Sports Column

Blazer fans, the sky isn’t falling

On Sports

By dwight jaynes

The Portland Tribune, Sep 14, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (28 Reader comments)

Just relax, Portland. Take a deep breath, step back and put down the sharp objects. It’s not the end of the world.

Stuff happens.

Yes, Greg Oden probably will miss what would have been his rookie season. Yes, you’re going to be hearing from a lot of people that the Blazers picked the wrong player in the draft. Yes, they will say Oden is going to be dogged by injuries throughout his career, another Bill Walton, or – heaven forbid – Sam Bowie.

Yes, this news was a big-time shock. People who saw Oden in a social situation Wednesday night, on the eve of his surgery, say he wasn’t even limping. Hard to believe the injury was that serious. But it was – so we move on.

And I would beg for a little perspective here. Please. One season doesn’t make a career. We don’t know what his career will be like.

If I happened to be a Trail Blazer fan, I’d take heart in the knowledge that Oden seems to be the kind of young man who will attack his rehabilitation with dedication and vigor. He’ll do all the things the doctors tell him to do and more. And nobody is hurting over this news any more than he is.

But let’s get real. The Blazers were, at best, going to be a borderline playoff team this season. Even with a healthy Oden, they weren’t going to be playing in June for the NBA championship.

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