Oden is already breaking down

Greg Oden's rookie season with the Portland Trail Blazers ended before it began when he had knee surgery on Thursday. The top pick in the June draft went in for an exploratory procedure on his right knee and ended up having microfracture surgery, which means he will sit out the season. Dr. Don Roberts performed the surgery to repair the damage, which Pritchard described as the size of a fingertip. Oden is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. Full recovery likely will take six to 12 months, the team said.

Greg looked at me as he was coming out of his surgery, and he and his mom Zoe probably said 'sorry' 20 times," Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "I could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. And as a leader and as leaders of this organization, my first thought was how lucky we were to have a guy that cares about the organization that much."

If Oden cared so much about the TrailBlazers, he would have warned them before the draft that he was really 54 years old. One hard foul from Ben Wallace and he'll end up with a broken hip. At least this injury will keep him away from his teammates and out of jail; and allow him to tell the airport security that his marijuana is for medicinal purposes.