Portland Trail Blazers Announce 2011-2012 BlazerDancers

On Monday night, the Portland Trail Blazers announced the 2011-2012 BlazerDancers on a special version of Blazers Courtside with hosts Mike Barrett, Mike Rice and Todd Bosma. 16 women and zero men were selected for the squad. 

Here's a rundown of this year's team as well as a fascinating tidbit about each member that was revealed on tonight's show.

• Stephanie -- 2nd year -- Enjoys the television show "Glee" and calls herself a "Gleek."
• Kimberly -- 4th year -- Prefers sleeping in late to waking up early.
• Eri -- 5th year -- Didn't watch the Women's World Cup final because of school but did enjoy the highlights.
• Greta -- 1st year -- Made the team after failing three years in a row and said that her selection is "surreal."
• Rachel -- 1st year -- Plans to force her family members to compete to win her free tickets.
• Michelle -- 3rd year -- Her birthday was yesterday and the try-out process and her eventual selection served as a great present.
• Veronica -- 3rd year -- Appeared on MTV's "Made" television program, noting that she helped people "realize their dreams" and that she gets recognized around town because of it.
• Leisel -- 6th year -- Danced professionally on Princess Cruises and recently vacationed in Australia, where she "hung out with kangaroos and koalas."
• Amanda -- 2nd year -- Works as a personal trainer and believes that experience helps her prepare for this team.
• Lisa -- 1st year -- Captained the University of Oregon's dance team and is Eri's sister, although the two have never danced together, which makes this particularly exciting.
• Cristi -- 4th year -- Blogs; Also creates inspirational books and toys for children when she isn't dancing. 
• Rea -- 6th year -- Hails from an island in Micronesia, teaches dance and is considered the "veteran" on the team.
• Kelly -- 2nd year -- Realizes that "you can't do this forever."
• Taren -- 4th year -- "Loves" to hunt and spent a lot of time in the woods "looking for deer" with her father.
• Camicha -- 5th year -- Admits that she shed "lots of tears" after making the cut.
• Jennalea -- 1st year -- Was a member of the Junior BlazerDancers for three years.

12 returning members; four new members. 11 names that end with a vowel; five with a consonant. 

If there's a concern here, it's that this year's team averages just 2.13 years of previous experience, a figure propped up by two five-time prior participants. Clearly, this is a group that would benefit from an extended work stoppage caused by a lockout.

Last names weren't revealed on the show because creeps like you have access to google.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter