Ugh…not again! (Or why Zach Randolph will never fail to underwhelm me)
I’m on hiatus. That said, Zach Randolph is again in the news related to crime and such, and so I’m pressed back into action as the resident sorta-sports guy for this here blog.
At the moment, I’m actually quite busy walking my dog. As I said, I’m on hiatus, but a good blogger must be ever-ready. Thank God for Blackberry.
(WARNING: This post contains no research. The “facts” expressed here-in are constituted entirely from a combination of the 10 minutes of 1080 The Fan, with The O’s John Canzano, I listened to this afternoon and my recollection of prior events. This post is, primaril, editorial in nature).
(Update — Okay, I’m home and found a couple of good info links, which I’ve worked in. So I’m not as full of crap as I was 20 minutes ago…)
Here’s what I know — Zach Randolph is again in the news, this time as a person who (for now) is simply named as a person related to an investigation into an alleged sexual assault.
Nothing I’ve heard would provide a basis for thinking he’s the alleged assailant (or, actually, that he’s not…). One must be careful, therefore, not to jump to any conclusions.
That said, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
I must say that it’s a relief to be able to set down my Blazer Kool-aid and return to the eye-rolling and sighing that we, as captive fans, have become so adept at.
As I’ve discussed in the past, Zach is a frustration of monumental proportions. So much talent. So much waste.
Whether it’s a gun charge in high school, or beating up a teammate, or being associated with a shooting incident involving his brother, Zach has been the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time enough to establish himself for what he is: nothing but trouble.
He is a flawed decision maker, which is as obvious on the court (where he takes bad shots, doesn’t pass to open players, and generally under-performs on a nightly basis) as it is off the court.
For much of the summer I’ve been on the “trade Darius and watch Zach turn around” bandwagon. But, at this point, I’m off that bus. And, the problem is, it’s too late. Many teams may be willing to take a flyer and try this guy out. But, as with Darius, enough consistent trouble has plagued Zach that we can never get any sort of value for the substantial athleticism he brings to the table.
And so, here’s to Zach Randolph, who will never fail to meet my low expectations, and who will always help me lower the bar for what to expect from him.
Query: when will we give him the Qyntel treatment and admit that, depite his flashes on the floor, we can’t afford to keep him anymore?
Note to the Blazers: the fans are watching. And waiting. Here’s to hoping you won’t let us down (again).
[But, on a positive note, at least JR is gone...]
and what did we do with a player who did all he was asked to do, acted like an adult, had adult interests… wife, children, job, etc, Portland trades him away… yes I am talking about Steve Blake.
IMO Blake was far more dynamic on the court, much more interesting to see play the game with other players than Z-BO ever has been.
Recently reading the teams desire to build around the juvenile Z-BO as a central point left me feeling very disappointed
Z-BO if you are reading this…
lose the circus like “grill” you have in your mouth and get regular check ups.
Stop driving around with firearms in your car acting like Biggie Smalls
Get some new friends
and here is an idea I think would do for you a tremendous amount of enrichment for years and years to come… hire a tutor to educate you past your obvious 8th grade mindset
OK, I know I’m a blog whore sometimes, so I posted this point elsewhere:
There was a private sex show at his hotel room, perfectly legal unless there was abuse (the stripper(s) went to the hospital three days later, so I’m reserving judgement on Zbo).
So… the legions of strip club joe-sixpacks in this town will be calling for his head. Without a sense of irony, they’re advocating a double standard for black guys.
Add that giant oversight to the double standard for carrying guns. Rich Black Athlete with conceiled weapons permit= BAD! White guy with conceiled weapons permit= IT’S MY GODDAMMED RIGHT!
Ouch. Our society failed critical thinking 101.
1) As I stated, I was going on limited info when I wrote the post. Since it was written, we’ve gotten the new PPB “Zach’s not the suspect” press release, so Zach is guilty of, perhaps (I’ll say probably) hanging with the wrong guys. And I’ve never been one to support the concept of the “private sex show.” Having never been to one, but having talked to guys who have, it seems like alot of them end up being, basically, prostitution. And, as a non strip club joe-sixpack (I fess up to the sixpack part, though — can’t be a Portlander without one), I don’t feel like I’m entertaining a double-standard.
2) The concealed weapons, in and of themselves, don’t bother me. Having two, registered to the same owner, under the seats of a car troubles me a bit. Why does one guy need two guns on him? Why did Maurice Clarett need four guns and body armor? I believe in moderation. Double-fisting the firearms doesn’t qualify, in my book. This is compounded, in my opinion, by the fact that we’re not dealing with someone with no history of firearm issues. Zach has the well-known prior conviction for possession of a firearm that indicates that he has already demonstrated poor enough ownership skills and responsibility with one to rise to the level of drawing the attention of law enforcement (I am guessing there are hundreds, even thousands of unlawfully-owned guns out there that never evoke a police response, because people are smart enough to realize that if you’re going to have a gun illegally, you should keep it on the down-low). And being a high-profile person, and allowing someone to drive your car in an illegal manner in downtown Portland (usually crawling with cops) absolutely smacks of bad judgment in my book, so I think it supports my underlying hypothesis.
I’ll never live down that one “blog whore” comment, will I? TK, I think you’re great. I take it back. Let’s be friends…
Rusty- I wasn’t targeting your post at all, just a commentary on the state of our city, our media and the fans. I’m glad you include posts about the Blazers on Metroblogs because they’re part of the city fabric.
The double standards I speak of aren’t necessarily held by you, but by the legions of Portlanders (and fans) who take nothing away from a situation other than the headlines or talking points. They don’t get the details or choose not to consume them, so we’re left with gutteral, primal feelings. So much so that sometimes the contradictions are ignored.
I don’t want criminals on the Blazers any more than the next fan, but at the end of the day, they’re here to play basketball… they’re not here to live in a fishbowl so we can pass judgement without a hint of irony. These sorts of things make NBA players want to avoid playing in Portland like the plague, which is a shame considering how much the fans used to worship the team.
We could get into the cause and effects of all that, but the reality is we’re in a vicious cycle that’s hard to break out of.
Zach Randolf: Choose your own adventure – http://www.yaysports.com/nba/2006/08/choose_your_own_adventure_zach.html