Kevin Durant, OKC Thunder Face Dicey Challenge Moving Forward Sans Russell Westbrook

When Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook went down with a torn meniscus on a seemingly harmless play at the hands of Houston's Patrick Beverley, the NBA playoff road past the Thunder juggernaut got a little smoother.

Westbrook is not without his faults, but at his best, he's an unstoppable force of nature -- a swashbuckling, freakish blend of athleticism and speed who has already made three All-Star teams at 24 years old. He is Kevin Durant's Robin, and on most teams, would be Batman.

With that in mind, let us rewind to three days before the regular season tipped off: Thunder GM Sam Presti dealt guard James Harden, who ended up with the Houston Rockets and became a superstar in his own right. Presti never could have imagined that Westbrook would miss time, because up until this injury, he had never missed a game in his pro career.

The issue moving forward for OKC is not merely a lack of scoring, but as Houston exposed in the first round, a lack of playmaking and sheer point-guard play. Specifically, while veteran Derek Fisher has hit some clutch shots, he no longer poses a threat off the dribble. Second-year man Reggie Jackson is a dynamic scorer, but far better suited to play off the ball than to facilitate.

The onus has unfairly fallen on Durant. Perhaps no player in the league is a more efficient and more gifted natural scorer, but the beauty of Durant's game is heightened by the remarkable pressure that Westbrook puts on the defense. Yet even with Westbrook in the lineup, the Thunder would never be confused with a ball movement-based offense. According to NBA.com, it ranked eighth-worst in the NBA in assist rate. In other words, most of its scoring comes from two of the game's premier isolation artists.

But do not mistake OKC-minus-Westbrook as a poor offensive team. Against the Rockets, the Thunder averaged 109 points per 100 possessions after he went down, even if the flow is not the same.

Durant -- both because he's so special and because he has to -- has assumed a point-forward role and initiated the half-court attack. The result has been a mixed bag; after a Game 5 defeat, he was perhaps as visibly upset and frustrated as we've ever seen him. But the main takeaway is that his efficiency -- normally stellar -- has suffered. In games 3-6 without Westbrook, he shot 35 percent from distance and turned the ball over 18 times. In Game 3 alone, Durant dribbled the ball 377 times, nearly 250 more dribbles than he averaged per game for the season, according to data from the SportVU camera system. To be fair, he has averaged a playoff career-high 32.5 points, but at what price?

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks faces a significant challenge creating efficient offense without All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook. (Getty Images)

As the Thunder move forward in the playoffs with the quest of a second consecutive Finals' appearance, the team must first surpass a brutally physical Memphis team with perhaps the league's best guard-big defensive duo in Tony Allen and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, Marc Gasol. Aside from Durant, where does the offense come from? Moreover, where does the creative offense come from?

Kevin Martin, the slithery scorer whom Presti acquired in the Harden deal, has been streaky in the playoffs, but is coming off his best outing yet, a 7-13, 25-point performance to help close out in Game 6. There is also the aforementioned Jackson, set to start just his fifth-ever game, all of which have come in these playoffs.

But then the well goes rather dry. Serge Ibaka is a pure pick-and-pop guy who relies on the playmaking of Durant and normally of Westbrook to get his looks. Swingman Thabo Sefolosha is a much improved stationary 3-point shooter, but not a guy who creates for himself or others. This makes it very easy for defenses to send unconventional traps Durant's way along with remaining overly shaded in the half-court.

Therein lies the incredibly tricky element for Thunder head coach Scott Brooks and his club. For a team that doesn't normally run a great deal of offense or rely on movement and misdirection, it suddenly finds itself at a rare crossroads. Durant may be the second best player on the planet and better apt than anyone to shoulder such responsibility, but it is his teammates who must step up to lighten the load.

Email me at jordan.schultz@huffingtonpost.com or ask me questions about anything sports-related at @Schltz_Report.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/04/kevin-durant-okc-thunder-westbrook_n_3216127.html

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Dr. Drew checks out of 'Celebrity Rehab'

TV

Ashley Majeski TODAY contributor

12 hours ago

Getty Images

Dr. Drew Pinsky said he will not continue doing "Celebrity Rehab."

Dr. Drew Pinsky has confirmed that he has officially checked out of "Celebrity Rehab."

The physician and reality TV star recently confirmed to the Zach Sang & the Gang radio program that there will be no more seasons of "Celebrity Rehab," mainly because he's tired of getting blamed when a celebrity he's treated ends up dying from their drug addiction.

"I don't have plans to do that again, " Pinsky said. "I'm tired of taking all the heat. It's just ridiculous."

Pinsky, who starred in and co-produced five seasons of "Celebrity Rehab," said that doing the show has become too stressful for him, due to the fact that everyone is quick to point fingers at him when one of his celebrity patients relapses.

"It's very stressful and very intense for me, " Pinsky said. "To have people questioning my motives and taking aim at me because people get sick and die because they have a life-threatening disease, and I take the blame? Rodney King has a heart attack and I take blame for that?"

Pinsky said that while many viewers think that much of what is shown on "Celebrity Rehab" is faked for the cameras, the show was very real.

"These are really sick people, that's why they die," Pinsky said. "These are people with life-threatening addiction. Bob [Forrest] and Shelly [Sprague] and I ran a program for 20 years and [for 'Celebrity Rehab'] we do what we always do and just let them run the cameras."

To date, five of Pinsky's "Celebrity Rehab" patients have died, most recently country singer Mindy McCready, who took her own life in February. Still, Pinsky credits the show for helping a lot of celebrities finally get clean.

"It's sad that we're not doing more shows because people did get help," he said. "A lot of people are sober because of 'Celebrity Rehab' who wouldn't have been sober without it."

Pinsky added that he credits actor Tom Sizemore as the show's biggest success story. The actor, who was featured on the show's third season, had been trying unsuccessfully to get clean for years before coming on the show.

"We worked with him 10 years before [he came on the show]," Pinsky said. "Bob and I worked with him a lot and couldn't get him sober. And he got sober on 'Celebrity Rehab.' That's awesome."

Pinsky has practiced addiction medicine for 20 years, and said he continues to work with patients every week, in addition to hosting the nightly "Loveline" radio program, as well as his own talk show, "Dr. Drew on Call" on the HLN channel.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/dr-drew-checks-out-celebrity-rehab-6C9751586

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As South Korea and US end military drills, how will North Korea react?

Many Korea watchers speculated that once joint military drills ended, so would increased tensions with North Korea. But at least one analyst says this might be the moment the North lashes out again.?

By Steven Borowiec,?Correspondent / April 30, 2013

US military vehicles cross Unification bridge, which leads to the demilitarized zone separating North Korea from South Korea near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday. The US-South Korean annual military drills ended Tuesday without incident.

Ahn Young-joon/AP

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The US-South Korea annual military exercises ended without incident on Tuesday, perhaps allowing a chance for weeks of tensions on the Korean peninsula to enter an indefinite period of calm.

Skip to next paragraph Steven Borowiec

Korea Correspondent

Since 2009, Steven Borowiec has reported from Seoul, South Korea on politics, socio-economics, and culture. He is a deputy editor at South Korea?s Hankyoreh newspaper.

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The annual military defensive exercises are intended to act as a deterrent to North Korea through shows of military prowess.?North Korea, however, called the two month-long exercises an aggressive invasion threat and promised military retaliation if provoked directly.

But now that the exercises are over, the North could tell its people that its own military successfully warded off the threat, conceivably allowing it enter dialogue with the South without appearing to lose face.?But some analysts argue that as the general atmosphere has cooled, action by North Korea could actually be more likely.

?Now that the exercises are over, this is an opportune time for a missile launch,? says Sung-yoon Lee, professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. ?Now that their adversaries have their guard down, they could go ahead with a launch now, ahead of the upcoming summit between Obama and Park Geun-hye, to put pressure on Park.?

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was inaugurated on Feb. 25, is scheduled to meet with US President Obama in Washington on May 7. North Korea has been known to purposely raise tensions in an effort to rattle new administrations in Seoul or Washington.?

"The drill is over, but the South Korean and US militaries will continue to watch out for potential provocations by the North, including a missile launch," said Kim Min-seok, a spokesperson for South Korea?s Ministry of National Defense.

The two-month long exercises started up shortly after the North's third nuclear test in February and involved around 10,000 US troops and 200,000 South Korean forces. Throughout the exercises, some impressive weaponry was shown off, including B-52 bombers and a nuclear-armed submarine. After the exercises began, the North announced it was scrapping an armistice agreement that effectively put the Korean War on hold, and said it was?entering a "state of war." The North also cut two hotlines to South Korea, symbols of North-South cooperation, but left a joint economic region alone until April.?

The jointly-operated Kaesong industrial park, the last major symbol of cooperation between South and North?was designed to economically benefit both sides, providing South Korean companies with cheap labor, and North Koreans with much needed income. Since it was started in 2004, it has survived years of chilly inter-Korean relations.?

But North Korea unexpectedly barred South Koreans from entering the area early in April and then withdrew all its workers shortly thereafter. Though some South Korean workers stayed at the complex, many went back to South Korea.

The situation at Kaesong is one aspect of the crisis that appears set to continue.

Yesterday, 43 of the final 50 South Korean workers in Kaesong returned home. Seven stayed behind to deal with some unpaid wages, as North Korea has not approved their departure yet, according to Chosun. There is not yet any indication that Seoul and Pyongyang will cooperate in finding a way to get operations at the complex back underway. The complex brought in about $80 million in revenue for North Korea in 2012, so there is a large financial incentive for the North to restart business there.?

Today South Korean Minister of Unification Ryoo Kihl-jae said that while the South is interested in restarting operations at Kaesong, Seoul wouldn?t accept just any conditions demanded by North Korea.

"It is pointless to normalize operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex if it entails accepting unreasonable claims and preconditions," Minister Ryoo said.

All throughout the war games, many analysts speculated that North Korea?s intention was to stir tensions and pull back at the last minute from any kind of engagement in an effort to strengthen its bargaining position when it returns to the table at some later date.?

?The general principle is to escalate tensions in order to later be able to negotiate from a position of strength,? Leonid Petrov, a researcher in Korean studies at Australian National University, told the Monitor on Apr. 10.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/mCw340oEnTc/As-South-Korea-and-US-end-military-drills-how-will-North-Korea-react

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A 'Bag Men' dad may sue the New York Post

(New York Post)

The father of one of the young men the New York Post said were sought by the FBI in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings might sue the tabloid for tabbing his son as a suspect.

El Houssein Barhoum, whose teenage son, Salah Barhoum, is pictured on the April 18 cover of the New York Post under the headline ?Bag Men," told the Washington Post he's consulting a lawyer about a possible lawsuit.

Salah Barhoum had attended the marathon with a friend. After their photo landed on the cover of the paper, Barhoum, who lives with his family in Revere, Mass., met with authorities to clear his name.

"It's the worst feeling that I can possibly feel," Barhoum told ABC News the day the Post cover story was published. "I'm only 17."

Barhoum, a track athlete, said he wanted to run the marathon but couldn't, so he decided to watch the April 15 race instead.

The day before the Post cover came out, the photos of Barhoum and his friend were circulated by online message boards in the frenzy to help the FBI identify the bombing suspects. According to ABC News, federal authorities "passed around images of Barhoum, attempting to learn more information about him." But it's unclear whether that was before or after the Post ran with them.

The paper took plenty of heat for putting out an erroneous APB, but stubbornly stood its ground despite the confusion it caused.

"We stand by our story," Post editor Col Allan said in a statement. "The image was emailed to law enforcement agencies yesterday afternoon seeking information about these men, as our story reported. We did not identify them as suspects."

The Post subsequently published a separate online story reporting that Barhoum and his friend had been cleared: "The two men whose photos were being circulated internally among police have been cleared as authorities determined that neither man had any role in the Boston Marathon bombings."

Bur according to Barhoum's father, the damage had already been done. ?We were just scared to go outside,? he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/bag-men-ny-post-lawsuit-143522063.html

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Analysis: Big insurers wary of entering new Obamacare markets

By Caroline Humer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The nation's largest health insurers are far from leaping at the chance to join new state health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, making it likely that some markets will have little or no competition next year.

These new insurance marketplaces are due to open their doors on October 1 to enroll millions of Americans who have not been able to buy coverage on their own.

A key principle of Obama's health reform is that individuals will have a robust offering of insurance plans to choose from, and that competition for new customers in each state will help keep prices down for consumers.

But health insurers, some of whom fought the law before it was passed and continue to lobby to reverse parts of it, are wary. In recent days, executives at the four largest U.S. health insurers say they are likely to sell insurance plans on less than a third of the exchanges, reluctant to venture out beyond the states where they already offer coverage.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not provide a comment.

There are a number of reasons for caution, company executives say. These include a lack of clarity about the kind of prices they can charge and the number of plans they can sell on each exchange, the expectation that the program is only expected to reach about 7 million people nationwide in its first year and uncertainty over whether all of the exchanges will be ready in time.

As a result, heavily populated states where many insurers already sell plans now, such as California and New York, will have competing products for the exchanges when health reform takes full effect on January 1. But states whose existing insurance markets have little or no competition, like Alabama and Alaska, may not see much of a difference, healthcare analysts say.

"We do think the uptake may be slower than maybe people thought six months ago or a year ago in terms of what is going on in the first year with the exchanges," Aetna Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guerin said in an interview.

Under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, health insurance marketplaces must be available in every state in 2014. These exchanges, which will enable all individuals and small businesses to buy health insurance, are expected to bring in up to 24 million people by 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

NO LAND GRAB ON EXCHANGES

UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. insurer, said it would end up in as few as 10 exchanges and only up to 25 maximum.

Aetna on Tuesday said that it was not planning a "land grab" when it comes to expanding through the exchanges and has submitted applications to offer plans in 14 states.

WellPoint, which operates Blue Cross Blue Shield licenses in 14 states, said it plans to enter exchanges in those states, but that there is uncertainty around timing of the overall rollout of exchanges. Humana Inc. said it is participating in 14 states. Cigna said it will participate in a "limited" number of markets that it has already zeroed in on for growth.

WellPoint Chief Financial Officer Wayne DeVeydt said in an interview that the company is still waiting to hear how the states will handle pricing and ratings of applicants, how many competitors will be allowed on the exchanges in some states that plan to limit numbers and how many plans they can offer in others that are more permissive.

States can choose whether to opt for a "clearinghouse" type exchange where all insurers are welcome to apply, while others have decided to take a more active role in choosing who can sell plans.

DeVeydt described a race against time for insurers to have all the information they need in the next two to three months to finalize products, have them approved by regulators and inform brokers of what they will be selling. "If you back it out from October, you almost have to have clarity in the next 60 or 90 days, or you can't have a (January 1) rollout."

DEADLINES DELAYED

The federal government has stuck by that January 1 deadline, even as it contends with the tight deadlines and technology requirements to get the exchanges going. It has plans to run 33 exchanges, while 17 states have said that they will run their own. On Tuesday, the government said it would give insurers three more days to file their applications for the federally run exchanges.

Last week, Gary Cohen, the senior official overseeing the federal insurance exchanges, said 140 health insurance carriers had started the process for an application, but did not provide details on how they were distributed by state.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said last month that she expected competition on the exchanges in part because they will have lower administrative costs for insurers and the marketing will be done by the exchanges.

"What I think we are going to see is a very different kind of competitive market and that competition in and of itself should help moderate prices," Sebelius said during an event moderated by Reuters at Harvard School of Public Health. "We have seen that happen in the market in the last three years and I think that is going to continue."

Large states with vibrant markets and who are ahead on setting up their exchanges, like California and Washington, have received applications from dozens of insurance companies.

Still, states dominated by only one health insurer - places like Alabama, Alaska and Delaware - could end up in the same situation they are in now, according to health economists and based on data from states whose application deadlines have passed.

One possible outcome for the states dominated by few insurers is that companies which administer the government's Medicaid plans for the poor will apply to provide insurance on the exchanges, said Linda Blumberg, health economist at the Urban Institute.

Consumers who apply on the exchanges for healthcare will be able to find out online if they are eligible based on their income for Medicaid or for a subsidy to buy private insurance.

Caroline Pearson, vice president for health reform at consulting firm Avalere Health, said the barriers for insurers are high to break into a new insurance market.

"To come in as a new carrier, do marketing to build your brand name, and build a provider network from scratch is very, very hard," she said.

(Additional reporting by David Morgan in Washington, D.C. and Sharon Begley in New York; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-big-insurers-wary-entering-obamacare-markets-160253084.html

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EU energy sector in funding 'crisis'

1 May 2013 Last updated at 20:34 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News

Investment totalling a trillion Euros is required before the end of this decade if the European Union is to stave off an energy crisis.

That is the conclusion of an eight-month inquiry by the House of Lords into the EU power sector.

The Lords report says that a muddled Brussels energy policy is putting off big investors.

In addition, it says there needs to be greater support for Europe's emissions trading system (ETS).

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

This should be a great time to invest in long-lerm assets such as energy but clear policy is needed in order to release it?

End Quote Lord Carter of Coles

The Lords EU sub-committee on agriculture, fisheries, environment and energy took evidence from a range of parties including the European Commission, power companies and environmental campaigners.

Money on hold

Their report says that there is an urgent need for investment in low carbon, interconnected and innovative energy systems. The committee agreed with the European Commission estimate that to achieve secure, green and cheap energy by 2020, a trillion Euros will need to be spent on infrastructure.

The money is there from institutional investors for these energy projects, say the Lords. But the lack of a clear policy about how to deliver secure and affordable power is holding them back.

"The value of energy companies has slumped since 2008, the public purse is severely constrained, but there is more than enough money around in the investment community," said Lord Carter of Coles, who chaired the committee.

"This should be a great time to invest in long-term assets such as energy but clear policy is needed in order to release it," he said.

The Lords point to two core policies that they say need to be in place. The European Emissions Trading System needs urgent revision, they say.

In recent weeks, the price of carbon has crashed further after the European Parliament baulked at a commission proposal to overhaul the market.

"The ETS has failed but it is not dead," said Lord Carter.

"It needs to include a minimum price for carbon, providing governments and investors with the confidence to support innovation through investment."

That minimum price is required to prevent countries reverting to coal which has become much cheaper on global markets as a result of the shale oil and gas boom in the US.

The other critical policy that needs to be in place is one the UK has refused to endorse. According to the Lords, a target for the proportion of renewables in the energy mix up to 2030 is rapidly required.

The committee also calls for the development of electricity inter-connections between member states along the lines of the agreement reached between the UK and the Irish Republic over wind power in January.

"The inter-connection issue really needs to be developed quickly. We saw a case in the Pyrenees where the inter-connecter between Spain and France took 30 years because environmentalists couldn't agree," Lord Carter added.

The Lords are also calling for the development of a regulatory structure for the exploitation of shale gas in the EU.

Follow Matt on Twitter.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22372088#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Scientists weaken HIV infection in immune cells using synthetic agents

May 1, 2013 ? HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is notorious for hiding within certain types of cells, where it reproduces at a slowed rate and eventually gives rise to chronic inflammation, despite drug therapy. But researchers at Temple University School of Medicine's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Center for Substance Abuse Research (CSAR) recently discovered that synthetic anti-inflammatory substances distantly related to the active ingredient of marijuana may be able to take the punch out of HIV while inside one of its major hideouts -- immune cells known as macrophages.

The breakthrough comes at a crucial time in the HIV/AIDS pandemic. "Powerful antiretroviral drug cocktails have allowed many HIV patients to live longer," explained Servio H. Ramirez, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM), and first author on the study. But living longer with HIV means extended exposure to low levels of HIV replication and associated inflammation. In the central nervous system (CNS), this inflammatory process is thought to be the underlying cause of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), a spectrum of conditions that is on the rise again after more than a decade of decline following the advent of antiretroviral therapy.

To better understand the connection between inflammation and neurocognitive conditions linked to long-term exposure to HIV, Ramirez and colleagues looked specifically at the CB2 receptor, a protein located on the surface of macrophages. CB2 is a binding site for substances called cannabinoids, the primary active compounds of cannabis (marijuana), and it may play a role in blocking inflammation in the CNS. Unlike its counterpart, the CB1 receptor, which is found primarily on neurons in the brain, CB2 does not mediate the psychoactive effects for which cannabis is popularly known.

Ramirez explained that there has been much pharmacological interest in developing agents that selectively target CB2. Ideally, these compounds would help limit chronic inflammatory responses and would not bind to CB1. The most promising compounds are those derived from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active substance in cannabis.

The development of such drugs, however, hinges largely on knowing which cells harbor HIV. Earlier studies suggested that T cells, central components of the immune system, are HIV reservoirs. The Temple team, however, chose to focus on macrophages, which are a type of white blood cell that engulfs and destroys foreign agents.

According to Ramirez and the study's senior investigator, Yuri Persidsky, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at TUSM, macrophages likely are the primary reservoir for HIV. They are among the first cells to become infected following sexual transmission of the virus, and they are found in every organ of the human body and circulate in the blood. It is currently thought that macrophages may be responsible for introducing HIV into the brain, ultimately initiating HIV-associated cognitive decline.

The scientists landed on their discovery by conducting a series of experiments in a well-established, non-clinical HIV macrophage cell model. They began by treating the HIV-infected cells with one of three different synthetic CB2-activating compounds. The cells were then sampled periodically to measure the activity of an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which is essential for HIV replication. After seven days, the team found that all three compounds had successfully attenuated HIV replication. The experiments and findings are detailed in the May issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

The results suggest that selective CB2 agonists could potentially be used in tandem with existing antiretroviral drugs, opening the door to the generation of new drug therapies for HIV/AIDS. The data also support the idea that the human immune system could be leveraged to fight HIV infection.

"Our study suggests that the body's own natural defenses can be made more powerful to fight some of the worst symptoms of HIV," Persidsky explained. He also noted that stimulating CB2 receptors in white blood cells could produce similar benefits against other viral infections.

The new research further highlights the important work being carried out at Temple's Center for Substance Abuse Research (CSAR). "The compounds we had available through CSAR formed an important aspect of this research," Ramirez said.

Persidsky added, "From our perspective we were in a better position for in vitro research. We have interesting models and were able to take advantage of our colleagues' knowledge of receptors and cannabinoids to make a unique contribution."

The team plans next to perform further screening studies using other novel CB2 agonists in parallel with studies that can help uncover the molecular events within the cell that regulate the effect of CB2 on HIV.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Temple University Health System, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. S. H. Ramirez, N. L. Reichenbach, S. Fan, S. Rom, S. F. Merkel, X. Wang, W.-z. Ho, Y. Persidsky. Attenuation of HIV-1 replication in macrophages by cannabinoid receptor 2 agonists. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2013; 93 (5): 801 DOI: 10.1189/jlb.1012523

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/BgeJ1hcforo/130501132053.htm

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