Not much going on in Blazerland. About the most interesting event relating to the Blazers is the OregonLive "You be the GM" voting, which today focuses on probably the most popular player in the Portland right now: Jarrett Jack. So far, only Zach Randolph has been given the collective "screw you" from Blazer fans, which makes me question if anyone actually cares about production on the court. The guy's a headcase, I get it, but without Randolph, this team wins about 5 games last season. Would the incessant bitching by fans stop if Z-Bo and Darius were released, but the team still lost 70 games? Not bloody likely.
The other minor footnote this weekend is that the deadline for early draft declaration passed on Saturday, though the names supposedly haven't been released. Then again, it's not like there's been any lack of speculation or rumor-mongering, so I'd be surprised if there were any... surprises come the day the names are released.
Watching the playoffs this weekend, it struck me that for as much as I wish the Blazers were in the post-season, I don't missed getting jobbed over and over again by the refs. We of the small-market know all too well how a game can be turned on its' proverbial head when the guys who really call the shots (read: advertisers) decide that "you know what, it might be beneficial to have a Laker/Clipper match-up." On its face, it sounds a little paranoid, but when it happens time and time again, you'd be a fool to not catch on. Every Blazer fans favorite Rasta Brian Grant got in a little passive-aggressive jab at the officiating. When asked what it was like to come up short against the Lakers, Grant responded that "You forget that I was on that Portland team. I know how it feels to walk into this [visitors'] locker room when you've played so well and you can't believe that you lost. It feels pretty similar." You don't have to be the Amazing Kreskin to figure out what the Rasta Monsta is getting at.
No one denies that NBA "superstars" get calls that most don't, so is it so hard to believe that teams who the NBA wants to advance get preferential treatment in the playoffs? Especially after how relatively hum-drum the playoffs were last season? It's pathetic, and sometimes it makes me feel like an idiot for participating in such a thinly-veiled charade.
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