The franchise is in flames. Brandon Roy is not Jordan. Aldridge is not KG or Duncan, or even Sheed or Boozer. Blazers just got throttled by the KNICKS. Let me repeat that. THE BLAZERS JUST GOT THROTTLED BY THE knicks. Fans are encouraged to pay hundreds and thousands of their hard earned dollars on a product that is more poorly made than a toy from china covered in lead paint. But no, Dave, and Ben, and Jason Quick, Joe Freeman, Brian T. Smith, Wendell Maxey, etc. etc. etc. will continue to cover the Blazers, encouraging us to watch their games and debate whether Miller or Blake or John Wall or whomever should start at PG next to the third best SG in the league. I say enough. For all the Noden's out there, I think tonight's effort will indicate how much of an impact he's had this year. Yet players are still ballsy enough to complain that they aren't getting any touches or that the flow of the game isn't the same as last year or whatever BS complaint they have. Sports are about winning. Debate as much as you want, but playing sports is a proxy for war. Football is a pitched battle where the goal is to claim the enemy's territory. Basketball is but a slight variation of this pitched battle. The skirmishes might be more fluid (excepting the Blazers' deliberate strategy), but they are skirmishes nonetheless. Battles fought without heart might well not be fought at all. This epitomizes our team's effort through the first quarter of the season. Even calling it "our" team makes me cringe. I am loathe to hear what reason the players give for this loss. The past is the past, and it cannot be drawn upon as an excuse for today or the future. Insert cliché about each new dawn here. But this stretch of play makes me want to puke. Say what one may of Pryzbilla and Blake coming back to Earth, but did anyone expect that Roy would march to the same beat? Paul Allen must feel like crap tonight. Having had and overcome cancer at 21, I know his struggles there. But to have cancer AND know that he's on the hook for $135 million dollars over the next five years to Roy and Aldridge would be enough to make me want to take a long walk off of a short pier. Black as this post may be, as a fan, watching this team is that painful. I can't even play "the homer" and argue against every call the refs make; the team's effort isn't worth it. I cannot begin to think about the philosophical aspects of professional sports and the escapism pervasive in our culture which is embodied in every fan's cheer and catcall. Most fans (and I am no exception) want to leave behind the day's troubles and the uncertainty of the future (even before our nation began to teeter economically) in watching our favorite team compete. But we want not ho-hum efforts or shoulder shrugs. These are our own responses to life's predicaments. We want to worship our local gods - the Blazers - for their heroic efforts and unfathomable feats. We expect them to face each hardship with more grit and determination than before. Yet fans are greeted not with steeled nerves or faces contorted in labor, but with hung heads and subpar performances. I don't want to win every game as I am not a Laker fan. I just want to lose in a fashion befitting heroes, not mortals. Hyperbole aside, please Blazers, play like you have a pair. Play for the guy who signs your paychecks who has his own life-or-death battle going on. Play for your coach, the former enforcer and warrior, who is probably peeing blood, if he's peeing at all, fighting his own mortal struggle. Pick something and play for it. Please. Right now, this team isn't playing for anything, not even themselves.

So as a recent college graduate with no job, I have a lot of free time on my hands. And I love the NBA. But I am not so sure I love Elton Brand. I listened to Brand's comments on ESPN and to Coach D's (i can't spell Dunleavy) comments too. It might be me, but I really think that Brand screwed the Clips and his buddy Boom Dizzle. A recap of what i know (sans verification...if i'm wrong, please please please correct me):

B. Dizz wants an extention from GS beyond this year. Doesn't get it. Attempts to force Mullin's hand by opting out. Also opts out with an eye toward LA as it's BD's hometown and he's also making movies. BD probably talks with Brand about movies (Brand has his own production company, BD just released a documentary about gangs) and b-ball. Brand doesn't like losing, doesn't like playing for Mr. Sterling except when they win. Brand suggests to BD to sign with LA for an '05-'06 renaissance. Brand says he'll opt out b/c he wants the clips to sign BD and so he can get a contract extention beyond this season. Brand says he'll take less money so the clips can be competitive (ps you can make WAY more money in movies with WAY less effort than you can in basketball). BD agrees to a contract with the clips, $65m/5yr. Brand says he'll return to the clips for less money, specifically $75m/5yr (according to reports and pissed-off dunleavy). Now, there is some previous tension between Sterling and Falk (Brand's agent) about the offer sheet situation when brand signed with Miami and the clips matched. Falk didn't want Brand to sign with the Clips for obvious reasons (read: Sterling's cheaper than my Nike-made converse which now have holes in the soles after a mere 3 months). Fast forward to this summer, clips make their offer, and somewhere along the line, because of Sterling's hatred for Falk or negotiation difficulties, the clips try to deal directly with brand. Falk apparently asked for a max extention (something like $120m/6yrs) this summer, and if he didn't get it, he'd ask for $150m/7yrs next summer. Sterling says wait a minute, Brand just had a major injury (ruptured achilles', only played 8 games last year), is 29, and one of either of those contracts would kill the clippers cap space until 2020. Sterling, Baylor, or someone of the like goes behind Falk's back to try to negotiate with Brand himself. Major no-no in the sports agent world, as you are threatening their ~3% commision on a multi-million dollar contract. Brand tells Falk, Falk goes nuclear (or nucular if your GW). Falk, whose status in the league as a power player has declined recently, pulls a power move, saying 'wanna go behind my back, do ya? take this' and starts talking to GS and Philly about Brand. GS offers $95m/5yr. GS looks like it's taking a step back this year, brand says no thanks. Philly comes along, offers $80m/5yr, has a good young core (T. Young, Iggy, Lou Will, Sam Dam) and some vets (A. Miller), plays in the weaker east. Brand/Falk, pissed at the clips for previous/current slights, says yes to the 76ers.Final score: BD 1, Brand 1, Philly and fans 1, Clip's fans -5,459,384

This brings us up to speed, i think, on the situation. Man does it suck to be a clips fan these days. My deepest sympathies go out to Frankie Munoz. I also think BDizz got screwed somewhat. He could have played out this year, had another good year with GS, and got a bigger contract next year when more teams have cap space. Yes, he did get his contract extention, and if he doesn't get along with Mike D, he might develop some phantom injury (See: Scott, Byron and how BD played under him). And Brand did get his contract extension. Brand says the clips low-balled him, and even worse, made it a take-it-or-leave-it offer. Dunleavy says that he has, among other things, the contract edited by Falk and text messages from Brand saying that all he asked for was $75m/5yrs. Dunleavy also says that other players have TM's from Brand saying something like "you me and BD!" Which side do you agree with? Honestly, I just feel for the clips' fan as they're getting screwed again. But, if what the Dun-meister says is true, Brand is, well, a douche. Admittedly, the clips would have been playing the same 5 guys all year (BD, Brand, Kaman, Gordon, Thornton) with no bench, and wouldn't have been a lock to make the playoffs, but i'm not so sure about Philly though. Maybe it's just me, but it seems as though they were overachieving a bit this year. Also, i know the west is stacked, but Dallas is in decline, Phoenix has the Methusalian tandem of Nash-O'Neal, Denver is another two glasses of red wine away from Anthony getting another DUI, and Houston needed a record-breaking win streak to get in the playoffs while the over/under on Yao's apperances this year is 41. That's half of the west's playoff teams. Yes, portland is on the rise and should be in the playoffs next year, but GS most def. is out of the playoff picture now, as are all the other lottery teams from the west (who? Sacto? Really? Sactown? Artest and Martin? Really?). Yes, this is unfounded hyperbole from an unemployed guy with a BA in Ancient Greek, but it's not unreasonable (maybe it is). If you made it this far, just remember: khalipa ta kala (noble things are difficult). Thanks for reading. Comment away...go blazers. batum will be amazing.

Maybe the best addition for our team is already a part of the team (besides GO)

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Who do we pick? I think it's an obvious choice...

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