The Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational presented by the brands of Ebonite International

Via the Printed Edition of Sports Illustrated:

Have ESPN? Love the NBA and Bowling so much that you couldn't wait to see them collide? Well, look no further!

The Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational presedented by the brands of Ebonite International will air this Sunday, that's right, this Sunday, at 1 PM EST! ESPN thinks so highly of this event that it would run it in direct competition to the NFL! I mean, you can watch NBA Stars such as LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, and Rudy Gay! Who cares that the tournament was actually run September 20th?



Well, at least it will be better than Steve Garveys Celebrity Billfishing Tournament....that wasn't for charity.



If you've never seen Cheap Seats, you need to watch that.

Oh, and it's totally awesome that Chris Paul is doing this for charity and everything....it's just probably going to turn out hilariously bad on TV.

Season Predictions

Since everybody else is posting it, I thought I would too. Basically, Zeb (Zorgon), Ben (OKluschen), Royce (from the Thunderworld) and Joe (from Thunderguru) all posted their predictions on various things like playoff teams, this years MVP, and the Defensive Player of the Year. Oh, and we predicted some Thunder stuff too. It's worth a look.

Here 'tis.

NBA Blogger Previews: Central Division

I know that all of you at home are counting down the seconds until tomorrows Thunder NBA Blogger Preview is up. And we blew the roof off. I mean, we didn't do this thing halfway, we went full throttle to create the end all be all statements for nay possible burning questions you may have about the Thunder.

But, here's the Central Division Previews to tide you over:

Chicago Bulls
Nels: Give Me The Rock
Matt: Blog-a-Bull

Cleveland Cavaliers
Rock: Waiting For Next Year
FTS: Fear The Sword
David Friedman: 20 Second Timeout
Amar Panchmatia: Cavalier Attitude

Detroit Pistons
Brian Spencer: Empty the Bench
Natalie Sitto: Need4Sheed.com
Matt Watson: Detroit Bad Boys

Indiana Pacers
Tom: Indy Cornrows

Milwaukee Bucks
Jeramey Jannene: The Bratwurst
Frank Madden: BrewHoop

Pre-Season Game 5 Recap: Clippers 90, Oklahoma City 88

Dr. Strangesmell or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Stench
Yahoo! Boxscore
The Thunderworld Recap

Tonight was a night of bad jerseys, bad play, and badass dancing.

When I went to the Ford Center around 5:45, there were more people there than expected. That was good, but what was not good was the fact that there was absolutely nothing to do. It was completely and totally boring. They had the typical food from the World-Famous Slap Shots, and they had the typical lottery stuff, but aside from that everything seemed kind of lame and last minute. There were no activities or anything. There were no signs in the stadium, very little overall theme, and the floor simply read "Ford Center". Still, it's the Pre-Season, so I expect them to have everything in order in time for the Season Opener.

Almost every activity that they had was a copy of what happened when the Hornets were here. T-Shirt throwing, kids slam dunk contest, free throw contest, running around the bat and trying to make a layup, seat upgrades, and the dance cam all made returns. You name it, and it'll probably be copied by the Thunder. Speaking of the dance cam, if you saw a particularly sexy guy in a blue shirt and blue headband doing the "Apache" dance and getting more than 30 seconds of full-fledged camera time, you guessed it, it was me. (Yes, I looked like a total dork.) Oh, and every single time they asked, "Whose ball is it?", I would automatically say, "Hornets ball!!!!". I guess I'm a creature of habit.

One last side note....2 of the worst NBA uniforms were out there tonight. The Clippers uniforms have always totally sucked. The red, white, and blue looks really cheesy and bland. Honestly, I'd rather them just rock the light blue Buffalo Braves uniforms all year. As for the Thunder uniforms, we've already been over that.

Anyway, on to the game itself. The crowd seemed pretty apathetic towards the pre-game lineups, and the first quarter. The first was full of high energy low post manuvers by both teams. Then, in the second quarter, the Clippers bought in all of their subs minus Ricky Davis, and it was a sludgefest through the third quarter. The Thunder had their starters out, but they played like total crap. It wasn't a defensively-minded game, like you would see in a Spurs matchup. Rather, it was just total crappiness and sloppiness on both ends.

Well, every time except this time....

Most of the time, the Thunder would have to rely on Durant or Westbrook pretending that there was a brick wall in front of them and getting "fouled" while having no intention of hitting the shot. I mean, is that even satisfying? Other players I've seen, like Baron Davis and Chris Paul, do it a lot, but they at least make it fun because they actually try. Westbrook, Durant, and more famously Dwayne Wade hardly even try to shoot, and just act like they got an electric shock. I know it's kind of a soapbox here, but it makes the game boring and makes them look horrible on the stat sheet (Durant went 6-18, Westbrook went 3-11). Comeon guys, at least try.

Well, eventually after a total sludgefest, about 1/8th the arena filed out at the end of the 3rd, with half of the remaining people seriously considering putting on their coat. Than, suddenly, the energy increased and the game got intense. Durant was hitting his shots, and everybody else on the floor was contributing well. On the other side of the coin, Mike Taylor played absolutely insane. Who is Mike Taylor? I don't know, but he was incredibly intense. He had a clutch 3 and he got a key steal for a dunk within the last 2 minutes.

Is it the shoes?

Anyway, long story short, we were pretty close going into the final two minutes. Then, Johan Petro got two freethrows and missed them both. On top of that, Mike Wilks got a steal for a dunk. All said and done, we ended up down by 3 with about 13 seconds to go. Durant had a "shades of Atlanta" 3 point shot, but it rimmed out and Houston got the rebound. Ricky Davis sank 2 freethrows, and Russell Westbrook sank an irrelevant 3 at the buzzer. The whole arena was kind of bummed, but they clapped for the team anyway, and it gave me hope that we can cope with losing for a couple of seasons.

Now, for tonights....

Thunder Wonder and Blunder: Johan Petro
12 Points, 6-9 Shooting, 14 Rebounds, 3 Blocks, 1 Turnover, 1 Steal

Johan Petro had a super game tonight. I mean, nobody could have predicted this at all. He got some good momentum early with an extreme dunk, and just kept producing all game. Hell, he even hit a 12 footer! I mean, he didn't out step his place, and did what he needed to to help the team. Probably a career Pre-Season game. So then, why is he also the Blunder? Well, he missed a couple of clutch freethrows down the stretch, and that was really the turning point that put us back behind the Clippers.

Thunder Down Under (Honourable Mention): Nick Collison
10 Points, 4-8 Shooting, 8 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 2 Fouls
Not particularly impressive on its own, but considering that he only played 15 minutes, he was extremely productive. Everybody elses play seems far too sloppy to include. 13 team assists?! I mean, comeon!

Thunder Plunderer: Al Thornton
23 Points, 8-13 Shooting, 6 Rebounds, 5 Turnovers, 1 Steal

His turnovers were a bit high, but Al was an absolute scoring beast tonight. He hit a whole lost of midrange jumpers and simply couldn't be stopped, even during the extremely lame-duck quarters.

Thunder Plunderer Down Under: Mike Taylor
14 Points, 5-9 Shooting, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Turnovers, 3 Steals

I don't normally do this, but I gotta give props to this guy. His stats are only good at first glance, but he played with extreme intensity on the defensive end. He very nearly forced a whole lot of turnovers, and the ones that he did force were crucial. He forced the Thunder to be constantly on their toes bringing the ball up, and he even hit a clutch 3 late in the game along with a crucial jam in the final minute. Somebody give this guy a roster spot!

That's it for tonight....stay tuned for the last two Thunder Pre-Season games, Thursday Oct. 24th at the Phoenix Suns, and Friday Oct. 25th at the Los Angeles Lakers!

Bonus!
Fashion Notes:

P.J. made an excellent choice of tie tonight.

Along with that, Mike Dunleavy Sr. is the last guy on the planet besides Mike Morgan to have a fake handkerchief in the right pocket of his suit simply for style. Rock on, man.

Preseason Pregame 5: Clippers at Thunder

The Thunder racked their first win of many (hopefully) the other night in Tulsa. As I predicted, the crowd was only decent. On the other hand, it was just a preseason game and to my surprise, there was a whole lot of Thunder gear in the crowd. Still though, tonight marks the opening of play in the Ford Center, and look for an even more supportive fans in what may be the most vigorous crowd in preseason history. The era of Thunder basketball in Bricktown had begun...

Backstory: The Thunder are finally in the win column, but how will they cope with this success? Young teams generally respond with winning in two ways, either they get on a roll with confidence, or they become overconfident and suffer greatly. Which will the Thunder choose? Well, neither. This is the preseason, nobody freakin' cares about winning!

Also, Kevin Durant was en fuego in the last game, or actually, the fourth quarter. Which KD will we see tonight? I'd bet on the one from the first three quarters. I expect Kevin to turn it on during the regular season, but really, who can stay pumped for preseason more than one quarter?

Analysis: The Thunder starters continue to improve, along with Desmond Mason. Everyone else, especially Russ Westbrook, seem to either be in park or reverse. Westbrook is shooting less accurately than those random thug guys in National Treasure.

Still though, the Thunder continue to be hampered by injuries. Damien Wilkins was taken out of the fourth quarter of the last game and Jeff Green won't return tonight, not to mention Joe Smith. Actually, it's probably best that they catch the injury bug now, so that they can get it out of the way for the regular season.

Now, back to the game, the Clippers are a better team than the Thunder. However, that didn't stop them when they played the Rockets, a very good team. If Baron Davis or Chris Kaman see much action, it could be tough, but as evidenced by the last game, not impossible.

Player to Watch: OK, it's about time I give it to him. Be on the lookout for Thunder forward Damien Wilkins tonight. He didn't look to spectacular the other night, but I have a feeling his return will be very impressive, and it won't be too long before he's a household name in the metro area.

Predicted Result: Thunder win their first game in the Ford Center (I'm a sap for good stories) 100-94

Pre-Season Game 4 Recap: Thunder 110 Rockets 104

For some reason Rick Adelman isn't happy to see the Thunder's first win

Yahoo! Box Score

We went to Billings...and got nothin. We went to Sacramento...and got nothin. We went to Oakland...and got nothin. We came to Tulsa to face a playoff team for the first time and expected much of the same. Well my friends, I'm happy to report that we were wrong. Congratulations to the Thunder for capturing their first ever victory!

It didn't look good at first. I was relieved when I heard T-Mac wasn't going to play, but when I saw Nick Collison guarding Yao Ming, probably giving him a good 8 inches, I again had my doubts. My doubts may have been legit if it wasn't a pre-season game, he had 15 points and 16 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Nevertheless, as the game progressed, you could see a certain fight in the Thunder that just wasn't there before...

It started like every other Thunder game. We fell in a big hole early, Durant was struggling from the field, and Wilkins and Weezy were providing the scoring. Wilkins would soon fall off in the scoring department, which would usually be bad news for the Thunder. After all, Wilkins has won the prestigious Thunder Wonder award more than any other player, in fact, he's the only ever recipient.

Thankfully though, Desmond Mason was able to play tonight, unlike what was predicted by yours truly, and gave his best contribution to date as a member of the Thunder. He went 7/10 from the floor with 16 points and 3 boards including a pretty reverse layup before the half.

Before the 4th quarter it looked like the big men would be the story for the Thunder. Both Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison had outstanding games. The highlight of Weezy's game had to be the powerful jam he scored right over Yao. Nick Collison also had a memorable play against Yao where the Great Wall came down with the rebound (as always) and Nick swiped it clear out of his hands. Collison finished the night with 21 points and 4 boards, shooting 60%.

Like I alluded to earlier though, in the 4th quarter it was all Kevin Durant. 20 of his 26 points came in the 4th quarter and he had two blocks and one steal in the final 35 seconds or so, not to mention clutch free throws and a nice fade away to help salt things away.

The star Rocket player played as expected. Like I said earlier, Yao dominated, though he missed constant layups which was really crucial for the Rockets. Ron Artest looked very strong early, but finished with only 8 points. Of course, T-Mac didn't even see the court.


Thunder Wonder: Kevin Durant 26 points, 8/16 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls
KD filled up almost every stat cat today. Really, he won the game single handedly today, and on both sides of the court. Also, don't forget, he went down with what appeared to be a sprained ankle in the second half only to get right back up and not miss any time at all.

Honourable Mention: Weezy 13 points, 6-10 shooting, 14 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 2 fouls

It was a close call, him or Collison, but Wilcox was able to do more than just score.

Thunder Blunder: Russell Westbrook 5 points, 1/8 shooting, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers

Continues to struggle. It's ok though, he still has lots of room to improve. I remember Chris Paul didn't look so hot his first few games either.


Thunder Plunderer: Yao Ming 15 points, 4/10 shooting, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks

Yeah, he shoot terribly, and theres no excuse for a guy that tall to shoot 40%. Still though, he was killer from the line and nearly unstoppable for the Thunder all game long.

Blue Blitz on SI.com

The Sports Illustrated Oklahoma City Thunder Preview

We were recently emailed by Paul Forrester of SI.com and he asked for a quick preview of the Thunder. We answered the call, and now our preview is up on the website. Look down in the corner to see the "Bloggers Take", and it shows my name. Ben was inadvertently left out, and we emailed them about that, since we did collab on it.

Here's what we originally sent them. Looking back on it, it's pretty bad. Actually, it's really bad. For some reason, we wanted to get it in as fast as possible and spend no time proofreading. Bad idea. It came out with bad grammar and a really bad flow, and we have to give a huge thanks to the guys at SI for cleaning it up. Nevertheless, here it is:

We think it's pretty bad on the whole that the SuperSonics ceased to exist, but we're not really all that sad about it. For the most part, the Sonics were a bad team throughout the 2000s. Key Arena was last reviatalized in 1994, so it's reasonable to move the team if the city is not willing to update its arena every 10 years. The general feeling for Seattle around here, quite frankly, is "too bad so sad". Nobody is really feeling the remorse, and there was only one person (Zeb) wearing Sonics gear at the unveiling. The Oklahoma Sooners football team went to Washington to play a game, and the general feeling in Seattle wasn't hostile, according to many fans.

"The fanbase for the NBA here is generally below average. Before the Hornets came, most people followed the Dallas Cowboys, and didn't pay attention at all to the NBA. People went to Oklahoma Sooner Basketball Games, but they generally only liked high-scoing contests. Defensive-minded coaches, like Kelvin Sampson, had many critics. When the Hornets finally did come to town, people generally didn't see beyond Chris Paul. They hardly had any idea about the NBA at large. But, needless to say, this is a growing process, and the fans will generally become more acclimated to the NBA. What they don't have in knowldge they make up for in loud, college-like cheers.

So, what are our hopes for the team? Well, most fans around here would probably settle for nothing less than an NBA Championship. Realistically, we can't expect to win more than 30 games. If you look at our roster, our 3rd and 4th best players (Behind Durant and Green) are probably Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison. That should say a lot about our win record. For this season, we expect to be partially a development team for the younger players, and partially a stowaway for ancient NBA castaways.

Roster-wise, the team should aim to get better big men. Most of the big men, aside from Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox, who are average, are basically failed projects. There's no starter-quality Center, as Johan Petro, Robert Swift, Saer Sene, and company are all backups at best. We're basically set at Power Forward, Small Forward, and Shooting Guard, so we need to aim to get a better Point Guard. Earl Watson is a 3 point specialist and shouldn't really be a starter, and Russell Westbrook is more of a combo guard. So basically, we need to work on the positions at both ends of the spectrum."

Yeah, pretty embarassing. Anyway, this is a growing process, and we continue to get better as time goes on.

Big thanks once again to the guys at SI.com, and whoever cleaned up our mess!!!!