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I picked OU to win this game, but in no way did I pick the Sooners to cover the 5.5 Vegas betting line. Pat McAffee picked OU to win and cover the spread as well. Good for him. Maybe I’ve been too hard on him.

A tremendous win for Brent Venables’ Sooners as they in earnest are now in the process of playing what I think is the second toughest schedule in all of DI college football this season. By my count… I have Florida’s schedule just a little tougher than OU’s in that they have South Florida, Miami, and Florida State as well as their eight SEC games to navigate.

By contrast, OU with Michigan included will play nine teams in total who at one time or another this college football season will probably crack the Top 20.

If you’re an O State fan, my heart goes out to you, you could have taken your Booneless passive-submissive Pokes and 65 points at Eugene on Saturday and still lost your bet. If I were Michael Gundy, moving forward this season, I would suggest he not at all be concerned with other team’s NIL money and just focus on doing the job in which he is currently being so obscenely overpaid to not perform at a satisfactory level.

Back to the Sooners…with this win over a physically tough Michigan team—the Sooners are aligned to possibly get off to 5-0 start before heading to Dallas for the always anticipated Red River Rivalry.

The fact OU covered the 5.5 spread even with the four special team blunders against a team like Michigan gives me hope this OU team can evolve into a team which can contend for a College Football Playoff spot.

Well see on that. Again the schedule, it’s brutal after the Sooners get rid of Temple and Kent State.

My wife’s Auburn War Eagles with former OU QB Jackson Arnold visit Norman in two weeks for what I suspect will be a very interesting football game.

My three game balls for this game go…1 John Mateer, 2 the Sooner offensive line for that 4th period drive which in essence won the game, and 3 Jared Kanak, the former lineback now a converted tight end who for the second straight game gave the Sooners some much needed big play production at his new position. I love Kanak. He struggled at times at linebacker in his previous seasons at OU, but has showed all of us what kind of an athlete and team player he truly is for Coach Venables.

With the exception of the 75 yard run by Michigan on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, I thought OU tackled well on the interior and in space as well. Take that one play away and I pretty much viewed the OU’s defense as…dominating and physical.

OU is now No. 13 in the AP Poll. Temple up next in Philadelphia next week. I’m guessing at this point…if Mateer can stay healthy…. sophmore backup QB Michael Hawkins will be continued to be protected in what could be a redshirt season for him.

Nice win for Jeff Lebby at Mississippi State as they beat Big 12 defending champ Arizona State last night with former OU wide receiver Brendan Thompson scoring the game winner in the last minute of play.

Have a nice week, O State fans. MJ feels confident you can handle Tulsa.

Peace and love.

MJ

I had no idea Shai was going to be on Jimmy Fallon last night, but after hanging on after the delayed Eagles-Cowboys’ game on NBC–I luckily caught his appearance by sheer accident.

What an awesome dude we here in OKC have representing us in our serene purple county where people actually read books here and there as opposed to being functionally illiterate as most of the state of Oklahoma is currently.

Wouldn’t it be special if somehow every time either the cage fighting Markwayne Mullin or the psychologically abused Czar of Oklahoma Education–Ryan Walters had some sort of public statement scheduled… that perhaps Shai could sub in for either of those dimwits and give the other 74 counties in this state some sort of inspiration as to what it looks like when you’re all grown up and can read and speak the language. Plus, looking sharp with the attire as well.

Just a random thought here from MJ on Friday before the OU-Michigan game tomorrow which will be the ESPN Game Day locale this Saturday. Remember…they can read in Cleveland County nd Tulsa County—that’s why good things are happening in Norman and Tulsa as well.

Shai…MJ loves you and the ‘fam’ here on okcthunderground.com. You’re like gold here, buddy even though you’re on my second favorite NBA team currently. But we never know…maybe you alone could win me back to having the Thunder pass Nicola, Jamal, Aaron, and Christian as my favorite NBA team.

Don’t change a thing, buddy. The ‘fam’ always comes before the fame.

Always.

Take care, buddy.

MJ

• I’m still playing the Billy Joel songs from the docu-film in my head…which I very much liked. I’ve heard some people bitch about parts of Billy’s life which they found to be disappointing. I will just say this in that regard…we all as human beings navigate tough waters at times during our lives. If you’re kind, a good parent, and a wonderful dog or cat owner….. I can pretty much love your music.

Life is good for MJ.

This mid-week was the first set of labs and the second baby mini-chemo maintence treatment. PSA count has leveled out. No side effects other than the loss of some hair…which isn’t that big of a deal since I’m not the type of vain ‘man’ like Mike Gundy who will be coloring his hair into his eighties….primping like an aging escort of sorts.

MJ is is at peace and quite frankly hovering in something akin to a Zenist state of consciousness. Nothing rattles or bothers me any any longer. There is no need whatsoever to sweat any of the small things which we all sweat at earlier juntures of our lives.

Bless your hearts… and may the generosity, light, and kindness of God steer you around/beyond your hatred and bigotries.

MJ’s College Gameday for the Michigan-OU game will hopefully be done tomorrow evening.

Peace, love and eternal hope….even for the Trump fake Christian rabble. Live every day to its fullest as if it could in theory be your last living obit.

Mike J

I know…I’m almost 68. I’m in the latter years on my runway of life in this body. But I have to write it on my blog this Labor Day morning….I loved everything about Lee Corso on Gameday.

He had me at hello in 1996 when he did his first headgear pick on ESPN’s Collgege Football Gameday.

This current generation which lap dogs the likes of Donald Trump, and for reasons which I simply cannot grasp…think Pat McAffee is the next big, new thing…I feel like I lost a generational football soulmate this past Saturday when LC correctly picked the Ohio State Buckeyes over the offensively enemic Texas Longhorns in Columbus.

• Suggestion to Sark…after the RRR in Dallas, it might be smart to turn Arch Manning loose with his feet. Just a thought.

MJ will sorely miss LC…for certain. And, of course, MJ cried.

LC was kind and he had a great sense of humor, but most of all….HE NEVER TOOK HIMSELF TOO SERIOUSLY and made sure the shows were entertaining and made sure college football fans everywhere smiled and maybe laughed at themselves from time to time.

The Bill Murray moment was probably my favorite Lee Corso moment of all-time But in reality…I loved all of them.

Pat McAffee, buddy, don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Take a few cues from Lee Corso would be my suggestion.

Lee Corso, THANK YOU.

Mike Jackson

MJ would say no.

Not because I think David Holt hasn’t done a good job as mayor of OKC, but more because I’m not even sure if he would be competitive outside of three counties in rogue red MAGA Trump Oklahoma which is probably the reddest overall state in the Union.

And let’s be candid, one which currently as a state ranks dead last in education in all fifty states.

There are seventy-seven counties in Oklahoma. In 74 of those counties, I think the people who vote in these rural jurisdictions in Oklahoma would have voted for Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and Putin even if the Dems had a moderate nominee like say maybe Mark Kelley from Arizona or Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania. I don’t think it was just a Kamala Harris thing. It goes deeper than that unfortunately in my view. I could be wrong on the Mark Kelly thing, he have had a chance in Oklahoma.

I hate to write in such a cynical tone on my blog, but I’ve been to all 77 counties at one time or another during my life, and what I would have to write is that while the people are nice for the most part, I think that the people in these 74 counties would vote for Trump over Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, LBJ, Bush 41 and Arkansas’s favorite son Bill Clinton as well. Probably even Dwight D Eisenhower from bordering Kansas.

I hate to write this as well, but I very much feel that throughout rural Oklahoma the color of one’s skin does in fact make a difference in these 74 couties at the ballot box. Truth hurts. Genuinely.

Let’s say this … let’s suppose Holt somehow got through a GOP primary and somehow became the nominee…Mike J would think at that point Trump and the MAGA hardcores like Steven Miller and such would put the money together to run a MAGA candidate of their own in the general election.

Remember this as well, Mick Cornett was a very successful Republican mayor in OKC as and got drubbed by newcomer Kevin Stitt in the 2020 GOP primary in Oklahoma. Why? Because Mick Cornett wouldn’t embrace Trump or the MAGA nonsense, while Stitt fully embraced Trump, and even did it a second time even after the historical disgrace of January 6th.

The only three counties in which I think Mayor Holt would resonate enough to even be competitive would be OKC-Oklahoma County, Tulsa-Tulsa County, and Norman-Cleveland County. The remaining 74 counties would view David Holt as a RHINO ( Republican in Name Only) of sorts even though he was Little Marco Rubio’s Oklahoma State Campaign Chair in 2020.

I like David Holt. We had a nice conversation once on a Sunday night flight from Denver back to OKC. I’m glad he’s OKC’s mayor. He’s done a solid job and has been a tremendous cheerleader for the city. If OKC isn’t the hottest city in the country, I would have to guess it’s close to being in the top eight in several categories.

So…my heartfelt advice to David Holt, don’t make the mistake Mick Cornett made. Oklahoma City-Oklahoma County is a complete cultural and political outlier from the rest of the state. I don’t even think you could win Cleveland or Tulsa Counties.

Keep your focus on this amazing purple city in the middle of Oklahoma which was the subject of Sam Anderson’s NY Times bestseller, and of course, the home of the current NBA champs… the OKC Thunder.

Take care and good luck.

Mike J

I’m going to come back later today or this evening to write this wonderful story up on my sometimes NBA blog. Yesterday was awesome not only for Tommy Fleetwood, but for the entire fandom of golf as Tommy finally got the PGA first win gorilla off his back.

I was crying at the end…I admit it. I’m so happy for this young man.

This was such a human story of never giving up on so many different emotional levels.

Tommy Fleetwod, bravo!!!!

——————————————–

• Additional thoughts: I just love what Tommy Fleetwood did this past week-end in Atlanta. This was a microcosm of life. I mean, this was more than the trophy, more than the money, this was about Tommy extricating the golf demons from his soul which had plagued him in his previous 163 PGA starts.
• Just several weeks previous at the St. Jude Classic, Tommy choked on a two stroke lead with three holes to play. That was his tournament to win, instead he didn’t even make the two-man playoff which consisted of Justin Rose and JJ Spaun. Ironically, his best friend on the tour, fellow Brit Justin Rose, won the tournament in sudden death.
• So here Tommy was again this past Sunday on the final round with a two shot lead with three holes to play with sharks like Scottie Sheffler, Patrick Cantolay, and the immensely over-rated (in my view) Keegan Bradley on the leaderboard. But Tommy set his mind and put his golf soul in place and found a way to get to the finish-line.
• This is life. This is pulling yourself up off the ground when you’ve been knocked down and been told you’re done. This is why we compete as human beings. This is why we don’t give up. Why we don’t surrender. To find that spot in our souls which helps us find spaces of faith, integrity, humility, empathy, and courage. Not to be overly dramatic…this is ‘somewhat’ like beating Stage 4 cancer with the grace of God and others after you’ve been told you might have a month to live.
• I would think moving forward at the age of 34, Tommy Fleetwood is going to be a very, very successful golfer in search of several major titles.
• Go get it, Tommy.
• Best regards, MJ

A little bit more from me on Nick Collison before I move to something else on Monday. Again, I love what Nick Collison stands for in today’s greed/me first culture in the NBA.

Nick was the Big 12 Player of the Year his last season at Kansas. He was a lottery pick by Seattle in the NBA draft. On a different team, with different needs, he could have carved out a role with better individual stats. But that’s not what Nick Collison was or is about.

What Nick is about is giving his team and organization the best chance of realizing its potential and winning. The real Thunder fan remembers the Nick/Harden two man game and how he helped James Harden settle into a more productive role in that special 2012 season.

The real fan knows how much Nick helped both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook become better, more mature NBA players. The real fans knows how he helped all of these young players conduct themselves as professional NBA athletes.

And, btw, to you Thunder fans who still hold a grudge against Kevin Durant…get over it. Both Kevin and Russell deserve to have their jerseys hung right there next Nick’s in the rafters. And if you’re that shallow and that stupid in regard to Kevin Durant—then I would suggest you’re not a real Thunder fan of any sort. You’re more what I would describe as a John Steinbeck/Grapes of Wrath Okie with an inferiority complex.

• And, yeah, btw, Mrs. Juanita Elijah had me read the Grapes of Wrath my junior year in her American Lit class. So MJ knows John Steinbeck and the Grapes of Wrath, plus Mice and Men, and East of Eden. Just saying. Don’t embarrass yourself with me on this with some pathetic post on my my private message board. Don’t go there with me.

Nick wrote a beautiful letter to the OKC fanbase following this summer’s NBA championship season expressing his feelings to the Thunder fanbase. It’s beautiful. I’m not going to post it on my blog because Nick works for the Thunder and in all honesty he probably doesn’t like some of the things I posted during all of the draconian tanking and premediated losing by his boss.

So I think it would possibly be disrespectable of me to post Nick’s heartfelt letter on my blog. I’m sure you can find it on the net following the amazing and always hard-hitting Little Nick Gallo.

Have a beautiful life, Nick Collison. You deserve it, buddy.

MJ

I want to get this on my blog before I get out of town. I’ve been meaning to do it several times and got distracted with all the things which have been going on with my life and cancer journey.

I didn’t put this in my Top 5 Championship Parade List, but if it’s not No. 5 for me, then it’s a very close No. 6 at the least.

I love Nick Collison.

I love the way he played the game, talked the game, and ultimately came back to OKC to help them win the champuonship he never quite won while as a player in Oklahoma City.

If I had a son who wanted to become a basketball player and an even better human being…I’d sit him down and say, ” Watch this guy. Observe how he respects the game, his teammates, his coaches, and the fanbase.”

If young Archie Davenport were my son…I’d say,”This is the dude to pattern yourself after as a man and a basketball player.”

That’s it pretty much. I’m glad Aaron Wiggins did this.

Thank you, Nick Collison.

MJ

As far as my favorite Billy Joel concert song goes….this one was hard to beat..especially if you’re sitting anywhere near the stage front, side, or back. I got to sit first row from the stage one time…and when Billy J ripped Big Shot….MJ was never the same.

As far as one of my favorite Billy Joel J songs to listen to in the wee dark hours…I would say Vienna has to be right there near the top.

When we get back from the Rockies…it will be a week of rain and seventy degree temperatures to set the tone for the OU football season.

As far as the Billy J- Elton John comparison—there is none. I’ve seen them in concert together… and Billy is the hoss. Period. Elton John is a fine piano player, but he just doesn’t compare to that Long Island hubris Billy brings to the stage.

Eternal peace. Enjoy the October-like weather next week.

MJ

No sports this week for me…except maybe a furtive glance at the Fed-Ex Championship leaderboard here and there. We’re going to be in Greenwood Village just south of Denver hanging out with the grandkids and the fam. If Shai can use use ‘fam’ then MJ needs to be using it more as well.

I love Billy J. He’s a tough Long Island kid who never tried to be something he isn’t, and I think his music reflects that point. I actually coached hockey with Mike McEwen who played for the Islanders, and McEwen swears on a stack of bibles he and Billy were tight. So tight in fact…. Billy played at Mike’s wedding to Miss Rhode Island (Diane) during the Islander’s glory years in the early ’80s. Small world.

I liked the fact each one of his new albums showed some nuanced change in the flow of his songs. He doesn’t really write music in the conventional method…it’s all done in bis head.

I’m not sure which Billy J song is a\my clearcut favorite…but there’s a possibility Only the Good Die Young could be it.

Or given the fact I’m a little bit Italian it could be this one below.. There’s so many great Bill J songs… its tough to even settle in on a Top 10, let alone– a definitive No. 1.

In fact, when Billy J and MJ were both young with plenty of hair…you could say we looked like brothers. I got that all the time in my younger days.

Anyway…I’m loving the music this week as I get refreshed for the start of the college football season.

Peace.

MJ