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I had honestly forgotton the LaMont Evans situation was still being investigated. I assumed since Kansas had been absolved so had O State and others as well.This just seems wrong on multiple fronts. I’m a Mike Boynton fan and have been since he took over the reigns of the O State program.

Most all of this is wrong for the O State players who did nothing wrong in regards to a rogue assistant coach who was removed five years ago.

Imagine you’re a senior or the parent of a senior and just like that because of the actions of a fired coach who was at this school before this group of players were even in Stillwater… and just like that the goal of playing in this year’s NCAA Tournament and the Big 12 Tournament is taken away from your team or your son’s team.

The emotion from Mike Boynton at this presser was palpable and very much real.

It’s one of the things I love about him as a coach. He’s a players’ coach all the way through. But a tough one who still adheres to old school ways. He goes to war for his players and they reciprocate.

I think most of us who passionately follow Big 12 hoops have O State somewhere between 4th thru 6th in this year’s league. I very much had O State as one of the six or seven Big 12 teams which would be going to the Big Dance.

It’s a team with a trio of guards in Avery Anderson, Rondel Walker, and Issac Likele who should matchup well against any team in the country. Avery Anderson is already being projected as a late first round NBA selection.

But I tell you what.. I expect Mike Boynton to stand with his kids and for them to play their butts off every game this season. To play for themselves and Coach Boynton. O State has its best nonconference schedule I can remember from recent years and the Big 12 in my view is either the best or second best hoops conference in the country.

Two seasons ago Texas Tech with Chris Beard came within a play of defeating Virginia in the NCAA Championship Game. Last season Baylor ran Gonzaga off the court in the NCAA Finals.

The pre-season poll has Kansas at No. 3, Texas with Chris Beard at No. 5, and defending champ Baylor at No. 8. I have O State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and West Virginia all in a second tier of teams who should be fighting to get an NCAA tournament bid. The remaining gyms at Ames, Manhattan, and Fort Worth aren’t easy places for a road team to get a win either.

This genuinely is wrong for the O State players. There’s no way they should be serving someone else’s penalty for something which occurred five years ago.

Two of the three players I mentioned above were actually thinking of entering the NBA draft last season. But like me they thought this Lamont Evans issue was in the past.

I wonder if Duke and Kansas will be sitting this year’s NCAA Tournament.

This is why the NCAA’s jurisdiction should be removed or at the least drastically reduced from college athletics.

The Atlanta Braves who lost their best player Ronald Acuna in July, who languished under the .500 threshold until August… beat the Houston Astros in Houston in Game 6 on Tuesday night by a score of 7-0 to win the franchise its second title and first since 1995.

Braves’ general manager Alex Anthopolous acquired four players at the trade deadline with the belief his team had a chance to catch and pass the NY Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in their divisional race.

Opting not to tank or give up on the season like some in the NBA… the Braves’ GM acquired Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, and Jorge Solero. The four players were a perfect fit for the ailing Braves and a template on how a GM can salvage a season at the trade deadline.

The Braves won 88 games and won their division while the Dodgers and Giants each won 106 games in the regular season. These Braves were genuinely charmed as they didn’t even have to play as a wild card.

Atlanta dispensed of Milwaukee, then the Dodgers, and then won it all in Game 6 with a 7-0 rout of the Houston Astros as Series MVP Jorge Solero led the way with a three run blast which exited Minutemaid Stadium over the left field wall.

A hushed silence overtook the onlookers as Solero’s blast left the stadium and crossed the railroad tracks outside the ballpark. You could see by the reactions of Houston skipper Dusty Baker and Astro fans that the game was over with that third inning knockout punch.

Houston was done. A third round knockout with a punch which will be remembered in baseball history.

What a tragic ending for the Astros as they were attempting to cleanse their legacy for the cheating scandal which diminished their championship in 2017.

I felt sorry for the Astros. It was a sad moment when total redemption escaped them in their run to this World Series and instead found itself parked on the shoulder of the discarded Jorge Solero who with his Series’ three homers and six RBIs was named the Series’ MVP.

Congrats to the Atlanta Braves … you are the champions of the baseball world on November 3rd, 2021.

I’m surprised…. yet I’m not surprised. OU being 7th would have been more balanced though because Michigan does not have a Top 25 win and just lost one of its two rivalry games by blowing a lead to Michigan State.

Cincy at No. 6 doesn’t bother me because they have a better best win than OU with the Notre Dame win.

OU’s best win of the season to date is versus a swooning 4-4 Texas team which will be joining the SEC under the guise of being a current elite football program.

No. 5 Ohio State like Michigan does not have a Top 25 win since Penn State did not make any other polls this week.

I would say if any conference was given preferrential treatment it was the Big 10. As a conference what is the Big 10’s best nonconference win?

I would say probably Penn State’s home win over Auburn back in Week 3. But since that win the Nittany Lions have ‘almost’ tanked deeper than the feeble NBA entity known as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Oregon at No. 4 doesn’t bother me because they have the best win of any team with a road win over the Buckeyes in Columbus.

Ohio State like Michigan hasn’t done all that much either.

In fact I would say O State, Baylor, and Auburn all have better resumes than Ohio State and Michigan to date. The manner in which Ohio State and Michigan were coddled by the Committee does grate at me though.

Alabama being ranked No. 2 doesn’t bother me as much because to stay in the Final Four they will need to beat Auburn on the road, plus beat Georgia in SEC Championship Game.. Surely the Committee wouldn’t put a two loss ‘Bama in the Playoff. If the Committee puts a two loss Bama in the playoff that might elicit a different reaction from me.

But again…why in the world would two underacheivers this season like Ohio State and Michigan be given preferrential treatment?

It’s vexing for certain. I might send Kirk a terse email. I hope ESPN didn’t meddle in all of this. Answer me this, Kirk…combined what is the best win for Ohio State and Michigan? The answer again is Penn State. Three teams from that conference in the Top 7…are you kidding me?

It was the same mindset in the most recent NCAA Basketball Tournament seeding bracket. Not one Big Ten team advanced to the Final Four. Not one as I recall even though Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, and Iowa were all given either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds in different regionals. Only Michigan made it to an Elite 8 game. Again…are you kidding me?

It appears to me the Big 10 lobby is every bit or more than that of the SEC given none of their teams have won anything for awhile yet are given this type of treatment.

I had Georgia No. 1 and Michigan State No. 2 so I’m pretty much there with the Committee on those two teams.

O State, Baylor, and Auburn are pretty much where I had them as well. Same with Notre Dame and Wake Forest for the most part.

So…is OU still in the hunt sitting in the No. 8 position?

I would say definitely because OU regardless of the poll needs to win its last three games against Baylor, Iowa State, and O State–then win the Big 12 Championship Game.

If OU runs that gauntlet and stands 13-0 then I would think the Sooners are in the national semifinals.

Maybe this No. 8 ranking will light a fire under the Sooners’ collective football souls with the message…’Play All Sixty Minutes’.

Possibly this message from someone other than Lincoln Riley or Alex Grinch will tell these Sooners how they’ve been nationally perceived to date. The perception is the team is soft with the exception of Caleb Williams coming out of the bullpen to save the Sooners’ season to date.

Here…I’ll help the Sooners decipher the message even deeper… you were just sent a message from the Committee: Your goals are still intact. You might be a good football team. Show us why you should be in the College Football Football Playoff beyond Caleb Williams.

College Football Op-Ed by MJ

The Committee comes out with their first poll tonight. We’ll see how that goes. My poll goes twelve deep showing what we could have if we had a twelve team playoff in place. My poll allows me to have some flexibity, whereas the current system in place maybe six teams are in play every season….with maybe an outlier every now and again with an Auburn or Michigan State or Oregon making the field.

Here’s what I’m going to do moving forward…place Cincy where they belong in the poll in a twelve team concept and then project what my first round would look like if the playoffs started next week-end.

But of course we have a ton of football to be played so all of this is fluid.

But the point being imagine what the first round could look like if we had a twelve team tournament.

If you think Alabama is the second best team then tell them to beat two loss Texas A&M.

My poll:

1 Georgia

2 Michigan State

3 Oklahoma

4 Alabama

5 Oregon

6 Ohio State

7 Cincy

8 Notre Dame

9 Michigan

10 Auburn

11 Oklahoma State

12 Texas A&M

On my bubble;

13 Wake Forest

14 Baylor

15 Houston

Top four teams get a bye into the Elite 8. First round games are played between teams ranked 5 thru 12 with higher ranked team getting home field.

Round One matchups:

# 12 Texas A&M vs. #5 Oregon

#11 Oklahoma State vs. #6 Ohio State

# 10 Auburn vs. #7 Cincy

#9 Michigan vs. #8 Notre Dame

My Game Day will be in College Station this weekend with two hot SEC teams playing what in effect would be an elimination game using my format….Auburn vs. Texas A&M. This should be a great game. Imagine what it would be like if both teams knew twelve teams would make the field.

TCU’s Gary Patterson stepped down this weekend as the head football coach at TCU. With Matt Wells at Texas Tech being fired the week before that makes two Big 12 coaches who won’t finish the season with their teams.

Nationwide that makes nine FBS schools who have their let their coach go or who have made it clear their coach will be gone next season.

This doesn’t shock me though. With the transfer portal and the Name-Image-Likeness stuff now being a part of college football coaching ….. I would think there will be even more coaching vacancies to fill after this season.

I’ve always liked Coach Patterson. Loved his passion on the sidelines and for the most part the way his teams have competed over the years. –

Hope to see more music from Gary Patterson in the coming years and wish him the very best down the road.

Here’s the OU-Texas Tech postgame presser with Lincoln Riley.

My helmet sticker list this week-end goes:

• Entire Michigan State team for their inspiring win over Michigan.
• Bo Nix for his steady play in guiding Auburn over Ole Miss, Arkansas, and LSU in succession.
• Key Lawrence and Isaiah Thomas for their big defensive games in getting the OU defense kick started.
• O State’s Spencer Sanders for his QB leadership overall these past two weeks.
• West Virginia’s entire team for changing the narrative of their season these past two weeks with Big 12 wins over TCU and Iowa State.
• Baylor for effectively ending Steve Sarkisian’s first season in Austin and reminding everyone in college football they really shouldn’t be headed to the SEC.
• That’s my helmet stickers for Week 9.

My first impulse Top Six would go…

1 Georgia

2 Michigan St.

3 Oklahoma

4 Cincy

5 Alabama

6 Oregon

My rationale for not having Alabama in the Top 4 is that they lost to Texas A&M and their best win is over Ole Miss. I think they’re the best one loss team to date.

My rationale for not having Ohio State in my top six is they lost to Oregon at home and don’t have a quality Top 15 win as of yet over anybody.

My tip of the hat to the hottest team outside of Georgia goes to the Auburn Tigers with successive wins over LSU on the road, Arkansas on the road, and at home over Ole Miss.

On my Top 12 Poll on Tuesday… I’m thinking of Oklahoma State at No. 9 and Auburn at No. 8.

We’ll see as I further explore best wins and worst losses for my Top 12 teams.

Some great games on tap throughout the country today….especially in the SEC, Big 10, and Big 12. Not really anything in the ACC or PAC 12 which will determine the Commmitte’s first poll other than keeping an eye on Oregon.

In the SEC it’s the Cocktail Party with Georgia v. Florida, plus a very interesting night game with Ole Miss at Auburn. I wouldn’t dismiss Kentucky at Miss State as well.

Big 10-wise it’s Michigan vs. Michigan State and then at night on the ABC game it’s the Buckeyes of Ohio State hosting Penn State.

Some very interesting games in the Big 12. OU hosting the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas at Baylor in a critical game for the Bears. And a game which fascinates me is Iowa State at West Virginia with the Cyclones favored at 7.5.

I think I’ll take Ohio State and Auburn.

Have a great day taking notes as we prepare for the first poll of the college football season this coming week.

Should be some very intriguing games on Halloween Eve.

Since I have my own eclectic award winning blog…Best Thunder Content on An Underground Blog…I think I’ll start a Tyler Herro magazine here on the blog. If you’re Woj or me you can maybe get away with it

If you’re Little Nick Gallo or one of the other hired Thunder drones….I don’t think so.

Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat are on fire coming out of the gate. I mean Tyler is on fire with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove to Eric Spoelstra, Pat Riley, and the NBA basketball universe.

I’m talking All-Star hot…as in on fire.

Presti attempted to get Tyler back when he tried to dangle Chris Paul to the Heat. But Pat Riley knew what he had in Tyler. Trust me…Pat Riley knew what he had in Tyler Herro.

Comparing Pat Riley to Sam Presti is like comparing Barry Switzer to Mike Gundy.

I love this interview Tyler did with Rachel back when the Heat made it to the NBA Finals in his rookie season.

That’s the Tyler we’re going to see this season.

Rachel is by far my favorite female NBA analyst or reporter. Maybe Doris Burke comes in a distant second, but Rachel is my favorite. If Presti had a half a brain he’d hire a smart, cute NBA reporter like Rachel, then exile Little Nick Gallo to the analytics department, and give us Thunder fans something to look forward to during this season of tanking.

With all the money Presti is saving on basketball payroll….he could make Rachel an outrageous offer and make her the highest paid female basketball commentator in the league.

I’d love to do exclusive Thunder podcasts with her. This market wouldn’t know what hit it. Rachel is to me as to what Bette Midler was to Kramer.

That’s it for the first edition of the Tyler Herro Magazine.

I’m going to go ahead and preview my Gameday-Week 9 song because I love this rendition by The Petersons so much I want to hear it twice.

Kirk and Lee Corso should consider some music to liven up the set a little. I would think Gameday will be in Lansing, Michigan tomorrow.

Here we are Week 9 and it just seems like yesterday the season was getting started. Before I get to my poll… I want to give a shout out to Kirk for his new book…Out of the Pocket: Football, Fatherhood, and College Gameday Saturdays.

The book was written by ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski and is a very readable book which goes beyond the scope of college football. If I were to describe the book I’d say it’s more of a book about Kirk’s relationships with his mom and dad. Of how the three of them came to terms with the divorce which took place when Kirk was eight years of age. Of how the divorce cratered Kirk’s confidence growing up and how he eventually reconciled with his parents.

It’s a relationship book written within the realm of Kirk somehow evolving into the face of college football even though as a young person he had a morbid fear of getting in front of his classmates and giving a speech. It’s a story of life, journey, and human resilence.

His relationship with his father is the part of the book which tugged at me. Nice book…not a Pulitzer winner, but a nice read given the times we live in.

My Top 12 Poll–Week 9

The committee’s first poll comes out next week. My major concern at this point is if the committee gives Alabama and Ohio State a free pass given each has already lost a game. This is why we need a twelve team tournament in my view. Don’t think for a second I would give OU a free pass, because I wouldn’t. It’s step up time for OU or else I would leave them out of my top four when that time comes. But for me it’s tough to do that right now given OU has the longest winning streak in the country while playing in a Power Five conference.

I don’t write this from an OU point of view because I’m not a homer, but I write it because the sport of college football would be enchanced if we see more than the same four or five teams in the playoff every season.

Hence…my twelve team poll with my three teams on the bubble.

1 Georgia

2 Cincy

3 Michigan

4 Oklahoma

5 Michigan State

6 Alabama

7 Oregon

8 Ohio State

9 Ole Miss

10 Kentucky

11 Oklahoma State

12 Notre Dame

On my bubble

13 Auburn

14 Iowa State

15 Texas A&M

The rookie guard from Australia joined elite company with his 18 point, 10 assist game versus the Lakers last night. He became the second youngest player in NBA history to record 10 assists in a game.

The youngest to cross that threshold was LeBron James.

Josh and Shai seem to be meshing pretty well as the Thunder’s guard tandem. Josh being the primary elite ball handler and Shai being the elite scorer.

You kind of see roles starting to be defined between the two. Team building is fun.

The late pick and roll basket with Josh hitting Derrick Favors was a pure thing of basketball beauty.

Just a beautiful basketball play. Maybe a future defining play for the Thunder.

The separation of player tiers is starting to manifest itself with Shai, Josh, Darius Bazely, Lu Dort, Mike Muscala, Kenrich Favors, and Derrick Favors composing a decent first seven players.

Isaiah Roby had his best game of the season by far, but it was with him being on the floor for the most part separate from Poku, JRE, and Tre Mann.

Coach D in these last three games has been much better at not putting horrible combinations out on the floor at the same time.

One game is one game and this team is still going to lose a bunch of games, but to me at least you can start to see the beginnings of some team building for next season.

You could ‘almost’ say Shai and Josh are the first two star pieces of a Big Three player core for the Thunder’s future.

So let’s visualize the Milwaukee Bucks for just a second. The Bucks third core piece turned out to be Khris Middleton who was a second round pick.

Maybe make sure the third star knows he’s a third star type so you don’t repeat the Harden situation. Most championship teams know from within who’s the 1, who’s the 2, who’s the 3, and who are the role players.

My question to Sam Presti would be with all those draft picks you have why don’t you just let Coach D coach the team this season like a legit basketball team and find your third piece either through a trade or mid-first round pick which could be what the Clippers’ pick turns into depending on Kawhi’s return.

Why not let the team play legit basketball with legit rotations and hedge with the Clipper pick?

Anyway…great games by both Shai and Josh last night with the role players doing their jobs as well in coming back from a historic 26 point deficit.

I’m contemplating inverting Shai and Russell on my Thirty Player Pyramid if Shai’s game keeps trending in the next two weeks.

Here’s my suggestion to Adam Silver as a possible remedy to NBA tanking… why not make the GM’s of every tanking NBA team make themselves available to questions with the head coach at every postgame presser?