PODCAST: Crunch time for wrestling & basketball

2/27/2020 |  Ben Johnson

State tournament wrestling is this weekend, and small school basketball teams will be punching their tickets to the state tournament in area tournament play.
Listen in as we break it all down for you.

McKinley Whitfield headed to NY Giants mini camp

5/2/2019 |  Ben Johnson

Fort Coffee is headed for the big stage.

Wait, Fort Coffee? Where is that? Is it in Oklahoma?

It’s a town that might go unrecognized, outside of severe weather coverage in Oklahoma, but Fort Coffee sits in the Arkansas River bend near Skullyville and northeast of Spiro. Just find LeFlore County in far eastern Oklahoma, and it sits at the very northern tip of the county.

It’s where McKinley Whitfield has called home all his life.

Now Whitfield will fly the Fort Coffee flag proudly when he attends New York Giants mini camp.

“It means everything in the world to me to represent Spiro and Fort Coffee,” said Whitfield, a former standout at Spiro High School before playing college football at the University of Tulsa.

“I grew up there my whole life, and I just try my best to be a inspiration to all the younger kids there.”

Whitfield, measuring at 6 feet, 3 inches and 217 pounds, knows professional athletic endeavors don’t come along often for those growing up in Fort Coffee.

“Not many people from the area get changes like these,” he said, “so it’s a blessing.”

Whitfield, a safety by trade, recently watched the NFL Draft intently, hoping for his name to appear in the later rounds. But all seven rounds breezed by, despite a few draft boards mentioning Whitfield as a possible late-round candidate.

“It was very frustrating,” said Whitfield, who logged 264 tackles and 19 pass breakups during his collegiate career. “Everybody was thinking that I was going to get drafted, so I didn’t want to let anybody down. I just tried to keep myself busy during the whole process and be around my family.”

It didn’t take long for Whitefield to draw an invitation to New York’s minicamp, which begins this weekend.

“It feels good getting a chance to go play at the next level,” said Whitfield, who nabbed four interceptions while at Tulsa. “Of course I would rather have gotten drafted or a free agent deal, but it’s just more motivation for me.

Whitfield joins four other TU players as mini camp invitees. Justin Hobbs and Willie Wright will work out for the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns, respectively, and two other in-state talents, Tyler Bowling (Yukon) and Chandler Miller (Bixby), will try to earn a spot with the Atlanta Falcons.

Leading up to the draft, Whitfield never had much interaction with the Giants, chatting with the organization once while at a senior event in Texas. But now he gets a chance to prove Fort Coffee belongs in the NFL.

“I’ve always been a hard worker since I was a kid,” Whitfield said. “That definitely isn’t going to stop now.”

*Photo credit: University of Tulsa

PODCAST TIME! Wall to wall basketball and wrestling

2/28/2019 |  Ben Johnson

Medals and trophies have been handed out to wrestlers across the state. Now it’s time for basketball teams to start claiming hardware.

Ben and Michael dive into Class A & B state basketball tournaments on tap this week, and they guys also make their predictions in each class.

Ben breaks down what happened at the state wrestling tournament and some of the various highlights along the way. 

Also added a new segment where the guys named their MVPs of the week. Listen in and find out who they dubbed as last week’s MVPs.

All that leading up to Michael's interview with Okarche coach Ray West. You don't want to miss what West had to say.

Thanks for listening & enjoy!

Have any feedback? Email the show at ben@skordle.com

SKORDLE SAMPLER - Week 10 (2023): Edge Craft Barbecue

11/2/2023 |  Michael Swisher

Zach Edge used to run the pit at Maples BBQ in Oklahoma City.

What started out as just a popular BBQ food truck gained a lot of traction and had locals buzzing about finding Central Texas BBQ right here in Oklahoma, so they built a brick and mortar location.

Maples grew too fast, had a subpar review from regionally-renowned Texas Monthly BBQ critic Daniel Vaughn and - just like that - Maples closed its doors.

Edge learned a lot of lessons from his time at Maple’s. After Maple’s closed, Edge went back to the drawing board and vowed to persevere.

By going out on his own and controlling all the things he knew were important, he was able to call the shots on everything: The equipment, the building, the employees, the sides, the quality of meat, the wood, the smoker and most importantly - the finished product.

In late summer of 2021, Zach opened the doors to Edge Craft Barbecue.

It's what most believe Maple’s could’ve been. Edge removed all the restraints of being an employee and quickly elevated himself to the top of the BBQ food chain simply by doing it his way.

I was there the day Edge Craft opened and I knew immediately that he nailed it.

Starting out with his custom-made 1,000-gallon offset smoker from Primitive Pits, Edge is already ahead of his competitors.

He’s not using propane, pellets, or any other shortcut to perfect his fire. He’s using the most basic and most challenging method to cook meat with real fire.

This is where the magic begins and ends. And when you’re there, ask to look at the pit; they’ll gladly show you!

Edge Craft Barbecue is not possibly or could be, but IS DEFINITIVELY cranking out the best brisket north of the Red River.