Author: Mike

This really shouldn’t have stunned anybody Clemson won this football game. But it was the margin and the fact Alabama waved a surrender flag early in the fourth quarter which might indicate there is a new program atop the world of college football. It was an execution of sorts carried out by Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers on both sides of the ball as his team made every play that mattered in beating Nick Saban’s dynasty Crimson Tide by a count of 44-16.

And consider this…it was carried out by a true freshman quarterback by the name of Trevor Lawrence who will at the minimum be back two more college football seasons wearing Clemson orange.

Alabama had no answers for Clemson on either side of the football or on special teams as well as they missed an extra point and panicked with a fake field goal on the first possession of the second half trailing 31-16.

In reality… that was the game. It was over there and then. From that point forward it was just Clemson torturing Saban until he went all Roberto Duran and said ‘no mas’ by inserting Jalen Hurts early in the fourth period. It was a good thing ESPN wasn’t doing those family shots of Tua’s parents during this game as is it would have been deemed as cruel and unusual punishment.

In the age of the playoff which has now been in place for five years the scoreboard reads…Clemson two championships, Alabama two championships, and Ohio State one championship.

This was not a pretty ending to this bowl season for the SEC. Instead it was a train wreck. First there was the unmasking of UGA and the Georgia Bulldogs by a four loss Texas team in the Sugar Bowl. Then this. Keep this in mind…neither game was close as Texas went into a prevent defense late in the game which made the score look closer than it was. Both Georgia and Alabama were beaten by teams which were more physical than they were on the two given nights.

Does this change the face of college football moving forward?

Not really. It does give us some relief from making Alabama the presumptive champion every year. It gives college football the appearance that a championship game without Alabama could be a possibility next season. It shows there is a roadmap to beating Alabama in the playoff era since Clemson has now done it in two of the last three seasons and Georgia should have done it twice.

But beyond that…I don’t see huge changes on the horizon. The talent level of the top football programs in the country reside in the South. This is a talent thing…as in which states produce the most NFL players per capita population. Google it if you doubt me.

These players come from the South. They reside in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. It’s a southern thing. It’s the culture.

So while Alabama did go down in flames last night in northern California of all places, I’d say right now next year’s Final Four will still be dominated by the same teams next season. Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, and Texas all return their starting quarterbacks next season and that might be a starting point to preview next year’s Final Four the morning after Clemson’s dismantling of Alabama.

Following perhaps one of the Thunder’s best games in the Billy Donovan era in Portland on Friday, the Thunder were humiliated at home by former coach Scott Brooks and his decimated Wizards by a count of 116-98. Brutal. That would be the word to describe the effort by the Thunder against a team which was missing three starters and was ten games below .500. If you took a poll, the Wizards would be this season’s most disappointing team in the East. Yet, they just strolled into the Peake on Sunday night and did what they wanted against the listless seemingly exhausted Thunder.

I’d have to call it the Thunder’s worst game of the season because this wasn’t just about not making shots. This loss was because the Thunder showed little effort and were beaten on the boards, on the bench, and by never showing any real sustained interest in the game.

Are you kidding? Your former head coach who you fired walks into your arena with a wounded team and just basically kicks your ass when you’re trying to keep pace with the Nuggets and the Warriors.

It’s an 82 game marathon and everybody has bad games, but this was a regrettable performance. This is a microcosm of the Thunder in the Billy Donovan era, just when you think it might be different his team didn’t seem to care. This was just basically a no effort and no focus deal.

I’m sure Scott Brooks appreciates the gesture of goodwill from his former city.

What else do you really say after a performance like this one.

Another team in disarray visits the Peake on Tuesday in the Timberwolves who just fired their coach and team president. These same Timberwolves beat the Thunder on Dec. 23rd by a 114-112 count. Maybe the Thunder care…maybe they don’t. Who would know?

I did quite a bit of binge reading during December and I’m on my last book of what I call winter in Oklahoma. I saved this book for last because I wanted it fresh on my mind as our country navigates thru Donald Trump’s virtual reality experience of being POTUS. I wanted something inspirational. So far two chapters in and I’m enjoying the book through the prism of Michelle Obama’s eyes.

For a person who always appeared very closely guarded about her views she opens up on what it was like to be the first ever African American First Lady. My guess is right now if Michelle Obama wanted to be the Democratic nominee for POTUS in 2020 she’d end up being the nominee. In recent public opinion polls both she and her husband rank as the two most popular people the country. Which is refreshing given what we see at times coming from the Trump White House.

I noticed back in November our own Russell Westbrook met Michelle Obama in Denver and did a little promo with her on the book. Of course…as I’ve written on here Denver at some point will probably be my second home of sorts. But here’s the thing, Michelle Obama’s book is not only the No. 1 current bestseller in Denver…but in Oklahoma City as well. I know this for a fact because a young lady at Barnes & Noble told me they literally cannot keep the book in stock. Damn…what’s going in what used to be regressive Oklahoma City…first Kendra Horn-now this.

Is something happening in Oklahoma City.

I sat next to a woman at a recent party and she confided to me in private how ashamed she was that she voted for Trump. It was like she was giving her confessional of sorts. Her eyes were almost moist.

I didn’t cut her any slack and said, “You don’t like paying taxes and you for some reason couldn’t live with Merritt Garland.”

She nodded then said, “I thought he would grow up at some point.”

I replied, “He’s not growing up. It’s who he is. He’s likes grabbing pussy and saying stupid things. Maybe when his parents sent him off to private military school as punishment it stunted his brain or something.”

She smiled weakly and nodded then said, “But he went to Wharton.”

“My dog could go to Wharton. Pauli would be bored after a week. Gimme a break.”

So–if you’re a Deplorable and you need some cleansing you might want to pick up a copy of Michelle Obama’s No. 1 bestseller ‘Becoming.”

Watching Westbrook last night gave me hope. Guarded hope for sure, but still…some hope. Where would I rank Westbrook currently in my Point Guard Pantheon? Should I hold it against him he doesn’t have a ring? Does Westbrook winning a ring put him in my top ten?

Yes…I do hold it against Westbrook for not winning a ring to date. He played alongside Durant and even Harden for a time. He now has Paul George at his side. This isn’t on Sam Presti or Clay Bennett at this point…this is Russell Westbrook’s bridge to cross, so to speak. Another thing, I want to see more defense from Westbrook and less triple doubles. I want to see the complete player who I know is there waiting to emerge. Kind of like Ovechkin.

So here’s my current Point Guard Pantheon:

1 Magic Johnson
2 Isiah Thomas
3 Bob Cousy
4 Walt Frazier
5 Oscar Robertson
6 John Stockton
7 Steve Nash
8 Jason Kidd
9 Gary Payton
10 Nate Archibald

Honorable mentioned:

11 Steph Curry
12 Tony Parker
13 Kyrie Irving
14 Maurice Cheeks
15 Russell Westbrook
16 Pete Maravich
17 Kevin Johnson
18 Chris Paul
19 Allen Iverson
20 Mark Jackson

I thought it was perhaps one of the best games the Thunder has played since their run to the Western Conference Finals in 2016. Sam Presti had to be pleased because what we’re seeing now in Oklahoma City are Russell Westbrook and Paul George flexing their superstar muscles in a seamless manner. The team we saw tonight in Portland didn’t look like a first round choker. Instead, it looked more like a team which in the end could possibly get beyond the first round and make the Western Conference semi-finals.

Paul George was magnificent scoring 37 points, but I didn’t think he was the Thunder’s best player in Portland. For me, this was vintage Westbrook playing with poise and calibrating his decision making as a championship point guard should do. It was beautiful. If Steven Adams and Paul George had made some shots during the last few minutes the game wouldn’t have been this close. Westbrook did his job. He deferred just enough.

Combined, Westbrook and Paul George scored 68 of the Thunder’s points. They were lethal, timely, and seamless. They appear to have an understanding on how they want to go about this. They no longer have to wait for Carmelo to lug his fat ass down the court and take his 18 shots a game. Those shots now go to Dennis Schroeder who I currently have in the lead for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award.

As far as MVP…right now I’m going 1 Harden, 2 Kawhi, 3 The Mad Greek, 4 Paul George, and 5 LeBron. Without LeBron the Lakers are still shit, with him they’re a top four team in the West. What is it exactly Adam Walton is doing over there?

I don’t have Westbrook on my short list just yet, but he could get there if he bottles his shot selection and decision making like he did in Portland where the Thunder won for the first time since 2014.

Nerlens Noel was once again excellent and I thought his second half play elevated him to my No. 3 Star of the Game. OKC has never had a big like Noels coming off the bench in their existence. I don’t know how much it will take to keep Noels, but what I’d do is take the money Presti was going to give Abrines and a good part of Andre’s money and keep Nerlens if possible as a versatile defensive specialist.

Of note also was a huge blocked shot at the rim by Jerami Grant with just over two minutes remaining. That play alone has Jerami as my No. 4 Star of the Game. It’s hard not to love Jerami Grant. I see Harvey when I see Jerami… and quite frankly Harvey is one of my favorite OU players of all-time.

Diallo and Nader not scoring in this game doesn’t concern me a bit because this was a road game and you expect your stars to deliver the goods on the road in a playoff-like setting. This was a play-off like setting.

Patrick Patterson is fine. I don’t worry about him either.

When Russell Westbrook plays like this the Thunder are a different animal. Maybe even a dangerous one.

But to get where Sam Presti wants them to get they need not only be dangerous, but very smart—and for the most part the Thunder were a smart team in Portland on Friday night.

Smart teams with talent advance, dumb ones don’t. This isn’t complex.

The Thunder host Scott Brooks on Sunday night inside the Peake.

This is as good as anything I’ve read or seen pertaining to our country right now. Popovich doesn’t live in a blue state or a blue market like Toronto or Denver or San Francisco. He coaches in Texas. He could have just kept his mouth shut and not put himself in the spotlight like others in the NBA in certain red markets have done… as in Oklahoma City to name one. But he didn’t take the easy path.

He said what he honestly thinks.

It has nothing to do with politics. Absolutely nothing. It has to do with what kind of country you want to live in. Do you have any values whatsoever other than not paying taxes at a certain rate? I don’t have a daughter. Just a son. And if I ever heard or observed my son acting like Donald Trump… as a man I would deem myself as an utterly failed father. I cannot fathom how any father of a daughter in this country could vote for or support ‘this person’ we currently have in the White House. This thought is beyond my grasp.

With all due respect to George Will and Maureen Dowd—this is better than anything either one of them has written to date on our current Gilded Age revisited.

For sure I watched Kawhi’s return to Sam Antonio last night like most of the basketball world. Not much of a game with the Spurs rolling from wire to wire. How ironic DeMar DeRozan notched the first triple double of his career on this night of all nights. The Raptors are a nice team–I have no idea if they have enough to beat the eventual champion of the West, but for sure they’re a nice team. You know how I feel about the city of Toronto. Wouldn’t it be something if Denver played Toronto in this year’s NBA Finals in my year of total disgust for what certain segments of white America have embraced with the presidency of Donald Trump.

I love Popovich. If I were an NBA player he’d be the guy I’d want to play for. He was an Air Force guy. I married into an Air Force family. He loves history. I love history. We’d have so much to talk about. I find it sad it ended like it did for Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio as it did. Que sera.

The fans shouldn’t have booed though, much like the fans in Oklahoma City shouldn’t boo Cupcake as well. I find it distasteful. This is not what either city should be about. I love both cities and in case you didn’t notice OKC’s own Kendra Horn was right there sitting with Nancy Pelosi’s grandchildren upon her historic day yesterday. It’s time for the fans in Oklahoma City to let the Kevin Durant thing go. I mean, there’s no way in hell I would name a street after h Cupcake, but the booing needs to stop. The Paul George trade couldn’t have turned out any better. Serge probably has a cooking show in Toronto. Paul George is playing the best ball of his life. The kid are making us proud in Indiana. Cupcake has his two rings. Life moves along. Time should heal hard feelings. Again, I wouldn’t boo Cake, but the booing needs to stop. He’s an iconic generational player and Kevin Durant did some very nice things during his time in Oklahoma City. Our city should be beyond this at this point in its evolution.

Steven Adams just adores Popovich. It was a prevalent theme in his book. Look at this interview and see how much fun the press guys are having talking to Pop. This needs to be the next step in OKC for our media. As in growing up and being able to conduct some interesting pressers.

If OKC were to play these Spurs in the first round that might be an interesting matchup. I’d take the Thunder in six games, but secretly a part of me would be rooting for Pop.

This is simple when you really think about it. With LeBron, these Lakers are probably a top five or so seed in the West. Without LeBron, these Lakers are around say somewhere around a No.9 thru No. 12 seed in the West. This isn’t rocket science.

OKC’s Thunder got the Laker version without Lebron on Wednesday night in LA and finally pulled away in the fourth when Russell Westbrook decided to quit shooting the basketball after going 3-18 from the field in the first three quarters of the game.

To Westbrook’s credit somewhat… that flash of genius moment hit him and he only missed twice in the fourth period ending up with a 3-20 night on the same night he tripled doubled, but at the same time registering the fifth worst ever shooting percentage in NBA history on a night he trip dubbed. Truly amazing. Close your eyes and tell me what other current NBA player could do such a thing in 48 minutes of play.

In one game he gave us everything in 48 minutes…Wild Thing for the first 36 minutes and something resembling the best regular season point guard in the game today in a twelve minute final frame.

Jim Traber won’t even know what or how to say it on the air today. It would be best for him at this point if he just followed my lead in observing this human named Russell Westbrook.

But in the end, the Thunder didn’t piss on themselves and did improve to 24-13 with the win. You won’t read another blogger in OKC who still vividly remembers Al Davis as I do so in the end….’it’s just win, baby.” No style points required. Just win because there isn’t a selection committee for the NBA Playoffs.

On the flip side positives abound with Paul George scoring 37 points on a 15-29 shooting night. Steven Adams double doubling. Jerami Grant taking his game up a notch literally every night. Terrance Ferguson looking like he can do this possibly. Dennis Schroeder looking like the Sixth Man of the Year. But what I really like is what I’m seeing from Abdel Nader as he continues to play the Alex Abrines minutes. What I’m seeing is an honest two way basketball player who might actually turn into a player this team desperately needs to solidify the bench. I have no idea what’s up with Abrines…only Thunder insiders like Nick Gallo and Royce Young get those kind of Golden Braille nuggets from the inside. But I’ll be honest… I’m not missing him, no malice intended. He seems like a sweet kid, but OKC needs a player they can depend on moving forward. There’s nothing wrong with being a Spanish folk singer and part time Euro player…I would just do it in Spain and seek inner happiness there an ocean away from Donald Trump.

From a big picture standpoint this was just one win against a team missing not only their best player, but the league’s best player.

The LA fans booing of Paul George was kind of comical, but nothing compared to what OKC fans do with Cupcake every time he re-enters Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Westbrook of course…seems oblivious to it all. Nothing frazzles him . He could go 2-50 and still be snug in his own little universe of Bad Little Dude. Don’t we all wish we could be that secure about ourselves and find the humor in it all? I’ve come to terms with Russell. He helps kids read with his foundation. He does good things for the community. He gives away his shoes to a new kid after every game. He may not ever win shit NBA wise, but in the big picture from a human standpoint….how can you stay mad at him for more than 48 hours?

His place in Oklahoma City history is secure…NBA championship or not. You would think there will at some point be a Russell Westbrook Drive close to Mickey Mantle Boulevard in Bricktown. And Westbrook should feel good about it and he should rest assured there won’t be a Cupcake Circle or a James Harden Crosstown Highway.

This is Russell Westbrook’s town and his team.

The Thunder visit Portland on Friday.

It was a great ending to bowl season for the Big 12 with Texas thumping the Georgia Bulldogs in the All-State Sugar Bowl by a 28-21 count. This game was really wasn’t that close. Long story short…Texas physically handled the overrated Georgia Bulldogs. All told…the Big 12 went 3-1 versus the SEC this bowl season with the only loss coming with OU’s 45-34 loss to top ranked Alabama. O State beat Missouri while Baylor beat Vanderbilt in the other Big 12-SEC head to heads. I still firmly believe if Marquis Brown had been healthy OU would have come down to a last possession game with Alabama once they weathered that horrific first quarter. It was not a good week-end for either Marquis Brown or Antonio Brown for that matter.

I’m sure Jim Traber will have plenty to say this week about the meltdown in Pittsburgh as the Cleveland Browns along with the Baltimore Ravens appear to be poised to assume the crown in the AFC North as the fall of the once mighty Steelers in Pittsburgh has unraveled. Mike Tomlin has lost control of his football team. At some point…I’ll have to write about that Ravens-Browns game on Sunday.

But back to the Big 12…Iowa State lost in a close game to the PAC 12’s second best team in Washington State and West Virginia got handled by Syracuse as their QB Will Grier didn’t play.

All told the Big 12 went 4-3 in bowl season. After watching the bowls this is the way I rank the conferences right now… 1 SEC, 2 Big 12, 3 ACC, 4 Big Ten, 5 PAC 12. If you subtract Clemson from the ACC—it is a nothing football conference. A one team conference. The Big 12 will be tough next year. Kansas, K State, Texas Tech, and West Virginia will all have new head coaches. Texas will in my view be the conference favorite with Oklahoma being picked to finish second unless they get a graduate transfer at the QB position in say Jalen Hurts from Alabama. Why not? Iowa State will have Brock Purdy. And one would hope Spencer Sanders will show his potential at O State with great playmakers around him in wait.

I do wonder where Jalen Hurts will end up though. He was a Texas high school kid. He has a year left as a graduate transfer if he wants to do it. I don’t see him staying in the SEC if he does play another year. Spencer Rattler as a true freshman at OU… I’m not sure about. And I don’t know if Austin Kendall gives the Sooners what they need as far as a dual threat QB which will be needed to compete with Mini Tebow, Brock Purdy, Spencer Sanders, and the Brewer kid at Baylor.

Holgorson is headed to Houston so it will be interesting to see who lands the West Virginia job.

I loved the Bevo thing with UGA. It set the tone for the game. Pauli was sitting next to me watching when this unfolded. She went berserk growling at Bevo. Pauli is a warrior…old UGA not so much. Pauli would have gone after Bevo no doubt and maybe set a different tone for the overrated Georgia Bulldogs with all those five star recruits.

After blowing a six point lead with 1:51 left in Sunday’s game in Dallas, the mercurial Russell Westbrook regained his senses and led the Thunder to a wire to wire 122-102 blowout of the Dallas Mavs.

If ever two games in two nights highlighted why Russell Westbrook doesn’t have a ring this might be a primer of sorts. It was vintage Wild Thing in the blown game in Dallas, then vintage Russell Westbrook as an iconic generational point guard who should at least have two rings already as we hit Day 1 of 2019. These two games highlight what Westbrook brings to the table at his worst and at his best.

At his best, Westbrook is the best point guard in the NBA. At his worst I’m not sure I’d have him in my top seven points guards in the game today. The gap is that significant, especially when you get to the post season and each game is magnified by bad decisions being made by teams’ point guards. The NBA is no different than the NFL in that you’re not going to win the big trophy if your quarterback habitually makes bad decisions at just the wrong time.

I don’t write this as a fan of the Thunder per se, but more of just a fan of the NBA. As a witness who’s passionately watched the league for around fifty-five years now both in the pre three point era and the current era of basketball.

One thing hasn’t changed during either era, that being your point guard can’t play like an out of control youth level rec player when all the marbles are on the table. That can’t happen. I’m not exactly sure what or how Jerry West phrased his closing argument to Kevin Durant on that fateful phone call to the Hamptons, but I’m guessing I have it fairly close.

Clay Bennett and Sam Presti have put all their chips in the middle of the pot betting at some point Russell Westbrook’s light switch will go on. That he’ll have that flash of genius moment when he realizes he has five seasons or so left where he could become an NBA championship winner.

Watching Westbrook somewhat reminds me of the hockey player Alex Ovechkin. Until last spring, Ovechkin, like Westbrook, was a perennial flameout in post seasons for the Washington Capitals. Great individual stats. Regular season MVP’s. A scoring title or two or three. A perennial all-star. A secured place in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto (another reason I’d like to live there).

Ovechkin’s teams could never get past the opening rounds and if they did they always came up short when it mattered. They always found a way to lose. Always. They were viewed as the league’s premier underachiever. A franchise which had wasted the storied career of Ovechkin.

Same thing last season as they lost their first two home games in the first round to the Columbus Blue Jays. Then something magical happened, Ovechkin changed his game. He pulled back on offense and focused on his defense and on his checking game. He took his immensive set of offensive skills and used them at just the right clutch moments when his team needed them most. He gave up some points for hits, for rubs, for screens, for backchecks, for assists, for all the little things which transform a perennial choker into a flowering world champion. And it worked.

The Washington Capitals shocked the hockey world by winning their first ever world championship. Ovechkin finally had his ring. His city had their moment. It was glorious and the Caps are still riding that crest this season as one of the NHL’s best teams even after the coach left the team after their Stanley Cup moment.

As I watch Westbrook–I know winning matters to him. I know it does. I just can’t figure out why he’s taking this long to come to terms with what it will take from him if he wants to become a champion like Ovechkin.

And again, I don’t think it means all that much if Billy Donovan is the coach or someone else is the coach. It doesn’t matter. This is Westbrook’s deal. This is how he decides if he wants to be grouped with Cousy, Magic, and Isiah Thomas or along with Steve Nash and John Stockton.

When I watch the Thunder now I don’t look at wins nearly as much as I observe what Westbrook does to facilitate this team becoming a legit championship contender with all this payroll.

This is or at least should be Russell Westbrook’s season of awakening.

No more excuses. This isn’t on ownership or Sam Presti. This isn’t on Billy Donovan. This isn’t on Cupcake. This isn’t on Oklahoma City.

This is on Russell Westbrook.