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Sam Presti has his little saying he shares with the passive submissive Oklahoma sissy-boy scribes who attend his annual State of the Thunder address.

It goes like this:

“Scared money, don’t make none.”

In the world of big-time pro sports…I would agree with him.

“Scared money, don’t win championships, either.”

And that’s why the Oklahoma City Thunder are never going to win a championship and the LA Rams just won a Super Bowl.

Cooper Kupp won the MVP, which I don’t have a problem with because he just had the best ever season by a wide receiver in the history of the NFL. Period. Jerry Rice was great, but what Cooper did this football season will be one of those records you can’t ignore. So, I think it’s cool he had this moment.

But long story short, it’s hard to win a Super Bowl when your quarterback is a decision-making liability trainwreck. Ask LeBron and Anthony Davis how they feel about that statement.

Ask yourself this… “Does Jared Goff make all those passes on that last drive to win a Super Bowl?”

Or ask the 49’er players if they think they can win a Super Bowl with Jimmy G?

As I wrote in my Super Bowl preview…the Rams knew their window with Aaron Donald was closing. The Rams didn’t go out and acquire Randy Foye, Dion Waiters, and Anthony Morrow to win Aaron Donald that imaginary ring he immediately pointed to on his on finger as time expired in So-Fi Stadium.

No. No… and no.

The Rams listened to Sam Presti and said to themselves…”Scared money don’t make none.”

That’s what they did, pure and simple.

They traded Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford. They acquired Soni Michell. They acquired Von Miller who recruited Odell Beckham-Junior and it all came together just right.

The Bengals will be kicking themselves for losing this game. They led almost the entire second half. It was their game, but when push came to shove… they couldn’t make the winning plays at closing time.

Zac Taylor is a young coach and I think he got exposed in the second half kind of like Sean McVay did in his first Super Bowl where he got beat by Bill Belichick.

He kind of lost himself in the second half. Didn’t stay with Joe Mixon and the run game which was gashing the Rams and thus giving Joe Burrow time enough to throw.

Stat of the game, easy…when the Bengals stayed committed to the run Joe Burrow was sacked but one time in the first half. When they strayed from the run…Aaron Donald and Company teed off on Joe Burrow sacking him six times in the second half. A Super Bowl record of seven sacks in total.

When the Bengal coaches watch the film in that second-half they’ll kick themselves for what could have been.

It was their game, but they didn’t close. Didn’t ring the bell.

Sure…they’re young, but getting back to the Super Bowl won’t be easy with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Derek Carr with possibly a good quarterback moving to Denver.

Just because you have a young team doesn’t mean it’s an automatic you get back to a Super Bowl.

In the age of collective bargaining, NFL dynasties minus Tom Brady, aren’t an easy thing to maintain.

Ask Sam Presti…his Thunder team never got back to the NBA Finals after the 2012-13 season. Chances are they won’t ever again in my lifetime.

And you know why?

I can tell you why…just how I told you what it would feel like for the Lindsey Grahams and Ted Cruzes of the world to feel between Liz Cheney’s legs.

Sam Presti…if you’re reading…here we go.

Here’s the answer…. “Scared money don’t make none or win championships, either.”

If you’re scared… then move the team to either Seattle or Las Vegas.

The end.

Vegas clearly loves the Rams in this game. But my heart is with Joe Mixon, Samaji Perrine and Zac Taylor. The Bengals entered the season as the third highest Vegas longshot to reach this Super Bowl.

You’ve come too far to not close the deal even if you are a road Vegas 4.5 underdog.

This country could use something special right.

Find a way. Do it.

LET’S GO BENGALS!!!!!

I’m pretty sure at some point during the telecast later today we’ll see Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams cavorting on the Rams’ sideline both wearing USC gear.

I would guess USC’s most influential booster may even be playing in the halftime show.

West Texas Crude should be trending near $125 a barrel after this Ukraine invasion gets going. Hunter Biden playing oil long you would think…same with Donald Trump Jr. I’m guessing if Caleb had played his hand a little better…Joe C would have doubled what Dr. Dre had on the table.

You have to think though if Putin goes all the way to Kiev…oil will crest beyond the $150 a barrel benchmark. This could be Hunter Biden’s best month since he was on the Board at Burisma. Just thinking out loud to myself.

Caleb was a lot like Sam Presti the way he didn’t monetize those Thunder TPEs at the trade deadline.

From a pure greed standpoint…I wonder if Caleb realizes he and his father left three or four million on the table.

It’s always about value at the end of the day. Why do you think Jim Knowles is at Ohio State instead of being there for Mullet King? It’s always about value. As in always.

I wonder how Chris Jackson would react if I sent him a text saying, Trending… Dillion Gabriel to leave OU through portal to become Caleb Williams’ backup at USC.

Nah.

You know…at the end of the day what Lincoln did from a self- preservation standpoint was prescient. He’ll monetize his salary at around $12 million a year. Probably claim dual residence in Oklahoma and try to pay Oklahoma state income rates if he can pull that off. He won’t be under the gun to potentially be fired at OU like he was going to be with a paltry $4 million dollar buyout. Plus, he’ll have a veritable bye to the College Football Playoff playing in the softest Power 5 conference.

Can you really blame him at the end of the day?

Plus…California vs. Oklahoma with that kind of income…are you kidding?

This is a must watch video for Sam Presti. I wish he would have had someone take him aside before Kevin Durant’s free agency season and eventual escape from Oklahoma and made Presti come to terms with what he should have at least tried to do in the summer of 2015.

This is what you do as a GM with a talented game changer star with a closing window…or at least try to do.

So what did the LA Rams and Sean McVay do this off season? I would say what the Rams did was come to the realization their window with Aaron Donald, perhaps the best player in the NFL, was closing.

Sean McVay came to the realization he wasn’t going to win a Super Bowl with Jared Goff as his quarterback.

He then pulled off the trade which brought Matthew Stafford to LA to team up with perhaps the best receiver in the NFL in Cooper Kupp.

He acquired a second quality running back in in Sony Michell.

He saved Odell Beckham-Junior from the Cleveland Browns trainwreck of a season and restored OBJ’s brand as game changing wide receiver.

He then put the finishing touches on his rebuild by acquiring former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller to be an elite edge rusher paired with Aaron Donald.

What did Sam Presti do in front of the 2016 season?

He hired Billy Donovan away from the Florida Gators and acquired a washed-up Randy Foye to be his bench catalyst scorer off the bench.

Interesting. You think Jerry West and Bob Myer’s were licking their chops much?

The Rams later today are a Vegas 4.5 home favorite unless the game is postponed due to the Truckers for Trump zealots paralyzing the LA highways leading into So-Fi Stadium.

How quaint these Adorables are at every level of human existence. Perhaps some of the Proud Boy-Oath Keepers on military payrolls, pensions, and Social Security should fly to the Ukraine border and volunteer for the imminent invasion which we hope doesn’t occur during halftime of the Super Bowl.

We shouldn’t be shocked if in following their modus operandi on January 6th, circa 2021 they stop their tanks periodically to pee and shit all over the Ukranian countryside just like they did in D.C. Kiev…get ready, just saying. These people love to pee and shit on everything within their bodily function range.

So to me the key to this game is very simple. LA has a tremendous defensive line which did not allow San Franciso to ever get anything going with their ground game in the NFC Championship Game.

But Joey Burrow isn’t Jimmy G and that gives hope to the Bengals.

But the fact remains Joe Burrow was sacked more than any NFL quarterback this NFL season.

From my view the Bengals will have to do this to win the game…they’ll have to utilize both running backs in Joe Mixon and Samaj Perrine on a multitude of creative screens, bubbles, and wheelhouse routes to keep the Rams front seven off-balance. You would think Ram corner Jalen Ramsey has been dreaming of the challenge to shut down Ja’Mar Chase and solidify his status as the best lockdown corner in the league.

My heart is with Bengals, but my head says take the Rams.

I hope Walter the Cat is somehow in a Budweiser ad with the Clydesdales.

Matthew Stafford…this should be your One Shining Moment, buddy.

Lots of storylines for tomorrow’s Super Bowl Championship Game in Los Angeles.

Matthew Stafford. Aaron Donald. Odell-Beckam Junior. Von Miller. Cooper Cupp. Sean McVay. That’s just on the Rams’ side of the field.

On the other side of the field there’s Joe Burrow, Lamar Chase, Zac Taylor, and former OU running back Joe Mixon.

Sports are a microcosm of real life whether you want to admit it or not.

Joe Mixon made a horrible judgement on the night of this incident which occurred in a Norman bar on the very night Joe Mixon as a true freshman turned nineteen years of age.

He was a kid from Oakland who came from a single parent home who was raised by his mother.

If you’ve seen the video you know if was horrible to witness. A young white woman and a male friend approached the table where Joe and another true freshman from Chicago were sitting at a booth. The woman and the male said something to Joe Mixon and he rose up and struck her with a blow from his fist.

Did this woman call Joe Mixon a nigger?

I don’t know. Probably. But that doesn’t legally justify what Joe Mixon did on that night of his nineteenth birthday.

His lawyer smartly plead Joe guilty and utilized a seldom used Alford Plea to keep Joe from possibly serving time. I believe he was put on probation, required to serve a hundred hours of community service, and go through counseling.

He was removed from all contact from the OU football team and was told if he addressed these requirements, he possibly come back and play football for Bob Stoops at OU.

I’m sure there was some sort of civil settlement agreed to by both parties, but I’m sure that remained confidential as part of the settlement.

My father was a criminal defense lawyer. One of the best during his prime in Oklahoma County.

Would he have taken Joe Mixon’s case? I would say absolutely because sometimes as a defense lawyer you have a chance to help a client find their own personal redemption beyond just the legalese trappings of a courtroom. You have a chance to make a positive impact on another human being’s life.

Joe Mixon returned to OU to play for Bob Stoops. His mother did not want him to return to Oakland because she wanted her son as far away from gang violence as possible. Both she and Joe were adamant that Joe staying with Bob Stoops was the best possible life decision they could make as a mother and son.

Clearly, they made the right decision.

While the game in Los Angeles tomorrow holds many fascinating storylines…the one which will be tugging at my heart the most will be Joe Mixon.

I hope he has found peace within himself.

Good luck, Joe Mixon.

I’m getting ready to shift over to my Super Bowl coverage for the next two days and then have a Black History Day before we head off to Florida for a winter mini-break.

You know, I’ve been tough on Donald Trump and his followers on my blog. I haven’t been nearly the good Christian like they pretend to be.

So in an effort to be balanced and fair towards Donald Trump and his fervent followers across the country…I’d like to write something positive about Big Orange.

So here it is:

‘At least Donald Trump isn’t the completely worthless piece of dogshit which goes by the name of Ted Cruz’.

There you got it…some fair and balanced Trump coverage on my blog.

Have a fantastic Super Bowl Sunday.

GO JOE BURROW!

So….here we sit just a little over a year after the failed overthrow of America’s democratic nation with well over 100,000 thousand Russian troops spaced along Ukraine’s border awaiting the command to invade the democratic nation of Ukraine.

I wonder what thoughts are running through Mike Pence’s mind right now given his two sons are both Marine fighter pilots if memory serves me correct. I wonder if he in his mind questions whether America would be at this juncture today if simply… he, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsey Graham had collectively in unison done the right thing six weeks after the courts declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

This is why from a historical standpoint by real historians not named Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity those six-weeks leading up to the January 6th insurrection will be viewed as the darkest six weeks in American history bar none…. even darker than the Insurrection itself or even the Civil War.

Who amongst us who can read should be surprised by not only Putin’s new-found swagger, but that of China as well.

Did the Trump people not think the entire world was watching with rapt interest on January 6th, 2021? I mean… is this really a solving the DaVinci Code moment for the Trump zealots?

Of course…they wouldn’t know because their ‘man’ avoided military service because of bunions. They also wouldn’t understand because their ‘man’ openly referred to people in the military. as suckers and losers.

I can’t help but think of my late father-in-law this morning who was a Bird Colonel in the United States Air Force. A squadron commander who served this nation with a sense of patriotic pride during the Cold War and up until the fall of the Soviet Union.

A Bird Colonel means he was one promotion away from becoming a Brigadier One-Star General. An impressive guy who graduated from the University of Indiana with an engineering degree and a love of Bob Knight’s Hoosiers.

The first time he opened his mouth about Bobby Knight he had me at the third word after, “Hello, Michael.”

A relatively quiet person, but a man with a razor-sharp wit when he felt the need to use it.

That’s how my wife came to fall in love with Auburn because Richard was assigned to attend the War College in Montgomery.

His very premature death occurred just into retirement when the single engine hobby plane he was flying went down near the Iowa-Nebraska border. My wife’s folks had retired in Bellevue, Nebraska because during the Cold War that’s where the Air Force head-quartered its Strategic Air Command or SAC as it was then called. They wanted to be near all of their close friends from the Air Force.

I’ll never forget his Memorial service at a church in Omaha. It was held on a dark, gloomy rainy day. His entire former squadron attended in uniform just like in the final scene in White Christmas.

Service, duty, honor…country.

In the sports vernacular…he was a players’ coach. His men loved him.

I loved him and to this day respect what he stood for as a man. I never told him, but in his own quiet way he helped me come to understand what it means to be an American…. and quite frankly a man. To this day…I have no idea what Richard thought about certain political issues, but I know this…. he loved his family, his country, and the Air Force.

If Richard were here with us today, I’d ask him, “What do you think is going to happen?”

He’d take a deep draw from his pipe and say, “I’m not sure. Our country has changed so much in the past six years. I really don’t know. But we should be praying for the brave young men and women who are over there trying to do the right thing.”

Perhaps, this week-end…Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsey Graham will start doing the same.

I actually watched about thirty minutes of this game tonight in Philly. It was of course the fourth loss in a row, but from the glass half full big picture take…I thought it was one of the best nights of the season for the Thunder and their future heading into next season.

I thought Poku was really good. I’m not just talking about stats. He didn’t play scared. He seems to have found himself a little as to what he can be as a player in the NBA.

I loved what he did out there. He didn’t stand in concrete like a pylon.

It was beautiful to watch. He ran the floor in transition with a joy for the game I haven’t seen from him in a game against a good team. Again…he didn’t play scared …as in scared of himself. There was an inner confidence in what he did out there. You could visualize what he could be as a hybrid forward moving into next season as a rotational piece for the Thunder.

I don’t even know if the term hybrid forward is used in the NBA vernacular, if not, I just created it. But what I saw out there was guy who could be a three or a four or even a five in small ball depending on the game situation.

It was like watching the clumsy ugly duckling transform into a swan.

The Thunder dropped to 17-38 which is good with twenty-seven games left, but this was big if Poku can incrementally build on this in the remaining games of the Big Tank Part Two.

Would I still trade him to Golden State if I could get Johhny Kuminga in return?

Sure, I would because I think Johnny Kuminga has a chance to be a transformational player if things go right for him in Oakland.

But this was one of those moments in the rebuild you might want to date and circle.

I don’t know what kind of music Poku likes, but I’m going to sleep with a smile on my face and a song on my heart. Good for Poku.

I wonder if the first thing he did with some of his contract money was buy one of those Urban Cowboy fake tough guy Ford pickup trucks like the frilly gringos do out here in Edmond. I can just see him bobbing his head to Blake Shelton with the windows down heading to the practice facility.

Bless his heart.

I’m getting where I get some good questions on my private box here at the blog and I’d like to start featuring one a week since we’re one football game away from the end of football for six months.

Twitter is something I would never consider. I’d kill it on Twitter, but my greatest fear is that as a grandfather I’m too old to become President of the United States. God made me for Twitter, but I’m too old for that at this juncture.

Message board? Not a chance. I did that once with a hockey site I had and I ended up getting death threats from multiple Edmond hockey mothers. Maybe the lowest point in my adult life. Been there. Done that. I’d rather have cancer than a message board.

So I’d like to feature a question each week as we begin to head into the goal achieving portion of the basketball season.

My first question is from Sondra in Malibu:

Mike,

Love the blog. I can’t believe someone like you actually lives in Oklahoma. Don’t ever change the way you blog.

I’m a huge Laker fan. What do we do with Russell Westbrook? Any suggestions?

Sondra,

Thanks for reading the blog and the extremely kind comments.

Whew…what a question. Other than having Russell either murdered or kidnapped and held in private captivity till the end of the season…there’s not a great deal GM Rob Pelinka or coach Frank Vogel can do at this point.

No one in the league is going to touch that absurd contract of Russell’s. This is how absurd that contract is…Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams could both help the Lakers. Off the top of my head trying to remember what year Russell’s contract is in… Lu and Kenrich make a combined $40 million less than Russell. If that isn’t an indictment on Sam Presti’s decision making then I don’t know what is.

If Russell isn’t going to listen to LeBron….I don’t know what else to write. Maybe Jack Nicholson could have a talk with him. I don’t know. And even if the Lakers hypothetically murdered Russell then they’d still have to pay off the contract plus punitive damages from a wrongful death civil lawsuit.

So I guess my advice is …write off this season and hope the Rams win on Sunday and hope the baseball strike gets resolved so you can attend Dodger games this summer.

Take care.

I don’t know what else to write on here to you Trump fake tough guys.

You have your fake Urban Cowboy fake tough pick-up trucks. You have your fake Kyle Rittenhouse fake tough guy AK-47 assault rifle kits. You have all the bluster of your fake tough guy leader …the one with the little fake tough guy hands smaller than Walter the Cat’s tiny little paws.

You have it all…that’s for certain.

One last suggestion and then I’m giving up on you.

Do me a favor and take your hands and feel between Liz Cheney’s legs sometime.

This isn’t sexual perversion on my point. Please take a long deliberate feel between Liz Cheney’s legs.

Did you feel it?

That’s what it feels like when you have a set of balls.

The end.