Beauty's only skin deep (Jack Bog's Blog)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on July 18, 2011 4:41 PM. The previous post in this blog was Portland arresting more out-of-towners for graffiti. The next post in this blog is Turnover at switch of Reed nuke reactor. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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Monday, July 18, 2011

Beauty's only skin deep

Here's a survey that ranks the Portland Trail Blazers as the fifth-hardest-to-root-for team in the NBA.

Posted at 4:41 PM | Permalink

Comments (14)

That's not really a survey; just one arbitrary formula based on two factors-- both of which are winning/ record related.

Sort of weak, honestly.

Posted by Dan Barton | July 18, 2011 4:47 PM

I always cheer for the winningest team. Or the underdog.

Posted by Harry | July 18, 2011 5:03 PM

Maybe they should have called it the fifth most frustrating team. But it's definitely a statistical survey.

Posted by Jack Bog | July 18, 2011 7:39 PM

I just want the Blazers to get to the second round again in my lifetime.

Posted by Bill McDonald | July 18, 2011 8:03 PM

Well, I guess the point of these things is to get people arguing about the results. Still, I find it hard to take seriously given that my team, Golden State, is not ranked among the top two or three in rooting-for difficulty. From what I can tell, quarterfinals appearances are weighted way too heavily, and that one magical run in 2006-07 has skewed the Warriors' ranking. But can we be real? We're talking about a team with exactly TWO winning seasons in the past 17 -- during which the Blazers have had 13 winning seasons. Fifty-win seasons in that span? Since you asked: Zero for the Warriors, five for the Blazers. And get this: In that 17-year period, the Warriors have more often than not -- nine times -- won 30 or fewer games. Blazers have done that just twice.

What a stupid survey.

Posted by Pete | July 18, 2011 8:27 PM

Any survey that praises the Lakers has already crossed over to the forces of evil.

Posted by Bill McDonald | July 18, 2011 8:34 PM

Evidently it's not too hard to root for the Blazers, given the sell-out streak dating back to '07-'08. We gripe and moan about our luck, but on the whole, we've had more success than most teams. How many not named the Lakers/Spurs/Pistons/Celtics/Bulls/Heat have gotten over the hump in recent memory? The Mavs, and... er... um....

Posted by TKrueg | July 18, 2011 8:41 PM

If there's something hard to root for it's David Stern's tenure as commish. He sacrificed league parity for profitability, which he was quick to mention until the recent collective bargaining negotiations. The form of prosperity he sought created a handful of dynasties to promote on network TV, while the rest toil in Washington Generals-like mediocrity. How can he expect a robust league if most fans feel deep down they'll never sniff a title?

Posted by TKrueg | July 18, 2011 8:58 PM

I find the Blazers harder to root for than Golden State. The Warriors occasionally make something out of nothing. The Blazers invariably make nothing out of something. There's really no reason for hope.

Posted by Jack Bog | July 18, 2011 10:30 PM

Stephon Curry rocks. He's got the good-guy decency factor like Nicolas Batum.

Posted by Bill McDonald | July 18, 2011 10:46 PM

I love to root for the players. But not so much the management.

Posted by Michelle | July 19, 2011 8:31 AM

Rupert Murdoch is one of the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers, so of course he maintains he has a large company and that neither he nor his son had any idea that the Lakers play basketball. Oh, and he has never personally heard of Kobe Bryant.

Posted by Bill McDonald | July 19, 2011 10:02 AM

OK, I will grant that in following Golden State, one is never foolish enough to expect anything, and from time to time fun emerges. Still, when 60-loss seasons are more common than .500 seasons, it's hardly a garden of delights.

Posted by Pete | July 19, 2011 2:22 PM

These silly surveys really don't matter much to us at all. We're still Blazer fans even though we live far away in Reno. We especially love going to games in Sacramento and taunting a few Kings fans about who will be winning at the final buzzer! Plus it gets us on Blazer TV!

Posted by Dave A. | July 19, 2011 7:03 PM

In Vino Veritas

Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007

The Occasional Book

Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
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: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269