Man, what a worthless punk Z-Bo is.

$74,000,000 and the guy still can't jump over a Sunday paper.

Or read one.

Since the suit is obviously a hit piece and extortion attempt, it would be wise for everyone to take that 'quote' with a grain of salt.

Please give the guy the benefit of the doubt. No charges were filed against him. He's guilty of paying for a sex show in a hotel room, likely nothing more. The guy has been busting his ass all year for us, and now it shows. Just back off already.

"He's guilty of paying for a sex show in a hotel room, likely nothing more. "

Yeah you guys he's a regular m*&%@#f+|@>?@ pillar of the community. RRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPCCCITTTTTYYYYYYY(registered trademark).

TK-

i couldn't agree with you more. if someone can put a leather ball through an iron hoop, who care's what he does off the court or what type of person he is.

He's a rich, whiney, punk. Nothing more. Well, they all are, but he's the biggest one.

The NBA & especially the Blazers can go away as far as Im concerned.

The guy has been busting his ass all year for us

What a load of BS...they dont care about "us" or "fans" or anyone but themselves.

I still hold on some hope that Randolph is salvagable. He seems to be mostly a follower, getting rid of the bad influences and getting some quality guys around him may work.

I think as far as off court stuff goes, Woods was by far the worst actor on the Blazers, that is one seriously evil dude.

Miles is a cancer on the court and the longer he is injuered the better. We're seeing what an in-shape, motivated Randolph can do when he works and plays Nate's game. Now if we can continue surrounding him with quality guys that he will respect (like Roy, Jack, Aldridge, etc) he may be ok. Don't get me wrong I don't think he'll become a saint or ever win NBA man of the year for his off court work, but he will at least stay out of serious trouble.

Or if they don't think he can keep it up and is still a ticking time bomb then this season might be a great "sell high" opportunity. If he can keep this up through February he will be a sweet trade target for teams that need a little bit extra to go all the way.

Further evidence that Randolph may be the NBA's leading neocon.

Everyone from Lebron James to Kobe Bryant have stated after games with the Blazers that Zach is unstoppable and deserves to be on the all-star team.

Do you guys even know how few players come back from microfracture surgery? The ones that do are never the same (Jason Kidd notwithstanding), but Zbo's rehabilitation is simply amazing. The fact that he was even productive last year was amazing, and this year is a giant leap forward.

He could have gone the Darius Miles route, and sat on his ass. But he worked tirelessly in the offseason to become one of the premier power forwards in the game.

If you don't know what you speak of, just shut your trap or risk sounding like a ignorant, bitter fool. Don't like the Blazers or the NBA? Fine, don't go to the games. They're a much improved team and Zach is carrying the load while the rest recover from injuries... we won't have to deal with your pissing and moaning much longer.

Hey, boys, if you are going to post here, you all need to grow up.

Zach needs to get off his gangsta bit, with the "ho's" and thug buddies and guns and threatening people. If not, I don't care if he scores 100 points a game, he needs to get out of Portland.

The rest of the country laughs at us (Portland) because we scrutinize what players do on their free time.

Upstanding, franchise players like Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett, Lebron James and others can go to lavish parties, drive blinged-out cars, have sex with groupies and live the life... all the trappings NBA players have enjoyed for decades. Wilt Chamberlain slept with enough women to populate Delaware, and yet no one cared. Magic got AIDS by sleeping around on his wife, and the whole country got behind him and put him on the Team USA Dream Team. What about 'Broadway Joe' Namath? How soon we forget, I guess, that if you're good enough on the court/field we forget your shortcomings.

If we scrutinize players off the court habits because we want work ethic and our money's worth, Zach scoring 100 points a game DOES matter. He gets paid the big bucks to produce, and he's doing it well.

Upstanding, franchise players like Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett, Lebron James and others can go to lavish parties, drive blinged-out cars, have sex with groupies and live the life... all the trappings NBA players have enjoyed for decades.

Ok, show me two recent lawsuits filed against any of those guys, and I'll concede your point.

If he's packing guns and threatening people, he needs to be traded.

Both lawsuits against Zach are widely seen as bunk, even Zach-haters have admitted. Extorion, plain and simple.

How come no one gives Lars Larson crap for carrying a handgun with him everywhere for protection? Fair's fair, right? Maybe black guys with guns make some white guys nervous. I wonder if Lars has stood up for Zach and his equal constitutional rights... let's hope so.

Larson has a permit, doesnt threaten people, doesnt call himself a "gangster", and ASAIK hasnt told anyone that "sniches die where he comes from."

Zachs a punk. Even if the lawsuits are bunk, he apparently puts himself in situations that bring them on.

Both lawsuits against Zach are widely seen as bunk, even Zach-haters have admitted. Extorion, plain and simple.

Ok, then he should have no trouble with them in court.

(And, of course, when he settles both of those out of court, the same people will come running in here screaming "that doesn't prove anything!!1!!1!!!")

As for Lars, he has a license for that gun, and a permit to carry it. I give him plenty of flack for being a rightwing blowhard and a total hack, but he's allowed to carry the gun for defense.

Well, as I recall, Zach has a permit to carry his firearm as well. Seeing the logic displayed in here, that's probably not enough legal justification for some of you, I guess. So, until Zach is arrested or charged with threatening someone (which he has not), you might want to take the whole innocent-until-proven-guilty thing a little more seriously.

And no, settling out of court doesn't prove a damn thing if you're some kind of celebrity. Many settle out of court because they can afford to make the nuisance go away, whether they're innocent or guilty. In Zach's case, he apparently rebuffed several private attempts to give 'shush' money, knowing that the threatened extortion suit would be a sloppy mess that any judge would dismiss. Sure enough, take a look at what they're presenting. If I were Zach and the allegations were false, I'd tell them to take a hike too.

Some of the racist and justice-for-some undertones here are uglier than what you're accusing Zach of. And it only gets uglier the more you realize you can't justify your own feelings. Keep digging...

Drug busts, dog fights, wandering through airport security with pot wrapped in tinfoil, allegations of rape and assault...what else am I forgetting, TKrueg?

It's one thing to be rich, cover yourself in gaudy jewelry and hop in bed with as a many chicks as possible in an attempt to outdo Chamberlain. That level of excess is expected from anyone with 10s of millions of dollars from any walk of celebrity. Most importantly, it's also legal.

Portland isn't the laughing stock of the nation, TKrueg, because what other NBA franchise sees this sort of off-court mayhem? The only thing that springs to mind is the allegations Kobe faced a few years ago and let me tell you a little story about that....

That summer I was driving down the Sunset Strip and what did my little eyes see? A gigantic billboard with KOBE written across it near Mann's Chinese Theater. Below his name: "UPDATES ON THE CASE EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES!" It was an ad for some local AM station. In addition to LA, the entire nation was glued to those allegations and they were pretty tame in comparison to what Zach is facing.

This isn't a race thing, a Portland thing or a poor vs. the insanely rich and privileged thing. We're Americans. We're shocked and fascinated anytime anyone in the public eye screws up. Look at OJ. Fifteen years later, he's still getting press. Even a small-time celeb like Robert Blake captured the nation's attention for months when he faced charges.

But back to the NBA: Forcing pitbulls to tear each other to shreds for the amusement of one's, er, dawgs? Who else in the league does something like that? That's ugly, drugged-out, nihilistic back-alley-in-Bogota, Columbia BS right there. Not your run-of-the-mill "my life is a Ludacris video" style excess. And if Randolph has been running around the city terrorizing the guy that allegedly ratted out Woods' revolting little Mutt Fight Club, he should be thrown out the league and do a little prison time for good measure.

If Z-Bo's innocent of all charges, fine. Let him go back to his booty-shakin' videos on My Space and his private booth at the strip club...so as long as he isn't hurting anyone, raping strippers in hotel rooms or racing around downtown at fifty-million miles per hour while stinking of bud. He has my blessing. I wish him a hundred million lap dances for the inconvenience and bad press if he's truly not guilty.

The Blazers have a track record for hiring the sleaziest guys to ever play the game. Again, don't be mistaken. Z-Bo's shenanigans aren't normal for the NBA or even a mob movie. Do you really think Tony Montana would waste two years chasing around a wannabe rapper for raining on his "Thunderdome Meets Marmaduke" parade?

Also, TKrueg, I'm pretty sure the term you're looking for is "hush money."

"Drug busts, dog fights, wandering through airport security with pot wrapped in tinfoil, allegations of rape and assault...what else am I forgetting, TKrueg?"

Well, apparently you are, since you're dragging up events from past Blazers. Are you going to pin Randolph with Damon and Qintel's misdeeds too? Nice!

"...the entire nation was glued to those allegations and they were pretty tame in comparison to what Zach is facing"

Really? Because doctors cited 'anal trauma' and a bloody undershirt in Kobe's case with a woman he met only a few minutes before. Zach was in a hotel room with an established mistress of his, and her friend. They were there to have sex, as it was the only reason they got together.

Again, Brandon, does this guy have any proof that Zach has been tormenting him for two years? Any charges been filed? The city's cops have such a hard-on to bust Zach, and yet, nada.

I'm just amazed you can't let go of the Jail Blazers thing, as they have rid themselves of the worst. You may hate Miles for not trying, but you can't legitimately claim he's a thug. And Zach? He's a straight-up gangsta out of Marion, Indiana all right. Get effing real.

The fact that TKrueg can cite "anal trauma" as a debatable fact relevant to the Kobe Bryant alleged rape case means he needs to direct his attention elsewhere. After reading TKrueg's posts here, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

"Premier power forward?" Uh, no. I watch enough ball to know that Zach is not quite there. "Tired of creepy news related to Zach and other Blazers bombarding everyone?" Yup.

Problem is, it's not so simple as "you don't like ballers, don't go to the game." Portlanders foot the bill for Blazers in myriad ways, whether they go to games or not. We got a stake in who's making the bucks off our community and so do our kids.

I watch hoops and I've been watching Blazers hoops for many years, but I don't need an NBA franchise in my town or state to feel civic pride. Okay, the Blazers dancers are a community asset, and I'd be sad to see them go, but I aint so sure Portland needs Zach (or pro sports) to maintain legitimacy. We got enough going on.

And, TKrueg, bro, you're abusing folks in your posts. There's no need for that.

I think the legal system should deal with criminal actions in criminal courts and not in civil lawsuits.

If Zach were to be sued sometime in the future on similar charges, and it was shown that the Blazers had done nothing about previous complaints of a similar nature against him, this would put the Blazers in the same position as the Catholic Church now finds itself in.

It has been ruled that all parishioners are responsible for damages against priests guilty of molestation. Wouldn't this mean that a subsequent lawsuit against Randolph would mean that the Blazer organization, along with all their season-ticket holders ("loosely members" of the organization through their financial support) would also be defendants and liable for damages?

It doesn't make much sense to punish innocent people for things they didn't do, but that's what the current civil law allows.

Get effing real.

TKrueg is gone. He was warned. Now he can go post on the "Hoop Family" page.

After all this time, I wouldn't have guessed I'd be banned for saying 'effing'.

Maybe it was because I called out all the latent racism and hypocrisy that bubbles to the surface whenever the Blazers come up.

Jack, I'm glad you're a tax lawyer, not a DA...

Oh, please, TKrueg.

People should be accountable for their actions, period. To suggest that these guys somehow have a pass because they're professional athletes and we should just accept their behavior is ludicrous.

Clarification: The rest of the country laughs at us because of our players' behavior -- not because we scrutinize it. If anything, we need to scrutinize it more and have higher standards. We are the laughingstock because we tolerate these punks. Zach Randolph wouldn't last a day in San Antonio.

It does seem to be true that white middle class good ole boys aren't held accountable anywhere in Oregon. TKrueg just got a little strident like the rest of us tend to do sometimes. I hope he will be back.

TKrueg: You were banned (and will be, no matter how many IP addresses you find), not just for one word, but for dominating a thread with unwarranted personal attacks on other posters. In short, you were acting like an a**hole. Arguing on here about why you're banned guarantees you won't be back. Take it somewhere else.

In case people haven't seen it:

Quite the comprehensive pre-mortem evaluation.