Even though I have always been skeptical about Oden's mental toughness; i really agree with everything in this post; in particular that most of it was not quotes from Oden, but just the author's twist. And I really question if the author is being a friend to Oden. Knowing what a private person Oden is he puts this out there, presumably to promote his own career. And of course he has to make it controversial to get attention.
What I've got out of this is that the Blazers not only took a risk considering his physical history and physical condition, but they also took a risk considering his psychological condition, which must have come out in a psychological evaluation. I believe that considering both, that it was foreseeable that there would probably be problems and that makes me angry, that poor decision makers deprived me of the chance to see kevin Durant playing for my favorite team. There, I'm done with it now! I will move on.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Blazer PR people hid the real cause for his first and 2nd MF surgery. He said himself, he was an alcoholic as early as his second year in Portland.
Pretty pathetic how everyone has just taken this as an opportunity to bash on who he is as a person. Not like he didn't get enough criticism over what in some ways he can't control (injuries). Grow up guys, it's a game. Yeah he costs a lot, yeah he didn't pan out, but it's a game. He's as much of a person as anyone posting on here, and has gone through a heck of a lot more than most people do in a short time. No amount of money, women, or alcohol makes that better, because it's obvious he resorted to all three for comfort and they didn't work.
It's a proven fact that alcohol disrupts REM cycles and sleep patterns, which would in turn hinder the healing process. I thought most people knew this. I guess not.
I doubt few, if anyone would have handled the situation any differently than Oden did. I would've probably done the same. Young, rich and almost nothing to do? He basically ruined his own career by not working as hard as he could have been to come back during those first couple years and instead party'd all the time. But again, I probably would've done the same.
This thread still boils down to the people who are bitter about how things turned out, and the people who still think they're Greg's mommie.
Yeah, it interferes with sexual function, too, but evidence is that Oden didn't suffer overly much from that. You are without a doubt right - alcohol hindered his recovery to some degree. However, even mentioning it as a factor is probably overstating its influence. barfo
And, being a patron of this board, I know someone will come up with a smart-ass comment. So here's some proof. http://www.canada.com/northshorenews/news/live/story.html?id=da9ee75c-becb-4c83-be98-d82bd9188a1e http://www.montclair.edu/psychservices/alcoholmuscle.pdf http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/health/a/aa000215.htm But feel free to continue to claim his alcohol use didn't help to ruin his knees.
You've got to be joking... Professional athlete who is attempting to come back from MULTIPLE knee surgeries, a guy 7'1 no less...and you don't think it was a major influence. There was always a shroud of mystery over Oden and his injury problems. We knew he had been seen at bars and such frequently, but I had no idea he was pretty much an alcoholic, as he himself says, until I read the article about him today. No other pro athlete I can think of has had as much bad luck as him. But was it really all bad luck? No.
Yes, he, and he alone among pro athletes, drank. Thus alcohol must be the cause of his problems. Sure, that makes sense. barfo
