Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publisher John Block is a cartoon villain come to life. But on Saturday night, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh al
"As Mr. Block stepped off the elevator and proceeded to walk briskly — in a slightly stumbling, awkward manner — through the newsroom toward the 'web hub' area, he was immediately yelling about various topics, pointing and waving his finger repeatedly up in the air and swinging his arms.
"He was very angry and irate. The entire newsroom could hear his voice.
"As he got closer to the hub area, he walked straight to the Guild bulletin board, and pointed to and touched the Guild 'Shame on the Blocks!' sign.
"It was clear he was intoxicated."
Wow.
If anyone was doubting that the creep who owns the Post-Gazette - the man who made national headlines when he fired a political cartoonist last summer and has singlehandedly turned a respected paper into a right-wing rag - has gone entirely off the rails, look no further than this account of a booze-fueled blow-up which involved screaming threats at employees, manhandling his daughter, insulting his staff, and ranting assertions of his perceived personal superiority over "the working class."
New Orlean Jazz & Chicago Bulls Swap John Block & Rick Adelman
On November 11th, 1974, the New Orleans Jazz traded forward-center John Block to the Chicago Bulls for guard Rick Adelman.
Rick Adelman became a member of the Chicago Bulls after he was traded to Chicago from the Portland Trail Blazers for a 1974 second round draft pick. A steady point guard, Adelman provided support as a backup to Bulls star Norm Van Lier.
Adelman had been a full-time starter with Portland for three seasons and played considerable minutes for the non-playoff squads in Portland. In Chicago, Adelman was on a better team and saw spot minutes, providing a spark with pressure defense and energy. For the 1973-74 season, the point guard appeared in 55 games and amassed 3.3 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 1.0 APG and 0.7 SPG in 11.2 MPG.
The Bulls were a quality team during the ‘73-‘74 campaign. The NBA’s number one defense, Chicago won 13 of their first 15 games. The team would keep up the good performances, finishing second in the Western Conference with a 54-28 record.
The Bulls entered the postseason, where they faced the Detroit Pistons in the Conference Semifinals. Chicago had won all four regular season matchups at home against Detroit. In the playoffs, everything changed. Detroit center Bob Lanier had 27 points and the Pistons held on to win Game One in Chicago 97-88.
The second game was tight in Detroit, but the Bulls used a decisive 11-2 run in six minutes and 27 seconds to power their way to a 108-103 win. In Game Three, the Bulls managed to build a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Pistons stormed back to take a five-point lead. Chicago responded, taking advantage of some late game miscues by Detroit to win 84-83.
Holding a 2-1 series advantage, Chicago dropped the fourth game 102-87 thanks to 26 and 18 from Lanier and a combined 45 points from the duo of Stu Lantz and George Trapp. In Game Five, the Bulls managed to lead by as much as 25 points, but Detroit came back, cutting the deficit to two points. The Bulls held on, winning 98-94 and taking a 3-2 series lead. Game Six was very close as well. Chicago jumped out to an 18-5 lead early on, but Detroit worked their way back into the game. Bob Lanier had 26 of his 28 points in the second half as Detroit won 92-88 and evened the series 3-3.
In the loss, the Bulls dealt with numerous injuries. Norm Van Lier and Clifford Ray dealt with nagging injuries. Guard Jerry Sloan would also be lost for the rest of the postseason to what would eventually be determined as torn muscle fiber in the arch of his left foot. With Sloan out at the two guard, backups Bob Weiss and Adelman would step into larger roles.
In Game Seven, the Pistons fell behind by 14 points in the first half and trailed by 19 points early in the second half. Detroit would make another comeback, tying the score at 92 in the fourth quarter. After a bucket by Chet Walker and free throws from Van Lier, the Bulls took a four point lead. Detroit would pull within two with 28 seconds left and got the ball back facing the same deficit.
Bing threw a lob pass to Lanier on the final possession, but Bulls center Dennis Awtrey deflected the pass, ending the game and giving Chicago a 96-94 win and a 4-3 series win. Adelman appeared in five of the seven games and produced 1.8 PPG on 44.4% shooting.
The Bulls went on to the Western Conference Finals where they matched up with the 59-23 Milwaukee Bucks. With Sloan out, the Bulls were outmatched against the Hall of Fame duo of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. In the series opener, Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Dandridge combined for 50 points in a 101-85 Bucks win in Milwaukee.
The second game saw the series scene shift to Chicago. Milwaukee dominated early on, taking a 77-57 lead in the third quarter. Thanks to some inspired play from Adelman and Chet Walker, the Bulls managed to get within three points in the fourth. However, Milwaukee would hold on and win 113-111. Adelman had his best game in a Bulls uniform, scoring 13 points and hounding Milwaukee’s perimeter players on defense. He had two consecutive steals that led to scores in the fourth quarter rally, causing the Bulls home crowd to give him a standing ovation for the effort.
The third game saw Abdul-Jabbar go for 32 points and 14 rebounds as Milwaukee cruised to a 113-90 rout. Milwaukee completed the sweep in the fourth game. Abdul-Jabbar had 38 points and 24 rebounds, and the Bucks outscored Chicago 67-47 in the second half of a 115-99 win. In the 4-0 series sweep, Adelman played in four games and compiled 7.5 PPG on 48% from the field in 19.0 MPG.
In the 1974 offseason, Chicago made three trades, acquiring Nate Thurmond, Matt Guokas and Mickey Johnson in separate deals. The Bulls were 5-7 when they decided to deal Adelman to the New Orleans Jazz. By the time the trade happened, Adelman had appeared in 12 games with the Bulls and produced 9.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.3 SPG in 28.3 MPG. He finished his Bulls tenure with 4.4 PPG, 1.4 RPG and 1.4 APG. In 67 games, the guard shot 39% from the field and 71% from the free-throw line.
John Block became a member of the New Orleans Jazz after he was taken in the expansion draft from the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. Block had played just four games (6.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG and 1.0 SPG in 14.3 MPG) with New Orleans before the trade.
After the trade, Adelman appeared in 28 games with New Orleans (6.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 2.5 APG), before being dealt for the second time in the same season to the Kansas City-Omaha Kings for Nate Williams.
Chicago went 34-15 after acquiring Block. They were 39-22 with the best record in the Western Conference after 61 games. In the final 21 contests, Chicago went 8-13 to finish second in the West with a 47-35 record. Block played in 50 games for the Bulls the rest of the season and put up 8.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 17.6 MPG.
In the postseason, Chicago went on to battle the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in the Western Conference Semifinals. Chicago and the Kings split the first four games, before the Bulls took Games Five and Six to win the series 4-2.
The Bulls advanced to the Conference Finals where they matched up with the Golden State Warriors. Chicago managed to take a 3-2 series lead after a Game Five win, but dropped the final two games to lose the series in seven games. Block had a limited impact in the postseason run, playing in four of 11 games and scoring a total of 13 points.
During the 1975-76 season, Block suffered a slipped disc in his back and was only able to play in two games. Chicago went 24-58 during the ‘75-‘76 season. Block tried to restart his career, but the lower back pain lingered. Eventually, he decided to retire and became an assistant coach at San Diego State University. Block ended his time in Chicago with a stat line of 7.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 52 career games. He shot 47% from the field and 77% from the free-throw line.
John Block on joining the Bulls and not having to face their tough defense (via Chicago Tribune):
“Very much so. It’s frustrating to come down with the ball and see the Bulls take it away all night, forcing you to play their game. I’m very happy with this trade. Playing with an expansion team is a lot tougher psychologically than with a team with a winning tradition like Chicago.”
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