Posted 05/03/2010 12:25 PM

The 2009-2010 Trail Blazers season has come and gone and the prospect of no Blazers basketball for six months is now looming upon us. Some may get their hoops fix by watching the rest of the NBA playoffs play out for the upcoming six weeks, but if you're like me who only has an NBA allegiance when Portland is in the mix, the rest of the playoffs just doesn't fit the bill. Chances are if you aren't a baseball, golf, or racing fan, taking part in watching professional sports will have to be put on the back burner until the leaves start to change colors in the fall. Now with nights freed up and the summer coming up just around the bend, what hobbies or activities are there to do or take part in? If you still want to keep the Trail Blazers in your mind during the off-season, here are a few suggestions.

For all of the readers out there, I offer up three selections, destined to bring back memories of the glory years.

Up first is The Long, Hot Winter, a narration of the 1990-91 season told through the words of Coach Rick Adleman with Dwight Jaynes. After Rip City had returned the year before with a Western Conference Championship, fans wanted more and more Trail blazers coverage. The book is a very quick and easy read, which takes you through the highs and lows of the 63 win Portland Trail Blazers. For a fan such as myself who was only 5/6 years old during that season, going back now and reading it, gives you a whole different perspective on what was actually going on.

Against the World, written by Kerry Eggers and Dwight Jaynes who covered the team religiously, takes the reader into an even more in-depth look at the 1991-92 Portland Trail Blazers. Due to having actual members of the media putting together this piece, instead the head coach, the coverage is much more thorough. We all have to remember that their was no internet, Facebook, Twitter, or really even cell phones back in the early 90's, so this book is the best recollection of everything that went down from Danny Ainge's contract holdup to the potential Charles Barkley to Portland trade rumors.

Last but certainly not least is Clyde The Glyde and autobiography of Clyde Drexler told through the stories of Drexler himself but forwarded by Kerry Eggers. Like many 20-somethings in the Oregon region, Drexler amazed us with his high-flying athletic glides through the air and won over our hearts as the sports hero for us during our youth. A must-read for any Trail Blazers or Drexler fan, which takes you through his life as a child in Houston all the way through his retirement as a Hall of Fame and 50 Greatest Players career.

If reading isn't your cup of tea or you simply want more, there is visual reminiscence of those great, engaging early-90's Trail Blazer squads. The films which depict the amazing three-year run were Return To Rip City which tours through the NBA Finals run of the 1989-90 season, Running Down A Dream focuses more on the franchise-setting 63 win regular season during the 1990-91 year, and Make It Happen is the culmination of the three-year run that shows the Trail Blazers last grasp at a title during the 1991-92 season.

For me personally, the team will continue to stay in the back of my mind, but with more nights free now, I'll definitely explore more of the Portland restaurant scene and maybe check out a movie here and there. Outside of keeping up in the world of the blog-o-sphere, I would like to see what Oregon has to offer in term of hiking terrain and scenery. While in Arizona this March, I hiked two mountains and found it not only exhilarating but a sense of accomplishment when you stand high above the rest of the world, looking owt to see how far you made it. And during those rainy, June days the northwest is known for, nothing beats a good book. Now that I let all of you know what my plans are for the off-season, what are yours and do you have any suggestions for me?