I expect all you folks complaining about big market bias in sports to check into the finals. Because nobody wins with OKC and Indy as markets for ratings.
That said, Thunder (SuperSonics) in 5.
Soā¦the āTornado Alleyā series.
Yes, it is good to see two of the smaller market teams squaring off for the big prize. If Indy is going to win it, they need to bring home their lucky charm - Reggie Miller, for the series. That said, OKC is simply built too deep to be denied.
OKC in Six.
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As long is it isnāt the Lakers or Celticsā¦
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Oklahoma defiantly denies the rumor that tornado alley has drifted east!
Why Tornado Alley is shifting east and what it means - Fast Company
When I lived in OKC in the 80s I thought it was bizarre how many tornado warnings there were, and how indifferent people were about then, in general. Localized terror, otherwise āmehā.
Another thing about OKC back then were the televangelists, including one preacher who was healing peopleās petsā¦ on TV!! (Early days of cable TV)
āYour cat no āFluffyā longer has leukemia. Remember to donate as you leaveā.
The people were very kind, though.
Go Sonics!
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Lets get a ring for our guy Branden Carlson!
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Oral Roberts University and itās prayer tower come to mind
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This early cable TV landscape that hosted this all-religion, all-day channel included a much longer, much more aggressive version of Oral Roberts. Everyone saw him nationwide for 30 minutes every Sunday, but back home the unleashed Oral Roberts was guilt-tripping his flock about the 60 story tower that apparently ran out of money after framing and then finishing something like 5 stories.
"If everyone who hears the word of God through me would contribute $1500 we can finish this City of Faith Tower to serve His purposes", or words to that effect. ($1500 in the early 80s was probably about $5000 today. The man was truly inspired, IMO.)
It looks like it never actually was finished as the vision Roberts had, but the building was finished. In a cruel twist of irony, in the 90s it was the home of Commercial Financial Services, a debt collection agency with 4000 employees that itself filed for bankruptcy in 1998.
In a 21st century twist, thereās an IT guy at the U who came to the US to play college hoopsā¦ at Oral Roberts University, then came to Utah and found his wife. Cool guy, he played in a European 18U league with Luka Doncic who was 16 years old.
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As I recall if he didnāt get the ādonationsā god was going to call him home.
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Roberts told a television audience unless he raised $8 million by March, God would ācall him homeā (a euphemism for death).[[(CityPlex Towers - Wikipedia)
Put THAT on your credit rating, sinners!
Iāve seen a fair number of TV preachers, but I kind of had a soft spot for Oral Roberts - he seemed like he had some Evel Knievel in him. I wouldnāt have been surprised if he did a broadcast on top of that tower with a rattlesnake in each hand.
Much more entertaining than the 700 Club for wasting time, for example. Pat Robertson had all the charm of a canker. Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker could hold your attention for a minute, though. Her makeup aloneā¦
Gary Shandling: āIāve got a new girlfriend, weāre still getting to know each other. Some of you may know her. OK, let me come cleanā¦ Iām dating Tammy Faye Bakkerāā¦ (in his deadpan delivery).
Or the T-shirts with color splashed all over the front: āI ran into Tammy Faye at the mallā
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LOLOLOLOLOL!!!
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Tell that to my town. We had one destroy half the city in DECEMBER a couple of years ago. We had tornado warnings every month in 2024. Iām considering moving because of it as soon as the kid gets through college.
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Itās no joke and seems like itās getting worse, especially in the SE. An uncle now has a $250,000 deductible on his home owners insurance in Orlando because of the extreme weather threat.
Makes you wonder if institutions like āfarmsā will evolve away from fixed property and instead become more like arrangements to follow wherever the conditions are best for that year. Or maybe fortress green houses?
Maybe weāll all be mobile, in RVs that can hug the ground like a mushroom.
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We wonāt need to worry about tornado warnings anymore given the cutbacks in NOAA and NWS.
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Tornadoesā¦Hurricanesā¦Flooding Thunderstormsā¦those threats are all overrated!!!
Said no one who actually ever experienced any of them.
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Gone through all 3 of those since we moved here. Iāll take a blizzard any day over a tornado.
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Someone said āyeah but your from LA and Earthquakes are worse.ā Had to break it to him itās the fires not the earthquakes.
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Thereās always a Sharpie lying around when you need an arbitrary emergency weather forecast.
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I read this while walking around NYC and looked up and Jason Chaffetz was in my way to the Cuban Spot I was trying to get to for Brunch. I would have asked him why he never kept 45 accountable for his actions but I am sure he would call me a paid protester.
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I hope you at least āaccidentallyā spilled your drink on him. Preferably hot coffee?
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Meanwhile, related to the title of this thread, Pacers continued to show any lead isnāt safe against them as they overcame another large deficit and won last night in the last half second.
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