Month: December 2024

Obviously, for all you youngsters out there today reading the best NBA content in Oklahoma here on the award winning okcthunderground.com… I don’t ‘totally’ condone starting a hockey brawl in an NBA regular season game.

But then again…I’m not against seeing it from time to time either in Adam Silver’s pussified NBA we see circa 2024 heading into 2025.

Amen Thompson….bravo, buddy.

Bravo…for throwing Tyler Herro’s white punk fanboy ass down the other night. The only thing is though…your Rockets went onto lose the game to the Miami Heat. It’s about winning if you’re gonna fight.

Fight to win…not to lose.

I’m actually a fan of Tyler’s, but you know what…I thought it was cool Amen did what he did.

NBA television ratings are down this season for the NBA. The much ballyhooed Western Conference looks more like the Big 12 we saw this season without bluebloods OU and Texas. LeBron, Steph, and Kevin look like they collectively shot their wads in Paris this summer winning a gold medal for Team USA.

The gold standard of America sports viewerwise…the NFL and college football’s first 12-team tourment are both about to hit their viewership strides. That gap between the NFL and NBA is no longer close as Adam Silver’s pussified NBA is still overly laden with tanking, lazy regular season defense, and rest management standards which make NBA regular season games tedious at times.

But tonight here in OKC on NY’s Eve we could have something posssibly special as the 26-5 Thunder host the ‘finally’ coming together 17-14 Minnesota TWolves.

Remember this… you OKC Thunder fans who are spoon fed a daily amount of nonsensical homerism by Little Nick Gallo and Michael Cage–it was the TWolves, not the Thunder who advanced to last season’s Western Conference Finals opposite te Dallas Mavericks.

As Oklahoma’s pre-eminent NBA blogger…I think this is a walking dog piss marker game for these two teams. I really do.

It wouldn’t upset me at all if someone deep on the Minnesota bench did something like Amen Thompson did the other night if the TWolves look like they need a hockey brawl to remind them of what they haven’t been to date this NBA regular season.

I can’t wait for this game.

Happy New Year’s Eve

Editor’s Note…it appears Youtube has for the time being placed an age sensitive blocker on this splendid throw-down video of Tyler Herro by Amen Thompson. I’ll come back at a later time and repost this highly excellent video. You see…Youtube and the NBA just made my point for in regards to the pussified NBA. Oh…how the NBA needs the Detroit ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons in this age of Adam Silver.

MJ

This chemo treatment stage hasn’t really knocked me down all that much. I basically had been training for this stage of the fight for over a year. I’ve stated to lose some hair, but that’s no big deal. Otherwise…pretty much not a quality of life factor so far.

It’s going to be a mid-60’s sunny December day in Oklahoma. Perfect for crappie fishing excursion on Lake Carl Blackwell just west of Stillwater. One of my nephews is going to join me. Some hot coffee will be nice this morning. Coffee, crappie, and fishing fellowship. Life is good.

I love the drive from Deer Creek through Guthrie around Langston and into Stillwater. It’s a calming, peaceful drive. One which slows down your mind.

Perfect for a December day like this.

Have a beautiful last Saturday of 2024.

Mike J

-Staff Reports-

Behind another plus forty point game from MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the OKC Thunder came back from a 15 point deficit to eventually overhaul the Indiana Pacers by a 120-114 count.

To date this is the largest deficit the Thunder have overcome this season. Minus the blowout loss to Milwaukee in the Emirates NBA Cup Final…the Thunder is perfect against Eastern Conference teams this basketball season.

Overall.. the Thunder stand at 24-5, and quite frankly are making a mockery of the Northwest Division. The discontent Denver Nuggets stand 7.5 games behind the Thunder and in my view the Minnesota Timberwolves to date are the biggest disappointment this NBA regular season. Portland and Utah are horrible, but Portland on nights can be decent.

So here’s my thought of the day before I get my game face on along with Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer for this OU-Navy Bowl game….. at 24-5 are the Thunder in a realistic position to conceivably win 70 games this NBA regular season?

I think they are because from my view so far this season pre-trade deadline…..I don’t think the Western Conference is all that good. In fact, I think I would take the top four Eastern Conference teams over the top four Western Conference teams in something resembling a SEC-Big 12 Hoops Challenge.

What was the last time an NBA team cracked the 70 win plateau?

If you know NBA hoops at all this is a cupcake free throw question.

Answer: the Michael Jordan 1995-96 Chicago Bull squad went 72-10.

I have mixed emotions pulling at me in regards to this OU-Navy game. My father was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy on a mine sweeper stationed in San Diego when I was born in Coronado. But of course…in the end I want OU to win in a close game.

Boomer-Anchors Aweigh!

MJ

Obviously, my heart has been heavy this past week so this Xmas wasn’t my normal onslaught of NBA Xmas hoops binge watching.

But I did watch the fourth period of the NY Knicks scintillating win over Wemby’s Spurs as Mical Bridges put on his Superman cape and showed the hoops world what’s he capable of here and there.

For me that set the tone for the only Xmas Day game I watched for all four quarters…that being the Lakers’ stunning win at Golden State as AR slayed Steph. Granted, Austin did get some help from LeBron, but at the end when it mattered most it was AR who one-upped Steph on his home court and basically showed the Steph era is coming to an end.

I love Austin Reaves. What he stands for in this era of pampered, spoiled NBA superstars gives me hope. I knew what this kid has because I watched him closely during his two years in Norman playing for Lon Kruger.

As Mike Breen and Doris Burke accurately gushed, ‘He’s this generation’s Manu Ginobli.” Bingo.

When LeBron starts calling some white kid from Arkansas who went undrafted out of OU…’AR’, you know, some serious white boy ballin’ is going on.

Again, I love Austin Reaves. I love what he stands for. He made Big 12 First Team his senior season at OU when that conference still had basketball fangs. He outplayed Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament that spring. And, yet, he went undrafted in both rounds of that summer’s NBA draft.

Austin didn’t flinch. His belief in himself never wavered. He said, “F–k it…I’m an NBA player.”

Then he went out and proved it by making the Lakers’ squad as an undrafted free agent.

And what makes this story even sweeter for me is that Russell Westbrook and LeBron took this kid under their protective superstar wings and encouraged Austin to become the Manu Ginobli of this NBA generation.

It was a tough week for our family. Brutally tough.

But it just goes to show you…if you do things the right way—things always turn your way in the end.

Austin Reaves, thank you for the wonderful Christmas present. Don’t ever lose sight of who you are and how you got to this juncture in your journey. Trust me…it’s all about the journey, young man.

Mike J

My mother-in-law didn’t quite make it to Christmas. She came up around five hours short yesterday evening. It is a blessing from God her struggle is over.

Some might find it strange that I write her passing is a glorious, wonderful thing. But if you witnessed her life as I did for forty-four years through the lense of a son-in-law you would understand why I’m smiling through the tears as I write these thoughts down on Christmas Day.

She lived a wonderful, blessed life and through it had to overcome some significant challenges.

Jo exited with courage, dignity, and a sense of the big picture which makes me proud to have known her.

There is no sadness in this for me. Only gratitude for the memories and the visual images of where’s she’s going.

I see it clearly. There she is.

A young woman in a field just outside the outskirts of Greencastle, Indiana as Richard stands in a snowy field waiting to hold her hand again.

That’s how I see it.

What a lovely Christmas gift.

Mike J

I’m heading out to the creek trails for a terrain hike in the forest along the winding trails of Deer Creek itself. My wife advised me to take my cell phone…so of course I will ignore that and not lose my new IPhone in the creek. I’m pretty confident of my hiking strength right now. But I wish I had Pauli with me. That would be so cool.

I sorely need a dog. My next dog will of course be another female lab and I think I would like to name her after my son’s thirteen year-old brown lab… Perk.

Perk II would for me be a seamless fit of sorts….if of course my son doesn’t mind.

I need a dog.

Best wishes for a wonderful XMas.

Be safe.

Mike J

It’s Christmas Eve day and all things considered….I’m in a pretty nice little place emotionally and physically considering I’m in chemo quarantine while my wife’s family is going through a very tough Christmas.

This chemo drug I’m on isn’t really knocking me down. I feared that. I was apprehensive going into this phase of my Stage 4 journey. But so far… ‘we’ve got this.’ I feel God right there with me hand in hand every step of the way.

There are always silver linings. You have to open your eyes, open your heart…. and feel all of the good things which have blessed your life and are still just around the corner.

I watched about five minutes of the Thunder’s win over the tanking Washinton Wizards and you know…it was their eighth straight regular season win sandwiched around the blowout loss to Milwaukee in the NBA Cup Finals.

Jaylin Williams is back and healthy again as the Thunder are very much on pace to possibly win 60 games this NBA regular season. I love Jaylin’s smile. Is there an NBA metric for smile quality? It would seem the Thunder are very much in control of their destiny as far as gaining the Western Conference No. 1 seed for a second consectutive regular season.

We are not going to know anything really about the Thunder until we see what they are in the Western Conference semis. That’s when we’ll begin to discover what this team is or isn’t when it’s money time.

My Packers are trending in a very encouraging manner while we all know the Detroit Lions are banged up and the Minnesota Vikings have a propensity for late season choking. Minus the very talented Philadelphia Eagles…I would think Jordan Love and his Packers have more than a puncher’s chance of making some noise in the NFC Playoffs.

Green Bay did it just right in the manner in which they moved Aaron Rodgers to the NY Jets. It couldn’t have been orchestrated any better. Bravo…Green Bay front office! I hurt watching Aaron right now. It literally hurts me.

Anyway…it’s Christmas Eve. Embrace the season. Try and bring joy to all of those who you come in contact with.

‘Blessed are those kind of heart

For they shall see the light of God.’

Whenever I’m down…I close my eyes and pray the Beatitudes to myself. Other than Psalms 23…it’s my favorite part of the Bible. So positive…so full of hope.

Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll do the whole thing. It’s beautiful.

Mike J

Jo Anne, my mother-in-law of forty-four years would not have wanted me to do this. But I’m going to anyway. For me.

About six weeks ago we didn’t know if she would make it to Christmas. Now it would appear she won’t. But where she’s going is a place pretty glorious. She’s going home… to Indiana and beyond.

Wife of a career U.S. Air Force bird Colonel. Mother of three. Grandmother of three. Great grandmother of four. Friend of many. An incurable dog lover. A world class cook. Traveler of the world. Antique guru. A young woman from Indiana. But most importantly… someone who always looked for the best in others.

A mother who would do anything for her three children or her three grandchildren or four great grandchildren.

A woman who will leave behind a legacy of life long friends from the Air Force as she and her late husband Richard were integral members of the U.S Air Force during the glory years of SAC (Strategic Air Command) during the era of the Soviet Union being America’s No. 1 adversary.

Obviously…this makes me sad. But at the same time she won’t be struggling any more. She’s going to a better place for certain.

It took me a awhile to assimilate being married into an Air Force family. But as I look back now I wouldn’t trade any of the memories.

The fact of the matter is I never would have even met my wife if her father hadn’t been stationed at Tinker Air Force Base her senior year of high school. Life can be funny that way. It can.

Anyway…this song is for Jo.

Love, Mike

Not too much in the Indiana-Notre Dame or SMU-Penn State games which have been very interesting or surprising for me. I would think Texas will easily dispense of Clemson as well later this evening. Big is big, fast is fast. More NIL cash is more NIL cash.

Hopefully…the wisdom of the Big Ten Selection Committee will give us one watchable first round game in the Ohio State-Tennessee game later tonight.

I haven’t even needed to have the sound on either game as I’ve been reading and watching Aaron Rodger’s Netflix series entitled ‘Enigma’. I liked it. Of course being a lifetime Packer fan….one would think I’d like the series. I believe my 10-4 Packers host the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. With all the injuries the Detroit Lions have sustained of late I’m becoming much more bullish on the Packers’ chances in the NFC Playoffs.

I’m reading two books right now…1 An American Idea by Peggy Noonan, and 2 Paddling the Pacific by Paul Therox. Plus, with all this sudden Arctic air which has suddenly engulfed godforsaken Oklahoma….I’m drinking copious amounts of my beloved pecan praline coffee.

Life is good…even in the chemo quarantine bubble.

I’m going to post this non-Christmas Straight No Chaser song because its my favorite song by SNC. No racial or societal message intended. Like I’ve wriiten on here before…I’m probably the least lit-woke, non-ideological person I know.

If some of you Trump crazies want to construe me playing this song as a sign of my obvious Communist Marxist Sandinista beliefs…then I would have to say..Bless your heart. Seriously….bless your heart.

Merry Christmas, Mike J

Just hanging out chilling at the Deer Creek ranch on a cold Friday-December 20th. Definitely a hot coffee and soup type of day. Five days to Christmas.

This video is for my two grandchildren…Robert (5) and Aubrey (4) who I both love very much. I consider myself one of the luckiest grandfathers in America. I do.

I won’t be able to hang out with them in person this Christmas because of my current chemo quarantine status.. so I wanted to put a Christmas song on here today specifically for them.

You guys have a great Christmas and I look forward to doing a zoom with you on Christmas day.

Like is good.

Love, Mike