Petteri Koponen Watch: For protocol only edition

As Goonerluke dropped in the comments, Koponen played a great game against Italy a couple days ago. Specifics have yet to emerge, but here is the gist:

In Thursday’s Group B fixture, Finland topped Italy 89-95 in a game for protocol only. Finland guard Petteri Koponen scored 5 of his 26 points after Italy closed to within 2 with 90 seconds remaining to lead his team to the win.

Another good outing for The Finnagler. Also, I'm going to start using "for protocol only" in my daily life.

Goonerluke random thought 12/11

Whatever you may think of this blog, you have to respect my lazy. You can imagine my excitement when Goonerluke sent something fresh in. Enjoy it while you can, because soon I will have sucked all the life out of it.

I present you with the random Goonerluke Blazer thought of the day. Unfortunately, this is the end of the Goonerluke stockpile. Pray for replenishments.

The June draft is set up so each team is supposed to get one rookie with tasty skills (first round) and after that (second round) its like trying to pick the one otis spunkmeyer in an opaque jar of stale chips a’hoy

Goonerluke random thought 12/10

Whatever you may think of this blog, you have to respect my lazy. You can imagine my excitement when Goonerluke sent something fresh in. Enjoy it while you can, because soon I will have sucked all the life out of it.

I present you with the random Goonerluke Blazer thought of the day. Check tomorrow for...tomorrow's.

Forget all this junk about about the Blazers ipods and what they listen to pre-game. Every asshole in the NBA is listening to Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne, and Muchachito Bombo-Infierno… What I want to hear is that Brandon and the entire team sit down pre-game and listen to a 10 minute clip of wolves stalking and taking down a stray caribou, or better yet, when they’re playing Shaq they should be listening to a clip of African lions taking down an Elephant, a la Planet Earth. Visualize it. Visualize it!

Goonerluke random thought 12/9

Whatever you may think of this blog, you have to respect my lazy. Goonerluke sent in a post and I used it twice. Double posting things written by other people, this is how I operate. So you can imagine my excitement when Goonerluke sent something fresh in. Enjoy it while you can, because soon I will have sucked all the life out of it.

I present you with the random Goonerluke Blazer thought of the day. Check tomorrow for...tomorrow's.


Junior Blazer dancers, where were you when I was 11?

Goonerluke random thought 12/8

Whatever you may think of this blog, you have to respect my lazy. Goonerluke sent in a post and I used it twice. Double posting things written by other people, this is how I operate. So you can imagine my excitement when Goonerluke sent something fresh in. Enjoy it while you can, because soon I will have sucked all the life out of it.

I present you with the random Goonerluke Blazer thought of the day. Check tomorrow for...tomorrow's.

I’m beginning to think that Shavlik Randolph only made the team because Nate McMillan is eager to impart his GQness to the rest of the team (its always been Nate’s dream to have his entire line-up flank him on a GQ fold-out cover). The fact that Steve Hill kept rolling into the practice center shirtless and in overalls didn’t help.

Goonerluke random thought 12/5/08

Whatever you may think of this blog, you have to respect my lazy. You can imagine my excitement when Goonerluke sent something fresh in. Enjoy it while you can, because soon I will have sucked all the life out of it.

I present you with the random Goonerluke Blazer thought of the day. Check tomorrow for...tomorrow's.

If Kobe is the “Mamba,” can we start calling Batum the “Mongoose”? Pre-mature, you say? See yesterday's thought.

Goonerluke random thought 12/4/08

Whatever you may think of this blog, you have to respect my lazy. You can imagine my excitement when Goonerluke sent something fresh in. Enjoy it while you can, because soon I will have sucked all the life out of it.

I present you with the random Goonerluke Blazer thought of the day. Check tomorrow for...tomorrow's.

There is almost nothing better than a fresh, warm rookie early in the season. The best thing about a piping hot rookie is that if he’s any good at all you can squint and turn him into a future all-star. If a friend or family member disagrees with your future all-star prognosis, this can almost always be put down to one of three things – 1) said person isn’t drinking as heavily as you are 2) said person doesn’t have HDTV capability and still thinks Ann Schatz is the sideline reporter (don’t hate the Harlow!) 3) said person is simply ignorant and holds WNBA season tickets.

Goonerluke still alive, with many random thoughts

Whatever you may think of this blog, you have to respect my lazy. Goonerluke sent in a post and I used it twice. Double posting things written by other people, this is how I operate. So you can imagine my excitement when Goonerluke sent something fresh in. Enjoy it while you can, because soon I will have sucked all the life out of it.

I present you with the random Goonerluke Blazer thought of the day. Check tomorrow for...tomorrow's.

It doesn’t get much better than waking up hungover on a Sunday morning next to your ex-girlfriend – fully-clad in her footy-pajamas that double as a chastity belt – and realizing your beloved Blazers are playing a nooner and that your favorite blogger is calling you out… I’ll try to not be such a piece in ’09, Jack.

Thanksgiving laziness: Repurposing old posts written by other people

Happy Thanksgiving. I would say we Blazer fans have a whole lot to be thankful for. I'm too lazy to come up with anything myself, so I figured I'd reuse a post sent in by Goonerluke last January. It works, and now we could add even more to the list. And Goonerluke, whatever happened to you? I miss you man, come back. Original post here.

Today we take a look at those often overlooked individuals who made our current Blazers team possible and to who we all owe a debt of gratitude.

Isaiah Thomas, New York Knicks, GM

Never shy of tying another huge anchor around the neck of his ever-sinking Knicks franchise, Isaiah made the move that he thought would put his ESPN fantasy team over the top, he acquired Zach Randolph from the Blazers. A move that, if not putting the Blazers “over the top,” at least got them over a hump. (I call the other hump “D Miles”) To my friends I often describe Zeke’s skills as a general manager as the double inverse of his skills as a player. (Exception: Unless Zeke’s skills as a general manager are considered in the context of ESPN fantasy league basketball, in which case he is a borderline genius) The Blazers have overachieved this year, while the Knickerbockers are hopelessly bad, with or without Zach. How some Knicks fan hasn’t lit himself on fire in the middle of Times Square, I’ll never know. But it looks like that is what it’s going to take. Brutal, brutal legacy to leave, Zeke. Big ups for helping us with Z-Bo though, I promise I’ll never boo you. (Except for when ESPN classic shows the ’90 Finals, then I have to boo.)

Microsoft Corp.

While not really an individual, Microsoft is a corporation, which is a business that gets the same rights as an individual, or something like that. Regardless, the success of this Washington company has been very good to us Oregonians as well, as Paul Allen’s $18 billion (thank you MSFT!) makes the NBA salary cap and over the cap penalty more of an annoyance than anything else for Portland GMs.

Phoenix Suns ownership

Is majority owner Robert Sarver eating Shrimp Flavor Cup o’ Noodles for lunch? I hope so. I think the Suns post Nash/Hill era would look a lot brighter with Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, and the new Jim Jones. Sarver’s personal fortune is only 2.22% of Paul Allen’s, which means that his GM has to worry about the salary cap. Lucky for us, Phoenix’s strategy for fiscal responsibility involves jettisoning young talent to the Rose City. I toast my Sangria to you, Mr. Sarver. Ole!

Jim Paxson, Chicago Bulls, GM

In the 2006 NBA Draft, aka “The Kevin Pritchard coming out Party,” Jimmy P. gambled on upside and completely ignored fundamentals and polish when he traded LMA for TT and The Wolverine (Viktor Khryapa). I knew there had to be a good reason why we retired Paxson’s number – so that one day we could use it as a psychological edge and make him bend to our will.

Danny Ainge/Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics/Minnesota Timberwolves, GM/GM

Grouped together because they both passed on BR7 and I’m lazy. In reality, Danny Ainge deserves a way bigger shellacking on this because he basically traded the #7 pick for Telfair and a bit of cap relief = Theo’s contract

Goonerluke Gives Thanks

In an ongoing indulgence of my laziness, another fine member of the DeceptivelyQuick extended family has stepped up with an entry. He is the infamous Goonerluke, who you likely know if you frequent our manifest-destiny friends over at BlazersEdge. Now he's giving thanks those who have played an underrated role in the resurgence of the young Blazers:

Today we take a look at those often overlooked individuals who made our current Blazers team possible and to who we all owe a debt of gratitude.

Isaiah Thomas, New York Knicks, GM

Never shy of tying another huge anchor around the neck of his ever-sinking Knicks franchise, Isaiah made the move that he thought would put his ESPN fantasy team over the top, he acquired Zach Randolph from the Blazers. A move that, if not putting the Blazers “over the top,” at least got them over a hump. (I call the other hump “D Miles”) To my friends I often describe Zeke’s skills as a general manager as the double inverse of his skills as a player. (Exception: Unless Zeke’s skills as a general manager are considered in the context of ESPN fantasy league basketball, in which case he is a borderline genius) The Blazers have overachieved this year, while the Knickerbockers are hopelessly bad, with or without Zach. How some Knicks fan hasn’t lit himself on fire in the middle of Times Square, I’ll never know. But it looks like that is what it’s going to take. Brutal, brutal legacy to leave, Zeke. Big ups for helping us with Z-Bo though, I promise I’ll never boo you. (Except for when ESPN classic shows the ’90 Finals, then I have to boo.)

Microsoft Corp.

While not really an individual, Microsoft is a corporation, which is a business that gets the same rights as an individual, or something like that. Regardless, the success of this Washington company has been very good to us Oregonians as well, as Paul Allen’s $18 billion (thank you MSFT!) makes the NBA salary cap and over the cap penalty more of an annoyance than anything else for Portland GMs.

Phoenix Suns ownership

Is majority owner Robert Sarver eating Shrimp Flavor Cup o’ Noodles for lunch? I hope so. I think the Suns post Nash/Hill era would look a lot brighter with Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, and the new Jim Jones. Sarver’s personal fortune is only 2.22% of Paul Allen’s, which means that his GM has to worry about the salary cap. Lucky for us, Phoenix’s strategy for fiscal responsibility involves jettisoning young talent to the Rose City. I toast my Sangria to you, Mr. Sarver. Ole!

Jim Paxson, Chicago Bulls, GM

In the 2006 NBA Draft, aka “The Kevin Pritchard coming out Party,” Jimmy P. gambled on upside and completely ignored fundamentals and polish when he traded LMA for TT and The Wolverine (Viktor Khryapa). I knew there had to be a good reason why we retired Paxson’s number – so that one day we could use it as a psychological edge and make him bend to our will.

Danny Ainge/Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics/Minnesota Timberwolves, GM/GM

Grouped together because they both passed on BR7 and I’m lazy. In reality, Danny Ainge deserves a way bigger shellacking on this because he basically traded the #7 pick for Telfair and a bit of cap relief = Theo’s contract

Blazers popularity hurts procrastinators

Some of the more hard-core pinwheel fans seem a little peeved that the fair-weather folks are turning up in droves. As one who defended this team through the mini-dark ages I would agree that it isn't totally enjoyable all the time. To see the same uninterested folks you were trying to convince of this team's potential just a season ago all of a sudden parade around like they've had a Travis Outlaw portrait tattooed on their chest since 2003 can be infuriating. But overall, I have to say I enjoy watching this city support this team again, even if the majority only fall in lust. The Blazers as a big deal in Oregon just seems right.

They're the hottest ticket in a town where they really have no excuse not to be. As evidence, I'm going to the wings place to watch the game tonight. Tried to get tickets, sold-out. I got gift certificate tickets as a gift, and needed to pick which games to see. I redeemed these the last week of December and couldn't get tickets to Boston on February 24th. I was lucky to get San Antonio on April 6th.

Last season, you could pretty much pick your spot by going to the box office right before tipoff. I will always miss the days of being able to walk down from the balcony and see the action up close. But don't get me wrong, its more fun to be part of a full-house of energy. Just don't procrastinate.

P.S., I hate when other life demands inconvenience DeceptivelyQuick, so inconsiderate like. But these demands are flying at me right now, so hot-blogging action will likely be sporadic for a while. One thing that could help is if any of you would like to contribute to the blog, send submissions: deceptively.quick(at)yahoo. There's a lot of you that are on your game: H.T., Brrrrrrrrrr!, and goonerluke I see you. There's more of you out there. If anyone wants to put something up let me know, could be interesting.