SB Nation User Blog: krollb

A Must See for all Blazer Fans!

krollb — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:21:20 -0000

A Must See for all Blazer Fans!

I had the pleasure of seeing Don Zavin's long lost classic about the Blazer's Championship: FAST BREAK. It is playing for just a few days at the Clinton Street Theater, a Portland landmark in itself. During Saturday's Screening author Matt Love was the guest speaker and had some great stories about the team and the film. His book "Red Hot and Rollin'
A Retrospection of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1976-77 Championship Season " includes a DVD copy of the film that he was largely responsible for bringing back to the public eye, I picked up a copy and look forward to reading it!

Filmmaker Don Zavin passed away in 1998, I had the pleasure of knowing him and having many basketball conversations with him. The film's run continues through Thursday, do yourself a favor and go see it! On Sunday, October 25th, FAST BREAK Co-Director Mike McLeod and sports writer Larry Colton (featured in the film - he interviews the team for the book IDOL TIME) will be on hand for Q&A and will bring their best anecdotes about the film.

Blazer Season Ticket Holder packages arrive today! Here is this year's gift, a nice sling style bag...

krollb — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:10:17 -0000

Blazer Season Ticket Holder packages arrive today! Here is this year's gift, a nice sling style bag and a desk calendar. I have both season and half season tickets, the half season's arrived this morning and this was what was in the package. Expecting the full season booklets today as well! Here is a link to some additonal Blazer related photos: http://gallery.krollimages.com/trailblazers

Kevin Pritchard on Wheels at Work

krollb — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:33:16 -0000

Kevin Pritchard on Wheels at Work

KP spent about 15 minutes with Brian Wheeler and the gang on 95.5 the Game about noon today. Here is an enhanced podcast of the segment for iTunes or your iPod. He touches on Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Miller, Martell Webster, Greg Oden, and life as a GM. File is 7.5MB and about 15 minutes long...

Brandon Roy Deal Done! Canzano breaks into programming to confirm a verbal deal is done. It is a...

krollb — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:52:01 -0000

Brandon Roy Deal Done! Canzano breaks into programming to confirm a verbal deal is done. It is a Max deal and BRoy will be a Blazer for a long time to come!

http://www.955thegame.com/

Player introductions from Game 2! Check out related photos from Game 2 and the Blazers on my site.

krollb — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:55:34 -0000

Player introductions from Game 2! Check out related photos from Game 2 and the Blazers on my site.

Images from Section 305 Game 2: The Wife's turn with Her Camera! The Blazers get a hard fought win...

krollb — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:54:48 -0000

Images from Section 305 Game 2: The Wife's turn with Her Camera! The Blazers get a hard fought win lead by Brandon and LaMarcus and head to Houston tied 1-1. My lovely wife was with me tonight and took over photographer duties for Game 2! The evening was not all good news however as we saw Dikembe Mutombo sufer what is very likely a career ending injury.

Game 2 Image Gallery

Images from Section 305: Game 1

krollb — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:29:01 -0000

Images from Section 305: Game 1

Rough night in Rip City last night. The energy leading into the game was unreal. The RG was louder than ever before the lineups were even announced! Yao & Brooks had huge nights, the officiating was questionable early, Brandon & Greg were the only Blazers that showed up. Our Blazers looked like a young and intimidated team last night, but that won't happen again on Tuesday! Blazers win games 2 & 3, then series in 7!

Image Gallery
Video

Reflections from Section 305

krollb — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:08:02 -0000

Rip City, Where Coach Nate Bear Hugs Happen!

It has been an incredible season here in Rip City! I've been privileged to witness most of it among a great group of fans in Section 305 Row B. As the regular season came to a close last night I was honored to share it with my beautiful Wife, our great new friends Josh and Sarah, and an old friend Steve who we don’t see often enough. As the evening came to an end I grabbed my wife's camera (since I can't take my SLR into the Garden) and tried to capture a few images.

First the bench mopped up a game that they were largely responsible for winning. Then the team celebrated amongst themselves and gave high fives to Brandon Jr. Then each member of the team met a lucky fan at half court to give them a goody bag.

The whole thing really got me thinking about how special this team, this night, and this season has been.

We saw one of the youngest teams in the history of the NBA grow from a team that looked shell shocked in the season opener against the purple and gold on ESPN grow into a very dangerous playoff team that has been dismantling opponents one after another. The last victim was a Nuggets team that couldn't match the fire and intensity of our young Blazers as they were crushed in the season finale. Fittingly the game that closed the season and shed light on the second season was also televised by ESPN.

We saw a young star that had achieved fame in his Pacific Northwest home burst onto the national scene to become a legitimate superstar! From the game winning heroics vs. Houston, to the the 52 points vs. Phoenix, to the 10 steals vs. Washington the legend seemed to grow from game to game and month to month. Capping the season with a Player of the Week award that was very appropriately given not for individual statistics, but to acknowledge the leader of a team that has burst onto the NBA landscape, was the icing on the cake.

We saw young LaMarcus Aldridge grow into a dominating force at both ends of the floor. We saw Steve Blake have a career season and become the player whose presence this team misses more than any other when it is absent. We saw Joel Przybilla dominate the paint on the defensive end and lead the team in retiring the "soft" tag. We saw Nicolas Batum grow from a lost teenager in summer league into the legitimate starting small forward on a playoff team. We saw Greg Oden learn that when he takes a step back, smiles, and enjoys the game he can be a major force in the NBA. We saw Rudy Fernandez dazzle us with jaw dropping passes, high-flying dunks, and the NBA Rookie record for 3's. We saw Travis Outlaw take his game to another level while continuing to be one of the keys to the best locker room in the NBA. We saw Sergio Rodriguez bring a remodeled jump shot back from Spain and re-awaken late in the season as a first rate change of pace backup Point Guard. We saw Channing Frye bounce back from injury to become the glue that holds one of the league’s best benches together. We saw Jerryd Bayless show signs of what he can be in the future while proving to be the hardest working player we’ve ever seen. We saw the guys deep on the bench stay ready for their opportunities and be positive contributors to the new Blazers culture.

There will never be another season like this one. This is the only time we will be able to break the longest lottery streak in the league and burst onto the playoff scene with a vengeance. This will be the only time that this group full of promise become a team of men on a mission to prove they belong among the NBA's elite. This will be the only time that the team's goal of 15=16 is shattered with weeks left in the season and replaced by a quiet confidence that there is no ceiling of where they can go. This will be the only time that four rookies play 50 games on a team that wins 54 games and a division title. This will be the only time that the team once and for all sheds the dark days of the early part of the decade and bursts into the light that could shine brighter than it ever has before in Rip City!

Take a moment and breathe it all in. This is a very special time. We have our beloved Trail Blazers back, and they are going to do things we can only dream about it the days, weeks, and years to come. The door to experiences like this can only open for the first time once, and this team has not just cracked it open; it has broken it off of it's hinges!

This is the best time to be in Rip City!

~Brian

Gallery of Images from the Season Finale

Gallery of Images from the Season Ticket Holder Party

Shocking Greg Oden News

krollb — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:11:41 -0000

Shocking Greg Oden News

The truth has been revealed!

Blazer's Season Ticket Holder Night 2 Gallery http://gallery.krollimages.com/blazerssth09

krollb — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:10:50 -0000

Blazer's Season Ticket Holder Night 2 Gallery

http://gallery.krollimages.com/blazerssth09