So this last week, my cousin surprised me by flying in from Switzerland. Having traveled the world myself (see my puerto rico, haiti or china fanposts), I felt it was important to share as much as i could about my life here during the time we were allotted. I was able to take a 1/2 day off from work on Wednesday and gave to him what I call a #typicalUSAexperience (shameless self plug, follow me on twitter Coryferrier1 ) haha. My goal was to immerse him in as much stereotypical American activities as possible. Obviously, this included basketball (I work out / manage / run camps for several NBA guys on the side)... Before I get to the actual Blazer game, I must share our day.

Experience 1: food. We had grand plans of visiting the foodcarts downtown, but unfortunately I didn't want to wait / eat / drown in the rain. Instead I took him for a traditional USA meal, Thai food. lol. Arawan, one of my favs.

Experience 2: Voodoo Donuts. Just like the non-USA perception, we wash down our healthy meals with sugar. In this case, sugar and bacon. He laughed at me as I ordered (why the hell are there lines at Voodoo on a weekday around 2pm??? don't people work?) the maple bar with bacon as he ordered the plain cake with some frosted cereal. I feel he took one step closer to becoming American.

Experience 3: shopping. I took him to Nike downtown (ps. he is a huge Adidas supporter, football / soccer influence I assume) and a few of my favorite "local" stores that share both a sense of culture and edginess. This included Upper Playground and Lizard Lounge. Check out both if you have not.

Experience 4: Brewery / Pubs. Being from Europe, I assumed he would like to see a pub / brewery here. I took him to Henrys Tavern, just to show how many beers they have on tap (100 if you are counting) and the ice ring thing that surrounds the bar top to put your drink on to keep it cold. He thought that was pretty neat.

Experience 5: Dinner / Transportation. So for dinner, I took him to Kells Irish Pub. I thought he would appreciate seeing a "typical american irish bar" and where we pretend to watch football / rugby. True to reputation, they did have several matches playing and it was a great environment. His dad works for UEFA back in Europe, so he was explaining to me how pathetic our MLS is. a subject for another day lol. We then headed the free double decker bus, sponsored by Kells, to head to the Blazer Game. He did engage with a couple of cougars on the bus. Well done.

Experience 6: NBA Game. So I must tell you, I really wanted to get an unbiased reaction to our sport of basketball from him. So I didn't talk about our team prior or talk about the other nba guys I work with. I wantws his pure unfiltered opinion on our sport / team. He provided me with some great take aways and gems. They are as follows:

• During the game there is so much happening. There is never a dull moment. from the dancers, to timeout activities, to the blimp and wells fargo parachute things, the action never dies. From the basketball perspective, he thought the "24-second shot clock" was pure genius. "it gives the game the flow"
• National Anthem - this would never happen in Switzerland. It would be perceived as being "too nationalist"
• #5 - "boy that #5 is good. He orchestrates the entire team, helps rebound and can shoot. he is probably their best player! am i wrong?
• those parachute things - we caught one and let me tell you, next time you have the opportunity to catch one, blow it away. its a burden. you have to go to an info booth and only way to do this is during the game, unless you want to wait in line. next your prize is some remake crap hat that legally the rose garden cannot sell.
• "the pure physicality of the sport was amazing. the force they were dunking the ball was incredible."
• My cousin was laughing at our "french" saying that went around the rose garden when Batum hits a 3pointer. I think he was also trying to yell at Johan Petro, who is also from France. Man, how I would love to speak another language.
• side note, his sister (who obviously is also my cousin) came with us as well. She recognized "Kim Kardashian's ex".... haha gotta love american reality shows.

THanks I hope you enjoyed!

As most of you know the NBA All-Star Ballots came out this week. I was pleasantly surprised to see that 6 of our blazers were named on the ballot for the Western Conference. However, I wanted to ask a question. Assuming that the rosters are set at 12, with a mix mostly between guards and forwards and a couple of centers, will the blazers have representation at the all-star game?

As much as I love the blazers and support them, I look at the talent in the WC and I am on the fence as to whether or not we will have someone from our team. Our best possibility will be LaMarcus Aldridge, especially if we have the best record going into All-Star Weekend.

Vote who you think will make it below and feel free to leave a comment on who we might replace on the all-star roster if we get someone to represent us that weekend.

thanks!

In years past with the trailblazers it was usually pretty much decided who would take the final shot. In the 2008-2009 glory days (yes the best season of 54 wins) the assignment was handed to either Travis Outlaw or Brandon Roy. in the years 2009-2011 the assignment was handed to Roy (one of the best clutch players I have had the privilege of watching) or Andre Miller (who either by default or by accident).

The question is this: Who takes the final shot with the game on the line? Other than maybe Jamaal Crawford, I don't feel the blazers have that clutch player or someone we can rely on for that final shot.

What do you guys think? who takes the final shot and why? Happy commenting!

Instead of focusing totally on basketball I thought I would share more about living in China as a foreigner (side note I get back to Portland on the 19th!).

Malls: the stores here have every type of bag/purse (prada, gucci, LV, coach) and watches (rolex, omega, etc). I am pretty sure I am supporting stolen goods or counterfeiting. But it's ridiculous how good "they" are at copying stuff.

Taxi's: we commute everywhere by taxi and it is so freaking hard to get where you are going. Not one speaks English and even if you give them a picture hotel or the key, good luck arriving there. Also the driver is caged in a steel cage which is weird.

Translator: this position is essential for any team. A big part of basketball (on / off the court) is communication and that is definitely a negative here. However we have a great translator and he plays jokes on us. For example; instead of teaching us how to say "box out your guy" he instead teaches a phrase that says "I like your girlfriend's big boobs"... Let's be honest if they were in the US, I would do the same thing.

Notes: JR smith is killing. Had several 40-50 pt game. ridiculous...

Lester Hudson scored 58 the other night.

Here some game-time shots:

Starbury in "action"

Shav ready to try to fight off Wilson Chandler (21) and Peter John Ramos for a rebound..He and Peter John

(7'3" 295lb) had some great battles this spring in Puerto Rico

Shav winning the jump ball

**Stateside photo-editing by LetsBlaze :-)

This is part 3 of my China experience while visiting with the Dongguan New Century Leopards. Reason it is panda express version is because I love panda, however, after eating rice and noodles for every meal I will be boycotting my favorite food.

So here we are,in the Chinese Basketball Association's (CBA, not to be confused with the Collective Bargaining Agreement) third week and what a week it was. Dongguan New Century Leopards got their second win in a row behind play from their two imports and solid teamwork from the domestic players. It is hard to start a season 0-4 and it makes practices hell.

Having spent several weeks out here, I am still learning local culture and different nuisances in basketball here.

3 Imports: so apparently, if you are in the bottom 3 standings from the previous year, you are able to sign an additional import. This gives a huge advantage against other teams and usually propels the bottom teams into the middle / top of the pack. I just learned this.

Crowd Noise:the crowds are very respectful / subdued compared to other places i have witnessed basketball. They pump in "defence" chant on the overhead speakers and literally I look around and don't see one person chanting. It can get so quiet that if I decided to yell at the refs I feel like i am having a normal conversation with them. lol.

Refs:In other countries, I feel the imports are treated harsher when dealing with referee's calls. for example, in puerto rico imports get NO LOVE. Here, I feel like they are lebron when going against the domestic players. however, import on import is a different story and almost always sways towards the home team (on the road is tough).

Opt -Out:There has been a ton of talk about players being "stuck" here in china. So far, no NBA players who signed contracts over here have ventured to test to the boundaries or legal implications of enforcing the CBA's special rule. So far, most of the players have transitioned well (except maybe JR, who has calmed down a bit) and are getting paid very well, have drivers, hotel suites and chefs. Of course the CBA decided to let Yi Jianlian out of his contract. To me that was a little bit of a double standard, but why you would you prevent the second pride of china from making an impact somewhere else?

Shoes / Clothes: Chinese teams spare no expense, as we had 3 boxes of brand new shoes and team gear waiting for us. included were 12 pairs of shoes including new Kobe's, Lebron's and Anta's KG's. clothing for any type of weather from shorts to ski jackets. lol.

Highlights from this week:

Shavlik: had a monster game of 29 pts and 11 rebounds thru 3 quarters to help Dongguan get their first win, to help bring his avg for this week to 26 and 16.

JR Smith: had 52 points and 22 rebounds. what is more astonishing, he was 3-10 from 2pt range. you ready for this? 11-15 from 3ball land. wow is also I can say.

Patty Mills: He has adjusted nicely into the league with last night, scoring 32 against the top team (beijing ducks who are 6-0). Patty Mills / Kenyon Martin ' s team was up 1 with 40 seconds left, but missed a few shots and careless fouls put the other team on the line to pull out a 2point victory. Damn you Marbury.

This is part 2 fanpost about life in the Chinese basketball association. If you have any questions (opt out, quality of bball etc) just comment below!

Life in the CBA is much different than the NBA. The reason individuals from the NBA signed here were for two reasons; short season (ends mid feb so players can still sign with NBA) and pays way more that Euro clubs. Negatives; Most teams practice 2x per day, every day and no opt out clause (however there may be ways around that according to some sources). Apparently they have not implemented or yet understood how important recovery / rest is for the body. However our team has been good in that imports only practice in the morning session and can relax / shoot on their own terms for afternoon. (no wonder JR Smith is skipping practices here in China and shopping instead).

Food is also hard, depending on where you are located. If you are fortunate enough to live in Beijing, it is pretty westernized with Wild Wings, hooters or a myriad of other American fine food establishments (fine food used loosely). However the remote parts are definitely hard core and good luck ordering something if there are no picture menus (side note god bless mcdonalds for being consistent and everywhere in the world).

So last night was our first home game here in Dongguan. We were hosting the Beijing Ducks (no relation that im aware of to the Oregon Ducks) who were 3-0, on top of the league standings and featured former NBA all star stephon Marbury. Our team, the Dongguan New Century Leopards were just coming off our third loss in a row and our team is hungry for our first win, especially at home. We got to the arena about 2.5hrs before tip off to start Shav's pre game routine. The only people in the arena were media (wanna be ben gollivers with thick accents) who were setting up for the broadcast and the dancers who were practicing intermission entertainment (guys note: you are not missing anything in the dance dept).

After the warmup and an interview with local Chinese media, we headed to the locker room to wait for the game to start. The arena was starting to get packed. In talking with a few locals who spoke broken English, no one really gave us much chance against the leagues best team. Boy were they wrong. This game turned out to be the most exciting game I have seen yet here in the CBA. It was within +/- 4 pts the whole game right up to 3min left into the 4th. That's when the home team, Dongguan opened a 9pt lead. However that lead was erased and with 2.5 seconds left, Beijing tied the game. After a malfunctioning clock (home team cooking?) situation got fixed, we were heading for overtime. It went back and forth for a bit, but with 10 seconds left and Dongguan up by 1, we got fouled. Our PG stepped to the line and ended up missing both Ft's. Randolph Morris (university of Kentucky) got the rebound and drove to the other end where he was unmercifully fouled. He calmly sank both Ft's to give Beijing a 1pt lead with 2.1 seconds left. Dongguan had one more chance but the shot was just short.

(see highlights at the link below). http://s.sohu.com/20111127/n327053557.shtml

Game notes: In the CBA it is pretty much a given that your import players will get 20 and 10, so your win / losses really depend on your Chinese domestic players. This game was the best i had seen from our domestic, however there is still room for lots of improvement.

Charges - I found out last night that "flopping" on a charge, if you are considered to be faking it, will result in a technical Ft. That was pretty interesting as I had seen some very physical play up to that point and couldn't believe no charges were being called. Basically it means it freaking better be a real charge (which means it will prolly hurt) for it to be called. Conclusion: even though Jackie Chan is from here, there is no Hollywood in china....

Shav ended with 22pts and 20 rebounds, but felt his shooting percentage was low. So we stuck around after the game to shoot / work some more. I call this "doing a Kobe" because we make everyone wait lol.

Away games - only one word describes road trips. Brutal. From accommodations (home team selects where away team stays... Really???) to food to five-hour train rides in compact space. Like I said, brutal. Our next game is Wednesday (16+ Hr's ahead of PST) and at home. Hopefully our team can pull it together and get their first win.

Wow.  After the longest flight ever (PDX to LA to Seoul, South Korea to Guangzhou, China) I have finally started settling in here in China.  The hardest part was getting used to the time difference (+16 hours) and trying to order edible food since no one really speaks english.  The team that i am with, Dongguan New Century Leopards have several import players, so we have a band of brothers to hang with.  It is interesting, as 2 of the imports are practice players being paid just to practice with the team.  I am still surprised that people would consider playing in europe over china, being that most the practice contracts are worth more than what Europe would pay.  

You probably have noticed that China Basketball seems to be gaining more attention with more and more players being rumored or linked to different teams (I just saw that our own Patty Mills has signed over here, looking forward to seeing him again)!  This weekend was opening weekend in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and it was very interesting to see the amount of pre-game hoopla and how excited the chinese people are for basketball.  One of the best moments was when the game ball was delivered by a UPS worker in a UPS box.  That was pretty clever.

Dongguan's first game was agains the military team which has no imports.  Because of this, they actually implement rules limiting the amount an import player from the opposing team can play.  This is above and beyond the normal limits.  Kind of funny if you ask me.  The team they played, Bayi Fubang featured Wang ZhiZhi (former Dallas Maverick I believe).  Shavlik Randolph was not allowed to play due to the "special rules" until the 2nd half (we were down 28 at half) and finished the game with 22points and 13 rebounds.  We ended up losing by 8, 111-103.  

Around the rest of the league (we caught highlights on local channels) featured JR Smith getting a knee injury, Wilson Chandler dropping 43 points and grabbing 22 boards.  It is interesting to see the disparity between teams, such as Guangdong which features 8 players on the national team.  they lost 1 game all last year.  

Anyway, our first home game is this upcoming sunday and against the Beijing Ducks, Stephon Marbury's team.  I will see if I can get some photos posted soon.  Side note; the chinese people love taking pictures with the tall import players but not as much as taking pictures with my blonde girlfriend!  You know you are in a remote place when this takes place!  Heading to Hong Kong for some relaxation tomorrow!

Alright, I am bored with this lockout stuff.  Will they agree?  Won't they agree?  There are only so many charity scrimmages I can handle.  I am leaving saturday to go check out the basketball scene in China.  I think with a handful of NBA guys actually playing over there, it should be entertaining and some quality basketball.  Plus a new country to visit and get the low down on the basketball scene.  first haiti.  second puerto rico.  now china. 

Just a few observations I learned over all-star weekend.... enjoy

1) Dunk Contest - has become more about showmanship and production versus actual dunking

It is disappointing to watch athletic basketball players like Serge Ibaka, and even Rudy Fernandez from last yeras competition, get beat during this event.  They are not getting beat by the better dunks, but by better theatrics and production levels.  What happened to the skill involved?  Hell, I am 5'7" and I can jump over the hood of my car and dunk that ish.  But can I jump from BEHIND the free throw line?  heck no.  neither could Dr. J or "Air Jordan"

 

2) All Star Weekend PORTLAND? - could the all-star game ever make it to portland?

Honestly, I don't know.  I feel like we are a basketball mecca with the Blazers being the only professional sports team in the metro area (soon to be joining Timbers).  We have a rich history from NCAA with Freeman Williams (scored 81 pts in NCAA basketball game before 3pt shot was introduced), 1977 NBA championship and one of the LARGEST city basketball leagues in the nation.  The event would no doubt sell out.  just like the NCAA tourney does when it comes here.  It would be nice to have it in portland.

3) BBVA Celebrity Game - If justin bieber was eligible for MVP voting during the actual ALL-STAR game, he would have won

4) ALL-STAR game - guys that are truly competitive show their true colors during "exhibition" games like this

anyone who says Kobe didn't want that 4th MVP trophy obviously didn't watch the game.  He didn't pass.  He took more shots than anyone.  To see Lebron really get motivated and pass that on to his teammates after he single handedly carried his team with coast-to-coast dunks, 3 pt daggers and intensity was just inspiring to watch.  Its guys like this that make bubble playoff teams not have a chance.  these are guys that can "will" their teams to victory.  to see how bad the Cav's are this year without Lebron and see how close them came last year is incredible. 

5) Trade Talks - its a nice break from 100% focus on trade talks, just to see some actual basketball.  Even though it is still present, its not the main objective of the weekend and it doesn't dominate sportscenter at night. 

Not sure how many of you have read "the pickup diaries" @ basketbawful.com, but I thought I would share a story with you that related to that particular blog;   But first you have to know a little bit about me. i grew up in portland, oregon as a die-hard blazers fan.  I myself was not naturally gifted as others, but thru hard work and my athletic ability was able to compensate for my height of 5'7".  Despite always being the shortest on the floor, after playing at a few gyms consistently and at school i would usually get picked first.  my strengths were 3pt shooting, speed and ability to read the floor (which sucks in pickup because everyone freaking stands around).  and yes, i have committed my share share of "heat check" shots and cardinal sin of jacking up shot from 5 feet behind the 3pt line instead of passing. haha.   
Anyway, this is where my story is going.  My roommate actually plays in the NBA (just got picked up by the HEAT). 

 So last summer, I ran his basketball camps in several different cities and country's in association with him.  it has always been a passion of mine, playing bball and helping kids (I currently work in healthcare).  why not do both?!   Well this summer, instead of running bball camps, partying in different cities during the off-season and joining local summer leagues wherever we were, i decided to volunteer my time in Port Au Prince, Haiti at a hospital that was devastated by the earthquake.  I ended up being there for 2 months total.
The first thing I would do in any city is scout out local courts and gyms.  I could tell you the best places to play in miami, raleigh and portland.  I hope by now you can guess who my roommate is.  Well coming down to haiti was no different.   I set out, in a country dominated by football (soccer).  I was able to find 4 courts.  I have played them all.  despite everything you read on the news about haiti, very few from the USA come down to the rough neighborhoods.  Currently in our organization i have 1 other american.  so no one plays basketball.  its me and whomever i can find.  So i started a sunday morning league.  we have to play at 6am because of the heat and humidity (heat index avg's about 110).  it started out with 4 of us, including me, once i brought out a ball.  now we have up to 18 each session (in fact a local elementary school heard about me and sent a rep to ask if i would do a 2 day camp, of course which i said yes!)....
So today, my normal crew got challenged at "our court".  A group of 4 guys came and wanted to play 4 on 4 half court.  so before I dialogue this any further I have to give you the particulars of pickup ball in haiti;
1) the score - i have no idea how to score here.  I just keep playing til they say "game over".  it somehow gets into the 30's and i have tried on numerous occasions to figure out which alga-rhythm they have implemented down here.  
2) the court and hoop - are outside on very slick concrete surfaces next to the ocean where breezes honestly can affect your shot.  you know how sometimes someone will complain (jokingly usually) that someone opened a door in the gym?
3) language - is a huge barrier because sometimes i have a hard time figuring out why there is a stoppage of play.  rarely someone speaks a little english, which helps, but most times not.  
4) rebounding - most pickup games require players to pass the ball outside the 3pt line when getting a defensive rebound.  in haiti, you take it out pass the KEY.  Which, as you can imagine, makes for some quick transition points.
5) "and-1" - so in the USA, when you get fouled and you make it, usually its not a big deal.  you get the points, usually the ball (if playing make it, take it) and there is no complaining.  Down here, we stop on EVERY "and-1" call and discuss it for 2 minutes.  usually a good chance to get water for me.
It was obvious from the beginning these "kids (prolly 21-26) had heard i was down here and they wanted to test me.  the nice thing about haiti, all courts have the exact same rules.  so as soon as your learn them, you are good to go wherever you play, which is different in the US.  a lot of gyms have "house rules" or little quirks in the system.  well these kids didn't come alone.  they brought a cheering squad.  So, not wanting to let them down, I grabbed 3 of our guys and said lets do it.  it was physical from the beginning.  elbows to the chin, pushed in the back, and slapping.  when we started taking the lead a new tactic came out.  foul calling.  in that game we had 14 stoppage of play, 13 of them returning the ball to the opposing team.  what the calls where i had no idea.  i couldn't breathe on them without getting the whole group to stop and start over.  now, i am a competitive person like you and i wanted to win.  I didn't want to lose this game for anything.  so, i started adapting to their style, by playing 1ft off the offensive player.  by doing this, my teammates were able to sneak in and steal and / or leave the poor shooters open and create some mismatches.   what was great, being the only white person, was having some of their own crowd cheer and holler when i did something fancy or made a shot and you could tell they were rubbing it in to the opposing team.  It was great.  We ended up winning.
well this wasn't good enough for their leader (who by the way wore a shaq jersey).  so he wanted to challenge me to 1 on 1.   well, being from portland mostly i am not used to 110 heat index at 7am in the morning.  so i said how about a game of horse first since he was the proclaimed "best shooter" on the opposing team.  i killed him H-O-R-S-E-E (disagreement about a missed shot, adds the extra E) to nothing.  even though i had played 2 games of 4 on 4 before him, then his game and now horse, he still wanted to play.  Being i had just embarrassed him at horse, i caved in and agreed.  
It was actually surprisingly clean and i could tell he started to respect me, as opposed to when he first came in when his whole mission was to outmuscle and clown me.  i went up 5-1 and he came back and beat me 7-6 (i was so tired i was not going to play win by 2).  afterwards, he came over and hugged me and was able to say "most fun all day"..... i was glad that we could end in friendship and have mutual respect for each other, despite not being able to communicate without some sort of rude first century sign language and motions.   
anyway, sorry this is so long.  Basketball has just given me an escape from the realities down here and the day-to-day routine at the hospital / shelter building camp.
 It has been nice to have something like basketball that can pull people together, no matter where you are!

http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/ferriecj/Basketball%20in%20Haiti/

I'm 29 years old.  That means I missed out on the 77' 'chip that most blazer fans recall when reliving the best days of being a blazer fan.  However, I lived thru the Drexler / Porter / Robinson era.  When Portland had upstanding, respectable and hard working players.  Both on and off the court.  I learned about sportsmanship, I learned about teamwork, and more importantly I learned about the responsibility of the NBA off the court.  As I entered college, a different era overtook Rip City.  It was the jail blazers.  nothing I had learned from the previous decade was in play.  Now it was about rap sheets, technicals and on the court skirmishes.  It was about weed, dog fights, inappropriate behavior.  Everything I had previously loved about the blazers was sacrificed for skill on the court.  and guess what?  we didn't even make it to the finals.  

That is when fans spoke up.  After the loss to the Lakers in the Western conference finals, we as fans had enough.  Stop evaluating just talent.  give us someone who will work hard, evaluate talent off the court as well.  That when the blazers brass brought on KP.  KP gave the fans hope.  by pledging 25 points of evaluation when reviewing talent, it gave us a reason to believe again.  Slowly but surely, fans began to return.  Stadiums were sold out.  Boxes were filled with corporations willing to return and bet on the blazers.  And as fans, this was our second proudest moment.  We demanded this.  The Blazers listened.  

Now we are at a crucial point again.  We are at a pinnacle part of this blazers dynasty.  Having set our franchise players, blazers fan selling out every game, and having a blazer brass that listens.  wait.  Used to listen.  This is our turn to again stand up and let this organization know that we want KP to stay.  He is the most underpayed and undervalued, and more importantly underappreciated GM in the league.  I dare you to find a GM who fans know and love More THAN THE TEAM.  He made this team happen.  He brought us into this new era.  Having a blazer player as a roommate has keyed me on the appreciation by both the fans and players.  I am done rambling.  

We need KP.