So long, Kevin Duckworth
Wow. Anyone with two open eyes saw this coming for a while now. Duck had clearly gone over five full spins on the scale. As another big guy, this definitely gives me pause. As a friend of mine said a couple of weeks ago, we have to start getting serious about this. 44 is way too young to go. Way too young.
You know, I was at Duckworth’s first game as a Blazer back in 1986. I can’t remember who the Blazers were playing, I just remember the new guy was out there in an old warm-up and a jersey with no name on it. Everytime he touched the ball in the fourth quarter, the whole crowd yelled “shooooot!”. Quite fun.
One night back in 1992 or so, I had my friend The TinMan’s tickets and took the formerly lovely Miss Combs to the game. We were in the third row on the baseline next to the Blazer bench. A walkway was right in front of us. Duckworth sprained his ankle that night. He exited the arena walking right past us, clearly pissed. This mattered not to Miss Combs, though. He was her favorite player. Good times.
He’s almost exactly seven years my senior. That’s seven years to get myself on track. It’s the exercise, man. So it’s back down to the Esplanade tonight. Maybe I’ll see you down there.
