Talking sports: Trail Blazers trading frenzy, MLB strike and Adley Rutschman, Pioneers’ Jay Locey to the USFL
Weighing in some sporting issues of the day …
• There must be a method to Joe Cronin’s madness.
Or as Ricky Ricardo might say, “Somebody’s got some ‘splainin’ to do.”
January 2022 Book Reviews
Three-Ring Circus
By Jeff Pearlman
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
As the manuscript was completed for “Three-Ring Circus” in early 2020, author Jeff Pearlman found himself in what some would consider a quandary.
Steve Kerr’s Life Story was Worth Writing, and it’s Worth Reading
Scott Howard-Cooper had it all set up.
The veteran Sacramento journalist was prepared to write a book about the Golden State Warriors’ fourth NBA championship in five years in 2019.
“We were screwed,” Howard-Cooper says. “Nobody wanted to read a Warriors book coming off a loss.”
Howard-Cooper’s literary agent, Tim Hays, had another idea.
“He encouraged me to write a book on (Warriors coach) Steve Kerr,” Howard-Cooper says. “He stayed on me. He said, ‘Write out a proposal. Take a little time and put something on paper.’
Loy’s toy is a ’79 Malibu, and he drives it very fast
As a basketball player, Loy Petersen was more smooth than fast.
At age 76, though, long after his career gracing the hardcourts had ended, speed is at the essence of Petersen’s latest pursuit.
The former Oregon State standout and NBA player is one of the top drivers on the National Hot Rod Association’s Northwest circuit.
On the Trail Blazers’ lousy start, Hassan Whiteside and my former boss, Alabama’s long snapper, a Texas grad assistant and all those $$ tossed around in college football
Things on my mind as we kick off a new (and hopefully far better) year …
• A statistical analysis of the Trail Blazers’ disappointing seven-game start to the 2020-21 campaign portends that the local NBA quintet is fortunate to be 3-4.
The off-season emphasis by general manager Neil Olshey was help at the defensive end, something that was a near-constant during Terry Stotts’ first eight years as coach.
With Ron Callan and Jim Wilson, offering our favorite Beaver athletes ever…
Note to readers: Jim Wilson and Ron Callan will serve as occasional guest columnists on my website. The Oregon State broadcasters’ first offering is a list of each’s top five favorite Beaver athletes to watch through the years. That’s not necessarily the best players, but the ones they most enjoyed watching at their craft.
You Can Bet On It
I was mildly surprised Michael Jordan allowed the subject of his gambling to be included in “The Last Dance.” My guess is that he took it as another opportunity to convince the public that he did nothing wrong, that he was only guilty of being a “compulsive competitor,” not a “compulsive gambler.”
The Last Dance Recap with Kerry Eggers
I had the pleasure of being a guest on the “D and Davis" podcast hosted by Chicago’s Demonze “D” Spruiel and Ken Davis. We discussed “The Last Dance,” the Trail Blazers-Bulls NBA Finals matchup in 1992, Clyde Drexler vs. Michael Jordan, the Jail Blazers and more.
Hey Guys! I Was Listening
Seems that Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells used the occasion of a recent interview on “Rip City Drive” to engage a little hit-and-run action on my book, “Jail Blazers: How the Portland Trail Blazers Became the Bad Boys of Basketball.”