Days 344...345...

Day 344...

Happy Monday everyone!  It's kind of a let down with no Masters on TV today.  Post tournament withdraw.  Now that my favorite golf tournament is over, it's time to look ahead to the NBA Playoffs. The Portland Trail Blazers are in a battle for the 3rd seed in the west. Going forward, Peter Socotch of NBC Sports NW has put together an awesome project called "Blazerlist."  It's a count down of the biggest moments in Blazers playoff history.  Here is today's entry, and one of my favorites.  Can you say ".8?"



When I was at iHeart, I put together the montage of all five broadcasts calling the game and how the final shot sounded.  I sent it to the Blazers and it became and still is the most listed to audio on their soundcloud page.



I can't wait for the playoffs!

Day 345...

Last weekend was my favorite golf weekend of the year, but now it's about my favorite week!  Coming back this year, the IndyCar series makes its return to Portland International Raceway.  When the news was released a couple months ago, to say I was excited was an understatement.  IndyCar last was in Portland in 2007.  Growing up, as a racing fan, especially open wheel racing, this was what I really looked forward to seeing.  As I started working in sports media, getting to cover the race and series was a dream come true. I got to interview the people I grew up watching, I got to make friends with some of the drivers and as one of maybe three people who actually watched each race in the Portland media, I couldn't have been happier to have my area of expertise in town.  Following the last race in 2007, I was heartbroken. I hoped that Portland would be back on the series schedule but it wasn't renewed. The closest race would now be Sonoma and even that was up in the air.  When the announcement came down in October that IndyCar was coming back to Portland, it was the best news in all of 2017.  Today, the Portland Grand Prix launched the revamped website with ticket information and more about the race weekend.  Take a look at the site here.  Here is what KOIN-TV reported on the day of the announcement.



A couple fun facts about IndyCar races in Portland.  On race day, Portland International Raceway will host the largest single day sporting event in the state.  The series infuses about 15 million dollars into the local economy.  The 1997 race still stands at the closest road course finish of all time in the series, .055 seconds as Mark Blundell beat Gil De Ferran.  I'll have a lot more coming up about the return of IndyCar to Portland.