April 29th, 2003, a tribute for coach Maurice Cheeks!

(April 28) - Portland Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks may not be able to carry a tune. But, to one young singer, his is the voice of an angel.

Natalie Gilbert was selected to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a nationally televised NBA Western Conference playoff game Friday night. She took her place alone at midcourt as the crowd that packed Portland's Rose Garden Arena stood in excitement and anticipation.

The 13-year-old did fine for the first few lines.

Then, somewhere around the "twilight's last gleaming," she forgot the words.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. She appeared to be on the verge of tears.

Desperate, Gilbert turned to look for her father. That's when she saw Cheeks walking toward her. 

The coach put his arm around the girl and began singing with her. He encouraged the crowd to sing along. Together, they made it all the way through to "the home of the brave."

"I didn't even know if I knew all the words, but as many times as I've heard the national anthem, I just went over and continued to sing," Cheeks told CBS SportsLine. "The words started coming back to me and I just tried to help her out."

"It helped me a lot. It made me feel more comfortable," Gilbert said in a CNN interview. "It was just like having a huge choir of 20,000 people around you just singing a great patriotic song." 

"I wish I could help some of the players like that," Cheeks said.

The Portland players needed lots of help in Friday's contest. The Dallas Mavericks pounded them, 115-103, leaving the Blazers one game away from being bounced out of the playoffs in the first round.

On Sunday, Portland fought back for a 98-79 victory, ending a 10-game postseason skid.

And the team has invited Natalie Gilbert to sing the national anthem again next season.
Viewer found this at AOL April 29th, 2003

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