If there's one thing I never kid about, it's the paranoid delusion that is the Blazers leaving Portland for Seattle "We can't keep franchises" Washington.
I'm not a mind reader, just armchair quarterbacking. I have read previously that Jody Allen who is more involved in the day to day running of Vulcan is not a fan of the Blazers & EMP and has been very vocal in her desire that the Blazers be run in the very least as a break even venture. That along with that I can't ever recall seeing her sitting next to her brother at a Blazer game makes me think that she isn't a Blazer fan. But I'll be the first to admit that it's pure speculation on my part. Also I never said PA was dying, I said if he were. I hope that he is far down the road to complete recovery and enjoys a long healthy life and many NBA championships with the Portland Trail Blazers. I guess I should have said that previously when confronted with a major health crisis he has made bold personal changes financially.
Seattle is simply not going to build a new arena for 20 years, when KeyArena's life cycle ends at age 35. They might refurbish it at the halfway point, but not with the money the NBA wants. Also, Seattlites won't accept a team until Stern retires or dies in a painful fire.
Because of the Rose Quarter development agreement with the City of Portland and being stuck with a large arena with no major tenant it would be far cheaper to sell the Blazers and buy the rights for a Seattle expansion franchise (and the Sonics name and brand that would come with it) from Stern.
The thing is, IF his sister "could not care less" (did I get it right, Ed?) about the Blazers, why would Paul Allen, who obviously does, give the possibility of her destroying that team a chance? He obviously considers the Blazers his favorite "toy". And if I was Paul Allen and my sister was trying to get me to rid myself of the Blazers, or was hinting at the possibility to not keeping the team active or at least competitive after I die, I'd make sure she wouldn't get her hands on it. I don't think being his sister gives her any more credibility or ability to run the Blazers, or decide how Paul Allen spends the money he earned. Let the man waste his money, why should she care? It's not her money.
what part of "paranoid delusion" did not set off the sarcasm meter in your brain? Or the part about Seattle "We can't keep franchises" Washington?
I was told by Maris61 that I had to disconnect the sarcasm functions of my brain if I wanted to be allowed to continue posting at S2.
I've seen Jody Allen at Blazers games. She looks like a female version of her brother, without the glasses, but dresses better.
Yes, but Paul Allen wants to win a championship in his lifetime. The Blazers are poised to be championship contenders. Starting over with an expansion team is not the shortest path to a championship. Who knows how much longer Paul Allen will live. Hopefully, a long time, but given his health issues, I think he'd prefer to keep the Blazers rather than start from scratch with an expansion franchise. BNM
He's not moving the team to Seattle. If he wants to keep the team he will keep them in Portland. If he wants a Seattle based NBA team he'll have to sell the Blazers first.
Allen's patent lawsuit is all about his legacy Something's up with Paul Allen. His bombshell Friday — a lawsuit against Apple, Google, Facebook and others for patent infringement — was just the latest symptom. I'm convinced the lawsuit is about more than money. It's about building his legacy, in more ways than one. Allen was treated for a recurrence of cancer last November, finishing the treatment earlier this year. A spokesman said Allen "has no medical issues in front of him and he is back in full swing." When you go through that sort of thing, you get your affairs in order. You think about what you'll leave behind if things go south, and you wonder how you'll be remembered. It's an odd time to haul your billionaire tech pals into court. Not too long ago — in early 2009 — Allen was publicly wishing Steve Jobs luck with his medical problems. Allen's spokesman insisted Friday that the lawsuit isn't happening because Allen needs the money. Just last month the 57-year-old bachelor pledged most of his $13 billion fortune to charity. He has been a huge supporter of nonprofit groups, the arts and scientific research, especially in the Northwest. But at the same time, he's been more aggressively monetizing assets he has piled up, before he began moving down the "world's richest" list. Just five years ago Forbes listed him, at $22 billion, as the third-richest person in America, behind Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Since then Allen's biggest investment, St. Louis-based cable company Charter Communications, went bankrupt. Last year the Forbes list put him at 17, well below the Google guys, Michael Dell and even Steve Ballmer, who held onto most of his Microsoft stake. In the meantime, Allen is selling his 303-foot yacht. He subdivided the Experience Music Project, squeezing in a science-fiction museum. He trimmed and then sold companies, such as Kirkland set-top maker Digeo. In Seattle, Allen is squeezing every leasable square foot out of the South Lake Union properties he bought eons ago for a city park. Now he's decided to make the most of four patents filed from 1996 to 2000 by Interval Research, a think tank in Palo Alto, Calif., he bankrolled until the dot-com collapse. If Allen wins, the payoff could conceivably be $500 million, $1 billion, or more. It could even result in licensing deals that funnel money to his holding company or charitable foundation into the future. The timing is unusual. Allen's spokesman, David Postman, said attorneys were asked to review the patents "years ago." "We're to the point of reviewing the portfolio and seeing at the same time if technology in the marketplace has caught up with where Interval was," he said. More enlightening was a conversation I had Friday with a patent expert, Christopher Cotropia, of the University of Richmond in Virginia. Cotropia was surprised when I mentioned that Allen's lawsuit was announced with a news release. Usually patent-licensing deals are quieter. Companies often reach settlements before any lawsuits are filed, or they make licensing deals that draw little attention. "The one thing about filing a court case is it creates a public record — it's a public statement," Cotropia said. Even if Allen loses, the lawsuit told the world that Allen funded early research into the sort of technology used by Apple, Google, Facebook and others. The 15-page suit, filed in federal court in Seattle, calls out Google in particular, mentioning that Interval supported research by Google's founders and collaborated with them when they were still at Stanford. This is mentioned where the history of Interval is presented, not where the patent violations are listed. Interval, the suit says, "evolved into one of the preeminent technology firms. It employed over 110 of the world's leading scientists, physicists, and engineers, and was at the forefront in designing next-generation science and technology." "A lot of times the complaints try to tell stories," Cotropia explained. "You read the complaint and he's talking about how this company was created.... He gets to tell this story of 'how we were early pioneers.' " In other words, the lawsuit has called out otherwise obscure work that Allen bankrolled in the dawn of the Web era. What more could Allen — a lifelong bachelor — want at this point in his life than to be known as a visionary who contributed to the success not just of Microsoft but of Google, Apple, Facebook, Yahoo and others? A Super Bowl victory for his Seahawks or an NBA title for his Trail Blazers would also be nice, but you can only hold your breath so long. Suing today's most respected tech companies is an unusual path to take. Allen must have decided that it's worth ruffling feathers today to secure a certain position in the history book. Cotropia said the lawsuit could be about "attribution." He said it best: "There's definitely a personal story here." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012751147_brier30.html
Interesting take, Dog, but wishing Jobs well in his health does not contradict a lawsuit. You'd have to be a pretty nasty person to wish someone with cancer ill health. As they say, it's business, not personal.
Seems to me that Allen is going through stages of anger or hostility, probably spurred on by his diagnosis. He seems more aggressive recently and this could be due to the stress of his condition more than anything. While having a legacy may play a part, I think he is seeming to right the wrongs that he sees, both in the Blazers organization and with these patents. He has the right to sue though, which is why we have IP Law to begin with. To protect the ideas and concepts which he developed and others are using for their own profit.
Why would he want an expansion team in a city that didn't support the last team they had when he has a possible championship contender in a ctiy that supports them? Given his health status and general behavior recently, I think they last thing he'd want to do is start over with an expansion team in Seattle at this point in his life. Seems like a huge step backwards to me. BNM
LOL! You keep missing the point, not sure if that's intentional. All I'm saying is that he's not moving the team to Seattle. Doesn't matter what the roster looks like. It ain't happening. If he wants a Seattle based team (and give up a championship potential roster) he would sell the Blazers and buy an expansion team. But this roster will not be playing in Seattle.
When any other business sues another (Microsoft gets sued every month), the media treats it as business as usual. When our owner does so, we have to read freshman-level psychoanalysis about why on Earth would Paul Allen ever do anything in the world of business? He's supposed to suck his thumb in his infantile coccoon, overfunding our sports fantasies while we kick him around. Canzano's whipping boy is acting crazy--what is wrong with him?
We wouldn't do it if we got explanations as to why Pritch/Penn were canned. So he brought this upon himself.
