An Evening with The Schonz

Tuesday, June 5, after work I ate a quick burger and fries at McDonald's downtown, then headed on over to the Oregon Historical Society for a prime-time event. An Evening with The Schonz: As any true Oregonian knows, on June 5, 1977, the Portland Trailblazers won their first and only NBA Championship. On the 35th anniversary of that championship, Blazer broadcasting legend Bill Schonely--aka "The Schonz"--will share his memories of that championship year, and of a remarkable broadcasting career that earned him a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
 

Before the evening began, I took this photo. There in the distance, you see Dale Schlueter, 6'10" center on the team 1970-1972, the first two years of the team's existence; Mrs. Harry Glickman, wife of one of the founders of the team; Bill Schonely, first play-by-play announcer for the team and still with the team 42 years later; Bobby Gross, a 6'6" starting small forward for the team during the championship season; and around to the back of Chris Dudley, a 6'11" center who was a Trail Blazer from 1993-1997.
 

During the evening we went "live" to the local NBC affiliate, KGW, for a couple of spots on their week-nightly show, Live at 7. Here the reporter Joe gets everyone involved--that's him with the sheet of paper in his hand. Left to right, KGW cameraman, Mr. Schonely, Bobby Gross, Joe, Mr. Harry Glickman.
 

Something made Mr. Schonely and Bobby Gross smile, on live television!
 

The Schonz, beloved by all Portlanders and Oregonians, whether or not they are fans of NBA basketball. I took just a few photos because I wanted to concentrate on what was said, what Mr. Schonely shared with us. I think I grinned and/or smiled the entire time! What a treat!

And I got to talk to Mr. Schlueter again, for the third or fourth time starting last December, I've lost count. When I walked up to speak, he put his arm around my shoulder, drawing me in and following my, "Hi, Mr. Schlueter!" with "I saw you sitting over there!" Then we discussed the Trail Blazers' new general manager and our hopes for the upcoming season. Basketball heaven.

Four of the more than 250,000 who eventually lined streets in downtown Portland for Saturday night's Rose Festival Starlight Parade & Serendipity #1

Saturday before I rode the MAX Red Line to shop, I rode the bus to Pioneer Courthouse Square. Walking from corner to corner, searching for the best place to stand to take the photo(s) I plan to share with you tomorrow, I noticed across Broadway people in folding chairs staking out their spot for that night's parade. I stooped over and took this photo through the scaffolding which held an array of spotlights.


At the other end of the same block, a teenager enjoys a slice of pizza seated in the shade of his tent. Next to him two women, who surely must be related, attempt to settle in with their blanket and chairs. The one in the pink top appears to be on her cell phone--note how she has her left shoulder pressed up to her ear. The one in the turquoise top appears to be answering questions from the two children. I wonder where the barricades on the right ended up. in front of them, street level or blocking the intersection to the pizza eater's right?


You know me, I always want to know more, so I Googled to see if I could find a photo that showed where street barricades were set up. Now for the serendipity photo that I found online at the KGW, Channel 8, NBC affiliate's Web page, in their slideshow of the parade--they also broadcast it live. Anyway, I know it's small, but if you look closely, you'll see all sorts of neat-o stuff. There on the left you see the teen with the short black hair holding his left arm parallel with the street? That is the young man who is eating the slice of pizza in my photo. The little boy in the green T-shirt, sitting on the man's lap, is the little boy standing talking to the woman in the turquoise top in my photo. The blonde in the pink top is the woman who was on the cell phone in my photo. She's sitting in the red short chair; and the lady in the turquoise top is sitting in another one of their short chairs that you see in my photo. The girl in my photo is sitting on the curb, wearing a pink and white bunny ears headband in the KGW photo. Plus, if you look just to the right of the boy who ate the slice of pizza, you see part of a barricade, right where I figured they would be, blocking the intersection. And how about, on the right, that wonderful black and white dog with the smiling woman? Calmly enjoying the night. What fun!

I didn't go to the parade, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching it on KGW. Maybe I'll go one of these years when I have a companion, you know, someone to save my spot while I search for somewhere that will let me come in and use the facilities. More than 250,000--whew--I'll bet those facilities were few and far between.

Rip City Uprise

The roller-coaster-tilt-a-whirl that was this season for my beloved Portland Trail Blazers is finished. I am not a fair-weather fan. I stayed with them to the end of Thursday night's Game 6--Mama did, too. We'll be back for the first pre-season game. I imagine it will be in October, 2010.

We want all of our players and coaches and the general manager, everyone connected with the team, healthy in body, mind and heart, ready to give their all again--for their team, for their fans. Thank you, guys, from the bottom of our hearts.

In particular I want to thank you for giving my Mama a new consuming interest for the past three seasons. Never in my life would I have believed that the little ol' lady (who is now 84) would have become a basketball fan! She even misses "Wheel of Fortune" for the Trail Blazers! Thanks to KGW and CSNNW for broadcasting the entire season. Thanks to Mike Barrett and Mike Rice. Those two networks and those two guys played a large part in Mama's transformation from someone who happened to be into the room when the TV was on NBA basketball into a FAN.

13 players misses 311 games in the regular season, due to injuries.

Regular season schedule, 50 wins, 32 losses.

And we still made the play-offs.

Plus, no one misbehaves on or off the court.

I love these guys!