Mike and Mike are OUT? Same with 'Tone.

To me Tone and Rice needed to go...I don't know why Barrett will be replaced but before I judge the move, let's see who they bring in first. Wheels is the voice of the Blazers for me anyway...they won't leave him alone..they said he's the lone remaining guy..they could bring in a Brandon Roy or Sheed to put next to him and it'd be way better than Tone. The Barrett move might have circumstances we are unaware of.

 

I kind of got a kick out of Rice because he got so crazy but Barrett is a bland homer, nice guy but totally boring. I LOVED Steve Jones!

 

Barrett was good because he balanced out rice. Without rice Barrett would be boring as hell, so this makes sense in that way. Still disagree with the move. They weren't perfect but they were fun. Listening to Rice was like sitting next to a crazy old guy and I loved it.

 

You have no insight because you didn't spend the last 17-25 years watching/listening to these guys. I knew Mike and Mike. They are great guys. I literally grew up listening to Rice.

This was not handled correctly. Not at ALL. You don't blindside the fans like this.

 

Did you just use the word hero when describing the Mikes?

 

Im telling you guys, they will re up with comcast. Comcast is the only one that can offer them top coverage and top money.

They dont care if a couple people boycott because they dont have to. The moda center will still sell out and blazermania will still run wild.

They are a business after all. It is what it is.

Im curious who they get to replace them. I really liked mike and mike. Sad to see them go.

 

New color play by play guy: And the Blazers take the lead, 4-2....Bill

Walton: I’m a Deadhead. I’ve never been able to separate basketball from life. I’m living under a series of mantras from the Grateful Dead right now. I’ll just roll them out for you. When you get confused, listen to the music play. We used to play for silver; now we play for life. Once in a while, you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. Sure don’t know what I’m going for, but I’m gonna go for it for sure. And then it all rolls into one, but nothing comes for free. No. It was ’67, the Summer of Love in California, I was about 15 but I forget where and when. In those days, we didn’t know anything. We just heard them on the radio, and then the DJ said look, this is a new band from San Francisco, go check them out. And we did. And I got in the front of the stage, in the pit, and I never left. And it was just absolutely incredible.
I learned from them about how to become a champion. I became the basketball player that I was because of the Grateful Dead. I am the human being that I am today because of the Grateful Dead. They’re right there at the top of my teachers. Their inspiration moved me brightly.
I don’t care if people are not Deadheads; that’s their choice. I’ve made my choice. I made it 49 years ago. And I’m proud and I’m loyal and I am grateful for that choice. And every time I go to the Grateful Dead shows, every time I’m just engulfed in this entire world, it makes me more proud; it stimulates greater levels of loyalty and makes me more appreciative. When I was at UCLA playing basketball. That was the only world we knew. We were going to all these concerts and listening to all this music, these songs were written to us, for us, and about us. Everything that the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and all the guys sing about all the time are the stories of our lives, and I keep listening. I listen for inspiration; I listen for knowledge; I listen for strength, for confidence; I listen to be healed.
Just last night, we all went to hear Elvis Costello play in San Diego. He put on a spectacular three and a half hour show that was a roller coaster ride through the universe and beyond. And the second to the last song, he broke out “It Must’ve Been the Roses.” (A minor Grateful Dead classic.) And when we talked to Elvis after the show, he said it was only the second time he’s ever sung it in public. There were just tears coming down. He did not have a band with him. It was him, his guitar, his piano and a microphone. It was a phenomenal show. There’s got to be a sense of emotional commitment, of mental acuity — for a singer/songwriter, for a band, for a basketball team — to be able to convey the message of hope. To be able put your life into it so that it will inspire other people to care.
Where did John Wooden put loyalty in his pyramid of success? In the very bottom block, the ultimate foundation. You pull loyalty out and it all crumbles. It all just implodes. I am a loyal Deadhead. And if people don’t like it, well, that’s fine.
The Grateful Dead are about choice. They’re about freedom. They’re about “OK, we are all volunteers here.” That was one of the leadership messages from Jerry that was the same as John Wooden. “It’s a privilege to be a part of this thing. You don’t like it. Hell, it’s fine. We can find somebody else.” That’s what John Wooden told me every single day. There was and is a sense of the Grateful Dead coming together, representing all that we believed in, all that we thought of, of the culture that I grew up in, which is we can make this better. Whether it’s the relationship with the fans, whether it’s the relationship with all the people that come to work and put the show on, it’s a team; it’s a community; it’s a culture; it’s a world. And I choose to be a part of that. Those are all my friends. And, and I’m proud of my friends; I’m happy for my friends; and I’m privileged to be on that team.
Well, when the show was over and the band was packed and gone, they turned to me and they said, “Oh, my gosh, can we come back tomorrow?” And they did. And they all came back. It was fantastic. Kevin (McHale) joined us on the Dylan and the Dead tour; Larry (Bird) would go all the time; Chief (Robert Parish) would go; DJ (Dennis Johnson) would show up. Rick Carlisle met his wife at a Grateful Dead show.

Play by play guy: and at half time it's Portland 56, Dallas 53

I need this to happen

 

I don't see the games but if I did care this would be as if I typed it myself.

 

Maybe now we can get an announcer that can actually pronounce the players names.

 

I am literally in shock. Out of nowhere doesn't even begin to describe this. This is "Bill Schonley pushed out in 1997 too damn early" level stupidity. What the hell are they thinking?

 

We will never get the real story. But they very well coupd have wanted to bring mb back. Perhaps he said if you fire rice im out too.

But ive also heard behind the scenes that rice and barrett dont like each other much.

So who knows.

 

What!? What!?!? WHAT!?!? WHAT!?!?!?!?!?

 

I cant help but feel like its a little unfair to the Mikes in sense that they have been here for the tough years and right as we are headed hopefully towards some great years they dont get to enjoy them.

 

You're wrong.