By Rachel Bachman, The Oregonian

May 24, 2010, 10:58AM

View full sizeFileMike Bellotti

SALEM — In what Oregon President Richard Lariviere surely hopes is the end of the several-week saga, he testified Monday to the House Committee on Education about the series of discoveries that uncovered the $3 million buyout snafu involving former athletic director Mike Bellotti.

The biggest revelation: Bellotti sought from the university much more than he got — reportedly as much as $7 million.

Lariviere recounted when Bellotti told him — amid his first year as athletic director after stepping down as football coach — that ESPN was seeking to hire him.

“That’s when he told me that we owed him a great deal of money as a result of his employment relationship,” Lariviere testified. “A very great deal of money. A surprising amount of money.

“I, of course, immediately asked the general counsel what his contract called for. That’s when I discovered there was no contract.”

Lariviere said he considered the university to be in a very strong negotiating position with Bellotti, and that he informed Bellotti that because there was no written contract the university had no further obligation to him.

“That’s when he revealed to me this even further surprise fact, that he had for a number of years during his tenure at the university worked for long periods of time without a written contract, or with a contract whose provisions had expired …” Lariviere said.

“So now the legal landscape shifted from one of great advantage to the university to one in which Mr. Bellotti had a reasonable assumption that the pattern of the previous 20 years of employment was continuing. And it changed everything.”Though Bellotti believed he had a five-year, rolling contract, university officials determined that a three-year contract was the longest he legally could have received without approval from George Pernsteiner, chancellor of the Oregon University System.

Though he may be 40 years old now, sometimes “The Kid” needs to sleep.

Griffey

Seattle Mariners star Ken Griffey Jr. missed a chance to enter an unspecified game last week as a pinch hitter because he was asleep in the clubhouse, according to a report from the Tacoma News Tribune.

When pressed following the game as to why he had not used the left-handed slugger as a pinch hitter, Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu was evasive.

But according to two unnamed younger Seattle players who are both fond of Griffey, the future Hall of Famer had fallen asleep.

“He was asleep in the clubhouse,” one player told the Tribune. “He’d gone back about the fifth inning to get a jacket and didn’t come back. I went back in about the seventh inning — and he was in his chair, sound asleep.”

The second player, who is reported to know Griffey better, claims the scuffling slugger has had difficulty sleeping at home.

“He doesn’t sleep well at night, he’s away from his family, he’s comfortable in the clubhouse,” he told the Tribune. “They could have awakened him.”

Griffey is batting .208 with just five RBIs for a last-place Mariners club that has struggled mightily in trying to get runs across the plate this season.

TUALATIN – A coach and general manager both entering the final years of their contracts stood before the media on Monday and stressed the same thing: The Trail Blazers need to get better.

General manager Kevin Pritchard said an area of improvement can come in adding more mental toughness. Coach Nate McMillan said the team could use a shooter.

But both said the sting was still too fresh from a second consecutive first-round playoff exit to set any definitive course of action.

“I want to give it some time, I feel like we need some time,” Pritchard said. “But we are not afraid to make changes.”

Pritchard, the somewhat embattled general manager who two months ago was unsure of his future with the club, said he hasn’t been given any indication that he won’t be back with the team.

Therefore he said he is focusing on the June 24 draft and the July 1 opening of the free agent market as ways to improve a Blazers team that won 50 games despite a rash of injuries.

“I can only control what I can control, and right now I’m working on getting ready for the draft,” Pritchard said. “It’s one thing we’ve done pretty good.”

The Blazers own the 22nd and 44th picks in the draft and will have about $5.8 million to lure one or more free agents with the mid-level exception, which is awarded to teams over the salary cap.

Meanwhile, Pritchard endorsed McMillan as a “great” coach who should return for next season, saying “there is no doubt” he is the right man for this team. In five seasons in Portland, McMillan is 198-212.

McMillan said he believes he is still reaching his players — a claim several players backed up last week — and that he looks forward to coaching a healthy team next season. Blazers players this season missed 311 games because of injury.

“Our challenge is to come back better next year,” Pritchard said. “We all have to look in the mirror, specifically me, and ask how we can get better individually and as a collective group. Now we are playing at a different level. Now we are not judged by whether we make the playoffs, but how we do in the playoffs.”

- Jason Quick

Owner Paul Allen holds the answer to whether  Kevin Pritchard will return as general manager of the Trail Blazers next season, but nobody knows when the eccentric billionaire will make that determination.

“At this point, there is no timeline,’’ team president Larry Miller said on Friday. “It’s the typical process Paul goes through.’’

Pritchard, who is under contract through the 2010-2011 season, is thought to be under fire after Allen this season apparently became disenchanted with the Blazers basketball operations staff.

The unease was heightened in March, when vice president Tom Penn, Pritchard’s right-hand man, was fired, and agent Warren LeGarie – who represents both Penn and Pritchard –   theorized that Pritchard would be next.

“Most of the speculation has been on the part of people not involved in the process,’’ Miller said. “The situation with Tom Penn was not about Kevin, it was about Tom Penn, but other people wanted to make it about Kevin.’’

Tod Leiweke, the CEO of Allen’s Vulcan Sports and Entertainment, declined to comment on Pritchard’s status after Thursday’s season-ending loss to Phoenix in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Leiweke, who promoted Pritchard to general manager in March of 2007, directed all Pritchard-related questions to Miller.

“I won’t comment on it, I will let Larry comment on it,’’ Leiweke said. “I love the Blazers, but day-to-day, this place is running well, and there is a clear order of how we report, and I’m happy about that. I’m not dodging your question.’’

Miller said he hopes some sort of resolution is reached before the June 24 draft, and he expects to have input on the decision.

“A decision at that level ultimately comes from Paul,’’ Miller said. “But from my perspective, we have had a very successful season. And I know that Kevin is under contract to be the GM, and that’s where we are. Kevin and I have worked really good together.’’

Pritchard declined to comment Friday. He is scheduled to meet with the media on Monday.

Since Penn’s firing in mid-March, and an awkward media availability with Pritchard and Miller in the following days, Pritchard has not taken his customary seat next to Allen at home games. However, he did negotiate the two-year contract extension for Marcus Camby last week.

Whether the Camby contract extension is a good sign for Pritchard’s future remains to be seen.

–Jason Quick

TUALATIN — All-Star guard Brandon Roy says he will return to the starting lineup Thursday night, when the Trail Blazers host the Phoenix Suns in a make-or-break playoff game at the Rose Garden.

Coach Nate McMillan refused to confirm the move, but Roy said McMillan ran him with the starters in practice Wednesday and told Roy he would move back into the starting lineup after playing the last two games as a reserve.

“It changes everything,” forward Nicolas Batum said of the move.

Roy was unwilling to go that far, but did admit that he will play with a greater comfort level as the Blazers face the Suns in Game 6 of their best-of-seven playoff series trailing 3-2. He’s played all but four games in his career as a starter.

“For me, I’m somewhat of a slow starter, so I get a chance to start the game and kind of get going,” Roy said. “Whereas coming off the bench, the game’s kind of moving fast (and it) was a little tough. It’s good to be back in the starting lineup.”

Roy missed the first three games of the series after having surgery to repair a partial tear of the meniscus in his right knee prior to Game 1. He surprisingly returned for Game 4 in a reserve role, scoring 10 points and providing an emotional boost that helped propel the Blazers to a 96-87 victory.

Roy also came off the bench in Game 5 Monday in Phoenix, but finished with just five points on 2-of-7 shooting as he played through foul trouble. The Blazers were blown out 107-88, and after the game Roy said he would lobby to start Game 6.

Turns out he will get his wish.

In other practice news, Batum (right shoulder) and Marcus Camby (left pinky, left ankle) did not work out with the team as they continued to nurse injuries. But both are expected to start in Game 6, however.

Batum said he tweaked his tender shoulder in Game 5 when he ran into a screen. He went through extended shooting after practice Wednesday with assistant coach Monty Williams and said his shoulder was still “sore.”

-Joe Freeman

PORTLAND, Ore. — We’d been hearing the whispers all week: that All-Star guard Brandon Roy’s knee surgery was far less invasive than originally expected, that he had basically popped off the operating table and into the workout room, that his recovery had been amazingly pain-free, and that he might be able to return before the end of the first round.

Still, nobody expected this. Just eight days after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, Roy returned and scored 10 points to lift Portland to a 96-87 win over Phoenix and tie their best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

The Blazers had been hoping to tread water until Roy could return, and as his recovery gained steam, that scenario loomed as more likely. Over the past few days, what started as “maybe Game 7,” became “probably Game 6,” and then suddenly ramped up to “how about now?”

That didn’t happen without what Blazers coach Nate McMillan described as “a long, sleepless night” of text messages between Roy, McMillan and, eventually, general manager Kevin Pritchard and owner Paul Allen.

Roy said his knee felt fine and he had no pain even after playing 27 minutes. Nonetheless, McMilllan had told him he wouldn’t play until Game 5 after taking a dim view of his conditioning during a 2-on-2 session in practice on Friday with reserves Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham and Patrick Mills.

However, Roy wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept insisting he should play.

“I stressed to the doctor, it feels just like it did before surgery,” said Roy. “[Nate] was a little disappointed in my conditioning 2-on-2, but even in my best shape I’m not a good full-court, 2-on-2 type of player.”

The key determinant, according to a Blazers insider, was that trainers and medical staff determined Roy could do no further damage to the knee by playing. He actually had considered postponing surgery and playing with the torn meniscus — again, doctors had determined it couldn’t get any worse — but the discomfort finally prompted him to go under the knife on April 16.

Roy appeared to favor the leg throughout most of the second half, but he saved his best moments for late. He had enough juice to hit a 3-pointer and a key pull-up jumper during a game-breaking 13-4 run late in the fourth quarter. Overall he shot 4-of-10 from the field with one assist and no turnovers.

He also got the crowd engaged with his mere presence. A thunderous ovation went up in the surprised Rose Garden Arena crowed when Roy reported to the scorer’s table, and the Blazers rode it to an 8-0 run before he’d even checked in.

Once he did — to the tune of “Rocky” — the Blazers were much less easily guarded than they had been in blowout losses in Games 2 and 3. LaMarcus Aldridge took advantage of the increased air space to break out of a slump with a playoff career-high 31 points, while the Blazers’ defense offered its strongest resistance of the series.

Despite the outcome, the Blazers were savaged by critics on national TV for putting Roy’s long-term health at risk. The superstar guard has a five-year contract extension for the maximum that kicks in after the season, and the argument goes that Portland should have thought much harder about the viability of its long-term investment — especially given the team’s limited-at-best chances of winning a championship this season.

However, everyone I talked to emphasized that medically the decision was sound and that there was no way for him to make it any worse — the only issue was going to be his conditioning and pain threshold.

Roy’s return turns this series on its head after the Suns appeared to be cruising. Phoenix won Games 2 and 3 in blowouts, but those were without Roy. Now it’s tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 in the desert, and Roy said “it’s a given” that he’ll play on Monday. The only question is whether or not he starts.

While Roy’s return was the headline event, two other developments turned the tide in Portland’s favor as well. First, its frontcourt showed up. Aldridge had been harshly criticized by Portland-area media in the 48 hours since Game 3’s blowout loss, but emerged with a breakout performance.

He was joined in that area by centers Marcus Camby and Juwan Howard, who became key safety valves when Phoenix’s defense pressured Andre Miller and Aldridge. The two combined for 16 points, 15 rebounds and six assists on 8-of-12 shooting, nearly matching the output of counterpart Amare Stoudemire.

Additionally, the Blazers regained control in the tempo war. Portland held the Suns to a mere four fast-break points after being run into submission by Phoenix in Games 2 and 3. Jason Richardson had tormented Portland with 20-point first halves in both games, but had just four at the break Saturday and finished with 15 points.

Finally, one other injury return got scant notice in the wake of Roy’s dramatic recovery. Forward Nicolas Batum, battling a strained shoulder that knocked him out of Game 3 and — as McMillan noted — facing the risk of separating the shoulder if he’s hit the wrong way, started and played 34 minutes, many of them while checking All-Star guard Steve Nash. Had he not delivered so strongly, Roy’s return might have been for naught.

Instead, Portland’s dramatic pattern of emerging victorious when things have looked darkest continues unabated. The Suns still have the upper hand with two of the final three games in the friendly confines of U.S. Airways Center, but between Roy’s return and his teammates’ rejuvenation, they face the real prospect of seeing this series slip from their grasp.

Two days ago that didn’t seem possible. But way back then, Roy returning for Game 4 didn’t seem possible, either.

The Phoenix Suns say the brief altercation between Amare Stoudemire and the Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge during Game 3 serves as a prelude for Game 4.

The Suns expect the Blazers, who lost games 2 and 3 by a combined 48 points, to play a much more physical and scrappy game today.

“I think they’re gonna play physical,” Stoudemire said before the team’s shootaround Friday morning. “They’re gonna be physical out there on the court, try to frustrate us and try to get us out of character.”

Phoenix, with its offense flowing smoothly, has dominated Games 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Suns figure the Blazers will want to turn the game into something of an alley fight to avoid a usually insurmountable 3-1 deficit.

“They’ve gotta come out and be aggressive and physical. They need this game and they’ve gotta do whatever it takes,” point guard Steve Nash said. “They don’t want to go back to Phoenix down 3-1 and facing elimination.”

The Blazers found modest success using a more aggressive style of play during the second half of Game 3.

The Blazers outscored the Suns 23-15 in the third quarter by forcing the Suns into committing seven turnovers and shooting 33 percent from the floor in the quarter. The Blazers used that momentum to cut Suns’ 29-point halftime lead down to 11 in the fourth quarter before the Suns regrouped and pulled away.

“They probably feel good right now. They got back in the game a little bit in the second half,” Phoenix forward Grant Hill said. “They kind of got their rhythm and played with a little bit more force.”

Stoudemire and Aldridge each received technical fouls for their second-half altercation.

“We did a great job of keeping our composure for the most part. We just have to make sure we keep that going,” said Stoudemire. “We have to keep our heads in the game and understand they’re going to try and do what it takes to take us out of our game.”

Hill said the Blazers’ physical play and extra energy caught them by surprise. He said that particular stretch of play taught the Suns a lesson about playoff basketball.

“That was good for us, too. It kind of woke us up,” Hill said. “It helped us realize that this is not going to be a cakewalk.”

The Suns know that playing at a slower and more deliberate pace will favor the Blazers. The Blazers held the Suns to 100 points in Game 1 and won the game 105-100.

However, the Suns have had an answer to whatever the Blazers have presented in games 3 and 4. A major part of the answer has been Phoenix guard Jason Richardson. Richardson is averaging 35.5 points a game in the last two games, taking advantage of the Blazers double-teaming Stoudemire.

“They’re gonna pay a whole lot of attention to me now that I’ve two good games in a row,” Richardson said. “They’re gonna play me more physical and play tighter defense.”

The Suns say they are prepared for whatever the Blazers throw at them in today’s game. They have won two consecutive playoff games with their offense running at near-peak efficiency and they going do everything they can to continue playing the way they want to play.

“We’re not gonna get into a situation where we’re standing in there like a heavyweight boxer trying to slug it out. That’s not who we are,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. “We’re not gonna be in a situation where we’re gonna try to play like that. We’re gonna spread the floor, we’re gonna try to make plays. We’re an open court team that plays with rhythm. That’s how we’re gonna play.”

–Geoffrey C. Arnold
503-221-8556;

Then, Arran Gimba talks about the AFC and NFC championship series.