The Stomach Punch

Stunned silence rushed through Autzen stadium with the speed of an avalanche.  I sat dazed with my head in my hands, hoping this football game was just a cruel dream.  My father stood to my right, his eyes trained on the field, gazing at the celebrating opponent with envy.  All around us, faces that had been red from the November weather were suddenly scarlet with fury.  Hands and jaws clenched as the bitter reality set in.  My inner monster of despair howled.

The day had begun in Salem with much fanfare.  The impending winter forecast loomed above us, and different outfits were arranged.  I paced nervously about, trying to remain calm by reminding myself that my good luck hat had been undefeated this season.  I glanced at a large pre-game feast on the table.  How could anyone be thinking about food at a time like this?  My palms were beginning to sweat as I continued to pace, muttering nonsense about offensive game plan.

“What color are we supposed to wear again?”  The dominant color of the uniforms the Ducks would be wearing each game was printed on each ticket.  Fans dressed in the same color, forming a giant, loud and synchronized creature in the seats.  Touchdowns fueled this colossus mass of 60,000 addicts.  Every positive play cast coal into the fire.

“Black,” I answered.  It was to be the only blackout of the 2012 season.  The team rarely wore the black uniforms, saving them for special occasions, to harness more intensity from players and the crowd.  Tonight appeared to be one of those nights.  Little did we know we were dressing for a funeral.

Many people consider sports to be a pointless waste of time.  Who cares about players moving a ball down a field, throwing the ball in a basket or even hitting it in a hole?  But the die-hard fans understand the true meaning of it all.  The game is a group celebration of life and a shared way of understanding.  Fans treat the players like family – caring, reassuring, and scolding.  Oregon football is not life or death; it’s way more important than that.  For me, Duck football is sacred time with my father.  Together we sweat out every important game, side by side.

On the night of November 17, 2012, our boys were two wins away from a National Championship appearance.  Notre Dame was locked in as the opponent and had Duck fans licking their chops in anticipation.  Oregon ran the up-tempo lightening quick, high-scoring offense. Blowing out teams with regularity.  Notre Dame and its prestigious old style of play had no chance against the well-oiled machine of the Ducks.  The coaches had pieced together a towering monster of speed by recruiting players from all over the country.  Our time for glory had come.  All we had to do was beat Stanford.

The Oregon-Stanford game quickly turned into a low-scoring slugfest.  Our confidence and certainty abandoned us late in the fourth quarter when a touchdown by Stanford tied the game with seconds remaining on the clock.  The stadium rocked and rolled with nerves while the teams prepped for the overtime period.  On the outside, we looked stoic, but the inner monster had awoken from its slumber.  We took deep breaths and shouted encouraging words, hoping to cast the inner demon back to the depths.  Rage and despair reared its ugly head as Stanford positioned to attempt the game-winning field goal.  An eternity passed as the ball hurtled through the air on a crash course with destiny.  Our seats were positioned high above the field, making field goals easy to view.  All of us in section 25 knew the kick was good before the officials blew the whistle.  I quickly dropped to a sitting position, head in hands, keeping my eyes diverted from the field.  Inside, the monster cackled with delight and grew in strength.  Thoughts and ideas fueled by rage and anger swept over me.  My initial idea was to immediately drive to Stanford and set the university on fire.  I wanted all the players to miserably fail their finals.  I wished the team plane crashed into a thousand pieces.  I hoped that the next time a Girl Scout came to my door, she would be wearing a Stanford shirt so I could slam the door in her face.  This was our moment, our home field, and our moment in the sun.  But Stanford gave us the stomach punch.

I was debating the pros and cons of prison time when a soft hand came down on my shoulder and my father said, “we gotta get out of here, this is unbearable, I can’t take this anymore.”

My father gently brought me to my feet and looked me in the eye.  His inner monster seemed more professional, more experienced.  As a long-time Duck fan, my father was more familiar with these trials and tribulations.  I was not.  A new fire-breathing dragon burned inside my soul, already counting down the days until the next matchup in Eugene.  The opportunity for a Championship and to die in peace had eluded us yet again.  Ranges of emotion filled the air as the addicts began to cope.  Deep breaths and hugs were shared, plots to tip over the team bus were squashed, and the muttering about the chances of next year was already being discussed.  The others marched out of the area like Zombies in a trance.  Regrettably, my Dad and I joined the herd.

Blazers!

31-10, LMA for MVP, Terry for COTY, Mike Rice for biggest homer/most predictions gone awry, and Dame Lillard has ice water for blood.  The transformation this season has been a joy to watch.  Year two of the Stotts system has been an overwhelming success.  Mr. COTY has players moving the ball ala the 1977 Champs, but has adapted the three point shot into the style.   Even Mo Williams and his hairy shoulders appear to be having a blast.  I believe the Blazers need one more move to truly compete for the title.  This bench unit isn't going to cut it.  Dorell Wright has been a dud, Meyers is too worried about his hair, and Thomas Robinson is busy fumbling the ball out of bounds somewhere.  How will the rest of the season play out?  With home court in the playoffs, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE"- Kevin Garnett.

This is Why I Love Basketball

March Madness+Trade Deadline=Best basketball day of the year so far. Not only did the Blazers trade away four players, they acquired one bust, one point guard in need of coaching and playing time, (hopefully) a top pick in the upcoming draft, fired Nate McMillan, and waived Greg Oden. Wait what??? Ok so the Blazers took on $4 million in salary from the Gerald Wallace trade, but saved $3 million in salary in the Marcus Camby deal. As mentioned in the previous post, trading Gerald gives Nic Batum more deserved playing time and frees up cash to then sign Batum this offseason. Killing two birds with one stone. I'm not that excited about the new Mehmet Okur and Shawne (prob going to be bought out) Williams era, but the Nets were so kind to throw in a protected (top 3) 1st round pick. What does that mean you ask? The Blazers in the best case scenario would get the 4th pick. So the team managed to reel in a high first round pick, shed some future salary, and give a rising star more playing time. I approve.

I believe the Marcus Camby trade was basically all about salary dumping. Marcus was the glue to the Blazer D and earned the famous "Marcus Camby" chant at the Rose Garden. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt3p2Q9khaY

At least my friends and I can still carry on his legacy of the backhand high five. Hasheem Thabeet and Jonny Flynn are on the move to the northwest. Thabeet was the #2 pick in the 09 draft ahead of James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, and Brandon Jennings. Also taken #6 in that draft, drumroll please, Jonny Flynn! Woohoo! In making these trades the Blazers basically threw in the towel for this year and are looking to the future. So basically what Raymond Felton decided to do 4 months ago. Apparently the Blazers called EVERY TEAM about trading Felton and NOBODY wanted him. Jamal Crawford was off to Minnesota in a three team deal, but management didn't want to take back a washed up Derek Fisher and his $3.4 mill player option next season. Good call in my book. In other trade news the Warriors managed to turn Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown into Andrew Bogut (out for the year), a late first round pick, and 3 years and $30 million of a over the hill Richard Jefferson. Cut to Warriors fans sobbing.

Meanwhile March Madness was quite underwhelming. Only a few games came down to the wire and mostly top seeds got the job done today. This writer picked every game correctly except for VCU over Wichita State. Damn you 12 seed!!!! Until tomorrow....

Owen Reutlinger

Trade Deadline Today

Today is one of the best sports days of the year. First round of March Madness AND the NBA trade deadline??? Life can't get much better if I do say so myself. The trade deadline is 12 pacific time. Will the Blazers make a deal? Rumors have Jamal "hard off the back rim" Crawford going to Minnesota for Luke Ridnour or Steve Blake. In other news, Gerald Wallace possibly off to New Jersey for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a protected first round pick. Rumors swirling that the first rounder is only protected through the top three spots. Good deal if that is true. Wallace can use his player option for $9.5 mill next season and hurt the Blazers salary cap in the process. Would you rather pay Gerald that cash and maybe resign him for 3-5 more seasons at a high salary, cutting into Batum's playing time in the process, or deal Gerald and free up more cap space to lock up Nic long term. This writer votes for door number two. Here's to a day filled with Dwight Howard flip flopping more then Joe Lieberman, Jim Nantz waxing poetic about a cinderella school, and possible Blazer trades. Never been more excited for a rainy thursday in March. Over and out.

Owen Reutlinger

The Draft

Column originally posted on March 26, 2010

"Twice in my lifetime they have taken a injury prone center over the leading scorer in the NBA." "Every time I see a Kevin Durant highlight on Sportscenter I change the channel because I start to cry." These statements were made by my father in the last few days. He is of course mentioning the disastrous Sam Bowie over Jordan selection, and the recent Oden over Durant choice. With the playoffs approaching and the hope of a long playoff run looking slim, some Blazer fans have now begun to look forward to the NBA draft.

The Blazers draft history has been hit or miss for their entire existence. They have either been wonderful late round sleeper picks, great picks at the top of the board, or complete busts. Let's run through some high and low moments in the draft history of our favorite team.

The successful picks:

1970: Geoff Petrie 8th pick, The first great Blazer. Rookie of the year in the Blazers first season.

1974: Bill Walton 1st pick, Led the team to the title. Obvious 1st pick that year. Could do everything on the floor and was the ultimate team player. 1977 NBA Finals game 6: 20 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists, and 8 blocks. Enough said.

1975: Bob Gross 2nd round, The Batum of the 77 championship team. Remembered for his hustle, defense, and the time Dr J put him on a poster in the finals.

1976: Maurice Lucas 2nd pick in the ABA dispersal draft, The Enforcer and one of the best Blazer players ever. Did everything for his team. Walton calls him the greatest player he ever played with. Those are strong words from a guy who played with Larry Bird when Bird was in his prime.

1983: Clyde Drexler 14th pick, Houston had two chances to take him. (He played for Houston in college) A Drexler Hakeem combo for their whole career? Oh boy. Thanks to every team above 14 who didn't take him. Clyde was the 2nd best player in the league behind Jordan in 90, 91, and 92. #1 on most significant Blazer records.

1984: Jerome Kersey 46th pick, Little known player from Longwood University. Key player on the late 80's early 90's teams. Mercy mercy.

1985: Terry Porter 24th pick, Another little known player from Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Could shoot from anywhere on the court and never backed down from a challenge. Coaching and broadcast career has been unsuccessful compared to his playing career.

1986: Arvidas Sabonis 24th pick, took a risk and had to wait until 1995 before he came over from the Soviet Union. Successful pick even though we didn't see his best basketball by a long shot.

1989: Cliff Robinson 36th pick, Uncle Cliffy was a key bench player during the championship runs. Brought defense, energy, and the headband craze to Portland.

1990-2005: Blazers don't have any high picks. They either trade the picks (I'm talking to you Bob Whitsitt), or make bad decisions. More on this later.)

2006: Tyrus Thomas 4th pick (only because they traded him for the 2nd pick Lamarcus Aldridge), Thanks to John Paxon for making that trade. I think he would like a redo. LA looks like the power forward of the future for the Blazers. If he learns some new post moves and puts on some muscle, we have a player to be excited about.

2006: Randy Foye 7th pick (Traded for Roy), See above but replace Kevin Mchale for Paxon. When you really think about it, Boston should have Roy right now. The Celts traded their first round pick to Minnesota in the KG trade. Minnesota took Roy, we took Foye, and the rest is history. So Boston could have Rondo, Al Jefferson, Pierce, and Brandon Roy right now. Looks better for the future instead of Rondo, Pierce, KG, and Ray Allen.

The not so successful selections:

1972: LaRue Martin 1st pick, widely regarded as the worst #1 pick ever in an NBA draft. He was out of the league after his rookie contract was up. LaRue just couldn't play in the NBA. They also passed up Bob "Can Do" McAdoo, who was selected 2nd. Bob McAdoo is in the Hall of Fame. LaRue Martin works for UPS.

1976: Wally Walker 5th pick. Passed up Adrian Dantley and Robert Parish. Facepalm.

1978: Mychal Thompson 1st pick. Boston took junior Larry Bird with the 6th pick. Bird was still in school but there was some strange rule where you could take players and then wait for them to graduate. While Boston and the Lakers were the only teams rumored to take Bird, Bird would have looked nice in a Blazer uniform.

1984: Sam Bowie 2nd pick. This simply was the worst pick in NBA history. Not only did they pass up on Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton, they selected a center who was out TWO SEASONS with broken shinbones at Kentucky. They had just recently been though the Bill Walton foot injury saga. They also apparently gave Bowie a 7 hour physical before the draft. If a physical takes 7 hours that should be a red flag. They also had taken Mychal Thompson with the first pick just 6 years earlier. Guess what position he played? Center. Lets move on before I walk into moving traffic.

1987: Ronnie Murphy 17th pick. Mark Jackson went 18th. They had Terry Porter at PG, but Ronnie Murphy over the player with the 3rd most assists of all time?

1995: Sean Respert 8th pick. Traded for Gary Trent (11th pick). Passed up Theo Ratliff, Michael Finley, and the immortal Greg Ostertag. I would take Ratliff and Finley over Trent any day of the week.

1996: Jermaine O'Neal 17th pick. Youngest player ever to play in an NBA game. Unsuccessful because he got no playing time and they traded him too soon for a washed up Dale Davis. Put up great numbers in Indiana and now his corpse is making $22 million this season. That's correct, Jermaine O'Neal is the 2nd highest paid player in the NBA this year. And people wonder why the league is losing money...

2000: Erick Barkley 28th. The Blazers ring in the new millennium by taking a player who never saw the floor. Oh and Michael Redd went 43rd. Do over please.

2001: Zach Randolph 19th. Unsuccessful because the Blazers didn't win many games when he was starting, he was the classic "I think I'm better than I really am" player that you should only see at the YMCA, he isn't on the team anymore, and the fact that they chose him over Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas. I feel like that proves the point quite well.

2002: Qyntel "the original dog-fighter" Woods 21st. The Qyntel era never worked out. Passed on Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer, and Luis Scola. In other news, Qyntel was unstoppable in video games and got in trouble for dog fighting.

2004: Sebastian Telfair 13th. Should have gone to college, couldn't make a 15 foot jumper to save his life, and was 6 feet tall on a good day. Passed on Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, and Jameer Nelson.

2004: Viktor Khryapa and Sergei Monia 22nd and 23rd. Both of them are back in Europe after weak NBA careers. Passed on Kevin Martin, Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, and Trevor Ariza, who all have steady paying jobs.

2005: Martell Webster 6th. Sorry Andre Miller. Deron Williams or Chris Paul should be our point guard right now. The Blazers had the 3rd pick but traded it to Utah for the 6th and the 27th pick. Williams and Paul went 3rd and 4th to Utah and New Orleans. To make matters worse, the Blazers passed up on Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, and David Lee ( twice the Blazers could have picked him). Martell could develop into a solid player who can shoot and play defense, but give me Deron Williams or Chris Paul instead.

2007: Greg Oden 1st. You can't call this a bad pick. The Blazers needed a center and Oden was all they ever wanted. His injury woes have truly been devastating for Blazer fans of all ages. Oden hasn't played enough to show the Blazers what he can bring to the table. I would put this pick in the "wait and see" section. But Durant is making this pick look worse and worse every game. Durant is two years older than me and would be a senior in college right now, yet he is currently in a dead heat with Lebron in the scoring race. How many points would he be averaging in college right now? 45? For the health of my dad and other Blazer fans, I hope Oden gets healthy and plays to his potential. If Durant continues on this pace and Oden can't stay on the court, this pick could very well rival Bowie over Jordan and Webster over Williams and Paul.

So what direction should the Blazers go on draft night? Knowing Kevin Prichard and the front office, we should expect the unexpected. They look set at point guard for the next few years with Andre, Bayless, and Roy bringing it up the court in crunch time. Shooting guard is interesting. Roy is the franchise player and will hopefully be in Portland for a long time. The rumor of Rudy going back to Spain gives us a scenario of the Blazers taking a shooting guard in the draft to back up Roy and relieve him of some minutes. Martell is also a solid backup to Roy if he is playing smart and making shots. Batum is the small forward of the future and Rudy and Martell are also solid backups to Batum. Either one of these players could start or finish a game depending on how well they are playing and the team matchup. LaMarcus is the power forward of the future for now. Even though most people think the Blazers heavily overpaid him and numerous fans have been yelling at the TV instructing him to take it to the basket like a man, he should be here for a while. LaMarcus is better when the Blazers have a legit center like Marcus, Joel, or Greg. He has been forced to play long minutes and crash the boards more this year with all the injuries the team has dealt with. I would love to see Jawan Howard come back next year and share bench minutes with Dante (Jawan is on pace to play until he is 85 and has no feeling in any body part). The center position is the most interesting of the bunch. It doesn't look like Marcus Camby is going to be back next year. Both of our centers are coming off severe knee injuries. Oden should be ready sooner than later (there have even been rumors of him coming back for the playoffs. Stay tuned). But nobody really knows when Joel will be back and he might miss a little bit of next season (who knew showers were so dangerous?).

I know it sounds corny and simple, but the Blazers should take the best player available with whatever pick they have. John Wall and Evan Turner are the only true blue chip players that are going to be in the draft. Unless KP somehow swings a trade to get the first or second pick, I expect the front office to select a player with upside who could spend some time on the bench, or an international player to stash overseas and mature. The depth chart is looking good and if the team can stay healthy next season we are looking at a high playoff seed. I'm very excited for the postseason and the offseason. Let's hope for the best.

Owen Reutlinger

My Favorite Blazer

Column originally posted on March 10, 2012

November 29, 2007. That was the date I first heard of my favorite current blazer. I was discussing the upcoming draft with a friend of mine. These were his exact words: "Right now I'm hoping that the Blazers draft Nicolas Batum from France." I was shocked. I had never heard of this french kid. I wanted the Blazers to take a college player ready to play in the league, not another overseas prospect who might not come over to play for years. One of the greatest Blazer what ifs is, of course, the Sabonis question. What if Sabonis had come over when he was still in his prime when he was drafted by the Blazers in 1986? Instead he stayed in the Soviet Union until finally coming to the NBA in 1995. Would the Blazers have won those championships with Sabonis starting or backing up Duckworth? Imagine Sabas throwing lobs to Clyde and Jerome. This question has made longtime Blazer fans like me spend way to much time thinking about what could have been.

In the 2008 draft the Blazers ended up getting Jerryd "hard off the back rim" Bayless after a trade with the Pacers. Like most fans, I overlooked the deal they made with Houston to get Batum, who was taken 25th. We now know that the Blazer front office loved Batum and would have basically done anything to get him in the draft. The fans assumed that he would lounge on the bench and take notes on a clipboard during his first season. This couldn't have been less true. He turned into a starter and could have been the MVP of the team. We saw how the season started this year with Batum hurt. Mike Rice kept saying that the most significant injury this season was Batum not starting the year. And you know what, he might actually be right.

The thing I love most about Batum is that he understands how to play. That sounds simple doesn't it? These guys play basketball for a living, shouldn't they know how to play? We have all played a pickup game where there are always different types of players in the game. To name a few: the guy who doesn't pass, the guy who thinks he is way better than he actually is, the guy who complains about fouls every play, the sweaty guy, and the guy that "gets it". The guy who "gets it" is usually the best player on the floor. He knows all the fundamentals and totally understands how to play. Even though he could score whenever he wants, he understands that he should set up his teammates and play a team game. These players will do whatever it takes to win. They will guard the other team's best player because they love the challenge of shutting him down, they will crash the boards with force every miss, they will continue to run the pick and roll even though the roller has bricks for hands. This player reminds me of Batum. He might be the best all-around player on the team. He is shooting a ridiculous percentage this year from the field. He is the one guarding Kobe and Lebron all game. He understands when the team needs him to expend most of his energy on defense and sacrifice his offense for a game. And the best part about all of this? Batum is only 21. Think about how much better he is going to get. This is something positive to think about Blazer fans. Block out the injury woes and think about the future of Batum.

When talking about the Blazers with other serious fans, Batum always comes up. Casual fans love Roy and nobody else. To them, Roy could play an entire team by himself and still dominate. But the real Blazer fans understand the mystique and potential of Batum. They wonder why Martell is getting some of Batum's minutes. They admire how well he plays the game. These fans understand the game of basketball and they understand what Batum brings to the table. Batum is my favorite Blazer and he is slowly becoming as popular in Portland as Brandon Roy. Lets all hope that he is here for the long run.

Owen Reutlinger