Hoops4Life.com - 2007 March 11th, Blazers Nation

2007 March 11th, Blazers Nation

Written by Phil

Sunday, 11 March 2007

Optimistic thoughts up there in the horizon for the blazers. Zach Randolph is back to his All-Star form- Brandon Roy is head and shoulders above any other Rook in the leauge- Sergio Rodriguez leads the League with the best AS/TO ratio, But most importantly- The notorious Jail-Breakers- turned that stigma all the way around - Especailly the big guy- No.50.Zbo - As now- Oregon Ejoys its high character guys- on and off the court.

Another guy who's been improving continually, especially On the court- Is Travis Outlaw. Travis is a 3rd year guy in the NBA- And as of now- He steps up from the Bench at the 3 Spot - Showcasing his best season in a Blazer Uniform.

9 pts, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks a game in 21 minutes - those are the decent stats, the once labeled "Most athletic SF in the country" by many High School scouts is putting thus far.

But Our story about Travis is way beyond random stats and cold numbers. Today (March 11th) , Travis met with 16 children who are affiliated with asthma - holding a clinic- encouraging those young guys to keep their heads up - and not letting the disorder control their lives. Outlaw- A normally diffident and shy person- Had no problems connecting with the young kids - "I feel like we all have something in common", he said.

TLaw spoke in front of the kids and their parents, Delivering this message- "Don't let it control your life. I think for some parents it can be scary, you know, and they could tend to not let their kids do activities because they have problems breathing. But I wanted to tell the kids that they can still go out there, have fun, be a kid and enjoy life. Yeah, asthma can be a scary thing, but it can also be a controlled thing."

The clinic itself, included a 30-minute speech by Dr. Kraig Jacobson of Eugene and an hour of running, shooting and agility drills with the Blazers' strength and conditioning staff. Outlaw, under orders from the athletic training staff to limit his movement, stood mostly on the sidelines observing and offering encouragement.

Now- from off the court - Back to the Blazers Nation on the Hardwood Floor;

Blazers are hosting the GSW today- A Doni Nelson team that Doesn't remember when their last Road win took place. This one's a must win for the Roy'zers- Especially if they want to keep their sllimest of hopes about making the playoffs- Watching on the 8th seed in the west from only 4.0 games behind.

To close today's blog on a positive note - There's our guy, Zbo - showing that the Damon Stoudemire And 'Sheed influence is long gone- Supporting Kids and signing Nike Game Balls for Blazers' fans in Oregon. Enjoy - And Blazzze.