Author: Mike

When I first started this modest blog back in October of the 2015-16 season it was put in place to chronicle and archive Kevin Durant’s free agency season in Oklahoma City. I thought the possibilities for an interesting sports book were very much in place. I still believe this to be true. I had no idea my father would be diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer six weeks later and be given around three months to live.

Little did the doctors know the fight my father had in him and as a family we made it until August 23rd, 2016 before my father passed and left this earth. The last sporting event we attended together in person was of course Game 6 in Oklahoma City versus the Golden State Warriors. My son gave us mid-court tickets near the floor as a Father’s Day present for both of us. It took everything I had to not cry during the game. Our mutual devastation at how the Thunder lost that game is still fresh in my memory and always will be.

But life goes on and you work thru the tough spots and become a better person in the long run.

I still believe there’s a great book to be written about what has happened in Oklahoma City from an NBA standpoint these past eleven years. I read Sam Anderson’s Boom Town and enjoyed it immensely, but it’s not a basketball book. It’s a written history of Oklahoma City and its continual struggles since the land run to come to terms with itself as a city. I would strongly recommend every serious Thunder fan read this book for background information and for the pure entertainment of the storytelling.

In preparation for this season I also read Mick Cornett’s The Next Great American City and Steven Adams’ My Life: My Fight. Again… two books I would suggest for every serious Thunder fan who aspires to go beyond Little Nick Gallo Sippy Cup status as a serious NBA fan.

My three favorite basketball books of all-time are 1 Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam, 2 Season on the Brink by John Feinstein, and 3 The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. I don’t think any reader would be disappointed with any of these three iconic basketball books.

But because I live in a small market town like Oklahoma City.. clearly Breaks of the Game is my favorite of the three books. It brilliantly chronicles the Portland Trailblazers in the Bill Walton championship era and how quickly it all came apart when everyone was expecting a dynasty.

To me…this is the most compelling sports book I’ve ever read and I would think Oklahoma City Thunder fans would get some solace from reading the book.

There’s still five games and at least a first round playoff series left for the Oklahoma City Thunder in this season which was supposed to tell us if the championship window closed behind Kevin Durant when he bolted the Thunder to join Steph and Klay and create a dynasty in Oakland.

My mindset has changed dramatically since Durant’s Players Tribune exit on July 4th, 2016. My anger has morphed into an implicit understanding of the situation given he wanted to win a championship. But I do think he should move on after this season and see if he can win a ring in a different setting without the Splash Brothers.

Here we are three years later and the chances are somewhat reasonable the Thunder and Warriors could meet in the first round of the playoffs with the Warriors trying to Three Peat and the Thunder trying to prove Russell Westbrook can win a playoff series…period, let alone a championship.

Could this possibly be a fitting ending chapter to someone’s book on the Oklahoma City Thunder’s flirtation with becoming a championship city?

I’ve hated this Thunder season. Nothing about it has been enjoyable except the stretch of eleven or so games heading into New Orleans before the All-Star break. This teams stands for nothing, but that’s not completely fair to the entire team because they go as their point guard goes.

My Russell Westbrook – NFL analogy is simple. You can’t win games in the NFL if your QB is throwing four picks at just the wrong moments in close games. Russell Westbrook is a four pick NBA point guard. Nothing has changed and he’s now thirty-one years of age. The face of your franchise can’t behave like a child.

It’s that simple. You don’t need a metric for this. The truth is simple…Russell Westbrook’s teammates and his coaches cannot trust him to make the right plays when a safe play needs to be made.

I was thinking of this today and this song kept coming into my head thinking of the way Russell Westbrook plays basketball.

To me…this is the Thunder season in a nutshell. Billy Donovan and his team can’t trust Russell Westbrook when it matters. I wish he would prove me wrong.

The basketball gods can work in beautifully mysterious ways at times just when you don’t expect it. Even though I’m a little down on the Thunder’s season and how it will probably end in the first round against Steph, Klay and Kevin Durant…I’m okay. This week-end of regional final March Madness was perhaps the best set of four regional finals I can ever remember taking place on one week-end.

Obviously, OU is my team, I was prepared for a second round exit by the Sooners to Virginia. But what has transpired with both Texas Tech and Auburn has made this an unexpected treasure of an NCCA Tournament for me. As these two teams have made their first ever program runs to the Final Four… I’ve become caught up in their moments so to speak. Plus, I’ve always been a big Tom Izzo fan so this is truly a magical Final Four to follow for a basketball junkie who needs to divert his eyes from the burning rubble of a third straight Thunder season without Kevin Durant ending in a quick first round flameout.

Texas Tech with Chris Beard will be making its first ever Final Four and is a great story. But Auburn beating Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky in successive rounds is a magical story. These three programs Auburn just beat are the three most winning programs in the history of mens college hoops. If Duke had advanced versus Michigan State–then Auburn could been facing the fourth on the list versus Coach K in the national finals.

This is truly remarkable stuff we’re witnessing from Coach Bruce Pearl and his never say die Auburn Tigers. Even with the crushing season ending injury to Chuma Okeke these Cinderella Tigers just keep winning and in an impressive manner.

This year’s Final Four will be in Minneapolis. I haven’t seen the Vegas odds yet, but I would guess Michigan State is a slight favorite over Texas Tech and Virginia is probably a slight favorite over Auburn. Auburn and Tech are two teams in the same field who have never made the Final Four in the histories of their respective programs.

This has truly been a great tournament and if Carson Edwards and the Boilermakers were facing Auburn in the national semis it would be a perfect field for me. But you can’t have everything.

Our national semi-finals are set with Texas Tech vs Michigan State on one side of the bracket and Auburn vs. Virginia on the other side of the bracket.

Even if only by marriage did I become an Auburn fan–it’s a great time to be an Auburn Tiger.

The good thing for me was that I was in a state of euphoria following Auburn’s amazing overtime win over Kentucky to advance to their first ever Final Four. I must admit… at that point I pretty much decided to take a break from the Titantic-like Thunder and get ready for the Duke vs. Michigan State game. A very smart move on my part and one I had made around 9:00am given the situation with the self-abusive Oklahoma City Thunder basketball squad.

Of course, I’m weak and a self admitted hoops junkie and couldn’t hold true to this pledge and punished myself by watching around half of the Thunder’s predictable 106-103 home loss to the tanking Dallas Mavericks who on most nights aren’t even trying to win games at this point in their season.

I’m not an unreasonable blogging person. I pride myself on being fair and even handed. There comes a point when you can only challenge a team’s lack of heart in print so many times that it becomes as predictable as hearing the Thunder homers make excuses for what has happened to this team since the game before the All-Star break in New Orleans.

I’m not Jim Traber. He doesn’t like the Thunder. I like the Thunder even though their media relations/communications approach is a literal piece of dog shit. Consider this…if the Thunder had taken the polar opposite approach of what they do…maybe the Thunder players would think there’s a degree of self accountability on how they compete night in and night out. Maybe…if they weren’t coddled and pampered at some point as a group a collective competitive anger would swell inside of them and they would find a way…any way to become a better team than what they’ve shown the past twenty-two games where with one of the highest payrolls in the league and a primary owner who has gone through two major health issues in the past year…. maybe, just maybe as a group they would pull themselves together and play hard and with some mental focus with just a touch of professional pride attached.

But apparently that isn’t the case with this Oklahoma City Thunder squad who for whatever reason quit on themselves, their coach, their owner and their fans way back in New Orleans on a Thursday night just before the All-Star break thinking nothing more was required of them as a team.

Next up…the LeBronless LA Lakers inside Cheasapeake Energy Arena.

If you live for the butterflies and rainbows approach this blog probably won’t be for you until the Thunder show some heart.

*On recheck…I correct myself, the dead team walking Thunder are 7-14 since New Orleans. It’s the best I’ve felt about this team since the Miracle in Philadelphia.

When you have some talent, a good coach and a truckload of heart this is what can happen even when your best player can’t go because of a season ending knee injury. Winning is fun and becomes contagious.

As a basketball fan–I needed what the NCAA Tournament’s two Elite 8 games turned out to be in what were two epic college basketball games. After covering the piece of indifferent junk which goes by the name of the Oklahoma City Thunder for 76 games … I needed to be reminded why I love playoff basketball and hockey in the manner in which I do.

Yesterday was one of the best days of college basketball I can remember in a while. Let me tell you this…it would not shock me if Texas Tech wins the whole thing even after knowing they lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament to West Virginia. They have a superstar in Jarrett Culver. They have role players who play their roles to perfection. But most of all they have a coach they believe in and listen to. You watch this team and you get the impression if Chris Beard tells them to go thru a wall… they’ll look at him and say, “Which wall, coach?” What a quaint notion for those of us who cover the NBA on blogs.

Seriously, after watching 76 games of Russell Westbrook ignoring his coach it was genuinely refreshing to see a team in every way take on the persona of their coach. Maybe this just doesn’t translate to the NBA given the floundering we’ve witnessed this season from NBA teams coached by Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens…but yesterday was a needed doubleheader of basketball where four teams played their hearts out and played with their hearts on their sleeves.

Another thing…Carson Edwards from Purdue last night reminded me so much of Steph Curry back at Davidson when we really didn’t have an idea of what Steph Curry would become. In watching Carson Edwards play in his three games in this NCAA Tournament…I can only say I wish his team had advanced just so I could keep seeing him play on the biggest stage in college hoops.

So…today we have Duke vs. Michigan State with Coach K vs. Tommy Izzo. I love both coaches. I truly do. Duke in reality—should have already lost twice in this tournament with tentative performances against UCF and VA Tech. But if they get Zion going and get going on a roll they could still be something to behold. This should be a great game.

And then of course..my wife’s alma mater–the Auburn Tigers without star big Chuma Okeke take out John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats in an all SEC Elite 8 final. If Okeke was healthy I’d clearly like Auburn, but without him… I don’t know if they can keep Kentucky off the glass. Bruce Pearl is a piece of work and one of my favorite college coaches just because he has so much fun out there and his players feed off of him. So my head says Kentucky while heart screams… ‘War Eagle!’

What a day of hoops we could be in store in for if these two games measure up to what we saw yesterday from Texas Tech, Gonzaga, Virginia and Purdue.

Survive, win and advance.

March Madness is truly upon us and it has reminded me of what college basketball used to be and still is in the month of March.

WAR EAGLE!

My wife went to Auburn so during our thirty-eight years of being together I’ve developed an emotional tie to War Eagle Nation. I don’t hate Alabama like a true rabbid Auburn fan, but I would say Auburn has become my second favorite program to root for over the years easily supplanting the O State Cowboys since Holder only promotes wrestling and golf. But I will be watching Spencer Sanders with great interest this coming season though. I can’t wait for that dude.

It was good to see Auburn trounce Kansas and North Carolina in back to back games to advance to the Elite 8 where they will now have to face Michigan State without their star big Chuma Okeke. With Okeke–I’d pick Auburn to advance…now I’m not so sure. But that’s why you play the games.

As far as the Thunder they once again lost to Denver last night inside the Peake closing out a 0-4 season sweep by the Nuggets. The narrative I heard from Antonio Daniels after the game was literally absurd… and I’m a fan of Antonio as I wrote in my local OKC media rankings. It appears.. even Antonio has grown weary and appears to just be throwing in the towel on the no heart, no grit, no real basketball smarts Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team.

Denver came into this game on the second night of a road back to back on the very end of their toughest road trip of the season and just calmly outclassed, out-hearted, and out smarted the Thunder at every turn in the game which required a standup moment by the visitors.

Am I being too tough questioning the heart of the Thunder? I could care less. Unlike Low Energy Royce Young or Little Nick Gallo or even Antonio Daniels I in no way derive my livelihood from sucking up to the Thunder organization. I have my own blog and I’m going to call it exactly as I see it.

And here’s the way I see it with six games remaining in the regular season…for the second straight season the Thunder with one of the highest payrolls in the NBA is by far the most massively overhyped/underachieving piece of junk in the league. I’ve loved the Thunder over the years, but to be brutally candid—I don’t like or respect this team. I’d trade this bunch for the 23-59 group with Scott Brooks and not even blink.

The manner in which they play and compete sickens me as someone who’s played and coached sports. Or even just from the standpoint of being a fan…they sicken me. If I were Billy Donovan inside that locker room this basketball season.. I would have probably felt the need to destroy something nearby on at least a dozen occasions.

This Thunder team sickens me. But you know what, maybe some of this is on all of us for being duped into the notion that last year was on Carmelo Anthony.

Fool me once it’s on you. Fool me twice it’s on me.

The Thunder host the tanking Dallas Mavericks tomorrow afternoon. They better win this one because next time they play Dallas the Mavs will have Porzingus and Donic together as one of the most dynamic combos in the league.

You have to figure the Lakers will finally pair someone with LeBron. And you would assume the young Kings will be a year smarter and the better for it. What I’m saying here is that next year could even be tougher to just make the top eight and we have no idea yet who Jerry West lands for the Clippers.

We all know the NBA isn’t a coach driven league. It’s a star driven league and OKC’s two stars are 7-13 since the All-Star break. The two stars might want to do some serious soul searching on this Saturday afternoon.

With the 63-44 dismantling of Michigan by the Texas Tech Red Raiders– Tech head coach Chris Beard is one win over Gonzaga from becoming a household name in the universe of basketball coaches.

Jobs at both the elite college level and perhaps even an NBA job will be at his fingertips if he so chooses. He has one of the best players in the nation in Jarrett Culver and a team which clamps down on the defensive end like a pitt bull.

Obviously, he has far too strong of a coaching personality to ever be considered by Sam Presti with the Thunder. But this guy can flat out coach.

Kansas is the job where I could see Chris Beard if the Bill Self legal situation in Lawrence devolves to the point where the president of the university has no other choice but to let his coach go.

Then I would guess—you might see Self migrate to O State perhaps like Eddie Sutton back in the day when Kentucky had to let him go. This would be great for Kansas and O State, not so great for Texas Tech. Anyway… it will be something to keep an eye on after the national championship game.

The Gonzaga-Texas Tech game should be a war. I can’t wait to see it.

Post game presser from earlier round versus Northern Kentucky.

Now…. I have to tell you, when I saw this video I laughed so hard I thought I might spew out some internal organs.

This makes up for the Mueller Report.

The irony is that Little Nick Gallo has become the spiritual leader of Low Energy Royce Young’s Daily Thunder and gets every one of his cupcake questions answered by Russell Westbrook. Yet Russell won’t give ESPN’s national Thunder beat writer the time of day.

And since Low Energy Royce Young is the chief enabler of Little Nick Gallo on his Thunder flagship blog–Westbrook must be doing this for me is all I can decipher at this point since his little brother loves me.

Thank god for the Thunder post game pressers is all I can say at this point.

The Thunder host the Nuggets tomorrow night and should be well rested, but will be without Paul George who has a little ‘soreness’ in his shoulder. Don’t look for Paul George to be making his NHL debut anytime soon.

The overpaid, overhyped, underachieving OKC Thunder awoke from another first half coma and promptly went on a 24-0 scoring spurt in the third period to come back from an eight point halftime deficit to defeat the Indiana Pacers by a score of 107-99 on Wednesday night inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

With the win, the Thunder improve to 44-31 and are currently the No. 7 seed in the West.

Steven Adams had one of his better games of the season with a 25 point, 12 rebound night. He was my No. 1 star. Jerami Grant with 19 points and five late clutch points was my No. 2 star. Paul George with 31 points was my No. 3 star.

This is my recap. This team doesn’t at this point doesn’t deserve five paragraphs. They don’t warrant that much effort or thought.

Here’s Steven with the feature interview tonight. Up front is alpha Thunder sycophant Little Nick Gallo who has become the literary tour de farce voice of the Daily Thunder.

I saw this and knew it had to be the lead on my blog for the Thunder win over Indy. This in essence is me giving the voice of the Daily Thunder a Bolt on my eclectic blog.