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SPORTS BUZZ
TJ Mayes Stray Kat 500 Car Show Dewey , OK
Backwater Creek Brickhouse Saloon Shawnee , OK

SPORTS BUZZ

Anything but a ‘ zero ’

By Joe Mack
Super Sweet 16 Kickoff Concert : Thompson Square , Troy Cartwright , & Amanda Coffee Kickapoo Casino Harrah , OK
Night Grooves : A Hip Hop Spectacular Jabee , J French , Nitro , Starr Lyfe , Gregory II , J . Reed , Shawn Reidy , JR Graves , Blake Tyler , Castro , 2 Much , Full Fledge , Lee Graves , Gatsby , Sativa Prophets Lafferty ’ s Motorsports Elgin , OK
Pure Prairie League 7 Clans Casino Red Rock , OK
Brent Giddens Band Cool River Bar ( 7 Clans Casino-First Council ) Newkirk , OK
Devil to Pay / Get Fired / Cro-Bone Blue Note Lounge OKC , OK
Reeves Brothers Bordertown Casino & Arena Wyandotte , OK
The Outsiders 50th Anniversary Celebration & Fundraiser Appearances by : Ralph Macchio , C . Thomas Howell , Darren Dalton , DannyBoy , Slim Jim Phantom , Deborah Foreman , & Robert Romanus Music by : DJ Lethal & Slaine Cain ’ s Ballroom Tulsa , OK
Alice Cooper Choctaw Casino & Resort Durant , OK
Gin Blossoms Choctaw Casino & Hotel Pocola , OK
OKLAHOMA CITY – The 2016-2017 NBA regular season will go down in history as Russell Westbrook ’ s .
Interestingly enough , the Oklahoma City Thunder wears the number 0 on his jersey . While many will argue the number is empty , in Russell ’ s case , I don ’ t think any other number could be nearly as complete .
The schematics of the number 0 lend itself to neither a beginning nor an end ; one constant union that flows unto itself . Sorry to sound like the preacher describing the rings at your bro ’ s wedding last summer , but the platitude holds true .
Westbrook , while prone to ( not all his fault ) turnovers , posted record breaking numbers this season , averaging a triple-double in three categories : 31.6 points , 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists . This marks the first time a player has posted triple-double averages for an entire season since Oscar Robertson back in 1962- ’ 63 . Westbrook also set the all-time record for triple doubles in a season with 42 , surpassing Robertson ’ s 41 . Robertson presented Westbrook with a plaque at the Thunder ’ s final regular season home game to thunderous chants of “ M-V-P ” that could be heard throughout the downtown OKC corridor .
“ It ’ s something I could never dream about , to have the “ Big O ” here in Oklahoma City ,” Westbrook said , according to Thunder media mainstay Nick Gallo . “ It ’ s never too soon to be blessed for things that you ’ ve done . I think of it differently . It ’ s all blessings coming from the man above to put me in a situation where I can be here with Oscar Robertson , be here in Oklahoma City and do different things on the basketball floor . I enjoy every moment of it and I embrace each moment .”
The chants of “ MVP ” have also been showered upon Westbrook in other NBA cities including Brooklyn and Orlando . His intense work ethic have earned him comparison ’ s to Michael Jordan , and with good health on his side , Westbrook will continue to climb the triple-double ladder and perhaps hold the overall record one day ( Robertson still holds
that career high mark of 181 total tripledoubles ).
Westbrook ’ s incredible season eases a bit of the pain left behind by Kevin Durant , who fled to the Golden State Warriors just weeks after the Durant-led Thunder dropped four straight games to the Warriors in last season ’ s Western Conference Finals . Now Thunder fans wonder if Westbrook would ’ ve been further along his path towards greatness without Durant in the limelight . Who cares ? As Westbrook eyes the future , the question circulating through his mind is likely , “ Why not ?”
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