Oklahoma City Thunder helps people to heal from 1995 tragedy
If you read about Oklahoma City these days, it will most probably be about Oklahoma City Thunder and the NBA finals. However, many people don’t know Oklahoma City because of basketball, but because of a huge tragedy. In April 1995, an explosion destroyed the Murrah building in the center of the city, killed 168 and injured more than 700 people.
Sam Presti, general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, tells his players to appreciate that every day. The Alfred P. Mullah building is only a few blocks away from where the Thunder plays today. If his players stand on the field and look in the faces of the nearly 20 thousand fans, they see many people who have been affected by the explosion in one way or the other. For some of them, basketball may be a necessary distraction from their nightmares.
Sam Presti lived in Massachusettes in 1995, so he had to learn the history of the tragedy after the relocation of the team to Oklahoma City. He learnt a lot from visiting the museum that was built on the site where the Mullah building stood and he recommends each and every of his players to visit the museum, too.
If the Oklahoma City Thunder are able to win the NBA finals this year, it may be another step towards forgetting the horrible tragedy in 1995.
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The Miami Heat made it to the NBA finals – again…
Last night, the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 101-88 and won third Eastern Conference title in a row. Especially LeBron James was happy to finally win a Game 7 on his third try, after loosing his two last Game 7 appearances with Cleveland in 2006 and 2008. The Heat will certainly remember the loss against the Dallas Mavericks last year, but last night, they were the ones dancing on the court to celebrate their victory. In the NBA finals, Miami will face Oklahoma City Thunder beginning on Tuesday.
Again, the Heat won thanks to the Big Three, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh who scored every point in the last quarter, outscoring Boston 28-15. In total, James scored 31 points with 12 rebounds, Wade had 23 points and Chris Bosh 19. In addition to that, Shane Battier had a good game with 12 points for Miami.
Rajon Rondo was statistically the best player of the Boston Celtics and finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. But a good performance of on player is not enough against the Miami Heat. Rajon Rondo said that the Heat played great as a team and exactly that was what the Celtics were missing this game – performing as a team – and so they fell short.
After the game, LeBron James said: “Everybody was in tune today and we look forward to the next challenge”. Maybe they will finally be able to win the championship this year.
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Will the Dallas Cowboys trade cornerback Mike Jenkins?
Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys is not willing to trade his cornerback Mike Jenkins although the Cowboys signed Morris Claiborne from LSU and free agent Brandon Carr. Jones said, “He’s a vital part of our plan and we know that we’ve got a situation where we can identify what we are on defense by having three corners in there a lot.”
Now Jenkins has to compete with Carr and Claiborn for the starting job as a cornerback or he will only be the third choice. Currently his chances aren’t that good because he is recovering from a should surgery. Nonetheless, Jones said that he is planning with Jenkins short-term as well as long-term. However, he only has a contract for one more year.
The fact that Jenkins didn’t show too much commitment to the cowboys’ voluntary training program throughout the offseason, also isn’t a strong argument for him. Although the training program is voluntary, the Cowboys’ vice president Stephen Jones explicitly said that he wished that Jenkins put in more work.
Time will tell who will play the cornerback position for the Dallas Cowboys next season.
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Chicago Bears: More luck next season with better backups?
If you are a Chicago Bears fan, you’ve probably been quite enthusiastic in the beginning of last season. But suddenly, with the loss of Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, the future didn’t look that bright any more. The Bears lost 5 consecutive games against the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers. Caleb Hanie didn’t have a chance against the corresponding first QBs Carson Paler, Tyler Palko, Tim Tebow, Tavaris Jackson, and Aaron Rodgers. Especially the game against Tyler Palko and his Kansas City Chiefs was a staggering loss that showed that Chicago needed better backups.
Therefore, Chicago signed Jason Campbell und Michael Bush to backup Jason Campbell as well as Matt Forte this offseason. Maybe these signings were more important than the signing of Brandon Marshall in the long run, although the latter one got much more media attention. Although Marshall will be an excellent addition to the team, Bush and Campbell will still be able to run the Bears’ offense if Cutler and/or Forte will be missing again.
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Boston Bruins without goalie Tim Thomas next season
Goalie Tim Thomas who plays for the current Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins will not play in the upcoming NHL season.
Thomas said that he wants to invest his time and energy into areas that he has neglected throughout the last seasons. The 38-year-old American wants to admit more time to his family, friends and faith. To make his dream of becoming a pro hockey player a reality, he had to make too many sacrifices.
Therefore, now the most important thing in life is to maintain these areas and relationships again. Thomas left open whether he will return after his time off or not.
Boston’s keeper is already well-known for his extraordinary behavior. For example, in January, he didn’t attend the traditional banquet of the Stanley Cup winner with U.S. President Barack Obama as a protest. He explained that to his mind the government got out of control and so he made use of his right as a free citizen and stayed away.
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