The best shirt in the history of clothing: Yes, its Viktor Khryapa

Clearly, my recent enlightment (A Delonte West/Akeem Scott amalgamation that was too powerful for Blogger to save property and is currently being reconstructed) is steering the very best of the Universe towards my energy frequency. I have never felt spiritually connected to a t-shirt, but that all changed when I stumbled across this beauty:



In an act of cruelty, there is no easily identifiable means to purchase this perfect cloth from outside of Russian borders. Recent Ebay searches yield only one sad basketball card.

This is as a distress beacon to vibrate across the Interwebs: I must have this t-shirt. Nothing less than the balance of our Being is at stake. If you have a way to get this to me, please let me know. If needed I will have to take that Trans-Siberian Railroad trip. The will of the Universe is impossible to deny.

UPDATE: This post has been linked to by several Chicago Bulls sites. I am now officially impressed by this fanbase.

Someone Sign Viktor Khryapa

Only vaguely Blazer related at this point, but I just heard Viktor Khryapa got cut from the Bulls. He has been a fan favorite in Chicago much like he was in Portland, but the Bulls decided they just don't need his 3 points and 2 rebounds per game anymore. Cheer up, he wasn't getting burn anyways. Free Khryapa movement no longer needed.

He can play. He was first-team all Eurobasket tournament last summer when he and his comrades took the gold. He's 6'9, a good athlete, only 25, has some all-around skills, and hustles. It would be really nice to see him sign with an NBA team that will actually use him. Of course, this probably means signing with a terrible team, which means lots of losing. The alternative is to return to Russia, where he's famous and would get paid, and be the man.

I don't know much about the guy (does anyone? His wikipedia entry has 76 words-let us in Viktor!), but unless he has the burning desire to still play in the NBA the Russia homecoming seems pretty likely. That would be unfortunate. While I don't exactly go out of my way to watch him play, for some reason I like knowing that I could.

UPDATE: Pretty amazing discussion of Viktor going on in this thread over at Blogabull. I'm trying to join, but having log-in issues. Send my love.

Khryapa'n back into the news

Blazer fans loved Viktor Khryapa and were sad to see him go. We always love the hustle guys, but I think a lot of us recognized that the man had some decent skills to go along with the effort we saw on the floor. Every once in a while he'd blow up the boxscore, but Khryapa is one of those guys who brings the type of things stat sheets ignore.

Last season with the Bulls, Viktor didn't get much love, but that may change. According to The Painted Area, he gets Eurobasket 1st team all-tourney honors (his team, Russia, won it all). Some slightly more famous guys on the 1st team are Kirilenko, Gasol, and Dirk. Go Viktor. I really hope the attention and possible confidence boost from this tournament will translate into him grabbing more minutes this season. Hopefully he doesn't feel the need to go back to Russia like AK-47, I would miss the guy.