ONLY HIS CELEBRITY MAKES STOUDAMIRE'S MARIJUANA CASE A POT-BOILER

Let's face it. The reason we're in a tizzy about Damon Stoudamire's pot
bust is the fact that he's a famous basketball player.

If the police had responded to Joe Schmoe's burglar alarm and found a pound
of weed instead of an intruder, we wouldn't have heard about it.

At least one former Trail Blazer agrees.

"I don't condone marijuana use in any way," said Danny Ainge, a former
Blazer player and Phoenix Suns coach, when I asked him about the Stoudamire
fiasco. "But it's only news because he's a celebrity. It's not news if he's
your next-door neighbor."

Damon caught with some Maui-wowie is big news.

He makes millions of dollars. He's lived in Lake Oswego (always open season
for potshots) and now West Linn, for goodness' sakes.

Because of this, we know how many times Damon's burglar alarm has gone off
(32, according to one report). This tidbit is newsworthy only if you can
afford chunky diamond studs in your ears.

Damon should be held accountable if he's broken the law. If there is a case
against the guy, book him.

But should he be getting more attention than everyone else because he is a
Trail Blazer with a fat wallet? Damon's picture has been plastered
everywhere because of a minor grass bust. What's next, the FBI's "most
wanted" list?

Some murderers haven't had such a blinding light held up to their eyes, nor
gotten such bad publicity.

As for the Lake Oswego Police Department, these defenders of the peace were
only doing their job. Their service and dedication are never praised enough.

However, I know from firsthand experience that the police don't always
check the crawl space when responding to a burglar alarm.

After I walked into a robbery in progress in my own L.O. home years ago, an
officer responded to my call, pulled his gun and cased every room. Not once
did he mention the crawl space.

Another time, my alarm went off, and the police simply walked the grounds.
They're busy people, so there's no gripe from me -- but checking crawl
spaces in response to a home alarm just doesn't seem to be standard police
procedure.

This media hysteria over Damon might simply be misplaced nostalgia for the
Blazers of yore: Those now decade-old days of Clyde Drexler, Buck Williams,
Terry Porter and Danny Ainge. Days when we had family men as heroes. Days
when single guys such as Jerome Kersey and Kevin Duckworth weren't
heat-seeking missiles for trouble.

We've all become jaded with the Blazers in the past few years. Most of us
greeted the news of Damon packing doobies with a shrug.

If anyone is really, truly upset with Damon, stop going to NBA games.