Roller derby. You read it right: roller derby. Does your town have it? I don’t know what to tell you if you don’t. It’s really one of the benchmarks of modernity. Like city-wide WiFi and electric cars, which we also have.

OK, I’ll confess, I’ve never seen the Rose City Rollers play, but I can still love that they’re here. They were founded in 2004 and have absorbed and administered an untold number of bruises, scrapes and contusions since that time.

They have their “bouts,” as they call them, at the Expo Center against six visiting teams like the Axles of Annihilation and the Heartless Heathers. You gotta love the names.

But then maybe you go and you’re not content to just watch. You want to mix it up. Lucky for you they have tryouts every couple of months. So sharpen those elbows.

Cheers,
Emily

I’ve wondered what the Roadside Attraction was. You can’t tell from the street. I was just in that neighborhood for a birthday party at Grand Central Bowl, which I obviously hadn’t been to in awhile. It’s, um, changed a little.

Gone are the days when you needed a gang affiliation and a tetanus shot to get in. I applaud their creativity. It’s time we reclaimed the bowling alley and made it a classy place that serves not chili cheese fries but pear and gorgonzola salad and garlic prawns. (They do.)

Grand Central now also has conference rooms, a private sky box, fireside lounges (seriously) and private luxury seating in something called a VIP bowling lounge. And I’m not going to lie, we had a good time. Though my Pacific Crab Stack did need more wasabi aioli.

Cheers,
Emily

My name is Keith and I play dodgeball. No, I don’t just show up at neighborhood schoolyards and start picking off fourth graders. As fun as that sounds. This is fierce big kid action.

Remember, this is Portland. Things are different out here. We have a little thing called Underdog Sports, where you can channel your inner grade schooler to play organized mini-golf, kickball and dodgeball. Or bowling, flag football, ultimate and volleyball.

You laugh, but I’m telling you you paste some guy and hear that delicious ping sound from the ball and you can’t stop. You want it again, and again. You’re chasing the dragon after that.

But a warning: you do not want to be on the other team if I’ve just had to sit in traffic on the Sunset.

Cheers,
Keith

Well, I can tell you where I was on the 1st. I was carving my way through the fresh powder (fingers crossed) on Mt. Hood! It’s one of the great things about Portland. You can hit a roaring New Year’s party in town, and next morning be on the mountain.

I don’t know whose idea it was last year but a bunch of us went up on New Year’s and it was spectacular. There were, um, a few others on the mountain, but not nearly as many I expected.

Last year we did Timberline, which if you haven’t been to the lodge, you’ve got to go. Even if you don’t ski. It’s an incredible place. Built in the 1930s with these enormous logs and all this awesome ironwork.

But this year we went with Meadows. I’m glad everyone drank up on New Year’s. The worse your hangover was, the shorter the lines were for us…;-)

Have fun,
Keith

We were once a proud and happy basketball town. Yes, it’s easier when you’re champions. Or even winning. But in recent years our players have received more attention for being in court than on the court. It’s been a pretty sad turn of events.

Now, I’m not a huge fan, not really even back in the 80s during the “glory years.” But I liked that they were from my city. If you hadn’t noticed, Portland can get forgotten sometimes tucked between Seattle and San Francisco.

The upside is people who follow these things tell me this is a turnaround year for the Blazers. So if you’re visiting, or if you once called yourself a Blazer fan, it sounds like this is your year to come on back. I’ve even heard the food is better at the Rose Garden. That’s a good start.

See you there,
Emily