TRAILBLAZER Center Greg Oden career has been plagued by injuries....now BLAZERS didn't pick up his 4th year on his contract.NOW WHAT? RIP CITY HOOPS

I remember a couple years back when the #1 High School Basketball player in the land from LAWRENCE NORTH HS in INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA seemed a can't miss. At nearly 7' tall and about 260 el bees he was a powerful specimen of sort. He just about dunked and blocked everything coming to him.

An intense recruiting battle for his services incurred and the OHIO STATE BUCKEYES won out for his services and his High School teammate Point Guard Mike Conley Jr. He was a one and done player at OHIO STATE taking them all the way to the Final Four Championship Game where they lost to CHAMPION Florida GATORS. He and two teammates followed him early out of O STATE in CONLEY JR. and DAYTON OHIO Dunbar HS Wing DAEQUAN COOK who had a productive first year at OHIO STATE as well.

That year in College there was another Freshman making noise out of MONTRSOE CHRISTIAN HS in MAryland name one KEVIN DURANT at University of TEXAS at AUSTIN LONGHORNS. So all the NBA Observers were trying to decifer between ODEN or DURANT as the #1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA DRAFT sponsored by SPRITE among others.

The Portland Trailblazers had the key to the draft as they held the first pick. Then PORTLAND GM KEVIN PRITCHARD and CHAIRMAN/OWNER of the Blazers PAUL ALLEN ( FORMER MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER WITH WILLIAM GATES, ALSO OWNS THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS) were going back and forth all the way up to draft time.

THE BLAZERS were trying to cover their tracks for making another huge mistake back in 1984 in selecting SAM BOWIE of the KENTUCKY WILDCATS 2nd ( AKEEM OLAJUWON of the HOUSTON COUGARS went #1 to the Hometown HOUSTON ROCKETS) and passing up on one MICHAEL JEFFREY JORDN out of NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL. BOWIE unfortunately back then might have looked like the right pick eventhough 1984 US OLYMPIC TEAM Head Coach Robert " THE GENERAL " MONTGOMERY KNIGHT had told everyone who was listening, " This MICHAEL JORDAN was just absolutely spectacular and has to be the Best Player I have ever seen hands down". Well something to that effect. NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY. So the 2007 BLAZERS didn't want to make the same mistake by picking ODEN and passing up on KEVIN DURANT because he looked like the best thing since RICE CRISIPIE TREATS in a BOX already made in packages ready to devour.

2007 NBA Draft day came and the BLAZERS went with.........................THE PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS SELECT...............GREG ODEN .....CENTER.....out of THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY.. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER you are now on the clock....THE BLUEDUDE wasn't shocked I was thinking either way you can't lose. Imagine like the TRAILBLAZERS imagined BIG GREG manning the Center Position for about 15 years with sidekicks in 2G BRANDON ROY of famed SEATTLE GARFIELD HS in SEATTLE and PF DELUXE in LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE of SEAGOVILLE TEXAS near the DALLAS-AREA already waiting for the BIG FELLA in black and red.

Look, THE BLAZERS WERE DEAD-ON with the pick as the OKC THUNDER Selected KEVIN DURANT and the rest was history right...............................Greg ODEN literally started his rookie year on the bench with a knee injury and then another injury and another injury and of course everyone is thinking about WHAT IF " THE SAM BOWIE CURSE" is in full effect. GM KEVIN PRITCHARD is no longer with the BLAZERS as he has since been replaced by LARRY MILLER ( THE ORIGINAL PRESIDENT OF BRAND JORDAN at NIKE , he built JORDAN BRAND up to what it is Today..............GENIUS.....WHAT CAN I SAY...........off the MEAT RACK....LITERALLY).

Now it is 2010 and MR. ODEN is rehabbing from his latest Knee Injury torn Patella Tendon suffered last year not too long after he came back from the previous injury. It's a someone sad story not only for the young man, who THE BLUEDUDE thinks will perservere eventually, but for the one of the more unique sports franchises in all the NBA.

The TRAILBLAZERS are home to LEGENDARY coach DR. JACK RAMSAY, "BIG RED" BILL WALTON, "MO" MAURICE LUCAS, CLYDE "THE GLYDE" DREXLER, TERRY PORTER, ARVYDAS SABONIS, RASHEED WALLACE, and JIM PAXSON.

They will eventually get this thing back rolling soon and it all starts at the top with CHAIRMAN PAUL ALLEN, PRESIDENT LARRY MILLER , and Head Coach NATE McMILLAN. The current roster has top 10 and G BRANDON ROY and a top 20 in F LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE. Now all they need is a healthy GREG ODEN manning the middle and the BLAZERS will be right there running for the LARRY O'BRIEN.

NOTE: JUST RECENTLY TO THE BLAZERS CHAGRIN the didn't pick up the 4th year option on ODEN's Contract which means a couple of things. The BLAZERS are protecting themselves if ODEN goes down again they are not on the hook for any more money (HEY LOOK ITS A BUSINESS, AND PORTLAND HAS TO LOOK OUT FOR THEMSELVES FIRST AND RIGHTFULLY SO), THEY ALSO WANT TO SEE IF he can still be somewhat they guy they drafted before throwing in the towel on him, and if the BLAZERS do not pik up 4th year ODEN can opt out and go anywhere he wants to go. And maybe thats the best resolutuion for both parties at this point.

RIP CITY you will be bak on top soon .... trust THE BLUEDUDE......that is when KOBE retires hahahahahaha

BLAZER BASKETBALL and the ROSE CITY is a special place for NBA Basketball .........REALLY.