Book #157: Against The World by Kerry Eggers and Dwight Jaynes

 

Against The World

by Kerry Eggers and Dwight Jaynes

 Released: January 1st, 1993

My 23rd book for 2026 was Kerry Eggers and Dwight Jaynes’ "Against The World." 

I've always had an inclination for the Portland Trail Blazers.  They've always had this cool looking team, and their arena has a cool look to it.  Probably mentioned it before (Cause I would never repeat a story...) but when I was 6, I would watch SportsCenter every morning, and dream of one day buying a ticket, flying to Portland, and seeing the Trail Blazers play in their home arena.  Lo and behold, I live next to their city, and can go when I want to.

This book reminds me of Sam Smith's "The Jordan Rules".  It's almost like a continuation of it.  Where Jordan Rules followed the Chicago Bulls for the 1990-1991 season, this one picks up right where that one left off with the 1991-1992 Portland Trail Blazers, who would actually be the Bulls next NBA Finals opponents that year.  Thanks to Michael Jordan, we all know how that one played out.

The season starts off with the Trail Blazers licking their wounds following their Western Division Finals loss that sent the Lakers to the title game, and Portland packing.  They struggled early on with losses to Cleveland and Phoenix.  They had a good trip through Texas picking up wins in Houston and San Antonio.  They came back to Portland for a dominating classic against Larry Bird and the Celtics.  After another series of challenging games, they hosted the reigning NBA champion Chicago Bulls for an epic showdown that was lost in a double-OT game.  Next up was a trip to Florida, where they dominated Miami (who they were undefeated against at the time), Orlando, and a Charles Barkley-less 76ers team that also featured Minute Bol.  The Blazers pulled through a lot more great series as they went from a down team to red hot as the season went on.  They had the occasional bad game, where they did not look like contenders.  As their chemistry grew and their playing meshed, the team built their own identity.  They went into the NBA Playoffs ready to finish the story.  An early round series between the Blazers and the L.A. Lakers saw the Blazers obtain revenge for L.A.'s eliminating them the year prior.  Next came a matchup against the Phoenix Suns.  After playing a tough series and really facing some challenges, the Blazers overcame the odds.  Ironically, while he Blazers would advance to the Finals this year, the Suns would do so next year.  A Conference Final challenge against the Utah Jazz saw a series where they had to go up against "The Mailman" Karl Malone and great long-range shooter John Stockton.  After getting passed the Jazz, they went up against the legendary Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen.  This unstoppable force saw Portland have their number for at least 2 games in this series.  But following a Game 5 collapse, there was no turning back.  Portland ended a really strong year on a very bitter note, and without an NBA Finals banner.  They had the talent, the heart, and the soul, but they could not match Michael Jordan.

After reading The Jordan Rules, it occurred to me how fascinating it would be if Sam Smith could cover every NBA champion team from preseason to post-Finals celebration.  I know that is utterly absurd as the improbability of that is astronomical, but the idea sounded cool.  Despite being on the losing end of the 1992 Finals, this book feels like the next chapter for the NBA in that style of writing.  I really enjoy it, and especially that period of time.

I love how they really dug into depth on their playoff run.  They highlighted the major games of the season in great detail, but the playoffs really felt like you were back in 1992, watching it play out live in Portland, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Utah, and Chicago.  You can feel the disappointment as the ending rang out.  But they still felt like contenders in their defeat.

Eggers and Jaynes do a nice job writing a consistently flowing story that retains the pump and excitement of the 1991-1992 Season.  We become more familiar with the Blazer players of that team, and we learn their strengths and weaknesses as the season progresses.  We see controversies such as bad calls, arrests, drug issues, dating stories, and even driver's license issues.  More than enough to entertain.

I enjoy reading about these legendary NBA teams.  I'm more of a football fan, but I find it difficult to read sometimes.  Basketball reads very easily, and it's nice to look up specific moments on YouTube to relive the history.  I hope to some day read about the late 1980's Detroit Pistons, the 2000's Lakers Dynasty, and more of Chicago's other years as Champions.  Also the legendary Celtics-Lakers rivalry in NBA Finals history.  All good stuff.

This was a cool book, and an epic find at Goodwill.  This was the first book I purchased when I returned to the West Coast in April 2026.  I was thrilled to read it, and add it to the list.

Here is what I learned:

—————

• For Dad: I know you'd have been proud.  - Kerry Eggers

• For my bright and wonderful children, Willie and Beth, who are nearly ready to take on the world. The world, by the way, has no chance.  - Dwight Jaynes

• The Chicago Bulls defeated the Portland Trailblazers in the 1992 NBA Finals.

• The 1991/1992 Blazers held training camp on the Lewis & Clark College campus.

• Walter Davis shaved his trademark mustache.

• Danny Ainge had a big mouth.

• One of their biggest mistakes was trading Drazen Petrovic for Walter Davis.

• Baseball teams use a kangaroo court to settle differences between players.

• Walter Davis had a history of drug problems.

• Memorial Coliseum was the smallest arena in the league.

• It was built in 1960.

• The Blazers were founded in 1970.

• Duckworth used to work at Burger King.

• Duckworth enjoys fishing.

• Paul Allen owned the Trailblazers.

• The Blazer One was a BAC-111 jet.

• A lot of the Blazers would pick sticks together to earn extra money.

• Portland had a miraculous comeback against Minnesota, where they started very poorly.

• At the time, the Blazers had never lost to the Miami Heat.

• Manute Bol and Charles Barkley once played together on the Philadelphia 76ers.

• “This town lives through our games.”

• Mike Shuler was fired Feb 18, 1989.

• “Sports-talk radio seems to have the ability to create and perpetuate unfounded rumors better than a town with six newspapers.”

• Clyde Drexler stood out as a team leader.

• Salt Lake is always a difficult place for the Blazers to play.

• The Trail Blazers chose Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in the 1984 Draft.

• Portland-Phoenix was replacing Portland-Lakers as biggest rivalry in the Western Conference.

• One game, Drexler and David Robinson forgot their warmup jackets on a trip to Orlando, and had to wear Magic jackets during warmups.

• “Labels and stereotypes are dangerous things, as the Trail Blazers would find out. Once someone is branded a racist, a homosexual, or a communist, for example, everything he does is evaluated within that context, and it becomes almost impossible to deny. It's the same thing when you're called stupid.”

• The loss to the Bulls was a wake-up call.

• Great America is an amusement park between Chicago and Milwaukee.

• Drexler was one of the worst at showing up on time.

• Drexler was considered for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.

• “Portland is a city, anyway, struggling hard with its own identity.”

• Oregon is pronounced [Ory-Gun].

• The Blazers had to stay in Marina Del Ray during the L.A. Rodney King riots.

• Game 4 was played in Las Vegas.

• Game 2 against the suns was a memorable Blazers win.

• Duckworth believe Game 4’s result was an Act of God.

• "I believe what happened that night was meant to happen, I believe that was in the Lord's hands because of the way it happened. I mean, I've never seen Terry miss all those free throws like that, and Clyde miss some down the stretch. It's always said that you give to the Lord and the Lord comes through for you. I've been giving to Him, and things happened for the best."

• “Phuck Phoenix”.

• Portland-Utah struggled with tempo.

• The author makes fun of George H.W. Bush’s speaking.

• The 1992 NBA Finals was headlined by Clyde Drexler vs Michael Jordan.

• The Blazers risked being called the Denver Broncos or Minnesota Vikings of the NBA.  Ironically, both teams nearly met in the Super Bowl in 1998.

• Kersey had a stalker who ghosted him before a meeting in Vancouver.

• “The Blazers will have their bad games. They'll make some dumb decisions. They'll get outshot on a given night. They'll even get out-hustled about once or twice a season. But no matter what, they don't quit. They don't give up.”

• The Trail Blazers lost the 1992 NBA Finals in 6 games to the Chicago Bulls.

• It was the Bulls first repeat.

• “A native Oregonian, Ainge loved the area and its people. A brother and a sister lived in the state, as did many old friends from his days in Eugene. He liked Rick Adelman and the Blazer players, and he was getting the chance to play for the team he rooted hard for as a kid. His hero in those years had been Geoff Petrie. The irony of that hit him hard now.”

• The loss of Danny Ainge to Phoenix was a huge deal.  Lack of communication sent him away.

• For Dad: I know you'd have been proud.  - Kerry Eggers

• For my bright and wonderful children, Willie and Beth, who are nearly ready to take on the world. The world, by the way, has no chance.  - Dwight Jaynes

• The Chicago Bulls defeated the Portland Trailblazers in the 1992 NBA Finals.

• The 1991/1992 Blazers held training camp on the Lewis & Clark College campus.

• Walter Davis shaved his trademark mustache.

• Danny Ainge had a big mouth.

• One of their biggest mistakes was trading Drazen Petrovic for Walter Davis.

• Baseball teams use a kangaroo court to settle differences between players.

• Walter Davis had a history of drug problems.

• Memorial Coliseum was the smallest arena in the league.

• It was built in 1960.

• The Blazers were founded in 1970.

• Duckworth used to work at Burger King.

• Duckworth enjoys fishing.

• Paul Allen owned the Trailblazers.

• The Blazer One was a BAC-111 jet.

• A lot of the Blazers would pick sticks together to earn extra money.

• Portland had a miraculous comeback against Minnesota, where they started very poorly.

• At the time, the Blazers had never lost to the Miami Heat.

• Manute Bol and Charles Barkley once played together on the Philadelphia 76ers.

• “This town lives through our games.”

• Mike Shuler was fired Feb 18, 1989.

• “Sports-talk radio seems to have the ability to create and perpetuate unfounded rumors better than a town with six newspapers.”

• Clyde Drexler stood out as a team leader.

• Salt Lake is always a difficult place for the Blazers to play.

• The Trail Blazers chose Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in the 1984 Draft.

• Portland-Phoenix was replacing Portland-Lakers as biggest rivalry in the Western Conference.

• One game, Drexler and David Robinson forgot their warmup jackets on a trip to Orlando, and had to wear Magic jackets during warmups.

• “Labels and stereotypes are dangerous things, as the Trail Blazers would find out. Once someone is branded a racist, a homosexual, or a communist, for example, everything he does is evaluated within that context, and it becomes almost impossible to deny. It's the same thing when you're called stupid.”

• The loss to the Bulls was a wake-up call.

• Great America is an amusement park between Chicago and Milwaukee.

• Drexler was one of the worst at showing up on time.

• Drexler was considered for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.

• “Portland is a city, anyway, struggling hard with its own identity.”

• Oregon is pronounced [Ory-Gun].

• The Blazers had to stay in Marina Del Ray during the L.A. Rodney King riots.

• Game 4 was played in Las Vegas.

• Game 2 against the suns was a memorable Blazers win.

• Duckworth believe Game 4’s result was an Act of God.

• "I believe what happened that night was meant to happen, I believe that was in the Lord's hands because of the way it happened. I mean, I've never seen Terry miss all those free throws like that, and Clyde miss some down the stretch. It's always said that you give to the Lord and the Lord comes through for you. I've been giving to Him, and things happened for the best."

• “Phuck Phoenix”.

• Portland-Utah struggled with tempo.

• The author makes fun of George H.W. Bush’s speaking.

• The 1992 NBA Finals was headlined by Clyde Drexler vs Michael Jordan.

• The Blazers risked being called the Denver Broncos or Minnesota Vikings of the NBA.  Ironically, both teams nearly met in the Super Bowl in 1998.

• Kersey had a stalker who ghosted him before a meeting in Vancouver.

• “The Blazers will have their bad games. They'll make some dumb decisions. They'll get outshot on a given night. They'll even get out-hustled about once or twice a season. But no matter what, they don't quit. They don't give up.”

• The Trail Blazers lost the 1992 NBA Finals in 6 games to the Chicago Bulls.

• It was the Bulls first repeat.

• “A native Oregonian, Ainge loved the area and its people. A brother and a sister lived in the state, as did many old friends from his days in Eugene. He liked Rick Adelman and the Blazer players, and he was getting the chance to play for the team he rooted hard for as a kid. His hero in those years had been Geoff Petrie. The irony of that hit him hard now.”

• The loss of Danny Ainge to Phoenix was a huge deal.  Lack of communication sent him away.

—————

Overall, I enjoyed it.  After reading "The Jordan Rules", this one flowed quite naturally.  This book is not about literal winners.  It is a story of a great team who never won the championship.  Those teams are still worth looking into.  Look at the 1998 Minnesota Vikings.  I remember them more than half the Super Bowl Champions of the last 20 years.  Different Sport but anyways, if you are not into basketball, or do not understand how the NBA works, you will probably suffer through this one.  Sports fans, and especially Basketball and Blazer fans, will enjoy this book.

Recommended for Basketball and Sports fans.

On to Book #158: Sons of the Profits by William C. Speidel.

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Need to catch up?  See previous blog post: Super Mario Bros.