It's Sunday Afternoon and I'm Being Blown Into Tuesday

Girl had told me the wind blows around here. But nothings has prepared me for the gusts over the past few days. And yes, it's blown. They say gusts about 50 miles an hour, and I don't think they are kidding here at all. It blew so badly yesterday driving to the store, it felt like I was being blown off the road. As they say, the east wind coming through the Gorge makes for some great wind surfing but it also chills things a bit eastside. Today was an usual day in the sense that it was nicely sunny outside without a cloud in the sky, and then add in the brisk winds, and it felt about 20 degrees colder than it probably was. I could see many people taking off outside, thinking it was sunny but then realizing it's freaking cold. I've heard trash cans blowing about, there's debris all over our yard, and the sun makes you think it's nice outside, but then the wind gets you and wow. I walked to the store to get a news paper, and felt the chill. I was supposed to go to footy practice today, but ended up having too much to do around here for my own good, and now, I'm taking a break to blog a bit.

The world didn't come to an end on Friday, but it was a momentous day for the Trail Blazers as their salary cap went down $9 million dollars for a player they don't even have on their team. Darius Miles played in his 10th game, and so his salary is back on our books. As much as I'm angry about the circumstances, I realize that things could be a lot worse, like our effort last night at the free throw line versus Charlotte. We should have won the game, but in shooting just over 50 percent from the line, we ended up losing the game in overtime. Things happen over an 82 game schedule, and last night was evidence of a team that did everything to give another team a victory. You could blame the loss on the FT shooting, but our defense in the first half was terrible, letting too many easy layups happen. We'll be just fine, because we tend to not let bad efforts phase us much in the next game, but it does feel like we miss Steve Blake a lot, and we need to get back to what wins us games, mostly effort and rebounding.

I've focused a lot on the Trail Blazers lately because the news from soccer here is kind of slow, being our offseason. But the Timbers did sign seven players this week, well one was with us last year, Cameron Dunn. He played very well late in the season, giving us a spark from the bench that we had been missing through our tough part of the schedule. McLoughlin I remember from his days up north as part of the Craps, and he's a good player and will fit in well down here. The funny thing with this year is that there is no Seattle in the USL and no reserve division in the MLS, so there's plenty of talent to be had if you look right. We'll probably be a better team than we were last year, but then again, I thought our team last year was good to go for 12 wins and we didn't even get half that number.

In soccer, defense gives you so much, and if you can't stop goals, you can't win most games. And really, last year's Timbers had two problems going on - they either couldn't score at all and we would lose by a goal or we couldn't stop the other team at all and we'd lose by a big score. My hope is that this year, there's a better plan in place. I already feel that talent wise we'll be better but it's a matter of actually showing it on the pitch. This week, there were tryouts for the team, and my own friend Firestarter did his level best to give it a go. I commend him for even stepping on the pitch with some of these guys, but he's good and it would be cool to see him on the team, even though that would mean he wouldn't be up with us in the stands. It could be one of those "I knew him when" things.

The MLS bid is also still going on, but it's a waiting game as the Stadium Task Force in town is talking about stadium bids, while the other prospective cities are falling off the wayside. No Las Vegas, No Atlanta, Philly is struggling with money issues, and St. Louis has a plan but major backers to help fund it. Essentially, the competition is Vancouver and Miami right now, and both of their bids have the capital in place and a plan of sorts out there. Vancouver wants to refurbish a stadium that is getting a facelift for the Olympics, while Miami wants to use the Barca investment monies to spread the word of soccer in Miami. The MLS wants strong money in their league, which is why both bids are still on the table and present the strongest challenge to us. We have the passion and crowds, but so far, the money is still being worked on and our stadium committee is still meeting. I feel like MLS is ours for the taking if we can get the money figured out. But considering that two cities are struggling to make ends meet, including Philly which is a team that's already been accepted for expansion, I know that's the tough part of the equation. How do you fund money for a sports team in a tough market where businesses are closing, people are losing jobs, and things are tough?

The answer is that you find a way that won't adversely affect these other services, which Portland has with their bond plan. The money is borrowed off the city's credit record, but none of the general fund is touched so money still pays for cops, services and other things. And building a stadium will bring jobs to town, although some temporarily, but still some folks will make money from a stadium. It's a matter of finding a site and thinking of the future. If you want to learn more about the status of things, visit www.mlstopdx.com or www.mlstoportland.com and you'll get caught up on things. Just remember to stay warm.

One More Game

So here it is Tuesday night in Portland, and things around Darius Miles just keep getting stranger. It was learned today that Portland had actually attempted to pick him up on waivers after Memphis waived him. Whether it was their intention to stash him on the bench for the rest of the year, or on our injured list, the NBA denied the waivers claim and Miles resigned with Memphis. This now puts him 2 games from the magic figure where the insurance claim the team filed to offset his salary is voided because he played in the required number of games after being declared medically retired. Whew, and I try to avoid run on sentences when I can, but there was a lot to cover there.

ESPN also reported today that the NBA won't fine or discipline the team after the email that went around threatening legal action against other teams that signed him for the intent of messing with the salary cap space for next year. And Darius put up 13 points in 14 minutes for the Grizzlies versus the Cavaliers tonight. It would appear that even the Players Association won't file action yet, because Miles has signed and is now playing, so apparently the end result of all of this is that on Friday, Miles plays in his 10th game effectively putting his salary on Portland's books for the next two years, pushing us over the cap and having to pay luxury tax.

The situation stinks to high heaven, but apparently you can trade players for the purpose of seeing them waived and then resign them. This happened most recently with Antonio McDyess, who was with Detroit, but traded to Denver with Chancey Billups as part of the Allen Iverson trade. McDyess was waived because Denver was over the salary cap and didn't have room on the roster. Approximately one month later, McDyess resigned with Detroit and all is well. Dallas did this with a player they traded a few years ago, resigning him right before the playoffs. So I wonder what is different here that what Portland tried to do? The premise for each move is the same, allowing teams to pick up players without adversely affecting their salary situation.

The problem is that Portland has always had a bit of an odd relationship with the NBA. I think our team is well liked enough, but we haven't hosted an All Star game here ever. There was squawking when the first overall pick from the 2007 draft came here and we took Greg Oden, which then led to an season of rehab watch when he hurt his knee before the season. We have one of the richest men in the world as our owner, and he's not afraid to use his resources to help our team where he can. Paul Allen cares enough to spend the money, and he's got people in the organization that make sure it's spent right. The team has everything going in the right direction, and there might be some resentment. Apparently, our GM, Kevin Pritchard, isn't well liked by some GMs because of his brash attitude about success and using new technology for scouting and evaluating talent. Face it, there's plenty of ways to manage a team, and right now, Pritchard is doing things right. But that doesn't stop fans in other cities from saying "Trail Blazer fans are whiners about this" or "I'm tired of hearing about the Blazers."

To all of them, I say tough. You haven't had to endure the pure embarrassment of watching the Jail Blazers from the early 2000's literally destroy every good piece of will that most fans had towards the team. The group may have had basketball talent, but you couldn't turn on the TV or read a newspaper without hearing about something one of the players had done. The list goes through drugs, dog fighting, drag racing, marijuana found at an airport wrapped in tin foil by a metal detector, fighting amongst the players, player insubordination, bad attitudes, surliness with fans and media, getting arrested and showing a trading card as identification. It was a tough time to be a fan of this team, and that wasn't always the case. Yes, we got a little spoiled with success in 1977 and then runs in the 90s with our great teams. But we had good guys and always seemed to be a basket short or a run away from pulling off a title. And then Bob Whitsitt came into town, and changed the philosophy of the team. They became paranoid and insular, and the chemistry of a team was thrown away for quick wins. When things are good and the team is winning, all is well. But, shake it up with some drama, and then watch the fireworks.

It was the hardest time ever to be a fan, watching other NBA fans make fun of us because of our legal issues and trouble. I wore my Trail Blazers gear but more conspicuously than in the past, and going to games was more of a chore than actual enjoyment. I kept waiting for the other shoe to fall, but the more things happened, the more distant I kept getting from the team. I couldn't be proud of a team that didn't care about themselves, their city, or the legacy of the players that played before them.

Darius Miles represents that legacy of those teams, playing only for themselves and their paycheck, selfishly avoiding the responsibilities of being a professional athlete. I understand people make mistakes, but that team repeatedly took any good will built up and destroyed it. Allen even considered selling the team because attendance was so bad and people were abandoning ship in droves. And so we now have a new era of success and doing things the right way, and then, a reminder of the past comes cropping up. The legacy of the Jail Blazers crops up, and won't quickly go away.

I'm ready to move beyond all of that, but there seems to be things that keep pulling us back to rekindle those days. And I resent it, I resent having this situation affect us when we followed the rules, and Miles decided now was the time to rehab and work hard, ignoring the medical advice to retire. It will be nice when all of this is past us, and we can finally put some distance between that dark chapter in Trail Blazer history. We should never forget the lessons of what that team taught us. It's important to win, but it's more important to win doing it the right way.

Postscript to Yesterday

So after writing my piece yesterday, the update is below. The Grizzlies, the team that Miles was with this year for 12 games, resigned Miles to a 10 day contract. Now, the watch is on to see if he gets the 2 games needed to them become part of Portland's salary cap.

Apparently the Memphis Grizzlies have chosen to ignore the Portland Trail Blazers' recent request.

The Grizzlies have re-signed Darius Miles, who is attempting a comeback from major knee surgery, to a 10-day contract, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Friday night.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3822911

And a blog from Memphis fans about the issue.
http://cmimemphis.com/grizblog/node/435#comment

Look, I'm proud my team stood up for themselves and pointed out a potentially distructive thing, and anyone that thinks another team threatened with the same situation wouldn't do something similar is just kidding themselves. I realize that it's not money we should have expected to keep, knowing this was a possibility. But, at the same point, teams need to stand up for themselves and let folks know that if you mess with us, we'll mess back. The point was never to stop Miles from playing for another team if he was going to be part of their plans, but to sign him with the intent to harm the Trail Blazers was the concern. Again, proving that last piece would be extremely hard, but imagine the mess if Miles plays 2 games then gets cut again and not resigned? I'd imagine the issue gets messier if that happens.

I don't believe for a minute that the NBA hates Portland, despite what others might think. I think we are at a point where the franchise is moving in the right direction, and the confidence is showing. Seriously, the team is loaded, and will be a threat for NBA titles for years to come, but part of becoming a true legendary team is showing talent and swagger on and off the court, and it's apparent that it's showing up in all facets of the team and the organization. Keep up the good work, folks, I'm with you no matter what.

The Past Rearing Its Ugly Head Once Again...

The news around the Portland Trail Blazers this year has been relatively positive. The team is winning with solid talent, good natured guys who are out in the community and want to be the faces of the team, and the crowds are returning in droves to the Rose Garden. The expectations are this team should make the playoffs this year, and content for a few NBA titles over the next few years, as they have that much young talent. So imagine the surprise for many Trail Blazer fans over the news of the past 48 hours, and it's been anything but positive.

The link to what is happening courtesy of the Oregonian is noted here, but to give you a quick catchup of the events, here goes. Back in 2003, the Trail Blazers took a chance on signing Darius Miles, a former top draft pick of the LA Clippers. The kid had a world of talent, even appearing in a movie playing a basketball players, but he couldn't put it together with the Clippers and Cavaliers, and was in danger of dropping from the NBA. His attitude and demeanor was the major issues, as he seemed to play mostly for himself, but Portland thought we could resurrect his career and so we took a chance. And he proved himself pretty good in the half season here in the Rose City, so much so that the Trail Blazers gave him a 4 year maximum contract, even though we really were bidding against ourselves to keep him. The next season was moments of talent followed by sulking and disinterested play, but that was the problem for the entire squad. Miles also had run-ins with the coaching staff, including a few suspensions that were reduced without the coach's knowledge.

During the 2005 - 2006 campaign, Miles blew out his knee in a game, and ended up needing microfracture surgery, the new rage in the NBA where they put tiny breaks in the bone to help speed healing, with the recovery time taking a bit shorter time than regular knee surgery. The team has experience dealing with these situations, with Zack Randolph and Greg Oden needing these surgeries while with the team. So the thought was that Miles would rehab and see if he was able to return, although doctors indicated the injury was pretty severe.

So the rehab continued, and the team starts rebuilding but keeps Miles away from the new talent, desiring to keep him from corrupting the others. The rehab seems to go Ok or not, depending on who you believe, but suddendly it's the 2007 - 08 season, and Miles isn't near coming back. The team can't cut him without taking the full brunt of his salary, so they hold onto him with the thought that he might medically retire if the condition is worse enough, or the team can enact insurance to cover his contract if he's deemed unfit to play. Miles has no desire to retire, so the team waits until April to file the insurance claim on the salary once independant doctors indicate that Miles' injury is deemed career ending. But Miles continues to work out and try to come back, and ends up getting some interest from teams. During this summer, Miles gets himself in trouble with drugs, and ends up earning a 10 game suspension. But the insurance clause is also something to consider for the summer as well. If Miles ended up playing 10 games during the 08-09 season, the insurance claim would be rescinded and the Trail Blazers would have to pay his entire salary for the next two years, about $18 million. The team was taking a risk by filing insurance, but they felt he wouldn't come back. And now, an extra 10 game suspension meant even if he made a team, he'd have to sit 10 games before he could play, and then it would be 10 games before the clause kicked in.

Miles played in Boston for the pre-season, and was cut before the season. While some teams had expressed interest, it was December before Memphis signed him, knowing about the suspension. He could be under contract with the Grizzlies until this week in January, and the team could cut him without having to pay his salary for the rest of year. The Grizzlies decided to let him sit the 10 games, and give him a 2 game audition before making the call to keep him or not. They chose to cut him after 2 games, but apparently the move was more money related rather than talent, as Miles fit in with the team and showed some skill.

Cut to this week and Yahoo Sports indicates that the 10 games that everyone expected Miles to have to play before it hit the Blazers' salary cap was actually 2, as the league counted the six games Miles played in Boston. So now, any team signing him to a 10 game contract and playing him for 2 games would then trigger the insurance clause, and the Trail Blazers end up paying Miles' salary. This ends up putting the team over the luxury tax, so instead of being under the amount to be able to sign free agents, the team would have to pay into the league pool. While there were rumours that teams were interested in signing him, the Trail Blazers took an interesting tact today.

The team sent an email to each NBA general manager and the league office stating that if Miles was signed simply to affect the clause and have Miles' salary hit the team's salary cap, the Trail Blazers would take any steps necessary to fight the situation, including litigation. Needless to say, the email caught some teams off guard, and caused quite a ruckus at the NBA offices and at the headquarters of the NBA Players Association. The Players group is filing a grievance against the team, claiming that the email hinders teams from signing Miles, while the NBA has stated that Miles is a free agent now and can be signed, and the NBA is ready to approve any contract that meets the standards. The Trail Blazers' front office has been busy with the press, explaining their situation and taking the heat, so to speak, Even the local columnist in town weighed in on the issue. He stated the reaction seemed paranoid, and the NBA is probably going to come down on the team rather hard.

The thing is, I don't see this as a bad thing overall. If I'm a business and I am now having to pay for something I didn't expect to pay, I'm going to use any recourse I can to get due diligence. And I know from watching the NBA rather closely that the fact that Miles could only play 2 games and affect the Trail Blazers' bottom line so much for salary hadn't escaped many astute teams. In the email out to the league, the team didn't say that another team couldn't sign Miles, but simply that the team would be upset if someone signed Miles simply to trash the Trail Blazers salary cap situation for next year. Mind you, the team will still have assets to trade and one rather large expiring contract if they don't trade LaFrentz, but the money available is slightly smaller, but it's something to consider. The team is looking out for their interests, and I don't blame them a bit for doing that. Ok, timing wise, after hearing about the 2 games, it probably didn't look very good, but did you expect the team to sit back and not say anything? The old organization probably would have bit the bullet and not said a word, but this team from management to the floor has a scrappy attitude and they don't take much from others.

Ok, I'll give the other side a point that it would be extremely difficult to prove that another team willingly signed Miles to affect our bottom line, but if anything, if an issue gets to court, you can't always determine what the outcome might be. I know most teams are very secretive about plans and draft strategies, but then again, the web finds out a lot of things that are supposedly secret. The team would have a tough road proving that a signing was done maliciously, but they'd have their chance in court and you never know. And in watching the events across the pond for my beloved West Ham, you think something might go away, but it doesn't. The team was penalized three seasons ago for supposedly signing players that weren't eligible to be signed, but they did anyway and one of them, Carlos Tevez, helped them stay in the Premiership. The team is now facing all sorts of legal inquiries and proposed fines, and it could cripple them. I don't know what the truth is there, but I know that the team has vowed to fight because they feel they've been punished already. But the courts continue to talk about it, and it seems never ending.

Look, the Trail Blazers situation getting to court would be a bad thing, but they have a few points that I think need to be addressed. One, how come the pre-season games counted towards the 10 games Miles had to play, when he was supposed to be suspended? Yes, he served the suspension later, but why was he allowed to start the pre-season and have those games count. Secondly, this insurance clause now gives another team the right to sign a player and significantly alter their ability to sign players, so the NBA has effectively given another team the right to affect another team's bottom line simply with investing a 10 day contract. The insurance clause rights should be further clarified, especially in this case since it wasn't team doctors that declared the injury career ending. If a team knows they can get away with this with other players in a similar situation, you don't think other GMs might try the tactic simply to keep an opponent from signing someone?

It's a mess, and I don't expect it to end happily for everyone. I don't blame Miles for wanting to play and prove people wrong, nor do I fault the Trail Blazers for trying to get some cap relief, thinking the injury was career ending. This is a rather unique situation, and one I hope ends without too much damage. What I expect to happen is the NBA fines the Trail Blazers, Miles is signed and the clause enacts, the team files a complaint, and the salary cap won't be affected for the full salary because there will be a compromise reached. The NBA doesn't want this dirty laundry aired out, and it's in the best interests for this to be worked out as equitably as possible. We'll see, but at least we can say the season has had some drama on and off the court.