Today is the 16th anniversary of the Alfred P. Murrah building bombing. In 1995 in downtown Oklahoma City, 168 people were killed. Send a thought or two to those people’s families and friends today. I remember being in third grade and my teacher being called out of the room only to come back in a couple minutes later crying. I’ll never forget what that day felt like.
Really interesting research from Darnell Mayberry: “This is George Karl’s 20th appearance as a coach in the NBA playoffs. He’s taken five teams this far. But the Denver skipper isn’t so successful when staring at an 0-1 hole. Karl-coached teams are 2-13 when losing the first game of a series. The Thunder currently has a 1-0 lead on Karl’s Denver Nuggets. Game 2 is Wednesday night inside Oklahoma City Arena.”
Pretty slick Thunder picture here.
Darnell Mayberry with more on the controversial tip-in: “Rewind to the flow of the game, and you’ll realize that might not have been an easy task for the Thunder. Oklahoma City at that point was out of sorts offensively. After taking a 98-90 lead, the Nuggets had scored nine straight to regain the advantage. By the time the controversial no-call came around, the Thunder was 1-for-8 with two turnovers on its past 10 possessions.”
Mark Kizla of the Denver Post takes the tip in a little bit too far: “But an apology won’t change the situation for the Nuggets, who now must find a way to win four of the next six games to advance past Oklahoma City, a team that features Kevin Durant, precisely the shining superstar the NBA likes to help entice viewers to tune in as the TV drama of the playoffs unfolds. Anybody miss Carmelo Anthony now?”
Berry Tramel on Scott Brooks shortening his rotation: “Expect more and more of that as the playoffs deepen. For a couple of reasons. One, starters can go longer in the playoffs. The travel is lighter, so the players should be more rested. The television timeouts tend to be longer, so guys can get more rest during games. Second, the stakes are huge. Brooks doesn’t want Denver going on a 10-0 run when Durant is sitting on the bench. A season could be lost over such substitution patterns. Finally, what works in the regular season doesn’t automatically work in the playoffs. For instance, while Cook hit a couple of shots during his five minutes of playing time Sunday, he also gave up a blow-by layup to Denver’s J.R. Smith, who otherwise was bottled up most of the night. Cook’s defensive deficiencies are more apparent when playing against quality competition.”
Pretty cool renovations were done to the ThunderShop in the arena.
Nice piece from David Ramsey of the McClatchey Tribune-News on KD: “The NBA’s leading scorer walks slowly into the Oklahoma City Thunder locker-room, his eyes fixed on an open black leather Bible with his name engraved on the cover. A pack of reporters awaits him, but he remains embedded in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, a book in the New Testament. He reads carefully in front of his locker for several minutes, marking favoured passages with a light blue highlight pen. Shortly after reading the command, “Find your strength in the Lord, in his mighty power,” Kevin Durant closes his Bible and lifts his eyes to the reporters. A different kind of NBA superstar is ready to talk. “It helps me,” Durant says of his daily Bible study. “Lifts me up. Encourages me.”
Arron Afflalo said it’s a “zero percent chance” he can play Wednesday.
P@Nate Timmons
Youre welcome. It was refreshing to hear some rationality from Denver fans - please dont take that wrong, the bad blood is brewing between our two fan bases and we both are feeling slighted. I have posted some very disagreeable remarks from Denver fans and perhaps have consequently influenced the rage, however i thought your comments needed to be passed on because we were starting to believe, however erroneous it may have been, that there wasnt much reason to believe Nuggets fans were fair or sane. Im sure you guys have similar sentiments. On top of that, i beleive most of us here think that your team is solid and a very real.threat to our advancement in the playoffs. I myself have said that if you are to beat us, i hope that you make it to the finals and win it all. i hope the two camps can have more enlightened and rational discourse in the future.
(Post with all this material in moderation can be deleted.
Material broken up into pieces to allow it to go thru.)
Just "trash-talking" but with a response
http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/09/oklahoma-coach-bob-stoops-suspends-wr-ja.html
Another attack
Texas Football Fan Nearly Castrated in Bar Fight in Oklahoma Bar
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296466,00.html
And an actual killing
http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?77141-Red-Sox-fan-killed-after-argument-with-Yankee-fan
Here are a few from the U.S.:
Two weeks ago
http://thedirty.com/2011/04/dodger-fans-nearly-kill-giants-fan/
@Mac
Pretty dramatic example in the article you linked too.
@Chas
Proper perspective is a shared understanding, but worth raising every once in awhile.
@Chas
Proper perspective is a shared understanding, but worth raising every once in awhile.
@Chas
Pretty dramatic example in the article you linked too.
Here are a few from the U.S.:
Two weeks ago
http://thedirty.com/2011/04/dodger-fans-nearly-kill-giants-fan/
And an actual killing
http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?77141-Red-Sox-fan-killed-after-argument-with-Yankee-fan
Another attack
Texas Football Fan Nearly Castrated in Bar Fight in Oklahoma Bar
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296466,00.html
An just a threat but with a response
http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/09/oklahoma-coach-bob-stoops-suspends-wr-ja.html
@anonymous
Do we need to get this Tulsa chick a body guard?
Daniel Plainview :
bravo and wow, this from Nate Timmons of Denver stiffs:
- My friend Joel wanted to know why everyone was so up in arms over the offensive basket interference non-call when Nuggets fans should be more concerned with who wasn’t boxing out Kendrick Perkins or Thabo Sefolosha. Pretty good call right there. It’s hard to account for guys that come flying into the lane, but Kenyon Martin lost position to Perkins inside and had Perkins not even been there, Sefolosha was right there for the tip or dunk as well while Nene and K-Mart were both still on the ground – watch it here at the 2:50 mark. Denver needs to do a much better job on the glass on both ends of the floor in Game 2 on Wednesday. Only 5 offensive rebounds? That’s not going to cut it.
Thanks @Daniel Plainview. I'm not big on conspiracy theories and think if the game comes down to "that call hurt us" then the team didn't do enough earlier in the game. Looking forward to Game 2 as these two teams are fun to watch and the chess match as to how to cover KD and Westbrook continues. I'm worried that if Denver tries to double KD then he'll work his teammates into the game more - very capable players outside of KD and Westbrook and it's never a good idea to give role players confidence as they'll become dangerous. I'd love to see the Nuggets even this one up - a tough series would be great to watch.
@Daniel Plainview
Haha! And I'm born and raised in OK!
Alright, another reason i love coming here: people posting links to slate.com. nice
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
We really don't do that. Our rivalries are usually regional but so are our politics and cultures. Maybe if Texas was a bastion of liberal thought (like Austin? I'm not sure about their politics in that town but there certainly is a hippie vibe there and I don't mean to use hippie as a pejorative) and we remained staunch Sally Kernists there would be a rivalry akin to that Irish one. As it is, we would vote in their choice for governor and vice versa but maybe not even then. Ireland was ruled by power much like the rest of Europe and that sows many ill seeds that are different than plain political leanings. I wonder what would happen if OU played USC every year or something. People here have a particular disdain for all things California and USC is a powerhouse to boot.
@Chas
Interesting Slate article. Americans aren't used to our sports being so closely related with politics and religion.
The mob mentality is a phenomenon that completely fascinates me. It is so rarely used for anything good.
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Kevin+Durant+different+kind+superstar/4633612/story.html
good pub in Canada.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
Therein lies a tenuous balance that we take for granted. Some individuals are not able to draw a distinction between being emotional in a healthy way and being truly hateful and those are the ones to worry about. Jared Loughner comes to mind since he was so susceptible to the bluster involved in politics but didn't understand that democracy is only tenable when violence is shunned. Soccer hooligans and sport riots around the world are also examples but those mostly originate with cultural divides that are played out on the pitch. These two teams in Scotland are detailed in this article: http://www.slate.com/id/2289101/ and they show the bad side of rivalry. I do enjoy rivalry though.
I was working in Tulsa, one pretty, serene morning when some co-workers exclaimed that a bomb had gone off in Oklahoma City. They had been listening to their radios when the news preempted the normal programming. Within minutes, details of the events began filtering through the airways. The staff filed into the few break areas that had access to televisions, and the worst was confirmed. I knew that one of my friends had occupied offices in the Murrah Building on the first floor. It turned out that he was a survivor, while many others in his work group were not…
I’m reminded that the political atmosphere in this country today seems to be one of intolerance between interests on the left and right - outright, spoken hatred toward others who don’t act, think, behave, pray or look like you. I can only hope that those on this forum can put this NBA rivalry into proper perspective, and as was previously stated “It’s only a game.”
This scoop jackson piece was good
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=jackson/110419
"I had my 6-year-old girl at the game (Sunday), and she was crying because the noise was too loud. That's a bad thing for a 6-year-old but a good thing for an NBA team, to have that emotion and enthusiasm in the building."
ahahahah
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
Read and appreciated your comment.
@Crow
I was 16 when the bombing happened. I was just old enough to understand hate against people groups. It was my first real eye-opening experience seeing how predatory people will prey on others with weak minds and uncontrolled emotions, and the lengths such a thing can lead to.
I'm not in the group that thinks hate is taught. I think hate is basic human negative emotions all grown up without the intervention of balance or perspective or wisdom. People don't know how to deal with their negative emotions, and they let them grow into hate. What's worse, is some of those people take their hate and teach it to impressionable or weak minded people, often a captive audience, such as their own children.
If I am to have a child someday, I'll definitely use sports as a teaching tool. It's easy to let your emotions get out of control, and sports can push those buttons. But it's what you do with those emotions that define your maturity. Sports are a perfect tool, because the only meaning to their end result is the one we assign it ourselves. It is just a game after all.
I think what the civilized Bulls fans did to the Pacer fans last night somewhat supports your feelings.
@Sammy
yeah but i bet the lesbian community in tulsa isn't big enough to sell out the games, hence the gimmicks.
@DavyTheWise
Scoop Jackson is my new hero...
/sigh Not again.
@gr8ball83
WNBA games are a major draw in the lesbian community. It's weirdly never talked about, but lesbians make up a huge portion of the gate.
Has there been any mention of Perkins still being bothered by injury? He didn't look to be moving well yesterday or at least he wasn't going after people the way he seemed to be when he first came back.
Condolensces to the ultimate victims of extreme political hate in Oklahoma City. Remembrance of how far political-hate can go and how it gets nurtured in and takes license from a sea of hate-talk. Remembrance of how the perpetrators convinced themselves their hate was justified and "different".
Remembrance of some of murders motivated by race, sexual orientation and politics in a town I used to live in that lead me as a young guy a few years out of college to volunteer on a city Human Relations Commission. Remembrance of the stories I heard there and elsewhere of ancestors, near relatives, friends and co-workers who were injured or killed by hate.
It is a big world. Things are "different" and they can be a bit related too. School-yard bullies probably pick up some cues about hate from sports-hate. Some take it and apply it elsewhere. They are responsible and it is those acts that are the immediate and biggest problems. Sensitivity to hate speech probably won't stop much of what is coming. In most cases it is going to come. But if a reduction in hate-speech helps even a bit, there are people who will be spared injustice.
Think we need to get used to idiotic fan comments and foolish reporters and bloggers as if they are unbiased in their reporting. This is going to happen in every series the thunder play. The best thing about arguing sports though-- as opposed to arguing political issues, music, movies, food, etc. -- is that there is a winner/result in the end that cant be dismissed or ignored. Im not even worried. Through all the noise, kicking, and screaming, we are going to win this series in the end. So just ignore it. That is unless you just like disproving stupid arguments, then carry on.
@justin
Most teams may want to rearrange their rosters a bit, but i'm all for it. no pads needed... good stuff.
justin :
They should take a page from lingerie football.
*shudder*
They should take a page from lingerie football.
@Joel
Love & Basketball 2?
@anonymous
i mean, don't you have to do whatever you can to get fans/ticket sales when you're a wnba team?
I want KD to stay away from the tulsa chick..the shock are a joke even by wnba standards, they resort to celebrity signings like a 200 year old sheryl swoopes and post steroids marion jones.. they won't last much longer in the Tulsa.
I took some time to argue with that dope about Reggie Miller vs. Kevin Durant. He's truly clueless.
@Dunkin’Durant
It would be properly awesome.
Would it be proper if we finish out at home and have Perkins cut down the net...?
@Kris
You have to admit though. He seems to have taking a real liking to her.
@DJ 7
KD is always talking about loving small, petite girls... I don't think Liz fits that bill.
hopefully KD hooks up with that Tulsa chick and we won't have to worry at all for his entire career.
@gr8ball83
Should have refreshed, didn't see your comment before I posted. Or Andrew's, or Justin's. Sorry for the redundancy, folks.
@justin
As noble a gesture as it was, i think it was equal parts naivete.
@kfmsooner
The last year option is the whole point. Every superstar over the past decade has made sure they had a player option in the last year of their second contract. KD certainly had the leverage to get it, but opted not to.
Tree and Leaf should make OKC Asterisks shirts in response Kizla's article. That'd be great.
The common practice is for the last year to be an option, but Durant didn't take it.
i've lost all respect for the McNuggets, and i hope the Thunder kill em game 2
@gr8ball83
You are correct.
My contribution to all you Thunderheads out there. I found this behind the scenes look at Thabo during the Playoffs. Not in English, but still cool nonetheless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2OfNl7MvTU&feature=youtu.be