Jason Quick of The Oregonian breaks the biggest Blazers story of 2010... ------------------------- Tom Penn, the right-hand man of general manager Kevin Pritchard, has been fired by the Trail Blazers, The Oregonian has learned. Tuesday's decision comes nearly 10 months after Penn was promoted to vice president of basketball operations. It is unknown why Penn was fired, but it is believed to have come from owner Paul Allen and not Pritchard. ------------------------- As recently as the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference less than two weeks ago, General Manager Kevin Pritchard and Tom Penn were interacting amicably. Penn also attended Sunday night's game against the Toronto Raptors in Portland and mingled with both media and team personnel prior to tip. Penn's charity -- Hoops For St. Jude -- has also been conducting a league-wide fundraising initiative this month. -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter PS Thanks to cLaRkY for getting it first in the FanShots.