Assignment Three: Trail Blazers bounce back to defeat Timberwolves (Photo Essay)

The Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is the primary indoor sports arena in downtown Portland, Oregon that opened its doors in 1995. The main tenants are the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team of the NBA, the only NBA team in the Pacific Northwest. On Saturday, January 26, the Trail Blazers hosted their division rivals, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is the primary indoor sports arena in downtown Portland, Oregon that opened its doors in 1995. The main tenants are the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team of the NBA, the only NBA team in the Pacific Northwest. On Saturday, January 26, the Trail Blazers hosted their division rivals the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Halfway through the 82-game season, the Trail Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Their current 33-11 record is third best in the league, a major improvement from a season ago where they missed the playoffs for a third-straight year. They have also re-energized the fan base, with an estimated sellout of 20,006 “Blazermanics” at the game that evening.

Halfway through the 82-game season, the Trail Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Their current 33-11 record is third best in the league, a major improvement from a season ago where they missed the playoffs for a third-straight year. They have also re-energized the fan base, with an estimated sellout of 20,006 “Blazermanics” at the game that evening.

Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge (in white) takes a shot over Kevin Love (42, right); both considered by national pundits to be the best power-forwards in the NBA. Love was recently named a starter in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans through fan voting. Aldridge did not receive enough fan votes to be named a starter, however he will still attend as a reserve for his fourth All-Star appearance.

Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge (in white) takes a shot over Kevin Love (42, right); both considered by national pundits to be the best power-forwards in the NBA. Love was recently named a starter in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans through fan voting. Aldridge did not receive enough fan votes to be named a starter, however he will still attend as a reserve for his fourth All-Star appearance.

 Amanda Hawkins, 25, of Lake Oswego, Oregon concentrates on the action during the game as the home team is currently losing. She has been going to Blazers games since she was a child, and even graduated high school with Timberwolves star and Oregon native Kevin Love. “He was always busy with basketball, so he rarely ever came to class and none of the teachers really liked him."


Amanda Hawkins, 25, of Lake Oswego, Oregon concentrates on the action during the game as the home team is currently losing. She has been going to Blazers games since she was a child, and even graduated high school with Timberwolves star and Oregon native Kevin Love. “He was always busy with basketball, so he rarely ever came to class,” she recalls. “None of the teachers really liked him anyway.”

Fans rejoice as the Trail Blazers bounced back in the fourth quarter and defeated the Timberwolves 115-104 led by Aldridge’s 21 points and six rebounds. It was a tough night for Love as he scored 13 points in the losing effort. One of the happy fans in attendance was Blazers owner Paul Allen. Not only have the Blazers been successful this season, Allen also owns the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL who are playing in Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014.

Fans rejoice as the Trail Blazers bounced back in the fourth quarter and defeated the Timberwolves 115-104 led by Aldridge’s 21 points and six rebounds. It was a tough night for Love as he scored 13 points in the losing effort. One of the happy fans in attendance was Blazers owner Paul Allen. Not only have the Blazers been successful this season, Allen also owns the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL who are playing in Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014.

Assignment One – Autobiography

My name is Nicholas (or Nick) Filipas, I am a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Oregon at the School of Journalism and Communication come the end of March.

My main focus is magazine journalism; I aspire to be a sports reporter/beat writer for a professional major league team. I have written about Oregon Ducks football in the past but my passion is writing about basketball.

I little about myself: I was born in Laguna Beach, California in December of 1989 and then lived in the valley up in Modesto until when my younger brother was born five years later. My family later moved to Vancouver, Washington for a couple years before we settled down in Beaverton, Oregon for most of my life. In the summer of 2012 my family made the big move south to Nashville, Tennessee. My favorite cities include Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Maui and Nashville. All of my extended family lives in California, ranging from the grape vines of wine country in Lodi (45 south of Sacramento) to the desert of Indio.

I first wanted to become a journalist when I was a sophomore in high school. My father pointed out that my school essays were always well written and that I should consider taking a publications class. At first I was hesitant, but after meeting the instructor – who is an SOJC alum – I ultimately enrolled to the school’s newspaper my junior year. I was placed on the entertainment section and wrote music and movie reviews and feature stories that I was really proud of at the time. We learned InDesign and I loved it so much I came back my senior year and was placed on the news team as well as being in charge of laying the front page.

After high school and a couple years in community college, I transferred to the UO in the fall of 2011. Since then I have worked on several publications including the Daily Emerald, a summer stint with FishDuck.com and this October was brought on by Pinwheel Empire to write game recaps of Portland Trail Blazers basketball games.

My other interests include listening to a wide range of music, movies, cooking, travel and going to sporting events. My favorite teams include the Trail Blazers, San Francisco 49ers & Giants as well as the Oregon Ducks.

I look forward to building more experience with multimedia and working with a very knowledgeable class and instructor.

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Nicholas

01/12/2014 5:00PM