It's a busy time down at the Blazers' practice facility, as they work out prospects before the NBA Draft.   All sorts of names have visited Tualatin.   But one name that hasn't worked out for the team is stirring up all kinds of debate.... Kevin Love.

The Blazers have invited the former Lake Oswego star to work out prior to the draft, but as of this writing, he has yet to RSVP.

For some reason, this has a lot of Oregonians upset, saying Love is snubbing his hometown team.    These are probably the same people who leveled insult after insult at Love when he played down at Mac Court back in January, simply because he "snubbed" the Ducks to play at UCLA (that's another debate for another time).

Folks, there is nothing that requires Kevin Love to workout for the Blazers.  The weeks before the draft are a long process, and take a lot of work to navigate.  Here are three reasons Kevin Love should NOT work out for the Blazers.

1.   The Blazers have the 13th overall pick -  The chances that Love is available at #13 are minimal.   A trade to jump up higher is possible, but would likely be too high for GM Kevin Pritchard to take.   For Love, working out for the Blazers would mean working out for a team that probably CAN'T draft him.

2.  Not every player needs to work out for every team.  Let's look at CJ Giles of Oregon State, he's doing anything he can to sell himself to an NBA team.  He HAS to.  Right now, he's unlikely to get picked, and needs to generate as much interest in himself as possible.    There are all sorts of teams interested in Kevin Love.  He doesn't have to create a buzz... it's already there.

3.  Workouts are NOT always a good thing.   Say you work out for a team, and a coach doesn't like how you shoot the ball.  It doesn't matter if you're a 100% shooter, word's going to spread like wildfire that you don't have a good shot, hurting your draft stock.    Based on his in-game action from this year, Kevin Love has a great resume.    Sometimes it is smarter and safer to let that resume stand for itself.

I think Kevin Love is going to make a great pro player, emphasis on the word "Pro."   As with any walk of life, professionals only do things that help them gain something. 

Right now, there is really nothing for Kevin Love to gain from working out for the Blazers.   

So what do you think?  Which is better?  The NCAA Basketball Tournament or the NBA Playoffs?

I love them both...but I prefer the NBA Playoffs.  It's the Celtics and the Lakers in the Finals and it's going to be great.    The first week of the NCAA Tournament is fantastic...and office pools are fun, but the intensity of the NBA Playoffs is tough to beat.   

These are the most skilled players in the world...giving their best.  The Celtics and Hawks in the first round.  I loved it.  Celtics and Cavs in the second round.  Great stuff!    That first game between the Spurs and Suns was amazing.   The Lakers beat the Spurs 4-1 in the Western Conference finals...but what a great series.  

I was having a friendly discussion with some people in the office and most were pro NCAA Tournament.   Then I asked...what do you like better...the NCAA Hockey Tournament or the Stanley Cup?    The NHL is the winner hands down.  

The NBA Playoffs Rock...and I  hope the Blazers add the Roll to it next season!

By Craig Edwards

Lightning did not strike twice for the Blazers. After hitting the Draft Lottery jackpot in 2007, Portland heard its name called early in the 2008 proceedings. They're scheduled to pick 13th this year... emphasis on the "scheduled."

GM Kevin Pritchard and company have a lot of options with their pick. They can hold position, and draft for need and depth. They can trade the pick for a veteran or future pick. They can also gamble and try to trade up, and add one more young star to their nucleus. There are lots of options.

What do you think the Blazers should do with their pick?

Congratulations to the Blazers! They beat Dallas 108-105 for thier 40th win of the season.
If the Blazers beat Memphis on Tuesday they are guaranteed a 500 record with at least 41 wins.
They haven't done that since the 2003-04 season when they finished 41-41.

Obviously, Head Coach Nate McMillan is pretty pumped up..."It feels sweet"...said McMillan after the game, "It's great to see 40. I haven't seen 40 since I've been here. You know the guys have done a great job." They certainly have and it's not over just yet. The game with Memphis on Tuesday is the final home game of the regular season. The Blazers finish the season Wednesday in Phoenix. Channing Frye started again and posted his third straight double-double with 15 pts and 10 rebs.

By the way, I was the emcee for the Channing Frye MS Breakfast at the Oregon Zoo two weeks ago. It was a fundraiser and Frye was working wth the Oregon Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Channing is a class person and a terrific player.

It's been a great season for Blazer fans, both on and off the court...and it's just the start of many more good things to come in the future.

The Blazers say they hope to know soon how things went when Darius Miles had his right knee examined last month by an independent Dr.

Darius underwent microfracture surgery on his knee in December of 2005. He has been rehabbing ever since. If the Dr. and the NBA rule that miles injury is career ending...then his salary wouldn't count against the cap.

The Blazers say they will probably know something next week. It's going to be an interesting week because the Blazers play their final home game of the season on Tuesday. They will play Memphis. The finish the season Wednesday at Phoenix.

Blazers forward Martell Webster spent the night in the hospital and tests revealed an irregular heartbeat. Webster experienced flu-like symptoms and dizziness on Thursday and was taken to the hospital. He spent the night for observation.

Webster is out of the hospital, but will miss Sunday's game with the Spurs. He is scheduled to see the team's cardiologist early next week.

The Blazers are sure streaky, aren't they? I guess that's one of the traits of a young team. But on Tuesday against the 'Arenas-less' Wizards...the Blazers showed signs of late season life. In the absence of Brandon Roy (who suffered a strained groin at the end of the 1st quarter), and LaMarcus Aldridge, (who was out with a sprained ankle suffered during Monday's loss to the Sonics), Portland shot lights out in the first half. In fact, they tickled the twine to the tune of 62% in that opening half. Portland got plenty of production from their bench.... and rolled to a 102-82 win over Washington---a team that had won 6 of their last 7.
It was a far cry from the performance just one night earlier at Key Arena.... where the rival Sonics snapped an 11-game losing streak in a win over the Blazers.
Basketball's a funny game... but now the Blazers go 4-games over .500 with just 10 to play.
A winning record is their goal... and with more efforts like tonight.... they are well on their way!

Great weekend of basketball in the NBA. How about the Western Conference. Only 4 and a half games separate 1st and the 8th and final playoff spot. A slump could cost any team a post season berth.

The Blazers posted another exciting victory this weekend.. They beat the Knicks in New York on Saturday and now have 33 wins...one more than all of last year. They need to go 9-10 over the last 19 games to finish above 500.

They play Cleveland tonight...and I'm going to be home on the couch watching. Lebron James has averaged 40 pts a game for the Month of March. It should be another entertaining game.

How about the Rockets? Great job by Head Coach Rick Adelman. He has the Rockets playing team ball and they have now won 18 straight...six in a row I believe without Yao.

The Suns beat the Spurs so a big win for them as they try to find success with Shaq...and Kobe Bryant missed that last second shot as the Lakers lost to the Kings.

The final six weeks are going to be a whole lot of fun and pretty exciting in the wild, wild west.

After winning an NBA best 13-straight games in the month of December....the Blazers have reversed course. They've lost 7 of their last 8...and 11 of their last 15. And today comes news that their "do it all" guard Brandon Roy will be out for at least the next 2 games. Here's the release from the Blazers today:

Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy did not accompany the team to Los Angeles, and will sit out Tuesday's game at the L.A. Lakers and Wednesday's game at the L.A. Clippers with a right ankle sprain.

He is listed as day-to-day for Friday's home game vs. the Lakers.

With Roy out...the Blazers will go with a starting lineup of Przybilla, Aldridge, Outlaw, Webster, and Blake. That's what we hear for Tuesday's game with the Lakers... and probably Wednesday's too vs. the Clippers. Let's hope they find lightning in a bottle...somehow, someway.

What a weekend for Blazers Guard Brandon Roy and Blazers fans. Blazer fans have waited 7 years for an All-Star and Brandon is about as good and classy as you get.

Brandon played in both the Rookie Challenge and the All-Star game and he actually had better stats in the All-Star game. Friday the sophmores beat the rookies 136-109. Brandon had 17 pts, 2 rebs and 7 assists. The West lost to the East in the All-Star game and Roy had 18 pts, 9 rebs and 5 assists. Brandon hit 8 of his 10 shots.

After the rookie game...Brandon said on TNT the Blazers are going to make another push in the second half of the season and try and nock off some of the better teams. It was great to see Brandon represent Portland so well in New Orleans...and it's going to be great to see the second half of the Blazers season!

It's All Star weekend and Blazers Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge are there for the festivities. The NBA classic is in New Orleans and Brandon is playing in the rookie-sophmore game and the All-Star game and Lamarcus is in the rookie-sophmore game .

I've covered three All-Star games over the years and I thought I would share a few of my favorite memories. The first one was at the Kingdome in Seattle in 1987. More than 34-thousand fans were on hand and it was the highest scoring game in All-Star history. The West sqaud won 154-149 in overtime.

Actually, All-Star Saturday was about as much fun or more. Clyde Drexler and Jerome Kersey were in the slam-dunk contest for the Blazers and Kiki Vandeweghe was in the three point shootout. Michael Jordan won the Slam Dunk title and Larry Bird won the three point shootout.

The Blazers had three players in the 1991 All-Star game in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and Kevin Duckworth all played. Rick Adelman was a coach.

I remember getting there late on Friday of the weekend. Our flight didnt get us into Charlotte until after the Media availability. As Blazer fans know...that was a great group back in 1991.
I ran into Terry Porter in the lobby and he gave us a great interview. I also called Rick Adelman...and he gave us a great interview as well.

I covered ALL-STAR weekend last year and it was one of my favorites. We did a nice story with Brandon Roy on Friday. Brandon is not only a great player...but is terrific to work with. It was also nice to visit with the 1977 Blazers Championship team. They were honored on the Sunday in Las Vegas. It was good seeing Jack Ramsay and the rest of the guys.

The other thing I remember from last year is how bad the traffic was...but then again, "The Ace", Brian Warner did most of the driving. It's always a good thing to have an ace in Las Vegas!

I was sitting on Press Row for the Blazers game with Cleveland knowing that in the final few minutes something special could happen. It was the Blazers 9th consecutive 20 thousand plus sellout and as most fans know...most of those games have been great down the stretch.

Would the Blazers hold on and win again...or would Lebron James rally the red hot Cavs. Either way it would be something special. In the end...the man known as "King James" outscored the Blazers all by himself in the 4th qtr and scored with 3 tenths of a second to go.
Cavs win 84-83. Lebron finished with 37 pts, 14 rebs and 4 assists. Wow!

Lebron is 6-8 and about 255 pounds and the scary thing for the rest of the NBA...he is getting better. James is big and quick. When he has it going...he's almost unstoppable. Sunday, he put 41 on the Lakers and hit a late jumper over Kobe...Cavs win by three.

By the way, the ACE, Sports Photographer Brian Warner, and I talked with Lebron before the game in the Locker room. You can see that interview on Sports Sunday at 11:35pm.

It was an exciting night of NBA Basketball. Speaking of 3's...how about 3D. Back to back nights of excitement for me. Saw the new U2 3D movie at the Bridgeport IMAX. It is probably the best concert movie I've ever seen.