The I-5 Thoughts: A snow post to maximize SEO
On the Timbers losing another scorer, Kelly Graves' revival and the tough task ahead for Dan Lanning.
Greetings from NoPo.1
No, that’s not the North Pole. That’s North Portland!
(Hold for applause)
OK, so it’s currently just a dusting here in St. Johns, but the white stuff is still coming down. And while Justin Myers and I were originally going to record an episode of The Traffic Report today, well, you can only really get away with writing this story once:
So, we’ve put a call into HR and are taking the snow day.
Sort of.
Justin’s still got to hit the gym and, since I’ve been away for much of this week helping my Grandma move into her new condo, I owe you guys a little bit of content.
So, here are a few thoughts on the Timbers’ offense, Kelly Graves’ revival, Junior Adams’ departure and more. But first…
We begin with a confession
Look, I’m not one to often wade into sensitive topics here on The I-5 Corridor.
I want everyone here to feel like they can escape a bit and enjoy stories about their favorite athletes and teams for a momentary reprieve from everything that complicates life here in 2025.
However, I do feel like I need to say something about myself before another outlet leaks it:
I think I’m becoming a Lakers fan.
Easy. Easy. Calm down.
OK, fan isn’t the right word. Maybe obsessive?
It’s not that I’m a front-runner. I hated the Kobe and Shaq era. I’m too young for Showtime and don’t have many thoughts on Jerry West being the logo.
Every other sports franchise I like has been a perennial bottom-feeder (See Mariners, Seattle).
But the older I get, the more I appreciate the eras in our lives where something historic is happening.
And while I don’t know or care if he’s better than Michael Jordan, LeBron James is the most incredible athlete I’ve seen in my life. And yes, I know he’s not as athletic as he used to be and I know he takes a lot of plays off on defense and, yes, it’s ridiculous he got the Lakers to draft his son, it’s absurd what he’s doing at 40-years-old night in and night out for a Los Angeles team that’s won 12 of its last 15 games.
Two weeks ago the dude had 42 points and 17 rebounds.
Throw in Luka Dončić — a five-time first-team All-NBA selection at just 25 years old — and yeah, I’ll watch that.
I understand the significance of those two playing together. Mostly, I still just enjoy the fact that I can watch James play. I was a freshman in high school when he started his career with the Cavs in 2003. That was around the time that we ditched the rabbit ears and got satellite at the house I grew up in in Alaska. That meant we finally had ESPN, which meant James was on my TV all the time.
And while it gets harder and harder to see some of the birth years of the athletes I now cover — they’re starting to talk about recruits born in the 2010s now, people — I like that there’s at least one guy out there older than me that’s still better than most.
Well, maybe make that two guys.
This is for a niche crowd here, but watching the first game of the NHL’s new 4 Nations tournament yesterday was thrilling for the same reasons. Team Canada took down Team Sweden 4-3 in overtime in the opening game of the tournament, with 37-year-old Sidney Crosby tallying three assists in the win.
Playing on a line with 28-year-old Connor McDavid and 29-year-old Nathan Mackinnon — most in hockey consider the pair to be the best in the world — the 37-year-old Crosby was the most impactful player on the ice.
Crosby is the hockey version of LeBron. He had just as much pressure on him coming into the league as a teenager — Wayne Gretzky was “The Great One” and they called Crosby “The Next one” — and he’s lived up to every ounce of the hype.
I’ll never get tired of watching plays like this.
The USA is going to have its hands full when it faces the Canucks on Saturday — and I’d highly recommend watching. It’s been a long time since we’ve had best-on-best international hockey, and this inaugural 4 Nations tournament is serving as a warm-up for what looks like a return to normalcy.
On Wednesday, the NHL announced a World Cup of Hockey in 2028, which is sandwiched between a pair of Winter Olympics that the league has committed to sending its stars to for the first time since 2014.
This is a good thing.