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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on August 26, 2008 12:18 PM. The previous post in this blog was Your tax dollars at work. The next post in this blog is More strangeness for Multnomah County. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Not much of a story

I have only one personal Kevin Duckworth story. It was the heyday of the Drexler Blazers, and I sat at the next table from Duck at a fancy Sunday brunch -- I believe it was in the restaurant at the then-still-pretty-new Riverplace Alexis Hotel.

The guy was huge. He was there with a young gal of about the same age, whom he absolutely dwarfed.

In those days, I ate and drank all I could at any sort of all-you-can-eat deal, and that midday meal was no different. Duck, however, seemed a little out of place, and as I recall he wasn't chowing down very hard at all. He was quiet, and the rest of the hoops fans in the place were like us -- we left him and his guest to their food.

A lot of geezers like me talk about how great the Blazers would have been if they had been able to get Arvydas Sabonis out from behind the Iron Curtain while he was still in his prime. "They would have beaten Isiah and Jordan. They would have had three rings." But we had Duck -- close, but no cigar.

That's a lousy place in history for a guy to wind up. Today's a day for thinking about the Blazers that were, not the ones that could have been. The runs that the team had in Duck's era were magical, and the team has not been the same since. Sports fans should leave it at that, and let the guy's friends and colleagues help us remember and mourn the person rather than the stat sheet.

The O has some photos posted here, but the guy who knows more than any of us about the story sums it up here.

Comments (5)

When my dad went to a Blazer's v, Utah Jazz game in the early 1990s, I made him a sign to hold up that read: " A duck is worth more than all that jazz". I once read that Duckworth liked cats and took in some strays; that endeared me to him. I can also relate to depression and comfort eating. What a shame to lose him.

I saw him in an elevator at the Rose Garden a few years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. My first thought was that there was mountain in the elevator with me. My next thought was that he was so-o-o-o funny. He was cracking jokes with his companions and made the rest of us in the elevator laugh out loud. As a person who has struggled with her weight for many years, I thought his attitude, in spite of his weight, was inspiring. Rest well, Kevin. And thank you.

Is it endeared him to me? so i can't communicate. I try.

I worked out in the same gym as Duck back in the 90's. He was a great guy who always found time to converse with folks no matter how trite the questions or comments. I was always impressed how a person could be so rich, talented and physically immense, yet be so humble.

Truly sad to see him go.

Well... When you get to the level of the NBA Finals and Conf Finals, there is no forgiveness. That's just what it means to be at the top of the top. Jersey Boy Jason Kidd is going to have to live with it too.

I don't think Blazer fans fully respect the mental insanity it takes to compete there. It's like being a rock star. If you're not insanely full of yourself in that situation, the stress of the realization that you are there can be huge. That's why you have players that perform great, but have playoff "curses." Duck was the kind of player Blazer fans love to venerate as "having class," but he was appropriately criticized for his failure to perform at that level. It's a paradox. If Duck liked to get high and go to tit bars, but had career numbers in the post-season that landed the Blazers a few NBA titles, would he be a legend now? Probably.

He was the weakest (starting) link on those '89-92 teams. He probably did cost the Blazers a championship, but he was very accessible as a celebrity and was very low key about joining under-privileged school kids in NE on the court and inspiring them in life. Maybe there are some people out there now who found strength in Duckworth to succeed in school and be successful in life, and will pass that down to their children. I bet there are. In that respect, Duck was a champion.

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In Vino Veritas

Robert Mondavi Solaire, Cabernet 2005
Castello Monaci, Liante, Salice Salentino 2006
Ricardo Santos, Malbec 2006
Quinta da Espiga, Tinto 2006
Charles Smith, Holy Cow Merlot 2006
Charles Smith, Boom Boom Syrah 2006
Charles Smith, The Honorable Pinot Gris 2007
Santa Rita, Cabernet Reserva 2005
King Estate, Pinot Gris 2007
Gloria, Douro, Tinto 2002
Bogle, Petite Sirah Port, Clarksburg 2005
Cardwell Hill, Pinot Noir 2004
Silkwood, Red Duet Cabernet-Syrah 2004
Portuga, Vinho Branco 2006, 2007
Osborne, Solaz 2004
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Reserva 2005
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill, Shiraz Cabernet 2006
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2004
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills 2004
Hannah Nicole, Red 2004
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2005
Protocolo, Red 2005
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2006
Portuga, Vinho Branco 2006
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1996
Kirkland, Roogle Shiraz 2004
Garda, Classico Chiaretto
A to Z, Oregon Pinot Gris 2005
I Giusti & Zanza, Nemorino 2006
Treana, Marsanne-Viognier, Central Coast 2005
Fife, Syrah, "Stanford" 2000
B.R. Cohn, Silver Label Cabernet 2005
Marques de Casa Concha, Cabernet 2005
Santi, Sortesele Pinot Grigio 2006
Al Muvedre, Tinto Joven 2006
Layer Cake, Shiraz 2006
Gritti, Ca' Andrea, Umbria red 2005
Altos de Luzon, Jumilla 2004
Thomas Leithner, Zweigelt 2004
Cain Cuvee NV 3
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot 2003
Meridian, Sauvignon Blanc 2005
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2003
Paringa, Shiraz 2005
King Estate, Pinot Gris 2005
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2003
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2005
Kris, Pinot Grigio 2006
Silvan Ridge, Pinot Gris 2006
Fife, Mendocino Syrah, "Stanford" 2000
Castle Rock, Cabernet, Paso Robles 2005
Willakenzie, Pinot Gris 2006
The Show, Cabernet 2005
Essencia Valdemar, Rioja Rose 2006
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills 2004
Beaulieu Vineyard. Napa Valley Cabernet 2004
Irony, Cabernet, Napa Valley 2003
Rosenblum, Petite Sirah, Heritage Clones 2005
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Barefoot Chardonnay
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Red Diamond, Merlot 2003
Mateus, Rose
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Penya Cadiella Vins de Comtat 2003
Kamiak, Cellar Select Red 2003
Anselmi, San Vincenzo 2005
Rubrato, Aglianico dei Feudi di San Gregorio 2004
Le Grand Noir (Black Sheep) Cabernet-Shiraz
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2005
Los Vascos, Cabernet, Reserve 2004
Jackaroo, Shiraz 2003
Paul Jaboulet Aine, Crozes Hermitage Syrah, "La Jalet," 2001
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Rolf Binder, Barossa Valley Shiraz 2003
Oyster Bay, Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Woodbridge Chardonnay 2005
Barnard & Griffin, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2004
Quinto do Carmo, Alentejano Red 2000
Forefathers, Alexander Valley Cabernet 2001

The Occasional Book

Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 28
At this date last year: 102
Total run in 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
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