Thursday Bolts – 10.6.11
Forbes profiled Aubrey McClendon: “The more time you spend with McClendon, the more your head spins, less with classy spirits than dazzling stats. Chesapeake boasts a $17 billion market cap, on track to generate $2 billion in profits on $9.5 billion in revenues. It employs 12,000 people, including 4,500 land scouts scouring every acre of America for drilling potential and added 3,300 employees so far this year. FORBES estimates McClendon’s personal fortune exceeds $1.2 billion, including his 2.5% personal stake in nearly every Chesapeake well, real estate and 19% of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, which he helped move from Seattle to his hometown amid much acrimony. He is without a doubt the most admired–and feared–man in the U.S. oil patch.”
The Oklahoman: “Unfortunately, discussion of what the Thunder will do for an encore this season has been replaced by talk of NBA labor negotiations. The patience of many fans is tested in watching players battle owners for a greater share of the revenue. If the lockout continues, downtown businesses stand to lose plenty. Hotels, restaurants, bars and clubs in and around downtown have grown accustomed to seeing their receipts increase considerably when the Thunder plays at home.”
Albeit a couple weeks late, but John Rohde chimes in on KD’s controversies: “Much of the country views Oklahoma as a state with a massive inferiority complex, and this latest overreaction only confirms it. As Durant quickly discovered, many locals require constant reassurances of his approval. Since the day Durant arrived in July of 2008, his public endorsements of the city and state have become paramount.”
NBA Lockout Jam. Milkshakealaka.
Larry Coon for TrueHoop: “Keep in mind that December 16th represents the point at which the players as a whole will break-even. Each individual player would need to stay in the league for six years to recoup his lost wages. In a league where the average career lasts fewer than five years, that’s going to be a problem. This is one reason the owners have an advantage in this labor dispute — they have a longer window of time to recoup their losses. An average player is likely to be out of the league in a few years, but an owner can hang on to his team for decades.”
Piston Powered ranks teams’ 25-and-under players: “The Thunder lead because of what these players have already become. Even if Durant and Russell don’t improve a lick from here on out, they’re still premier players. Plus, Harden and Ibaka are already two very dangerous role players. So, knowing full well that these four will continue to improve, there’s no other unit close to having as lethal of a foundation in place with so much obscene potential unfulfilled. And Aldrich is by no means a lost cause yet.”
