Microsoft co-founder & Blazers/Seahawks owner Paul Allen diagnosed with cancer

Paul Allen became the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers back in 1988 when he purchased the team from then owner Larry Weinberg for $80M. Since that time there aren't many pro sports owners who have been more passionate about their team than Allen. I worked for Allen's Trail Blazers organization for 6 years. Not many people know that without Paul Allen there very likely would not be NBA basketball in Portland. Back in the early 1990's the team was selling out games every night in Memorial Coliseum and needed a bigger home with more revenue streams. But negotiations with the City of Portland for a bigger more modern arena got tense and there was a time where conversations about moving the Trail Blazers out of Portland took place. But to get a deal done Paul Allen put a lot of his own skin into what is now the Rose Quarter. Allen could have taken his team and likely gotten a sweeter financial deal from a city that was hungry for an NBA franchise. But even though Allen is from Washington state he knew how important the Trail Blazers are to the fabric of Portland. And he forked out millions of his own dollars to build the Rose Garden and keep the team in Portland - even though the City of Portland didn't bring much to the table (almost 20 years later some things never change). Sure Allen has made mistakes as the owner of the Trail Blazers. He's made some very questionable personnel decisions. He traded away Clyde Drexler to Houston he cut bait on Rick Adelman and Geoff Petrie too soon and he signed off on bringing in some very bad characters who wore Blazers uniforms and embarrassed this community. He made a mockery of the salary cap for several years and made enemies around the league by overpaying free agents and driving up player salaries. But at the end of the day Portland has been very lucky to have Paul Allen as the owner of the Trail Blazers. His deep pockets willingness to take risks and passion for the Trail Blazers make him one of the most dangerous owners in sports. The Blazers always have a chance because Allen is willing to go the extra mile to try to bring a championship to Portland. You could argue that Allen has been very underappreciated during his 21 year tenure as owner of the Trail Blazers. He's rarely seen (except for when he slips in and out of the Rose Garden for Blazers games) and we hear from him even less. (Although I was able to sit down with him in 2007 for this interview for Sports Business Radio). Paul Allen was diagnosed with cancer recently. He's fighting a foe that he fought and beat 25 years ago. Often times in life we don't know what we have until its taken from us. Let's hope that Paul Allen can once again beat cancer and that we don't have to find out what life in Blazerland would be like without the passionate Allen. And let's try to appreciate what Allen has done for the Trail Blazers franchise over the past 21 years.  

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