Thunder Season Approaching

We are nearing perhaps the biggest season in the short franchise history of the Oklahoma City Thunder and I, for one, could not be more excited.

Media day is Monday, September 28th and training camp begins the following day, Tuesday the 29th.

There are so many questions and anticipations coming into this season for the Thunder more so than ever before. Along with those questions comes a ton of pressure on the entire organization. Anything short of a Finals appearance will be looked upon as a failure.

Here are some of the biggest storylines to watch heading into the 2015-2016 season:

• Kevin Durant. Is he healthy? Is he going to gel with the new coach? Will he be back in uniform next season for the Thunder? So many questions surrounding the '13-'14 MVP coming into this year. He is coming off of a season in which he played a total of 27 games and had 3 foot surgeries. We all know how big of a deal foot problems can be for an athlete. Especially one that is 6 foot 10 and plays on the perimeter. He has been fully cleared by the medical team and expects to be full go for the start of training camp. He's also coming into the last year of his contract and many experts are beginning to speculate on what he will do. 

• Billy Donovan. The Thunder decided to part ways with long time coach Scott Brooks after missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2008-2009 season. Billy Donovan brings a lot of coaching experience from the college ranks but no experience as an NBA head coach. The spotlight will be on him as he leads possibly the most talented team in the league into the biggest season for the organization. A big key to their success will be how quickly he builds chemistry and trust with all of the players. 

• Who starts at the shooting guard spot? The Thunder have three options at this positions and no one seems to know who will be there on opening night. Andre Roberson started a majority of last season and proved that his defense is among some of the best in the league. His offense became a real eye sore and was looked at as the biggest reason why he shouldn't play. Anthony Morrow has the exact opposite perception, he is one of the best three-point shooters in the league but lacks the athletic ability to really impact on the defensive end. Dion Waiters probably has the most natural talent of the three but his mentality is the issue. Too many terrible shot selections and over dribbling. Spotty effort on defense also led to him falling out of favor with some of he Thunder faithful.  

All these question will be answered soon enough in what promises to be an exciting season in Oklahoma City. 

What the Heck Happened in Knoxville?

One of the crazier games we may see all year took place in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday evening.

In front of 100,000 fans and on national television, the Oklahoma Sooners and Tennessee Volunteers fought to the bitter end in a 2 overtime thriller.

Quite frankly, the first three quarters were about as boring as it gets. Especially if you are a Sooner fan.

Going into the game there was plenty of hype for both squads. Tennessee looking to prove to the nation that they are to be back in the national spotlight and compete for SEC championships again. Oklahoma looking to prove that they too were ready to be considered a contender in the BIG 12 and the playoff picture.

Just to briefly summarize the first three quarters of this contest..it was "blah." Tennessee scored 17 points and Oklahoma couldn't catch a break on offense.It seemed as if every time there was a positive play for the Sooners, a penalty would negate it. An untimely dropped pass here, a holding call there. All of it resulted in 3 points for 3 quarters and 7 minutes. Which is 52 minutes of actual gameplay without a touchdown. Crazy.

Credit OU's defense for playing tough and keeping them in the game, without their play the offense would have had ZERO chance to make the miraculous comeback in the 4th quarter. The defense held Tennessee to 68 total yards in the second half with 51 of those yards coming on the first two plays of the half.

OU was seemingly done.
Baker Mayfield threw his second interception of the afternoon to end the 3rd quarter and to a team that hadn't scored a touchdown all evening, 14 points seemed insurmountable.
I almost turned the channel.. I'm glad I didn't because what took place in the 4th quarter was nothing short of a miracle.
Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma offense sprung to life in the 4th quarter. Scoring their first touchdown of the game with 8:40 left after an amazing scramble and throw by Mayfield in the back of the endzone to running back Samaje Perine.
Now, instead of packing it in and heading home, the Sooners cut the lead in half making it 17-10 with 8 minutes left.

After ANOTHER defensive stop by OU,  the offense proceeded to get the ball back with 6 minutes left and a chance to tie with a touchdown. Unbelievable.
Mayfield once again grinded the offsense down the field and threw an incredible pass to Sterling Shepard in the corner of the endzone with 40 seconds left to tie the game at 17-17.


OVERTIME

Tennessee gets the ball first and scores a TD. Maybe its just not the Sooners night.
Mayfield again wouldn't be denied scoring on 4th & goal on a QB keeper.
We were all tied again at 24-24 and heading to a second overtime.
This time Oklahoma got the ball first and after a few run plays Baker Mayfield found Shepard on the sideline and Shepard took it all the way to the endzone.
There's the lead 31-24! No way Oklahoma should have been in this game yet here we are, one stop away from the Sooners running out of Rocky Top with a victory.
Zack Sanchez makes a great play on 3rd down and intercepts the pass sealing the victory for the Sooners. The most improbable and unlikely Sooner wins I have ever witnessed with my own eyes. Also a win that could catapult them into a 9-0 starts before facing Baylor, TCU, and OSU to finish the season.

Football is BACK

 The time has finally come to get your favorite snacks, invite your favorite people, and get in front of the TV! The official start of college football is upon us and I could not be more excited. Of course I can not watch every single game so there are a few that I will be paying special attention too.
The first games are tonight (THURSDAY Sept. 3) and here are a few games I'll be paying attention too and some reasons why.

• Oklahoma State @ Central Michigan (ESPNU @ 6pm CT)

I do not expect this game to be very close at all. The Cowboys will handle Central Michigan fairly easy and I don't expect much drama. With that being said, it is always interesting to see what the state schools look like out of the gate. I am interested in how returning starting Sophomore quarterback Mason Rudolph looks in his first season opener as the Cowboy's leader.
There has been a lot of optimism about the defense coming out of fall camp this year with Mike Gundy saying this is the fastest defense he has had during his coaching career at OSU. So I will be watching the defense pretty intently.
In the end I expect OSU to win their road opener 48-20.

• Michigan @ Utah (Fox Sports 1 @ 7:30pm CT) 

I am extremely excited for this game for many reasons. Our first look at new Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. He's had success everywhere he has been. First, at Stanford where he took the Cardinal too new heights in the PAC-12. Then in the NFL with the 49ers he was able to take them to a super bowl and a couple conference championship games. Now back at his alma-mater Michigan, people are thinking he will bring them back to the dominance they used to demonstrate on the field.
On the other side, Utah has some Oklahoma ties on the team. Former OU quarterback and South Moore Alum Kendal Thompson is battling for the starting quarterback position. Coming off an ACL injury and right behind senior QB Travis Wilson it is going to be interesting to see if both of them get some snaps. Also, the passing game was a struggle last year so whoever can throw the ball better is likely to be the guy going forward.
I like Utah in this game because they are at home and that defense of theirs is one of the best in the country. 30-24 Utah.

• TCU @ Minnesota (ESPN @ 8pm CT)

Another Big 12 team opening up on a Thursday night, I love it. This game features two teams riding a pretty big wave of momentum from the previous year.
TCU is the number two ranked team in the country returning their starting quarterback and heisman candidate Trevon Boykin. They will have a chip on their shoulder after being left out of the college football playoff last year and look to win the big-12 outright for the first time in history.
Minnesota finished last season pretty strong and have been some people's pick to win their division in the BIG-10. Which would be huge for a program like Minnesota moving forward. In the end I like TCU to come out on top 38-21 and avoid a huge upset on the road.

With Saturday being the big day for college football I will have plenty more intriguing games to write about before then!

-Ryan Fields