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Buy viagra . Okay,Buy Codeine It is amazing to think of how many timesBuy Ambien skydiving to help Buy Adderall . When it comes down Buy Tramadol before attempting Buy Valium that he or she Buy Klonopin conditions much better than anyone else.Buy meridia Lorazepam Buy Xanax at the Winter Hawks game Saturday night.  I like to pass them around the office and get people a little fired up to go see a game.  It’s the funniest damned thing in this town.  Anytime I mention the Hawks to someone I know, they tell me a story about the last time they went to a game.  The story is always the same…a bunch of friends, much beer, some stuff happens, and everyone promises to do it again.  It’s the same story over and over again.  There’s never a word about the team, in fact it’s assumed that the Hawks are a) good and b) NHL.  When they arrive at the arena, they’re momentarily shocked to learn there’s a city in Canada named Moose Jaw.  They’re even more surprised to learn it’s in a province called Saskatchewan. None of this matters once the puck drops. Then it becomes about cheering for the home team and drinking beer.

For whatever reason the Goldsmith group never figured this out.  Actually I’m convinced they did know it, but they didn’t care.  Jimmy wasn’t going to spend money to make money.  He could have drawn 7,500 a night in the Coliseum if he’d wanted to.  But he wasn’t interested in that.  He was going to fund his team from the other 300 available nights at the Coliseum.  He wanted to use profits from running the building to run his team.  He ran into too many road blocks and burned way too many bridges for that to pan out.  He got what he wanted down in Salem, but the league wasn’t going to allow that to happen.  Once it became clear this summer that he was out of options, he capitulated.  If you can call doubling your money in three years capitulation.

So as I sat there Saturday night looking for Dylan B., who was with his family, and John G., who was no doubt out living the G fantasy, I perused the schedule.  Saturday night would be my last game until November.  I’ll be in San Diego the 9th through the 13th for Betty with Sunglass’ wedding.  I read today on the O-Live forum that Saturday night was likely my last Goldsmith game.  Kind of fitting, I suppose, as I believe the first game under Goldsmith was also a 5-0 loss at the hands of Vancouver.  I could be wrong about that, but I think that’s right.

I’m definitely in the “anything is better than these clowns” camp, but at the same time, this does mean the end of an era.  Hodge is out.  Innes too.  It’s the end of the family era of the Winter Hawks, the only management style it’s ever known.  Coming in are some shrewd pros who will have some substantial backing from that other red, white, and black franchise in the Rose Quarter.  Now that the Blazers have effectively sold-out their season, the Hawks will give the Blazer ticket reps something to do between now and next July.  Hopefully they move a significant number of the Hawks remaining games over to the RG so the 9,000 of us who’ll be attending can feel somewhat comfortable.

Hockey is not a difficult sell.  It just takes someone to lead the way.  I think the Blazers will do that.  And when that happens, the recruiting will become so much easier.  Now suddenly a kid who was on the fence about coming to Portland (honestly, would you want to play in front of 2,000 people on a Saturday night in the Coliseum?) will want to come down and play in front of 9,000 screaming fans.  This town can be electric when it comes to hockey.

Some good things are coming.  The one concern, and it’s minor, is the old-time fans.  The folks who demand their face time with the players.  How will the new regime treat the G.O.A.L. Club and the other various elements of fandom?  Pizza nights and the sing for your dinner stuff.  I’m guessing they’ll still be around, but it will be interesting to see how they interact with the new regime and the hated Trail Blazers.  They all certainly had their moments with Goldsmith.  I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Portland Beavers: I feel terrible. I didn’t make it to a single game this home stand. Between two Blazer games, more on that in a sec, and the rain, I just didn’t make the time. I’ll do better this week. I promise. As for the week past, the Beavs went 2-1 against the Fresno Grizzlies, getting strong pitching performances from Josh Geer (1-0 / 7 IP / 1 hit / 4 strikeouts) and Shawn Estes (1-0 / 6 IP / 4 strikeouts / 0.00 ERA) and solid offense from outfielder Chip Ambres (2 HR) and Matt Antonelli (3-for-9 with 2 triples).

Trail Blazers: I went to the Houston game on Thursday night. I only made it to halftime. The Blazers seemed to be sleepwalking and I was a little tired myself. I guess it turned into the T-Mac show in the second half. Kind of wish I’d stuck around. Yesterday’s game against the Spurs was another snoozefest. They should institute a San Antonio rule. Require the Spurs to get a shot up within say 15-seconds. Watching them plod their way through the Rose Garden yesterday was…well, boring. At the end of the third quarter, I figured the Blazers would need 75 points to win the game. At that point they had 52. It wasn’t meant to be. Nice to see Ime Udoka back in the building. And it was nice to see Damon Stoudamire get booed when he got into the game. Blzaer fans haven’t forgotten. I like that.

Whacky Idea of the Day: How cool would it be if the Blazers activated Oden for the last game of the year and stuck him in with say 5 minutes left in the Memphis game? Just long enough to see him in uniform and have him run around a little bit. I bet that would sell a few ticket packages for next year. I wonder if that’s crossed either Larry Miller or Kevin Pritchard’s minds.

Man City: Like they were going to beat Chelsea. Even at home. The Blues have managed three goals since the middle of February. A streak reminiscent of the end of last season. What’s different? The new owner seems willing to spend whatever it takes to become a top-four club. I just wonder if they’ll ever be able to draw the talent required to do it. They are the Clippers to Man U’s Lakers. And always will be.

Twitter: Sitting in the office on Saturday afternoon, I took a moment to check in on my Twitter account to see what was happening. Everyone and their daughter was headed to Fire on the Mountain for a meet-up. Being just up the street, I decided to join in. I’m so glad I did. Hockley was there, as was Banana Lee Fishbones. I made a few new friends as well. It was worth it to just listen to Aaron and friend discuss Twitter philosophy. The more I use it, the more I enjoy it. Twittering is definitely a participation sport. I don’t think wall flowers get nearly as much out of it.

Oregon State Beavers: Craig Robinson? Well, OK. Corvallis Gazette-Times beat writer Brooks Hatch has an interesting take on the reality of the Beavers gig.

The last three coaches at OSU were Ritchie McKay, Eddie Payne and Jay John. McKay went directly to New Mexico of his own volition, and thence to Liberty. Eddie has since been the head coach at Greensboro College and is now head coach at South Carolina Upstate. John did some scouting for the Denver Nuggets, and will undoubtedly find another position in basketball someplace in the not-to-distant future. My point is, all three (Jimmy Anderson retired, so he doesn’t count) found quick employment. Perhaps not at BCS-level schools, but they quickly found jobs that provided a comfortable income, even though they couldn’t get OSU turned around. For them, it was hardly a graveyard job.

Now, ask yourself, where are Washington’s last three coaches (Bob Bender, Andy Russo, Lynbn Nance)? Where are Kevin Eastman and Paul Graham of WSU, or Dick Kutchen, Lou Campanelli, or Todd Bozeman from Cal, or Rob Evans, Bill Frieder and whomever else has been at ASU before Herb Sendek (I’m drawing a blank here; Steve Patterson?)?

(Kevin Eastman, who I knew in college, is with the Boston Celtics. But the question is partly rhetorical).

Point is, there’s perception, and reality.

Thats something I hadn’t considered. I wonder if Bill Grier had considered that before leaving the Beavers at the altar last week.

It’s all well and good that you want to advertise to we unfortunate souls waiting o get inside the Rose Garden for the Springsteen show. And your video truck is really cool. But could you please put something other than your 30-second ad on the continuous loop? We don’t really enjoy hearing the chorus to We Will Rock You twice a minute for an hour. In fact, it’s annoying. You neither play Springsteen, nor do any if us listen to you. And that goes double, starting….. NOW.

A day later than normal, I know.  For the first time in a long time, I chose sleep over blog last night.  And it felt so good.   So what happened?

Blazers:  I had tickets to Friday night’s game against the Clippers.  I gave them to a co-worker who was having an adult’s weekend with her husband.  They report they had fun.  I’ll be at the Wizards game tomorrow night with my step-brother.  We’re quite excited.  Despite being out of the playoffs, and they were out three weeks ago when the press was saying otherwise, the home team is showing some spunk.  Games this season have been a blast to attend.  The sticker price on my package is going up four-fold for next season.  My other step-brother mentioned they’re not selling packages yet.  If the economy continues on its current path, I’m guessing the franchise is going to wish it had locked up our dollars early rather than waiting to try and get them in November or December.  I wonder if I’ll be as willing to give them $200 in December after the $4 gas has come and gone.  It cost me $40 to fill up my Honda this weekend.  That’s money that could have gone toward entertainment.

Winter Hawks:  Props to the Hawks for filling up the Coliseum on the last night of the year.  Donovan was grousing in The Columbian this weekend that he has to average 7,000 fans per night to break even.  If you would market the team, maybe you would!  He also says he takes a call a week from prospective buyers.  I don’t buy that for a second.  If there were that many buyers out there, surely the league could have come up with a better ownership group than the present crew.

March Madness:  I’ll be honest, I’m not that big of a college basketball fan.  Certainly not like I was a decade ago before Kevin Garnett skipped college altogether and entered the draft.  Time was you could name a significant chunk of college players and you knew who would be playing at the next level.  Now?  Now I probably couldn’t name ten college players.  They’re all here and gone too quickly.  With the paucity of real talent at the college level, you’re starting to see the mens’ game resemble the womens’ game.  It’s all execution and fundamentals.  The motion and flex offenses bore me to tears.

All that said, my bracket is within striking distance in the Canzano pool.  I only missed one game each in the East and South brackets.  11 of my final 16 and 7 of my final 8 are still alive.  Not too shabby.

Bruce Springsteen:  The show is finally upon us.  I secured my ticket last night.  I love CraigsList.  Any show you want to see, just wait until the last week before as plans fall apart and people scramble to unload tickets.  I got my GA seat for face value from a fellow fan.  And I have others banging on my door trying to sell me theirs’ as well.  It’s not quite a buyers’ market out there, but it’s close.  There’s certainly no need to feed the scalpers.

Fellow travelers with general admission tickets and a desire to get in the pit next to the stage would be advised to click here for wristband information.  I’m guessing this is how it will work at the Rose Garden, although there’s been no official word.  At least not on their website.  Hopefully we can avoid a repeat of the 2002 fiasco.

Easter:  I played around a little too much with the camera this weekend.  Then I went home and re-read the manual.  The macro-photography class I’m taking in a few weeks will help immensely.  In the meantime, here’s what I came up with.

Yes, I think I need to clean the lens.  Maybe.

Susie has the most beautiful flowers.

I think that’s my favorite.

Congratulations to the Portland State Vikings men’s basketball team on advancing to the Big Sky championship game.  They play Northern Arizona at 6pm tonight down at the Rose Garden.  The winner advances to the Big Dance and a date with a #2 seed.

Good things are happening down on the Park Blocks.  People wonder if it will ever really catch on though.  Why the hell not?  Gonzaga was no better than Portland State when they started on their run a few years back.  They played in a gym the size of the Stott Center and had ho hum local support.  Winning changes all of that.  Maybe winning will get them a new place to play.  I still think a 6,000 seat arena in the basement of the new convention center hotel would be a fine home for both the Vikings and Winter Hawks.

Dylan B. and I watched the sun go down on the concourse last night as we discussed all things Winter Hawks.  He mentioned how much he loves day games in the MC, when the sun leaks through the curtains or an open door downstairs.

“It’s one of the few things this building does better than that one,” he said, motioning over his shoulder toward the Rose Garden.  “They should play more day games in here.  Saturday afternoons, that sort of thing.”

An interesting thought.

We got to talking a little about attendance and what the city has planned for the building.  Fortuitously arena Poo Bah Mike Scanlon walked by as we talked.  Mike mentioned there is talk of playing some games in the RG next year and also assuaged Dylan and my fear that the wrecking ball was coming for the MC.  He says he hasn’t heard anything one way or the other.

After Mike left, Dylan and I continued our discussion about the arena, and the lease.  The best long term option, I said, was to get together with Portland State and get in on the convention center hotel the city is planning to build.  Do something similar to what they have in Boise, a 6,000 seat arena in the hotel basement.  I know the city has a non-compete with the folks at the Rose Quarter and the Hawks lease forbids them from moving into another building within 50 miles of the Rose Garden.  But these things can be overcome.  Perhaps the city can offer to hand the MC over to Paul Allen for development in exchange for said arena.  Or they can create a new entity not beholden to the non-compete.  There are ways around it.  Lord knows this city council has figured their way around road blocks before.

Something to think about.

I never did get around to properly writing up the Utah-Chicago game I saw down in Salt Lake ten days ago.  The Jazz are something special and their fan base definitely are our equal.  They’re passionate and fiercely loyal.  I do believe Portland has a better arena.  The Delta Center Energy Solutions Arena is a little smaller than the Rose Garden (19,911 for basketball as opposed to Portland’s 19,980) and much boxier.  I prefer the sight lines at the RG.

The current Jazz squad has been much improved with the addition of Kyle Korver.  In the short time he’s been in town, he’s become a crowd favorite.  Watching him work his way through a maze of picks and screens to get his shot was something to behold.  I’m going to have to get a good look at Webster and Outlaw doing the same thing next time I attend a Blazer game.

Like us, fans in Utah are waiting for their team to fully blossom.  Local sports host David Locke calls is Project 2010.  It’s the year about $26.5 million comes off Utah’s cap.  Now they’re gonna have to resign Boozer and maybe Okur, but beyond that, the sky will be the limit.  By contrast, the Blazers shave about$55.25 million off their cap a year earlier, but they’ll have a ton of guys to resign.  That said, they’ll be getting a top-flight free agent with that cash.  It’s all part of the Blazers plan.

SLC has three sports stations going 24/7 and a ton of local programming.  Fans down there are not only passionate about their Jazz, but they can talk up all angles of Utah and BYU athletics as well.  They really get after it.  The thing I found really interesting though was the lack of talk and respect for the Blazers.  “Project 2010″ focused primarily on defeating the Lakers and Suns and to a lesser extent Dallas and San Antonio.  Only once did I hear the Blazers mentioned, and it was only as a casual aside.  Lack of respect?  Just slipped their mind?  I’m inclined to pick the former.  Despite the fact the Blazers are in the same stinking division, for whatever reason they don’t see what we see.  I wonder why that is.

Something I’ve been thinking about as I watch the recent flurry of deals around the Western Conference.  Why should fans in Portland and Utah have to wait another year or two for their teams to improve themselves?  Why should we continue to pay full price while we’re stuck in holding patterns, waiting for Raef LaFrentz, Steve Francis, and Darius Miles to come off the books?  I mean I understand all the contractual stuff, but still.  It’s depriving fans, I think.  Obviously that thought needs to be fleshed out a little more, but it definitely bugs me.

My inbox tells me The Police and Elvis Costello are playing the Amphitheater at Clark County on July 11th.  Tickets go on sale a week from Saturday.  According to Ticketmaster, tickets will be $46 to $200.  I’d like to say I’ve got some real thinking ahead of me.  In reality I don’t.  I’ll probably pick up a couple lawn seats and call it good.  I don’t need to get up close and personal with Sting.

Bruce, on the other hand…  I’m looking forward to blocking Jack Bog’s view at the Rose Garden next month.

Does anyone have an explanation for the Winter Hawks’ performance in Kelowna that doesn’t involve the fact excuse “they’re tired”?  Everyone’s tired at this point.

As a fan, all I’ve asked for both this season and last is improvement.  I just don’t see it.  Especially this year.  How is this mess any better than the one Willy supposedly left?  And what’s the path forward?  Once losing is ingrained in an organization, it becomes difficult to get it out.  Just look across next door at the Rose Garden.  That place stank until Brandon Roy came in and simply refused to accept the status quo.  Who is the player on the Hawks roster capable of shaking the locker room to its core?  It’s a lot to put on a 17-year-old kid, but I’ve seen it done.  I fear what will happen next season when some combination of Ross, Loo, Hamilton, and Peters shows up and runs into a player who’s been around for the past two seasons.  Will they be able to overcome?  Is there a captain among that group?  For the Hawks’ sake, they’d better hope so.

The Hawks got over 6,700 folks out for their game last night, their biggest attendance of the season thus far, I believe. Hawks fans have become used to crowds about half that size which means lots of room to stretch out. Most fans know to wait for a stoppage before getting up or coming back and those who don’t are few and far between. So it gets to be kind of annoying when you get folks who don’t give two hoots that they’re standing in front of you carrying on a conversation while the game is on. And of course you’re the ass for asking them to sit down.

As we begin to embark on something special at the Rose Garden, I think we’re gonna need to figure out how the screamers and the more sedate types will be able to coexist. That way we can avoid what happened in Houston over the weekend where a season ticket holder was bounced from the game because he kept standing up.  The Texans’ own website encourages fans in that section to be as rowdy as possible, even admonishing parents that it may not be suitable for the youngins.  It’s like Section 107 at Timbers games.  Only Texan.

What to do?  I’m guessing most of the section at that point was sitting down and “Overalls” was the only guy up.  In that situation, folks generally take a seat.  Like when your favorite band plays a ballad.  But should you have to sit down just because someone in the back doesn’t understand what section they’re in?

There was a kid at the Blazer game on Sunday who had scrawled “If you can read this, stand up” on the back of his t-shirt.  He’s right.  If you’re at a sporting event, you shouldn’t be shocked when the guy in front of you stands up and starts screaming his head off.  It’s part of the event.