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Miami rolls the Thunder 100-96

Rich Lohman, Tulsa Today

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK–  Lebron James and Dwyane Wade combined for nearly 50 points as the Miami Heat turned away a late rally by the Oklahoma City Thunder to even the 2012 NBA Finals series at 1-1.

Chris Bosh had 16 points and 15 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for the Heat, who snapped a four-game finals losing streak with their first victory since Game 3 against Dallas last year.  

Kevin Durant scored 32 points for the Thunder, but missed a shot after appearing to be bumped with James that would have tied a game the Thunder trailed the entire way. Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but shot 10 of 25 from the field.

James Harden tried to keep the Thunder in it early and finished with 21 points, but this time the Thunder couldn’t come back from a double-digit deficit after spotting Miami a 17-point advantage during their worst first half of the season.  

Oklahoma City got off to a poor start, falling to a 18-2 deficit early.  All of Oklahoma City’s key players had a hard time getting shots to fall. That first quarter buried the Thunder in a deep hole. They missed 11 of their first 12 shots and fell behind 18-2 as the Heat ended the quarter with a 27-15 lead. It marked the only quarter in Game 2 in which Miami outscored OKC.

OKC started 1-for-12 (8.3 percent) … Miami started 3-for-10 (30 percent) … At the 5:30 mark in the second quarter, Westbrook (1-for-8) and Durant (1-for-6) were a combined 2-for-14 … Durant was 1-for-6 on 3-pointers at the end of the third quarter

The Thunder never had a lead in the contest and the deficit was hard to overcome.  It was clear that the Miami Heat had learned quite a bit about the Thunder since losing to them on Tuesday.  "They played attack basketball and got us on our heels. We have to play better from the very start.” OKC Coach Scott Brooks said, “We missed shots and gave them too many easy shots. They have three great players and all three had great games."

The loss ends what had amounted to a perfect home record for the Thunder at home in the playoffs, a streak that had run for 9 straight games.  Now, the series shifts to South Beach for three games in the American Airlines Arena.  Game three is set for Sunday at 7pm Tulsa time.  The game will air on KTUL channel 8.

Mullet Over #512

James White

Have you ever had a rodent problem? Reports from Europe written in the
1700’s indicate that it was common for people to wear heavy nightcaps
while sleeping in order to prevent rats from gnawing on their hair. 

In 1813, William Henry Harrison led American troops that regained Detroit from the British (War of 1812). In 1841, W.H. Harrison became the 9th president of the United States, serving only 32 days before succumbing to pneumonia. Our 23rd president was William Henry’s grandson Benjamin Harrison.  Benjamin Harrison won against Grover Cleveland in 1888. However, the same two candidates ran again in 1892 and this time Grover Cleveland won.

Nests (sometimes called aeries) constructed by bald eagles can be more than 18 feet deep, 9 feet wide and weigh more than 6,000 pounds. Curious persons have discovered that eagles can be noticeably aggressive when protecting an aerie.

A Texas cat named Dusty had at least 420 kittens.

Anne of Brittany accomplished what will likely never be duplicated: She was wed (at different times) to two kings of France: Charles VIII and Louis XII.  Most women find it challenging to marry even one king.

Before it became one of the world’s most famous palaces, Versailles was a hunting lodge that Louis XIV decided to “fix up.”

A Chinese monk named Hung Wu became dissatisfied with circumstances in his region. He eventually led a rebellion against those in power and established the Ming Dynasty (1368) .

The Quechua language of Peru contains more than 900 words that refer to potatoes.

Many folks are aware that astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball while on the moon. What some may not know is that Shepard totally whiffed on his first lunar swing. I can identify with that.

There exists a rare and strange natural marvel called ball lightning. One survey indicates that approximately 1% of Americans have witnessed this unusual phenomenon. Ball lightning dimensions can range from golf ball size to two meters in diameter. Ball lightning has been reported to float in the air, enter through open windows, roll on the ground and even roll along rooftops. Sometimes the electrical wonder simply silently dissipates, but some accounts indicate the balls can suddenly explode and leave a residual sulfur-like odor. Scientists have been unable to adequately explain this form of lightning that behaves like an ephemeral glowing gas.

Well, use caution when gathering eagle eggs and have a great week.

This we’ll defend

Congressman Allen West (R-FL)

Today marks the 237th birthday of the United States Army as well as the celebration of our Stars and Stripes, Flag Day.

The Army is the largest and oldest established branch of the United States military, with a primary mission ‘to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders.’

I can still remember the details of the day that I was sworn in as an Army Second Lieutenant in 1982.  I remember the pride I felt wearing our nation’s uniform and the feeling that I was a part of something larger than myself.  I knew it was an honor, a privilege, and a responsibility…and I was committed to it wholeheartedly, just as thousands of men and women volunteer to commit themselves today,  not because they are forced to, but because they truly want to serve their nation.

It is fitting that the Army’s birthday also falls on Flag Day, as the Army’s motto is ‘This We’ll Defend.’  If it weren’t for our brave soldiers defending our nation for the past 237 years, there would be no freedom to fly our flag.  In fact, there would be no flag at all.

‘This We’ll Defend’  represents the spirit of our Army, in that there is no ‘I’ or ‘Me’, but ‘We’.  As soldiers, we are unified to further a mission.  On the 237th birthday of the Army and on the celebration of Flag Day, let us as Americans recommit ourselves to the spirit of the Army, that ‘We’ are stronger united than divided, and working together, ‘We’ as Americans will always prevail."

Oklahomans governing Oklahoma

Patrice Douglas, Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner

Recently, the federal government’s EPA issued new mandates on the oil and gas industry – requiring a process called “green completion.”   These new EPA rules are meant to protect the air from harmful gases, such as methane, which can be released during the oil and gas drilling process.  

A noble purpose – but it raises two questions in my mind:  (1)   Do Oklahomans need Washington, D.C., intervention to protect us from the oil and gas industry? And (2) If so, do these EPA rules accomplish their goal in the least burdensome, most efficient way?

In my opinion, the answer to both questions is “no.”

Speaking as only one commissioner – and not for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission as a whole – my private sector experience has shown me that government intrusion from Washington, D.C., is not narrowly tailored to the needs of Oklahomans.  When regulation is formulated at a local or state level, Oklahoma’s citizens and taxpayers have a better opportunity for meaningful dialog with less intrusive consequences.  

The recently-adopted EPA rules state that their goal was ”cost-effective regulations, required by the Clean Air Act, to reduce harmful air pollution from the oil and natural gas industry while allowing continued, responsible growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production.”  To support this new mandate of “green completion,” the EPA argues that it will significantly increase air quality, and will not be overly costly on businesses.

Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry – both big and small companies – disagrees, pointing out some of the faulty assumptions made by the EPA to justify these additional mandates.  First, the amount of harmful gases emitted during the initial stages of a well’s life are far less than estimated by the EPA.  Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry estimates that the EPA missed the mark by as much as 1400%. 

Secondly, the EPA states that the costs of “green completion” are offset by the additional recovery of natural gas and other products which can be sold.  Again, our Oklahoma companies disagree.    Oklahoma companies estimate that cost to business could be as much as $1 million per ton of harmful gas reduction.  From a small business owner’s standpoint, these costs are huge and the benefit is small.  The math simply does not work.

To their credit, our largest oil and gas companies already use “green completion” methods in more than 90% of the wells drilled – and were doing so prior to the EPA’s edict.   As for the smaller companies, these new rules might cause them to choose not to drill a well – which means a loss of jobs for Oklahoma families

Regulation has a place, and there are sound reasons for it.  In fact, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is the chief regulator of this industry.  Before state regulations are enacted, we hold official conferences to gather input from parties who will be affected by new regulations.  The Oklahoma commissioners are elected by Oklahomans – and are vested with the duty and responsibility to protect and defend Oklahoma’s resources, both natural and economic.    

States should be allowed to regulate our industries.  The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has been a leader in sound regulation for this industry, and in my opinion, is the best way for Oklahomans to regulate Oklahoma. 

Prime the pump

Jim Stovall

There are many success principles that, at first glance, seem to go against logic and common sense.  

Recently, I was reading about one of the few water wells in the middle of an expansive desert.  For travelers in the 18th and 19th centuries, finding this single water well in the crossing of this desert was a matter of life and death.  Many a weary pioneer came upon this water well when they were within a few hours of dying of thirst.  
The well was a pipe protruding from the ground with a pump on top of it.  There was a sign with some very brief instructions.  First, it indicated that anyone wanting a drink of water should dig a few feet into the sand and locate the buried water jug.  Next, was the critical instruction which called on a weary traveler dying of thirst to not drink the water from the jug they held in their hands but, instead, to pour the water from the jug down the well in order to prime the pump.  Then the third and final instruction was to refill the jug and bury it for the next traveler.

Our first reaction when dying of thirst and digging up a jug of water would be to drink from the jug; however, if pioneers had done that, neither they, nor any other travelers coming after them, could have ever gotten water from the well.  Only by using the resources they had to prime the pump could they get a virtually unlimited supply of water.  

I remember, as a young boy, spending time with my grandfather while he was working in his garden.  On one particular day, we picked the first ears of corn from that particular season.  I asked if we could have corn for dinner that night, and he told me, “No, there wouldn’t be enough because we need to keep the first corn set back to plant as seed for the next year.”  I remember him telling me, “If you eat your seed corn, you can only eat for a day, but if you always save some seed for next year, you never run out of corn.”

Whether it’s corn, drinking water, or any other resource we need in our life, often the first course of action to get what we want is to give up something we have.  We’ve always got to be ready to ask the question, “What will make me happy in five years or 10 years?”—not simply “What will make me happy at this moment?”

For a person dying of thirst to pour all the water in a jug down a well takes a certain amount of faith and discipline.  These are key ingredients of any enduring success.  

As you go through your day today, commit to enjoying long-term success by making short-term sacrifices.

Today’s the day!

About the author:  Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network, as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift.  He is also a columnist and motivational speaker.  He may be reached at 5840 South Memorial Drive, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK  74145-9082; by email at Jim@JimStovall.com; or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jimstovallauthor.