Oden done for the season

How much of a shame is it for Portland Trailblazer fans, or even basketball fans in general that Greg Oden will be out for his entire rookie season, most likely, after undergoing micro-fracture surgery on his knee. Reports are stating that Oden will be on crutches for eight weeks while a full recovery will take anywhere from six months to a year.

As if the comparisons to former Blazer Sam Bowie — yes, the guy drafted before Jordan and ended up playing four injury-prone seasons for Portland — weren't bad enough, they're only going to get worse, exponentially.

Fans of the game are also being robbed of the potential rookie of the year race between Oden and Kevin Durant, who was drafted number two by the Trail Blazer's division rival Seattle Super Sonics. In retrospect, it was too good to be true.

This is a huge blow to the Blazers, who passed on the superstar-waiting-to-happen Durant to take the phenom centre first overall in June's draft. On the bright side, without Oden and including the fact that they traded away Zach Randolph - one of their best players last season - Portland should land another top-5 pick in next year's draft. Team up that with Oden (if he recovers fully in time) and the Blazer will be even better in the 2008-09 season. See, there's always a positive side to the news.