Did I just say that? Something came over me on my way to the track yesterday. This 'feeling' that Jerryd is going to do very well (relatively speaking) against Phoenix in this series. The annoying part of all of this is that I don't really have any particular reason for feeling this way.

Now I'm not a fan of Jerryd Bayless's future at PG on this team or any other. Nor am I looking forward to all of the Free Bayless supporters emerging from the shadows spewing much of what I perceive as poppycock. But if it helps the Blazers advance - I'm prepared to eat some crow (for a short while).

So what's your take?

kind of. It seems they have an auto-responder on their mail server. Nothing like writing to bots. =(. But I get it -- Hiring actual humans to address all of these letters they must get pertaining to officiating would cost the League some serious green.

Dear __sender__,

Thank you for contacting the National Basketball Association with your concerns regarding officiating.  The NBA’s highest priority is to ensure that every game is determined on its merits, thus providing its fans with a truly fair and competitive league.

We take seriously the performance of our officials.  They are subjected to incredible scrutiny by the league, including tracking every call they make and holding them to the most rigorous standard in all of sports.  Not only is their past performance measured, charted, and evaluated, but we employ a system of stringent metrics designed to continually hone their skills and improve their overall ability.  We strive to ensure that NBA games are officiated at the highest possible level with the understanding that perfection is an unattainable goal.

Thank you again for your concern.  We appreciate your feedback regarding this issue.

Sincerely,

NBA Fan Relations

04/10/2010 12:34 PM

To nba-letters-l@NBA cc Subject Officiating

FROM: ___sender___

MESSAGE:
I understand that the officials have a hard job to do. But the officiating of the Portland/Dallas (4.9.10) game was under par.

Perhaps you gentlemen should revisit the Howard/Najera incident and justify how/why both players did not receive a technical foul.

I'm never one to blame outcomes of games on officiating and will restrain myself in doing it here. But I must say that as a fan of NBA basketball, I was very disappointed.

via www.vulcan.com

In light (or lack thereof) recent happenings, how confident are you that a Vulcan, Inc. ownership will ultimately do what's best for your beloved Portland Trail Blazers franchise? Financial resources don't seem to be an issue. Paul Allen's passion for his team certainly cannot be questioned. But what about the stability and motives of the influential hierarchy that surrounds him? Or his ability to make thoughtful, unhurried decisions based on facts and not raw emotion?

What were you thinking? You reminded me of immature, jealous, jilted lovers! If you really wanted to make him feel bad & uncomfortable (I'm assuming that was your primary motive - why else would you boo?) then perhaps all of you should have stood up and given him a round of applause during his introduction. The guy single-handedly saved us from a potentially awful acquisition. Applauding him would of rented more space in his head than the booing in which he laughed and surely shrugged off as "typical NBA fans that just don't get it".

Even with having hindsight on our side and we still boo the guy? Come on now - I'd like to think that we're not 'typical NBA fans'. We can do better than that.

Yes, there still are 15 games left - but i think most of us have come to some sort of decision as to which Blazer we think has risen to the challenge to keep the ship afloat. Which one of these players do you feel has stepped up the most to help salvage this stranger than fiction Trail Blazer regular season? Please feel free to campaign for your nominee as if he were running for president.