OKLAHOMA CITY -- THE TEARS and hugs and group photos were taking so long that the grounds crew couldn't wait any longer. So they got to work, digging up the chalk lines with shovels and sweeping confetti into a pile with rakes. Then they ran over the collection of crimson and white and gold paper with a Billy Goat lawn mower, shredding it and shredding it and shredding it until it was indistinguishable from the dirt.
Backpack blowers wheezed in the background as the Oklahoma Sooners lingered in the outfield, their family and friends joining in on the celebration that so many of them had become accustomed to by now.