Welcome to OKCThunderGround!

I’m an optimist and not anything like the OU fans who want to fire a coach or trash a player every week. I don’t boo and I don’t give up on teams unless they give up, and this Sooner team has not given up.

A lot of OU fans probably gave up on Skip Johnson’s baseball team during the last third of the baseball season. They shouldn’t have done that because they in hindsight look incredibly stupid as the Sooners’ as the SEC’s 10th place team jelled down the stretch and won the national championship in somewhat of a convincing fashion.

I’m not in any matter suggesting that’s what is going to happen with this football team just yet. But they can finish strong and close out with a good season knowing they played one of the top two toughest schedules in DI and didn’t surrender.

There was only one cupcake on this schedule and that was UTEP. New Mexico with hot commodity coach Jason Eck hasn’t lost a game since their trip to Norman and should win the Mountain West. The rest of the schedule speaks for itself as Michigan almost took down Indiana last Saturday.

OU’s best offensive lineman Michael Fasusi returned last Saturday and the change in the offense was in a word–substantial. OU’s anemic running game went for a season best 180 yards and John Mateer had by far his best day passing the football with a two touchdown/280 yard game with NO TURNOVERS.

Plus, there were chunk plays galore. Imagine that chunk plays with this Sooner offense. Chuck plays are what transpire when playmakers have some space and time and aren’t running for their survival.

If a reasonably intelligent football person appraised OU’s defense and special teams one would possibly think these Sooners would be 7-1 without the pivotal pick sixes given up in the fourth quarter of the Michigan and Kentucky games. You take those two plays away and OU is probably 7-1 against this beast of a schedule which still has Ole Miss and Florida on the horizon.

Notre Dame would be 4-3 or 3-4 versus this schedule. Miami wouldn’t be unbeaten. Indiana would possibly have two losses. Just saying.

Michael Fasusi is back while the Sooners second best offensive tackle Ryan Fodjie will hopefully be back before the Ole Miss and Florida games. We’ve only seen these two together on the field this season for a handful of plays in the season opener versus UTEP.

I’m glad for John Mateer’s inner spirit sake he’s having these conversations with God in that I’m sure his confidence as a young man and as a quarterback at a program like OU with the incredible quarterback tradition took a beating.

Just be yourself, John Mateer. Shut out the noise and hallelujah Michael Fasusi has got your blind side covered. Finish strong.

So….that’s what blocking looks like. Who could have known blocking makes a difference in a football game?

OU hosts South Carolina this Saturday in Norman.

Eternal serenity, Mike J.

When you have a general manager like Sam Presti who comes out at 5:00pm– two hours before game time and says the things he said…it’s no wonder the Thunder responded as they did on Monday night inside of PayCom with an easy 125-114 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Next guy up. That is the mantra.

Sam Presti said, and I quote: “In this organization we take the punches and walk over the road blocks.”

If MJ had heard that going through his Stage 4 cancer physical therapy…that mantra would have been a T-shirt I would have worn to every workout. Fact of the matter is…I’m going to get a shirt like that made.

“We take the punches and walk over roadblocks, baby!”

I mean, the man told us what we expected in regards to the injuries, that being, both JDub and Cason won’t be playing for quite some time and then he said that.

End of press conference for me. I didn’t even hear the predictable weak questions from Little Nick Gallo and Jenni Carslson. MJ was done and ready to play.

JDub has a fractured lower leg injury and a dislocated ankle, while Cason has a torn labrium. Both players will require surgery or in JDub’s case… surguries.

Add to the fact…Chet sat out the game as well with his patella maintenance issues (sigh). MJ is getting one of those shirts for Chet as well even though Chet ‘somewhat’ redeemed himself against Wemby in the opener.

And yet…the Thunder stood up as one with 60% of their starting lineup missing in the fourth game of the season. It was a beautiful thing to witness. Not only the mental toughness, but the basic professionalism of these guys.

We know they hurt even more than we did as fans, yet… THEY TOOK THE PUNCHES AND WALKED OVER THE ROADBLOCKS, BABY!

I have Five Stars for this game, not three. I would have had six if Alex Caruso had played through an ankle issue in the second half. Not saying Alex needs to get one of those T-shirts, but…… it is what it is. T-shirt list so far…MJ, Chet, and Alex.

No.1 Star–Ajay Mitchell with a career high 30 points, brilliant playmaking and solid defense.

No. 2 Star–Shai. 26 points and had to play with foul trouble. Leadership galore.

No. 3 Star–Isaiah was spectacular with a double, double and some high post passing which would have made Bill Walton proud.

No. 4 Star–Jared McCain scored the ball and hit his threes. His defense will have to incrementally improve with the loss of both JDub and Cason.

No. 5 Star–rookie Aday Mara with his first career double-double. El Grande was great. I still wish though that Sam Presti had been able to bundle both Ajay and Yaxel Lindeborg, but that’s for another time and thread.

The only thing I didn’t like on the night was Coach Mark giving Josh Dix 22 minutes of floor time. To me, you give Josh eight minutes and if he does some things he gets more minutes. Josh had zero points and one rebound and was -7 in those 22 minutes. I think 14 of those 22 minutes could have been used in another manner.

Because here’s what an NBA coach does in every unique game…he orchestrates 240 minutes of floor time in a regulation game to maximize the juice from the pulp, if you know what I mean. That was a saying I loved that Eddie Sutton shared with me once. Maximize the juice from the pulp…that’s what a great coach does.

So…the Thunder in Dallas on Wednesday night and maybe we’ll see eight minutes of recently acquired 6’7″ defensive specialist Micah Peavy and see what he could possibly add to the team in Cason’s two to three month absence.

What the Thunder need is an athletic wing with wing span length who can hit an open three if it’s being given to him. Micah’s a Texas high school kid who played for both Texas Tech and TCU before ending up at Georgetown…so I’ve seen him around some. Maybe he can fill a need. We’ll see.

That’s it for me for the time being.

Love, Mike J.

I’m not going to post the video on my blog because I witnessed the injury and it made me sick. It kind of reminded me a little of the Joe Theisman injury eons ago. It literally hurt me to see Jalen go down in the manner in which he did.

This Monday morning I in no way want to write about the basketball ramifications of Jalen’s situation and how it will effect the Thunder as a team. There is no basketball chat from me on this tough Monday morning.

Instead… I’d rather write about all the human positives which will surround Jalen as he rehabs and makes yet another comeback from injury in his young career.

I know I’m an older person and not a young basketball star, but I think a few thoughts from my journey back couldn’t hurt anyone.

First and foremost….God. Life is like this. It can be glorious and then it can knock you down hard on your backside in a flash. From my perspective everything begins with our own unique conversations and relationship with God.

Faith. When we get knocked down hard its a test of our faith and resolve. Counting back I think I’ve got through at least six of these in my life. Our faith is everything. It cannot be diminished. If anything, it should be strengthened.

Family. JDub has a wonderful mother, father, and family who will be there in the right way for their son. No worries there. This isn’t a concern, but rather a huge asset.

Teammates and inner circle. I have to confess something here…I was pissed at Sam Presti for about a year when I thought he tanked too hard building this team we now have in Oklahoma City. But as this Thunder team has evolved and I’ve witnessed these guys…I have to fully admit they are a wonderful group of young men who represent our city in a manner which goes beyond winning basketball games. Every one of these guys is first class.

Sam Presti and Coach Mark. Again, the people who surround JDub’s life. Sam Presti is the best GM is the NBA, while Coach Mark has grown into at the least one of the three top coaches in the league.

In the matters above…truly JDub’s cup runneth over and we should all take the time to re-read Psalm 23 today and refresh ourselves and renew our perspectives.

I hope all that wasn’t too much, because I’m in no way a preacher or a angel of any sort. Just a human with a few thoughts.

In closing… the fans in this city. We truly love JDub the young man, and the basketball player. And I hope in this order we all keep JDub in our prayers and thoughts moving forward.

The Thunder have a game tonight versus Phoenix. As a team the Thunder will have to work through this in their own way.

Love, Mike J.

Certainly an interesting first week so far in the Western Conference as the Thunder have been very impressive going 2-0 while the Spurs with a struggling Wemby have opened at 0-2 after Friday night’s loss to the Houston Rockets.

It’s stunning in that Chet has found himself ‘enough’ to at least rebound, play defense, do the little things, but most of all competively engage. While on the other hand Wemby and his mates seem a bit dazed with the deer in the headlight look coming out of the gate.

I plan on quoting ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins as much as possible this season because he’s fun and doesn’t take himself as seriously as all the geekster white guys on the internet…so with that in mind–I fully endorse what Perk said abut the Thunder this opening week. That being said, “Sam Presti should be investigated by the NBA because he traded off Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe and the team got even better 1-12.”

One through twelve the Thunder are better than their championship team of two years ago and last year’s team as well. A healthy Thunder with Dub back is clearly atop everyone’s power polls early in this NBA season.

Perk is right…Sam Presti should be investigated. Mara looks like he’ll be more than able to fill a rotational position and Jared McCain has no basketball fear. And here’s the thing…I believe at some points during the arduous 82-game marathon season…both Brook Barnhizer and Bennett Stirtz will earn Coach Mark’s trust as situational role players.

I mean, OKC shot the ball horribly in this 96-84 home opner win over Denver and yet won by 12 points because they shut down both Jokic and Jamal on the same night with the best defense in the league. So that means in this opening week with this new and improved and bigger rotation the Thunder shut down the top two bigs in the Western Conference in Wemby and Jokic.

There will be emotional let downs here and there for the season, but when the Thunder want to turn on Forty Minutes of Hell here and there they still have that capability. This Denver game being a prime example. The Thunder turned over the Nuggets 22 times for 21 points on a night when as a team Shai struggled as the team shot a collective 37% from the field.

That’s what this Thunder team can be when they want to come to the arena with a chip on their shoulder and a doberman growl in their throats. They can be the league’s Toughest, Nastiest team with a championship Snarl if they don’t become bored and complacent. Plus, of course, both Shai and Dub need to stay healthy.

Those three Williams Brothers in my mind can become the Hansen Brothers if we see any more punk nonsense from guys like DeAaron Fox and Wembyama. I love that physicality and toughness. I love having a basketball team with a fighting line.

Next game against the Spurs…MJ would send out the Fighting Line on the opening faceoff with Wemby and Fox out there. Just saying. Send a message so to speak. With the Williams Boys…. except Dub is not in anyway to throw a punch and break his hand. Barnhizer looks like he could be a brawler/enforcer…that might need to be considered with the fighting/energy line.

In closing…Shai had a rough night in scoring only 17 points versus Denver and the 20 points or more streak comes to an end at 141. I love the way he did it. Total class. But that’s why you need a fighting line to protect Shai. Nobody is to touch Shai. I hope that is clear to the rest of the league.

Wisdom accrues into trust and eventual omnipresent divine love. The universe becomes our meditative garden, but never under any circumstances speak during our national anthem.

Eternal peace always, MJ.

Sam Presti and Coach Mark must be reading the Underground because the Thunder pretty much checked every box on my list in a 116-104 beatdown of the defending Western Conference champs.

This was not a mere twelve point loss by the Spurs. The Thunder led by as many as 26 points in the first half and led by 21 points at the intermission. The only thing Spurs’ fans can cling to to in this defeat was the slightly amusing hamburger skit at halftime which was featured on First Take this morning. If you were with youngsters under the age of ten…that was a mini-win for you Spurs’ fans.

I hate to write cliche things on my seriously under-read eclectic blog, BUT THIS WAS A STATEMENT THE THUNDER JUST MADE TO THE REST OF THE NBA. The statement being…when we’re healthy we’re the real defending champs regardless of what the Spurs and the NY Knicks might want to think.

Shai was easily my No. 1 Star of the Game with his 32 point performance. But please notice how many times Cason and Ajay brought the ball up court and in essence allowed Shai to not have to work so hard. Please notice all the tough guy, high basketball IQ things Dub does for Shai. Please be intelligent NBA fans. Become students of the game beyond those pitiful Thunder Network telecasts. MJ implores this of you. Don’t be like some of those stupid OU fans who call into the Jim Traber Show.

I loved the little mini-confrontation in the third period when Coach Mark pulled Shai early on a rotation because he, like MJ, thought Shai was gliding with that big lead for awhile. Shai barked a few words at Coach Mark while taking a seat. Coach Mark didn’t respond. Shai took a seat, BUT Coach Mark after thinkig about this for a very brief pause got Shai back in the game and Shai didn’t glide any more in this basketball game.

That was coaching brilliance. That was a coach not allowing his ego to undermine his team by realizing MJ’s First Axiom of Being a Great Coach, that being….PLAYER MAKES THE COACH. Period. But a really smart coach knows how to work that singular truth.

Jared MCain was my No. 2 Star with a 20 point night going 6-8 from beyond the arc coming off the bench. I love his basketball hubris. He has no fear of failure. You can’t coach that.

The three Williams ‘brothers’… Dub, Will, and Kenny collectively are my No. 3 star. That’s the physicality and the toughness I want to see from this group. I want this team to play like a hockey team with a chip on their shoulder. When a punk like De’Arron Fox throws down Chet like it’s a WNBA game with Angel Reese and Wembyama starts running his mouth—that’s the reaction I want to see. Five *****s from MJ for that reaction. I love you guys. You could be hockey players and that’s an ultimate compliment on this blog.

Other than being thrown down to the floor by a man a foot shorter who should be playing in the WNBA….I thought Chet was better than he was in the Western Conference Finals. He competed except for that embarrassing moment with Fox.

But again take notice how every Thunder player on defense was in essence ‘spying’ Wembyama. Every single Thunder player had Wembyama on their mind with a head on a swivel. Every single Thunder player wanted to shame him with a 1-12 shooting night and humiliate him. Wemby’s only field goal came as the final second of the third period expired. No mas, baby. No wonder Wemby sounded like Roberto Duran in the postgame presser.

Ajay Mara…my thoughts? His minutes were perfect. With Coach Mark throwing Isaiah, Chet, and ‘El Grande’ at Wemby all night long it was in this one game…perfect. That’s the precise role ‘El Grande’ needs to fill this season for the Thunder to win their second NBA championship.

Philly with Tyrese Maxey, another brilliant Coach Cal guard from Kentucky, and LeBron looked very comfortable together in the Sixers win over the Knicks. If Embiid can stay healthy enough to play in 54-56 or so regular season games I could see Philly being a serious thing in the East.

Denver in OKC on Thursday night. I’m excited and ready to see how both teams respond in this marquee national game of the night.

Moderation, patience, and wisdom always, MJ.

We’re back from Colorado just in time for the Thunder’s opening night in San Antonio. It was wonderful and sublime with the fall color in Greenwood Village. I have fallen in love with eight month year-old golden lab Sunny. He actually had me at hello with his incessant hugging and kissing and breakneck speed in retrieving a fuzzy basketball in the backyard. Our Sunny’s reminds me of the Sunny Hayes-Brad Pitt character in the movie Formula I, which I liked very much… the gist of their indefatigueable spirits are pretty much the same. I need to see the new Brad Pitt dog movie. I hear it’s beyond great.

MJ loves the spirit… my OU Sooners offense better start showing some of ‘that’ in Starksville this Saturday if they wish to have a season not being compared to the three pitiful seasons of John Blake in Norman. I’ll write more on the Sooners pitiful offense, which shouldn’t be pitiful… later in the week.

This is not the time to pile on with all of the ‘experts’ on the Sports Animal all ready in full blown blow it up mode one week after Brent Venables was named the National Coach of the Week after the amazing win over Texas in the Red River Rivalry. There are times when I absolutely hate some of my fellow OU football fans. You can’t jump off a ledge every time you lose an SEC game. You have to grow from these setbacks because everyone in the league is experiencing this occurence.

Two words…get better, then three words….every single week. This is football—this is life.

This week the Thunder have my undivided attention on opening night and on Thursday in their home opener versus my second favorite team in the NBA, that being the Denver Nuggets.

Also, before my top three narratives…Sam Presti just signed Cason Wallace to his rookie extension contract at something close to or around to $28 million per season. This had to be done and now its done. The extensions to Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain will be coming due down the road as well. I’m not going to fret on this because Sam Presti is the best GM in the league.

Now to my Top Three Thunder opening night narratives:

1 The return of JDub. JDub in my view is the Thunder’s best overall two-way basketball player. JDub has the soul of a ‘complete’ hockey player. He does so many different things well on both ends which make Shai a better player and the Thunder a more complete team. But in regards to the matchup with the Spurs…JDub’s physicality and versatilty define the Thunder’s defense. JDub plus Cason Wallace’s defensive speed and ability to stay in front of any guard in the league are why losing Lu Dort isn’t the end of great basketball defense in Oklahoma City.

JDub’s return is my No. 1 Thunder narrative. Period.

2 Cason Wallace. Sam Presti has shown us what he thinks of Cason by trading Lu Dort to Atlanta and by resigning Cason before the season started. Cason’s role on this team is of immense importance moving forward. It’s time for the rest of the NBA universe to witness what Cason is capable of as a complete basketball player getting starter’s minutes.

Quick question before heading to No.3 … which NBA team has the best two John Calipari – Kentucky guard combo in the league?

Answer: Sam Presti with Shai and Cason.

3 Coach Mark’s ability to insulate Chet’s fragile confidence issues in regard to Wembyama’s presence on the court. This is a nuance thing in such how does Coach Mark with the other Thunder players as a team minimize Wemby in the paint near the rim and beyond? plus…is the rookie Mara capable of giving the Thunder ten minutes of quality time against top NBA teams as the season moves along?

These are the things at the top of my list heading into today and tonight’s amazing three games on NBC’s Opening Day/Night marathon. It’s time for MJ Yogananda to put on his NBA blogging goggles and get serious.

Peace and love to all, MJ.

I will be back eventually to recap OU-Texas, then cover the Thunder-Spurs regular season opener. Our eight month-old grand-dog…Sunny the golden lab and the peak fall color in central Colorado beckons us yet again.

Colorado has five separate temperate zones, thus from the last week in September to the end of October there is peak fall color somewhere in the state.

Perhaps if the haters would just take some time to take in the natural beauty in our country… there would be much less hate.

Peace. Mike J

I love JWill. I watched him quite a bit during his days at Arkansas because Arkansas is my second favorite college basketball team behind Oklahoma.

Arkansas truly has had a history of excellent and interesting basketball coaches over the years. Eddie Sutton, Nolan Richardson, Mike Anderson, crazy Eric Musselman, who was ejected two straight years in the Arkansas-OU matchups, and currently Coach John Calipari (Cal).

Arkansas has truly had great basketball coaches. So I was delighted when the Thunder surprised me by picking JWill in the second round of his draft class. I was clamoring for it and I’m to assume Sam Presti in reading the only honest Thunder blog out there… kept the JWill second round pick stashed in his back pocket and waited for the appropriate time.

Here on the video is JWill playing the pants off Chet Holmgren in the Razorbacks’ stunning upset of top-seeded Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. Again…not trying to pile on, but a players’ heart is part of the equation if you’re going to max a guy and make him a face of your franchise.

I’m honestly not trying to pile on here. But at some point there needs to be narratives out there not always orchestrated by Nick Gallo, Matt Pinto, and Royce Young. That’s the primary reason I’ve stuck it out with this blog.

If I was a piler-on-er I’d be eviserating OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh right now, but I’m not because I’m patiently giving him two more weeks to see how this plays out with OU’s offensive line woes without Michael Fasusi.

I’m a Libra…some have cursed at me over the years for being honest, but at the end of the day I’m basically a fair-minded person. That’s what Libras do. I think I would have been a excellent judge, and if Donald Trump had ever walked into my courtroom the United States would be in a different space currently.

Berry Tramel taught me this…always be human and fair before you’re negative with something you write. I love Tramel btw.

As far as JWill….every championship team needs a chemistry-character player who has the game to go with being able to handle coming off the bench and doing whatever it takes to make the team successful.

And of course there’s that beautiful smile. During the long, arduous NBA season… every team needs a guy like JWill with that smile and attitude to get through the mental rough spots when fatigue sets in.

Don’t ever discount guys like JWill because when you get to crunch time deep into the playoffs…a guy like JWill or Jared McCain might just sneak up and win you a basketball game coming off the bench.

Don’t ever discount the value of role players.

Love, MJ

I’ve changed my mind in that before we leave for Colorado again I’m going to feature my No. 8 and No. 9 guys on my OKC Thunder rotation for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

It will change with me from game to game depending on the opponent and situation. If the Thunder need more size…then it would be JWill-Ark. If the Thunder need instant offense off the bench from a guy with absolutely no fear of failure and what I call ‘basketball hubris’… it would be Jared McCain coming off the bench.

When Sam Presti had to let Lu Dort go…he’s what he knew he still had at the guard position: Shai, JDub-hybrid guard/forward, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain, Topic and Barnhizer. Add to the fact Presti drafted two additional guards in Bennett Stirtz from Iowa and Otega Oweh from Kentucky.

Note: I actually sat next to ‘Tega twice at OU womens’ games during his two year stay in Norman. Great kid with no lack of confidence. What he did at Kentucky did not surprise me at all. His older brother plays in the NFL. He comes from a sports family. Keep an eye on ‘Tega’s evolution as I think Presti will eventually try and keep him in OKC.

But back to Jared…this is a young player who if he learns to play enough defense…is going to be another incredible get by Presti. I thought it was one of the best moves in the entire NBA trade dealine by any GM.

This kid is the exact mental opposite of Chet. He has NO FEAR OF FAILURE. I mean, if he misses his first six shots…he pretty much blows that off until he finds himself in the flow of the game. I think that’s what Nick Collison used to describe as ‘finding or losing yourself in the game.’

And then there’s Chet looking at Wemby and fretting while contemplating potential failure. Look at these highlights from Game 6…Jared never once blinked or backed away from Wembyama. You can’t coach that. There isn’t a drill for that skill. And I guess he might still be wearing nail polish. If he makes shots and improves his defense it doesn’t bother me.

Tomorrow or Thursday I’m doing JWill Ark before we head back to Greenwood Village, Colorado to dog-sit our eight-month year-old baby golden lab dog grandson named Sunny.

Plus…it will be peak fall foilage week in most of Colorado. It is amazing fall color in Greenwood Village. This is what older people do when they can’t play sports any longer. This is what happens when your body can’t go anymore… dog sitting and fall foilage.

As soon as I witness evidence that OU has an offensive line and John Mateer takes care of the football….I’ll return to the OU football beat as well upon our return.

And I have to tell you people…as a Stage 4 cancer survivor I’m in this beautiful space right now. I feel beyond blessed. Seriously….it’s like I’m already in some semblance of heaven.

Grace and peace.

MJ

I don’t cover NBA pre-season games on my blog. I’m not pretending to be the team’s GM or coach so there’s no need for me to make any commentary on games which are basically for evaluation purposes.

My Top 7 Thunder Players Rankings preceeded all of this earlier here on okcthunderground.com and there’s nothing on that list I need to reconsider until we see how Chet fares emotionally versus Wemby in the season opener versus the Spurs on in San Antonio on October 20th.

We will witness if Sam Presti with a healthy JDub and Ajay, plus a resigned Isaiah Hartenstein can handle Wemby and help Chet come to some possible psychological truce within himself when Wemby is on the floor opposite him.

Obviously… that game, plus the Denver game on October 22nd will be where I start getting serious about this Thunder season. Suffice it to say…this isn’t MJ’s first NBA rodeo. The great ones know how to gradually roll into the NBA’s 82 game regular season marathon.

As I stated earlier several weeks ago … my No. 8, No. 9, and No. 10 in Coach Mark’s rotation is fluid at this point, and my guess is….8, 9, and 10 will remain fluid as this season moves along with Jared McCain pushing for that No. 8 slot as far as minutes played.

JWill, McCain, and let’s say possibly either Barnhizer or Kenrich round out my current rotation. Kenrich may only be an insurance policy…so we’ll have to see if he’s even in the rotation that much in the early portions of the season.

I don’t have Chet as the third most valuable player on the Thunder roster currently… based on what I think is an inflated salary considering his proneness to injury and his mortal, sissy-like fear of Wembyama.

Scoff if you will, but today it was written two other NBA teams have already let it be known they will offer Cason Wallace an offer of $30 million per season if he becomes a restricted free agent.

I’m telling you people…at some point in the not too distant future–Sam Presti is going to have to decide if keeping Chet means he’ll have to say goodbye to Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell.

Enough of that for the time being though. Chet either Will or Won’t Engage against Wembyama and Sam Presti will have to respond accordingly if he wants to keep Shai, JDub, Alex, and Cason in the championship window.

Shai is the soul, the heartbeat, nd the unquestioned leader of this franchise. Plus, given the abysmal state of the witless MAGA politics in Oklahoma outside of OKC, Tulsa, and Norman…I would say Shai, Clay Bennett, Sam Presti, and OKC mayor David Holt are the four most respected individuals in the state currently.

I don’t in anyway feel that’s an overstatement.

So here’s Shai.

Eternal divine love and kindness always. Even if the person opposite you is a complete and total fool… always find it inside of you to be gracious and kind.

MJ Yogananda