I was pretty disappointed in the Blazers performance tonight.  Not because they lost.  Not because they couldn't close out on shooters, and not because they played Roy when they shouldn't have.

I was disappointed because they got imposed upon.

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I haven't been paying real close attention to the standings lately.  I knew that Portland had been struggling and was clinging to the #8 spot despite having a much better than .500 record.  I also knew that Portland had the chance to catch a couple of the teams in front of them if things went right.  What I didn't know was that the only team completely out of reach is the L@kers.   We're 5 games back of Dallas with 18 to play.  Dallas is currently on a 9 game winning streak during which they passed up 2 teams and distanced themselves from many others.  If Portland can muster a similar run they can achieve a much better position than 8 or 7.

I'm not trying to suggest that Portland has a likely shot at the two seed, or is likely to win the division, but all I've heard and read lately (without actually following through and checking myself) would indicate that Portland is destined for a first round visit with the Fakers and an early exit.  I believe that with the proper application of winstreak and chokejob Portland can still pickup as high as the 4 seed, and can give any team a run for their money (providing what happened early season doesn't flare back up).  

I just wanted to inject some hope in the sidebar.  Discuss.  Or not.  It's your call.

It's pretty clear to me that this thing has run its' course.  This team has gotten as far as it's going to go with the personnel on the roster.  We don't want to have another episode like the 80's where we're in the playoffs every year with no shot to win anything.  Blow it up.

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I have long found it amusing watching people that have paid anywhere from 20 to 300+ dollars fight for a 10 dollar shirt like starved alligators over a scrap of steak.  Today, I find it even more amusing. 

It was the middle of the 4th quarter when the stunt team came out with all their fancy shirt-chucking equipment.  My daughter and I were sitting in section 323.  Were I by myself I wouldn't even bother standing for the thing, but my daughter was with me so I had her stand up with her sign and we joined together in our version of the 'chuck it here' dance.  As the 3 guys with the super sling-shot set up to bloody some poor sap's nose with a t-shirt I thought, "They're gonna shoot that right at us."   Then they released it.  At first I thought that it was going slightly to my right, but as it soared over the 200 level seats it started to curve back around my direction and right at my face.

I have long had a minor phobia that I would be at a sporting event with an item coming right for me and I would choke.  I would fumble it away, or run down a small child, or maybe just let it leave an imprint on my face.  It felt like it was in the air for about a minute and a half, but when it reached my hands, I held onto it like Jerry Rice in the endzone (you know... without the defense, or it really being all that hard as it turned out).  I turned to my daughter to try to hand it to her; she had a big smile on her face, but wasn't ready to take it as she was still fumbling with her sign.  I held onto it and started to dig in to see what kind of merch it really was.

I have no illusions about where these t-shirts come from.  I know that they are sent out to give advertisers a reason to give the Blazers money.  I just always thought that there would be some Blazer related item on the free stuff.

Nope.

via i342.photobucket.com

Just a Subway t-shirt.  As my buddy at the game said, "Just goes to show you, no matter how low your expectations are, you can still be disappointed."

Still, I got an amusing story out of the deal, so you can't beat that. :)

I was at the PTB/GSW game last night and I swear that I saw Sergio take down Corey Maggette in the first half.  I think I have a vague recollection of Sergio taking down someone else in the past.  There was no replay so I wasn't able to verify that I saw it right.  Anyone else recall this occurance?  Is Sergio a tough guy?  A dirty player?  Or did I simply misinterpret the whole exchange?

Please enlighten me.

So, last nights win was about the ugliest thing since since Medusa.  Not to mention that we have had many lousy performances against bad teams.  I mean really bad performances that make you wonder if the Blazers might get themselves back into the lottery.

But it was a win, and we're 9-6.

And LaMarcus has been shooting like a one armed rifleman for the better part of the season.  He looks like a kid in a Toys'r'us that just realized that he's lost his parents with the ball in his hands lately.  Is he a bust now?

His D is still solid, and we're still 9-6.

Plus GO has shown flashes of Shaq, Robinson, Mark Eaton, and Manute Bol- sometimes all in the same game.  I mean I've never seen a guy look so dominant and lost at the same time.  I don't know if he is ever going to get it together.

But somehow the team keeps scrapping out wins, and we're 9-6.

I'm really uncomfortable with the inconsistency in our offense and our reliance on guys that aren't always able to produce.  I'm sure that there is somebody in the league we can get RIGHT NOW that can ease our reliance on these guys.  Rudy's been shooting terribly lately.  Outlaw, ohmygoodnessdon'tgetmestartedonOutlaw.  Even the aforementioned Aldridge is struggling in ways we've never seen before. 

Yeah but we have 3 Rookies getting serious time, none of whom have played more than about 3 games a week at any given time, an injured starting small forward, and a team that - for the first time - is getting a good effort from every team on almost every night.  We also have played 9 of 15 games on the road, all of our losses have come on the road against good teams (except Golden State) and we've stolen some from good teams on the road.

And we're still 9-6.  With all that room for improvement.  I think we're OK.

So, chill and enjoy the ride.  I know I will.

Rebuilding GM:  BRING OUT YER DEAD!  BRING OUT YER DEAD!

KP: Here's one.

GM: That'll be 9 pents.

Raef LaFrentz: I'm not dead!

GM: What's that?

KP: Nothing, here's your 9 pents.

RL: I'M NOT DEAD!!

GM: Hey, he says he's not dead.

KP: Yes, he is.

RL: NO, I'M NOT!!

GM: He isn't!

KP: Well he will be soon, his contracts almost up.

RL: I'M GETTING BETTER!

KP(To Raef) : No your not, your game'll be stone dead in a moment.

GM: I can't take 'im like that, it's against regulations.

RL: I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE REBUILDING TEAM!!

KP: Oh, don't be such a baby.

GM: I can't take him.

RL: I feel fine.

KP (To GM): Well, do us a favor.

GM: I can't.

KP: Well, can you hang around a minute, he won't be long.

GM: Nah, I've got to swing by the Pacers, they've lost 9 today.

KP: Well when's your next run?

GM: Thursday.

RL: I THINK I'LL GO POST UP!!

KP (To Raef): Your not fooling anyone you know.  (To GM) Look, isn't there something you can do?

RL: I FEEL HAPPY, I FEEL HAPPY, I FEEL HAPPY.........

(THWAP!!!)

KP: Thanks a lot.

GM: That's my job, see you Thursday then.

KP: Right, right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grbSQ6O6kbs

Unfortunately, this probably would have been more appropriate to post during the Daruis saga, but the timing of how I use other peoples humor has never been as good as I'd like.

In case you weren't watching, the Buckeyes won't be the #1 team in the nation next week, which means the Ducks ought to move right on up to two.  (fingers crossed) National championship path cleared. Now take care of business boys!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a story!

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/10406427

"Kevin Pritchard should be the league's top executive this season, even though the odds are now probably good that he won't be. Top draft pick Greg Oden won't play this season, and, because Danny Ainge secured his job by landing Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, he'll probably get the award for reviving the Celtics. That being said, the job Pritchard has done attempting to turn the Portland Trail Blazers around has been remarkable."

Mejia goes on to explain what all of us already know.  What was really bad, now is really good.

Oden posted on his blog again that he has a new dog and the name is Charles Barkley McLovin.  Sweet.

http://www.yardbarker.com/gregoden

If I were to pose a 300 minimum limit question I suppose it would be about what is the coolest, or dumbest thing you have bought that had Blazers all over it.  Mine is that I am thinking of commissioning a bass guitar in the shape of the Blazers logo.

I found this via TrueHoop and thought it was a really cool little article.

Here it is.

The short version is that a mother invited Caron Butler to her sons surprise birthday party.....and he went.  

You have a couple years of Jail Blazers and you get all jaded.  It's nice to see this and it's good to know that there are quality players throughout the league. If anyone else has any recent stories like these I'd love to hear them because they don't seem to come around that often.

I didn't go into this game expecting anything good to come out of it except lottery position, and through 3 quarters that's what I got.  But when the fourth quarter was through I was very glad I had made the effort.

For most of the game the primary thing I noticed was how really, really good TMac and Yao are.  Raef LaFrentz was made to look really bad a couple of times in the offensive post solely because the guy on the other team is crazy tall.  I could have seen him scoring in those positions on 20 other starting centers in the league.  Both MacGrady and Yao can score at will.  Portland did a fair (not great, mind you) job on both of them (except for a few slow rotations) but they were just better.

The big surprise to me for the Blazers was Freddie Jones.  Apparently he can shoot, and take guys off the dribble, and pick up and-1 fouls on Yao, and pretty much carry the Blazers for a stretch.  He had two opportunities for MONSTER ALLEY OOPS but was fouled on one and had Dickau running the break for the other (our whole section was bummed out because it looked like a guaranteed slam!!).  

During the fourth quarter I was really impressed by both the Blazers and the fans.  The instant there was a sniff of a comeback there was noise and energy.  That noise carried through to the 3 minute mark when Houston bumped the lead back to 10 and a few started to file out.  It picked up again big until the one minute mark when more people filed out.  The amazing thing was that even with about 5000 (approx.) people in the stands they were still able to get some volume into the arena.  It was great!!!

I believe next year will be a great year to be going to games.  The energy hasn't been this big in a long time.  I don't feel like an outcast anymore for cheering and that is really, REALLY nice.  I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

I got a small itch so I started digging and I found this page on Joel Freeland.  
http://www.ulebcup.com/ulebcup/home/on-court/players/showplayer?pcode=LOO
I'm not sure what to make of it since most of what I found on him is in Spanish and the only thing I can say in Spanish is "no habla espanol".  One article I did find on the Gran Canaria site said he finished a game with 3 points.  They really aren't big on posting stat lines in Spain.  Or if they are, they are really good at hiding them from English speaking types.

It looks like he won't be contributing to the Blazers any time soon though.

There have been a TON of posts lately about the potential trades and rightfully so with the deadline fast approaching, with some of them hard to really imagine and some of them very intriguing.  But why make a trade?

This team is not going to make a major run at anything short of a 1st round playoff exit (be still my heart), and the players are all getting along real well.  Why would you want to take a team that is growing and learning in a very supportive environment and shake it up because you can?  There are very few players other teams have any interest in giving up that would have a positive impact on this team.  Those few teams with tradeable players know what they have and will not sell without handsome compensation.

Zach is a guy that get mentioned a lot. I don't think anybody believes that Zach is the player that will lead the Blazers to banners, but why shove him out the door at a time when he is such a positive guy on the team.  He seems to want everybody to do well and looks to have accepted the role of mentor with enthusiasm.  Moreover he hasn't decided to mentor JR Rider or Sheed style, he is doing it with support and being almost obnoxious with his support at times.  Why trade him when everybody else questions what he will bring to their team.

I just don't see bringing in a new face as a positive on this team unless he is more valuable than the Blazers can get in trade.  The chemistry is good, the play is getting better, the grit is there almost every night, and the team seems comfortable and hungry at the same time.  I say wait until the end of the season and then do what you can, but for now leave it alone.

I don't have cable so I am not often able to watch the games (I'm getting very frustrated at the number of games I am missing), but the few games I have been able to watch the officiating has been ATROCIOUS!!!!  

I, like many of you, usually shun others comments when they whine about how the zebras screwed them out of a game.  But for the games that I have been able to watch, it has become increasingly difficult to dismiss that the Blazers are getting jobbed on a regular basis.  I'm not trying to suggest that the Blazers would have won 22 games to this point if it weren't for the refs, but it seems that there is a significant disparity on a nightly basis.  Last nights game was the capper for me.

I guess all I want to know from all you 80s technology owners is, is it really as bad as I'm seeing it or am I watching the wrong games.  We all know that Joel could play until he's Dikembe's age and still be called for a moving screen with his feet nailed to the floor, but the few games I've seen it's been much worse than that.  Is this just how it is????