Just reeled off the first season of Seinfeld after taking Pauli out into the frozen tundra in search of Morris. Thank god that’s behind me. No snow or ice yet in Deer Creek.
I’m in the midst of my thirty-seventh day on my vegan regime. It’s going well. I’ve already lost seventeen pounds despite my wife. She’s supposed to be doing this with me but she’s gaining weight because she keeps cheating.
Now she’s sending me out into the elements to go buy her some chicken kievs at the seafood place on May Avenue.
I’ll do it for her, but none for me as I’m still Master of my Domain.
I’m getting my right knee replaced this October so I can be like Tom Brady again. My goal is to lose a total of forty pounds before the surgery in late October.
I’ll get there because I’m determined to show my two-year-old grandson a few things on the slopes next time we visit next snow season in Denver.
He made a couple of disparaging comments in regards to my movement range at the park in Bonnie Brae last time we were there.
What he will see from me on the slopes is my ass as it swooshes past him with relative ease. No mocking…just swooshing.
Back to Seinfeld.
Marlene the Cashier Episode
I love this episode from Season 2. This ending scene is symbolic to me because it reminds me of my departure from the Daily Thunder when I just couldn’t do it anymore because the content was just so incredibly soft and fluffy.
I know exactly what Marlene was trying to project in this scene. Been there. Done that. There comes as a point when as an artist you have to look yourself in the mirror and be proud of your work.
I’m almost through with Season 4. Snow is falling as I write at the Deer Creek ranch.
Well, it’s really, really cold out here at the Deer Creek fanboy ranch this morning. No precip as of yet but it’s coming.
I’d say windchill probably below zero already. I re-scheduled my appointment with my CPA this morning and then showed Pauli how I would like her to use the Pup Porta Potty I put in place for her in my wife’s plant utility room.
Pauli basically shook her head and said, “No. Mike….I’m not doing this. This is beneath me. Put your winter gear on and let’s look for the mountain lion before the ice storm gets here.”
I said, “What if we take you with us to the beach in Florida later this month instead?”
She shook her head and said ” Not a chance. The beach…yes. But let’s go… get your ass in gear and let’s find Morris.”
“Morris?”
“Yes, Mike. I named him Morris…like Morris the Cat. Connect the dots. I know you can do this, Mike.”
So… we’re heading out the door in search of Morris.
A brutal arctic front headed right for Deer Creek, Oklahoma. I’m not moving the next two days. This front could be life threatening. Pauli doesn’t know it yet but I’m setting her up with a Pup Porta Potty in my wife’s utility plant room.
This will go over big like when I caught the patio sofa on fire smoking a faux Cuban in forty mile per hour winds.
I love Frank Costanza. With each passing year I see more of Frank Costanza in me.
In this order my six favorite Seinfeld characters go… 1 Frank, 2 Elaine, 3 Kramer, 4 George , 5 Newman, and 6 Jerry.
Jerry just really never did all that much for me.
I’ve always wondered if rural Trump whites loved Seinfeld like I do or if Seinfeld is just primarily an urban thing.
I’d love to see that as a polling question on Smerconish sometime.
I’m guessing if you polled twenty thousand rural Trump whites…only 15 per cent would vote they were huge Seinfeld fans. I might send that one into Michael and see what he thinks. I’m guessing 85 per cent would be more entertained hanging a sitting vice-president or U.S Supreme Court Justice.
I’m going to binge watch Seinfeld and drink some wine tomorrow.
Be safe, be warm, and make sure you bring the dogs inside.
It’s like my good buddy Ferris Bueller once said, ” It’s how you spend a day off which ultimately defines you.”
Vince Lombardi once said, “Dancing is a contact activity, football is a collision activity with malice in mind towards anyone in possession of the football.”
This is what the mindset in Norman will have to evolve into if Brent Venables is going to successfully transform the somewhat soft culture which is OU football circa the 2021-22 football season into something SEC elite.
Not dirty football. Not targeting but tackling and contact with anyone in possession of the ball of anyone wearing an opposing jersey.
Very simple. This was going to have to occur with or without Caleb Williams.
That’s all I have to say at this juncture.
Hit the weight room and be ready to show in spring practice you want to be on the football field wearing one of those iconic interlocking OU jerseys.
This can’t be a shock to anyone. Caleb and his father originally came to OU to play for Lincoln Riley. If he were my son and he had this relationship of trust with a specific coach… then we would probably do what Caleb just decided to do.
I think the theatrics and leveraging the past five weeks with LSU, Georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin were a bit much. But it is what it is in the new age of NIL college football landscape.
But no angst for me with Caleb. I wish him the best because he has the opportunity to be a special talent who I hope to see play in the NFL at some point.
I think the PAC 12 is currently the weakest of the Power 5 football conferences, but for his path to the NFL it shouldn’t matter.
I would have been pissed if he’d bailed out before the Alamo Bowl game, but he didn’t do that. He stayed in Norman and helped his teammates thru the transition from Lincoln Riley to Bob Stoops to Brent Venables. The players who went with him to USC are all west coast guys so how can you blame them either? I don’t.
OU has a very capable quarterback in Dillion Gabriel for next season and Jeff Lebby has signed two really good quarterbacks for the future in Nick Evers and Jackson Arnold. I love a quarterback with a first name of Jackson…just saying. It’ll be difficult for me to get beyond that moving forward. I actually suggested to my son to name the grandson Jack Jackson, but to no avail.
The Sooners had a top ten 2022 recruiting class and already added some solid additions to the team for next season via the portal…especially on the defensive line, at linebacker, and in the secondary. Plus… on the offensive side of the ball the Sooners added a tight end and an offensive lineman. The Sooners should be fine at running back. Maybe another receiver in the portal would be nice.
I think the real challenge for OU moving forward is to keep getting better on the defensive side of the football. Look who just dethroned the Sooners from the Big 12 title. It wasn’t a high-flying high-octane offense…it was Dave Aranda’s stingy defense at Baylor with a power running game on the offensive side of the ball.
You know what Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, and even Caleb Williams never did? They never collectively won a national semi-final game in the College Football Playoff and odds are that’s not changing for OU until they can recruit physically elite players on the defensive side of ball.
To me that means on the defensive side of the ball you at the minimum need an elite interior lineman, an elite edge rusher, at a minimum one elite linebacker, an elite corner….and two very heady safeties who can tackle in space when needed.
In the pragmatic long run…I’m not thinking Caleb Williams leaving has that much effect on OU as they prepare to transition to the SEC. Georgia just won a national championship with a walk-on quarterback. In this age of SEC dominated football you have to be able to play complimentary football on both sides of the ball.
Looking forward right now without a crystal ball…I would go in the pre-season Big 12 …1 OU, 2 Baylor, 3 O State, and 4 Texas.
As far as Caleb…I wish him well. It’s a little soft what he’s doing, but not as soft as hooking up with Steph, Klay, and Draymond.
I think Caleb is an extremely articulate kid with the world in front of him. Plus, we beat Texas. Like in Casablanca…”We’ll always have Texas.”
Best wishes, Caleb. Hope to see you in the NFL at some point do what Joe Burrow just pulled off.
What a run for Joe Burrow and the Cincy Bengals. I feel better now about having compared the Bengal Triplets to Joe Montana, Roger Craig, and Jerry Rice. I was worried I might have gone over the top on that comparison, but I clearly feel good about having written such as I did.
Sometimes…I almost amaze myself on here.
Wow. I hope Sam Hinkie-Presti watched both the AFC and NFC Championship Games this weekend. Because it is clear to me Hinkie-Presti needs serious mentoring on how to make the Oklahoma City Thunder relevant minus Kevin Durant.
You draft smart. You draft studs who you know will be able to play at a certain level in two to three years. You don’t go scouring the Greek B League in search of physically emaciated Serbs.
You and your inner circle people pick men who can play at an elite level and are physically equipped to do as much.
I have no idea how I’m going to pick the Super Bowl just yet since the LA Rams for the second week in a row will be allowed to play at home, but for a few days I’m just going to savor what I just witnessed as a passionate NFL fan these past two weeks.
No hyperbole attached…since the days of Lombardi on the frozen tundra at Lambeau…I’ve never enjoyed the NFL Super Bowl Tournament as much as I’ve enjoyed this one.
These past two weeks have given us six games for the ages.
Nowhere to be see left standing are Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Patrick Mahomes.
I feel as if I’m witnessing art evolving in front of me as each page is being turned and the new Joe Montana is showing himself just as Tom Brady appears to be headed to retirement.
I just pray Hinkie-Presti and his sycophants beneath him are witnessing all of this so as they’ll be just a little smarter on how to rebuild a franchise beyond Portland taking Greg Oden.
I’ll write about the NFC Championship Game tomorrow since I need filler here on the blog since the Thunder might not win another game this season.
OU hung with No. 1 Auburn for thirty-one minutes, but Jabari Smith was just too much as the game wore on.
Jabari Smith is the smoothest player I’ve seen so far on the college level this season. When Bruce Pearl teams him with the seven-foot Walker Kessler they in my mind have the best front-line I’ve seen so far this basketball season. Their skill sets complement one another.
I think Baylor’s guards are better than what Auburn puts on the floor and Kentucky may have more overall roster talent, but Jabari Smith is my new No. 1 with Palo Banchero my new No. 2. This means Sam Presti will probably draft the gawky white kid from Gonzaga who might even take longer to develop than Poku.
Presti won’t take either one of these guys even if the Thunder hit the lottery. It’s not his style minus the drafting Kevin Durant. He wants to make a pick no one saw coming so he can be perceived as some sort of talent evaluator savant.
What I would say to that is…. Cole Aldrich, Mitch McGary, Jeremy Lamb, Alex Abrines, Terrance Ferguson, Josh Huestis, Darius Bazely, and Poku the Fabulous.
Presti will pick the gawky emaciated kid from Gonzaga…no doubt. He won’t take a player who can actually shoot a basketball. He must have signed some sort of pact with some basketball deity where he swore if the hoops gods gave him Kevin Durant he would never draft another basketball player who could actually shoot a basketball. Kind of like in the old movie…Damn Yankees. I think that movie starred William Demerest if my old mind remembers correctly.
OU never had a real chance in this game because of Auburn’s defensive presence at the rim. There were no easy OU baskets on back cuts which usually lead to somewhat easy buckets. OU usually shoots around fifty percent from the field, but in this game there were no easy looks. Every bucket was a tall order…excuse the pun.
Next up for OU…another Season on the Brink type of game for the Sooners when they host pesky TCU which beat ranked LSU today in the Big 12-SEC challenge.
The SEC was the better hoops league today. I’m thinking that might reduce the Big 12’s number of teams to either six for sure or maybe seven. We’ll see.
Keep an eye on my Cinderella sleeper in Texas Tech. I love how Mark Adams has the Red Raiders turning into what I think is a Top 8 type of team right now. I think the Red Raiders are much more dangerous than Chris Beard’s Longhorns. I thought OU should have beaten Kansas…so in my mind the two best teams in the Big 12 right now are Texas Tech and Baylor.
In closing…if anyone spots EJ Harkless roaming the streets of Norman on Sunday please call Porter Moser so he’ll know where his toughest player was the past week.
This game had multiple elements attached as to why the Oklahoma City Thunder are the worst team in the NBA currently. It’s like watching something between the Bad News Bears and a really bad car crash on the interstate.
If ever a game illustrated the current plight of non-legitimate NBA basketball in Oklahoma City this was the game. This game showed why the Thunder may very well still be two-to three years away from being where the Memphis Grizzlies were two years ago.
To add salt to the wound, it was former Thunder youngster Domas Sabonis who tormented the childlike Thunder from start to finish in amassing a triple double and clearly showing himself to be the best player on the floor.
Not even close.
Sabonis tossed the frail OKC youngsters around like Alabama does when they play a Big 12 football team in a meaningful playoff game. I hope for Rick Carlisle’s sake Sabonis stays in Indiana because lest we forget it was Dirk who blossomed into a world brand with Rick Carlisle as his coach.
Those were the Thunder glory days post Kevin Durant weren’t they? When trade-aholic Sam Presti acquired Sabonis, Oladipo, and Ilyasova…with Ilyasova later being conveyed into Jeremy Grant. What could have been frontline-wise for the Thunder? I wonder if Matt Pinto would ever contemplate saying something like this on a Thunder telecast? Doubt it.
But not to fret Thunder fans, like Jack with the Beanstalk…Sam Presti conveyed that one really good trade he made into the all-time NBA record for protected first round picks and a litany of second round picks. Plus, the big fat guy without a shirt is still under the basket at one end of the court. The Thunder kept him…. but not Domas Sabonis.
As far as tanking excellence goes this might have been the greatest loss yet this season acquired by the pathetic Thunder as they not only blew a sixteen-point lead in regulation, but then went on to find a way to choke a six-point lead in the last two minutes of overtime.
It was painful to observe. Lu Dort had the ball stolen on one key possession and then on the game’s biggest play Darius Bazely declined a dunk and made a pass which led to a comedy of errors under the Pacer basket.
It was difficult to observe. As a human you wanted to walk out there on the court and put your arms around them and promise them this will all be over in thirty-four games and as a Little League parent you’ll never make them play in the open division ever again.
But still…the illusion of the tank keeps the Operation Bongo zombies aglow in Oklahoma City. That fervent hope that all of this will lead to the Thunder somehow landing Jabari Smith or Paolo Banchero this summer in the NBA’s draft.
I wonder to myself how closely Sam Anderson follows all of what is happening with the Thunder nowadays? I wonder if there’s a sequel to Boomtown somewhere down the road?
It would have to be an extremely black comedy at this point…but you never know. Portland did take Greg Oden.
As far as the Thunder’s death march…the Thunder now stand at 14-34 just a hair out of last place in the West. If you go back to December 23rd the Thunder have now lost 15 out of their last 18 games and are now losers of seven straight games. The Thunder are 1-12 in January and Shai might very well be injured after turning his ankle in this loss to Indiana.
As far as the Thunder Tank Death March… it doesn’t get any better.
Can’t wait to see OU vs. Auburn in tomorrow’s Big 12 – SEC Challenge. Porter Moser and his Sooners will have a severe test on their hands inside of what should be a packed gym at Auburn.
Auburn is the current No. 1 team in America with Gonzaga at No. 2. This should be a great opportunity for Thunder fans to see Jabari’s game and at the same time get a rare glimpse of what it looks like when two teams are both trying to win a game.
I’m a little torn right now to be honest. Part of me would pick Banchero, the other part of me is starting to really like Jabbari Smith’s game.
This should be an entertaining game to watch. OU isn’t a Top 10 team, but they compete. I haven’t seen them back down from anybody. In only one game so far this year have the Sooners not been in a position to win in the last six minutes of the game. That was at Texas…and that was just one of those nights they couldn’t get anything going.
It will be interesting to see if EJ Harkless is back out on the court assigned to guard Jabari. EJ had to take Cade Cunningham twice last year and did a very solid job in the second Bedlam game.
I like Auburn hoops. Since Bruce Pearl took the job the Tigers in essence have become a much better hoops school than a SEC football power. I expect a ton of energy in that building tomorrow.
My take is if OU can keep its turnover demons in check and stay under 14 turnovers…they might have a chance. This is the fourth time this season OU will be playing against the No. 1 in the country…so they know what’s in front of them tomorrow.
OU has to value the ball and hit some threes to have a chance.
Hopefully… masochistic Thunder fans will watch the game and take a break from their March of the Penguins death march and check out Jabari in the process.
It’s so embarrassing having to admit I’m a citizen of the same country as Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson or Ted Cruz. It really is.
The bar is set so low as far the Fox Entertainment Network … I feel the need to help out just a bit.
This won’t take long. I’ll make it brief.
In 1981, Ronald Reagan, the father of the red caps that these Trump people still wear said he would nominate a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court and did so with his nomination of Sandra Day O’ Connor.
Later in Reagan’s first term… he said he would nominate Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court because it would be crossing a barrier of sorts placing an Italian American on the Court.
In Bush 41’s only presidential term he said publicly he would like to nominate an African American to the bench since the departure from the Court of Thurgood Marshall as the only previous black member on the Supreme Court.
As recently as 2016, Donald Trump, the original pussy grabber and confidante of Billy Bush, said he would like to nominate a conservative woman to the bench. Thus…the nomination of Amy Coney-Barrett to the Court. I feel almost certain that’s one woman he didn’t ask to go furniture store shopping with him during the throes of a lonely night.
So today when Joe Biden announced he was going to nominate an African American woman to the Court…I found the outrage from the Trump Usual Suspects a bit amusing.
To me…the Supreme Court should be a human montage of qualified judges regardless of race or gender. But at the same time you want the Court to reflect to the mixture of people in our country.
But don’t put all the blame on Joe Biden and James Clyburn for this because all they did was follow the precedents of Reagan, Bush 41, and Donald Trump who all made previous Affirmative Action nominations to the Supreme Court.
If you want to tell me Sandar Day O’Conner, Clarence Thomas, and Amy Coney-Barrett were the most qualified jurists then you need to spend some time reading their judicial resumes.
If I have this wrong, then please explain to me how I have it wrong. I’m a Libra and always fair at the end of the day.
I’d love to hear your legal nuance on why one is something while the other isn’t.
You never heard a word from me on my blog previously pertaining to Trump’s three supreme court nominations and you’re really not hearing one now. You know why? Because when a party wins a presidential election with it come the fruits of nominating Supreme Court justices.
So I was little stunned today hearing the outrage from the right voicing their concerns to qualified judges being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in relation to race and gender.
I’m additionally embarrassed for Nikki Haley. I will no longer take Nikki Haley seriously as someone who should someday be POTUS.
How sad. Her reference to Tim Scott was laughable at best.
I guess these people think Joe Biden and James Clyburn should feel compelled to nominate Ann Coulter or Sarah Palin to the Court.