I Forgot Not To Do That...

by Dave on Oct 10, 2007 1:29 AM PDT in News Comment 18 comments

I have a confession to make. I haven't read a John Canzano column in months. But his name was under O-Live's Blazer section today so I said to myself, "Why not? Let's see what John is up to."

What I found was this column. Basically it says Paul Allen should be grateful that the fans are coming back on hope alone when...

A. The team hasn't won.

B. Half the team is injured.

and...

C. The team was mismanaged for years.

It also says Mr. Allen should take the mic tonight at the Rose Garden and talk to the fans, assuring them that he's not moving the team to Seattle, which may still be in the back of his mind.

Now I don't object to John Canzano as much as many folks seem to. He makes good points sometimes. But these weren't any of them. All they did was remind me why I don't read John Canzano columns very often.

First of all tonight marks the first Blazer basketball anyone outside of Las Vegas will have seen all summer. It's a happy occasion. Why try to dim it with less-than-happy thought that don't have anything to do with this specific event? The assertions are all general, have been here all summer, and will continue to be here all season. Pick another day. If you're going to write a first day of pre-season column actually talk about the first day of pre-season.

Second there wasn't even anything fresh in this piece. Dwight Jaynes wrote the exact same column about Seattle five months ago. And show me a Blazer fan (even ONE) who hasn't considered in the last few weeks the possibility that our stars could be perpetually injured and this could all fall apart. You simply can't find one. I'm not walking around with blinders on saying, "How DARE you print that! It could NEVER happen!" Rather I'm saying that, whether it's true or not, this feels like somebody completely out of Blazer column ideas for this week going with the old, "Let's play on their worst fears" angle. Believe me, if Paul Allen ever did think about moving the team nobody would be more crushed and disappointed than me and the people on this site. In fact I guarantee this would be the go-to place to talk about it and express just how angry and hurt we all were. But I learned a long time ago not to get angry over things before they've happened because most of them don't. All you do is make yourself sick with worry. I'd rather enjoy the games.

Third, fans aren't coming back on hope alone. The same reason people were upset when the team was winning but guys were being total jerks in their community and media relations is the same reason people are coming back now even though the team hasn't won and still might not for a while: for most of us it's not just about wins and losses. We're not coming back on hope for something that's not there. We're coming back because we've been shown what IS there: a bunch of guys who seem to love playing, who try hard, who get along with each other and the community, and who respect what wearing that uniform means. That's what people are coming to see tonight and the rest of this year.

Finally, and most importantly, the part of the column I had the biggest problem with was John telling Paul what he needed to do. There was a time when that was needed and relevant. When this team was in the crap-hole and management was running it into the ground PR-wise somebody needed to beg the owner to step in. But what's happened since? We have a new GM and a new staff. The arena has been reunited with the team and upgraded. We've spent a lot of money on extra, speculative draft picks and gotten some potential stars besides. It's going good. Fans are happy. Leave the poor guy alone. He's done what he needs to.

As a matter of fact, I'm saying just the opposite of Mr. Canzano. Paul Allen hasn't said boo to anyone in the two decades he's owned the team. If he gets up tonight and makes a big speech about how the team isn't moving to Seattle I'm going to be officially convinced that it is. So don't you dare pick up that microphone Mr. Allen. Just sit in your seat and graciously accept a nice little round of applause when the camera flashes onto you.

Oh, and don't let Pritchard sit next to you during the third quarter. I hear he bribed the Kiss Cam guys.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

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Canzano has a way

of taking a perfectly good bowl of Cheerios and simply adding urine to it. He has been in a largely foul mood all summer about the Blazers and trying to burst the bubble of anyone he could. Haven't read him much, but when you're desperate for Blazers news sometimes you gotta make sacrifices.

Joel Przybilla: All-star '08

by shenanigans on Oct 10, 2007 5:44 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think it's called

FEAR MONGERING:
spreading discreditable, misrepresentative information designed to induce fear and apprehension.

http://researchmag.asu.edu/stories/media.html

or peeing on your cheerios... lol.

Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'. -the shawshank redemption.

by pdxborn on Oct 10, 2007 8:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Let's mail JC to Serbia...

Canzano needs to stuff his face full of cheese doodles and shut his mouth. He's a less original, white version of Stephen Hayes...

I hated reading about how bad the Blazers were during the Whitsitt era, and the ensuing chaos afterward. I hated reading about how, even though Roy and Aldridge were running away with Rookie Team honors, the Blazers still had "problems" with Darius Miles and Zach Randolph. And now, I hate reading about how he's attacking Paul Allen.

I understand his job is to sell newspapers, but his conclusions aren't original, and, in fact, they're about 2 years old. What's next? It wouldn't surprise me if he wrote a "Remember when we had all these problems with Damon, Rasheed, Ruben, and Kemp..." article.

Paul should stand up tonight... but not to apologize. He should announce that he's buying the Oregonian and firing JC for the betterment of humanity.

by Champs2009 on Oct 10, 2007 9:03 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

ARRRRGGGGGHHHH

MUST RANT AND RAVE!!! DOOOMS AND SKYS FALLING!!!

DEMAND DEMAND DEMAND MUST I YET MY OPINIONS SHALL BE EVER CHANGING AS THE WIND!!!

Mostly though, I have no hair so instead of wind blowing through my hair, I must blow my wind through yours.

Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.

by ratbastird on Oct 10, 2007 9:06 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I will try and be as nice as I can.

I will read the worst poster on Blazersedge every time over a Canzano article. Simply mentioning him annoys me because it is likely to increase his readership, the only thing that is preventing him from being removed and replaced with a journalist. Is there anyone in doubt that Dave is a better writer, a more objective reporter, and a better study of sports than John Canzano?

by EnglandDan on Oct 10, 2007 9:53 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I told you that...

a long time ago.

by ken on Oct 10, 2007 12:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That article was pretty stale

Will there be room for gloom & doom JC if the euphoria of early 90's blazermania returns to portland? What will he write about? I guess there will always be a college team coming off a loss to write about.

by jayjaylbh on Oct 10, 2007 10:18 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow, pretty surprising position

I have to say that I will take the unpopular position here and defend his point. First of all, what is wrong with asking Paul Allen to simply say thank you? I mean COME ON PEOPLE. We as fans have been put through the ringer like crazy over the last 7 years with this team. Paul Allen attempted to sell his soul to win a championship by bringing in talent with horrible character and it backfired in a HUGE way. He hired management that destroyed the morale of the city, fired hard working people to save a few bucks and kept paying ridiculous amounts of money to thugs. He lost suite leases at the Rose Garden, lost the Rose Garden, and lost the faith of this town in the team as we became a SERIOUS LAUGHING stock of the NBA world, and sports world in general. AND NOW? He has his fan base back not because of wins but because of faith that wins are coming. Character guys that we are hoping don't just play hard, but play hard and win. What is wrong with asking that he simply THANK the people of Portland for sticking by his product, for coming back IN DROVES, and for being back to being one of the most passionate city's behind their little basketball team. Everything that he wrote about in that column is REALITY and should be addressed. We could ignore these issues but eventually they will need to be discussed. Sure, Canzano is no Polyanna, but how frigging boring would that crap be to read every day? No offense to this site, because I read it 100 times a day, but this site has enough glad and happy do no wrong Blazer love for this city, without Canzano there would be no real questions being asked.

by mark twain on Oct 10, 2007 11:06 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Understandable??

but why bring up all these things that have been put behind us. Might as well ask him to apologize for bonzi and rasheed and kemp and ryder and woods and patterson and z-bo and miles and trader bob and apologize for Seattle not building a new stadium for a jackass owner, etc. etc. Maybe we can get him to take a few lashings at center court. Maybe that would appease baldy. Ahem, I mean johnny boy.

Why would we ask PA to do anything more than he has already done? Maybe he'll send a pint of blood to all the new season ticket holders. Seems to me he followed through with his word, what more can we ask him to do? He hired KP, he hired Nate, he bought back the stadium. He threw money out for Sergio and Jones and Fernandez and Kopenen. He paid off Stevie Francis to keep his rot outta Portland. He got rid of Z-bo. He put all the games on tv this year. I mean really. Seriously, how could we ask him to do anything else as an owner??? Besides giving away tickets all season. Over the last few years PA has done nothing but improve this team. Why would he move??? What is the point of all this anyway???

If we don't want him to move outta Portland, then in a free market, you should buy the product or shut up... No offense to you. Wouldn't selling out the RG every night keep him here? This whole conversation is just asinine.

People want good character, people want to win, sometimes you can have both, but character comes first. Isn't that the whole point here? Didn't we get in this trap as a team by selecting talent over character? Why would we ask someone to apologize for something they are already correcting? And like Dave said, it would be more than a little suspicious if he did apologize.

Canzano, good for kindling in hell's kithen.

Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'. -the shawshank redemption.

by pdxborn on Oct 10, 2007 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

well

I do agree with some of your points. First off, moving the team to Seattle would be retarded because they get WAY LESS support there anyway. I just think it's fashionable for people on this site to rip on Canzano, and I don't agree that he's a hack. I also don't see what the harm would be in PA simply saying thanks for believing and thanks for sticking around.

by mark twain on Oct 10, 2007 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

ok

I'd say since we are on a blazers site that folks here might be biased... heh.

Canzano has had some good stories, but he does have a tendency to inject himself into the story, which is just as biased as people here saying they don't like him.

I'll agree he does take alot of heat, but that's what you get when you write an opinion column. People will either agree or disagree. Personally, I don't voice my displeasure with him often, but then again I understand how media and marketing work. Hence the first post.

Like I said, nothing directed "at" you, just a response since I thought you were at least honest enough to disagree with most people here, including myself.

No worries.

btw. I think it would actually hurt the Blazers for PA to come out and say something to that effect. It would be different if he came out on opening day and said thanks for supporting the Blazers.

Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'. -the shawshank redemption.

by pdxborn on Oct 10, 2007 4:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Asking for a "thank you"?

What good is the sentiment if it is just a reaction to some silly columnist's preseason space-filler?

Here are Canzano's main statements: "What we need is for Allen to announce that he's thrilled to own the Blazers and that he intends to honor the iron-clad 19-year operating agreement that he has with the city of Portland."

and...

"Customers typically don't come back on hope alone. But in this case, the good people who support Allen's enterprise at One Center Court have bought back in with ticket packages and business sponsorships because they want to believe again. "

First point: if the agreement is truly "iron-clad", why do "we need" a verbal announcement of thrilled ownership from Allen? Seems like all "we need" is to be sure it is "iron-clad". Allen can't walk out of "iron-clad" and not get stung in the wallet.

Second point: It's weird that Canzano starts off his column by using the pronoun "I [JC, the insider who knows things the fans don't]", then goes to "we [JC and the fans]", then goes to "they [fans]", and back to "I" at the end. So when JC makes that second statement about "they want to believe again", he is excluding himself. Maybe that's unintentional, but it sounds like "I won't lower myself to hope like the fans. I need something tangible - like Paul Allen telling me that he loves me!"

Third point: If Allen did make an announcement, would "we" be satisfied? Do any of us know that if Allen makes such a statement, that he will live up to it? The fans are still "wanting to believe". If Allen decides that moving the team is better for him than keeping it in Portland or selling, he will move it.

Canzano might not be a Pollyanna, but he is deliberately downplaying Allen's recent good moves (turning the reins of the team over to Pritchard, and the reinvestment in the Rose Garden) in order to cast a darker shadow.

by lama on Oct 10, 2007 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who cares?

Canzano is a columnist, and Mark Twain has it right. Here and any other fan blog on the net is almost always hunky dory. There is a point to be a columnist and it is to be a watch dog. Everyone hated Canzano for sopposedly sandbagging D Miles with Cheeks and the whole fine incident with Patterson. But guess what? That is HIS job, it really isn't hard to understand. Journalism is the most oft-criticized professions and it is easy for anyone to sling stones at them. When it comes down to it, we all want to hear wonderful stories, even though they might not be the main focus. Canzano has been all over Allen because he has the access to get interviews and see what we cannot. Dave, I implore you, please stop posting these kinds of diaries, it is going to start getting like the whole bandwagon fan incidents. Otherwise, go Blazers and see you guys here tonight for the live game.

Hate the game, not the player.

by Rodendridge on Oct 10, 2007 12:13 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Canzano rules!

I quit reading Canzano a long time ago. I really don't enjoy his columns. But I do think he's entertaining on the radio. That's probably his future.

also ... 37 percent of me thinks that "Mark Twain" is John Canzano. But 63 percent does not, apparently.

by superyeadon on Oct 10, 2007 12:23 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Canzano is a hack

I read his columns but I almost always end up yelling at the screen. Sure he has some good ones about about some poor father sharing the love of sports with his children while holding down three jobs, or a poor custodian cleaning the Rose Garden, touching stories somewhat about sports. But his stories that are actually about sports... He cannot help but make the story about himself. He does anything he can to put himself in the story rather than report the story or share ideas/comments/thoughts on the story. He comes from out of town after the Tribune started eyes the biggest fish and goes inserting himself into the picture. "Oh, these guys like the Ducks and the Blazers are the only show in town, well how about I start trouble with those guys to start getting readers..."

He doesn't want Paul Allen to speak to the crowd tonight. Really, if Paul Allen was going to speak the opening game of the regular season would be the place to do it and Canzano knows that. What Canzano wants is for Paul Allen not to speak and for Portland fans to think that Paul's a sucker because he didn't do what Canzano wanted him to. If Canzano hadn't said anything, nobody would have worried about it, but now that he wrote it, everyone wonders what will happen. Classic Canzano making himself the story rather than reporting the story.

by pwb on Oct 10, 2007 12:33 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

PA should take a bow

Canzano is way off base, IMO. Allen has laid a lot on the line this summer getting the team and franchise in order. Buying back the arena is the most marked example of his commitment. People should be evaluating actions, not words, and Allen has come through for the team this summer and in the past two drafts.

JC should move back to the Sac Bee where they have a team ready to fall apart. He could find plenty of fresh scabs to pick there.

put a body on 'em

by RayBourque on Oct 10, 2007 1:29 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Canzano

is one of what seems to me, part of a "New Wave" of sports journalists, and what bugs me is not the opinions or timing of them, but the writing itself. Instead of a well written thesis espousing opinion based on observation and the type of insider information more readily available to them, the "New Wave" seems to take their observations and information and turn it into some overly emotional love or hate piece. I seriously feel like my mind is not so much being prodded by the writing as much as my emotions, and intentionally so. It's like a some sort of manipulative soap opera of ideas.

This type of writing is everywhere. I've seen it sometimes on yahoo, espn, etc. etc. I don't see it on SBN, TrueHoop, Basketbawful, etc., and I think that is partly why this blog and the others named are so successful; you can get opinions everywhere, but sincere, straightforward, consistent writing can be hard to find, especially in this day and age when it's all about entertainment, performance, and brusque "tell it like it is" personalities.

It's just like, well, basketball. Style, charisma, trash talk, and hype never get you as far as mastering the fundamentals.

Believer, you have forgotten the true meaning of Alvis Day. Neither is it ham, nor pomp. Nay, the true meaning of Alvis day is drinking. Drinking and revenge.

by supremepuntiff on Oct 10, 2007 4:39 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs