Blazers

So I went to a Portland Trailblazer game. It turned out great. The perfect kind of game. The home team won, but they did it by stinking first, falling behind by 18 points. Usually that is an insurmountable lead. Its been done, but its pretty rare. They came back big time with a furious comeback and won the game. Star of the game was my by C.J. McCollum. He's my favorite basketball player because he is in the NBA and has no tattoos. Another rarity.


OK. I just googoled "What percent of NBA players have tattoos?" Believe it or not, they had an answer. 55%. Really? I just don't think so. It seems like its something more like 95%. I'll have to do some more investigation on my own. 55% just seems way low.

Here is something fun. Let's take an NBA nickname quiz. I don't want to brag, but I fashion myself something of an expert on team nicknames. Here we go.


Why are the Trailblazers called the Trailblazers? Answer: Portland, Oregon - Oregon Trail. Get the connection? OK, that was an easy one.

The team I saw Portland beat - the Philadelphia 76ers? Answer Philadelphia is home of the Declaration of Independence written in 1776. Another easy one.

The Los Angeles Lakers? Answer: Trick question. They are in LA now, but used to be in Minneapolis. Minnesota, Land of a million lakes, or whatever their slogan is.

The Utah Jazz? Bam! Another trick question. They used to be the New Orleans Jazz. I guess they kept the name because the Utah Salt or the Utah Mormons just didn't sound right. There is as much jazz in Utah as there are lakes in LA, but I guess they can use whatever they want.

The New York Knicks? Short for Knickerbockers. New York went with pants nobody has worn for 200 years. Nice move.

Boston Celtics? I'm guessing just because of Boston historically has had a large Irish population. Why are Indians and Braves politically incorrect, but Celtics are OK. I'm starting a protest movement to get them to change their name. Who's with me?

Detroit Piston? Detroit is the center of car manufacturing and cars have pistons. (Right? I'm not exactly sure what cars have in them.)

I've grown tired of this game, but it was fun, right? We'll try other sports some other time.