A Cool Moment

by Ben Golliver on Oct 16, 2008 10:33 PM PDT

When a city's only professional sports team takes a night out of its preseason schedule to play a scrimmage on a court that it has donated to a local high school, there are bound to be 1,000 great moments (most captured on iPhones and already uploaded to Facebook). Indeed, everyone left Cleveland High with smiles tonight after the Blazers put on a great show and dedicated a new basketball court.

My moment, and it's short, is about the young man that was sitting next to me. He was a Cleveland High student. Pretty quickly I realized he was on the student newspaper. How could I tell? Well... he was keeping a play-by-play account of the game (stats, substitutions, etc.) in his notebook and furiously writing down verbatim the pre-game statements from Coach Nate McMillan, Larry Miller and the other Blazers bigwigs. After the game, he was leaning around TV guys, scribbling down the post-game statements from Coach and KP.

A lot of kids tonight got to see their basketball heroes up close and personal, and many got autographs. This young gentleman got himself something better: a story. An honest story about good people doing a really good thing.

That was cool.

I don't know if Cleveland High's student newspaper sells subscriptions, but that's a story I'd like to read.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

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Were you sitting next to a lttle Ben?

Sounds like maybe a tiny bit of admiration for a “young gentleman” who has a passion to do just what you yourself have a passion to do: Following the Blazer bigwigs/players and writing down verbatim what you observe… lets just hope that this young man understands the importance of cap-space and rotational productivity if he plans to follow in your footsteps.

Thank you for the story… it is always great to hear about NBA players reaching out to the community rather than some story about players who just want somebody to CTC.

" Are you ready for the season?'
Really. REALLY? He's going to ask that? Doesn't he know who Jerryd is? Doesn't he realize Jerryd was born ready?"
-Ben

by cic on Oct 16, 2008 10:51 PM PDT reply actions

I couldn't agree more.

That would be a fantastic story to read. This Blazers team has been hitting home runs throughout the community for quite some time now dating back to last season. While I wasn’t old enough to truly appreciate the full extent of Blazermania in the 90’s (I was in middle and elementary school), I get the feeling that this sort of community is what it was founded on. I hear stories of people running into Bill Walton, Clyde, TP among others on the street and getting to interact with them on a “semi-normal” basis.

Community support like this game at Cleveland high and Brandon’s support of the hoops event at Lewis and Clark this past weekend just prove to me that the true sense of the Blazers community is back in full force. These types of feel good events never seem to end.

One things for sure: this young beat-writer got one great story to report on.

1. Seeing the Blazers score 111 in their first pre season win and Greg Oden dunk and Rudy pass like a magician G and Nicolus Batum up close- $150.00

2. Large Soda (insert pic of son dropping full soda right after we leave concession stand) another Large soda and nachos – $30.00

3. Throat lozenges -$ 4.50 at walgreens

4 Joy of seeing your fav team (cake) finally come out of the oven – Priceless

by CMCWizard on Oct 16, 2008 10:53 PM PDT reply actions

I was that kid ... many many years ago.

Great you noticed him, Ben.

Rudyculize: The act of Rudy making others look slow, dim and generally oafish.

http://www.myspace.com/y5k

by Y5k on Oct 17, 2008 7:47 AM PDT reply actions

Not everyone left with smiles...

Joel caught an atomic G.O. Bow to the face that required 5 stitches to close. OUCH!

2-4 the who

by 24thewho on Oct 17, 2008 9:03 AM PDT reply actions

Another reason to KEEP Hill.

We need to save Joel from Oden’s fury as much as possible.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Oct 17, 2008 11:31 AM PDT up reply actions

The Cleveland Clarion!

That’s what it was called about 10 years ago, anyway. They did mail them out to parents at least once a year. Chances are you can find one sitting around the Burgerville across the street or something.

by hiccough on Oct 17, 2008 10:45 AM PDT reply actions

Cleveland

My former playground. Touched some nice girls around that old gym (when I was a student there). Haven’t been by in a while but it’s about time they got a new court. I miss Portland now. This team is continually doing the right things and I’m so relieved and so much better at defending my longtime source of seriously conflicting feelings and ridicule.

by fatwansaboni on Oct 17, 2008 12:15 PM PDT reply actions

I would think that is money in the bank

G.O. needs a punching bag, and it can’t be Joel, Frye, LMA. Raef saw the writing on the wall and shut it down for the season. So my advice to Steven Hill is the same thing my coach told me early……You don’t play defence with your face.

2-4 the who

by 24thewho on Oct 17, 2008 12:51 PM PDT reply actions

I was at the scrimmage...

and it rocked. Batum, Randolph and Frye all looked great. I think we need to find a spot for Shavlik. It was fun watching NBA players on a high school court since the three-point line was like a free-throw for them. The whole event made me proud to be a former Warrior. Plus, I got to shake the hands of Kevin Pritchard and Larry Allen. Surreal evening.

It doesn't matter who they vote for. As long as I get to pick who's running.
J.D. Rockefeller

I don't write checks, straight cash homey...
Randy Moss

by OURVYDAS on Oct 17, 2008 3:37 PM PDT reply actions

Shav has been playing well

He IS going to be offered a roster spot, ya know….people don’t realize that he was the planned starter for Philly last year but his foot wasn’t ready…it is now…I’ve known him a long time — he is 100% effort all the time — ….He’s real good and helping those around him look good — total team orientation — and he worked 40 hrs a week all summer long —

by LetsBlaze on Oct 17, 2008 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions