BallHype - Latest Portland Blazers News Articles

Blazers’ Oden Ready for His Close-Up, on the Court

Sat, 6 Sep 2008 04:12:30 +1900

Greg Oden is a curiosity looming just off the N.B.A. radar, still waiting to make a splash 15 months after Portland made him the top pick in the 2007 draft. >

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Still a rookie, Blazers' Oden attends orientation

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 22:29:19 +1900

He was drafted more than 14 months ago, and even then he looked too old to be a first-year player, so it's easy to forget that Greg Oden is technically a rookie.

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Deng Stars as Great Britain Almost Shock Israel

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 14:16:31 +1900

In the LONDON TIMES, Ian Whittell writes "Great Britain came within half a second of pulling off the biggest upset in their history last night before losing their opening qualifying game for the 2009 European Championship finals 102-92 to Israel in overtime. Luol Deng, the Chicago Bulls star, was magnificent as he scored 30 points after only two practices with the team. Unfortunately he fouled out in the extra period along with Pops Mensah-Bonsu, the former NBA forward, and the veteran Nate Reinking. Joel Freeland, the 21-year-old centre who was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, of the NBA, two years ago, gave Deng superb support with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Israel were led by Tapiro, who scored 27 points. "

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Soccer | Portland seeks MLS team

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 05:32:57 +1900

The public campaign to lure a Major League Soccer franchise to Portland was launched Wednesday, with plans that call for a new baseball...

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NBA 2009 Season Prediction: The Houston Rockets

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 03:12:31 +1900

The Houston Rockets have claim to two [consecutive] NBA titles, in 1994 and 1995, four conference titles (1981, 1986, 1994, 1995), and four divisional titles (1977, 1986, 1993, 1994). The players most noted for the two titles in '94 and '95, are Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler (Drexler was only on the 1995 championship team). Since then, the Rockets have been plagued by above average mediocrity. They have made the playoffs the past two seasons, but in both instances, they have been eliminated by the Utah Jazz in the first round. This led the Rockets' management to fire Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy after the 2006-2007 season. Van Gundy was replaced by the great Rick Aldelman. Aldelman has coached the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and Golden State Warriors. When coaching with Portland, he helped lead the Blazers to three straight Western Conference Finals appearances from 1990-1992. In 1990 the Blazers advanced to the NBA Finals where they were knocked off by the Isiah Thomas ...

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Can the Portland Trail Blazers Fill the Void Left by the Seattle Supersonics?

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 19:59:15 +1900

In the ongoing pursuit of "marketing gold" by professional sports franchises, can the Portland Trail Blazers successfully claim the abandoned diggings of the Seattle Supersonics? With the Sonics—now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder—having vacated the area, it would appear the entire Northwest is now easy pickings for the up-and-coming Trail Blazers—especially since so many Sonics fans are feeling mule-kicked over the whole relocation fiasco. Indeed, a brief glance at some of the top Blazers and Sonics blog sites would indicate a rapid shifting of allegiances. One of the many negatives of the Sonics' departure will be the end of the I-5 rivalry with Portland. Even though the Thunder will apparently stay in the Northwest Division, the head-to-head match ups will not quite be the same. Some of the residue of that rivalry will be a resolute refusal by many Sonics fans to defer to anything Trail Blazer. For sure, some die-hard Seattle fans will continue to follow ...

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Rainiers' bats hurt Portland

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:37:12 +1900

Prentice Redman and Craig Wilson hit two-run doubles in a six-run fourth inning for Tacoma as the Rainiers beat Portland 11-2 in a Pacific...

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Trail Blazers Establish Kevin Duckworth Memorial Scholarship

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:47:54 +1900

In partnership with The Oregon Community Foundation, the Portland Trail Blazers have established the Kevin Duckworth Memorial Scholarship Fund, Trail Blazers President Larry Miller announced today.

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Portland Trail Blazers' Future Bright as Conference Rivals Fade

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:23:23 +1900

Trail Blazers’ GM Kevin Pritchard more than deserves the praise he’s received for rebuilding his team so efficiently over the last couple of years. He’s stockpiled a plethora of young studs via the draft and trades, with almost mocking simplicity. This year, however, Pritchard may have to acknowledge his Western Conference peers as much as himself for the Blazers’ first return to the postseason in four years. After the postseason drought the Blazers have suffered, both the team and its fans would be ecstatic to simply sneak into the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed. The teams that have scrambled for those positions over the last couple years (Golden State, Denver, Sacramento, and Dallas) have all taken significant steps backwards this summer. Warriors lose Davis to Clippers, Ellis to injury Golden State looks to be this year’s version of the 2006-07 Clippers—spiraling back to its former doldrums after a season or two of ...

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Kevin Duckworth, R.I.P.

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:47:00 +1900

Billy got us tickets to the Blazer game somehow, some way. I still to this day cannot figure out how he did it. We both grew up in homes where getting a quarter to buy a pack of baseball cards was a huge expenditure, so going to a game was never part of the equation. We saw the Blazers a few times a year when they were on free television. But for this game we had tickets. So we climbed to the top of the old Memorial Coliseum. We sat right in front of the organ player. We didn't care...we were in the building! And we got to see our favorite players. For me it was the hard-charging semi-maniac Jerome Kersey. For Billy, and for thousands of other fans, it was Kevin "Duck" Duckworth. Every time Duck touched the ball the place went nuts with duck chants and duck calls...calls using the whistles hunters use to sound like a real duck with ruptured lungs. When he shot that one-handed mid-range jumper we knew it was going in. Sure, Duck had no inside game to speak of. He was a little bit slow-footed, ...

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Officials: Duckworth died of heart disease

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:30:52 +1900

Oregon officials say an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed. ...

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Trail Blazers Sign Luke Lackson, Steven Hill and Jamaal Tatum

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:01:24 +1900

The Portland Trail Blazers signed forward Luke Jackson, rookie center Steven Hill and rookie guard Jamaal Tatum, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed. Jackson (6-7, 215), a four-year NBA veteran, has appeared in 73 career games, averaging 3.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 9.9 minutes.

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Officials say Duckworth died of heart disease

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:08:43 +1900

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon officials say an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Ke...

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Officials: Duckworth died of heart disease

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:00:29 +1900

Oregon officials say an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed. Duckworth died Monday at 44 on the Oregon coast, where he was on a goodwill tour for the team. The Oregon State Police said Wednesday the autopsy was done by Dr. Larry Lewman, a state medical examiner who concluded that Duckworth died of "hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure.

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Police: Duckworth died of congestive heart failure

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:56:47 +1900

Oregon officials say an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed.

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Officials say Duckworth died of heart disease

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:50:19 +1900

Oregon officials say an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed.

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Duckworth died of enlarged heart (AP)

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:47:23 +1900

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Blazers Mourn Duckworth, Who Considered the Team His Family

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:36:28 +1900

In the PORTLAND TRIBUNE, Kerry Eggers writes "Kevin Duckworth, the center on Portland's NBA finalists in 1990 and 92, died Monday night in the Lincoln City area. He was 44. I'm numb,' said former teammate Jerome Kersey, who flew back from Virginia, where he was visiting family, to Oregon after learning of Duckworth's death. All through last night I kept waking up and thinking, Did I dream that? It just can't be.' The Blazers had a 10 a.m. staff meeting Tuesday at the Rose Garden. Just a chance to talk about this, to talk about Kevin,' Portland General Manager Kevin Pritchard said. "Everybody's in shock right now.'

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PASSINGS

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:00:00 +1900

Kevin Duckworth NBA All-Star in Portland

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Kevin Duckworth, 44, Former N.B.A. All-Star Center, Is Dead

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:13:03 +1900

Mr. Duckworth was a two-time National Basketball Association All-Star who played most of his career for the Portland Trail Blazers. >

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NBA | Ex-Blazers All-Star Kevin Duckworth dies at 44

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:07:24 +1900

Kevin Duckworth, a former Portland Trail Blazers center who had a feathery touch from the paint, died Monday night. He was 44. Duckworth, part of a...

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Sargasso Summer: A Poem for the Frantic NBA Fan

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:01:21 +1900

Every true NBA fan knows the feeling: It's late August. If you read one more "fantasy trade proposal" you're going to scream. Another unfounded rumor might send you through the roof. Even halfway decent on-line humor has somehow gone stale. It's the NBA off-season and any significant activity is still weeks away. What to do? Rojo Grande offers this original poem as encouragement and hope. It won't be long now. We're almost there. Sargasso Summer Like sailors on a cyber sea Our gaze more fore than aft Hearts affixed on distant port and mem'ries in our draft Wind and current - two good friends Keep hands and mind a flurry Hoist the mainsail! Lash those lines! In frenzied times we scurry But August brings the sailor's bane An eerie stillness s'round ye As in The Doldrums find we now ...The dread Sargasso Sea "Dead in the water!" Aye, lament The wind and waves lie down Boredom, strife, insanity As mate on mate abounds Seaweed, stench. No fish in sight The ...

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Remembering Duckworth

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:15:43 +1900

Sad news out of Oregon today where former NBA center and one-time Washington Bullet Kevin Duckworth has passed away at the age of 44. A cause of death has not yet been released. Duck wasn't a Bullet long - he spent 1993-1995 with the franchise - and he's best remembered as a key piece to those really strong Portland teams of the late 80's and early 90's. I was a huge Clyde Drexler fan...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

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Former Trail Blazer Kevin Duckworth Dies at 44

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:15:05 +1900

Kevin Duckworth, 44, a two-time NBA All-Star who starred on Western Conference Championship teams in Portland in 1990 and 1992, passed away Monday evening in Gleneden Beach, Oregon. A member of the Trail Blazers from 1986-93, the 7-footer - affectionately known to Trail Blazers fans simply as "Duck" - also played for San Antonio, Washington, Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Clippers during his 11-year NBA career. "Today is an extremely sad day for the Trail Blazers family," Trail Blazers President Larry Miller said. "Kevin will be remembered by fans as one of the most popular and recognizable players to ever wear the Blazers uniform, but to people who knew him, he'll be remembered as one of the warmest and biggest-hearted."

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Kevin Duckworth, former Trail Blazer, dies at 44

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:46:15 +1900

Kevin Duckworth, a two-time NBA All-Star who spent the majority of his 12 NBA seasons as the Portland Trail Blazers' center, has died. He was 44.

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Former pro basketball player Duckworth dies

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:39:28 +1900

Former Portland Trail Blazers all-star Kevin Duckworth died Monday while visiting the Oregon Coast. He was 44.

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Ex-Trail Blazer Duckworth dies at 44 (AP)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:38:16 +1900

Former Portland Trail Blazer center Kevin Duckworth died while on a trip to the Oregon Coast to host a free basketball clinic. He was 44. The Lincoln County sheriff's office confirmed the death. He died Monday. The 7-foot Duckworth was a starter for the Trail Blazers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and a Western Conference All-Star in 1989 and 1991.

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Former Trail Blazer Kevin Duckworth Dies

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:36:41 +1900

In the OREGONIAN, Noelle Crombie reports "former Portland Trail Blazer Kevin Duckworth died Monday while visiting the Oregon Coast. He was 44. A Lincoln County 9-1-1 dispatcher this morning confirmed Duckworth died Monday. A dispatcher said a police sergeant is expected to release more information about the death later this morning. According to The News Guard, Duckworth visited Lincoln City to host a free basketball clinic for kids. He also was there to visit fans as part of the Trail Blazers "Make It Better" tour of the state.

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Rainiers down Portland 7-4

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:23:17 +1900

Travis Chick tossed seven shutout innings and Craig Wilson homered for the second consecutive game as the Tacoma Rainiers beat the Portland...

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Nate McMillan's Win-Win Situation

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:52:19 +1900

For Nate McMillan, assistant coach of the Portland Trailblazers, the scenario couldn't have been more perfect—an Olympic gold medal showdown between Team USA and Spain. On the one hand, his homeland's best players, bent on bringing respect and prestige back to American basketball. On the other hand, the world's most worthy challenger, featuring one of McMillan's newest students (signed with Portland July 1), Rudy Fernandez. As if the dream matchup wasn't enough, it turned out be one of the classic Olympic battles of the ages. In the end, McMillan's team got the gold and McMillan's new student got a gold star. In a thrilling 118-107 USA win, Fernandez led Spain with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting including 5-for-9 beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the line in 17:34 minutes. Tack on two rebounds, two assists, and one steal plus an eye-watering facial dunk around NBA monster Dwight Howard, and McMillan had to be salivating. After a brief rest, both McMillan and ...

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NW Briefs | Eagles volleyball loses 2 at tourney

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 06:32:22 +1900

Lindsey Fryer smashed 17 kills to power Concordia of Portland past Northwest University 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-16 to complete play in the...

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Portland Trailblazers Face Salary Cap Hit as Darius Miles Signs with Boston

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:01:41 +1900

After an extended hiatus, the Celtics are giving Darius Miles a second chance. Problem is, his career was supposed to be over. At least that was what Portland thought when they waived the rest of his contract after it was revealed that he required microfracture surgery. Now that the Celtics have brought him back, all he has to do is to appear in 10 games this next season for his salary to come back on Portland's books. At $18 million over the next two years, this would be a significant blow to Portland. Previously they had positioned themselves to potentially have upwards of $40 million in cap space going into next summer. A surprising team last year, Portland had many competitors concerned that they would become a consistent force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. In addition to the cap space they had set aside to go after any of the marquee free agents next summer, they also are welcoming Greg Oden to their roster. A highly touted prospect, Oden was the first pick in the 2007 ...

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Trailblazers Face $18,000,000 Salary Cap Hit as Darius Miles Signs with Boston

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:01:41 +1900

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