Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury would like all of you to know he is officially a disciple of Al Gore. Gore s movie An Inconvenient Truth needs a name change: An Inconsistent Truth. It s amazing how someone like Gore, who has no scientific credentials of any kind, can become the spokesman for a physical phenomenon he doesn t really understand.
A meteorologist once told me not to get my science from politicians and vise versa. Until Gore shows us both sides of the issue he doesn t deserve to be taken seriously. Take heed Bradbury, take heed.
The Randolph trade rumors are flying like Belgian waffles. The most popular has been Chicago s Ben Wallace for Mr. Randolph.
Yesterday the Oregonian s Jason Quick told oregonlive.com that Randolph has tendinitis in his right knee; the same knee that received arthroscopic surgery last year. Randolph is averaging 25.
8 points per game and 10.5 rebounds. If he maintains this level of consistency he should, and will be on the All Star team.
The Bulls would be a perfect fit for Randolph. After a 3-9 start they ve won six games in a row and are finally beginning to live up to their preseason billing as one of the top 2 teams in the east. The other being the Pistons.
Those of you who think that Orlando should be in that group are wrong. As the season takes it s toll, they will slowly fade away like the tides of the Oregon coast. The Bulls desperately need a power forward who can score, someone who can complement Luol Deng.
Tyrus Thomas and P.J. Brown have been disappointing and forced the scoring responsibilities to be placed squarely on the shoulders of Heinrich, Gordon, and backup small forward Andres Nocioni.
Randolph would put the Bulls over the edge.
My stance on this issue is clear. Any trade that gets rid of Randolph is a good one.
His stock isn t going to be any higher than it is right now. He is young (25) and playing his best basketball. When I gaze into my crystal ball all I for see for Randolph is an injury ridden career that isn t worth anywhere near a salary equal to the annual budget of a small African nation.
Looking at the long term future of the Blazers, we have to ask: once Aldridge, Roy and Jack begin to develop and mature in the coming two years, can the Blazers go deep into the playoffs with Randolph? Can they become contenders? No, no, no.
Randolph is getting franchise money. But he s not a franchise player. He is a scorer, that is it.
He can t play defense. He cannot pass out of double teams, he doesn t make his teammates better.
Ben Wallace isn t the answer to Portland s problems.
But Wallace is the best player that the Blazers can hope to get for Randolph. It gives them something to build on, and it makes them a little better. His contract is smaller and shorter than Randolph s (4 years, 60 million).
Assuming that the Blazers can get rid of Jamaal Magloire, Wallace will give them a monster front court. Any team would kill to have the option of starting either Ben Wallace, Joel Przybilla, or both. Magloire and Randolph s departures would give much needed playing time to LeMarcus Aldridge at PF.
Most importantly, it gives the Blazers legitimacy on the defensive end. No more mental breakdowns like last week s embarrassing debacle versus Orlando with 1.3 seconds left.
So 7-13. After a promising 4-2 start, the Blazers have fallen, and fallen hard. They ve won some games they shouldn t have, (Tuesday night s defeat of the Piston s in the Palace) and they ve lost some games they should have won (Wednesday s loss in Milwaukee in overtime).
McMillan has made some very questionable roster decisions late in 4th quarters. But the fact remains, they are right where they need to be, they can t go anywhere but up from here.
Donald Rumsfeld is no longer Secretary of Defense.
That piece of news deserves a national holiday.
I want to start by discussing some of McMillan s questionable decision making during the 4th quarter of the Spurs game that contributed to the Blazer loss.
The most crucial time of a basketball game starts late in the 3rd quarter and extends until midway through the 4th.
That is where veteran teams (of which the Spurs are poster boys; with Duncan, Bowen, Barry, and Horry) make big runs. If they re behind, it s when they catch up. If they re winning, they pull away.
They ll extend their lead from 5 to 15-20 points.
The Lakers of 5 years ago would simply not play for the first 2 and a half quarters. They were shadows, zombies; just going through the motions.
Even Laker fans knew that and didn t show up for the game until half time. Then Shaq, Kobe, Fisher, Fox and company would suddenly wake up and blow the other team away. With that in mind, if you re playing the Spurs, it doesn t matter how well you ve done in the first half, and the Blazers played great.
Great teams don t necessarily start well, but boy do they know how to finish.
With six minutes left in the 3rd the Blazers were up 70-60. The Spurs went on a signature run and tied it up at 72 all.
No suprise there. That s expected. But McMillan got impatient.
He d had enough. He decided to pull out his starters; Aldridge, Jack, and Webster. The guys who had given him the 10 point lead.
He replaced them with Magloire, Dickau, and Dixon. This was a huge mistake. Huge.
At the beginning of the 4th he pulled Randolph and replaced him with Outlaw. Caput. The game was over.
The Spurs took an eight point lead. The Blazers clawed back to within one but it was too late. The damage was done, and the Spurs blew the game open in the final 5 minutes of the 4th.
Why I am telling you all this? Because McMillan gave up on his starters. As soon as the waters got rough, he jumped ship.
Not good. He should have left Randolph, Jack, and Aldridge in the game. Yes, they were in a rut.
But when you re best players start missing shots during pivotal moments in the game you don t pull them. You let them play through it. Stephen Graham, Dan Dickau, and Juan Dixon sure as hell aren t gonna mount a comeback versus the likes of Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker.
All they amounted to was a slew of turnovers. Oh, and playing Dickau over Rodriguez? Where s the logic there.
Aldridge was sitting on the bench in the 4th quarter. He was matching up against Duncan as well as any rookie could. Why replace him with Magloire?
Don t even get me started on Magloire. He was a bust before he put on a Portland uniform. Why would McMillan even think that Magloire would stand a chance against Duncan?
Magloire has been slow and confused on the offense. He makes mistakes. He doesn t rebound or box out, and worst of all, he doesn t play hard.
That said, I ve loved watching the Blazers play this year. Without Brandon Roy they have still been fantastic. This is definitely not the same team that ended last season.
They re 5-7, and with Roy and Przybilla they very well could have been 7-5. The biggest suprise for me has been LaMarcus Aldridge. I ve been forced to eat my words about the Blazers decision to draft him.
For someone coming of a shoulder injury with zero NBA experience, he has been nothing short of spectacular. In one particular moment versus the Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett tried to scare him. He got in Aldridge s face and glared him down with those fierce eyes.
Aldridge didn t back down. He stepped into Garnett and glared right back. It was delicious.
Jarrett Jack, Sergio Rodriguez, and LeMarcus Aldrige have played brilliant basketball. Before the season started the Oregonian s Jason Quick predicted that Rodriguez would be sent to the NBDL. Not anymore.
Against the Timberwolves last week, Rodriguez had 8 assists in 12 minutes. His best asset is his ability to move with and without the ball. Last year the Blazers did a lot of standing around on offense.
Not anymore. With Rodridguez on the floor the Blazers have turned into a lesser version of the Suns. Rodriguez penetrates defenses and moves so well with the ball that in one motion he can give himself 2 or 3 options and most importantly, set his teammates up with wide open shots.
Is Spanish Chocolate the next Steve Nash? Only time will tell. But he is going to be a great player, and over the coming season he should challenge Jarrett Jack for the starting job.
The Portland Trail Blazers are 4-2. That s right: 4-2. I m gonna say it again because it is so damn shocking it s reached the point of absurdity: 4-2.
Last night my Blazers came back from a 27 point deficit to beat a swashbuckling, fiesty Hornets team led by last year s rookie of the year Chris Paul, and Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojakovic, Desmond Mason. 27 POINTS. They did this without their second best player Brandon Roy, starting center Joel Przybilla, oh yeh, and head coach Nate McMillan .
In my previous columns I predicted the Blazers wouldn t win more than 25 games this season. I predicted that without Brandon Roy, they were helpless. Zach Randolph was a ball hog who would never learn to pass out of a double team.
I am a fool. I deserve a good beating. I should be exiled to the Himalayas.
Oh, but if being wrong feels this good, then I welcome the title of the ficklest, shallowest, most bandwagon fan on the planet.
Since Roy s absence due to a bruised heel, they ve beaten the Lakers and the Hornets. Two teams that are expected to make it to the playoffs in the tough western conference.
Randolph had 31 points and zero assists last night. Zilch, nada. But he was a beast, a rabid monster.
An animal. He s literally lost his mind. To be playing with such complete abandon their is no other explanation.
If you re a Portland fan you have to be blown away. A couple months ago Randolph was racing cars on Broadway and having elicit meetings with shady characters in waterfront hotels. At this rate he s not only gonna make the all star team, he s gonna be a candidate for MVP.
He carried the team on his shoulders last night.
Portland is playing scrumptulescent basketball. They re finding a way to win with players that would be third string in the Icelandic basketball league.
Travis Outlaw is still a mystery. He shot 6-9 last night, with 18 points and, get this, 6 blocks. Juan Dixon, Stephen Graham, Martell Webster, and Dan Dickau went a combined 5-20 from the floor.
Jarrett Jack was 3-10. Portland shot 41.8% and won.
Brandon Roy played six minutes before leaving the game . He ll find out in the coming days and weeks if he will need foot surgery. With him, Portland is that much better, but it must be reassuring for this team to know they can mount a huge comeback without him.
This was the biggest win since the first round of the 2002 playoffs when the Blazers came back from a 3-0 deficit against the Mavericks to tie the series at 3-3 and force a seventh game.
Are the Blazers for real? Are they capable of maintaining this high?
The stakes just rose big time. In 48 minutes of basketball the expectations exploded. With injuries and inexperience, will this young team have what it takes to rise up as one and break down the wall of mediocrity that has plagued this city for 4 years?
We ll find out soon enough. The Blazers take on the Lakers tonight in the Rose Garden. They come in at 2-2, including a fantastic win against the Timberwolves in front of a sold out Rose Garden crowd.
The Kobees are a surprising 4-1, including an opening win against the Suns. In 3 games Bryant is averaging just above 18 ppg; and Ronny Turiaf is the real deal. What Gonzaga graduates lack in flair they more than compensate with hard work and intensity.
They ve proven that time and time again.
Brandon Roy has been a shot of adrenaline for the Blazers, his absence due to a bruised heel is, as McMillan correctly stated, a big blow . Hopefully this will not be chronic.
Roy is quickly becoming the face, heart, soul of this team. Zach Randolph is averaging 26.0 ppg.
He could average close to 40, it wouldn t help this team win. When Roy left the Clippers game in the 3rd quarter, the Blazers fell apart, despite Randolph s 35.
Injuries are creating opportunities.
LaFrentz, Przybilla, Miles, Aldridge, and Roy are all unavailable for tonights game. Aldridge, coming off of a shoulder injury, will probably be ready to play within a couple weeks. At the start of the season it was thought he would get very little playing time, but now, with Przybilla and LaFrentz s on again off again injury problems; he could see upwards of 20 minutes a game.
Jarrett Jack is for real. Travis Outlaw is proving one thing, he s unpredictable. So is Dixon.
Both will be gone by mid season. Patterson must be questioning his decision to trade Khryapa and Monia and keep Outlaw. Can the Blazers maintain a .
500 record with all their inconsistenies, lack of experience, and mounting injuries? That is exactly why McMillan makes the big deniero.
The Lakers and Suns tipped off the 06-07 season last night.
Halloween finds both teams in a state of uncertainty. Kobe Bryant is coming off knee surgery and Phil Jackson is recovering from hip replacement surgery. The Suns title hopes rest on Steve Nash s back and the knee of Amare Stoudamire.
If both remain healthy, at the same time; a big if, Phoenix is the popular choice to win it all.
Today is all about predictions. Like we both know, preseason picks are always wrong and usually completely misguided.
The experts who make them know more about the Nebraskan corn harvest and fixing broken garage doors then basketball. But what the hell, they re fun to make, and so I ve decided to join the fray and add my own ignorance to the mix. Without further ado, let me pull out my crystal ball and show you the future of the Blazers, Stephen Jackson s guns, and the new synthetic NBA basketball.
Let the speculation begin.
The Blazers picked up the 3rd year options of Jarrett Jack and Martell Webster this week. They also decided to keep former PSU player Ime Udoka, the feel good story of the offseason.
Portland went 2-6 in the preseason. They will go 25-67 in the regular season. I m being really generous with those 25 wins.
According to the Oregonian s Jason Quick, Nate McMillan announced his starting five for the opener Wednesday night:
Ime Udoka is the big suprise. But with Miles knee problems and Martell Webster s strained back, it s down to Udoka or Outlaw at small forward. Jamaal Magloire had a horrible preseason.
He had more turnovers than rebounds. What was supposed to be a fierce battle for the starting job was practically handed on a silver platter to Przybilla.
Will LeMarcus Aldridge get any playing time once his shoulder heals?
He needs to if the Blazers are going to find out how good he is. The million dollar question lies within Randolph s head. If I was coaching the Blazers he wouldn t be in my starting five.
He may put up 20 and 10. But those 20 points are useless, because they re selfish points. Since McMillan has made it clear that the offense will run through Randolph; then unfortunately, how Randolph goes so go the Blazers.
My questions are simple. How will he react when teams double and triple team him? Can he find the open player?
Can he resist the urge to put up a bad shot? Can he be patient?
Which brings us to the backcourt.
Roy at SG and Jack at PG means the Blazer backcourt is the best it s looked in 3 years. If they can establish a chemistry akin to Gordon and Heinrich s baby bulls, the future in Portland will be bright.
So will the opening day starting five remain that way through midseason?
I m going to go out on a limb and say yes. I don t see Magloire or LaFrentz putting any pressure on Randolph or Przybilla. The only question mark is at small forward, where Webster, Outlaw, Miles, and Udoka could all split time.
Who will get traded? Juan Dixon and Dan Dickau are hovering above the trading block. If Randolph doesn t play up to form, or has one more run in with the law, look for Patterson to move him by mid season.
If Outlaw doesn t break out within the first 30 games, he will also be finished in a Blazer uniform. Miles of course, is living on the block, but for obvious reasons, no GM has been foolish enough to take a gamble on him (of course, it s not a gamble any more, he s a proven headache). As I ve said before, while this is still a rebuilding year, it s different from last season because players like Webster, Outlaw, Jack, Magloire, and Randolph have a lot to prove; and the margin of error is much smaller.
On to the rest of the league. The northwest division is weak and up for grabs. Denver will win it easily.
Utah may put up a fight, but they ll finish at .500 and maybe the 8th spot. I m of the opinion that Jerry Sloan has worn out his welcome in Utah.
The Sonics and Timberwolves are a mystery. They always are.
The best record in the Western conference goes to either the Spurs or the Mavericks.
It doesn t matter, because they ll meet for a second straight time in the Conference finals and duke it out for West supremacy. San Antonio is still my pick to win it all. They have depth, experience, maturity, and mental toughness.
What they don t have they make up with great coaching. I still think Tony Parker is the most overrated point guard in the NBA; he s not as good as he looks. Back to the Suns.
They don t have the edge to get past the 2nd round of the playoffs. Everyone seems to forget they were one shot away from a 4-2 loss to the Lakers in the 1st round of last years playoffs, and the Clippers took them to 7 games in the 2nd.
The Eastern conference is wide open.
2 of these 5 teams will make it to the conference finals: Indiana, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, and Cleveland. As last night showed us, Miami is too old and tired to make much of a repeat run. Pat Riley set the team up for only one title.
They re done. Chicago s acquisition of Ben Wallace and Victor Khryapa are huge. If their current team remains intact, next year they re my pick to win the entire conference.
Will Detroit still be a force with only one Wallace? Yes, yes, yes. Even after last season s playoff meltdown, and the loss of Ben Wallace, Detroit is going to play Miami again in the conference finals, and this time they will win.
Finals prediction is Detroit and San Antonio. San Antonio wins in 7 games.
I desperately, passionately want to write something positive about this team.
I am a cynic at heart, and I take pleasure in seeing the glass not just half full, but completely empty. I enjoy tearing apart bad films that everyone loves (e.g.
Star Wars, Top Gun, Napoleon Dynamite). I love watching corrupt politicians screw up and then sweat under the bright lights of their contradictions. I laugh hysterically when an overpaid team or player performs far below expectations (e.
g. The Yankees, Knicks- really, any team from New York or Chicago).
However, it s very hard work keeping up such a steely, desensitized demeanor.
Deep down, somewhere in the depths of my cold heartless soul, there is another side. A brighter, sparkier portion of my being. At least, I think it exists.
I hope it s there.
Quite frankly, I m tired of it all. I m tired of being pessimistic, negative, enraged.
I want to be chirpy, happy, upbeat: like Maria in the Sound of Music. I want to have confidence in confidence alone. Even though the Nazi s are chasing me because I m in an unhealthy relationship with a dominant bipolar tyrant with real psychological issues and a Superman complex, and I m mother to his six spoiled children who have major social problems and will all grow up to be alcoholics because their father has horrible fashion sense and makes them dress like Swiss watchmakers/postmen/milkmaids.
I want to break out into song. I want to frolic in the sunshine. Maybe frolic isn t the right word.
But that s beside the point. I want to sing to the hills and hear them sing back. You probably think I m deranged, but I couldn t give a damn.
The bottom line is that I m in the mood for unabated, unabashed optimism.
Uno momenta porfavor. I need you to take a step back with me.
There s one condition to my new state of mind. One, and only one essential requirement. I refuse to comprise my values in order to make this transformation from a cynic to an optimist.
What do I mean by this? Most Blazer fans have become complacent. They ve given up.
They ve lowered the benchmark. They ve simply compensated for bad basketball by reducing their standards. It s as if they re sitting in a pitch black room.
Every time someone lets in a hint of light, they cheer like mad. They re content living below the poverty line. They ve softened up.
But you know what, they don t have to.
I m ashamed to say that I m a member of the most useless generation in American history. Right now our country is being led by a complete an utter ignorant fool of a man who isn t fit to run a 7-11.
We are in a war that history will someday tell us panned out as badly as Vietnam. But you know what, Bush isn t the problem, we are. Because we ve let him do it.
For the first time in history, the 2004 elections were decided by the young people of America, the 18-30 demographic. Our future was in our hands. And we blew it.
We didn t vote. And now hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis and many of our friends, brothers and sisters are paying the consequences in the Middle East, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. We simply don t care.
And indifference is the most dangerous place to be. Actions speak louder than words.
In the 60 s and 70 s young people were facing the same problems we are today.
But they didn t ignore them. They outed Nixon. They got rid of racial discrimination.
They fought for women s rights. Their musicians were intelligent and sang songs that were edgy and uncomfortable; Bob Dylan, John Lennon. Who are our musical heroes of today?
What are they singing about? They re dull and blunt and numb. We re content wilting away our lives playing video games and comparing cell phone ring tones.
Our filmmakers are afraid of offending people s sensibilities, so they ve taken a different route, and now they ve settled with reveling in sexual deviation and senseless violence; and they think that that pushes the envelope. They couldn t be farther from the truth.
Blazer fans have reacted to their team the same way they react to every other aspect of American life.
A useless shrug. They need to get up, walk over to the window, and rip down all the blinds. Let in all the light.
When they finally do that, they won t be able to hide the fact that their team is a mess. Blazer management loves living in the shadows. They enjoy it.
They are liars and fools. All the way down the ladder from management to players. They re self centered and egotistical.
Self centered is never good. Egotistical is OK if you re winning. But both of them are hell when you re the worst team in the NBA.
On Wednesday night, Zach Randolph showed up late for the game again. After all that BS about turning a new leaf and leading the team. He showed up 35 minutes late for shoot around; then he followed it up by playing like a ball hog.
He went 7/21 from the field. He got heckled by the Rose Garden crowd every time he touched the ball, and rightly so. McMillan fined him something like 2500 bucks.
Yeh, that s gonna break him. Same old, same old.
The word of the decade has been potential .
That s all we can talk about, because there s nothing else left to fall back on. We can t talk about the present, because it blows. We should tell Paul Allen to move the Blazers.
Tell him to send them to Oklahoma City. Tell him to get the hell out of our town because we re better than this. We won t settle being treated like third class cargo.
He should ship out. When he s ready to treat us with a dignity worthy of our support, he can come crawling back.
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