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General, Oklahoma City Thunder, Oklahoma Sooners

Weekly Wrap

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap where we dissect recent happenings across the local sports scene and generally whatever is on our minds. Look for the Weekly Wrap published every Friday.

• On Wednesday, the Thunder continued their streak of taking care of business against another elite Western conference foe after dropping a game earlier in the week yet again to the desperate Suns. I'm going to take the positive spin on this one and say the Thunder are in good shape heading into the playoffs having defeated the 1-seed Spurs and 3-seed Clippers in consecutive weeks. Dropping close games to teams fighting for the final playoff spot should not be overly examined. One thing that does not make me all warm and fuzzy inside is the likelihood over the Thunder's first round match-ups. Currently OKC is slated to face Phoenix in the first round. Yesterday it was Dallas until they dropped a game to the Spurs last night. Neither Dallas or Phoenix are great match-ups for OKC. Not that I'm concerned with losing a seven game series to either team, but I'm not terribly keen on the idea of being pushed to the brink in the first round.

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• So KD's streak came to an end this week as well. Durant had 23 points though three quarters of play on Tuesday, but elected to sit the entire fourth quarter and let yet another streak die out. Earlier in the week he was quoted as saying "I wish it was over" (via Darnell Mayberry​). It looks pretty obvious that Durant wanted to break Jordan's streak and then end it. It was becoming a beatdown answering the same questions about the streak night in and night out and KD was ready to focus on the playoffs and not the streak. Would it have been cool for Durant to finish out the regular season with the streak alive and pass Oscar Robinson for second all-time only behind Wilt? Sure, but it was the smart move casually letting the streak end on Tuesday. Everyone knows it could still be going, but now the Thunder can focus squarely on the playoffs and not be bothered with anymore questions about "the streak."

• UCONN's men and women's teams each took home a college basketball championship this week. An impressive feat, no doubt, but this was the second time it's happened in the last 10 years. I'd do a little more research if I wasn't so lazy, but I can't remember any one school ever accomplishing the feat even once before (including my vast knowledge of women's basketball history) and UCONN has now done it twice? Holy cow. I knew the women's team has been dominant for some time, but it surprised me a bit to learn that the men's team has won the championship four times in the last 15 years, more than any other school. Serious props to UCONN. Caleb Hixon had a solid write-up this week wondering which team's run was more impressive this year.

• Mark Schlabach details how Oklahoma QB Trevor Knight grew up a Longhorn fan and dreamed of one day playing in Austin. As it turned out, Knight never even made an official visit to Texas and eventually ended up in Norman. Chalk up another recruiting homerun for Mack!

• Oh yeah, Oklahoma's spring game is tomorrow. If things like spring game's interest you, Brandon Chatmon has a nice little preview of the game and what to watch for. You'll have to forgive me in advance for my lack of interest.

• The Net's completed a season sweep of the Heat on Tuesday night. The game ended with the Heat down one and LeBron going up for the game winner at the rim only to be denied by…Mason Plumlee? Feel free to watch the replay over and over and see LeBron flail about like a child demanding a foul. Sorry, King James, it was a clean block and oh so satisfying to watch.

• According to a panel of ESPN voters, the MVP race is over. This has been more or less a foregone conclusion since somewhere around January. While most would still consider LeBron the "best player" in the league, if KD collects a scoring title, MVP, and NBA championship this year? Watch out. A big "if" on that last point though, I know.

• The Master's is being played this weekend and will likely be watched and obsesses over by many a golf fans. With Tiger not in the field, I'm sure there will be a bit of drop off in casual fan interest, but it should still be an interesting tournament. Schedule me for an hour or two on Sunday afternoon to catch the end.

Photo by Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
General

Year of the Husky

This year in college basketball, men's and women's alike, belongs to the University of Connecticut. 

This year, UCONN will have the pleasure of raising not only one, but two championship banners. Undoubtedly Husky fans every where are riding on cloud 9 right now. With the Lady Huskies going 40-0 and the men's team winning as a 7 seed, an interesting question is posed…

Which accomplishment is more impressive?

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Your initial, knee-jerk reaction, like mine, is probably "Well duh, the men's team is more impressive because women's sports is a joke." Not so fast my friend! While I may not completely disagree with you on how laughable women's sports may or may not be, that's not the question and you can't deny that going 40-0 in any sport is impressive! Personal opinion aside about women's sports, going undefeated is no small feat.

Let's take a closer look, starting with the Lady Huskies. After all, ladies first, right? Have you ever been a part of an undefeated team, at any level? I haven't. And few can say that they have because going undefeated is hard! Yet this group of women managed to reel off 40 straight victories, including a tournament title against another undefeated team. The last men's team to go undefeated and win a tournament title was Bobby Knight's 1976 Indiana Hoosier's and that was nearly 40 years ago. The only team in the NFL who's gone undefeated is the 1974 Miami Dolphins (thanks to Eli Manning and co.). No other team has come close to an undefeated season in the MLB, NBA, MLS, WNBA, PBA, PGA or WCP (can you go undefeated in poker?). So let's pump the brakes before we just dismiss the Lady Huskies right off the bat.

Am I arguing then that the women's team had the more impressive accomplishment? Not exactly. Not yet, at least.

The men's team's resume is just as impressive becoming the first team ever to win a tournament title as a #7 seed. Only the 1984 Villanova Wildcats have a tournament title to their name as a lower seed (8 seed) and further more, no #7 seed has ever even made it to the Final Four let alone the championship game. The Huskies weren't a product of upsets either. Their road to the championship game was as hard, if not harder, than any other. In order, the Huskies took down a #2 seed, #3 seed, the tournament darling #4 seed (Mich St) and then the #1 overall seed (Florida). Coming into the championship game, UCONN faced arguably the hottest team in the tournament, Kentucky. Even before the game the "experts" on the pregame show unanimously picked UK to win (maybe simply hoping that a certain young man wouldn't have to regret said tattoo forever). None of this, however, affected the Huskies as they came in and took care of business solidifying themselves as one of the greatest tournament performances ever.

So, which accomplishment is greater? Well, as impressive as it is to go undefeated in any sport, as I mentioned earlier, it seems to happen about every third year in women's college basketball. In fact, 7 out of the last 20 years in women's college basketball has ended with an undefeated team winning it all. And yes, 40-0 is a huge win streak, but doesn't seem quite as impressive when you consider that just three years ago the same Lady Huskies program had a 90-0 streak. And again, as I stated before, this is the first men's 7 seed to win a championship with Villanova being the only team to win it as a lower seed in '84.

You combine that with the road the Huskies went through to even make it to the championship game and this one is a no brainer. The men's team hands down had the most impressive accomplishment. Either way, it's a great time to be a Husky fan.

Photo by Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
General

Opening Day: Texas Rangers Edition

"Gene Tenace at the plate… WHHHAMMY!!!"

Ahhhh, the smell of freshly cut grass, the crack of the bat echoing through parks and the timeless quotes of Champ Kind from Anchorman means one thing: Baseball's back.

Opening Day for Major League Baseball has come and gone and with it came the renewed hope of many baseball fans. With MLB's long and grueling schedule, opening day ushers in a feeling among many baseball fans of, "maybe this is our year!" before getting crushed somewhere in the dog days of July.

Each season has its own story lines, plot twists and surprises. This season is no exception for the Rangers and the American League West. How will the Rangers stack up against the competition? Can they earn a playoff berth after missing the playoffs for the first time in four years? Will they beat out the A's this year?

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Maybe you're not a Texas Rangers fan, but you can't deny the fact that the AL West this year will be one of the most compelling story lines to watch. The Rangers, Oakland A's and L.A. Angel's all have a legitimate shot at a Wild Card spot, if not divisional crown. Sorry Mariners fans, but you're going to need more than Robinson Cano to give you a real chance. Maybe you could sign Russell Wilso… oh wait, the Rangers already did. Sorry.

FiveThirtyEight.com, an analytics site, has the Rangers with the best chance to win their division, but not by much. They project the Rangers to win 87.2 games, the A's 86.9 and the Angels 84.9. As you can see, the margin between these teams is razor thin.

And Houston? Doc Holliday said it best, "Why [Astros]… I forgot you was there. You may go now." I think that about sums it up.

This year the Rangers come into the season with quite a few new faces, some lingering injuries, pitching questions and the burden of proof that trading Ian Kinsler was the right move. With such a tough division, Ron Washington has his hands full this year.

The addition of Prince Fielder's big bat will no doubt help with the Rangers' offense, but there are still major questions in the pitching rotation. With a number of potential starters rehabbing injuries, Texas is left with a starting line up of pitchers no one could have projected. The best we can hope for is that they hold on, don't get smashed (allowing 14 runs in the home opener, for example) until we can get everyone healthy.

The injury bug has effected the Rangers in years past and we're seeing it already this year. Not only do we need our pitchers to get healthy, young star Jurickson Profar is out for another 10 to 12 weeks with a torn muscle in his shoulder. Profar is the reason we let Ian Kinsler walk and now he's hurt. We can only hope that the Rangers are able to get these players healthy and back in the line-up if they are to have any chance at keeping up with the Angels or the A's. But maybe if we can get the injuries out of the way early, we'll be healthy for a October run? One can only hope.

My projection: this year is going to be a race to 90 wins. Whoever can get there first will take the division. GO RANGERS!

Photo courtesy: ESPN
General, Oklahoma City Thunder, Oklahoma Sooners

Weekly Wrap

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap where we dissect recent happenings across the local sports scene and generally whatever is on our minds. Look for the Weekly Wrap published every Friday.

• The Thunder completed the regular season sweep of the Spurs last night while ending yet another of their win streaks. OKC ended San Antonio's 11-game win streak the first time they met this season back in November and then ended their 19-game streak last night (oh and their 20-game win streak in the 2012 playoffs too). While Ginobili did sit, it's hard to imagine he would've changed the outcome much. Westbrook looked fantastic along with Reggie Jackson continuing his dismantling of the Spurs this season. While it took Durant until late in the fourth before he secured his 25 points, he played his game and got his. It speaks volumes for Durant's game that while some would consider it an "off" night for him, he still put up 28 and lead his team in a key victory over the first place Spurs. San Antonio fans and writers are of course trying to downplay the outcome, but make no mistake, this was a big win for OKC.

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• Sports Illustrated put out a nice little write-up on Trevor Knight and comparisons to Tim Tebow. Here's a short blurb, but I'd encourage you to read the whole thing (it's a quick read):

A star college quarterback who loves to share his Christian faith, prides himself on being a leader and does his best not to use profane language. Sound familiar? For Oklahoma's Trevor Knight, the comparisons to Tim Tebow are an honor.

 

"Tim Tebow is second to none in the way he proclaims his faith, the way he plays and his competitiveness," Knight said. "He's a leader. You can see that. A lot of people give him a hard time for maybe not being the best quarterback, but he's a winner and conducts himself with class and honor.

Continue reading here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20140402/inside-read-trevor-knight-oklahoma-duke-dino-babers/

• Caleb and I had a little point/counterpoint yesterday regarding the Thunder/Spurs showdown last night. Anyone enjoy this? Looking at potentially making it a regular type column featuring a fan/writer of a Thunder opponent. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Also, if you have a favorite NBA team that is not the Oklahoma City Thunder and would be interested in participating in a point/counterpoint then give me a shout.

• The Red River Rivalry is no more. What's that? No, not the actual game, just the name. It is now being branded the "AT&T Red River Showdown." Boy doesn't that have a nice corporate ring to it? Bleh, does anyone ever really refer to these things with the corporate sponsors name in every day conversation? 

"Hey Jimbo, you going to the AT&T Red River Showdown this year??"
"Is that over at AT&T Stadium?"
"I think it's at the Cotton Bowl."
"Oh ok, so where they play the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic."
"No, that's AT&T Stadium. I'm talking about the Cotton Bowl."
"They don't play the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic at the Cotton Bowl?"
"You must be thinking of the Heart of Dallas Bowl."
"What's that?"
"You know, the old TicketCity Bowl played at the Cotton Bowl."
"Oh, right, yeah, that's what I meant."

• So the official OU twitter account posted the following on Tuesday:

• Berry Tramel doesn't think the joke was very funny and in bad taste. I tend to agree with Berry on this one. I know it's the cool thing to try and come up with some clever April fools joke these days, but taking a low-blow at the ultimate company man Blake Bell was the best you could come up with? Pretty weak stuff guys.

• The Thunder are still two games back from San Antonio with eight to play. Bet they are wishing they could have back those brutal losses to the Cavs and Lakers right about now, huh? Ah well, no shame in the two-seed I suppose.

• Today is Landry Jones' birthday. Happy birthday Mr. Jones! How's life in the NFL? Wait, you are still on an NFL roster, aren't you? Oh, whew, that was almost awkward. What's that? You haven't taken a single snap yet? OK, it's awkward again.

Photo courtesy: streetball.com
Oklahoma City Thunder

Thunder vs Spurs: Point/Counterpoint

2 Comments

With the Thunder and Spurs set to square off in Oklahoma City tonight, let's take a deeper look at five burning questions from a fan's perspective from both sides. Micah Hixon will be representing the Thunder perspective in this debate while Caleb Hixon will be answering on the Spurs' behalf.

Question #1: Is this a must win for either team?

Micah: A must win? I don't think so. Sure, the Spurs are putting their 19-game win streak on the line, but they also have a comfortable 4-game lead on the Thunder for that coveted 1-seed heading into the playoffs. Remember back in the 2012 playoffs when San Antonio brought an 18-game win streak into the Western Conference finals against the Thunder? The Spurs took the first two games at home, running their streak up to 20 straight, and then dropped the next four in a row to OKC. The Spurs were looking for redemption in the 2013 playoffs, but a Russell Westbrook injury ousted the Thunder before they got the chance to settle the score. The Thunder are 3-0 this season already vs the Spurs including their first match-up way back in November that ended an 11-game winning streak the Spurs had amassed. That said, I'm going to guess this one may mean a little more to the Spurs for their confidence heading into the playoffs. If the Thunder sweep the regular season series with the memory of how the last playoff meeting between the two teams unfolded, it could be bad news for the Spurs state of mind.

Caleb: Popovich always says you can learn more from a loss than a win. So with that in mind, yes, this is a must win. But not in the traditional sense. In the season series between the Spurs and Thunder, OKC leads 3-0 right now. For this 19-game winning streak to pay any real dividends for San Antonio's playoff run, they need to beat the Thunder. They need to show OKC that the previous three match-ups don't mean anything because the Spurs are hot now and that's what counts going into the playoffs. If the Thunder break their streak, not all is lost for the Spurs. But I would feel better knowing that the Spurs can actually win a game against the Thunder if they meet in the playoffs.

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Question #2: Which organization has the better front office?

Micah: It's well known that Thunder GM Sam Presti got his start in the Spurs' front office (and is widely credited with encouraging the Spurs to draft Tony Parker). There's no questioning the job he's done in Oklahoma City since accepting the general manager position back in 2007. He reeled off a ridiculous streak of homerun draft picks in three straight drafts starting with Kevin Durant in 2007 followed by Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka in 2008 and then James Harden in 2009. However, there's a reason why ESPN ranked the Spurs as the #1 front office in the entire NBA (OKC ranked eighth). The trio of head coach/president Gregg Popovich, general manager R.C. Buford, and owner Peter Holt have already won three championships over the last 12 years. The Spurs have remained title contenders for the past decade and a half with the front office consistently surrounding Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili with a top notch supporting cast. The Thunder are well on their way to being one of the best front offices, but the Spurs are the unquestioned gold standard today.

Caleb: This one at first glance may seem like a toss-up to the untrained eye, and all credit due to the Thunder, but this is a slam dunk in favor of the Spurs. Yes, OKC has come on strong as of late and their front office has done a great job building a team through the draft, but just look at the body of work the Spurs have put together over the last 15 years. 4 NBA Championships, haven't missed the playoffs since 1998, and in Tim Duncan's 17 year career they've only fallen below 50 wins once (the shortened 1999 lock out season). Yeah, I'd say the Spurs take this one. Not to mention ESPN ranks the Spurs front office as #1 in the entire league.

Question #3: Which player on the opposing team worries you the most?

Micah: Tony Parker has been a constant thorn in the Thunder's side over the years. He almost single-handedly took down the Thunder back in January with a 37-point performance. Luckily for the Thunder, Durant was right in the middle of one of the greatest months of basketball ever played and matched Parker for 36 points of his own to give the Thunder a narrow victory. Parker is the x-factor to the Spurs entire offense. If he gets going early, it could be a long night for OKC.

Caleb: The easy answer here is Kevin Durant, but just as Batman needs Robin, Hans Solo needs Chewbacca, and Michael Scott needs Dwight Schrute, KD needs Russell Westbrook. Sure, KD is going to get his whether you like it or not, and no doubt the Thunder can be very dangerous with just Durant, but what makes the Thunder a really scary team is when Westbrook is on fire too. If you can contain Westbrook and make the Thunder one dimensional, then you have a chance at beating OKC.

Question #4: More impressive: Spurs 19-game win streak or Durant's 38-game streak of 25+ points?

Micah: Durant is only two games away from the 40-game streak of 25+ points Michael Jordan accomplished during the 1986-87 season (the most in the last 50 years). Just last season the Miami Heat rattled off 27 straight wins, so from that perspective it becomes pretty clear which is more impressive. The scary part? Durant could easily be scoring 30+ every single night if he wanted to. Remember back in January when Durant voluntarily ended his 12-game streak of 30+ points by taking a seat in the fourth quarter? Yeah, that's not the first time he's sat an entire fourth quarter of a game either. Durant takes this one with ease.

Caleb: Honestly, as much as I want to say the Spurs winning streak is more impressive because of the team work involved, the momentum it creates or the quality teams beat in the streak… but come on! 38 games of more than 25 points?! That's nuts! I'm sure Micah will point out how only Michael Jordan has had more in the last 50 years (Editor's note: he did). Think of all the prolific scorers in the last 50 years, only MJ has had a better streak. Not Kobe, not LeBron, not Dirk or even Allen Iverson can say that. Yeah, KD takes this one.

Question #5: What's the over/under number of words Gregg Popovich will utter during his sideline reporter interview?

Micah: Two *walks away from interview*

Caleb: Ahhh Pop and his beloved sideline reports. You'd think with as much success and as long as Pop has been in the league he'd learn how to deal with the interviews. No way, Jose. Pop ain't having it! As a Spurs fan, though, I love it. Popovich is a pure genius and I trust anything he does, even his obvious disdain for reporters. My over under is 20 words. If you get more than 20 words from Pop then you deserve an award.