StumpTownSports

Following up on yesterday's post, I just found out that Yi will likely be left off the All-Star ballot. Apparently, the NBA is just as sure as I am about what would happen if he was. It seems a pretty transparent move given that high profile rookies generally make the ballot. I bet Durant will be on there. Yi is about as high profile as anyone and has actually been playing as well as any rookie, so leaving him off the ballow would make a statement. I will be very curious to see the ballot because in years past there has been a place to write in votes. Is it really that hard to imagine half of the people who watched Yao v. Yi would write in Yi's name? If that happens, he will be a starter. I might have to come off my "it's an absolute lock" prediction, but I still think it will happen.

Just a quick comment about the Yi v. Yao game. By all estimates, this meaningless duel between two players who don't play the same position or anywhere near each other on the court, was one of if not the most televiewed sporting events of all time. Nearly as many people as live in the US saw a game that US basketball fans thought was more about TMac and Redd. I only bring this up because, as I've said before, I am going to laugh until I wet myself when Yi is averaging 12pts and 5 rebounds and is the leading vote getter for the Eastern Conference All-Star game. Not only will Yi, who is about the 6th best player on his own (which isn't any good) is not only the biggest lock ever to be voted in as a starter this year, but he is nearly certain to be the leading vote getter for the Eastern squad. Also expect Redd to enjoy the TMac effect and get a boost in voting. When this happens, we will find something interesting out about the NBA. Will Stern flip the bird at American

My buddy Jeff was good enough to take me to the Blazers/Sonics preseason game last night, so I thought I would leave a brief report and then hopefully comment on a few other sports related items. Jeff has fantastic seats which always adds to the experience and in general, I just find the Rose Garden a nice venue. Last night was great. Greg Oden finally hit his stride after struggling some in the preseason. It is obvious that on this team, GO doesn’t have to score much, but last night it all came together in a 22 point, 14 rebound 5 block performance that had the Rose Garden buzzing with anticipation for what this team will do when he is in his prime with Roy and Aldridge. Almost all of his points came off vicious lob dunks and put back and he so dominated the paint on the defensive end that Ridnour actually started to cringe when he entered the paint in anticipation of another volleyball spike block. On the other side of the ball, Durant was slightly less spectacular as it is clea

Since I had the privilege of attending the season’s first Blazer game last night (preseason home opener against the Clippers, I thought I would share my scouting report of the team and the event. The Blazers won 111-102 after an impressive run at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth led primarily by 22 second half points from Webster who couldn’t miss. The Rose Garden • MAX is really the only way to go when going to a game. No parking cost or hassle and the train is full of Blazer fans which helps get you in the right mood for the game. It’s not like tailgating at a college football game, but it still has a small, but beneficial fraction of the same affect. • There is a giant Oden jersey hanging from the outside of the arena. My son and I just stood for a moment and stared at it in subdued sadness. Then my Son said, poignantly and profoundly, “I think that jersey is too big for him.” • My son was disappointed that our favorite Blazer dancer (his former Sunday school te

Some quick (I hope) sports thoughts on each of my favorite sports teams: NFL – San Francisco 49ers – Ugh. I could just stop there and pretty much capture it. After years of being awful, they have finally made some major steps in the right direction. They brought in a classy head coach with a good mind for defense and team discipline. Plus he likes to wear suits (even if they are made by Rebok) during games, so how can you not like this guy? They have drafted rather brilliantly (though I’m having my doubts about Smith and Davis), but still they seem to be rebuilding this team in the right way through good draft picks (I love you Patrick Willis) and well chosen free agents. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to get excited. I genuinely thought the Niners were a playoff team this year. They had the NFC’s best RB, an unguardable tightend, a QB just coming into his own after a semi-breakthrough year last year, new WRs, great FAs on the defensive side and a weak division.

Just for fun here’s a look at every team in the NBA with an eye toward whether they would make good trading partners with the Blazers based on they players they have, the players they need, the contracts involved and the likelihood that they would do the deal. I’m not going to bother with every possible scenario or deal with things like whether the Blazers could get in on a trade for KG or Kobe. I’m working with the premise that the Blazers would, for the right deal, be willing to part with Jack, Przybilla, Webster, Green, McRoberts, Outlaw, LaFrentz and Jones. I’m sure they would trade just about anyone other than Roy and Oden if the price was right, but the Blazers clearly want to keep Roy, Aldridge, Frye, Oden and Sergio…and Blake at least for this year. So, I’m not going to discuss those guys very much if at all. Also, I’m assuming that both Raef and D Miles are basically untradeable because of their contracts and health. Finally, I’m assuming that the Blazers really only nee

Mike Vick was the Lebron James of the NFL. Hugely hyped when he came in the league and had the type of skills that translated very well to marketing prowess. Even though he didn’t match Peyton Manning’s endorsements and has never really lived up to expectations as a QB, he was nonetheless as much the face of the NFL as any other player. He was also such a freakish athlete, that he has the Bo Jackson “you never know what you might see when you watch him” factor. Some of the most amazing things I have ever seen on the football field were done by Vick. He may be the fastest guy in the league on the field and is so dazzling you can’t help but watch. Of course he had is downside as well. Even though he led Atlanta to some victories, he never really seemed to fulfill his promise. He is not an accurate passer (to say the least) and also seems to lack a mind for the game that allows him to pick defenses apart like Manning and Brady do. But even with that, he was still perhaps the great

Now that the Blazers have finally signed Steve Blake, here are my thoughts on the signing and what the Blazers should do next. I like Blake. Good, solid veteran guy who limits his mistakes, plays hard and seems like a good teammate and person. I think he fits well in Portland where he was very well liked when he was here a couple years ago and should have a much more fun team to play with in a City that is electric with Blazer hype right now even when the news is all about Oden’s tonsils. Blake also brings much needed shooting and flexibility to play both the 1 and the 2. I really only have 2 concerns about the signing and only one of those is Blake’s fault. First, I’m afraid that it means the Blazers have to trade J Jack for chemistry reasons. From a talent standpoint, I still like Jack and would still prefer he get the minutes as starter or off the bench over Sergio or the other PGs on the team. However, I think Blake came in to start and I’m not sure Jack won’t sulk if he gets bench

Sure, I could have posted something right after the most important NBA draft of my lifetime. Or I could have waited and posted something as soon as teams could talk to free agents. But then I would have been just like every other writer and blogger dispensing relevant insight in a timely manner. And where’s the fun in being just like everyone else? So, instead I decided to wait until no one really cares any more. It’s a technique I will be sure to teach whenever I’m invited to be a sports journalism professor at Harvard or some place like that. Lots to cover. Should be a long post. Let’s get right to it. DRAFT RECAP I got to watch the NBA draft (or as I like to call it, “The birth of a dynasty”), with my good friends John and Jeeva. Wanting to avoid the usual sportsbar dive food, we met at a swanky sports bar in a trendy part of Portland. Turns out, they import all of their food from dive sportsbars. Dang. Can’t really endorse the “Upper Deck” sports bar…or is it “On Deck”?

I love sports and I’m not generally a cranky guy, but getting a fresh dose of my least favorite sports talk guy on this morning’s commute must have put me over the edge because I find myself itching to complain about a few things I hate in the world of sports at the moment. Not a complete list. Not in ranked order. Just a few things off the top of my head. The Herd - The afore mentioned disfavored sports talk guy is none other than Portland’s own Colin Cowherd. Actually I don’t think he’s from Portland, just made an idiot of himself here for a while before ESPN inexplicably picked him up. My dislike for him started when he began referring to himself as a local media icon. I think that’s kind of like being a genius in that if you have to tell people, chances are real good that you are not. The Herd does know football, I will give him that. He seems to have a very keen eye for who is legit on the gridiron and cuts through a lot of the nonsense that floats around from pundit to pu

I love to make sports predictions and mouth off about what I think is going to happen for a player or team or anything else in the world of sports. I find that being right in that situation allows you lots of bragging rights and no one really holds you to it when you’re wrong. So far my favorite “got it right” was when I called a local sports talk station before the NBA draft last year in response to a local beat writer who said the Blazers should offer every player on their roster to get the first pick so they could take Adam Morrison. I called in and said Morrison had a ceiling of Mike Miller and probably wasn’t that good and that the best player in the draft was Brandon Roy and that if the Blazers moved up they should take Aldridge. They ripped me for that on the air, but I’ve been bragging about that ever since. But for every time like that when I called it right, there are 50 times when I was wrong. Truthfully, I follow sports fairly religiously now and that has greatly boost