Bassy's got a gun Bassy's got a gun
His whole world's come undone
sittin' on the bench ain't fun

What did his coaches do?
What did they put you through?
They say when Bassy was arrested
They found it in a Louis purse
But man, he had it comin'
Now that Bassy's got a gun
He ain't never gonna shoot the same

Bassy's got a gun
Bassy's got a gun
Steve Blake better run
Nate's gonna come undone
Tell me now it's untrue
Shoulda hid it in Ha's shoe

Trade away, trade away from the team
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

At least Cliff Robinson only points a paintgun at people.

Resume

Occupational objective:
I need to be able to bring a loaded gun to work, to be free to operate a dog-fighting ring on my day's off, smoke marijuana on all my road trips, beat my wife when necessary, and yell expletives at my boss on a repeated basis. (Oh, and I'm a sensitive guy who doesn't need a lot of criticism.)

Salary range: $10 million a year for starters, but I want serious coin in a hurry.

Vacation: Half a year.

I figure I'll end up in Portland.

Jack: how about a thread on the City of Portland's receipt of an RFP for the 2008 GOP Convention?

That might be a reason to put the convention center hotel on the fast track.

Speaking of carrying a concealed weapon and shoving it in people's faces -- Liars Larson vowed today to attend the Portland Schools' steering meeting and discussion tomorrow (2/16) at the 'convention center.'

Not being legitimate news department employee, he has no press cred's to get into the banquet hall. Which leaves him out in the restroom area where he cannot make 'entertainment' ruin of the business, and shoving his microphone in victims' faces who pass by, whereas they would never be seen near his filthy studio.

So I wanted to see, Jack, if you could 'flash word' around town for any Blazer who has kids or concerns in Portland schools, to show up and stand over Liars at the 'convention center' gassing tomorrow. Just to slap together Paul Allen's Blazers on the right hand and his Liars on the other hand, and see who gets squished.
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Oh come on. Portland gets an RFP from each party every four years. As does Seattle, Oklahoma City, and Cleveland. None of them ever have hosted a convention and none ever will. It's a red herring designed to make us think we're special. Even with a CC hotel, do you think they're gonna hold a convention in the Rose Garden? Dream on.

Young people make mistakes. S.T. did not hurt anyone. Do not be too quick to judge. There but for grace go I.

There but for grace go I.

Even without much grace, I don't think I'd be bringing any loaded handguns onto any airplanes.

This is one of the guys whom the Blazer P.R. department is selling as becoming more mature, now that he's got a baby. Yeah, right. He and the old lady have a loaded pistol hanging around the house and neither of them know where it is. Either that or he's lying about it being a mistake, and he's gang-banging.

This guy needs to go back east, where people have bought into his myth. Portland doesn't need him.

I wonder how hard it is to find out whether any Blazers have permits to carry concealed weapons. What was the weapon doing in her purse instead of the night stand? Or somewhere else secure? Is it always in her purse? Does *she* have a permit to carry concealed?

I wonder how anxious Lars is to ask the tough questions about this incident.

Jack, I agree that you would not take a gun on a plane. Think, however, of everything you did wrong between the ages of 16 and 21. I assume you were a normal, American male (which means a certain amount of potential trouble). There but for grace...

No guns. Ever. And that was in a neighborhood just as tough as Telfair's, who's had an entourage waiting on him hand and foot (relatively speaking) since he was 12.

He should have gone to college. And he'd be a fine addition to the New Jersey Nets or the New York Knicks.

And what if something like this had happened, only in the passenger compartment?

Wait! You have to be 21 in Oregon to carry concealed. Now it's REALLY interesting.

All I know is even the NRA preaches safety first (unless you're an elected official on their good side) and they offer safety courses to the public. Maybe Paul Allen could make this a team bonding event and take everyone down to the shooting range and get them certified on hand guns.

Then again...

Saying "I thought my girlfriend's purse was mine" is akin to saying "I thought my girlfriend's mascara was mine". The guy has a purse? And let's not split hairs on whether he has a euro "man-purse" as opposed to a floppy grandma purse. If the guy carries his wallet goods outside a pocket, he carries a purse.

How wouldn't he notice the weight? With very few exceptions, guns weigh enough so if one were in a purse it wouldn't feel right. It would be a heavy, non-shifting object at the bottom. Wouldn't that tip you off that you were carrying more than your blush, money and roach clip?

But then, isn't having the girlfriend carry the iron and old street gang trick?

The NBA would be more interesting if all the players were armed.

On the good side, the games would attract more television viewers, hoping to see a foul produce a two-shot penalty.

Come one guys. Telfair did something stupid, but he's pretty far from being a gang banger or a character issue for the team. Dude isn't going to impress anyone carrying it in a womens Louis Vuitton bag, for chrissakes.

Honestly, this doesn't set them back to the JailBlazers days, and if you think so, you're not paying attention.

1) It was a private plane, not a commercial flight. A legal nicety perhaps, but we *are* using a law professor's webspace.

2) This kid has *zero* history of this kind of behavior -- even though he comes from a very rough part of Brooklyn. (And sorry, Jack, but I really doubt that Newark in your time compares to Coney Island today.)

3) Have a look at the feature film about Telfair and his family, "Through the Fire," that's now on DVD. He could be much worse than he is.

4) Unproven? At the time he was drafted he was the only player in the *history* of the New York City public schools to lead his high school to three consecutive city championships. A big leap between that and the NBA, but nonetheless an estimable achievement.

5) Who would anyone else have picked in that year's draft at that position (in the draft, not on the court)? The fact is the player pool has been rendered utterly incomprehensible by David STern's allowing 5-year-olds to declare themselves eligible and if you don't have a global scouting network and a lot of good luck then any pick past number 5 is usually worthless.

I don't think that Telfair is NBA-caliber yet, and I can't think of a single defense for his boneheaded move here, but this whining is just...whining.

When the father of a newborn infant is packing a loaded handgun through an airport and onto a plane, and his excuse is that it's the child's mother's gun, and they lost track of where it was, I'm sorry, that's where I get off the boat. It confirms what the writers around the NBA already know from experiences with Mr. Telfair's cousin, Stephon Marbury: They're "not good people."

Plus. he's too short and not that talented. Please, get him to the Knicks.

An important note: The handgun was, indeed, registered to Telfair's girlfriend. So, for what it's worth, he's telling the truth on that count. Sure, it could be his gun in practice, and it was certainly stupid of him bring it on the plane. And I'll be the last person to defend Telfair's ability or the Blazer's decision to draft him (trade him now!). But let's not run away with ourselves here. Telfair's stupid act is a far cry from what other players have done (domestic abuse, dog fighting, possession of controlled substances and _unpermitted_ handguns). Again, I'm not trying to excuse him, but let's keep some perspective.

Within a year, Steve Houze will have himself another client. You just hope somebody doesn't get killed.

Jack,

A minor note: you mentioned "through an airport." When one flies on a private plane, one does not go through the main airport building at all. There is a separate entrance some distance from the main airport. Thus, one is completely separate from the main airport and the commercial planes. There is no secuirty check. There is no law that prohibits guns on the private plane. The main issue would be whether one violates the CONCEALED weapons laws in the state of eparture or landing.

RE: Marbury.

This is where some specific factual knowledge makes a difference.

As you could have seen in "Through the Fire" or read in "The Jump," the Telfairs were left to rot in the projects by the Marburys after Stephon made it big. The cousins have had almost no contact since Stephon left Georgia Tech -- is that 10 years ago now? It's *always* been clear, even to outsiders with bones to pick, that there's a huge difference between the two playes *as people.*

Again, not a defense of a boneheaded move, but this isn't the black-and-white situation you're so eager to paint.

I think by all accounts that I have seent hat Telfair is a solid kid who made a mistake (i'd say keeping a loaded gun around is that major mistake, hopefully this incident will serve as a learning experience for him)

That said, I also thinkign drafting him when they did was an incredibily stupid move on the part fo the Blazers (I wonder how much it was influenced by Adidas?) They had 2 1st rounders that year and could easily have gotten him with the 2nd one maybe even a 2nd rounder. I see his upside as a back-up change of pace guard, someone who you bring in for short spurts so his size can't be too exploited by the other team. Basically the same as Nate Robinson's, though I don't think Telfair is anywhere near the talent level of Nate. (there we go, before the Knicks get smart and dump Isiah we should try and trade him straight up for Nate!)

It would be nice to be proven wrong, but I would be shocked if he ever becomes a solid starting PG or an NBA team.

It's amazing to me how much people believe what they hope is true. We'll see what a "nice kid" Telfair turns out to be. I predict somewhere between Pothead Damon and Spit-on-You Bonzi.

And you've got the market cornered on cold-eyed cynicism, eh?

Fact is, you're ready with the noose after one fumble.

What was it that fellow you mention from time to time once said about casting stones....?

Enjoy your jaundice!

Guns on airplanes are a very bad idea. If it were fired in flight, a catastrophic loss of cabin pressure (and possible failure of the aircraft's aluminum skin or airframe) could lead to an emergency landing or crash.

Kind of makes you pine for the good old days when Damon was just storing his personal stash in a roll of aluminum foil.