Thursday Bolts – 9.17.09
Serge Ibaka, James Harden, Kyle Weaver and Byron Mullens all took in the UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma City last night. Said Harden: “This UFC fighting is no joke!!!”
I dislike rumors, especially those written in Croatian, but this website claims that Marcin Gortat told Nenad Krstic at the Euros that he thinks he’ll be traded to Oklahoma City. Crude translation: “From Gortat I heard that the current combination. He asked me that in Oklahoma, because there is a possibility that it could be. In this case, as I said, the two of us to be” combined “positions of four five”, Krstić told Serbian journalists in Poland.
Ball Don’t Lie has the top 10 feel-good moments of the last decade and No. 1 involves a new Thunderer: “Everything about what Cheeks did just defined cool. He had to be 25 feet away from Gilbert as she first started to break up, separated by team employees, camera crews, wires, obstacles, whatever. But he managed to bound over there in seconds. Cheeks has never wanted much to do with the spotlight, from his playing career until now, and yet he didn’t hesitate for a second to make himself part of this story. Because this kid, this scared kid, needed help with her story. For character to be revealed so swiftly, like that, so definitively, it just makes you feel … well, good.”
SLAM’s new dictionary is pretty clever. Sadly, no Thunder definitions. Oh well.
Nick Collison, having problems renting a fridge: “Had to list 5 references to rent refrigerator. @Jackbrownlee please dont tell them about the frozen cat incident.Relax PETA kidding bout cat.”
Serbia advanced to the quarterfinals behind 16 from Krstic.
This website is counting down the top 50 NBA players and evidently they have nicknamed Russell Westbrook “Black Powder”: “Seriously though, it’s a bit of an indulgence being able to think of the two of them through the lens of the other. Durant is impossibly long and hits from so deep you can’t think of killer, cold-blooded nick names quick enough to match him. Westbrook is compact like a firecracker, but not juvenile like one in any way. Whereas Durant still feels like he’s growing into himself, Westbrook feels like Athena springing fully formed into the league. Forget firecrackers, and leave the guns at home, Black Powder is here to stay.”
More on the open tryout being held by the 66ers: “The 66ers, a minor league professional basketball team, are hosting player tryouts Oct. 10 and 11 at the Tulsa Convention Center, 100 Civic Center. “These tryouts offer a unique opportunity for players to get noticed,” said Nate Tibbetts, the 66ers’ head coach. “Every year we seem to find that diamond in the rough.” The Oklahoma City Thunder owns and operates the Tulsa-based NBA Development League team. This open tryout allows athletes to showcase their talents in front of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the 66ers basketball operational and coaching staff.”
