Okay, I'm not going to talk about the Ducks right now. I'm going to talk about Oregon's pro team. The Trail Blazers. You might have forgotten about them, but they are still around. See, you have to understand, I grew up rooting for Oregon, I bleed green and yellow, and I am an Oregon alum. But I also bleed scarlet and black. With both the Ducks and the Blazers, I have always been fortunate to have two great teams to root for.
That being said, I just bought my tickets for the Blazers' season opener vs. Minnesota Nov. 4. They are only the cheapie $10 tickets, but I wanted to be there. Now, the Oregon/Washington game is also that day. The time has not been scheduled, but it could be moved to a night game for TV. I don't have tickets to the Oregon/Washington game, but plan on watching on TV, or listening to it if its not on TV. But, I bought Blazer tickets on the same day as what is, in my opinion, the biggest rivalry that the Ducks have? Yes, I did. Now hopefully the Oregon game does not become a night game. However, if it is, I will be spending my evening at the Rose Garden, and taping the Duck game to watch when I get back.
See, for those of you who have jumped off the Blazer bandwagon (and there have been a number of those the past few years), now just might be the right time to jump back on. Its been a down couple of years, but things are now starting to look back up. The thugs of the past? Ruben Patterson, Rasheed Wallace, Shawn Kemp, Bonzi Wells, etc, are all long gone. The only questionable characters on the team are Zach Randolph and Darius Miles. Miles may never play again. Randolph has his ass in gear and is actually trying this year (at least in the preseason).
But what there really is to look forward to are the young guys on the team. As much as it kills a little part of me to root for a Husky, Brandon Roy is the man. He is having a great preseason, and is the frontrunner for rookie of the year. Jarrett Jack and Martell Webster are playing really well. And we still have yet to see what LaMarcus Aldridge can do. I'm not saying that the Blazers will be back in the playoffs this year--they are still a year away. However, unlike the last few years, they will be exciting, competitive, fun, and be a source of pride for the state again.
I promise that I won't write anything more about the Blazers here. I'll leave that to our Blazers' affiliate, Blazer's Edge, where another Dave does a fine job covering our pro team. But if you're one of the fans who has been turned off of the Blazers the last few years, head out to the Rose Garden a time or two this year. I think that you will be glad you did.
GO DUCKS, and GO BLAZERS!!!
--Dave