Pros vs. Joes No. 13: Despite the Blazers’ rocky road, Brooke Olzendam’s having a ball
If there is a poster person of popularity among fans in the Trail Blazers organization these days, it’s probably not a player or coach.
Pro No. 12: For Mike Walter, 10 years with 49ers reaped 3 Super Bowl rings
It’s been almost 30 years, Mike Walter, since you laced up your cleats and played a game in the NFL. Does it feel like a long time ago?
Pros vs. Joes No. 11: At 71, Twardzik is still calling games, and having fun doing it at his alma mater
Does Dave Twardzik ever wear the NBA championship ring he earned as a starting guard for the 1976-77 Trail Blazers?
Pros vs. Joes No. 10: Boca Raton is home for Yvenson Bernard, but Oregon State remains close to his heart
Yvenson Bernard is no longer an Oregonian, but he’ll always be a Beaver.
The Schonz is hanging up his microphone
The Trail Blazers’ “Voice of God” has delivered his final sermon.
Pros vs. Joes No. 9: Mikayla Pivec pivots to comfortable spot playing in Spain
It has taken her awhile, but my favorite female athlete in Oregon State history is finally having a rewarding experience playing pro basketball.
Pros vs. Joes No. 8: Schwarz’s retirement means ‘a totally open highway” ahead
To pay tribute to the end of his 32-year career as a reporter at ESPN — the longest tenure in the network’s history — Mark Schwarz was asked to do the narration for a seven-minute spot that was aired during last Saturday’s “Outside the Lines” show.
Pros vs. Joes No. 7: If June Jones isn’t coaching in the XFL next year, start an investigation
June Sheldon Jones III may be 69, but his spirit is 39.
Pros. vs. Joes No. 6: Leave it to the ‘Wizard of Foz’ to keep working to help the cause
For those of you Baby Boomers — or perhaps members of the “Silent Generation” — I have some daunting news to deliver:
Dick Fosbury turns 75 on Sunday.
Pros vs. Joes No. 5: At the rate he’s going, Darnell Valentine might just live forever
For 15 years, since he was laid off from what he called his “dream job” — as director of player programs for the Trail Blazers — Darnell Valentine has been employed at Precision Castparts, an industrial goods and metal fabrication company headquartered in Portland.
Pros vs. Joes No. 4: Dillon’s in a pickle, but he’ll get it together
If there is a sports team mascot from the state that has grabbed the headlines this winter, it’s not been Benny Beaver, Blaze or the “Oregon Duck.”
Pros vs. Joes No. 3: Neil Everett on his rookie season with Trail Blazers: ‘I’ve loved it’
Neil Everett was on the way out of his home in Mar Vista, Calif., for a late afternoon walk with the family dog.
Pros vs. Joes No. 2: Lester Conner is taking on a new experience in old stomping grounds
It had been more than three decades since Lester Conner called the Oakland area home.
Pros vs. Joes No. 1: Brian Wheeler is all in on ‘Pros vs. Joes’ challenge
Brian Wheeler hasn’t called play-by-play for an NBA team since being let go by the Trail Blazers after a 21-year run in 2019.
Come one, come all you forecasters; Pros vs. Joes bracket challenge beckons
You’ve been in March Madness pick ‘em contests before. But never one like this.
Our “Pros vs. Joes” Bracket Challenge offers our subscribers the opportunity to match their forecasting abilities with a cast of celebrities (and me) — and win prizes — while filling out an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket.
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:
My thoughts on the NBA’s Top 75, the dozen greatest players ever, and another 10 for good measure
The All-Star Weekend’s cavalcade of events in Cleveland will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the NBA.
Johnston feeling young again as Hawks rip through WHL foes
On Saturday, Mike Johnston will celebrate a birthday — the Big Six-Five — when the Winterhawks play host to Seattle at Memorial Coliseum.
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.”
Jordan Poyer is All-Pro— and all sober
Life is pretty sweet these days for Jordan Poyer.
Buffalo’s veteran strong safety was named first-team All-Pro for the first time in helping lead the Bills to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.