Fred’s Sports Take – April 20, 2017 – Mixon, Westbrook, and Mike Gundy

April, 20, 2017

Fred’s Sports Take

Joe Mixon seems to be on the mind of many sports fans across the country.  Will his past put the kibosh on a early pick in the draft in a few weeks, or will some team take the dive and choose the talented running back from Oklahoma higher than lower.  Baggage of slugging a female is never good in this day and age and Mixon will suffer with regard to his character and financially as he proceeds in his professional career.  One team will make the decision to choose him, probably in the middle second round.  And that pick will be a boom to that club as Mixon will show his superior skills in the NFL.

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Game 2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder/Houston Rocket first round series gave us the “good” Russell Westbrook, followed by the “bad” Russell Westbrook. For the first 24 minutes, the OKC and Westbrook were at their very best. The wunderkind had 22 points, eight rebounds and most importantly, 10 assists at halftime.  He had his team mates involved in every way as the visitor claimed a 68-62 lead. It was the Russell of the good as things were looking up for a Thunder team that looked outclassed in Game 1.

For whatever reason (you would have to ask Westbrook), the bad Russell showed in the 4th quarter and Russell’s “black hole” showed it’s ugly self.  Taking 18 shots in the quarter,  Russell became the only offensive option and he alone could not keep pace with a fresher James Harden and his Houston mates as the Rockets won 115-111.  Westbrook got fifty-one and Harden and Houston the win.  OKC played winning basketball until coach Billy Donovan took Russell out at the end of the third quarter and a ten point lead dissipated within a minute and Houston never looked back. Yes, OKC held it close but that short minute was in fact the game.  To beat Houston the Thunder cannot play effectively for 47 minutes.  As the saying, “all you can do for 48 minutes.”  The Thunder fell short.

Game 3 Friday night in the Chesapeake will be more of the same in this series if the Thunder does not get a big league lead by the end of the 3rd quarter.  They are capable as OKC will try to make the series honorable with a win.

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Oklahoma State is playing with fire and could lose Mike Gundy,  the best football coach in Poke history.  Gundy will not sign a new contract with the school for various reason.  First and foremost, Gundy wants more money for his assistant coaches and Athletic Director Mike Holder does not want to shell out the cash to pay them.  Holder has lost one top-of-the-line coach in Brad Underwood and he is “fixing” to lose another with Coach Gundy.   The football program does not need to see Gundy walk.  As personable as a tree log, abet a skinny one, Holder loves “his” Oklahoma State, but if he cannot come up with funding for his coaches, his programs, his school, it is time for a change.  T. Boone Pickens or no T. Boone, Holder needs to do his job and get Gundy signed.  OSU cannot lose this coach and that is just what is going to happen.  Coach Gundy also love his school, but he is in a position to take a better job somewhere else at the end of next season when jobs open up.  Think he will not bolt Stillwater?  Play with fire and let us see what he will do.  As a splinter widens full sore between him and Holder, the tension will bring discord within the Poke family.  There are many at OSU that are not anywhere in Holder’s camp and think of him in words I will not put in this article.

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Congratulations:  to the Oklahoma City University women’s basketball team in winning another National Title.  Coach Bo Overton took just two years to take the Stars to the top as OCU added another trophy to the winningest program in women’s small college basketball; to the University of Oklahoma’s women’s gymnastic team for winning the National Title for the third time in four years; to the University of Central Oklahoma and the men’s club hockey team in winning the National Championship.

Comments welcome sports fans………

Feature Photo:  Michael Ciaglo, Staff  Houston Cron  (Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, left, let nothing, including Rockets center Clint Capela, get in his way to a 51-point performance and yet another triple-double Wednesday night in Game 2 at Toyota Center.)