Legendary Ticket

Catch Up 2/7/8

2008-02-07T20:52:00.001-08:00

It has been awhile since my last post, I went to a lot of games but have only a few pictures. Starting with the most recent below; On 1/14/8 Kobe 'Black Mamba(?)' Bryant hit this shot with just a few seconds left to beat the Supes in a 123-121 shootout. Notice Kwame Brown under the basket, have you noticed Kwame is no longer wearing the Laker's purp? I feel bad for the guy, not only was he drafted #1 MJ pulled the trigger on the deal, I'm just glad it wasn't my job to meet those expectations. Brown was dealt to the Grizz for former All Star Pau Gasol, now the Lakers are back on the championship prowl after the Spansih addition and will be playing at the Key on more time 2/24/8.

12/21/7, I remember leaving this game disappointed with Chris Bosh (below, with ball) and the Raptors, the Supes won 115-123. I was very impressed with the turnout of Raptor fans, lots of jerseys and tees, only reason I can think of for that is Seattle's proximity to the Canadian border. In the 2nd half Kevin Durant had the nastiest dunk I've seen in-person since USC/Wiz's Nick Young 2006 at Mac Court in Eugene.

Sadly this is the best pic I have from Boston's 12/27/7 trip to Seattle. Pre-game Ray Allen was recognized for his contributions to the community during his brief Seattle stint. Most memorable moment; in the 2nd half KG was fouled hard and knocked down to the floor but the guy is a warrior on the court and led his team to 104-96 victory. Most forgetful moment; Paul Pierce, a career loser scores 37 points.

12/19/7; Chris Paul is better looking then you think, Hornets roll hard in this one, 107-93.

12/7/7 YI!! That's about it, Supes win 98-104 in spite of Redd's 41 pts. on 12-24 shooting.

Bruins VsWinter Hawks 11/24/7

2007-11-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

Oh man, hockey is so terrible on the television; the NHL playoffs coincide with the NBA' post season and since those hockey games are on satellite channels sports bar are the only place to actually see them. This past spring I'm trying to watch a basketball conference semi-final at the bar but a freakin hockey game is on the big-big screen and to make matters worse during the breaks the NHL plays Time Life record commercials, no joke. However, seeing hockey live is cool, the Portland Winter Hawks have been around for over 30 years and I've been going to games for jeez 15 years. Hawkey is great; seats are cheap, food isn't overpriced, the fans are talkative and these kids play their hearts out. Every year there is a night when after the Hawks score their 1st goal fans throw teddy bears onto the ice, which are then donated to charity. This year over 20k teddys got tossed, hmm.

The 1st goal got called back, it took over 20 minutes for the bears to be cleared off the ice. I was in the 3rd row by the Hawk's bench and was getting lit up by stuffed animals, dude behind me had a plate of nachos and he got cheese and chili all over himself, his date and my flippin chair thanks to an evil teddy bear landing in his dish. So I moved to the only real place to watch a Hawkey game, mid way up behind the goalie(pictured below). From there you can see the plays open up and got a quick exit if the fans get a little to rowdy, joking? So the picture below, dude on the left with the puck shot it then the guy in the middle (can you get a rebound in hockey?) scored off the miss.

Hawk goalie Kurtis Mucha (pictured below, sorta) had a club record 65 stops, saves or whatever. Hawks win 4-3.

Bears Vs Hawks 11/18/7

2007-11-18T20:36:00.000-08:00

Come the 4th quarter Chicago Bear QB Rex Grossman must of been thinking about his Thanksgiving plans; dinner with the family, get a buzz, watch TV then get to bed and wake up early Friday for some shopping. With 5 and 1/2 minutes left in the game and his team behind a touchdown Grossman fumbled the ball giving the Hawks a win to stay a game ahead in their division. Matt Hasselbeck (pictured below) passed for 300+ yards for the 3rd time this season.

Fans got a free neon green foam thing that wasn't worth taking home, I spent time all over the stadium and can say with ZERO doubt Autzen Stadium in Eugene is MUCH louder than Qwest field. Seattle has a lot to be proud of; the game day atmosphere is electric, the fans wear goofy crap, people get creative with it which is awesome. You can tell there's am overall high football IQ by the chants and the talk in the stands plus the stadium is gorgeous. But you can be ordering a hotdog on the concourse and not know a football game is happening because you dont hear anything. Qwest has some crazy acoustics going, it's a loud stadium, just don't buy into the hype.

DEE-TROIT V Supes; 11/11/7

2007-11-11T21:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you Detroit; in 2004 you prevented Shaq & Kobe from winning another title, made sure Karl Maone never got a ring and scared Gary Payton into thinking he'd never get his. See the difference maker for that team (pictured below), Rasheed Wallace. Sheed joined the '04 Pistons after an illustrious career with the Atlanta Hawks and a pair of All-Star Games and Conference Finals apperances after 8 seasons with Portland.

Pre-Game, Kevin Durant Meet Roscoe; but no eye contact for you.

1st Quarter, The Battle of the Long Arms; Tayshaun Prince goes for the finger roll against Durant, the shot fell making it 14-2, DEE-TROIT BASKETBALL!

1st Quarter, Delonte West; (pictured below) checked in with 4 and 1/2 mintues left in the 1st quarter, the 3rd year guard from St. Joe had a flat night; 19 mins 4pts 5 rebs 4 ast.

1/2 Time, Trying to Work Those Demons Out; Sheed (picture below) must of been having a flashback to the year 2000 circa WCF. Portland could have used one of these bucket in the 4th quarter. Hey, I got the right, that was the last year Mom and I had our share of season tixs and we were supposed to see Portland beat the Knicks in the Finals.

3rd Quarter, The Supes stand in line to get Dunked on by McDyess.

3rd Quarter, former M's hurler and 1 time All-Star Jeff Nelson (pictured below) hopefully with his daughter. Followed by a picture of the Sonic Boom Squad, a break dance group and a crowd favorite. Even if you're not into it you have to respect by the athleticism and the young man in the Durant jersey doing splits.

The Pistons held off Seattle's 4th quarter run and kept them winless on the season. Rip Hamilton had a serious game, 32 pts on 11-21 fgs while McDyess and Sheed put in 15pts each. Durant scored 19 but shot 7-20, trying to get the 1st win PJ did some tweaking to the lineup; Luke Ridnour got the start and you could see the difference right away. The offense got down the floor a lot quicker minus Robert Swift. Fans got a free tin lunch box at the door feauturing Watson (a fat DNP CD), Wilcox (15pts 9 reb), Ridnour (4 pts 7 ast) and Jeff Green (17 pts 8 reb). Random chants of, 'DEE-TROIT BASKETBALL' were heard throughout the game emphasizing the random part like after a missed free throw or a couple Seattle buckets. I did see a dude wearing an Isiah Thomas jersey, which is funny. Zeke was a clown before he screwed the Knicks because MJ hated the dude in the 80s, what more can I say? I saw Minus the Bear at Showbox Saturday, they opened the doors 1 hr. late, not worth the $ but good venue!

Jazz V Supes; 11/9/7

2007-11-10T14:56:00.000-08:00

I went to Sport before Friday's game, the place was packed so I had to hover around the bar for a few minutes before I could get a seat. I recommend this place; good service, jambalaya was hearty and Widmer's Hef is on tap. The 4 hi-def TVs overhead weren't managed very well (a game would end and the station wouldn't change) but I was having to good of a time to care or ask to have it changed. In contrast Fox Sports downtown does a really good job of keeping tabs of what's going on their TVs. I left a few minutes before tipoff, realized beer is $7 a cup at Key so my buddy and I stepped into a decent place (for it's location) called Michelangelo's Bistro & Bar, we told the bartender to serve up his favorite shot so he started pouring Kahlua. Me and my friend instantly jump all over the guy but shut up when we figured out he was making us Duck Farts. After we caught ourselves watching the game on TV, we went into Key and I stole a seat down low. During halftime I ordered from the kiddo cart where everything is a buck (hot dog, diet Pepsi and popcorn), tried to take pics all hammered and then watched Carlos Boozer beat the Supes with the lay in pictured below. #2 Delonte West looked real good in the 4th on the defensive end, between him and Jeff Green I like what the Supes got for Ray Allen.

Grizz V Supes; 11/7/7

2007-11-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

This was the type of game (see empty seats above) NBA commissioner David Stern hates; a midweek match up in a city where the home team's fans don't give a shit and the visitor's are an irrelevant franchise. The game did have a slight touch of intrigue due to a story I had read earlier in the week quoting Spur's Coach Greg Pop calling the Grizz a playoff team. Then I remembered Damon (Pictured below) still plays for Memphis which led me to think of the last game I saw at the Rose Garden; 2 years ago against Memphis where Damon blew out his knee finishing his season. While I was walking up 3rd Ave to the Seattle Center I hoped I wouldn't be some type of curse on the Wilson High alum, gotta respect Damon in spite of his inability to play D and to light up without getting busted.

Add the free schedule magnet handed out at the door and I felt ok about the cost of my ticket but the snacks in my bag (seeds, Odwalla bar and Gatorade) got me through this dismal game. Turns out the Grizz roll white guys like they play in Utah; Gasol, Miller(20 pts. and 8 reb.), Brian 'The Janitor' Cardinal, Casey Jacobsen and Darko (15 and 10). When I got home I did have to read up on their coach, Marc Iavaroni, I was impressed with his bio and what he did with this team's funky set of talent. The Grizzlies moved the ball well, at times making the extra pass and also had exciting glimpses from stud Rudy Gay (25 and 10).

I did miss the start of the game, saw Rid actually get off the pine and during halftime paid $75 for an 18 year olds autograph (At the team store I bought a Durant mini ball, it's going to go nicely with my Slick Watts mini ball). Walking back to my seat I heard a kid saying Jeff Green gave him an autograph at halftime, now I'm lazy/old and just pay for mine, besides I have no right to get in the way of some kid trying to get an autograph. Speaking of kids one sitting behind me would not shut up, 'Give the ball to KEVIN DURANT!!' (pictured above 3 -17 fgs but 10-10 fts) before I got annoyed I realized that was me how ever many years ago. Old ladies also behind me call Chris Wilcox (21 and 8) weezy, which is not funny and uhh before the game started in the bathroom while trying to wash my hands and finding for the 2nd straight game no soap the dude at the sink next to me realized not only was the soap dispenser empty but it didn't even have a bag of soap in it. I turned to him and said, 'Shit, at least they're leaving' then after he left I took a picture to prove the Sonics have given up and are indeed leaving Seattle;

Suns V Supes; 11/1/7

2007-11-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

Kevin Durant; I think he's going to be pretty good and Steve Nash is already good. In his city of Seattle debut Durant, the NBA's youngest player, scored 27 points taking 23 shots and Nash true to form took a couple charges and posted 18 pts 7 rebs and 12 ast. Durant's rookie counterpart Jeff Green (pictured above) scored only 8 points despite hustling on both ends of the floors. The first 10k fans got a free yellow t-shirt that said, 'The Supes are Back' available in 1 size, XL. Everyone else had to wrap the Supe's kitchen ware in newspaper and carefully put the plates and glasses in the free cardboard boxes found behind area liquor stores.

Kid Rock (pictured below) was courtside, for some reason he got a free jersey, I mean come on he's a Pistons fan.

Going into the 4th quarter the Supes led 79-82, the last 2 minutes of the game, Nash (pictured below) scored 6 points and from my cheap seat I could hear the 2 time MVP sing, 'Oh Canada'.

Indians Vs M's: 9/27 and UCLA Vs OSU 9/29/7

2007-10-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

As I watched the end of Cleveland's game 3 win in the ALCS last night I remembered I never wrote this post.. For some reason the Mariners decided to finish the season on a 5 game win streak including, 2 wins against the Indians. I went to the 4-2 victory on Thursday the 27th and since I entered the stadium with no hope of October baseball an usher gave me and everyone else a Raul Ibanez magnet. A good friend went to the game with me, actually took me to the game. My buddy had a couple thoughts on the M's; 1) They need more pitching 2) They have no confidence in themselves therefore don't win and 3) Shit, what else did he say? That game happened a while ago..

My first football game at Oregon State was seen from the comfort of a suite which had nice seats, free food, useless promo gadgets and TVs. One of the two TVs was placed at the head of the suite so I could look out the glass window to the field and watch the Ducks lose to Cal. Oregon State's new 1/2 of Reser looks alright but mostly reminded me OSU is the definition of a tweener program. The Beavs aren't relevant on the national scene yet they still aren't nameless, see Chad Johnson. See Chad Johnson run and catch. See Chad score 6 then waltz with a cheerleader. Wait, that's not waltzing.. The Beavers gave up some silly amount of points in the 4th quarter and the Bruins won, who then lost to Notre Dame, in LA. Like I said OSU Football=tweener program.It took 3 hours to get back to Portland, I should have stayed in town.

Angels Vs M's: 8/27/7

2007-08-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

My Hef at Sluggers was served warm so it went down a little slow causing me to miss the 1st inning and the game's high point: Lopez/Betancourt double play and the crucial moment: Ichiro's bum strikeout. Don't ask me about the 9th, I left early and got a cab, so from what I did see between the 2nd and 8th Batista and the Mariners didn't make a case for 1st place. Safeco Field felt cautiously optimistic throughout the game, rallying behind the team at key moments but not very rowdy. I didn't leave without having some fun: 1)The guy in front of me who wore a cheap braided gold chain, a Boeing 787 cap and a black Ted Nugent shirt provided PLENTY of entertainment trying to score the bar fly a seat away. 2)Garret Anderson's (Pictured above, near side) 2nd inning HR was tossed back onto the field. 3) Hat trick on the jumbotron was a special Xtreme edition, I got smoked bad. People need to observe Hat Trick time and not walk in the damn aisle, pretending it's not happening and making it even harder for me to guess the right hat.

Pacific Island Band: 8/17/7

2007-08-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Their was something more then the Pacific Island band's lazy vocals and cords that reminded me I was on the Mainland in downtown Seattle and very far from the Waikiki. Island music is a lot like it's poi, I have to be in the right mood to enjoy it. Maybe it was the Pidgin or the hula but by the time I left downtownsummer.com's Union Station concert I had daydreams of cheap airfare, a cheaper hostel and a few days on the beach.

LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends: 8/14/7

2007-08-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

DowntownSummer.com is a an easy way for any Seattle urbanite to click their way to a summer of sun (maybe) and culture (music and art). I went to the site in an attempt to avoid my office's break room and the local restaurant's counters during the noon hour. I found the Out to Lunch Summer Concert Series, clocked out, left my Ipod in my desk then dodged and weaved between the city's slow moving wide eyed tourist to Pike Place Market. The stage was set at 1st and Pike, the entrance to the Market and its 100 years of unique sights, sounds and smells, lots of smells. Amongst the hustle and bustle LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends held an audience of a couple hundred, many were seated in black folding chairs and others were stacked on the sidewalks.

By the 3rd song I heard LeRoy picked up the tempo and started to make me forget about the hot sun and the office all together. I would pay up to $15 to see LeRoy which was the price I paid for his latest album, 'LeRoy Bell Live in 3D' recorded at The Triple Door. I haven't gotten the chance to listen but it'll probably be good, LeRoy has been making quality music for years; In 1979 LeRoy co-authored Elton John's Grammy nominated Top 10 hit, 'Mamma Can't Buy You Love'.

Seahawks Scrimmage: 8/4/7

2007-08-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

The beloved Seachickens ran some drills and scrimmaged at the Seattle Center last weekend in front of thousands of fans; the price to get in was $12 and the profit went to charity. Finding parking was hard, my car wound up perched on Queen Anne's ridiculous incline. The post-game 30 minute autograph session lasted 45 minutes leaving many disappointed but Coach Holmgren had to go call Brett Favre to reminisce about their glory of yesteryear. The Hawks play at the Tomlinsons Sunday.

Boston's 5 Partisans

2007-07-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

This very moment in a large sunlit room Bill Walton is sitting cross legged on a pillow with a pen in his hand and a pad in his lap. The ex-Celtic and current ESPN broadcaster is feverishly writing rants for this season's nationally televised Celtic games. Televised and Celtics you say? Queue Walton, 'After the deal for the Warrior named Kevin Garnett Boston hasn't been this excited about basketball since the days of Larry Bird whose talent was much like that of Barbad the Great the famous court musician of the Sassanid Empire of Persia! The Sassanid empire was the fourth imperial dynasty of Iran..' It goes on from there and it only gets better, thanks Bill. On Tuesday July the 31st Timberwolve fans everywhere had to part with the only significant thing to ever happen in 'Sota. GM Kevin Mchale hooked up his old team by giving away KG for a fistful of draft picks and Sebastian Telfair? Well, maybe other players were involved but whatever. This trade is great for the game of basketball because we will know if (Below, middle 3 from left) Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are for real or just dudes that put up fat regular season numbers.

The picture above is a sculpture in Boston called 'The Partisans' which honors WW2 era Polish guerrilla soldiers. Formerly in the Boston Commons the statue has been given a new home, while on a tour in Boston years ago a native told me it was the Celtic's starting five, hanging their heads low because they didn't make the playoffs. Danny Ainge (Above, far left) has given a whole city hope with 2 blockbuster trades, Coach Doc Rivers (Above, far right) is already feeling the pressure.

Capitol Hill Block Party 7/27/7

2007-07-28T00:24:00.000-07:00

Picture above, Blue Scholars Block Party 07

Thursday I bought a beer (Miller Low Life) and a ticket (Capitol Hill's 10th annual Block Party) at Neumos. It was about time I supported the local music scene, KEXP I gotta stop dodging the pledge drives because you are the only reason I love my Ipod and knew about the 2 bands that I wanted to see on Friday's Main Stage; Blue Scholars and Silversun Pickups. The NW's Blue Scholars are made up of singer Geologic and Deejay Sabzi who delivered a sharp and socially conscious set that rocked the thousands of spectators under Seattle's setting sun. While watching the audience during the duo's show I saw many people singing along to lyrics that were about politics and social justice. This was an encouraging site considering the politically apathetic young people and the fluff music industry in our society today. Before I got to righteous or whatever I opened a new tab and bought their latest album, Bayani, for $15.16 with shipping. Now I just need to register to vote in King County.. Blue Scholars; fat beats and tight rhymes that earned my support.

SSPU Block Party 07

Silversun Pickups played a great show with an electrifying presence on stage, to be honest I missed their first 2 songs because I was in KFC. From what I did see singer Brian Aubert was cool to watch, he understands that 'showmanship' isn't a bad thing and lead the band in a long encore session. Bassist Nikki Monninger was, for lack of a better term, 'cute as hell' passing out picks after songs and flashing all types of smiles. This band is touring all over the world and it was a pleasure to get to see them, thanks for coming to Seattle!!

Pictured below, Skaters on Broadway during the Block Party

Road Trip! Dodger Stadium 7/20/7

2007-07-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

I came for the infamous Dodger Dog, the opportunity to see a prime National League match up and left Dodger stadium with a rare find; a Californian team you (a Pacific Northwesterner) and I can actually like. I'll be honest, multiple intangibles panned out for this rare positive SoCal experience. 1) I drove to Dodger stadium all the way from San Bernardino county without seeing any congestion or getting lost 2) Thanks to a friendly tailgater bought 2 box seats for under face value. After those 2 miracles the LA Dodgers took care of the rest..

Pre Game:

I payed a slim $15 to park right next to the park, I saw flashes of tailgater's open beers and wide smiles. Then came the trip's second amazing stroke of luck , buying box seats for under face value (the 1st being traffic). From there I went to the pro shop and bought the Dodger's on field proback. I don't want to complain that official hats now cost $30+ because I get a lot of use out of hats, I'm just hoping they stay at this price point for a few years.

I poked around the ballpark, went all the way up to the upper deck after waiting in a cue for the elevator and was surprised by 2 things. 1) The sheer incline of the top level, reminded me of the Staples Center. The LA franchises have a flair for the steep angles 2) The parking lot outside of the stadium was hazy due to smog! This wasn't even a half mile away! (See below)

Game Recap, Sorta:

The season ticket holder next to me groaned at the introduction of the Dodger's starter, Brett Tomko. The righty from Placentia's El Dorado High managed a no decision and no boos from the Dodger faithful. Tomko is alright, he went to the same HS as Green Day's Jason Freese and married a playmate. Nomar Garciaparra hit a jack in the 2nd inning for his club's only score. Luis Gonzalez struggled on offense going 0-4 and on defense and was responsible for Tomko's only run after colliding with Juan Pierre going after a pop fly. After hitting a single in the 1st inning Pierre stole 2nd and 3rd and proceeded to look lame in Center Field. The Mets won.

Wrap Up:

This park has charectar, not like Fenway but isn't sterile like say the Kingdome was or like, what's the A's park called? The organ player, a cute little old lady named Nancy Bea plays tunes which contributes to Dodger stadium's old school, 'good time at the ballpark' feel and the chant's from the center field bleachers should make any baseball fan feel good. The food selection sucks but also adding to the old school feel which is cool. The Dodger dog does come boiled or grilled and shouldn't be passed upon. The teamshops are tiny, bathrooms clean and the ushers were friendly enough. People were allowed to hang out by the Dodger's dugout in the frontrow to ooh and ahh at Nomar's windsprints before the game. A number of players signed autographs right up until the National Anthem, which was sung by a soldier with an amazing voice. If the Dodgers are playing the next time you're in the HelLa area check 'em out.

Blazers Vs Durants: 7/15/7

2007-07-15T19:52:00.001-07:00

1st Quarter:

No LMA or Oden for Pdx tonight?! Here is what the Blazers are missing: Aldridge averaged 21 pts 11 rebs and 3 blks in 2 games. Oden shot .600 for 9 pts and swatted away 3 per also in 2 games. Those 2 guys already have food money, Zendon Hamilton got bills to pay so here's to his final shot in Vegas.

Zendon Hamilton (below) looks hungry, no I mean really hungry. After drawing his first 2 shooting fouls he was robbing front row folks of their nachos between free throws. Dude has played for 7 NBA teams, this guy wants to be in the NBA.

Jeff Green (below) misses 3 straight FTs, I guess Georgetown's famed Princeton offense doesn't bother with the charity stripe.

Frenchy Johan Petro (below) looks real active for Seattle. Good thing, he was a first round draft choice 2 years ago.

Some guy named Kevin Durant (below) is playing too. He misses his first 2 shots. Then hits a 3, draws a shooting foul and then hits a jumper. Hmmm, maybe this guy CAN score the ball.

Sergio Rodriguez (below) has good court vision and knows how to keep the dribble alive, just like Steve N__ whoa, never mind. He awards teammates hustle plays by passing them the ball and last year ranked #3 in the NBA in assists per 48 mins.

Man these fouls are ticky tacky. Are the refs trying to get the players to adapt to NBA calls?

2nd Quarter:

Blazer GM Kevin Pritchard does an interview from his seat and sounds very sharp. Do you remember the, 'Trade Whitsitt' sign in the Rose Garden a few years ago? Everyone remember to appreciate the new 'old Blazers'.

Dale Ellis's son Chris Ellis gets a silly and 1 dunk. Makes many babies cry in the greater Vegas area.

Not to be topped: 2006 Blazer draft pick, Brit Joel Freeland (right) throws down a sick 2 handed alley-oop from a baseline inbounds pass with 2:24 left in the 2nd quarter. Every child 10 and under in England cries.

3rd Quarter:

Sergio Rodriguez draws an illegal defense T all on his own by keeping his dribble. Not a single young American basketball players notice because they're all too busy watching And 1 mixtapes, the US is doomed to lose the next 45 Olympic games.

Gary Payton's turn to be interviewed. Says Durant shoots well and should be on the post more so he can pass out of the double teams. Lost count on how many times GP said Durant needs to get stronger. GP says JeffGreen needs to improve his shot. Payton closes the interview by saying he wants to work in the Sonics front office.

So how many mismatches will Durant 6-9 and Green 6-9 create this year because of their ballhandling? Jeff Green is sporting the new white and blue Lebrons.

Joel Freeland looks tired but he hasn't quit.

One of the announcers says Pdx needs to combine Rodriguez's penetration, Steve Blake's ability to run a team and hit the 3 and Jarret Jack's physicality to form Jason Kidd. Paul Allen picks up his phone to call to a Cuban doctor that specializes in such procedures.

4th Quarter:

The Sonics new GM Sam Presti (below) flashes on the screen. That guy is going to be carded at bars for the next 10 years. I guess he looked younger on TV, must have been the polo.

I write down Mouhamed Sene (below) is a non-factor, announcers then rant on this.

Durant already is getting superstar calls?? Petteri Koponen called for blocking on a Durant charge. Announcers express similar feelings yet again taking away the originality of my observation.

So the Sonics are playing in the Salt Lake, Rocky Mountain Revue summer league too. Wonder how often teams play in both?

Sergio Rodriguez gets his own superstar call. Maybeline!! (makeup, mofo)

How unfair is Steve Francis's buyout when guys like Zendon Hamilton don't have pro contracts?

Someone missed their tea time: I caught a glimpse of Joel Freeland pouting on the bench, at least he wants to play, I guess.

LMA's antifreeze green shirt is disgusting. Why not wear a Blazer throwback?

Oh yeah, Blazers win.

Darius Miles*Pdx Preview

2007-07-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

NEWS FLASH!! Darius Miles has officially been named a consumer and is no longer considered a basketball player per the blog, Legendary Ticket. The ex-athlete's career was cut short buy his lack of competitive fire and desire to, 'chill out, watch Scarface and buy sh*tt.' Darius has been excelling at his new career; the future shopping HOFer can be seen below buying an Iphone. Shopper #23 may have said, 'Shopping is my J-O-B and that's tight, you know? But it's like I do want to be remembered for more then just my skillz in busting out the American Express card! So here's a look at my summer.'

What else has Darius Miles been up to this Summer???

Here it looks like Darius has been skiing and doing Karaoke. Not seeing any basketball yet..
At least Darius's god given athletic ability isn't going to waste, looks like he's into a ballet! There he is playing the guitar, sticking to his strict hot dog diet and riding a carousel. Man, I hope he finds some time to get lost this summer.

Martell and Travis*Pdx Preview

2007-07-12T23:15:00.000-07:00

Martell Webster: Martell appeared in all 82 games in '07 averaging 7pts on a .398 shooting percentage in 21 minutes of action. He's a local boy, a Seattle Prep pro and you gotta love it. He has shown flashes of an outside stroke you cannot deny. Even so, Officer Beer Goggles pictured below tells Martell he needs to improve his ball-handling, defense and court awareness to prove he deserved to be a #6 draft pick. If Martell's game time mug is as half as mean as in the pic he'll be alright. God I hope that was Halloween party, for Martell's sake.

Travis Outlaw: Travis posted a career-high 36 points (16-16 FT) in the '07 season ending loss to the Playoff hungry Warriors, could it be a preview for '08? This past season he scored 9 pts a night and got 1 block a game, good for 36th in the NBA. Whenever Coach McMillan is seen staring off into the distance he's actually dreaming of this kid's potential. How many points do you think Outlaw would have averaged on Nashs or 'Bron's squads? Luckily enough for Pdx, Outlaw coming into his 4th season has always shown steady improvement from the year prior. Now, if only Portland had a big man that stretched out the floor and played D, oh wait, god bless that pin pong ball! Be prepared to see a slashing Travis make even more SportCenters this year and provide stellar weak side help on the defensive end instead of having to help Z Ho and his non-exsitent defense. Don't you wish Darius Miles and Travis Outlaw could swap contracts? Hey, I wonder what Darius has been up to this summer?? Come back Sunday to find out.

If you haven't heard yet.. Obama Girl

Brian Roberts Robs Seattle

2007-07-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Marienr's JJ Putz looked unhitable going into the All Star game sporting a silly stat line reserved for Xbox; .88 ERA for 24 saves, 44 Ks and a mere 7 walks. Putz was pitching with 2 down in the bottom of 9th last night in the '07 All Star game when a ground ball squirts to Oriole second baseman Brian Roberts. Mariner fans began to celebrate their lone pitching All Star Putz, he had secured home field advantage for the AL, what an amazing save the Mariner's stole the show! Roberts then ponders his piss poor nickname: B-Rob and fails to make the routine play. JJ Putz, MVP Ichiro, Mariner fans, Cal Ripken Jr every self respecting Oriole fan hangs their head in shame. So I ask, When else has Roberts failed America?

When not practicing poor defense on the baseball field Brian Roberts practices poor national defense. Pictured here in 2001, Roberts was a key military advisor to the Bush White House during the decision to go to war against Iraq.

Brian Roberts effects the city of Seattle everyday. Robert's convinced Mayor Greg Nickels to make each and every decision you DO NOT like. Hate the Mayor's Alaskan way viaduct debate? Blame Roberts. The Mayor's stance on Belltown's nightlife? Yep, Roberts too. Brian Roberts taught Nickel's son how to cheat at cards. If you ever see Brian Roberts, don't yell or curse just give him 5 bucks and tell him to go ride our non-existent public transit system.

Greg Oden's Tonsils

2007-07-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

The Portland Trail Blazers have reported #1 draft pick Greg Oden will miss the remainder of the Las Vegas Summer Leauge due to a tonsillectomy. Don't worry, Greg will be fine; Blazer owner and mega billionaire Paul Allen will be flying three of the world's best doctors directly to Portland to perform the procedure. Doctors Doug Ross, Doogie Houser and Captain Hawkeye Pierce will be landing at Portland International Airport any day now to remove Oden's enflamed tonsils.

Much has been said about Oden's Vegas performance, worrying some that he is been over-hyped coming out of Ohio State. Oden is a stude, he was quoted, 'There's no excuses, because I was out there playing. And if I'm playing, I'm playing, so if I have a bad game, it's not on my tonsils, it's on me.' Although still bitter about not picking #1 The Logo, Memphis GM Jerry West is rumored to be interested in signing Oden's tonsils to a 1 year mid-level exception for the upcoming season. An unidentifed NBA GM said, 'Oden's tonsils will be good, damn good. 10 and 7 plus quality D every night this year. From then on they will only improve. Were talking All Star games within 2-3 years. West is making a good move.' Here is the scouting report on Greg Oden's tonsils;

Here is another famous tonsil shot:

The Seattle Kevin Durants

2007-07-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a great summer for Pacific NW Pro Basketball. Pdx beat astronomical odds on draft day and made a move that altered the direction of the entire franchise for years to come.. The New York Knicks AKA a team that HATES the playoffs accepted a trade for Z Ho. Moving on, as a Blazer fan living in Seattle I am happy to see that the Sonics won super stud Texas-Ex Kevin Durant and made the right move for everyone by trading for Hoya Jeff Green. I'm still amazed the Sonics found the time to ship Ray Allen out of town. I heard they are on Craigslist like all the time looking for a new, 'place to crash' . Nevertheless it's going to be one hell of a show(season) watching this sinking(leaving) ship(franchise) this year.

So, What does the 2007 season hold for the Seattle Super Durants besides house hunting, then packing and watching the playoffs on television? Who cares? Here is my view on their season. I hope Kobe lights up for 80 plus 'cause who the hell is going to guard him on the Durants roster? Uggghh, strong language there but I mean it. Watch B Roy have a career night against the home town team, I'm thinking a quadruple double. See Rid light it up and play some D. Of course watch the Lotto players do the damn thing.

I went to the Sonics urr I mean the Durants last 4 games of the 2006 season to see AI, Kobe, Yao and Dirk. Feeling good about myself I bought season tickets , the salesman actually brought up priority playoff seating but anyways.. I'd like this franchise to win 78 games this year and lose the 4 games to the Blazers by 100 points. Come October when the Season tips-off I will be delivering at game reports and media to Legendary Ticket. I'm gonna to try to recruit Shane aka Jeff Gor Don to blog about the Sonics, tempt him with some tickets(I get Lebron Mother F#^@er). He loves the Sonics/Durants like I love the Blazers, therefore he has more to offer you, the readers. I want this site to be about the *corny* passion of being a hometown fan and Shane I hope you'll become a part of this.

Thank you Arranging Matches

GREG ODEN TV

2007-07-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

Below watch the 4 most interesting Oden clips I was able to find. If you only have time to watch one check out #3 Oden's car ride with the Bills, Russel and Walton. I'm really enjoying Oden's personality; he was truly fun at the rally and always seems to be genuine in what he is saying, especially in this interview. Now I'm waiting on word from Nike so I can go buy Oden's first shoe. FYI: here is an Article on Channing Frye, he's already putting in the extra effort for the Rose City.

#1 Oden's Summer League Debut

http://blazerclips.blogspot.com

#2 Oden on Blazer History:

#3 Oden With Russel and Walton:

#4 ?????

PETTERI KOPONEN'S PAST

2007-07-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

Blazer draft pick Petteri Koponen is the love child of Finland's President Tarja Halonen and a rt icon Albert Edelfelt. The relationship and subsequent child between the two famous Finns set off a firestorm of controversy in the tabloids and television talk shows. At the heart of the contoversy was the betrayed love of Edelfelt's wife the renowned model and violinist Linda Brava. While Brava was away from Finland touring in the United States Edelfelt attended a State dinner hosted by President Halonen. It is rumored Halonen seduced the artist Edelfelt with promises of an opportunity to paint her official Presidential portrait. It turns out they never got around to the painting and instead had Petteri Koponen.

Hounded by his questionable familial circumstances in his younger years Petteri turned to the basketball court for solitude. At first everyone still made fun of the 'President's son' but then Petteri started dropping dimes everyone had to respect. This is why he is known as a pass first, pass second and shoot third point guard. He had a very strong showing in the international U20 tournament. He has not signed a contract with the Trail Blazers but is playing on the team's Las Vegas Summer League roster.

2007 Blazer Rookies

2007-07-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

Josh McRoberts: You either love it or hate it, McRoberts is a Dukie. If you hate Coach K and Duke as much as my friend Joy or the rest of the ACC don't worry, all you have to do is love the Blazers and you'll have plenty of reasons to root for this versatile 6' 11'' and 230 pound post. Versatile you say? On December 19, 2006 McRoberts became the only Blue Devil EVER to have at least 4 of the following in a single game; 19 pts, 6 blks, 6 rebs, 4 asts and 4 stls. This year McRoberts was the ONLY player in the country to average at least 1o pts, 7 rebs, 3 blks and 3 asts per game. Josh didn't do that bad during HS in Carmel, Indiana winning the '05 McDonald's All-American player of the year and the McDonald's All-Star game MVP. Many good sites compare him to a less athletic C-Webb. Less Athletic?! Go watch Josh at 35 secs, 1 min 39 secs and 2 min 10 secs then try saying, 'less athletic then C-Webb.'

2nd Round??

Taurean Green: This kid has basketball is his blood, father Sidney Green was an All-American at UNLV and scored 5080 points in the pros. Taurean learned how to win at University of Florida, you may have heard of their back to back titles. That makes him the most experienced guard in the '07 draft class, never a poor 2nd round decision. The outside stroke: at the Orlando draft camp he hit the 2nd most 3s at a clean 57%. Sounds good too because I heard we may have an inside game this year and seeing this Blazer burying teams would feel good.

more to come on Petteri Koponen and The Main Act #52

Our New Blazers

2007-07-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Channing Frye: The 6ft 11in big was born in New Hampshire and attended high school at Phoenix's St. Mary's Prep and played damn well for Lute at UA. His mother, Karen, was an Emmy winning TV reporter. Picked #8 in '05 by the NYK and then made the Rookie 1st team. In 137 NBA games Channing has averaged 10 and 5, this kid could be good. I saw him at a UA practice and play Mac Court a few times, he can get off the ground and finish. Breaking News! UA has 80s parties too!

James Jones: Character wise it's amazing this guy was involved in the Z Bo trade.. Nephew of a former Major Leaguer Jones grew up and attended college in Florida winning accolades on and off the court on his way to the NBA. At American Senior High School in Miami Jones was a member of the National Honor Society and in college was the first Miami Hurricane named to an national All Academic team, he majored in finance. Drafted 49th by the Pacers in '03 Jones was traded to the Suns for a second round draft pick in '05. Coming from the Suns to the Blazers as a $3 million trade exception I think this guy is way under rated for two reasons. 1) Having spent the last 2 years with a Suns team that plays an amazing brand of team basketball he could have intangibles that will show up in the locker room and during practices (Jones also started the first 6 games of the '07 playoffs, most notably for his defense). 2) The good grades he earned in HS and college can be a positive indicator of his personality, not saying GPA correlates with one's moral fiber but hey this guy has never been arrested.

(Thanks for the video, Blazer Forum)

ODEN'S RAINY RALLY

2007-07-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Off season rally leaves much to be desired; Mr. Rip City introduces the Main Act, Greg Oden, to drenched fans at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Oden and his family arrived cheaply yet in style on MAX to a drum line and thousands of cheering fans shortly after 12pm on Friday June 29th. Many faces could be seen peering down into Portland's living room from the surrounding buildings as Greg Oden, Coach McMillan and GM Kevin Pritchard each gave short speeches. This was the first Blazer rally I had been to since freshman year of high school; a buddy and I skipped had afternoon classes for the playoff gathering. Fan enthusiasm is the only thing that carried Oden's welcoming party as the Blazer's presentation lacked creativity and energy. Oden seemed sincere and a low key kind if guy if not very tired.

IF ONLY:

1) The Blazers had spent as much effort on the rally as they did on cranking out the merchandise

2) Bust-a-Bucket had been played on the main PA system then Buck goes and gives Oden #52

3) More free stuff was given away but I did get a cool Nike poster!

THE ORIGINAL #52'S SONG

In Other News:
On draft day the Trail Blazers Googled 'NBA + Desperate' pressed the 'I'm feeling Lucky' button, found Isiah Thomas's cell number and moments later traded Randoph to the Leauge's newest social experiment. Paul Allen will most likely buyout trade tool Steve 'Sad Face on Draft Day' Francis's contract. Nicknamed 'The Franchise' the best thing he has done in the NBA is help the Portland Trail Blazers get rid of Z Bo. One thought, think of how often Randolph found trouble in little 'ol Portland, Orygun and then look at this equation; Zach Randolph + NYK( NY Media Scrutiny)(7 Deadly Sins accessibility) / Isiah Thomas's Brain Cells= countless hours of laughing until I cry. Did that even make sense? This is going to be GREAT to watch. With all the contract buy outs the Blazers have gone through over the years considering the millions of dollars, why couldn't everyone at the Greg Oden rally got like a $1000 gift card to Nordstrom?

16 REASONS BLAZER FANS DESERVE #52 GREG ODEN

2007-06-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

REASON #16) Blaze the Mascot: Why try when I-5 rival Sonics have the best mascot in the Association in Bigfoot

REASON #15) Washed Up Ex-Sonics: GM Bob Whitsitt tries to relive Sonic glory days in the Rose City by acquiring Shawn Kemp Ruben Patterson and Detlef Schrempf. Det put in some decent work but Kemp was only a shell of Reign Man; a huge blubbery drug abusing shell.

REASON #14) Darius Miles: Arguable proof that God is indeed cruel. When Miles arrived in Pdx he wowed everyone with his the freakish combo of size and specific skill set earning a 6 year $48 million contract extension. He shows flashes of absolute brillinace (i.e. 47 against Denver in 05) and then becomes a no show for the entire '07 season. Pray, meditate and/or hope that we get rid of this career loser.

REASON #13) NBA Draft Day: The Trail Blazers have a checkered history on Draft Day opting for potential over talent. Using a skewed cost benefit analysis system we've landed some sorry players;

2000 NBA DRAFT) Bob Whitsitt picks Eric Barkley at #28, 'Who?' exactly. This draft just plain sucked; 1st pick) Kenyon Martin, 'nuf said 2nd) Stromile Swift, met him nice guy and that's about it 3rd) Darius Miles, See Day #14. Milwaukee came out looking pretty damn clean, Michael Redd with the 43rd.

2001 NBA DRAFT) Our loss named Zach Randolph at #19. In the picture below who would you rather have on the Blazers right now? Tony Parker goes 23rd and Gilbert Arenas is 31st in the 2nd round.

2002 NBA DRAFT) This is where it gets good, Blazers pick a JUCO player named Qyntel at #23 over a Kentucky Wildcat and a national champion from Duke, hmmm..

REASON #12) Losing Danny Ainge: According to my grandfather this is when the club started going down hill, good call gramps.

REASON #11) Paul Allen's Cheap Side; The worlds 19th richest man likes people to think he's struggling to get by. The WAZU dropout bankrupted the Oregon Arena Corporation in hopes of eluding creditors, then asked the broke city of PDX for $ and years ago (Blazer Vision) sued a nursing home that was showing Blazer games to old people and their families. In fact the Blazers were one of the last franchises to get rid of pay-per view broadcasts. Allen is the best owner in all of sports, the EMP is amazing and how cool does the team plane Blazer-One sound? But come on, pay your bills like the rest of us.

REASON #10) Portland plays Vancouver; The Blazers choked big time in 1995 when they lost to the Grizzlies in the franchise's inagural game. That's not why they make the list; the night Clyde's jersey got retired the Blazers dropped to the Canadian franchise. A loss to any team on Glyde's night is unacceptable, but the Grizzlies? You know the front office was like, 'Let's retire Clyde when we play a crappy team, how about Vancouver?'. That must of fired up the Grizz and they smoked us and then moved to Memphis. Anyone else remember when Duckworth was there that night? He was so huge he got a stool instead of a chair at center court for the ceremony. My Dad used to work in a shop and Duckworth would stop by and take home these huge wooden spools for his pet panther or something. Anyways, thanks Clyde.

CHEER UP: CLYDE'S TOP 10 THROWDOWNS

REASON 9) 6/7/93; Blazer draft pick Drazen Petrovic dies in a car accident in Germany. Petrovic's 18 months in Portland were difficult on a personal level for the Croatian baller, Coach Adelman had him riding pine for the first time in his life. Petrovic was eventually sent to the Nets where he made 3rd team All NBA the spring before he died and was eventuallly inducted into the HOF in 2002. This guy was for real; in his 2 full seasons with the Nets he averaged 20+ a night and shot over .5oo, crazy for a guard. Petrovic gets props because he opened the NBA 'door' to international players and was a Blazer from back in the day when once you suited up for Portland you were always a part of Rip City.

REASON 8) First Round Mediocrity 1992-Current; Since Mike torched Clyde in '92 the Blazers have a first round record of 15 and 26 (.576). Since 1992 in the first round the Blazers have been swept 3 times, won only a single game 3 times and have ZERO! wins in elimination games with two tries. Portland first round futility was at an all time high after being swept by Shaq and Kobe in consecutive years, '01 and '02.

REASON 7) Memorial Day Miracle 1999; Sean Elliot and his bum internal organ hit a game winning trey over every last inch of Sheed in Game 2 of the 1999 WCF. That basket gave the Spurs their FIRST lead of the game after they had been down by as many as 18 points as late as the 3rd quarter. After 2 narrow road losses the Blazers were swept at home and San Antonio went on to easily beat the Knicks for their first title. I watched Game 2 in Seaside at that old pizza place in the alley on the south side off of the main drag. If you don't remember where you were then get off of Larry's page.

Imagine if Augmon hadn't gone for the steal..

REASON 6) 2000 Season, Trying to Replace the Irreplaceable; I'm still waiting for this to be called off as a bad joke but.. After calling a consecutive 2,522 Blazer games Bill Schonley is replaced by a WNBA broadcaster named Brian Wheeler. The Schonz had been the only radio man Blazer faithful had known until Wheeler, not an entirely bad broadcaster I guess, was put in place by the front office for no damn logical reason. Schonely is a class act, not only have I seen him rolling a Cadillac he has gone very much out of his way to give me his autograph, two more reasons for you to like him. Blazer play-by-play was supposed to be Schonely's as long as he wanted it; we were truly privileged to have a talent of his magnitude and an abrupt dismissal was no way to say, 'Thank You'. The other broadcaster, known as Brian Wheeler, are we really supposed to call this guy wheels(?), grew up a Lakers fan and called the 'action' for the King's WNBA team before Portland. Come on. Anyways for Bill's sake shop here and buy this.

REASON #5) 2003 Game 7 First Round Loss to the Dallas Mavericks; the Blazers became only the third team in Playoff history to force a game 7 after going down 0-3 in a series. Playing in his first ever game 7, reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki buried the Blazers in the 4th quarter. Dirk scored seven consecutive points in a 90 second span turning a tie game into a 6 point Maverick advantage and his squad never looked back. We missed out on a historical win; if Portland would have won this game EVERY time a team goes down 0-3 in a series highlights of Mo Cheek's team would run. The Tin Man MVP torched us; MVP and first round loser do not belong in the same sentence, but cool because this spring's Mav vs. Warriors match up was unforgettable.

REASON #4) Zach Randolph; July 16th, 1981 Zach Randolph is born and the Blazers are 20 years away from making a horrible mistake. To me Randolph represents the Jail Blazer image minus winning games, what can be more worse then that? Why do people forget this guy has zero All Star appearances and an $84 million contract? I'm not going to get into Randolph's past or how funny it is to watch him play defense in person. Trade him for ANY (minus Bonzi Wells) expiring contract and a late second round draft pick. The picture say's it all, thanks Bob Barker.

REAON #3) Traded All Stars; On February 14th 1995 Clyde and his 20 pts 6 reb, and 5 ast per were traded to the Houston Rocket's for Otis Thorpe 14pts 8 reb 2 ast, didn’t we deserve something more then that for our Dream Teamer? Well, Clyde earned the right to get out of the Rose City and Thorpe had a solid overall career but you don't trade Clyde the Glyde for a guy named Otis. Forget the context and remember the end result; 2 time All Star Rasheed Wallace is swapped for Theo Ratliff and Shareef Abdur-Rahim from ATL. Reef never fit into the system still hasn't won with the Queens and Theo had one great year, re-signed and fell of the face of the world. I just figured out this guy is on the Celtics. It was time to part with everyone's favorite towel throwing Technical foul machine but this deal spoiled on the Blazers. Finally, trading away Jermaine O'neal for, screw it, why did we trade O'neal?

THAT AIN'T RIGHT MAN

REASON #2) 2000 WCF Game 7

If you don't remember where you were watching the 2000 WCF's game 7 don't call yourself a Blazer fan, I was feeling lucky the last year we had seson tickets PDX was gonna win it all. I did forget how hard Pip got crossed over by Bryant before the alley-oop and how truly close we were; the Knicks were waiting for the West's champion to go beat them in Madison Square Garden and finish off the series in 2 more games. Instead we still haven't recoverd from this loss.

In the last 18 years the teams we have lost to in the WCF or Finals have been full blown dynasties; 89-90 Finals Detroit Pistons 4-1, 90-91 WCF Lakers 4-2, 91-92 Finals Chicago 4-2, 98-99 WCF Spurs 4-0, 99-00 WCF Lakers 4-3. One reoccuring theme in all of those Blazer teams has been the abscence of a dominant center; the last time we had one he won it all, thanks Bill keep doing the damn thing. Duckworth could not cut it but we'll always love him then we got Sabas on the decline I do feel honored to have seen him play at all. We're about to get a 'once in a decade center' in Ohio State's Greg Oden and stop wondering what a premiere big looks like in Blazer black.

REASON #1) MICHAEL JORDAN

Michael Jordan's Check List early 1980s;

Average a triple double senior year of highschool and be named a McDonald All American, check. Become the ACC freshman of the year at UNC, check. Knock down a jumper to win the National Title Game, check. Win the Naismith and Wooden awards, check. Win an Olympic gold medal, check.

Trail Blazer Check List Circa 1984;

Post a regular season record of 48-34, check. Lose to Phoneix in the first round, check. Decide to draft by position instead of talent, check. Ignore recomendation of Coach Bob Knight to draft Michael Jordan as a center if you need a center, check. Draft Sam Bowie, oh God.

We coulda, woulda, shoulda had Jesus in sneakers, that's the only way to put it. Imagine Clyde and MJ on the wings at Memorial Coliseum.. The Blazers could have burnt toast at PG won more O'brien trophies then there are broken bones in Sam Bowie's legs. Really though, you cannot blame Pdx for making this call, but sometimes it feels good to let it all off of your chest. Blazer fans remember how far we have come and don't ever forget how much it sucks to lose.

MICHAEL'S REVENGE:

AMAZING VIDEO:

M's Drop to Yankees and Padres

2007-05-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

I brought a bad vibe, apparently, to Safeco Field twice in six days watching two losses. First I saw the Evil Empire's only win at Safeco (5/12/7) during the 3 game series. Their were as many Pinstripes and Yankee probacks on Occidental Ave. as there was Mariner's gear and the atmosphere in the stadium was unique to A Rod (that guy STILL gets booed like he left town last week) and the Yankees being in town. After a few innings of freezing temperatures on the 3oo level I decided to walk around a little bit for the sake of warmth. I wound up in the jam packed team store overall a testament to the excitment of the game but really my poor choice of jacket got me in there. I eventually found a lapel pin made for the 3 game home stand against the NYY and stood in line for all of 5 minutes not moving an inch forward before I lost my patience and ditched 'em. On my way to the exit I saw a sign for pink mother's day bats for sale to benefit the Susan G foundation. After a few sly moves also know as manipulation, I charmed a cute clerk into letting me buy a bat at a closed register so 'I can get my mom one with her name on it'. Cute clerk said Safeco only got like 40 of them and $10 of the $65 sale price would go to Susan G. My mom's eyes lit up when she saw her name engraved on it the next morning!

Oh yeah, and the Yankees were in town. By the time I got out of the team store Mariano Rivera was warming up in the bullpen in front of nearly 100 people. There was a lot of excitement/heckling at the bullpen, I heard countless snippets of conversation in which a Mariner's fan would insult a Yankee fan then the Yankee fan would respond with something like, 'Go win a championship then we can talk.' Hearing that got old, but watching Mariano warming up was way cool. That guy is going to the HOF with Jackie's number, I think he is the only remaining player with 42.

I was looking to get a bobble head friend for Ichiro so I went to see the Padre's play Friday the 18th(pictured above). I showed up 1 hour before the first pitch and didn't get the Felix bobble. So I turned around and dealt with my pain at Pyramid brewery. The chili was good, the beer goes without saying and their were plenty of TVs to watch the Spurs beat up on the Suns. Then I went back to the ballpark and watched the Padre's bats get mad and effective on the M's pitching staff. I sat in the cheap left field seats which go for $18. I didn't realize they were bleacher seats until I got there, it felt like I was back in High School watching a my school's football team lose.
The Moose's 'The Office' parody on the jumbotron was hilarious and the tribute to Ken Griffey Jr. didn't really receive any acknowledgement from the fans. I did catch Mike Cameron watching it as he jogged to Center field between innings. I was expecting a lot more after the Jr. video played out, my reverent clapping was alone. This really shocked because of what I think Griffey meant to the city for years. Even from the bleeders in the Dome #24's swing looked so damn sweet. I'm starting to wonder if our fans are bitter; I mean who wouldn't move to Texas for 1/4 billion dollahs? I got your back, Pay Rod. When Ichiro bolts for a team that actually wins after this season not a single damn person will have a reason to throw boo-birds on the field, even if he winds up in Pinstripes.

BRANDON IS R O Y 2007 FINAL

2007-05-09T00:08:00.000-07:00

If he were as clutch as Brandon.. On February the Tenth of 2004 Seattle Seachicken WR Jordan Kent played a monster game against a monster team the Pac 10 juggernaut University of Washington Huskies. Kent posted 19 points and 16 boards but was hardly appreciated by the UO student section, The Pit Crew by the end of the game. With his father's team up by 3 with 41 seconds to play Kent was fouled by Dawg Tre Simons. Only needing to hit 1 free throw to make it a two possession game Kent missed both and Will Conroy scored his seventh consecutive point for the Huskies to send the game into OT where everyone knew the Ducks would lose it. It's worth mentioning Brandon R O Y missed a 3 pointer as time expired in regulation that would have won the game for UW, another really good reason to like the R O Y. The Ducks would go on to fall to UW 95-88 and split the home stand against the Washington schools; but the victory against the Cougars was beyond hollow. Kent played at Mac with a lot of energy and respect, the guy is a class act that could not hit a damn free throw. I am happy that he was drafted by the home-squad here in Seattle, and am looking forward to him giving me a good reason to buy his jersey. There, I got rid of my beef with 3 men that I wish were as individually smart (Stoudamire), classy (Robinson) and clutch (Kent) as my man Brandon R O Y. I'm done being a hater with everyone not named Zach Randolph and Darius Miles. I appreciate all the hard work the 3 previously mentioned Pacific NW ballers have put in so I could write about them, I look forward to watching you on the TV, minus Robinson in any dunk contest.

BRANDON IS R O Y 2007 Pt. 3

2007-05-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

I hope Brandon R O Y does not become another over-rated Huskie; When a person has a vertical leap of 43.5 inches they are able to make-up for mistakes on the basketball court. Nate Robinson will never be able to fix the mistakes he made the past two seasons during All-Star weekend. The Slam Dunk Competition has been struggling for years; an event formerly filled with real talent fell to the Hardwood crawled to the corner of the gym, curled up and died. Nate Robinson made sure the event stayed in the corner, away from respectability and dead to me not once but twice! In 2006 after Andre Iguodala got every damn fan on their feet or on the floor with the amazing the ish you see on the right Nate stepped onto the court overrated like UW in March his junior year. More then a dozen attempts later I think she dunked it, I do know she took the trophy home. Thank MJ that she didn't join his Airness 87-88 on the list of repeat dunk champions(Jason Richardson 02-03) in 2007. I do blame her for keeping Dwight Howard and the crazy 'sticker shock' out of the final. Dwight Howard threw it down in the first round of competition in 07 while putting a sticker of himself high high up on the backboard. You just know he had something way more sick planned for the next round and Kenny Sky Walker made for a way tight gold chain wearing big man dunk champion, right? I will never forgive you Nate Robinson, but I do root for you in spite of the FACT you're living a lie. You and Roy did slap the Ducks around for 3 whole years and got a little help that one time in 2004 at Mac Court..

BRANDON IS R O Y 2007 Pt. 2

2007-05-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Let us hope Brandon R O Y doesn't follow in his foot steps; When I hear the name 'Damon Stoudamire' I don't think of phrases like, 'Good decision maker', 'Quality passer/defender' or 'Smarter then my breakfast toast'. Thinking about 'Mighty Mouse' evokes images of weak defensive play a shoot, shoot and maybe pass PG and most prevalent 3 legendary arrests for pot. The hit list includes in chronological order; 1)An empty home owned by Stoudamire on the west-side of Pdx is searched by Police after a house alarm is repeatedly set off. The search reveals a gang of weed, which Damon's father PSU legend Willie Stoudamire takes the fall for. 2) After a game against the Sonics Sheed and Stoudamire roll back to Pdx in Stoudamire's yellow H2. You and I may get away with this one because we aren't rolling a truck that screams, 'Pull me over' but the Blazers caught Blazing. Pulled over for speeding cops find residue on the floor boards and a Bob Marley tin filled with weed. 3) Completing his degree from UA Stoudamire tries to leave town and attempts to board an airplane in Tucson. Maybe it was the summer course work or bong rips but D-Stod straight up gives airport security a ball of tin foil filled with gas after setting off the metal detector. Tinfoil?! I forgot this is supposed to be about Brandon, who got screwed on the ROY vote. However he is not the first Blazer rookie to be put over a barrel by a Raptor. As a Huskie Roy had it coming..

BRANDON IS R O Y 2007

2007-05-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

Brandon Roy is as Pacific Northwest as they come, that's why I ordered this tee right after I heard he won ROY. The former Pac-10 player of the year got robbed by not being named unanimously.. Brandon isn't the first Blazer freshman to be robbed by a Toronto Raptor; for the 95-96 season Arvydas Sabonis finally decided to come play for the home squad years after a Hall of Famer and a sick, sick, sick, sick, sick and sick cast had been broken up. Apparently Sabonis was not interested in making the Blazers a dy-nasty from the mid 80s til probably the early 90s. Fortunately he did eventually cross the pond for the 95-96 season. Sabas starting for a playoff team averaged 18 and 8 lost the ROY to a player from the Toronto Raptors, at the time an NBA doormat franchise. Can anyone name that player and his drug of choice? WARRIORS ALL THE WAY!!!!!

Ichiro's Night Stolen by Bullpen?

2007-04-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

Horacio Ramirez put in solid work at Safeco by not allowing a single run until the seventh inning of play against the Royals on Friday the 27th throwing 95 pitches to get the W. JJ Putz solidified the win after hitting the first batter he faced.

The Mariners handed out a clever bobble head called, 'Ichiro 5 Gold Gloves' someone please feel free to explain why there are 6 gloves stacked next to our CF's bobble likeness. Their were some jacks, Sexson continued to be a no show in the batter's box. I spent some time walking around the park, there is a cool exhibit of Mariner history on I think the North side with all types of stuff worth checking out.

If you have never spent time down at the bullpen or center field common areas I suggest watching a few innings in either place. The fan's conversations are just as interesting as the action on the field. Pyramid brewery across the street was a good pre game hang-out; friendly service, respectable brew but the men's room was terrible.

Fox Sports Net Happy Hour

2007-04-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hopped off Metro feeling good about the sunshine so I went underground into a gorgeous bar called Fox Sports Net. Knowing the taps were loosened up by happy hour prices and a few big screens with Baseball and Playoff Basketball awaited me I felt no guilt about not being in the sun.

King Felix, Kobe, Yao and Maybe the Mavs

2007-04-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

Occidental Avenue was electric oh so many days ago on Opening Day at Safeco Field. The call to my office's sick line was a little less than convincing, which was surprising considering I called seconds after KEXP woke me up 2 hours before my shift. I loaded up on the kettle corn at that one place, you know the one and moments later caught my first glimpse of Mariner Mecca. The best available seats purchased online (after surcharges pillaged my debit card) were in the Family Section, meaning no beer. To anyone that smiles when they see a cute baby I strongly suggest sitting in the family section once for 2 reasons; 1)You have to be much more creative when hurling verbal insults onto the field to accomadate the young impressionable minds. "You're mother is a f*cking whore!" becomes, "You're mother is promiscuous" 2) Exclusive to the game of baseball children give ball games a special extra twinkle, or something else all gooey. The wide eyes, sun burnt cheeks and little gloves are undeniable.
King Felix got a loud roar from the crowd during introductions and before it could die down he had already struck out half of the A's lineup. It was chilly in the upper deck, thank goodness I brought a pair of gloves(runner fleece gloves are key). Sexson hit a jack, Ichiro drove a couple in and of course Felix got the W.

Moving right along here.. On Friday, April the 6th at Key Bigfoot almost stole the whole damn show. During the introductions he was seen rappelling from the rafters, landing by some drums and rocking 'Ent er Sandman'. This was followed by a particularly gifted women for the 4oth straight year giving as good of a rendition of the National Anthem I've ever heard. Gotta say it is down right disrespectful to her talent I cannot recall her name. Trust me she rocked it like Kobe. The award for 'most creativity' during the game goes to the young man that sat next to me for his, 'Kobe you'll never be Lebron' sign; an amazingly profound point when you think about it. Oh yeah and #24 Kobe Bryant dropped 46 shooting a total of 24 free throws. That was a good thing because it's me and the old school 4 mega pixel camera making for a lot of blurry shots.

The Hou ston Rockets were an appropriate team to watch on a Monday after work, that is both a compliment and a, "The Rockets haven't been cool since they ditched the pinstripe jerseys." Yao l ooked as tall as I remembered and uhh he scored 31. Whenever I watched T-Mac with the ball I thought of that Adidas commercial that the only part I can remember is the end when the kidsare like, "And then it rains!". Not even worth trying to link to that one. I was truely pumped to see Dick Bavetta calling the game, what a stud diving Charlie Hustle style trying to beat Sir Charles in Vegas. Much like the Nuggets and Lakers the Rockets were making the hustle plays; deflections, weak side help and all the other stuff Zach Randolph doesn't do to win the game to make the push for the real season. Rashard Lewis passed Shawn Kemp on the Sonics scoring list. Too bad he has not won a meaningful game for the franchise during his career. I want to see the man do good, hopefully we get to see him and Jesus S. HEALTHY on the wings next year at the Hardwood.

Last night the Mavericks most definetly were all over the Hardwood, when I showed up mid 3rd they were up by 27. I saw Dirk hit a couple Js and left halfway through the 4th. Just wanted to say to all of you I saw the 'o7 MVP this year. Really though I'll be honest I wanted my Bigfoot theme song CD with that guy from that band. You know the one, I bought the orange casseste single when I was little and my mom only let me listen to the side with "Peaches". Thanks for nothing, mom. Also note I saw The Long Winters in PDX last weekend, fun show and worth the money. Dude opened up the concert with something close to, "It's great to be back in the Northwest were people don't say what they mean, I hate it." Nicely put.

The Answer and Edgar at Key 4/1/7

2007-04-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

Nobody told me that my Metro Pass was going to cost $72. That trip to the store to buy Jim Beam BBQ sauce got damn expensive. Bleeding four bucks a day to get to and from work was getting tiresome but shitt! Don't worry I swipped my pass like a vet to board the bus to Seattle Center for tip-off. To the beautiful knit hatted girl reading the sheet music on the driver's side it's too bad you didn't move those calves with me to the game. I might of ditched my mother to take you. So Mom would have to do and we both want to know why the hell the west side ticket office was closed. That screwed up my smooth entrance, walking all the way around the arena. I had called Justin, my 206-283-DUNK hookup earlier in the day for a meet and greet before the game and had gotten REI. A chunk of ice rode in my stomach on the bus with me thinking I had been scammed in about one of the most impressive ways possible. However not the case I got an envelope at Will Call with a pair of tickets for A.I. and 3 others for the remaining games. Their was at least 150 people in line to buy tickets and a lot of scalpers trying to pick up anybody's loosies.
The most eventful part of pre-game was seeing that the Key had upgraded the food. I put the Jim Beam BBQ sauce to good use cooking dinner before hand thinking I could only get a pretzel and soda at the game. Grabbing a spot on the concourse wall and checking out the menu nearly cost me my AF1s.. A soda stain kept my sole to the ground as I picked my foot entirely out of my shoe, dude next to me saw it and I said, 'This is why the city doesn't want this team'. It was a lot funnier then but now you know the floor was dirty, bitch.

1ST QUARTER
A.I. missed some free throws maybe 3, the next time out I felt compelled to yell, "I came to see Allen Iverson, I came to see Allen Iverson". Remember were at a Pro game and you can hear a fan courtside yelling from the nosebleeds.

2ND QUARTER
Realizing I only had a few more minutes before half time and the basket while Melo was shooting free throws I yelled what anyone with on iota of knowledge was thinking, "Fights like a girl!".

3RD QUARTER (OR SO)
Edgar Martinez hits balled up tee shirt straight, line drive straight into the stands lofted by Bigfoot. My man looked like he was going to be DH for Opening Day against the A's AKA the Mariner's pimp for the year 2007.

4th QUARTER
Denver had the Answer and Ray Allen watched from god knows where.. Iverson scored 8 consecutive points to keep the push for the real season alive. The most skilled scorer in the history of Philadelphia basketball made sure I got my money's worth, wait the tickets were free baby!

I am still playing catch up but this is what the Sonics are hoping to contain in less than 24 hrs.

STILL TO COME.. A LATE ENTRY FROM OPENING DAY AT SAFECO!