Great.  Mother Nature is a real you-know-what

this week.   Bethpage Black must have done something

to tick her off.  Thursday's opening round of the U.S.

Open was a disaster.  Rain. rain and more rain.

 

   Barely even got underway.  Tiger got in six holes.

One-over par.  The first group off the tee.. the OSU

trio of Ricky Fowler, Casey Wittenberg and Bo Van

Pelt got in eleven.  Day one was a washout.

 

   Now the question is whether or not a 72-hole

national championship is even possible.  Friday

looks decent weather-wise.. but Saturday and

Sunday.. MORE rain is forecast.

 

   The USGA has a couple of important decisions

to make.  First, can they get in a full 72-hole

event.  Second, will they be flexible with the rules

and allow lift, clean and place to help these guys

finish.

 

   With lift, clean and place.. we may see more

crazy shots from the best players in the world

then we do on a Saturday from the hackers at

Lake Hefner.

 

   Changing the rules is something the USGA

will be hesitant to do.  However, if it doesn't

happen.. golf balls could be flying in all kinds

of directions.  Those mud-balls usually don't

fly straight.

 

   This weather has brought a lot more

players into the championship mix.  It has

also put the tournament in "major" jeopardy.

 

   That stinks.  With Tiger looking to repeat

and to possibly become the only other player

besides Willie Anderson in the early 1900's to

win four U.S. Open's in a decade.. with Phil

playing for his wife Amy.. and with those

crazy New York golf fans all charged-up.. we

have the makings of a great tournament.

 

   Right now the U.S. Open belongs to Mom

Nature.  She has about a 10-stroke lead on

the rest of the field.

 

   Who said a woman couldn't beat the men?

 

  

    I'd like to say that Wayman Tisdale losing

his two-year battle with cancer Friday was a

tragedy.

 

   It is NOT a tragedy.

 

   A tragedy is a life not lived to the fullest.  A life

that doesn't touch or move others.  A life wasted.

 

   Wayman Tisdale's is a life to be CELEBRATED.

 

   The sweet jumper.  That thumping, melodic bass.

That irrepressible smile.   The humility and the

kindness..  everything that made #23 special.

 

   Wayman was one of the most approachable,

down-to-earth, friendly superstars you could

ever meet.  There are rare people that we all

come across that we just seem to know

God's spirit flows right through them.

 

   Wayman Tisdale was one of those people.

 

   Wonderful Wayman was part of some great

teams' during his 44 years.  Tulsa Washington,

OU, the USA Olympic squad stand out above

the rest.

 

   However, it was time that Tisdale got the call

from the team we all knew he belonged on the

most..  God's team.  

 

   No more pain or suffering for Wayman. 

He's home.  And the Man upstairs

got a whole lot more than just a heckuva

power forward.

 

   He got one of the all-time good guys.

 

   RIP Wayman.  We'll miss you.

 

 

 

  This is the end

   My only friend, the end

   Of our elaborate plans, the end

   No safety or surprise, the end

   Jim Morrison, Doors poet

 

 

   It's good to know that when the American

financial system finally crumbles, you and I will

be buried in the rubble.

 

   The greedy you-know-whats that got us in this mess

will still be sitting in their gated mansions,

collecting their government bailout checks after

running their respective businesses into ruin.

 

   Sure, there will be a few casualities of this war.

Bernie Madoff will go to jail.  What an ironic last

name by the way.. Madoff.  The guy "made off" with

millions of other people's money for way too long.

 

   However, most of these crooks are going to get

away.  The biggest penalty they'll face..  a little

less expensive corporate jet.. and maybe having

to switch from Dom Perignon to Korbel.

 

   Yes, the "as long as i get mine" attittude that

has taken over this country has finally come back to

trample us.  This is worse than Godzilla on the loose

in Tokyo.  Most of the time,  the Japanese had

some giant moth or other creature that could

keep Godzilla from doing serious damage to the

entire city.

 

   I don't see us having a Mothra for our problems

right now.   Maybe it's the stimulus package.

Maybe it's the "new" New Deal.  Maybe Obama has

the answers.  I hope so.

 

   We even see the attitude in the sports world.

McGwire, Bonds, Clemens and now A-rod.  All

took the "as long as I get mine" approach and

are now paying a price. 

 

   But how much of a price?  Shame? Yes. Tainted

records? Yes.  Hall of Fame? Maybe.  Still, these

guys aren't going to be worrying about mortgage

payments, health insurance or college for the kids.

They GOT THEIRS.  

 

   So did most of the slimeballs from Merrill Lynch,

AIG and Wall Street.  And since they GOT THEIRS.

some of us are going to GET IT.

 

   Stock prices are tumbling.  Budgets are being

shaved.  Quotas aren't being met.   So heads

are going to roll.  Ours.

 

   Good luck to all.  Get ready, your workplace

is going to start feeling like a mob hangout.

One day.. a couple people are just going to

disappear.   Run for witness protection as fast

as you can.   The mob bosses who destroyed

the family business are gonna make YOU pay!

 

   And for all those who already GOT THEIRS.

Thanks. Thanks alot.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

    Remember when Larry King used to have that old USA Today column? You know, the one that Norm MacDonald used to parody on SNL. Mr. Suspender's mailed-in column always seemed to feature random thoughts like..

 

   I like dogs better than cats.

 

   A good movie makes people think.

 

   Why are there 12 people on a jury and not 13?

 

   Red Skelton was a darn good entertainer.

 

   The earth has a lot of water.

 

 

 

   And I'm sure they paid Larry a lot of money for those pearls of wisdom. So. there's always a danger that random thoughts can be CRAZY random. I'll give it a try.

 

   The OU men's basketball team is good enough to win the NCAA Championship. The Sooners are not good enough to win it all without great effort. This team cannot get full of itself. Or it will stumble before the Final 4.

 

   I hope that Gallagher-Iba Arena returns to the rockin' place it used to be in the near future. Apathy has set in with Cowboy fans and has turned the historic building from one of the great home environments in college hoops to a run-of-the mill place to watch a game. Sad.

 

   I wonder how Thunder fans will react if the team has the chance to draft Blake Griffin and doesn't. Will there be outrage if the team selects Hasheem Thabeet? So far, Sam Presti seems to know what he's doing. He's made a lot of people, myself included, look pretty silly by saying Russell Westbrook was a reach as the number-four overall pick.

 

   Think about this. OU could have the Heisman Trophy winner (Sam Bradford), college basketball player of the yeat (Blake Griffin) and the women's college basketball player of the year (Courteney Paris). That would be quite a trifecta. Sometimes I wonder if OU fans really know how good they have it.

 

   Kevin Durant is one of the toughest players to defend in the NBA. He's becoming a superstar right before our eyes at the Ford Center. Once KD gets a little more help and a chance to show his skills in the post-season, he has a chance to ascend to that Kobe-Lebron level which is reserved for NBA legends only.

 

   The PGA Tour needs Tiger Woods in a bad way. Never has one player meant so much to one sport. I'm itching to see Tiger back out on the course chasing Jack's records again. The Masters can't get here soon enough.

 

   Oh yeah. I also like dogs better than cats.

 

  Jeff Capel recently complained about the

lack of R-E-S-P-E-C-T for his once-beaten

Oklahoma basketball team.   And if the Sooners

aren't on the "experts" national championship

radar by now.. they're missing the boat.

 

   These Sooners aren't just Final 4 material.

They can win the whole thing.

 

   The recent decision by Juan Patillo to take off

his redshirt and join this team cannot be

taken lightly.  Paitillo's addition has strengthened

OU in the area where it was weakest.. the bench.

The Sooners now have at least enough players to

play 40 minutes with depth-laden teams like

North Carolina, UConn and Louisville.

 

   And why wouldn't the Sooners be good enough

to win it all?  Blake Griffin looks to be the first

overall pick in the next NBA draft.. and Willie

Warren is showing that he's a player at the next

level.  Warren would be a late first-rounder if he

leaves after this season.

 

   There isn't another team in America that has a

BETTER combination of  inside-outside stars.

 

    The key for the Sooners will be the supporting

cast.  If Austin Johnson gets on a roll during March,

the Sooners will be tough to beat.  Tony Crocker,

Taylor Griffin and Patillo will also have to play well.

 

    Winning a national title in college hoops takes

talent, coaching and a little luck.. and there's no

doubt the Sooners already have two of those

three.  With the right draw and a few breaks..

Oklahoma could win its first ever NCAA Basketball

Championship.

 

   And if Jeff Capel does that in just his third season

in Norman, with the rebuildijng job he had to

oversee.. you can bet Capel will move to the top

of the list as Coach K's successor at Duke.

 

   Stay tuned.

Had Listner send this one in. It's pretty good, but does contain some Adult Language.

 

Proving I have too much time to waste, I found this guy on Youtube.

He's the real deal....check it out.

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The video is a little grainy but it's McCain's VP choice way back in 1984 in the Miss Alaska Pageant