This NFL season has been a perfect microcosm of 2021. Things are more normal than last year, sure, but in the way that Kanye West living in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for weeks finishing an album is more normal than Kanye West wearing a MAGA hat in the Oval Office with Trump. More normal? OK. I still […]
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In August of 2012, Wright Thompson, a senior writer at ESPN, published a fascinating story in ESPN The Magazine titled “Urban Meyer Will Be Home for Dinner”. It was a unique and nuanced examination of Meyer, then at Ohio State; and the primary focus of the piece surrounded the question of how Urban Meyer, the […]
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Last week when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to SoFi stadium for their matchup with the Rams, many were quick to point out that it was the first time in Tom Brady’s professional career that he’d ever played a game in Los Angeles. For a player who has accomplished as much as Brady and is […]
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It’s mailbag time! For those of you who may be unfamiliar, a mailbag is when we reach out to readers for questions, and then choose a few that we think make interesting topics to discuss. (But do we, really? There’s no oversight and for all you know we’re just making up the questions we want […]
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Week 1 of the NFL season is officially behind us, and as we ready ourselves for tonight’s NFC East battle on Thursday Night Football, it’s worth discussing some of the league’s emerging storylines. Maybe your favorite squad is 1-0 and you’re researching travel plans for the Super Bowl. Perhaps your team is 0-1 and you’re […]
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I love the NFL. Intense competition, shoddy PR, wings; it’s great. But let’s face it, the league has been struggling with popularity in some key demographics of late. Youth football participation has waned dramatically over the past decade, and the kids whose parents convinced them playing amateur football would cook their brains to scrambled eggs […]
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Last night’s 147-140 Game 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets was a heartbreaker for the Trail Blazers. Not only did it push them to the brink of elimination, now forcing them to win two games in a row to avoid a Round 1 exit; but it wasted what was unquestionably one of the all-time great […]
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The Trail Blazers Thursday night, 120-115 loss to Denver felt, in many ways, like a microcosm of this current era of Rip City basketball. Entering the night, the stars were aligned for a statement win following their disappointing Game 2 loss in Denver. It was their playoff home opener with the most fans in the […]
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Even the most glass-half-full fans have to be upset. With their loss to Memphis on Sunday – their second to the Grizzlies in as many days – the Blazers have now dropped 5 games in a row and 8 of their last 10. Since the All-Star break, Portland is just 11-14. Once seeming like a […]
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LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement from basketball Thursday, ending what was by all measures an exceptional NBA career. In his parting statement he mentioned dealing with an irregular heartbeat during his final game with the Nets as the impetus for his decision, and knowing this wasn’t the first time a heart-related ailment had sidelined Aldridge […]
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Goodbyes are never easy. Last week as teams across the NBA made deals leading up to the trade deadline, the Trail Blazers got in on the action with a move that netted them Norman Powell from the Toronto Raptors. Powell, a sixth-year shooting guard out of UCLA, won a championship with Toronto in 2019, and […]
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I know what you’re thinking; could tonight’s Blazers versus Lakers matchup foreshadow this year’s Western Conference Finals? Kind of seems like a stretch for this version of the Lakers. When the first-half schedule was announced before the season, tonight’s game was one I circled. While a regular-season matchup does little to simulate the intensity of […]
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With the NBA’s release of this season’s second-half schedule on Wednesday, the Trail Blazers officially have one fewer question to contend with. The schedule, originally broken into halves to allow flexibility for any COVID-19 related issues, now includes both of Portland’s previously postponed matchups with Memphis as part of their final 37 games in 67 […]
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With the 2020-21 football season now in our rearview mirror, the sports world looks forward. The NBA and NHL are in full swing, spring training is just around the corner, and the NFL offseason promises to bring old faces to new places along with a fresh crop of draft prospects ready to make their mark […]
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