For me at least, 2007 has been a pretty crappy year. So for the last six months, I have been eagerly awaiting writing and posting the obligatory "best of" year-end news stories. Enjoy it after the jump...
15. Saving Grace debuts...then asks OKC for money.
When Saving Grace debuted, we thought it was a big deal and kind of cool. Seriously, how many times is a cable crime drama going to be set in our hometown. But after a few episodes we realized the show sucked and reinforced a tremendously terrible stereotype of OKC. Then, just a few months ago, the producers of the show came to town with Holly Hunter and asked for money to possibly film scenes in Oklahoma. Screw that. That's a dumb idea, kind of like building a Bass Pro Shops near downtown. Plus, we're hoping that Grace will accept a higher paying job in Texas like most other Oklahomans.
14. Big 12 Basketball Tournament comes to town. Is actually a success.
The Big 12 Men and Womens Basketball Tournament came to town in March. According to the people who allegedly know these things, it was considered a success because attendance was strong and a lot of people from out-of-town spent a lot of money. What was lost in all the success was the silly inaccurate "step meter" that city leaders used to gauge the distance between the Ford Center and Myriad Cox Center and Bricktown. Seriously, it was like they had a Courtney Paris mark off the steps while walking on giant stilts. Someone should get sued for false advertising.
13. Gary England makes The Daily Show.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Pf3rcT-gu-Y
Does anyone think it's a tad ironic that only a few months after making fun of Gary England that the Writer's Guild of America goes on strike, halting production of The Daily Show. Hmmn...maybe the fancy big wig Hollywood types will reconsider the next time they mess with Lord Gary.
12. 1957 Plymouth Belvedere is unearthed. Tulsa finds a way to screw it up.
I don't know too much about old cars. Sometimes, I know that a whole whole bunch of them show up on S. Meridian and white trash people line up along the street, drink beer and beg fat girls to flash their breasts. Also, I don't know too much about Tulsa. But I do know they seem to be screwing up stuff, like putting an old car in a time capsule and then unearthing it 50-years later only to find out they should have frozen it in carbonite.
11. Patrick Gets Divorced.
Yeah...so maybe the list is a little subjective. I guess this is the benefit if owning your own website.
10. Sonics Announce Plans to move to Oklahoma City.
It's still not a done deal, but it looks like the Sonics may move to Oklahoma City. If you're tremendously bored, you may want to check out a couple of interviews I did from my SonicsBeat days with some Seattle "mover and shakers" Chris Van Dyk and Steven Pyeatt regarding the whole arena issue in Seattle.
9. The Fiesta Bowl Debacle.
As I said, 2007 has been a pretty crummy year. And I should have known it was going to be after the debacle known as the Fiesta Bowl. Being on the"losing side" of what will go down in history as one of the greatest games ever played is a really crappy way to lose. Maybe even the worst. At least I kind of know what it's like to be a Kentucky basketball fan.
8. Centennial Celebration takes place. Is considered very fun and very cool if you are very lame.
As we have discussed in the past, this was kind-of-sort-of Oklahoma's second centennial in the past 20 years. The first one was in 1989 when we celebrated the Land Run, which everyone called the centennial. I don't remember too much about that one, but I hope it was better than this one, because the 2007 centennial was obviously planned by stuffy 50 year olds who enjoy reading the Oklahoman. For one, the big expensive parade was outdone by a Halloween Parade put on by the Gazette. And the only highlight of the concert was that Garth Brooks didn't sing.
7. Fun times at Oklahoma county jails.
Last October we shared some stuff regarding the Custer County Jail and how the sheriff was basically trying to recreate some Girls Gone Wild prison-style stuff. Then, just a month later, Joe Francis, the founder of Girls Gone Wild, was held in the Grady County Jail in Chickasha. While in jail, he accused the guards of denying him food and blankets and threatening to strap him naked to a chair for 48 hours. What the hell is going on with our state county jails. Maybe something cool will happen in Beaver County in 2008.
6. HB 1804: The Racism Bill.
Earlier this year, our brilliant state government past a draconian bill that basically discriminates against illegal aliens (i.e. the people who escape to the US from Mexico so they can work the lower-wage, hard ass jobs that nobody else will work.) Anyway, the mastermind behind the bill, Randy Terrill, is now being linked to racist hate groups. Imagine that.
5. Three Weeks of Rain.
Last June, we broke the Oklahoma City record for consecutive days with rain. The rain caused floods, which sucked. It also ruined three good weeks of summer. That sucked, too, albeit to a lesser degree.
4. Dean Blevins On-Air Urination.
Last January, Dean Blevins had surgery. Then Jim and Al called to check in on him. The rest, as Clark Matthews says, is history.
3. Ice Storm 2007
The good news about the ice storm. I was assigned a generous cool insurance adjuster who got me $1,800 in damage on my house. The bad news. After deductibles and depreciation, I only got $300. The other bad news, a bunch of people were without power and even a few people died. For some reason, I am now expecting and ice storm of the century every 2-3 years.
2. The attack of Mike Beckett, the OU Scrotal Assassin.
When the Oklahoman ran this story last August, I don't think they expected the buzz it would create. We didn't either. The day we posted Mike Beckett's picture, traffic went through the roof. I guess people like stories that involve torn scrotum incidents at sports bars.
1. Gundygate
The video that (according to a mother of children) started it all. Thank you Mike Gundy.
