| 16 August 2010
Nicolas Batum got his looks against Team USA, but will he be Portland's three-point man come next season?
Batum finished with 11 points for France in the 86-55 loss to the United States on Sunday at Madison Square Garden in a tuneup for the world championships. He played 31 minutes (second-most on the French team) and was 5 of 11 from the field, and 1 of 5 on 3-pointers.
While Batum is an outside option, he shouldn't be the only one not named Brandon Roy. Now with a new front office in place, the Blazers may start inquring about more three-point help or even a three-point specialist this offseason before heading in to training camp. If that is not part of their summer shopping list, it should be.
Aside from Patty Mills shooting .500, Batum (.409) led the Blazers in three-point percentage with since departed Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake and Martell Webster also contributing from outside. The Blazers will need more three-point shooting, especially if Rudy Fernandez is moved in the coming months.
Former Oregon State Beaver and current Dallas Cowboy linebacker, Victor Butler, is already thinking about life after football entering his second year in the NFL – perhaps even as a sports agent.
Butler finished his career as the Beavers’ greatest pass rushers and hopes to someday attend law school – Cornell and California schools are on his list - and become a sports attorney/agent. While at Oregon State, he had a 3.2 GPA and an internship with California Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter.
Aaron Nichols knows it's going to be a long journey ahead for Oregon State, and he is ready to go.
"We have a pretty tough schedule, one of the toughest in the nation, but it gives us more opportunities to prove ourselves," Nichols told Travis Margoni in an exclusive interview with of Beyond the Beat.
OSU opens against TCU, before hosting Louisville and then traveling to Boise State the first three games of the season.
According to the BBC, the Portland Timbers have taken 19-year-old Macclesfield striker John Rooney on trial as he looks to gain a place in the Major League Soccer draft system. Out of contract at the Moss Rose, Rooney had been on trial with Seattle Sounders.
ESPN.com ranks the top 20 teams with the best shot at playing for a national championship, and the Oregon Ducks comes in at #2. They fall right behind Iowa.
The Portland State Vikings first football scrimmage is in the books for this season, with first-year head coach Nigel Burton pleased the Vikings “limited their mistakes”. A 61-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Tygue Howland – one of seven QB’s to take snaps on Saturday - to sophomore wide receiver Justin Monahan were part of the highlights.
"I was pleased with what I saw from a first scrimmage. Now we have to pick the game up for next Saturday's scrimmage," said Burton, with PSU's next scrimmage scheduled on Aug. 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
photo: euroleague
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