Unlike our beloved baseball All Star Game, we’ve tended to skip the NBA's version in recent years. However, with our hero Brandon Roy, in Sunday's game we can’t wait to watch our fellow ex-Bulldog cram some FANtastic™ action down the East’s face. However, we’ll be in Vancouver--sorry TNT. Local Connections: Brandon Roy--Played for Garfield High School and the University of Washington. Currently for the Portland Trailblazers. Steve Nash--Native of Victoria. Then U-Dub coach Lynn Nance......

Portland's Greg Oden, the #1 pick in this year's NBA draft, is out for the season before playing his first NBA game after exploratory surgery found extensive damage in his right knee. Oden hurt the knee--and we're not making this up--getting up off a couch. The Blazers have scheduled a news conference for 1:30 pm today. We'll update this post if anything else comes out before then. UPDATE: Here's the official statement from the Blazers:An......

Wonder why we need to spend $100 million to renovate Garfield High? Because Garfield gives the world things like this:Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy was chosen as the NBA's Rookie of the Year on Wednesday after leading all rookies with averages of 16.8 points, 4.0 assists and 35.4 minutes in 57 games. The 6-foot-6, 229-pound guard was named the West's Rookie of the Month in January, February and March. He also made the All-Star game's......

Permit us to bloviate some on the death of David Halberstam today in a car crash, which is utter bullshit considering that the guy reported from fricking Vietnam and he dies in a traffic accident in San Mateo (the car that hit him driven by, in a terrible irony, a Berkeley journalism student) (actually, I'm an idiot, his driver was a Berkeley student, so there's no irony, just terribleness). Halberstam's Summer of '49, about the......

Ex-Garfield High and UW star Brandon Roy would seem to have a lock on the NBA Rookie of the Year award, but the Blazers aren't taking any chances. They've teamed with Portland-based Leatherman to create a limited-edition Brandon Roy tool which they'll send to 250 ROY voters. They are also selling a few. Why a Leatherman? Let the PR people tell you: Their similarities are striking. They have both been described as do-it-all and multi-talented......

We had a feeling that, after his 4-16 performance in Portland Tuesday, Gilbert Arenas would do something special at Key Arena last night. We were right. Why, oh why, do we ever make plans? Arenas scored 42, including a fight-through-the-lane scoop bank shot for the winner at the buzzer. Want to see genius at work? Check out the extended highlights on NBA.com (called by the master, Kevin Calabro). See Arenas' effortless, gorgeous jumpshot, the way......

--Who's more depraved? Wisconsinites or Washingtonians? Guess it depends on whether you think getting the d from a horse is worse than giving the d to a dead deer. --Maybe it's Minnesotans: the Twins are finding trying Jeff Cirillo at shortstop. --The future looks bright for your Portland Trailblazers; with Zach Randolph a late scratch, rookies LaMarcus Aldridge (25 pts., 8 rebs.), Brandon R.O.Y. (19 pts., 12 rebs.), and Sergio Rodriguez (9 pts., 9 assists)......

The hometown Portland Trailblazers make a special appearance in Seattle tonight, taking on the Oklahoma City Sonics. It's the season opener for both teams. Also today, tickets for some of the Husky men's non-conference games in the 2006 portion of the 2006-07 season go on sale. That exciting slate includes a bunch of schools that have "state" in their names even though they aren't actual states, like Sacramento State and Portland State, and schools that......

Now that the Sonics are dead to us, it's time to start meeting the only locally-owned team in the Pacific Northwest, your Portland Trail Blazers. First up--the Blazers' best player, power forward Zach Randolph. Randolph, an Indiana native who came to the NBA right after high school, averaged 18ppg and 8rpg last season. But what do we really care about? His crib (via Blazers Blog).........

-Every 24-yr-old who's ever been frustrated at their inability to rent a car should rejoice - Seattle-based Flexcar is going for the campus market. -We thought "I heart Viaduct" bumper stickers were bad, but now "Save the Viaduct" tee shirts exist? There is no way these spring from grassroots affection for the Viaduct, sorry. -Bad day for floaty things: A submarine in Hood Canal was damaged by a towline and a hydro practicing for this......

Who opens against the Sonics at the Key? Why it's the only locally-owned NBA franchise! Also the only one that: Features two players who attended Seattle high schools Is coached by one of the city's most beloved sports figures We decided to back even before Howard Schultz took a shit on the city that made him rich That team, the Portland Trail Blazers, kickoff their 2006-07 regular season here in Seattle on November 1st. That's......

The Sonics lost their first preseason game last night, 82-75 to Nate McMillan's Portland Trail Blazers. McMillan, you will recall, played 12 years for the Sonics and coached the team for 5. But, after his contract expired last season, he made the admirable decision to test new waters as the coach of the notoriously uncoachable Blazers. McMillan's move elevates the Sonics-Blazers rivalry to one of the NBA's most compelling. To draw an analogy for those......

Nate McMillan-- our favorite Sonic of all time-- is now the coach of the Portland Trailblazers, a thought that is harder to swallow than Paul Bunyan's left boot. And this on the same night that the Mariners leave Kansas City losing two out of three to the punchless Royals. We once again question why we are sports fans. It's almost like we told ourselves, "Hey, we need one more thing in our life that we......

Breaking news late on Wednesday night--after yesterday's news that the Sonics had re-signed Ray Allen to a five-year, $85 million contract, Fox Sports is reporting that Nate McMillan has signed on to coach none other than...the Portland Trailblazers. We're bummed...more soon.......