News [youtube rAIjhWW24XM] So before Game 2 yesterday still in the throes of fan depression from Game 1, I opined on five things the Trail Blazers needed to do against Houston last night. Here's how they did. 1) Stop bitching about the refs. DONE. And look what happened, the Blazers shot and made four more free throws than Houston - coincidentally, the margin of victory. 2) Aldridge, play closer ...   More

News [youtube bDKQhCgLqxU] We take a brief pause in building up our Irrational Fan Hatred of the Houston Rockets before tonight's Game 3 between the Trail Blazers and the Rockets to pay tribute to Dikembe Mutombo. Mutombo's long career ended in Game 2 against Portland, when he injured his left knee. And while his absence means less rest for Blazers nemesis Yao Ming, it's hard to take much glee in the ...   More

News [youtube FY97mLmWNJQ] With the Trail Blazers facing potential playoff death tomorrow night in Game 5 against Houston, the pundits' eulogies are starting to roll in as to why the Blazers are first-round losers. In no particular order, it's _Greg Oden's fault. No, not entirely. But even conceding some of the refs' whistles are ticky-tack, Oden's whole body language for most of this series has ...   More

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News [youtube 3j1q6osDAEc] For all the back-and-forth over what the Trail Blazers should — or shouldn't — be doing in their first-round series against Houston, we're going to take a step back on this day off between Games 5 and 6 to employ that classic sports bromide — "putting things in perspective." Sports fans ask one of two things from our teams: 1) If you're going to be jerks, ...   More

News [youtube L4YlrkkP9SA] Houston's Ron Artest is always entertaining. In this interview between Games 5 and 6 of the Rockets-Trail Blazers series, we learn that Artest thinks Brandon Roy is better than Kobe and LeBron — but not better than some guy Artest grew up with who went to jail. And we learn what Artest thinks of Charles Barkley, as well as what Barkley thinks Artest needs to do with ...   More

News [youtube pDVFxfUdv5M] Sure, last night's end to the Trail Blazers season was disappointing. But here's some consolation to get you through today's letdown of realizing that Greg Oden stunk, Travis Outlaw and Nicholas Batum shrunk and Steve Blake suffered through on-again, off-again funk. There will be plenty of time to analyze what the Blazers need to do next season. But for the moment, let's ...   More

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News The Pritch is Back. Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard has made it official: the Blazers have signed Andre Miller to a multi-year deal. A quickie take? A 33-year-old point guard will have enough short-term oomph — if his durability remains a constant — to make the Blazers better. But he's not exactly the final piece of the long-term puzzle either. And the next obvious short-term question: ...   More

News Fanhouse has a beat on the NBA's 2009-10 schedule, and the insta-takeaway is that the Blazers will be one of the featured teams on Opening Night with an Oct. 27 game against Houston, the team that knocked Portland out of the playoffs last season. And the Blazers are again playing on Christmas night, with a game against Denver that will be televised on ESPN. UPDATE: The Trail Blazers just ...   More