20 rooms, king, nonsmoking, city view
One of the great things that happen when the Blazers are in the playoffs is that the games bring people to town whom you wouldn't normally see in Portland. Last night, as we entered the Nines Hotel for the first time for a work-related social function, we noticed the unmistakable signs that the Houston Rockets, the Blazers' first-round opponents, were staying there. Out in front of the main entrance, a truck full of packed duffel bags was being unloaded, and there were a handful of autograph seekers hanging around. There were folks from Houston on the elevator. All that was missing was a sighting of Yao himself.
Over the cocktail hour at our function (which was excellent, by the way), we toyed with the idea of hunting Yao down and clubbing one of his sore feet -- shades of Tonya Harding. We could even be tried in the same Multnomah County Courthouse as Tonya! A couple of appetizers later, we decided against our plan. That had just been the Blazermania talking.
| Posted at 1:19 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (9)
The PDC (taxpayers) paid for the Rocket's rooms.
Posted by Ben | April 18, 2009 1:30 PM
Too bad they weren't here a day before, with a front-row seat to the huge rally at the Square. I went on a whim, and it almost felt like the Hillsboro Airport after the 1990 Western Conference Finals. Corny good times... we're still a small town who loves their Blazers.
They haven't done anything yet, but you can feel something good is brewing.
Posted by TKrueg | April 18, 2009 1:45 PM
When I saw the Rockets they were at the Benson so thanks to Sam and the PDC's disregard of the free market system, a government subsidized hotel snatches the business away from a Portland institution.
Now perhaps the Benson was full - we know the Nines is not doing that well, but still...the point is Sam acts as if he's helping the working class people of Portland with these schemes when he's just taking money from people who've worked decades to earn the business, and given it to those who can undercut prices, etc... since it's all unreal anyway.
He might take a banquet from a hotel turning a profit and move it someplace that's losing money, thereby driving the other place into a losing path and requiring more concessions to keep the government project going when it should never have started in the first place.
If you take all these spending projects together they look like a blueprint to destroy a city - a blueprint to hurt the workers of this town, and reward the rich much as Wall Street has done.
The other point is that Sam couldn't care less. He's either too dumb to understand it or he's unfeeling about it. I'd pick the latter although they both could be in play.
He acts like the Rose Quarter entertainment center would tap into a section of the public stuck in their houses waiting for it to open, when in fact, he'd just be draining business from other established places - places that made Portland what it is today, places often already working on the thinnest of margins.
The final part of this is that his strategy is designed to collapse - that's the only mechanism that can stop it, and we're barreling down that road right now.
Just look at this last couple of weeks. We went from talking about 85 million or so to half a billion in projects. Half a billion. How can we top this? Cover Portland in a crystal dome?
The PGE thing is monumental because it's the first one where we circled back to do another scheme on top of the last. Now I hear talk of parking garages just built that must be taken down for more stuff.
At the rate this is accelerating, we'll soon be interrupting projects as they are under construction, to start new more expensive projects in their place.
It's ridiculous and worse than that, it's not right.
Posted by Bill McDonald | April 18, 2009 2:55 PM
Past concerns expressed on your site about corruption in NBA officiating should be especially scrutinized this time around. The networks and (2) larger cities are already celebrating the cash cow for all of them when Kobe meet Lebron in the finals.
Posted by Gibby | April 18, 2009 3:29 PM
Oregon Health & Sciences University - Joe Robertson received 32 Playoff Blazer Tickets as a gift. Something he may have done for someone or group?
I thought OHSU employees weren't allowed to receive gifts.
Posted by spirit | April 18, 2009 3:32 PM
Oh, no; OHSU is private enterprise now, except when an injured patient is suing it.
Posted by Isaac Laquedem | April 18, 2009 4:45 PM
Jack,
I saw you and your significant other chatting with a friend out front of the Nines last night. I would have said hi, but didn't want to interrupt. Looked like everyone had a great time at whatever function was letting out. The Nines is a pretty cool cool venue for staying, dining or drinking...minus the Houston Rockets.
Posted by Joey | April 18, 2009 6:02 PM
The rest of the country will be looking for the White Stag sign, according to Commissar Leonard. This is the only way the rest of the T.V viewing audience knows the game is truly in Portland.
That's right The White Stag sign is right up there with the statute of liberty and the space needle.
Posted by Bob Clark | April 18, 2009 6:49 PM
Down by 30 in the 4th.
Rip City Uprise is about as credible as Go By Streetcar.
Keep it classy Blazers.
Posted by Brendan | April 18, 2009 9:56 PM