I have read several different articles that have described Mr. Allen as an inveterate fan of Rock music, but he's obviously never heard of a famous song by The Who called, "Won't Get Fooled Again".

Did they really have a choice here? They're just gonna have to ride this GO thing out, in for a penny, in for a pound, and all that. The alternative is so repugnant (cutting GO loose and him taking his talents elsewhere, South Beach, e.g., and becoming a superstar). A totally unthinkable thought.

Great, now we're doing stuff just in case someone else can do it better. Oden has never made it thru an entire season, so no one knows his conditioning.

I'm not getting player selection now. Nate hates playing rookies, yet we want to keep Patty Mills who he doesn't play. We let go of Dre who Nate doesn't like, even though he's the best story we've had at PG for a while. Then we pick up Felton whose conditioning plan seems to be picking up BigMacs.

Enjoy the tailights of the Thunder as they pull away in the West.

*If* he can stay healthy for 50 games and a playoff run, Greg Oden gives Portland its best chance to win. Period. There's no one available out there who's even close. It's a no brainer.

Like I told my kids last year, if you want to get a Blazer autograph, go to the emergency room not the Rose Garden.

Well the only player that has any chance of getting us deep into the playoffs is Greg Oden.

So you have to do it.

And remember, it's just a game. We're spending far, far, far more money on American Imperialism where children, mothers, brothers, and anything else in the way are getting their guts ripped out and their home court utterly destroyed.

Consider all that's happened in the local sports scene in the past year:

1. U of O football plays in the National Championship game.

2. Portland Timbers kick off their inaugural season with sellout crowds and a front-page appearance in the New York Times.

3. Portland Winterhawks are playing in front of sellout crowds and make it to the Western Hockey League finals.

The Blazers, meanwhile, again finish in the middle of the conference standings and again exit the playoffs in Round One. And now there's the possibility of a lockout coming tomorrow.

Interesting times in Rip City.

While Oden might be an employee, he's not a player. Very sad. Blazers should've signed Aaron Gray instead.

Crazy. $8.8M for Humpty Dumpty.

*If* he can stay healthy for 50 games and a playoff run, Greg Oden gives Portland its best chance to win. Period.

Well the only player that has any chance of getting us deep into the playoffs is Greg Oden.

Really? Based on what? There has been NO evidence that even when healthy, he can dominate in the NBA. None. He's guaranteed to be perpetually in foul trouble, has clumsy hands, and the likelihood of him ever being anything near healthy is mighty slim.

I really don't understand throwing good money after bad here. How much of a bust does a guy have to be???

It's a face-saving move all the way. The 8.8 mil isn't really about Oden playing any actual quality games for the Blazers, it's about making sure that any other team has to pay (and take a salary cap hit) for the former number 1 overall pick. If the Blazers didn't pick up the option, the Heat or some other team would have signed him at 2-3mil.

That makes sense. I hope another team signs him. Not least of all for him... I think he could use a change of scenery as well.

"Well the only player that has any chance of getting us deep into the playoffs is Greg Oden."

I hate to tell you this, but the Thunder got Kendrick Perkins and Dallas was able to snag Tyson Chandler either of whom are a heckuva lot more of a player than Oden right now. Chandler is 90% of what pushed Dallas over the top.

Killing $8.8M of your cap is ridiculous, especially if the only reason you signed him is you're scared of a

I think, like Darius Miles, Allen just has too much ego invested in Oden.