — who received a contract extension just last year — finishes his tenure with a 28-37-1 record over four seasons, including a 4-13 mark this year.

FALCONS: Defensive coordinator Dean Pees announced his retirement Monday, one day after completing his second season with the team. The 73-year-old Pees is ending a 50-year career in football. He previously coached 16 years in the NFL, including a combined 12 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Tennessee, Baltimore and New England.

TEXANS: Lovie Smith was fired as coach on Sunday night after just one season where the team went 3-13-1. It’s the second straight season in which the Texans have fired a coach after just one year. They parted ways with David Culley last January after he went 4-13 in his only season.

Extra points

MLB: Carlos Correa has reversed course again, bringing him back to where he started in the most convoluted free-agent negotiation in baseball history. Correa agreed Tuesday to a $200 million, six-year contract that keeps him with the Minnesota Twins after failing to complete deals with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants, according to multiple reports.

—Staff and wire reports

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NSMA 2022 Oklahoma sportswriter, sportscaster of the year awards