II live in Seattle and lost the Sonics as you all know. There's nothing worse than being a Blazer Fan who lives in Seattle. The pain of choosing Oden over Durant was mitigated just a little bit by being able to watch Durant that formative first year here in Seattle. But you know the rest of that story. But my focus here is not on what has been lost, by Seattle or by the Blazers -- the point is to focus on all that we have for which to be grateful.

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I have a sinking feeling there's no coverage of the game tonight in Seattle (not on CSNW, maybe blacked out of SEA area as usual).... Can anyone give me hope? Any hope or guidance?

I have the hated Coincast digital network solely because it's the only option to watch most Blazer games up here ... Perhaps not being able to watch opening night is karma?

Last year the local NBC affiliate covered the KGW games...

With all the uncertainty, the terrible developments regarding Roy and Oden, the sadly comical series of injuries to practically everyone on the roster, the six-game losing streak (to what Charles Barkley would call TURRABLE teams).... I find myself wondering, what if Juwan was still on the roster? 

Perhaps that means we weren't able to sign one of our rookies, or Patty Mills.  It implies to me that we'd still have Bayless, in that case, too...

But I think about all that Juwan brought to the "Overcome Adversity" Blazer team of 2009-2010.  His mentorship to Brandon and his loyalty to rookies like Pendergraph...his bench-clearing dunk over Kaman...we could use some of that right now!

I miss him and wish he was still wearing red and black in Portland, instead of red down in South Beach.  I think they have enough "talents" in South Beach, and I wish we still had Juwan as a Blazer. 

Anyone think otherwise?

Let me start by saying, what a nice problem to have.... two quality players, both with high character and talent, competing for the FINAL SPOT on the roster.  Wow...

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Wow -- I am excited to have Andre on the team and really look forward to what he can bring. 

But I have to say he made a terrible impression in the live feed with Casey at Media Day.  He came in complaining about answering questions, something about having already done all this before at some point, and then threw down "I'll answer just 5 questions." 

To his credit, Casey gave him 5 questions and thanked him for being there, and then stated that he wanted to convey to Andre that he wasn't going to ask him questions if he wasn't in the mood for them....

But it gave out a strange impression, in my mind, especially compared to the attitude and excitement conveyed by every single other player I saw....

Am I off the mark here?  Or did anyone else feel disappointed or at least kind of surprised by his attitude?

If there are any new updates, official releases, or actual news about the Comcast situation, this would be a good place to put them.  Pushing through an agreement between now and start of the season would be ideal for the fans and the team, if not for Comcast (who appears to be in no hurry, at the risk of stating the obvious). 

If anyone has any news or updates, please post them here.

Meanwhile, let's take a little poll: 

UPDATE:  I HAD NO IDEA THIS POLL WOULD BE SO ONE-SIDED.  SAYS A LOT ABOUT PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE COMCAST SITUATION.  I ADMIT THERE IS SOME BIASED LANGUAGE IN THE WAY THE QUESTIONS ARE PHRASED :)

Hello folks,

Been out of town since the Hedo thing became He-don't -- but was hoping folks could fill me in regarding a few other options out there. 

I just read the excellent "addition by subtraction" comments in another thread and agree with the principle, but still believe that there are moves to be made and players to be had that would be additions, not subtractions. 

One name is David Lee -- an obviously productive PF that would provide much that Channing Frye didn't (i.e. toughness inside and rebounding). 

With Hedo going to Toronto, doesn't that leave Shawn Marion available?  His defense, explosiveness, and ability to play at both ends of the floor would be an asset to this team, I think.  I am not sure how he would fit in -- I know he wanted out of PHX because he was tired of being second (or third) fiddle behind Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash.  So, not sure how he would fit being a third option after Roy and Aldridge... and not sure how to reconcile minutes with a logjam of SF's already.... 

Clearly, we need to upgrade at PG too, as much as I like Blake.  I'd like to sign Lee, trade Bayless and Outlaw for a starting PG, bring Blake off the bench.... so it would look like this: 

PG:  NEW ADDITION* - Blake

SG:  Roy, Rudy

SF:  Webster, Batum

PF:  Aldridge, Lee

C:  Przybilla, Oden**

*New addition.... Andre Miller?

** I continue to put Joel in the starting spot until Oden demonstrates readiness for it.  Either way, it's a two headed monster that brings defense and not much offense really...

Forgive me if this has already been covered elsewhere. 

In light of the fact that KGW seems to have the rights to playoff games, does that imply that national broadcasts (TNT, ESPN, etc) will NOT be blacked out in the "local market" (which for some reason includes Seattle)? 

I live in Seattle, refuse to abandon my Dish Network for the evil Comcast empire (on principle, but also on the reports that the picture quality is embarassingly bad anyway) and won't be able to sleep until someone confirms for me that when I go to watch the Blazers take it to the Spurs (or whomever) in the playoffs, that I won't get the incredibly enraging message "THIS GAME NOT AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING IN YOUR AREA." 

Thanks for any clarity anyone here can offer. 

Steve, the original Kobestopper

PS I hate Comcast almost as much as I despise Clay Bennett.

I haven't contributed anything in a long while but I was just poring over the next few weeks for the Blazers and thought I'd share a few observations. 

First, the schedule: 

2/20 Atlanta

2/22 Clippers

2/24 @ Houston

2/25 @ San Antonio - 2nd night of Back to Back games

2/27 @ Minnesota

3/1 San Antonio again

3/4 Indiana

3/5 @ Denver - 2nd night of Back to Back games

3/7 Minnesota

3/9 Lakers

3/11 Dallas

3/13 New Jersey

Things that stand out to me: 

1)  Out of the 12 games, 8 are at home. I bet we'll win 6 of those games.

2)  Out of the four road games, three are against teams that are contending for playoff spots.  I bet we still get 2 of those games. 

3)  I bet we'll lose the two back to back 2nd night games (against the Spurs and the Nuggets) but since those are teams that often beat us in their buildings anyway, I can live with it.  In other words, it's kind of a favorable schedule, in a way. 

Summary: 

I believe we will win 8-9 of these 12 games.  One the other hand, even if we only win 6 of the 12 (unlikely) we will still be sitting at 13 games over .500, with 17 games left.

All in all, I like the way things look.  Any other insights?

My essential criteria are: 

1)  Abundant India Pale Ale flowing on tap

2)  Decent pub food like buffalo wings

3)  Big screen tv's -- preferable with the sound turned on (rather than bar music playing while tv is muted)

 Preferred criteria are:

1)  Either downtown Seattle or North Seattle

2)  LOTS of IPA options

3)  Pool table! 

4)  Piles of rabid BlazersEdge community members screaming wild trade rumors and ranting as Przybilla drains free throws....

So let's hear from the ever-growing Seattle Blazer Fan contingent! 

When I first previewed the schedule for February, I anticipate a tough month.  I'm sure you all did.  As I review the results of the month, the only two losses that I can say were completely unexpected were the Indiana and Sacramento losses -- maybe the Seattle loss, but given that it was a home/home series and we got the first win at our home, it wasn't too surprising to see a letdown by our team and a good night by the home sonics.  

The point is, February RESULTS were about what the schedule dictated.  Perhaps the manner in which we played could have been better, but in the end, I'd say the schedule played itself out as expected.  

Based on that theory, we are now entering a new month altogether, and I see a MUCH MORE FAVORABLE schedule ahead.  

Here's my forecast -- you heard it here FIRST!  

Sun, Mar 2 @ Golden State - WIN
Tue, Mar 4 Phoenix - LOSS
Fri, Mar 7 @ Milwaukee - WIN
Sat, Mar 8 @ NY Knicks - WIN
Mon, Mar 10 @ Cleveland - LOSS
Tue, Mar 11 @ Minnesota - WIN
Thu, Mar 13 @ Sacramento - WIN
Sat, Mar 15 Minnesota - WIN
Tue, Mar 18 Phoenix - WIN
Fri, Mar 21 LA Clippers - WIN
Sat, Mar 22 @ LA Clippers - LOSS
Mon, Mar 24 @ Seattle - WIN
Tue, Mar 25 Washington - WIN
Thu, Mar 27 @ Golden State - LOSS
Sat, Mar 29 Charlotte - WIN

That's it.  I anticipate an 11-4 month of March!  

If you agree, let's hear why.  If you disagree, let's hear which games you forecast as being different!  

Let me list a few off the top of my head:  

Darius -- highly paid, hasn't played in a LONG time

Z-Bo -- someone else's problem now, but microfracture nonetheless

Oden -- heartbreaking, but still hopeful for the future

LMA -- heart abnormality last year, doesn't seem to be slowing him down now though!  

Roy -- intermittent heel and knee problems

Przybilla -- "the Nutcracker" (last season)

James Jones -- the latest to officially join the club

One could dig back a few years to include lingering injuries to Abdur-Rahim, Van Exel, and likely some others I'm overlooking....

My point is not to whine or complain -- though in reading my post, it kinda seems like that! -- but I am asking for perspective from folks who closely follow other teams.  

Has ANY team suffered the widespread injuries that the Blazers have the last few years?

And has any team as YOUNG as the Blazers been afflicted with chronic injuries as early as they have been?