Fan website Blazer's Edge "won't accept a media credential from the Trail Blazers if it comes with a different level of access and rules from traditional media outlets," according to Andrew Theen of the Portland OREGONIAN. Trail Blazers officials said that the club "changed its locker room access rules and practice credentials this season to accommodate more traditional news outlets." It was "billed, in part, as a space issue." As a result, Blazer's Edge will be "prevented from locker room access post game and frequent practice coverage." A source said that "access could change on a case-by-case basis," but Blazer's Edge would "need to prove itself to gain access after losing a long-time familiar face" in writer Ben Golliver, who left the site in August. Blazer's Edge Managing Editor Dave Deckard said that the site "wouldn't accept a 'second tier' credential" (OREGONLIVE.com, 10/27). Theen noted the fan-run website has "built an active and dedicated readership on the back of a deluge of daily content on all things Blazers -- roster breakdowns, trade rumors, links to mainstream media coverage and game recaps." Blazer's Edge is "part of SB Nation's network of blogs and the site is fast-approaching its 10th anniversary." For much of that time, the website was a "tag-team operation" with Deckard and Golliver "running the show." Trail Blazers officials said that while the team was an "early adopter to granting access to fan-run websites, that access is now more restricted in some respects." Trail Blazers VP/Corporate Communications & Public Engagement Michael Lewellen said, "You lose an experienced hand, sometimes you find yourself starting over a little bit" (OREGONLIVE.com, 10/27).
