Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti announced several additions to the new NBA team's front office staff on Monday.
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Presti announced Rob Hennigan, who was the San Antonio Spurs Director of Basketball Operations, has been hired as director of College and International Player Personnel. Presti also announced Dr. Donnie Strack has been hired as Director of Medical Services.
Other staff additions included Joe Sharpe as head athletic trainer, Brian Facchini as Director of Basketball Communications, Vin Bhavnani as Video Coordinator and Ayanna Clinton as Manager of Player Appearances and Services.
Strack has been a physical therapist at Orthopedic Physical Therapy in Wellesley Hills, Mass. While serving as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for the Indiana Pacers for three years, Strack also served as an assistant trainer during the 2002 World Basketball Championships in Indianapolis.
Sharpe has served as the Charlotte Bobcats' head trainer since the team's inception in 2004. Before working in Charlotte, N.C., Sharpe was the assistant trainer, strength and conditioning coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also was the head trainer for the University of Connecticut for nine years.
Facchini spent six years with the Portland Trail Blazers as manager of Sports Communications before joining the Spurs in 2003, where he served as manager of Media Services. He has spent the past two years as the U.S. communications manager for Nike in Beaverton, Ore.
Bhavnani has spent the last two years with the Spurs as the Assistant Video Coordinator. He started his NBA career with the Los Angeles Clippers as an intern in the video department in 2004.
Clinton joined the organization in 2004 as the Video Coordinator for the WNBA's Seattle Storm. She served the NBA team last year in Seattle as the Player Services Coordinator. Clinton began her career in the NBA as an intern in the video department with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2000.
"We are pleased to add this caliber of professionalism and experience to our basketball operations staff,” Presti said. "Our mission in Oklahoma City is to build an elite basketball organization; we feel that has to occur on and off the court. Today's additions will help us as we continue to build and define our franchise.”
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"...Well worth the buck an Okie..." You can use that tired argument for every tax that comes down the line. Yes, its "only a buck" or "only a penny" but notice how those pennies and dollars quickly add up to millions and billions, often in abuse and fraud?
I guess Larry got the email...lol...."State funds ARE going to be going to the team, every year for 15 years (about $4 million a year)."...Nice to see state politicians that understand how having a major league team will enhance the quality of life for millions of Okies over the years...Well worth the buck an Okie they will refund back to the team
Brent, Jenks wrote: "You are mad at a tax break. Break being the key word there as in tax collected being X minus the break. Not current tax minus the break. We only lose in additional taxes collected which only exist as a result of the team being here."
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House Speaker Chris Benge "assured House members that no state funds are going to the team. 'There is no money in the treasury right now going to this basketball team if they come .... Absolutely no money is going to this organization.'”
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FALSE: While there isn't any money in the treasury RIGHT NOW. Benge described this deal as a "rebate" (you don't get money back until you've paid it in). Combined LOCAL and State is going to get an estimated $11.2 million in revenue and then turn around and "rebate" $60 million. In case you missed it, that is a LOSS to the State of $48.8 million. State funds ARE going to be going to the team, every year for 15 years (about $4 million a year).
In addition Paul your welfare tax rip-off that you have been crying about for months and your math your basing this theory on is nonsense and so simplistic and off base it makes me sad to know an adult typed it. You are mad at a tax break. Break being the key word there as in tax collected being X minus the break. Not current tax minus the break. We only lose in additional taxes collected which only exist as a result of the team being here. As to the comment about these people moving in not paying 23k in taxes come on you think all people contribute to the local economy is their taxes? Just because you contribute little does not mean everyone else is a loser. How do you quantify homes purchased, goods consumed, money invested, children placed in schools (both private and public). A working tax paying successful individual placed in any community I assure you contributes more than 23k in both quantifiable and non quantifiable worth. As to reading the whole paper no not terrible your disconnect is in understanding it.
Paul if everyone only had to worry about getting to the mailbox once a month to support themselves they would have as much time as you do to analyze every article on the net from weather to sports. In fact, I don’t think excessive amounts of free time to dig up useless information at cost to the rest of us is all that commendable.
Great, I just knew it was only a matter of time before pauls relatives started posting here too. Hey, cousin Mike, that guy wouldn't of even been arrested in Seattle, he would have fit right in with the other 400,000 at the Gay Pride Celebration.
Heres another fact that we are surrounded by idiots here in Oklahoma brought to you by KJRH Channel 2 Tulsa.....A German hiker jailed for walking around naked has been allowed to go nude because prison clothes depress him.
Siegfried Grawert was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail for failing to pay fines for walking around in natural beauty spots in the buff.
Grawert has now been given a single cell where he serve his time without clothes.
"I do not offend anyone - being naked is the most natural thing in the world," Grawert says.
Clay Bennett, Oklahoma City - Aug 27, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Just one question Pup,,,you took the time to click on the cut and paste the link I provided, AND took time to make comment on it...WHO exactly is fascinated, anyway??
"That was pretty stupid but it's certainly the kind of story that paul would be fascinated with." Even more stupid would be some Okie trying to convince e-bayers that it's the Montauk Monster on said piece of toast. Thanks for giving me the opening, TPup...
A piece of toast? That was pretty stupid but it's certainly the kind of story that paul would be fascinated with. Speaking of toast, we have a piece of toast in Seattle we call Key arena. It's the dump that cost us our NBA team.
Paul, Yukon, that was just disgusting!! I do wonder if our new College and International Player personnel is going to pursue retaining Sasha Kaun, whom they drafted from KU and allowed to go overseas to play ball.
Rex, Oklahoma City: "Here" is a matter of perspective. "Here" could mean your backyard. Or "here" could mean the OKC metro, and if that is what was meant, then you are correct, the OKC metro did not receive a foot of hail. However, if by "here" means the state of Oklahoma, a foot of hail did indeed fall "here". How is his post mis-leading when it did actually happen? Distance aside, the last time I looked at a map, Dallas or Wichita aren't in Oklahoma.
"Paul is worse than the Seattle dummies. I'm really glad he doesn't live around me.
Nancy, Moore - Aug 26, 2008 11:44 AM"...speaking of dummies, you wouldn't by chance be the holder of this gem, would you??
Just food for thought, Rex...I'd be willing to bet that if a place anywhere in the state of Washington got a foot of hail in August, pert' near all the Seattle residents would know about it. And today, in a typical style, in a state that gets blistering hot in August, 2 residents actually acted like they didn't know it hailed in the panhandle last week. Believe I implied it was actually here in OKC if you must, but check my post and see if I actually implied that.....
Travis made a comment about the weather in Seattle and paul responded with...."Travis...considering the whining about tornados, ice storms and flooding in the middle of summer here, I don't think you have much room to talk about "rain addled nights".....I'm pretty sure Seattle doesn't get a foot of hail in August"....paul is clearly insenuating that we got a foot of hail here. I don't know of anyone that actually lives here that would consider the panhandle to be "here". It's 185 miles to the panhandle. Is Dallas or Wichita here? Just another completely misleading post by paul, but thats nothing new.
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House Speaker Chris Benge "assured House members that no state funds are going to the team. 'There is no money in the treasury right now going to this basketball team if they come .... Absolutely no money is going to this organization.'”
_________________________________________________________________
FALSE: While there isn't any money in the treasury RIGHT NOW. Benge described this deal as a "rebate" (you don't get money back until you've paid it in). Combined LOCAL and State is going to get an estimated $11.2 million in revenue and then turn around and "rebate" $60 million. In case you missed it, that is a LOSS to the State of $48.8 million. State funds ARE going to be going to the team, every year for 15 years (about $4 million a year).
Siegfried Grawert was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail for failing to pay fines for walking around in natural beauty spots in the buff.
Grawert has now been given a single cell where he serve his time without clothes.
"I do not offend anyone - being naked is the most natural thing in the world," Grawert says.
Nancy, Moore - Aug 26, 2008 11:44 AM"...speaking of dummies, you wouldn't by chance be the holder of this gem, would you??
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,400562,00.html