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My ever-growing tendrils into the Blazer community have snared a little treat for tonight: a ticket to the game at the Garden against new jersey retiree Terry Porter and the Phoenix Suns (link is BE's preview.) It will be my first game of the season, hopefully not the last--and it will give me an up-close, IPD (In-person Definition) view of the action. Speaking of jersey retirements, they're doing another one tonight, #30. Hey wait, isn't that TP's number? Isn't #30 already hanging in the RG's rafters now? Yes, but 70's Blazer Bobby Gross also wore it, and is one of the lucky dozen players to have a championship ring from his time with Portland. Bob wasn't exactly the prequel to TP, but he was also a point guard and one of the regular guys on those 70s teams, sort of like the Brooklyn Dodgers of old, embraced by the community as one of their own despite being a high paid pro athlete. That's about all that's driving the retirement, however, because his career 9/4/1 stat line is not exactly dominant. To give you an idea how pumped up the diehards are, at BE they've got two stories with hits on the name--and both are in the context of "Terry Porter and Bob Gross." Still, it will be nice to re-live the memories from the short-shorts era, which I'm actually old enough to remember. I had only recently moved to VA, and before I switched over to following the Bullets in closer proximity, I did the best I could to keep up with Rip City as they marched to the Finals. I remember riding in a car somewhere, going nuts in Game 6 as the B's completed the amazing comeback from 0-2, taking down mighty Dr. J (in his first year with the NBA, after the ABA merger) and the 76ers. Tonight is another chance for Portland to figure out Nash, O'Neal and the Suns, who have won 11 straight. This is about as good a time as any to take a shot at breaking the skein, so I'm looking forward to the evening. Let you know how it goes after it's over!
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