Talkin' bail
Our friend Dwight Jaynes and Blazers owner Paul Allen, whom no normal Portlanders have ever met, are going at it pretty intensely over whether the Blazers are for sale. Let's see: no general manager, no head coach, only good player under contract recovering from his second hip surgery, declining fan base, negative goodwill within the industry... There's not all that much there to sell, and our guess is that Allen's asking too much for it. But in Dwight we trust.
| Posted at 9:41 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
Dwight's doing a great job of raising hell rather than sucking up to the local sports franchise. He's also turned into a surprisingly good TV personality, and I love that he's crushing Canzano at his own game. Canzano isn't a tenth the columnist Dwight Jaynes has been over the years.
But Dwight, let's not get carried away with the grandiose language: "History will prove me right or wrong..."? I thought we were talking about a sports deal?
Dwight, the only way you'll be judged by history is if Paul Allen uses his civilian space project to send you into outer space.
Posted by Bill McDonald | May 17, 2012 10:03 PM
Ground control to Major Dwight...
Posted by Jack Bog | May 17, 2012 10:04 PM
I don't follow the Blazers but judging from Allen's indignant denials it's rather obvious that Jaynes is onto something. If he were totally off the mark, Allen would just ignore him while chuckling to himself.
Posted by semi-cynic | May 17, 2012 10:46 PM
Allen with the Blazers seems like that person who hugs a loved one to death. Let it go, Paul. But Merritt Paulson? (And his scavenger dad). You'll get suckered into another bad deal, Paul! Sheesh, don't you ever learn? Talk about "Rip City!"
Posted by Mojo | May 17, 2012 11:59 PM
Paul's just mad because he discovered that some of his own crew think there is a better ownership team in Portland.
Posted by David E Gilmore | May 18, 2012 7:07 AM
Allen reminds me of some politician who keeps telling people "I have no plans to run for the vice presidency" or "I'm not going to be VP" but who then is "stunned" and "surprised" and "honored" by an "unexpected" offer, and ends up...running for VP. After all, the best way to attract what Bill Simmons calls a "Godfather offer" is to act like you wouldn't *dream* of selling the team, and how you *love* the team so very much. That makes people think they really need to blow you away with an offer in order to get you to sell.
Posted by Dave J.. | May 18, 2012 9:39 AM
We should recognize that the pieces are in place to replicate the franchise-exchange deal pulled off by the NFL's Carroll Rosenbloom 40 years ago. Rosenbloom owned the Baltimore Colts, and traded his ownership of the Colts to the Irsay family in exchange for their share of ownership in the Los Angeles Rams. Note that neither team is still in place. (Also note that as an exchange, there were no taxes.)
I'm grateful for what Paul Allen has done or tried to do with the Blazers. But at this point, I think it's fair to say that Allen would be happier owning a reborn Seattle SuperSonics franchise. The NBA, meanwhile, has struggling small-market teams in New Orleans, Memphis and Sacramento.
So Stern and Allen could be telling the truth: It could well be that the team's not for sale -- but the Rose Garden is.
Posted by Roger | May 18, 2012 10:33 AM
Hey Paul , here is an idea for you. The Green Bay Packers are owned by the citizens there , how about donating the Blazers to all the People of Portland ? You get a sweet tax right-off , and we each get a tiny piece of the team we love !
Posted by billb | May 18, 2012 2:07 PM