AGRI Biz

There was a time when the Portland Trailblazers were a good team verging on the great.  They were good enough to hold a 4th quarter Game 7 double-digit lead. It is a revisionist lie to say they did not have fans. The Rose Garden still sold out with regularity. But it is also not a truth to say they were loved. It was hard to like a ...

  For Portland Trailblazer fans like me, the 2009-10 season, started with tremendous optimism. Every season we were told to lower our expectations, that the team was too young and inexperienced to make much progress. Yet, season after season, the team added double digit totals to the win column. They made it to the playoffs last year and even won a couple games. But then the season got off to a rugged ...

The last couple games have been pretty rough for Portland Trailblazers fans. First, there was the debacle in the Dallas game where the referees had a huge impact on the contest. They did not decide it, but they were a major, major factor with a huge number of blown calls that certainly put the Blazers in a difficult position they could not overcome. We were aghast when, as ...

In response to a recent post explaining why I elected not to renew my season tickets largely due to the trade of Travis Outlaw, I was asked what I thought of the LaMarcus Aldridge for Chris Bosh trade rumors . In some respects it is an intriguing question, and one that is difficult for me to be objective about. I freely admit to being a huge LaMarcus Aldridge ...

Prior to the season there was a lot of optimism in Rip City. It made a lot of sense because the team, at least on paper, had clearly improved. Backup point guard, the most glaring problem spot, had seen a major upgrade with near-All Star Andre Miller coming in at the addition-by-subtraction cost of turnover-machine Sergio Rodriguez. The second most glaring problem was resolved with the return of Martell Webster. While Nicolas ...

The excitement in the air was palpable. These Blazers were coming off a 4-1 road trip that included a road win over the Hornets. In some ways, that brought relief. After all, the season got off to a rugged start with two home losses that both ended in heart-breaking fashion. Unlike last year when every close game was closed out by Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, Joel Przybilla, and ...

Going into the season, my hopes for this year's Blazer team were sky-high. Coming off a very fun 54-28 year, having upgraded the three weakest positions, and entering the fourth year for the heart and soul of the team to be together, I optimistically suggested 60+ wins, a Western Conference Finals or better appearance, and an opening month with a record as sparkling as 15-4. Just a couple weeks later the ...

Change came early with the opening tip. That was not Joel "the Thrilla" Przybilla with the opening tip. Greg Oden did enough in the pre-season to earn the starting job. The first quarter was pretty rugged as the Rockets did what they do and their defense, combined with Portland turnovers, kept them tied at 23-all. After that the numbers got ugly. 26 turnovers. 42.9 percent shooting. 42 points in the entire second half, including ...

Last season, the Blazers tied with the Nuggets for the best record in the Northwest Division, 54-28. They then gave back all the hard work in the first game of the playoffs, getting rolled up at home by Utah. Once that game was over, they quickly showed they had what it took to win in the playoffs at home and competed in almost every road game but never broke through ...

Last night was the first preseason game I have been able to attend this year. I settled comfortably into my old home, took a picture with my camera phone of the Rose Garden and sent it to a couple co-conspirators under the title, "I'm Home!" and got ready to watch the game. About the time they announced the first starter, I went, "Uh-oh!" Now, make no mistake about ...