Yachats Oregon Writer Rick Schultze

Since I write for a couple of newspapers and web sites I have different deadline days but today as I write it’s Tax Day and listening to the news this morning I was reminded that there are “Tea Parties” taking place in various locations across the country. This of course is the modern version of “The Boston Tea Party” a taxation protest of years ago. That and other items of note filled the news cast so by time I was finished listening I’d had an earful of Pirate larceny on the high seas, the woes of the economic bail out strategy, and some references to corporate corruption. I was just about to shut the news off when I heard a positive, bright and exciting story.

It was about the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team making the National Basketball Leagues playoffs for the first time since 2003!

By the time this hits the newsstands the Blazers will have played at least one game and regardless of whether they win or loose their story is a breath of fresh air and a positive entity on the Northwest news front.
In 1977 Portland was the home of the World Champion Trail Blazers, the toast of basketball. The city burst with pride and Portland became a household name in the world of professional basketball. Sadly in the years since the franchise slipped into what at one time was ridiculed for being the home of the “Jail Blazers”. There were players with social problems, high priced players that were more of a distraction than help and a coaching staff that try as they did, couldn’t win. At that point the ownership of the franchise took a hard look at the picture and made some decisions to right the ship and the result is an exciting young team with outstanding front office personal, a strong coach in Nate McMillan and they have become the darlings of Portland and the Northwest once again.

Perhaps the most enjoyable thing about the whole scenario as it unfolds is knowing and watching that these good things are being able to happen because of the willingness of the franchise to recognize how important it is to have dedicated, honest, socially conscious people and players who have shown that yes, they can be decent professional athletes who do care about the community work and live in.

For a team that has fought and grown together it’s a great thing to hear people talk about them and how much they enjoy the team as both a team and a good group of individuals.
It’s nice to hear the men and women on the street talking positively about the Trail Blazers, for once again they are the good, positive news stories we are talking about. Not the bad news.

So let’s all pull together on this one and root for the Blazers and enjoy the ride!

To reach Rick Schultze email: yarick@pioneer.net