Rather poorly, IMO. If the idea was to illustrate that a player's alleged abstinence was no big deal, using a 3-time All-Star and 2-time All-NBA player as the example probably wasn't the best idea. Perhaps Kwame Brown? Oh wait, he had a DUI. ZBO might be a good example, except for his own micro-fracture. Exactly what was the point again?
He does, like I mentioned to you earlier in this thread Oden was at a season ticket holder event at Big Al's last week. I got to talk with him, had our picture taken. He, Wes and Mills were very nice. Rudy and Batum were a little shy and weren't as approachable.
The point is that there is no demonstrable link between drinking and catastrophic knee injuries. I am SPECIFICALLY commenting on a poster who mentioned Brandon Roy as an example of why Oden should not drink during the season. I don't need to point to other players who were not mentioned by the person I am discussing the topic with. Maybe you should figure that out before you post. Ed O.
Are you kidding me? So, now Oden is not only unlucky and completely 100% not responsible for every thing that has happened in his career, but now you have devolved your argument into the fans are responsible for his low interest level in his own career.
And there we have it. What you really want is Oden to be a baby kissing, glad-handing politician. You want to believe that he's your buddy, your pal, one of the guys. I hate to break it to you but not everyone is a gregarious, outgoing, attention hound. Despite Oden's titanic physique I think it's been fairly clear from the start that he's a fairly reluctant giant who would probably prefer a life out of the public eye. A lot of this is demonstrated by his body language and he's made more than a few comments about being uncomfortable living in the fishbowl environment of a small city like Portland where everything he does is scrutinized and dissected, with all of this magnified by his failures to live up to fan, media and team expectations.
Anybody here remember Dale Schlueter? Dale always seemed like a really nice guy. Dale was a terrible basketball player. See? It is a really easy distinction to make! Being upset/angry with Oden-the-player does not mean you hate Oden-the-human-being. You can feel sympathy for the latter and his plight - and still be upset that your favorite team got screwed.
What anger do you have with "Oden-the-player"? What sympathy do you have for "Oden-the-human-being"? How do you differentiate between "Oden-the-player" & "Oden-the-human-being"?
If your position is that GO should be every fan's bestest buddy and big toe, then we'll agree to disagree.
What evidence do you have that he as a "low interest level in his own career"? Everything I've read, heard and seen indicates the opposite.
Oden said he didn't like the idea of making alcohol and clubbing an issue in his professional life. So he will simply stop so it doesn't become a distraction to his career. Three months later he in fact is not stopping. He might have a high interst level in his career but his will power (or lack of it) seems to override how he wants to be percieved as an athlete. Personally, being serious about my career and trying to uphold a repuation, I won't do something that is likely going to change the professional image I am trying to create. It would seem irresponsible and show a lack of commitment on my part, IMO.
Here is the beauty of Oden's situation, if he comes back contributes, all will be forgot. Now if he turns out to be a bust . . . perfectly fair for Blazers fans to question what went wrong. Maybe nothing but bad luck . . . maybe not.
Did you answer about why you don't think he was talking about late-night fast food in that article? It seems to me just as likely that he was. Ed O.
I didn't. If you read the tone of the article, it really is all about alcohol. I don't think (unlike others) that Quick is here to mislead us or write an article that clearly focuses on alcohol and then use a quote out of context because Oden was talking about fast food. I guess it's possible, but it would be unethical and I don't believe Quick would go there. Here is the quote and surrounding context I have been using about not wanting it to be an issue: "My first year (2007) was probably my worst," Oden said of his drinking. "But after that, I definitely cut back. I never thought that I had a problem or anything. I actually stopped last season." But also understand that there were enough late-night escapades that they turned up in the "intel" reports gathered by new general manager Rich Cho. And there were enough rumors of partying floating around that team leader Brandon Roy admitted some fans would ask him 'What was up with Oden being out on the town all the time?' With most things Oden-related, his partying is probably part truth, part exaggeration, and part fiction. But the important thing to realize here is that Oden is now eliminating all of it – the fact and the fiction – from his equation. And his pledge to pursue to a calmer lifestyle could help erase the doubts about his commitment to basketball that have persisted. Of course there has been so much talk and so few results in the past three years regarding this team's talent and potential that declarations like this can make one leery. And to be honest, Oden admits that he hasn't totally gone cold turkey. There has been an occasional adult beverage here and there. "Hey, I'm 22," Oden said. "I'm legal." But he said for the most part in the past 10 months he has been alcohol free. "It's a non-thought thing that I wanted to take out, to not even worry about it," Oden said. "Just in case anybody talked about it a little bit. I just wanted to eliminate it." I don't read that quote talking about fast food given he mentions age and that many people have been asking about his partying not his eating habits. Maybe it is all funny editing by Quick, but I'm pretty sure those quotes are related to the topic of alcohol.
I don't take it as some sort of pledge to never drink, either, and I'm not sure why anyone would do so to the extent that they see him having a drink now is some sort of failure. You said that he said he WILL stop. I don't see that at all. That is actually a different quote than the one I was referring to, for the record. Ed O.
The quotes you posted had Oden stating that he never felt he had a problem in the first place but wanted to remove it as an issue. I didn't see anything about 100% abstinence. So if he's having a drink in a club once in a while but drinking and clubbing less than before, for example (I'm not saying that this is or isn't the situation; I don't know) that wouldn't be a lack of willpower or going back on what he said. It still goes back to none of us knowing what he's doing, so while anyone can have an opinion about whether he's drinking too much or more than he said he would, it's going to be an uninformed one. But everyone has a right to that, no question.
