By Michael Kinney

The University of Oklahoma football has yet to play a single game in 2020. Yet, they may have made their most important statement of the year already.

On Aug. 25. the Sooners, dressed in all black and wearing facial coverings, took a five-minute walk from their practice field to the Unity Garden located in the middle of campus. The demonstration was to show support and unity for those who have been affected by incidents involving black men and women and police departments around the country.

None of the players spoke to the media after the event. That task was left to coach Lincoln Riley, who said recent events during the past few months created a dialogue with his players that he called a learning experience.

Continue reading “Oklahoma takes a timeout for unity” →

By Michael Kinney

For Shannon Richardson, it was a hard decision.

The mother of two children in the Cache Public School District had to choose how best to educate her children for the upcoming school year – and it was not easy.

With the fear of the possible spread of COVID-19 in schools, Richardson decided to keep Katie Ellis, ninth grade, and Johnathan Ellis, seventh grade, at home this semester.

It was a picture that sealed her decision.

Continue reading “COVID-19 is forcing parents and schools to make tough educational decisions” →

By Michael Kinney

In a year that has seen more than its fair share of historic days already, the NBA added another one to it Wednesday. Every postseason game that was scheduled to take place was postponed after threats of boycotts from several teams after Wisconsin police officers shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man, seven times in front of his children.

“The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today’s three games – Bucks vs. Magic, Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers – have been postponed,” the NBA said in a statement.

Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled.

Continue reading “Will the NBA players boycott the postseason or use their power in a different way?” →

By Michael Kinney

Facing an 0-3 hole in their first-round battle with Houston, Oklahoma City did something it hadn’t done all series. They fought.

For two straight games, the Rockets dictated how the games while the Thunder allowed it to happen. In Game 3 Oklahoma City showed they had enough of it as they pulled out a 119-107 overtime victory Saturday to get their first win in the series and put themselves back on solid ground.

“I think we just wanted to fight,” Oklahoma City’s Chris Paul said. “We know how tough it is to come back down 3-0. We wanted to fight tonight and I think that’s what we did.”

With just 24 seconds left in regulation, Oklahoma City trailed Houston 103-101, but the Rockets had the ball. However, the Thunder defense was able to force the Rockets into a shot clock violation and took over with enough time to tie the game or win it.

Continue reading “Oklahoma City took the fight to Houston and snatched a win in overtime” →

By Michael Kinney

For the bulk of the 39 years Tipton’s Fine Jewelry has been in existence, they’ve been able to stay out of debt.

That was a goal that started in 1981 with Kathy and Mike Tipton, and that goal has been passed down to the next generation to their daughter, Kara Tipton-Smith, when she took over in 2018.

For a small family-owned business in today’s economic climate to remain financially solvent is something the Tiptons are proud to see on their ledger.

However, that streak ended in 2017 when Tipton’s Fine Jewelry moved from inside the Central Mall of Lawton to its current location of 6121 N.W. Cache Rd. In order to make the transformation to a stand-alone shop, the store incurred its first debt and took out loans.

While the 44-year-old Tipton-Smith said the store is now bigger and better because of it, they were looking forward to paying off the loans and going back to their debt-free existence.

Continue reading “Jewelry family relying on new generation to lead during the coronavirus era” →

By Michael Kinney

Coming into the 2020 postseason, Oklahoma City had become a trendy pick to be one of the final teams standing. With the way they had played during the NBA Restart and their relative health, they seemed to have the pieces necessary to go toe-to-toe with the top teams in the league.

However, one game into their playoff run and the Thunder may have to rethink a few things. In Game 1 of their first-round series with the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City fell 123-108 at The Field House in the Walt Disney World Resort Tuesday.

The 15 point loss was not indicative of how the game went. It was actually worse for the majority of the night.

“We’re going to figure it out, It’s a different team,” Thunder guard Chris Paul said. “After playing a certain way the whole season, then you have a team that switches everything. It’s Game 1. We’ve got to figure it out.”

Continue reading “Short-handed Rockets swarm Thunder in Game 1” →