Relations between the team and "The Oregonian" have often been tense; the paper is editorially independent of the team and is often critical. During the Steve Patterson era, relations between the two institutions became increasingly hostile; several NBA executives told ESPN's Chris Sheridan that the situation was the "most dysfunctional media-team relationship" that they could recall. For instance during a portion of a pre-2006 NBA draft workout, which was closed to the media, an "Oregonian" reporter looked through a curtain separating the press from the workout and wrote about this on his blog. Outraged, the team closed subsequent practices to the press altogether, leading John Canzano of the paper to respond with outrage on his blog. In November 2006, the "Oregonian" commissioned an outside editor to investigate the deteriorating relationship, a move the rival "Willamette Week" called "unusual". In the report, both sides were criticized somewhat, but did not make any revelations which were unexpected.