I'm in Seattle for the holidays... anyone have a recommend on a good bar in Seattle to watch Blazers game (note: Fox Sports Grill gets an automatic unrec)? I'm looking for something (in order of preference) in the U-District, Cap Hill, Downtown, or Uptown. Or possible Wallingford/Fremont. My criteria are a more or less laid-back/dive-bar type atmosphere, with inexpensive beers. I love hipster-spotting (no place beats the Goodfoot...) so a place with just enough hipsters to make it non-obnoxious is cool too.

Thanks.

There is a team that plays nominally in the Northwest Division that is looking to unload the following players, in exchange for a draft pick and/or an expiring contract.

Portland has 1 first round-pick and 4 (count 'em) 4 second round picks, along with LaFrentz's expiring contract.

Joe Smith: At this point in his career, a highly experienced version of Channing Frye. I'd consider him a rent-a-player/coach; he is due $4.5 this season and then expires. I've always liked Joe Smith, I think he is a good guy to have around the club. He won't demand alot of touches, he won't blow assignments on D, and he should be able to teach Aldridge and Outlaw a thing or two. Additionally, he'd provide the "veteran influence" that the media wants.

Chris Wilcox: A "true" power forward. He's due $6.75 for the rest of this season and then expires. His defense isn't great, but he is an athletic shot-blocker and effective interior scorer. He can rebound, in my opinion better than his numbers indicate. I would like him because he's a marked improvement over Diogu, and unlike LaFrentz, he can actually suit up.

Earl Watson: We don't need him, he can't help us, and he is horrible. Issue Closed.

Question: Is Joe Smith worth acquiring? We could technically do a LaFrentz for Wilcox + Smith deal; I don't know why the other team would want to do this... they would save about a mil in salary prorated over this season (so, about 1/2 a mil) for the pleasure of getting rid of two guys that they can non-tender the summer anyhow. We'd need to include probably a 1 and a 2 pick. Also, we'd have to waive Randolph or Diago to make this happen, because we couldn't put them in the deal.

The alternative is to do nothing, let LaFrentz, Diago, Randolph, and Frye(?) walk away and take 5 selections in the draft. Personally, I'd try to move into the lottery and then leverage that pick for a guy we really, really want (like Rodney Stuckey). I think it's time to renounce (or not renounce, who cares?) all our current overseas holdings except Kopponen, but honestly I don't ever see him contributing.

There are all of our offensive possession, from the 4:00 mark onward in the 4th quarter against Orlando (time left on shot-clock in parans)

3:51 Roy makes 22ft shot (6 seconds left)
2:58 Roy makes 18ft shot (1 second left)
3:34 Roy 2-2 FT's (16 seconds left)
2:20 Aldridge makes 19-foot jumper (4 seconds left)
1:40 Outlaw misses 3-pt shot (7 seconds left)
1:15 Blake misses 3-pt shot (8 seconds left)
0:41 Blake turnover (5 seconds left)
0:05 Roy misses 3-pt shot
---

I didn't see the play which Roy got his free throws on, i'll just assume for argument it was a layup/close-in shot. What I do see is last years maddening tendancy: to abandon all offensive execution and jack up three pointer after three pointer. This time it happened at the end of the game.

8 possessions; 7 attempts; 8 pts. From 2-minutes on, 1 turnover, and 3 missed 3pters. Any one point would have pulled this game from the fire.

I'm calling it now:

Portland will go 5-0 on this road trip. A professional victory over New York. Blowing the doors off of DC. A coming-out party against Boston. A high-scoring, 14 point win in Toronto.

This road trip will be like Sherman's March to the Sea - destroying everything along the way. Detroit now sees that they need Billups and don't have a real shot at LeBron anyhow. New York will descend into inner turmoil and realize they are not much better off than they were last year and turn their clock forward two summers. Celtics fans will wonder what the hell happened, create a conspiracy theory, and attempt to discredit the game when they lookc at the box score and see KG and PP combine for 19 points while Ray Allen goes 7-20 from the floor and attempts just 2 free throws. Toronto will lay down in defeat 5 minutes into the game.

When they look back on this season, this road trip will be remembered as a turning point of the year, in fact, the turning point of this generation's NBA. Just like Bird-Magic remade the NBA in the 80's or Jordan re-molding it in the 90s. For all the effort and time wasted looking for the "Next Jordan", it'll turn out to be a team - the Brandon Roy Blazers - that will be the defining frame in which the league will be viewed in the oncoming era. If the 2000's were an era of false idols (remember when Vince Carter was "NEXT"?), the 2010's will be a Rip City Era.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX_CefCC8aE&feature=related

You'll have to watch near the end for the apropros joke. It is oddly prescient, and despite being 10 years old, still pretty current. I can't be the only person who misses this show, even if most of y'all are portland people.

If anyone has a link to Keister's "Not in our house" monologue (or the mix-a-lot version of the song), please follow-up with a link!

BEdgers2 [3082]: streak out to a 2-0 record with two solid victories. PG Tony Nutanyeba should change his name to Tony Nutenonya. Leads the team with 18/4.5/4.5.

BlazersEdgers [3030]: 1-1. Lost to a solid Vatos team.

Just Blaze [2699]: 2-0, but haven't played a real squad yet. Forward James Dean has put up 31pts and 27 rebs in two games.

Bedgers [3204]: The original team has yet to play a real game, although they are at 2-0. There are only 2 real players on the three teams they will play to start the season. Doesn't tell us anything about them. It's like the real Blazers playing against the Lincoln HS team. The girls team.

Red Unit [2661]: 0-2. Lost to a team with 8 players and significantly fewer points.

Any more???

The season for Red Unit and Just Blaze was over before it began, as they couldn't train up quite enough going into the season. Maybe next year.

Guards:

Jared Bayless
Steve Blake
Rudy Fernandez
Sergio Rodriguez
Brandon Roy
Von Wafer??

Forwards:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum??
Ike Diagu
Channing Frye
Travis Outlaw
Martell Webster

Centers:

Raef LaFrentz
Greg Oden
Joel Przybilla

I guess I don't think of Von Wafer as being part of next years 'Blazers. I also can't imagine Batum being served by being the 12th man this year rather than playing back in Europe.

From what we've been discussing, it seems like Wafer goes, Koponen stays. But who is taking Batum's spot? A summer league player? A FA? Do we end up 'eating' Wafer?

I'm a direcTV subscriber (not for long). Suddenly, Portland summer league games [in Las Vegas] are blacked out.

1 - What the F?

2 - Will DirecTV people be able to watch the Blazers this year? What's the status on that? [And no, I don't mean over the internet].

A - I'm moving to New Jersey for the entire of the next regular season. What are my options for watching games? What about the radio? Anything for free?

Thanks!