I read in the Portland Tribune that Rudy is having some doubts about coming over to the Blazers.  It appears he's concerned because of the lack of playing time for Sergio.

Is there any way that KP and/or Paul Allen can convince him that the issue with Sergio has to do with Sergio and his apparent lack of focus during key times, and not with any sort of pigeon holing by McMillian?  

It will be a hard sell for Rudy, especially since he will more than likely take a pay cut to play for us.  If he feels that he may end up at the end of the rotation like Sergio, what would be his motivation for making the move.  

Just seeing if anyone else caught the Tribune article and what thoughts might be out there about this issue.

Today, as I rode into work on the MAX, I did, as I always do, thought intently about my most favorite topic, the Blazers.

I started wondering whether winning sooner rather than later, would be as sweet as the long drawn out process of development.  But this is where my mind and heart started to race.  

What if we had built a team like the Boston Celtics?  This thought has crossed my mind before, but never in the context of "Would I rather", but more in the context of "Remember the late 90's and all of the imports".  Then it dawned on me that those teams were missing something that this team clearly has: Deep Fan Appreciation.

I can remember feeling like those late 90's teams were just continuing a mediocre streak of success, but that I could not find myself supporting these guys as Blazers. The closest I came to feeling like a guy was everything Blazer was with Damon, and that's because of the local ties.

Though we had some success, failing seemed to bring a much harsher fall.  I feel that the decline seemed more extreme because the rise lacked the quality of success.

Then it hit me.  Hard, fast and deep.  The true meaning of success lies in the path towards achievement, not the destination.  

I know that if and when we win a Championship, it will be from development, character, hard work and determination.  I feel it would be something deeper to be proud of.  But I wanted to ask this question.

This makes me sad.  Chris Sheridan is reporting in his blog that Brandon is not going to be able to participate in the Team USA scrimmages because of a scheduling conflict.  

This sounded like a great opportunity for him to begin to polish his stardom a little more.  I wonder what his scheduling conflict is.  

(Need Insider to view article)
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2951274&name=sheridan_chris

The scrimmage squad looks like this:

Andre Iguodala
David Lee
Devin Harris
Monta Ellis
Al Jefferson

Roy would have looked good on that Team.  Maybe KP could work to get Aldridge and Oden on that squad.  

Since the very first time that I watched the Portland Trailblazers play, I have been captivated by the skills that these grown men had.  I lived my life assuming that the Blazers would never lose, as long as they played to the best of their abilities.  But because the NBA consists of teams that have men, just as the Blazers did, it was never with certainty that the red, black and silver would always come away with a victory.  

I guess this is what actually made my fascination with the NBA that much more intense.  In the NBA, any team could beat any other team on any given night.  Not knowing who was going to win, added a mix of excitement, anticipation and relief or failure depending on the outcome of the game.  But most of all, it left me with a desire to watch the next one to see what would happen.  Back then, winning and losing meant something more than revenue shares and media attention.  It meant that for a day, we could relish in a victory over our opponent, while anticipating the challenge of our next.

But now, in today's im"media"te journalism, there is not time to relish in any success.  The point of winning is no longer the enjoyment of success or to be embraced by the moment.  In this race to determine the winner before the game is even played, leads to open criticism when teams fail to meet the media's expectations.  Analysts and sports writers urge fans to forget team mantras, franchise goals and player development, and sway the public to press for immediate goals, even if unattainable.  You can't report on tomorrow's win unless it happens.  That doesn't stop analysts and commentators from patting themselves on the back when they finally get one of their guesses right, or condemning the team that made their analysis look silly.  

When a player makes the right statement, the media gives him the thumbs up and declares that any GM would be an idiot to pass on such a guy.  If another player doesn't smile when the cameras are in his face, it becomes a potential knock against his character.  What's worse, the fans that look to the media for objective journalism are somewhat duped into thinking that this assessment is made by an individual with respectable knowledge of the league and the individual being scrutinized.  

And so begins that power play between franchises looking for what is best for their organizations, and the media trying to create the news, instead of reporting it.  As fans of the game, we suffer most.  

After digesting the long tributes about player potential and the ad nauseam comparisons to former and current players, fans are left with little to look forward to.  It's as if the media has forced the fans to consume all hope and joy up front leaving empty wells, once filled with fan enthusiasm.  

Last year, the Portland Trailblazers brought a little suspense back into our hearts.  During the last half of the season, we had surpassed the expectations set out by the franchise management.  Win or lose, we could enjoy the game for what it was, an uncertainty that could be defined as a win or loss, rather than a success or a failure.  Portland fans were pulled to the edge of their seats, hoping that our guys were going to be able to gut it out against a more experience team, instead of being repulsed by a failure to produce.  Once again, we are able to embrace the team for what it is: a group of young guys that faced the league to the best of their abilities and proved that with hard work and the support of fans, basketball can be fun and exciting again, without having to base all of the success on the total number of wins.

There was once a time when the NBA wasn't just about the money.  It was about being the best of the best.  Wins came with desire and desire came from wanting to win.  I want to be captivated again, surprised and held is suspense as the team makes its way towards the ultimate goal of winning a championship.  Media speculation has put a tainted skew on the success of incoming players.  If a player has success, it is still considered a failure in comparison to individuals who have attained greater success.  

How many knocks went against Magic or Bird for not winning as many championships as Russell?  What about MJ and Kobe for not averaging as many points as Wilt.  When these young guys come into this league, the first thing some analyst does is try to slap on a label and set ultra high expectations for these players, all in the name of being the first to classify this guy or that guy.  

These players only become busts after failing to meet the expectations placed on them by the media.  Teams like the Blazers, Spurs and the Bulls ignore that type of hype, choosing players that they feel fit their team concept of culture.  I'm sure that KP would have preferred to keep out of the spotlight during this decision making process and then address all the hype after the fact.  But let's face it the media wants to feed the public.  I consider the speculation and analysis more like candy than a nutritional snack.  Too much candy will make you overweight and unhealthy.  It's hard for fans to break that cycle, with the immediate availability of sugar laced rumors and juicy tidbits of smart sounding hypothesis.

With Oden as our selection, anything less than a finals run in two years will mean a slight against the franchise.  Even if we win, it will be expected and some of the luster would be lost on the "Eventuality" factor.  

But with Durant, there is an obvious uncertainty about the success that he could bring to the team.  One of the elements that made the '77 team such an icon of NBA magic is that they were not expected to win it all.  And when they did, they did it as a team.  This only amplified the joy of success.

Now we can get into debates about whether or not if Oden is selected that this will become Oden's team, or if Durant comes to this team this will become Durant's team.  

The ultimate question is: who will complete this team and make the Portland Trailblazers an exciting, successful and determined team.  

And, when you close your eyes and picture each of these guys filling a role on this squad, if you still can't decide which player will bring the Blazers the most glory, then you may be just where you need to be.  Getting caught up in the excitement of not knowing the future and sitting back, letting the players lead us to victory, not the media.  

These are the things that make this the Portland Trailblazers and not just an NBA team: Excellence in player performance, success in team chemistry and committment to the community.  

This weekend, Quick blogged about Sergio and his impressions of the NBA.  From a player's perspective, I could appreciate the comments that Sergio made about the game.  Where I find some things a little disturbing in his revelation, where he mentions the cosmetic approach that the team is taking towards community involvement.

Now I can only assume that this is a staple for all NBA teams, making short appearances at community events to get some positive publicity.  But Sergio's contention that the Blazer's involvement is only for the cameras, caused me pause.  

I can only hope that next year of outreach will be more from the heart, rather than for the cameras.  

I know that as a team, the Blazers commit to many different types of community and charitable organizations.  So I'm hoping that Sergio's involvement may have been limited because he was a rookie with a language barrier.  

I'd be curious to know how many of the players contribute outside of their team obligation.

I just wanted to get this off of my chest. By far, the team has made so much progress in just about every aspect of the franchise, that I feel positive that the Blazer's community involvement will improve and be more relevant to the causes they support.

The Blazers are going to win most the Portland fans by continuing the genuine sincerity between the franchise and the community.

At some point in our future, we will again be in a situation where we will ponder the direction of our beloved franchise.  As the saying goes, what goes up...."

But what if we never get to that "up"?  What happens if this apparent mix of good character and blessed talent ends up boiling over into swollen and bruised egos and disastrous chemistry?

We are faced with many directions in which the franchise could go.  

Less than a month ago, we supposedly had a core of young, thoughtful and intelligent players, who were going to anchor a Blazers squad for years to come.  We had Lamarcas, Brandon and Sergio, with some great pieces like Zbo, Pryz and Jack.  Things were looking up and up.  

But now that we have won the right to make the first pick in the draft, the Trailblazers seem to be becoming more like the Oden show, instead of the young team that was destined for success.

This will be an issue that KP will face when he makes the decision to draft either Oden or Durant.

This post is not about the decision that KP will have to make.  This post is about how you would react if the hype outweighs the results.

For many Blazer fans, the name Sam Bowie always brings out a cringe, even to the staunchest of Blazer fans.  (Again, this isn't about the choice, but the end result.)  In hind-sight, it was a bad decision, but at the time, it was a no-brainer.

So now this organization is faced with the prospect of Drafting a player, who may end up as one of the best players in the league, or one that may end up as one of the most dominant.  

But let's say we choose Oden(Dominant).  There is that fear that he may end up like Bowie, or worse, unispired.  Portland fans have their eyes filled with twinkly little stars and triumphant little thoughts about championships.  But if Oden doesn't manage the type of dominance that his hype is conveying, how quickly will the fan base turn against the franchise or the player?  When drafting Oden, there will have to be a realignment of players on this team, to build around the expectation of his greatness.  

To us fans, it is easy just to put this player here, trade this player there, but there are personalities on this team, egos and culture that kind of exclude that way of thinking.  Most of these guys were brought in because of character and talent, groomed to fill roles and most of all win through effort and teamwork.  

This is where Durant might have a slight edge over Oden.  If the Blazers draft Durant, the core that was going to be the future of this franchise remains in tact, but we also get to keep the components that complete this team.  

No Poll questions.  Just your thoughts.

How would you feel if we Drafted Oden, but the team failed to live up to expectation?  What if Durant brought success as the #2 pick, as Portland fails to succeed?

What if KP drafted Durant and Oden had success with his team?  How would you view KP and/or the Trailblazer organization?

I was thinking about a familiar question but from a different angle.  I've been sensing that there are brewing sentiments being built in each draft camp.  For many, Oden belongs on this team and will bring us many championships.  For others, Durant could be the next <[Insert GOAT Reference Here]]>.  

My point is, there is discussion and rational that is persuasive, relative and thought provoking, but that's not the purpose of this post.  

Last year, the Blazers faced the challenge of appeasing the fans, without caving into fan sentiment.  Boldly, KP and then GM Steve Patterson selected Brandon Roy and Lamarcas Aldridge, instead of fan favorite Adam Morrison.  The Blazers received some short lived criticizm and it took only a few looks at Brandon to know that we made the right decision.

So now, finally to my quesion.  If, on draft day David Stern comes to the podium and announces, "With the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft the Portland Trailblazers select..." <[Insert not the player that you had thought would be picked]>

You may think that this is just another way to discuss whether Portland should pick Oden or Durant.  It's not.  

For anyone who has read my approach, I like to discuss "Fan Impact" and "Community Relationship" involving the franchise.

I feel that it was sites like this one that helped dampen any of the initial negative feedback by some of the media outlets who drove the Adam Morrison push.  

Would you question the decision making skills of Blazer Management, based on the discussions in this forum, if he selected the other guy?  

I AM FAN

I AM FAN

A FAN I AM

The battle cry from the Die Hard Blazer Fan as told if Dr. Suess were around to witness the future unfold.

I am faced every day with challenges that only a strong willed Blazer fan can withstand.  Of course, I am referring to the residual bad taste that has been left by the last regime.  

Today amidst the fanfare, the hope for the future of the franchise and my own rejoicing, I still hear the sounds of the nay-Sayers.

"What will Portland do to screw it up?"
"What are the Jailblazers up to now?"
"It won't matter, they're gonna move anyway."
"Portland would do better with Baseball."

I thought it was just one individual, but these sentiments plague many.  I can't help but think that this is due to ignorance or just plain lack of interest in the sport.  Painful as this thought might be, there are a great number of people that do not like the NBA.

Fine.  I can live with that.  I'm not a fan of baseball, but you are not going to hear me rip on the Mariners for being mediocre.  You are also not going to see me buy any Seahawks paraphernalia to show my support for a team that I don't watch.  That doesn't mean I don't want them to achieve success, it just means that I'm not going to put a lot of my emotional resources into supporting the team.  So as such, you can consider me a fair weather Seattle fan.  

But what we have in Portland is what I would equate to PTS Syndrome, Post Traumatic Stress.  

The average fair weather Blazer fan has suffered through years of hype, false growth and severe let down.  For the fair weather fan, the Blazer's aren't a team, but an Icon of Community failure.  Through the media, Portland has risen and fallen, in a sensationalized fashion, with the fall compared to that of the great Roman Empire.

To us true, hard working, dedicated fans, we saw the transition coming and prepared ourselves emotionally to handle the decline.  We ignored the extreme media scrutiny and sorted through the bulk of negativity to find the shining beacons of hope that would carry us past the gloomiest of eras.

Now is the time that the tarnish will be wiped away, that the gem known as the Portland Trailblazers again shine in the national spotlight.

But for the fair weather fans, they feel like they've fallen for this hype before.  Flashy trades, false hopes, shady business and bad chemistry have tarnished their perceptions of this franchise.  But what they don't realize is that it wasn't just the franchise that was responsible for this image.  The media had made its impact felt, continuously kicking the franchise while it was down.  

The machine that had perpetuate the image of this franchise through its decline had turned on them the way Brutus turned on Caesar.  The most prominent national icon that the city of Portland had, our beloved franchise, was now the epitome of failure in a league that had once sparked accelerated economic growth in for the city.  

The Blazers, suffering from the collapse of its deteriorated infrastructure now had a new enemy, its once former ally: the media.

The franchise did what it should have done; it turned inward, knowing that it could not take on the only major conduit between organization and Portland's fan base, without repairing the damage it had done to its own infrastructure.  The Blazers finally committed to redefining what Portland Trailblazer basketball was all about.

It wasn't just about winning, or all star players.  It wasn't about a fancy arena or flashy endorsements.  It became about the relationship between the fans, the community and the team. They finally understood that without the heart of the community beating fiercely in support, the team would not rise to the national prominence that it once owned.

What transpired was an epic battle of giants, between our most vocal media outlets and a leadership group that put financial interests ahead of fan interests.  And as the battles ensued, the fans suffered the most collateral damage.

Every move by the executive level of the organization was second guessed by malcontents in the media and spewed into the community for public consumption.

But with every battle, heroes emerged and villains were defined.  This became a conflict where money was not going to be the catalyst that would bring this team back to the community.  It would be the philosophy that the community drives this team and that this team feeds off of this community for support, and together they could achieve more success, than waiting for one or the other to take the lead.

The first step was to bring in Coach Nate, who has shown these young guys how to accept their roles and that as a team they will have a better chance at success, than they would riding in the wake of a star or two.  

Next, GM Pritchard has made it a point to stick to his guns and find guys that will fit into the "Blazer's" team mold and has had the courage to be patient, and not jump at the next big thing.  Choosing longevity over immediate impact, he has assembled a core of young, hardworking, intelligent players that share a common desire to win.  

But even as the detractors, Portland's media, still existed, McMillian and Pritchard's perseverance landed them major success in last year's draft.

Even now, as the one time combatants have agreed that a union of media and merit will bring a much needed revitalization to this city and the franchise, there is still a bubbling contempt between the Blazers and the media.  In time, hopefully, the bygones will slowly begin to fade into memory, and the focus can once again turn to hope and curiosity, rather than defection and failure.

Finally, Paul Allen, the benevolent king of his domain, has allowed himself to fall in love with the franchise again.  But this time, he hasn't alienated the core of Blazer's success, and that is the love of the Portland Fans.  

The Blazers have evolved into the franchise that belongs to the fans in Portland and a team that belongs in the spotlight.  

So implore the fair weather fans that seek the presumed demise, or have pessimistic feelings that there is still incompetence at the highest level of the organization, take the plunge.  Let yourselves be immersed in potential this one last time.  The joy you may feel with the success of this team will last enviably longer, than any discontent, if the team doesn't live up to expectations.  It has been a battle to get to this point, and I hope that you recognize that it was done for you.  Blazer believers such as me have always known that success would return, but the fans that have been disenchanted by the last 10 seasons can hope to find the renewed splendor or watching their team rise from the bottom and strive for the top.

There is actually talk about trying to re-sign Magloire.  He has been a consumate professional and has steadily improved since Joel bowed out early.  But what are the odds, really, that he chooses to resign with Portland for the a Mid-Level exception, as opposed to say, a Mid-Level for a contender?

I am posing this question, with a poll for those who don't feel like articulating their response.

I'm bummed but not surprised.  We just couldn't quite justify placing these guys in the game.  Lamarcus had his moments but kind of trailed off a litte the last few weeks.  But Sergio has been surging up the rankings.  

But hey, at least they made the obvious choice and BRoy is heading to Las Vegas.  

(**WHAAAAA**)  The only thing that could make this better would be to have Z-BO replace Boozer in the Big Game.

Does anyone consider these rooks not making into the Rookie game as a snub?

I am so happy for Steve.  He brought the right elements to our team.  When he was shipped of to Siberia, I felt really bad.  But all things have righted themselves, Ruben is now in exile and Steve has a chance to play for a contender.

I caught a clip on ESPN last night.  Blake had Melo on one side AI on the other.  Gee, wouldn't most point guards running the fast break love those options.  

That guy really deserves it.  I hope they keep him.  They have enough scorers on that team, that a pass first, hard-nosed point guard could really lead that team.

I love NBA Justice....

Does this guy not get Trailblazer basketball?  Let me re-phrase that, NBA basketball.  In his article today, he praises Z-Bo's effort, the growth, only then to say trade him, tank the season so that we we'll probably end up with the first pick in the draft and a chance to land Greg Oden.  Hmmmmm.  I guess he forgot that we had the best chance at getting the first pick last year, and we ended up with.... Well I guess I can't complain about who we ended up with.  

But ideally, Canzano's articles should be relegated to some blog format and let the real fans comment on the state of the team.  

Let me ask this of all Blazer fans that come to this site to have their opinions read, their declarations of hope and fandom carried out into the public, which would you prefer:

I was watching the game last night, (I know, the pain of reliving another loss grows tiresome), when I noticed that on many occassions Travis Outlaw had a path to the hoop and was even racing towards the bucket.  It reminded me of many occassions where Jerome, Clyde, or Rasheed would filled the same lane.  However, the difference was that no one was tossing up the lob.  My question is: Why?

We have high-fliers on our team and guys that can dish the ball with accuracy, but why have we not hit guys above the rim.  Has the Alley-Oop gone by the wayside.  

Back in the Rip City days, when our teams were down on offense, it was just a matter of time before Porter would toss the lob to Jerome and bring the crowd back to it's feet.  

How many one handers can you remember 'Sheed' slamming home on a Stoudamire oop?  Just about two a game.  

You can't tell me Coach Nate hasn't seen many of those.  One of the master combos of the Alley-Oop were Payton and Kemp.  

It should be something that they at least practice.  It was a big source of easy buckets and can be a momentum shifter.  

I can see it:

Sergio up the left side, eyeballs Outlaw filling the wing on the right.  He makes eye contact long enough to let Travis know its coming his way.  Sergio pulls the defense to the leftside of the floor, exposing the weakside lane.  With an explosion, Travis launches towards the hoop as Sergio aims three feet to the right of the rim.  Is it a shot, no it's a pass as TO grabs the rock and jams it for two.  And the crowd goes.......

I kept screaming at the TV last night, urging Jack to hit Travis in the air.  

Now granted, Ime, Outlaw, Aldridge and maybe Graham, are the only ones really able to play above the rim, but with a few proper placements, Z-BO, Joel and Mags could probably benefit from a lobs tossed their way.  

If anyone if feelin me on this, let me know.  Maybe if you have a different perspective, that's always welcome too.

Personally, Martell gives a local flavor that is sweet like his jumper.  Of course the "Martell's Pain is Portland's Gain" campaign seems a little awkward or lame.  They could have built something that would encompass more of the team spirit, rather than focus on than a couple of individual players.  

Campaign 1:  "Getting to the Point."

Jarret Jack, Dan Dickau, Sergio Rodriguez

Campaign 2:  "The power of moving Forward"

Zack Randolph, Jamal Magloir, Travis Outlaw

Campaign 3:  "At the Center of it all"

Joel Pryzbilla, Raef LaFrentz, Lamarcus Aldridge

Campaign 4:  "Where there's heart there's drive"

Martell Webster, Brandon Roy, Juan Dixon

Campaign 5:  "If you lead, we will follow"

Nate McMillan, Joel Pryzbilla, Jarret Jack

Continue reading this post »

I tried to send this to the Oregonlive.com blog, but the Sports@oregonlive.com was not accepting E-mails.

I have the feeling I am going to enjoy reading this blog for years to come.  Not that Eric won't be missed, but your commentary in addition to the content puts the glimmer of honest perspective into this blog.  You should suggest that they put a daily recap into the next day's Oregonian.  I'm sure there would be a lot of readers that would appreciate the more light-hearted, informative review of the Blazers.  (HEAR THAT CANZANO?)

Not that it's a personal beef with the man, but getting any sort of positivity out of his editorials is like pouring a bowl of Lucky Charms and finding all of the marshmallows are gone.  Yeah it's cereal, but what's the point?  You can't feel good about eating just the cereal, but you do anyway, because you've already poured the milk on top.  

At least your posts have been the special surprize inside.  (And I don't mean finding a coupon for 50 cents off your next purchase either.)

As you know, Rip City started with people who loved basketball and could grow with the team.  Once RC matured, as well as it's following, Rip City took a turn and headed straight to Tijahuana for a good time.  Unfortunatly, after a bout of the clap and a small case of the crabs, RC finally moved out and went to work at the local Starbucks for minimum wage.  We won't forget you Rip City, but now we are going to spend some time with your younger brother, RCII and try to make sure that we raise this new ideal, this new hope, into a mature responsible icon that will flourish for years.  

So GOOD BYE Eric, you left your post in good hands.  Say Hi to KB24, for all the fans in Portland.