Originally posted by <b>Jemel Irief</b>!
I frequently read your martyr takes on the Blazers, but have never seen you explain why it exists. Did the media visit the city of Portland one daynot enjoy themselves and as a result collectively decide to forever bash Blazer players? What is your theory?
It can't be all that frequent as I've kept that rant under wraps for quite a while now. It always seems that you are right there to prod me on when I do roll it out

My theory is that to have good guys you've got to have bad guys. LA's huge fanbase tuning in is where the league (and media) makes their money. If the Lakers are the team that they are promoting as the good guys, Podunk Portland which has regularly been an on-court rival but carries tiny ratings with it, is a logical team to contrast/smear in the hype. They wear black, their team name rhymes with jail, Smokey the Mouse plays for them, Rasheed ('nuff said) ... but their actual behavior is pretty average by NBA standards. Last year Portland finished in the middle of the pack Tech wise, this year they are behind that pace. Heres the current list...
http://www.sportsline.com/nba/stats/teamsort/regularseason/yearly/NBA/MISC?&_1:col_1=10
In the last year Portland's players off court legal troubles consist of what? Damon getting busted for pot in an airport (he's an idiot IMO, but at least he went to rehab), both Zach and Q being sited for driving intoxicated (bad stuff indeed, though to be fair Zach has pled innocent), and... Rasheed getting a moving violation for swerving outside his lane. How does that stack up to LA legal troubles? The annoited good guys also treat us to the league's biggest star promising to be back to starting fights with other players, to physically go after NBA fans who heckle his teammate accused of a heinous felony (he promised to knock them out), and submitting to interviews so he can spew profanities on live TV and tell the media he doesn't give a bleep. It seems reasonable to question just who exactly is the bad guys.
Here is Ruben Patterson addressing the inequalities he percieves Portland players have going against them after recieving a Tech for staring at an official he wanted to talk to after a call went against him the other night...
"Sometimes you get mad about officials," Patterson said. "If they call technical fouls on one end of the court and not the other, then you've got a right to be mad. And when we say something, we get technicals quick. I don't think that's fair. Everybody looks at us as being bad guys. You've got a lot of guys around this league who say the same thing and nothing happens. But, you know, we don't let it get us down."
Thats the 3rd Tech this year (that I'm aware of) that Portland players have recieved for staring... has anyone here ever seen a player from another team recieve one for that?
I wish I didn't percieve things this way... hope that clears up my views for you.
STOMP
*edited late for spelling