TC’s Superb Steven Adams Sendoff Video

(41) Godspeed, Steven Adams – YouTube

I don’t know if TC over at Daily Thunder made this video herself, but she’s fully capable of this type of work so I’m assuming she produced this. She emailed it to me and I have to feature this on my blog because it made me cry and laugh simultaneously.

Just wonderful.

I’m hoping she does more stuff like this and sends it to me from time to time.

This video made my day.

Thanks, TC

Best post of the year on Daily Thunder in 2020…not even close except for the Bob Dylan Mr. Tamborine Man video posted by Ash.. OKC Jim’s Shallow video was pretty awesome as well… but this Steven Adams video is sublime. I would love to get a Steven-Serge cooking video if any of the adorable Daily Thunder ‘writers’ has one of those.

Does Joe Biden Have a Mandate?…Op-Ed

Not yet he doesn’t. But if he goes to Georgia, campaigns for the two Dem senate candidates, and they win…he’ll have a mandate.

Where Joe Biden is right now is where Jimmy Carter was in 1976 when he defeated Gerald Ford. Carter’s win was more of a reflection of the nation’s distaste of the Nixon pardon than it was an endorsment of Carter.

Same thing in 2020. Joe Biden is the paragon of Democratic centrism. This wasn’t a vote for Bernie Sanders or Eliabeth Warren. In fact–it was a check of Sanders and Warren while getting rid of the orange grifter punk POTUS.

The election we just had was a reflection of what the country thinks about Donald Trump, not necessarily what the middle centrist lane of America thinks about Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham who both easily won their Senate seats for another six years.

If the GOP wins both senate seats in Georgia then in essence Mitch McConnell is POTUS for another four years while Joe Biden at some point will be battered by both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for the duration of his presidency. Much like the dynamic which evolved between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy during Carter’s one term presidency.

McConnell, plus the remaining Koch brother, the Heritage Foundation, and the GOP in general didn’t need Donald Trump any more. They got their tax cuts and deregulation. They got their three Supreme Court appointments right off the Federalists Society wish list, and they actually won back some seats in the House from the mid-term Trump enduced losses.

Don’t think for a second the people who own both Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham aren’t ready to get rid of the Fox village idiot Donald Trump.

Let’s put it this way…Mitch McConnell has a current net worth of $440 million dollars while Bernie Sanders has a net worth of three million dollars. Tell me where the true lobbying power is going to come from in Georgia.

This is all about Georgia right now. It’s about Georgia, power, and money.

This is the real presidential election….Joe Biden vs. Mitch McConnell and the remaining Koch brother’s vision of Milton Friedman’s Darwinian laissez-faire free market doctrines.. The blathering orange fool Trump with his sidekick Rudy G will continue to be Fox Network’s rating stars as evidenced by the disgraceful performance both Trump and Maria Baritiromo gave this Sunday morning.

But as far as Joe Biden having a clear mandate…we don’t know yet. We know this though…in all Senate matters which will really matter….Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski will be with Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham for the most part.

So if I were Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren I’d focus on winning Georgia and not be too consumed with the construction of Joe Biden’s cabinet.

Saturday Smerconish Poll Question

Kind of a dark dank Saturday afternoon in Deer Creek. Even more depressing listening to the O State vs. Texas Tech game on my headphones as I continue to burn the never ending piles of limbs from the epic icestorm of a month ago.

I couldn’t play for Gundy. I feel for the O State kids. Spencer Sanders meet Bobby Reid. This shouldn’t have happened to you, buddy. Dude…you should have gone to TCU or Texas Tech.

I’ve made significant progress on the limbs, but so much bulk came down and still remains to be cut up and burned. I trudge ahead undaunted. I may start a minor little fire on my neighnor’s property line just to shake him a bit. He’s a big Trump supporter….I may put the 2020 PUTIN-trump yardsign out by the fire. It would break an HOA covenant…but we’re both OU fans. He wouldn’t hold a grudge.

Today’s Smerconish Question was…Should churches be allowed to remain open under the guise of being an essential service?

Very good question and I was mildly surprised with almost 30,000 voters casting votes they voted to keep the churches closed. It was by a significant margin of votes as well.

In Oklahoma…I not only would keep the white churches closed…I’d strip the white evangelical churches of their tax exempt status and make these white Trump ‘Christians’ attend black, Hispanic, Muslim, Jewish, and gay places of worhip at the minimum for a probationary period of twelve months.

Perhaps, this would allow the Trump Christians to reaccquaint themselves with the New Testament, the Golden Rule, the parable of the Good Samaritan…and in the process cleanse themselves from the doctrines they have adopted from the most ammoral grifter POTUS to ever be urninated on in a Moscow hotel room by mutiple Russian prostitutes pretending to be Michelle Obama.

Good question, but I wish Michael would allow me to go air with him so as to lend a little more divirsity to the show.

Cade Cunningham College Debut

Cade Cunningham (OSU) 21 PTS & 10 REBS in College Debut vs UT Arlington – YouTube

Nice first game for Cade Cunningham at O State as he garnerd 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists in a Cowboys’ 75-68 win over UT Arlington.


He was the best player on the floor and will most likely be the best player on the floor every game in this his freshman college season.

I know for a fact Sam Presti coveted Marcus Smart during his days in Stillwater…so I would guess Sam Presti and his scouting staff will be in the seats at GI Arena many a time during this college basketball season.

I would guess Cade Cunningham is the player Sam Presti would want most to center his rebuild around if he can land him in the draft.

Cade is a 6’8″ silky smooth point guard who’s body frame should easily allow him to add some muscle for the NBA game.

Visualize a core of Cade, Lu Dort, SGA. Darius Bazely, and the Serb . Maybe Presti keeps Diallo as some sort of defensive specialist and you could see the start of the rebuild in Oklahoma City.

I would think Mike Boynton’s skill set as a young coach will be of benefit to Cade’s development this season. Boynton is a no nonsense old school point guard himself who demands every thing from his players….which is good.

I love Boynton. I actually had him on my short list for the Thunder head coaching job. I think he’d be a great young coach for the Thunder. I mean…tell me what the difference is between hiring a G League coach versus a young head coach from a Power 5 conference program. Boynton actually has had more media interaction than a G League coach.

As each game passes this season what I’ll be looking for is how Cade as the best player on the floor commands that role while making the players around him better every game moving forward.

I was also very impressed by the manner in which Cade stuck with his committment to O State after they were put on probation for the LaMont Evans situation.

I’m not all that down about the Thunder tanking. In fact…if they weren’t this season then I’d say Presti was being irresponsible as the GM.

I plan on making several treks myself to Stillwater to watch Cade this season once I feel a little better about the COVID situation. I just hope he gets to play a full season of games.

Thanksgiving… After Dark

Simon & Garfunkel-America – YouTube

This is for my son Chris, my daughter-in-law Elaine, my one year-old grandson Robert who I’m guessing will be wearing his Bobby Orr jersey tomorrow at the dinner table…and my soon to be granddaughter Aubrey.

Wish we were making the trip to Denver this week-end, but we’re playing it very cautious with the COVID.

Our prayers and thoughts are with you.

We can’t wait to see you in a couple of weeks.

Have a peaceful Thanksgiving and I hope you enjoy the video. I thought of you guys watching it. I will be closely monitoring Janice’s spacing and mask wearing tomorrow.

Love, Mike

Steven Adams…Good Luck, Mate

(38) Steven Adams And The Thunder Book Bus! – YouTube

This is sad watching all of this go down. Since Russell Westbrook was traded to Houston only one player from that team is still a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. That player would be Hamidou Diallo.

Steven’s evolution in Oklahoma City captivated all of us. Such a different personna from what you usually get from the average NBA player.

If Steven could only shoot the three with some consistency he’d remain a very sought after NBA player. In his book he talks about shooting the threes in practice. We just never saw it in games though.

I hope he ends with Greg Poppovich at some point. He loves Pop and the way the great coach says what’s on his mind.

Not a coincidence Andre Roberson was Stevo’s best friend on the Thunder. Both great role guys who had challenges shooting free throws.

Steven has a charity golf tournament in New Zealand which benefits kids. He’s an interesting guy.

Steven along with Nick Collison, and Andre Roberson are three of my favorite players in the Thunder Era in Oklahoma City. All three role players. All three team glue guys. All three nice human beings who made being a Thunder fan a very fun experience.

Visualizing Steven in New Orleans will be interesting. Just imagining him taking in all the various cuisine options in and of itself could probably be a Bravo reality show. If he added Serge to the show it would be bigger than Tiger King. Serge can handle himself in a kitchen. I’ll put a Serge cooking video on here to prove it. BTW…Serge is probably my fourth favorite Thunder player.

I met Steven once and he was extremely jovial. He called me mate twice. Only time I was ever called mate in Oklahoma. I’ve been called other things, but never mate.

He wrote a book with a ghost writer titled My Life, My Fight which chronicled his life as a teenager growing up in New Zealand. It’s actually a very touching book which goes into Steven’s relationship with his father Sid who died from cancer when Steven was thirteen. A surprisingly good book which is actually very revealing in regards to some very tough obstacles Steven had to overcome as a young man. A nice little read if you ever get the chance.

Steven is in a contract year in New Orleans and his contract is not in line with what his market value will be at the end of the season so we’ll see where he ends up. But again…his tour of New Orleans in and of itself could be the second book. His third book could be a diary of his time with Pop.

I’ll never worry about Steven making new friends in New Orleans and becoming the talk of the local sports writers.

With Nick, Steven, and Andre all gone it will be a rebuilding year for me as a fan/blogger.

But as an NBA fan this comes with the game and you deal with it. But it does make you sit back and realize what an amazing array of good players we’ve had the privilege of watching in sleepy little backwards Oklahoma.

Doug Jones Should Be Joe Biden’s Attorney General Pick

‘Our Country Deserves Better Than This’: Doug Jones Announces He Will Vote To Convict | MSNBC – YouTube

Joe Biden’s nominee for Attorney General will be a contentious confirmation hearing regardless of what happens in the Georgia senatorial runoff elections.

I’m assuming the nuclear process will be in play so Jones will need 51 votes even if the Dems win the senate majority in Georgia.

They can get to 51 with Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins if they don’t win the seats in Georgia.

I actually called Doug Jones’ office right after gave this speech on the floor of the United States Senate and talked to one of his aides. I told him what Jones did was political suicide, but as an American I appreciated his tough decision to do the right thing. Not the easy thing…the right thing. Someone in Oklahoma needs to teach the uber meek faux Christian James Lankford how to do the tough thing now and again. Just saying.

It’s not always easy doing the right thing when it’s going to cause you personal retribution, but Doug Jones did the right thing. That was a wonderfully crafted speech. My dad would have loved that speech. It took some balls in a time in history when not many politicans display much if any courage.

John McCain if still living would probably vote yes for Doug Jones.

Janet Yellen To Head U.S. Treasury

Joe Biden apparently has picked Janet Yellen to become the first woman to serve as the head of the U.S. Treasury in the 231 year-old history of the department.

She’s very much what I would describe as a pragmatic centrist. She’s smart as a whip. Restrained, but usually the smartest person in the room.

Yellen served as Fed Chair from 2014-2018 and was the first woman to break that glass ceiling. She was a member of Clinton’s Economic Advisory Council in the 90’s as well.

I think it’s very solid pick and apparently the markets agree as the Dow hit an all-time high this morning as Yellen has been picked to save the economy which Donald Trump has left behind in a ditch.

The next two quarters will be tough with negative GDP numbers looming since there has been virtually no presidential leadership in dealing with the spiraling COVID-19 crisis.

Unbashingly cheating on a golf course or sport f–king in a furniture store with Guliani don’t count as presidential leadership outside of the Trump base universe of cluelessness.

The transition began yesterday of course without Trump taking any involvement in actually you know being the POTUS as the COVID death total is now close to 260,000.

Be safe on Thanksgiving. Be smart and make prudent decisions. Try not to be too hard on your Trump relatives who literally sold their souls for individul monetary greed when they voted for the grifter punk Donald Trump.

If you want to point out to them what they did was the weakest most insidious decision in the history of the United States that’s your individual call.

I’m just going to pray for their souls and keep these thoughts to myself.

Be safe and live to make it to Christmas.

Mike Gundy Should Quit Coaching at O-State Op-Ed

Gundy should quit coaching at O State. He’s at that Year 16 plateau burn out stage and quite frankly his teams are getting worse every year. His quarterbacks haven’t really done much of anything since Weeden’s magical 2011 season….and the irony there is Gundy almost buried Weeden behind Alex Cate the year before on the Thursday night game against Colorado.

With the weekly regression of Spencer Sanders …Gundy is on the cusp of completely ruining two black Texas high school quarterbacks who both won national high school player of the year honors. The other of course would be Bobby Reid.

I’m not on here hating on Gundy with a rant…in fact, I almost feel sorry for him. He can’t beat OU, his Mullet King mojo has worn thin, and Jim Traber is on his ass every Monday thru Friday on the Sports Animal.

Surely….Mike Gundy has socked enough money away to live his Mullet King lifestyle to the max out there at Karsten and on his rattlesnake ranch. Granted…Boone had Mesa Vista with a moat around a castle in West Texas, but Mullet you’re not Boone. Feel lucky for what you have.

Gundy was pitiful on Saturday night in Bedlam. PITIFUL. I wouldn’t play for him and not just because of the Trump birther shirt he got caught wearing this summer. He coaches like a complete pussy. No emotion with his players during the game. And that punt in the fourth quarter….OMG. Seriously…that was beyond feckless and feeble.

Does he need the money that much?

Mike Gundy…. you’ve done all your going to do at O State. Move on to something else. Become a United States senator like Tuberville did with those idiots in Alabama. Let some young coach with some fire in his belly coach in Stillwater. Let Jim Traber ream someone else’s ass for awhile.

Nothing is meant to last forever, buddy. Enjoy the song and think about what I just wrote.

Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama” (Live In Atlantic City) – Album OUT NOW! – YouTube

After Dark

You’re so Vain – YouTube

I’m going to write my tribute to Steven Adams sometime tomorrow. Along with Nick Collison my two favorite Thunder players. I’m glad he’s leaving though. He needs to be either with Pop or Stevie Kerr. Stevo is far too introspective to play in a city which compares Donald Trump to Teddy Roosevelt. Sigh.

I think I’ll close the week-end off with this Carly Simon song. She was the first diva singer I had a serious crush on back in high school during the John Marshall days.

I guess You Tube has changed their video posting policy. I need to see if I circumvent the new policy.