I am 2-for-2 in making it through another athletic school year as your sports editor However, unlike my inaugural athletic school year last season with only one state tournament game to cover, the Central Tigers’ Class 2A State Tournament quarterfinal game against Oktaha, I got to go to four such venues this athletic school year.

It started with getting the privilege of covering the Class 2A-II State Football Championship Game with the Vian Wolverines, who were trying to end a 53-year drought of winning as state championship, facing the Davis Wolves, who prevailed on that Saturday afternoon at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Chad Richison Stadium.

Move forward to the basketball season. I not only got to cover one, but both, Roland teams at the Class 3A State Tournaments in March at Oklahoma City’s Jim Norick State Fair Arena — which was in its final go-round as the venue for Oklahoma high school’s version of March Madness after about 60 years of doing so. Unfortunately, the locals fell in the state quarterfinals, the Runnin’ Rangers to Oklahoma City Millwood and the Lady Rangers to Washington. It marked my first time at the basketball state tournament in about a decade.

To cap off the athletic school year, I got to cover the Sallisaw Black Diamonds at last week’s Class 4A State Tournament, their first venture to the “Elite 8” of Class 4A baseball this decade. Unfortunately, they lost in the state quarterfinals to Newcastle on May 15 at Norman North High School’s Tull Lake Field.

For me, that was quite a thrill to be at that many state events.

We’ll see what the 2025-26 athletic school year holds for me.

Until then, I’m going to try to enjoy a summer break for as long as I can — which means I’m “free” until about early to mid July, LOL!

Shot Clock Coming to High School Basketball Earlier this year, the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association announced that beginning with the 2026-27 athletic school year, high school basketball will begin instituting a 35-second shot clock in Class 3A and above — meaning this would affect the Sallisaw, Muldrow and Roland basketball teams. That obviously is going to change how teams will run their offense, and likely how defenses will be set up. I’m going to have a Cage Notes Column at the start of next basketball season in November about what the Sallisaw, Muldrow and Roland coaches think about this.

There was a motion made to have a shot clock for Classes 2A and lower for non-playoff games, but that motion was still on the table and not ever finalized by OSSAA.

I can remember when the OSSAA made it mandatory that all clocks had tenths of a second added to them after going below the one-minute mark.

I also am old enough, and actually covered, a couple of girls state basketball tournament games, namely when I was at The Enid News & Eagle when I covered the Lomega Raiderettes, who were coached by Bruce Hobgood, and the Seiling Lady Wildcats, who were coached by Rick Wilson, when it was still being done the 6-on-6 way — three guards against three offensive players per half court, and the players on defense had to try to get the ball to their offensive teammates in the other half of the court. For the record, I saw the Raiderettes beat Arapaho for the Class B state title in the early 1990s when an Arapaho player got fouled with no time left, and her team down two points. She made her first attempt, but missed her second try to give the Raiderettes a one-point win and the gold ball.

‘Tush Push’ Survives NFL Owners Vote to Be Banned I saw on television Thursday morning that the National Football League owners voted Wednesday whether or not to ban the famed Philadelphia Eagles’ “tush push,” or as they call it, “The Brotherly Shove.”

By two votes, the motion to ban the “tush push” failed to pass, so it will be around for at least this upcoming NFL season. Needless to say, the Eagles were flying high Thursday morning.

NBA, NHL into Postseason Conference Finals As we begin this week, we’re just beginning the conference finals in both the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

In the NBA, we have our beloved Oklahoma City Thunder meeting the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals — and leading the series 2-0 after Thursday night’s home win in Game 2. It’s a rematch long in the making as the Indiana Pacers will take on the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. It will mean for the seventh straight year, there will be a new NBA Finals champion.

On the ice, the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are taking on the Carolina Hurricane in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Dallas Stars are taking on the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals. Will the Panthers repeat, or will there be a new team to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup next month? Time will tell.

••• Seeley is the sports editor of The Vian Tenkiller News. He can be reached by calling (918) 7754433, Ext. 139 or by emailing him at davids@ cookson.news.