Late in the day Thursday, Brandon Roy struggled to defend his opponent in a tightly contested seesaw battle that was more about pride than anything else.

That opponent Roy struggled against?  His toddler son, Brandon Jr.  Hey, the little guy has his dad’s speed.

The one-on-one shoot around between father and son took place at the Blazers practice facility, just a few minutes after word broke that Roy has been selected to the All Star team for the second season in a row.  A little less fanfare this year, but that may be because Roy has a new goal in mind.

Having earned his own spot on the squad alongside veterans like Kobe Bryant, Shaq and Tony Parker, now Roy wants to add more of his own teammates to the list.  Having just missed the cut this year, oddsmakers look for LaMarcus Aldridge to suit up for the February festival in 2010.

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Olley olley oxen free!  It’s safe to say those words were NOT shouted in vancouver last year when cops finally tracked down Keith Broyles.  Broyles, an admitted meth user, was indicted in Baker City more than three years ago for attempted sex abuse of a six-year-old.  Not really interested in sticking around for his trial, Broyles took off to play his own game of hide and seek, settling down in Vancouver.

Back in custody, Broyles ‘fessed up to his crime and will now spend over four years in a small, locked room after which he will be publicly branded as a sex offender.

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The spanish connection . . . Rudy Fernandez dunks after a pass from Sergio Rodriguez

Hitting the snooze alarm proved costly for the Charlotte Bobcats Wednesday night at the Rose Garden.  The Cats sleepwalked (or is it sleptwalk?) through the first period while the boys from the Rose City hit the floor at full blast, building an early lead they’d hold for the duration of the game.

Blazers Center Joel Pryzbilla and Guard Brandon Roy both told Oregonlive that Charlotte seemed tired from the opening whistle . . .  players weren’t fighting for loose balls and maybe lost a step or two in the speed side of the game.

That being said, the Blazers seemingly mixed their Gatorade with espresso as they put up the 88-74 victory with ease, including yet another double-double for rookie Greg Oden.

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Savings lives AND the environment, just two of the claims residents of 12617 SW Walnut can claim these days.  That’s the address of Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue’s new fire station (Fire Station 50 as it says on its birth certificate).

The brand spanking new facility is the first new firehouse to open its doors in TVFR territory since the mid 90s and this one boasts some spiffy features.  It’s certified GOLD under the LEED rating system . . . which is a fancy way of saying it’s environmentally friendly.

Natural light, solar panels, rainwater capture, low emission, the list goes on.  Crews expect to offset the extra $75 grand spent on the green-friendly features with lowered utility bills.

But the men and women who call FS 50 home didn’t get much time to admire their new pad.  Over the weekend they responded to over a dozen calls.  You can check it out in person at the grand unveiling February 28th.

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Bill and Melinda Gates are upping their donations in 2009 by just a smidge . . . only about $500 Million.  

The Gates’ say their charitable fund lost 20% of its value in the recent economic crash, but as incredibly wealthy people they see it as their duty to help even more during these times of crisis.  The Gates Foundation, which was worth 35.1 Billion on October 1st, gave out $3.3 Billion in 2008.  There are no guarantees they will be able to maintain or increase further in 2010.

Betcha feel even better about buying that I-Pod now, eh?

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Someone in the state of Oregon is going to be a millionaire on March 17th.  Call it a mini-stimulus plan by the Oregon Lottery.  Anyone old enough to buy lotto tickets can plunk down 10 bucks a pop for one of the 250,000 tickets offered in the St Patrick’s Day raffle.

One person will win a cool million bucks while ten others will snag 20 grand and a THOUSAND will multiply their investment by ten (and walk out with $100).  

The odds of hitting the jackpot are a mere 1-250,000 which crushes the astronomical 1 in 195 million odds of hitting Powerball (Megabucks is 1 in 6 million).

Tickets are available at all Oregon Lottery locations.

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A team of agents from the DEA and WIN got together just before the weekend to take about a pound of meth and one suspected dealer off the streets.  The bust happened in Cornelius and cops suspect drugs sales were pretty routine at the house on Dogwood street.

Besides the hefty load of meth, 3 grand in cash and .380 caliber handgun, officers also took Francisco Hernandez-Heras home with them.  Hernandez-Heras was spotted nearby and they believe he’s the guy who made and sold the drugs.  

Besides the cops, Hernandez-Heras is also talking with Immigration . . . they put a hold on him because it looks like he may be an illegal immigrant.

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In the wee morning hours of Wednesday, MCSO Deputy Mike Lee spotted two cars, zipping through a red light and onto I-84 with speedometers twittering above the 100 MPH mark near Multnomah Village.  Deputy Lee gave chase only to find both cars a short time later, parked in the middle of 207th.

In a moment worthy of Laurel and Hardy or Abbot and Costello, David Paxton hopped out of the Honda Accord he was driving (which was stolen, by the way) and tried to hop into the (stolen) Honda Prelude driven by Patrick Briceno.  Problem was, the door was locked.  So Paxton runs around to the driver’s side, opens the door and tries to shove Briceno over.

Apparently, Briceno must hate riding shotgun more than being caught by police, because he wouldn’t budge.  The two got into a shoving match, while Deputy Lee watched in amusement.

After the slap fight had dragged on for a few minutes, Paxton gave up and took off on foot.  He lasted about 5 minutes before a Gresham K 9 sniffed him out.  Briceno decided that was a good time to scoot and led the deputy on a short chase before crashing into a Duplex near 223^rd and Stark (no one inside was hurt).

As both men were being booked for auto theft and eluding police and destruction of a porch, cops found another charge to tag the dynamic duo with:  Identity Theft.  One of the vehicles had over a dozen stolen credit and social security cards, plus a loaded handgun.

All of the victims have been notified.  Deputy Lee’s only injury appears to be a bruised shoulder after falling down on the pavement, laughing at the two criminal masterminds.

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For every grown up who says kids today have no manners, check out this in The Columbian.  Apparently a class of third graders are getting a crash-course in behaving themselves at the dinner table.  Now if only they could teach classes in turning down that darn rap music and pulling up your pants, we’d be in business.

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You can hop onboard WES (Westside Express Service . . . the new commuter train run by Tri-Met that goes from Wilsonville to the Beaverton Transit Center . . . think MAX line to Gresham but on the westside) in just two weeks.

The new rail line opens its doors to the public on February 2nd.

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