Rip City Is Back

Oh, and there's that whole World Series Game 7 thing, too.

I have tickets to the Blazers season opener tomorrow night (or basically tonight by the time you are reading this) and I couldn't be more excited. I usually go to about a dozen games a year, give or take a few, but I don't talk Blazers a lot on this blog. I don't remember a time in my life when I wasn't a Blazers fan, which I can't say about any other teams in any sports. If I can find a way to do it without driving away the meager reader base that I have, I may check in with the team here once in awhile. For now, thanks to my impulsive advance purchase of opening night tickets, I'll be down at the Rose Garden going crazy and sadly checking my phone a lot to see what's up with the Royals.

Last season's team was fun, as the team finally took a step up and won a playoff series for the first time in what seems like forever. They have one of the top power forwards in the game and a lot of positive things to build on from last season with a roster that's made just a couple of adjustments.

I picked up an overpriced team set at last week's card show in honor of the occasion, and I get to show off all five (ha) cards here. While LaMarcus Aldridge remains the pillar of the franchise and always in the discussion of the league's best players, Damian Lillard continues to step his game up on and off the court. He's on the cover of the new NBA Live 15 video game and last week even made an appearance on Conan. I can't recall a Portland-based athlete ever being on a late night talk show, so that was pretty fun.

Wesley Matthews remains the blue collar core of the team. Undrafted coming out of college, he plays with the proverbial chip on his shoulders and is constantly working. Constantly.

You would think that Panini would have rounded out a five-card team set with the fifth member of the starting lineup (Robin Lopez), but they went with underachieving lottery pick Thomas Robinson instead. Robinson is on his third team already entering his third NBA season, and today had his fourth year option declined by Portland. He disrupts his overall maddening play with occasional bursts of brilliance and can be interesting to watch. He still hasn't proven the ability to stay in the rotation, however.


Go Blazers!

And Go Royals!