Author: Mike

Oh…big surprise. Russell Westbrook as a Los Angeles Laker loafing on defense in the midst of a 5-17 shooting night in a home loss to the pathetic Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night got benched.

I guess finally…Coach Vogel got written permission from GM Rob Pelinka that he had the green light to finally bench Russell and tap the brakes on the NBA’s hottest shit show a.k.a the LA Lakers.

I guess the adage ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ is applicable here.

This is why to a certain degree I eviscerate the Thunder broadcast team and the Thunder media relations babysitter Little Nick Gallo with regularity on my blog. Maybe the Lakers should hire Gallo, fly him out to LA and have him breastfeed Russell Westbrook the remainder of this basketball season.

This didn’t just happen yesterday with Russell Westbrook. This was created in Sam Presti’s basketball lab where the Thunder even after losing Kevin Durant because of this kind of nonsense…doubled, tripled, and quadrupled down on this behavior until Paul George became the adult in the room three years later and said, “Trade me.”

I wonder if the humans who still attend Thunder games are still in on booing Kevin Durant at this point. Kevin Durant clearly never would have returned to the NBA Finals again in his career if he’d stayed in Oklahoma City after 2016.

No way…no how because just like in NFL football you can’t have a liability quarterbacking your team when you get to the goal achieving portion of the season when you’re playing the best teams who all have good coaches.

I guess Billy Donovan just got smarter by heading off to Chicago where the Bulls are now the current leader in the East. Oh, wait…he won two national championships at Florida and made another Final Four.

It’s a Greek tragedy on multiple levels is what it is. Russell Westbrook is a Greek tragedy. I have no idea what Berry Tramel is writing about Russell this week because quite frankly I’m not nearly as nice a human being as Berry Tramel is on these matters. I bet he’s taking it light on Russell. That’s his call.

Laker coach Frank Vogel wanted no part of Russell Westbrook this summer when Laker GM Rob Pelinka evidently under the influence some mind altering drug decided this was the way forward for the Lakers.

Rob Pelinka isn’t going to fire himself. It doesn’t work that way. And there’s no way in hell any other GM in the NBA would be stupid enough to take on Russell Westbrook’s contract at this point.

I would think at this point the options are either fire Frank Vogel and let an assistant complete the season or make LeBron player/coach like Bill Russell was at the end of his career in Boston.

Just so we know…if Russell remains on the bench that means that undrafted Austin Reaves from OU becomes the starter for the Lakers with Russell coming off the bench. I’m sure that’s the way LeBron wanted to play in one of his last NBA seasons.

It’s just very sad is what it is for Russell at this point. This was his last chance to rehabilitate his legacy beyond just being a petulant chucker who somehow made it to four Western Conference Finals because Kevin Durant carried him that far.

That’s Russell Westbrook’s NBA legacy. Now…what he could do instead is take a very long hard look within himself and become a basketball player coming off the bench for Frank Vogel.

That’s the third option if Russell Westbrook wants to save himself from himself at this point.

Russell…. Bad Little Dude—take the third option.

What a sad spectacle to see these once great franchises in the West both in tanking mode with no real exit from the darkness in sight. I can only watch about 8-10 of these games…then I either change the channel or read whichever book I’m currently reading.

Timmy Duncan’s Spurs vs. Kevin Durant’s Thunder…those were the days.

Timmy of course is treated like a god in San Antonio, while Kevin is booed worse than Lincoln Riley even though he honored his contract, played his ass for a decade, and did nice things for the city.

BTW…I think Laker coach Frank Vogel just benched Russell Westbrook. That’s what real coaches and real GMs have to do from time to time.

Right now…I’m reading The Wish by Nicholas Sparks and it’s magnificent. I needed a fictional aspirational novel and this is the book.

The tanking Thunder were pummeled from wire to wire on Wednesday night inside of AT&T Arena as the Thunder looked to be in early April tanking mode.

Kenrich Williams didn’t play.

Mike Muscala saw the floor only six minutes.

The Thunder were unwatchable even with Shai playing thirty minutes and going an unimaginable -25 in those minutes in a game in which he should have clearly been the best player on the floor. To me…I wouldn’t put Shai on the All-Star team just for this game. That is absolutely absurd. This should be the point in Shai’s career when he clearly dominates a game against bad teams and the San Antonio Spurs are every bit as bad as the Thunder currently.

I haven’t seen Chris Fisher do another Thunder game since he used ‘alacrity’ in that last telecast I mentioned here on the blog. I wonder if that was a Bridge Too Far for the culturally challenged who for some reason still watch these Thunder telecasts.

Matt Pinto seems to have taken the spot for the time being. I wonder if like Lincoln Riley…Chris Fisher is headed back to LA get his old radio job doing USC football and basketball. I wonder if him using ‘alacrity’ in the Proud Boy regional homebase was the last straw for him or was it the fact he constantly tried to explain to Michael Cage the Thunder occasionally foul just like every other team in the Association does from time to time.

I hope he’s okay either way. Nice kid. Wish him the best on his journey.

Gregg Popovich tanking…it breaks heart. Clearly…along with Bill Belichick…Pop has been the greatest head coach in any of the four major sports professional leagues since the advent of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

For both Belichick and Pop what this clearly illustrates is no coach is immune from the 1st Rule of Coaching…that being, ‘Player makes the Coach’.

The Thunder drop to 14-30 with thirty-eight games still having to be played to contractually fulfill their television obligations to be paid.

22-60 is my magic number. For me to hit that number the Thunder would need to go 8-30 down the stretch to hit a 22-60 season.

Considering the Thunder closed 2-23 in their last twenty-five games last season…I’m actually bullish the Thunder can lose that many games and get to the hallowed sixty loss plateau in an NBA regular season.

I think what I’ll do maybe tomorrow is highlight the five worst teams in NBA history. The Thunder aren’t anywhere near that type of history, but still…who are our five worst teams in NBA history?

A heartbreaking loss for OU last night in Norman as Bill Self’s Jayhawks found a way at the end to beat the Sooners 69-68 in Norman.

For the second straight game OU lost by a point in the last ten seconds following Saturday’s 59-58 loss to TCU in Fort Worth.

The Big 12 is brutal. Just ask defending champion Baylor which lost at home twice last week to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. The razor thin margin between winning and losing is like I’ve never witnessed before in this conference. Literally…when the smoke clears at the end of this season, minus O State which is banned from post season play this season, all nine teams can beat each other on any given night. Throw O State into that mix as well as they already have wins over Baylor and Texas.

OU desperately needs to get Ethan Chargois back on the floor because he’s the primary quality big man depth behind Tanner Grove. I don’t think it’s a surprise Tanner’s game has suffered the past two games not only due to heavier minutes, but the prospect he can’t play as aggressively with only five fouls to play with some of the country’s best talent opposing him on the floor.

I think at some Jacob Grove will have to be a small forward ask to play some big forward minutes even after the 6’9″ Ethan Chargois returns.

On a positive note…seldom used Awol Mawei played last night out of sheer necessity and chipped in five clutch points.

For the second straight game the Sooners let a six to eight-point lead get away from them in the back ten minutes of the game.

OU simply has to get better at closing games with the lead against nationally elite opponents.

This has nothing to do with effort, but more to do with gaining cohesion and experience as a group in how to close out games with the lead.

OU has to start winning some Big 12 games though as they now stand 2-4 one-third of the way through the Big 12 regular season.

There are no easy games on the horizon. Next up…the defending national champion Baylor Bears in Norman on Saturday.

Bill Self’s Jayhawks at one conference loss currently stand alone in first place in the Big 12.

Bill Self”’ if I were Sam Hinkie-Presti is a coach I would have on my short list if the Thunder at some point in the future decide on playing to win games rather than just develop players for the rest of the NBA.

I’ve always thought Coach Self’s personality would translate very well to a young NBA team on the rise. Plus..I think this market would love his demeanor. Not to mention the fact he’s a Jayhawk just like Nick Collison. I would assume or hope at some point…Nick Collison has a voice in decisions like this when the Thunder resume playing competitively legitimate basketball games.

Click above for every Jimmy Garoppolo play vs. Dallas. This is my way of saying…I’m not sure what to think of Jimmy G heading into Lambeau Field on the frozen tundra.

I didn’t think there were any real surprises on Super Wild Card Week-End. I thought the San Fran vs. Dallas game had the most potential for a great game. The Joe Burrow vs. Derek Carr game held together for a watchable game. Otherwise in a word the other four games were …unwatchable games with three quarterbacks in Kyler Murray, Mac Jones, and Jalen Hurts going down to lopsided defeats along with retiring Big Ben.

I would say this to Caleb Williams’ father… it wasn’t a stellar weekend for Lincoln Riley’s NFL Quarterback Prep School.

This to me just reinforces how critical the quarterback position is once you get to the NFL Playoffs. Jimmy G actually played fairly well till he threw that horrible fourth quarter pick which gave the pathetic Dallas Cowboys some hope they never should have had given the physical whipping they took in the first three quarters.

But now we’re to the Divisional Round…which for me is the best week-end of NFL football played every year. Obviously…I’m moving Jimmy G the enigma down on my Divisional Round Quarterback rankings…but, I’m not giving hope up on Jimmy G just yet. That’s why we play the games on the field and not on the internet.

Kyle Shanahan has to have that very private Al Pocino to Willie Beamon conversation this week and basically say, ” Jimmy… John Lynch and I have a Super Bowl team in need of a Super Bowl quarterback. Are you that guy or not?”

Seems pretty simple to me.

I think all four games this weekend have great potential for us fervent NFL fans… but I’m a Packer fan who’s intrigued by what I think Jimmy G should be as a quarterback, but some reasons just seem to have some quarterback demons holding him back. Hopefully… both Bosa and Warner are a go so we NFL fans get to see this game played to its full potential.

My NFL Divisional Round Quarterback Rankings 1-8

1 Tom Brady

2 Aaron Rodgers

3 Patrick Mahomes

4 Josh Allen

5 Matthew Stafford

6 Joe Burrow

7 Ryan Tannehill

8 Jimmy G

What a great poem which in essence wasn’t listened to by anybody.

Maybe there was a five minute lull there, but really, if anything, this country since Amanda Gorman’s inspirational poem has sunk even deeper into the dual abyss of hatred and ignorance.

As I’ve clearly stated on my blog…I think both parties suck to varying degrees. That’s why when I left the Republican Party in 2000–it took me about five minutes to decide to re-register as an Independent and not as a Democrat.

You would have thought the party of Lincoln would have at the least had a reflective moment after January 6th, but not to be from the party of law and order and Christian evangelicals.

Not to be.

James Carvelle was absolutely right…it’s always about the money even when on film you have a departing president urging a group of disenfranchised whites trying to hang a sitting vice-president and overthrow an election.

Yikes. Even in the throes of the Civil War …Lincoln didn’t have to encounter this until they killed him after his re-election.

There doesn’t appear to be one courageous Republican senator like there was in 1972 when Howard Baker and Barry Goldwater went to Richard Nixon and told him it was over for him being president any longer.

In the end Trump was absolutely correct in 2016 when he said, “I could shoot someone in broad daylight in certain parts of our country and it wouldn’t matter.”

Trump was right. That’s how far the party of Lincoln has sunk and how nothing beyond their hatred of the far left matters any longer.

It was a beautiful poem delivered by Amanda Gorman, what a shame no one from the Party of Lincoln took the time to listen to it minus maybe Liz Cheney and several others.

Here we are fifty-three years since the assassination of Martin Luther King and from any social setting, let alone whites vs. blacks, that we find ourselves unable to decipher justice on any level even when it’s on film.

I just finished reading Sidney’s autobiography…The Measure of a Man. Five stars across the board.

Sidney’s writing voice transmits elegance, smarts, toughness, dignity, and character from the opening page thru the last page of the book.

The book was released in 2000 and was a selection for Oprah’s Book Club back in the day.

Why is it white people loved Sidney so much? I’d love to go to a Trump rally in the deep South and ask them if they treasure Sidney Poiter’s work? Ask them what they know about Sidney’s life.

Was he just an uppity nigger who didn’t know his place in America? I mean, what was it about Sidney which in a sense transformed the manner in which motion pictures started becoming made during the 60’s in the midst of the Civil Rights movement?

Sidney was born premature at all of three pounds. The doctors told his parents, Reginald and Evelyn, their son wouldn’t live. But he did.

As Sidney repeats endlessly in his book…it is from Reggie and Evelyn of which he got his character and work ethic.

His parents were dirt poor sharecroppers on a tiny island in the Bahamas called Cat Island. Their lone crop was tomatoes. There was no indoor electricity or plumbing. The toilet was outside.

At the age of fifteen Sidney was sent to live with some relatives in Nassau. Sidney had no formal education and struggled with his diction and reading skills.

Sidney spent several years in Nassau before moving northward to Miami in search of more opportunity.

It was in Miami in which Sidney figured out he was black. It was the first time in his life he realized he had a different skin color. It was the first time he came to know what the words Jim Crow meant to a black person. It meant as Sidney wrote…’For the first time in my life I realized I was perceived as three-fifths of a human being by white people.’

Sidney didn’t last long in Miami and became restless in a hurry. With all of forty dollars in his pocket he went to the bus station in search of a new future where he wouldn’t be thought of as three-fifths of a human being.

He asked the ticket attendant at the bus station where he should go for his next place to live with only forty bucks in his pocket. The attendant said, ” Probably…New York. That’s eleven bucks for a round trip ticket.”

Sidney replied, ” Give me a one-way ticket.”

And that’s how Sidney Portier from French descendants in Haiti went from tiny Cat Island to New York to become one of the greatest actors the world has ever known.

Sidney made a living washing dishes. Then he and a friend opened a small barbeque shack in Harlem. Then one day Sidney saw a sign which was advertising auditions at the American Negro Theatre.

Sidney went and read for a part in an upcoming play and was told to leave the building and never come back by the manager of the theatre. He was told his inability to read and his thick Bahamian diction made him unfit to perform.

Sidney didn’t quit. He got a friend to tutor him with his reading and began working on his diction and the manner in which he spoke.

One year later…Sidney went back to the same theatre and auditioned for the lead role. Sidney was beaten out by another young black actor who Sidney admitted had a much better singing voice than he did. But Sidney was given the alternate’s role…which was a beginning.

Then fate came into play when on the night of the play opening, the male lead actor a chap by the name of Harry Belfonte became ill and couldn’t perform.

Sidney stepped in and became something of a hit.

A white agent by the name of Marty Baum came to notice Sidney in the play and came to offer Sidney a small part in a film which would pay $750 dollars a week… was a small fortune considering Sidney was making less than $30 dollars a week from the barbeque restaurant.

Sidney read the role and was given the part…but then there was a problem. Sidney told the agent he couldn’t take the part because he didn’t respect the character he was being asked to play in the movie. He said Reggie and Evelyn would never approve of their son playing the part of such a weak individual. Swear to God. Can you imagine that in today’s world?

Marty Baum the agent shakes his head in disbelief and wishes Sidney the best with his acting future.

Sidney goes back to washing dishes and the barbeque restaurant.

A year passes and out of the blue…the agent Marty Baum reappears in Sidney’s life with a part he thought Reggie and Evelyn might approve of playing in an American film.

Sidney loved the roll and then became Marty Baum’s best client ever.

When we think about Martin Luther King Day what I specifically think it should mean is this….’The American Dream should be there for all three-hundred and thirty Americans to aspire for if they have the guts, the will, and the destiny to make it happen.’

Every child in this country along with their parents should be able to dream and dream big. That’s the American Dream and it should not be exclusive to those conceived in an Ivy League sperm bank or who have parents who paved the way thru a trust fund.

But in closing…so much of what transpired with Sidney Poitier happened because Reggie and Evelyn Poitier dreamed along with their son and told him to dream big while never forgetting his roots.

Have a meaningful Martin Luther King Day and dream big.

Michael Smerconish’s question of the week was a great one. Is Joe Biden’s presidency doomed?

I would vote no, but with a caveat attached…it will be doomed if he continues to attempt to govern for the 20% on the far left who voted for him in the recent election. He’ll be done just like Jimmy Carter.

History should be a teacher. I’m stunned a political survivor like Joe Biden has allowed his presidency to be kidnapped. Joe Biden is a moderate. He was saved in South Carolina by James Clyburn because Clyburn was politically smart enough to know Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete B had no chance whatsoever of appealing to registered Independents who now make up more than 40% of registered voters.

Recent presidential history tells us Reagan, Clinton, and Obama all centered their presidencies after or before the mid-terms of their first term. The Democrats are getting ready to be historically eviscerated in the upcoming mid-terms just as Reagan, Clinton, and Obama were in their first term mid-terms. The same could be said for Bush 43, but that was perhaps different because of 9/11 and the two historically doomed wars created during that time frame.

I’m an Independent who was previously what I would describe as a socially liberal Republican because I in fact think you should have to work if able and not be given everything by the federal government. I know…how stupid could I be? But the difference with me and the Trump people is that I do believe the federal government is needed to in fact act as a societal check and balance.

My angst with Donald Trump is fairly clear. I think he’s a spoiled trust fund brat who’s never given a shit about any other human in his life. I think he’s punk who was basically given political oxygen by the fact the GOP field in 2016 was so incredibly weak and pathetic.

When I as an Independent voted for Joe Biden it was for primarily one reason… that reason being Joe Biden wasn’t Donald Trump as a human being and I hoped Biden would govern as a level-headed moderate.

As the pandemic and the economy go…Joe Biden’s chances will go is my take. Despite all the roil…you know what the Dow did in 2021…it went up 28.5%. Jobs are available everywhere. Our economy has changed. It will continue to change even more. Oil and the price of gasoline has always been a volatile market. Crisis begats opportunities for those smart enough to visualize the New Next Big Things human consumption-wise.

People have already forgotten the exit from Afghanistan. What they should never forget though in fact was the historical entry into Afghanistan and why we were so stupid to do so in the first place. Plus…this was Trump’s call as well—so for those in his camp who can read this won’t be an issue in 2024 because Biden was basically following what Trump had put in place before he left office.

Remember what James Carvelle always told Bill Clinton…’It’s always about the economy, stupid.’

So if I were Joe Biden what I would do is call Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema and see if I could work out a deal to get some things done on… 1 voting rights legislation, 2 a pragmatic approach to salvaging the Union per Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and 3 coming to terms with the fact Joe Biden was elected POTUS for the very reason he’s not Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, or Pete B.

Joe Biden wasn’t even on the leader board when James Clyburn altered American presidential history.

That may sound insensitive on my part, but again go back to that South Carolina primary when James Clyburn saved Joe Biden and in fact saved the Democratic Party from its own far left wing.

There…I just wrote on my sleepy little underground blog what no one in the Democratic Party seems to be willing to say in public on January 15th, 2022.

This is why we play. For the goal achieving portion of the season. The regular season means nothing at this point. Single elimination for the Lombardi Trophy.

My list is in my view the top eight quarterbacks still alive who coupled with their specific team have the best chances of winning the Super Bowl one thru eight.

Ryan Tannehill and Jimmy Garoppolo are on my list for two reasons…1 they both play on teams with strong defenses, and 2 they both play on teams who can run the ball in cold weather. Neither made my top eight in the regular season, but if both of these guys can stay away from throwing picks and managing the game like Peyton Manning did in leading the Denver Broncos to their most recent Super Bowl championship….it wouldn’t shock me to see the Titans and 49’ers make a run.

My stat of the week pertains to the San Franciso 49’ers…When Jimmy G doesn’t throw a pick… San Fran has not lost a game this season. I think the 49’ers at Dallas is the most intriguing game this week-end for that reason. If Jimmy G plays turnover free—it wouldn’t shock me to see the 49’ers get on a roll.

Derrick Henry for the Titans. He might be rusty, but what he’ll also be is rested. If Tennessee advances it would not shock me to see the Titans make a run and possibly win the AFC Championship.

And, of course, everything begins and ends with Tom Brady. I think the key for Tampa is for Mike Evans and Gronk to not get injured and add in that regard to an already depleted Bucs’ wide receiver corps. Tom is Tom. The end.

My list:

1 Tom Brady

2 Aaron Rodgers

3 Patrick Mahomes

4 Josh Allen

5 Ryan Tannehill

6 Matthew Stafford

7 Jimmy Garoppolo

8 Kyler Murray

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Absolutely no sports for me tonight. A brutal Canadian front is bearing down on Deer Creek as I post. Just got in wearing shorts walking the wooded creek-line with Pauli looking for the mountain lion at dusk. We needed to do this because there’s no way in hell… I’m walking her tomorrow with wind chill temps projected at zero.

Football and basketball galore tomorrow, but tonight it’s a winter music-fest with some red wine to get prepared for the massive temperature drop-off.

I still haven’t done my initial NFL Playoff Top Six quarterback ratings, but I’ll get to it tomorrow morning. No sports tonight though. Just music and wine.

Stay warm. Be safe. Be kind to others and bring your dogs inside.

I dread the cold tomorrow. As much as I love Toronto…I could never make it thru a Canadian winter. Who am I kidding there? Oklahoma is a challenge as it is. I wish I could just click my heels three times and wake up in Cozumel or Puerta Villarta and watch the NFL playoff games on the beach drinking cold Pacifico beer.

One of the best concerts I ever attended was Firefall playing backup for Marchall Tucker. To be young again.

Need to close this out and get my game face on for the NFL Playoffs. I love this song. Not a huge commercial success. But one of my favorite Firefall songs.

Even the Thunder couldn’t lose this one. The Nets without Kevin Durant and the still unvaccinated Kyrie Irving were on the last night of a four game in five days stretch…. this is one the Thunder couldn’t lose.

Plus…I think whenever Hinkie-Presti can beat Durant and Harden it’s cathartic balm for his provincial franchise to get all fired up. The Thunder rolled. In the process OKC won a game they’ll probably regret come mid-April.

This game marks the mid-way point for the Thunder in the eighty-two game NBA regular season. OKC now stands at 14-27…which means for me to hit my 22-60 bet on the Thunder’s win total this season…the tanking Thunder need to go 8-33 the second half of this season.

Chris Fisher actually used the word alacrity during the broadcast while I was watching my Thunder ten-minute quota. I was stunned. Where did that come from? I loved it, but I wonder how many Proud Boys and Oath Keepers even knew that word existed. I loved it though.

Alacrity….noun: brisk and cheerful readiness.

I love that he had the nerve to use that noun in Oklahoma. It must have been the former USC broadcaster in him. I’m giving Chris Fisher a helmet sticker. Not many Oklahoma dudes dropping alacrity in their daily conversations. Juanita Elijah, my high school English teacher from John Marshall would have kissed Chris Fisher for using alacrity during a Thunder game.

The LA Clippers may be tanking full fold pretty soon so maybe there’s hope for OKC that pick will actually turn into a player since Poku is back playing G League basketball again.

I watched maybe ten minutes of this game then started watching other things on Thursday night:

Texas Tech rolled Mike Boynton’s offensively punchless Cowboys in Lubbock like I thought they would.

Memphis won their 11th straight game.

Milwaukee rolled the Golden State Warriors at home.

The streaking Boston Bruins, 10-3-2 in their last fifteen games, beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in Boston behind a David Pasternak hat trick. It was the second night in a row the Bruins were featured on either TNT or ESPN …so for me it was a nice hockey week.

With the Thunder now down to 7th place in my current Oklahoma sports relevancy poll…this is where I’ll pick it up with my hockey coverage. Trust me…you won’t get this anywhere else in Oklahoma.

The Bruins can score goals and have a wonderful power play, but I just don’t know how far they can go with the emotionally volatile Tuuka Rask in net.

In hockey—you build your team from the net out if you aspire to hoist a Cup… and I fear while the Bruins are an exciting team to watch in the regular season—it could be tough for the Bruins come Stanley Cup Playoff time. Pray for Tuukka.

I need to get ready for the NFL Playoffs and the cold weather headed our way. Nothing better than a brief cold spell while watching NFL playoff football.