Welcome to OKCThunderGround!

So….. if you’re one of these whites in a New Confederate state like say– Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, or West Virginia….does this mean the focus now goes back on Building the Wall and Who’s Gonna Pay For that Wall?

Who could have possibly known the nuance of health care reform could be this delicate? Who amongst us could have possibly known this would be more difficult than passing a NASCAR Trivia Exam or knowing the do’s and don’ts of furniture store sport fucking?

Who could have possibly known?

I almost forgot. I haven’t done this in a couple of months in that it doesn’t make musical sense with the Russians.

It’s Sunday morning—that time of the week. Time to not watch the Sunday morning news shows in the hope I won’t depress myself into a stupor. Time to hope Caligula doesn’t do away with everything good since WWII, the Marshall Plan, Nato, winning the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, the expansion of the middle class, and so on—and just basically being the greatest country in the history of the world these past seventy years.

Just the hope that Mattis and McMaster can prove to be the ultimate firewall to protect what we once viewed as America versus just a really obnoxious real estate con artist trying to do away with the alternative minimum tax.

So—-here’s Will Ferrell singing Bob Goulet.

My Favorite Seinfeld Scene. Kramer hosting the Merv Griffin Show from his apartment.

Enjoy yourself. Have fun being in Oklahoma. Not everyone is a redneck. There are some cool people here. Winning is fun. Hope you stay.

I don’t know. If I were a black stud athlete like either Russ or Paul George—-I’m not sure I could play in Oklahoma knowing Caligula carried the state by seventy per cent or so. Yeah, the fans are loyal, but it’s a state where you still kind of get the feeling Dwight D Eisenhower is the president.

I’m just saying if I were a young black man I don’t know why I would want to stay in such a politically regressed state. I mean, for crying our loud, these people re-elected Mary Fallin–so you kind of get the litmus test there.

If Durant had just come out and said, “I can’t play here anymore because of Fallin and Trump,” I would have had some empathy for him.

But at the end of the day–it’s about winning. If Russell can morph his game just a bit and allow Paul George to become a serious MVP candidate while the Thunder get to the Western Conference Finals—then I think there’s chance he stays a while.

I love the part in this video where the dude evokes the name of Reggie Jackson as to prove Russell’s shortcomings. Game 6 and those last four minutes sent Kevin Durant to the Warriors. It’s about winning.

Chris Broussard is probably my favorite NBA talking head. So here’s this.

Without Nick Collison, Thunder basketball wouldn’t feel right for me. Sam Presti made some great moves this summer and made another one this week when he signed Nick Collison to come back for another year. Granted, Nick only played in twenty games last season and only averaged 6.4 minutes a game, but what Nick brings for me at least is knowing the Thunder’s fifth big is one of the smartest, toughest basketball players I’ve ever seen. Plus, he’s one of the best passers I’ve ever seen in a big player. He knows the game.

To me, Nick Collison is Thunder basketball. Period.

With Steven, Patrick, Enes, and Jerami in front of him–minutes will be tough to come by for Nick, but what a nice luxury it is for Billy Donovan to have a guy like Nick Collison there for him when the need arises.

Collison has always been my favorite Thunder player both on and off the court. His volunteer work with kids at the Children’s Hospital is notorious. His interviews are more like coaching primers than player-speak. I’m fully hoping Nick Collison stays with the Thunder organization after his playing days are over.

But I agree with Nick. I think he still has something left in the tank for a role which doesn’t demand wear on his body every game.

Pretty close to a perfect summer for Sam Presti.

Well, at least his mother laughed. Peyton knows though. He never left the Colts just because he had struggles with the Patriots. It might have appeared too loaded with Brady and Manning on the same team. Manning just finally beat them in an AFC Championship Game and won the first of his two Super Bowls.

I did this seventeen years ago and became an Independent–so I know exactly what he’s feeling except I don’t have a nationally acclaimed morning talk show with Mika sitting next to me. I’m a Morning Joe regular and pretty much watch the show religiously.

Is there a Republican senator out there somewhere lurking with a set of balls, some gumption, and some genuine concern for choosing country over party still remains the question of the day.

We’ll see.

Unbelievable. On a sweltering July day, hundreds line the fence line at Will Rogers Airport in OKC. Absolutely crazy.

It’s what makes Oklahoma City the Mystery, Alaska of the NBA. The fans are incredible. I love going to the games. They’re good fans. They could be the best in the NBA. Smart crowds usually, which is somewhat odd considering how dumb the state is politically. I’ll keep to my pledge and not go any further and call Trump the douchebag piece of shit he truly is.

Lee Jenkins from S.I. with Dan Patrick on the Paul George trade.