Detroit Bad Boys

Blazers Edge recently talked with Jason Quick, beat reporter for The Oregonian. Quick talked about all sorts of things, including his first day on the job (Rasheed Wallace was a little less than welcoming) as well as some of his favorite former Blazers:

Also one of my all-time favorites was Dale Davis. A great, great guy. Funny as hell. A big teddy bear. Loved to have fun. We would often bet on trick shots, and we once bet on who would win a race from one end of the court to the other. It came about during a practice, when I chided him about being old and slow. “Who you calling slow?” he asked. “You,” I said. So we lined up on the baseline, and with the team watching, we raced. He killed me. With those long legs, the race was over before we reached halfcourt. I will always remember Cheeks coming up to me after the race and saying, “Bet you have a little more respect now for what a professional athlete is, huh?” Couldn’t have put it better.

Another funny story about Dale. We were in New Orleans one year, and as usual, I found myself at the blackjack table at Harrahs the night before the game. It was getting into the wee hours of the morning when I decided to leave, but I happened upon Dale at a table. I saddled up and played for several hours with him, his agent and his girlfriend. Every time he would push with the dealer, he would say “A push is better than a shove”. At any rate, the game against the Hornets was an afternoon tilt, and I was hurting. Apparently, so was Dale, for at halftime, a sheet was passed along press row that said ‘Blazers center Dale Davis will not return: headaches.’ I’ll never forgive him for not playing hurt like I did.