I was just saying that if you were going to make up crap to see if it sticks to the wall, then there still isn't enough to be "fiasco"-worthy.
Duin was Canzano before Canzano was Canzano. He wrote the book. He hated the Blazers, and every Oregon team for that matter, from the day he started with the Oregonian, so of course they made him their primary sports columnist. I will not read Duin. Fuck him.
Exactly. A bit puzzling. This part especially: "I wouldn't underachieve anywhere else"? Why not just tell your employer - "yeah, I don't mind being here and working for your podunk paper that much, if I had a little more motivation, maybe I'd go somewhere else." Exactly what I'd want to hear. I think what he means - and he could've put it this way and it would've made a lot more sense (though wouldn't have worked as a link to Oden, which didn't work anyway!) - is that Portland is a second-tier city. It's not New York, San Francisco, LA, Washington DC, or Chicago. But neither is it Detroit or Milwaukee. And you could say one thing holding Portland back is that it doesn't have a culture of motivation (Duin would call it a culture of "underachieving"). I don't know, I think there are folks who work pretty darn hard at Intel, Nike, Weiden + Kennedy, Gunderson, and countless other successful companies who'd say it wasn't luck that made them the best in the world at what they do.
I can remember Duin was like the first sportswriter to ever write anything critical of the Blazers... and back in the day fans did not take to anything being critical of anything Blazer related. If you are rating Oden up until this point... of course he is a bust... and honestly... as much as I hope he comes back and plays many good years... I am to the point that anything he give us will be an unexpected bonus. I am sure there are 2nd round picks that have been more productive up until this point. I am not giving up on him, personally I think he is a great guy... but physically... not sure he will hold up to a full year in the NBA.
It's all good. I determined Duin was a bust way before the Oregonian did. Not Joking. He's sucked for a LONG time, like 20 years.
In parts of the article, Duin exaggerated for humor. But because humor was mixed with serious parts, the humor came off as sarcasm, even if he intended those parts to be only humor.
Right, within limits. I've been saying that patience isnt working for Oden. HCP posted this article yesterday in the thread "Bynum sidelined." Notice how Phil Jackson is tough on Bynum for taking too long to come back from injury. Why is our management so soft? http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/69407/20101004/bynum_may_not_play_until_december/
I think they are soft because frankly they don't know how else to be with the bad luck we've had recently with injuries. Everyone is afraid the bigs are going to crumple the next time they step on the floor, that we are not going to let them out there. In some ways... we may be creating more of a problem by being that way. I have a 2 year old and after numerous boo boo kisses she started pointing to things that were obviously not in pain (a freckle) in obvious distress. By being too responsive to owies... I help create ones that don't exist. What worries me about Oden... is that he has really never been on his feet and legs long enough to get them to adjust to the NBA. You can't do that in a month... you can't do it in two... it takes a good half year of being on the floor to get everything to in tune... and thereafter if you take breaks it comes back pretty fast... but I am not sure Oden has ever been in the kind so shape he needs to be because of all his numerous injuries. So I guess in that respect... I can understand why they are being careful with him. Joel? He has already proven his body can take a beating.
What ever happened to calling a spade a spade? According to dictionary.com a "bust" is something that "declines in value...is not worth what it was once was...to collapse from the strain of....a failure..." So, my question would be, knowing what we know now, compared to draft night, does Greg have less value than the #1 pick? I think "bust" fits perfectly.
Using the "declining in value" definition is pretty simplistic. Roy has declined in value somewhat over the past couple of seasons due to his injuries. Therefore, he fits the definition of bust. Tim Duncan has declined in value a lot over the past 5 years. Textbook bust. The common sports concept of a bust is a player who underperforms his perceived potential by a wide margin in his career. Oden has and hasn't through his first couple of seasons...when on the court, he's been great. His injuries have prevented him from meeting the season-wide impact that was expected. The second one is what will matter when it comes to his career. But a few seasons into his career, when he's all of 22, is a fairly silly point to determine whether he constitutes a bust.
