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-Staff Reports-

I’m a little worn out from the barrage of the mens’ NCAA tournament plus attending all three games from the womens’ Norman sub-regional, but I’m feeling happy right now for Coach Jennie Beranczyk and her streaking Sooners.

This was a big deal for the OU women’s program on Monday for a game which had a 3:00pm start time.

The first thing I wanted to observe was what would the Sooner fanbase look like on a Monday game with a 3:00pm start time..

Here’s what I would say on that front…it was by far the best crowd at an OU basketball game for either the OU men or women this season. Sooner Nation loves Coach Jennie and her girls, Coach Porter not quite as much. But of course winning can be a fickle thing. Winning is fun. Always remember that axiom in sports. Losing with character can only lst so long.

It was an electric atmosphere…for all forty minutes of play. MJ would write this….the usual mode of OU teasipper fans were almost non-existent. The students were awesome. The general admission people were raccous. THIS IS WHAT IT SHOULD FEEL LIKE AT A COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME!

I actually thought this Iowa game would be a competitive test for the Sooners, and they promptly fell behind 10-4 out of the first period gates with Skylar Vann and Reagan Beers both looking shaky to say the least.

But Coach Jennie went to her very deep bench and inserted Liz Scott, O State transfer Lexy Keys, and freshman Zyna Vann, younger sister of Skylar.

And what happened is this…with the super-subs in the game—the Sooners went on a 19-1 barrage against the over-whelmed Hawkeyes. Key in this Sooner run were sophmore Sahara Williams and senior Liz Scott, two of Coach Jennie’s more physical players.

For crying out loud…by the time this game finished OU had a 30 rebound advantage. Not 30 rebounds, but a 64-32 edge on the boards. Unless you tried…it would hard to lose a basketball game with a 30 something edge on the boards.

And after the 19-1 run…it was merely a matter of OU running the Hawkeyes into the ground and getting to the free throwline in the second half.

BTW…Coach Jennie played for the Iowa Hawkeyes in her college player days.

Both Skylar and Reagan played much better in the second half, although Reagan missed way too many easy buskets under the basket. That cannot happen if the Sooners want to take this from a Sweet 16 to an Elite 8 type of season. Both Reagan and Skylar have to come out of the gates ready to go from the opening because the Sooners will not be favored in their next game or any further games this season.

But that aside…I had a tear in my eye after the game. I started attending the women games midway through Jennie’s second season in Norman. I figured with the cancer journey and all—it would be good for me. And the funniest thing happened…I fell in love with her team. I cried last year as well when they beat Texas at home to clinch the Big 12 regular season championship.

Like many in America nowadays—I find myself weary of all the player movment in the mens’ game. The NIL money and the transfer portal very much need to be reeled in on the mens’a side of the game. But I do still love the mens’ NCAA Tournament.

So..as far as the Sooner men and Villanova wannabe head coach Porter Moser–I think what I’ll do is this…I’ll wait a week or so to see if Villanova has decided to pay Joe C the $3.6 million buyout to be their next hoops coach.

But as far as Jalon Moore, Sam Godwin, Jeremiah Fears—kudos to you young men for not surrendering and turning your basketball season into a success after those disastrous last thirty seconds versus LSU. You’ll always hold a special place in Mike’s OU basketball heart.

You guys never surrendered…UConn was a just a little better. And we can live with that at the end of the day. Because guys…that’s what life is–pulling yourself up after life knocks you down. Trust me on that one. MJ knows.

Mike J

Yesterday was the first official day of spring and March Madness simultaneously. My wife’s five-hundred daffodils are still in bloom. Copious numbers of iris are green and growing, but still have a ways before their bloom period. You can’t plant tulips out here on the mini-ranch because the deer love eating tulips. We learned that in Spring II out here in the godforsaken Oklahoma wilderness.

Our many redbud trees are just on the cusp of blooming. The lilac shrubs will be in bloom soon as well. Lavendar and white. Our two forty-foot Aristocrat Pear tree are in a spectacular avalanche of white bloom this morning. In Oklahoma…always plant the Aristocrat over the much over-planted Bradford Pear because of the strong wind resistance the Aristocrat affords the landscape.

The flowering crabapple tree in front is probably at least two weeks away from bloom. It is a magnifcent spring bloomer in Oklahoma scapes. Peonies are breaking the ground in front and back beds. I have no idea whatsover how many peonies my wife has planted over the years. Plus…they multiply. All I know the color and size of blooms are stunning and what have stopped many who drive by our mini- ranch to stop and ask what varieties she planted.

Oakleaf hydrangeas are turning green and will kick in their massive dangling white blooms in mid to late April. Crapemyrtles are planted everywhere on the property. In back our flowering peach trees, our flowering ornamental cherry trees, with a traditional cherry tree nuged just in front of tthe those trees to add a sense of triangular symmetry. It is stunningwhen they all hit peak bloom. Absolutely breathtaking.

For an extra Southern Living touch I planted two magnolias for my wife and two Chaste Trees….lavendar and white blooms.

On our mini-ranch there will be landscape color just prior to the week before Thanksgiving when our red maples drop their deep red-orange leaves.

Our thirty or so wild turkeys are in full color and in full mating ritual season.

Their open perversion is almost as captivating as Trump describing his yearnings for his oldest daughter. You fake Trump Christians are genuinely something…that’s for certain.

Plus, add to the mix…a butterfly garden and a bluebird hotel. The covenants out here actually our lot and two others to have horses. MJ has been thinking to himself once Dr. Showwalter gives MJ the final fist pump… MJ might just one day ride his horse onto the ranch and tie him up near the coy pond. I’m sure that would play huge for the wife as she’s already wearing a self-made T-shirt which reads: YOU WEAR ME OUT.

When my wife decided to leave Auburn and come back to godforsaken Oklahoma…part of the deal was we’d have a place like the mini-ranch with that Southern feel to it. We love the mini-ranch. The Trump racist nationalists….not as much. We just hope at some point we won’t have to exit in the middle of the night like the Von Trapp family’s escape in the Sound of Music from Austria. That would suck.

Basketball and fishing…MJ’s cup runneth over. I’ll be attending all sessions at the OU womens’ regional in Norman this week-end, and hope OU’s men plays well versus UConn this evening.

Life is better than good. Only one more chemo infusion next Tuesday and MJ will have completed the gauntlet. And, btw…MJ in his last two three mile bike rides on the terrain bike has set new time records each time.

We’ll be on various Florida beaches in April to celebrate.

Life is better than good.

In honor of my Southern wife… I thought a song from my favorite Southern band would be the right touch today.

Take time to smell the flowers…seriously.

MJ, the Oklahoma Oracle.

I figured as low as the bar is set in Oklahoma…self- proclamation of oracle status isn’t over the top by any means.

MJ

This game was simply amazing.

I almost turned it off four different times because the level of play by both teams was bordering on dumpster fire shit show level. But I could not turn it off and go to bed.

It was like watching a ‘normal’ day of chaos in this second Trump dictatorship.

Chaos on almost every possession. Over 45 combined turnovers by both teams.

The Nuggets without Nikola, Jamal, Julian Strawther, and the ever gritty Christian Braun. Denver was without four of their top seven rotational players and Aaron Gordon was a game time decision.

Meanwhile…the Warriors entered this game at home as the hottest team in the league with something very much to play for in their attempt to secure a higher seed in the goofy Western Conference.

And who better than Russell Westbrook to stand tall amongst all this dysfunction in San Franciso last night and deliever a Hall of Fame level triple double to carry his team on his back along with Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.

For god’s sake Russell went 12 pts, 11 rbs, and 16 assists on the night. Sublime does not adequately decribed the clutch in Russell’s play last night when it appeared the Nuggets would take an automatic loss.

Like MJ, ESPN announcers Michael Breen and Richard Jefferson knew Russell’s trip-dub was beyond amazing.

MJ in Deer Creek at this point is not ashamed to state he loves Russell Westbrook like a John Marshall brother.

And since Russ disdains Trump almost as much as MJ…this SNL newscast from last Staurday is for Russell.

Nuggets at the LA Lakers on Wednesday night. MJ feels as if this all the sudden is a game he has to cover on the blog.

Mike J

I tried to stay awake last night as the Thunder were on the road against the Bucks without both J-Dub and Lu. I thought it might be an interesting game with the Thunder’s two best defensive studs injured and sitting. I also thought it might an opportunity for the Milwaukee Bucks to display their rout over the Thunder in the Emirates NBA Cup wasn’t a fluke.

Obviously all my thinking was flawed as the Thunder made it clear they can beat the bottom twenty-six teams in the league without both of these guys minus the Cleveland Cavs, Boston Celtics and ‘maybe’ the Denver Nuggets. Heck, OKC beat Boston on the road without J-Dub on Wednesday in a national showcase game.

A shoutout to Chet and Cason for stepping up after I called them out for their poor play in the home loss rout to the Nuggets on the second night of a back to back. I’m always fair on this blog. Always. I never ban anyone for telling me I’m wrong. I don’t ban as some of the Thunder interent sissies do in OKC. MJ prays for those sissies.

With the Nuggets, me listing them as a contender might be a HUGE stretch considering the inconsistent play of their rotation beyond the seventh player. Maybe even six to be pragmatic. Russell, please….play within yourself, for God’s sake.

The Lakers with fat, lazy Luka and LeBron’s aged groin would seem doubtful to evolve as the primary threat to the Thunder in the West.

The two hottest teams in the West currently are the surging Golden State (7 straight wins) Warriors and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves (8 straight wins). Minus the chemistry of the Julius Randle with the TWolves—these are the two teams in my mind Sam Presti should be most concerned with as we finish these last three weeks of the NBA regular season.

Jimmy Butler so far has proved to be the perfect spiritual balm for the mecurial Dr. Draymond Green and the rest of the Warriors including Steph. The Dubs have won 12 of their last 13 games and appear to be the same type of Warriors’ team which unexpectantly won the NBA Championship two seasons ago.

Jimmy Butler > Andrew Wiggins…not even close.

I’m defintely watching and covering the Denver at Golden State game tonight. Then what MJ will be doing is following both Porter and Jenni’s teams this next week.

The Sooner women will be hosting the first two games in their NCAA sub-regional. Which I will be attending. I’m jacked and ready to go. I’m also very proud of Porter and his team for not giving up after that almost disastrous home loss to LSU over a month ago. Porter’s team is a No. 9 seed in the West and easily made the tournament. A tough draw in the Western Regional though versus the two-time defending champ UConn Huskies though. With the SEC champion Florida Gators looming in Round 2.

Do your best, guys.

*I would assume the favorite Van Halen song for most Stage 4 cancer surivivors is Dreams. I know its’s mine. And…I got a little fired up playing Van Halen on my blog last week here in the heart of Trump redneck country music. So…I’m going to try and set my all-time record on my 32 minute sprint race today and this is the song I save for such occasions. Have a meaningful week.

BOOMER!

Mike J

Just a great college baskketball game last night in Nashville where about 20,000 Big Blue Fans made this is a hostile road game for the OU Sooners. But I will write this…I thought for the most part the zebras were fair. This wasn’t at all like getting jobbed in Kansas City by Bill Self’s personal Jayhawk Blue favorite son game official….Dougie Sermon. What a tool that one is.

The Sooners lead several times in the first half, but trailed the rest of the game except for a couple of seconds prior to former Sooner Otega Oweh’s game winner from the left baseline with a second left.

Porter Moser’s Sooners were galliant. They trailed by 12 with three minutes left in the game and almost pulled off a miracle on the road. There was nothing neutral about this game site.

A heartbreaker for certain, but one of those games where as a player, coach, or fan you walk to the locker room with your head held high. This is clearly one of those Vincent Thomas Lombardi moments when you didn’t win, but you emptied the tank and will never feel any remorse for the collective effort.

When you compete at the highest level…this happens. Everbody in this league minus perhaps LSU and South Carolina are really good. I think OU has done enough since those thirty disastrous seconds in the LSU game to be in the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday.

OU not only went through the SEC gauntlet…they beat Providence, Louisville, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia Tech, and former DI program Oklahoma State which as recently in the early 2000s was coached by legend and friend Coach Eddie Sutton.

OU won the tournament in the Bahamas, then beat Michigan in Charlotte in the Jumpman Invitational. None of these wins were at home. This team very much should be prepared for playing venues away from home.

I hate to write this, but I must. A good deal of my Sooner fans bailed after the LSU loss. I did not because my life has been full of sports. Winning and losing. Sometimes teams have to lose some together… before they learn to win togther. I’m ashamed of the turnout which I witnessed for the Missouri game which was Senior’s Night. It was maybe 5,000 or 6,000 who showed up.

But for me…I’m extremely proud of these players. And for me as a Stage 4 walking cancer survivor… I understand very well every basketball season at this point could in theory be my last.

This is emotional for me. It’s the shape of my heart in a way.

So…we’ll see how it goes on Selection Sunday.

Good luck, guys.

BOOMER!

MJ

I’ll write this briefly before I start my day of chores out here on the Deer Creek mini-ranch….the team which wins the SEC Tournament title will be winning a tougher tournament than the NCAA Tournament itself.

The SEC team which wins this tournament will have done much, much more from a difficulty of competition standpoint than what two-time defending NCAA champ UConn has done the previous two Aprils.

Not hubris on my part at all. ESPN’s Jay Bilis, an ex-Dukie and ACC guy to the core, stated,”This is the single toughest array of teams in any conference in the history of college basketball.”

That’s not MJ. That’s Jay Bilas.

So my thought for my Sooners is this…try and win this game tonight over Kentucky, then sit back and see if Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee destroy themselves physically in the hope of winning the SEC Tournament.

I’m not at all openly advocating tanking, but really focus hard on tonight and don’t fret anything beyond in this SEC Tournament.

A song for last night beyond Boomer Sooner would be nice. This is what we blared outside the basketball gym after big hoop wins at John Marshall in the the mid-70’s.

It’s a classic Sly Stone song which by buddy, Rod the Mule Carter, turned me onto my junior year. Rod was our placekicker and a backup offensive lineman. After his breakout junior year as an All-City place kicker…Rod then informed our offensive line coach, Ed Rodsinger, he would no longer be wasting his time as an offensive lineman. Too much sweating and contact. Rod didn’t want to hurt the leg.

Coach Rodsinger went ballistic and would have kicked Rod off the team if head coach Don McDonald hadn’t kept Rod because of his excellent kicking percentages.

Coach Rodzinger…. then one day when Coach Mac was with the defense on the other end of the field in practice put Rod in front and center of the offensive team and informed Rod he was a worthless, lazy mule not good for anything except kicking the goddamn football.

So..from that day forward–Rod became the Mule at John Marshall. I loved Rod.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

My wife’s five-hundred daffodils have exploded into full bloom out here on the ranch. Better than Augusta National.

Have a beautiful spring day..even though it’s not really spring yet.

Peace and love, MJ

OU 81 – Georgia 75

I’m tired, but a happy OU basketball fan tonight. I’m proud of these guys. They did not surrender. Take it from a Stage 4 cancer survivor there is no surrender. There is exiting with grace and dignity…but no surrender.

Kentucky tomorrow night in the last game of the night in what will be a profound home court advantage for Big Blue. Kind of like playing Kansas inside of Kemper.

If OU doesn’t get homered by the zebras… I think its a totally winnable game. Totally winnable.

Let’s go, guys. This is what life is about. Have fun tomorrow night. Your two best players, Jalon and Jeremiah are hot at just the right time of the season. Mo Wague…let it rip, dude.

Boomer!

It’s official March Madness for MJ. I’m jacked. My OU Sooner boys stunned the world last week with a wire to wire ten point win over No. 15 Missouri. Then went down to Austin, Texas and beat the hated Texas Longhorns for the first time in the Porter Moser era at OU.

I’m not like the talking heads at the Sports Animal. I’m a passionate, intelligent fan. Sports have been a huge part of my life. Still are. I’ve been an OU hoops fan since Johnny Mac was coaching the Sooners in the old Fieldhouse. I sit on the floor… students side. I’ve gotten to know the players and their families. I know Jalon Moore’s wife and his adorable little daughter, Makayla.

I actually talked with them after the Missouri game on Senior Night. I told Jalon’s wife how much respect I have for Jalon not only as a player, but as a leader, and a young man representing OU.

And she looked me right in the eye and said, “You’re right, sir. Jalon is an incredible young man. Makayla and I are both lucky to have him in our lives.”

I said, “And he’s lucky to have you two as well. Good luck on the journey. Please tell him how proud of him the real Sooner fans are.” The real Sooner fans, not the knuckleheads you hear on the Sports Animal call in shows.

Then I ran into Sam Godwin in the mouth of the tunnel. He was seriously injured late in the first half after having an outstanding first half which was key to the Sooners’ win.

That young man, his mother, and support family are what OU athletics are about, and should be about. Not the half of the spoiled OU fan base which think their daily existence is relative to a Sooner win every game.

On my blog…I kept my mouth shut after the horrific home loss to LSU when the Sooners blew a five point lead with thiry seconds left. That loss could very well still haunt them on Selection Sunday.

That was the most horrific thirty seconds I’ve witnessed in around sixty years of serious OU hoops fandom. I actually Bleed Crimson harder for hoops than football. I’m an outlier in that regard.

I would say last week was Porter Moser’s best week in four years as the OU basketball coach. He finally beat Texas on the road in a game his team literally had to have to stay alive.

So it’s the tough Mike White coached Georgia Bulldogs tonight in the first round of the SEC Tournament. I have no idea whatsoever where OU will fall on Selection Sunday, or if they make the Tournament. OU’s women are easily in and should at the least be a No. 4 Seed in their region. Jenni has done a great job in her four years at OU. A great job.

On my board I have Georgia tonight favored at -1.5.

So to my Sooners…compete to your utmost and where the hips fall…the chips fall. I need to go ride the terrain bike. This Van Halen classic always puts me in the right state of mind.

Let’s go Sooners!

Boomer!

Mike J

*Note: J-Dub did not make the trip to Boston with his hip pointer. Chet, Aaron, and Cason you might need to show up tonight in Boston.

Forget everything I blogged yesterday minus the question I would ask of Shai and Lu Dort in relation to being black Canadian men playing in the most radical extreme far right market in the NBA. An NBA which to be blunt, is a predominantly black sports league (players, agents and NBAPA) which strives to give the appearance of caring about some degree of social fairness and justice.

I’d love to do that podcast with Shai and Lu at some point. It would be the furthest thing in Oklahoma they’ve experienced from the ‘compromised’ sports media outlets in Oklahoma. I think they’d be pleasantly surprised by the overall feel of the podcast.

Clay Bennett, Sam Presti, and subservient Little Nick Gallo wouldn’t be asking the questions. Mike Jackson would be that person asking the questions in a very lawyerly manner. MJ can do that. MJ was trained in his earlier life to ask those questions like a lawyer.

As far as the game last night… HOLY SHIT. I am going to have take back everthing I wrote about the Thunder being a lock to easily makeitto the NBA Finals.

Coach Mark…you may have a problem, Supreme Super Challenge Dude…that being your team played like a collective group of soft pussies in the second half when they perhaps had a chance to put away the Denver Nuggets with a standing eight count from the first half.

I mean, yeah, J-Dub didn’t play in the second half. But Aaron Gordon and Julian Strawther didn’t play a solitary second in this game either, and this very objective NBA blogger rates Aaron as the third most valuable Nugget player behind Nicola, then Jamal, then perhaps just a smidge above Michael Porter Jr who has upgraded his play in a very positive way in the last two months.

And BTW…Coach Malone wanted to sit Nicola with the sore elbow, but Nicola would have none of that. He said, “This is a team deal. Jamal is playing hurt, everyone is hurt, my team needs me. I’m playing.”

That is champion MVP leadership. Shai has yt to travel that road.

Chet just so you know…when J-Dub went down you were supposed to elevate your play and become the second best Thunder player on the floor. Just so you know there was an NBA game last night at Paycom. This is where a real coach in a darkened corner of the locker room might suggest…toughen the fuck up and act like the second player taken in your draft class. Know what I mean?

It was the Denver Nuggets’ best night of this NBA season so far. Not even close. They let it be known there’s still some life and guys like Peyton Watson and Jalen Pickett could be much needed bench pieces as we veer towards April and the goal acheiving portion of the schedule.

Nicola went 35-18-8. Jamal scored 34 points on 22 shots with fellow Candian Lu Dort guarding him. Michael Porter Jr scored 17 points. Peyton Wastson scored 16 points and in my mind had his most impactful game in his NBA career to date. Russell scored 16 points and was smart with the ball. And Penn State rookie, Jalen Pickett, was huge in the second half with several clutch threes.

On the night Denver shot 56% from beyond the arc, and 60% overall. Without J–Dubb the historically vaunted Thunder defense was softer than melted butter in a microwave. That’s a Kelvin Sampson line just so you Oklahoma NBA basketball illiterate fuckwits know.

So…basically–the Thunder in Boston on Wednesday night which all the sudden appears to be a game which might tell us more about this Thunder team as the games start to mean something.

And, oh, BTW for you Trump loving dumbasses in Oklahoma…the best four players on the floor last night in OKC went in this order… 1 Nicola-Serbia, 2 Jamal-Canada, 3 Lu Dort-Canada, and 4 Shai-Canada.

Stick a motherfucking tariff on that you clueless idiots. I’d check the 401C values today. Just sayin’. And BTW, Joe Rogan… YOU WERE PLAYED.

Eternal love, Mike J

I’m not sure what we as NBA fans draw from yesterday’s OKC win over a Denver team which in essence lost two of their top five players in the first period.

And I’m not sure they even need to play tonight in this ridiculous back to back if Aaron Gordon is a DNP and Nicola is hindered shooting the basketball due to a reinjured elbow. Plus, add to the fact the Nugget’s 7th player in the rotation, Julian Strawther, was a DNP as well.

So, in essence, the Nuggets played three quarters of this game without three of their top seven players. What was the score when Gordon left the game never to return and then Nicola fell on his elbow? That was not Nicola after the first period fall.

I absolutely hate the fact the NBA scheduled these games back to back in OKC instead of spreading them apart on the schedule. These OKC-Denver games should be impactful games played on the NBA Showcase on different week-ends. Another blunder by the NBA. It’s why their regular season ratings are tanking.

Let me make this clear, in my view the Thunder are easily the prohibitive favorite to win the Western Conference championship and advance to the NBA Finals where I think they will lose to the Boston Celtics in six games if Porzingus plays for Boston.

I’ve been writing this for three months.

And in this Age of Trump…I will admit I think it would be a sad thing for a team from the extreme radical right like OKC to win a championship in what is predominantly a black league. A league of fair-minded owners as far as social justice. A league where I would hope there is little off the record tolerance for the brattish, racist behavior of Donald Trump

I especially would find it curious to know what both Shai and Lu Dort think of Trump’s boorish behavior in relation to Canada since both guys play for Team Canada.

I wonder if we would ever hear a question like that from the lips of Little Nick Gallo or one of his controlled fuckwits in a Thunder postgame presser?

The chances of that question ever being asked or answered are ZERO. ZERO.ZERO.

I’d love to see the question ask of MVP Shai. I would. Because I think he’s an extremely intelligent guy. A man I respect. In fact…I think Shai may turn out to be this generation’s version of Kobe. I came to love Kobe after he became a father and dealt with the self-inflicted demons of what happened in Colorado.

So, since this MJ has virtually no chance of ever asking that question of Shai at a Sam Presti/Little Nick Gallo presser..I’ll ask it rhetorically here on the blog this morning.

Shai, this is Mike Jackson from okcthunderground.com..”If you guys win the NBA Championship…how would you as a black Canadian deal with the things Donald Trump has said about blacks, Canadians, and the independent nation of Canada in general?”

I honestly would love to hear both Shai and Lu Dort’s thoughts on this.

That’s it for me today on my radical left blog where I’ll be endorsing John McCain or Navalany for POTUS in 2028 if I’m still breathing.

Eternal love, MJ