A few weeks ago, I admitted that this sign at the corner of 4th and Burnside had convinced me that someone somewhere was brewing a Blazer-themed beer. It turns out that I wasn't wrong after all. Even better, the brewer isn't a domestic powerhouse, it's the Hopworks Urban Brewery over on Powell Boulevard. Here's a description of their new Terry Porter porter:

In celebration of the Trailblazers making the playoffs (after 6 long years) we've dedicated our seasonal robust porter to one of their all-time great players, Terry Porter.

Terry Porter features a roasted, caramel malt aroma assisted by floral and citrus hops. The flavor is all business, medium bodied with roast and chocolate flavors, followed by a distinctive smooth style.

During his decade-long tenure in Portland, Porter went to the NBA Finals twice and continues to hold the NBA Finals single-game record for the most free throws made, none missed - 15. In 1,274 career games, Porter averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 assists and 1.24 steals during a career that included two All-Star berths (1991, 1993), two trips to the NBA Finals (1990, 1992) and 15,586 career points. He is 11th on the NBA's all-time assist list (7,160).

6.0% ABV 14.2 Degees Plato 45 IBU

Ok, I'm sold. The Blazers are heading to the playoffs for the first time in six years and I need to celebrate. I could use a gallon or five but I'm assuming it's only currently available in pints at the brewery.

Labels: beer, Blazers, sports

Highlights from last night's Blazer victory over the Suns, and Brandon Roy's endless 3-pointer spree, can be found here.

Labels: Blazers

This? 'Tis brilliant.

"Am I crazy or did that ghost just tell us to get a whole mess of ice cream sandwiches and play Rock Band all night?!"

Labels: Blazers

I think it was right around the time the rain was pounding our faces, somewhere between the Convention Center and the Rose Garden, that my sister and I decided that attending last night's Blazers' match-up against the Bulls may have been a bad idea. Our first mistake was stopping for dinner instead of heading straight to the game after work. At 7:30, a full 30 minutes after the start-time, we were still searching for a place to park. There was some sort of OSU-related sports meet-up being held at the Convention Center which, on top of the game, meant there wasn't a place to leave the car within a mile of the Rose Garden.

With the windows fogging up every five seconds and Blazer fans darting out of the shadows in front of the car as they rushed to make the second quarter, we were on the verge of bagging it. Then, out of the clear blue, a spot magically appeared next to a Starbucks within ten blocks of the arena.

Neither of us were dressed for the monsoon-like conditions engulfing the eastside last night. Our pants and feet were soaked by the time we made it inside. Then we headed up to the very back of the 300-level to find that, with two minutes left to go in the second quarter, a hippie guy was using our seats and his own as a couch. I hate arriving late to things like this, mostly because people always seem to steal my seat if I'm not right there at the start time. No matter the scenario, I always end up feeling like a jerk for making them move because, after all, I wasn't a big enough fan of a band or local sports franchise to get there on time.

We did, however, make it in time for the best halftime show I've ever seen at a live sporting event. A lady in an ice skater's outfit came out on the court, jumped on an incredibly tall unicycle and spent the next five minutes kicking ceramic bowls onto her head. I don't see how any human being could possibly pull this off. I suspect she might have been a Cylon.

And then I somehow spent half of the third quarter waiting in line at a concession stand.

Still, it was all worth it to see the Blazers squeak by a win. In the final seconds of the game Brandon Roy sunk two free-throws, ensuring that the crowd would have free coupons for chalupas waiting for them at the exits. Also: we got to sit next to these fine, upstanding Blazers fans:

Love means never having to say you're sorry for asking your wife to paint a sports team's logo on the back of your head.

Labels: Blazers

...nine!

(random photos from last night's Blazers game)

Labels: Blazers

In front of a sellout crowd the Blazers just beat the Detroit Pistons, one of the NBA's best defensive teams, ending a 4-0 run of wins at the Rose Garden. Even Paul Allen was on his feet and clapping. Sure, his face was as emotionless as the T-1000's but at least he was clapping.

Will they make the playoffs? Let's see if they can win a game on the road first.

Labels: Blazers

After years of being told repeatedly by management that the Blazers "have turned over a new leaf," they may have finally pulled it off. Bonzi, Rasheed, Quintel, Damon, Ruben and Z-bo- all gone, exorcised from the franchise, paving the way for babies and wives backstage at the Rose Garden instead of the "Hoops Family." Who will step up and keep the "Jailblazers" flag flying? Well, Darius is still around, kinda.

Labels: Blazers

I hope I was wrong about this. There's currently a giant-sized jersey hanging on the side of the Wells Fargo building downtown. Oden's flying over America in Paul Allen's private jet as we speak. He hits town tomorrow for a Pioneer Square rally at high noon.

And so the bad-old days of the JailBlazers are (finally? maybe?) drawing to a close. Z-Bo's even headed to the Knicks. Rip City once more? Here's hoping.

Labels: Blazers

Here's a note that arrived in the comments section this morning:

I went to see 'Ghost Rider' with a friend at Pioneer Place (10:15 show) on Saturday night. We waited in line at Broadway to try and see the Korean flick 'The Host', but that show was sold out, so Ghost Rider was are only alternative. I'm thinking you meant me since I'm 6'9 don't fit in the theater seats and I thought the film was fairly absurd. I generally like comic book films that are done well, but Ghost was not one of them.

So that tall guy in the auditorium on Saturday was *not* a Blazer. This just goes to show that not everyone over 6'5 in this town plays for an NBA franchise. I was a schmuck for assuming otherwise. Thanks for setting the record straight, Jim.

Still, one mystery remains: has the real Joel Pryzbilla seen Ghost Rider? If so, did he laugh through half of it?

Labels: Blazers, comics, movies, Pryzbilla

I never attended a live Blazers game as a kid. While I had those old Oregonian cut-out posters hanging in my bedroom and even a copy of "Rip City Rhapsody," I never made it down to the Memorial Coliseum. While I watched plenty of barn-burner home games on television, I never saw one live. In later years during the Rasheed Wallace-era I caught a few games but they were always tedious, mid-season blow-outs against sub-mediocre teams.

I went to the Rose Garden for a late-season loss to the Utah Jazz last year and it was probably the most unpleasant few hours I'd spent at the Rose Garden since a painful Van Morrison/Bob Dylan team-up concert in the late '90s. The Jazz whipped the Blazers and most of the crowd was gone by the start of the 4th quarter.

But Wednesday night was a different story. A colleague and I were sitting up in the 200-level. This game against the "Timberpuppies" was tight all the way through and the crowd, which had honestly managed to fill a mere 2/3s of the stadium, was completely into it. We had high school kids dancing in the aisles and blimps shaped like SUVs dropping gift certificates* from the rafters. It felt like the old games I had enjoyed vicariously on KGW but with thumping baselines coming out of the overhead speakers instead of Queen (although the Rose Garden did break out Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll part 2" during a time-out).

With a minute left and the Blazers down by three, a few people in attendance started heading for the exits. Throughout the game, movie clips aired on the stadium's JumboTron over the court, re-edited to include the team's mascot. They had one great one left, a clip of John Belushi's rally speech from Animal House. "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" No, sir, it sure wasn't and "Blaze" the Blazer mountain lion seemed to agree as he ran out of the room with the rest of the Deltas.

A pair of last minute free-throws from Zach Randolph sent the game to overtime. Our attempts to start a "spay and neuter your pets" chant failed miserably though, as did the shorter, simplified, more accessible "neuter those Timber-puppies!" Kevin Garnett's 31-points weren't enough to take the game, the Blazers won and my voice was shot by the end of it all. I'm still hoarse two days later.

It was nice to have "Rip City" back, if only for a little while, and before Paul Allen inevitably moves the Blazers to Seattle. I'm thinking this will happen by the 2009 season, unless a miracle keeps the Sonics up there or another franchise moves in.

* Sorry for the pitiful cell phone photo of the SUV blimp. This is probably the worst one I've ever run on this blog. Hooray! A new low!

Labels: Blazers