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In between work stops today I heard Mark Rodgers say O State’s new president in a sequence of recent tweets has said no to future Bedlam competition.

How sad. But not sad for OU, but sad for the fact the enabling in regards to Mike Gundy and his football program apparently will continue in Stillwater.

Only this time it won’t come from T Boone Pickens or Mike Holder or the O State Board of Regents.

Here’s the brutal truth about Oklahoma State football the previous decade…they appear to be afraid of competing at an elite national level yet want to be compensated as if they were Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida, Georgia and Clemson.

To be elite in any sport or any human endeavor for that manner you can’t cower from playing the best. You have to realize that to get better there are times you have to lose or even some times get your ass kicked to get better.

Oklahoma State won’t play anybody and that’s been the truth since 2011 when after the season Holder and Pickens scheduled Gundy’s team to play Florida State in a kick-off classic, which btw was a very entertaining game in which O State lost.

Then came the Gundy theatrics. The ultimatums he would do the scheduling or do his coaching at Tennessee or Arkansas or some other locale which would woo the Mullet King.

And this is where Oklahoma State in my view made the bed in which they find themelves today…namely on the outside looking in at the elites in college football. Instead of parting ways with Gundy… they paid him at an elite level.

In that same period of time Joe C’s program has played Notre Dame home and away, Ohio State home and away, Tennessee home and away minus a covid game, Army home and away minus a covid game, and scheduled LSU for a home and away.

In that same period of time in bowl games and/or playoff games Joe C’s program has played Alabama twice, Clemson, Auburn, LSU, Florida, and Georgia.

OU won some of those games, yet got their ass kicked off the field in the LSU game. That was a beat down loss as was the USC game back in the 2004 national championship game under Bob Stoops.

But you know what Joe C didn’t do? He didn’t recoil from those setbacks and schedule his program as if they were a collective bunch of entitled pussies who’s mommies and daddies couldn’t handle those tough losses to USC and LSU.

Here’s another truth about O State football they are one of four programs in this Big 12 and the previous Big 12 who have never made it to the Big 12 Championship Game. The other three are Kansas, Texas Tech, and West Virginia.

What Joe C said to Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley after the tough losses is basically…get better. Recruit better. Coach better. Compete your ass off and earn your salary. Let me know as your AD what I can do to help you make us an elite national program again. I’ll do the scheduling.

Truth be known, neither O State or Texas have been the second best team in this Big 12 the past two years. That team would be Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones who have my complete and total respect for what they’ve done with their program of late.

Iowa State has beaten OU twice so far in Campbell’s tenure and almost beat them in the Big 12 Championship Game last December at Jerry’s World.

Let’s assume for a second I’m Joe C and I just lost Lincoln Riley to the NFL.

Let’s assume I need to hire a new head coach. Would I take Matt Campbell, Alex Grinch, or Mike Gundy?

Not even close who wouldn’t be in the top two on that list.

And that’s the problem in Stillwater. That being, an honest and introspective look at why they’re not going to the SEC might prove helpful looking towards the future. The admission it’s not OU’s fault.. but O State’s own doing and they’re not big enough to admit it publicly.

Truth hurts.

I could use a music video after that. Have a nice Tuesday. Enjoy the fall-like weather. To be young again, eh.

It was an honor for me on my little blog to cover Cade’s one college season. From the first game at Marquette to the second round versus Cinderella Oregon State… I made a point of watching every one of Cade’s college games and jotting something down in my Cade Cunningham Journal.

What an irony it is that Troy Weaver the former assistant to Sam Presti ends up with Cade and the Thunder end up with Josh Giddy.

Cade is the first player in Oklahoma State hoops history to be the No. 1 player taken in the NBA Draft.

With Jerami Grant already in Detroit the Pistons will immediately become a team I follow on here from time to time.

Look at Cade’s body sometime and then scrutinize the bodies of Sam Presti’s two first round picks in Poku and Josh Giddy.

In fact…I would say with the exception of perhaps Rondel Walker at O State every player on both OU and O State’s rosters looked more physically prepared to play in the NBA than what Sam Presti selected with a No. 17 and a No. 6 pick in the last two drafts.

Here’s what I would say about this season…I think he’ll actually make the transition to the NBA easier than he made to the college level last season because his game is tailor made for pick and roll and pick and pop. Plus, with his size and skill set he can isolate any time he wants and back a defender down and get whatever shot he wants.

Even when O State swept OU in the back to back Bedlam games…I have to admit it didn’t bother me like it normally might have because I knew I was watching something special…kind of like when Barry Sanders went off for over 200 yards against the Sooners in 1988 in a game O State should have won.

Barry Sanders and Cade both end up in Detroit. Who would have thought?

He’s a classy young man and I hope he realizes every goal he has made for himself and his team in the NBA.

I would say go ahead and continue the series if new O State President Kayse Shrum feels inclined to do so. Both Joe C and President Harroz are on record saying they want to continue Bedlam.

Bedlam started in 1910 and OU at this point holds a 90-18-7 advantage in the football series. In basketball it’s been more competitive with OU only holding a 140-102 edge.

You could schedule the football game in November and then maybe have a double dip of Bedlam hoops in Oklahoma City in December with a womens/men doubleheader of Bedlam basketball. Kind of like the old All College Holiday Classic. That would be cool.

By all means…OU leaving to join the SEC which BTW…OU should have done ten years ago should have no bearing on Bedlam regardless of what conference O State lands when all the realignment is complete.

Keep Bedlam for certain.

If you’re an O State Trump evangelical you probably shouldn’t click the music video above. It will be too much for you. Don’t do it. Pussy control and pussy grabbing are two different things.

Ronnie Perkins is now a New England Patriot. One of the big questions for OU’s defense is if Nik Bonitto can fill the shoes of RP this coming season. I would think Nik will respond in a very positive manner. Since it looks like another season of rebuild in store for Thunder fans the OU season can’t get here soon enough.

You had to figure a trade or two was coming since the Thunder do have to meet some NBA guidelines as far a minimum salary and such. This at least gives the impression the Thunder aren’t just going to completely fleece their fanbase with another season of complete bullshit on the basketball court.

If I read the trade right the Thunder gave up a second round pick and got Favors and a protected first round pick as well.

Based on every single commentor on the Sports Animal yesterday after the Thunder’s abysmal performance in the draft…I would suspect a few more trades might be coming to gve the Thunder the appearance of an NBA team at least somewhat on a par with those Hornet teams which played in OKC after Katrina.

I did my only little non-scientific survey yesterday and not one person I know who like me used to schedule their lives around Thunder games plans on doing such unless the organization puts a viable product on the court.

‘Sam Presti…start using that record amount of draft capital you have and start monetizing those picks into real life NBA players instead of physically underdeveloped white kids from overseas who should be in college somewhere or playing overseas.

Let me go a a step further in my little mini rant. OU just hired a young Final Four coach in Porter Moser. Texas just hired one of the best college coaches in the country in Chris Beard. Kansas has Bill Self. O State with Mike Boynton has it going. Oral Roberts was a Sweet 16 team just a few months ago.

You and the Thunder organization might think you’re immune from hoops ticket competition, but you’re not. Currently…you’re not even in the same universe with the OU football program as far brand and ticket relevance in this market.

Get with it and put a real life basketball team on the court.’

Rant over.

If you’re an O State fan and a Thunder fan this was not a good week. Just a complete dud for Thunder fans who went through a season of tanking thinking at the least they might walk away with a Jalen Suggs or Davion Mitchell or maybe even a Cory Kispert with the second first round pick.

Instead, another pimply kid who should be a freshman playing college basketball with a body and game completely not ready for the NBA. For crying out loud, OU offered Giddy a scholarship.

This must be the Presti model.

But he won’t be challenged by OKC’s uber soft media. He won’t take a tough question. But I think what he and Clay Bennett will observe from their tiicket buying fans is a growing faction of indifference, apathy, and absence at Thunder games this season unless there are a couple of trades on the horizon which will make the Thunder watchable this coming NBA season.

I genuninely wonder at this point what conversations are taking place between Shai and his agent after last night’s performance in the draft.

The Thunder needed a big man. Instead, they add another project and another hybrid guard they don’t need.

There’s no way even NBA fan like me will pay face value to see this level of basketball. This is why there’s a G League. This is why MLB and the NHL have minor league systems. Fans don’t want to pay for a night of NBA basketball and instead watch a tanking G League level of basketball.

I’m calm and indifferent for the time being waiting to see if Sam Presti insults the intelligence of his fans in Oklahoma City with another year of bad basketball which goes beyond not just being irrelevant, but more to the point being an insult to the people who pay their money to see a viable product on the court.

This is a market where I wouldn’t just assume the disposable sports entertainment dollar is going to pay for G League ball at NBA prices into eternity.

People will spend those dollars elsewhere.

Youngest player taken in the draft at eighteen years of age. It looks like the Thunder are going to be very young and very much in rebuild again this season.

Cade went first, then Jalen Green, then Evan Mobley, then Jalen Suggs at four.

Poku last season, now Giddey. I wonder why Shai and his agent see his future being in Oklahoma City at this point.

Then the Thunder took another guard with their pick at 16 by selecting Tre Mann from Florida.

Maybe with Covid heating back up in non vaccinated bumblefuck Oklahoma the Thunder aren’t going to allow fans in the building again this season.

I have no idea what they’re doing.

But the league as a whole will be interesting. I can’t wait to start following Cade in Detroit with Jerami.The Bucks of course will be fun. Russell is going to be a Laker…good for him.

It is what it is in Oklahoma City with the AAA developmental team which Adam Silver along with Sam Presti has put in place in the most culturally regressive city in the thirty team NBA.

This is the model moving forward in Oklahoma. This way these young black players won’t have to stay in Oklahoma for more than three years before being dispersed to other American cities which aren’t still living in the 1950’s.

This won’t effect me though because Joe Castiglione at OU makes sure every sports fan in the area can get value when they buy a ticket to an OU sporting event.

My love affair with Big 12 hoops will be special this year as it will be the last season with OU in the league. So…in a way for me it’s okay the Thunder did what they just did in this NBA draft.

I hope to see Ja Morant, Cade, Jerami, Russell, Giannis, Trey Young and Devin Booker in person. But I can assure you with what the Thunder are doing I won’t be spending anything this season beyond 30-40% of face value for a Thunder home game ticket.

I’ll be interested to observe Thunder Nation’s reaction to what Sam Presti and Adam Silver did in last night’s NBA draft.

Maybe what they’re saying is they think Josh Giddey is the Aussie version of Luka and since he’s not black maybe he would consider staying in Oklahoma beyond three basketball seasons.

I don’t know. Maybe that was the thinking. Could be.

My…my…my. I just read Tramel’s Thursday story on the make believe bullshit Darwinian-Trump trickle downers in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

And I must say at this point…I’m flattered Berry is reading my blog and following my talking points on this bullshit in Stillwater.

Tell me exactly when and where the state funded institution in which Boone and Carl Icahn leveraged back in the day became such a stalwart of monetary propriety. Was I in a coma? How did I miss this? The instituition which whored itself to the two most notorious financial leverage artists of my time in essence bought a Power 5 conference state institution because it was a lot cheaper than buying the Dallas Cowboys.

And this is the instituion which President Kayse is lecturing economic morals in behalf of in the aftermath of OU simply leaving the Big 12 to go play all the teams Mike Gundy doesn’t have the balls to ever put on his schedule.

Mike Gundy should leave his wife and propose marriage to Kayse Shrum because Mullet King just found his soulmate Mullet Queen.

Tramel…you know I love you almost as much as Dan Jenkins.

Keep reading the blog and keep up the faith that maybe someday the Bolsheiviks will exit Stillwater and Darwinian free enterprise will possibly exist in Payne County.

This was a special okcthunderground.com Op-Ed by Mike Jackson.

If you’re an OU fan…you love Switzer no matter how bumpy the last year of his tenure was for the program. I was literally at Phog Allen Field House in Lawrence on a Monday night for Big Monday on ESPN with Vitale on the air when the shit totally hit the fan with the Sports Ilustrated article on Charles Thompson. But it was the most fun I’ve ever had at a basketball game as Billy’s team beat KU in overtime on the road. Vintage Billy Tubbs. I didn’t think any of us wearing crimson were going to get out of there alive. BUCKET LIST AND I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT AT THE TIME.

As a player unless you’re Troy Aikman still butt-hurt about the fact the Sooners went back to the Wishbone with Jamelle Hollieway in 1985 in that national champinshp season…his players loved him and that’s more than half the battle if you recruit good players.

Obviously…Switzer thinks the Sooners heading to the SEC is a good thing for OU. But he said some things today which I hadn’t even considered. He thinks the fact that OU, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri being in the same pod will give the Razorbacks enough boost to start winning most of their recruiting battles with Oklahoma State…which is a big deal for the Hogs.

Arkansas was something back in the days of the old Southwest Conference. I still remember when Texas and Arkansas squared off in that 15-14 Texas win for the national championship in a game which was played in Little Rock if I recall.

I know Fayetville will now be an every other year trip for our family given we have some property east of town by Lake Sequoyah which in essence runs along the White River and is some of the best trout fishing in America.

Gotta see if our old White River fishing guide who used to be Bill Clinton’s barber is still guiding on the river. The stories that man tells while you’re fishing and sipping Jack Daniels floating the river make for a highly entertaining day.

Of course…I’ve been to Auburn before since my wife is a War Eagle…and I’ve made the Fayetville trip several times to see Aubrun whip the Razorbacks, but maybe this will help Arkansas get some footing back in their program. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful campus in Fayetville.

I’m going to start touring every campus in the SEC both during football and basketball season.

I’ll know better than to evoke my thoughts aloud on the grifter human junk bond Trump, but hell—I had to to do that in Stillwater…so no big change there.

I can’t wait to hit Oxford and see if I can get in touch with John Grisham. My dad actually had an intern in his firm who at one time who was the original lawyer on the famous Dennis Spence murder case which became the basis of the Grisham non-fiction book… The Innocent Man. I would love to meet John Grisham since I’ve read most of his books and talk to him about the Innocence Project.

It’s great to be a Sooner in the SEC. Boomer!

Sam Presti—I hope you have your game face on because this is an extremely important night for the future of NBA basketball in Oklahoma City.

This is where you either have a really good night or the concept of sustainability takes a hit in a market where the margin for error is very thin.

You guys screwed around and won those games against Boston and the LA Clippers in the last 25 games of the tank and that’s regrettable, but this is where you earn your ownership equity in the Thunder.

OKC is at 6, 16, and 18 in the first round with three picks in the second round. I’m sure like me you realize the Big 12 while unraveling as a football league became the best basketball conference in the country these past three seasons.

In our very backyard Texas high school basketball has become something very special.

My top six picks are 1 Cade Cunningham, 2 Evan Mobley, 3 Jalen Suggs, 4 Jalen Green, 5 Davion Mitchell, and 6 James Bouknight. I have Cory Kispert at either 10 or 11. Let’s keep that in mind

Giannis was the 15th pick in his class. Khris Middleton was the 41st player in his draft and Jrue was a non-lottery pick as well. My point? Value for teams building to be contenders doesn’t have to come from the lottery picks exclusively.

I would assume we’re keeping Shai who was the 11th player taken in his class.

I don’t think Troy Weaver is in any way parting with Cade so I see that as not on the table. But I think everything else is on the table including Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs who would both be great fits with Shai.

Let’s see if we could intimidate either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Orlando Magic while they’re on the clock. Never give a sucker an even break and kick him when he’s down. Just saying.

‘We’ need a contemporary NBA center. Evan Mobley could be special. I’m assuming you’re with me on that. If you can’t get him then maybe you tilt the table to get Jalen Suggs to be the running mate with Shai and Lu in the OKC backcourt. If it takes too much to get Jalen Suggs then go with the kid from UConn James Bouknight… I’m actually fine with his game.

‘We’ need the next Duncan Robinson. I would see that as possibly Cory Kispert from Gonzaga who probably won’t go til the 10th or 11th pick. I’d see if I could bundle 16 and 18 and go get get him. With Muscala heading out we need the next Duncan Robinson.

I’d use one of our second round picks to acquire sleeper big Jericho Sims from Texas. I’m sure you have several foreign players in mind…we’ll see how that goes. Another big who could shoot would be nice. Hopefully, the Serbian Express has gained some weight this summer.

If you have to deal Ty Jerome at some point in the night then I’d fill his spot with Austin Reaves with a second round pick. I wonder how little it would take to acquire Tyler Herro given how his season ended? Buy low, sell high. Let’s buy Tyler Herro low if we can. I would think Tyler Herro would be in a very motivated state of mind just about now. Can we imagine Tyler Herro and Austin Reaves on the same NBA roster? If nothing else we’d have the All NBA White Boy Smirk Team.

Sam Presti…I’m ready to go. I hope you’re ready to go as well. This is a very big night for the future of NBA hoops in Oklahoma City.

Bob Stoops, the same Bob Stoops who repunted to Tyreke Hill in 2014 wrote a spot on column in The Oklahoman. I would suggest Doug Gottlieb and the other Oklahoma State people read the piece.

Jim Traber doesn’t need to read the piece because he agrees with me and is way more adamant on why O State is in the position it now finds itself in with OU and Texas moving on to the SEC hopefully as soon as next season.

Which I believe will happen because West Virginia should be the next domino to fall in the Big 12.

This is nothing more than the free market separating the strong from the weak.

The markets decide your viability. Ask the former Big 8 and Southwest Conference about market viability. Poof…gone, just like the Big 12 is going to be sometime in the near future.

I would guesstimate around 85% of the O State season ticket holders are adamant supply side trickle down Donald Trump faux fiscal conservative advocates. Maybe even 90%. I would also guess both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden would be booed at a football game inside of T Boone Pickens Stadium.

So what am I missing here?

At what point in Stillwater do free market economic practices attract these Donald Trump free market advocates?

Socialism much…President Kayse and Doug Gottlieb.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic wrote a piece in which he checked the top thirty television rated games from this current version of the Big 12. You know what his research revealed?

It revealed that out of the top thirty television rated games from this Big 12 that 26 out of the 30 involved either OU or Texas.

That’s why it might have been prescient for Team Mullet in the last decade or so to have been playing Auburn, Michigan, LSU, Oregon and other legit teams instead of of Tulsa, Missouri State, and Stephen F Austin.

O State…this is called your brand footprint on the market and Oklahoma State while perhaps having a legit Top 25 team or so marketed their program with little if any vision or acumen.

I actually love the mullet…just so you know. In fact…what I think Gundy should do at this point to attract attention from PAC 12 viewers this season is to grow that mullet to his ass and paint his sideburns orange and black in an effort to get the Cowboys to the East Division of the PAC 12.

But in reality—this is just basic free market Econ 101 and how ironic it is that in Stillwater, Oklahoma of all places we’ve discovered Bernie Sanders should be the Prez for this sleepy hardcore right college community.

Actually…I kind of envy you guys. You gotta remember I was born a United States Navy kid back in the day in San Diego. That must be where I got my extreme ultra left wing John McCain view of the world in which we live. Fight On, Cowboys. Show me something.