Talking All-Star Game to Portland (nope), Geoff Petrie and Jerry West, Gary Payton and Lester Conner, The Kamikaze Kids … and more
Items on my mind during the chilly final days of February …
• Thought for the day provided by Frank “The Flake” Peters, at 78 still a juvenile at heart:
On Aldridge’s retirement, the Trail Blazers’ lot in life, Tinkle’s contract, OSU women’s hoops, Transfer portal, Duck and Beaver baseball and other things on my mind …
Some (relatively) quick hitters about subjects on my mind in the sporting world …
• Item: LaMarcus Aldridge retires after 15 NBA seasons after experiencing a heart irregularity.
• Comment: Aldridge had played five games with Brooklyn after a buyout by San Antonio and signing as a free agent with the Nets. He had played well, starting and scoring 22 points in 23 minutes in a blowout win over New Orleans.
But after experiencing an irregular heartbeat during the Nets’ game against the Lakers last Saturday and some complications the following day, Aldridge chose to call it a career.
Blazers-Lakers should be an intriguing matchup. And my pick for the series winner is …
A few observations as the eighth-seeded Trail Blazers take on the challenge of facing the top-seeded L.A. Lakers in a seven-game first-round playoff series to which everyone across NBA circles will be paying attention …
• In a word, watching the Blazers’ nine-game run-up to the NBA playoffs has been fun.
Not because they made it — after 45 years in the sportswriting business, I’ll probably never think like a fan — but because Portland’s seeding games have been so watchable.
On the NBA, Major League Baseball, NILs in college athletics, and Oregon State’s layoffs…
Thoughts on some sports issues of the day…
THE NBA SEASON RESUMES:
Most of the specifics have been released through various media outlets. Walt Disney World Resort, 22 teams, no fans, eight regular-season games, then playoffs, the whole shebang beginning July 31 and ending as late as October 12.
On Dwane Casey’s message, the NBA’s re-opening
Weighing in on two issues of the day:
I’ve known and had a good relationship with Dwane Casey for almost 30 years, since he was a member of the coaching staff (along with Terry Stotts) of George Karl with the Seattle SuperSonics. I have a great deal of respect for Casey, now head coach of the Detroit Pistons, and the type of man he is.