Welcome to OKCThunderGround!

Last week or so…I wrote that the system in which this tournament picks its Great 8 teams is somewhat flawed in that the goal should be to get the best eight teams so far THIS SEASON into the quarterfinal round before the Final Four convenes in Vegas.

We now have four teams still playing while Boston and Cleveland will be absent from the field. Instead, the East will have Milwaukee, the NY Knicks, Atlanta, and Orlando. Yawn.

None of those four teams interest me all that much and Atlanta even has former OU guard Trey Young. The East without Boston is a total wash for me as a passionate NBA fan.

The West is a different matter. OKC, Houston, and Dallas are all trending in the right direction and all three teams interest me heading into the quarterfinals. Golden State is now mirred in a six game losing streak, but if Steph plays… that at the least should somewhat mitigate the Warriors hosting a quarterfinal game. I would have Golden State as narrowly holding on as my No. 4 seed, with Dallas the No. 2 seed, and the surging Houston Rockets the No. 3 seed.

Are these Houston Rockets last year’s Indiana Pacers? They could be. But we’ll have to see if they hold together during the entire 82 game marathon.

To me…the best game of the whole tournament could be in the quarterfinals in the West when the Thunder host the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavs. That’s a game for certain I will not miss.

I will neither miss the Golden State – Houston game, nor the Western Conference Final. These three games are must watch NBA games for El Prez aka Miguel J.

As far as the games in the East…I might be channel surfing trying to find a more attractive college game.

BTW…I saw my No. 21 Sooners for the first time in person on Tuesday night as they beat Georgia Tech 76-61 in the SEC-ACC Challenge to improve to 8-0 for the season.

SEC Challenge results…SEC 14 – ACC 2. Duke at home upset Auburn, while Clemson upset Kentucky.

Jeremiah Fears and Jalon Moore give Porter Moser by far his best one-two combo since he became the OU coach three years ago. If these two guys stay healthy there’s enough around them for OU to get to the Big Dance even in the brutally basketball tough SEC.

Much to Big 12 commish Brett Yormak’s dismay…the SEC has usurped the Big 12 as the No. 1 college hoops conference.

And let me share this thought with you…as this game in Norman concluded…I heard nary a single gloating SEC chant in the building. And when OU dominated Alabama a couple a weeks ago in Norman…I didn’t hear any of that either.

The fact of the matter is…the only time I’ve heard that nonsensical bullshit in earnest was at the last Bedlam game in Stillwater when O State slid by OU and improved its Bedlam record to 20-91-7. I repeat…20-91-7. I refuse to mention the Drake Stoops takedown as an excuse. It never should have come that.

Am I trolling or busting your balls, O State people?

No not at all. But here’s what I would say. There is a message in this. Don’t worry about OU. Take care of your own business. Your football program, like I was two years ago with my Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, is in a catastrophic mode. Not a good place.

Focus on what O State can do to win a single game next season in the uber soft Big 12 .

I think my next blog post will be on Jackson Arnold entering the transfer portal as he just declared yesterday. Like with Dillion Gabriel…I genuinely like both of them as young men and wish nothing but the best for both of them. In fact..I would say from this point on…I’m pulling for Dillion and Oregon to win the inaugural national championship playoff.

Have a beautiful Thursday and pass along the Christmas spirit with each person you meet today.

El Prez, Miguel, or Mike J… take your pick.

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This is all so demoralizing for those of us still in our naive cocoons of fantasy who want to think the concept of the Rule of Law and Justice for All are still viable concepts within our American democractic society.

There is no equal justice in this country. There is no concept of justice for all.

Of the people, for the people, by the people. Who’s kidding who here?

The concept of justice in America circa 2024 is how much justice you can afford and how much sway your net worth can keep charges from ever even being filed and completed in a court of law.

My thoughts on Hunter Biden are pretty much the same as my thoughts on Donald Trump.

Both of these humans should be serving time in federal prison….perhaps together in the same soft federal facility. Maybe they could garden together to see if they could iron out their individual destructive tendencies… to themselves and our society as well.

Trump should serve maybe three years for his collective Jan. 6th crimes and Hunter Bidden should serve maybe one year for his sundry list of tragedies and crimes. I read his book, his narration… Beautiful Things. Just in reading HIS book, I would give him a year minimum regardless of the charges he was recently convicted of.

Like the U.S. Senator from Colorado Michael Bennett (Dem.) said, “This was a horrible decision by Joe Biden..and is nothing more than a further erosion of our collective rule of law for all Americans regardless of race, sex, or economic standing.”

Joe Biden…this is a classic example of why the far right and others in this country, me in this instance included, believe portions of the Democratic Party have no concept of what the hard working Average Joe on the street thinks of our current rule of law.

Rant over.

Have a nice Tuesday.

The Honorable Judge Miguel Jackson.

This has been the talk of late and it turned into reality on Monday as it was announced the Washington State offensive coordinator will assume the task of rebuilding OU’s historically bad offense from the 2024 season.

I would assume this means he joins the staff immediately for OU’s bowl preparation at the least as an observer in place interacting with the staff in whichever minor bowl the Sooners land after this weekend’s conference championship games. It would make sense in that all the bowl practices would be aligned with moving the offense into spring ball with a head start.

It would not surprise me a bit if Washington State sophmore quarterback John Mateer follows Ben Arbuckle to Norman as well. I believe the transfer portal opens on December 9th and it will be very interesting to see what transpires there with the OU quarterback position in relation to not only Jackson Arnold, but Michael Hawkins as well.

I don’t know what this means for the other OU offensive position coaches at this point.

But we do know this…OU’s offense was brutal this season. The worst since the John Blake days. Brent Venables has now gone 6-6 in two of his three seasons as the OU head coach. I love Brent Venables’ story not only as a football coach, but as a man as well. But the storied OU football program has high standards and a third season of 6-6 would probably put Coach Venables right there with Gary Gibbs as a former great OU defensive coordinator who didn’t pan out as the head coach in Norman.

I hope that’s not how it goes. So we’ll see.

We’ll also see how all this fares for Jackson Arnold as well. I think he’s a great young man and will still turn out to be a very good quarterback. He had to lead an offense which in effect lost its top six receivers thru the course of the season and had a shaky offensive line at best.

The transfer portal opening next Monday thru the month of December will be a trip in itself to say the least.

I’m going to watch OU play Georgia Tech tonight and get my mind off OU football for at least a week or two or more. It was an interesting first SEC season for certain. But everyone should have known this was going to be a tough transition from the finesse Big 12 to the cage fighting SEC…so I would think all now understand the difference between SEC and Big 12 football. There are no soft spots. None. Every Saturday is a cagefight.

Miguel J

I’m worn out. I need a day off from sports or Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 binge watching. I need some inner peace today.

First off congrats to the LSU Tigers for their win over OU on Saturday night in Baton Rouge. OU played a decent first half against the Tigers, but much like in the Ole Miss game in Oxford…didn’t showup in the second half. You don’t showup for a half in the SEC…you get your ass beat. That’s a fairly simple axiom.

You know… even in the fourth tier Big 12 it is tough to win against the better teams in that league if you can’t establish a run game, give up a touchdown off a kickoff, and have a complete disaster on a trick play in the third period when the game was still somewhat up for grabs. Bauer Sharp, dude, leave the quartebacking to guys like Garrett Nussmeier.

Garrett clearly got my MVP helmet sticker in this game for his incredible perfromance in coming back from that big-time hit he took on his right shoulder in the second period. I thought for certain he was done, but he came back and threw the ball with incredible accuracy the rest of the game. That is one tough young man. He must have been a hockey player in a previous life.

Otherwise, it was a great week-end for me. My Green Bay Packers improved to 9-3 with an easy win over the Miami Dolphins. My OU Sooners basketball team shocked the college basketball world by beating Providence, Arizona, and Louisville to win the Atlantis Big Boy Mowers Championship on Paradsise Island.

My wife and I have been there twice. It’s an awesome place. My wife is not thrilled with the Cozumel exit idea, but says ya to the Paradise Island alternative. I’ll be eye scanning the beaches to see if Huner Biden is there as well. Hunter Biden…if I were you–I’d not only leave the country, I’d exit the continent. Seriously. Buy a MAGA ballcap and keep your shades on for the rest of your life, buddy. These fuckers are crazy.

I also loved seeing my first dog piss walk live in a college football game. My guess is…sometime later this week it’ll be announced Mike Gundy is getting a half-million dollar pay increase. Boone, buddy…phone home. You are massively missed in Payne County, Oklahoma.

The Thunder game in Houston was incredible last night in Houston. I think I’ll blog on that game tomorrow morning.

I’m off to the gym with my MMGA red self-made ball cap on.

Make Miguel Great Again.

Have a serene Monday.

Miguel

For me, this was an early season signature road win for the Thunder. Any lingering questions I had about the Thunder without Chet being a legit NBA title contender were answered.

Was Anthony Davis even really relevant in this game? Anthony Davis took out Austin Reaves trying to set screens more than battling Hartenstein for inside position. A very tough night for Austin. I hope he’s okay. I love that kid.

What I mean by this, is that even without Chet I feel as if the Thunder should move right back up to No. 2 in my NBA Power Poll behind the Boston Celtics.

Isaiah Hartenstein is a seamless fit for the Thunder. Maybe even a better fit than Chet. So for me….there should be no rush to push Chet back on the court until the Thunder doctors feel totally good about his fractured tailbone..

The Thunder are very much in a serious championship ‘window’ even without Chet. And as passionate NBA fans we hope we get to see this season’s playoffs with both Chet and Porzingus at full speed come April.

I’m even going to say the Thunder could conceivably win 60 games in the regular season without Chet.

Shai is currently atop my MVP ladder…and JDub appears to be every bit the second stud Scottie Pippen was for Michael. Shai clearly isn’t Michael…I’m in no way saying that. But JDub could at some point in his career be a player we consider as a generational talent.

I strongly feel as if the Emirates NBA Cup is in some need of its format being reformed though. The notion that both Boston and OKC could not qualify for the quarterfinal round is beyond ludicrous. Are you kidding me? Let’s not overthink this. That’s the game everyone wants to see in the Finals in Vegas.

I’m exhausted from all my hiking and sports binge watching these past two days. Literally spent. So I’m going to take a break from sports for a few hours and see if Micky Haller falls deeply in love with his DA adversary the very steamy Andrea.

Later.

Miguel J

Staff Reports

OU 69 – Louisville 64

Porter Moser’s gritty Sooners stunned the college basketball world with this Bad Boy Mower Championship run. Tournament MVP Jalon Moore carried the Sooners, but in the closing minutes National Freshman of the Year Jeremiah Fears made several clutch plays to keep the Sooners in the lead.

Sam Godwin made the the play of the game when he partially blocked, then possessed a Cardinal in-bounds pass attempt with 5.4 seconds remaining to clinch the championship.

The Sooners now stand at 7-0 and will surely crack the AP Top 25 poll this coming week.

Next up: Georgia Tech at OU inside of the Lloyd Noble Arena in the SEC-ACC Challenge.

I’m already there in F3 seat as far as I’m concerned.

What a week!

Run the damn ball and BEAT LSU, baby!!!

SEC, SEC!!!!

I’m outta here.

Miguel J

I’ll be to the point. I haven’t commented on Oke State’s pathetic football season because for me they are an irrelevant college football program as I write. I only write relevant content on my blog. That’s why I didn’t write much of anything on the Thunder during their three years of draconian tanking.

The fact of the matter is UCO is now the second most relevant college football program in the state behind a surging OU team heading into Baton Rouge.

As far as Michael Gundy being allowed to coach another season in Stillwater….I could care less. I have much more imporatnt things on my mind currently.

But that piss walk after a Colorado pick six touchdown which pushed the Golden Buffs to a 45-0 lead had my interest. I knew I’d seen it in a college game before, but I couldn’t place the game.

So I called my son Chris in Denver and asked him where I’d seen that piss walk previously. Now understand this…Chris is an even more passionate college football fan than me. Which I know is hard to believe.

So I called Denver and Chris answers the phone and he says, “What’s up… are you wasting your time watching the Colorado massacre of O State?”

I answered, “No, not really. I’m just killing some time until the OU-Louisville basketball game.”

He then asks, ” You think they’ll fire Gundy?”

I responded, “Only if Jim Traber covers the buyout. So where did I see this piss walk before…it’s driving me crazy?”

He matter of factly answers, “Egg Bowl…several years ago… it cost Ole Miss the game.”

“Thanks, buddy. Have a great week-end.”

So here it is on my my blog…the Egg Bowl piss walk.

It was beautiful. One for the books. I start my third and toughest round of chemo on December 9th…so this one more than the other previous two cancer journey Thanksgivings was extra special.

Somestimes when you’re on this journey… you have to make sure you never lose sight of those four special things you want to accomplish every day for the rest of your life:

1 Laugh at yourself at least once a day

2 Cry if you need to, but cry about the good things you’ve experienced in life

3 Do something kind and considerate for another person

4 And look for the best in others even if they did vote for Donald Trump.

I had a transcending day. Maybe even a Jonathon Livingston Seagull type of day…if you know what I mean. Flight is an eternal thing.

And it was made even better by an unexpected run by the OU mens’ basketball team beating Arizona to advance to the finals of their holiday tournament in the Bahamas.

Remember the Jake Owen song. What every man needs…a home and a refuge to come home to, a woman to love, a Bible, a good dog (Pauli), and a song to sing on.

And never get above your raising.

Have a meaningful Friday.

Let’s go Sooners. Beat Louisville.

Mike J

Not exactly what NBA fans were hoping for with the Steph-Shai Battle on the Bay deal, but still a very exciting basketball game which went right to the end with Andrew Wiggins missing a shot late which would have sent the game into overtime.

Steph sat with two sore knees. De’Anthony Melton, who started as the second guard last time these two teams met, is done for the season with an ACL injury. Chet obviously didn’t play. JDub played, but left late in the second period with an eye injury and never returned.

Isaiah Hartenstein played and was once again solid. And without Steph on the floor…Shai was easily my as player of the game.

I don’t think this game tells us much except for the fact that if Steph misses alot of regular season games the Warriors will struggle holding on to a top six seeding position in the SEC-like West. The other Warriors played admirably in the second half, but Steph is really the only star this Warrior team has on it as presently structured. No Steph…no go.

I would also say now that we’ve seen more of Hartenstein with the Thunder in my mind I would move the Thunder back up to a top four team in the entire NBA to win the championship. He fits in nicely with these guys. He’s quicker than I thought he was and in no way diminishes the Thunder’s pace up and down the court.

So I guess what Chet would be for the Thunder this season is kind of like what Porzingus is for the Boston Celtics. That being said, if both of these guys are healthy and available one would think we might be in store for a Celtic-Thunder NBA Final.

If you’re not paying attention…the Houston Rockets have been on fire of late and are now in second place in the West.

My basketball focus now shifts to OU for tomorrow as the Sooners held on late yesterday to edge Providence to advance to the semis versus Arizona in a holiday tournament in the Bahamas.

The Sooners are now 5-0 and added some nice players to their roster. If you haven’t seen Jeremiah Fears, Kobe Elvis, Duke Miles, and Bryce Goodine yet…they pretty much give OU a nice quartet of guards to go along with Jalon Moore.

If you’re a hoops junkie…you’re a hoops junkie. Which I certainly am. Plus…with the cold weather I finally binge watched The Lincoln Lawyer–Season 2 and will probably squeeze in Season 3 given this current stretch of cold weather in Oklahoma which I hate.

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving with your families and loved ones.

Mike J

I love this time of year heading into Thanksgiving. It’s when my interest in the NFL starts to get going as we wind down the college football season.

It’s cold this morning in Deer Creek out on the mini-ranch. But as always I do my job feeding the deer and the now twenty-two wild turkeys who have pretty much bonded with us. We have some geese hanging around as well and maybe around eight deer. The other bird species are amazing. I love having pet owls. It’s like a refuge of sorts.

Back when my father was still practicing law and had had a particularly tough day in court….he’d come sit in our backyard which is completely unfenced and natural….and smoke a cigar while marveling at the wildlife and birds.

He’d say…”Michael..this is paradise. I envy you. Why do I waste my time representing these people?”

I’d say, “I dunno, dad. But we all march to the beat of a different drummer. I love reading your cases since I’m not the one having to represent these people. Please don’t stop. This is bettter than a John Grisham novel every week.”

I really miss my dad. I do. He would view Trump just as I do because of the simple reason that under our Rule of Law everyone should be viewed as EQUAL. So f–k that and piss that on down the road with you Trump people. Equal??? Are you kidding?

I’m not a hunter. To me hunting is for slow white guys who were never able to play football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tournament racquetball, or ski the blacks. If you gave the deer a rifle with a scope…then maybe I’d take hunting seriously beyond the fact it gives the Joe Bob Bubbas of the world a chance to think they’re real men living on the edge.

Yeah, whatever. I know.

Green Bay has always been my team. Always. My love for the Packers as a kid was cemented by the Ice Bowl and strengthed by Jerry Kramer’s three awesome books describing the inner Camelot workings of the dynasty. These three books were Instant Replay, Winning is the Only Thing, and My Farewell to Football.

If you really want to understand the evolution of the NFL, the merger, and how the Super Bowl became the greatest sporting event in America then I’d reccomend all three books. And if you want to learn why its called the Lombardi Trophy–then at the least read Instant Replay.

What a great football week-end it was for me from a football standpoint. OU routed Alabama and then on Sunday the Packers destroyed the 49’ers. The Packers are having a very nice 8-3 year so far. The only problem with that though is Minnesota and Detroit are both having incredible seasons. But I still think if the Packers get in as a wild card they’re a dangerous team.

Jordan Love is on his way to becoming the next Bret Farve or Aaron Rodgers…and the team did a great job in replacing the departed Aaron Jones with Josh Jacobs.

It was absolutely seamless in the manner in which the Packers unloaded Aaron Rodgers to the Jets and put their faith in Jordan Love at just the right juncture. Perfect. Let someone else babysit, Aaron. It’s very sad for me to watch a great player like Aaron end his career as he has in New York.

Green Bay needs better edge rushers though. You gotta have great edge rushers to win a Super Bowl in my view. Look at what OU did with their edge rushers on Milroe. That should be the Packers priority this next off season. So I’m at this point thinking KC, Buffalo, Detroit and Philly as my top four bets to win the Super Bowl. Until someone shows me they can beat Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce when it matters…it’s still the Chiefs from my view. Show me.

Anyway…I can’t wait till tomorrow night when the Thunder travel west to play the Warriors in the Steph and Shai On the Bay national showcase game heading into Thanksgiving.

Have a serene Tuesday.

Mike J