It's been a great week so far, clicking on all cylinders. I've worked out three straight days, which isn't a record but it has me back on track to where I was earlier this summer.

In June, I bought a pair of running shoes and decided I'd run a 5K on Sept. 1, with the idea that competition was required to get me motivated. Well, I caught a cold and lost all that momentum after a couple of weeks, during which we also had the great floods of Oklahoma.

Toad's in-laws graciously gave me a treadmill, which they weren't using. It's turned out to be one of the best gifts ever because while I technically prefer running outside so I can get fresh air, so I can run through the beauty that is OU's campus, I hate bugs, hot weather, humidity and people.

So, the treadmill is perfect. It's in a climate-controlled environment away from strangers and creepy-crawlies. I've got it parked in front of my television, something I highly recommend if you should ever get a treadmill. In fact, I would love to build a little stand that would come out of the wall on top of which I could place a remote and a bottle of water.

However, in the scope of the house, it would be terribly tacky.

My theory of exercise at this point has nothing to do with competition with other people, so I'm not interested in the 5K in two weeks. However, I am very interested in competing with myself, challenging myself to the hilt.

No, I'm not taking up rock-climbing or skydiving. However, my thought is that if I burn off 350 calories per day for 10 days, I've lost one pound. That's the math; lose 3,500 calories, and you lose a pound presuming my eating habits don't change.

So, every 10 days, I lose one pound. In 100 days, I lose 10. In 200, 20. In 300, 30 -- and in one year, no matter what, without altering my diet one iota, presuming again that I eat sensibly without extreme binging, I should lose 36.5 pounds.

I don't plan to do that. That's too much.

But 25? I can totally see that.

***

Quick notes. The University of Oklahoma named redshirt freshman Sam Bradford starting QB, which is no surprise. However, true freshman Keith Nichol is coming on strong, particularly with his legs.

Oklahoma won't do this, but I seriously think they should use Nichol like Florida used Tim Tebow last year. If you look at the NFL, coaches are using two players at key skill positions. I'm not saying split quarterback time between Bradford and Nichol.

Bradford's our guy.

But if Nichol is as talented as he seems to be, we're fools -- outright fools -- not to use him now. Bring him in on third downs. Bring him in to spell Bradford in a hurry-up offense. Put him out at receiver a couple times as a decoy.

Teams that excel in the next 10 years at both the college and pro levels will have two capable and usable quarterbacks and running backs. Now, I don't mean that Peyton Manning should ever have to split time with some dope, but I do mean the Jets have so made the right move by adding Brad Smith to their team, using him in a variety of ways. Believe it or not, there's a solid chance Paul Thompson makes the Green Bay Packers as an "athlete."

So, if you're a Sooners fan, get on board with some innovation. The days when "if you had two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks" are over. Having two great, capable quarterbacks, used properly, with innovation and strategy is the ultimate threat as Florida showed last year.

It's a trend that will not go away.

***

I've done a 180 on TNT's "Saving Grace."

After making fun of it the first two weeks, I can honestly, truly say I like this show. The writing over the last few weeks won't win any Pulitzer's or whatever they give TV writers (Emmy's, I think), but it's 100 percent better.

Creator Nancy Miller has toned down the hokeyness.

As an Oklahoman, it's less embarrassing and, now, dare I say semi-gratifying. But for me as a TV viewer, the writing simply had to improve, and it did. Combined with some well-done character development, this is a show to be reckoned with over the next couple of years, one that might eventually be award-winning.

Not yet, but it's clear that most others gave up on this one too early. I don't blame them, but I'm also the patron saint for lost television causes, and I wanted to give it a chance. So, I'm glad it's worked out and that I don't have to cut myself while watching it anymore.

***

Ventriloquist Terry Fator won "America's Got Talent," which was the right call. Good for him -- and a Dallas guy at that.

***

A study came out today suggesting that one in four people surveyed said they hadn't read a book in the past year. What I want to know is whether they mean "finished" a book in the past year.

Personally, I think it is a testament to my personal pecadilloes, but I have "read" like six books in the past year, finishing two and almost finishing two others and halfway finishing the other two.

No, not proud of it. I want to be able to read and finish a book every couple of weeks, but to be honest, I have poor reading habits and the attention span of a toddler.

Still, I seem to be way ahead of the curve, not that I feel like I am.