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Miracle Speech – You were born for this – Herb Brooks, Movie: Miracle – YouTube

I wrote earlier today on my blog that as an American I’ve never felt lower or more embarrassed than the past week. No hyperbole there.

So I began thinking through the course of the day and making a list of American events which made me proud.

First man on the moon. Getting Bin Laden. Desert Storm. The way the country initally came together after 9/11. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. Barack Obama being elected the first black president. Hillary Clinton being the first woman to be nominated for the presidency. That’s my first draft so far.

But the winner for me was the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. I get chills every time I watch this video. It is an illustration of what America is capable of acheiving when its not divided and dreams big.

Nothing political with this hockey team. Not the liberals hating the conservatives or vice versa. Just some American kids with a dream of beating the Russians and winning the gold medal the next round.

They could have played the Russians ten times and been lucky to beat the best team in the world once.

And they went out and did it. Now that’s American.

We are so much better than what we’ve shown these past four years. So much better.

The 1980 hockey team is who we are and should aspire to be on a daily basis.

Final Minute of the “Miracle on Ice” – YouTube

Here’s the thing…at one time I kind of liked Lindsey back in the day before he sold himself to Trump like some sex slave.

I was watching those GOP debates in 2016…. and I actually found him to have a sense of humor. I mean…given that Ted Cruz finsihed second to Trump…I would have possibly considered the old Lindsey Graham. Then of course he became the first honorary member of the GOP Trump Enablers Brothel Club.

It’s just sad is what it is that the people of South Carolina and the South for that matter now view Lindsey as the biggest pussy to walk the face of the Confederacy.

So I’m going to co- give Lindsey this song that I gave to my grandson Little Robert to help Lindsey get through all of this on the road back to becoming something less than the biggest pussy in the South.

Since we all know the language Trump uses in being the titular face of Christian evangelicals in the South … I can’t imagine I’ve crossed a line of any sorts here.

Seriously…I’m a Libra the scales of balance and justice and all that. And I sincerely hope Lindsey can find some remnants of his soul moving forward in Trump rehab.

Enjoy the song, Lindsey. I’m singing with you on here ’cause I’m not an ideologue. I’m genuinely a good guy.

sedition, noun conduct or speech against the authority of a state or monarchy.

Felony murder is probably a stretch somewhat, but when this gets all the way to civil litigation aspects of the case I would think wrongful death statutes would be applicable.

For the first time in my life…I’m ashamed to be an American. I’m not an ideologue either. I voted for Gerald Ford in ’76 even after the Nixon pardon because I thought it was the right thing to do for our country even though Nixon was clearly guilty.

Nixon at least showed some remorse and contrition. And to be frank, I gave Nixon a bit of a pass because in 1960 when he ran for president he didn’t pursue a recount in Illinois when he lost the presidency to JFK by a razor thin margin. Nixon said he thought a recount would be terrible for the country. I always gave Nixon some slack for taking that approach.

Our country in the present seems two hundred years years removed from anything close to Nixon conceding defeat in 1960. Or to Bobby Kennedy being loved and admired by both the poor whites and poor blacks before he was asassinated while running for president.

Now here we are with 400,000 dead from COVID while every state in the union is under a domestic terrorist attack alert. And yet some still in the Trump base to the end and beyond defend Donald Trump.

Here’s a video with Cindy McCain. Keep in mind, as I write Liz Cheney is in the process of being censored by some in the GOP as well.

Now… it’s not only wear a mask and space, but be on the alert for Trump domestic terrorists in all fifty state capitols. Are you Trump enablers tired of winning too much yet?

Cindy McCain Reacts to Impeachment and Arizona GOP’s Move to Censure Her | The View – YouTube

And, yeah…this happened today as well.

James Harden was traded today to be with his old buddy Kevin Durant to take the place of the mercurial Kyrie Irving. Good luck with that Steve Nash. As far as the Nets go…Fool me once it’s on you..Fool me twice it’s on me.

Haven’t we seen this act before when the Nets mortgaged their future for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce for a truckload of draft picks?

We saw how that went. But to be honest with you I could care less about the Brooklyn Nets. The only team I really follow in the East is the Miami Heat with Bam, Duncan Robinson, and Tyler Herro with that smirk of his.

The deal for us here in Trumpland, USA is the fact we want Houston to fall in the standings, but not to the point they fall too far since the Houston pick is (1-4) protected.

The only real player of consequence the Rockets got in the deal beyond draft picks which go into 2027 is Victor Oladipo and possibly Dante Exum is you live within the realm the latter could make the Rockets significantly better.

Let’s look at the top seven players or so on the Houston roster now as we hope OKC massively tanks while the Rockets moderately tank.

Oladipo, John Wall, P.J. Tucker, Christian Wood, Demarcus Cousins, Daniel House, and Eric Gordon. Not a real star there, but not horrible either.

Houston has no real star now, but there are eight players or so who shou;d be able to win enough games to keep OKC’s draft swap in place above the (1-4) threshold.

If I had to pick two players today in the 1-12 range in the upcoming draft based on the Thunder’s needs …I’d go Cade Cunningham with the Thunder’s pick and probably Evan Mobley from USC with the Houston pick.

I like Cade. He has all the intangibles plus a high bar potential to be the face of an NBA franchise. His main problem so far with O State is that he’s too damn unselfish. Mike Boynton needs to get it thru Cade’s head he’s the best player on the floor every night. Plus, he can beat you with every facet of his game and he’s extremely versatile on the defensive end of the floor.. Plus, he’s smart and comes from a solid background.

Here’s my recap on the LA Laker game. The Thunder lost big and they should have lost big.

It was a great night for the Thunder. They lost while Harden and Durant are now both in the East while the Rockets should stay competitive enough so as their pick falls in the top half of this summer’s NBA draft.

A Few Good Men – Courtroom Scene – YouTube

We saw history again today. For the second time in a year Donald Trump was impeached by the House with a trial now loomimg in the Senate…apparently some time after the inauguration as per McConnell today.

I thought about Mitch McConnell all day. Will he do the right thing or is this just another piece of political gamesmanship?

It’s hard to tell. 40-50% chance of a conviction in the Senate may be too high. Probably somewhere around 20-30% is more in line. I wonder if a real trial does come to fruition if the defense would ever allow Donald Trump to testify and be subject to a cross-examination?

I don’t care what one’s political ideology is… the evidence is every clear. I just wonder if it is realistic to think seventeen Republican senators will cross the line and do the right thing.

This video I’ve posted below is probably the most iconic cross-examination in film history. Interestingly enough…A Few Good Men was written and produced by David Brown who wrote the screenplay for The Verdict and produced it as well.

Is there a standup person in the GOP in the U.S. Senate right now beyond Mitt Romney or the late John McCain? It still boggles my imagination to no end John McCain and Lindsey Graham were close friends. I’m certain if alive McCain would vote to impeach. He would impeach this person who never in any circumstance should have ever become president. Six people die and no contrition. None. He could care less. Almost 400,000 have died from Covid on his watch. He could care less.

Isn’t it odd Cindy McCain and their family asked Barack Obama to perform the eulogy at John McCain’s memorial service and not Lindsey Graham. I wonder if Lindsey Graham ever feels sad about this in a moment of introspection. I mean…the man lost his soul. Tragic.

Look at Liz Cheney…she went out on a limb as the third ranking Republican in the House. She had the courage. Eight previous Secretaries of Defense had the courage.

What good does it do to become a United States senator if you can never muster the integrity to cast a tough vote? Why seek the office if that’s the case. That’s why senators are given six year terms.

Our country’s soul is in serious peril. I look at my two young grandchildren and wonder if by the time they reach adulthood if America will still be the aspirational leader of the free world or just an example of nothing more than acute freak dysfunction.

It’s a fascinating political dynamic. McConnell got everything he wanted in the past four years, yet in the process gutted the soul of America.

Even though he lost the Majority position in the Senate—I still feel as if after January 20th…Mitch McConnell will find a way to be the power broker.

I can’t take my eyes off it.It’s like watching House of Cards: The Steroids Version.

Enjoy the cross-examination.

Be kind to others if you can.

(1) Cade Cunningham | 18pts 7rebs |Oklahoma state vs Kansas highlights – YouTube

Time for me to get back on track with the Cade Cunningham Journal. It was a log jammed schedule last night for me hoops-wise as I had my eye on four games. But clearly Mike Boynton’s O State team beating No. 6 Kansas 75-70 inside Gallagher Iba was the game I watched primarily.

A great win for O State as they’ve steadied since a shaky Big 12 start and stand at 9-3 overall, 3-3 in rugged Big 12 play, and now sit as the No. 5 seed in the league.

This young team is falling into its roles while getting better every game. Cade, Ike Likekele, Rondel Walker, and Bryce Williams to me at least are the best four players on the team and it looks like Mike Boynton has his team going the right way heading into Saturday’s home Bedlam game with OU … 7-4, 3-3.

Cade was ice-cold steady as usual with 18 points and 7 rebounds. He plays with a fluid coolness which at times belies he’s the best player on the floor. But what impressed me more was the collective play of Likekele, Rondel Walker, and Bryce Williams. Those guys are legit and they made big plays when big plays needed to be made.

OU down in Norman blew out Jaime Dixon’s Horned Frogs setting the tone for a Bedlam game on Saturday which will easily be my No. 1 local hoops game to watch this week-end. Brady Manek and Jalen Hill both sat out the win over TCU as both are in Covid protocol.

In Oklahoma City the tanking Thunder played the semi-tanking Spurs with San Antonio prevailing 112-102 in a game in which I probably saw about eight minutes of game time as I did not miss any of the O State game.

What can you say? The Thunder needed to lose and get back on track on the journey to lose enough to possibly put Cade Cunningham on their team next season. Job well done and with the Lakers in town tonight on the second night of a back to back one would think the Thunder will have it back in gear with a two game losing streak working in this home stand.

To date — the Thunder have yet to win a home game in this Covid season of empty arenas. I would submit the lack of fans negates home field in basketball more than in any other of the four major league sports.

Again…this is the perfect season for Sam Presti to tank in an innocent college market such as Oklahoma City which by chance came upon an NBA franchise by way of Hurricane Katrina. If Sam Presti is going to tank this is the year.

It just stuns me that in little sleepy Birther racist Oklahoma… I’m still reading people who think the Thunder shouldn’t tank this NBA season. Just stunning. Sigh.

The fourth game I kept track of was the Houston Rockets’ loss to the LA Lakers. We might not need Houston to implode to this point as the Rockets have dropped to the No. 13 seed in the West currently. Steady in Houston… please don’t lose this much.

I can’t wait to watch Bedlam.

Former Trump aid Anthony Scaramucci predicts that President Trump will go to jail at some point – YouTube

The Articles of Impeachment will easily pass in the House today. But more striking is Mitch McConnell has finally found his soul and indicated he will vote for impeachment in the Senate as well.

This changes the whole dynamic from a procedural standpoint.

Impeachment in the Senate is now on my Vegas board as 40-50% doable within the next week or so. Maybe symbollically the Senate’s verdict of conviction will come sometime on next Tuesday right before Joe Biden’s inauguration.

The evidence is a veritable slam dunk.

The question is in states like Oklahoma, Alabama and the such is if with McConnell on board and Trump’s Twiiter account closed is if the senators in these states can finally break from their Jm Crow constituents and for once exhibit some courage.

The math of 67 votes with McConnell on board is very doable and it’s time for this country to move on and begin the arduous process of making America great again.

This should be a great day to be an American. There is light at the end of the tunnel. There is a reason we have laws.

Lindsey Graham back when John McCain was alive is the one on the video below. Unfornutately the Lindsey Graham we see today has been radicalized by Trump as much as those idiots we saw on television murdering and looting in our Nation’s capitol.

It would make John McCain geninuely sad to know after he left this earth his buddy Lindsey proceeded to figuratively or maybe literally suck Donald Trump’s dick every day four years running.

Excuse the language, but it is what it is with Lindsey.

There was a white former congressman from South Carolina on the news this morning sharing his thoughts about the Lindsey Graham we see in front of us today.

In his closing he said with a dignified Southern drawl, “You know, the Democrats hate Lindsey. The moderate Republicans and Independents hate Lindsey. And the Trump batf–k crazies now hate Lindsey. Those people might even kill him in an American airport before this is over. Everyone hates Lindsey.”

He paused and then finished the interview smiling as he said, “Lindsey Graham better go get him a good dog is my advice.”

Lindsey won’t have a chance to go get a dog this week in that it appears he’s been designated the Trump adult day care surrogate these final days. But my advice to Lindsey would be after you’ve tucked Trump into bed and let him use your Twitter account till he’s worn out these last few days… go get yourself a black lab and start listening to Jake Owens singing Journey of Life, buddy.

I’m done with Lindsey. Next up for farewell hugs and kissess….maybe Devin Nunes.

Devin is living proof you don’t have to live in SEC country to be f–king dumber than a sack of rocks. Devin will be my first winner of the Mike Gundy Medal of Courage winner.

Here’s a video below before Lindsey’s mouth became super-glued to Donald Trump’s crotch… figuratively of course.

(1) ‘The Verdict’ | Critics’ Picks | The New York Times – YouTube

I’m highlighting The Verdict this week because to me it is a connection to what is transpiring in our country currently. At somepoint you become numbed to what is happening from within our own country… it drains a little from our collective American souls every day. We can’t deport every person who’s still defending Donald Trump. Building a wall or impeaching Donald Trump won’t solve this either.

When there is a constant assault on the truth we begin to lose fatih and trust in our institutions. We lose faith in our communities and our neighborhoods. We lose sight of the very core beliefs of which should be steering our lives. In the end… if we’re not careful we lose ourselves in the process.

This NY Times movie reviwer had a different take on the ending of The Verdict than I did. I actually found the ending somewhat uplifting and somewhat aspirational. It actually gave me some reaffirmation in the good which is in all of us if we seek the truth.

So given the condition our country finds itself in currently–I thought I would feature this movie review on my blog this morning.

I would hope every American is in deep inner inflection this week moving forward as we seek the truth and the best which is in all of us.

Here’s the complete ending scene of the movie and why I’ve held this movie close to my heart ever since I saw it the first time.

There is justice and goodness in all of us…we just have to relocate it as a group.

(1) The Verdict by Sydney Lumet – Final Scene – Paul Newman – YouTube

From the first play of scrimmge you knew it was going to be a very long night for the Buckeyes when Trey Sermon suffered a game ending shoulder injury.

For Ohio State to beat this historic Alabama offense it was going to have to be a game where the Buckeyes could run the ball and create some turnovers.

Without Sermon–the Ohio State run game fizzled and there was only one Mac Jones turnover which led to a red zone field goal for the Big Ten champs.

Alabama averaged 48.5 points a game this football season and were better than their norm in this national championship snoozer.

Ohio State’s defense had no answer whatsoevr for Heisman winner DeVonta Smith who was the game’s MVP. Ohio State’s four linebacker defense was in no way going to keep DeVonta Smith in check. But then again… no one in college football stopped Smith this season either.

Nick Saban has now won six national titles in the past twelve years. If you throw in Saban’s title at LSU he’s won seven national tiles and has now passed Bear Bryant on the leaderboard for national championships in the AP era.

OU will start next season ranked No. 2 behind Saban’s dynasty. Unlike in previous years the concern in Norman isn’t going to be on the defensive side of the ball. The concern is if OU wants to beat Alabama can they score forty-nine points or so and make a few clutch defensive stops through the course of a back and forth game.

Saban is a smart football coach. The college game changed and he not only changed with it but he went one better than Lincoln Riley on the offensive side of the ball.