The scene before Monday's tip-off
“Fuck you, refs!” was the chorus Portland Trail Blazers fans screamed as they dejectedly exited the Rose Garden Monday night following a 111-107 overtime loss to the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.
I even heard a child who could not have been older than 3 years old attempt to say the words, only to fail miserably. Her mouth sounded like it was filled with cotton balls.
The adults’ furor I understood. The refs made two highly questionable calls in the final minute of regulation — a goaltending call against the Blazers that tied the game and then a no-call when the Blazers had possession with a chance to win the game.
The Sixth Man, it turned out Monday, was not the Blazers’ faithful, as advertised, but rather the three men prancing around in zebra costumes. Yes, the Blazers blew a six-point lead late in the game, but that would not have mattered had they received a friendly call, at some point. And thus, obscenities rained from the rafters in a fashion that reminded me of RIP City’s unrelenting winters.
