From the (Portland) Oregonian ~ August 4, 2006
_________________________________

It's been some bang-up acting performance over the months. Trail Blazers
owner Paul Allen declared the economic model broken, threw his hands up
and said he was "at peace" with selling the team he loves so much.

As Allen was leaving the Rose Garden after his final game last season,
he even stopped near the opening to the arena loading dock. Then, Allen
just stood there, peering back into the dark corridors of the building
as if he were Sam Malone, closing down the bar in the final episode of
"Cheers."

Sir Laurence Olivier couldn't have played the role better. Totally
believable. Bravo, Paul. Now, end the act today. Buy back the Rose
Garden at fair market price and make the Blazers about basketball again.

The Trail Blazers are not for sale.

The official confirmation came Thursday in the form of two news
releases. One, from Portland Arena Management, said, despite
"acceptable" bids for the arena and team, Allen wasn't interested in
selling. The other, from Vulcan, Inc., Allen's Seattle-based company
that includes the Trail Blazers in its holdings, confirmed the report
and said: "No single entity has invested more over the years than Vulcan
has in the Trail Blazers . . ."
Well, duh.

You own the team.

The Vulcans apparently have their Palm Pilots set to "stun."

Look. This pseudo-sale was about leverage for Allen and the Vulcans.

It started in February 2004 when Allen put Oregon Arena Corp. into
bankruptcy, starting a process that left him no longer owning the arena
in which the Blazers play --and no longer owning the revenue streams
that come with the arena. Two years later, he started hinting he would
sell the team --and finally started seeking bids.

Through the bidding process, Allen and Vulcan have managed to get a
price set for the arena. Now, Allen either is going to do the right
thing and buy the building back, or he's going to do the Vulcan thing
and sit tight, hoping the Sonics leave Seattle, strengthening his grip
and allowing him to squeeze a few more dimes out of the deal.

The Sonics have been purchased by a group based in Oklahoma City.
There's bound to be a lot of talk today about a scenario involving the
Blazers moving to Seattle someday, should the Sonics leave.
But there's the matter of the Blazers' ironclad 20-year site agreement
in Portland. And also, the cost of a new basketball arena in Seattle
would be about $350 million, about three times what it would cost Allen
to buy back the Rose Garden today.

This isn't about moving to Seattle, even if the Vulcans would love to
use that threat to gain leverage. For Allen, this entire act has been
about securing a better deal from the bondholders. It's why Allen
foolishly threw the building into bankruptcy in the first place.

One question for Allen: Is this about basketball or money? Allen already
has a net worth of $22.7 billion, and he claims to love the game. Any
U.S. parent would tell his kid, "Do what you love." Yet, here Allen is,
attempting to suck the joy out of it by turning this into a financial
issue.
In the last few months, Allen secured the right to match any outside
offer for the Rose Garden. Then, he continued his act and encouraged
bids he had no intention of ever accepting. He must know that his
franchise deserved better than to be used. Fans deserved better, too.

Allen never really wanted to sell the Blazers. He just wanted a better
arena deal. And he was willing to do whatever he needed to do, even if
it meant having to act to get that accomplished. No drama, no theater, I
suppose.

Ask yourself, where else in life a 53-year-old, single multibillionaire
can get a thrill such as the one Allen got when the Blazers made six
trades on draft day?
Then, think on the sight of Allen a few years ago, with the Blazers in
the playoffs against Dallas, dancing and clapping his hands during
timeouts. Losing games frustrated Allen, but this is a man who would
miss the NBA.

Allen has two yachts --the 413-foot Octopus (crew of 57) and the
300-foot Tatoosh (outfitted with a swimming pool and two helipads).
According to port records, the Octopus stopped in Tahiti in March, then
spent a month in Australia. Then, Tatoosh cruised in the Mediterranean,
stopping back in New Orleans. Then by June, it was anchored in
Sardinia's Porto Rotondo harbor.

That all sounds thrilling, adventurous and fun. But I once stood with
Allen in an empty city lot in North Portland after a groundbreaking
ceremony for an educational center. We talked about hypothetical trades.
He gestured excitedly at one point, proposing a deal. Then, when I made
a counterproposal, he stomped his feet and hopped around, insisting my
deal was a lousy one.

Allen doesn't feel that strongly about the yachts. Or music. Or even the
Seattle Seahawks, which he also owns. He likes football a lot, but you
can tell Allen's in love with basketball. It's what sets him apart from
the other men who own multiple sports franchises. Ask him, and he'll
tell you that basketball was his first love.

To Allen, the Blazers are not just his little basketball hobby, they're
an adrenaline rush. He has an opportunity to resurrect the franchise,
and don't think for a second that Allen didn't watch the NBA Finals,
where he saw Mavericks owner Mark Cuban having the kind of fun that
money alone can't buy.

That could be Allen someday.

First, though, fans, tormented all summer, deserve an apology from
Allen. He should call a news conference today and explain himself, even
if he says, "Hey, I was just joshin' with you guys." The threat of
moving the team, the Mr. Wishy-Washy routine, the whole "I'm at peace
with selling" act sort of leaves the "Allen isn't selling" announcement
feeling incomplete without a few apologetic words and an explanation
from the man who caused it.

Whothehell really cares what Paul Allen Really Wants?

His money.
His team.
His choice.

Whatever he does will be unimportant.

In article <9bq9d2d64ui3pcl8m2gpm4p0acdgu5ro42@4ax.com>, Don Homuth
<dhomuth1@comcast.net> wrote:



Indeed, if the scientists are correct some millions of years from now the
sun will go supernova, and at that time no one will really care who Paul
Allen was or what he did with the Trailblazers.

"We big picture people have a lot of trouble in history." - Calvin & Hobbs
cartoon, after Calvin was asked to explain the significance of the Erie
Canal.

--
-Glennl
The despammed service works OK, but unfortunately
now the spammers grab addresses for use as "from" address too!
e-mail hint: add 1 to quantity after gl to get 4317.

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 23:20:24 -0700, gl4316@yahoo.com
(gl4316@yahoo.com) wrote:


this sun doesn't have the mass to go supernova

it'll just poof-up to about the orbit of Mars...

and it will be billions of years, not millions

Hey,

It's really simple. Nobody wanted to buy the team at the price he wanted.
The only reason he is so rich is that he was in cahoots with B. Gates at
a perfect time. Otherwise, he would be selling used cars on 82nd Ave.

He is so bad at managing money it seems to me. Stadium should have been
bought and paid for a long time ago. They have wasted too much on worth-
less players. So many issues. If he wants to hire me I'm available, for
a reasonable price. Can shine shoes, replace toilet paper. Anything.

dogsdad

75 cent wrote:

I doubt it. You have to be sane to sell cars, and Allen gives every
indication of being notally tucking futs by now.


Although he is right when he says the economic model is broken, that
applies pretty much to the NBA and professioanl sprots in general, not
specifically the Blazers. How we've gone without one of the four major
leagues folding over the last twenty years escapes me; in fact, I was
sure the NHL was going to close up shop in 2005 after ESPN and ABC told
them they wouldn't take them back labor agreement or no.

I don't believe there is a single NBA owner whose primary business and
source of personal income is BASKETBALL. Which may be a large part of
the problem with the NBA these days:if the owner will personally be
allo right regardless of what happens to his team, and gets enough
money elsewhere that he can use losses from the franchise as a tax
write-ofrf, he has less incentive to run the club in a competent,
business-like manner.

JayDee wrote:

basketball generally sucks anyways.

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