O is for Oakland CA ,s next rising and shooting star Portlands Damian Lillard The Breeze Vol 2 No .3

As we approach   game 3 Friday Night in the Rose City. It dawns on me that much like cities off the beaten track.. Oakland CA and Portland OR are places athletes get exiled to to serve out their playing days in relative obscurity. Another place that has managed to thrive of late on the baseball diamond is the Oakland A,s  Made famous in the movie Money ball they have managed to stay competitive despite the substandard condition of an aging stadium shared by 2 sports franchises. Oakland has had a few bright spots as far as athletes go that  have  had impact positively during their stints as Professionals. 2 time MVP award winner Frank Robinson came from the Sandlots of Oakland @ Mclymonds H.S  and went on to win  2 World titles in 1966 and  1970 . The first Black manager in MLB History seems to have responded positively and survived despite being from  Oakland. The # 2 pick in the 1990 NBA draft Gary Payton can best be remembered @  Skyline High School and can be best remembered as a Seattle Supersonics for 12and 1/2/ years and a master trash talker that garnered him the 3rd  highest number of technical fouls in NBA history behind only former Utah Jazz Coach and former Chicago Bull Jerry Sloan. Gary Payton took no bull on the court. He honed his basketball skills in Oakland Take that San Francisco.  JR Rider former  Portland Trail Blazer born in Oakland and matriculated at  Enciat H.S in Alameda California. had a stellar career @ UNLV but struggles with Cocaine led him on a downward spiral that included  jail time Current Blazer 2nd year guard from Weber State Lillard wears the number 0 to represent Oakland Lillard and his national profile will grow as Portland and Rip City head towards a date with San Antonio or Dallas in the Next Western Conference playoff series.. Scientifically a catalyst is a substance that causes 2 elements to change Maybe that catalyst from Oakland will go  a long way to changing the perception of the Northern CA East Bay and become  a NBA MVP Representing Oakland California and the City of Portland Number 0 Damian Lillard 2019 NBA MVP Can anything good come out of Oakland?  Lillard Proves that times may be Changing for  Oakland .           


JR Rider Stats      http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/rideris01.html   

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01.html                  Damian Lillard Stats   


http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/paytoga01.html Gary Payton Stats


Frank Robinson Stats http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/robinfr02.shtml