In honor of the holiday, our beloved 4th string point guard and a lack of games to talk about, check out our St. Patrick's Day Jib Jab starring Patty Mills. Convenient for us that he shares the Saint's name and is the team's shortest player!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

As reported by Jason Quick:

Tom Penn, the right-hand man of general manager Kevin Pritchrd, has been fired by the Trail Blazers, The Oregonian has learned. Tuesday's decision comes nearly 10 months after Penn was promoted to vice president of Basketball Operations.

It is unknown why Penn was fired, but it is believed to have come from owner Paul Allen and not Pritchard.

Wait, what? Just like that? Penn was reportedly getting offers for the GM position at other organizations last year. It was thought that his promotion was the result of Portland's desire to keep him in the fold for as long as possible. He's supposed to be the CBA guru that can manufacture trade exceptions from thin air. Right?

Hopefully we get more details soon.

UPDATE: Via the venerable Wendell Maxey, "philosophical differences." How often do people get fired in this manner because of differences in philosophy? Still waiting for a real explanation.

UPDATED UPDATE: In all the excitement I was a bit late to Senor Brian T. Smith's information on the firing: According to the source, there had been rumblings in recent weeks within the organization that Penn's job was at stake. The primary reason was that Penn had a tendency to rub many of those he worked with the wrong way, the source said, and was seen as being a "ladder climber."

UPDATE TO THE UPDATED UPDATE: Tom Penn is both surprised and disappointed.

Don't sweat it Tom. Anyone who ever built an empire or changed the world sat where you are sitting, and it's because they sat there that they were able to do it.

As you can tell I'm out of original thoughts so am done for the night.

UPDATE: Press release from the team:

TOM PENN RELIEVED OF DUTIES AS VP OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Trail Blazers Team President Larry Miller announced today that Tom Penn has been relieved of his duties as Vice President of Basketball Operations, effective immediately.

Miller cited philosophical differences as the reason for the dismissal of Penn, who joined the Trail Blazers as assistant general manager in 2007.

"We felt it was in the organization's best interest to move in a different direction at this time," Miller said. "This was not an easy decision, as Tom has played an integral role for us the past three seasons. We thank him for his contributions and wish him the best in the future."

Before joining the Trail Blazers, Penn served as assistant general manager/legal counsel of the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies.

As some of you may or may not know, EA Sports is going to release a 2010 edition of the legendary NBA Jam video game. Bloguin associate Mookie Schiralli first alerted me to the sick trailer for the game and now they are also taking votes to see which 3 Blazer players will be on the game. Check out the trailer below and vote on your favorite Blazer.

Vote Now

The team just announced it here's the release:

BRANDON ROY NAMED NBA'S WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Trail Blazers go 4-0 last week, improve record to 41-28

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy was named the NBA's Western Conference Player of the Week, it was announced Monday by the NBA.

Roy guided the Trail Blazers to a 4-0 week, including road victories against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, and home wins vs. the Kings and Toronto Raptors.

The fourth-year Trail Blazer and three-time NBA All-Star averaged 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.25 steals while shooting 56.7% (38-67 FG) from the floor in four starts. He led Portland in scoring three times, rebounds once and assists twice in four games last week.

Roy, 25, netted 41 points (14-22 FG), eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 110-105 comeback win at Golden State, marking his fifth career game of 40-plus points (including playoffs).

Other nominees for the honor were Houston's Luis Scola, Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire and San Antonio's Manu Ginobili. Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut was chosen as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

His fifth time winning the award, Roy also took home Western Conference Player of the Week honors for the weeks ending April 12, 2009; Nov. 30, 2008; Dec. 16, 2007 and Dec. 9, 2007.

Roy joins Clyde Drexler as one of two players in franchise history to garner the award five times.

First of all, I have to give out some serious credit to the Blazers for the work they've done over the last seven days. Following a disappointing loss in Denver last Sunday, the Blazers went on to beat the Kings at home, then Golden State and Sacramento on the road, and finished off the stretch with a win tonight at home against Toronto. Sophia recapped the first three wins here, here and here. I'll discuss tonight's victory and a few other home stretch topics.

Tonight, a struggling but always dangerous Raptors team entered the Rose Garden to end their 4-game road trip. Toronto had lost all three of the previous games which always seems to be a recipe for heightened play against Portland. I figured the Blazers would be in for a high scoring game and potentially a disappointing one if things didn't go our way.

The game started out very strange, Toronto couldn't miss a shot but they also couldn't get a defensive rebound. LaMarcus Aldridge had 6 rebounds in the first 3:30 and had 10 points and 7 rebounds soon after. LA got it going early and the Blazers capitalized on poor Raptor defense. Despite Toronto shooting lights out all night, including 62% in the first half, The Blazers still held a sizable lead thanks to epic 3-point shooting by the whole team. Portland ended up 12 of 20 from deep but were something like 9 of 12 at one point. Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez were red hot from deep, and against a team like Toronto who wants to outscore their opponents, this was a good night for our three balls to go in.

Rudy and LaMarcus were huge in the first half, really setting the tone for the game and helping get the big lead. At one point, Rudy had assisted on multiple shots in a row, including an alley oop to Aldridge that was a thing of beauty. The third quarter had it's typical lull allowing Toronto back in the game, but in the 4th quarter, Nicolas Batum came alive offensively and defensively, helping Portland seal the deal at home.

I was really impressed with LaMarcus' activity early. He did exactly what he needed to do against this Raptor squad, by going inside, getting easy baskets and creating opportunities to score. Although he disappeared for stretches of the game, which is perfectly acceptable considering other contributors, I thought he did what he needed to do early on. Rudy also showed a lot of confidence and control with his shooting and passing in the first half. When Rudy is confident like he's been for the last few games, he can be a dangerous wild card coming off the bench.

Another way to look at the last week; the Blazers won four games they were supposed to win. They won four games against below .500 teams but got dominated by the Northwest Division's best team just last Sunday. Should we be worried or just happy where we are? It's difficult to gauge this team, but obviously we need wins right now to move up in the standings. The question that really plagues me when Portland wins 2-3-4 games in a row is; are they improving as a unit or just piecing together wins against bad teams?

This last stretch of games was more than just 4 victories. I think roles are getting defined, guys are getting comfortable, and everyone knows it's time to finish the regular season strong. There are a couple reasons for my decision. First off, Brandon Roy appears to be 100% healthy and back to full strength in every way. The damage he did on the road against Golden State and Sacramento proved that he's ready to regain his closer status. I also think that it's become overwhelmingly clear that Nicolas Batum is our best option at small forward and Nate McMillan knows it. Webster is maxing out at 15 minutes a game off the bench while Nic is flourishing as a starter. Batum may not put up offensive numbers every game, but he's out there for his shot blocking and playmaking abilities on defense. He also showed once again tonight that he has a sweet jumper that spreads the floor for Brandon Roy to do his thing late in games.

Now the question remains for me, is this a team that can do anything in the playoffs? We have a great starting 5 and a couple excellent options off the bench, but will this team pose any threat to the Lakers, Nuggets, Jazz or Mavericks come playoff time? There are still a handful of games left to determine seeding, with Portland having a lot of rest, as they've played more games than most teams in the league. Without getting into hypotheticals too much, is a team with veterans like Andre Miller, Juwan Howard and Marcus Camby going to actually fare better in the playoffs? Last year told us a lot about what to expect in the playoffs for our young team. Roy and Aldridge gathered some experience, as did a few other Blazer players. Does this team have what it takes to improve on what happened last year against Houston?

The West has 8 very good teams jockeying for position in the playoffs. Four of them happen to be from the Northwest division. We've seen a lot of them multiple times this season and know how we're supposed to play them. But can the Blazers expect a different outcome against Utah or Denver in a playoff series? I'd like to believe that this nucleus of players has enough firepower to scare any first round opponent. But we still don't really know yet.

The bottom line for me is that we see this same sense of urgency out of the team for the rest of the season. That's all we can really hope for right? As long as the team realizes what's at stake, and plays with high intensity every game, they'll have a shot at moving up in the standings and even winning a first round match-up. Let's hope there's no let down and this resilient bunch continues to prove they can persevere even with all the injuries, turmoil and drama that plagued them throughout the season. It's time to make a real playoff push. Let's go Blazers!

March Madness has officially arrived with the NCAA tournament match-ups announced today. We've put together a Bust a Bucket group in Yahoo's Tourney Pick'em. All Blazer fans are invited to our group to see who has the best bracket. Besides bragging rights, the winner of our bracket challenge will win a free Bust a Bucket T-shirt* of their choosing. Go Blazers! and Zags!

JOIN THE BUST A BUCKET YAHOO GROUP HERE

*Certain sizes are limited, prize is subject to availability.

The Sacramento Kings billed tonight’s match up between the Portland Trailblazers as the epic battle to the death between Roy and [future] R.O.Y., Tyreke Evans.  A nice play on words and acronyms, but the fun for the Kings stopped there as the Blazers came into Sacramento and dominated the Kings practically from the tip. For the second night  in a row, the Blazers scored 110 points, while holding the Kings to just 94.

Aside from the annoying (read: soul shattering) KGW 8 broadcasting issues that plagued the first half, the game was enjoyable and stress free to watch, something many of us Blazer fans haven’t felt for tens of games. 

We even got to see the first minutes from the newest Trail Blazer Travis Diener, who ran around aimlessly and had an assist in the closing minutes of the game. Standing Ovation from the traveling Blazermaniacs was most assuredly in honor of his dazzling performance.

Mike Barrett remarked that the Blazers are “peaking at the right time” , insinuating that the team is operating efficiently , beating easy teams with relative ease and maintaining position in the playoff hunt. This is indeed the case as the Blazers are now within 1 game of the Phoenix Suns who lost tonight to the Los Angeles Lakers.

It goes without saying that these are the teams the Blazers should be crushing by 20 points. To see the Blazers actually do that, on the road and on a second of a back to back  no less, is very encouraging.  The team shot 51% from the field, 56% from the 3 point line and only turned the ball over 10 times.  They played tight and right on defense and appeared to be a team about their business- exactly the attitude to assume at this crucial point in the season.

Brandon Roy once again went off, scoring 28 points on 10-13 shooting in 35 minutes. He also shot 100% from the 3 point line (2-2) and got the offense rolling to start the game, putting Sacramento’s defense back on their heels.  Roy finished with 4 assists and 3 rebounds and sat out much of the last five minutes as it was really clear by then that the Blazers wouldn’t lose the game. 

With Brandon Roy handling the offense for much of the first half, LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up again in the second half, ending the game having scored 18 points and corralled 6 rebounds.  His defense and position in the post on offense were key as well, as he once again played well alongside Marcus Camby. Although he logged a mediocre performance last night against the Warriors, Aldridge played more characteristically tonight with confidence and authority. 

Nicolas Batum racked up 11 points, pulled down 3 rebounds, was once again fantastic on defense. He even had 2 assists, the man can do it all! (kidding, sort of) Other notable performances came from Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless , scoring 15 and 10 respectively. Bayless’ most exciting play came milliseconds before the first quarter buzzer sounded , as he drew just enough contact on a desperation half court heave to get the foul and drain 3 free throws with .1 second left in the quarter. I can’t decide if that was a crafty veteran move by the maturing Bayless or just a dumb play by Sacramento defenders. 

Rudy Fernandez thinks he’s playing better and he now has some points to back that up. Fernandez hit a couple key three pointers tonight, seemed less errant on defense and reaffirmed that planting his feet to shoot is his key to success. He finished with 10 points and 1 rebound in 26 minutes. What is more concerning however is Fernandez’ increasingly frequent propensity to dribble erratically under the basket and uncontrollably fling it to anyone (?) on the perimeter, no doubt hoping they'll save his pitiful attempt to take some D leaguer off the dribble. 

The Kings had one hope to win this game : Tyreke Evans. The man is truly a pleasure to watch and displays night in and night out why he’s the favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors. Tonight however he struggled to get a rhythm established early and had trouble getting easy shots. He had only 10 points on 12 attempts and had 5 turnovers. Tonight was not Reke’s night, but he’s still my favorite non- Blazer. 

All jokes and criticism aside, tonight’s win was a refreshing reminder of how good this team is with a relatively healthy rotation. Next up, the Blazers take on the Toronto Raptors, Sunday night back at the Rose Garden.

Sophia Brugato | Twitter: @sophiabiabia | s.brugato(at)gmail(dot)com 

YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! THEY DID IT! WOOOTTTT WOOOTTTTT!

Ahem. Excuse me.

Last night against the Warriors, Brandon Roy reached another milestone in his young, phenomenal career- he finally beat the Warriors in Oracle Arena.

The Portland Trail Blazers came into Oakland, California having not won there since 2004. On the back of Brandon Roy, who had 24 first half points and 41 overall, the Blazers finally beat the Golden State Warriors in Oakland: 110 to 105.

By no means pretty (16 turnovers) or efficient (shooting 41.9 as a team), the Blazers managed to pull off another much needed win over a sub-.500 team, keeping their playoff hope alive.

The Blazers are now .5 games behind San Antonio Spurs for the 7th seed in the West.

The first half was a run and gun streak fest where the Blazers played the Warriors small, fast style and failed miserably. The Blazers usually efficient defense was nowhere to be found as the Warriors were allowed 28 and 32 points in the first and second quarters respectively.

The teams best defender Nicolas Batum struggled especially on defense. He played 20 minutes in the contest and finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Batum was yanked from the game early having made a couple careless mistakes in the first half of the game.

The Blazers are fifth in the league in turnover rate (TOR 12.48), but committed well above their average with 16 overall and 6 coming from LaMarcus Aldridge alone.

Aldridge struggled in the first half, scoring only 4 points and seemed discombobulated. In a game practically tailor made for a 6'11, long-armed forward, it goes without saying Aldridge didn't take advantage of the size disparity between the Warriors and Blazers. Aldridge finished with 14 points on 4-14 (eek) shooting, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 1 assist in 33 minutes played. He scored the majority of his points in the fourth quarter however, and was an important reason the Blazers ended with the win.

The Blazers did manage to outscore the Warriors in the paint 46-38 and grab 53 rebounds to the Warrior's 36.

Marcus Camby grabbed 17 rebounds by himself, in what is becoming a familiar presence in the box score as he added 4 points on 1 for 7 shooting and had 1 assist. No blocks tonight but he guarded the paint alongside LaMarcus Aldridge to help halt the Warrior's driving offense.

But the story of the night was the stellar play from All Star Brandon Roy, who scored 41 points and never let the game slip away, no matter how out of control the Blazers played or how many points the team found themselves behind. His scoring was efficient (14-22 ), timely ( 15 in the 3rd quarter) and he got to the line in his effort to pressure the Warrior's interior defenders (if you can even call them that). Roy showed for the first game in some time, a concerted effort on defense forcing the Warrior's quick guards to shoot over the top rather than drive to the basket. Roy lead by example on defense down the stretch, and the rest of the Blazers quickly followed suit.

The Warriors were in control of the game until the last five minutes of the 4th quarter. My second favorite non-Blazer , Stephen Curry showed why he is in the conversation for Rookie of the Year , scoring 15 points on 6 for 15 shooting in 33 minutes. His shot is among the most pure in the league and he was rewarded with key minutes down the stretch. Monte Ellis fouled out in the fourth quarter, played 28 minutes and had 17 points , 2 assists and 3 steels.

It appears that the Blazers sense the urgency now in the season. Every game down the stretch is vital if the Blazers want to make the playoffs and they have been playing as if they know it. The Blazers now have the third best road record in the Western Conference and are 2-1 in the season series against the Warriors.

The Blazers take on the Sacramento Kings tonight to finish this short, back to back road trip.

Sophia Brugato | Twitter: @sophiabiabia | s.brugato(at)gmail(dot)com