Former Trail Blazer Damon Stoudamire says 'Jail Blazers' documentary in production

Should be interesting to say the least..... but only if it goes into how much hush up money the Blazers dolled out. I am expecting a few private investigator interviews.

 

"I ain't got no driver's license, here's my rookie card..."

 

I'd watch the hell out of that!

 

Want to seeeeeeee.

 

I hope this is one of the 30/30's to remember. The last one, the duke lacrosse team, was done very very well

 

Fuck Damon Stoudamire.

 

Tops or bottoms?

 

He's the rat's ass.

 

Rasheed, Bonzi, Stoudamire team up for 'Jail Blazers' documentary

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/or...dex.ssf/2016/04/jail_blazers_documentary.html


Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire have teamed up again. (AP)
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By John Canzano | The Oregonian/OregonLive
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on April 22, 2016 at 7:37 AM, updated April 22, 2016 at 8:22 AM



Got a frustrated communication from a Trail Blazers executive 20 minutes before tip-off of Game 2 of the Blazers-Clippers first-round NBA Playoff series on Wednesday night.

The executive wanted to know why I'd posted an entry on Oregonlive.com about former Trail Blazer Dale Davis, who joined my radio show Wednesday afternoon as I was on a flight to Los Angeles. Davis was asked by guest-host Brian Perkins about a rumored 'Jail Blazers' documentary.

"You're the only person I've heard anywhere in town that's feeding this rumor," the executive wrote. "And you keep booking guests to validate this fiction (Rider, Davis.) Why?"

Because it's interesting, and apparently happening.

More on that in a bit.

First, understand that the Blazers and Paul Allen's mothership company, Vulcan, Inc. may not like it. They may even try to stop its production. But the era in which the team was winning at a decent clip while struggling with fascinating personalities and bad team chemistry is an interesting study. It's as much a part of the organization's history as the 1977 championship parade or the pivotal and pleasant 2015-16 regular season that got us through another rainy winter.

The documentary has been written about and talked about in other forums in this market. And this is the first unobstructed moment that I've dedicated to digging into it. But there's a sensitivity when I talk about it. (Or apparently even when I don't talk about it, but a guest host on my mid-day radio program does.)

Davis told Perkins he hadn't yet been contacted by anyone, and said of the era, "We had a group of guys who cared. But at the same time we had guys who were young and immature."

What I love most about hearing Davis speak on that period of franchise history is that he's doing the talking. I've written about that period. The media nationally and locally have weighed in. Fans have sounded off on the yellow Hummer, the airport metal detector and the rise and fall of the organization's dreams during GM Bob Whitsitt's amazing NBA sociology experiment. But what we haven't really heard is the view of the players from that era -- now older, wiser, moved on with their careers and families and ready to look back with new perspective -- and that's why this project has legs.

Someone representing Allen, his Blazers or Vulcan, Inc., I'm told, contacted ESPN to find out if this was a viable 30/30 project. ESPN isn't behind this. Then, I got that pre-game text on Wednesday. I don't think it's the current Blazers management regime, per se, that's irked. The text I received felt more like a fishing expedition launched after Allen's inner circle in Seattle came up empty trying to find out what's going on with this. Maybe the interest is strictly about whether it could reflect poorly on Allen's legacy as a sports owner.

Damon Stoudamire was the first person I heard talk about a 'Jail Blazers' documentary project. He did so after being hired as the head coach at University of the Pacific, and writing a great piece for The Player's Tribune about the life advice he'd give a 12-year old version of himself. I've rooted for Stoudamire, the person, for years. I've watched him grow from a gifted pro basketball player into a 42-year old man who is now interested in helping young players grow while also sifting through a period of his own past, making sense of it. I wrote a column after his original piece, about how his growth is inspiring.

Today, Stoudamire confirmed that this 'Jail Blazers' project is more than a rumor. He said he's involved, along with former teammates Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells. They're working with a production company and they're motivated to make sense of an era that produced two Western Conference Finals appearances, but ultimately, unraveled.

"We've convinced people who haven't talked really about this before to partake in this," Stoudamire said on Friday morning. "It will be the good and the bad... the bad arrest, players feuding with media, internal friction, we're not gonna hold back."

Stoudamire is aware that some might be uncomfortable with the project. He knows that it was a difficult time for the franchise, the city, and ownership.

"We're not trying to tear the franchise down," he said, "... we were a young team that ultimately had all the ingredients to be special... a lot of people to point the finger at during that time, but the bottom line is we just didn't get it done..."

He said, "We left at least one finals appearance on the table. We can never make people forget the bad of that era. What we want, Oregonians especially, to know is we made mistakes but, we left it on the line for the town and basketball-wise the franchise hasn't had that success since we left."

So there you go.

 

I refuse to watch this.

 

"Straight Outta Jail Blazers"

 

"Franchise hasn't had that success since we left"

Sad but true.

 

"Good afternoon officer"

 

So is this going to be a loving but candid look at a sports era like "The U," or a shocking expose like "The Pony Express" that leaves PDX open to all sorts of scrutiny.

I'll bet the later. Oh and John, get stuffed, you complete douche.

 

Ouch.

 

"You're my wife... but for a second, honey, can you send me a text accusing me of bringing out the jail blazers era. I need to finish this paper and I can't do anything creatively by myself. I'm just not smart enough, I need your help."

 

There's something wrong with a black man's behavior?????

Don't worry!!! The Oregonian is on the case!!!!