Yearly Archives: 2010

Tulsa Oilers grab shootout win in Colorado.

Tulsa owns 2nd period in come from behind victory.alt

LOVELAND, CO.– It’s been a long time since the Tulsa Oilers were in the win column.

Indeed, it was October 16th when last the Oilers posted two points for defeating an opponent and since then the only bright spot was a overtime loss in Bloomington. Since then it has been a big goose-egg.

That all changed on Friday evening as the Tulsa Oilers traveled to Loveland, Colorado for their third visit with the Colorado Eagles. The Eagles had beat them twice already and the Oilers have not posted a victory against them since 2008.

The first period was all Colorado on the Budweiser Events Center scoreboard. Daymen Rycroft scored a shorthanded at 2:27 with Scott May assisting. The Eagles would follow that up with an Adam Hogg power play goal at 9:41. The real story of the period came with a little over 6 minutes to play when a fight broke out between Oilers goalie Tyler Sims and Chris Hau and that propelled Eagles goalie Andrew Penner to leave his net and square off with Sims.

The summary ejection of their starting goalie proved to be a catalyst for the best scoring period the Oilers have put together since opening night. Jack Combs, Chad Costello and Mike Beausoleil all scored to give Tulsa the lead going into the 3rd period, with Costello’s goal a power play marker, a rarity so far this season for the Oilers. Combs took the puck and skated across the goal mouth and, with traffic in front of Eagles goalie Kyle Jones, he tucked the puck in on his left side.

Costello took the puck from the other side of the Oilers blue line, skated into the Eagles zone and slammed the disc past Jones. Mike Beausoleil capitalized on a rebound of a shot from Gordon Bell and hammered the puck home past Jones who was attempting to make a diving save across the crease.

Add a tying goal from the Eagles Scott May with a little more than 3 minutes remaining in the game and the stage was set for the tiebreaker. The overtime fram resulted in no score so the shootout commenced, and when it was all over, Jack Combs and Chad Costello of the Oilers would score and Kevin Ulanski would net one past Oilers relief goalie Ian Keserich and that would be enough for the Oilers to take the other point and win the game.

The Oilers will travel to Rapid City tomorrow night for their first meeting with the Rush, the defending champions from last season. That game can be heard online at tulsaoilers.com with Steve McCall providing the play-by play and it can be viewed through the special CHLTV link on that site.

The Oilers will finally return home for the first time in 18 days next week when the Allen Americans at 7:05pm in the amazing BOK Center. Tickets for that game and all Oilers home games can be purchased at the BOK box office or by calling 918-632-PUCK (7825).

Oilers make key moves.

Rich Lohman

altTULSA, OK– Tulsa Oilers head coach Bruce Ramsay has announced the team has signed left wing Tom Fritsche to a standard Central Hockey League contract, and has waived forwards Jason Weeks and Chris Cloud.

The moves come as the Oilers prepare for a weekend set of games at Colorado on Friday and at Rapid City Saturday.

Fritsche, 5-foot-11, 183 pounds has been with the Oilers, assigned by the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. The standard CHL contract replaces the five game contract he had previously signed. Cloud had no points and 25 penalty minutes. Weeks had played in nine games and had one assist and six penalty minutes.

The roster moves come as the Oilers are searching for a way to put an end to a losing streak that has them tied for 8th place with Odessa in the CHL’s Berry Conference with a record of 2-7-1 and 5 points. It will be the second visit to Colorado for Tulsa and the first this season to Rapid City to take on the defending champions.

The Oilers had an especially difficult week, compounded by an unusual travel delay. The bus the Oilers rent for their travels caught fire last Friday afternoon, and the team was delayed making its way to Missouri for Friday’s game. In spite of the travails, the Oilers outshot Missouri 36-29 but lost the game 4-2. The 36 shots on goal matched the season high for the Oilers. With a replacement bus available, the Oilers made the trek to Mississippi but lost 4-1 to the RiverKings on Saturday night.

One of the players leading the offensive charge for the Oilers is forward Harrison Reed. Reed scored both goals for the Oilers on Friday against the Missouri Mavericks. It was his second two goal game of the season, and fifth for the Oilers this season. The Oilers broke a five game power play goal drought when Reed scored on the man advantage at Missouri on Friday. His goal cut the lead to 3-2 at the time, and ended a streak of 32 power plays without a goal.

The two games this weekend will lead into the Oilers first home game in 18 days when they host the Allen Americans on Thursday November 18th. Following this weekend, the Oilers will have played nine road games and only three home games.

Tickets fore next Thursday night’s game with the Americans and all Tulsa Oilers Home games are available at the BOK Center box office or by calling the Oilers front office at 918-632-PUCK (7825).

The Union Tour with Elton John and Leon Russell

Elton John and Leon Russell will be here Friday night performing live at the BOK Center. The duo released “The Union” on October 19, 2010 where they wrote songs together along with Bernie Taupin. The album was produced by multiple-Grammy winner T-Bone Burnett.

In Elton Johns four-decade career, he has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists in music history. “Candle in the Wind”, his 1997 hit single has sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best selling single in Billboard history. In 1994, Elton John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was knighted in 1998.

Leon Russell is an Oklahoma Native Musician. He grew up in Tulsa and went to Will Rogers High School.  At the early age of 14, Leon was already playing the nightclubs of T-Town. His first band “The Starlighters” which included J.J. Cale, Chuck Blackwell and Johnny Williams were instrumental in creating the style of music known as the Tulsa Sound. Leon has played with numerous artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Frank Sinatra just to name a few; and most recently Elton John.

Their collaboration on “The Union” has received rave reviews. With the merging of soul, country and gospel, Elton and Leon have made a sound that is uniquely all their own which has only left people with the question; why did it take them so long to bond? Both Elton and Leon will be playing many of their hit songs along with their duo set from “The Union”.  There’s no reason to stay home Friday night with music legends like this in town.

WHEN: Friday November 12th
WHERE: BOK Center 200 South Denver
TIME: Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 8:00
TICKETS: www.bokcenter.com
Dinner Recommendations: Ti Amos, Blue Dome Diner and Yokozuna

Redneck Woman at Osage Event Center

Ernie Osborn

Gretchen Wilson brings her blue collar, female based show to the Osage Event Center, tomorrow, Friday, November 12, 2010.  altWilson, who started out as part of a Nashville country music style of the Groundlings type comedy troupe called MuzikMafia, which also included John Rich and Big Kenny comes from a grassroots approach to music and most of her songs are comprised of working woman, (not in the oldest profession sense) themes.

She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party. Wilson followed this album one year later with All Jacked Up, the title track of which became the highest-debuting single for a female country artist upon its 2005 release. A third album, One of the Boys, was released in 2007.  Her latest album, I’ve Got Your Country Right Here was released in March 2010.

Having charted 13 singles, 5 of which have reached the Top Ten, the Number One "Redneck Woman", as well as "Here for the Party" (#3, 2004), "When I Think About Cheatin’" (#4, 2004), "Homewrecker" (#2, 2005), and "All Jacked Up" (#8, 2005). The album Here for the Party was certified 5× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA for sales of five million copies, while All Jacked Up was certified platinum.

With raw talent, high-energy and an every-woman style she has gained fans in every genre of music.  You can bet that you will hear favorites and some catchy covers from some very big name artists.

Gretchen Wilson

Osage Million Dollar Elm Event Center; 951 W 36th St North, Tulsa

Show starts at 7:00 pm

Tickets start at $40 and are going buy one get one free right now.

‘Convicted’ – Kris Steele on veterans, corrections, colleagues and vision

Capitol Editor Patrick B. McGuigan

CapitolBeatOK nabbed 20 minutes of time from Speaker-elect Kris Steele on the eve of Veterans Day. He was in a reflective mood:

“My Granddad is one of the most influential persons in my life. My
personality was formed, in many ways, by him. He is a formidable man who
cares deeply for the United States of America. So, the natural respect
and pride I have for those who have defended our freedoms is merely
enhanced and deepened by my knowledge of the kind of man who fought for
our country in world War II.

“When Veterans Day rolls around, I will generally have a conversation
with my ‘Pop Pop.’ He recently took a trip with my colleague, Rep. Gary
Banz, on the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., where he saw the World
War II Memorial. It was the first time he had ever been to Washington.
That was a special opportunity for him. I am so proud of the leadership
of Rep. Banz to do something like that, and deeply proud of the
character of my ‘Pop Pop.’”

When he met with Capitol reporters last week, the Shawnee Republican said there were a few matters on which he was “convicted” to act.

During the interview held in his Capitol office on Wednesday,
November 10,  Steele was asked to elaborate his views on certain
matters, especially crime, punishment and Corrections policy. He
responded:

“I am an Evangelical Christian, and an associate pastor at my home church, Wesley United Methodist Church in Shawnee.

“It is written on my heart to be concerned about the way we treat those
who are in our prisons, who have committed crimes, and how they should
be treated as a result. For years, I’ve heard people talk about
Oklahoma’s high incarceration rates for women. In the House of
Representatives, we had an Interim Study two years ago. I learned that
not only are we at twice the national average for incarceration of women
but that 68% of the women we incarcerate are non-violent and/or low
risk offenders.

“To be clear on this, there ought to be consequences for actions. I just
want to be sure we are focused like a laser on what works and what
doesn’t work in terms of consequences for offenses.

“When as a state, as a government, we put an individual in prison for
12-14 months who is not necessarily a danger or a threat to public
safety, is that the best policy? I’ve been in the Legislature for 10
years, and I’m at the start of my last two years before term limits.
Every year, we deal with the Corrections issues. This year, we will have
to tackle a requested supplemental for Corrections immediately. Mind
you, we’ll have to do that merely to maintain the Status Quo. So I’m
wondering if the status quo is best.

“I’m concerned about the path we’re on both in financial terms and in
terms of human resources. If we do put a non-violent offender in for
serious time, are we engaging in the most effective methods so that they
can develop the skills and habits of life to be equipped to lead a
productive life after their time in prison?

“I am convicted, as well, that we do not have enough initiatives or
programs available within the prison walls when we have people in
incarceration. While someone is ‘inside’ we have a time to influence him
or her, and they have a time to improve themselves and be ready for
life in the mainstream. Otherwise, they may come out of incarceration
more at risk to recidivate than when they went in.”

Steele continued, “This brings up another issue, which is the effect on
the children of incarcerated parents. I have learned that 70% of the
children of incarcerated parent at some point become incarcerated
themselves. Another way to put this is that those children are five
times more likely than other children to commit crimes and become
incarcerated themselves.

“So, I’m wondering what is the better way to become efficient, yet
protective of the public interest, watching out for the people who obey
the laws? I simply believe we can be and that we must be smart and tough
on crime at the same time. …

“Those who do wrong must be punished. I’m also convinced based on
empirical evidence that we can get in many cases better outcomes with
community-based services.

“We should expect those who have done wrong to toe the line in terms of
accountability. That’s the right thing in terms of public
responsibility. At the same time the outcomes in terms of dollars and
cents are included in our responsibility. The Oklahoma Legislature needs
to get serious about Corrections reform.”

Wrapping up with his statements of serious intentions, Steele told
CapitolBeatOK, “Right now at 99% capacity [in Corrections facilities].
That means that when we have a wrongdoer today, most particularly a
violent criminal, there’s no place to put that person because our system
is to some extent clogged with non-violent offenders.

“It is time for a meaningful discussion about what is the better way.
Kansas, Texas and some other states have engaged in significant reforms
to address corrections issues, incarceration and related issues. It’s
time for us to do the same.

“When we do have offenders in our systems, we need to be engaged in
education, finding community-based solutions and treatment for those who
can be treated for addictions and other problems. And before we ever
get people in the system, we should be aiming at the goal of prevention
of crime in the first place.”

Asked if there were any other matters he desired to get “out there,” Steele said:

“What immediately comes to mind is something we did cover, or discussed briefly in that stand up press conference the other day.

“I am telling people that I am convicted that there’s a lot of talent in
the Legislature, in the House of Representatives, that has not been
tapped. I believe a primary responsibility I have is 1) to formulate a
vision and make a case for that vision for Oklahoma, then to keep that
vision in front of the legislature; and, 2) I believe it is essential to
maximize the talent and feed the vision of the members of the Oklahoma
Legislature.

“If together we can do those things, even in incomplete ways, it will be a really significant achievement.

“I don’t think I’m any better than anyone else. I do bring a set of
experiences and views to the job. I am grateful and thankful with all my
heart for the opportunity to make a difference, to carefully work to
make things better. I do not take lightly or for granted that
opportunity and responsibility.”