During a very difficult 2021, it was a very good first year
A first full year is in the books for kerryeggers.com after my retirement after 45 years in the newspaper in April 2020.
First, thanks to all of you for being subscribers. I appreciate all the feedback we have received, both as responses to be published on the website and others of a personal nature.
Neil Everett is digging ‘Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds’
Neil Everett has long followed the Portland Trail Blazers. The veteran ESPN SportsCenter anchor was born in Portland (though raised in Spokane), schooled at Willamette University and the University of Oregon and owns a vacation home with wife Stephanie in Seaside.
Canvassing the state: Kersey book events set for Medford, Bend
We are taking to the road for the next two weeks to stage book events for “Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds” in Medford and Bend.
With Mike Hass, Mike Riley and Dennis Erickson on Hass’ selection for the College Football Hall of Fame
Mike Hass never really made it in the NFL, but the former Oregon State great is getting a very nice consolation prize.
Hass was one of 18 players, along with three coaches, named Tuesday as part of the 2022 induction class into the College Football Hall of Fame.
A new coaching adventure for Mike Riley: ‘I can’t wait to get started’
Mike Riley is preparing for another coaching adventure.
The long-time Oregon State football coach has been hired as head coach of the New Jersey Generals of the new United States Football League, which will begin play in the spring.
Trade Russell Wilson? Dump Pete Carroll? No way, Ron Callan says …
Veteran broadcaster Ron Callan, known locally for his work doing sidelines for football and radio play-by-play for women’s basketball for Oregon State, has also been press box public-address announcer for Seattle Seahawks games for 20 years. Counting time as a television reporter, pre-game host and network sideline reporter, Callan has put in 42 years with the Northwest’s NFL team.
A collector’s item for a mere pittance
Sometimes a rare nugget reaches your pan when you’re not even mining for gold.
A couple of weeks ago, I scanned the library in my study for a book entitled “The Coach’s Art.” It was written in 1978 by Jack Ramsay, then head coach of the Trail Blazers, with help from Portland writer John Strawn, an old friend of mine.
On the air with Orlando Sanchez
KGW’s intrepid reporter Orlando Sanchez interviewed me about “Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds” for the station’s wide-ranging weekly “Sports Sunday” package. Thanks much to Orlando for helping to get the word out.
KPTV’s Nick Krupke catches up with me during Moda Center book signing …
Thanks to the Trail Blazers and Ryan Flaherty, the team’s vice president/brand strategy, we have done a pair of book signings for “Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds,” during Blazer games at Moda Center. (We will be doing a third and final one with broadcasting legend Bill Schonely on Friday, Jan. 7, prior to Portland’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.)
Purchase a cool T-shirt, help endow the Jerome Kersey Scholarship Fund
Mitch Walker was a teammate of Jerome Kersey’s at Longwood College in Farmville, Va. They remained close friends until Kersey’s untimely death at age 52 in 2015.
Should Buck Williams be a Hall of Famer? Says Fordham Prep’s sports analytics club: ‘Yes’
Those in Portland in the 1990s recall Charles Linwood “Buck” Williams as the lunch-bucket power forward whose acquisition proved the missing link in the Trail Blazers’ rise to NBA Finals in ’90 and ’92.
A conversation with the guys at Joe Radio in Corvallis —Mostly about “Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds” …
I am grateful for all the media who have done interviews with me and helped create awareness about my new book on the Trail Blazers’ late, great small forward. But it is particularly nice when the interviewers have taken the time to read the book.
Blazer’s Edge’s Dave Deckard provides review of 'Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds’
Dave Deckard, esteemed writer/coordinator/editor for the Trail Blazers’ fan site “Blazer’s Edge,” offers a deep, thorough, eloquent review of Jerome Kersey’s biography. Thanks to Dave for going the extra mile to provide this to his readers — and I want to share it with mine.
Book Signing at Mountain Park Racquet + Fitness in Lake Oswego
Join me Wednesday December 15, 2021 in Lake Oswego for the final in-person signing before Christmas at Mountain Park Racquet + Fitness Club. I will be signing my latest book "Jerome Kersey: Overcoming The Odds" from 4-6 PM.
Book Signing at The Angry Beaver Grill in Corvallis When the Portland Trail Blazers Take on the Phoenix Suns
Join me Tuesday December 14, 2021 in my hometown of Corvallis at The Angry Beaver Grill. I will be signing my latest book "Jerome Kersey: Overcoming The Odds" from 5-7 PM, before the Trail Blazers v. Phoenix Suns game at the Moda Center.
With Root’s Brad Adam, talking “Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds” …
Once upon a time, Brad Adam was a Portland sportscaster.
For 21 years, Adam has been one of the staples at Root Sports in Seattle. Northwest sports fans know him as the go-to guy talking Mariners and, now, the NHL Kraken. Before that, though, he spent three glorious years working his elocutionary magic at KATU. So we go a ways back.
Book Signing at Huber’s Cafe When the Portland Trail Blazers Take on the Los Angeles Clippers
Join me Monday December 6, 2021 in Portland at Huber's Cafe, Portland's oldest restaurant and home of the best Spanish Coffee served anywhere. I will be signing my latest book "Jerome Kersey: Overcoming The Odds" from 5-7 PM, before the Trail Blazers v. Los Angeles Clippers game at the Moda Center.
A true pro -- Terry Porter helps out in a big way on a book-signing night at Moda Center
Terry Porter and I go back a long way.
Terry was an All-Star point guard when I first covered the Trail Blazers for The Oregonian. He was kind enough to make an appearance at a Sportswriters Camp for aspiring journalists that Dwight Jaynes and I ran for seven years in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. I was privileged to represent the Professional Basketball Writers Association in presenting him with the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for the 1992-93 season.
A special weekend for Erickson, 2001 Fiesta Bowl champions
Last weekend was a special one for Dennis Erickson. But it was that way, too, for a lot of coaches and players who served under him during perhaps the most special season in Oregon State football history.
Erickson, six assistant coaches and 55 players were on hand in Corvallis to represent the 2001 Fiesta Bowl championship team that was inducted into the Oregon State Athletic Hall of Fame.
Talking Jerome Kersey with The Oregonian’s Aaron Fentress
My former colleague at The Oregonian, Aaron Fentress, had me on his “Blazer Focused” podcast this week to talk about “Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds.” We discussed the former Trail Blazer great’s upbringing and career at Longwood College, what Jerome tick, his path to success in The NBA and much more, including who is the greatest Blazer of them all, Clyde Drexler or Damian Lillard.