Jason Quick takes heat for honesty

As most of you know, Portland is a pretty small and tight sports media market. But recent comments on Blazers center Greg Oden by The Oregonian's Jason Quick, who covers the Blazers, have drawn the ire of Blazer fans and some local and national media.

Quick's comments, which can be heard here, have really upset some of the Rose City faithful and caused some strong reaction on national blogs like The Big Lead and Deadspin, as well as dominate the local, and obviously slow, sports media scene. Even Kornheiser and Wilbon brought the story up today on Pardon the Interruption.

I do not know Jason Quick, although his work is has been praised by everyone I know who consistently label him as "the best NBA beat writer in the nation".

What fans do not realize in situations like this, is that Jason Quick does not work for the Portland Trail Blazers. Although this market is small, and friendly it does not mean that there is only going to be one voice about every issue.

Sometimes it is tough to separate all of the media entities here. You have Mike Barrett being interviewed on Canzano's radio show, Dwight Jaynes doing post-game shows for Comcast, and Quick doing his thing every gameday on the 1080 the fan show.

Sometimes, especially when the Blazers are doing well on and off the court, the voices all sound unified and I think that confuses fans who might assume that all the media want the same thing the average Blazer fan does.

Jason Quick, just like Canzano, should not write or say what Blazer fans want to hear. He should be honest, ethical and fair.

In this incident, he might have chosen his words more carefully but what he said was honest and even the most die-hard Blazer fans know it.

Watch Oden on the court. He plays without passion and enthusiasm. When he does get an opportunity to dunk the ball, which is about the only good thing he is doing on offense right now, he takes his frustration out on the rim.

I do not know what the future holds for Oden.

But my suspicion is, at some point he will receive much harsher criticism than Quick's recent comments. If the Blazers continue to improve Oden will be spotlighted by national media either for the good or for the bad.

If he fizzles out with an injury or other problems the criticism will only get worse. Do you think Sam Bowie goes anywhere without people reminding him about his shortcomings?

I applaud Quick for giving an honest answer about a difficult subject. Furthermore Blazer fans should be grateful to have someone covering the team that does a good job reporting because if there was ever a need for someone to keep the organization accountable, it would be Jason Quick who would do it first.

PSU leads 63-51 with 7:57 to play

It certainly hasn't been pretty, but the Vikings have managed to extend their seven point lead a bit more and a patient offense mixed with Lewis and Clark's inability beyond the arc (29 percent) I think that Portland State should avoid the upset here.

Seniors Mickey Polis and Andre Murray have taken control of the game for the Vikings with 14 points apiece. Jamie Jones, despite a mediocre shooting performance from the field--fifty percent, which is low for him--now has 12 points and eight rebounds.

PSU leads at halftime 37-30

After a dismal start that saw the Vikings trail by as many as eight points early on, Portland State has regained their focus and lead the Pioneers by seven heading into halftime.

Were it not for the performance of two backups, senior Mickey Polis and junior Julius Thomas, the first half could have been a disaster for the Vikings. Through the first twenty minutes the squad has 10 turnovers and has struggled to make consistent shots or defend the ball well.

Thomas, filling in for the struggling Jamie Jones has eight points and five rebounds but it was three three-pointers from Polis that gave the Vikings the lead at 17-16.

If Viking fans were worried about the team looking a little sluggish, they were right. Despite boasting a height advantage at nearly every position, the squad has struggled to score in the paint. Worse yet, the Pioneers quickness and versatility on offense is posing problems for the Viking defense.

Juniors Kyle Coston and Tyrell Mara are a combined one for eight shooting with three turnovers between them. Phil Nelson looks out of sync on offense and Jones' struggles in the paint have kept the Pioneers close.

Thankfully, Coston and Mara have done a good job containing Lewis and Clark's leading scorer heading into the game, holding the senior to just two points. The Pioneers are bombing the ball from deep with mixed results: think air ball, three pointer, air ball...

Despite the ragged start, I expect head coach Ken Bone to whip the troops into shape for twenty minutes of solid basketball.

Notes: Not sure what makes me more sad: Seeing former Viking point guard Brian Curtis participating in the halftime halfcourt shot for a free pizza, and bragging that he made it, or watching former Viking wide receiver Reggie Joseph mop the floor down during the break in front of athletic director Torre Chisholm and offensive coordinator Mouse Davis. Talk about awkward...

Funniest moment of the first half: after a solid colision that saw Pioneer guard James Hollins level the tiny Mickey Polis, one of the spandex clad student section tracksters shouted out, "You should try out for the football team... Maybe they would win a game... Maybe."

The reference was not lost on yours truly. The Pioneers are awful in football after reinstating their program three or four years ago.

Portland State vs. Lewis and Clark- Pregame

For the first time in eight games, the Portland State Vikings may finally have an opponent that they carry a height advantage against.

The Vikings head into tonight's game with a win loss record of 6-1, one of their best starts in school history. But in every game, Portland State has had to rely on their quickness and perimeter game as the squad is vertically, and often physically, overmatched inside. But not tonight.

Of course, the Vikings had to descend to the ranks of Lewis & Clark, a Division III team, to do so.

This game should be an easy win for the Vikings. Although the Pioneers were a decent squad last season, and boast a 4-1 record of their own, Portland State should have enough talent to simply overwhelm the Pioneers.

However, the same thing could have been said for this matchup last season. If you recall that game, Lewis and Clark gave Portland State everything they could handle and more. In the end, the Vikings escaped the Rose Garden with just a one-point victory.

Lewis and Clark is led by senior wing Tyson Papenfuss, a solid player with all-around skills. The Clackamas product comes into the game averaging 18.6 points per game.

Viking fans are hoping that the combination of finals week, playing an inferior opponent and the looming game at Seattle this Sunday will not distract the team too much.

Notes: While the Vikings warm up at one end of the court, the injured duo of senior point guard Jeremiah Dominguez and junior Paul Guede are shooting at the other end. In my opinion, and based on what I have heard, Dominguez looked well enough to play tonight but was kept out so that he would be fresh for the Washington game.

Transfer Donatas Visockis, the only player with any legitimate height, is nowhere to be found. He was ruled ineligible earlier this week and will miss the entire season.

Check back later.

Live Blog: Portland State at Oregon State- End of Game 58-24 Beavers

So the second half treated the Vikings a tad better than their six-point first-half output, however, when you slapped the two less-than-stellar 20-minute performances together the result is far from a masterpiece.

Portland State was outplayed, outschemed and outhustled in Corvallis Sunday afternoon. But you can hardly point the finger at the Beavers and blame them for the 58-24 beating the Vikings endured atop Ralph Miller Court inside Gill Coliseum.

It was the Vikings who deserve the blame for this one.

Lets hope head coach Sheri Murrell makes it clear in the post-game address to her squad that the Vikings, not the Beavers, are the reason Portland State scored a meager six points before halftime.

Lets hope Murrell tells her team they were the reason the Vikings chucked up low-percentage shot after low-percentage shot throughout the game.

And let hope Murrell explains that while the Beavers' defense was fierce, the Vikings could have done a much better job penetrating and attacking the basket.

The fundamentals were simply nonexistent for Portland State as the Vikings suffered easily their worst defeat of the season to the Beavers Sunday afternoon. It was completely unexpected that a team that had played Syracuse tough in a narrow road loss only a few weeks ago would have trouble executing the basics, such as moving the ball and dribbling through traffic without turning it over. But it happened.

The fact of the matter is the Vikings were the team that beat Portland State Sunday--and it happened at the hands of turnovers, poor shot selection and a complete lack of offensive cohesiveness.

Live Blog: Portland State at Oregon State- Second Half 46-18 Beavers

Portland State has scored 12 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. At this point, that is about all you can ask for from the Vikings.

Only once has a Viking attacked that basket--as Kelly Marchant penetrated inside the key and proceeded to miss a layup--and Portland State continues to threw up low-percentage shots to finish off possessions that consist of a mere pass or two.

All and all, Oregon State is dominating the Vikings in every facet of the game. But, more costly for Portland State is the fact that the vast majority of its shortfalls have been self-inflicted, as the combination of no ball movement, poor shot selection and a handful of turnovers has spelled the Vikings demise.

Live Blog: Portland State at Oregon State- Halftime 29-6 Beavers

It's unknown at this time what Portland State's all-time low scoring output for a half is, but Vanguard beat writer Doug Cornett and I are quite sure that the Vikings' six points in the first 20 minutes against Oregon State this afternoon is one of the worst performances ever.

Name one of the key tenets of solid basketball, and I will tell you how Portland State has violated it in some way.

How about take a high-percentage shot whenever possible. Well, thus far the Vikings have opted to settle for off-balance three-pointers and fade-away jumpers instead of moving the ball around in hopes of finding an open shooter.

One other reason Portland State has been forced to chuck up poor shots is the Beavers swarming defense. Seemingly every time the Vikings have brought the ball up the floor they have been unable to penetrate inside the three-point line because the Oregon State defense has been defended the ball with such energy and intensity.

Another tenet of solid basketball is never turn the ball over. However, Portland State has failed to adhere to that one as well. On countless occasions the Vikings have been called for traveling, with most of the infractions coming when a player has made her first move after just catching the ball or attempting a pump fake.

For the most part, Oregon State by has shown little reason for the Vikings to be intimidated on the offensive end. Sure the Beavers have outscored Portland State, however, this has been accomplished without much consistency or effectiveness when running the offense.

The bottom line is the Beavers have benefited more from Portland State's sloppy play than their own excellence on offense.

Live Blog: Portland State at Oregon State- First Half 17-4 Beavers

Here at a mostly empty Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, the action has been pretty even in the first couple minutes.

A quick eye test reveals that Portland State is outsized by taller, lengthier Beavers club. And while that size advantage has helped Oregon State some in the early going, the Vikings are crashing the boards with intensity and have kept the score close. This will be something to watch as the game wears on this afternoon.

One observation from beat writer Doug Cornett is that the Vikings appear to be a bit unsettled and scared of this athletic Oregon State squad. Already Portland State has misfired on a couple passes, taken low-percentage shots and failed to find any semblance of rhythm when running the offense.

With almost 10 minutes left in the first half, Portland State has scored just two buckets and appear to be at the mercy of the Beavers' active, ball-hawking defense.

Vikings defeat Redhawks: Part II

A full week in between games against Seattle University did not change the result much. After defeating the Redhawks last Saturday in the third place game at the Great Alaska Shootout, the Vikings earned their second consecutive victory, 73-68.

In a hotly contested game, Portland State struggled without point guard Jeremiah Dominguez. Senior guard Andre Murray was the leading scorer for the Vikings with 19 points on a seven for 11 shooting performance.

Seattle, in the midst of their first season of a transition to become a Division I athletics program, presented a scrapping challenge to Portland State who looked sluggish after a one week layoff. Junior wing Phil Nelson was held scoreless for the first time this season but 20 second chance points helped the Vikings overcome Nelson's shooting woes.

Seattle led much of the first half before a Portland State run closed the opening stanza. But the second half looked like more of the same, with the Redhawks holding a slim lead. Hillsboro High School graduate Chris Gweth poured in 14 second half points.

But the game swung after a Dominic Waters steal led to a two on one fastbreak with Waters feeding Murray for a thunderous alley-oop dunk.

Portland State will face local-foe Lewis & Clark on Tuesday night at the Stott Center. Last season the Pioneers, a Division III school, nearly defeated Portland State in a non-conference game played at the Rose Garden.

Random notes:
Junior Kyle Coston was at the center of several intense moments during the game against Seattle. The first came halfway through the first half when Coston connected with a Redhawks player's face after swinging an elbow. He drew a personal foul but the foul caught the attention of Seattle who seemed to play extra close attention to Coston during the rest of the game.

In the second half, Coston got engtangled with Leigh Swanson and the two collided as they got up off the floor. Swanson may or may not have helped Coston back to the floor but the junior southpaw sold the collision for all it was worth and Swanson was handed with an intentional foul.

Murray's dunk was not just one of the highlights of the game, but may have been one of the most impressive plays in the history of the Stott Center. On press row, it was tough for the writers to not fall victim to some level of being a fan as the 6-4, and typically grounded, Murray soared above the rim and two Redhawks for the highlight.

After letting the new uniforms that the Vikings have been wearing sink in for a little bit, I have decided that I think they are pretty sharp. If you haven't seen them check them out here.

One thing that would make the team look even sharper, is if the team would all wear the same shoe. Today they were all decked out in the Nike Hyperdunk.

However, there were three different variations of the same shoe on the court. Some green and black, some black on black and some were white with black. Figure it out fellas.

Swept away in Seattle

After a promising season, the Vikings volleyball season has ended after a 3-0 sweep at the hands of a talented and physical Washington team.

Check out dailyvanguard.com for the story.