Evening News: NBA to monitor HGH; Rose Garden, home of the Blazers, gets renamed

Hello and welcome to the Evening News.

As the offseason continues, we’ll keep you updated every night.

What’s happening today?

NBA to test for HGH

According to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post, the NBA has been carefully monitoring the developments with the Biogenesis case that rocked Major League Baseball. 

At the moment, Adam Silver has not heard anything linking NBA players to the clinic.

“We’ve been actively working to understand the situation and to the extent possible to learn what is being uncovered by MLB’s investigation,” Silver said. “We are not aware of any involvement by NBA players.”

The league has a “three strikes and you’re out” penalty for steroid users. All players are subject to six tests a year, with four coming in the regular season.

Although Silver plans to crack down on the PED issue, the players are unlikely to agree to a testing reform until their union’s leadership situation is figured out.

“It’s why, even in the collective bargaining agreement, this was not a point of contention,” said Silver. “Both for the player representatives and the owners who participated, this is an issue where it is in everybody’s interest to have state-of-the-art drug testing, and to have a level playing field for all players, because we recognize it’s not fair for a player to believe that in order to compete, and in order to keep his job, he has to do something that one could potentially harm his body and number two could potentially get him in trouble.”

Rose Garden renamed Moda Center

Teresa Blackman of kgw.com reports that the Rose Garden, home of the Portland Trail Blazers, will now be known as the Moda Center.

The Blazers and Moda Health have agreed upon a ten-year naming rights agreement that will be effective immediately. 

Specifics of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Trail Blazers President and CEO Chris McGowan offered, “Moda makes sense for us for a number of reasons. What I like about the fact that we were able to accomplish this with Moda is it’s a local company, one that’s based right here in Portland, it’s got roughly 1,400 employees. That’s ideal for us.”

The Rose Garden opened in 1995 and has become a popular landmark in the city of Portland. While some fans have expressed concern over the name change, McGowan insists that the history and intimacy of the arena will stay the same.

“The Rose Garden isn’t going away,” ensured McGowan. “It’s very much a part of our history and heritage and we’re a part of that, and so is Moda. The Rose Garden, I would say, put us on the map and Moda Center is going to take us into the future.”