http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/oden-goes-live.html Thursday morning would be the test, and I'm happy to report that Oden went live, went hard, and looked dominant in five-on-five action at the practice facility. **** He said after practice, "the ankle feels good, the knee is fine, and my body feels good." He demonstrated as much late in the practice when the team went up and down in an intense scrimmage. Talking to Brandon Roy after the practice, he admitted the mini-scrimmage was as competitive as it's been so far at training camp. And, he agreed that Oden was very, very good. There were several highlights, and I'll just give you a couple. There was a moment in the scrimmage where Travis Outlaw came down the lane, cocked back, and was ready to throw down. Mr. Oden came from the weak side, erased those ideas, and the dunk attempt. That drew a few oohs and ahhs, and was the explosion we've been looking for. Oden was also going up against Joel Przybilla, and that was a heavyweight bout. Joel is a strong guy, as you know, but was consistently backed down in the lane by Oden, who seemingly goes anywhere he wants to. Roy mentioned that Oden is so strong, and spreads out so much when he's posting up, he's an easy target. That, coupled with his soft hands, made life easy on the guards attempting entry passes in to him. The other thing Oden apparently has down is the pick-and-roll play, which is the bread and butter offense in this league. Several times Roy and Oden were involved, and twice Brandon was left with wide-open foul line jumpers, and when the defense tried to switch he would simply dump the ball into Oden, who, with a guard on him, would easy end up right at the rim for a flush.
sweetness The start of this season is starting to feel so surreal ... is anybody else experiencing this?
oh man, my first chance to see him is against the DPOY in Oct. 18th. He's gonna eat Camby for breakfast!
Oh, man... same here! I don't even know how to explain it. I've never done any psychedelics (unfortunatley?), but [JoeDirt]Dang![/JoeDirt], I think I can now identify with those that have. Or somethin' like that... I know it's probably just the homer in me, but I sense some good times ahead... between now and, say, late May (and hopefully early June, too)! P.S. Just found this 'site... after digging around on the "old" one, trying to find out why discussion had died down there so much (in addition to it recently being "The Dog Days of Summer"). I never really got a chance to post there much, but I'd noticed that most of the individuals whose posts I enjoyed reading had, essentially, disappeared. P.S.S. Holy crap... not only does this joint have the most smilies I've ever seen, but it also has a personalized one for our very own resident Wook'? :dancewookiee:
Mike Barrett should write letters for Penthouse Forum as that is some of the most erotic stuff I've ever read. Of course, I mean that in the sports sense only.
MB delivering with the great news...again. I can't wait to see Oden in action. The season is so close. I'm feeling like a kid just before Christmas.
I wonder how long it will take for the first "OD-EN! OD-EN! OD-EN!" chant to start. I'm typing in my office right now and I'm chanting it 1,200 miles from Portland!