Amare Stoudamire dunk on Dante Cunningham of Blazers

The debate is on after the latest Amare Stoudamire vicious dunk just a few nights ago. Was that the dunk of the year, and possibly the dunk of Amare's career? Here's yet another Amare Stoudamire throwdown from this season. The Amare Stoudamire dunk on Dante Cunningham of the Trailblazers is pretty fierce in and of itself, but personally, I think his dunk on Anthony Tolliver of the Warriors several nights ago takes the prize. You decide based on the video below and here!



Recently, the Phoenix Suns website put up a poll asking fans to vote on their favorite WWE wrestler - NBA player nickname. They call him Amare "The Giant" Stoudamire. We've always known Stoudamire to be one powerhouse of a player but these recent throwdowns and vicious jams make you wonder if he's channeling some negative energy after not being traded to a different team this season? As fans of basketball, we sure don't mind seeing Amare posterize opponent after opponent!

Which do you like better the Amare Stoudamire dunk on Dante Cunningham or Amare's dunk on Anthony Tolliver?

Greg Oden out for Season, again...

It's another unfortunate injury for Greg Oden and the Trailblazers. This time it was a left knee cap injury that will have Oden likely to miss the rest of the 2009-10 season. Although the Blazers won the game, they definitely lost a lot in terms of size and power.

The injury occurred Saturday night in the Blazers-Rocks game when Oden fractured his left knee cap. He was down on the floor clutching at his left knee. The incident happened after the big man collided with the Rockets Aaron Brooks. Trainers and physicians immediately huddled around the Portland center to attend to his injury. He was down for at least 7 minutes, and fans at the Rose Garden let out a "Oden!" chant in support.

Eventually, they moved Oden to a stretcher and wheeled him off court to get have an MRI performed. The report already says Oden will need surgery for this latest setback.

"I'm obviously disappointed having worked so hard to get to where I was. This is a setback but I'll be back. It's in God's hands now," Oden said in a statement released by the team. "I want to thank the fans, my teammates and everyone in the Blazers family for all of their good thoughts."

The early knock on Oden was he might be the #1 pick, but he may mirror the path of another Portland big man, Bill Walton. Walton is still heralded as one of the greats, but found himself plagued by injuries to his legs as well. Similarly, another big man, Yao Ming from the Houston Rockets, has been out this season due to foot problems. It might be true, the bigger they are, they harder they fall...

Story Source: The Associated Press

75 Cent Nets Tickets?!?

If you're a New York/New Jersey native and want to see some pro basketball for a dirt cheap price, the Nets have a deal for you. Right now the New Jersey Nets are amongst those contending for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 16-17 record. While they've dealt both Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson away, Vince Carter still remains and has rising point guard Devin Harris with him. Harris has been a pleasant surprise this season for the Nets and may be amongst those chosen for this year's East All-Star Reserves.

In a previous report on what franchises are worth, a comment was made that the Nets are hurting most as they try to secure loan money to get the team moved to Brooklyn. Wiht the team's record below .500, and J-Kidd & Jefferson out of town, ticket sales must really be hurting, as the Nets have offered the following $0.75 cent ticket deal for select games.

Fri, 12/26/08
07:30 PM New Jersey Nets vs. Charlotte Bobcats

Mon, 12/29/08
07:30 PM New Jersey Nets vs. Chicago Bulls

Mon, 01/05/09
07:30 PM New Jersey Nets vs. Sacramento Kings

Wed, 01/07/09
07:30 PM New Jersey Nets vs. Memphis Grizzlies

Mon, 01/12/09
07:30 PM New Jersey Nets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Thu, 01/15/09
07:30 PM New Jersey Nets vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Tue, 02/03/09
07:30 PM New Jersey Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Fri, 02/20/09
08:00 PM New Jersey Nets vs. Washington Wizards

Your Complimentary* Nets Tickets Await!

Join us to see the Nets battle Gilbert Arenas & the Wizards, cross-river rival NY Knicks, Chris Bosh & the Raptors OR Carl Boozer & the Jazz!

As part of the Nets Tickets on Us Program, you are receiving this one time, complimentary* ticket offer to see the Nets take on some of the NBA's best at the IZOD Center. Simply select one of the home games listed below and you can receive up to two tickets to the game. It's about taking a break and enjoying a night out, courtesy of the Nets.

Valid on tickets regularly priced at: $110 $80, $76, $40, $20, and $15.

To take advantage, enter the following code in the Paperfast Offer box: ONUS

You're not dreaming, because these are real 2008-09 regular season NBA games for 75 cent admission! That's cheaper than going to the movies, or even renting a movie at Blockbuster! The opposing teams might not be the NBA's best, but the Portland Trailblazers are nothing to shake a stick at. Last year's Rookie of the Year, Brandon Roy, as well as big man Greg Oden and phenom LaMarcus Aldridge make that one exciting team to see. You've also got Memphis with Rudy Gay and then Oklahoma with Kevin Durant. Once again, not the cream of the crop for the NBA, but for 75 cents and the chance to see some future All-star phenoms, why not?

Head over to Ticketmaster at this link and use promo code: ONUS in the Paperfast Offer Box. You can print tickets directly to your printer to avoid shipping and handling. There will most likely be at least a $3.50 or so convenience charge though.

NBA's 2008 Christmas Presence

NBA fans will be given several Christmas day presents in the form of two exciting doubleheaders and some fun in Orlando. TNT, ABC & ESPN will play Santa as they bring superstars such as Lebron James, KG, Kobe Bryant and Greg Oden to all NBA faithful. Game one of the ABC set will start at 2:30PM EST & features a rematch of Western foes, the Spurs and the Suns, with Shaq, Amare & Nash facing Tim Duncan, Manu and Tony Parker. Game 2 will be a riveting rematch of last year's NBA Finals as the red hot Boston Celtics travel into Los Angeles to battle the Lakers.

Currently the Suns and Spurs are runner-ups in their respective divisions. San Antonio continues to try to overcome guard injury problems and sits in 3rd place in the Southwest at 17-10. Meanwhile the Suns are second place to Kobe's Lakers at 16-11. These two teams have battled it out in recent years' playoffs, usually with San Antonio coming out on top. The Suns continue to revamp parts of their lineup as they just recently unloaded Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, bringing superstar Jason Richardson into the mix. San Antonio seems to be the aging battle-tested team that keeps on going with what it has. While they're not dismal, they aren't the powerhouse they were in the years they were part of the "dynasty" talks.

The second game at 5PM features the Celtics dressed in Green hoping to play Grinches to Kobe's LA Santa Claus. Kobe will have his helpers including Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Bynum was not part of last year's Finals so this will give everyone a good look at how the emerging Center performs against the Champs. Bryant's also currently in third place in the NBA scoring race, a tight race at that. Kobe's averaging 26.2 and trails his Team USA pals, Lebron James & Dwyane Wade. Wade recently outdid Kobe in a battle in Miami between their two teams. While D-Wade may be headed towards scoring champ and MVP, Kobe may be headed back to the Finals for his 4th ring. His Christmas day matchup with the Celts may help Phil Jackson dismantle the champs for their Finals rematch.

But wait, there's more.... Chris Paul and the Hornets will play Dwight Howard's Magic at 12 Noon in Orlando (ESPN). TNT will also feature a doubleheader of its own starting at 8PM when the Wizards face Lebron & the Cavs. At 10:30 PM, it'll be the young Portland Trailblazers with their young center, Greg Oden, facing Dirk & the Dallas Mavs. For an NBA fan that's 5 games to enjoy along with all your Christmas gifts and cookies...enjoy!

Happy holidays to all this 2008 Holiday Season!

Lakers Perfection Continues

The Lakers are sitting pretty at 7-0 as the last undefeated team in the NBA. Last night they held off the ultra-talented Chris Paul-lead New Orleans Hornets to remain unbeaten. With Andrew Bynum back after last season's devastating knee injury, it adds even more talent to the squad and fuel to the Lakers' fire. A Seattle Post-Intelligence article details how Andrew Bynum is a major contributing factor in the Lakers' early season success. They definitely have the hunger thanks to losing to the Celtics in last year's Finals, but with Bynum they can compete even closer to the level of the C's. At 22 years old and imposing, Bynum gives an inside presence along with bigs like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to help rebound and intimidate those attempting to score in the paint. Those Big 3 plus Kobe make for one deadly quartet, and will possibly be the NBA champs in 09'.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligence article, the Lakers biggest threat may come from the Phoenix Suns. I'd argue that the Mavs, Hornets and Spurs all have the potential to get hot at any point in the season and offer true threats to the Lakers. Add Houston and Utah. and there's 7 of this year's playoff teams. The Portland Trailblazers have what it takes to make the #8 spot, should Oden remain healthy for the remainder of this season. Should LA finish 1 and Portland 8, that definitely makes for an interesting playoff debut for Mr. Oden, and quite a challenging test for the young Andrew Bynum.

Greg Oden's Latest Setback

Starting for the first time in his fresh, new NBA career was Portland Trailblazer Greg Oden. Oden was the #1 pick last year, who had season-ending right knee surgery and rode the bench while rehabbing in 2007-08. In college, Oden was limited to 32 games by a wrist injury. Last night he would be premiering on NBA's opening night and at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, against Kobe's Lakers. However, Oden ran into yet another setback, hopefully this time not as serious as last season's.

Oden clocked in for just 2 1/2 minutes of game play before injuring his right foot on a play. For now the injury's been referred to as a sprained ankle, nothing more. Oden claims he came down bad on guard Derek Fisher's foot, but Fisher says he doesn't recall it happening. So Oden scored 0 points in what was supposed to be his coming out party. The 7-footer was back in the locker room for the entire second half, while his team continued to receive a Lakers' beatdown en route to a 96-76 loss. An X-ray was taken which was inconclusive during game time, so an MRI was done on Wednesday for further results. Let's hope for the best for this young talent, who's starred in ESPN commercials and even played piano for Justin Timberlake at the ESPY's.

Analysts are already questioning if the Big Man has some sort of bad kharma going on. ESPN.com's J.A. Adande has begun comparing this case to that of Bill Walton, only without any championships won. Bill Walton, a big man in Portland just like Oden, was injury-plagued throughout his career, mostly leg injuries also. Will Oden have the same bad luck, or will he overcome the setbacks and help his team become a dynasty? Only time and healing will tell what sort of legend this big man is part of.

Also see: Greg Oden's Delayed Start Comes to a Quick Halt by J.A. Adande.

2008-09 NBA Season Predictions

(Is it time for Kobe to shine another trophy in 09?)

As the season is starting this week, it's time for 2008-09 predictions!

A friend of mine was preparing for his NBA fantasy draft just a few nights ago, and asked my thoughts about several players. "How bout Beasley?" "Is he still with the team?" "Didn't he go to Europe?" It's amazing that now we have that final question factoring into NBA discussions. Earl Boykins and Josh Childress were amongst two big name NBA ballers to defect over to Europe for a nice paycheck. Another surprise I noticed when scanning the pages of the ESPN Magazine's NBA preview was that Marcus Camby is no longer with Denver. I frantically searched for his name in other lineups and wasn't seeing it. Goes to show how busy I've been, that Camby was traded to the Clippers about 3 months ago...

With all that said, the new season will be quite interesting. We have a "brand new" team in Oklahoma City, and no more bball in Seattle. There's several promising rookies. Greg Oden hopefully gets his first full season in what could be a great run for Portland. There's exciting new inside-outside combos in Philly, Portland, Los Angeles and Minnesota. The Celtics are looking to repeat against all odds, and without James Posey. Kobe has a new sidekick in a healthy Andrew Bynum. And Lebron remains hungry for that NBA title that eluded his grasp two years ago.

All that said, here's my predictions for this season. I'll be the first to admit I was way off on last year's finals, as I expected the Celtics to take about a year to gel. I had a Bulls-Suns finals which we all know is a far-fetched notion this season!

2008-09 NBA Predictions:

NBA Champs - LA Lakers - ESPN the mag has several analysts favor Kobe and the gang this season. Barring another bad injury to either Bynum, Kobe or Gasol, this squad is stacked with the talent to do what Boston did last year. Expect a hungrier than ever Kobe to show Shaq just how it's done, minus the battle rap. With Phil Jacks at the helm, they'll take out Kobe's main competiton, runners-up...

Runners-up - Cleveland Cavs - Cleveland was just a game away from a return trip to the title series. However, Lebron ran into 3 superstars who held their ground, including a determined Paul Pierce. This season, Lebron's hunger will take him and the team to new levels, but he'll run into the mega-star, Kobe Bryant. As for the Celtics, losing James Posey is a big deal, and they have even bigger targets on their backs.

(On a side note, taking a look at ESPN the magazine it was interesting to see how little respect fans give Ray Allen. Analysts, GM's, scouts, fans and fantasy bball players all got to choose their pick for several categories. In the "Best shooter" Ray Allen was selected by the analysts, GM's and scouts but fans/fantasy ballers decided on Steve Nash..Show Ray some love, he got game!)

MVP - Lebron James - Kobe had his last year, now it's time for King James to pull in a trophy. The young phenom is bound to do it one of these years, and you gotta figure he hates losing and believes he's the best. He'll put up impressive stats, and carry his team to the NBA Finals in a nice NBA campaign this year. And don't be surprised if Brandon Roy is mentioned up in the candidates along with Chris Paul and Kobe. Roy has Oden this season and a shot to put up a ton of assists and shots.

ROY - Greg Oden - The big man finally gets to show the world what he's got..well in Portland at least. While he's not on the grandest stage of them all, he'll easily earn the nod for ROY as most big men do. (Yao, Amare, Shaq) Portland should be in the bottom half of the West's playoff teams, and this could be an exciting season to be a Portland fan. OJ Mayo, Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose will also rank amongst the top rookies this season, with a European import most likely also getting on the All-Rookie 1st team.

Fading Fast - San Antonio Spurs? - It seems they never get their credit due, even in championsip runs. However, you gotta admit they are aging and not really bringing in too much promising young talent. Duncan has had some injury issues in the past few seasons, and although Ginobli and Parker still hold their own, the new up and comers will be bringing it to this team night in and out.

On the rise - Portland Trailblazers - Many analysts say the Sixers here, and with good reason, but Portland has the promise of a mega-squad and potential new NBA dynasty. You've got Roy on the outside and Oden inside, two talents capable of carrying this team to many, many titles in Portland.

So there you have it... As for coach of the year, why not choose Portland's Nate McMillan? He's fresh off a nice gold-medal run with Team USA and the coaching talent Coach K. Now he's headed into a very promising season with his big O man in the paint. Can you tell I think good things are coming to Portland this season?

And the season is coming very, very soon. This year's season has an earlier-than-normal start date of October 28, 2008 with a great double header on TNT. First up, the NBA Champion Celtics face Lebron and the Cavaliers. In game 2, it's Kobe and the Lakers meeting up with Mr. Oden and the Portland Trailblazers!

See ESPN.com's 2008-09 Must-See NBA Games!

Note: Special thanks to an Anonymous fan for offering correction on Brandon Roy's name above and for understanding mistakes happen! Enjoy the season! ;)

2008 Begins: Around the NBA

Just like 2007, all good things must come to an end. That includes the Jazz ending the Trailblazers' 13 game win streak. Utah 111-Portland 101. This makes the Pistons own one of the hottest streaks in the NBA.

The Magic pulled off a 112-110 win in OT against the struggling Bulls. Toronto edged out New Orleans 107-102 , and the Bobcats made a nice fourth quarter run to win their game.

Players of the week for last week, were Chris Paul and Paul Pierce. Paul had an incredible 40 point effort and Pierce had a 38 point effort as their teams added wins.

Kiki Vandeweghe returns to the NBA, this time in a top exec role with the NJ Nets.

TheStar.com discusses the upcoming mic check for Raptors' coach Sam Mitchell.

Boston Herald discusses how the Celtics are more than star power.

ESPN's Daily Dime looks back at 2007 and ahead to 2008 for the NBA.

The Upcoming NBA Year 08'

The NBA 2007-08 Season is heading into the new year. 2007 has already brought plenty of surprises and unexpected, hard to explain occurrences. Here's some thoughts on the new year for the NBA.

- Continued Celtics dominance - Barring an injury expect them to keep piling the wins on. The Big 3 are playing great as expected, and secondary guys like James Posey, Eddie House and Rajon Rondo add great depth right now. Of course, they've yet to play those tough West Coast teams (Spurs, Suns, Mavs). Once we see the Celtics knock off some of the Best of the West we can start calling them serious top contenders.

- Something's gotta give - Either the Bulls or Heat will likely go on a great run to get into a low spot for the East playoffs. If either team makes it to the 8 spot, the #1 team may have their hands full, even the Celtics. It's tough to say right now which team will do it. My preseason pick was the Bulls would make the Finals, and right now they just aren't getting it done.

- Blaze of Glory - Portland is one of the best stories in the NBA right now, as they are exceeding expectations. It'll be good to see the Blazers continue to be successful. Their win streak recently has been very impressive without the presence of Greg Oden. Brandon Roy is becoming a bona fide star in the league, and once Oden arrives that team will be lethal and most likely a dynasty. Portland fans should be in line for next year's season tickets already.

- MVP race - It's going to be a three way race. You've got 2 big men in Dwight Howard and KG. Then you've got Lebron James, my preseason pick. Whichever of these 3 makes a serious push should get it, but you'd have to favor the big men right now. Usually the award goes to the guy on the best team, and right now it's KG.

- Rookie Race - There's not much of one right now. Unless of course Durant becomes unable to play, but so far he's the clear front runner and leader for this year's ROY. Thank you goes out to Greg Oden.

- Isiah's job status - Doesn't look good for Coach Thomas in the New Year for New York. However, they may let him finish another disappointing season out before he gest the boot. The team continues to be quite the project and holds a lot of talent. But it's still lacking that certain something. Usually that means it's time for a coaching change (like the Bulls).

- A competitive All-Star game - Looking forward to another all-star game. This one comes from New Orleans, Louisiana. Also, KG has shifted sides, so now he won't be part of the dominating big men in the West (Yao, Duncan, etc). The East actually looks like favorites here, because you have Lebron, KG and D-Howard (3 MVP candidates) all on the East starting lineup. Should be fun to watch!

- A New NBA Champion? - It continues to look like 4 teams: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavs. However, we saw how Lebron willed the Cavs into the Finals last year. There's guys capable of those types of performances that can emerge at any point.

Wishing all NBA Fans a happy New Year, and here's to an exciting remainder of the 2007-08 season!

Blazing a Trail of Success

The Portland Trailblazers are probably the biggest and most positive surprise in the West so far. The team had high expectations for this year as they would be adding a franchise superstar at the Center spot. A guy likely to dominate for a decade or so. But a brief bit of bad luck hit leaving Greg Oden, the 2007 #1 draft pick out to recover from knee surgery. This led many fans all over to question not only how bad the Blazers would be this year, but if they would have continuous problems with Oden due to his knee. Well so far this year one question is being answered, the Trailblazers aren't bad at all.

Portland is currently blazing the trail of a 7 game win streak in the NBA, second only to Boston's 9 game run. This season they have 5 players scoring in double figures, including last season's ROY, Brandon Roy, and another sophomore sensation in LaMarcus Aldridge. The other 3 are Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, and Jarret Jack. Not household names, but they are definitely picking up the slack in the absence of a marquee player like Greg Oden. Jack, Aldridge and Roy also have their names on this year's all-star ballot for the West.

You can tell that the stats of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge will most likely improve, and these young talents are going to form quite a nucleus. Once Oden gets into the mix next season, Roy should see his assist total move up as he feeds into the big guy. 3 point shots may also increase, as this team could take on the look of an up-and-coming San Antonio. The Spurs attack is based on a solid inside-outside game with Duncan kicking the ball out to sharpshooters or taking it to the hole himself. A guy like Oden should be eclipsing Duncan in the very near future, and with a talent like Aldridge at his side, it's going to be even rougher for teams trying to score inside or rebound.

So far the Blazers have managed to start quite a hot streak, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them ride the momentum of their young stars into a battle for the 8 spot for the playoffs.

Check out the official Trailblazers website for more info on the team.

Buy an NBA Team for $350 Mill

For a cool 350 million dollars you could be the proud owner of the Orlando Magic. It seems a bit cheap if you think about it, adding up the ticket sales, merchandising and salaries of all their players, staff, dancers, employees and executives.

Sports Business Radio has an August 2006 article which lists 5 teams out you can buy each for under 350 million. They include the Portland Trailblazers, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies. Not too bad at all. Particularly appealing, and probably now selling for a much higher price, are the Trailblazers with future prodigy, Greg Oden, considered a franchise/cornerstone player.

In related news a website called Make Money with Super Affiliate Zac Johnson discusses how a woman sold the rights to the internet domain name "bobcats.com" to the Bobcats for $50,000 which just might be nice for most of us, but could have been a bargain sale for the Bobcats.

NBA Season Begins...

Last night the NBA season opened with just 3 games on the schedule. Here's a quick look and some thoughts.

Jazz defeated the Warriors 117 to 96

Carlos Boozer scored 32 pts along with 15 boards. I expect him to be in the top 10 maybe even top 5 scorers this season and to have a big All-star season for the Jazz this year. Deron Williams added 24 points and should continue to become the star player h was looking like last year.

Spurs defeat Blazers 106 to 97

Opening night action was supposed to see the big rookie Greg Oden match up against the champion Spurs. However, Oden is out for the season, so Mr. Duncan reigned supreme with 24 points and 13 rebounds, after getting his championship ring.

Rockets 95 to Lakers 93

The closest game of the night, Kobe Bryant showed his usual scoring prowess with 45 points total. T-Mac went off for 30 points and added 6 rebounds. Big man Yao added 25 points and 12 boards. It was Shane Battier who hit a tiebreaking 3 pointer with just 2.5 seconds left in the 4th quarter. A close contest, but the Rockets should be one of the top 5 or 6 teams in the West, and the Lakers may be as well.

Eight games on Halloween night, which include the Bulls taking on the Nets, Seattle vs. Denver, Dalls visiting Cleveland, and Milwaukee facing Orlando. See the full lineup here.

Oden-less Blazers Will Be Better

No not this season. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Brandon Roy is good and LaMarcus Aldridge is talented, but these guys won't be carrying the Blazers into the playoffs come post-season. While Greg Oden sits on the sidelines in a fancy suit and jewelry all year, and rehabs and rehabs and rehabs, the Blazers will be checked off as a "W" for most NBA team's schedules. Analysts will give them praise and credit when they scrap out an impressive win here or there, and will always come back to mention one thing. The missing big man, #1 Draft Pick, Greg Oden, and how great he and the team will be, later.

Chicago Sports Review makes a good point about Oden's absence though. The fact the Blazers won't be contenders this year could basically turn this team into an NBA Dynasty for the future. The Blazers may get back to back #1 picks and possibly take a very talented point guard to play alongside Oden, Roy and Aldridge, which would make this team one of the best in years to come.

Oden has a blog over at Yardbarker.com, with his last entry on 9/21/07 discussing how he's recovering, and how he's livin'. And yes, he even includes video footage of his healing knee.

Oden to Miss Rookie Season

An unfortunate news story for the Portland Trailblazers, the NBA and Greg Oden. Oden had to have surgery to repair damage to his knee.

From America Online Sports:

"Doctors found cartilage damage during an exploratory procedure, and team physician Dr. Don Roberts performed microfracture surgery to repair the damage.

"There are things about this that are positive for Greg. First of all, he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal," Roberts said in a statement. "All those are good signs for a complete recovery from microfracture surgery."

The 7-foot center is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. Full recovery likely will take six to 12 months, the team said.

Oden was the No. 1 pick in the June draft out of Ohio State, where he averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds.

The Blazers scheduled a news conference Thursday to discuss Oden's situation.

"Certainly this is a setback, but our future is still incredibly bright," Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "Is it disappointing? Yes. However, this is a great core of talent and players of strong character and will continue to be." (Read full story here)

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This is a definite setback for the young rookie's career as well as the Trailblazers plans to start building that championship foundation up and achieve ultimate NBA success. However, it's better that the problem was fixed sooner rather than later. Hopefully Oden can enjoy a great career starting next season. Also, let's hope this won't be a continual problem with Oden's knees throughout his career. Last thing Portland wants is to have to re-evaluate their drafting of this great potential talent. Best wishes to the rook on a speedy and successful recovery.

Greg Oden Rookie Blogger

Gilbert Arenas isn't the only prominent NBA blog-star these days. On yardbarker.com you can check out the thoughts of the top NBA rookie, Greg Oden of the Portland Trailblazers. His blog entries feature discussion of the various promotional campaigns he's been participating in, his trip to Cleveland for the Topps sports card promotion, rookie photo shoots and a video of his crib in Indy (including his favorite snacks and his messy bedroom).

An excerpt from his blog discussing his new home, Portland:

"I'm in Portland, Oregon. it is a very beautiful place, a place that i can now call home for a long time. Being drafted # 1 is great but to be drafted by Portland and # 1 is the best thing in the world. I'm feeling really good right now in my life. I'm finishing off the greatest year of my life. Enough about my feelings, let me tell you about how great the place im going to be living is and representing for sometime. The summers here are the greatest thing in the world. It rarely rains in the summer, the temperature is always perfect, there is no humidity, and when there's a breeze, you can feel it. Now the winters on the other hand, that's a different story. I haven't experienced it but from what people have told me, it rains but not very hard, and not a lot at a time just slow drizzled spread out through a long time. I'm sure i'll be able to handle it."

He also has lengthy blog posts regarding having his tonsils taken out and attending The ESPYS Award.

Check out Greg Oden's blog at yardbarker: http://yardbarker.com/oden

NBA Preseason Schedules

Several NBA teams have posted 2007-08 NBA Preseason schedules, including the Lakers, Blazers, Sonics, and Sixers. Here's a look at the Lakers' preseason schedule:

EL SEGUNDO – The Los Angeles Lakers have announced the preseason schedule for the 2007-08 season along with ticket purchase information. The Lakers will play host to two games at STAPLES Center, as well as games in Hawaii, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Las Vegas and San Diego. The schedule is as follows:

Tue, October 9th - 7pm Honolulu (Stan Sheriff Center) vs. Golden State Warriors

Thu, October 11th - 7pm Honolulu (Stan Sheriff Center) vs. Golden State Warriors

Thur, October 18th - 7pm Bakersfield (Bakersfield Rabobank Arena) vs. Seattle Supersonics

Pre-Season Shootout Doubleheader, October 20 &21
Sat, October 20th - 4:30pm Phoenix Suns vs. LA Clippers (STAPLES Center)
Sat, October 20th - 7:30pm Charlotte Bobcats vs. LA Lakers (STAPLES Center)
Sun, October 21st - 4:30pm Phoenix or LA Clippers vs. Charlotte Bobcats (STAPLES Center)
Sun, October 21st - 7:30pm Phoenix or LA Clippers vs. LA Lakers (STAPLES Center)

Tue, October 23rd - 7pm Anaheim (Honda Center) vs. Utah Jazz

Thu, October 25th - 7pm San Diego (San Diego Sports Arena) vs. Utah Jazz

Fri, October 26th - 7pm Las Vegas (Thomas and Mack Center) vs. Sacramento Kings

All Times Local

To check out the other schedules use the links below:
Trailblazers Preseason Schedule

Seattle Supersonics Preseason Schedule

Lakers Preseason Schedule

Philadelphia Sixers Preseason Schedule