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Blazers Play In Front Of One
Of NBA's Best Home Crowds |
In N.Y., John Branch noted the Trail Blazers, who upset the Suns in Game One of their NBA Playoffs series last night, "inadvertently became a captivating bring-it-on underdog this season because of their odd travails." The team lost C Greg Oden to a season-ending injury, and then in March fired VP/Basketball Operations Tom Penn "for reasons never fully disclosed." But team President Larry Miller said, "Through everything that happened this season -- we’re still selling out the arena, we’re at 87[%] in terms of renewals for next year. ... People are really connected to this team" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/17). ESPN.com's Bill Simmons wrote the Trail Blazers "had the best home crowd this season." Simmons: "The perfect blend of creepy intensity, genuine devotion and a massive inferiority complex. I never stumbled across a Blazers game in which their fans weren't totally bringing it" (ESPN.com, 4/16).
THE TRANSITION GAME: Bobcats Owner Michael Jordan said he was at a larger "disadvantage than most owners” because he “set certain expectations from a player standpoint.” Jordan: “I have a competitive nature about making sure this thing is successful. … I have something that a lot of other owners … don't have and that is the understanding for the game itself and how I can apply my knowledge playing the game to enhance the business aspect of what I'm involved in." He added now that he is “invested in a team and now my reputation and my financial commitment is at risk, where else would I be? I got to be upfront and I expected to be upfront once I made that commitment." Jordan also said, "I want the fans to see that I'm just about passion, passion about winning, as their investment in coming to see the team" ("NBA Gametime," NBA TV, 4/18).
GATOR AID: In Daytona Beach, Ken Willis noted there "seems to be little chance" of the Jaguars selecting former Univ. of Florida QB Tim Tebow in the first round of this week's NFL Draft, but "what's the worst potential outcome" for the franchise? Jacksonville Municipal Stadium last season had "way too many empty seats" during Jaguars games, "even through spurts of decency." Willis: "It's not often a big-league franchise has to make a personnel move based largely on marketing. But this is the rarest of cases. You have a wildly popular quarterback and a hometown team in bad need of a spark" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 4/17).
STEADY AS SHE GOES? In N.Y., Gary Myers noted while the Jets will not reveal their PSL figures for this season, "considering all the advertisements they are taking out less than five months before the season starts, we have to figure plenty of good seats are still available." That means that "every move the Jets make is designed to sell PSLs" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/18).
