The Blazers, Oden and God

[SlyPokerDog]

A long but entertaining article from Willamette Week. Not sure where the writer gets that this is Oden's 3rd mf surgery but he does get in a few good swipes at Quick, fans on forums, Mike & Mike and the reporters covering the Blazers in general. Enjoy!


It was a dark and stormy night.

The Bulls were beating the Spurs on ESPN. I’m not attached to either team (I preferred the Tyrus and Kirk Bulls, thanks—I like my basketball teams like I like my women: With issues), but my head was in the game, largely because Derrick Rose is a funny kind of point guard. I like him because he plays an emotional game but he’s not a particularly emotional guy; It’s as if his sole means of self-expression comes from dribbling, passing and cutting to the hoop. The game went to commercial, and I was talking to my girlfriend about a tense interaction between our cat, Phineas Maple Jarman, and the kitten we naively adopted from the Humane Society to be his new best friend, whom we have tentatively named “Sir Arthur Duckworth.” In mid-stupid-sentence, I saw Oden’s face on a SportsCenter update. It took a second to register, but the words “miss the season” and “microfracture surgery” registered somehow. Why are they reporting that again? Did the tapes get mixed up? I went to my email inbox and there it was. “TRAIL BLAZERS CENTER GREG ODEN TO UNDERGO MICROFRACTURE SURGERY FRIDAY.” My first thought was “that poor bastard.” My second thought was “it’s really over, isn’t it?” My third thought was “Oh, fuck, I really don’t want to walk or ride my bike to this press conference in the rain.”

http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2010/11/18/god-and-greg-oden-an-almost-live-special-report/

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Now we know why I don't get my sports fix from the Willamette Week. I mean, I like the somewhat earthy way they write, but their holier than thou attitude is pretty silly.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

fucking hipsters.

 

[hypnosmurf]

Cliff notes to that wall of text?

 

[andalusian]

"Hard to accept the knee-jerk reaction that it's all the medical staff's fault" is what I took from it.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

The guy types too much.

 

[barfo]

I thought that was a great read.

barfo

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I thought that was a great read.

barfo

Of course you did.

 

[barfo]

Of course you did.

Indeed, of course I did. Because it was.

barfo

 

[Minstrel]

Indeed, of course I did. Because it was.

Indeed it was. Was something you considered a good read.

 

[Ed O]

Indeed it was. Was something you considered a good read.

There are few things that I like as much as a good read well read.

Ed O.

 

[barfo]

There are few things that I like as much as a good read well read.

Ed O.

And in this case, a good read well read by a red ready for reading.

barfo

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

And in this case, a good read well read by a red ready for reading.

barfo

Really? Were you reeling?

 

[barfo]

Really? Were you reeling?

reelin' and a-rockin', readin' till the break of dawn

barfo

 

[Nikolokolus]

I'm glad I read that ... my level of trust in Greg's body is as low as ever, but it does shame me a little that at times I've been pretty quick to heap scorn on Greg's head from time to time for his fragility and suffering. It's hard to remember that most everybody in the organization is pretty well intentioned and wants to do right by the fans and themselves and that these are real people, not just objects and machinery in a sports franchise.

 

[STOMP]

Thanks for posting this SPD. It was almost cathartic to read about how those in the inner circle are devastated too... or... it was assuring to know my empathy for Greg has company with those that matter. I'll be checking out more of this guy's stuff

STOMP

 

[Minstrel]

So I finally had time to read this (it's long, I had it in a tab for later reading) and it is very good. A very warm account, the type you rarely see in sports journalism. Humanizing.

 

[barfo]

So I finally had time to read this (it's long, I had it in a tab for later reading) and it is very good. A very warm account, the type you rarely see in sports journalism. Humanizing.

Told ya.

barfo

 

[Minstrel]

Told ya.

Link?

 

[barfo]

Link?

Link

barfo

 

[Minstrel]

Link

If you had bothered to read your own link, you'd see that it actually supports what I've been saying.

 

[barfo]

If you had bothered to read your own link, you'd see that it actually supports what I've been saying.

Well. I can't be expected to read my own link. Taxes are a larger percentage of GDP since 2006. Jon Stewart and Barney Frank are lying.

barfo

 

[Minstrel]

Well. I can't be expected to read my own link. Taxes are a larger percentage of GDP since 2006. Jon Stewart and Barney Frank are lying.

More barfo-math. As I've pointed out to you in multiple threads, if you look at pages 24 and 57 of that link, you'll see the itemized budget of the Military Parade Discretionary Fund (MPDisF) which was counted as a tax for FEC purposes but was clearly a voluntary usage fee. More than a little disingenuous to add it to tax burden, especially since it's not even considered a part of the GDP.

 

[barfo]

More barfo-math. As I've pointed out to you in multiple threads, if you look at pages 24 and 57 of that link, you'll see the itemized budget of the Military Parade Discretionary Fund (MPDisF) which was counted as a tax for FEC purposes but was clearly a voluntary usage fee. More than a little disingenuous to add it to tax burden, especially since it's not even considered a part of the GDP.

So you are in favor of spending $13T on welfare moms? If you eliminated that $13T ($23T counting congressional franking privileges), you could fund 134 technology companies, each employing 100 people unable to function in society at large. And that's not counting the benefit from forcing those welfare moms to go back to college (at Phoenix or DeVry) to learn to weld.

barfo

 

[Minstrel]

So you are in favor of spending $13T on welfare moms?

Moreso than giving it to welfare CEOs.

If you eliminated that $13T ($23T counting congressional franking privileges), you could fund 134 technology companies, each employing 100 people unable to function in society at large.

That sounds like a pretty large effect in a nation of several hundred million people.

And that's not counting the benefit from forcing those welfare moms to go back to college (at Phoenix or DeVry) to learn to weld.

But when do the welfare CEOs get to learn to weld?

 

[barfo]

Moreso than giving it to welfare CEOs.

That's class warfare. You should be ashamed of something.

That sounds like a pretty large effect in a nation of several hundred million people.

It's not because most of those people are unemployed due to the $800T failed stimulus bill.

But when do the welfare CEOs get to learn to weld?

They are patriots, they know how to weld.

barfo