More from The Q&A: Jeff Green
Even though Jeff Green might have a Thunder super fan — a guy in a No. 22 jersey and a green spandex suit covering him from head to toe was spotted recently — the title of original Jeff Green super fan was long ago taken.
Jenni Carlson: When you were at Georgetown, your mom was not only your biggest fan but also was a super fan.
Jeff Green: She’s a bigger star than me. She had her own chant.
JC: Her own chant?
JG: She walked in, they started screaming, “Jeff Green’s mom,” until she stood up and waved and then they stopped.
JC: Nice.
JG: I hated it.
JC: What? Why?
JG: It’d be, like, during the game or during a timeout and you’d just hear, “Jeff Green’s mom!” And she’d be on the jumbo tron. I’ve got to sit there and wait until it’s done.
JC: Your mom was a bigger attraction that you were.
JG: Still is, actually. She goes to all the Georgetown games. She still gets the same type of ovation.
JC: OK, I want you to finish these sentences. This team’s start to the season is …
JG: An improvement from last year. We’re playing a lot harder, a lot better, a lot more together. We’re playing defense.
JC: Scott Brooks’ practices are …
JG: Intense. That’s it.
JC: Kevin Durant is …
JG: Tall. (Laughs.)
JC: All right, funny man.
JG: An All-Star. He’s very talented. He works hard. Just a great player.
JC: This team’s personality is …
JG: We’re very down to earth. A lot of people say that. You see what we’ve put on Twitter and how we respond to a lot of the fans. A lot of people really appreciate that. A lot of athletes don’t do that. I think it is true. I think we’re the team that tweets the most throughout the whole league.
JC: The team’s comedian is …
JG: James.
JC: More than you?
JG: More than me. I’m not really a comedian.
JC: We hear you’re a funny guy.
JG: Nah, it’s James.
JC: The team’s best dressed is …
JG: Me. (Snickers.)
JC: I knew that was coming. OK, the team’s hardest worker is …
JG: The Thunder. There’s no one person. Everybody works hard.
More from The Q&A: Rumble the Bison
Lots of fun questions for Rumble the Bison.
Lots of fun answers from the Thunder mascot.
Check out what the big fellow has to say about this year’s team and more:
Jenni Carlson: I’ve got to ask you about your team. Are these guys going to make the playoffs this year?
Rumble the Bison: I am keeping my fingers crossed. If there’s anything I can do to support the team to get there, I’m going to do it.
JC: Better dunker — you or K.D.?
RTB: Oh, K.D. No question.
JC: You guys trading any secrets?
RTB: He’s been helping me a little over the summer when he had some free time. He’s a league above me.
JC: Are you worried about any of these guys taking the title of fan favorite from you?
RTB: You know, there’s a lot of good characters on our team. Almost all of them could have that possibility to take over, but people just love an animal, so I don’t know.
JC: I’ve got to ask about your off-season. This time of year, everyone talks about what the team did to get ready for the season. What about you? What did you do to get ready for the season?
RTB: I stayed very busy this summer being out in the community. We’ve been to a number of schools, community events, parades, you name it. If you’ve seen me at these events, I’m basically doing aerobics for an hour, two hours, however long I’m at the event. On top of that, I’ve been in the gym working on my dunks and have been developing a new dunk team which will debut sometime early in the season.
JC: Someone wanted me to ask you if you’ve thought about naming your signature dunk “The Rumble Tumble.” Any chance that could happen?
RTB: That might be something fun for our announcer Jim to throw in there. I’ll leave that up to him. He’s the expert with the calls.
JC: This season opener next week will be your first. You obviously had your debut mid-season last season, but is there a different excitement for the season opener?
RTB: Absolutely. Last year when I was unveiled, it felt like opening night, but this being a true opening night, it’s just something special. Everything from top to bottom is fresh and exciting. I can’t wait.
JC: It’s opening week next week, but it’s also Halloween week. What does Rumble dress up like on Halloween?
RTB: I have a closet full of costumes. It’s hard to pick which one. I’ve got anything from a pumpkin to a giant dollar bill. I have a chicken costume. You name it, I’ve got it. Halloween makes it a little difficult to choose which one I want to wear.
JC: The Ford Center renovations, did that mean some new digs for you? Or would that be new stall?
RTB: They’re taking care of me well. After the lightning strike when I started walking on two feet, I got rid of the stall and all that. I moved up to the locker rooms now. They just did an amazing job, and I can’t be any more happy.
JC: I know you’re on Twitter. Are you a Twitter fanatic?
RTB: Borderline. It’s just been such a neat tool I can use when I’m out on appearances or traveling to an appearance or if I’m just sitting in the office. It’s a fun way to stay connected with our fans and to get feedback from fans.
JC: Ever any issues with your hooves using the computer keyboard?
RTB: Got that worked out. Again with the lightning strike, that changed more than the walking on two feet.
We interrupt this football season …
Apparently, this Blake Griffin guy is pretty good.
The Los Angeles Clipper rookie is making some serious noise this preseason. Last week, he scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in only 29 minutes against San Antonio. That prompted Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to say: “He’s a monster. He deserved to be picked where he was picked, that’s for sure.”
By the way, Popovich meant that he was a monster in a complementary way.
Check out what Griffin said about the coach’s quote.
You’ll also want to check out this dunk that happened Sunday night when the Clippers faced the in-town rival Lakers. Big Blake had his first big-time posterization since turning pro.
It has prompted his teammates to give him a new nickname: Amazin’.
I suspect DJ Mbenga would agree.
An athlete who really is larger than life
I thought Dick Hoyt would be taller.
Truth is, there was no way he could be as big in real life as he was in my head. It’s impossible, after all, for someone to be larger than life.
Hoyt is the man profiled Sunday. He is the 69-year-old father of a 47-year-old wheelchair-bound son, and together, they have finished over a thousand athletic events. Road races. Half marathons. Marathons. Even triathlons.
It is truly an inspirational story.
And Tuesday evening, Hoyt told it to a packed auditorium at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. He was the featured speaker at the City Rescue Mission’s Mission of Hope Banquet.
Few made it through his entire presentation without shedding at least a few tears.
But there were plenty of laughs, too. Hoyt told the story of Rick’s birth, about how his son’s umbilical cord became wrapped around his neck, cutting off his oxygen and leaving him with cerebral palsy. When doctors examined Rick a few months later, they had some devastating words for the Hoyts.
“Put him in an institution,” doctors told them. “He’s going to be nothing but a vegetable for the rest of his life.”
Hoyt paused as he told the story Tuesday night.
“We still haven’t figured out what kind of vegetable he is,” he said.
Hoyt’s message is very strong, very powerful, but what struck me as he talked Tuesday was how human he is. Yes, he’s done something amazing. Sure, he’s physically doing at 69 years old what few of us can imagine. But what he’s done hasn’t been because he’s so big or so tall. He isn’t super-human.
Dick Hoyt is just a normal guy who set his mind and his heart on something amazing, then he did what it took to make it happen.
That makes him super human.
And despite his average stature, that makes him larger than life.
Mr. Treadmill running to gain attention … for others
And even if he broke the Guinness Book of World Records mark for miles run on a treadmill earlier today, the airman from Altus still won’t be widely known.
That’s just fine with him.
Brustad made his treadmill attempt at the Downtown Sheraton this week not because he wanted to see his name in the record books. He didn’t do it to grab attention. He didn’t do it to make headlines.
Truth is, he‘s probably a little squeamish about all the attention he’s been getting. A column that I wrote earlier this week about Brustad snagged tens of thousands of hits on the internet. Among internet sensations, he’s not that gal from “Britain’s Got Talent” but the crazy guy on a treadmill has definitely created a buzz.
Thing is, Brustad would be doing cartwheels about the attention if that were possible while running on a treadmill. That’s because attention for his efforts is attention for the 168 victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. That’s who he’s been running for, after all.
He’s been running in their memory. He’s been running for the most noble of causes.
He’s been running for all the right reasons.
Brustad, by the way, isn’t a native of Oklahoma. He grew up in New York state and only moved here a few years ago. But the bombing memorial struck a chord with him. The 168 victims motivated him to run 168 miles from Altus to Oklahoma City last year. It also motivated him run for a week — 168 hours.
He calls his efforts the 168-4-168.
And frankly, it would be difficult to do what Brustad did if you only had selfish motives. If you were only moved by personal gain, I don’t think you could run 60-plus miles a day on a treadmill.
Have you ever tried to spend even an hour on a treadmill? It’s boring with a capital B.
But Brustad spent hour after solitary hour on a treadmill. He did it all in the name of those bombing victims. He did it all for the right reasons.
More from The Q&A: Kevin Durant
Had a fun conversation with Thunder superstar Kevin Durant before the team’s last home game. As the season winds to a close, he reflected on this year and on what’s to come.
Jenni Carlson: I wonder if you could give your “best of”s for the year. I’ll throw out a few categories. Team MVP?
Kevin Durant: That’s tough. I’d have to say Russell (Westbrook). He’s been the point guard, and he’s been handling the offense very well. His stats speak for itself. He’s been playing good basketball throughout the year, and he’s gotten better and better.
JC: I should’ve told you — you can vote for yourself.
KD: Nah. I don’t think it’s me.
JC: What about best off the bench?
KD: We’ve got so many guys that come off the bench and help us. I would say Kyle Weaver. He’s been helping us out in different areas. Scoring the basketball. Passing. Playing defense.
JC: Is there an unsung hero?
KD: Nick Collison. He’s been counted on to do so much on this team — rebound the ball, play defense. He’s been one of our go-to big guys, one of our consistent big guys throughout the year. He doesn’t complain; he was in the starting lineup, then he was taken out. But he still comes and plays hard.
JC: Who’s been most improved this year?
KD: Jeff Green. He’s stepped his game up throughout the whole year. He’s been playing great basketball.
JC: Biggest surprise?
KD: Um, Kyle Weaver. In the off-season, he was a little timid. He didn’t want to be aggressive like we wanted. But as the season went along, he’s been more aggressive. We all know he can play defense, but he’s been helping us on the offensive end.
JC: Most memorable moment?
KD: I have a lot of them, but I’d have to say the one where Jeff hit the big shot against Golden State. That was a big one for us. We needed that win, and he got it for us. I’d also say when Russ dunked on Mario Chalmers. That was a good moment for me.
JC: Once the off-season starts, you’re going to take some summer school at Texas. What classes are you going to take?
KD: I don’t know yet. I’ve got to talk to my academic adviser.
JC: But you’ll actually be back on campus?
KD: I’ll be back on campus with regular students.
JC: That has to be weird.
KD: It was last year because I spent the whole year away from school. I was waking up in the summer at 5:30 to workout at 6, be done with workouts by 7:15, then head to class. It was tough, man. I wasn’t waking up that much during the season. I would wake up at 9:30 or 10 to go to practice.
JC: How many classes will you take?
KD: I’ll take two, I think. D.J. Augustine, plays for the Bobcats, he’s going to be with me, too. Last year, I was just by myself. With him there, it’s going to be a little bit easier.
JC: How far along will you be after the summer?
KD: Give me three or four more summers, and I’ll be through my sophomore year. I’ve got a long ways to go.
More from The Q&A: Charlie Heatly
Everyone knows Charlie Heatly as the guy who plays the music at The Big House during the state basketball tournaments.
The former basketball coach at Lindsay High School has been around the state tournaments for five decades, so he has plenty of great memories and lots of fantastic stories.
Jenni Carlson: You got to see some great things as a coach here, but you’ve got to see some pretty special stuff from this seat, too.
Charlie Heatly: Gosh, last year, some of those games … last year watching (Keiton) Page and (Rotnei) Clarke, oh, what a treat that was. I don’t know whether we’ll ever reach that again or not.
JC: Then, there was Pocola-Walters and that crazy finish.
CH: It was probably the most miraculous. I’ve never seen anything quite like that. But as far as enjoyment, I think I enjoyed watching Page and Clarke more than anybody else.
JC: What were your early days as The Big House deejay like?
CH: I’m not sure if it was the eight-tracks … but I’d have to rewind back in those days. I’d play a song then have to rewind it. I had them all scattered out.
JC: Wish I’d been here in one of those early years to see you in action.
CH: I was busy — “Don’t call timeout; I haven’t got the music ready.” … I enjoy it. It’s the most exciting two weeks of my year. I went to Tulsa the last two years and played the music for the Tournament of Champions. That’s fun to do.
JC: You keep picking up gigs, and you’re going to be a full-time deejay. You’ll be playing weddings, proms.
CH: I can’t imagine that. (Laughs.) That’s not my cup of tea.
JC: If times get any tougher in the economy …
CH: Now you’re talking. I might need to think about that.
JC: If things don’t improve, I might be trying to take your job.
CH: I know, I know. (Laughs.)
Women’s sports-travaganza
It’s Women’s History Month.
What? You didn’t have it on your calendar?
Well, ESPN has you covered. The Worldwide Leader will start a month-long celebration of women’s sports on Sunday morning during Outside the Lines (8 a.m. Oklahoma time) with an investigation about the under-reporting of concussions in young female athletes. That will be the first of many stories, including an interview with Oklahoma women’s basketball players Courtney and Ashley Paris.
There will also be a women’s sports marathon on ESPN Classic on March 14. The shows will explore everything from Title IX to Danica Patrick.
Already, ESPN.com has a page dedicated to women’s sports. On it, you can read stories about well-known female athletes Billy Jean King and Michelle Wie as well as lesser-known ones such as Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir and Melanie Oudin.
Check it out, and celebrate Women’s History Month.
More from The Q&A: Nyeshia Stevenson
The Oklahoma guard had lots of fun stuff to say when I chatted with her for my weekly Q&A.
Here’s some of the outtakes:
Jenni Carlson: You have some pretty diverse literary interests, too — “Harry Potter” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” among them.
Nyeshia Stevenson: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” I had to read that in middle school. Our teacher made us read it together as a class, and I really liked it. We went into depth with it. “Harry Potter,” we read that as a class, too. I’m like, “‘Harry Potter’? I do not want to read this.” And I’m raising my hand, “Can I read? Can I read?” I read the second one on my own and the third one on my own. I didn’t go any further after that because the books got too big.
JC: You have to be a weightlifter to carry around those later books.
NS: Yeah, I just stopped.
JC: I hear you’ve got some hidden talents. I have to know — are you better at knitting or skateboarding?
NS: Honestly, I’m better at knitting. I just started to skateboard about three years ago, but I’ve been knitting since sixth grade. My principal had this thing where he wanted everyone in the whole school to do clubs. We had to pick two clubs. We had a big list, and we had to number one through 10. Just for a joke, I put knitting. It was like my No. 9 pick. I got put in knitting, and I’m like, “Oh, my gosh.” And I fell in love with it. I went home from school, and I said, “Mom, we have to go to Wal-Mart and get knitting needles and some yarn.” And she was like, “What?” I was like, “We just have to do it.” From then on, I’ve just been knitting.
JC: So, you still do it?
NS: I don’t ever really finish anything. I just start. I have like three things started, and they’re just sitting there not finished. I don’t have enough free time right now.
Millwood coach belongs in Hall
Somehow it was ironic that I received a ballot for the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame this week.
Ironic because I’ve been working on a project about Varryl Franklin, the legendary Millwood High School basketball coach. Ironic, too, because Franklin is never up for these types of honors.
You can search high and low for a hall of fame that Franklin is a part of, and you won’t find it. No coaches’ hall of fame. No state hall of fame. No national one either.
If Franklin is a member of a hall of fame, my Google searching prowess has failed me.
On his basketball record alone, he should be a hall of famer. He has won 11 state championships as the head boys basketball coach at Millwood. That’s more prep basketball titles than any other coach, alive or dead, male or female in Oklahoma history.
Think of all the great high school coaches this state has produced. Bertha Teague. Jenks Simmons. Even Eddie Sutton and Sherri Coale spent some time in the high school ranks. None of those greats won anywhere close to the number of titles that Franklin has won. That should be enough to get him into a hall of fame.
But the thing is, his greatness is so much bigger than those on-court triumphs. He is a maker of men, a builder of leaders. He has helped to encourage and empower generation after generation of athletes at Millwood.
He did it as a longtime football assistant. He did it as a basketball assistant before becoming the head coach 30 years ago. And he continues to do it to this day.
One of his former players called him an “unsung hero.”
Maybe the reason that no hall of fame has ever come calling is because Franklin could care less about individual honors or personal accolades. He doesn’t ask for them. Heck, I get the feeling like he doesn’t even like them.
But Franklin deserves them.
Goodness knows, there are bunch of deserving candidates on my ballot for the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. But this much I know – it’s a shame that there’s no write-in area. If there was, I know who’s name I’d put there.
