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Sobriety Checkpoints In Oklahoma Used On Labor Day Weekend By OHP

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Sobriety Checkpoints In Oklahoma Used On Labor Day Weekend By OHP


The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says they see an uptick in impaired driving around holidays every year. To help prevent this issue, they set up checkpoints across the metro, to hopefully catch drunk drivers in action.

“It’s not because we want to ruin people’s lives,” says Trooper Lisa Jorgensen. “It’s because we want to save them.”

Over 13,000 people in the U.S. died from drunk or impaired driving in 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“We want people to drive safely,” said Trooper Jorgensen. “We want them to know that we’re out here hoping to catch some impaired drivers and get them off the road before they hurt or kill somebody.”

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Trooper Jorgensen says they pull over more drunk drivers on holiday weekends.

“With the extra day off work, going to the lake, drinking at the football games,” she says. “People don’t realize they’ve had too much to drink to drive safely.”

She also says this isn’t a new trend. According to OHP, Labor Day Weekend in 2021 saw 53 crashes related to drugs or alcohol, which resulted in two deaths.

“My goal is to have no crashes, injuries or fatalities that are a result of impaired driving,” Trooper Jorgensen said.

One way the OHP works toward this goal is through sobriety checkpoints.

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“We’re not running license plates or asking for driver’s licenses or names. We’re just having a 10 to 15 second conversation at the window,” Trooper Jorgensen explained. If we don’t see something, hear something, or smell something that makes us think there may be impaired driving going on then we let them go.”

But if something sends up a red flag, sobriety tests are brought in. If necessary, arrests are made.

“This will be their reminder to make a plan if they’re drinking,” Trooper Jorgensen said. “Call an Uber, make plans to have a designated driver.”

The checkpoint at I-40 and the Broadway Extension stopped five impaired drivers Saturday night. OHP wants people to remember to drive sober this Labor Day.





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Oklahoma

Jokic, playing his ‘best basketball,’ fuels win

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Jokic, playing his ‘best basketball,’ fuels win


OKLAHOMA CITY — If Nikola Jokic wanted to campaign for MVP votes, his performance Monday night would have provided a pretty strong platform.

Jokic dominated despite battling elbow and ankle injuries one night after his Denver Nuggets lost to the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. He stuffed the box score with 35 points, 18 rebounds, 8 assists, a steal and a block in the Nuggets’ 140-127 win in the rematch between the teams, outshining Oklahoma City superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25 points, 7 assists), the player who might stand in the way of Jokic’s fourth MVP in five seasons.

But Jokic has never lobbied for MVP votes in the past and has no plans to do so this season, when he’s averaging career highs of 28.9 points, 10.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game, ranking among the league’s top three in each of those categories as well as rebounds (13.0).

“I will say that I think I’m playing the best basketball of my life, so if that’s enough, that’s enough,” Jokic said. “If not, the guy [Gilgeous-Alexander] deserves it. He’s really amazing.”

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Gilgeous-Alexander got the best of the battle of the MVP favorites on Sunday afternoon, scoring 40 points to lead the Thunder to a 127-103 win.

Denver mixed in zone looks Monday night, frequently committing a couple of defenders to Gilgeous-Alexander and limiting him to only 14 field goal attempts. Gilgeous-Alexander was held to 2 points on 1-of-2 shooting in the fourth quarter, as Denver executed coach Michael Malone’s plan to force the ball out of the NBA scoring leader’s hands.

“Just to give a different look,” said Jokic, who was 5-of-5 from the floor with a few assists in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets put the game away. “He’s definitely a top player in this league. He’s really talented. He’s so crafty. His midrange is really, really, really historical, I’m going to say. He’s a great player, so we try to make him take bad shots or just get rid of the ball.”

Denver’s defensive strategy was made simpler due to a hip strain suffered by Thunder All-Star forward Jalen Williams, who was sidelined for the second half.

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Malone attempted to persuade Jokic to sit out Monday night to nurse his sore left ankle and the right elbow contusion he suffered Sunday, which impacted a subpar shooting outing (10-of-23 from the floor, 2-of-10 from 3-point range) by the big man in the loss. While making the case via text message, Malone mentioned to Jokic that he had played 39, 38, 44 and 41 minutes in the Nuggets’ previous four games.

“Hell no,” Jokic replied, making it clear that he planned to play.

“I think part of that was also we lost,” Malone said, “and he wanted to lead this team and find a way to come in here and get a win today.”

Jokic joked that he had another motive.

“Because if I don’t play then I’m going to work out with Felipe [Eichenberger, Denver’s strength and conditioning coach],” Jokic said after logging 40 minutes in the victory. “And that’s much harder than playing.”

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Jokic instead delivered a performance as efficient as it was dominant. He was 15-of-20 from the floor, including an errant, one-handed heave from the backcourt just before the halftime buzzer. That was Jokic’s final miss of the night, as he made all eight of his field goal attempts in the second half despite significant soreness in his shooting elbow.

Malone didn’t pass up the opportunity to lobby on behalf of the face of Denver’s franchise.

“As we wind down this season, this whole MVP thing is really going to pick up,” Malone said. “You understand that; that’s a part of it. Obviously, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great player, and if he wins his first MVP, he’s deserving of that.

“My thing is this: If you didn’t know that Nikola won three MVPs, and I put Player A and Player B on paper and you had no idea that the guy who was averaging a triple-double, the guy who’s top three in the three major statistical categories, things that no one’s ever done, he wins the MVP 10 times out of 10. And if you don’t think so, I think you guys are all full of s—.”

The Nuggets’ win combined with the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss in Brooklyn bumped Denver (42-23) to second place in the West. Oklahoma City (53-12) still has an 11-game cushion.

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Asked if team records would go alongside the statistics for Player A and Player B, Malone noted that the Nuggets were the West’s top seed in 2022-23. Jokic finished as the MVP runner-up to Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid that season, the only time he didn’t win the honor in the past four years.

“So, if you want to use that card, I’m all for it,” he said. “But the one year Nikola didn’t win it, we were the No. 1 seed in the West. But I’ll never negative recruit.

“Shai is not a good player, [he’s] a great player, and if he wins it, I’ll actually clap my hands and be happy for him because he’s such a great guy who’s a great player. He’s good for this game. So it’s not Nikola versus Shai. For me, it’s me promoting my guy because I know what he means to this game. When you look at it from a historical perspective, he’s doing things that no one’s ever done.”



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For Oklahoma DL Offer Asher Ghioto, a Dream has Already Become a Reality

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For Oklahoma DL Offer Asher Ghioto, a Dream has Already Become a Reality


Most athletes that just finished their freshman season of high school football are just happy that they survived the season and are ready to finish the rest of their first year.

But for Asher Ghioto, his freshman year has held a lot more than the typical issues of finding where your classes are and adjusting to high school life.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Ghioto finished his freshman season at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL, with 66 tackles and 21 tackles for loss. He also had 15 quarterback hits and seven sacks. His performance along the defensive line helped lead the Bulldogs to a 10-2 record in 2024.

Recruiting interest in Ghioto really began to pick up in the weeks following the new year after he received offers from Alabama, Miami and Texas A&M within a two-week time frame. Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and others have also offered. Oklahoma made its scholarship offer on Feb. 19, and he has been on the Sooners’ radar ever since.

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“It felt amazing to receive the offer,” Ghioto told Sooners on SI. “This was one of my dream offers, knowing how well they teach their defensive line and how not only physically but mentally ready they are when they leave Oklahoma.”

Even though it is still early in the recruiting process, Ghioto understands how much of an honor it truly is to be in his position.

“It’s definitely a blessing getting this attention early on,” he said. “I feel like it gives me a lot of time to really see how everything works and get a feel for every one of the programs that come my way.”

Ghioto said he had only spoken with a couple members of the coaching staff heading into last weekend’s “Future Freaks” recruiting event in Norman. But he was excited to grow his relationship with them and meet the other defensive coaches.

“Some of the coaches I already have a relationship with are defensive line coach Todd Bates and defensive analyst Xavier Brewer. Coach Brewer is from Jacksonville and I have known him for quite a while, and Coach Bates I have talked to recently and he sounds like an amazing leader,” Ghioto said.

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There are many different things he was looking forward to last weekend, but one aspect stood out above the rest.

“I am looking forward to building a relationship with the staff and coaches there,” Ghioto said. “I’m excited to see the way everything is ran there and even more excited to learn more about the program.”

The recent group of defensive linemen and defensive players who have made their way to the NFL have made a lasting impact that shows prospects like Ghioto that coming to Oklahoma can get you to the next level.

“I feel the most interesting and best thing about the program from my perspective is how NFL-ready the players are out of college,” he said, adding that OU’s defensive line alumni in the NFL “is really a standout thing for me.”

Ghioto described himself as a player with clarity.

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“I am the type of player that wants to win,” he said. “I am aggressive, smart and want to come in with a mindset that I fear no one but God.”

As a high school freshman, Ghioto has a lot of time to decide where he would like to play his college career. But he already has goals in mind of things he would like to accomplish before his high school career is over.

“My goals going forward are to become the best leader and role model for the people around me,” he said.



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Oklahoma City hosts Denver following Gilgeous-Alexander’s 40-point showing

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Oklahoma City hosts Denver following Gilgeous-Alexander’s 40-point showing


Associated Press

Denver Nuggets (41-23, third in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (53-11, first in the Western Conference)

Oklahoma City; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT

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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -8.5; over/under is 238.5

BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City takes on the Denver Nuggets after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 127-103 victory against the Denver Nuggets.

The Thunder are 11-3 against Northwest Division opponents. Oklahoma City averages 11.1 turnovers per game and is 44-10 when it wins the turnover battle.

The Nuggets are 24-14 in Western Conference play. Denver is the Western Conference leader with 34.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Nikola Jokic averaging 10.0.

The Thunder score 119.6 points per game, 3.1 more points than the 116.5 the Nuggets allow. The Nuggets score 14.6 more points per game (121.2) than the Thunder give up (106.6).

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TOP PERFORMERS: Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting 52.5% and averaging 32.9 points for the Thunder. Jalen Williams is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Jamal Murray is scoring 21.3 points per game and averaging 3.7 rebounds for the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 1.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 9-1, averaging 128.9 points, 46.1 rebounds, 30.3 assists, 9.4 steals and 6.9 blocks per game while shooting 49.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.6 points per game.

Nuggets: 6-4, averaging 120.3 points, 47.0 rebounds, 30.0 assists, 6.6 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.3 points.

INJURIES: Thunder: Nikola Topic: out for season (acl), Ajay Mitchell: out (toe).

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Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: day to day (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Julian Strawther: out (knee).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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