Oklahoma
Mike Gundy blasts Oklahoma State critics: 'When they go to bed, they're the same failure they were before'
As Oklahoma State is headed for its worst season since Mike Gundy took over in 2005, the coach had a message for his critics. Expectations were high entering the year as the Cowboys returned most of their starters from a team that finished runner up in the Big 12 in 2023.
However, with just three games remaining on the schedule, OSU has still yet to win a conference game. The Cowboys have not failed to make a bowl game in the past 18 seasons, but would need to win out to become bowl eligible this year.
Gundy and the team have rightfully faced criticism as there seems to be little explanation as to where things went so wrong. In his press conference on Monday, the coach came back with a strong response.
“This place has had tremendous success for 18-and-a-half years,” he said. “Unfortunately in life, most people are weak and as soon as things start to not go as good as they thought, they fall apart and they panic. Then they want to point the finger and blame other people. You see it happen in every day life. That’s why I refuse to watch the TV and watch the news because I get tired of people complaining and bitching about this and that versus just doing something about it and trying to figure out a way to make it better. That’s what happens in college athletics.
“In most cases when people are negative and voice their opinion, they’re the same ones that can’t pay their own bills. They’re not taking care of themselves. They’re not taking care of their own family. They’re not taking care of their own job that they have an obligation to speak out and complain about others because it makes them feel better. Then in the end when they go to bed at night, they’re the same failure they were before they said anything negative about anybody else.”
Some things have been out of Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State’s control. The Cowboys have lost several key players due to injury on defense and certainly no one is going to blame the coach for that.
However, the quarterback play has also been less than stellar and teams have figured out to how to defend running back Ollie Gordon after his breakout season a year ago. That’s something that falls on Gundy and the coaching staff to fix and so far they haven’t found a solution.
Gundy continued to say he is urging his team to continue to fight until the end of the season regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in. He also urged fans to continue to supports the Cowboys and assured them that while things might look bleak at the moment, he has a plan to make sure the future of the program is in good hands.
“I think what’s important for all the Oklahoma State fans to know is this: We’re very aware of what’s going on and at some point in life, we all have to put trust in somebody,” he said. “I think they need to trust that we have a good plan for what’s going on here in the big picture and we have answers. Sometimes they’re not short term. Sometimes they might be long-term answers. Then secondly, in the end, the very best thing that people can do is 100% buy in. You’ve gotta be on somebody’s team. You can’t go through life by yourself.
“I’m gonna go into a meeting at 1:30 and have a similar conversation with the team, but it will only last about two minutes because they’ve heard this from me 1,000 times during their career and they understand. So what I’ll tell them is that we as a staff and me as a head coach have been working over the last two days to give you guys a plan. Now we’re asking you to buy in and execute this plan and then on Saturday go play and turn it lose and have some fun and compete. What we and I are looking for is guys that are willing to do that. That’s called being a team. That’s called being part of an organization. It’s really that simple for us.”
It’s a lengthy explanation for the team’s struggles this year but only results and the field will truly cause the critics to cease. OSU will look for its first Big 12 win when it hits the road to face TCU on Saturday.
Oklahoma
1 injured in I-40 rollover crash in OKC
One person was hurt in a crash Wednesday night along Interstate 40 in northeast Oklahoma City, according to police.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says 26-year-old Jada Berry was driving on I-40 near Interstate 35 when her vehicle left the roadway and rolled over twice.
Berry was injured in the crash and taken to a local hospital. Her condition has not yet been released.
OHP says Berry was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. No charges have been filed at this time.
Troopers at the scene say no one else was in the car.
Oklahoma
New restaurants coming to OKC in 2026
In 2026, Oklahoma City’s food scene will continue to expand. From new locations of fan favorite Oklahoma restaurants to new fast food chains, here’s the food coming to OKC in 2026.
Tamashii Ramen House (Quail Springs)
After the success of other locations, the fourth Tamishii location will hit OKC in 2026. The new location will be located at Kilpatrick and Memorial, near Quail Springs.
This Japanese restaurant has various flavors of ramen, fried rice, gyoza, and much more.
Tamashii has three other locations across the state:
Bojangles
Two Bojangles are expected to open in 2026. These will be the fast food chain’s first locations in the state.
One restaurant is finishing construction at North Penn Avenue and West Memorial Road. This restaurant is set to open in early 2026. The other location will be near Interstate 240 and South Eastern Avenue in southeast Oklahoma City, and it has no timeline for its opening.
Bojangles specializes in Southern fried chicken and biscuits.
Papadeaux’s
The classic Cajun restaurant Papadeaux will soon have a restaurant in OKC. This restaurant’s opening will mark Oklahoma’s first Papaduex location, joining the more than 30 restaurants nationwide.
It is not known when this restaurant will open.
New restaurants brought flavors from different parts of the world to Oklahoma in 2025.
Oklahoma
Giant leg lamp lights up small Oklahoma town, turning a Christmas classic into a year-round attraction
Every holiday season, families flock to Main Street in Chickasha, Oklahoma, for its parade and dazzling light show. But it’s not just the brightly lit Christmas tree catching their attention — a nearly 50-foot-tall leg lamp is stealing the spotlight.
The giant statue, which officially reopened as a permanent attraction in November 2022, pays homage to the 1983 Christmas classic “A Christmas Story.” It’s inspired by one of the film’s iconic scenes, where Ralphie’s dad Mr. Parker gets the leg lamp as a “major award” for winning a newspaper crossword puzzle contest.
“When he pulled the leg lamp out of the box, I could not get that out of my mind. I mean, that was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” Tim Elliot, CEO of Standley Systems, a family-owned business technology company based in Chickasha, told “CBS Mornings.”
A few years ago, that scene made a lightbulb go off in Elliot’s head – put a giant leg lamp front and center on Main Street.
The Chickasha Festival of Light with its 3.5 million twinkle lights and 170-foot-tall Christmas tree has frequently been named one of the best light shows in the country, bringing more than 250,000 visitors each year. But Elliot wanted to add something special that would draw people to Chickasha year-round. So, he pitched the quirky idea at a meeting for economic development.
“I pulled the leg lamp out and set it on the conference table, and I said, ‘How about a 100-foot leg lamp at the end of Main Street?’”
Attendees laughed and shrugged off the idea, suggesting it was never going to happen. But Elliot was determined. He raised more than $1 million, and in 2021, the statue went up.
But like the movie, the lamp kicked off controversy.
Jim Cowan, Chickasha economic development director and president of the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce, said attorneys representing Warner Brothers sent a letter to the Chickasha Community Foundation that essentially read, “cease and desist, destroy it, tear it down.”
“We were very determined. We weren’t going to let that happen. That if we had to go and battle in the courts we would because we felt like we did things the right way,” Cowan said.
The group explained to Warner Brothers that they were not profiting off the lamp because they don’t charge admission, and a neighboring gift shop sells licensed products from the film. Elliot says the group hasn’t heard from the entertainment company in about a year and a half.
That’s good news for visitors – like John Prock from Washington, D.C., who drove from his parents’ house in Oklahoma to visit the giant leg lamp.
“My parents mentioned it, so I came down to visit them, and they said, ‘Well, while you’re here, let’s go see the leg lamp.’ So we literally hopped in the car, drove almost three hours to get here, and here we are,” Prock said.
The lamp has become a beacon for tourists and businesses.
“Tourism is at an all time high and a lot of that can be traced one way or another to a leg lamp,” Cowan said.
Chet Hitt grew up just 20 miles away before moving out west and becoming a successful business developer. Now, he’s back home – and has big plans, investing millions in the town.He has plans to develop a business park and renovate downtown, as more and more people come to town to see the lamp.
“You drive down this little town and you see kids playing and the community behind things and the support. It just really they buy into what’s here,” Hitt said, adding that he hopes to see continued growth in the town over the next decade.
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