This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on December 10, 2011 7:46 AM.
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Ooops! Greg Oden has "suffered another setback" and won't be ready to play for the Blazers any time soon. And so they're not going to pay him $8.9 million this year, but they are going to pay him an undisclosed amount, no doubt north of a million.
Why? Oden has not played basketball in two years. He'll never be a force in the NBA -- from the looks of things, he may never even play another game. He's got the body of an old man. Why are the Blazers paying him? Either Paul Allen has lost his mind, or there is something shady going on. Count us in the latter camp, of course -- it's our nature.
Rather than being as bad as the Sam Bowie No. 1 draft pick, the selection of Oden has turned out to be even worse. Oden is to Bowie as Fukushima is to Chernobyl.
Comments (16)
I heard a great comment about Paul Allen the other day. A friend mentioned that Allen "is one of the very few who turned 40 into 20".
His "management" of the Blazers has certainly helped.
Now there are reports that LaMarcus had a heart procedure and will be out for 1 to 2 weeks.
Gads, how much worse can this get?
Best wishes LaMarcus, I pray we don't see anything horrific a la Hank Gathers.
I have not a drop of sympathy for Oden. He knew coming out of Ohio State what his past injuries were, hired an agent who at the least downplayed them or outright lied in advocacy of Oden, took the $20 million contract he did not live up to, and signed a 1 year, $8.9 million qualifying offer knowing he may not play up to the contract.
Oden is either the best con man to ever live, the most unlucky, talented man, or the Trailblazers front office is as bad as some commentators would have one believe.
Think about it, he has earned close to $30 million on a hope that he would be the center piece of a championship franchise. Instead, he has not played even 62 games in a season, much less 82 games and this was over 2 years ago.
Give us all a break..., cut him loose and move on...., wah!
Hand wringing and boo hoos aside, we need to start over..., give it a rest folks, Odin is history!
Hi Mr. Bill McDonald
Dream on you older coot. We all wish for the fountain of youth, but simple logic...., my aching sachro...it isn't gonna happen. Do you want to be the physic for our hometown b*****s?
Curmudgeon,
You got me. Greg Oden isn't really getting biologically younger every year. That was just a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald turned into a movie starring Brad Pitt.
I guess you can't always apply fiction to the real world, no matter how nice it would be.
Bill, the joke about Greg Oden being Benjamin Button was funny when it was being told three years ago, including a couple mentions on this blog. At this point though it's just sort of depressing--because obviously Greg isn't getting any healthier and/or younger.
Tomas,
I used Jack's comment search and there's one comment quoting ESPN columinst Bill Simmons with an Oden/Button reference several years ago on this blog.
I'm not on that thread, although there's another thread where I mention seeing the movie myself in one comment and how "trippy" it was. So clearly the movie was in my personal reference bank, if you will.
I think it's much more likely I just thought of it myself, than the inference that I saw the one comment and ripped it off to impress people 3 years down the line. I do bang this stuff out for a living so I can prove I have the ability to write my own material.
However no brain is infallible so if I unknowingly recycled it, I apologize. At least it wasn't for money. I doubt that's what happened though.
One time I pressed a client thinking a joke I had heard on TV was mine and they finally said, "Look, we got 12 versions of that." (i.e. These lines don't come as a beam from heaven that others must covet and steal. Often times many people go to the same place comedically.)
However ripping off material is not right so I have to defend myself if that's where you're going. Incidentally, when I hear my lines bounce around the media I don't sweat it. There's more where that came from.
We have a movie about a young man who looks old. We have a young man who looks old. It's not exactly a Grand Canyon size leap.
As for the couple of references you cite, I only could find one, and it's not from someone else on this blog. So perhaps you're factually off here.
Oh, and sorry to talk about the Greg Oden situation in a depressing way. Here we had this perfectly wonderful, fun, happy story of what Greg Oden has meant to the Blazers, but there's always someone like me who comes along and tries to find something negative about it. I've got to watch that.
For chrissakes Bill, lighten up... It was a joke I was making. Every one and their mother was making that Oden/Benjamin Button joke years ago when he first got injured--it wasn't meant to offend your ever-so-delicate sensibilities by inferring that you stole the joke. Geez...
Fair enough, Tomas. I overreacted but in my line of work, any hint of being a thief can be a career ender, and anybody with a computer - including my clients - could be reading it.
One thing we can agree on: The Oden situation is depressing - that is for sure. That lame line was made the day after the triple whammy Friday: Brandon, Oden, and LaMarcus. Jesus Christ, was a f*ckin' disaster!
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Miles run year to date: 32
At this date last year: 66
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In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (16)
I heard a great comment about Paul Allen the other day. A friend mentioned that Allen "is one of the very few who turned 40 into 20".
His "management" of the Blazers has certainly helped.
Posted by Portland Native | December 10, 2011 8:27 AM
Now there are reports that LaMarcus had a heart procedure and will be out for 1 to 2 weeks.
Gads, how much worse can this get?
Best wishes LaMarcus, I pray we don't see anything horrific a la Hank Gathers.
http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com/PressReleaseDisplay/tabid/297/ItemID/2770/Default.aspx
Posted by PDXileinOmaha | December 10, 2011 8:59 AM
I just hope all these Blazer retirements and injuries don't result in more frequent Luke Babbitt sightings.
Posted by ron | December 10, 2011 9:48 AM
Can't help but believe that basketball-wise Oden is toast. It's nothing I wish for, just sayin'.
Posted by boycat | December 10, 2011 10:47 AM
Thank heaven for the Timbers.
Posted by Roger | December 10, 2011 1:04 PM
I have not a drop of sympathy for Oden. He knew coming out of Ohio State what his past injuries were, hired an agent who at the least downplayed them or outright lied in advocacy of Oden, took the $20 million contract he did not live up to, and signed a 1 year, $8.9 million qualifying offer knowing he may not play up to the contract.
Oden is either the best con man to ever live, the most unlucky, talented man, or the Trailblazers front office is as bad as some commentators would have one believe.
Think about it, he has earned close to $30 million on a hope that he would be the center piece of a championship franchise. Instead, he has not played even 62 games in a season, much less 82 games and this was over 2 years ago.
Time to amnesty him.
Posted by Killiana1a | December 10, 2011 2:33 PM
Maybe this is one of those deals like in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and Greg is starting old, and getting younger every year.
Posted by Bill McDonald | December 10, 2011 7:46 PM
Give us all a break..., cut him loose and move on...., wah!
Hand wringing and boo hoos aside, we need to start over..., give it a rest folks, Odin is history!
Posted by The Old Curmudgeon | December 10, 2011 9:20 PM
Hi Mr. Bill McDonald
Dream on you older coot. We all wish for the fountain of youth, but simple logic...., my aching sachro...it isn't gonna happen. Do you want to be the physic for our hometown b*****s?
Posted by The Curmudgeon | December 11, 2011 12:41 AM
Curmudgeon,
You got me. Greg Oden isn't really getting biologically younger every year. That was just a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald turned into a movie starring Brad Pitt.
I guess you can't always apply fiction to the real world, no matter how nice it would be.
Posted by Bill McDonald | December 11, 2011 2:19 AM
Odin is history
No kidding.
Posted by Allan L. | December 11, 2011 9:06 AM
Millions for athletes and those associated with athletes, but we are in the "great recession?
I guess that explains just how screwed the land of freedom and democracy really is....
(or I guess we can watch a republican debate and get to the same conclusion)
Posted by al m | December 11, 2011 4:12 PM
Bill, the joke about Greg Oden being Benjamin Button was funny when it was being told three years ago, including a couple mentions on this blog. At this point though it's just sort of depressing--because obviously Greg isn't getting any healthier and/or younger.
Posted by Tomas | December 12, 2011 3:18 PM
Tomas,
I used Jack's comment search and there's one comment quoting ESPN columinst Bill Simmons with an Oden/Button reference several years ago on this blog.
I'm not on that thread, although there's another thread where I mention seeing the movie myself in one comment and how "trippy" it was. So clearly the movie was in my personal reference bank, if you will.
I think it's much more likely I just thought of it myself, than the inference that I saw the one comment and ripped it off to impress people 3 years down the line. I do bang this stuff out for a living so I can prove I have the ability to write my own material.
However no brain is infallible so if I unknowingly recycled it, I apologize. At least it wasn't for money. I doubt that's what happened though.
One time I pressed a client thinking a joke I had heard on TV was mine and they finally said, "Look, we got 12 versions of that." (i.e. These lines don't come as a beam from heaven that others must covet and steal. Often times many people go to the same place comedically.)
However ripping off material is not right so I have to defend myself if that's where you're going. Incidentally, when I hear my lines bounce around the media I don't sweat it. There's more where that came from.
We have a movie about a young man who looks old. We have a young man who looks old. It's not exactly a Grand Canyon size leap.
As for the couple of references you cite, I only could find one, and it's not from someone else on this blog. So perhaps you're factually off here.
Oh, and sorry to talk about the Greg Oden situation in a depressing way. Here we had this perfectly wonderful, fun, happy story of what Greg Oden has meant to the Blazers, but there's always someone like me who comes along and tries to find something negative about it. I've got to watch that.
Posted by Bill McDonald | December 13, 2011 10:34 PM
For chrissakes Bill, lighten up... It was a joke I was making. Every one and their mother was making that Oden/Benjamin Button joke years ago when he first got injured--it wasn't meant to offend your ever-so-delicate sensibilities by inferring that you stole the joke. Geez...
Posted by Tomas | December 14, 2011 12:20 PM
Fair enough, Tomas. I overreacted but in my line of work, any hint of being a thief can be a career ender, and anybody with a computer - including my clients - could be reading it.
One thing we can agree on: The Oden situation is depressing - that is for sure. That lame line was made the day after the triple whammy Friday: Brandon, Oden, and LaMarcus. Jesus Christ, was a f*ckin' disaster!
Posted by Bill McDonald | December 14, 2011 4:31 PM