Whitsitt still spins positive approach

Since the Portland Trail Blazers are to bad publicity what gravity is to rocks, it's hard to imagine Bob Whitsitt would want to see his other team, the NFL Seahawks, emulate the NBA unit.

But the strongman of Paul Allen's sports empire would beg to differ. At least a little.

"If we talk five years from now, I would hope that the Seahawks would have been in the playoffs at least three times, maybe four," Whitsitt said yesterday. "The Blazers have been in the playoffs 19 straight seasons, something we take pride in."

Though it is much easier to get into the NBA playoffs than the NFL playoffs -- usually, two pieces of ID will do -- it is not nearly as hard as the Seahawks have made it.

Earlier this month, they avoided the postseason for the 10th time in 11 seasons, prompting a federal investigation into a previously undetected change in the laws of statistical probability.

The Blazers, meanwhile, always seem to step over their own mess -- Enron executives, take note -- and show up for the postseason, whether or not anyone wants to see them there. Not only is 19 in a row the NBA record, another April appearance will tie the record for all sports set by the NHL St. Louis Blues.

Last night at KeyArena, Bob's Bad Boys took another step toward the record, beating the Sonics, 92-86, after the locals came out lifeless to start the second half.

After winning their 10th game in their past 12, the Blazers (23-20) appear back in a Western Conference race full of giant three-headed dogs. And if Rottweiler personalities are the requirement for success, the Blazers figure to have the edge over Seattle. They picked up four technical fouls last night, including two by the ejected Scottie Pippen, and it didn't matter.

As the sports world knows, when it comes to matters of behavior and character among his sporting employees, Whitsitt has never lost chunks of sleep. And with reason -- most fans don't much care either, as long as the team wins.

Still, even for one as iron-plated as Whitsitt, he's only now coming out of an industrial-strength cringe.

"The last 10 or 11 months, we've had a lot of image and PR issues, and a lot of changes," Whitsitt said, understating the case by a fathom or three. "We have to regroup after a three-year championship window.

"We crashed. It was such a disappointment. Now, we're working hard to rebuild."

It seems ages ago, but at one point last season the 40-18 Blazers led the West. But they finished out the season 10-14 and were flattened by the Lakers in the first round, an average of 14 points per defeat.

Despite the highest payroll in the NBA, the team was spectacularly dysfunctional. After a partial roster makeover and the firing of coach Mike Dunleavy, matters regressed in December, when a Sports Illustrated story featured a sullen outfit detached from its fan base and reality.

Since then, Whitsitt has issued fines and apologies, and the team has regained physical health and competitiveness, although regaining a reputation in Portland among thousands of disaffected fans figures to take years.

At least he's honest enough to admit the "championship window" is closed. Not that he had much choice.

"We're not talking championship anymore, but we can be good," he said. "We were up for three years, and now we're down. We succeeded well enough to raise the bar. My job is to break us down and rebuild while staying out of the lottery."

If that rings a vague bell, you must be a Seahawks fan, although the analogy is imperfect. It has been a decade since the football team had anything to break down.

"I feel pretty good about where we are," he said, switching to his football helmet. "There was a lot of shoulda-woulda-coulda about the playoffs, and I wouldn't expect otherwise. We had to take our lumps -- 6-10 (in 2000) was a big lump -- but I consider 9-7 a big improvement.

"We have 29 players with three years or less of experience, a good mix of veterans, and we're in great salary cap shape. And we have a good coach and a good system."

So much for the Mike Holmgren-bashers. Whitsitt is not nearly as exercised as many Seahawks fans about the coach's handling of quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck and Trent Dilfer.

"If you talk to our personnel people, there's no one in our camp who doesn't like Trent," he said. "He played better than anyone thought he would, but if Matt hadn't been injured, we never would have known.

"We signed Trent a week into training camp when there wasn't one starting job in the NFL for him. His own team, which won the Super Bowl, didn't want him back."

That doesn't mean Whitsitt won't attempt to re-sign Dilfer, a free agent. But if he comes back, the Seahawks must seek out the real guy -- his four good games (and victories) as a Seahawks starter, or his previous eight years of NFL mediocrity.

"Did Trent get good overnight? Did the rest of the team just come together? Was it our system that allowed him to flourish? We have to figure that out, and we're going to want to have the chance.

"Matt's got to earn it, and Trent's got to earn it. It will be a lot easier to figure it out with both having experience in the system."

Of course, all this figuring out has allowed yet another Seahawks season to expire with little to show.

"We're asking people to be patient," he said, "because when we get into the new stadium, the goal is to be good not just for one year, but a number of years."

Asking the Seahawks fans to be patient is, of course, like asking rain to be wet. It has been so long since nature offered any alternative, they know nothing else.

Just don't ask them to accept Rasheed Wallace at wide receiver, unless he gets nothing but crossing routes over the middle.

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Sonics game at a glance

TECHNICAL FOULS: On Portland's Dale Davis after losing control of his dribble, thinking he was fouled by Brent Barry. Davis did not give the ball to referee Ronnie Garretson in a timely fashion.

Scottie Pippen, upset with Barry's physical defense, was ejected in the second quarter by referee Bennie Adams.

Four seconds later, Rasheed Wallace finally popped off, earning his 13th technical foul of the year.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE: Art Long and Gary Payton, harassing and double-teaming, causing the Blazers to commit an 8-second violation. ... Pippen, whirling around Barry on the baseline, thinking he would be able to lay it in with his left hand. But Predrag Drobnjak met him at the summit and blocked his shot in the second quarter.

TOUGH NIGHT: After making 26 of 34 shots on the Sonics' four-game road trip, Barry went 3-for-10 last night.

REIGN MAN: Sonics coach Nate McMillan on former star and current bust Shawn Kemp: "It's sad to see. I thought once Shawn lost his legs, he would have a tough time because he didn't work on his post moves. He was all about power. He's still young, but he's been this way the last three to four years. It's disappointing to see him end up playing like this. He's not playing above the rim, he's playing below it."

Kemp used to perform in the KeyArena rafters, nearly leading the Sonics to the championship in 1996, finishing second in NBA Finals MVP voting to Michael Jordan. Kemp received a mixture of boos and applause when he entered the game.

STEAL AWAY: Payton, intercepting a Kemp pass at midcourt and pulling up for a three to put the Sonics in front, 34-26. ... Pippen, picking Payton's pocket, leading to a Damon Stoudamire fast-break layin.

MUTED RESPONSE: In his first return to KeyArena since playing for the Sonics last year, Ruben Patterson checked in at the beginning of the second quarter and received a small round of applause. Patterson signed as a free agent with Portland during the off-season.

IN ATTENDANCE: Mariners Bret Boone and Mike Cameron and pitcher James Baldwin, a potential teammate, drew the loudest cheers of the night when they were introduced during a break in the third quarter. Boone helped Squatch throw T-shirts into the crowd in the fourth quarter. ... Former UW quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo and girlfriend Megan Franza were in the front row, right behind four members of the Sonics dance team.

NEXT UP: Sacramento, KeyArena, tomorrow at 7

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Notes: McMillan says Kemp's demise is 'sad' to watch

Player of the game: Portland's Dale Davis, a veteran center not known for his point production, Davis had 20 points and 14 rebounds and caused problems defensively. He made 9 of 10 shots, several on follow-up dunks.

Top reserve: The Sonics' Desmond Mason, who scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in slashing fashion.

Keys to the game: Portland's Derek Anderson and Bonzi Wells picked up on offense (a combined 29 points) for Scottie Pippen, who was ejected in the second quarter. Anderson hit two key jump shots, one a three-pointer, in the final 2:27. The Blazers took advantage inside after Sonics forward Vin Baker aggravated a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the game in the third quarter.

Next: Tomorrow, 7 p.m., vs. Sacramento at KeyArena. Seattle Coach Nate McMillan says watching Shawn Kemp the Portland Trail Blazer and remembering Shawn Kemp the explosive Sonics power forward is tough.

"It was fun, because he was an entertainer," McMillan said of Kemp's days in Seattle, when they were teammates. "It was so much easier, when you had a point guard like myself, who loved to push the ball, and then you had a big man like Shawn ... who loved to dunk. It's sad to see.

"I've always said that once Shawn lost his jumping, his legs, he would have a tough time, simply because everything was about power. I didn't think he would lose his legs due to weight, but once that was gone ... Now he's out on the perimeter trying to do up-and-under (moves), but it's sad because he's still young. That's the part that's disappointing, to see him like this."

Kemp came into the game in the first quarter to a mix of boos, applause and derisive catcalls.

Payton's an All-Star

The Sonics' Gary Payton was named to the NBA's Western Conference All-Star squad as a reserve, the league announced yesterday. Payton, a guard averaging 22.9 points and 9.2 assists per game before last night, made the team for the eighth time in his career.

Notes

• Former Sonic Ruben Patterson, making his first return to Seattle in a Portland uniform, drew brief cheers when he entered the game to start the second quarter.

• Two changes for the Sonics-Raptors game in Toronto on Sunday, Feb. 24: Game time has been changed to 3 p.m., and it will be broadcast on Channel 5 in Seattle.

• Marques Tuiasosopo, the Woodinville native and UW Rose Bowl star who is now a quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, sat courtside last night with Megan Franza, former UW women's basketball player.

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