Month: February 2026

Now that was a hockey game played in front of packed house last night in Oklahoma City at PayCom Arena!

That’s exactly what this NBA blogger has been clamoring for…for what seems like an eternity during this NBA regular season of discontent. It is as if Sam Presti, Coach Mark, Shai, and the rest of the Thunder players took my words of TOUGH LOVE to heart and decided it was time to quit playing like a group of prima donnas and play like the defending champions of the world.

This is not only what I want to see, but as well ABC, NBC, and ESPN want to see more of this and much less of the tanking and over the top load management. Sports are entertainment. The NBA is not the friggin’ G-League. When one pays to see Billy Joel, Elton John, Taylor Swift, or Eagles…they’re not paying to see a cover band.

The networks and the ticketholders are paying to see the stars play in important games against the top flight contenders. This bullshit which was perpetuated by Coach Mark and Sam Presti in the games at San Antonio and Detroit is not acceptable not only in the world of competitive sports, but in sports entertainment as well.

I hope after the debaucle in Detroit… I don’t have to write this any more on the blog this basketball season. And BTW…if I were the NBA commish instead of the extremely weak, feckless, and feeble Adam Silver…I’d still fine the Thunder for what they did in San Antonio and Detroit.

What a game last night in Oke City. Two teams who went to a Game 7 last spring came out and genuinely hated on one another for fifty three minutes of physical, in your face basketball…which is the way the game is supposed to be played.

Every foot of floor space and second of time had to be fought for and earned. This was a f–king brawl from start to finish and I savored every second of it.

Shai returned and played 33:46 and had 36 points on my score sheet. He carried his team as far as he could…then Coach Mark FINALLY did something right of late by sitting Shai the entire five minute overtime period.

And then what happened?

The role players stepped up big-time and won the overtime by six points over the then worn out Denver Nuggets.

My Three Thunder Stars of the Game go this way excluding Shai because he was sitting when the game was decided…1 Alex Caruso, 2 Jaylin Williams, 3 a tie between Cason Wallace and Chet.

It seems like I’ve been on Chet all season and he has deserved it at times and it needs to be done because the people like Nick Gallo, Matt Pinto, and Michael Cage do him a monumental disservice with all their coddling and babying of him. It is what it is…you’re an NBA max player and there is an implied obligation connected to that fact. You did a job on the boards last night and I’m objective so you’re in my Top 3 Thunder Players of the Game, buddy.

Here’s what I’m going to say about Jaylin Williams…I’ve loved him ever since I started watching him at Arkansas. He has the two main incredients I love in either a hockey or basketball player. He’s smart and understands the game. Plus, he’s tough when a line needs to be drawn in the sand. When Jay-Will went after Jokic taking up for his teammate Lu Dort… I almost went through the flat screen with bim.

That was beautiful.

That is a dude you want in the foxhole next to you. That is the guy as a coach you should be getting more minutes coming down the stretch run of this NBA season.

I was a little dissapointed in Shai for not getting Cason more involved scoring the ball. With J-Dub out…Cason should be that guy. We’ll see if Shai adresses that in Dallas tomorrow night. Shai’s a stud and more than a fair guy…so I’m sure he’ll take care of it.

Jared McCain…I need a brief ‘graph on Jared. He’s a player. Sam Presti got himself a player. Jared is one of those guys with basketball hubris and doesn’t really seem to fear failure. What I mean by that…is if he misses a shot he’s immediately locked and loaded for the next play from a mental standpoint. You can’t coach that. There’s not a drill for instilling that in a player. That came from Momma and Daddy’s loins.

Now… Lu Dort. Lu Dort is royalty on my blog and I’ve stated that many times. But he shouldn’t have tripped Nikola in the manner in which he did. The last thing the NBA needs right now is an injury from a play like that. It was a cheap play. Something we’d usually see from Draymond Green, and not Lu Dort.

Lu…that’s not who you are. I know because I’ve admired and watched you during your entire stay in Oklahoma City. I’m giving you a mulligan, my friend. If anyone deserves a mulligan on the Thunder…it’s you and Kenrich.

Speaking of Kenrich…he didn’t play last night so I’m expecting him to get some nice playing time tomorrow night in Dallas. Kenrich is gold on here as well. And so is Jaylin Williams from this point moving forward

So in my Thunder-Hockey Player Rating Scale here’s how I have my Top Five currently… 1 Shai, 2 Lu Dort, 3 Alex Caruso, 4 Kenrich, and 5 J-Will.

I’ll explain this in more detail after the Dallas game.

Have a wonderful Saturday in sunny Oklahoma.

Mike J

We have an OKC vs. Denver matchup tonight at Paycom with the Thunder holding a mere two game lead over the surging San Antonio Spurs behind their own serious MVP candidate in Wembynama.

I just looked at the injury report for tonight and amazingly seven of the nine who couldn’t play in Detroit or finish the game are listed as available to play tonight.

Damn…amazing how quickly they healed, right?

Shai is listed as available tonight, but of course, J-Dub and Ajay Mitchell are still out. You give out those max contracts as OKC did with both J-Dub and Chet and it is amazing how the urgency to play through bumps and bruises seems to diminish.

Durant and Westbrook hardly ever missed games and are still playing though Durant did miss some games that one season with the Jones’ Fracture. So some of you cats at PayCom who are still booing Durant should maybe consider that fact next time you’re still booing him ten years after the fact he decided he could never win a championship with a point guard like Russell.

Jack Hughes got his teeth knocked out in the third period of the Gold Medal game versus Canada and was back out there in no time to take a bad penalty and then score the winning goal. My guess is half of these Thunder players would be out 7-10 days on a deal like Jack Hughes absorbed with that high stick.

Am I assailing the toughness of the some Thunder players?

Yes.. I am. Both not all of them.

J-Will not only had a 30 point, 11 rebound night…he basically eviserated Chet in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 when Arkansas drubbed Gonzaga and ended Chet’s one year career at Gonzaga.

So here’s what MJ would do tonight…I’d start J-Will alongside Isaiah Hartenstein against the Nuggets and move Chet to the Bill Walton role he played late in his career with the Celtics. Chet becomes the Sixth Man, albeit a grossly overpaid one, and plays around 22-24 minutes a game so as his fragile frame isn’t taxed by playing heavy minutes versus guys like Jokic, Wemby, Duren, and Segun just to name several NBA bigs.

Of course, it’s absurd to be paying a Sixth Man a max deal, but that could be alleviated when you trade Chet so as you give Cason Wallace the max deal he is going to get eventually. Easy…just call that sucker Balmer with the Clippers and it will all work out. That’s what MJ would do. Presti should at the least think about it.

Denver’s injury report is a horror show. Jamal and Aaron doubtful, while Peyton Watson out and Spencer Jones probably out as is Jalen Pickett.

I would think if Shai plays it should be on a tight minutes restriction. Maybe no more than 20-22 minutes.

I think what I’ll do sometime soon is make my list of players on this Thunder roster who have what it takes to be a hockey player. Because to repeat–you have to be both mentally and physically tough.

And if you people think I’m crazy…think back to Sam Presti’s opening comments during Media Day when he in essence was challenging his team to be the type of team who could indeed be the first team in the last eight years to repeat in the highly pampered ecosystem known as the NBA.

IT’S TOUGH TO REPEAT, BUT PATRICK MAHOMES AND TAYLOR SWIFT”S BOYFRIEND DID IT. KD AND STEPH DID IT. THE FLORIDA PANTHERS DID IT.

Anotherwords, in closing to the some of the Thunder players…please toughen up and play like Shai, J-Will, Lu Dort, Kenrich, Cason, and even the rook Barnhizer.

To win championships in team sports you have to be COLLECTIVELY SMART AND TOUGH. That’s what Sam Presti was trying to say way back in August if you were really listening.

We just all have to realize at some point…who’s running this Thunder ship, right?

Best wishes.

Mike J

If I’m Adam Silver right now…I’m not sure what to do with my defending champ OKC Thunder after Wednesday night’s much anticipated matchup of the respective No. 1 seeds in each conference as they squared off in a ESPN national telecast.

We’ve seen this bullshit before where the Thunder are scheduled to play a nationally significant game on ESPN with eight DNPs in San Antonio earlier this month. That game as well should have been a blockbuster must see for any real NBA fan in this country or the world for that matter.

Not to be though as eight DNPs couldn’t strap it on that night, and seven Thunder rotational players couldn’t muster the toughness to play on the second night of a back to back last in Detroit. Add to the fact…Isaiah Joe and Brandon Carlson didn’t come back for the second half.

7+2 is 9.

Are you kidding me?

Especially disappointing for me was both of OKC’s top two centers in Chet and Isaiah Hartenstien were DNPs after they both played the night before in Toronto. One would have thought one of the two could have rested in Toronto and been available for this mtachup with Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren.

Chet, Isaiah….don’t be scared. The zebras won’t let JD hurt you. You can talk to MJ if it would help.

This game ostensibly had two of the top four MVP candidates possible as well in Shai and Cade. But not to be in the tanking and load management world of uber tankmaster Sam Hinkie Presti. Not to be.

Once Vegas saw this bullshit they posted Detroit as 9.5 home favorite in a game which should have been a pick ’em even without Shai if only some of his rotational teammates had bothered to give a shit about the image of the game, and more importantly to the point… the rapid devolving image of the regular season legitimacy of the NBA regular season.

Just so you sitting Thunder dudes know, the reason you’re paid these obscene amounts of money for playing a game…is the fact television and streaming revenue play a major role in you guys being grotesquely overpaid mega-millionaires.

Maybe Sam Presti, Clay Bennett, and you dudes should be a teacher for a year, or maybe a police officer, or maybe a nurse, or maybe a fireman, or maybe a self-employed person who works sixty hours a week so they can have heaith-care insurance. You know just to get a feel as to what real people who actually do something of real human value in society make ends meet.

Now…I am aware the guys on the floor the second half for OKC played their asses off and kept this somewhat respectable especially after Piston Coach Bernie Bicketstaff pulled off his Big Dog Jalen Duren.

So here’s what I’m going to do instead of wasting my time on any sort of recap whatsover….I’m going to bow down to Cason Wallace, Lu Dort, J-Will, Kenrich, Aaron Wiggins, Barnhizer, and Nikola T for playing as hard as you did for the full forty-eight minutes. Bravo…to you guys.

As far as Chet and Isaiah Hartenstein…I don’t know what to say. Words would be wasted at this point on my underground blog.

As as far as the defending champ Florida Gators…they improved to 22-7, 13-2 in SEC last night in Austin, Texas and are one of the hottest teams in the country currenty. Their coach, Todd Golden, and his returning players from last season seem to understand what it means to be the defending champs.

I can’t go any furthur. My disgust is consuming me. But in closing…if I were Adam Silver..I’d be fining the OKC Thunder at this point for the nonsense we’ve seen in San Antonio and Detroit of late by the OKC Thunder.

Mike J

What an interesting night in Toronto from an NBA standpoint. The Raptors are a decent team to the extent I had them at No. 11 on my All-Star break Power Poll. They’re not horrible. They’re not winning the NBA championship either, but they’re not horrible.

No Shai. No JDub. No Ajay. Not much from allleged ‘max’ player Chet Holmgren in one of his ‘passive-submissive mode’ nights as well. But it just didn’t matter.

You know why it didn’t matter?

Because Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, and Alex Caruso evidently are big-time Team USA hockey fans like me and were still glowing from the double gold medal swagger mojo from both of our hockey teams beating Team Canada twice while at the same time trying to help our sissified dysfuntional country ‘somewhat’ come to terms with itself.

I didn’t watch much of the State of the Union. I didn’t need to. I knew what Trump was going to do. But I did see the part where Team USA entered the building to raccous applause from both sides of the aisle. From what I undertsand it was the only time all night both parties stood united for our country. That’s what I meant when I wrote, “Sport is always a thread which bonds our country despite our differences.”

Before I get back to the NBA game…I would also add Cason, Alex, and even Isaiah played in Toronto with the gusto and toughness of hockey players versus the current soft prima donna sterotype of today’s NBA players. Cason and Alex have always been tough, but until this season not so much Isaiah.

But let me highlight this thought with a single paragraph on Isaiah Joe’s transformation as a hockey player this season…he’s worked his tail off and become a real two-zone player who can do more than just shoot the ball. He’s no longer a pylon liability on defense. He’s turned himself into a basketball player I believe who now has the toughness of a hockey player. That would be the highest compliment a Thunder player could get from me here on the blog.

My Three Stars of the Game went in this order…1 Cason, 2 Isaiah, and 3 Alex.

Cason’s line went… 27 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. Isaiah had a 19 point third period as his recent heater shooting the basketball continued when he wasn’t playing defense and bringing the ball upcourt. Caruso went a team best +22 with 16 points.

Big game tonight in Detroit which used to be called Hockey Town USA back when the Red Wings were King of the Hockey Mountain. Both Cade Cunningham’s Pistons and the Thunder stand atop the NBA standings with 14 losses apiece in the loss column.

But it’s not just Cade, the Pistons have a big named Jalen Duran who will eat Chet Holmgren for lunch if Chet plays with the same softness he displayed in Toronto last night. Jalen will order a side of fries and literally eat Chet for lunch if he doesn’t bring his game inside the building tonight in Detroit.

Yeah, that’s me doing what Coach Mark should be doing. Sam Presti…you can thank me when all this repeat season is over, buddy. Somebody has to do it, right?

Enjoy the game tonight, Thunder fans.

Mike J

My feelings on Donald Trump have always been crystal clear on this blog. Nothing in that regard has changed minus the fact I just ignore him as I should have done before-hand.

But I have to note this on the blog…if you were still paying close attention to the television after the medal ceremony and after the national anthem…you would have discerned Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Free Bird’ rocking the arena in Milan.

Holy shit!!!!!

Free Bird along with Stairway to Heaven are the two rock songs which defined my youth. I mean….Holy f—king Shit!!!

So if there was any doubt…if this Team USA or the 1980 Team USA is my favorite team at this point it is…. 2026 Team USA, baby!!!!

F–k yeah and God Bless America and don’t take yourselves so seriously tonight during the State of the Union which I won’t be watching.

God bless, America.

Mike J

Let me tell you people something…you have no idea the journey it took these young women, these young men, and their families to have these moments in Milan.

The path to becoming a hockey player at this level is an amazing journey not only for the players, but for their families.

The cold mornings in the rinks at early hours.

The missed events other kids are participating in during school years.

The travel.

The hurt and setbacks.

The amazing dedication it takes for kids in America to get to this level in this sport is truly beyond challenging.

When I was watching Robert this weekend in Denver as a six year-old the thoughts of my son Chris at that age overtook me. The evolution of the hockey player is both physically and mentally amazing.

It is a journey which requires a passion beyond description.

Every young person on both of these Team USAs’ grew up watching Miracle. Every one of them I can assure you has this scene screared into their hockey souls. I’m a sixty-nine year-old man with Stage 4 cancer and it still gives me a rush watching this scene. It’s a scene about being an American. It’s a scene about dreaming big and then going out with a group around you… you’ve come to love as teammates and getting it done.

It’s what we should be as Americans instead of all the bullshit petty cultural nonsense which seems to obsess us as a nation daily.

Jack Hughes and Megan Keller and to all of your teammates…thank you and God Bless America for it is one of the truly great things about sport in that it reminds us we are all Americans and despite the issues we face as a country today this is still the best country in the world in which to live.

Mike J

We are back from Colorado where we had a great time with the ‘Fam’ where hockey ruled supreme during the Winter Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament. Denver is truly one of the hottest hockey cities in our country and it was the place to be while I fervently watched both the men and women win gold medals over the Canadians with matching 2-1 overtime thrillers.

Both of these games were as good as it gets. I mean…just iconic finishes ranking right there with me as aspirational as the 1980 USA mens’ gold medal team at Lake Placcid.

I’ll write more about these games tomorrow, but right now I want to somewhat get back on track with the NBA because I watched nary a basketball game at any level during our stay in Colorado. Between the Olympics and attending ice hockey practices and a scrimmage for my six-year old grandson mini-mite Robert Jackson…I had no appetite for NBA regular season games.

Both Nathan McKinnon and Brock Nelson’s boys are usually in this group of mini-mites at the Denver U ice facility , but both Colorado Avalanche players were facing off in the championship game on Sunday morning from Milan. Brock with Team USA and Nathan with Team Canada. Brock’s son six year-old son Collum is a flash on the ice according to my grandson. Collum actually made it on TV in the post game celebration with his dad holding him. Pretty cool I would say for father and son.

I also found the ultimate place in Denver to watch hockey games at the ultimate sports bar setting. This being the University Campus Sports Bar located on University Street just a bit north of the University of Denver campus. I mean…wow. This place was founded by a former University of Denver player and is absolutely iconic hockey-wise given Denver University has won ten DI national championships in mens ice hockey.

For a hockey fan…this place is heaven and the food was good as well. The Campus Sports Bar will become one of my haunts for ice hockey games in the future. Plus, they have a Mrs. Pac-Man game in the rear of the bar.

As far as the basketball game above…I didn’t see this Spurs at Detroit Pistons game. We were driving back and I missed it. But given the fact the Thunder, the Spurs, and the Pistons are in the hunt for the overall No. 1 seed in the NBA…I felt I should put it on here as MJ works himself back into basketball shape now that both Team USA’s are atop the world as far as ice hockey goes.

Tough break for the Canadians given the fact Trump has been trolling them about becoming our 51st state, but they very well could have won both of these games. But you know, that’s the breaks of the game and that’s just the way it goes. Team USA made the clutch plays and that’s the way it goes. I am so thrilled God allowed me to live this long to see the men finally win another gold medal at the Winter Olympics. I truly feel blessed.

So I think I’ll cover the OKC Thunder at Toronto Raptor game tonight for my first game back in the saddle at the premier OKC Thunder underground blog in this hemisphere.

USA! USA! USA!

Have a lovely Tuesday.

Mike J

It’s hard to believe the Thunder only have twenty-six regular season games left in the regular season. The whole season to me feels somewhat disjointed with the injuries to both the Thunder and Denver Nuggets. It feels as if the season has really never gotten going when you figure out Boston and Indiana are boh playing without their two No. 1 stars in Tatum and Haliburton as well.

Just a very odd feeling season for me. The upside is two young teams in San Antonio and Detroit have shown tremendous advancement in becoming serious challengers this post season.

Throw in the NY Knicks and Minnesota Timbervolves and that would be my Top 6 here at the break.

I would then include Houston, Boston, and Cleveland as my No. 7, No. 8., and No. 9. The question we all ask ourselves is who exactly is going to be healthy and playing for both Oklahoma City and Denver when the playoffs begin. If this were March Madness the Toronto Raptors might be someone I’d pick as a Cinderella to make some noise.

I watched very little of the All-Star Game festivities. It’s too much, and coming so close on the heels of the Super Bowl…I’ve taken a break and have been watching the Winter Olympics.

Hopefully, next Monday when we’re back from Colorado… I’ll be back on here and the players will be healthier and rested from the break.

Adam Silver hopes so.

Good luck to both of Team USA’s ice hockey teams.

Mike J

It was an excellent week for OU mens basketball. Two quality wins over two quality SEC opponents, plus the passsage of the Norman bond issue which will include a new facility for OU basketball in the Norman Entertainment District.

I tell you what, Porter had a twinkle back in his eyes after OU’s 94-78 win over Georgia. What a day. A popcorn machine caught on fire during the game causing a halt in play, plus it was Joe C’s last official game as the OU athletic director.

When your popcorn machine catches on fire and halts the game—it’s time for a compact, modern arena which will create a pit atmosphere with a genuine homecourt advantage. Like Gallagher-Iba used to be in the days before they did the misguided expansion. I loved that place. That’s the feel you want at a college basketball game.

A smart marketer in this market could point to the fact college game day tickets cost less, there’s no tanking, there’s no fake load management, and there is a pep band, a rabid student section, and pom girls. An intuitive marketer would point out all those factors and lure in the disposable sports entertainment dollar to this new arena.

Is there a way forward for OU to somehow recover from the nine game losing streak? I don’t know. But I do know OU’s current rank in the NCAA Net rankings is No. 68. The Sooners had dropped as low as No. 85 after the loss at Kentucky. But here the Sooners sit on the doorstep of Joe Lunardi relevance if they can win more games coming down the stretch.

But the computer and human eyes will need to see more games won… to at least get to 18 or 19 wins come Selection Sunday.

One game at a time has to be the mantra for this OU team. There has to be a sense of urgency with every game, but OU’s very tough non-conference schedule, plus playing in the SEC will give them an opportunity to be in Joe Lunardi’s discussions if they keep winning games.

You have to win games. You can’t look back at the Missouri, Alabama, and Arkansas losses which should have been wins if the Sooners had taken care of business late.

Instead…you just lock in and take one ten minute stretch at a time and play with complete and total desperation.

OU getting back a healthy Dayton Forsythe has been huge for the simple reason Nijel Pack and Xsayvier Brown aren’t wornout for the final six minutes of the game. It gives Porter Moser three guards who can be paired seamlessly.

Ten days ago it appeared Porter Moser’s and his team were dead in the water together. But maybe not. Next up at Tennessee. After that tough assignment the Sooners have five games which they should have a chance of winning.

I know this sounds crazy for the 13-12, 3-9 Sooners, but there is a pathway here for the Sooners to save Porter Moser’s job. The Committee pays close attention to the NCAA Net rankings. OU played at Gonzaga, at Arizona State, at Nebraska, at Wake Forest, at Marqutee, and at a neutral site in their nine point win over O State.

This path to the Tournament might be improbable, but not impossible. But again, Big Mo (OU’s starting center)…please stop it with the bad fouls early in games. If Big Mo can just stay in the games the rest of the team seems to be coming together in a sense with the return of a healthy Dayton Forsythe coming off the bench.

I have no idea what new OU athletic director Roger Denny thinks in regards to what I just wrote. No idea at all. But regardless of all that…I’m happy for Porter Moser that he and his team have not surrendered.

Next game up…Tennessee.

Mike J

Damn. That’s one angry woman with a very big chip on her shoulder. Granted…I agree with her in that pretty much every member of the United States Senate is a group of weaklings.

But I mean MJ says… damn.

This is the woman Sam Presti should hire to coach some snarl and nasty into Chet Holmgren. You put that face and attitude on top of Chet’s frame and you’ll see a 20/20 double double guy every night who never misses a game.

My second impulse would be to say something too sexually implicit for me to print on my blog.

So…again…damn, girl. Go get a guy and kick back a little if you know what I mean.

Being an honors graduate of the Bob Jackson School of Street Law…I was curious where one goes to get a law degree for a person with the skill set of Pam Bondi. So I googled it and it came up Stetson School of Law JD, University of Florida BA.

So right now if you’re on my blog and a person considering law school and you need a direction of sort, this is how I see it as far as law school choices… 1 Bob Jackson School of Street Law, 2 Tulsa University Law School, 3 OU Law School, and then 4 OCU School of Law. I was lucky in that I knew the dean of BJSSL. But I would prolly shy away from Stetson from what we witnessed this week from Pam Bondi.

Granted…that wasn’t a courtroom and she wasn’t obligated to conduct herself as an Officer of the Court per se. But I mean, when one sees the the top official/lawyer of the U.S. Department of Justice behave in that manner it makes this ‘law school graduate’ actually wish Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions were still around.

Not a good look for Pam Bondi, Stetson, and the United States of America.

And this in the same week Donald Trump and Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt had a Twitter war. But I guess…good for Kevin Stitt for not getting rolled as he usually does by POTUS 47. He finally stood up for himself a little bit. It must have been that 86% number he saw David Holt ring upearlier this week.

Have a nice weekend in purple Oklahoma County. Enjoy the All-Star break.

Mike J