But its clear that for him this is about all he can do at this point. Still, it was wonderful to hear that voice again, made me feel about 20 years younger. I only wish it had been a better game to call.

But I must say that Wheels handled this with great class. Even if it were planned ahead of time, giving Schonz the rest of the game was the right thing to do.

it was time for him to go. He was awesome in his prime, but towards the end he was starting to fumble a lot. We got the right guy. Be happy with Wheels. He is awesome. The Schonz will always be a pillar of this franchise, but let’s not kid ourselves. For those that think Wheels should be replaced by The Schonz, you are living in the past.

We hadn’t lost a single home game during the pre-season with Wheels behind the radio mic. Ya gotta dance with who ya brought when the fat lady sings!

to have the schonz calling. the gf and i had our headphones on during the game – we were there! – and it was a neat thing. ol bill did miss a few calls, but at least he pronounced everyone’s name right (mike rice: “am – uhhh – omunsinsen..?”). i remember my grandpa bringing me to games at the coliseum in my very early youth, and he always had his radio tuned to schonely on 1190. fun memories for one night – i’m happy with wheels for the other 100 games.

Schonz was great and should have been allowed to continue for a few more years, but he fumbled quite a bit last night. I think he should continue to enjoy his retirement.

My brother, who annouces high school football, volleyball, and basketball games in Washington for Comcast, is more talented than Brian Wheeler and Mike Barrett. I might be somewhat biased, but I’m still dead serious in my opinion on this issue.

I really enjoyed hearing him last night, but never did I think that he should be replacing Wheels. This was a nostalgia trip. Yeah, he was really rusty and no doubt some of it would come back with time. There were a few moments when he seemed to be relying on instinct rather than performing, and that’s when I heard the old Schonz. It didn’t matter. That wasn’t the point.

Schonz was great, and it is tremendous that he is still a part of this organization. The torch has been passed, and Wheels is certainly worthy to bear it.

I’m a huge fan of Bill Schonley. Last nights game was fun because I remember growing up with that voice “being” The Blazers. It was fun, and I thought Bill did an amazing job for someone who has been away from the play by play microphone as long as Bill has been, but I wouldn’t call for Bills permanent return.

It’s like when Johny Carson retired, was he suddenly unentertaining? Did he suddenly lose his ability to interview people? No. But it was time.

From what I’ve read, I think the original “retirement” of Schonley wasn’t handled as well as it should of been. So I think it’s great that now he’s getting his due. I’d go as far as saying I think Schonley showed last night that he still has the skills, and maybe The Blazers could look at utilizing him more or in a greater capacity. But probably not as our on the air play by play man.

I suspect his love for the entire thing might cloud his judgement but if I could venture out enough to speculate, I think Schonley himself would probably admit that his days of play by play announcing have ended.

It’s not something I’m directly familar with, but again I suspect it’s far more grueling a job on many levels than people think. It’s traveling, it’s preparation and it’s trying to communicate an entire picture of an ever moving, ever changing game to a huge audience of people who usually can’t visually see the game. That’s really a younger mans challenge.

Nice to hear Bill again. Loved it. Wouldn’t mind it if The Blazers offered Bill more opportunities, interviews or interviewing or whatever…but back on the air full time? Rip City is the classic, but we’ve entered the era of Boom-Shaka-Laka….

Wheels is outstanding. Schonz is great too, but he’s 80 years old. He doesn’t want the gig full time any more.

How about a few home games per year? That sounds like a good idea to me – maybe a half dozen home games per year. – S.

But that was a lot of fun. My mind was instantly taken back to childhood listening to the games on my little radio in my bedroom. I wouldn’t mind him still doing a game or two a year. All those old catch phrases were still there too. Pickin’ em’ up and layin’ em’ down.

loved hearing the voice again. Wheels gets a little over-excited at times and yes, he’s a homer. I’m cool with that. In his heyday The Schonz used to get excited too, was definitely a homer, but just like last night, he called the Blazers out when they under-performed. I liked that about him. Like someone else said, “at the end of the game, you knew why we lost by 20”.

Refreshing. Go Blazers!

I moved to Portland right before the ‘97-’98 season, which turned out to be Schonely’s last as regular play-by-play guy. I had no emotional attchment to Schonely — I only vaguely knew that he was a Blazer luminary — and thus listened to him with something approaching total objectivity. What I heard that season was an announcer who had seen better days. He was often slow to report the action (you’d hear the crowd react before he spoke), he’d misidentify players repeatedly, he’d forget to mention the score or time remaining, and he fell back on his catch phrases (yes, Wheels has ’em, too) and gooey sentimentality. He did not, in my opinion, paint a clear picture of the on-court action.

I was disappointed by the callousness with which Schonely was let go, but he definitely was struggling.

I will say this much for the Schonz: He’s far less of a crazy homer than Wheels. I wish Wheels would tone down the persecution act — the refs don’t have a vendetta against the Blazers, and when the Blazers lose, it’s usually because the Blazers played lousy, the other team played great, or both. But the flipside of that is that Wheels, beyond conveying a clearer idea of what is happening on the court, also communicates more excitement.

So: Yes, let Schonz have his special night (and he did OK last night, all considered). Yes, criticize Wheels for what deserves criticism. But bring back Schonz permanently? Nooooooo.

but there is every reason why he should come back and he should have never left.

The Blazers gave Schonz a raw deal. Rec this and every pro-Schonz comment to the core.

Wheeler has a voice of gold and obvious fan dedication, but he doesn’t deserve to carry Schonz’s golf bag. And, no, I don’t care if he fumbles calls or not.