Courtesy of CBS Sporstline:

PHOENIX -- There's no chance of Greg Oden getting hurt in the All-Star rookie challenge Friday night. The Portland Trail Blazers' center will miss the game between rookies and sophomores with a sore left knee.

Oden, a member of the rookie squad because he missed all of last season following microfracture surgery on his right knee, injured his left knee in a collision with Golden State's Corey Maggette in the Blazers' 105-98 loss to the Warriors Thursday night.

Head over to Dwight Jaynes' blog and he'll tell you about the importance of keeping the pressure off of Oden upon his return.  Who can argue that?  Well, probably us.

I would do EVERYTHING in my power to keep it a secret, if I were the Blazers. I would try to bring him back by surprise in a game that’s not against a big-time center and definitely not on national television.

Why not try to keep the pressure off him as long as possible? It’s not as if he’s still not going to be under a microscope. But at least they can try to keep the hype level turned down.

Remember the week before Christmas?  You knew "Santa" used your attic as the hiding spots for your presents.  You knew you should wait; to not spoil the surprise - but you also knew how to ever-so-delicately open the gifts, check out the goods, and re-seal them with surgeon-like precision.  Then, on Christmas morn, you had to put on quite the show in front of the parents, acting surprised as you re-opened each gift (especially the ones that you never wanted nor asked for).  T'was the beginning of your ability to keep your mouth shut...your innate ability to keep silent, for fear of ruining things.

Okay, perhaps it's not the greatest metaphor - nor that relevant, but K103 is rocking the X-mas tunes already, and I'm feeling the spirit.  The point is, however, that we've all enacted the unwritten code of silence before - and some of us are pretty good at it. 

With all the current hype over the last 2 years, one can only imagine what Oden is going through, but more than likely, it probably isn't conducive to confidence.

Is it possible for us - as fans - to enact a code of silence for the big guy?  Call me superstitious, but maybe our band of blazermaniacs on the world wide inter-muh-net can ease the hype a little...any little bit helps, right?  (I know VTBlazer - aka COY - will agree)

If this is repetition of a previous post, my apolgies, but I've been in far too many arguments with people that feel over-exposure is well-deserved for Oden.

Try as we might, last night's turn of events just can't pack the punch that Game 1 did.  The X-Factor in Game 2, however, came not from Rudy, Greg, or even Mike Rice....but from the man...the legend...Michael Holton (and the Robin to this Batman - Tony Luftman).  I'll be honest; the biggest smile on my face last night (second to Sergio's connection to Rudy for the oop) came at the hands of Holton's line "And Greg says, 'Dunk you very much!" - pure genius!  Watching Luftman trip over words and butcher Spanish might even rival a Palin speech.  I commend the Blazer organization and CSN for not only providing us with an entertaining basketball team, but with the wealth of entertainment known as the Holton/Luftman Express.

Apparently, GO played some pick up games at 24 Hour Fitness ---- I don't know what's worse.  Oden risking everything at a public gym with some has-been gym rats, or people that call themselves Oregonians that ALLOWED it to happen!

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/03/oden_dominates_a_game_at_24hou.html#comments

If Joltin' Mike Holton can take an unnecessary public beating on this forum, then so can Tony Luftman.  By no means am I a fashionista--nor do I want to be--but Tony Luftman's tie knot looks as though it belongs around the neck of Andre the Giant - or Kevin Duckworth, for that matter.

It looks like he's resting an apple on his chest plate.

With each show, it grows more than Holton's arsenal of sharp-tongued witticisms.

Anyhow, I thought I'd break up the monotony of the Thursday with a light-hearted request...

...take the tie knot down a few notches, Tony.

Thanks.