Defending Damon
Qualitypie's fanpost about the 07 lottery reminded me about something. He quotes this article from sports illustrated, which I shall quote part of as well:
"...earned the sobriquet of Jail Blazers through the on-court and off-court misadventures of players such as Rasheed Wallace, Isaiah Rider, Damon Stoudamire, Bonzi Wells, Ruben Patterson, Zach Randolph, Qyntel Woods and Darius Miles."
Even though Damon is always in these media lists of jailblazers, and deserves to be after the incidents with the weed on I-5 with Rasheed, trying to take weed through the airport, and maybe even more stuff that I have forgotten about, there is a more complete picture of him that I feel like people don't know. Which is why seeing him on these lists always makes me sad.
He came and spoke at my schools twice when I was growing up in public school, once at Tubman middle and once at Benson high, and he always had excellent things to say about success and climbing out of poverty. The second time I saw him speak to my whole school in an assembly, Derek Anderson and Rasheed Wallace were also there. The whole thing was obviously just a PR event set up by the team, and Rasheed and Derek Anderson really acted like it, giving really short, generic, insincere contrived speeches. But Stoudamire's was different, he was sincere and he actually cared, his speech was longer and meaningful. It's really a shame that the only way he'll be remembered is as another name on that list of jailblazers.
I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be forever known as a jailblazer, I'm just saying that it's a shame that that's how it happened, because good people make mistakes.
It makes me wonder, of the public figures that we all revere, how many of them have done terrible things that we would crucify them for if only we knew?
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Personally,
I’ve always liked Damon and will never consider him a jailblazer. Him regularly smoking weed should not give him that title, there’s far worst things in life then getting high off a natural herb.
Resident Smartass.
by Devyn on Oct 27, 2008 1:42 AM PDT 0 recs
As opposed to those "unnatural herbs"...
But I mostly agree.
by JordanLeDoux on
Oct 27, 2008 4:17 AM PDT
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Just another agreement
I always liked the guy.
Claire Redfield dunk shot: missed
Claire Redfield Off Rebound (5 REB)
Claire Redfield jump hook shot: made (26 PTS)
by rmcdougall on
Oct 27, 2008 7:26 AM PDT
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and another
Damon has a heart of gold. He is a sincere, caring person in a world full of phonies.
And the winner is … Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Remember him—the great Democratic president who saved capitalism from the capitalists by reining in their exorbitant greed? Forget the Reagan Revolution heralding a new era of small government, which turned out to be nothing more than a fig leaf for legalized corporate crime. The hero of the hour is FDR, as the essential wisdom of his New Deal is now embraced by most Republicans as well as Democrats.
by fisheyes on
Oct 27, 2008 8:34 AM PDT
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And yet another
So long as he wasn’t brickin’ layups, I loved the guy.
So he likes to smoke weed, join the club. Last time I checked, that’s not a crime…..
….oh wait.
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
by iDea on
Oct 27, 2008 1:23 PM PDT
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Damon may have been a very nice person
and a decent ball player, but he was a total moron when it came to interacting responsibly with the law.
It’s fine to have a brick of pot in your crawl space … but don’t let your security alarm ring endlessly, draw the police and have them discover the weed.
It’s fine to want to travel with your stash … but don’t take it on a commercial flight!
It’s fine to wanna get high on I-5 … but don’t speed or drive poorly while doing it!
It’s fine to do illegal things, but don’t get caught!
I liked Damon too, but I much happier to see him go than stay.
The law isn’t moral judgment, it’s often more a measure of responsibility.
Rudyculize: The act of Rudy making others look slow, dim and generally oafish.
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on Oct 27, 2008 5:26 AM PDT 0 recs
More importantly, if you are going to try and get weed on a commercial flight,
consider wrapping it in something other than tin-foil; those pesky metal detectors are always messin things up.
by everett on
Oct 27, 2008 9:29 AM PDT
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dumbest crime ever
Or at least close…….it still makes me laugh and cringe every time I think about it.
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
by iDea on
Oct 27, 2008 1:24 PM PDT
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forgot about the pound of weed in the crawl space...
but other than that, you got it covered.
by Bust a Bucket on Oct 27, 2008 8:03 AM PDT 0 recs
I hit it above
the evidence was thrown out because it was ruled an illegal search, otherwise ole’ Mighty Mouse would have been a PrisonBlazer for about five years.
Rudyculize: The act of Rudy making others look slow, dim and generally oafish.
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on
Oct 27, 2008 8:14 AM PDT
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Damon wasn't just a Jailblazer, he was OUR Jailblazer
I love rooting for the hometown kid, we all do.
by Bust a Bucket on Oct 27, 2008 8:06 AM PDT 0 recs
I lov'd that kid as well
And at guard, 5-10 from Portland’s Wiiilson High and AAAAAAaaaarizona……..number threee! Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamoooooooonnnnn StoudAMIRE!
He who laughs last thinks slowest.
by prezofdeath on
Oct 27, 2008 11:48 PM PDT
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Damon worked hard, too
But, I can’t help but wonder whether he would have dribbled for so long so far outside with the clock winding down if he didn’t smoke so much weed. He looked confused.
There’s nothing morally wrong with smoking weed. However, it tends to make being really, really good at something impossible. When you’re being paid millions to do just that, when people are depending on your success (teammates and staff), when your fans support you, you have a moral obligation to do your best. I know he worked hard, but you just cannot chronically smoke and be a good NBA player (think how much better Sheed would have been with a little motivation).
I like Damon, but there’s just no way around it, he was one of the worst, criminally. Of course, he never talked bad about the fans, so he shouldn’t be in the same leaque as Bonzi, Sheed.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
by hobobob on Oct 27, 2008 8:20 AM PDT 0 recs
I have a friend who was kind of backwards, He got motivated only AFTER smoking weed.
Otherwise he was a lazy sack of dung.
"People? You man Sheeple."
by Mike-Fu on
Oct 27, 2008 11:29 AM PDT
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Everybody's different I guess
I have a few friends that swear the skate, snowboard, surf, windsurf better when they smoke weed. They don’t, but I can’t convince them of that.
I’ve heard of that happening, but I’ve never seen it.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
by hobobob on
Oct 27, 2008 12:02 PM PDT
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Not one of the worst, criminally
He had a problem with drugs, for sure.
But as far as one of the worst criminally, let’s compare Z Bo with Damon.
Remove ALL pot-related incidents and what’s left?
Damon: None that I know of
Z Bo: Car racing, violence, gun charges, allegations of sexual assault…… basically, when was he NOT breaking the law?
So it’s hard for me to see him, on the spectrum, as being anywhere near the end titled “the worst.”
by kobestopper on Oct 27, 2008 8:45 AM PDT 0 recs
Who was in court more?
Give that stuff, maybe I should re-phrase to, he was on the level just above the worst, which is far better morally. That sound better
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
by hobobob on
Oct 27, 2008 12:04 PM PDT
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Maybe Zbo
should have stayed home more often, with a movie and an oskie woskie……..
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
by iDea on
Oct 27, 2008 1:27 PM PDT
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Damon gets downgraded from your average 420-friendly Oregonian to "Jailblazer" for two things...
(1) Trying to smuggle ganja onto an airplane through the metal detector WRAPPED IN TINFOIL.
(2) Kept Costco-quadruple-sized mega-brick of pot in the crawlspace under his house.
"It's not a joke -- it's not a game." — B-Rex
by timbo on Oct 27, 2008 8:53 AM PDT 0 recs
What did he think the foil was going to deflect
Deflect the metal detectors rays?
Is pot, at any time in it’s short life, ever SUPPOSED to be wrapped in foil? So Damon got the bright idea to put it in foil himself, over the handier plastic baggy?
Man, that was an extra tier of stupidity.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on
Oct 27, 2008 8:57 AM PDT
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Pot and foil should never meet, unless you are really hard up for a pipe.
Rudyculize: The act of Rudy making others look slow, dim and generally oafish.
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on
Oct 27, 2008 9:31 AM PDT
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It should block X rays, but that would just make the screener check the bag.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
by hobobob on
Oct 27, 2008 12:06 PM PDT
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Damon Stoudamire is one of my least favorite Blazers, ever
He made idiotic mistakes of course, but worse to me is never building on his potential and being a whiny baby butt otherwise.
He was an awful, awful player for us and I still have nightmares of that 05-06 season where it was just Damon missing 3-pointers all game. Jesus, I hated that season and he was a big part of it.
Over shot, over dribbled, got way too much slack because he was a ‘local kid’. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but so is Sheed. Damon still was a huge detriment to our team during pretty much his entire stay.
Aside from obvious guys I hate like Ruben, I’d say Damon is our worst Blazer ever who was considered ‘good’. No one thought Ha Seung-Jin was good, so he don’t count. For how much he was paid, how much attention he was given, and how poorly his actual production and off-the-court stupidness, Damon gets “worst Blazer in my lifetime” award.
Can’t stand his game. Maybe if I had some interaction with him I’d feel different, but for now he’s still just a horribly overrated basketballer I can view from afar and hate without worrying about hurting his feelings.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on Oct 27, 2008 8:55 AM PDT 0 recs
worst Blazer in my lifetime award has to go to Isiah Rider
No way is Damon in competition with him. Damon cared but had problems that had more to do with poorly implementd plans involving ganja. Damon was a good citizen, but his on coiurt play was lacking (espcially on the defensive end). As a plus for Damon, does anyone else remeber him running the pick and roll with Joel. That’s right back when joel got double digits in points off dunks.
by NWfan on
Oct 27, 2008 9:28 AM PDT
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JR was so nice...
He was a dick, and a more prolific smoker than any Blazer ever (seriously, B-Legit raps about him.), but man he had pretty moves and a sick jumper.
by everett on
Oct 27, 2008 9:32 AM PDT
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If we're going to judge Damon for partaking
Then we’ll have to hold the same judgement over beloved Bill Walton, who was a ‘blazer’ in more than one sense.
I, like Mortimer, am not a huge fan of Damon more because of his basketball skills (although I will give him points for keeping himself game-ready when he was benched for an extended period instead of sulking as others have).
by DonkeyShins on Oct 27, 2008 9:24 AM PDT 0 recs
Dude, he was sulking
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
by hobobob on
Oct 27, 2008 12:09 PM PDT
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IsaacJoe,
when did you go to Benson? class of ’00 here.
Good post, I feel similarly about Damon… he was a dummy (tinfoil, etc…) but you got the feeling that he was a good person. Sheed always seemed so mean, and Z-Bo always seemed like Portland wasn’t good enough for him. I feel like Damon liked the fans, liked the community, but just couldn’t ever get things together (“I learned it from watching you, Dad…”).
by everett on Oct 27, 2008 9:36 AM PDT 0 recs
'07
Pretty recent alum here. He came and spoke my freshman year, a few months before Rasheed got traded. Those were the good old days, yes sir
Goodbye blue Monday
by isaacjoe on
Oct 27, 2008 11:41 AM PDT
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of high school for me that is
Not the good old days for the Blazers
Goodbye blue Monday
by isaacjoe on
Oct 27, 2008 11:54 AM PDT
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Sheed got me to stop buying tickets, but...
Damon is the player that got me to turn off the radio and television with this bit of wisdom: “I don’t care what the fans think, I play for myself.”. At that point, I thought: “If he doesn’t care, why should I?”. At that point, the Trailblazers had ceased to be a good way to make small talk anyway.
He may be dumb as a rock, but I have to give him credit for allowing me to take KXL off my radio presets. I really didn’t miss having to hear Lars Larson endorse products for the “I take a wide stance” crowd or hunt for the signal as it drifted away after sunset.
by Farty MacFartson on Oct 27, 2008 11:43 AM PDT 0 recs
I see nothing wrong with smoking weed
There’s just something about being so high that you try to board a plane with weed wrapped in tin-foil that makes me laugh.
by 50backflips on Oct 27, 2008 12:17 PM PDT 0 recs
lol..
yeah, that sends at least a little flag.
BUT! there are things wrong with smoking weed when your a basketball player in the regular season….
it slow’s your reaction time making you just a smidgen off of your game…if you were clean you’d be just a wee bit better. imo.
but I ain’t got no problem with no pot heads.
The faith (and I'm a guy) perverts. :)
by faith on
Oct 27, 2008 12:45 PM PDT
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Speak of the devil, this is x-post from SBNation's Celtics Blog...
Mighty Mouse Good For a Laugh
by Steve Weinman on Oct 25, 2008 10:30 PM PDT
There’s something about the phrase “Coach Stoudamire” that doesn’t ring true to me. Damon doesn’t see it that way.
As reported by the Tuscon Citizen’s Steve Rivera:
Former Arizona All-American Damon Stoudamire says he would “love to be part of” the Wildcats’ coaching staff this season or next.
“They know I’d work hard because that’s who I am,” Stoudamire said in a phone interview. "I know the game. I think it would be a dream situation to go back to my alma mater and help out. I think it would be a great opportunity. I know Tucson. I know Arizona.’’
No dispute here that he likely knows the game. But the possibility of him teaching it to others while managing to behave himself seems up for debate.
This is, after all, a former lead member of the Jail Blazers, who has had more than his share of incidents with illegal substances and the law. The guy has never carried a great rep as far as being a locker room guy is concerned, and even his on-court decision-making wasn’t always stellar either. Coaching youngsters really seems like a stretch of an employment line for him.
"It's not a joke -- it's not a game." — B-Rex
by timbo on Oct 27, 2008 8:47 PM PDT 0 recs















