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Portland pumpkin patch honors late Jerome Kersey with corn maze tribute
Each year, as August wears on and summer threatens to give way to fall, the proprietors of farms and other large swaths of green space across this great land begin to turn their attention to crafting that most autumnal of tourist attractions: gigantic corn mazes. We've seen plenty of sports-themed mazes in years gone by — patterns celebrating NHL stars and teams, baseball legends, college football coaches, conference rivalries, "Beast Mode" and bison mascots — but we're particularly big fans of this one.
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In a Portland Trail Blazers-themed design, the Bella Organic Pumpkin Patch & Winery of Sauvie Island, Ore., has paid a special tribute to the late Jerome Kersey, a versatile and hard-charging forward who stands as one of the greatest players in Blazers history, and who died in February:
In addition to designs showcasing the team's primary and "Rip City" logos, the maze also includes the hashtag #JK25, which Blazers fans on social media have used to share thoughts and memories of Kersey in the months since his death at age 52 after a pulmonary thromboembolism caused by a blood clot traveling from his left calf to his left lung. The "25" refers to the uniform number Kersey wore during his 11 seasons in Portland, which point guard Steve Blake decided to stop wearing last season in Kersey's honor and which adorned a special patch that the Blazers wore in Kersey's memory for the remainder of the 2014-15 season.
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"He was a good man and made such a positive impact on our community here in Portland, so we wanted to take this opportunity to remember him," a Bella farm representative wrote in a Facebook post showcasing the maze design.
Blazers fans interested in getting a closer look at the Kersey-honoring maze will soon get their chance. The farm will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the seven-acre maze, which includes three miles of pathways and "takes intrepid visitors an average of one hour" to complete, for the season on Aug. 30 at 12 p.m. PT. It will remain open through Oct. 31.
Hat-tips to Ryan Glasspiegel of The Big Lead and All Ball's Lang Whitaker.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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