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davidstern1

It’s hard to believe another season covering the NBA is in the books. That’s number five if you are keeping score at home. What a ride it was. But you haven’t seen or read anything yet.

Okay, maybe you have. Just know it will be a busy offseason in Portland and around my house. Here’s just a sample of what you can expect….

Diapers and sippy-cups.

Let me explain.

My wife Emily and I are expecting baby girl number two in the coming weeks, so life is about to get a bit more hectic - if that is even possible. But we won’t be the only ones going through changes.

Expect names to come and go for the Blazers over the course of the summer – via trades, the draft and even free agency. Think we all have our own opinions on the matter about those moves, and I’ll be digging deeper into these scenarios shortly. Stay tuned on those scoops.

I’ll also be continuing to shape and mold an ongoing manuscript I’ve been working on during the summer months and will provide updates along the way. There's no time during the season to tend to that business. Essentially, it’s a book being co-authored with a professor at Portland State University as we unearth the short but astounding story of the West Coast Negro Baseball Association from the mid-forties.

And you thought it was all about basketball around.

Other freelance work is also on the horizon. Won’t delve into it here, but I’m looking forward to a featured story I wrote for a magazine on Portland’s Brandon Roy and Jamal Crawford of the (for now) Golden State Warriors which will be on newsstands in the next couple months. More to come on that.

Will likely punch the clock and keys for the Northwest Examiner now and again.

In a stronger effort to provide an inside glimpse of the NBA writing life, a number of beat writers and columnist from around the league will join me to talk shop and scoop the latest offseason news from around the Association. Interviews should be plenty.

I’ll also recount some memories on the 2008-09 season once this bad boy is put to bed. Should be an interesting road to re-travel.

Hopefully you are picking up what I am putting down here. There really is no offseason for me. Despite Portland’s first round exit, HOOPSWOLRD will surely keep my busy with covering the playoffs, the NBA Finals, the draft, free agency, summer league, and more free agency rumors before knocking out a few preseason previews.

Write on.

So in the meantime, do me a favor. Do yourself a favor. Sign-up for “Beyond The Beat Email Alert” to get the latest posts, articles and interviews delivered to your email in-box. It’s quick. It’s easy. And it’s right over there in the right hand sidebar.

You can also keep tabs on Twitter (twitter.com/beyondthebeat) if you are down like that.

Of course this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: thank you.

Thank you for always reading and writing. You are the ones – basketball lover or not - who make this site/blog work so well, both in season and out. I can only hope that you’ll stick around for what’s yet to come as the beat goes on.

Now if you will excuse me. I have to go buy some more sippy-cups.

pic via: blazersedge