@Ed O, yes the article is partly about alcohol, the link to it has been posted multiple times throughout the the thread. @Treaty_of_Batum, The question I have is how does your brain interpret an article with the following as Oden making a commitment to stop drinking? Where does he promise he will never drink again? He NEVERsays it, and a month later he is interviewed by ESPN: *GASP* *Edited* Oden never claimed he would stop drinking, he never said he had a drinking problem and you have no proof he ever did. The only "proof" you have is the preconceived narrative you've developed in your head that Oden has a drinking/eating/partying problem despite your brain having no recollection or proof as to how it came to that conclusion. *Edited* Edit: Alas, my hosility lives on the quote, was going to remove them myself.
I guess when he says he wants to eliminate the issue of him drinking and talks about stopping . . . I figure he is swearing off alcohol not because he thinks he has a problem (another topic in itself) but he wants to rid himself of the perception that he drinks alot (and that perception is out there as even Roy acknowleged). To me, saying he doesn't even want it talked about a little bit so he will eliminate it says that he will stop drinking . . . or at the very least stop doing things that will give people fuel to talk about his drinking. Going to a club and having a drink in hand doesn't exactly achieve what he said he wanted to do, IMO. (Quick got the same imprssion too) Makes sense that you were thinking of another quote. I ddin't answer you the first time because I actually thought you were joking, didn't mean to ignore it.
You are just *Edited* . I'm sorry I wasted the time yesterday responding to you. I thought you were *Edited* .
Considering all the high intensity weight lifting Greg has done since he came to Portland, I hope to god he's eating a few cheeseburgers, and steaks, and potatoes, and whatever fuels his body. Otherwise he'd pass out. Have these guys not seen "the snapshot?" Let's say, my wife was impressed, and not just with his Johnson. The guy works out. He's spent a hell of a lot of lonely time working out, and rehabbing, more than probably anyone on this board can even imagine. And he can't go chill at a club once in a while? Some people need to get a fucking clue.
Why did Quick have to put a qualifier in the article stating Oden is not going to quit drinking and never did stop completely? Maybe he reduced, but he didn't eliminate it as the quote said. Oden may not have used the best word choice for that quote, this is supported by what was stated in his follow-up with ESPN, only a month later, where he clarified his position. So I am not sure how people can get so upset with him about "breaking his promise to 'eliminate it'" when he already stated that was not true months earlier... Also the whole point of this is that his partying/eating/drinking lead to his injuries or slow recovery from his injuries. It sounds like he put a ton of effort in during those 10 months & yeah maybe he did reduce his nights out or his drinking "just in case" rather than "oh I have a problem and it's interfering with my recovery" and guess what, his knee still broke.
Why does Roy acknowledge that Oden likes to go out alot when talking about drinking? How does going to a bar and drinking eliminate the perception that he drinks alot? Clearly he has been confronted with this perception, denied it and said won't be an issue anymore because I'm going to eliminate it. Does going to a bar and hanging out eliminate that perception?
Oden Apologists continue to amaze me. At least no one is still standing by the "Oden isn't injury prone" argument. Now, they've moved on to comparing him to Brandon Roy and also getting at angry at people who are concerned about Greg's lifestyle. Roy bad; Oden good. Hilarious.
No one is apologizing for Oden. Just would like some proof to back-up where all this "concern"(*cough* anger) comes from?
Really? If you had been here for more than a week, I'd consider your post. As it is, there is a whole lot of excuse-making in this thread, which is odd, because I don't think that there is anybody who does not want Oden to succeed as a Blazer. As for "proof", it's there for some people, at least in terms of being concerned about his lifestyle, and how it impacts his career. For others, like you, it isn't. Who cares?
The team should wrap Greg in bubble wrap and lock him in a padded toilet room until he's healthy. Feed him nothing but Purina Center Chow (in liquid form so he doesn't get hurt chewing anything.) He can have a life after he leaves the Blazers. He owes that to me 'cause' I help pay his salary. Go Blazers
Attacking my post count "noobness" is pretty weak. Please think of something more substantial in the future.
So, going clubbing at a popular night club in small lil fishbowl Portland is staying out of the public eye? If he didn't want to get bugged shouldn't he not have gone out? And if you are going to make the pathetic argument that he should be allowed to do anything he wants because he is a kid, then I ask this: why did he not get a VIP access at the club that allows him to be with his friends, still enjoy the nightlife, but also be separated from the public if he doesn't want to get bothered? Surely a guy with Odens clout could get walk up VIP. If I was able to do so, he should have been able to also. I don't want Oden to be your as described smiley glad hands, but it sure would look nice for him to show that he cares about the fans, or at least try to do something that would not make him look like a waste of Paul Allens money. Maybe he went to the STH event at Big Al's. I'm sure the Blazers required him to since they are paying him after all, but he could still make a public appearance other than a dedicated STH event or sitting on the bench at a couple games. Show you are interested big guy. Look at LA. People were all over him for being soft for as long as he was here. He finally came into his own and people forgot about all the soft talk and now LA is pretty much the face of the franchise. Oden would (and could) still be right up there, keeping people interested in him. But, as you just said, Nik, he seems to not care at all. Even if he does, it really doesn't show at all in the slightest, which makes seeing all these other players and teams getting better even harder. What did you answer in this whole thread? Why are you asking for people to answer in this thread when nobody is? There you go contributing nothing to the conversation again...
I think not being able to play is more of a waste of PA's money than not high-fiving fans. If Oden never plays, how many high-five's will it take for him to not be a "waste of money"? How many Blazers just randomly show up in public locations unannounced to high-five with fans? The only guy who really did this regularly was Channing Frye. Why haven't we heard anything about Roy or LaMarcus going to the grocery store to high-five random strangers? Well everyone can see LaMarcus play & there is tons of video evidence supporting his play over the last couple of years. LaMarcus has improved because he has the ability actually, ya know, play basketball. I am not sure what you're suggesting Oden do? Show that he's committed to some fans misinformed notions that he should never go to a club or drink? Or that he should hold public events that no other Blazers are beholden to?
Isn't the quote in the past tense? Not the present tense or the future tense. He talked about why he DIDN'T drink. Not why he ISN'T drinking nor why he WON'T drink. The quote (and context of it) seems to be an explanation of why he took a break from drinking, rather than a pledge or a plan to keep not drinking forever. Ed O.
The quote is probably Oden misspeaking or not going into more detail about what he meant or maybe Quick left out that part. The reason I say this is because the rest of the article doesn't jive with his quote. The article is so ambiguous and poorly constructed it's hard to figure out how Quick came to his conclusions & why he spends large chunks the article reaffirming a falsehood while only spending two sentences on revealing the actual truth. The article should be taken with a big grain of salt because, again, Oden clarified his position and said Quick made a bigger deal out of it than it was in the ESPN interview he gave a month later.
