News and notes

["Odegaard, Greg M." <GMOdegaa@RMC.com>]

>"Brian Grant (Por) won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.  The award
recognizes outstanding community service and charitable work."<


I guess from the above it is clear Mr. Grant is not a thug.  If I remember
correctly some thought he was on the court too, and then Malone was fined,
same with Miller their owner whining about Greg Anthony in front of the
entire world and instead he was fined.  Great role models, I am sure the
Jazz faithful are very proud of their team this morning.  Not to criticize
too much, as I have always liked the Jazz to a degree and wished them well,
but after that stupid Pride movie, things changed a little.  Malone, for his
sake, is definitely going out a sore loser, proving it on the court,
hopefully Stockton can keep his wits about him, and remain professional. I
thinks they will need all their first round picks this year.

It is too bad that the Blazers didn't act last night like a team that might
have actually won something before.  I fear for their reactions if they win
another series before the title.  Sure enjoy the moment, but in the big
picture, you haven't won anything yet, at least something worth hanging a
banner for (conference championship banners, we don't need no stinking
conference championship banners around our house).  Grow up.

Below are two pieces from the Portland Oregonian.  The second is about
Grant, the first is by far the most powerful piece written in the home town
paper on the Blazers in some time.  Duin is more of a news/metro columnist a
fact which I am sure will be pointed out to him in the probable death
threats he receives from some of the faithful and I for one applaud his
courage to write this.  I don't necessarily agree, but find it very
insightful none the less.  

Given the tough battle and the rest for the Spurs, the Blazers could have a
very tough time over the weekend in Texas.  IF they can win one there, far
more than versus the Jazz, then they have a good chance, if not it could be
a short series.  Sabonis has played well for spells, but Duncan on
Grant/Wallace will be worth the time to watch.

A housekeeping detail; are there not rules on this list regarding posting
vile curse words for us all to read?  It has happened in the past with the
violator being dropped, and it has happened more recently with a couple
esteemed and "respected" contributors, and apparently because of this fact a
double standard exists.  Just curious about the matter, and I will probably
get off my high horse soon, but ask one thing; remember when posting to the
entire list you are going out to maybe a 1000 of us, some appreciate the
potty humor more than others, but I don't and would appreciate all of us
showing some class by not accepting it, instead of stooping to that level.
The people in question, I assume, are better than that, and certainly can
plead their case without becoming a juvenile punk.  Now if we were standing
toe to toe on the matter, curse words might very well be appropriate, but I
have no plans in the near future to travel to NY, so what are you going to
do.


Root, root, root for home team? I don't think so 
Thursday, May 27, 1999

By Steve Duin
Columnist
The Oregonian 
The sticker on my press-row seat at the Rose Garden Sunday evening -- for
Game 4 of Portland's playoff series with Utah -- was polite and to the
point: 
No cheering in the press box, please. 
No problem. 
All journalistic indifference aside, I can't root for these Blazers. I may
be the only guy in town who doesn't want to see the organization rewarded
for its attitude, its priorities and its character. 
Yes, I was on my feet in the waning moment of the Blazers' Game 4 victory,
but only in an attempt to see around a woman turned delirious by each
successful Isaiah Rider free throw. Her arms were in the air, her head
turned toward the heavens, her eyes rimmed with joy. You might have thought
someone's house had just crushed the Wicked Witch of the East. 
There's a lot of that going around. Some of the enthusiasm is
understandable. There are, obviously, some things to like about this team.
Brian Grant is a class act. Arvydas Sabonis is a stiff-legged hoot, slam
poetry in motion. Local honcho Damon Stoudamire's many forays around the
town reflect the organization's increased commitment to community programs,
an interest that seems genuine rather than publicity-driven. 
And you have to appreciate the team's on-court energy. We've come a long way
since the era when the closest thing the Blazers had to a pulse was Jim
Paxson moving without the ball. 
But much of what's positive about the franchise gets lost in the ugly,
sumo-wrestling state of the NBA game; the shameful antics of the team's
retinue (oh, for the days when the Blazers had a guy with some dignity doing
the radio broadcast); and the undisciplined, ungoverned behavior of several
bozos on the team bus. 
That behavior is often as unpleasant as the typical NBA game, particularly
the no-holds-barred anarchy in the low post. 
I have no patience with the immature Rasheed Wallace, who -- at 24 --
indulges in the kind of antics I wouldn't abide in my 9-year-old. 
And I will never cheer for Rider, a selfish, churlish misfit who's been
suspended for 11 games in the last two years and still thumps his chest as
if he's the heart of this team. 
Most of this stuff doesn't bother team president Bob Whitsitt, who opts for
talent over character and style over substance. That may explain why three
players on this team starred at Nevada-Las Vegas when it was one of the most
notorious bandits in college basketball. 
It doesn't bother the lackeys within the media pool. Of course, these are
the bandwagon bums who don't have enough guts to challenge the quotes of
Utah Coach Jerry Sloan in the locker room, only enough to spray him from the
safety of a radio station. 
And it doesn't matter to the jubilant fans in the Rose Garden, who
apparently feel better about themselves and their hometown when the shots
are falling and the Blazers are winning. 
I don't get it. Maybe I just haven't lived here long enough. I've been in
town for 20 years and I feel no more obligated to rally 'round an obnoxious
sports franchise than I would to lead cheers for an obstinate City Council. 
If the Blazers survive the Jazz, they will face San Antonio in the
conference finals. 
The Spurs feature point guard Avery Johnson, who once autographed a
basketball card for my son with a Bible verse on faith and maturity;
journeyman forward Jerome Kersey, who gave Portland the best years of his
life; David Robinson, a ferocious gentleman; and Tim Duncan, perhaps the
most graceful, gracious player in the league (hey, he's a Wake Forest grad).

I'm sorry, Blazer fans, but unless you've been turned totally cynical by
sports, that's a group worth rooting for. 
And I don't care if the Spurs play Utah or Portland: If they don't win, it's
a shame. <<<


>>>NBA playoffs: Brian Grant's time has come 
Sunday, May 23, 1999

By Dwight Jaynes
Columnist
The Oregonian 
So you've never been in the second round of the playoffs and your knee has
been bothering you and you're playing against the best player of all time at
his position and you've never even been invited to play in the All-Star
Game. 
You're Brian Grant. And what do you do? 
You go out and play the best basketball of your career. You play like a
perennial all-star. You play Karl Malone as well as anybody has played him.
You answer every challenge, physically and mentally, play with heart and
intelligence and give your team a great chance to win. 
The Blazers have found heroes up and down their roster in the postseason,
but against the Utah Jazz, there is always a big key: if you can't keep
Malone under some kind of control, you probably can't win. 
And in this series, Grant has been a handful for Malone at both ends of the
court. 
"Brian Grant has done a great job," Malone said Saturday, after Grant had 16
points and 15 rebounds in the Blazers' 97-87 win. "He works very hard." 
Everyone knew Grant, if he was healthy enough, would do a respectable
defensive job on Malone. But not many expected the power forward to become
such a focus of his team's offense. 
For Grant, it started in the first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns, when he
averaged 19.3 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. Grant made 71.9 percent of his
shots and made it obvious he is a player who can elevate his game in the
postseason. 
"Brian's got a good rhythm going," Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "He had
a great series against Phoenix and he's playing as well as I've ever seen
him play. He's done it at both ends of the floor. He's really worked on his
game." 
Playing mostly head-up against Malone -- a member of the NBA's all-defensive
team -- he has made 58.3 percent of his shots from the field and averaged
19.3 points in this series. Remember, this is a player who averaged 11.3
points a game in the regular season. 
Malone, meanwhile, is scoring plenty of points (24.3 a game) but is shooting
43.8 percent from the field. 
Grant has taken this series personally. He is a man with great pride and has
found a perfect vehicle to show the kind of player he has become. The 1999
playoffs have turned into his coming-out party. 
"It's an honor to be able to take (Malone) on," Grant said. "He's one of the
best players in NBA history. I just look forward to the challenge. He's
going to get his points. He's going to score. You just try to contain him
the best you can." 
Grant seems to be continually gaining confidence because his coaches have
shown so much confidence in him. Success breeds opportunity -- which often
breeds more success. 
"The coaches have confidence in my ability to score against him," Grant
said. "We had other mismatches inside. We had Rasheed (Wallace) on (Bryon)
Russell and (Arvydas) Sabonis against (Greg) Ostertag." 
Grant has shaken the pain from a deep bruise on his right knee that hampered
him through the second half of the season. In fact, he seems as active as he
has been all season. 
"We're energized," he said. "We know we have the opportunity to do
something. We can make it to the Western Conference finals and, after that,
who knows? 
"But we have to stay energized. This doesn't give us any advantage, because
if we don't win (today) then it's like what the Jazz did in Utah. They
couldn't close it out in the second game." 
The Blazers, though, have locked in on Utah's offense. The Jazz needs to
find a Plan B offensive wrinkle somewhere -- fast. 
In its two losses, Utah -- one of the best field-goal shooting teams in the
NBA for most of the last decade -- has shot 38.7 and 38.9 percent from the
field. It's simple: the Jazz isn't shooting well because it hasn't gotten
good shots. 
"I don't know if I've ever played against a better defensive effort," is the
way Utah coach Jerry Sloan put it. 
And Grant has been a big part of that. <<<