travis roy

Portland stalwart appears in first preseason game PORTLAND- Brandon Roy's performance Friday night wasn't exactly unexpected. And that's why he convinced Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan to let him play.

Roy was out of rhythm in his preseason debut with a shot that was often off target. He made only one basket from outside of 5 feet and committed three turnovers in the Blazers' 101-77 win over the Sacramento Kings at the Rose Garden.

It wasn't the Roy most fans are accustomed to watching. But that was the idea...get the rust off now while the games do not count, not in the season opener against defending champion San Antonio.

"The good thing about it is I can laugh about it because there were some times where I felt like I was open," said Roy, who reported no pain in his injured left heel. "All I know is as I get my rhythm back there?ll be a lot more out there for me."

The Blazers (3-1) didn't need their Rookie of the Year to win Friday's game anyway.

Travis Outlaw continued to show that he is ready to become a bigger part of the offense, sinking 10 of 13 shots for 24 points with six rebounds. Martell Webster also continued his hot preseason with a 17-point, nine-rebound night, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points.

Portland held Sacramento which played without regular contributors Kevin Martin (bruised left shin) and Shareef Abdur-Rahim (sore right knee), and used starter Ron Artest for only two minutes to 33 percent (28 for 84) from the field and used a 14-4 run early in the third quarter to open up a 64-45 lead. But the main interest was in Roy's debut after Portland's leading returning scorer sat out the Blazers' training camp andout the Blazers' training camp and first three preseason games because of a sore left heel.

McMillan initially considered holding Roy out for the entire preseason to guard against a more serious injury, but relented to allow Roy to work himself into a rhythm before facing San Antonio on Oct. 30.

Friday's game made the decision look wise: Roy finished 3 for 9 from the field and 3 for 5 at the free-throw line with one rebound and two assists in 24 minutes. It wasn't a bad performance, but it wasn't typical Roy, either.

"This is the reason he really wanted to play," McMillan said. "He played well and knocked down his shots in practice, but it's different when you're out there in front of the fans and playing a different uniform. He looked rusty. His shot was short. The main thing we wanted to do was get him minutes, and see how he comes out of this game."

But Roy wanted a little more after his last shot, an 18-foot jumper fed by Jarrett Jack on a fast break with 1.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter- a play that could become a common sight this year as the Blazers look to push the ball in a faster-tempo system. As the team huddled before the fourth quarter started, Roy pleaded with McMillan to let him keep playing.

"I made a shot so I was like, 'Man, coach, let me get my rhythm,'"Roy said with a laugh. "I wanted to. I was excited. But he just wanted me to stay calm. There's plenty more games ahead."

get to see my first Blazer's game of the season, though it's preseason still, this next Wednesday. I'm pretty psyched to see Kevin Durant play for the Supes, but more excited to see my boys playing in the black and red. I expect to see a lot of minutes doled out to LaMarcus Aldridge, who's going to have a huge year, Taurean Green, who Coach McMillan absolutely loves as the back up point, and Martell Webster who has been lighting it up, from all over the floor. I don't see Brandon Roy getting many minutes due to his heel injury flaring up again. Even if he doesn't play, I have the reassurance of the ten game pack to cheer me up. I know I already did a post about the ten game pack, but all these games are gonna be sick! I get to see the Chauncy, Kobe, Dirk Diggler, Deron, DWade, Shaq, Durant twice, and Steve Nash live. It will be incredible. The only glaring drawback, which is totally out of my control: The Trail Blazers minus first overall pick Greg Oden.

Here's how I see the Blazers roster shaking out

Starting lineup:

PG Steve Blake (Coach McMillan has a real hard on for this guy and I'm not sure why. I think Jarrett Jack should be the starter. It's gonna be a real battle for back up minutes amongst Jack, Sergio Rodriguez, and former college star Taurean Green)

SG Brandon Roy (How do you follow up a solid season as Rookie of the Year? By having an equally good sophmore season. Fans around the league will take notice as Roy becomes one of the most clutch, late game performers in the NBA. He's the unquestioned leader and team captain of the Blazers. A potential all-star selection seems possible)

SF Martell Webster (It's time for this kid to show the world why he was taken 6th overall two years ago. He's been lighting it up in the preseason, and has shown the kind of confidence and maturity it takes to be a starter in the NBA. His solid play has overshadowed the play of Travis Outlaw, whom a lot of people believe will be the team's starting small forward, but I like the scoring mentality of Webster, in the starting lineup)

PF LaMarcus Aldridge (How great would the Bulls be if they had this guy? Experts the cover the NBA, expect what those of us Blazer fans have known forever: LA is going to blow up this year. He showed flashes of brilliance last season, even getting a few starts at center and power forward here and there. He played so well, in limited minutes, that he was named to the all-rookie first team. He can score from the inside, the outstide, block shots, and rebound with the best of them. I don't think he makes the all-star, but will be considered as an alternate if need be. Alridge and Roy will make this team dangerous.)

C Joel Pryzbilla (There's been speculation that Channing Frye will be the Blazers starting center, but he doesn't play with the kind of defensive toughness that Joel does, eventhough Joel is prone to foul a lot. I think the team would be better served playing Pryzbilla in the beginning of games, and in crunch time, to cut down on the fouls. Then Frye can step up with some scoring punch off the bench. Frye's game is a lot like that of Aldridge, except Aldridge plays better d. That being said, I see Pryzbilla being the man in the middle, in the Blazer's starting rotation.)

Bench:

PG Jarret Jack, Taurean Green, Sergio Rodriguez (It still anybody's guess how this point guard battle will shake out. I like all of these players, so it would be hard to leave any out. Jack could see some minutes at the 2, and McMillan is known to like playing two point guards at once, to go small. I haven't seen Green play yet, but by reputation I believe he will be a real spark plug, and possibly the team's point guard of the future. I like the fast paced entertaining style of Sergio, but he's more prone to turn over the ball more than the other point guards here. I'd say all three make the active roster, with Jack either starting at the point or backing up Brandon Roy. We still have a young point guard serving in the Finnish Army right now (Petteri Koepennen) to think about as a future point guard, but he will be playing overseas this season)

SG/SF James Jones, Jarrett Jack (James Jones could be the starting small forward, and had success while playing with Phoenix. It really depends how the battle between him, Webster, and Outlaw shakes out. Jones and Jack are two players I could see battling for back up minutes at the 2. McMillan has mentioned that Jones and Outlaw may see minutes at the 3, and even possibly the 4 this season. Rudy Fernandez, playing overseas, will make this thing really interesting next season.)

PF/C Channing Frye, Travis Outlaw, Josh McRoberts, Raef LaFrentz, Joel Freeland (Freeland may again play overseas, which would make this easier to decide who the best subs will be. Frye will most likely get the bulk of the minutes at center and power forward, leaving minimal time for Outlaw at the 4, so I see Outlaw spending more time as the back up 3. LaFrentz can hit jumpshots from all over the place, but offers little else, so I wouldn't keep him on the active roster. Josh McRoberts is supposed to be good and the Oregon media seems to like him, but I don't see much playing time for him, so maybe he's the 12th man on this team. Otherwise I expect he'll be in the D-League, perhaps being joined by whomever loses the battle at point guard.) Redemptorist survived an outstanding performance by Capitol Pre-College Academy for Boys quarterback Terrance Broadway on Friday night.

Broadway accounted for more than 400 yards, but the Wolves unleashed an effective running game in the second half to secure a 32-24 District 8-3A victory over the Lions at Majella Field.

Broadway ran 11 yards for a touchdown to give Capitol an 18-15 lead with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter. Third-ranked Redemptorist (8-0, 3-0) proceeded to drive for two touchdowns and a field goal on its final three series.

Wolves quarterback Travis Roy completed just three passes on those three possessions. The remainder of the yardage on the drives came on running plays.

"We thought we could run the ball on them," Redemptorist coach Guy Mistretta said. "In hindsight, we should have stayed with it in the first half. This game was good for our guys. We hadn't had a game come down to the end."

Jonathan Green capped a five-play, 57-yard drive with a 2-yard run to put the Wolves ahead late in the third quarter. After the Lions went for a fourth down deep in their own territory, Redemptorist took advantage of a short field for another touchdown.

The Wolves moved 30 yards in five plays for a touchdown. Roy did complete a 17-yard pass to Deuce Coon on that drive. Chris Malone scored on a 9-yard run. Ryan Joffrion's conversion put RHS on top 29-18 early in the fourth quarter.

After Broadway hooked up with Bradley Brown for an 80-yard TD, the Wolves devoured nearly nine minutes with a 16-play drive that ended with a 22-yard field goal by Joffrion.

Redemptorist converted five straight third-down situations with running plays. Joffrion's third field goal of the game gave the Wolves and eight-point lead with 1:29 left.

"Redemptorist has a good offensive line and a good group of running backs," Capitol coach Chadwick Germany said. "They have strong guys who do not go down on the first hit. This was a very tough loss. It was a game we thought we could win."

The Wolves finished with 194 yards rushing ― all but 54 coming in the final two quarters. Malone was the top rusher with 81 yards on 12 carries.

Broadway was unable to lead the Lions (5-3, 1-2) to the tying touchdown and two-point conversion in the last 90 seconds. His final pass was intercepted by Coon at the Wolves' 20. Broadway, who ran for 70 yards, completed 24 of 43 passes for 345 yards.

"We knew coming in that Broadway was a special player," Mistretta said. "We talked all week about not losing contain against him. He still made us look silly. Broadway was just outstanding."

Roy, who had done very little through the air for nearly the entire first half, got Redemptorist even just before the end of the second quarter with two completions. Roy connected with Coon on consecutive plays, getting the Wolves into the end zone.

After falling behind 12-5, Redemptorist started at its 45 following a short Capitol kickoff. Roy, who completed two of his first nine passes, hit Coon for a 10-yard gain.

Then, Roy combined with Coon for a 45-yard touchdown. Joffrion's extra point tied the score at 12 with four seconds remaining in the half.

The Wolves gained only 55 yards in the first half prior to the two Roy-to-Coon completions. Redemptorist took a 5-0 first quarter lead due to a bad decision by Lions defensive back Jeffrey Stewart.