Yearly Archives: 2009

Tulsa 66ers Start This Weekend

Rich Lohman

The rebirth of the professional sports scene in downtown Tulsa continues this weekend as the Tulsa 66ers NBA D-League team will make their debut in the newly renovated Tulsa Convention Center. 

The 66ers are coached by Nate Tibbetts and are owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 66ers are now in their third venue since their inception in 2005.  They originally played in the Pavilion at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds, then they moved to the Spirit Bank Events Center last season.  After a season there the decision was made to relocate the team to downtown Tulsa, in the Convention Center Arena, a building that last saw professional basketball in the early 1990s when the Tulsa Zone of the Continental Basketball Association played there.

The 66ers are billed as “the future of the Oklahoma City Thunder” and though players called up to play in the NBA from the 66ers will most likely go to the Thunder, they can be called up by any of the 32 NBA teams.   The rosters are made up in a number of ways: the previous years’ players, players taken in the D-League draft, allocation players (meaning players who are assigned to a team with which they have a local connection, such as ORU product Moses Ehambe who played for the 66ers last season), NBA team assignments, and local tryouts.  

NBA teams can call up players as many times as they choose, but a player can only be assigned to the NBA D-League three times in a season.  Finally, each NBA team can assign two first or second year players to its affiliated D-League team. If more than two NBA players are assigned to a team, the team must reduce the number of D-League players to keep the total roster size to 12. Each team also has local tryouts, and one player from the tryouts is assigned to the team. The minimum age to play in the NBDL is 18, unlike the NBA which requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of highschool in order to sign an NBA contract or be eligible for the draft.  The 66ers recently made NBA D-League history when they selected the first ever draft pick out of a high school, 6-8 forward Latavious Williams out of Christain Life Academy in Texas.

Returning player include Ehambe, who played for the 66ers last season and had an outstanding career at Oral Roberts University.  On assignment from the Thunder is Stephen Hill, a 7 foot tall center out of Arkansas, and much of the rest of the 66ers camp roster consists of locally schooled players.  Since the Thunder are doing much better than they did a year ago at the NBA level, it is expected that there will be a lot of movement between Tulsa and Oklahoma City over the course of the NBA D-League season.

The 66ers tip off this weekend against the Utah Flash on November 27-28.  Go to tulsa66ers.com or call 918-585-8444 for more information on tickets.

Tulsa 66ers Start This Weekend

Rich Lohman

The rebirth of the professional sports scene in downtown Tulsa continues this weekend as the Tulsa 66ers NBA D-League team will make their debut in the newly renovated Tulsa Convention Center.  The 66ers are coached by Nate Tibbetts and are owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 66ers are now in their third venue since their inception in 2005.  They originally played in the Pavilion at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds, then they moved to the Spirit Bank Events Center last season.  After a season there the decision was made to relocate the team to downtown Tulsa, in the Convention Center Arena, a building that last saw professional basketball in the early 1990s when the Tulsa Zone of the Continental Basketball Association played there.

The 66ers are billed as “the future of the Oklahoma City Thunder” and though players called up to play in the NBA from the 66ers will most likely go to the Thunder, they can be called up by any of the 32 NBA teams.   The rosters are made up in a number of ways: the previous years’ players, players taken in the D-League draft, allocation players (meaning players who are assigned to a team with which they have a local connection, such as ORU product Moses Ehambe who played for the 66ers last season), NBA team assignments, and local tryouts.  

NBA teams can call up players as many times as they choose, but a player can only be assigned to the NBA D-League three times in a season.  Finally, each NBA team can assign two first or second year players to its affiliated D-League team. If more than two NBA players are assigned to a team, the team must reduce the number of D-League players to keep the total roster size to 12. Each team also has local tryouts, and one player from the tryouts is assigned to the team. The minimum age to play in the NBDL is 18, unlike the NBA which requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of highschool in order to sign an NBA contract or be eligible for the draft.  The 66ers recently made NBA D-League history when they selected the first ever draft pick out of a high school, 6-8 forward Latavious Williams out of Christain Life Academy in Texas.

Returning player include Ehambe, who played for the 66ers last season and had an outstanding career at Oral Roberts University.  On assignment from the Thunder is Stephen Hill, a 7 foot tall center out of Arkansas, and much of the rest of the 66ers camp roster consists of locally schooled players.  Since the Thunder are doing much better than they did a year ago at the NBA level, it is expected that there will be a lot of movement between Tulsa and Oklahoma City over the course of the NBA D-League season.

The 66ers tip off this weekend against the Utah Flash on November 27-28.  Go to tulsa66ers.com or call 918-585-8444 for more information on tickets.

Meacham grows “less pessimistic” about tax revenue picture

Patrick B. McGuigan, Capitol Editor

Oklahoma Treasurer Scott Meacham, anticipating a possible special session to address reduced state tax revenues and appropriation of money from the Rainy Day Fund, said the Sooner State’s financial troubles have created two basic schools of thought among state officials.

Beyond debate about whether or not to access the fund, officially designated the Constitutional Reserve, one group wants “deeper budget cuts now, including more across the board and some more targeted cuts. This way of thinking would be more aggressive on the spending side now. The other school of thought is to be more focused on targeted cuts right away, but avoiding greater across-the-board cuts.”

Generally speaking, Republicans leading the Legislature fall into the first group, while the governor and Meacham himself fall into the second category. Meacham made his comments in an interview with this reporter for Tulsa Today.

 

While not dismissive of concerns, the treasurer said he is not persuaded by analysts who say government revenues will remain flat for a few more years. Asked if that meant he was optimistic, Meacham replied, “I’m not sure ‘optimistic’ is the right word, but I am less pessimistic than a couple of months ago.” After10 months of reports where he has detailed tax revenues below forecasts (and lower in real terms than a year prior), Meacham now believes “we have more bad months behind us than we have ahead of us.”

After ordering 5 percent across-the-board cuts at all state agencies this fiscal year, Meacham says it is time for legislators to use some of the rainy day fund and to make targeted cuts, so that “core things we do in government” can avoid further reductions. Meacham said those core functions include public safety,corrections, mental health, human services and veterans’ benefits.

Earlier,at a November 10 press conference, Meacham explained he was “cautiously optimistic” about the fiscal picture. He noted, “While the shortfall for the fiscal year prior to October was 26 percent below the estimate, October’s shortfall was 7.8 points lower at 18.2 percent.”  Feeding the better picture, Meacham said then, is the fact that corporate income tax receipts improved, and “those tend to be the most tied to the national economy,” which began a slow recovery over the past three months.

Despite the thread of optimism in Meacham’s analysis, in October revenues came in below estimates and actual prior receipts for the tenth straight month. At his press conference, Meacham said in response to a question from this reporter, it is possible that revenues could remain low for another year or more. Indiana Gov.Mitch Daniels and others, believe revenues in most states will take years toreturn to 2007 and 2008 levels. In Oklahoma, analysts for both the Oklahma Council of Public Affairs and the Oklahoma policy Institute have predicted years of flat revenues.  

For his part, Meacham pointed to differences in income streams between Midwestern states like Indiana and energy producing states like Oklahoma, saying, “Natural gas prices could lead to a rebound in the gross production taxes.”  He observed, “Natural gas prices have been‘bearish’ for 10 months, and now seem to be getting better.”

In last week’s interview with this reporter, Meacham, who announced this month he would not seek reelection as Treasurer, responded to questions about his experiences in public office. Meacham said he is most frustrated by “the pervasive partisanship that runs through the [state Capitol] building. There isa constant struggle for power that falls under the Republican or Democratic banner.” Meacham, a banker prior to entering government service, said, “It would be awful to try to run a bank in the conditions of partisanship that prevail in government.”

As for “most satisfying experiences”in government, Meacham said he is “amazed we work as well as we do. … I have been impressed with the dedication and commitment of many state government employees. I’ve learned that most of them are dedicated and committed people.Regardless of the area for which they are responsible, most employees are very dedicated to their job. They choose to work hard, and with great compassion, on the mission of state government.” 




About the author: Pat McGuigan is Capitol Editor for Tulsa Today, and Managing
Editor at The City Sentinel, a weekly newspaper in Oklahoma City. 

Tulsa 66ers Tip Off This Weekend

Rich Lohman, Sports Editor

The rebirth of the professional sports scene in downtown Tulsa continues this weekend as the Tulsa 66ers NBA D-League team will make their debut in the newly renovated Tulsa Convention Center. 

The 66ers are coached by Nate Tibbetts and are owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 66ers are now in their third venue since their inception in 2005.  They originally played in the Pavilion at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds, then they moved to the Spirit Bank Events Center last season.  After a season there the decision was made to relocate the team to downtown Tulsa, in the Convention Center Arena, a building that last saw professional basketball in the early 1990s when the Tulsa Zone of the Continental Basketball Association played there.

The 66ers are billed as “the future of the Oklahoma City Thunder” and though players called up to play in the NBA from the 66ers will most likely go to the Thunder, they can be called up by any of the 32 NBA teams.   The rosters are made up in a number of ways: the previous years’ players, players taken in the D-League draft, allocation players (meaning players who are assigned to a team with which they have a local connection, such as ORU product Moses Ehambe who played for the 66ers last season), NBA team assignments, and local tryouts.  

NBA teams can call up players as many times as they choose, but a player can only be assigned to the NBA D-League three times in a season.  Finally, each NBA team can assign two first or second year players to its affiliated D-League team. If more than two NBA players are assigned to a team, the team must reduce the number of D-League players to keep the total roster size to 12. Each team also has local tryouts, and one player from the tryouts is assigned to the team. The minimum age to play in the NBDL is 18, unlike the NBA which requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of highschool in order to sign an NBA contract or be eligible for the draft.  The 66ers recently made NBA D-League history when they selected the first ever draft pick out of a high school, 6-8 forward Latavious Williams out of Christain Life Academy in Texas.

Returning player include Ehambe, who played for the 66ers last season and had an outstanding career at Oral Roberts University.  On assignment from the Thunder is Stephen Hill, a 7 foot tall center out of Arkansas, and much of the rest of the 66ers camp roster consists of locally schooled players.  Since the Thunder are doing much better than they did a year ago at the NBA level, it is expected that there will be a lot of movement between Tulsa and Oklahoma City over the course of the NBA D-League season.

The 66ers tip off this weekend against the Utah Flash on November 27-28.  Go to tulsa66ers.com or call 918-585-8444 for more information on tickets.

Tulsa 66ers Tip Off This Weekend

Rich Lohman, Sports Editor

The rebirth of the professional sports scene in downtown Tulsa continues this weekend as the Tulsa 66ers NBA D-League team will make their debut in the newly renovated Tulsa Convention Center. 

The 66ers are coached by Nate Tibbetts and are owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 66ers are now in their third venue since their inception in 2005.  They originally played in the Pavilion at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds, then they moved to the Spirit Bank Events Center last season.  After a season there the decision was made to relocate the team to downtown Tulsa, in the Convention Center Arena, a building that last saw professional basketball in the early 1990s when the Tulsa Zone of the Continental Basketball Association played there.

The 66ers are billed as “the future of the Oklahoma City Thunder” and though players called up to play in the NBA from the 66ers will most likely go to the Thunder, they can be called up by any of the 32 NBA teams.   The rosters are made up in a number of ways: the previous years’ players, players taken in the D-League draft, allocation players (meaning players who are assigned to a team with which they have a local connection, such as ORU product Moses Ehambe who played for the 66ers last season), NBA team assignments, and local tryouts.  

NBA teams can call up players as many times as they choose, but a player can only be assigned to the NBA D-League three times in a season.  Finally, each NBA team can assign two first or second year players to its affiliated D-League team. If more than two NBA players are assigned to a team, the team must reduce the number of D-League players to keep the total roster size to 12. Each team also has local tryouts, and one player from the tryouts is assigned to the team. The minimum age to play in the NBDL is 18, unlike the NBA which requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of highschool in order to sign an NBA contract or be eligible for the draft.  The 66ers recently made NBA D-League history when they selected the first ever draft pick out of a high school, 6-8 forward Latavious Williams out of Christain Life Academy in Texas.

Returning player include Ehambe, who played for the 66ers last season and had an outstanding career at Oral Roberts University.  On assignment from the Thunder is Stephen Hill, a 7 foot tall center out of Arkansas, and much of the rest of the 66ers camp roster consists of locally schooled players.  Since the Thunder are doing much better than they did a year ago at the NBA level, it is expected that there will be a lot of movement between Tulsa and Oklahoma City over the course of the NBA D-League season.

The 66ers tip off this weekend against the Utah Flash on November 27-28.  Go to tulsa66ers.com or call 918-585-8444 for more information on tickets.