Welcome to OKCThunderGround!

Our first week-end of college football is behind us. Corruption from the SEC and the Big Ten feels omnipresent. Sadly, our sport of college football appears to contain about the same level of human filth as a Trump cabinet meeting featuring the comments of part-time Fox week-end host Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth trying to explain why Iran is still holding the world hostage six months after declaring a resounding victory rings about as hollow as those corrupt Big Ten officials trying to explain that last extra second ‘given’ to Michigan this past Saturday in Ann Arbor.

Concurrently… we have Lane Kiffin and the Swamp People in Baton Rouge holding the ‘sport’ of college football hostage, while those kids at Western Michigan were basically treated as sub-human level participants in the sport. Money has corrupted every aspect of life in our country…and I’ve yet to even mention the LA Clippers’ latest disgracing of the NBA on this blog. From Donald Sterling to Steve Balmer…right?

Suffice it say…too much money and power corrupts. Period.

I need something ‘somewhat’ solid, honest, and tangible on the blog today to get me through this heat wave and morass of moral dissipation all around me in a brazingly red Trump state like Oklahoma. Another reason beyond cancer why I’ve embraced the meditative world of inner-self realization.

This has nothing whatsoever with OU playing at Michigan this coming Saturday…it has more to do with MJ attaining a consistent state of emotional nirvana amongst the human rabble.

I thought for my own sake of emotional balance… as a Kriya yogi Yogananda guru… I’d play Alex Caruso’s exit interview after the Thunder’s tough seven game series defeat to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

I just need something, ‘anything, to steady me today after listening to the first hour of Jim Traber’s show this afternoon.

Listening to either Alex or Shai usually calms me. Much like Nick Collison did back when he was playing for the Thunder.

Like me…Alex doesn’t sound like the world has come to an end for the Thunder. JDub and Ajay just needs to get healthy, while Chet needs to earn his paycheck.

I don’t feel like closing with a Yogananda ending today. Maybe tomorrow evening as the heat wave ends in Oklahoma would be that appropriate time.

Eternal wisdom and love to all,

MJ Yogananda

I’m in a wonderful little space right now. I am. Last Monday I took my first blood lab in four months. This was my first lab since I was pulled off both chemo and the two previous drone radiation treatment. Plus, Dr. Showalter ordered up a PSA specific Pet Scan. One one-hundred and twenty days with no chemo or radiation treatments.

On Wednesday… Dr. Showalter and I conferred about the results. I will admit I was nervous because in no way did I want to go back on chemo. The infusion chemo is like being put into a near state of death, then slowly waking back up and returning to life 96 hours later. Plus, I like having hair. I’m not one of these fake tough-guy macho Oklahoma warriors who drive their Ford 150 pickups around with their head shaved like they’re fff-ing Yul Brenner or something. I enjoy having hair.

Dr. Showalter smiled, said, “You’re in complete remission. Your PSA has continued to drop. In fact, it’s dropped so low it’s under the lowest metric of measurable PSA on the scale. Your cancer is gone.”

Then he showed me the PSA scan. Perfect with the writing in the lower left corner…’Patient is in complete remission.’

I exhaled, in a good way, and then asked, “Does this mean I won’t see you any more?”

“Not the case. Every three months we’ll continue with the PSA blood lab and the Exeva shot to to continue to repair your bone marrow,” Dr. Show replied. ”

Thank you, Dr. Showalter. Seriously, thank you for everything. It was a journey. But in the overall picture…I’d say it was one which has made me a better human. I somewhat needed a reset of sorts. Thank you for giving me a chance to get to know my grand-children.”

“I’m happy for you, Mike. That 1,212 is a number we’ve all been talking about around here for awhile. This was something special. Enjoy your life.”

“We will. I’ll see you in December.”

The Stage 4 cancer journey is on a different path for the time being so I’m done writing about cancer for awhile. Plus, I watched Trinidad Chambless and his mother last night on the ABC game…additionally my twenty-two hour protest statement strike against college football has ended as well.

Love,

Mike J

I’m an OU fan and they easily won 51-0 over a very weak UTEP team, but that in no way is what took hold of me after watching the O State-Tulsa, LSU-Clemson, and Western Michign-Michigan games.

You know…I already realized there was little if any governance left in college football, but this was too much on the first Saturday of the season. Let me add this as well, being I’m an aspiring Kirya Yogananda guru –as a gesture of love, kindness, and eternal goodwill I no way will write anything further on my blog this college football season in relation to the O State football program.

Good natured rivalry and trolling are one thing, but it would be a gesture of doing the complete opposite of everything I’ve holisticly embraced on my Stage 4 cancer miracle journey to degrade myself and my blog in any manner by covering Oklahoma State football.

So from me to O State Football Nation…as far I’m concerned there wasn’t a game in Tulsa yesterday. It never happened. Some might claim it did, but as far as this guru is concerned it was just an astral hallucination of sorts that Tre Lamb’s Tulsa team destroyed O State for a second straight football season.

Never happened and you won’t read me on this underground blog covering O State football any longer. It would be bullying at a time when we as a nation need profound love to engulf all of us as one.

As far as that last second in Ann Arbor…that never happeed as well and congratulations to the Western Michigan kids on an amazing 12-7 road win to begin their football season and put themselves in play for a Group of Five berth in the College Football Playoffs.

So how do I handle Lane Kiffin, the disgusting LSU Tiger football program, and the legitimacy of the SEC moving forward…I’m not quite sure yet in that I’m just a guru and not a god of any sort.

More deliberative thought will be needed on that one.

I’m taking a break from college football on Labor Day weekend this Sunday and Monday…Saturday was way too much for me coming out of the gate.

If we have no truth and justice in our lives we have nothing. You know what we then have..Donald Trump as a two term president.

Eternal love,

MJ Yogananda

It won’t be long as the college football season gets into gear this week-end. It’s hard for me to get amped about OU’s opener versus UTEP with the state in the midst of an iconic heat wave and drought.

But the Sooners will be one of my beats as usual this sports year of ’26-27′. In ernest I’ll get going on that front as we prepare for an immensely important game Week 2 in Ann Arbor.

O State with a healthy portion of last season’s North Texas State’s roster now playing under the guise of the ‘Brightest Shade of Orange should be a much better team this season especially on the offensive side of the ball. I’ll keep on eye on that track as well as Divison I football returns to Stillwater after a two-year death penalty implemented by both Mike Gundy and O State leadership.

The truth is the truth, and sometimes it hurts. But on this blog you get the truth. It was a self-inflicted death penalty because the NCAA doesn’t care enough to close anybody down given we now live in the Lane Kiffen era of college football. It was all self-inflicted. Period. End of paragraph.

Now…on to my first look at this OKC Thunder roster heading to pre-season camp.

1 Shai

2 J-Dub

3 Caruso

4 Wallace

5 Isaiah

6 Chet

7 Ajay

8 J-Ark

9 Jared McCain

10 Kenrich

11 Topic

12 Brook Barnhizer

13 Sorber or Aday

14 Aday or Sorber

So…I have one of Sam Presti’s max players listed in the No. 6 slot after last season’s Western Conference Finals. Maybe too draconian on my part? Here’s how I would respond to that thought … when needed, Chet did not engage. The end and every player in that locker room knows it.

We’ll just have to see how Coach Mark navigates this during the season. I’m sure Chet will be fine versus teams without Wemby, but no team will get past the Spurs in the West if there isn’t some resistence in both lanes on both ends of the floor near the rim.

Love and wisdom always my children, while time and perfection of flight are limitless in the cosmos. Never say or think never. The possibilities with self-realization are truly amazing.

MJ-JLS Yogananda

For me, this marks the end of the golf season. My two young guys from Oklahoma and O State were in a position to win this tournamnet making the turn to the back nine. But what we saw instead was Scottie Scheffer showing the entire golf world why he’s the best player in the world and why he will win the PGA Golfer of the Year for a fifth straight golf season.

Chris Gotterup and Viktor Hovand will look back with remorse when they take apart their back nines. I mean, when you’re playing Scheffler the ball off the tee needs to find the fairway. End of story.

Both young guys just really seemed to press once Scheffler captured the lead and in a sense didn’t give themsleves a chance to win the tournament.

You can’t spray the ball all over the course when Scottie Scheffler can smell the finish-line with the lead. You’re not going to hang with the guy burying the ball in deep rough.

So for Scottie Scheffler…congrats on being a golf dynasty these past five seasons in winning twenty-two tournaments and quite frankly separating from the rest of the PGA field with the possible exception of Rory’s resume to date.

Scottie won the Fed-Ex Tour Championship and Rory won the Masters in April. Rory actually played great the back nine, but three early bogies on the front nine torpedoed any real chance he had on Sunday in Atlanta.

If I were voting for player of the year… I’d go 1 Scottie, 2 Wyndam Clark (another ex- O State player), 3 Rory, 4 Chris Gotterup, and 5 Cam Young. I can’t really put Viktor on my list given how much he struggled at times this golf season. I think he’s on the cusp of greatness if he can just come to terms with when with what the next level requires mentally…shot in and shot out. I sound like Spec the caddy from Dead Solid Perfect.

A great season of golf and one would hope there won’t be another LIV tour or something of the like looming.

Everyone should play some golf if they can stay healthy and find the time. It’s a wonderful game.

Viktor and Chris … it’s all about mindset if you want to take down the best in the brightest lights on the biggest stage. But I’m certain that inner voice has already shared that thought with both of you guys though.

Golf is the ultimate mind game for sure.

I absolutely need to get my OKC Thunder roster ranking 1-14 done tomorrow before the start of the OU football season takes a hold of me.

It’s all about mindset, Viktor.

Mike J

I’ll tell you this and it’s coming from an aspiring Kriya yogic guru from his mini-ranch in Deer Creek, Oklahoma….I have no idea if this version of Marjorie Taylor Greene is authentic or not. She could just be in with the Tucker Carlsons and Joe Rogans of the political podcast world trying to distance themselves for their disastrous postures in 2024 while figuring a new marketing angle.

Keep this in mind as well…yogic gurus value God, love, kindness, the truth, and justice above all else. So what MJ-Jonathon Livingston Yogananda is saying on his blog this Sunday morning is this may or may not be the real version of MTG, but Maragaret did the interview which gives it some credence with me. So I’ll go with it for the time being because there are some things in this interview MTG says which I agree with.

The main thing I agree with her beyond Donald Trump being a complete lying grifter is that both parties are pathetic and nothing has really changed since the 2024 election minus the fact our country now has a forty trillion dollar debt, the Strait of Hormuz is under the control of Iran, none of these bullshit Trump tariffs make any sense whatsover, inflation for the avergage stupid white non-college educated male Trump voter is soaring, and the rest of the world views our country as an out of control dying democracy run by a group of spoiled brats who follow a senile, out of touch wannabe dictator.

And if you’re a Democrat–this is for you heading round the bend of these upcoming mid-terms…Donald Trump’s current approval rating is 36%, Democrats in Congress have a 21% approval rating, and Chuck Schumer’s abysmal rating as the Minority Leader stands at 12%.

These numbers aren’t exactly what I would describe as a positive sign for someone who still thinks his neighbor’s dog would be a better president than Donald Trump.

So, yeah, like Marjorie Taylor-Greene… I think our political parties on the national level are broken as far as the selection of presidential candidates.

I think I’ll get on to my meditations and then see if either Chris Gotterup or Viktor Hovland can win the Fed-Ex Tour Championship this afternoon in Atlanta.

The truth first should always be followed by justice ‘for all’, not just for the rich and powerful.

Eternal love,

MJ Yogananda.

I want to do Shai’s 2025-26 exit interview after the Thunder’s home loss to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. I love Shai’s interviews because he takes the time to seriously consider the questions before he answers. There’s kind of a Kobeesque nature to Shai in this regard.

One thing I loved about this interview was Shai stating he can only wear the Shai Hat on this basketball team. He can’t wear the Sam Presti hat. He can’t wear the Coach Mark hat. He can’t wear J-Dub and Chet’s hats either. Those two are being paid plenty to bring their lunchpail to the office and wear their own hats.

I hope I’m clear on the above paragraph because I know the people on the Thunder telecast and Little Nick Gallo just don’t know how to speak in this type of manner.

Shai can only wear ONE HAT!

It’s a big hat because he’s the franchise player, but the other two max guys have to wear ‘their hats as well.’

I harped on this constantly in January, February, and March of last season to no avail.

Shai can’t carry the team on his back for all ’82’ and have enough gas left in the tank to deal with the Spurs and Wemby waiting for him in the neck of the Spurs’ defensive funnel in the NBA Playoffs.

I’m trying to get this out of my system in August so as I can focus on guys like Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain, JWill-Ark, Brooks Barnhizer, and maybe even Thomas Sorber as their roles expand this coming season.

So… for the time being, I’ve gotten that off of my chest and next up for me is my 1-14 ranking of the Thunder’s current roster heading into the upcoming basketball season.

This will be my fifth NBA season since the Stage 4 diagnosis and I must say I’m thrilled to still be able to cover the Thunder and the entire NBA in my own manner on the Underground.

The Oklahoma heat has crossed the line of reason these past six weeks, but all we can do is provide the best versions of ourselves for the time being.

Love always.

MJ-Jonathon Livingston Yogananda.*

I think the above will eventually become my official Kriya yogic guru name when all is said and done. An explanantion will come sometime later.

Dolly Parton’s soul left her eighty year-old body yesterday after what was described as a brief battle with cancer. I’ve never posed anything on my blog in regards to Dolly Parton before, but now that I know the story behind the song ‘I Will Always Love You’… I feel I must add this story to my blog content.

Putting aside all her amazing accolades—to me this song and its history in her life is what most stands out.

She wrote and performed this beautiful song as a goodbye to Porter Wagoner as she prepared to go it alone with her career and life. Then…she turned down an offer from Colonel Parker to buy the rights to the song for Elvis and retained the rights for the song until she sold them to the people making the movie Body Guard so as we have all been able to enjoy Whitney Houston’s haunting rendition of the song as well.

So for me—this is the part of Dolly Parton’s legacy which stands out most. The point being, that a young woman breaking out on her own career she was smart enough, and confidant enough in herself to say no to Elvis and wait until the perfect performer came forward to sing her beautiful song.

Beyond all the hit songs, the various awards, the money, the philanthropy, the theme park—this is the part of Dolly Parton’s human legacy I’ll remember most. We would never had witnessed this if Dolly Parton had taken the money from Elvis and Colonel Parker.

What a life well lived. A beautiful life in fact. As MJ Yogananda…I would think Dolly Parton’s karma is in a fine place for the next stage of her soul’s journey. I can visualize Dolly trekking over the peaks of the Himalaya’s as I complete this subtle obit of sorts.

Eternal grace and peace. But always love. There has to be love. Because without love there is nothing.

MJ Yogananda.

For me this is not rocket science. For the Thunder to contend and win a second NBA championship in Oklahoma City will require the health of J-Dub. Given the wrist surgery missed games at the begining of last season coupled with the various hamstring and/or groin issues…JDub played a mere 33 games last season.

To put that in perspective…Joel Imbiid has averaged 28.5 games the last two seasons. As constructed…this Thunder roster is not a championship team without J-Dub on the court.

And yet as I completed the previous paragraph—if Chet Holmgren had shown up at all against the San Antonio Spurs…one could make the argument the Thunder would have been the Vegas favorite to win the NBA Finals.

But I’m not buying into that train of thought. Because while Shai is the two-time NBA regular season MVP who I’ve called Superman on my blog from time to time—I don’t think he’s the Thunder’s best two-way player.

Jaylin Williams-Santa Clara is who I think is the Thunder’s best two-way basketball player and most versatile five skill basketball player on the team.

I don’t want to read like Mr. Cliche on here, but the Thunder without Lu Dort’s defense this season are now more than ever going to be dependent on J-Dub and DEFENSE DOES WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS especially for a team which depends mightily on defensive created transition baskets.

So without Lu Dort’s defensive minutes that means J-Dub, Caruso, Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, and perhaps Brooks Barnhizer are going to have be the brunt of the Thunder’s defense outside of the paint.

With all do respect to the kid from Duke who paints his fingernails, Jared McCain’s role is that of an offensive player who monetizes minutes off the bench into points. Jared McCain is an offensive player, it’s up to him this season if he wants to play enough defense for Mike J to call him a two-way player.

I don’t think all these white kids on the internet doing podcasts need to overthink this with math formulas’ theorems, and metrics. This is easy. Sam Presti needs J-Dub to be healthy, return to form, and be the best two-way Robin to Batman in the NBA this season if the Thunder want to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

I’ll deal with Chet Holmgren once we get into the season. I don’t feel any need at this point to trample the young man. His lack of performance versus Wemby spoke for itself in the Western Conference Finals.

First thing first is J-Dub getting healthy and coming out of the gates strong in October.

We’ll deal with Chet’s new role at a later time.

Eternal love always.

MJ Yogananda.

The Lebron signing happened when were in Del Mar-Torrey Pines immensely enjoying the wafting Pacific Ocean breezes caressing our whole Yogananda essence. I actually had quite an interesting conversation with a Laker fan on LeBron and what this move to Philly might mean to the entire NBA pecking order this coming season.

The way I do things on this blog is each season I pick the four teams, then two more I think which might have the best reasonable chance to win the O’Brien Trophy. Last year for instance I had 1 OKC, 2 Denver, 3 New York Knicks, 4 Minnesota, 5 San Antonio, and 6 Cleveland. Detroit did not make my Top 6 list and they showed us why in the playoffs last spring.

Obviously, Denver didn’t pan out with an injured Aaron Gordon, and the Spurs came in a year ahead of expectations. It can happen even to the most astute of us.

So does Lebron make Philly championship relevant this upcoming NBA season?

My answer is maybe. Right now I have Philly at either No. 6 or No. 7 on my list.

Here’s what cautions me most about LeBron being a Sixer this season…the number 57 in red flashing bright lights.

Why the number 57?

Because that’s the combined number of regular season games in the past two years for the most overpaid player in the NBA. 57 out of 164 possible games is how many games Joel Imbiid participated in for his Sixer mates these past two seasons. That’s not encouraging unless Philly has another center they can depend on and as of now that other center is second year Bono from UCLA. Not a bad defensive player, but is he enough to get the Sixers past the Knicks to an NBA Finals appearance?

Philly’s first five goes for me goes like this… 1 LeBron, 2 Tyrese Maxey, 3 Jaylen Brown, 4 Joel Embiid, and 5 VJ Edcombe.

Not a bad core…especially in the East where you don’t have to get past San Antonio or OKC to get to the NBA Finals. But is that enough with Embiid’s fragile knees.

So right now my Top 4 goes in this order with me assuming JDub is healthy and will be playing this season for the Thunder…1 OKC, 2 San Antonio, and then 3 the defending champion NY Knicks. I’m not ready to commit beyond the Top 3 just yet, but this Philly team with Nick Nurse as coach is on my Top 6 radar screen as of late August.

I think my next post will be on the Thunder roster ranking the players 1 thru 12 heading into camp.

If you live in Oklahoma, please show some common sense and stay out of this suffocating heat as much as possible.

Wisdom, kindness, transformation, and as always love from the Deer Creek Yogananda. I know this is tough for you Oklahoma-Trump fake Christians, but do the best you can and possibly show some godly tendencies for a change.

Eternal love.

MJ the Yogananda.