http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/preview2011/story/_/page/WestForecast/nba-western-conference-projected-standings

Ok, I usually really like what Hollinger has to say, he is thoughtful, well informed and relies on a nice balance of stats and intuition. HOWEVER, much like his colleague Chad Ford giving this team a ridiculous grade for its off season efforts (again, seriously, a D????), Hollinger has lost the plot with his latest rankings. It isn't just that the Blazers are too low, which at least I think is arguable, but putting Denver 2nd and San Antonio 3rd, while putting the defending champs 6th? I don't know what they are putting in the water at the ESPN headquarters, but things seem totally out of whack from their star writers.

I'll say it again, EVERYONE is overlooking this team. I'm saying we finish between the 3rd and 5th spots in the conference and definitely get out of the dreaded first round. Chemistry, hustle, athleticism and passion are going to take the Blazers a LONG way in a shortened season.

Go Blazers!

I was watching the videos on Blazers.com from Media Day today and Casey Holdahl announced that the FanFest will be streamed after all, after earlier having announced that it in fact would not be streamed. Not sure what to believe at this point, but as far as this moment they are saying that it is on. Hope it's true, I'm out of town and I would sure love to share the love...

If you ever listen to 95.5 The Game you will notice that there are frequently advertisements for Larry Miller Honda. This is the same Larry Miller Group that owns the Utah Jazz. It is simply incomprehensible to me how the Blazers supposed official radio station can possibly accept advertising dollars from the Utah Jazz and indirectly support one of our fiercest rivals.

I have contacted the station, I have emailed John Canzano, I have contacted the Blazers... NO ONE will address this situation. And the one time I heard someone ask the announcers (Wheels, Vance and Allen) about questionable advertising, those three shredded the caller for possibly talking poorly of one of their sponsors. The sponsor was?? The sponsor was for a strip club and the caller wanted to know if that was justifiable on a supposedly family friendly radio station.

This surreptitious support of the Jazz infuriates me.. I hope it infuriates you too, if you knew that Larry Miller Honda is synonymous with the Larry Miller Utah Jazz. Make your voice heard on this one folks, why support the enemy?????

The truth: Larry Miller Group

'JohnCanzanoBFTBrandon Roy says its "50-50" that he stays with the Blazers. Tune in BFT on 95.5 FM'

In one of John Canzano's Tweets yesterday, he boldly proclaimed to the good people of Portland that Brandon Roy had declared that there was only a 50-50 chance he would stay with Portland... I almost threw up in my mouth. I listened to that entire interview and what Brandon actually said was that he felt there was a 50-50 chance that they would get an extension handled this summer. A TOTALLY different thing,

I am so sick of Canzano, and now Quick, throwing fuel on every tiny flame they see. This is an amazing team, with an incredible future. All teams, all people have issues, if you don't have issues then you are dead. And the more successful you are, the bigger your issues get.

People here are so caught up in their Blazers that it is easy to whip them into a frenzy. The last few days have just been a Blazer witch hunt on 95.5 The Game and for what??? A minor story. As KP mentioned clearly in every negotiation there is conflict, that's WHY you have to negotiate, there are going to be differences. And he also said, three or four times, that Brandon and LaMarcus will be Blazers for a loooong time.

I actually used to like John Canzano.. But now all I see is a self aggrandizing, narcissist, who constantly throws people under the bus just to create a story.

After reading Dave's thoughtful analysis on why it might behoove the Blazers to at least negotiate with Brandon and all of their players, before just handing over everything they've got, it really makes me thankful that there is one place to come for some rational and reasonable Blazer journalism. Great stuff as always, Dave.

Sorry John, but you've been relieved of your journalistic duties in this household; no radio, no tweet, no print. Please clean out your desk, the check is in the mail. Mr. Quick, you're on deck..

seriously. i was thinking about this at the fan fest. with a second unit of bayless, rudy, travis, frye and przybilla, i think that team could make the playoffs in the east. boston, cleveland, detroit, orlando and philly are probably better, but i'd put that team alongside atlanta or toronto or new jersey.

considering our depth, i really think that we should just run at people in waves and wear them down. young and deep we are.. so lots of full court pressing, lots of pressure defense, especially against weaker teams. just run them off of the floor.

what do you guys think?

just got back from the fan fest evening and i have to say it was alot of fun, well run and there was a great atmosphere. the players and coaches greeted folks as they came through the ticket stiles and they seemed genuinely pleased to be there. (lamarcus aldridge has HUGE hands, btw, crikey) other than making us stand out in the rain until 5pm, precisely, it was terrific.

some random thoughts, from an optimistic observer:

rudy fernandez was the best player on the floor hands down. he was active, he was alert and made play after play after play. with bayless breaking into the lane at will, rudy had at least four (by my count) three pointers off of a bayless dish. and some pretty assists; the kid is good.

jerryd bayless might have been the second best player on the floor. between bayless and rudy, the white team (second unit, primarily) led the black team. he was right in sergio's grill all night and el chaco didn't like it. which led to the only tense moment of the game, when bayless was pressing sergio full court and rodriguez gave him a pork chop, elbow to the chin that knocked bayless back. bayless didn' even blink, didn't complain, didn't hesitate. he just got right back in his face. great stuff.

lamarcus was named the mvp of the game, though as i said i actually think rudy, roy and maybe bayless were better. but the l-train looked schmoove. really confident, obviously becoming a leader and just stroking the basketball. and each time he found himself down low, he attacked. he went right at joel, right at diogu, right at outlaw. simply one of the best young players in the nba.

brandon roy looked good. was fairly surprised that they let him play considering he had knee surgery so recently. and he definitely got hit hard a few times, including a charge he took against martell. just classic, easy brandon. it was encouraging.

i am still a bit incredulous at how travis outlaw became so good. he's really, really good. the old hesitant travis is gone. he will attack anybody. he seemed to get matched up alot against lamarcus and they both played well. with his length and hops he can get his shot almost at will. now that he is confident, i'm not sure what his ceiling is. if he played for someone like charlotte, he might score 30 a night. and signed to a reasonable contract. another smooth move by kp.

joel looked healthy and happy and active. and he outplayed oden. i've said it before and i'll say it again. he will be the perfect backup center to win a championship with.

martell webster is just a curious case. prototype nba body and athleticism, terrific fundamentals, has learned to play tenacious defense, and passes the ball pretty well. oh yeah, and he has the sweetest stroke on the team (with a nod to lma). he played pretty well tonight. but was mostly invisible and missed the majority of his shots. but he was attacking the rim and playing hard. the jury is still out i'm afraid. i think he could have a stellar year, but not playing like that.

ike diogu. meh. not to be too harsh, but didn't see much there to like. he's slow, undersized and demonstrates no hops. really weak and hopeful around the basket. sorry, but it makes me very glad we have channing frye, who is going to play an important role for us i believe.

of the squad hopefuls.. randolph: a solid player. no chance of making this team. luke: crowd loved him and he actually looked pretty good. who knows maybe they'll like the homecooking and goodwill from all the duck fans. tatum: nice little player, seems like a nice kid. with all of our pg's, don't see it happening. hill: steven of nazareth played a nice game, he moves well, he seems to have a good instinct for rebounding position and he plays hard. my pick to take up the last roster spot. sorry luke...

it doesn't look good for sergio. whose shot, btw, did not look better. flat as ever. and not enough confidence. i think the main problem is, he doesn't do anything really well, just a lot of different things satisfactorily. add in getting used by bayless and rudy making all of the flashy passes... and with accuracy, not a great night. still believe he's the next one off of the island, unless they keep him around to befriend and mentor rudy for the year. ala mcroberts and oden last year.

oh yeah... and greg. people may disagree and not want to hear this, but i didn't think he looked great. big and strong, yes. but constantly out of position. and trying to bull through people instead of going over them. he just didn't look comfortable out there to me. almost creaky, in fact, which scares the hell out of me, for obvious reasons. now, he was clearly not in game shape and he is still rehabbing, plus coming off a twisted ankle, which is most likely still tender. i am going to remain as optimistic and ready to believe for as long as it takes, but to date i've seen greg play twice as a pro, in last year's summer league and tonight. neither of those players resembled the beast we saw almost take down florida a couple of years ago.

i'm sure he will be fine... i'm sure he will be fine...

a terrific evening and for a pre-season scrimmage, a very impressive display of basketball. the team is working hard, the front office is world class and rip city is back. life is good again. this season is going to be special, no matter the outcome.