Sporting News: Here’s how Texas Tech used the pain of last year’s loss to Villanova to fuel Sweet Sixteen return

John Hoover wrote for the Tulsa World for 24 years before joining The Franchise, where he's now co-host of "The Franchise Drive" on The Franchise Tulsa (weeknights 6-8, fm107.7 in OKC, fm107.9/am1270 in Tulsa) . In his time at the World, Hoover won numerous writing and reporting awards, including in 2011 National Beat Writer of the Year from the Associated Press Sports Editors for his work covering the Oklahoma Sooners. Hoover also covered Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Oral Roberts and the NFL as a beat writer. From 2012 to 2016, Hoover was the World's lead sports columnist. As a columnist, Hoover won national awards in 2012 and 2014 from the National Athletic Trainers Association for reporting on sports medicine and in 2015 won first place in sports columns from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists. After receiving a journalism degree from East Central University, Hoover worked at newspapers in Ada, Okmulgee, Tahlequah and Waynesville, Mo. He played football at Ada High School and grew up in North Pole, Alaska. Hoover and his family live in Broken Arrow.