Welcome To Oregon, Please Enjoy Your Visit.

Am I the only one who fondly remembers that sign that used to be on I-5 just north of the California Border? Anyway, wherever that sign is today, it should be dug out, dusted off, wrapped neatly in brown kraft paper, and Fed-Exed to Dan Dickau. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Dan, in fact, I was sorry to see him go last time he was here. I just don't want him to have any illusions about his future here. I am more convinced than ever that a handshake agreement to move Darius Miles exists, and the only reason the trade has not happened yet is the fact that Dickau cannot be traded until August 28th. The biggest contribution Dan Dickau can make to the Trail Blazers is to facilitate a trade of Darius Miles. I could be wrong, though. Lord knows I've been wrong plenty in the past, and I'm fairly confident when I say that I'll be wrong again in the future. For the time being, however, repeat after me: "Deeesssmmmooonnnddd MMMaaasssooonnn... Deeesssmmmooonnnddd MMMaaasssooonnn... Deeesssmmmooonnnddd MMMaaasssooonnn... Deeesssmmmooonnnddd MMMaaasssooonnn..."

Speaking of signs, I also remember the sign on the northbound side of the I-5 bridge that said, "Men Below Please Don't Throw" at the bottom of which someone spray painted the word, "Up." Ah, memories.

By the way, Dave stole my thunder. I'm not very upset about it, though, because he said it around a hundred times better than I could have hoped to. I would only suggest adding the Chicago Black Sox as a prime example of a negative tag evolving to refer to a bygone era instead of a current organization. Kudos to Blazers management for their newly rediscovered eye for character. The team they are building looks to be ideally suited for shedding the Jail Blazer image once and for all.