,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #bh  ,,in ,,the       
,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states   
,october #bc1 #bjai ,mr4 ,wyden 7for    
himself and ,mr4 ,merkley71 submitted   
the following concurrent resolution2    
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation
  ,,concurrent ,,resolution             
,congratulating the ,portland ,trail    
,blazers on the #ejth anniversary of    
their inaugural season4  ,whereas the   
,portland ,trail ,blazers have proudly  
and energetically represented ,oregon's 
pioneering spirit on the national       
basketball stage since #aigj2 ,whereas  
the signature phrase ,rip ,city1 coined 
by long-time announcer ,bill ,schonely1 
has come to represent the city of       
,portland and ,trail ,blazers fans      
throughout ,oregon2 ,whereas dedicated  
administrators ,harry ,glickman and     
,larry ,weinberg worked behind the      
scenes to establish a sustainable and   
beloved franchise2 ,whereas the         

,blazers1 as they are known1 won their  
first ,national ,basketball ,association
 title in #aigg2 ,whereas ,bill ,walton1
 colorful personality and backbone of   
the franchise1 was named the ,most      
,valuable ,player for the ,,nba ,finals 
that year1 and won the ,,nba ,league    
,,mvp ,award in #aigh2 ,whereas the     
,blazers and their fans own the longest 
ever streak of consecutive sold-out     
,,nba games1 at #had games2 ,whereas    
history-making players including ,geoff 
,petrie1 ,clyde ,drexler1 ,terry        
,porter1 and ,arvydas ,sabonis powered  
the ,blazers through the first quarter  
century of their existence2 ,whereas #ba
 consecutive playoff appearances 7#aihc 
to #bjjc7 by the ,blazers ranks #bnd    
all-time in ,,nba history2 ,whereas     
,blazers ,brandon ,roy and ,rasheed     
,wallace represented ,oregon nationally 
as ,all-,stars in #bjjh and #bjja1      
respectively1 demonstrating that the    
talent of the ,blazers had not waned2   
,whereas ,damian ,lillard and ,brandon  

,roy blazed into their ,,nba careers    
with ,rookie of the ,year honors in     
#bjab and #bjjf1 respectively1          
representing ,portland as a hub for     
dedicated basketball stars2 ,whereas    
,damian ,lillard and his outstanding    
teammates have lifted this franchise    
back into the realm of deep playoff     
runs1 including last year's strong      
showing in the ,western ,conference     
,finals2 ,whereas the owner and         
benefactor of the ,blazers for #cj      
years1 ,paul ,allen1 is deeply missed   
after his death on ,october #ah1 #bjah2 
and ,whereas the ,portland ,trail       
,blazers have brought ,oregonians       
together for #ej years1 each year       
generating as much excitement1 hope1 and
 promise as the first year3 ,now1       
therefore1 be it  ,that ,congress-- 7#a7
 recognizes the ,portland ,trail        
,blazers for embarking upon their #ejth 
season2  7#b7 congratulates all players1
 administrators1 and fans of the        
,portland ,trail ,blazers for half a    

century of dedication to the sport and  
franchise2  7#c7 joins ,oregonians and  
,blazers fans everywhere to celebrate   
,rip ,city's #ejth anniversary2 and     
7#d7 directs the ,clerk of the ,senate  
to produce copies of this resolution for
 the ,portland ,trail ,blazers team     
members1 staff1 and management4