You've read in the sidebar and in Ben's links rundown that Brian Grant has gone public with the news of a Parkinson's Disease diagnosis. On this day when we're remembering valuable Blazers from the past season it seems appropriate to celebrate one of the great fan favorites from a few years ago.
Brian Grant was one of my favorite Blazers for a couple of reasons. First, who could forget those legendary playoff battles with Karl Malone? Utah was a tough team at the time and most of their players like to get in extra-curricular elbows and such. Grant was the most obvious Blazer to stand up to it, throwing elbows of his own, grabbing rebounds, and generally telling the Mailman that he had somebody to contend with. He was a real warrior for a squad that needed one. When people talk about the current team needing a little more toughness I suspect Grant is one of the guys they're holding up as an example.
Second, after Grant got moved he had one of the most memorable statements I can recall from a Blazer, let alone a former Blazer. He spoke of possible teams to play for and he summarily eliminated the L*kers from his desired list, citing them as long-time rivals and enemies. He said it wouldn't feel right going from Portland to L.A. I thought that was amazing, not just because of the typical distaste for all things L*kers among Blazer fans, but because Grant would identify so strongly with that fan sentiment.
Best wishes, thoughts, and prayers to go Brian and his family. Feel free to share your best Brian Grant stories in this thread too if you wish.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)