Friday Wrap Up: Rich Cho Aftermath, NBA Finals Are Set, And Ohio State is Dirtier Than We Thought

Happy Friday, folks.  My last post was a review of Maxim's 2011 Hot 100 list that I took way too seriously.  But hey it was fun, okay?  The lovely Sarah Shahi came in at #24 on the list.  I didn't mention her in my overrated/underrated post because I thought 24th was a good place for Shahi to be at on the list.

The Aftermath: So we've had a few days to recover from the madness that we call "Paul Allen's management style".  Rich Cho is long gone, and Allen stated that it was a "chemistry" issue that sent Cho packing.  I still think it's nonsense.  I mean, if Paul Allen wants to have chemistry with someone, he needs to go out and join eHarmony.  Paul Allen is kind of a weird guy, and can be socially awkward.  Guess what?  Rich Cho is the same guy, who is quiet and keeps to himself.  So when Allen and Cho aren't BFFs right away, it shouldn't surprise anyone.  Allen obviously has a different opinion.

Since Cho was fired, all Blazers fans have been getting is a steady dose of "hey, it's Paul Allen's team and he can do what he wants with it, so shut the hell up".  I'm still of the opinion that this change of direction at the top for Portland is troubling and shows a clear lack of direction.  Some Blazer fans have sort of bought into the change, convincing themselves that it was a positive move.  But I'm not so sure about that.  Regardless of all the craziness, Joel Freeman says that the Portland GM position is still an attractive job. 

I guess we'll see in the next few weeks.  I think Paul Allen should just go ahead and hire himself as the GM and save himself the trouble of firing about 3 or 4 more GMs in the coming years.  It would probably save him some time as well, and definitely save him some cash.  Whoever the Blazers hire as the next GM is going to be even more of a puppet than Rich Cho was anyway.

Wow, That Was Fast: Blazers Have Fired GM Rich Cho

According to a mass text message to local reporters, the Blazers have relieved general manager Rich Cho of his duties, effectively immediately.  Cho was hired July 19, 2010, making his tenure with the Blazers at just about 10 short months.  I just heard the announcement on 1080 The Fan as The Dan Patrick Show was just wrapping up.  No word yet on what the hell is going on with the Blazers, but director of college scouting Chad Buchanon will assume GM duties until a replacement is found.

From the official press release:

"The fit between Rich and our team simply wasn't right," said Trail Blazers President Larry Miller. "This was a tough move because I respect Rich and he's a good person with many strong skills. But it simply wasn't a good match."

Obviously, there aren't any facts to report right now.  I'm glued to the radio, as I'm sure lots of Blazers fans are at the moment.  But rest assured, something is really jacked up in the Blazers' front office.  I'm sure many more details will be pouring out as the day progresses.  Umm, to say this was unexpected would be selling it a little bit short, I think.  This is not a good sign for Portland fans.  Who knows, Paul Allen may have finally went nuts, fired everyone in the front office, and may even have hired himself as the f#$%ing coach by now.  Geez, that guy is annoying sometimes.

Sometimes, change in the front office can be a good thing for an NBA basketball team.  But not like this.  I have a feeling this will be affecting the Blazers for longer than the next couple months. 

Rich Cho Says That He Has A Master Plan For The Blazers, But He's Not Telling Anyone About It

When the Blazers hired GM Rich Cho, I remember someone asking him a question that, paraphrasing, went something like "How close do you feel the team is to competing at a high level?" 

He responded that he thought the Blazers were one or two significant moves away from making the jump to competing for the Western Conference title.

This is no longer the case here in Portland.

A couple weeks back, Rich Cho joined Isaac and Suke on their afternoon show Primetime, which is on 1080 The Fan.  And they asked him how much he's had to change his plan for the team since he's taken over.  He said this, "Well, there's definitely been an adjustment. One thing I mentioned at my [introductory] press conference, I got the question, I'm paraphrasing, 'How close is this team to competing at a high level?' I mentioned that this team is a couple of moves away from competing at a high level. But that was assuming Brandon was going to be healthy and Greg was going to be healthy too. So there's definitely some adjustments that need to be made. We just have to move through it."