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Ball Don't Lie

Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:15 am EDT

When the Portland Trail Blazers were Jail Blazers

By J.E. Skeets

With a solid .500-ish record out West, three future stars in Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden and a supportive fan base, it's easy to forget just how messed up the Portland Trail Blazers once were.

Well, The Big Lead posted an interview with The Oregonian's John Canzano yesterday that serves as an excellent reminder. Here's one example from the humorous (but sad) Jail Blazer days:

Whenever the Blazers sign a player to a 10-day contract the equipment manager provides the player with a free set of team-issue luggage. Sort of a welcome gift. Nothing incredibly fancy, but it’s way better than the stuff I have. So Omar Cook is signed a couple of years ago, and the luggage is placed in front of his locker. Cook was flying in from out of town, so he’s not there yet. Ruben Patterson, the team’s registered sex offender, sees the luggage, knows Cook isn’t around yet, and Patterson basically just decides he’s going to abscond the luggage. He just rips the name tags off and takes it. Nobody says a word, either. It’s not anything violent, but it demonstrates the lack of decency and respect that permeated.

That's low, Ruben. Real low. I'd be devastated if you stole my luggage. (Note: No I wouldn't. Please steal my luggage, Ruben.)

Anyway, if you're in the Jail Blazers mood, you'll be glad to know there's lots more stories where that came from, including a classic about the time Rasheed Wallace threatened to punch Canzano in the face. Seriously.

Can you believe there used to be a team that was even more dysfunctional than Isiah's New York Knicks?

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36 Comments

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  1. triggs323
    1. Posted by triggs323 Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:21 pm EDT

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    Very typical! Only in the NBA with it's wannabe clean image will hire and well pay a sex offender!
  2. imerson
    2. Posted by imerson Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:23 pm EDT

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    triggs323, your comment reeks of ignorance and arrogance. ruben patterson does not represent the league. i think the good guys in the nba far outnumber the bad ones
  3. erici
    3. Posted by erici Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:03 pm EDT

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    allen i agree with u , but if the nba was so clean they wouldn't pay a sex offender period, and charlie B i agree with everything u said.....its a shame just like the movie crash "doesn't it piss you off, whenever one of you do great there is another 4 with there hands in the cookie jar"
  4. child_of_babylon
    4. Posted by child_of_babylon Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:23 pm EDT

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    Not to defend the Jailblazers, but Canzano and some other sports writers took a National Inquirer approach to the team. They took advantage of the crap going on in the locker room, because the national sports press loves dirt, and Canzano made his name as a result of the dirt. Many of the Jailblazers were just totally unprofessional, I think with some of the guys like Rasheed Wallace, the press really contributed to the problem. Unlike Wells, Patterson, Telfair, etc, who took their bad habits with them, Wallace was a different man once he left Portland. Which is too bad, because Portland would be a playoff team this year with Rasheed and he did have some good things to teach Aldridge and Outlaw, like how to dictate style of play and force the action in the paint. The Blazers have no aggression out there to go in the paint and dominate, even though they have the athleticism to do it.
  5. First L
    5. Posted by First L Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:45 pm EDT

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    These guys were raised in the ghetto and had to overcome so much to get to where they are today. I'm not defending Ruben, but it's just the way he is. This is how he used to survive, and it's just something stapled into his head today. Athletes should be judged for their athleticism, not their mannerisms.
  6. Yaz
    6. Posted by Yaz Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:55 pm EDT

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    speaking of sheed, imo sheed did not change because he left portland, sheed changed when he went to detroit. being around those players who are willing to work hard as him gave him a new direction, unlike in the jailblazers team where there was no motivation. with that said, i think if zbo was traded to detroit (good forbid) instead of another jailblazer esque team like the knicks, then he would have changed for the better also. or at the very least he wouldnt have done that horrible point guard thing he did.
  7. AJ M
    7. Posted by AJ M Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:48 pm EDT

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    I'm defending the jailblazers. Rashweed and mighty mouse smoked mad trees and won mad games! Yeah blazers!
  8. OregonDucksBringinIt
    8. Posted by OregonDucksBringinIt Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:45 pm EDT

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    How about we focus on the positive as the Trail Blazers are now one of the best young teams in the league, and they now have all character guys. Yes, they had some moments which I'm sure they are not proud of but Kevin Pritchard and Crew have done an outstanding job at molding a model franchise which is sure to be at the top of the Western Conference for years to come. Rip City is back!!!!!
  9. Randolph M
    9. Posted by Randolph M Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:29 pm EDT

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    I read all the post and feel a lot of the statements posted, But the Blazers weren't that bad of a team if you take a look at all the NBA teams during that time when Rasheed was there, there were a lot of bad apples around the only difference was The Blazers were winning games if the Lakers weren't so good during the time maybe the blazers would have won a Championship themselves? Check the tapes they were right there and it wasn't an off the court issue that lost the game. That is the blazers past they have a bright future but one can never tell from one season to the next because there markey player doesn't have the Eye Like a (Kobe, Duncan, Nash, Dirk, Melo, AI) to say that they will be in the hunt next year, we have to see.
  10. SunDevil
    10. Posted by SunDevil Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:41 pm EDT

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    Let's dress Sheed up to be some saint here. He was terrible with the media. He fired rubber bands at a beat writer that covered the Blazers while he was giving in interviews, was caught smoking weed with Damon, threw a basketball full court at reuben boumje-boumje's head, and the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, I like Sheed, but let's not make him out to be some sort of diamond in the rough.
  11. dub
    11. Posted by dub Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:44 pm EDT

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    Blazer fans need to take off the Rose Colored Glasses. The three so called future stars you are building your team around are only average AT BEST.
  12. cryun2
    12. Posted by cryun2 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:31 pm EDT

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    at least the blazers are out of what the knicks are in
  13. denlahoya
    13. Posted by denlahoya Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:41 pm EDT

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    Who wrote this column, Jimmy Dolan?
  14. Joe or Big Joe or Joezilla
    14. Posted by Joe or Big Joe or Joezilla Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:01 pm EDT

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    First of all, Rasheed is the same guy now as he was when he was a Blazer. The simple fact is that NBA referees were biased against the so called jail blazers. He acts the same way in Detroit as he did when he was in Portland, but because the Pistons are a respected team he doesn't get all the Tech's he used to get with us. And to "dub" ....average at best? Are you high? One of them is already an all star. LMA is coming on strong in year 2 and the Oden era could be spectacular.....Go Blazers
  15. John
    15. Posted by John Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:05 pm EDT

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    For the guy who said the Blazers are building the team around "average players" .... You need to stop and look around at other 2nd year players out there and see what they are doing for their teams. You must be a Clipper fan or something... Wake up.
  16. Terry
    16. Posted by Terry Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:58 pm EDT

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    This is not about black people. This is about the lack of oversight on the part of the management and ownership of the Trail Blazers. Dicipline starts from the top down, and this organization is lost around and needs to be sold to someone who knows this one fact. Sad, so sad!
  17. Samuel G F
    17. Posted by Samuel G F Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:14 pm EDT

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    GO BLAZERS! regardless of wether we are first or last
    I was born a Trailblazer fan and i will die a Trailblazer fan
    there is something that fake fans and frontrunners just don't get
    loyalty means you support your cause through good times and bad
    and for those people talking about the ownership, this is the same ownership that holds a league record and maybe even a prosports record for most consecutive playoff appearances so apparently these guys must know a little bit more than you do about winning
  18. dub
    18. Posted by dub Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:44 pm EDT

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    I'm awake. I've looked all around the league. There are 20+ power forwards far better than Aldridge. There are 20 shooting guards better than Roy. Roy did not deserve to be an all star. There were many other players more deserving.Furthermore, Oden has not played one game. Can you say Sam Bowie?
  19. dub
    19. Posted by dub Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:44 pm EDT

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    I'm awake. I've looked all around the league. There are 20+ power forwards far better than Aldridge. There are 20 shooting guards better than Roy. Roy did not deserve to be an all star. There were many other players more deserving.Furthermore, Oden has not played one game. Can you say Sam Bowie? There are a half dozen teams in the NBA that neither of those 3 would start on.
  20. Me Too
    20. Posted by Me Too Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:12 pm EDT

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    I've read your posts, "dub" and I haven't responded to any except this one. Oden is no Sam Bowie. The kid is legit, working his a$$ off to come back from a career threatening injury. He would have been the #1 pick as a senior in high school. That pick was a no-brainer.
    Aldridge is in the top 25% of the league at the 4 right now; however most of the time for the Blazers he is playing out of position. When Oden comes in, he'll take all of the pressure off Aldridge and the kid will flourish.
    Your Brandon Roy comment does not deserve a response. Learn about the pro hoop game before mouthing off about stuff you don't know about.
  21. Dan m
    21. Posted by Dan m Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:06 pm EDT

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    Portland was a big time messed up team in the past. But why? Because they had on their roster.
    Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells, Ruben Patterson.
    They have a new and diffrent team now.
    Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, LeMarcus Aldridge.
    I can bet anyone there winning at the least 4 championships.
    And dont forget there getting Chris Paul next summer after they release Darius Miles and Raef Lafrence.
    They will have money.
    Enough money to sing Chris Paul.
    And Its either CP3 plays in New Orleans and win 0 titles or plays in Portland and wins about 10.
  22. bthomas
    22. Posted by bthomas Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:14 pm EDT

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    1). All this Oden is Sam Bowie stuff, get your facts straight. Bowie was plagued by injuries his whole life, Oden has run into bad luck. If Houston had to do it all over again they would have picked Jordan over Olajuwon- So throw that out
    2). Roy made the all-star team- Average players in the West don't make the all-star team. In the East #9 off the bench is like Caron Butler, in the West it is Amare Stoudemire- Think about it, you can't be average to make the AS cut in the West.
    3). Whites picking on blacks? Dude, like 90% of the league is black, so the odds that a random NBA player gets in trouble and being white is 1 out of 10. Dude if a black hockey player gets in trouble (Jarome Iginla) with like 98% of the NHL being white then you have a legit argument about a race issue...
  23. Thomas C
    23. Posted by Thomas C Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:22 pm EDT

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    Wow I need to hear more of the Jail Blazers stories!
  24. rian g
    24. Posted by rian g Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:38 pm EDT

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    How in the heck can the first few guys that posted today, turn this issue into a race problem? This article was written about the problems the blazers where having a few years back, and then these guys say that there race is being attacked. I would call that be ignorant. There are so many great articles written everyday about African American men and women. How can you twist this article into that? Ruben jacked
    luggage from another man that is the issue, not what color he is. We as a country need to start getting past this, and when writers like Swallow [profane] post stuff like that it only stirs up problems. I would hope someone would give me some feedback on this.

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